All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter Forty-Six: Meet the Wilkins

Draco Malfoy – Present Day

November 26, 2000

Draco took a deep breath and straightened out his robes. He wasn't someone who usually got nervous, but this was crucial to his and Hermione's freedom, and so, he was, in fact, a little nervous. Clearing his throat, he finally raised his hand and knocked on the door. It wasn't long before a man in his mid to late forties opened the door. "Good day, Sir," said Draco, trying his best to sound polite. "My name is Draco Malfoy and I have something urgent that I need to discuss with you." He waited for the man to reply, but he did not, so Draco continued. "I know this is going to sound odd, but it would be in both of our interests if this conversation was done in private. May I come in? I have no weapons on me but I am a wizard so I do have a wand. I can leave it sitting on the table or something if it makes you feel more comfortable?" Draco waited nervously, terrified that his plan was not going to work. Miraculously, the man opened the door wider, and allowed for Draco to walk through. "Thank you," said Draco, and he stepped over the threshold. He walked over to the table where the man led him to, and although he was not asked, he still removed his wand and laid it about three feet away from him to help the man feel more comfortable. After a few moments, the man returned with a woman who had a curious look on her face, as she placed a tray of tea and biscuits on the table in front of him. "Thank you," said Draco, helping himself to a cup.

"Well, go on then," said the man. "I assume this is about the letter?"

"What letter?" asked Draco.

"From the British Ministry of Magic," he replied. "When you introduced yourself at the door, your name was familiar to me as I had read it in the letter. Isn't that why you're here? To explain it to me?"

"I think so," said Draco. "But I didn't realize that there was a letter sent out as well, may I read it?" The man handed Draco a letter, and he began to read:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Granger,

This is an official notice from the Ministry of Magic informing you that you are to meet with Ms. Dolores Umbridge to discuss the matter of the Ritual Knot between Ms. Hermione Granger and Mr. Draco Malfoy. As parents to a witch, you are required to attend and fulfill the Ministry's requirements. The meeting is scheduled to be held on the twenty-second day of December, at the household of the Malfoys.

Hoping you are well,

Dolores Umbridge

The man began to speak when Draco finished reading the letter. "When it was addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I knew that it was clearly sent to the wrong address, but something inside of me told me that I just had to open it. It was foolish of me, I know, but I did it anyway."

"I didn't know that you kept the letter," the woman said to her husband.

"I did," he replied, "although I am not sure why."

"Magic can be funny that way sometimes," said Draco.

"What do you mean?" the woman asked.

"You are Wendell and Monica Wilkins?" Draco asked them. The man and the woman nodded. "Do the names Patrick and Susan Granger mean anything to you?"

"No," answered Monica honestly. "Should they?"

Draco sighed. "Look, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound very strange, but I ask that you at least hear me out." Wendell and Monica nodded, and so Draco began. "You're aware of the whole war in 1998 between Harry Potter and The Dark Lord?"

"Oh yes," replied Monica. "We pride ourselves in being educated in what goes on in the world, in both the magical one and ours."

"We have a library full of books," added Wendell.

"Of course you would," Draco said smiling. "Well then, you'll know that Harry Potter along with his two friends set out to try and take down the Dark Lord." When they nodded, Draco added, "those two friends were Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"I knew that name sounded familiar to me," said Wendell.

"To make a long story short," said Draco, knowing all to well that this would be a long story regardless, "Hermione and Ron had families that they needed to protect from the Dark Lord's followers. Since Hermione was considered a muggle-born and Ron was considered a blood-traitor, their families would be in jeopardy if they did not turn over their children. So Ron protected his family by changing his ghoul in the attack to look like him and made him look sick with an illness known as spattergroit."

"I'm sorry, a ghoul?" asked Monica.

"Monsters and creatures and that kind of stuff are real in our world," answered Draco. "Anyway, spattergroit is contagious, so nobody would want to go near the ghoul to confirm if it was actually Ron or not, so that kept his family safe. See, they were pureblood wizards and so their magical status was not in danger."

"Very intelligent of him," stated Wendell.

Draco snorted. Weasley intelligent? That was definitely worth a laugh. "Well, Hermione was unable to do something similar," he continued. "See, because her parents were muggles and didn't know magic, they would have been in much more danger than the Weasleys. If the Dark Lord's followers had gotten a hold of them, not only would they have been murdered, they would have been painfully tortured. First, for the whereabouts of Hermione, then just for fun because they were muggles."

"How horrible!" Monica gasped.

"So you see why Hermione had to protect them. She did probably the hardest thing that anyone had to do; she wiped their memories and gave them a new identity."

"The poor dear," cried Monica. "How brave of her! Has she been able to reconnect with them since the war?"

Draco shook his head. "The spell she used is irreversible but she had no other option. So essentially, she lost her parents forever in order to keep them safe." Monica had such a look of sadness on her face, but Wendell was frowning.

"I'm assuming that Hermione's parents were named Patrick and Susan Granger?" asked Wendell.

"They were," Draco responded. "Or rather, they are."

Wendell picked up the letter from Umbridge and frowned. "And did she change their names to Wendell and Monica Wilkins?" Draco smiled at him. It was clear where Hermione got her intelligence from.

"Wendell, this can't be true!" said Monica horrified.

"I know that it sounds bizarre," said Draco. He pulled a photo of Patrick and Susan with a six-year-old Hermione from out of his robes. They, of course, looked exactly like Wendell and Monica. As the pair looked at the picture, Monica started to cry. "We have full memories, though," she said. "I can even remember my childhood!"

"Hermione is an extraordinary witch; she was able to create all of that."

"So, what's real, then?"

"Hermione casted the charm in the summer of 1998, so anything after that would be real memories."

"1998," repeated Wendell slowly. "Monica, that was the year we made the decision to move from England to Australia… It makes sense…"

"If this were all true, why doesn't she just lift the spell, then?" asked Monica.

"A memory charm that powerful is impossible to remove. She has been working on a reversal spell since the end of the war but hasn't gotten very far."

"So what are you asking of us, Draco?" asked Wendell. "Since you know that we would be unable to remember her, why are you here?"

Draco sighed. "It's a long story, but I'm sure you've heard the of recent attacks happening in Britain?"

Monica nodded. "It's very sad."

"Well, you see, it's led to plenty of problems in our Ministry, including the employment of bad witches and wizards. Anyway, I ended up needing to get out of a situation, and so Hermione and I created what's known as a Ritual Knot. It's basically a magical binding between a witch and wizard, kind of like a betrothal." Wendell and Monica listened patiently for Draco to continue. "The thing is, the Ritual Knot that we claimed to be ours isn't really ours, and now this evil witch, Umbridge, is trying to prove that."

"And this witch knows that Hermione has modified our memories?" Wendell asked.

"She suspects it," Draco answered. "Which is why she has summoned you to a meeting, in hopes that she can prove that Hermione and I had lied."

"And what would happen if she knew you lied?" asked Monica.

"We would be sent to a prison known as Azkaban. It's filled with creatures known as Dementors, who feed on your soul and suck all of the happiness out of you."

"So you want us to what? Say that we were present at this Ritual?" asked Wendell.

"A Ritual Knot requires both fathers to be there, so in order for it to work, you would had have to have been there. I would give you all of the details and everything so you would know what you're saying." When Wendell and Monica didn't reply, Draco added, "I know you don't see it, but Hermione gave up a lot to save you both, now I'm asking you to save her."

"You've given us a lot to think about," said Wendell.

"I understand; shall I come back in a week?"

"That would be appreciated," replied Wendell.

"Can I keep the photograph?" asked Monica.

"Of course." Draco grabbed his wand and put it on the inside of the robes. "All I will ask, though, is regardless of what happens, please don't repeat this to anyone. I hope that you believe me, but in the off chance that you don't, repeating this information can have Hermione killed."

"Nobody will know about this conversation," said Wendell.

"Thank you." Draco left the house and headed towards the city border so that he could start his apparition process back home, when he felt his galleon grow hot in his pocket. He pulled it out and read a message from Hermione:

Fight at the Burrow - Grindelwald - come quickly!

Harry Potter – Present Day

November 28, 2000

Harry arrived at the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts twenty minutes late. "Sorry, Professor," Harry said to Professor McGonagall, who had been waiting for him, forgetting that he was asked to call her Minerva now. "There's been a lot on my mind."

"Of course, Potter, no problem at all. Madam Pomfrey, however, has stepped out of the Wing to attend a staff meeting. Make yourself comfortable on one of the beds; she will be with you when she can."

"Thanks." Harry hobbled his way over on his good leg, and collapsed on the nearest bed. The last two days had been so hectic and so emotionally draining, that Harry hadn't even had the chance to mend his broken leg yet. As he laid back on the bed, he thought about Grindelwald and his current attack. "What are you up to?" Harry asked out loud, trying to figure out Grindelwald's game plan.

"I'm sorry?" came a voice from the bed beside him. The curtains were drawn back and Harry saw an unfamiliar witch looking at him.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't know anyone else was here."

"No problem," she said, rubbing her left arm. Harry looked to her bedside table and recognized the bottle sitting on top of it.

"Ugh, Skele-Gro! I had to take that in my second year; I definitely do not envy you."

"It's awful, isn't it?" the witch replied. "It's my own fault, though. Next time, I won't allow my students to try and transfigure an item right next to me!"

"Your students?"

"Yes, I am the new Transfiguration Professor, Indira Patil. I just started this year."

"I forgot that McGonagall had retired from teaching this year!" Harry said.

"It's a lot for her to take on, being Headmistress and everything else she does."

Harry nodded. "I agree. Hang on a minute, did you say you were a Patil?"

"I did."

"So, do you know Parvati and Padma Patil?"

Indira smiled. "They are my cousins."

"I went to school with them," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter."

"Goodness!" said Indira. "Well, I would be lying if I didn't say I knew exactly who you were! Didn't you take Parvati to the Yule Ball in your fourth year?"

"I wasn't a very good date," Harry admitted.

Indira laughed. "I heard your friend Ron was a lot worse."

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh. "He had his reasons."

"No judgement from me!"

"So, a student removed the bones from your left arm?"

Indira nodded. "Someone in first level, who really should be in sixth by now! I don't know how he managed to remove all of my bones, to be honest; he was supposed to be trying to transfigure a napkin into a pillow!"

"I had mine removed by a Professor; you would think he would have at least known what he was doing!"

Indira laughed, but before she could reply, Madam Pomfrey came storming into the wing in a fuss. "Two days, Potter? Two days? I could have this mended in two seconds; why on earth are you waiting for two days?!"

Harry, while being scolded by Madam Pomfrey, smiled at Indira. "It was a pleasure meeting you," he said.

"The pleasure was all mine."

"Two days! Seriously!"

Neville Longbottom – Present Day

November 28, 2000

"Did my dad pass by yet?" Luna asked Neville, as she arrived at Headquarters.

Neville nodded. "Just gave me access to the house and then said he was going into Diagon Alley. I suppose it's now or never," he said.

"It'll be alright, Neville," she said to him.

"Yeah," he said, not confidently. He slowly made his way from Headquarters to the Lovegood's house. The front door was unlocked when he arrived, and so he walked in and made his way up the stairs and to the sitting room where he found Jessica and her daughter playing. He couldn't read the look on her face, but knew there was a bit of both surprise and anger to see him.

"Come on, I think you should play upstairs," she said to the little girl. Neville sat down and waited for Jessica to return. He had known that Ron had a girlfriend named Jessica, but never in a million years would he have suspected that it would be that Jessica. And she had a daughter, which meant... He had a daughter…

"Hello," he said nervously, when Jessica returned and sat across from him. The pair sat in silence for what felt like ages. Neville had no idea what to say to her.

"When are the funerals?" Jessica finally asked, breaking the silence.

"One is in a few hours; the other one is tomorrow." After another moment of silence, Neville started to speak. "Jessica, look-"

But Jessica cut him off. "How long have you known?" she asked him.

"Known what?"

"That I was here with Ron?"

"The battle was the first time, I swear. I knew he had a girlfriend named Jessica, but I never would have thought that it was you."

"We were together at the Yule Ball."

"I didn't see Ron there," he answered truthfully.

"You're supposed to be good friends with Luna," Jessica replied. "And she was at our table."

"I, uh, went to the Ball with Essa, Ron's ex, so I purposely didn't sit at Ron's table."

"That was you?"

"You saw me?" Neville asked.

Jessica shook her head. "I saw Essa and the back of some guy, I didn't know that it was you." There was more silence yet again before Jessica spoke. "What are you doing here, Nigel?"

"Oh, uh…" Neville stammered. "My name isn't actually Nigel," he said.

"You lied about your name?" she said angrily.

"To protect you!"

Jessica rolled her eyes. "What is your name, then?"

"Neville."

You're Neville?"

"You've heard of me?"

"It must be another Neville that they talk about," Jessica said rudely. "Because the way Ginny and Ron describe him, he doesn't sound like a pathetic coward."

"I suppose I deserve that," Neville frowned.

"You deserve a lot more!"

"Can I please just explain?" Jessica folded her arms but didn't speak, and so Neville took it as his opportunity to explain. "Look, when we met, I was running away from Death Eaters. Do you know what Death-"

"Yes, I know what they are!" she yelled. "Unlike you, Ron doesn't hide shit from me!"

"Because he doesn't have the Statute of Secrecy on his back," Neville mumbled.

"What?" she asked, annoyed.

"The Statute of Secrecy was in effect when I met you; I wasn't legally allowed to tell you anything!"

"There are many families that are half-blood; Ginny told me all about them."

"Yeah, and?" asked Neville, confused.

"So, obviously the Statute had been broken several times, otherwise those families wouldn't exist!"

Neville sighed. "If it was a different time, I would have told you. You don't think I wanted to spend forever with you in that tent? I didn't tell you to protect you. Muggles were being targeted and I couldn't let you be in any more danger than you already were."

"So you left me alone in the woods?"

"I put protective spells around you."

Jessica snorted. "Don't you think I would have been safer with a wizard?"

"No, I don't. A muggle being associated with a wizard would have been the worst thing for you, actually. Jessica, there was a full-blown war going on and I had a duty to help! I didn't mean to run into you – I don't regret it, either! – But I had a job to do and I needed to do it." Jessica said nothing but instead looked away. Neville hoped that he was getting through to her. "So, Amelia is-"

"Don't you DARE mention Amelia!" Jessica screamed. "You have no right to even talk about her!"

"I know you're mad…"

"You don't even know the half of it, Neville! Get out!"

"What?"

"I said get out! I'm not doing this right now! And DON'T say anything to anyone, do you hear me?"

"Luna and her father already know," Neville said quietly. "But they won't tell a soul!" he added.

"Nobody else is to know," she said, calming down. "I'll be the one to tell Ron… When I'm ready."

"What are you going to say?" Neville asked.

"That you're the pig who left me! GET OUT!"

Vernon Dursley – The Past

December 16, 1986

"Petunia, I don't like this," grumbled Vernon, as he watched his wife get ready.

"Dudley is her grandson, Vernon. She is my mother! She hasn't seen him since he was a baby and it is almost Christmas."

"But Petunia, Darling, she doesn't even recognize us! Her Alzheimer's is really bad."

"You know it isn't Alzheimer's, Vernon," she said sternly, straightening her blouse.

"Yes, but even still-"

"I am taking Dudley, Vernon; please do not argue."

Vernon growled. It wasn't common for Petunia to demand something, but Vernon let it slide. "We are at least in agreement that the Potter boy is not attending," he said for probably the tenth time.

"Mrs. Figg has already agreed to watch him."

"Good. And Dudley? Do you think he is old enough to understand that he cannot tell him?"

"Our Duddykins is very advanced, Vernon; if Mummy and Daddy tell him not to tell his mean old cousin, then he will not."

"Very well, then, shall we go?" Vernon smiled as he led his wife out of their room. His plan was working much more quickly than he could ever have imagined.

Author's Notes: A short one today, but important nonetheless, particularly Draco's meeting with the Wilkins. So, this chapter has confirmed that we lost TWO characters during the fight at the Burrow. The next chapter will inform you of one, and the chapter after that will inform you of the second. (Suspense is fun, right?)

Reviews: To "guest", no I will not tell you if Molly or Ginny are dead; you'll just have to wait and see! (Sorry!) For the other "guest", I'm sorry about all the feels.. It makes for a good story though, right? To "Paulies1994" thank you so much and I am glad you like it so far!

That's all I will say today! Thanks as always and keep reviewing!