A/N: Many, many, many thanks to the fabulous modmins at Hermione's Haven for hosting such a fun fest! Written for Hermione's Haven Roll-A-Prompt. My prompts were Vampires, Time Travel, and Hermione Granger/Remus Lupin. Enjoy!
If you liked this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! Find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff.
Pairing: Hermione Granger/Remus Lupin
Rating: M
Summary: Hermione is called to the future and she can't refuse the call.
Extinction Burst
"Your presence is essential. We'll be lost without you. Wizardkind will be lost without you. Beginning of October 2023 should do it."
The message cut off abruptly. Hermione Granger frowned looking at the small crystal ball in her hand.
"That was you, wasn't it?" Remus Lupin asked. "From the future?" He leaned against the doorway of her office, arms crossed over his chest.
Hermione nodded absently, still studying the crystal ball that had just appeared on her desk moments ago. "Yes, how odd."
"What exactly is going on then?" Remus's voice was full of concern and while Hermione had the urge to soothe him, the mystery of her future self asking for her past self's help was just too much to bear.
Hermione shook her head, finally looking up at him. "I don't know. But it's clear they need help. We should go."
"Hermione! We can't!" Remus exploded forward, throwing up his arms and stalking across the room. "You've just figured out how to travel forward in time. We need to run loads more tests. And besides, there's Teddy to think about."
Hermione stood from behind her desk and approached Remus on the other side. "I know, darling," she said, placing her hands on his chest and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "So I'll understand if you don't want to come with me."
She breezed by him and left her office. Heading toward the laboratory where most of their employees worked. She ignored Remus's muttered curse behind her. She knew it was selfish, but how selfish could it be if the future her was asking for help?
"I'm obviously not letting you go by yourself," Remus said gruffly from behind her, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist just before the door of the lab. He pressed a kiss against the side of her neck and Hermione let the tension ease from her body as she relaxed into his arms.
"What about Teddy?" Hermione asked, spinning around to face him. She looped her arms around his neck as he leaned down and kissed her, his beard scruffed her cheek and Hermione's arms tightened around him.
"We'll leave him at Harry and Ginny's. Like we always do. And hope that both of your selves know what the bloody hell you're doing."
"You know we don't," Hermione said with a small laugh. "Gryffindor luck will hopefully hold for us. Although, I have to assume that if the future me sent the message back to this time, then the future me knows what's capable with the forward-turning Time-Turners."
"What if the future you forgot when exactly it started working properly?" Remus asked.
Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "Do you really think that's likely?"
"I guess not. Alright, let's plan for a mission."
Hermione offered him a quick grin before reaching up on her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his once more. She whirled around and entered the lab quickly.
"Alright, people. It's the big one. Calibrate the forward-turning Time-Turner for fifteen years, three months and four days. Callie, get me and Remus our packs. Davie make sure there are plenty of funds in the emergency Gringotts account. Christina get the emergency portkeys ready. We'll fine tune the Time-Turner when we're closer to leaving. Hopefully within the next six to twelve," Hermione barked moving through the lab quickly. Her employees scurried around her as she strode over to the prototype Time-Turner.
"We'll need a backward going Time-Turner too," Hermione murmured to Maud. "One capable of getting us back in time fifteen or so years."
"Right here, boss," Maud said, lifting one with care from the glass case in front of her. "Are you sure fifteen years into the future is a good idea? We haven't run the usual battery of tests yet."
"It'll have to be. There's been an emergency and we've been called," Hermione replied, taking the backward Time-Turner and slipping the chain over her head.
"By who?" Callie asked, setting two identical packs on the table. They were similar to Muggle hikers backpacks, but tricked out in usual Hermione Granger style. Undetectable extension charms layered with permanent featherweight charms. They essentially each doubled as a small cottage on the inside.
"Me," Hermione replied.
Remus stepped into the room then, taking in the chaos around him. "Teddy's off."
"Great," Hermione replied without turning around. "Thanks for taking care of it. Sorry, I didn't get to say goodbye."
Remus shrugged. "You know how he is lately. Doesn't even want to say goodbye to me," he said with a small laugh. "How long until we're ready."
"Within the next seven hours or so," Maud replied. "We need to run the calculations through the ACM."
The ACM was an Arithmancy model she worked into a muggle laptop. It took a few charms and a lot of muggle computer programming to get it right, but it was their most useful tool. Even if it sometimes took hours to run through all of the possibilities of an arithmancy equation.
"Great, get it worked up and entered," Hermione responded.
It was close to midnight before they were ready. The ACM printouts were plastered all over the lab as Maud fine tuned the forward-turning Time-Turner.
"You calculated for the full moon?" Hermione asked as she and Remus donned their packs.
"Yes. The full moon was at the end of September. As long as you aren't there an entire month, you should be solid. If you are, fresh ingredients for Wolfsbanes are in both your packs along with all the proper brewing utensils," Davie responded.
"Done," Maud said, lifting the bright-white Time-Turner from its cradle gingerly. She handed it to Hermione who slipped the long chain over both her and Remus's heads.
"Catch you on the flip side," Hermione said, grinning as she pulled the pin and the lab and their surroundings whirled away.
When the spinning stopped, the lab was quiet, broken down and clearly disused.
"What do you think happened here?"
Hermione shook her head. "Let's go topside, see if we can get the lay of the land."
They climbed the stairs out of the underground compound into the dead of the night. The night air was cool, as it often was in early October, and it smelled of crunched leaves and a hint of winter. The area surrounding the compound looked as abandoned as the interior had.
"What on earth do you think happened?"
The moment the question was out of his mouth the fluttering of wings was heard.
"What the…" Hermione began before being accosted by a being. It stank of rotting flesh and musty dirt as it's hands gripped her shoulders tightly. Spinning in a tight circle she slipped out of its grasp and pulled her wand. Flicking it a huge bluebell flame lit up the night and revealed that they were surrounded by dozens of vampires.
"Fucking vampires!?" Remus shouted, stunning as many as he could. He broke out his battle magic like it was an old cloak. The fighting stance he took kicked Hermione into action and she mirrored his movements, keeping her back to his.
"Think we'll get any backup?" Hermione asked. She began conjuring garlic and chucking it at any vampire who came close enough.
"Not bloody likely," Remus grunted.
"Fireball it is," Hermione replied. "Cover me."
Remus nodded and Hermione cast a shield charm while she dug in her pack. She had created a few specialty items over the years, one of them she had dubbed Fireball. It was essentially an ever-burning torch. When hit with the right combination of spells, it became a massive fireball.
"Incoming!" Hermione shouted as she tossed the lit Fireball stick up into the air and blasted it with her special combination of spells. A woosh sounded and a dome of fire settled itself around Hermione and Remus. It was thirty feet across and moved when Hermione moved.
"How far, you think?" Remus asked as he kept a watchful eye on the circle, ensuring no brave vampires attempted to get through the blaze.
"Unclear. Until the screaming stops, I guess."
The screaming was getting nigh on unbearable before a jet of water came shooting through the dome.
"Hold! We're friendly!" A voice that sounded suspiciously like Hermione's came through. Hermione and Remus held their wands aloft, at the ready, but lowered them as older versions of themselves stepped through the dome.
"Oh, good. I was hoping you'd send, well you, me, whoever," the older Hermione said with a grin. Hermione stared, she had a few more grey hairs than the current Hermione, but still, she looked mostly the same.
"This is weird," Remus said.
"Very," older Remus replied with a low chuckle. The older Remus looked much the same, although his hair was almost completely white. She thought he looked rather handsome like that and grinned up at her own Remus.
"So, vampires?" Hermione asked, gesturing outside the fire dome that was still blazing.
"Yes, vampires. Scourge of the earth if you ask me," older Hermione said. "The virus mutated somehow and the island has been practically overrun with them."
"When you say the island…" Remus asked.
"The entire British island," older Remus replied. "Bit of a mess, really."
"Bit?" Hermione asked. "How long ago did the virus mutate? I thought vampires were rather antisocial creatures, there were so many of them."
"About a year and a half ago. They're hungry is what they are," older Hermione said. "We either need to stop the virus or cure it, or it'll overrun the entire world."
"Britains been exiled for now. Told us to figure out our own bloody problems. And we're close, but we need some backup. Vampires have a sense for blood the way werewolves have a sense of smell," older Remus chuckled.
"They keep finding your hideaway," Hermione guessed.
"Exactly." Older Hermione grinned again and Hermione couldn't help but grin back.
"So what can we do?" Remus asked.
"I was hoping you could help me keep them away from our most recent hidey-hole. Vampires and werewolves don't get along too well, as I'm sure you know. We can let the ladies figure out the virus and how to effectively neutralize it or kill them," older Remus said.
"Kill them?" Hermione wrinkled her nose.
"It may be necessary," older Hermione said with a sigh. "I've been attempting a way to neutralize the virus, but nothing has worked thus far." She ran a hand through her messy hair and looked tired.
"Alright, let's get to it. Faster we figure this out, the faster we can get back to Teddy."
Older Remus smirked. "Wait till you see him now." He reached out a hand, and they all took hold. In a blink of an eye older Remus Apparated the four of them away.
"Woah, it's like looking back into my childhood," Teddy said when they arrived at the base. He was in his mid-twenties and his hair was bright teal, and just as messy as it was when he was a child.
"Teddy?" Hermione said, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. Her Teddy was still shorter than her, but it looked like he had all of Remus's height.
"Hi, Mum, or younger Mum, I guess," Teddy said with a grin. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and Hermione sighed, leaning into him.
"It's like looking in a mirror," Remus murmured, wrapping his arms around his son once Hermione had stepped back.
"Eh, I'm way better looking, old man," Teddy replied, clapping his father on the back.
"Told you," older Remus murmured to Hermione.
"This is so strange," Hermione replied, shaking her head.
"Very," older Hermione replied. "Let's get to work, shall we? Teddy what's the VPMC look like?"
"It's charged and ready to go, Mum."
"VPMC?" Hermione asked.
"An algorithm I created in order to categorize the vampire virus and attempt to use various Arithmancy equations on it to try and figure out a way to either neutralize it or make it go extinct in all its hosts at once, thereby killing the hosts," older Hermione explained. "I've got it set up on a couple of laptops, one for the neutralizing and one for extinction."
"Right, what do you need from me then?" Hermione asked.
"That big brain, of course," Teddy joked.
Older Hermione waved her arm, as she turned and headed through a set of stainless steel double doors. Almost like doors into a chef's kitchen. She rattled off facts about the latest hideout while she walked. Apparently it was an old military base installation, but with most of the Muggles being turned into vampires, there wasn't much of a Muggle military anymore.
"It's almost like a zombie apocalypse," Hermione mused as she considered the problem.
"It's exactly like that!" Teddy replied from behind. Hermione turned to see Teddy following them, but both Remus's were back where they had originally Apparated in at, in deep discussion with one another.
"Here we are," she announced, opening a final set of double doors. The most high-tech laboratory Hermione had ever seen gleamed at her. There were several computers, lots of screens, and a few people were gesturing in front of the screens. It was technology that Hermione couldn't even dream about. She knew she was gaping when Teddy pushed her chin up.
"It's the neutralizing combinations I'm having trouble with," older Hermione said leading her over to a huge work stations. Two screens the size of large televisions stood side by side and Arithmancy equations shot across them at warp speed. "I've mostly figured out a way to make them all go extinct at once, I'm just running through the process with a few checks and variables. We have about forty-eight hours to figure this out and if we can't, we need to do the extinction burst. It's safer for everyone that way. Honestly, even if we can neutralize the virus, it might still be best to make it go extinct."
Hermione grimaced, knowing her older self was right, however much she didn't want to kill anyone.
By the end of the forty-eight hours, they were no closer to finding a way to neutralize the virus. Neither Hermione nor Remus slept as they worked feverishly. Hermione to try and save lives and Remus in protecting the compound. Patrolling with the older Remus was enough to keep most of the vampires at bay, but occasionally one or a small group of either very dumb or incredibly brave vampires would venture forth. The Remus's ignited them on fire. It was as much a warning to the others who were lurking in the woods beyond as it was easier than driving them off.
"Give me six more hours," Hermione muttered, chugging another Invigoration Draught. "I know I can come up with something."
"We're out of time, Mum," Teddy said apologetically. "Mum, well older Mum, didn't want to say anything, but we were given a time limit by the ICW. They are going to bomb the entire island to take care of the problem. Killing all of the vampires, but also us, and any other pockets of humanity who have survived. We know they're out there, we can pick them up on the radio sometimes."
"I can do it," Hermione insisted, waving her arms in front of the screen and filling ten Arithmancy equations at once with various variables.
"We really are out of time," older Hermione said apologetically. "I wish there was something more we could do."
Hermione sighed, defeated. She knew they were right, but she felt so close to a solution. She sat back, watching the work bustle around her,
Several of the assistants were filling a large tank, while another attached a hose. When the tank was full, Teddy held out his hand. He had one hand on the tank and both Hermione's took his other.
In a flash, they were gone. They landed outside, it was night again. The better to lure vampires, Hermione thought to herself with a shiver. There was a wide electric current running around the outside of the small clearing they were in. Just beyond it hundreds upon hundreds of red eyes blinked. The vampires were here.
"You ready for this?" Remus asked, winding his arms around her.
Hermione shook her head. "It feels so cruel."
"It's for the best," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her head.
"It's time!" older Remus shouted. "Everyone be ready, the potion shouldn't harm you if it touches you, but all the same, try to keep it off. I've got the nozzle set up like a giant sprinkler, we should be well out of the way, standing near the tank."
"Three, two, one!" older Hermione shouted. With a flourish, the electric current went out at the same time the potion started spewing from the nozzle atop the tank. Vampires streamed forward, teeth blazing until they got a bit of potion on them. Then they were clawing and fighting their way back, stumbling on those attempting to come forward. It was a writhing, seething, screaming mass of humanity and it had Hermione covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut at the sight of it.
Hours later, and no new vampires came forth. The tank barely sputtering out any potion. Those that were unable to get away from the potion's dousing lay dead in heaps and piles. Others who had managed to get away were fleeing far and wide. Spreading the potion to their brethren who hadn't been lured here.
"Give it a week or so, and they'll all be dead," older Hermione said. Her voice was as sad as Hermione felt.
"Let's go," Remus replied. "We've been away from Teddy long enough."
Hermione nodded, already thinking of how she was going to prevent this future from coming true. Just because it happened once, didn't mean it needed to happen again.
~Fin~