Tempus Magia

Part Three

Chapter 23: WSAA - Witch's Spousal Abuse Anonymous

Hermione Granger made a grave error during the final battle that resulted in Remus's death. Working as an unspeakable she spends two years working on a spell using powder from time turners to go back to Remus's greatest hour of need. What if Remus's greatest time of need wasn't in *this* war?

As it turned out Hermione didn't have to wait long to catch James naked. Wednesday morning Hermione was rushing about getting dressed to go to Pandora's alone since Lily wasn't feeling well. As she was running down the hall, she slammed into a hard body and screamed when she realized that the hardbody was naked and that it was James.

Of course, Sirius and Remus came running out of there rooms in time to find Hermione sprawled on top of a very naked James. Predictably, Sirius burst out laughing and ran to fetch a camera. Remus, being the gentleman he was, handed James the cloak he was wearing. His kind deed was not well received by Sirius, who gave him a smack on the head when he returned with a camera.

Lily, thankfully, found the entire thing hilarious. "Hermione, dear your jumper is on backward," she called from the doorway of her room.

Hermione thanked her and ran through the Floo. This week she was helping Pandora on Wednesday and Thursday since Pandora had brewed alone on Sunday.

"Pandora?" Hermione called as she exited the Floo and hurried into the room Pandora usually used for brewing.

"I'm in the kitchen! Lily owled earlier and said she wasn't coming and that you most likely would forget to eat breakfast." Pandora walked into the room holding a tray with orange juice, bread, and a vegetable omelet. Hermione smiled and thanked Pandora for the omelet.

The two talked about Pandora's work as they brewed. Pandora was not as obsessive as her husband. She was equal amounts of patience, easy going, and not giving a damn what other people thought of her. Knowing Pandora and having met Xenophilius in the future, Hermione found that Luna was a perfect mix of her parents.

Hermione wasn't sure how the conversation started but they had somehow managed to find the topic of Hermione's parents.

"I just… I feel like they would be disappointed in me."

"I may not be a mother yet, but parents just want what is best for their children. As long as you are happy Hermione, I'm sure your parents will happy as well."

"I just wish they could be here. I wish I could explain why I'm doing the things I am…" Pandora stopped stirring and turned to Hermione. Her eyes were a gunmetal blue that made Hermione think of warm frostbite, unpredictable and impossible.

"Hermione love, no matter where we are or where we go our loved ones never leave us. They follow us in this life and the next and where there is a will there's a way." Hermione felt her blood run cold. Luna had said these exact words to her.

"Pandora?" she asked breathlessly. "Are you a seer?"

Pandora laughed. "No, but my daughter Luna most certainly is."

Hermione felt as if her eyes bugged out of her head. Pandora chuckled again and raised her wrist. "My Luna knew you were coming back and sent this back with you. I found it the first time you came here. It's none of my business of course, but Lily knows you are from the future."

Hermione hopped off of her stool, "What do you mean Lily knows?"

"She noticed the bracelet last time she was here and she had this knowing smile."

"I… why wouldn't she say anything?"

Pandora shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't want you to feel threatened? It is a great burden to go to a time when you know everyone's futures but cannot do anything to change it."

Hermione sighed as she admitted, "I've been struggling."

Pandora held her hand tightly. "How much longer do you have here?"

Hermione withdrew her hand and pulled at her hair. "I'm not sure. The spell works in sixes. I was planning on being back for six minutes, but I was sent back to the wrong time. At this point, it could be anywhere from six months to sixty years."

"That must be stressful."

"It is and with Remus…" Hermione sighed. She was starting to really like Remus. It was a problem.

"Lupin?" Hermione nodded miserably. "I remember him. All the girls in my year fancied him. He was kind of oblivious. He's the sort that doesn't realize he is beautiful, right?"

"Yes, but he's so much more than that. He's kind and sweet and… Pandora we read before bed and he… he carries me to bed every night. It's…" Hermione stared off at the smoking cauldrons at a loss for words.

"Magical?"

"Yes, I guess it's magical but also too quick. I've barely known him for a week."

"Hmm… Did you know him in the future?" Hermione blushed. "I'll take that as a yes. Did he have a wife or something?"

Hermione was silent.

"Oh."

"I feel like every time I think of him like… that, that I'm helping him cheat on his wife with me."

"But they haven't even met yet, Hermione. If you leave while the two of you are in a relationship, maybe she is the mistress and not you? Unless there's something else?"
Hermione buried her head in her hands. "He was also my Professor at Hogwarts for the third year."

Pandora burst out laughing. "Wow, you two are a right mess. Do you know that Xeno thinks the two of you are mates? He saw you and Lily leave last time you were here. He said you were marked."

"You know Remus is a werewolf?" she asked in shock as she began bottling the cooled potions.

"I'm married to Xeno. You wouldn't believe the things he's asked me to ask Remus for." Hermione wrinkled her nose and Pandora burst out laughing. "Last night, he asked if I could work it excess semen into the conversation."

Hermione dropped the vial. She cleaned it up before it could create a proper mess and stain Pandora's floors. "I… Umm… we haven't… I just... lay on his shoulder when we read, I swear!" Hermione stuttered.

Pandora finished putting the stoppers on her potions. "I'm just bothering you, Hermione. You and Remus are quite similar you know."

"Bookish and boring?"

"Do you think Remus is boring?" Hermione thought back to their conversation on the newly developed string theory and the magical applications.

"No, I guess not."

"And do you think him bookish in a bad way?" Hermione grinned at the feel of being cuddled into his side. She felt safe in a way she hadn't felt since she was a little girl. Long before she found out she was a witch, before Hogwarts, and Voldemort.

"No, I guess not."

"Okay, so stop wasting time when you don't know how much time you have left here. Also, help me box up these potions to bring over to the WSAA." Hermione nodded resolutely in talking to Remus that night.

Not wanting to chicken out of the conversation, she sent a quick owl to Remus. She assured him that nothing was wrong and she just wanted to have a chat with just the two of them. She reiterated twice that it was just for the two of them. Hopefully, Sirius wouldn't show up in the middle.

When they were finished packing up the potions, Pandora packed her a lunch and sent her off to the WSAA. Hermione dropped off the potions at the same time as a smartly dressed wizard a little older than her with a beard. He helped her unload her potions and fill the stockroom.

"Thanks," she said extending a hand. "I'm Hermione Peverell."

"Saul Croaker, a pleasure to meet you. Hermione, isn't that from a Winter's Tale?" Hermione stared at her future boss.

"Erm, yes. My father wanted to be an English literature major, but my grandfather wouldn't hear of it."

"Oh, what does he do?"

"He's was a Healer."

Saul's face fell. "I'm sorry for your loss. My… er, better half lost their parents when we were in school. It never really gets any easier. You just learn to live with the pain."

Hermione nodded. Saul had told her pretty much the same thing in the future. "How does your… person deal with it?" Aside from being a Death Eater spy in the DOM for the Dark Lord?

"He works, it's a good thing we work in the same department or I'd never see him… er her."

Hermione chuckled. "Is he nice?"

Saul's shoulders deflated. "The best and he cooks. Honestly, I have no idea why he won't move in. I can't cook to save my life and I hate takeaway."

"What do you eat?"

"Whatever is in his flat, really."

Hermione chuckled. "I can write some detailed recipes down for you if you'd like."

Saul's face brightened, "Could you? I'll give you my address. My owls don't reach me at the Ministry. I'm an Unspeakable."

"Unspeakable? How fascinating!" Hermione said, feigning shock. The entire interaction was driving her to giggles.

The door to the stockroom opened and the receptionist stuck her head in. "Saul, can you stay in here for a bit? We have a patient with PTSD."

Saul's smile fell instantly. "Of course."

The receptionist nodded. "Hermione she's been asking to speak to you. Is there any way you can stay for a bit? She doesn't really trust anyone else and we're concerned about her baby."

Hermione nodded and took the parchment from Saul with his address. "It was nice to meet you. I hope to see you again in the future." She really did want to see him again and if he could not fire her from the job that she loved that would be great too.

Hermione followed the receptionist into one of the rooms. "Thank you, Mary," she said as Mary left closing the door behind her.

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting hooded on a chair with her hand protectively on her belly. She was only a little further along that Lily, Hermione reminded herself. "Hello, how can I-"

"Don't bother with the niceties. I know you know who I am." Hermione sat down in the chair resigning herself to a less than pleasant conversation.

"I'm sorry?"

"I saw you recognize me when I first came here."

Hermione hesitated. Narcissa was a friend in the future but was she a friend in the past? "You're a Black. I'm friends with Lily Potter and Sirius Black more or less lives with her and her husband."

Knowing that she was a Pureblood and likely knew the bloodlines better than Voldemort himself, she decided not to volunteer her last name. She didn't need to be fact checked and then investigated by Purebloods. It would get back to Voldemort and that attention, she did not need. She already had an Alpha werewolf far too interested in her.

"How much do you want?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Everyone here is under secrecy oaths except for you. How much do I need to pay you to keep what you saw a secret?" Hermione sat back in the chair she was sitting in. Narcissa was still rubbing her belly.

Hermione stood and rummaged through the cabinet and mixed several potions together in a cup. When it glowed a periwinkle blue she handed it to Narcissa. "Your fetus is in distress, Mrs. Malfoy."

Narcissa looked over the ingredients and then the cup she handed her, before swallowing the entire thing back. She relaxed her back into the chair, "Thank you."

"I'd rather you not be in the position you are in, but it is my pleasure to help you."

"Is it though? If you're friends with Lily Potter than you know where my husband's allegiance lies," she gave Hermione a once over. "No offense, but you look like a muggle."

Hermione looked down at the sweater she had nicked from Remus, the white pants, and trainers she was wearing. She shrugged not confirming or denying it. "I don't believe in labels. What I do believe in is protecting the young. Narcissa, you need help. What can I do?"

Narcissa rubbed her belly. "I… it's not his fault. They did this to him. He screams at night, in his sleep. He's so terrified all the time. His father… his father won't allow him to leave the service. He's so scared Hermione…"

Hermione reached over and rubbed Narcissa's free hand. "It won't get any better, Narcissa."

Narcissa's eyes shone with tears. "I know."

"What is happening exactly?"

"A vow of secrecy?"

Hermione thought it over. In her sixth year, Lavender and Parvati made an Unbreakable Vow of Friendship. It was a dangerous vow that they found in one of Hermione's books that she had been given special permission to read from the library.

Their parents had been called in and it had been made into quite the big deal. Harry had been away with Dumbledore during one of his private lessons but the entire common room had been given a very stern talking to. After the war, Parvati had been bedridden until Lavender was able to breathe on her own, such was the intensity of the vow.

"I will take a vow of friendship." Narcissa rose an eyebrow. The vow superseded wizarding law, which was why it had been outlawed. Narcissa must have known that Hermione was going to go back in time and that was why she gave her the book that helped her complete the spell. If Hermione could protect her from going to prison, she would.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, you need a friend Narcissa, not another silent Healer. This building is filled with those."

Narcissa let out a relieved sigh and they performed the bond. When it was completed Narcissa exhaled a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Hermione."

"My pleasure. Tell me about Lucius."

"They give him these potions and they make him… rageful. When he realized he hurt little Draco he turned his wand on himself. It took his father getting involved to stop him. I was so terrified."

Hermione held onto Narcissa's hand. "I'm so sorry Narcissa that you are going through this. Is it possible to get one of these potions?"

Narcissa nodded. "I have a friend from Hogwarts, he's analyzing them and said he would give it back to me tonight. The… Lucius's master is brewing them himself."

Hermione was willing to bet her left foot that Severus Snape was currently pouring over a cauldron in his home. Maybe she should ask Lily where he lived?

"Is… are we talking about a friend you share with Lily?"

Narcissa scowled. "Evans tossed him aside the first moment she could. She was embarrassed by him and was avoiding him for a long time before she just snapped."

Hermione sighed, she didn't want to argue with Narcissa. "Opinions aside, I need to know if he's capable."

"He has a mastery," she said proudly.

"Oh." Hermione knew this already of course. Draco had mentioned that Professor Snape was his godfather when he was filling out the forms in her office. Some random Ravenclaw a year below her had decided to write his biography. The quack had gotten literally nothing right and the Malfoy's had sued to have the book removed from the shelves. Hermione had a copy of the book in her office and Draco took great delight in flipping through all of her red marked corrections.

"He said he would meet me when it was ready."

"What time did he say he would meet you?"

"At six."

Hermione glanced at her watch. It was a gift from Harry, "It's half past four. How about I do an exam on little Draco and see if I can give you a few supplemental potions. I'm also going to cast a shielding charm around your uterus and belly."

Hermione helped Narcissa lay down on the bed. It took a little over a half an hour but she was able to protect the little and not yet spoiled Draco. She had also created a Patronus shield around him to alert her if something was very wrong.

Hermione had just finished explaining what she had done when Narcissa's wand vibrated. "He's done early. Are you sure you don't mind coming?"

"I need to research on an antidote for your husband and I can only do that if I understand everything about the potion. I'd like to be able to ask him questions."

Narcissa nodded and after obscuring her face in her cloak and conjuring a cloak for Hermione, the two left together.

Remus was pacing nervously while Lily tapped on the kitchen table. Lily opened her mouth and then closed it. "She should have been home at two, James."

Remus couldn't speak. He'd lost the ability an hour ago when she was only two hours late and he was worried out of his mind. He had been training with Remus before lunch when he received an owl from her asking if they could talk after dinner.

He was currently holding a scrap of parchment as tightly as he would his wand in a duel.

"Remus. Lily," James said patiently. "She's probably fine. Remember what she did stone drunk? Imagine what she could do sober. Okay? She's fine."

"Pandora said she left at noon to go to the clinic. Saul was the last one to see her and he…" Lily burst into tears. James hurried over and wrapped his arms around her.

The door opened and Sirius walked in. "Umm… what did I miss?"

Remus finally found his voice, "Hermione is missing."

Sirius shrugged and continued his walk through the kitchen to grab milk from the fridge. The collective room watched in silence as he drank from the carton.

"Sirius," Lily said angrily. "I don't think you heard what Remus just said. Hermione, our time traveling Hermione is missing."

"She's not missing," he said simply as he turned around to hunt in the fridge for food. He was mid-hunt when a snarl made him drop the container of cheese he was holding.

"Where is she?" Moony's eyes were bright and Remus hovered inside, allowing his wolf to take over.

"Uh, Moony calm down and bring Remus back. Your mate is fine. I put a monitoring charm on her after the first time we dueled. She's a troublesome one that one." Remus felt Moony fade to the back of his mind as his eyes changed back to brown. "I checked in on her when she didn't come home at two. She's at the WSAA with a patient."

"Can you show us?" Lily asked urgently. Sirius rolled his eyes and summoned a map. He cast the spell only to watch a small red dot move erratically across England.

Remus shot him an angry glare, "I thought you said she was at the WSAA?"

"Let's all stay calm, okay. She's probably just on her way home." The little dot finally stopped. Lily gasped.

"What in the bloody hell is she doing in Cokeworth?"

Sirius raised his brows in confusion. "Where the bloody hell is Cokeworth?"

"It's where Lily grew up, Sirius," James said whilst rubbing his wife's arms soothingly. "Lily, love this is not good for Harry. Can you rest? Sirius and I will go investigate."

Remus shot him an angry look.

"You and Remus," James continued. "Are far too emotional to be of any help to either of us."

They waited for ten minutes and while Hermione moved several feet, she didn't leave the public park that she was standing in. Lily and Remus were a mess and the two Aurors excused themselves and left to dress for a rescue mission.

Not six minutes later, Sirius and James exited the apparition in their gear and ready to defend and protect. Back at home Remus and Lily were pacing nervously, their eyes glued to the map. It was a lot of pressure on the two but they were fully trained Aurors and they were going to use all of their highly trained skills to keep their new family members safe.