Tempus Magia

Part Four

Chapter 43: Missing

Hermione Granger made a grave error during the final battle that resulted in Remus' 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?

Harry rushed through the Floo his legs carrying him quickly over the threshold. Even when Hermione was at her lowest, she never ever missed a day of work. She wasn't even late. The idea that something had held her back from going to work was baffling.

It was this logic that stopped him from being completely in shock at the destruction and chaos in her meticulous home. Her living room walls had been stripped down to their support beams, her fridge lying in broken pieces on the floor. Harry stepped over the remains of her couch and moved purposely towards her bedroom, his wand raised.

Her bedroom had clearly been the epicenter of the destruction. Her closet was torn apart, her clothes no more than a pile of ash surrounded by four support beams. Harry's skin vibrated under the assault of dark magic and… something was very very familiar although he couldn't place it. His instincts were screaming for him to leave this place, however, his Auror training was forcing him through dozens of steps and procedures leaving his emotions and personal needs behind in the dust.

One of the junior Auror's behind him called for immediate backup, while two left to go check the outside of the house for damage. God, the muggles. Hermione lived in a muggle neighborhood. They were going to need the entire obliviator squad.

"Outside is clean! All the damage is contained inside the house," shouted one of the Aurors.

How was that even possible? Harry darted out of the path of a piece of falling ceiling. Shouting orders at the Auror's he began to methodically sift through the rubble. Noticing the few marks on the walls were scorches from Unforgivable curses, he sent a patronus to the emergency curse breaker squad to analyze them.

While he waited for their arrival he began looking over the inventory of what was left. Not much to be honest. Hermione was going to have to move into Grimmauld place, not that he was going to allow her out of his sight for a while after he-

He would find her. She would be fine. He wasn't going to lose anyone else. To his relief, a senior curse breaker was sent and not the young witches from earlier that morning. The tall Russian was a friend of Bill's.

"Auror Potter," he greeted with a stiff handshake.

"Curse Breaker Smetz. We really appreciate you coming out."

Smetz leaned over and began studying the wall from beneath his glasses. An odd choice as most wizards would have used their wands. He was probably a muggleborn.

"Do you need standard E371 tests?" He asked.

"You signed the confidentiality waiver?"

Smetz rolled his eyes. "Yes, and I took a ruddy oath."

"This… well the remains of this home belonged to Unspeakable Hermione Granger." Smetz's eyes widened. "Shit. Are you okay? Aren't you two mates?"

"Right now I'm focusing on locating her. She was known to take homework. As you are aware, an Unspeakable's work is cursed to the eyes of those who have not taken Unspeakable vows."

Smetz nodded. "I appreciate the heads up. I'll get to work."

Smetz hurried off, making his way around Aurors asking them questions and waving his wand in an impressive S fashion. The walls around him were glowing soft greens and yellows. Harry recognized the spellwork though he was not advanced enough to try it himself. Harry remembered his training when some familiar names popped up.

Apparently, Neville's grandmother was a legendary patenter and a genius with charms. In her twenties, she had created a powerful charm that allowed the casters (it required no less than three) to locate the wizard or witch who cast the curse. With Death Eaters dominating the Wizengamot it was made illegal. After the war, the ruling was overturned along with over a hundred other rulings. The great thing about the charm was that the more powerful the curse, the easier it was to find the wand that cast it. Surveying the damage around him, promising fast and accurate results.

Before the war had ended and during school, Hermione had always been a source of strength and inspiration for Harry. She always nurtured and protected Harry, almost like an older sister might. Whether it was trolls, Death Eaters, or study charts for exams she had his back.

During their nights on the run, Harry would lie awake at night staring at the dark canvas ceiling of their tent. He thought of a lot of things. Ginny was usually the first thing on his mind. Was she okay? Was she hurt? Did she miss him? Did she hate him? Did she get back together with Dean? He thought of his parents and their sacrifice, of Sirius and his sacrifice. He thought about what he would likely have to sacrifice once this was all said and done. Would Ginny miss him when he was gone? Would she mourn him? Would Hermione and Ron mourn him?

After Ron left, Harry would listen to Hermione cry every night in her room while Harry stood guard. She always left her room looking tired but with no evidence of her tears. That had been the first time Harry realized that Hermione, like everyone, was not infallible. Harry wondered if she put up such strong walls because she hurt more than everyone else. As months passed after the war, Harry realized his epiphany in the tent had been spot-on.

Hermione hid her wounds and battle scars because she didn't want anyone else to see how broken she was. She fought for the weak because she knew what it felt like to be crushed and vulnerable and wanted to help others so they wouldn't have to feel like she did. When she finally broke down and cried in front of Harry, he made sure to praise her for trusting him with her pain. Ensuring that she would trust him in the future and she did.

One night in bed with Ginny, Harry confided in her about Hermione. Why did he feel almost… happy with Hermione's pain? What was wrong with him? Ginny smiled and ruffled his hair, like she so often did, and then kissed his head.

"Harry, Hermione has always taken care of you. Being able to take care of her restores the balance in your relationship."

"I don't have that problem with Ron," Harry replied thoughtfully.

"No, you wouldn't. Ron doesn't need your love in that way. Ron needs to feel special and singled out. You've made him feel special since the first day on the Hogwarts Express."

Harry sighed. "I wish they could have worked out."

Ginny kissed his forehead tenderly. "Sometimes life has greater plans for us than just one love, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Are you saying I'm one stop on your love train?"

"No. I'm saying I'm the final stop on your love train, my love."

Harry continued shifting through Hermione's remains, looking for clues. So far he had found two strands of white-blonde hair and two individual golden grains of sand that had gotten trapped beneath a broken piece of runed mirror. Smetz had gone pale when he saw the sand and rushed out to confirm his findings. Harry was sitting amidst broken crockery and upturned tables impatiently waiting for the results. Auror Stebbins was holding onto his shoulder in support.

"Harry," called Smetz as he rushed back into the house. "the diagnosis came back. We have a magical signature. It's him ."

"Does it match the rest of the evidence?" Harry choked out. Searching for something on the Malfoy grounds was like Napoleon trying to conquer Russia in the winter. They were sorely out of their depth.

"Yes. Although that's the good news."

"How the hell is Hermione being kidnapped by Malfoy a good thing?!"

"Because sands of time were reported missing. Most people don't know this but because the sands are sentient, each individual grain has a number magically embedded into each grain."

Harry felt his face physically drain of blood. "Are you telling me Hermione was thrown into the time stream?!"

"More likely than not. We're still missing sand and the only information the Unspeakables have is that it's being used by an Unspeakable."

"Well it wasn't Hermione or Saul," Harry turned to Stebbins. "Do we have the Unspeakables on lockdown?"

"Yes, until we can vet everyone no one is leaving the Ministry. It's going to be a long weekend. Head Auror Robards was made aware. He is waiting for us at the drop point. If you want to stay behind…"

Harry straightened immediately, Stebbins hand falling from his shoulder. "No! This is Hermione we're talking about."

"Every Auror was called into active duty in an effort to find her. Lucius has two warrants in his name. One for Unspeakable Croaker and one for Unspeakable Granger. We'll catch him."

"She could be anywhere in the timeline, Stebbins. God, she could have died of old age or she could be stuck in the future without-"

"Potter, pull yourself together or stay behind!" Barked a senior Auror at the door. Green eyes clashed with blue, "Robards says we're making the drop in five. You in or out?"

Harry wiped his glasses and made for the door. Hermione was missing and Lucius Malfoy was going to pay for every hair he put out of place on her frizzy head.

Silence descended in a dimly lit park in London. The usual swing sets sat motionless as not even a single wind moved in the area. Even the moon hid behind the clouds, fearful of what lay beneath it. All manner of winged creatures fled their nests leaving their young behind as they sought shelter and safety.

The only living, if you could call them that, were three lone hooded shadows standing beneath a tree that was twisted unnaturally as it tried to lean away from the powerful beings beneath it.

"I told you we should have kept a closer eye on him," hissed the tallest of the trio from beneath his hood.

"Let it go," the second mumbled as a ginger freckled hand moved beneath his hood to pull his escaping ginger locks back. He looked around the park as if he was expecting something to jump out at him.

"But-" the first argued.

"Enough, Osbourne." An old voice croaked from the third hood. "Fighting amongst ourselves will not right this wrong. We will find Radomir and he will fall in line."

Osborne bowed his head. "Yes, Alistair."

Alistair turned to ginger, "Phineas, have you checked the connections and the ley lines?"

"Yes," he muttered, hands wringing in front of him. "I have never seen or heard of anything like it. It is as if they know we are watching and are hiding something from us. As if nature itself is interfering in Sophia's game."

Osbourne leaned against a blacked-out street lamp. "Hardly, more like someone is playing games to keep her out of our watch."

Alistair stroked his chin beneath his cloak. Both wizards looked to him and waited for his decision, whatever it was they were deciding on. However, all he said was, "Perhaps."

Osbourne stepped away from the light pole. "What if we miss the window?"

"There is another," interrupted Phineas. "Nature has chosen another."

"Two others," Alistair agreed.

Osbourne rolled his eyes and began to pace. His compatriots ignored him as if it was something they had witnessed him do for centuries. The two waited calmly, Phineas lighting up a cigar inlaid with gold and Alistair sitting in a meditation pose whilst floating off the ground. Osbourne stopped his pacing abruptly and bent over to pick a piece of discarded newspaper that had flown out of the rubbish bin earlier that evening. His scarred hand reflected in the light as he began to read a headline out loud.

"Azkaban parole hospitalized along with Head Unspeakable Saul Croaker - Coincidence or Lover's Spat Gone Wrong?" The reaction was immediate. Alistair stood straight and Phineas vanished his cigar, his hand going to one of the many blades concealed on his person.

The three shared a look but it was Alistair that spoke. "We must find Radomir before it is too late."

Notes:

Honestly, I don't even know what happened. I think we can all agree these last two years were a shit show. Regardless, I sincerely appreciate every comment and like. It keep me motivated while juggling IVF, college, work, and keeping a home. So, I really appreciate it. The next episode is written and being edited and I have drafted out until chapter 50. Guess who is getting a part five? (in case you didn't guess. We are) -C