Hermione decided to send Dobby to Harry, and leave herself mostly out of the whole process. She wasn't that concerned, knowing how excited Harry would be to escape No. 4, and how happy Sirius would be to see his godson. Dobby, naturally, was over the moon to go visit "the Great Harry Potter sir," and said he could transport him from Surrey to Berlin.

Hermione had noticed a great change in Dobby since adopting him. They were still linked by that small, gentle strand of golden magic, and occasionally she felt a slight pull on it. The first time he apparated to Albania to find Bertha Jorkins, it had taken a big toll from her own magical reserves. If she had been trying to cast a high energy spell, like an unforgivable or a complex transfiguration, she was certain she would have failed.

But every time he took as large a jump as that, it became less and less strenuous on her. She wasn't sure if it was their magical bond itself that was strengthening, or if Dobby was growing in strength through their bond, but she was certain he would soon be able to perform more complex feats of magic.

She had also noticed him becoming more poised over time, standing straighter and speaking more directly – almost as if he was copying her habits. He was taller, more well-nourished, and far cleaner than he used to be. She hated to say it, but it seemed as if being bonded to her helped him more than freedom ever had (although she would not stop paying him, even if he took her last knut. That was slave labor, and she felt just as strongly about it as she had in her fourth year).

He seemed to enjoy getting such important tasks, too. Helping Harry and defeating Voldemort sat pretty high on his list of priorities, and over all she was happy their relationship was turning out so mutually beneficial.

Hermione felt pretty decent about her progress during the summer, but she would have the brand new challenge of her family going on holiday to France. She loved her parents, and while she knew the work she was doing was essential, she wasn't willing to split away from them for the scant few months she got to see them. She was heartened by the fact that they were incredibly good people. Hermione's mother, Jane, recently proved the fact over breakfast one morning.

"Hermione, dear," Jane said after washing down a bit of bacon with coffee, "How is your friend Harry fairing? Not as badly as you feared, I hope."

Hermione shook her head. "They're still not the nicest people in the world, but thankfully Harry won't be living with them all summer. He's going to stay with his godfather."

Jane smiled in relief. "That's certainly better. Why hasn't this godfather been able to care for him before?"

Already, Hermione knew she said too much. "Erm, he has a sort of joint custody agreement with them, but since he's a pureblood – he doesn't have any non-magical family members – he can't legally have custody." Hermione spun the story quickly. She'd gotten quite good at fudging the truth for her parents. Half the things were too dangerous to share, like her almost being clobbered by a mountain troll, or too confusing, like her reasoning for having gone to the Ministry of Magic in her fifth year.

"Well that does sound unfortunate. As long as he's not being stuck in cupboards anymore, it doesn't sound like an urgent situation, but it also doesn't sound like the best home environment. If you hear anything else from your friend, please let us know. We're the adults, after all. We're meant to be dealing with such things."

Hermione nodded obediently, promising to report anything out of the ordinary. Privately, she was sure her mum was relieved to have Hermione bring her these troubles – as the years wore on, she found it more and more difficult to share her struggles with her parents. Now she had a chance to avoid that.

It was with this conversation fresh in her mind that Hermione travelled with her parents to Rouen, France, where the Granger's summer cottage was located. They had only just built it a few years ago, when Hermione went off to Hogwarts. It still looked quite new, with a few vines growing up the sides; the whole area had the feel of a fairy tale.

They would be in France until the end of July, when Hermione joined the Weasley's and Harry for the Quiddich World Cup. This meant Hermione had less and less time to procure the cup and the ring and the cup. She hoped to wait until she reached her majority to get the ring, knowing the complex charms around it. But it seemed that she wouldn't hit her majority unless she lived every day in the month of July 12 times instead of one – she wasn't even certain if it was possible to push the Time Turner that far, or if she could stay sane while doing so.

This put her in a bind. She was one of the only witches in Great Britain who could cast the necessary counter curses and occlude enough to keep herself safe from the ring (a feat not even Dumbledore could accomplish) and for all of Dobby's skills, she didn't want to damn his life over some nasty curse he would be subject to.

This put her in a bit of a pickle, however. Her morals wouldn't let her reach the locket this way, and her desire to stay under the radar (and out of Azkaban) kept her from screwing the rules and letting the Trace track her spellcasting at the Gaunt house. There was no way she would get to the ring, then, before the summer was up. In fact, if she doubled every single day consistently, she wouldn't be a magical adult until January ninth of the following year.

She needed an adult if she wanted to finish the job this summer, or with any backup at all. Hermione was at a loss, however, to finding a suitable partner for the job. She could count the number of candidates on two hands, and the number she could trust on just one.

She supposed waiting until she was an adult wasn't the hugest setback. She had until the end of their fourth year to destroy the horcruxes, and at least she knew where this one was, and how to defeat it (more or less). Hufflepuff's cup, however, was a whole different story. The debacle at Gringotts was one mistake after another, relying on very specific circumstances and almost a month of planning. She couldn't recreate that if she wanted to.

What was worse, she wasn't even sure if the cup was in the vault. If Voldemort hadn't given Bellatrix the cup before his downfall, and she subsequently put it in her vault, she was at ground zero. She had no idea how to find the cup, what the protections around it could be, or what she would need to take it.

Hermione's mind itched to write out the Arithmancy equations, but she knew she couldn't rely on them too heavily. Statistics could only get one so far, after all.

The clock hit 9:50, and Hermione knew it was time to ready herself to turn back for her second day. Dobby would be arriving any second, and she wanted to ask him about how Harry settled into Berlin.

With a crack! Dobby arrived at Hermione's room in Rouen.

"Dobby! It's lovely to see you."

"Hello, Miss Hermione. How are you doing?" He asked happily.

Hermione grimaced, "I'm afraid I've been up to far too much plotting recently. Trying to sort through all my summer plans. But enough of that, how are you? Did you get the chance to send Harry to Berlin?"

Dobby nodded proudly. "Mister Harry Potter sir is in Berlin with his Snuffy." Hermione took a moment that Snuffy must be Sirius. "He was very pleased to be away from his Dursleys, and loves his Snuffy very much."

"Wonderful. Have you had a chance to follow Bertha Jorkins?"

Dobby's ears drooped sadly. "No, Miss Hermione. I couldn't find the ministry lady, but I will keep looking for her."

"If you find Pettigrew or Voldemort, don't worry about Jorkins." Hermione added thoughtfully. It mustn't be easy to find a singular woman in a foreign country – probably much like finding a needle in a haystack – but she had to make sure Voldemort didn't make any more horcruxes before the end of fourth year. She figured if she could keep any muggles away from them, Voldemort would have no one to kill to create a horcrux. Nagini would be one less thorn in her side for the next year.

"Dobby will keep his eyes out." He said. Hermione thanked him, and then it was time to turn the clock backwards. There would be plenty of time to research at Shell Cottage.