My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.

Chapter 34: The Return

Black Lake, Scotland, December 21st, 2005

There, in front of Ron, was the portal. Glowing at the edges, and wide enough for two people to walk through comfortably. But it wasn't transparent - all he could see was a shimmering field.

"That's it," he heard Hermione say.

He looked at her. She was beaming. Tired, but oh so happy. She had done it. She had opened a way back to her home. Back to her family and friends. Back to her Ron.

"How do you know?" Grindelwald asked.

"I've worked on this for years," she replied, narrowing her eyes a little.

"But you haven't tested it," the old German shot back with more than a hint of a sneer.

"That's what we're about to do." She huffed and walked over to the portal. "That's how you conduct an experiment."

"As long as you don't test it yourself."

That earned Grindelwald a glare, but Ron couldn't help agreeing - privately, very privately, of course. Hermione might indeed have planned to test it herself.

"That's what Mr Drone is for!" Luna said, holding up her toy helicopter.

"We should be outside Hogwarts's wards, so the helicopter should function," Hermione added. "The portal will appear on open ground - I've adapted the ritual for that - but as close to this location as possible."

"And if Mr Drone doesn't work, we can reel him in and check what went wrong." Luna waved a thin cable around.

"Unless it has attracted the attention of genocidal wizards about to invade our world." Obviously, Grindelwald was determined to be the pessimist.

"The portal only stays open as long as the generators keep it powered," Hermione retorted. "As I have explained multiple times. A single push of the button will close it - and I'm the only one able to open it."

Of course, Sirius had a heavy machine gun trained on the portal, just in case. According to Hermione, not even a magical shield would stand up to a burst of .50 cal BMG bullets. And there were a few more precautions Ron didn't want to think about - like shaped charges in the ceiling, floor and walls.

"Which is why you should stay here."

"I'm also the only one able to enter a magical area and the only one who knows the other world," Hermione told him. "And if you have to close the portal, I can make another, now that I know the process."

What she wasn't telling them was that she needed to get a wand, Ron knew. That was the real reason she wanted to go through the portal. And if she were cut off - well, she would be in her own world.

Which was the reason Ron wanted to go with her. Just in case.

"We went over this before," she added with a scowl. "I'm not about to change the plan we agreed upon at the last minute."

"Of course not," Dumbledore added. "However, I think we should let Miss Lovegood send in her scout before we get bogged down discussing hypotheticals."

"Yes!" Luna exclaimed. Without waiting for Hermione and Grindelwald's reluctant agreement, she put the helicopter down in front of the portal and switched it on.

A moment later, the portal appeared on a large TV screen Dumbledore had had installed in the lab - the camera in the helicopter was working as it should.

"Lift-off!" Luna announced cheerfully as the helicopter's engine started and it hovered in front of the portal, trailing a cable. "Permission to enter the portal?"

"Granted," Hermione told her with fake gravitas.

"Get on with it," Ron heard Grindelwald grumble.

Luna frowned, and the helicopter turned away from the portal. "This is a historic moment!" she announced. "The first time we're travelling from this world to another. That's not something you rush!"

"It's also not something you delay longer than necessary," Grindelwald retorted. "We don't want to run into those 'Death Eaters', do we?"

Luna huffed but turned back. "Entering a new world… now!" she said as the helicopter flew into the portal.

The moment the helicopter entered the portal, the TV screen flashed like a stroboscope, and Ron had to fight a sudden bout of nausea. Judging by the reactions of the others, he wasn't the only one.

But then the screen cleared up, and a forest appeared. A forest that looked like the woods around the Black Lake they had run through so often.

"Mr Drone's working," Luna said, unnecessarily. She moved the helicopter around and flew in a circle until they could see the dimly glowing portal with the cable sticking out of it.

They were surrounded by trees. Ron relaxed a little - if the portal had appeared in an open field, it would have been visible from afar.

"Can I take a peek from the canopy?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Hermione told her.

Luna all but squeed and piloted the helicopter upwards after briefly lifting its nose so she could check if the way was clear.

Ron waited, holding his breath as the tree trunk on the screen was replaced by branches, then by the open sky. Then Luna started to turn the drone round, and ruins appeared on the hill in the distance. No.

"Yes," he heard Hermione whisper. "Hogwarts."

"Ruins?" Grindelwald asked.

"Ruins?" Hermione repeated.

"Yes," Ron confirmed. "Bigger ruins than the ones here, but…"

"Oh, that's the charms at work. Muggles see ruins. I knew it worked through cameras, but I wasn't certain whether it would work through dimensional portals." Hermione sniffled. "But I can see Hogwarts. As I remember it," she added, wiping her eyes.

Oh. Of course - a magic castle, and he couldn't see it. Being from another world didn't make him magical enough to count. Ron forced the stupid thought away. They had to focus on the mission. "That doesn't mean the same people are in charge of it," he pointed out.

"Right. Of course." She nodded and took a deep breath.

He felt guilty about ruining this moment for her, but the school could be run by Death Eaters and would still look the same, from what he knew. And they had to be ready for that, and not blinded by… wishes, nostalgia or whatever.

"Alright," she continued in a more steady voice, "That is Hogwarts, and the spells' effects confirm that it is a magical school."

"Your home dimension, then," Ginny said.

"Yes. We can assume that based on the evidence so far." Hermione nodded again. "So, our next step is, as planned, to go through the portal and secure more magical supplies from the caches I hid during the war."

"Preferably from the closest," Grindelwald said.

"Yes, as planned," Hermione retorted with another glare.

"Indeed," Dumbledore tried to play peacemaker. "So I think we should go on without further delay."

The old man looked almost as excited as Luna about entering a new world. And wasn't that a scary thought?

Of course, Ron had dreamed about such a moment for years as a kid. Dreamed of entering a magical realm with elves and sorcery. But it was a dangerous world, and he was far less prepared for facing wizards and witches than he'd like.

"Remember: Do not say the name 'Voldemort'," Hermione cautioned them. "In the war, saying the name led the Snatchers right to you. We taught them the folly of that, but…" She pressed her lips together.

"But if he won the war, then he could've kept up the practice," Harry finished for her.

"So let's go!" Luna exclaimed.

"Once you've brought back the drone to prove that the portal truly is two-way," Grindelwald cut in.

"Of course," Luna replied. Apparently, she wasn't fazed by the German's constant disparaging remarks.

On the screen, Ron could see trees pass by as the helicopter descended quickly and he was secretly glad he wasn't on board - that would have been a worse plunge than on a roller-coaster.

Then the portal filled the screen, and, a moment later, the helicopter entered. Ron turned away before he could feel nauseous this time, watching the portal itself, and the helicopter leaving it.

"There's a delay of about a second," Hermione commented. "It's not an instantaneous trip."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Ginny asked.

"Neither; just an observation," Hermione replied.

"Alright, it works," Luna announced. "Who's first through the portal?"

"Let me check the drone first," Hermione said with a glance at Grindelwald. "Place it on the table here, in the middle of the instruments."

A check with the laser sensors didn't reveal any warping, as she told them a few minutes later.

"So, who's going to be first?" Luna asked again. "Or, second, in this case, after Mr Drone."

"Now comes the animal testing," Hermione said.

"Oh." Luna frowned. "Do we have to do that?"

"It's just a mouse," Ginny told her.

"But a cute mouse."

"A famous mouse, soon," Harry said.

And a scared mouse, Ron noted as the small cage with the test subject inside was tied to the drone.

Five minutes later, the animal had survived the trip and the return without apparent harm - or, as Hermione put it, all its vitals were normal for a stressed mouse.

"So… who's going to be the first human through the portal?" Luna asked again, after positioning the drone on the other side so they could see the portal and any arrivals.

"I'll go first," Hermione said. "As agreed."

Ron didn't remember agreeing to that, but she was already moving towards the portal, so he hurried to catch up. "Be careful," he told her.

"It's just one step," she replied, smiling faintly - very faintly.

"One small step for a witch?" He raised his eyebrows with more humour than he felt.

She chuckled, nodding. "And you can pull me back if something goes wrong." Then she straightened, checked her harness and the line fastened to it, raised her chin and stepped through the portal.

On the screen, through the drone camera, Ron saw her stagger a little as she appeared in the clearing, but she waved at the drone. At them.

That was good enough for him. Ron followed her.

And was stretched, pulled. And twisted. Far more, far more extreme, than a human could survive. He wanted to scream, but couldn't.

Then he was kneeling on the snowy ground, panting and sweating, wanting to puke up his guts.

"It's rougher than I remember," Hermione told him. "But it has been seven years." She had untied the line and slipped out of her harness, he noticed.

She was also leaning against the closest tree and looking a little shaky herself. And breathing rapidly - he could tell since her breath was visible in the cold air.

He pushed himself up. Harry would be right behind him, and Ron would rather avoid getting vomit on his clothes, should his friend happen to lose his lunch.

But Harry didn't puke, either - though he, too, stumbled out of the portal and fell to his knees, gulping down air.

"I think we'll grow used to the sensation," Hermione said. "It's somewhat similar to being apparated."

Right now, Ron didn't want to think about doing this often enough to get used to it.

Luna appeared next, looking sick and happy at the same time - not unlike the time on their Spanish vacation when she had combined all the buffet's different desserts into one dish, then ate the whole thing. Then came Ginny, who retched but didn't actually vomit. Ron smiled sweetly at her - for once, his sporty sister wasn't handling something better than him.

After her came Dumbledore, and, to Ron's disappointment, the old man merely looked slightly disoriented and needed to grab Harry's arm to steady himself before he nodded and said: "That was quite an experience, I must say."

Finally, Sirius stepped out of the portal, cursing as he swayed and fell to his knees.

They had done it. They were in Hermione's world. In the magical world.

"Alright." Hermione stepped away from the tree she had been leaning against, brushing some snow off her shoulders. "I'll test that the portal lets us return as planned."

"No," Sirius said, slowly getting up. "I'll do it. If anything goes wrong, we'd be stranded here without you."

She frowned, but didn't have an argument against that, Ron noted. Not that he could think of one himself - hell, no one but her could even see, much less enter, a magical location.

"I'll go," Harry announced. "You can recover."

"Don't be daft," Sirius retorted. "Check the perimeter until I return." He stepped through the portal before anyone could react, leaving Harry to curse.

"Well…" Ron shrugged. "Let's do it. He'll wait a few minutes to recover before he returns."

Harry scoffed, obviously disagreeing with Ron's assessment, but nodded anyway.

"Careful - while we're not in the Forbidden Forest here," Hermione told them, "I don't know if the creatures living in that forest have spread since I left."

Ron shuddered, and not from the biting cold. Spiders as big as a car? Smart as a human? That was far worse than facing spiders when shrunk.

"If you see a wolf or centaur, don't shoot," she called after them.

"Right," Harry muttered as they started their sweep. "Don't hurt the monsters trying to kill us."

"They're not supposed to attack us without warning," Ron told him as he looked around. The forest looked just like the one back home. But it felt a little different. Somehow. Or that was just his imagination. Or it was the way he sank to his knees in the snow with each step. Perhaps they should have grabbed a pair of snowshoes, too. But this was just a quick check, not an expedition.

He kept his rifle ready, as alert as during one of Moody's surprise exercises, but they didn't encounter anything larger than a squirrel during their perimeter check. They did find tracks, though. And while Ron wasn't a hunter or tracking expert, Harry had been on a few hunts with Sirius.

"No horseshoes. Either there are some wild horses running around the area or centaurs roam here," Ron's friend said.

"Or unicorns," Ron pointed out.

"Right. Unicorns."

"Or Thestrals," Ron added.

"What?" Harry stared at him.

"Meat-eating skeletal horses that can fly with bat-like wings," Ron explained. "They can only be seen if you have seen death." That wasn't much of a limit for this group, of course.

"You're pulling my leg!" Harry protested.

"That was my reaction," Ron replied, "when she told me. Magic is weird."

"Yes. Let's get back."

Ron nodded. After all, whoever roamed this patch of the forest would be able to easily see their tracks in the snow as well.

When they returned to the portal, they saw Sirius lying on the ground, groaning. Next to a patch of vomit.

"He didn't wait long enough to recover," Hermione told them with a frown. "At least that's my guess."

"I thought," Sirius cut in, wheezing, "that I should… uh… get it over with quickly."

"Typical," Harry said, shaking his head. "No patience."

But Ron's friend knelt down next to his godfather and looked him over. "This isn't the time to make snow angels."

"Next time, you can suffer in my stead," Sirius said without opening his eyes.

"I wanted to - but you jumped the line," Harry pointed out.

Sirius huffed and turned his head away, which Ron took as a sign that he was recovering.

"It does raise the question, though," Dumbledore said, "whether there's a cumulative effect of travelling through the portal, independent of resting between trips."

"There shouldn't be," Hermione said. "But we'll find out once I've secured more supplies."

She was entirely too cavalier about that in Ron's opinion. If travelling through the portal had an effect that built up, that would limit the number of trips back and forth they could take. And that would affect their relationship as well.

But raising that point now would be stupid. They had a cache to recover.

"It's about two miles to your cache, isn't it?" Dumbledore said.

"Yes, about that distance - as the crow flies," Hermione said. "Through the snow without a path," she added.

Dumbledore inclined his head and smiled. "A nice trip in the snow." He had already prepared some snowshoes, Ron noticed. So much for the hope that Dumbledore would elect to stay behind at the portal.

A few minutes later - Sirius had apparently fully recovered - they set out, all of them now using snowshoes.

And Ron hoped that Dumbledore wouldn't collapse halfway to their destination. He really didn't want to lug the old man around.

"If I wanted to walk, I'd have joined the infantry," Sirius said when they took a break.

"So you've told us. Multiple times," Harry replied in a low voice.

"It bears repeating," the older man retorted. "And snow…"

"It's a little cold, yes," Dumbledore commented. "But we're dressed for the occasion, aren't we?"

Ron frowned. Dumbledore hadn't faltered during the trip so far. Hadn't complained, either - but then, Sirius complained for two, so that evened out. Ron was very glad that he hadn't met Dumbledore fifty, forty, years ago - if he was this fit in his eighties, he must have been a monster in his younger years.

Not that the man wasn't still a monster. He was probably even more dangerous in his old age. Just not physically. But he had people for that.

"It's not much further now," Hermione whispered. "I recognise this spot."

"So do I," Ginny muttered.

"I mean from when I was here," Hermione told her.

"I know."

Ron cleared his throat. "So, let's be off. The sooner we get the cache, the sooner we can return." Or have Hermione cast some spells to keep them warm and safe.

"Right!" Luna said, all but jumping up. "Hidden magic treasure awaits!"

"It's just a cache," Hermione told her.

"Ron really needs to teach you Dungeons & Dragons, Hermione," Luna replied. "It's treasure."

Hermione blinked, then glanced at Ron. He smiled at her, and she sighed and let the matter drop. "Let's go."

"Let's go!"

They took another twenty minutes to reach the cache. And Dumbledore wasn't the only reason for the slower speed - the forest changed. It got weirder the deeper they went, until they reached a small clearing with a few standing stones, about a foot high each, forming a rough circle.

"Oh! An ancient ritual place!" Luna gushed.

"It's a fake," Hermione told her, slowly turning around.

"What?" Luna whirled. "A fake?"

"It's not ancient. Ritual magic hasn't been taught at Hogwarts - by the time it was founded, wands had thoroughly replaced ritual magic. This was set up by a few students for 'self-study'," Hermione explained as she took a few measured steps from the northmost stone. "Which usually meant getting drunk under the sky, and then claiming it was a ritual."

"Oh. Did you do that?" Luna asked.

"No," Hermione replied. "I found out about it when I wanted to learn ritual magic." She tapped the ground with her foot. "Here."

"Alright. Give me a shovel," Ron said, stepping over to her.

She pulled two shovels out of her bag, obviously intending to help.

"Give the other one to Harry," he told her, grabbing one for himself.

"But…"

The ground would be frozen, at least on top. And she had no magic to make it easier. "You can fill in the hole when we're done." When she'd have a wand.

She rolled her eyes and handed the shovel to Harry. Ron and his friend started digging. It was as difficult as Ron had expected.

"Why would your friends have left supplies buried in the ground?" Ginny asked.

"They don't know about this cache," Hermione, peering at the ground next to Ron, said. "Each of us hid a small cache like this one without telling the others. That way, if one of us got captured and interrogated, we wouldn't lose all our supplies." She smiled, a little sadly. "I even told them to avoid Hogwarts since it was too dangerous, so they wouldn't suspect this location."

Ron stopped digging for a moment and looked at her. "Smart plan." A little underhanded, but smart.

"Indeed. Commendable foresight," Dumbledore added. "Being prepared for the worst is often a good choice."

"We tried," she told him. "It didn't always work out, despite all our planning."

"That happens," the old man stated.

They dug a bit longer in silence. Ron was about to ask Ginny to help them - she was the fittest amongst them, if not the strongest - when he hit something solid. More solid than frozen earth.

He crouched and carefully scraped the earth away, revealing a chest about a foot wide and a foot and a half long.

"It's here!" Hermione exclaimed, smiling at him - after beaming at the chest. She knelt next to him, heedless of the dirt and snow she got on her trousers, and ran her hands over the chest. "It's right… here!"

With a click, the chest's lid swung up, revealing its contents.

Ron saw more boxes and bags inside, smaller ones. And lots of vials.

Hermione had only eyes for one thing, though - a small, slim stick. She grabbed and raised it with an almost awed expression. "It's been so long…" she breathed, closing her eyes.

"I suppose that that's a magic wand."

For a moment, Hermione frowned deeply in response to Dumbledore's comment, but then she nodded. "Yes." She turned and faced the old man with an even expression, Ron saw. "With this, I can transport us back to the portal in an instant."

"Remarkable," Dumbledore replied. "Is that all it does?" he added, tilting his head.

"No," Hermione replied after a moment's hesitation. She flicked her wand, and, suddenly, Ron didn't feel cold any more.

"Oh, nice!"

"Thank you!"

"Finally!"

"Thank you, Dr Granger."

Hermione knelt again and started to put the rest of the chest's contents into her bag.

"What did you hide?" Luna asked, stepping up and peering at the chest over Hermione's shoulder.

"Money - galleons and pounds. Various potions, mostly healing potions. Robes and muggle clothes," Hermione replied. "I wanted to hide a broom as well, but we couldn't spare any."

"A flying broom?" Luna asked, and Ron didn't have to see her face to know she was beaming. "Can anyone use them?"

"A wizard can use them better, but they'll work for anyone trained to fly," Hermione said, stuffing the last pouch into her bag. Ron could tell when she noticed Luna's expression - Hermione froze for a moment, then sighed. "Before we can think about buying one, we'll have to find out how things are in Wizarding Britain."

"Quite," Dumbledore said. "I would suggest we return to the portal now before planning our next step."

Ron knew that Hermione had her next step - next few steps, actually - planned out already. So did Dumbledore, probably. But it was a good idea, nonetheless.

"Yes," she agreed. "I'll transport you back by Side-Along-Apparition. It's an instantaneous but not very comfortable method of transportation."

"Teleportation," Ron translated for the others and ignored her brief glare.

"Yes," she said with a slightly forced smile. "It'll feel as though you're being pushed and sucked through a garden hose."

"How does that feel, actually?" Luna asked. "I've never experienced that. I'm not sure garden hoses stretch that far."

"It's similar to the trip through the portal, though a bit less so," Hermione told her as she reached out.

It said a lot about Luna that she didn't look apprehensive in the least as she took Hermione's hand.

A moment later, both vanished with a slight 'pop' as the air filled the space where they had been.

"Fascinating," Dumbledore remarked. "I think I might have underestimated the potential of magic."

Ron was tempted to tell the former spymaster he should've read more fantasy and science fiction novels - but Dumbledore might actually do so. And Ron wasn't sure if giving the old man ideas was a good thing or not.

"Our missions certainly would've gone differently if Hermione had had a wand," Sirius said.

Indeed, Ron thought, she probably wouldn't have needed any of us.

Another popping noise announced Hermione's return. "I'm sorry for the delay," she said. "I haven't used Apparition for years, so I was a little… rusty." She looked a little queasy, Ron noticed.

"Rusty?" Harry asked.

"That feeling I mentioned?" She cocked her head. "It felt worse than I remembered. But I'll get used to it. Ron?" She held out her hand, and Ron took it.

Then he felt... like being pushed through a pipe really matched it best, he had to admit as he staggered after reappearing next to the portal. Taking a large gulp of air, he shook his head.

"You'll get used to it," Hermione told him.

"How long will that take?" he asked. She didn't look like a few trips would be enough - she was a little pale, still.

"It depends," she replied. "Some wizards never grow used to it; that's why brooms and the Floo Network are popular. Well, that and the dangers of splinching."

He froze. "I thought that was only a danger when you were attempting Apparition without a wand?" he asked. That was what he remembered her telling him and Harry.

"That's true - for a skilled wizard or witch," she told him. "But not everyone studies as hard as they should."

She raised her wand and disappeared again.

"Hermione certainly studied hard enough," Luna - who was looking unaffected - commented.

"Probably a little too hard," Ron agreed.

Hermione returned with Dumbledore next. The old man staggered as well, Ron noticed with some satisfaction. And he was taking a few deep breaths before he commented: "That was an experience, indeed. Although I'm not certain whether I should be looking forward to getting used to it."

Ron nodded in agreement before he could stop himself. Hermione would be using Apparition often, now that she had a wand. And he wanted to stay with her.

If she let him.

Fortunately, Hermione had already disappeared - disapparated - without catching his reaction. She returned more quickly the next time, with Ginny. A minute later, Harry and Sirius were back as well.

And it was time for the next step.

"Hogsmeade is the only all-wizard village in Britain," Hermione told them. "That means it is surrounded by Muggle-Repelling Charms and hidden from aerial view and other means of detection." She glanced at Dumbledore and added: "And yes, they work against satellites as well."

"Interesting," the old man commented, nodding. "Could you add such spells to the laboratory?"

"Yes," Hermione replied, "though it would take me quite some time, and it wouldn't be as effective - most of Hogsmeade's protections are centuries old, and the spells grew in power over time."

"But they would still defeat most mundane means of detection, wouldn't they?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted with a frown. Outmanoeuvred again, Ron thought. She pursed her lips before she continued: "Unlike Diagon Alley in London, Hogsmeade isn't set up for regular muggle visitors. However, since a number of wizards and witches marry muggles, there are ways past the Muggle-Repelling Charms."

"Closely-guarded, I would assume," Dumbledore said.

"The official ones are, yes. At least they were during the war. If there's still a conflict going on, then there will be guards present," she confirmed. "But I know the counter-spells to bypass the Muggle-Repelling Charms."

"You were planning to smuggle muggles into Hogsmeade?" Luna asked.

"I considered a few situations where that might have become useful. Or necessary," Hermione replied.

Ah. Probably involving muggle soldiers, Ron thought.

"You were planning to involve Her Majesty's Government in your war?" Dumbledore, of course, had figured that out as well.

"As a last resort," Hermione said, frowning again. "A desperate measure for a desperate situation," she added. "The Death Eaters would have already started attacking muggles in such a scenario."

"Ah." The old man nodded, but Ron couldn't tell if he actually agreed or not.

"If I recall correctly, Harry's somewhat famous in your world," Sirius pointed out.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Or, rather, Harry's counterpart is. As was yours, Mr Dumbledore. And Ron's counterpart, as well as myself, were among Wizarding Britain's most wanted. Which means we'll have to disguise ourselves."

"Oh! With a magic potion? I'd like to look like Ginny for an hour!" Luna smiled widely. "We could switch bodies!"

"That wouldn't be much of a disguise," Harry said.

"Of course it would! No one would recognise me if I looked like Ginny!" Luna retorted with a grin that told Ron she was pulling Harry's leg.

Judging by Harry's disapproving expression, he had realised that as well.

Ron chuckled with the others, though Hermione shook her head. "Polyjuice Potion doesn't keep long, so I didn't bother stocking the cache with any - it would have spoiled within a few weeks, at most."

"Aw."

"Sorry."

"But can we buy some in the village?" Luna perked up again.

"In theory, depending on the situation in Wizarding Britain," Hermione told her. "However, it is expensive and probably restricted."

"Aw… but can you brew it?" Luna was obviously not letting this go.

"I could, but it would take a month," Hermione replied. "So that would have to wait until we know more about how the war went."

"Yes," Harry said. "We can worry about frivolous magic once we're sure we're not going to be hunted down and killed by fascist wizards."

"Right! The revolution takes priority, of course!" Luna agreed.

"This is a simple reconnaissance mission," Hermione reminded her. "And I'll remind you: I'll be the only one to enter. And all of us will be wearing muggle disguises."

Ron pressed his lips together - he didn't agree with that plan. Not at all. But he hadn't been able to convince Hermione and Dumbledore.

"We'll provide backup, though," Sirius said, patting his machine gun.

"Only if I cannot escape on my own," she retorted. "It would be safer overall if you stayed behind here."

"We've gone over that," Sirius told her. "It's not safer for us if we have to worry about you getting captured and mind-controlled into spilling our location."

It wasn't the most convincing argument, but good enough, in Ron's biased opinion. When she glanced at him, he inclined his head with a wry grin. He certainly wouldn't speak up in favour of a plan which split the two of them up.

Hermione sighed and raised her new wand - she hadn't let go of it even once, Ron realised. "Alright, let me cast the counter-spells. Then I'll apparate us to the forest near Hogsmeade."

Outside Hogsmeade, Scotland, Wizarding World, December 21st, 2005

Seen through his binoculars, the village looked a lot like Ron had imagined a village in a medieval fantasy setting would look. Small houses, built close together, often three or four in a row, separated by narrow cobblestone alleys. Even the main street didn't look like two cars could pass each other. Hell, at two spots, it didn't look like an SUV could pass. Unless they used magic to shrink it or extended the street, of course. He snorted and focused on the task at hand. "It doesn't look like a village at war," he said. "A least not on my end."

"Not on my end, either," Harry added. "Of course, that doesn't tell us who won the war."

"It looks more peaceful than I remember," Hermione agreed. "I can see all the shops I used to frequent as a student. But the Death Eaters could have easily kept up appearances. Most villagers were purebloods, anyway. I think I'll have to enter and buy a newspaper."

"What about the statue?" Luna asked without lowering her own binoculars.

"What?" Hermione said.

"The statue at the train station," Luna explained.

"There isn't supposed to be a statue there," Hermione told her.

But there was. And while they were too far away to make out details, they could tell that whoever it depicted wasn't wearing the flowing robes people on the street down there wore. In fact, it looked a bit like… Ron shook his head. That was just his imagination.

But the longer he studied it, the more certain he was.

"I think that's a statue of you, Hermione."

"What?" She stared at him over her lowered binoculars, then raised them again and turned back to study the statue. "It doesn't look like me," she said without taking her eyes off it. "I look completely different."

"The hair matches," Luna pointed out. "Well, it would if you weren't wearing a blonde wig. We'd have to get closer to check the face. And get to the other side - unless you know a spell to turn the statue round?"

Hermione didn't answer - she was still staring at the statue. Ron cleared his throat. "It has a bag that looks like yours."

After about half a minute, Hermione lowered her binoculars again. "I need to check this out up close," she declared.

"Not alone!" Ron said, reaching out to touch her arm. Just in case she decided to do something foolish.

She opened her mouth, turning to face him, then closed it again, pressing her lips together until they formed a thin, pale line, as she stared at him.

He met her eyes without flinching. After a few more seconds, she sighed. "Alright."

"Yes! Let's all go!" Luna cheered.

"No!" Hermione snapped. "It's too dangerous."

"Do you think that this could be a trap?" Dumbledore asked. "There were some quite elaborate traps laid during the Cold War. The Czechoslovaks built fake border crossings some miles from the actual border to catch dissidents fleeing the Stalinist regime."

"It's not impossible," she replied. "Though it seems a little too blunt if they plan to catch protesters or dissidents."

"Wouldn't such a display focus on Mr Potter's counterpart instead? As I recall, he was the most famous of your group," Dumbledore commented.

"Yes," Hermione all but spat. "But it's still too dangerous for all of us to go there. I cannot apparate with more than two people."

"Harry and I'll go with you, then," Ron said at once.

"And I'll be ready to provide fire support," Sirius added.

Hermione sighed. "Alright."

"But…" Luna started.

"If it's safe, we can all follow them," Dumbledore told her with a smile. "It shouldn't take long to find out how things are, I believe."

"No, it won't." Hermione stared at the village. "I'll apparate us right to the statue. But hide your weapons and wear robes."

"Of course," Ron said as he handed her his rifle. "Can you change some sticks so they'll look like wands?"

"Yes." Hermione flicked her wand, and two twigs on the ground nearby changed into more elaborate, carved sticks. A swish later, they were floating towards Harry and Ron.

And Dumbledore was taking notes, Ron saw.

But he would find out the truth about wands and wizards anyway, one way or another. Either from observing Hermione's friends - or by being briefed about Death Eaters.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yes," he replied, reaching out to hold her hand.

A moment spent as if he were squished through a narrow pipe later, they appeared in front of the statue.

And looked at the plaque in the foot of it.

Hermione Granger. Brightest Witch of Her Age.

He heard her gasp. "Oh…"

"I think that settles it," Harry said, a little too casually. "Your friends won the war."

"They would do this…" She shook her head. "It has to be them."

Then she started to sob.

Ron stepped up and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. She turned towards him, crying into his shoulder. "We won. We won," he heard her mumble while he patted her back, unsure what he should say. Her friends had won. They were probably alive, too, if he understood the situation correctly. She wouldn't have to fight a war.

"Head's up, company coming," Harry suddenly hissed.

Ron looked up. Two people wearing red robes were walking towards them. A man and a woman. Red robes? Weren't they the wizard police? "Aurors?"

Hermione, still crying, looked up as well. "Yes," she said, sniffling.

"Good afternoon. Do you require assistance?" the woman asked. "I'm Auror Parkinson, and this is my partner, Auror Travers." Those names...

"Parkinson? Travers?" Hermione suddenly jerked.

"Not those Parkinsons or Travers," the witch replied with a grimace. Looking at Ron, she added: "Are you unwell?"

"Ah, she's just a little…" Ron shrugged. "She lost some friends in the war." Travers and Parkinson - those had been Death Eaters on Hermione's list. Of course, the pair here looked too young to have fought in the war.

"Ah." Parkinson looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Did you recently return?" Travers asked. "I mean… it's been seven years since…" He nodded at the statue. "The Battle of Hogwarts."

"Yes," Hermione said, chuckling through her sobs. "You might say that."

That was a mistake, Ron thought - no police officer liked to hear remarks like that. And as he feared, both Aurors frowned at that. "What's your name, Miss?" Parkinson asked.

"Ah. Helen. Helen Smith," Hermione said.

Another mistake. "Sorry, we should leave," Ron told them, smiling as apologetically as he could manage. "It's a bit too much for her, I'm afraid."

Travers didn't seem impressed. "And your name is, Mr...?"

"Smith. Will Smith."

"Like the actor?" Parkinson looked deeply suspicious now.

"Yes. And it's a pain whenever I go to the movies," Ron replied. "Someone always makes a stupid joke."

"Ah."

They didn't relax, Ron noticed.

"Brown. Jeff Brown," Harry added, unprompted.

Both of them were frowning and staring at them. "What did you say?"

"My name," Harry replied. "What did you think I said?" he added with a grin.

Parkinson blinked. "Head Auror Potter? Is this another test?"

"And you're Senior Auror Weasley!" Travers added, staring at Ron. "I knew I had heard your voice before!"

Oh. The two Aurors thought that Ron and Harry were their counterparts in disguise. Whew.

"Head Auror Potter? Senior Auror Weasley?" Hermione blurted out.

"You didn't know?" Parkinson said. "Oh no! Did we ruin an undercover operation?"

"It wasn't our fault this time!" Travers shook his head.

Ron looked at Hermione. She was the witch here.

But she was just staring at the two Aurors. And, he realised, having another flashback.

"Hey…"

"Yes?" She looked up from the cauldron where another potion for treating wounds was coming along nicely.

"I was wondering…" He shrugged. "Once the war's over and all the Death Eaters dead…"

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do?" He looked at her.

"You mean… as a career?" Or did he mean…?

"Yes." He nodded. A little too quickly.

"I think I'll work at the Ministry," she said. "Push reforms through. Ensure that this war won't happen again."

"Ah." He nodded. "Should've known," he added with a grin.

"What about you?"

"Oh." He blinked. "I want to play Quidditch professionally."

Oh. "Are you sure?"

He chuckled. "Oh, I know I'm no prodigy, not like Harry. But I love Quidditch. And I should be good enough for the Cannons."

She snorted. As far as she knew, not having a Keeper would've been better than that team's current Keeper since their inept attempts to catch the Quaffle had actually caused a few Quaffles to score which would have otherwise missed.

"I know, I know. But anything will be better than fighting."

"Yes." She agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment.

"What about you, Harry?" he asked.

"Quidditch. Or broom racing. Or Quodpot," their friend replied. "As long as I can fly as fast as I want, and make some money doing it."

"Join me, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "With you as the Canons' Seeker, and me as the Keeper, we'd have a shot at the Cup! I just need to keep the other team from scoring more than fifteen times before you catch the Snitch."

Harry laughed. "Why not? I'll give it a go."

"I'll hold you to it, mate!"

"But you'll have to convince them to hire us."

"What? You think they'll refuse to hire the youngest Seeker in a century? Any team would hire you in a heartbeat."

"Well… I think the Harpies wouldn't."

"Well…"

She smiled as the two boys continued to make plans. And she tried not to think about the war.