Once more, my beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. Their help is invaluable.

Chapter 35: The Reunion

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

Ron saw Hermione shaking her head and blinking as she returned to the present. "Sorry," she said, then took a deep breath. "This is too much. We need to leave."

"She's had a flashback to the war," Harry told the Aurors. "Please excuse us."

Parkinson and Travers exchanged a glance. "Do you need assistance, sir?" Parkinson asked. "We're on patrol, but things have been quiet."

"And we can help with your mission, sir!" Travers added, sounding as eager as Colin back home.

"That's not necessary," Harry replied. "It's a private matter."

"Oh."

"Sorry, sir." Parkinson glared at Travers. "Come on, Michael! Let's go! I don't want a demerit because you're bothering the Head Auror during a mission!"

She dragged him away, but Ron could hear the Auror protesting: "But he just said it wasn't a mission!"

"Let's get back to the others before Sirius thinks we're under attack and starts machine-gunning the village," Ron said in a low voice.

"Yes." Hermione nodded, sounding more composed, and took their hands.

They reappeared next to the others. "What happened?" Luna asked before Ron had recovered his balance. "Those two were the police, weren't they? Red robes, like Hermione described."

"Yes, they were Aurors," Hermione confirmed.

"Rookies," Harry said with a grin. "Fresh out of training."

"They did recognise us, though," Ron pointed out.

"They recognised our voices," his friend retorted. "We didn't think about that."

"We should have," Hermione said with a sigh. "I should have."

"You didn't know that your friends would be part of the Aurors," Ron told her.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I take it that the statue is indeed depicting Dr Granger, then?"

"Yes. 'Brightest Witch of Her Age'," Ron said.

"That's a joke," Hermione protested. "Ron - this world's Ron - used to tease me by saying that. That they would put it on a statue…" She shook her head.

"They might have done it because of that," Ginny suggested. "A private joke?"

"Perhaps," Hermione admitted. "But still… a statue? And at Hogsmeade station?"

"It's not exactly in the centre of the village," Luna pointed out.

"The station is only in use when the Hogwarts Express transports the students to and from London," Hermione explained. "People use the Floo Network, Apparition or brooms for travelling. And Portkeys on occasion."

"Fascinating. But I think we should continue our speculation back in our world," Dumbledore said. "We've been here for a significant amount of time, and people back home might be getting a little impatient."

By which the old man meant Grindelwald, of course. But he wasn't wrong - they should plan their next move in a safer location. Preferably where they weren't at risk of getting cut off from their home world.

"But we haven't even confirmed the date…" Hermione met his eyes, and Ron shook his head. They weren't ready for another encounter. She wasn't ready. "Alright," she said after a moment. "I'll transport us back to the portal."

Black Lake, Scotland, December 21st, 2005

Grindelwald was already talking to Dumbledore when Ron stepped through the portal, back to his home world. The German must have been waiting right next to the portal, Ron realised. He didn't know if that was a good or a bad sign.

"You shouldn't have taken so long," the old German said. "Nor taken so many risks."

"We didn't take any risks," Luna protested. "We didn't even go into the magical village - only Harry and Ron went with Hermione!"

"Yes, Gellert," Dumbledore confirmed. "We stuck to observing from afar."

Grindelwald scoffed. "But you won't restrain yourself like that in the future."

"As you know - nothing beats first-hand information." The old spymaster grinned.

"Really. And what did you find out on your long recon mission?"

"That my friends won the war," Hermione, who had recovered by now, told him.

"And that they erected a statue in your honour!" Luna added.

"Really?" Grindelwald didn't quite sneer, but he came close.

"The inscription on the pedestal strongly suggests that," Hermione told him. "We didn't have time to find out the date, though. And we haven't made contact with my friends or family, yet."

"That will be our next step, I believe. Now that teleportation - I'm sorry, Apparition - is possible, travelling from the portal's location should be far easier and quicker than previously thought," Dumbledore said, "so a trip to London shouldn't take any longer than a trip to 'Hogsmeade' on the other side of the lake."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "I'll need to visit my parents."

"After you have closed the portal and checked on your machinery," Grindelwald said with a sniff. "I'm not losing Albus to your world because you missed a computer glitch."

"Of course," Hermione replied through gritted teeth.

Thirty minutes later, the portal had been closed, and Grindelwald and Dumbledore had left the laboratory - or should that be 'the Portal Chamber' now? Ron didn't know. He was sure that they were still under observation, however; he didn't think either Grindelwald or Dumbledore would have missed the opportunity to place more surveillance in the walls during reconstruction. He could even understand it - this was, after all, a possible gateway for an invasion. That was also the reason that there were shaped charges in the walls.

That didn't mean he had to like it, of course. He would prefer actual privacy, not just the appearance of it - but they couldn't go running around the lake any more. And he didn't think Hermione would want to.

"So! London next?" Luna asked.

"Yes," Hermione replied. Ron noted that she wasn't taking her eyes off the generators she was testing. "I need to see my parents."

"We understand." Luna nodded, sniffling a little. "I'd do the same." But her counterpart's mum was dead, like her own.

Ginny hugged her. "Yes."

"Though it'll be a shock for them," Sirius commented.

"That depends on how much time has passed there," Ron pointed out. With magic, a statue could probably be erected in a minute.

"Oh. We could be entering future or past London," Luna said. "Like time travel!"

"I think the differences caused by being an alternate world would be more significant than a difference of a few years," Ron replied. He glanced at Hermione. That was an opening for a lecture from her if he had ever heard one, but she was still focusing on the generators. Or pretending to focus on them.

"So…" Sirius made a point of checking the time on his wristwatch. "It's almost time for dinner. Do we eat here, or in London?"

"Which London?" Luna asked.

She was right, Ron realised. With Hermione finally having a wand, they could travel in this world as well.

"I need at least an hour for the ritual," Hermione told them, finally straightening from where she had been checking the cables of the last generator.

"We'd have to put on disguises before travelling to our London," Harry said. "Or we risk being spotted by the press."

"Or the government. Or the Russians," Luna added. "But they wouldn't know our voices."

"It was just bad luck that we met personal acquaintances of Harry and my counterparts," Ron said.

"I didn't say it wasn't," Luna replied. "But I like disguises."

"I think we should eat here tonight, and return to my home dimension tomorrow," Hermione told them. "We'll be less likely to make mistakes after a good night's rest."

And she would have time to adjust. Ron nodded. "Yes. And we shouldn't turn you into a cab."

Everyone laughed at his joke, but Ron didn't miss that a few of their companions sounded a little guilty.

"So…" Ron stretched on their bed, watching as Hermione finished undressing in front of the armoire. "How do you feel?" It wasn't the best opening, but he hadn't been able to think of a better one. At least it was honest.

"About seeing my parents?" she asked without turning to face him as she slipped into her pyjama pants and top.

"About everything," he told her. "The statue, your friends' careers, returning to your parents…"

He heard her sigh as she turned to face him with a wry expression. "I don't know."

"Ah."

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, then sighed again. "It's… I've thought for years about this. Imagined the moment when I would return. And yet, I don't know how to feel. It's all…" She shrugged.

"Not like you imagined it."

"No," she replied. "I feared I'd return to a world under Voldemort's rule, with all my friends and family dead. I hoped I'd return to find them waiting for me, happy."

"Well, they could be happy?" Ron shrugged. "Harry's counterpart is the Head Auror, after all."

She frowned. "I wouldn't have imagined them working as Aurors. They wanted to play Quidditch professionally. We talked about that, during the war." Sitting down on the bed, she added: "They might not have been serious, of course. But still… Aurors?" She snorted. "Perhaps I should've expected that since you and Harry are police officers. I guess I was too… naive. I wanted things to work out like we'd dreamed."

Not for much longer, of course. And Ron didn't like to think that he was similar to her Ron. "Well, I wasn't unhappy, working as a police officer. And it means we won't have trouble with the law."

She snorted. "The odds of that are lower, at least."

"What? Do you expect them to arrest us for illegal dimensional travel?" He chuckled.

"There could be a law against that, actually," she said. "The Unspeakables tightly regulate time travel, after some particularly unfortunate experiments in the nineteenth century. But I've never even heard about dimensional travel, so that shouldn't be a concern. Unless the Unspeakables erase even the mention of it."

Now that was a thought Ron could have done without. He wouldn't sleep easily pondering that.

Black Lake, Scotland, December 22nd, 2005

"We should acquire generators and computers in my home world," Hermione said as they were sitting down for breakfast in the 'lounge'. "And I need to construct a second quantum mirror cage."

"Oh? Are you planning to set up a mirror site?" Ron asked. He grinned at her narrow-eyed reaction. "What? That's a perfectly fine name."

She huffed. "It's a precaution. If something happens to the portal's power supply here, it'll allow us to return far more quickly than if we weren't prepared."

And it would grant them independence from the Phoenix Gruppe. Which might not be received favourably by Grindelwald and Dumbledore.

"It's a good idea!" Luna agreed, nodding between eating her way through three croissants, each with a different sort of jam spread on them, one bite a time.

"Do you plan to copy your notes as well?" Harry asked.

Ron knew what his friend meant: Was Hermione also preparing for her own possible incapacitation? Or for her replacement, should she decide to abandon them?

"Yes," she replied. "You never know what might happen."

"Ah." Ron nodded. That made sense, of course. Good sense. But it would also make good sense if she wanted to ditch them.

"I can build the parts for a second quantum mirror cage here - there are enough spares available - and the computers are easily available in either dimension. The generators, though, are too big to be transported through the portal without a Shrinking Charm," she explained.

"And moving nine spare generators into a room that doesn't have enough space for them, much less when you consider the generators already here, would expose magic to the government," Ginny said.

"Not necessarily," Sirius retorted. "They might think we're storing them in an extended room."

"If they think we can do that, they'll expect tangible, useful results very soon, though," Harry pointed out.

"That's true," his godfather conceded. "Do we have money available on the other side? We could buy the generators there."

"The money of both countries seems to be identical," Hermione replied, "but I haven't tested that. And using cash in such large amounts will draw attention from the government."

"Which you can avoid with magic," Harry told her.

"I prefer not to mess with people's minds, but yes," Hermione admitted. "But it would also be illegal in Wizarding Britain."

"And we cared about the law since when?" Luna asked. "An unjust law does not need to be obeyed!"

"'Don't mind-control muggles' isn't exactly an unjust law," Hermione retorted.

Luna pouted but didn't contradict her. A moment later, though, she perked up. "I could fake a business. That way, we can order the generators legally!"

"I don't think actually laundering money in order to avoid giving the impression that we are laundering money is a good idea," Hermione pointed out.

Ron had to suppress a chuckle at Luna's expression. "What about stealing them, and leaving valuables in their place?"

"That would still be breaking the law," he told her.

"But it would be a victimless crime!" She nodded. "Problem solved!"

"We actually did similar things during the war," Hermione admitted. "But we were at war."

"I think after the latest attack by the Russians, we can justifiably claim that we're at war as well," Sirius said.

"Wouldn't it be much simpler if you bought the generator parts here and shrank them somewhere before transporting them to the lab?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. Yes, that should work," Hermione said after a moment. "I should've thought of that myself."

"So should I," Ron added, feeling more than a little stupid for missing that.

"That's why we have planning sessions," Sirius said, apparently unfazed. "Could you pass the tea?"

"That's an excellent idea!" Dumbledore nodded, appearing pleased, half an hour later in the laboratory. "Gellert will rest much easier if he knows we're not about to be cut off for days or weeks due to a mishap."

"It'll still take time to set up a lab on the other side," Hermione explained. "And we would need to find another suitable location - this is too close to Hogwarts in my world."

"Those are at worst minor challenges," Dumbledore said. "You've already thought of a few potential locations, haven't you?"

Ron thought that the old man was entirely too supportive of the idea even though it would grant them much more freedom. He was probably already planning to recruit a replacement wizard or witch.

"Yes," she admitted. "There are a few spots I scouted in this world. But most of them are occupied by wizards and witches in my world."

"Most of them?"

"There are one or two locations where we could set up a second site," she said. "But installing the necessary equipment will take some time, even with magic."

"Of course. In any case, it's not so urgent as to justify delaying your plans to visit your parents," the old man told her with a smile.

"Indeed," she retorted. "I'll start the ritual."

Black Lake, Scotland, Wizarding World, December 22nd, 2005

The transit felt as bad as it had the first time - and the second time - but no worse. At least that was Ron's impression as he looked around the other side of the portal and tried not to retch. A few deep breaths helped as he moved a few steps to the side - just in time before Harry stepped through.

"It seems clear," Ron told Harry.

"'Seems'?" Harry shot back - his imitation of Moody's tone worse than usual due to his own struggle with portal queasiness. Or would that be portal sickness?

Ron snorted anyway. "It snowed overnight, so the tracks have been covered."

"But that also means we can't tell if someone followed our tracks," Harry pointed out. "Unless there's a spell for that."

Ron didn't think there was - Hermione would have mentioned that, wouldn't she? - but he didn't know. He did realise, though, that 'unless there's a spell for that' would crop up again and again, until they learnt far more about magic.

If they ever did, of course.

Hermione was next, wand out. And looking more than a little queasy herself as she bent over.

"So there's no spell to deal with portal sickness, is there?" Ron commented as he held out his hand to her.

She took his hand. "'Portal sickness'?"

He shrugged. "As good a name as any, right?"

"Is that from a book?"

"Probably," he admitted, "but I don't recall a specific work right now."

"Ah." She nodded and straightened while Ginny arrived, followed by Luna. "It… fits," she said.

He grinned. "You don't have to tell anyone that it's from a science fiction or fantasy novel when you use the term."

She sniffed in response, then took a few more deep breaths. "As soon as Sirius and Dumbledore arrive, I'll start transporting us to London."

"Can you reach it in one casting?" Harry asked.

"That might increase the risk of splinching," she replied, pursing her lips.

Ron winced. To imagine leaving part of your body behind… "Better take it easy," he said.

"Yes," Harry agreed.

Greenwich, London, Wizarding World, December 22nd, 2005

"Alright, I'm OK now!"

She didn't look like she had fully recovered, in Ron's opinion. This many Apparition trips had taken a lot out of her, and that she had done it right after having stepped through the portal hadn't helped, of course. But she didn't look like she'd faint at any moment any more. And he knew her expression - she wouldn't budge, so arguing was pointless.

Harry tried it anyway. "You should rest a little longer, or your parents will probably mistake you for a patient."

She scoffed. "They're dentists."

"Yes," Sirius agreed. "Their patients look like that after they're done with them, not before."

"Very funny," Hermione replied, standing up and stepping away from the bench on which she had been sitting. "I'm fine."

"That's Harry's line," Luna said.

"Hey!"

Ron was already at her side. "At least wait until the light turns green," he told her.

She glared at him as well. "Do you honestly expect me to run into traffic?"

"Better safe than sorry," he replied. He didn't, not really. But even a little delay and distraction would help her. "It'll be fine," he whispered as they waited for the lights to turn green.

She didn't answer, but she took his hand and squeezed. He glanced back at the others. Harry gave him a nod and leaned back on the bench - he and the rest would keep an eye on the building.

Half a minute later, Ron and Hermione reached the building across the street, and Hermione stopped. "It's open," she said, looking at the sign at the door. Dental Practice Ellen and Gabriel Granger.

"You expected that," he reminded her. It was too early for them to have gone to lunch already.

"Yes. But I wasn't sure. Things could've changed."

Had she, consciously or subconsciously, hoped that her parents wouldn't be present? Ron couldn't tell. Hermione was bloody brave and stubborn as hell, but this wasn't an attack by or on mercenaries or spies. This was reuniting with her parents, who thought she had been killed seven years ago.

And seeing how she reacted to the statue in Hogsmeade… He wrapped his arms around her. "It'll be fine," he whispered into her ear.

She sighed, leaning against him for a moment. Then she tensed and straightened. "Yes."

They entered the building and took the stairs to the first floor, where the practice was situated.

An older woman sitting at a desk greeted them with a polite smile. "Hello. Do you have an appointment?" The sign on the desk read 'Linda Baker', Ron noticed.

Hermione stiffened for a moment. "Hello, Mrs Baker. No, we don't have an appointment. We're here on personal business with... the Grangers. We can wait until they are free, if they are busy."

Mrs Baker frowned. "Personal business? With both of them?" She was staring at them and seemed to be slightly puzzled. Probably by their disguises - not many people Ron's age sported a full beard and Hermione's wig, a platinum blonde mane, had gone out of style almost twenty years ago.

"Private business," he told her.

"Ah." She slowly nodded.

He was puzzled by her reaction. Had she spotted the pistol under his jacket? It shouldn't have been visible, but he could see that the woman was tense now. She didn't look afraid, though. Or nervous. What was he missing?

Before he managed to find out, the door to the right of the desk opened, and Mrs Granger ushered a young man out. "Your cheek will go back to normal in an hour or two," she told him. "And please be more careful in the future."

"I will," the man replied.

Mrs Granger turned to Mrs Baker. "Linda, pencil him in for a follow-up check in a week, so we can get rid of the stitches."

"Yes, Ellen." Mrs Baker nodded towards them. "These two claim to have private personal business with you."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Hermione said, with a glance at the patient. As soon as the man had left, she took off her fake glasses and pulled off her wig, then remained standing as if she were frozen while Mrs Granger gasped. "Hermione?"

She nodded, swallowing.

"But… but…" her mother stammered.

Ron glanced at Hermione. Her mouth was half-open, but she wasn't saying anything.

"They said…" Mrs Granger was shaking her head. There were tears in her eyes, Ron noticed. But she wasn't stepping closer. And Hermione seemed frozen. Mrs Baker seemed to be getting over her surprise but was still looking confused.

He pulled his fake beard off and removed his wig. "It's a long story, Mrs Granger."

"Ron?"

Oh. This world's Ron had to be closer to this world's Grangers than Ron had expected.

"You told me that she died!" Mrs Granger exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Great. This was his counterpart's fault.

"You said Hermione had an accident at school," Mrs Baker said. "In her last year."

"That was a cover story," Ron explained.

"You lied to us?" Mrs Granger looked furious. But then she glanced at Hermione, and her expression softened.

"Ron didn't lie to you, Mum," Hermione finally said. "He didn't know what had happened to me." Neither she nor her mother had taken a step since she had taken off her wig. "I was trapped in a burning room when I was transported to another world."

"What?" Mrs Granger and Mrs Baker said at the same time.

"It took me seven years to find a way back," Hermione continued, apparently heedless of the two women's obvious doubt. "I knew it was possible, but the original event had been an accident, and I had to combine quantum physics and magic to reverse-engineer the event. Ritual magic."

"Magic?" Mrs Baker scoffed. "What rubbish is this?"

Hermione seemed to ignore the receptionist. "I'm sorry, Mum… I wanted to return sooner, but it simply couldn't be done. I had to study physics, first, and then secure a grant for my research, and then I was attacked by some criminals, which brought in the police and…" She shook her head wildly. "I'm sorry," she said, and Ron saw that tears were running down her cheeks.

Mrs Granger looked shaken and took a step forward, towards Hermione. "Hermione… is it really you?"

"Yes, Mum."

Both of them were crying now, but they were still a yard apart. Ron wanted to push them together, but Mrs Baker scoffed. "Magic? Magic isn't real! I'm getting Gabriel!"

She was at the other door before Ron could react - or decide if he should stop her.

"Gabriel! Come, quickly!"

"Dad?" Hermione asked, turning her head.

A moment later, Mr Granger appeared at the door. "What's this…" he trailed off as soon as he saw Hermione. "Hermione?"

She nodded. "Yes, Dad. I didn't have an accident - or, rather, I didn't die in the accident."

"Gabriel! She claims she was transported to another world by magic!" Mrs Baker said.

"Ron?" Mr Granger looked at him.

Ron nodded. "I'm not your Ron, though."

"What?"

"I'm from the other world," Ron explained. He looked at the door. Was there a patient on the chair in the other room? They really should've done this in private. Without witnesses.

"The other world." Mr Granger looked like he didn't believe them, either. But when the man glanced at Hermione, his expression made it obvious that he wanted to believe.

"Yes. A parallel world, just without magic," Hermione said, blinking and wiping her eyes. Explaining seemed to help her recover her composure, Ron noted. "I met Harry and Ron's counterparts there."

"She saved my life," Ron cut in. He quickly realised that his comment hadn't helped, though, when both Grangers frowned at him.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione exclaimed. "Please - I'm telling the truth. I can prove it!"

"How?" Mrs Granger asked. "We know what magic can do…" she trailed off.

"I know things no one else could know," Hermione said. "What happened on my fifth birthday. My first book. Mr Biggles!" She sniffled again. "Please. You can also test my DNA."

Ron watched the Grangers. They seemed to be wavering. Mrs Baker looked very sceptical, but no one was listening to her. It looked like…

Harry's voice in his earbud interrupted his thoughts. "Ron. You and I just walked into the building."

Oh no. Their counterparts were here. "Hermione," he snapped. "The other Ron and Harry are coming. They just entered the building."

She gasped. "But why?"

They must have been talking to the two rookies, Ron realised. But why would they come here?

"Ron and Harry?" Mr Granger asked.

"This world's Ron and Harry," Ron explained. He took a step back and turned to keep the entrance in his field of view. "Hermione?"

She looked shocked, blinking through tears.

"Hermione? Should we leave?"

"What?" She looked at him, then shook her head. "No… no."

Did she mean no to leaving, or no to meeting her friends? Ron was about to ask, but then the door opened, and he saw the other Ron enter - and his eyes widen in mid-step. A moment later, the man's wand appeared in his hand.

But Ron was already jumping towards the reception desk. Two red lights shot past him before he landed behind it. He drew his gun without thinking.

"Stop! Harry! Ron! Stop!" he heard Hermione scream.

"No!"

"Ron! Harry!"

"What the hell!" Ron heard himself cursing. "Hermione?"

He moved to the corner and glanced around it. Hermione was standing in front of the desk, arms spread and facing the two wizards. And… Ron blinked. There was a shimmering sphere covering her - she must have cast a shield or something. He couldn't see the two wizards, though - he would have to expose himself for that.

"Don't curse him! It's me, Hermione!"

"Hermione's dead." That was Harry's voice. His counterpart's.

"I didn't die in the Room of Requirement. I used the broken Vanishing Cabinet to save myself," Hermione said very quickly. "It worked, but I was transported to a parallel dimension. Probably because of the nature of the Room, in combination with the Fiendfyre wrecking it and all the clutter left there. It took me seven years to find a way to return."

"That's ridiculous!" Harry's counterpart scoffed.

"I can prove it!"

"That's not her wand!" Ron's counterpart snapped.

Uh oh.

"I lost my wand in the Room!" Hermione blurted out. "This is a wand from the cache I hid during the war - you know, the one I didn't tell you about so you couldn't betray its location should you get captured. Who else would know that?"

"That's common knowledge," Harry replied, scoffing.

"And you picked up a copy of me? Who's hiding behind you? Yeah, right!" Ron's counterpart added.

What the…?

Ron stood - slowly - behind the desk, keeping his gun out of sight. "I wasn't hiding behind her," he said, glaring at his counterpart. "I was staying behind cover so Hermione could explain things without me having to shoot you."

"Shoot me?"

"Ron's your muggle counterpart," Hermione said. "We met in the other world."

"A muggle me?" Ron's counterpart snorted, but he didn't sound amused.

"Yes," Ron told him with narrowed eyes. What a git! "You got something against muggles?"

"What?" His counterpart glared back. Good - he must have hit a nerve.

"We saved each other's lives. Multiple times," Ron said. "Without magic." The two wizards had spread out, so he had trouble keeping an eye on both of them.

"Well, I did use potions," Hermione said. "But I didn't have a wand."

"Hah!"

Ron glared at the wizard, but before he could tell the git off, Harry's voice sounded in his earbud again. "We're coming in."

"Damn," Ron cursed. "Harry and the others are coming."

"The others?"

"More muggles? Harry?"

"My world's Harry," Ron said. "My partner."

"Police officers," Hermione told them.

Both wizards were already moving to the side so they wouldn't be caught in a crossfire. "Police? Are they armed?" the wizarding Harry asked.

"Of course we are," Ron said. He didn't quite sneer. "You think we'd enter a new world unarmed? And face Death Eaters?"

"All the Death Eaters are dead," his counterpart shot back.

"All of them?" Hermione gasped.

Harry's - Ron's Harry - voice interrupted them. "Don't shoot or curse, we're coming in!"

"Took you longer than I expected," Ron yelled back.

"We had to wait at the red light," Harry replied. A moment later, he entered, and Ron saw that his friend had shed his disguise as well.

"He's got no scar, Harry," Ron's counterpart said.

"On my chest," Harry replied, but he was staring at his own counterpart.

This had gone well beyond awkward, but at least they weren't fighting each other.

"Merlin's balls! Sirius?"

"What? Sirius?"

"My godfather," Harry told them.

Ron saw Harry's counterpart falter and felt a twinge of sympathy.

"In the flesh. Wow, it's like you were twins. Although with vastly different senses of style," Sirius commented. He was right, Ron realised - the wizards were wearing jeans, shirts and trainers. None of them fashionable.

"Dumbledore?"

"Bloody hell!"

Ah, right. They wouldn't have expected the old man, either.

"Good morning," the former spymaster said, smiling his usual polite and friendly smile. "I think everyone would appreciate it if we all stood down. No one is here to fight, after all."

To Ron's annoyance, both his and Harry's counterparts actually started to lower their wands - but then raised them again. "This could be a trick," his counterpart said.

"And what would be the point of it?" Hermione asked. "And how would we have done it? You can't use parts of dead people with Polyjuice Potion. And if we could use Transfiguration to change our appearance with that degree of precision, why wouldn't we copy Harry perfectly?"

"Well, you sound like Hermione," Ron's counterpart said. He hadn't stashed his wand, though.

"Is it safe now?"

"It should be... Let's go in, Ginny!"

"What the…?"

"Ginny? Luna?"

"Hello! Wow, you look just like my Ron and Harry! Apart from the scar, but that could be faked using makeup. And the clothes, of course. And you're in the police as well, but nobody's perfect."

"Luna?"

While Ginny moved to Harry's side, Luna marched up to the other Harry and Ron, apparently unconcerned about the wands levelled at her. "Yes, it's me. Well, not your me. Does my counterpart look very different to me? That would be weird, wouldn't it? But also kind of special. Oh! Mr and Mrs Granger, hello! You look exactly like my world's Grangers!"

"Bloody hell!" Ron's counterpart cursed again, but he did, finally, lower his wand.

Well, Luna tended to have that effect on people.

"What… this is… What is going on? This man is armed! And… I don't understand!"

Oh, right - Ron had forgotten about the receptionist, Mrs Baker. Moody would have his hide if he knew. But the woman could be trouble. If she went to the police... Ron didn't think they would accept that he was allowed to carry a gun in his home world.

"Obliviate."

"Ron!" Hermione gasped.

"What?" Ron's counterpart turned to face her.

"You can't just obliviate her!"

"Why not? It's not the first time," he retorted.

"What?"

"Ah…" Mr Granger cleared his throat. "Linda tends to be a little, ah, stubborn when magic is mentioned."

"She once tried to get Ron and Harry committed," Mrs Granger added.

"Oh." Hermione blinked. "I didn't know. Wait… why would she even know about magic?"

"Ron wasn't always, ah, as discreet as he should've been when we visited," Harry's counterpart told her.

"I got drunk and came to apologise," Ron's counterpart said.

"Apologise?"

"For getting our daughter… you… killed," Mr Granger explained.

"Oh."

Ron had the impression that it hadn't been a single incident. If his counterpart had thought that he was responsible for Hermione's death… Well, in his place, Ron would have been drinking for months.

"This isn't a good spot to discuss this," Harry's counterpart said. "She'll recover soon, and we don't want to have to obliviate her a second time."

"Oh! Can we visit Grimmauld Place? I heard it was cursed!" Luna said.

"I'd love to compare it to our house back home," Sirius said.

But wizard Harry shook his head. "No. Let's move to the Forest of Dean."

"But…" Hermione closed her mouth and frowned. "Fine. But you bring a tent. I'm not going to stand in the snow."

"Alright."

No one moved or said anything for a few seconds, though. Then Hermione rolled her eyes. "Alright. We'll go first." She reached out towards Ron, and he took her hand.

A moment later, they appeared in a small, snow-covered clearing. There were no tracks on the ground - no human tracks, at least - Ron saw as he looked around.

"This was our main camp for weeks," Hermione told him.

"Ah. A test?" Or a trap?

"Probably," she said. "I'll fetch the others." She disappeared.

Ron looked around the clearing again, this time not looking for enemies and other threats, but trying to imagine Hermione and the two others living here. Hiding, planning, laughing. Perhaps even…

A popping sound announced Luna and Ginny's arrival, staggering a little next to Hermione. Two at a time? He looked at her.

"It's a short enough trip, and I am very familiar with this place," she answered his unspoken question, taking a few deep breaths. Then she vanished again.

"Spread out a bit," Ron told his sister and their friend. This could be a trap, after all.

To his relief, they did so without protesting. Well, Luna wanted to take a look at the frozen pond nearby, but whatever worked.

Dumbledore was next, staggering as well. "I fear I might never grow comfortable with this way of travelling," he said as Hermione disappeared again.

"As far as I know, the wizards don't like it either," Ron told him.

"Perfectly understandable," the old man replied. "Although a little discouraging." He looked around as well. "This is a good spot to hide. Barely visible from the air, fresh water… though I assume that wouldn't be a concern for wizards."

"It's also a good spot for a trap," Ron replied.

"You don't expect an ambush, or you wouldn't be standing here, would you?"

Ron snorted. The old man was, annoyingly, right.

Sirius and Harry arrived before the silence grew awkward, and Ron went to steady Hermione, who looked a little dizzy from all the apparating. "So, this was your main hideout?"

"Yes."

"Looks cosy."

She snorted in response.

Then the other Ron arrived, with the Grangers. He didn't look winded, Ron noticed. "So you know about this spot," his counterpart said.

"Yes. We spent weeks here," Hermione told him. "Satisfied?"

"You could've gotten that from Ellen and Gabriel through Legilimency."

She flinched in return. "I wouldn't… not my parents."

"Hermione would have if it were needed," Ron's counterpart said.

"But it wasn't needed!" she retorted. "I can prove that it's me! You can read my mind! Check my DNA!"

The Grangers were still wavering, Ron saw. Of course, they wanted to believe that their daughter was alive.

"We will," the wizard said. "Harry's bringing his Pensieve."

"Oh." Hermione blinked. "That's a good idea," she added.

The other Ron grinned, though not in a particularly friendly way. "Thanks." He raised his wand, waved it, and the thin covering of snow in the centre of the clearing started to melt.

"We didn't put our tent there," Hermione said, frowning at him. "It was back there, almost under the trees."

The other Ron didn't say anything in response, but Ron saw him clenching his teeth.

And he saw something else. A ring. "Are you married?" Ron blurted out.

"Married?" Hermione said, drawing a sharp breath.

Ron's counterpart grimaced. "Yes," he replied, staring at her. "It's been seven years," he added, though he sounded guilty.

"To whom?" Hermione asked in a strange voice.

Another grimace. "Lavender."

"Oh."

Lavender was making eyes at him again. In the middle of the common room.

She didn't like it. They couldn't afford such distractions. Not with the Headmaster slowly dying and the Dark Lord gathering his forces. Sooner rather than later, they would have to fight. Would have to track down Voldemort's Horcruxes. And face him at the end. They needed all the preparation they could manage. Any distraction could be fatal.

And Lavender was a very obvious distraction, she thought as she narrowed her eyes at the witch. She was pretty enough, with long, blonde hair that fell in waves over her shoulders without having to be tamed with charms or potions. But she also knew how to use cosmetics and fashion to her advantage.

And she had obviously decided to go after Ron. Couldn't the witch accept that it was over? Ron and Lavender had broken up last year! But here she was, again trying to catch his attention. Too tight robes, inappropriate makeup and obviously rehearsed poses that displayed her charms to best effect.

They couldn't afford such distractions. They had to focus on the mission. On their plans.

She stood and walked over to her friends. "Ron? Would you mind helping me with Defence?"

He blinked. "You need my help?" He was looking at her, not at Lavender.

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm still not as good at casting on the move as I need to be. And you're good at it."

"Ah, yes…"

"Please?" She beamed at him and twisted around her finger a lock of hair that had somehow slipped out of her ponytail. Two could play that game, after all.

"Uh, sure. Let's go to the Room?" He stood, and she smiled.

They had no time for distractions like Lavender. That sort of business could wait until they had won the war. And she really did need more training in Defence.