A/N: Thank you to my Beta, lozipozivanillabean. Enjoy!
xxxxiv.
the story needs some mending and a better happy ending
(Fairytale by Sara Bareilles)
September 29, 1979
A week ago, Professor Dumbledore sent her a letter saying he was already planning to send her on a mission to retrieve the last horcrux. A day before, he sent a series of instructions detailing her excursion. The only problem Hermione had, was identifying what excuse she would make so that her mother wouldn't get suspicious.
She was hoping Anya wouldn't be lounging in the living room watching her favourite drama show, as arriving at the Potter Manor through Floo would be easier, but once she walked out of her bedroom, Hermione heard the unmistakable lovely laugh of her mother and garbled conversation from the television.
Anya's eyes met Hermione's, her lips now faltering upon noticing her clothes. "Going somewhere, love?" she asked.
"Err…" Hermione nervously shifted on her feet and looked away. "I was thinking of trying to apply for a job at the ministry today."
There was a beat of silence after Hermione said her lie.
"On a Saturday?"
Hermione mentally cursed and sheepishly met her mother's eyes. Anya's eyebrows had flown up to her hairline and the brunette tried to come up with another lie. But Anya calmly turned off the television and stood up from the couch.
"Something's going on, isn't it?" she said, making it sound more like a statement than a question. When Hermione didn't answer her question, Anya sighed and tentatively approached her. "You know that you can tell me anything, right, sweetheart?"
"I know, Mum," Hermione murmured, her face crumpling at the worry and distress on Anya's face.
Anya closed the remaining distance between them and clasped her hand. "You can tell me, Hermione," she insisted. "I'm your mother. Whatever you're doing right now, it may be something I do not understand, but I'll try. Because I'm your mother."
"Oh, Mum." She threw her arms around Anya's shoulders and squeezed her tight. "I can't. It's—there are a lot of things I want to tell you and I don't even know where to start."
Now that the Marauders and her best friends, even Dumbledore and some of the leaders of the Order, knew about Hermione's past, there was a part of her that felt like she was betraying Anya for withholding such information from her. She had been a huge part of Hermione Pettigrew's life and Hermione couldn't shake off this niggling voice in the back of her mind that kept on insisting that Anya deserved to know, above all else.
But Hermione was afraid how her mother would take it. She was even more afraid that she'd forbid her from joining the Order and actively involving herself in the resistance. Hermione knew she wouldn't listen to her mother no matter how much she loved her, and she didn't want their relationship to be strained because of this.
So, Hermione pushed that voice back until it was silent once more. One day, she was sure she would tell Anya. But not today.
Anya slightly pulled away from Hermione, her blue eyes glittering with worry and unshed tears. "All right," she said with a disappointed frown. "But I will always be here for you, Hermione. Please always be careful, okay? Peter's job as an Auror already drives me on edge. I want my daughter to be safe too."
Hermione flashed her a small, sad smile and hugged her again. "I'm sorry, Mum," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes when she felt Anya place a kiss on her temple.
She then bid her goodbye and walked out of the house, striding towards the Apparation point. She rematerialised at the huge, oak door of the Potter Manor and used the doorknocker to make her arrival known.
On her third knock, the door swung open, revealing Pokey. The house-elf was now wearing a billowy skirt matching a lacy top. A cute, red ribbon was tied around her head and to complete her strange attire, she was wearing black kitten heels that made her a tad taller than her usual height.
"Hello, Pokey," she amicably greeted, prompting the house-elf to beam.
"Miss Hermione! Welcome!" Pokey exclaimed, ushering Hermione inside. "Perhaps some tea, Miss? Pokey made scones too when she heard the future Mistress of the House was coming!"
Her cheeks reddened at her casual address. "Don't bother," she said, placing a hand on Pokey's tiny ones to stop her excited pulling. "I have to leave soon enough."
Pokey's ears dropped, obviously dejected at Hermione's refusal. "Oh," she sadly said, her huge, golf ball-sized eyes glistening with tears. "Oh, Pokey understands. Truly she does."
Hermione bit her tongue to stop herself from relenting. This was a very important day after all and she couldn't afford to lounge around the Potter Manor, no matter how lovely and inviting the house was.
"Pokey, blimey, stop annoying the poor witch."
Her eyes widened as she met James's gaze across from the foyer. The wizard was leaning casually against the wall, clad in his usual Auror ensemble. His hazel eyes were glinting with amusement at his house-elf, who now was very much trying to stop her tears from falling.
"Pokey annoys Miss Hermione?" the house-elf squeaked with abject terror.
"No, oh no!" Hermione quickly exclaimed, awkwardly patting Pokey's head to mollify the suddenly distressed house-elf. She shot a glare at her snickering boyfriend before peering at Pokey's wide eyes once more. "You've been really sweet, Pokey, but I really can't afford to stay right now. I have matters to attend to immediately. But, maybe I can visit again soon so that you can serve me tea. Sound good?"
Pokey's eyes glittered again and she was now unabashedly sniffing. "Miss Hermione is too kind. Too kind, indeed!" she gushed out, reaching out to tightly hold onto Hermione's hand with both of her own. "Pokey will gladly serve the future Mistress of the House if she will let her!"
"Please stop calling me that," Hermione groaned, cheeks splattered with red, unable to look at James.
"Maybe it's best if you serve the current Mistress of the House, Pokey, eh?" James suggested. The house-elf vigorously nodded her head and popped away, leaving the two alone.
Hermione awkwardly tugged her curls and tentatively glanced back at James. The bloody wizard was smirking, clearly enjoying how his house-elf had made her flustered. "Shut up, Potter," she muttered.
"I'm not even saying anything!" he exclaimed, followed by a laugh as he pushed himself off the wall and approached Hermione. "You're here early."
"Dumbledore said we'd be accompanied by some Order members today, so I figured I should come her sooner rather than later, in case I still have to get further instructions," she explained, allowing James to hold her hand and tug her towards the elegant divan in their foyer. "Wait, are you going to accompany us today?"
James frowned and shook his head. "Moody has a mission for us today," he said with a disappointed sigh. "I'd rather join you in your horcrux hunt than run around with Pads and Wormy."
Hermione snorted. "Don't let them hear that," she said, smiling fondly when he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"It'll take a week at most," he complained. "How am I supposed to see you?"
"You'll live, Potter," she laughingly pointed out. She craned her head and looked over her shoulder. "Sirius isn't here?"
James shrugged. "Last time I heard he's working things out with Marley again," he said. The corners of his mouth twitched into a bemused smile. "Padfoot is actually serious with her, look at that."
"Why is he still crashing at your place?" she asked. "I thought he said he was going to move out once he started working as an Auror."
"We've decided it'd be best if we both stayed in the Manor for now while… you know." James furrowed his brows in worry. "My parents aren't getting younger and although I do not doubt their magical prowess, I'll rest easy knowing they're safe and very much alive. Sirius loves my parents too, so he'd want to stay and protect them. It's… well… since the Headquarters is here, might as well give as much protection to my home as possible."
Hermione comfortingly squeezed his hand. "The war will end soon," she resolutely said. "I promise. Voldemort is going down."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "I do not doubt your magical prowess either," he said. The smile on his face faltered as he ducked his head and worriedly met her eyes. "This Gaunt ring, though… procuring it isn't as dangerous as Slytherin's locket?"
"Well… I'm not exactly sure," she confessed, smiling apologetically when his lips rolled into a deep frown. "It was Dumbledore who got the ring last time. I do know the ring is cursed so I'll make sure nobody touches it."
James expelled a tired sigh and leant his forehead against her shoulder. "There's really no stopping you, huh?" he asked. She felt his smile against her skin and she, with a soft, apologetic laugh, placed a kiss on top of his messy hair.
He pulled away when the fireplace blared emerald. Hermione quirked an eyebrow when Regulus, disguised as Sev's Muggle neighbour once more, elegantly walked out. "Is the disguise really necessary?" she asked for her greeting.
"I'd rather nobody recognise me today, Pettigrew," he coolly said. His eyes swept towards the silent wizard sitting beside her, and Hermione had to stop herself from rolling her eyes when James stiffened. "Potter."
"Black," he curtly replied.
James possessively looped his arm around her waist again and pulled her flush to his side. Regulus merely quirked an eyebrow and looked away, his eyes now quietly glancing at the different statues displayed in the foyer.
"That's not necessary either," she hissed under her breath, swatting his tight arm around her.
"You're really bloody oblivious regarding other people's feelings, Hermione," he complained. "It's plain as a day that Regulus Black has a crush on you."
"No, he doesn't," she hotly shot back. "This stupid jealousy is uncalled for."
He leaned closer, his lips inches away from her ears. "Just as long as you keep telling me you love me, then we're all good, Whiskers," he teasingly whispered, his warm breath erupting goosebumps on her exposed skin.
"You're incorrigible," she breathlessly replied, hyperaware how his lips lightly brushed against her skin. She felt James smirk, but Hermione was soon distracted when the fireplace turned bright emerald once more.
Hermione was instantly on her feet when Lily and Sev stumbled out. "What are you doing here?" she exclaimed in surprise, already running towards her best friends to give them a big hug.
"Well, hello to you too," Lily chuckled, grinning prettily at the excited brunette.
"Dumbledore asked us if we can accompany you and Black on your horcrux hunt today," Sev exclaimed, grimacing slightly when Hermione threw her arms around him as her greeting.
"But why?" Hermione cried. "You just got married and… and with Lily's parents—"
Lily smiled kindly and squeezed Hermione's arm. "It's fine," she said. "We've spent a few weeks together with my parents somewhere far away. It's been the best weeks of my life, but we both know that we cannot drown ourselves in marital bliss when we're still in the midst of war."
Hermione sadly smiled at her best friends, noting that they had this certain glow. Even Sev looked relaxed, happier even, and Hermione felt guilty for ruining their honeymoon just so they could babysit her and Regulus on their horcrux hunt.
"Don't make a face like that, Hermione," Lily complained. "It's really fine. We both knew what we were getting into when we voluntarily joined the Order."
Before Hermione could answer, the fireplace roared emerald green again. This time, another couple strode out, pleasant smiles of greeting on their faces.
Hermione's eyes widened, beholding Frank and Alice Longbottom, clad in matching black robes and looking very much ready for a mission.
"Oh, hello," Alice greeted with a dimply smile.
"What are you both doing here?" James exclaimed, already striding towards the couple to shake hands with Frank and to give Alice a brief hug.
"I believe we have younglings to babysit," Frank cheekily replied, glancing at Hermione to send a wink her way.
Hermione, on the other hand, frowned. "Dumbledore asked you to accompany us too?" she asked, warily eyeing the Longbottoms. Up close, she was able to note that Alice shared Neville's sweet face, while his build most definitely came from Frank. It was a little disconcerting to see Neville's parents up and about, remembering their vegetable states back at St. Mungo's.
"Yes," Alice softly replied.
"Aren't we too many for this bloody mission?" Regulus gruffly asked.
Both Alice and Frank looked at him with bewildered expressions, prompting the disguised Black heir to snort. "It's Regulus Black in disguise," he dryly added.
"He can't afford to be seen with us," Hermione explained after throwing a brief glare at the disguised wizard. "But he's right. Aren't we too many? It might attract attention from the residents in Little Hangleton."
"After what happened with your last skirmish at the cave, Dumbledore reckoned you might need a lot of back-up," Frank answered, looking every bit like the proper, responsible, older Auror. He pinned Hermione with a piercing stare until she squirmed under his disapproving gaze. "We'd rather there wasn't any hitch during this mission."
"This mission is of utmost importance, after all," Alice placated, giving Hermione an apologetic smile. "Not being able to procure it is out of the question."
Hermione frowned. "I know that," she insisted. "Which is why I'll do everything I can to get it."
"And that is the reason why Dumbledore wants you to have a lot of back-up," James pointed out in exasperation. He glanced at the other four and scowled. "Please, for the love of all good things holy in this bloody fucking world, don't let her do anything reckless."
"Coming from you, that's a hilarious request," Sev sneered. His sneer turned into a pained scowl when Lily swatted his chest.
"She's not going to do anything reckless, is she now?" Lily ground out, glaring lightly at the brunette.
Hermione groaned and turned to Regulus. "This horcrux hunt was loads better when it was just the two of us," she complained.
Regulus snorted and glanced down at the annoyed brunette. "Better to get out alive, Pettigrew," was his simple reply.
-ooo-
They all popped out of thin air at a spot right underneath a sign with the words 'Little Hangleton' written on it. The sign looked worse for the wear, worn down by age, nature, and neglect, and it was plain to see this town had seen better days.
"Where's the location of the ring?" Frank asked. He'd easily assumed the role of leader in this mission, and although it disgruntled Hermione, she reluctantly admitted that being accompanied by trained Aurors was a good plan.
"This way," Hermione said, but before she could walk away, Alice latched onto her arm.
"Wait," she said with a grim expression. "We really are too many for this mission. I think it's best if we get to the location under the Disillusionment Charm."
Frank slowly shook his head. "That is a plan, but it's getting dark," he said. "It'll be difficult to keep everybody in check." He pinned his wife with a meaningful glance. "Dumbledore said no one must get hurt, it's a simple mission."
Hermione wryly smiled at the word 'simple'. Biggest understatement of the year.
"What if," Lily tentatively added, "most of us Disillusioned ourselves while Hermione and Regulus stayed visible? They are the ones most knowledgeable after all. Technically, we're only their back-up."
"I have an even better idea," the brunette deliberately offered. "I'm a—" She threw a wary glance at their Auror companions. "Before I tell you my plan, you have to promise not to throw me in Azkaban."
The Longbottoms wore an identical expression of suspicion on their faces. "Why?" Alice quipped, a small frown now on her face.
Hermione sighed. "I'm an Animagus," she revealed. Her cheeks turned red and she refused to meet Alice's eyes. "Unregistered."
"Hermione!" Lily gasped in disbelief.
"Trust me, I was shocked too," Regulus drawled, quirking a small smirk.
"Promise me," Hermione egged on. "I… I do plan on getting registered, of course. But later, after the war. After we've defeated Voldemort. The ministry will be too interested in me and I can't afford that." She pierced her gaze on the Longbottoms. "Do I have your word?"
Alice and Frank exchanged guarded glances. "Technically," Frank started, "we shouldn't be negotiating your case, especially with such a blatant confession of a crime."
"But," Alice added, "since we know that you're technically not using your ability to break other rules, we can just pretend that we don't know anything at all."
The grimaces on their faces brought a smile on Hermione's. "I will register after the war. I promise," Hermione reassured, this time kinder. A snort then escaped from her lips as she added, "This isn't even the gravest law I've broken."
Frank broke into a wide grin. "Ah, yes. Gringotts," he pointed out.
"It was for a good cause," Alice ground out, an uncertain look on her face. "It was, wasn't it?"
"It was," Regulus supplemented.
"We should probably go," Frank said, assuming his role as the leader once more. "I'd rather we were done with this as soon as possible. Go on and change into your Animagus form, Hermione."
"What's your form anyway?" Sev curiously asked.
Instead of answering him, Hermione closed her eyes and willed the image of her Animagus form. The familiar melting of clothing and skin to morph into her furry body ran throughout her. When she opened her eyes, her companions were towering over her.
"So that's why they kept on calling you 'Whiskers'!" Lily exclaimed. "I've always wondered about that."
Hermione meowed in reply.
Frank, Alice, Regulus, Lily, and Sev all disillusioned themselves. "Let's go," Frank whispered from behind, urging Hermione to start walking.
The streets were mostly abandoned, with the residents of Little Hangleton still in their homes at such an early time of the day. Soon, the rows and rows of dreary houses turned into thick trees as they reached the outskirts of the little town. Hermione led them towards a dilapidated, wooden house, with gaping holes in the roof and peeling paint on the walls. The house was derelict, with overgrown vines and nettles snaking around the house and the dirty windows.
Hermione drew to a halt and meowed. She then returned into her human form and turned around to look at her Disillusioned companion, but then paused and gaped at the imposing, ominous Manor sitting atop a hill. From this view, the Riddle House could be appreciated in all its glory—or lack thereof. It was obvious from the structure that it had been one of the most beautiful houses in the town before. But now, with it wrapped in crawling nettles with peeling paint, the windows and huge, wooden door boarded up by various planks to keep out trespassers, it almost resembled the dilapidated hovel right behind her.
Her mouth ran dry as she spotted the church sitting beside the manor, with a huge stone cross on the front, marking the graveyard. Harry wasn't able to extensively describe his experience during the Third Task, when the Goblet of Fire had portkeyed him and Cedric Diggory to the graveyard. But he was able to tell them a ritual was made in that area, consequently making Voldemort corporeal once more.
"Pettigrew," a now visible Regulus called, touching her elbow to get her attention. "Focus."
She swallowed down a lump and forced herself to look away from the graveyard. "Sorry," she muttered, ignoring the worried glance he threw at her. She then purposively walked towards the rotten door, but then paused as a pulse of magic overwhelmed her senses.
"Can you feel that?" she asked, glancing at Regulus.
The disguised wizard nodded his head. "It has the same dark magic as back at the cave," he said.
"At least we know we're at the right place," she grumbled, slowly pulling out her wand to start diagnosing what kind of wards had been erected to protect the house.
Before she could cast a spell, an invisible force grabbed her arm and pulled her away. Hermione frowned and craned her neck, her eyes seeing the silhouette of her Disillusioned companion. "I'm just going to check what kind of wards that bastard has placed," she whispered.
"She's really good with ward magic, just so you know," Regulus dryly added.
She threw him a withering glare before waving her wand. As expected, Voldemort had placed exactly the same wards as the ones at the cave. "It needs a blood sacrifice again," she said with a sigh.
"I figured just as much," the Black heir murmured, already pulling out his wand and spelling an open wound on his palm. He squeezed his hand tight and allowed a few drops of his bright red blood to spill over the soil. There was another brief pulse before the rotten door creaked open.
Hermione stepped aside and allowed Frank and Alice to go inside first. They removed the Disillusionment Charm and disappeared inside the dark room.
"All clear," Frank said, poking his head outside.
Hermione and Regulus went inside immediately, with Lily and Sev closely following behind. Sev closed the door behind him then removed the Disillusionment Spell on him and Lily.
Hermione slowly scanned the dilapidated house. There was upturned furniture everywhere, cobwebs spun in every corner of the house, and rusting metal plates and cups littering the floor. This was worse than Sev's house prior to being Lily-fied. Sev's house may have been unpleasant due to obvious signs of neglect, but the Gaunt's house was horribly thick with dark magic. The walls and floors almost had a greenish, ominous glow, as if the house was clearly telling them they were unwanted guests.
She slowly approached the ruined fireplace and spied a broken picture frame. A deep frown appeared on Hermione's face as her eyes observed the three people grimly blinking back at her. The eldest of the trio sat on a filthy, green couch, his wrinkly face withered with poverty and squalor. But, his dark eyes held a certain aloofness only a Pureblood bigot could sport. Her eyes landed on the glinting ring on his finger, noting that despite the dreariness of the place, the family ring spoke of fortune.
Her blue eyes then swept towards the man stiffly standing beside Marvolo Gaunt, his face almost identical to the older wizard, but less wrinkly. His expression was harsher, though, a menacing glint in his dark eyes, which stared in opposite directions, as he sneered at her in return.
And then, she glanced at the sole witch in the photo. Merope Gaunt wasn't beautiful. Her hair was lank and lacklustre, and her face was pasty white from malnourishment. Her eyes also stared in opposite directions like Morfinn Gaunt, and although marginally cleaner than the other two men, Merope stared back at her with tired resignation.
Hermione's fingers touched the face of the mother who would bring Voldemort into this world, wondering how things would have changed if she hadn't used a love potion to seduce Tom Riddle Sr. and hadn't died in childbirth.
"Where's the horcrux?" Alice asked, her voice cutting through Hermione's distracted haze.
She blinked her eyes and placed the broken photograph back onto the dirty ledge. "Voldemort hid it under the floorboards," she explained. Her eyes latched onto the rickety planks, grimacing at the thought that she could be very well stepping on top of the horcrux right now.
Frank nodded his head and glanced at Lily. "Evans—" He paused as a snort expelled from his lips. "Or maybe you'd rather be called Snape?"
The redhead's grin was out-of-place in the bleak house. "Lily's fine," she said.
"Right," the Auror said. "Lily. Dumbledore said you know a spell to detect horcruxes."
Lily resolutely nodded her head. "I practiced whilst we were on our honeymoon," she revealed, sheepishly throwing a smile at her husband. Hermione wondered how often she practiced, seeing the disgruntled look on Sev's face. "Terribly dark, that spell is. Probably the darkest spell I've ever learned— save from the Unforgivables, of course. The downside of this spell is it zaps out a lot of energy from you, so you need a partner."
She reached out for Sev's hand, who easily grasped it in his own. "We'll do it together," she said.
"Is it safe?" Hermione worriedly asked. Dark magic, when used improperly, always had repercussions.
Sev scoffed. "Please, Hermione," he sneered, "we are more than capable of doing this."
She smiled faintly at his vehemence. "I was only worried for you both, but the sourpuss suddenly appeared," she said with a sigh, glancing at the smirking Lily.
"We'll be fine, Hermione," Lily placated. "It isn't easy, that's for sure. But we've been practicing this for weeks - ever since Dumbledore asked us to accompany you on this mission. Just make sure that whatever happens, no one can intervene. It'll be more disastrous if we aren't able to finish the spell."
Hermione paled. "That's not exactly helping, Lils," she claimed.
"Can't we just remove all of the blasted boards to see where the bloody bastard hid the ring?" Regulus matter-of-factly asked.
"Practical yes, but quite dangerous," Alice explained. "This is Voldemort we are talking about. I'm sure he's hidden enough deadly booby traps underneath the floorboards that would deter anyone from stealing his horcrux."
"Simply put, we're standing on a huge landmine," Frank said with lazy grin on his face. "The more precisely we locate the horcrux, the better."
Regulus sighed and grumbled something under his breath, but then stepped aside and let Lily and Sev through. The redhead stood at one corner of the room while Sev strode to the opposite corner. Lily wordlessly glanced at the Aurors, who both nodded their heads and stood beside Hermione and Regulus near the door.
"Ready when you are, darling," Lily crooned, prompting Sev to roll his eyes and lift his wand. "On three. One, two, three— Tenebris Animae Inveniri!"
Their voices reverberated through the dilapidated room, as a bright, golden light shot out from the tip of their wands. Their spells met in the middle and Hermione watched in amazement as bright sparks erupted from their combined spell, showering the whole floor with blinding gold.
"Tenebris Animae Inveniri!" they exclaimed once more, their voices louder, but shakier. The golden sparkles melted into liquid gold, coating each of the rotten planks. Lily, by then, had fallen onto her knees and Hermione shot forward out of instinct, but Alice grimly held her in place and slowly shook her head.
Hermione's heart seized with fear, noting the beads of sweat now forming on Sev's face. Lily was obviously gasping for breath, her two hands now shakily grasping onto her wand to keep the spell going.
"Tenebris Animae Inveniri!" they boomed again. The liquid gold siphoned back into their wand tips, and Hermione deduced this was the most difficult part as the impact of it brought Sev down to his knees too.
As soon as every drop of the liquid gold had disappeared, Lily fell flat on her face and didn't move. Hermione gaped at her unconscious friend, but Severus was immediately at her side, cradling her body against his chest.
"She'll be fine," he murmured, meeting Hermione's gaze from where he sat. He looked sickly and pale, a few strands of his fringe sticking onto his sweaty forehead. "She tends to pass out after doing this spell. Nevertheless, we've been successful."
Sev turned his head and Hermione followed his gaze. A single floorboard shone bright with liquid gold. Judging from the grim line on Sev's face, she concluded that was where Voldemort had hidden the Gaunt ring.
Frank and Alice immediately scrambled towards the glowing wood. Alice waved her wand and wordlessly yanked the wood away. Thick, dark magic engulfed the whole room, and familiar despair rose out from Hermione's stomach. Regulus flinched beside her as a dark shadow clouded his face.
"Merlin, I thought I'd never feel that again," he murmured under his breath, and Hermione knew he was thinking of their mission back at the cave.
"It's here," Alice declared. "The horcrux is here."
Frank's eyebrows furrowed as he slowly leant forward. His brown eyes turned glassy as he deliberately extended his fingers, intent on touching the cursed ring.
Horrified, Hermione hurtled a Stinging Hex at his hand, effectively shaking him out of his stupor. "Don't touch it!" she exclaimed. In three, big strides, she was kneeling beside the couple and was glancing at the ring. It was filthier than the one Marvolo Gaunt was wearing in the photo, but the black gem was unmistakable. It also held that strange, greenish glow Slytherin's locket had.
"I'm sorry," she apologised, grimacing at the wound on Frank's hand. "It's cursed. Anyone who touches it will experience a very slow, very painful death."
Frank paled and nodded his head in understanding.
"How do you know that?" Alice asked with wide eyes as Hermione absentmindedly grabbed onto a rusty metal plate and transfigured it into a small box.
"She studies a lot," Regulus excused. Alice obviously did not believe him, but she merely nodded her head and dropped the subject. The Black heir pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, his initials embroidered on the silk material, and offered it to Hermione.
The brunette murmured her thanks and carefully wrapped the menacing ring inside the handkerchief. She then deposited it inside the box and locked it with vehemence. Her wand swished and flicked with inhumane speed, muttering a litany of warding spells until the suffocating dark magic was dispelled.
When she looked back at the Aurors, they were gaping at Hermione like she had grown another head. "I study a lot," she lamely replied, gratefully accepting Regulus's extended hand to pull her back onto her feet.
Lily, by then, had stirred awake. "Are you all right, Lily?" Hermione worriedly asked.
"I'm fine," the redhead said, followed by a wide yawn. "Were we successful though?"
"Yes," Sev said, concern in his dark eyes as he brushed some of her hair away from her face.
Lily expelled a sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin," she breathed out. "I never want to experience that again."
"We must leave," Frank announced. "Dumbledore set a time limit for the retrieval. If we have exceeded the allotted five hours, he said he'd send back-up."
"Well, that's terribly impractical," Hermione pointed out with a frown. "Not to mention dangerous. Voldemort would most definitely be alerted and become suspicious."
Alice kindly smiled at Hermione and placed a hand on her arm. "We can't afford to lose members now. Not when the pinnacle is approaching."
Frank reached for Alice's hand. "We must leave," he repeated. "Lily needs some tending to."
Hermione wordlessly followed them out, her mind already too overwhelmed with the fact that they had finally found all of Voldemort's horcruxes. Her heart loudly thudded inside her chest, unable to stop her lips from stretching into a wide smile.
"We did it," she whispered, turning to face Regulus. Her eyes shone with unshed, happy tears, which wasn't left unnoticed by the Black heir.
Instead of sniping a snarky reply, Regulus gave her an uncharacteristic wobbly grin. "We did it."
-ooo-
They walked out of the Headmaster's Office after they had been dismissed by him. Hermione explicitly told him that, no matter what, he should never open the ring box and try to wear the ring, because it was cursed and they'd rather he was very much alive to bring Voldemort down.
Although the others had found her warning amusing, Dumbledore understood the meaning in her eyes. He resolutely nodded his head, hid the horcrux out of sight, and even placed a few of his chosen wards around the box too.
"Well, that was fun," Frank said, turning towards the younger members of the Order. His brown eyes swept towards Hermione, a grin now plastered on his face. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Hermione Pettigrew."
The brunette snorted when he even extended a hand. Nonetheless, she grasped it and gave it a firm shake. "Likewise," she replied.
"Goodbye," Alice said with a bright beam on her face. "Please be careful out there."
They wordlessly nodded their heads for their goodbye. Alice reached out for her husband and with one last wave of their hands, they walked away from the group.
The redhead, who now looked marginally better, turned to her best friend. "Do you want to come over for dinner, Hermione?" Lily asked. "It's been a while since we hung out with you." Her emerald eyes swept over Regulus, his disguise still in place. "You're welcome to join us too, Mister Rogers."
Regulus snorted at the use of his Muggle name and then glanced at Hermione, waiting for her reply.
The brunette shifted her gaze away and blurted out, "I have something else to do."
Lily and Sev paused in their walking and sharply glanced at Hermione. "What are you planning to do?" Sev hissed, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"None of your business," she hastily said.
"Why are you acting shady all of a sudden?" Lily cried. She clutched both of Hermione's hands and forced her to look into her eyes. "You're planning to do something dangerous, aren't you?"
"It's not as dangerous as the horcrux hunt. I promise," she ground out, knowing it was futile to lie to these two people, who'd known her since she was eleven years old. Sev had pointed out one time that she was shite at lying.
Regulus tiredly sighed. "Is this necessary?" he asked. When Hermione nodded her head, he frowned. "Then fine. I'm coming with you. I'm sure you're going to act all Hermione Granger right now and be a reckless, idiotic Gryffindor."
"You were a Gryffindor in your past life?" Lily gasped, her green eyes lighting up in delight.
"Of course you were a Gryffindor," Sev groaned with a flourished eye roll.
"We're coming with you too, right Sev?"
Hermione frown deepened when he firmly nodded his head. "You're both exhausted from the spell," she protested. "This is something I can manage on my own."
"Let's just get this over and done with so we can bloody sleep," Sev crankily replied.
Hermione scowled at the determined looks on her best friends' faces. "Fine," she relented. "Just don't think I'm barmy for doing this."
-ooo-
"You are most definitely barmy for doing this!" Sev cried in horror.
Hermione grimaced and ignored his exclamation, her eyes trained intently on the tombstone right in front of her. Tom Riddle Sr.'s name was embedded on the stone, together with the names of Voldemort's grandparents, who he had murdered on the same night. Amongst the other tombstones, this area was obviously reserved for the fallen Riddle family, boasting their fortune and prestige, which they had once held when they were still alive.
When they arrived back at Little Hangleton, her three companions had voiced out their surprise and curiosity. But Hermione purposively ignored them and strode in the opposite direction away from the Gaunt's house. They had been blessedly silent during their tense trek, but Hermione could feel the nervous glances they kept on darting at her back. They'd been mightily confused when they had arrived at the graveyard near the Riddle House, with Hermione determinedly bringing them towards the gravesite where the Riddle family were buried.
Hermione ignored their silent curiosity as she brandished her wand and started to remove the soil to unearth the casket beneath.
This was definitely something barmy, but Hermione had been distracted thinking about this graveyard ever since they'd left the horcrux in Dumbledore's care. Like the Vanishing Cabinet, Hermione felt like she had to do something to prevent a disastrous thing from happening in the future.
"What are you doing?" Regulus hissed, stomping forwards to glare at the determined brunette. "Pettigrew, this is insane!"
Hermione paused her furious digging and tiredly glanced at the other three. Identical looks of horror and confusion were painted on their pale faces. "In the year 1995, near the end of the school-year, Voldemort came back into power after his defeat in the First Wizarding War," she dully started. Her blue eyes landed back on the tombstone and she grimaced. "Since he still had his horcruxes, he was tethered to this very earth, but he had no body. Thus, he concocted a plan with one of his followers to trick the Chosen One into meeting him here, at this very graveyard."
She blinked back tears as she remembered Harry's horrified cries ringing throughout the Hogwarts grounds, desperately announcing to the whole world that Voldemort was back. "One of ingredients needed for his ritual was the bone of his father." She pointed her wand tip at Tom Riddle Sr.'s name. "And I know this is bloody barmy, and very much disrespectful to the dead but I can't—" She paused and took a deep, shuddering breath as a tear slipped down from her eye. "If things don't go according to plan, I just want to prevent Voldemort from finding any means to wreak havoc in the future and lead the whole Wizarding World into another war. So…" She trailed off and weakly gestured at the half-exposed casket. "That's why I'm doing this."
Lily's face crumpled as she took a step forward. "What can we do to help?" she asked.
Hermione gave her best friend a grateful smile. "Changing the names on the tombstones won't work because the Riddles were buried in a specific part of this graveyard, away from the ordinary dead," she explained. "So, what I plan to do is to switch his father's body with another corpse, just to trick Voldemort into thinking he is using his father's bone for his vile ritual."
When Regulus paled, she quickly added, "I'm going to return him to his proper resting place once everything's fine. I just… I will rest easy knowing I've botched up one of his future diabolical plans."
"You know that the future isn't set in stone," Sev pointed out. "Voldemort might just find another means of resurrecting himself."
Hermione sighed tiredly. "I know that," she said. "But I've changed a lot of things in this bloody timeline already. One more thing won't hurt."
"Fine," Regulus replied. "Where do you want the exchange to happen?"
She pointed at the opposite, farthest area of the graveyard, where the body of one John Smith lay. Lily and Sev placed various spells around them to ward them off from curious, Muggle eyes. Then, the couple worked on unearthing John Smith's casket while Regulus helped Hermione with her digging.
After making sure that no one was going to accidentally witness their bouts of magic, the four performed the switch. It took them a few more minutes to cover the caskets with soil once more.
"You know," Lily said as she and Sev walked back to where Hermione and Regulus stood, "this would have been unnecessary if Voldemort does die in this timeline."
Hermione wryly smiled and brushed a few of her wayward tears away. "I'm not going to take any more chances," she ground out. "I've lived through a horrible life before. I'd rather it doesn't repeat, especially since I can do something about it this time."
Lily sighed and linked arms with the younger witch.
"Let us go," Sev said. "It's been a long day for us all."
Her blue eyes lingered on the tombstone, grim relief blooming in her heart.
"Come on, Hermione."
She took a deep breath and smiled at Lily, allowing her to pull her away from the graveyard.
[1] Tenebris Animae Inveniri – roughly translates to "Dark soul be found". Thank you wizard god for online Latin translations ahahahaha
A/N: So yay, they got all of the horcruxes now. Just a heads up, a lot of your questions will be answered very, very soon.
Thank you so much to all those who still stick by despite how everything's starting to get a tad complicated. The last few weeks had been really shite (no exaggeration really). I'm on my laptop almost 8 hours straight without any rests because of online lectures and telemedicine and it's starting to trigger my migraine again lmao. I can't even read fanfics anymore smh! But yes, I still make time for my daily updates because I love this story very much hahaha.
So, that's it for now. See you tomorrow! I have a feeling y'all going to hate me tomorrow but oh well, I'm used to it anyway ahahaha.
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe
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