Disclaimer: I don't own the awesome chant Percy and Hermione use in the story. It's from Tangled and I love it.
AU! Time travel.
Warnings: DEATH.
Written for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
House: Thunderbird
Class/Task Number: American Magical History. 2. [Traditional Magic] someone rediscovering Old Magic.
Bonus Prompts:
[setting] The Ministry of Magic
Word Count: 3080/4500
Based on the Fake Redhead's Writing Prompts:
"I'm going to need chicken blood, salt, five candles, and a bottle of vodka."
"Vodka? For the spell?"
"No, that's just to make me feel better about ripping a hole in the universe."
War, Death, Time.
After everyone dies during the war, Percy and Hermione, as the lone survivors, come across an ancient spell. Old Magic might save the day, after all.
It had all gone down the drain the moment Harry had walked into the forest to confront Voldemort alone and defenceless.
A werewolf from Fenrir's pack had bitten Lavender after Voldemort called a time-out. Ron hadn't reacted well to the incident. He'd cast an Unforgivable Curse on the werewolf who'd dropped dead to the ground.
The pack members of the werewolf had roared with fury and had attacked the students instantly.
Blood had flown in rivulets as the poor students stood no chance. Ron had been one of the first to be killed.
Ginny had been the second when she'd tried to attack her brother's murderers.
Only Percy Weasley had been the only surviving member of the Weasley clan.
Professor McGonagall was killed by an outraged woman with blonde hair. Professor Slughorn had been killed next, his eyes wide with shock, as he'd fallen to his knees. Hermione had watched an Acromantula carry an injured Neville off into the forest as he'd screamed for help.
As Hermione had tried to fight back, Percy had rushed over to her side, his wand held aloft in his hand.
"There's too many of them! We need to fall back!" He'd cried out, tear tracks on his face.
Hermione had violently shaken her head and cried, "Everyone's dead, how can we just give up?!"
Percy had suddenly grabbed her by her waist and dragged her into an alcove. "Listen, Hermione, we don't have much time! We can't give up now, I know. But we've lost everyone and everything! We need to regroup with any survivors," he'd tried to persuade her to see reason.
When she'd heard his words, she'd burst into sobs and hugged him tightly. He'd awkwardly held her as his own tears had flown down his face.
"What do we do?!" She brokenly sobbed into his bloodied robes; she had a feeling she knew whose blood that was — his girlfriend, Penelope's.
"We need to head into the forest," he had whispered to her.
"Th–the forest? But that's where they are!"
"We don't have any choice. We need to head in the opposite direction. Look for survivors along the way. But we need to find a safe place — the castle isn't safe anymore."
"Okay," Hermione had sniffled.
The two of them had snuck out of the castle and left the dead behind. They had hid behind corpses, fallen walls and boulders flung by giants. They had tried to search for survivors, but it seemed like none had lived, besides them.
Hermione's heart had hurt when she had seen Remus and Tonks holding hands even in death. Percy had choked on his sobs when he had seen his best friend, Oliver Wood, crushed under a large boulder.
The two had tightened their hold on each other's hand and had attempted to muffle their agonized cries when they saw Mrs Weasley's badly mangled body near Mr Weasley's. Seamus' body had lain near Dean's, while Parvati and Padma had been propped up against the wall like marionettes whose strings had been cut suddenly.
The two lone survivors had managed to sneak into the Forbidden Forest, their wands in their hands. Percy had looked at the trail and whispered, "Harry went that way, didn't he?"
Hermione had shakily nodded and whispered, "I think so. Why?"
Percy had shaken his head and whispered, "We need to stay off the trail, then. We can't run into the Death Eaters. We need to find a place to Disapparate from safely without being seen. Once we get to a safe place, we'll discuss what to do next."
They had, thankfully, found a small clearing from which they had Apparated to the first place Percy had thought of.
The Ministry of Magic.
The Atrium was completely empty when they reached it. The gilded fireplaces on either side were shut as well. They snuck down into the Department of Mysteries where Sirius had fallen through the Veil.
Hermione asked him quietly, "What do we do now?"
All her strength had waned. Her mind was blank. She had no idea what to do. She needed guidance.
Percy pulled her towards him and replied, "We can't ask the Ministry for help. They're all on his side now. He's got too much power. We need to hide here. It's the last place anyone could ever think of looking for us."
"Do you think anyone will look for us?" Hermione's tone cracked.
"I don't know.. and neither do I care. We're likely assumed to be dead by now. The werewolves killed everyone — no survivors except us."
Hermione's tears flowed down her cheeks again, her eyes and nose both red due to the heartbreak she'd gone through in so little time. Percy uncharacteristically pulled her into his arms and pressed his chin to the top of her head. He was suddenly reminded of Ginny and the way he'd hugged her back when they were kids.
His eyes filled with tears at the thought of never seeing Ginny again — never seeing anyone in his family again. How could he have been so stupid? He'd hurt his family by siding with the Ministry, and now he didn't even have the opportunity to apologize.
"Percy, do you really think hiding here is a good idea? We're smack dab in the middle of the Ministry with no plan or strategy — or even protection! How will we survive this?"
Percy stared down at Hermione for a few minutes as he tried to formulate a response. He knew she was scared — he was too. But he didn't want to worry her even more. He swallowed nervously and murmured, "I might know someone who works here in the DoM. He might be able to help us."
"Can we trust him?" Her question broke Percy's heart.
Merlin, they were so young! At this age, they should have been worrying about their test results or whether their crush liked them or not — but here they were trying to figure out if they could trust someone not to kill them on sight.
Percy quietly nodded and said, "I think so, yeah."
Hermione swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat at his uncertain reply, but she nodded. "Very well, how do we contact this man? We can't risk a Patronus, can we?"
Percy thought quickly and said, "I'll have to go find him myself."
"Not without me, you won't," Hermione snapped, as her hands immediately tightened on Percy's robes.
"Listen, Hermione, I'm supposedly on the Ministry's side — only the Minister knew I had gone back to Hogwarts to fight with the Order. And I killed him. No one else knows about me 'defecting'. I'll be in and out quickly, okay? You'll have to stay here and wait for me."
Hermione threw her arms around Percy's waist. "I don't want to lose you too. You're my last hope," she sobbed into his chest brokenly.
A lump formed in Percy's throat as he held onto his new sister. They were in this together now.
"I promise you I'll be safe and I'll come back here in two hours. If I don't return, go to Aunt Muriel's. You know her address?"
"Yes, the t–twins t–told me," Hermione choked out in pain. Percy swallowed but the lump in his throat remained stuck in place.
"Okay, two hours later, we meet at Aunt Muriel's. Deal," Hermione whispered as she slowly untangled herself from Percy's arms.
"Remember, if anyone sees you, they'll try to kill you — you need to attack first," he warned her as he stepped back.
"Be safe, Percy," she whispered and then watched Percy Weasley leave the Department of Mysteries.
Two hours later, Hermione decided something was wrong. Percy wasn't anywhere to be seen. She started to move towards the door when she heard a voice gently call out, "Hermione, it's me, Percy. Where are you?"
Hermione stiffened and waited for the voice to come closer. She slammed Percy to the ground and growled, "What's the first thing you ever said to me when I came to Hogwarts?"
Percy said softly, "I remember you were worried about your OWLs already and how you would fare. I told you I thought you would do well because you were already so worried about them."
Hermione let him stand up. She turned to face the tall, thickset man behind Percy.
"You!" She gasped and quickly pointed her wand at the man.
Percy stopped her before she could hex him. "Don't hurt him. He's the one who can help us," Percy coaxed her to lower her wand.
"B–but it's ROWLE! He's a Death Eater!" Hermione gasped, horrified at Percy's reasoning.
"Correction: my twin brother's a Death Eater. I am not," the man drawled as he leaned against the wall haughtily.
"W–what?" Hermione stammered out as she gaped at the lounging man.
"It happens a lot, I know. My name's Birger Rowle, and I swear I'm not on their side. I went to Durmstrang, kid." The man rolled up his sleeves for verification.
Hermione glanced at Percy and asked, "How do you know this man, Percy?"
Percy replied, "He works here in the Department of Mysteries, Hermione. How else would I know him?"
Hermione glanced at Birger and suddenly snorted.
"What?" Both men asked at the same time.
"Nothing — it's just that.. your name's Birger. And you're here to help us," Hermione said, a little amused at the coincidence.
"What?" Percy looked at Hermione bewildered.
"His name's Birger, which means 'one who helps' in Old Norse," Hermione explained.
"You actually know that?" Birger asked, surprised at the little tidbit she'd given Percy.
"I used to read mythology before…" Hermione trailed off, as she suddenly became solemn.
"Hey, none of that. I spoke to Birger — he's agreed to protect us for some time," Percy said.
"Thank you so much, Mr Rowle. I don't know how we'll be able to repay you ever for your kindness," Hermione whispered, her heart filled with gratefulness.
"By saving the world, you will," Birger said as he walked them towards the Death Chamber.
"Everyone's dead, Rowle," Percy admitted, his head bowed.
Birger swallowed and whispered, "Really?"
"Yeah, most of the Death Eaters and Greyback's pack too," Percy informed him. Birger nodded, but he remained silent.
When they entered the Death Chamber, Birger said, "This is the only place in the Ministry that no one comes to these days — not even the rest of the Unspeakables. You'll be safe here for now. I'll sneak in some essentials for you soon, okay?"
The two thanked Birger before he left. When he'd disappeared down the hallway, Percy turned to Hermione and asked, "What were you guys up to?"
Hermione knew she needed to tell him, and so, she did. Everything poured out of her mouth: the Horcruxes, the Basilisk's venom-infused Sword of Gryffindor, the Gringotts raid, what had happened at Malfoy Manor, going to Shell Cottage, Harry being a Horcrux, Snape's true loyalties.
Percy patiently listened to her rant and cry, his hand on her back. Once she was done, Percy glanced at the archway and whispered, "I wish we could change things, don't you?"
Hermione wiped her tears as she looked up at the Veil. The voices that sounded from the archway were muffled but Hermione and Percy could both feel their loved ones' presence near them.
A few days later, Birger arrived with a huge stack of ancient tomes. He handed them to Hermione and said, "I think this will help you. But you need to be absolutely sure before you try it."
"What is it?" Hermione questioned.
"Old Magic. The library in the Love Chamber has better books about Old Magic than mine," Birger grumbled.
"Where do you work?" Hermione asked him curiously.
"Time Chamber."
As Hermione stared at Birger, a hint of a plan — a very dangerous plan — formed in her head.
She thanked him for the books, and started to read through them with Percy's help. The books offered her the same solution that had popped into her head. Hermione and Percy hesitantly started to converse with Birger about the spell they'd read about in the book.
"Do you think this could work?" Percy asked, as he stared at the book that lay open in front of him.
"I've studied a bit of Old Magic before, sure, but I'm not hundred percent sure it'll work," Birger admitted hesitantly. He didn't want to raise their hopes after all.
Hermione stared at the Veil resolutely. "We'll try the spell. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, we'll die." Hermione smacked her palm against the harsh floor of the Chamber.
"Hermione…" Percy started to say, but she interrupted him.
"No, Percy. I've had enough! Barely surviving is not a good way to live. Not now when he's in power. Not when even our last hope — Harry — has died! This isn't right, but we need to do it," she barked, her frizzy hair piled on top of her head.
They hadn't showered in days, nor had they changed their clothes. They'd shovelled food down their throats as fast as possible — as if it were their last meal.
"The kid's right, Weasley. You'll have to do this together, though. I'll bring in the items you'll need for the spell, if you both agree." Birger tapped his fingers against his thigh as he watched Percy's reaction.
Percy's heart dropped. The spell they would be attempting wasn't just Old Magic — it was Dark too. He was hesitant to use Dark magic himself to defeat the Dark Lord, but then the thought of his dead family and friends rose to the front of his mind's eye.
And he agreed.
"So, I'm going to need chicken blood, salt, five candles and a bottle of vodka," Birger announced as he stood up and ticked off the items on his fingers.
"Vodka? For the spell?" Hermione remarked, a frown on her lips as she tried to think if it was mentioned in the book.
"No, that's just to make me feel better about ripping a hole in the universe," Birger said with a grin on his face.
"Birger!" Percy cried, annoyed.
"Relax, relax, I'll come back soon with the things. There's a full moon tomorrow night. It'll be the perfect time to use the spell," he said, before he bid them goodnight and left the Death Chamber.
That night, Hermione lay awake and gazed at the Veil for a long time. Neither Percy or Hermione had told Birger about the voices they could hear from the Veil.
The voices soothed them, calmed them, but also agitated them because they couldn't reach their loved ones without killing themselves in the process.
"Are you thinking about tomorrow?" Percy whispered, as he too gazed at the Veil.
"It'll be okay," she tried to reassure him, but Percy knew she was trying to reassure herself.
"It'll be okay," he still repeated and took her hand in his. She was his lifeline, now. He didn't know what he would do without her.
"First, you two need to hold hands for the spell to work. Otherwise you two might end up in different times. We don't want that to happen, do we?" Birger said.
The Death Chamber was dimly lit by the five candles. They had been strategically placed around the salt circle Hermione and Percy stood within. Birger had drawn a crude pentagram in the middle of the circle using the chicken's blood. The half-empty bottle of vodka lay propped up against the wall, Birger stood nearby with the heavy tome of Old Magic in his hands.
When Hermione and Percy had entwined their hands as they stood in the middle of the circle, Birger carefully levitated a large crown of lilies, white carnations, chrysanthemums and orchids over their heads.
He took a deep breath and said, "Remember, guys. This will send you to the most appropriate time before the rise of You-Know-Who. You'll probably not understand what time you've been sent to at first, but you'll have your memories, you'll be around each other somehow. Make sure not to tell anyone what you're up to. And remember, whatever you do, whatever you say — it'll affect the other timeline." Birger hesitated before he continued, "You know you won't be able to return, right? You'll have to spend the rest of your lives in that other timeline. Are you guys still sure you want to do this? It's not too late to back out now."
To Hermione's surprise, it was Percy who said bluntly, "We're doing this. And we're doing this now. Get on with it, Rowle."
Hermione nodded and replied, "We don't have anyone else here anymore. We won't know anyone else in the other timeline, but at least we'll have each other."
Birger nodded and said, "Very well. Keep a tight hold on the other's hand, okay? When the flowers start falling, start the chant."
He cleared his throat and waved his wand at the flowers. As the flowers started to gleam softly in the darkness of the Chamber, Hermione and Percy chanted together.
"Flowers, gleam and glow,
Let your powers shine,
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the Fate's design,
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine."
As the myriad of petals fell around them, the ground under their feet started to tremble and shake uncontrollably.
Birger gasped as a bright angel-white light enshrouded the two and almost blinded him. He squinted his eyes shut as the light grew brighter and brighter; until finally, it dimmed and disappeared. He opened his eyes and found that Percy and Hermione had disappeared along with it.
Anglo-Saxon England,
995 AD
"I am Lord Salazar of the Slytherin Clan, milady. Pleased to make your acquaintance," said the handsome black-haired young man as he bowed and kissed the back of Hermione's hand.
'Merlin, this was not what I'd expected,' Hermione thought, as she introduced herself as Hermione of the Grangers to the man who would one day father a line of blood supremacists — one particular descendent would become Lord Voldemort.
As Hermione agreed to dance with Salazar Slytherin, she caught sight of Percy on Rowena Ravenclaw's arm.
As they danced with their respective partners, they caught each other's eye, and the same thought ran through their minds.
'What have we gotten ourselves into?'
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