Chapter Six

July 19th, 1981
Godric's Hollow

It had been hours since Harry had sent off his Patronus to Draco and Hermione. When the little otter had flown in through the window of the cottage, briefly swimming around the toddler version of himself, Harry had smiled. Knowing that Draco was safe was a weight off of his shoulders, but he had fully expected for Hermione to have initiated contact first. He had assumed that if they ever activated the Time-Turners to go back this far, it would have been Hermione's idea; Draco often complained about time travelling. When Hermione's Patronus had finally returned and told him that she was safe, Harry had nearly cried in relief. They had all made it back. They had left behind their entire world for the unknown, but all three of them had made the trip safely.

The three of them had always had a final, last-ditch effort plan, right from the moment that they had slipped the devices around their necks. Go back, bit by bit, to see if they could save as many people as possible or get close enough to Voldemort to strike a final blow. Somehow, everything had always turned against them; their friends had always died, or, like Ron and George, ended up in Azkaban.

Harry had used the Time-Turners most often, always wanting to save everyone. Unfortunately, in every new timeline that Harry created by going back a few hours to save one person, someone else would ultimately die in their place. He could never be in enough places at once. When Andromeda and Teddy had been murdered, he had nearly gotten Hermione killed after turning back without warning, which landed her in the middle of a previously fought battle due to her location. When nothing Harry had tried could save his godson and Andromeda, and once Hermione had recovered from a hit she had taken in the side from a stray hex, he had promised that he would never be the one to turn back again, not unless he had no choice. Hermione, of course, had agreed.

Despite being safe, knowing that Draco was the one to send them back made Harry incredibly anxious. The sooner the three of them were together again, the easier his heart would rest. In the meantime, he smiled as his mother fussed over him.

"How do you take your tea?" she asked, bringing him a cup. "If you're anything like James, I imagine it's sugar and milk? I take mine with lemon, but I've never had a sweet tooth like the boys. Though, I will admit I had a slight addiction to sugar quills during fifth year."

Harry beamed up at her. He would have drunk Stinksap if his mother served it to him. "This is great . . . umm . . ."

Lily smiled down at him as he took the cup and awkwardly fumbled over his words. As if she understood what was concerning him, she delicately pushed the fringe out of his eyes and said, "Mum. You can call me that. It's true, after all. I know that, technically, we're near in age, but who says we have to pay attention to technicalities?"

"You do." James walked into the room, folding a piece of parchment up and slipping it into an envelope. "All the time. You're all about details and technicalities."

"Am not," Lily argued. "Don't listen to a word he says, Harry. Your father is a wretched liar."

James grinned at her, a roguish smile that Harry assumed had been perfected once he had actually won the girl, rather than during the six years he had spent pining and pleading for her attention. "Don't tell the lad lies about me," he said with a laugh. "You are all about details and technicalities. Unbending, you are. You once threw a chizpurfle fang at my head."

"That's because you suggested that newt blood could be used in place of salamander blood in a Wiggenweld Potion," Lily defended, folding her arms across her chest as she flopped down beside Harry on the sofa. "Honestly."

Harry cleared his throat, chuckling under his breath. When Lily turned and smiled at him, he sheepishly confessed his ignorance by asking, "Is there a difference?"

James laughed when Lily's eyes widened dramatically. She placed her hand to her heart and sighed. "No Potions N.E.W.T.?"

Harry, sparing her the story of his seventh year that never was, placated her by admitting, "Got an O.W.L. in it: Exceeds Expectations. I earned an Outstanding in Defence, though."

"We can't all be perfect, love," James said as he passed by once more, stopping to kiss the top of Lily's head. She waved him off silently, devoting her entire attention to Harry. Sealing the envelope in his hand, James exhaled. "Right. I told Sirius to come home straight away, not to say a word to anyone about it or to cause a scene, and that there was no need to worry because we were all safe."

"That doesn't sound ominous." Lily sighed nervously. "Do we even know how to get ahold of Remus and Peter?"

James shook his head. "Peter's in Ireland helping track the illegal potions that Moody overheard one of the Lestranges purchasing. Remus is Merlin knows where on Dumbledore's orders."

Huffing, Lily wrung her hands together angrily. "You know very well where Remus is, James."

Sighing, James looked at Harry. "Any ideas?"

"On Remus's location? A few." Harry made eye contact with his mother and frowned. "I suppose it won't do much damage now that we've already altered the timeline. Remus is spying on Greyback's werewolf pack."

Letting out an exhale filled with fury, Lily scowled. "I knew it. God, I just knew it. How awful. How could Dumbledore think to send Remus back to the man who attacked him as a boy? That's wretched."

James looked no more pleased than his wife but a great deal more torn about the information. "Harry, is there something we need to know about Dumbledore?"

Harry looked down, unable to make eye contact with his father. "He just . . . wants to end the war."

"By any means necessary?"

Before Harry could answer, the conversation was interrupted again by the small, silver otter. "Hermione?" he asked, often forgetting that Patronuses were more like telegrams than telephones.

The otter perched on the table nearest Harry, and opened its mouth. "Outside. Now."

Harry ran to the front door, flinging it open and drawing his wand. "Hermione!"

"I'm fine," she insisted with a smile, limping toward him. "Just a little splinch. We were in a rush." A trickle of blood rolled down her left calf as she hobbled toward her friend, half supported by Remus.

James gaped in shock. "Moony?"

"Hullo, Prongs."

"Get inside, everyone," Lily said from the door, ushering them all into the house while simultaneously casting a Notice-Me-Not in case any villagers happened to glance in the direction of the cottage.

"These wards are child's play," Hermione said to the room at large. "I don't even have a wand, and I can feel how weak they are. Specifically, there's an erosion on the left corner." She would have said more, but Harry wrapped her in a tight hug, and she found herself letting out an involuntary sob of relief. "God, I thought for a while there that I'd come back alone."

"Never," Harry murmured. "We've handled worse things together than decades of time travel in one go."

Hermione laughed. "Trolls."

"Umbridge."

"Ron's snoring."

Harry squeezed her tighter. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," she promised. "There are a few things that have altered our plans." Hermione let go of Harry and turned around to see Remus being similarly hugged by another man. Her attention was then drawn to the only other witch in the room. "Wow," she said in awe, "Lily Potter."

Lily smiled awkwardly. "You must be Hermione."

"It's an honour." Hermione extended her hand to the redhead. "Truly." She let out a nervous sigh when Lily took her hand. Despite being surrounded by friends, there was a tension in the air. "How much has Harry told you?"

James frowned. "Enough."

Harry shook his head. "Just enough. I told them about the war, our war, and how we got the Time-Turners." He took a good look at Remus and the way that the man's gaze rested possessively on Hermione. "What have you been sharing?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Just enough."

Smiling, Harry sighed and brought her in for another hug. Stepping back, he gave her a once over, looking for injuries. "These aren't your clothes. Why aren't you wearing shoes? Hermione! Your feet are bleeding."

Wincing, Hermione glanced down at her feet and then immediately up at Lily. "I'm so sorry. I'd forgotten."

"Don't apologise," Lily insisted, putting an arm around Hermione's shoulders and brushing Remus away in the process. "Let's get you healed up. I have some Dittany in the kitchen."

Hermione looked back at Remus, offering him a gentle smile as she was pulled from his reach. "You keep your Dittany in the kitchen?"

Lily chuckled sweetly. "Boys like to do things the Muggle way sometimes. I'm sure you know how that is."

"Oh, it'll be nice to have another Muggle-born around," Hermione said, her voice thick with emotion as she disappeared around a corner.

Harry's focus was drawn to the man standing beside his father. "Wow," he muttered, awkwardly extending his hand. "I'm umm . . . Harry."

Remus stared at the hand for a long time before laughing. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt so mental in all my life, and that's truly saying something." He shared a look with James before taking Harry's hand. "Well, Harry, I suppose you know who I am then? Hermione told me all about you. Then again," he said, looking at the child in the corner currently chewing on the wing of a stuffed dragon, "I suppose we've already met, haven't we? Or will meet."

"Even so," Harry said, his eyes wet as he stared at the man with a mixture of grief and joy. "It's good to see you again, Remus. You've no idea." His smile was so wide it threatened to actually hurt, and Harry glanced at his father. "Honestly, if Sirius were to walk through that door right now, I might just . . . I've not been this happy in quite some time."

James snorted. "Might not let your girlfriend hear that." Harry's smile faded instantly, a split second before Remus let go of his hand and growled. James blinked, wide-eyed, and stared at the pair of them as they shared confused looks. "What did I say? Isn't she your—?"

"No," Remus answered on Harry's behalf. "She . . . She's not. Right?"

Harry shook his head as he stared at Remus. "No. She's family to me. I'm a little curious as to why you're so concerned with . . ." His eyes widened comically, and Harry looked back toward the kitchen. "Hermione! Something you'd like to share?"

James's eyebrows lifted, and he let out a low whistle. "Well done, Moony."

"Piss off," Remus muttered without emotion, following Harry's line of sight toward the kitchen.

Hermione winced as she sat down at the small table in the kitchen while Lily fussed around in the cabinets, looking for the Dittany and potions. Her gaze settling on the high chair at the end of the table, Hermione smiled. "This is good. Harry will grow up in a world without Voldemort. We always knew coming back this far was a long shot, especially since it was irreversible, but . . . it will be worth it. Everything will be fine now."

Lily came to Hermione's side, pulling another chair out for her to put her feet up on. "What about you? The three of you, I mean. Harry said that he came back with another person as well? What are the three of you going to do when Voldemort is gone?"

Hermione let out a laugh to stop herself from crying. "When he's gone. God, I don't think any of us ever made plans. I personally never imagined surviving this long, let alone the entire war. Harry will be fine, though. He always is. And now . . . Well, now he has his family back." Her voice broke on the end of her words, and she sucked in a sharp breath, glad when Lily pressed a wet cloth to the bottom of her feet. It stung like hell, but it was distracting.

"You'll all stay with us for as long as you need."

Hermione shook her head. "I wouldn't impose."

"You're family. Harry says you've been with him since he was eleven, and we'll not separate you now." When Hermione smiled at her sadly, Lily placed a hand on her knee. "I know what it's like to leave everything behind and put blind faith in a world where you know you belong but still aren't welcome. We Muggle-borns have to rebuild our entire lives in this world. It's terrible, but you have to do it again. I'll help; it's the least I can do for you."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Hermione laughed quietly. "Harry's always understood, to a small degree, since he was raised Muggle, but people don't look at him the same way they do me, knowing who my parents are."

Lily's brows furrowed curiously. "What do you mean he was raised Muggle? I mean, I know that James and I . . . that we didn't originally make it," she said, trying to be careful with her words, as though acknowledging her own death by saying "died" would somehow alert fate. "I highly doubt Sirius would have ever gone full Muggle, though."

Realising her mistake, Hermione's mouth fell open. Lily caught the look immediately, green eyes widening. Before either could say another word, Harry yelled from the other room, and Hermione jumped to her feet, wincing at the pressure and stretch of newly repaired skin.

Darting out of Lily's path, Hermione peeked back from around the corner into the living room. She bit her lower lip, keeping eye contact with Harry as she wobbled back toward the group as though her feet were still injured. They were cleaned and healed, the smell of Dittany lingering.

"Everything all right, Harry?" she asked innocently, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. When he continued to just gape at her silently, her lips pursed and her nose twitched. "Oh, don't you give me that look, Harry James Potter. You've no idea what I've been through while you've been having tea with your parents. Thank God for Remus. If he'd not been there, I certainly wouldn't have survived."

Harry frowned, his curiosity about his best friend and Remus giving way to concern. "Where were you? What happened?"

"I arrived just where I was when I left our time," Hermione began with some hesitation, "in the Forest of Dean . . . during a full moon."

The worried look that Lily sported as she followed her in faded into an expression of sympathy and concern.

Paling dramatically, Harry pulled her into his arms. "Did anyone—?"

Hermione nodded, tears springing to her eyes. "I tried to fight them off, but I got bit. I'm a . . ." She gasped in between words, doing her best to try and not break down in tears. She had not properly cried since arriving in the past, but Harry had a way of breaking through all of her barriers with his love and concern. "I'm a . . ."

"You're going to be fine."

She looked up through wet eyelashes that clung together to see James Potter standing right behind Harry. His stern and determined expression truly did look just like his son's—or vice versa—and Hermione could actually feel the way that Remus relaxed the closer that his friend came to her. With Harry, he was tense, but James was someone he trusted without a thought. "You're going to be fine. Lily's a dab hand at healing, and we've had years of practise at handling werewolves," James said with a wry, but kind, grin. "You won't be alone. We know what to do."

An hour later, after a long shower and a fresh set of clothing borrowed from Lily, Hermione stood in front of a full-length mirror in the spare bedroom upstairs. Old Quidditch trophies sat on a shelf in the corner, and there were photographs—both magical and Muggle—hung on the walls. Harry had clearly slept there the night before, as his old clothes were hanging out of the hamper.

Hermione tried to adjust the collar of her blouse so that it covered the scar left behind. "One of many," she mumbled when nothing she did seemed to hide the silvery-pink crescent. She tilted her head to the other side, examining the mark left behind by Bellatrix's dagger.

"Hey."

Hermione looked at Harry's reflection in the mirror and smiled. "Hey."

He walked in, hands in his pockets. "Came to see if you needed anything. Remus is a bit of a mess downstairs. My, uh . . . mum gave him a little Calming Draught. God, that's so weird to say. I can't believe this has happened."

Turning around, Hermione faced him as she twisted her hair up into a messy ponytail. "It's good, though. We're going to fix everything." When she noticed Harry's eyes drawn to her scar, she sighed. "Don't look at me like that. And I swear, Harry, if you think this is your fault, I will hit you with something."

"Did it hurt?"

"This one? No." At his confused expression, Hermione cleared her throat. "I'm glad you came up alone. I don't want you freaking out in front of everyone else." She lifted her blouse, revealing the nasty bite wound on her side where she had been infected. "That's where I was bitten. They broke my wand, trapped me, and then when the sun came up, they took me back to their camp. Stole my clothes and my bag and paraded me in front of the whole werewolf pack. Apparently, newly bitten females are essentially auctioned off to the highest bidder."

When Harry's face began to turn red, she placed a hand on his arm. "Calm down. I'm safe now, aren't I?"

"That's despicable."

"Remus saved me."

Harry looked up. When she did not continue speaking, he stared at her suspiciously. "How?"

In answer, she pulled the collar back from her blouse, revealing the entire scar on her shoulder. "He took me. There was no other way to escape. Greyback had the area locked down with magic, and there were too many people to just make a run for it. Plus . . . remember in fifth year when we were researching for Dumbledore's Army, and we stumbled on those books about Dark creatures?"

Harry nodded, all of the red in his face settling in his cheeks. "The ones about werewolves . . ."

"Mating."

"Fucking hell." Harry leant forward, putting his head in his hands. "You're—"

"Mates. Actual ones too. Magically fated."

Sitting up, his brow pulled together. "But what about Tonks? And does this mean that Remus wanted you back when . . . Oh Merlin."

"It's triggered by a kiss. I kissed him, and then everything just . . . It's intense. So no, you horrible man," she said, pushing him away playfully, "Professor Lupin did not fancy me when I was a child. Also, best not mention that he was our professor. You know how he gets. He's less . . . self-deprecating than he was in his thirties, but still."

"I won't say anything. Bloody hell." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "He did love Tonks, though. Once."

Hermione nodded, swallowing down the guilt that crept up whenever she thought on it too hard. "They fell in love fighting a war. Tonks probably isn't even at Hogwarts yet. They won't have the chance to fall in love because we're going to end the war. Tonks won't ever have to fight or . . . die."

Harry still looked guilty. Hermione knew he was thinking about Teddy, but she refused to mention the baby's name. Harry had been so torn up about his death that she and Draco had collaborated in an attempt to remove the memories. In the end, they were able to take away the trauma, but leave Harry with the knowledge of what had happened. No one wanted to forget entirely.

They sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning on one another for support. A light in the window drew their attention, and they both turned to see a silver ferret sitting on the ledge. Harry let out a loud sigh of relief, pivoting to face the Patronus as though it were actually Draco. Hermione nearly fell off the bed with the sharp movement.

"Thank Merlin. He should have sent something hours ago."

The ferret opened its mouth, and Draco's familiar aristocratic drawl came out: "I'm safe. I don't want to explain why I activated the Time-Turner, not until I can do it in person. I can't come to you right away because Dumbledore knows that someone came through the wards here at Hogwarts; I imagine he's searching for the intruder right now. I've secluded myself in the Room of Hidden Things. Figure I'll do a little cleaning up while I'm here. Scratch something off of our to-do list."

"The diadem," Hermione whispered.

Harry's jaw clenched. "If that arsehole tries to cast Fiendfyre to destroy a bloody Horcrux without us, I'll kill him."

"I'll come to you soon. Stay where you are, Potter. Be smart. Don't be you."

The ferret vanished, and Harry audibly growled. "Don't be me. Wanker."

Hermione put her arm around his shoulders. "You love him."

Harry shrugged.