DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
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January 30, 1996
(present time)
Hermione woke up that morning feeling anxious. Today was the day they would be ending Voldemort. Hopefully. Because if everything went wrong, she would probably go crazy and send Leo to Australia, somewhere safe, with her entire family. Or, she might go back in time and just Avada a fifth-year student named Tom Riddle, and Vanish his body.
Last night, she, Harry, Ginny, and the twins met up at the Room of Requirement to finalise some things. Severus and the Order confirmed that Lucius and the other Death Eaters would be at the Department of Mysteries at 4 p.m. At that time, they should create a diversion so Umbridge wouldn't notice Hermione, Harry, Draco, and two other Slytherins were missing.
Hermione couldn't do what the other Hermione did because Umbridge was not the headmistress this time, and Albus Dumbledore still held the headmaster title. Dumbledore's Army had not been discovered yet. Umbridge had no reason yet to request to be appointed the High Inquisitor. Headmaster Dumbledore had full control of Hogwarts. Therefore, they didn't have any reason to use Umbridge's Floo.
"Fred and I were thinking of doing something to get punished by that old hag," George said.
Since that day, the twins learned about Leo, they had been inducted into the Order and viewed some Pensieve memories from Leo's time: the day the twins left Hogwarts, earning a salute for Peeves; the Battle at the Department of Mysteries; Bill and Fleur's wedding; and the Final Battle. Hermione didn't see George cry. She wasn't there when the twins watched the memories, but George was despondent, and Fred was not himself for a couple of days.
"And then, we can pretend that we're done and create that portable swamp, and summon our broomsticks, then leave the school with fireworks," Fred continued.
"Just pretend?" Ginny asked. "You promised Mum you're going to finish your education."'
Fred rolled his eyes. "Of course."
"Besides, the Order said someone has to distract her," George added.
"When we asked the headmaster how, he just winked at us and said he was sure we'd figure it out." That was Fred.
"And anyway, Fudge or the Ministry will have no right to demand the headmaster or staff members to punish us because the Minister wouldn't listen to him when he told him about Umbridge's Blood Quill," Hermione informed them.
Fred and George grinned. "Brilliant," they said in unison.
"Okay," Harry said seriously. "So, you'll distract Umbridge, and everyone's attention will be on you and the swamp. Hermione, Malfoy, his friends, and I can go to the Forbidden Forest, where some Order members will be waiting. Hermione and I are going to the Ministry, and Malfoy and his friends will go to the manor with Mr Brown to kill the snake..."
"That's right," she confirmed. "And then, just in case the other Death Eaters attack the castle - just in case," she emphasized, "Ginny and the D.A. will help Professor McGonagall and the rest of the staff protect the students."
"In case something unexpected happens here at Hogwarts, Fred and I are coming back," said George.
"So, while all of that is happening, Mum, Dad, and Bill would be somewhere destroying one Horcrux?" asked Ginny.
Hermione and Harry nodded. "Yes, but they would have to be there earlier. Bill had to get the Resurrection Stone from the Horcrux and hand it to Harry," she explained.
"The Resurrection Stone? Like in The Tales of Beedle the Bard?" asked George.
"The Deathly Hallows are true," Harry said softly. "I have the Invisibility Cloak, and someone else has the Elder Wand."
"Whoa! We didn't see that part in the memories," said Fred.
"Anyway, if Harry has the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak, just like in the other timeline, and he happens to be the master of the Elder Wand, he'll survive the Killing Curse again. Only the Horcrux in him will be gone," she explained.
"You will be the Master of Death," Fred gasped at Harry.
Harry just shook his head. "Anyway, while we're at the Ministry tomorrow, Narcissa Malfoy is going to destroy the Hufflepuff Cup right then and there in Gringotts. Mr Brown and the three Slytherins will take care of the snake, and Harry has already destroyed the Horcrux the Dark Lord kept here at Hogwarts."
Harry shook his head as if brushing off the memory. "That was awful, but Professor Dumbledore was there for me when I did it. I wasn't alone..."
"What are we going to tell Ron?" asked Ginny.
"The half-truth; that Hermione and I are going to the Ministry because Voldemort has Sirius, but he should stay here with you guys. He won't protest once we tell him that I'm going to the headmaster."
"And when it's over, we'll tell him everything," she quipped.
"Everything," Harry nodded.
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When Fred and George started the explosions to pull a prank on Umbridge in the middle of a DADA class, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in History of Magic. Harry instantly touched his scar and complained about having a headache in a hushed tone. Ron gave Harry a concerned look, and Hermione grabbed the boys' hands and led them out of the classroom, not minding Professor Binns. Neville, Lavender, and Dean quickly followed them outside.
"What happened?" asked Neville, concerned.
"My scar... it hurts," Harry said.
Hermione knew he wasn't faking it because the moment Harry allowed Voldemort to connect with him, there was pain. She saw it in the other Hermione's memories.
"Maybe you have to go to the hospital wing?" suggested Lavender.
Ron shook his head. "No, love. It's the scar... You-Know-Who's trying to enter his mind."
Hermione was surprised by the way Ron addressed his girlfriend. If the situation were different, she would have already winked at Lavender and sent Ron a teasing look.
"What?" Dean rasped. "But how? Why? How long has this been going on?"
"Sorry, guys, no time to explain," she told her classmates apologetically, then placed an arm around Harry's shoulders to support him. "Harry, we should go to Professor Dumbledore."
"He's too pleased! He's got Sirius..." Harry panted. "He's planning an attack, and he's after me..."
"Sirius Black? Your godfather, Harry?" asked Neville.
"Yes," Ron answered for him.
Harry was already crouching, so Hermione pulled him up with her two hands with the help of Ron. "Let's go see the headmaster," said Ron.
"Ron... You guys should go to Professor McGonagall and tell her," Harry managed to say despite the pain. "The D.A... Protect the students, just in case..."
"Sorry, guys, there's no time," she said hurriedly. "Please, please do what he said, and also find Ginny! I'll take him to the headmaster's office."
Ron, Neville, Lavender, and Dean nodded and ran in the direction of the Transfiguration corridor, where Professor McGonagall probably was.
However, the students were starting to gather at the Great Hall, watching Umbridge 'deal' with Fred and George. Hermione disillusioned herself and Harry on their way to the headmaster's office. Before they reached the office, Harry stopped walking and concentrated on pulling his shields up again.
When they entered the headmaster's office, Professor Dumbledore stood in front of Harry, holding his wand.
"Harry, it's time."
"You sure you have a spare wand, Professor?" Harry asked.
The headmaster smiled. "I am, Harry. You cannot defeat him with that wand." His eyes fell on Harry's holly wand.
Harry raised his holly wand and disarmed the headmaster. Afterwards, the old wizard quickly Apparated them to the Forbidden Forest, where Severus, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, and Regulus (under the guise of Mr Brown) were waiting. The Headmaster Apparated back at Hogwarts to collect Draco and his friends.
Fifteen minutes later, they were already inside the Ministry. Professor Dumbledore and Harry went to the Hall of Prophecy first. Minutes later,
Harry handed them the prophecy.
Hermione ran to the Hall of Prophecies with Severus, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks. Hermione was, of course, in her 16-year-old body. Sirius was Polyjuiced as Harry, and Tonks made herself look like Ginny with her Metamorph skills. Sev and Remus had the Weasley twins' permission to Polyjuice as them. Hopefully, none of the Death Eaters would wonder where Ron was, and why he was replaced by the twins.
"Where's Sirius?" Sirius, as Harry, asked heatedly, much like how the other Harry in Leo's parents' time behaved and acted. "He should be here."
"Harry, it was just your imagination. It wasn't true," she insisted. "Maybe you dozed off, and it was a dream. An ordinary dream."
"Listen to your friends, Potter," drawled a cold voice. They all turned around and saw Lucius Malfoy removing his Death Eater mask. Four people were behind him - Nott, McNair, Crabbe, and Goyle - still wearing masks, but Hermione knew who they were.
"Where's Sirius? Where's Voldemort?" snapped Sirius.
"No one's harmed, Potter. Your precious godfather is still nowhere to be found. Probably hiding under the headmaster's robes," said Lucius pleasedly. "And no one will be harmed if you give us the prophecy."
"Harry, no!" she said loudly.
"Never!" Sirius yelled and aimed a stunner at Lucius. Remus and Tonks aimed their wands at the floor-to-ceiling shelves of glass orbs, causing them to fall, and they duelled the Death Eaters while playing hide and seek.
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Narcissa Malfoy stepped into the Gringotts bank, carrying a family heirloom and a basilisk fang. She was supposed to be Polyjuiced as Bella, but it was safer this way.
Anyway, less than twenty years ago, her sister, Bellatrix, authorised her to enter her vault, but she could only bring something inside. She couldn't take anything out of the vault without Bella.
She approached the highest table and met the eyes of the Goblin officer for the day. "Good afternoon. I would like to add a family heirloom to my sister's vault."
The Goblin officer eyed her intently. Narcissa wasn't afraid nor hesitant of the eye contact. Even if the Goblins were powerful creatures, they could not do Legilimency and Occlumency. The officer nodded and called for someone to escort her to the Lestrange vault. There was no key. She simply had to touch the door and allow it to recognise her magic. The door opened, and she went inside. Her escort goblin waited outside. She grabbed a goblin's clankers and used them to make the dragon guarding the vault shink back. The Lestrange vault was just like the Black family and Malfoy family vaults - crammed from floor to ceiling with plenty of gold coins and different family heirlooms.
Narcissa cast the spell to cancel the Gemino charm on everything. The Gemino charm on the vault items was Bellatrix's idea - one of her security measures. But because she also used to be her sister's errand girl, she knew everything about the security measures and how to cancel them.
First, she retrieved the old hair comb from her purse. I had pearls and diamonds, and it was used by their dear mother, Druella Rosier, on her wedding day. Narcissa's mother gave it to her, and she used it on the day she married Lucius. But now, she wanted Bella to have it. Not that her sister would ever have a chance to use it or pass it on to someone in the family. She kept it for so many years, and she thought of passing it down to Draco's future bride, but now that she had to bring something into the vault, she decided she'd just gift Draco's future bride a beautiful tiara.
She placed the hair comb beside Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, and then she reached for the basilisk's fang in her purse. She didn't dare touch the cup. She pulled up her Occlumency shields to avoid being influenced by a part of the Dark Lod's soul and stabbed it with all her might.
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Hermione was being chased by McNair in the Time Room. She was thankful Dolohov wasn't here and was still sitting in his Azkaban cell. She wouldn't have the same curse Leo's mother had. And according to Severus, McNair wasn't as good as him, so her fiancé believed that she could knock him out. But not instantly. Some of his curses were deadly, and Hermione had a few scratches.
"Cru-"
"Sectumsempra!"
Hermione was surprised that Severus used that spell. She had never seen him cast that spell since they left Hogwarts. He hated that so much, but then, McNair was trying to Crucio her. The Death Eater was now lying on the floor, blood pooling around him. She met Fred Weasley's face, but the facial expression gave Severus away. He reached for her hand.
"Crabbe and Goyle have been caught. The Dark Lord is here. Come on."
"How about Molly and the two wizards?" she asked urgently. The Stone had to be in Harry's hands before he faced Voldemort.
"Made it in time. They already handed the stone to Potter," Severus replied.
They went to the Atrium, where they saw Remus and Tonks casting a full body-bind curse on Crabbe and Goyle. Harry - or maybe Sirius - was alone near the fountain. Lucius was nowhere to be found. The thought of Lucius betraying them came into her mind briefly, but then the Dark Lord appeared in one of the fireplaces, walking towards Harry.
Just like in the graveyard last year, in June, they duelled.
Hermione gripped Severus's arm when Harry fired an 'Expelliarmus' while the Dark Lord chanted 'Avada Kedavra'. Harry's spell missed the Dark Lord, and his body fell backwards on the floor as the green light hit his chest.
Hermione wasn't sure if only the Horcrux in him was gone, or if her friend was dead. She hoped it was the former. Even if she had seen some memories of the other Harry Potter 'coming back from the dead', she was still anxious. Even if Regulus assured her that 'he had a feeling' everything would go according to plan, she was still worried.
"Please, please, don't leave me and tell me we're going to be safe," she whispered to Sev, who was still Polyjuiced as Fred.
Lucius stepped forward from somewhere and knelt in front of his master, giving him a crystal orb. Hermione and the others watched the Dark Lord hold the prophecy, and Albus Dumbledore revealed himself, followed by Kingsley, Alastor, and Amelia.
"It's unwise of you to come here, Tom," the headmaster said calmly. "The Aurors and the head of law enforcement are here. You can no longer pretend you aren't back."
"That doesn't matter anymore, Albus Dumbledore," he spat at the name. "Harry Potter is dead. And soon, all of you will be."
Behind the Dark Lord, Harry chose that moment to stand up and gather his wand. "Hey, I'm not dead," called Harry.
Even if the Dark Lord's eyes were just slits, Hermione could still tell he narrowed his eyes at Harry.
"He can't find the words," whispered Sev, who was now back in his body.
"What's this?" mocked the Dark Lord. "How are you still alive?"
"I'm the Boy Who Lived," Harry said simply. He and the headmaster pointed their wands at the Dark Lord, but this time, Harry used the Elder Wand.
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Regulus Black - Arturius Brown to his cousin's son Draco, Pansy Parkinson, and Theodore Nott - was not worried at all when he stepped into the snake's lair. He had a lot of reasons to calm down and not worry.
First, Nott Sr was not pet-sitting the snake today. He was at the Ministry with Lucius and the others, trying to get the Prophecy.
Second, the Dark Lord had just left Malfoy Manor to follow his men to the Ministry with the hope of finally killing Potter. They easily made it to the dungeons, where the snake liked to take a nap.
Third, the snake was taking a nap. According to Theodore and Draco, the snake would often sleep for three hours after having a heavy meal. Regulus didn't bother asking what kind of meal it was.
Fourth, he had already seen it happen. As the master of time-turners and head of the Department of Mysteries, he had the absolute power to travel forward and take a sneak peek.
He saw himself unharmed. He saw his brother happily drinking with him and Remus in Diagon Alley. He was still Arturius Brown, but who cares? He was alive. His brother was alive. They were free.
He didn't see how it all happened, but he knew he would manage to kill the snake. He heard Sirius's comment at the pub in Diagon Alley. "A man from the House of Snakes killed a snake with the sword from its rival house."
