"Miss Granger, I'm afraid that our assumption has been wrong the entire time"
Dumbledore's worried voice sounded in his office, snapping her out of the grievous thoughts running through her head. Her bottom lip hurt from all the chewing she'd done in the past hour and she was sure that it would start bleeding any minute now.
"We assumed that Voldemort had his supporters in the school, but we were sure that he would target the Slytherins. As the attack on Mr Hughes has proven, that seems to be completely incorrect. It must had been done by someone from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, as it would be impossible for anyone else to curse your friend so high up in the air"
The Headmaster seemed to be truly disturbed by his musings and Hermione had to admit that his feeling was mutual. Nothing about that entire case had been easy and pleasant. A student had been hurt and she had every reason to believe that it had been entirely her fault. She was on a verge of a breakdown, for the first time since her stay at the Hospital Wing had ended and Moody took her under his wings.
Ewan was hurt severely and his only fault was being friends with her. A Mudblood, that couldn't keep her mouth shut. Couldn't, even though she knew she should have.
"Professor, I don't think that anyone from Hufflepuff would be able to do something like that", she said, despite the guilt that's been eating at her soul, threatening to rip it apart.
"Yes, under normal circumstances, I would agree with you on that matter, Miss Granger. However, nothing about this situation is normal. Dark Arts had been used on the school grounds and they've been used in the most vile way. The attacker had undoubtedly tried to kill Mr Hughes, making it look like an accident. Your friend wasn't supposed to survive the fall, making it very unlikely that somebody would check his body for the residues of a dark spell. It was very clever, you have to admit", the man stated and frowned slightly.
In Hermione's mind nothing about what happened was clever. It was vile and repelling, making her sick to her stomach. Killing somebody was one of those things that she would never cease to forget. She felt dirty and unworthy, even if there had been no other choice at that moment. Bellatrix deserved what she got, but Hermione had no doubts that she wouldn't be able to do it again. The burden she had to carry was way too great.
The thought that someone might actually want to carry it and revel in the feeling of taking somebody's life was even more terrifying to her now, when she had known what it was like to kill someone. There was also nothing clever about deciding to follow the dark path.
"What are you suggesting, professor?", she asked, not being able to stop herself from lacing her voice with all the pent-up emotions.
Dumbledore seemed to be fully aware of the inner battle raging inside her body, but chose not to comment on that. There was no time for talks about morality.
"I'm saying that it seems almost impossible that a student from Hufflepuff would be able to plan something like this. I believe that whoever did this to Mr Hughes, had been under the influence of the Imperius Curse"
Hermione gaped her mouth in surprise and sent her mind into motion. The solution proposed by Dumbledore seemed very likely, she had to admit that. Even though, that theory had some major holes in it. As far as she knew, casting Unforgivable Curses in Hogwarts had been strictly prohibited. There was simply no way to curse someone without Dumbledore knowing about it beforehand. Was that why he came up with this theory?
"Professor, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be impossible to cast an Unforgivable without triggering the wards?"
"Yes, Miss Granger. However, it might be possible that the spell was casted during a Hogsmeade visit"
But that would have been even before she overheard the conversation between Mulciber and Avery. Was it possible that they had planned this whole thing in advance? Maybe after they've heard about her 'date' with Ewan? But if that was truly the case, why hadn't they said anything about it during their meeting?
"I see you're having doubts", Dumbledore observed and she sighed loudly.
"I'm not sure, Professor. Why would they speak about trying to get to me, if they'd already had plans?"
"Miss Granger, are you absolutely sure that they hadn't been aware of you presence?"
Hermione frowned and tried to recall every moment of that night, as she had done a thousand times before. Mulciber and Avery might have been Slytherins, but there was no chance that they would be able to act out the entire scene. They'd started talking way before she'd appeared on that corridor.
"I'm positive", she stated decisively, making Dumbledore smile tightly.
"Then maybe we should take under consideration that Messers Mulciber and Avery are not the only spies inside of the castle"
That thought wasn't exactly comforting, Hermione noticed with worry. Those boys were trouble even on their own. Another spy would make the situation even worse. The Marauders Map might have been helpful when it came to trailing Mulciber and Avery, but wouldn't be exactly useful in finding out the identity of another Death Eater.
"We need to find the person that had been Imperioed", she said forcibly and Dumbledore smiled with appreciation.
"Yes, Miss Granger. I believe that would be the right thing to do. The person that had cast the spell must have been pretty close to our victim. We should undoubtedly use the fact, that human minds record so much more than it would've seem. Maybe we will be able to find the true attackers identity by searching through the memories of the cursed person"
Hermione nodded eagerly and allowed herself to relax her tensed muscles. They had a plan and at this moment, it was quite an optimistic realisation. It meant that whoever attacked Ewan, he would probably be brought to justice...
"Professor, do you mind telling me how Ewan is feeling?", she asked quietly, when another realisation popped into her mind.
She hadn't been able to monitor his condition, as she was way too busy with explaining her actions to every student. After what seemed like hours of constant babbling and repeating the same story over and over, she got summoned to Dumbledore's office, leaving her without the ability to visit her friend in the Hospital Wing.
Frankly speaking, she was glad that she didn't have to face him so early after the accident. The guilt refused to go away or even ease and that put her in a very terrible mood. Hermione was incredibly scared that Ewan would simply blame and reject her, after he had learned what happened. She had no intentions whatsoever of lying to him, as he deserved to know the truth. He deserved a choice between being friends with her and taking care of his own safety. It was not like she could ever hold it against him.
"Why won't you see for yourself, Miss Granger?"
The silence in the office seemed like an adequate answer to the Headmaster's question. Hermione couldn't bring herself to talk about her feelings in front of a man that she found so utterly superior to herself. He was the leader of a powerful organisation and shouldn't be bothered with her feelings. And yet, he seemed to be interested in those depressing thoughts residing inside of her mind.
"Miss Granger?", he asked again and looked at her from above his half-glasses.
A sharp intake of breath on her part was enough to show him how many doubts have gathered inside her body, so he smiled gently, urging her to speak.
"I just... I can't stop feeling guilty, Professor. I messed up. I was supposed to fix everything, not make it worse. Ewan wouldn't become a target if it wasn't for his friendship with me. He deserves better than to be caught up in a war between me and those morons, pardon my language", she explained quietly and squeezed her eyes shut. "I didn't want anyone to end up hurt and I'm starting to think that maybe my presence at Hogwarts isn't needed, that maybe my skills might be useful somewhere else, where I could truly be responsible for myself and only for myself"
Her voice quiet and full of sorrow managed to capture Dumbledore's attention fully. The man looked at her with tension visible in his entire body and that didn't make her feel any better.
"Miss Granger. Hermione...", he started and sighed lightly, making her lower her gaze to stare at the clasped hands, resting in her lap. "There was no way to predict the course of actions, even with your vast knowledge. We agreed that the future you knew, no longer exists. I believe that it would be reasonable to use your memories to build a new one, rather than stick to that improved version of what you know. Whether you like it or not, you're a vital part of what's yet to come and your role will be completely different than the one you've held previously"
Tears rolled down her cheeks, as her defences had finally given up, letting all of her emotions flow out of her body. She trembled violently and covered her face with her hands, trying to stop herself from falling apart completely.
"I don't know if I can. I don't belong here, Professor. Whenever I look at all these people, I realise that many of them will be dead by the time I was supposed to be born. When I think about the future, I see Harry's and Ron's faces, smiling brightly at me. I should be with them, even if that means being dead"
She knew she was right. Future was not to be messed with, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself that it had already been done. It was the reason why she tried to avoid any distractions. If no one remembered her, maybe the future would turn out to be similar, only better? After all, she didn't need to be a part of it, after she ensured everyone's safety.
"I chose you, Miss Granger. Even if it was reckless and completely irresponsible. I trust myself to the point where I'm willing to believe that there had been no other choice left. And I chose you"
She knew that. Her brain had managed to process that information a long time ago, but it still wasn't enough to force her to leave everything behind and just forget about it. Hermione was desperately trying to hold onto the girl, a young woman, she'd left behind back in the '90. But she just couldn't. It felt like splitting her soul into two different pieces, that were supposed to stay untouched until the day she died.
But she did die on that day. A realisation hit her like a lightning, making her gasp violently in a desperate need for air. No... It was not possible. It simply wasn't.
"Professor...", she whispered weakly and Dumbledore shifted in his chair with anxiousness. "How exactly do you create a Horcrux?"
The Headmaster looked at her with shock, his mind trying to follow her trail of thoughts. Finally, he opened his mouth as his face paled considerably.
"Hermione... If you're implying what I think you are..."
"I believe I am, Professor. I believe that I had actually died on that day. I was sure I had. But just minutes before it happened, I killed Bellatrix. I killed her with conviction and cold blood. And then... Then I started to think about going back through time, to save everyone. What if I somehow managed to create a Horcrux, before your spell activated and took me back to these times?"
Her words sounded morbid, but unfortunately, they seemed very probable. Dumbledore looked at her with consideration and then he rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"Are you sure that it's possible?", he finally asked and Hermione bit her lip.
Her heart was racing, as her palms started to sweat uncontrollably. Was she sure? No. It took Voldemort years to get his body back, after his Killing Curse had rebounded and struck him instead of taking Harry's life. But he had split his soul six times before that night, making it completely shredded. Maybe the first Horcrux didn't actually cause someone to lose his body? Maybe she had somehow managed to transfer most of her soul into the Time Turner, allowing her to keep her personality and appearance.
"I don't know, Professor. But I think there's an easy way to find out. Do You still have that Time Turner that sent me here?"
Dumbledore stood up and started to rummage thorough one of his cabinets, the one that seemed to be the least interesting out of them all. After a minute, a familiar golden necklace with a small hourglass attached to it appeared in his hand, making Hermione shift with anxiety.
"From what I know it is possible to feel somebody's soul in an object. There was this locket... It managed to influence the mood of everyone carrying it, but we could also feel its pulsation", she muttered quietly, doing everything in her power not to look in Dumbeldore's direction.
The tension had been so unbearable, that she found it hard to breathe. It felt like hours filled with grievous silence, while she awaited the Headmaster's verdict.
Finally, the man spoke, crushing her hopes and dreams.
"I can feel a pulse, Miss Granger. You were right. I believe you've managed to create a Horcrux"