a/n: thank you so much for all the reviews, favs and follows! The end is almost here...only 4 chapters left to go now!
Hermione's last week of self-indulgence is cut short the very next day.
They're in the middle of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the last class of the day, when the Head Boy knocks on the door and barges in without waiting for permission. He gives the room one sweeping glance and then races to the professor. The two talk in hurried whispers for only a few moments before the professor turns back to the classroom.
"Pack up your things right now and head to the Great Hall."
Everyone is too confused to be panicked but there's a very different atmosphere in the Great Hall. Instead of the four House tables being set up, the Great Hall is completely empty and everyone is mingling. The sound of over three hundred students talking loudly amongst themselves is deafening. Adding to that the high-pitched notes of hysteria in some girls' voices and Hermione can already feel a headache coming on.
"What's going on?" Lily asks the nearest girl, a Ravenclaw, Hermione thinks. More students keep pouring into the Great Hall and now professors are converging at the front of the room. Still no Dumbledore, though.
"It was crazy scary," the girl whispers. "We were just doing our Herbology practical and then all of a sudden Mary starts convulsing and windows started to break and our plants started to levitate… It was like when you're a kid, you know, and your magic kind of does freaky things? Well, this was freaky and violent and a thousand times worse. Professor Sprout actually had to stun her or something so she'd stop, then she sent one of us to get Dumbledore and then now we're all here…"
When Dumbledore enters the room it takes only moments for hundreds of students to fall silent.
"It appears that a most unfortunate epidemic has breached our walls." Whereas usually Dumbledore's voice provides encouragement or solutions or hope, today he sounds defeated; today he actually sounds old. "This disease is one with magical qualities that we have never seen before and we have been urged by the Ministry to send all affected students to St. Mungo's. Therefore, tomorrow there will be no classes and we will be testing every student on the potency of their magic. All students with diminished magical abilities will be immediately transferred to St. Mungo's. There will be no exceptions."
Panicked and furious whispering breaks out at those words, which Dumbledore patiently waits out. Finally, students quiet down again and he continues.
"We ask that students please retire to their dorms for the night. Exceptionally, dinner will be served in the House common rooms. Please do not panic or worry if you are affected. You will be placed in the care of the best Healers at St. Mungo's until a cure is discovered. I urge of any students who may have knowledge of the curse's origins, or who may suspect anything of the curse's origins, to come and speak to me." Dumbledore's gaze sweeps over the room and Hermione has the uncanny feeling that he lingers on her. She swallows hard and tries not to look away.
Lily follows Hermione to their dorms after all students are told to return to their common rooms for the night. Hermione has never seen the place so packed full of students. They can barely turn around without bumping into each other. She has no idea how they're going to be able to eat supper.
"We should go… You-Know-Where tonight."
Hermione is putting away her books for the day. The textbooks she duplicated have begun to deteriorate. Hermione has noticed that the words on some pages have begun to fade away. She starts to think that she'll need to ask James for his textbooks again when she catches herself. No, she needs to be gone before the books completely disappear. They can be her timeline, her visual reminder to speed up her research. She blinks when realizes what Lily has said.
"I thought… being a Prefect and all." Although they're the only two in their dorm room, Hermione knows they have to be careful. Any of the girls could just walk in, and considering what has happened today just the mention of sneaking out or the Restricted Section could be more than enough to send them running to Dumbledore.
"You heard Professor Dumbledore. Tomorrow, I'll be carted off to St. Mungo's to die of boredom. I want to be useful and if that means going You-Know-Where, then so be it. Even if we don't find anything, and we probably won't, I'll feel better knowing at least I tried rather than staying in bed unable to sleep."
Hermione closes her trunk carefully and tries not to sound too enthusiastic about the plan. It's the exact opportunity she's been looking for, the perfect timing to get her hands on that book.
"You're right. We've been neglecting the research and now girls are getting sick again. I'll ask James if we can borrow his invisibility cloak."
Lily nods. She looks resolute, like this is going to break her heart but she's ready with the superglue. "After everyone's gone to bed then."
Hermione goes back down to the common room. It's not as loud as it could have been with so many students crowded around, but a lot of students have retreated to their dorms with their friends and the panic has subsided a bit. Instead of talking loudly to one another, people have broken off into groups and are at least using their indoor voices.
The boys are by their usual spot in front of the fireplace. Hermione wonders if everyone just stays away from that spot or if Sirius glowers angrily at anyone who's there until they scamper off. James moves over on the couch when he sees Hermione approach and Hermione lets herself flop down beside him as James drapes his arm over her shoulders. "How's Evans holding up?"
Hermione nods. "She's tough. She wants to go You-Know-Where tonight. Can we borrow your cloak?"
James' eyes widen. "She does? She's going to willingly break the rules?"
"Wouldn't you if… No wait, scratch that. She wants to be useful. Being a Prefect won't matter too much in St. Mungo's."
"Of course you can borrow my cloak. Do you want me to come along?"
Hermione picks up James' hand and kisses it. It breaks her heart how much she does want him to come. "I think I should just go with her. Besides, it wouldn't do for us to get distracted, would it?"
James laughs and buries his face in Hermione's neck. "I love the way you're starting to think, Granger." He kisses her neck and then her ear, and then Hermione pushes him away before he can do any more than that. Memories of Ron and Lavender and their disgusting displays of public affection flash through her mind. She doesn't want to be one of those people.
James doesn't seem to mind, he just sinks back into the couch grinning smugly and watches Sirius destroy Remus and Peter at Exploding Snaps.
As it turns out, Dumbledore must have given some second thoughts about the logistics of so many students eating dinner in the common room because dinner is served in the dorms. Lily and Hermione take their dinners up to the boys' dorm room and Lily sits on a chair while Hermione sits on James' bed with him. Lily's eyes widen a fraction at seeing this but then she shoots Hermione a half-smile and Hermione knows that she isn't surprised. Lily knew that this was coming.
It's a bittersweet evening. The certainty that soon Lily won't be among them hangs over their heads, and none of them are much in the mood to talk or joke around. After dinner, Lily and Hermione call it an early night. Hermione figures she'll catch a few hours of shuteye before the Restricted Section while Lily settles down with a book.
Hermione wakes up to Lily shaking her awake. It takes her a minute to remember what they have to do. Hermione wipes the sleep from her eyes and slips on socks and her shoes.
When they reach the Restricted Section they slip off the invisibility cloak.
"The section on the Dark Arts is further back," Hermione whispers. "There were a few books James and I noticed that may be interesting to take a look at in these first sections but we didn't get around to it last time. I'll start here and then come join you if I can't find anything." Lily nods and heads off towards the back.
It takes Hermione three trips down the same aisle to find the book again. In her hurry, she skips over the title and it's only when she forces herself to slow down and look at each book that she finds it. Her heart heavy with anticipation, Hermione pulls it off the shelf and turns to the introduction.
It's with a light heart that I leave my old world behind. I, Timotwyn Warghollow, have gotten my hands on a Time-Turner and I mean to make the most of it.
I do not intend to go back and intentionally change the past. I do not intend to give my younger self better advice. All that would be futile because what I desire is to go back to simpler times. I am sick of this consumption era and its liberal-minded do-gooders. I will use the Time-Turner to go back 500 years, where I will then live out the rest of my days as a wanderer.
It has taken me a decade to perfect the spell, but I have altered this Time-Turner so that every turn takes me back 100 years instead of an hour. In 5 easy turns I will be where I belong.
I will travel these lost times and I will write about my findings. When I die, I will reveal my recordings to the world and I will be remembered, throughout the ages, so that even in the future, my present, will people know of me.
The words sent cold shivers down Hermione's spine. It's only a short introduction, but already she feels like this Warghollow was not entirely in his right mind. Still, this is more than she ever found from the more-accessible material in the library. He went back in time past his birth year! This is exactly what she has been looking for.
Hermione flips to the back of the book and runs her finger through the index until one word pops out at her that she wasn't expecting: sickness. Her heart hammers in her chest. Looking closer, she sees that there are several instances of the word. Hermione skips to the first occurrence, page 122, and is surprised to see it's a section all on its own.
Sickness
There have been some peculiar happenings lately. In towns where I wander, especially those I linger in, people start to fall ill around me.
The symptoms were typical flu-like, at first: high fevers, vomiting, shivers, and sweating. In this time era, the flu is a murderous villain. However, the longer I stay in a village that I have recorded, the more varied become the symptoms. Men in these villages have been reporting an inability to cast any magical spells, even the most rudimentary, while his neighbor will report that his eldest child has completely lost all control of his, despite being a credited, talented wizard.
Not knowing of my past, no one blames me for these strange phenomena, but I can't help but wonder… Is this a disease that I have brought along with me from the future?
Warghollow goes on to elaborate on the varied cures they administer to the sick men, to no avail. Eventually, Warghollow writes that he departs from the villages and no longer stays more than two weeks in the same place. He does not appear to be wrought by guilt for having brought along a disease from the future – if that is indeed what it is – and instead praises himself for his ability to be able to pick up and move on. A letter from a friend in one of the villages Warghollow lingered at reveals that since his departure the afflicted villagers have slowly started recuperating their healths. Instead of seeing this as a sign that Warghollow must return to his own timeline, this reaffirms Warhollow's decision to move swiftly through villages. The man's self-assurance and narcissism makes Hermione want to punch him. It was irresponsible abusers like him that finally pushed the Ministry to lock all Time-Turners under key and only hand them out to individuals who have undergone extensive scrutiny.
Still, Warghollow's account is invaluable and the realization that Hermione is doing this to the girls… Hermione pulls out the Time-Turner from under her robes. The sand levels in both levels of the hourglass have not changed, like an invisible plug is preventing all movement. Hermione tries turning it again, but it refuses to budge. Frustrated, she puts it away.
Hermione feels cold all over. It's because of her that all the girls are becoming ill. All girls, too, no boys, just like Warghollow doesn't account for any women falling sick in his journal, only men. A disease that only affects one's own gender? This disease is becoming more and more convoluted, Hermione thinks.
It's not a Pureblood curse or malediction and she suddenly wishes that it were. At least to that she could have found out which curse and directed her hatred somewhere. Now, can she really direct her hatred toward herself? She never meant for any of this to happen and yet, it has. She has caused countless girls at the school to become violently sick and if she doesn't leave, only more will succumb to the same fate.
Hermione closes the book and puts it back on the shelf. How could she be so daft as to forget that time-travelling has repercussions? Yes, she knew about affecting the future, but she hadn't given a single moment's thought to the short-term consequences. She got swept away by her connection with Lily and Remus, her controlling obsession to fix things between Sirius and Remus, and then somewhere along the way they became more than the allies she knows in her world, they became dear friends, equals, and then… James, of course.
What if he found out? What if Sirius found out? They would hate her, surely… But no, they would all understand that Hermione has no control over this. Hermione forces herself to stop thinking such thoughts. Their opinion of her is of no consequence because they will never find out. Hermione will figure out a way home and then. And then what? Hermione asks herself. Does she even have a home to return to?
A shadow moves out of her corner of her eye and Hermione nearly jumps out of her skin. Thankfully, she doesn't scream. It's only Lily.
"Sorry," she whispers, and then giggles softly. "I didn't realize you were so deep in thought. Did you find anything?"
Hermione shakes her head, her heart still galloping in her chest. "Did you?"
"No. I wasn't expecting any brilliant results either, but this utter lack of anything is really quite depressing." Lily leans forward a little bit and frowns. "Are you all right? Your eyes look swollen."
Hermione brings her hands up to her cheeks but they're dry and so are her eyes. "Yes, I'm fine. Just exhausted is all. Let's go back then."
When they get back to their dorm, Hermione folds up the invisibility cloak and sets it inside her trunk. Lily pulls her into a hug when she stands.
"You'll write to me, won't you? When I'm over there."
"Of course." Hermione can't look Lily in the eyes, knowing what fate she's assigned her to. What if Lily never regains her magical powers? Hermione feels sick just at the thought.
Lily smiles. "Hopefully they'll figure out what's wrong with me before Christmas. If you don't go home to your parents you've just got to come visit me."
Hermione smiles tightly. "That's sounds great, Lily."
They say goodnight and get in their respective beds.
In the morning, when Hermione wakes up, Lily's bed is empty and her trunk is gone.