Chapter Sixteen

Melok handed Hermione a cup of tea as they sat down in his office the day after the big meeting. He hadn't even needed to summon her. She'd just arrived the following morning, intuitively knowing he'd want to have a followup conversation. Genia had taken Filius to the park, but he set privacy wards regardless, not certain what time she'd be back. He'd left a note on the kitchen table letting his wife know they were in here if she was concerned, and to not disturb them unless it was an emergency.

"So," Hermione said after taking her first sip of tea, "ask your questions, Melok."

So much was rolling around in his thoughts, to no surprise, although at present the most pressing issue in mind was how an unawakened Mage had broken through wards set by another fully awakened Mage. "Tell me a bit more about breaking through Albus Dumbledore's wards in Beta," he requested.

She frowned. "There wasn't much to it. I went, felt the harmonics, unraveled the bases, and then broke the spellwork. I already had my Defense Mastery before I got there, as well as my Arithmancy Mastery, although I never officially tested for that one until after I got settled in Beta. I did have the knowledge, however."

"Just like that?" he asked. "One of the core Masteries, and you broke through another Mage's wards?"

"Is that odd?" Hermione inquired, looking at him curiously. "I figured since I was a fellow Mage, it would have been a given I could."

Perhaps, he mused. At that level, with the Arithmancy background, it was feasible. "How long did it take?" he asked.

"Oh, ten minutes or so," she shrugged.

Not that quickly, however, Melok thought, raising an eyebrow. A Mage at that level might have been able to break those wards with serious effort and considerable time, but the way she was making it sound, it had been a simple task for her. It almost sounded as though she could not only feel the harmonic, but hear it as well. That wasn't possible, though. Only Goblins could hear the harmonic in a ward. Of course, some Witches and Wizards did descend from Goblin bloodlines, but they were very rare. To have a Mage with Goblin blood would be something extraordinary indeed, and while improbable to say the least, it was not impossible. More, it would explain a great deal about her draw to himself. "Tell me about your family, Hermione," he requested. "You've mentioned that your family name was Granger. What about your mother? Do you recall what her family name was, prior to her marriage to your father?"

Brown eyes narrowed. "Konig," she replied. "Why?"

His eyes widened at the implication. Not only was that a Goblin name, but it was of the royal bloody line. Melok stood quickly, grabbed a dagger off his desk, and then sat back on the sofa beside her and grabbed her hand, pricking her finger and drawing the bloodied digit into his mouth before she could protest, sucking on the warm fluid before letting her go.

"What the hell was that for?" Hermione demanded, looking half annoyed and half dazed.

"To test your blood for Goblin genes," he admitted, the world spinning a bit as her magic - her Goblin magic - coursed through him. "That would actually explain a great deal about you overall. Up to and including your affection for me. You're reaching out for kin."

Hermione sputtered. "Are you suggesting that we're related?"

He scoffed. "Not closely enough for any interest we might harbor toward one another to be incestuous by any means. I merely suggest that you don't recoil from a Goblin the way most humans do because a part of you is Goblin, as that test confirms. It's in your very being - your blood and your magic - to want to connect with that part of your heritage."

Hermione grumbled. "You're not helping the situation by insinuating that said interest might be mutual, Melok. What happened to being married and deciding not to fall in love, huh?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "Denying the feeling might be pointless. I'm not there, Hermione, but I'd be a fool to not recognize the potential is tangible."

She was silent for a moment, and then finally asked a question. "So what do we do? I could say essentially the same as you."

He wanted to reach out and touch her, but couldn't allow himself to. Not now. Not after what had happened the last time they were alone together, and not after what they'd just learned about their connection. "My best suggestion is that we remain honest with one another about where we are, professionally and personally, and if personally speaking, things come to a head at some point… we simply choose not to act on the feeling."

"I feel like that's easier said than done," she admitted softly, biting her lip.

"However, not unmanageable," he pushed. "I'm sorry about the other day. I shouldn't have denied the very idea that…"

"...we're going to fall in love?" Hermione dared to ask.

He scowled. "Must you be so bold?"

She raised an eyebrow. "As you just pointed out, denial is a bit pointless."

"I never said it was pointless," he argued. "Just that I should have been honest."

"Pray tell, what in Merlin's name would be the point of denying how we feel?" Hermione inquired, voice scathing.

"It's the equivalent of dumping Foxglove into a damn Calming Draught!" he snapped.

"Oh, now we're an explosion waiting to happen?" she said, crossing her arms.

He turned and looked at her, eyes narrowed. "How in the name of all the Gods do you see it any other way? We are both married. I don't know about you, Hermione, but I take my vows seriously!"

"So do I!" she said defensively. "I'm just not about to look you in the eye and pretend like it's not taking everything I have not to bloody kiss you!"

His heart thudded at her declaration, unbelievably aroused by the notion. Hermione was a Mage, and she wanted him. It was more than flattering; it was intoxicating. That he could feel himself feeling things for her that he knew full well he shouldn't certainly didn't help matters. No, he thought firmly. He did not love this woman. It would take nothing less than that to make him break his vows to Genia, and even then it would wrench him to do so if he could do it at all. Melok tore his gaze away from her and took a deep breath. "One day at a time, Hermione," he whispered. "Please. Just one day at a time. That you have Goblin blood is not - in the interest of being honest - making it any less easy to love you, but for the sake of both our marriages, we need to try and remain faithful, regardless of what we might feel."

"Or want?" she asked, voice calmer now.

He swallowed. "Or want. That said, your Goblin blood does explain more than just the draw between us. If not for that, you could not have broken through Beta Albus' wards that easily. You may have been able to, with that level of training, with great effort and significant time, but your ease with wards was what tipped me off you might have Goblin blood. You can hear the harmonic in them, can't you?"

She frowned. "Can't everyone?"

"Even the most accomplished Witches and Wizards who specialize in Warding can only sense the harmonic," he said, smiling a little. "To hear the musical tone… that is something only a person with Goblin blood can manage. It's why it's called the ward harmonic, incidentally."

Her intrigue was piqued. "What else does my Goblin blood give me advantages in?"

"Well, we already know you can tap into a Goblin core," he mused. "I should have suspected then, to be honest. That you ended up with a Goblin artery core in your wand makes a great deal more sense now, too. The magical properties of the wood and the spellwork that went into the crafting suits your Human heritage, and the core reaches your Goblin heritage. I would be curious to see if you were capable of mastering the Goblin Arts on a whole. Typically, Witches and Wizards born of Goblin lines can only achieve bits and pieces of the Goblin Arts. True Mastery is beyond them. However, since you are a Mage, I wonder if that will make a difference."

"It's worth exploring," she admitted. "Perhaps after I finish with Aberforth. Merlin knows I'll want to keep learning."

"I'd be vexed if you didn't," he laughed. "A Mage's journey doesn't stop with the five cores. There are dozens of subjects to Master, and each one will add a new symbol to your shoulder marking the latest accomplishment. What you are, Hermione, is a true rarity, even among Mages. I expect great things from you."

She offered a coy smile. "No pressure, right?"

Hermione's words about resisting the urge to kiss him still echoed in his mind, reminding Melok that his journey with this woman had just begun, and was likely to be more than a little eventful. This would be a relationship that would turn his world upside down, no doubt, and he couldn't even bring himself to be sorry. "Indeed," he said with a weak smile. "No pressure."

The oddity of it all, he mused, was that what he was coming to feel for Hermione in no way negated the love he felt for Genia. He loved his wife deeply, and he loved their son. He hated the idea that he was even tempted to betray her and be unfaithful in thought much less in deed. However, to Melok's frustration, he thought he might inevitably love Hermione as well.

Minerva snuggled up against Orion, both of them sweaty from having just finished making love. They were at Carbo Cottage, the Secret Kept property that Lycoris was lending them as a means to keep their affair quiet, celebrating one full year together. It was Valentine's Day, so Walburga didn't expect Orion home all day, which suited Minerva just fine. She and Orion had limited time together, that was true, but what time they had was always precious.

"I still can't figure why Aunt Cor has a Secret Kept property," Orion mumbled, spent from their recent activities. "I mean, if Father was still Head of the Blacks, it would be one thing, but with my Grandfather taking over again, the proper thing would have been to turn a property like this back over to his ownership."

"Maybe it's secret even from your father," Minerva speculated. "Perhaps she has a lover of her own, and that's what made her think it would be a good place for us to meet. Merlin knows this bed is nice enough."

"I'd thank you to not put such images in my head, Min," he laughed. "That said, I can't imagine Aunt Cor having a lover and Father not knowing about it. They're as close as twins, those two. Most of the family assumed after me and Lucretia grew up and moved out, she and Father would get flats of their own. As it was she only stayed at Grimmauld to help raise my sister and me. Once we were grown, what was the point of remaining at Grimmauld with Father?"

"Habit, I expect," Minerva mused. "Or a desire not to be alone. Unless she was keen to take a husband of her own, getting a flat would have been just as lonely as he might be, and obviously he never remarried after your mother."

"I remember Grandfather urging him to remarry when I was young," her lover said, frowning. "Father refused. He told Grandfather that he could disown him if he liked, but that he'd not be taking another wife. He said he'd already done that, already sired a proper heir, and it wasn't fair to ask more of him. I feel like a prat for saying it, but a part of me sort of hopes that the same thing that happened to my mother happens to Walburga. I get a son, and she keels. With the way things are now, I'd be free to marry you, then."

"Nice as that may be," she said, elbowing him, "you are a prat for wishing it. It was a wretch growing up, never knowing your mother, Orion. How could you wish that on a child of your own?"

"When the child's mother would be Walburga?" he asked, looking amused. "I'll wish it and not feel guilty, even if it does make me a prat. I did fine raised by Aunt Cor, and any child of mine would be doing quite well to be raised by you."

"Well, if that happened, at least we wouldn't be raising them in your aunt's love nest," she quipped.

"This is not Aunt Cor's love nest!" he exclaimed, looking exasperated. "For Merlin's sake, Minerva, why would it be? If she had set this place up as such, things are different now and she's not wed, so she's free to marry whoever she likes. Grandfather took a Muggleborn for a wife, so surely whoever she might fancy would be acceptable. She'd have no reason to keep hiding him."

Minerva felt Orion was being narrow minded if he honestly thought Lycoris Black might not have perfectly good reasons to be continuing to hide a lover. The Blacks might be turning over a new leaf, and many things might be acceptable in their book now, but would they accept if Lycoris loved a woman? Would they accept if she loved a Goblin, like Genia? Or perhaps a Werewolf? Would they accept if she loved, like Minerva, someone already bound to another? There were plenty of reasons Orion's aunt might be hiding a lover, or her lover could be someone perfectly acceptable in current terms, but the pair of them were so comfortable with their hidden relationship that they were content that way. One way or another, Minerva knew exactly what she'd want in a love nest, and this cabin was exactly it. Lycoris had not suggested she'd set this place up specifically for herself and Orion, so it had to have been set up previously and for a similar purpose. If not for Lycoris and her own lover, it was possible that it was set aside for a pair of lovers that Lycoris was protecting. That was also a possibility. She did make Orion tell her in advance when they'd be at Carbo Cabin, so it stood to reason that it was sometimes in use when they weren't there.

Still, Minerva wasn't going to argue the point with her lover. There was nothing to gain from it other than to indulge her own curiosity. Perhaps in time the answer would reveal itself. It wasn't as though she was basing her suspicions on nothing, in any case. She just hadn't shown Orion the initials - A & L - carved into the top of the doorframe in the washroom. She was almost sure of her theory. She just didn't know who A was.

It was nearly the end of February now, and Aberforth was still rolling all the information he'd learned from Hermione Black around in his mind. She'd asked right after the big talk if he wanted to discuss things further, and he'd told her that he needed to process things first. So, he'd been processing, and they'd kept at their Mastery studies. Today, however, he was feeling the need to talk things through. "Let's talk," he said gruffly, placing a glass of Firewhiskey in front of Hermione.

"About Albus?" she asked, not missing a beat.

"Among other things," he said with a nod. "Before we get to him, I do want to let you know that I've been in touch with Miss Magnus about Modesty Barebone, and she's agreed to look for the girl. So thanks for putting us in contact."

Hermione nodded her head in acceptance of his appreciation. "So what else is on your mind, Aberforth?"

"Tell me more about Severus," he issued. "I know Albus is going to hog up the conversation eventually, but I want to know more about this Potions genius you have in mind for me to mentor."

She smiled wistfully. "In Alpha, Severus had a hard life. There's no two ways about it. His mother was a disowned Pureblood, his father a Muggle with a drinking problem. He grew up horribly abused and neglected, and I imagine he hoped that his life would improve when he came to Hogwarts. As a child, he lived near to the Evans girls - that would be Petunia and Lily Evans - and while he was never keen on Petunia, he and Lily were the same age and once he realized she was magical like him, the pair became inseparable."

"Lily is the one who grew up to marry James Potter, right?" he asked, checking his memory. "Harry Potter's Mum?"

Hermione nodded. "I believe - mind I didn't get to know Severus very well until Beta and the topic never came up - but I believe that Severus shared a Kinship bond with Lily. When the two of them arrived at Hogwarts, she was sorted to Gryffindor, and he was sorted to Slytherin."

"Ouch," Aberforth said with a wince, understanding at once that this would have brought tension to their friendship, Kinship bond or not.

"House rivalry aside," she went on, "Lily sorted to Gryffindor alongside James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Those four boys would become the best of friends all through their years of Hogwarts - calling themselves the Marauders - and they took special pleasure in bullying Severus. Granted, as I understand things, Severus gave as good as he got, and had various Slytherins rallying behind him as the years went on. For the first five years, Severus and Lily maintained their friendship regardless, but there was an incident in their Fifth Year during which Severus lost his temper and called Lily a Mudblood. I like to think she forgave him in time, but it wasn't until after they'd all graduated and he'd turned his life around. You see, Severus' use of that slur was greatly in part because he was running with a number of other students of that era who were in line to become the next wave of Death Eaters. By the time he graduated, Severus had taken the Dark Mark."

"I'm getting the impression there's a hell of a redemption arc here," Aberforth said with a wry grin.

Hermione nodded. "When the prophecy came about, Severus was there. He heard part of it when it was spoken, and reported it back to Voldemort. He had no idea it meant Lily's son until it was too late to take back what he'd done. Once he realized Voldemort meant to target Lily, he went to Albus and begged him to protect the Potters, offering anything Albus could think to ask of him."

Aberforth groaned, seeing where this was going. "Stupid boy. A Slytherin should have known better than to make such an offer!"

"He loved her, Aberforth," Hermione reminded him gently. "I don't believe it was a romantic love, although most who learned his story did. He did love Lily, though. He loved her more than he loved his own life, and what's more, he felt deeply guilty for being the one who painted a target on her back. When Albus offered to protect the Potters in exchange for Severus' service as a spy, Severus agreed readily."

"Albus would have bloody protected them regardless," the barkeep grumped. "He'd not have left them to die."

"Severus was young and irrational and had no concept of anyone doing anything without a price," she replied. "In any case, he remained a spy for Albus for the rest of his life, ultimately dying for the cause during the last battle of the war."

"You left out a bit of the middle," Aberforth commented. "The life of a spy couldn't have been unremarkable."

"It wasn't," she agreed. "I know very little of the years before Voldemort's first fall. After that, Severus remained at Hogwarts, teaching Potions, a post he held until the start of our Sixth Year. At that point he took over the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. The end of that year…"

He raised an eyebrow at her hesitation. "What?"

"You have to understand, he was already dying when Severus killed him," Hermione said softly. "Nobody knew, and everyone in the Order thought him a traitor until the war was over and done, but they had it planned for almost a year ahead as a means to secure Severus' place in Voldemort's ranks."

Aberforth paled, understanding all at once. "He killed Albus, didn't he?"

Hermione offered a curt nod in the affirmative. "The action served to secure Severus' place as a true and loyal Death Eater in Voldemort's eyes, causing him to be rewarded the following term with the post of Headmaster. Harry and I thought that Albus and Severus expected that to be Voldemort's response, perhaps even counted on it. Albus already knew he wouldn't live to see another term, and while his deputy was powerful, she was not somebody Voldemort feared like he had Albus. Placing Severus in control of Hogwarts was the only feasible way to protect the students best they could that last, horrific year of the war."

"Merlin," the younger Dumbledore breathed, not having expected this twist. He'd already known he'd been the last Dumbledore standing in Alpha, but not why or how. "Why was Albus already dying?" he asked.

She smirked. "To great irony, his own curiosity got him killed. He was hunting Horcruxes and came upon one being housed by a very particular ring. The stone in this ring was part of a legendary trifecta of relics, which according to the myths, one merely needed to turn over in their hand three times in order to see loved ones beyond the Veil. Albus put on the ring, not realizing it was heavily cursed."

"Resurrection Stone?" he asked after a moment. "That bloody thing is real?"

"As is the Elder Wand, and the Cloak of Invisibility," she reported. "I actually know where all three of them are at this very moment, now that I think about it. I broke the Elder Wand in Beta, much to your brother's initial horror. Harry broke it in Alpha. He's the one who had the wisdom to do so, and I merely followed his lead. At some point I really should see to it the one here is broken as well."

"Why not destroy one of the other two, if the point is to break up the set?" he asked.

"The point isn't really to break up the set," she said honestly. "The point is to destroy an artifact which untimely demise follows. It's called the Death Stick for a reason, Aberforth. The Stone can be a good tool, when used with care, and the Cloak is harmless and an heirloom best left in the family it has been with for generations."

"So what about Severus in Beta?" he asked, pressing on with his questions. "Was he different?"

She laughed. "Remarkably so. Rather than having a relationship with James Potter in which they were rivals, in Beta they became lovers for a time. Eventually, James would still choose to be with Lily instead, but Severus remained good friends with both James and Lily even after their wedding, ultimately being named Godfather to their son, and helping to raise Harry after their deaths. As Harry grew up in the shadow of Voldemort, war raging around them, Severus became leader of the Resistance in the United Kingdom. He was set to be named Minister when Sirius and I left. He'd still learned about Potions in Beta, but to be honest I don't think he ever had time to really hone his skill to the degree he did in Alpha."

"You said you got close to Beta Severus?" Aberforth inquired, curious why she'd pursue a relationship with a man who she'd clearly not been close to in her native reality.

Hermione nodded. "At first, it was just an issue of working together. It didn't take me long to realize I felt for him not much differently than I did for Harry. Alpha Severus and I barely ever saw one another outside of the classroom, and never interacted on a personal level. There was no opportunity for me to get to know him in the least. Most of what I know about him I learned after he died. With Beta Severus, however, it became clear fairly quickly that I had a Kinship bond with him just as I had with Harry, the first evidence of it coming when I arrived with no wand and I was offered his mother's - she'd died some years prior - to use, and found that it worked very well for me, in the way you'd expect a wand to work between members of the same family. That struck me as odd, and got me thinking, to say the least. Our relationship evolved from there, and by the time we left I was openly calling him my brother. He, in turn, was calling me his sister."

"Did you make the poor sod cry when you left?" he teased.

"I might have," she smirked. "In any case, seeing the difference between Alpha and Beta Severus really highlighted to me how much potential he has if nourished. I knew he was destined to be an incredible Potions Master in any case, but beyond that he has great capability to be a well respected leader. I don't think he'll ever be properly politically ambitious, but when the world needs a leader, he'll answer the call and be more than able to step into that role."

"So you want me to mentor a bloke who could very well grow up to be Minister for Magic," Aberforth asked, feeling more than a little humbled by her trust in him.

"Severus' greatest weakness is ego," she admitted. "He needs a father figure in his life to show him when to be humble and when to be proud."

"Now wait just a minute, Hermione!" he exclaimed. "You said I was to mentor the child, not be a father to him! For Merlin's sake, that's no small task! Didn't you mention his mother was a Pureblood? Surely someone from his own family would be better!"

"His mother was a Prince," she said crisply. "I assure you, having met Octavian and Regina, they are unlikely to take in their half-blood grandson, no matter his merits or accomplishments."

Aberforth paused at that. Aevus Prince had been his own Potions Professor, and if Aberforth was remembering his family tree correctly, that would make Severus his great-nephew. If nothing else, all other things that bound him to the Prince family aside, he owed it to Professor Prince to pass on the kindness the man had shown him in his youth. "Fine," he said, voice curt.

"Fine?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "One minute you're objecting strongly, and the next it's fine? What's your connection to the Princes?"

"I loved one, once," he admitted quietly. "Her family hardly approved, of course, and wouldn't allow us to marry. The Dumbledores have been Blood-Traitors longer than the Weasleys. Further, I was mentored by Professor Aevus Prince, who if my memory serves would be your Severus' great-uncle. If nothing else I owe it to him to mentor his nephew."

The pair stared each other down, clear enough that she wanted more information, and that he was disinclined to give it. After a moment, Hermione nodded in acceptance. "Shall we move on? Talk about Albus?"

Pathetically, he'd rather be talking about his damn brother right now than the bloody Princes. "Sounds like a plan. So, you already ran through him dying in Alpha. Anything else I need to know about him in Alpha before we move on to Beta? You clearly have issues with him."

She let out a ragged sigh. "As I'm sure you already expect, he'll be Headmaster of Hogwarts in due time. As a child I didn't understand it, but as an adult I look back and resent the abuse of his power. We were children, and he was recruiting for the Order from the upper years of Hogwarts. So many of us graduated, fed ideals by him about how we had every right to be involved in the fight, and jumped right in, committing to the cause. Any responsible Headmaster would have urged the opposite. Some of it was Harry - he knew fairly early on that Voldemort was after him specifically and later, he knew why, and that made Harry feel like he had no choice but to fight and those of us who were close to him were more than happy to stand by his side. We even had a bloody club in Fifth Year we called Dumbledore's Army. The DA would become the foundation of the student Resistance within the castle that final year of the war, and while I don't regret that we trained - it likely saved our lives - had I been an adult in that situation I'd have been arranging the children to evacuate during the battle, not take part in it. A friend of mine once said to me that he didn't think it was proper for someone to be in position to take a life until they were old enough and responsible enough to make a life. I think he was rather on the mark. Not that his children bloody listened, and he lost a son that night."

"Who?" Aberforth asked. "Who was he?"

"Arthur Weasley," she said, frowning deeply. "I knew him in Alpha and Beta quite well. In Alpha, we knew one another because I was friends with several of his children, but in Beta we were friends just because we were comrades in arms, first. I was too busy fighting a war to fuss about with getting friendly with his children there. In any case, it was difficult to face Fred and George in Beta knowing that Fred had died in Alpha."

He nodded, understanding how difficult it is to lose a sibling, and how others around you don't seem to know how to act around you after the fact. Merlin knew that his friends hardly knew what to do with him after he lost Ariana. "Did Albus have any soldiers who weren't students?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, sipping her Firewhiskey. "Plenty, however keep in mind that this was a multigenerational war. Most of those in the Order had been in the Order since they graduated Hogwarts or shortly after. Remus and Sirius, Arthur and Molly, Moody, Tonks, Kings, and so on - all of them were likely recruited while they were in school or directly after. Minerva was probably one of the few not recruited as a student, although she was still very young at the time. Likely, she was one of the first recruits for the Order. That said, while I abhor Albus' methods, in the end, it did work. He and the Order did keep the Death Eater attacks to a minimum for all but that last year, and he did train Harry and provide Harry with the tools to defeat Voldemort once and for all. It's an issue of the ends justifying the means, however. Yes, we won. The cost, however, was two generations of child soldiers who never had a chance to be young and carefree, because we were thrust into a war at the bidding of a man we trusted to know what was in our best interests, but ultimately, his only concern was for the greater good. Albus didn't care how scarred we were at the end. To him, the only thing that mattered was winning the war."

Aberforth shifted uncomfortably. "I'm beginning to see why you find him a bit bothersome."

"I didn't honestly become disillusioned with him until years after he was dead," she admitted. "Harry developed a drinking problem after the war. Ron had struggles of his own, as did Neville and Luna. I was drowning myself in work and casual sex…"

He raised an eyebrow at that last bit, causing her to laugh. "Casual sex?" he inquired.

"What, did you honestly think I came to my marriage bed as a virgin?" she asked, looking incredulous. "I'd tell you how many partners I've had in my life if I could admit to being sober enough to remember them all. For a while there, it was a different person every night. A few months before I ended up in Beta I connected with a woman who was looking for the same thing I was - casual sex with no expectations - and we made a go of things for a bit. Even if I could whisk myself back there now, though, I wouldn't want a real relationship with her. The fact that she's due to be born in three months and will be my niece from here on out doesn't make matters any better."

"Ha!" he barked. "I guess you have a thing for the Blacks, then."

Doubt flickered in her eyes for just a moment, making her look down at the bar. "I was too wounded, then, to consider anything serious. Looking back, there was someone in my life that, had I been willing to invest in it, might have been the beginnings of a beautiful relationship. I was too wounded, and honestly, too immature to see it for what it was."

"I have a difficult time seeing you as immature," Aberforth admitted.

"I didn't deserve her in the least," Hermione replied, meeting his gaze. "I'm not sure I ever really could. We may be compatible in many ways, but I'm not certain that makes a relationship between us truly right."

Aberforth tapped his fingers on the bar, unused to seeing such self doubt in Hermione Black. "Who the bloody hell could possibly be out of your reach? Who could you believe you didn't deserve? You are an incredible Witch, Hermione."

She offered a small smile. "Minerva McGonagall," came a quiet admission. "Do you see now why I want to keep her as far away from things for as long as possible?"

He frowned. "Does she even fancy other women? Is that the issue?"

Hermione chuckled. "She does. That isn't it at all. I merely know what she will become, and I think that no matter how powerful I become - especially if I am able to protect her, this go around, from some of the darkness I know she touched in Alpha - I will remain tainted by war and she will remain pure. I don't think a dark impulse has ever crossed her mind in all her life, in any reality. On the other hand, I struggle to maintain course. I've killed when I should have accepted surrender. I've given into hatred, and by way of necessity of the life I've lived, I've delved into the Dark Arts nearly as much as any Dark Lord. That I make a daily choice not to become a Dark Witch in my own right is beside the point entirely."

"You are not beyond healing," he urged. "You are not beyond redemption."

She nodded sagely. "Perhaps not, however that will take a lifetime, and I'll not taint her life in the meantime if I can help it. Now, I believe we were going to discuss your brother some more?"

He knew full well when she was putting an end to a discussion, so he begrudgingly asked the next obvious question. "Alright then, do you want to tell me about Beta Albus? He can hardly be worse than Alpha."

Hermione snorted in amusement. "Better or worse, I think, is often a matter of perspective. Albus himself would perhaps call his life in Beta a failure in many ways, and in certain aspects I might agree with him. However, when it comes to the things that matter, I think he was a far better man there. In Beta, the timeline diverged greatly where his life is concerned, and that impacted that world greatly. After the fall of Grindelwald - in this case his death and not his imprisonment - Albus resigned his post at Hogwarts and spent some time away from the world. He might have come out of that in time, but Aurelius' health continued to decline, and unlike here, Aurelius was unwilling to accept any help which would delay that decline. From what Albus told me, you did remain as carer for your son until the day you died. The Obscurus lost containment, and you were killed. After that, Albus called in a favor from Nicolas Flamel and had his cottage warded up to high heaven, containing himself and Aurelius inside. He expected the same thing to happen to him as it did you, however by then Aurelius was weaker, and Albus ended up burying him alongside you and your sister. By then, he'd buried his sister, his lover, his brother, and then his nephew, and he didn't give a shite about the rest of the world. He was lost in his grief, and remained behind those wards, alone, for years. All the while, the world around him fell to Voldemort, and people he'd once cared for fought and died for survival."

"So no Albus, and the world goes to shite," Aberforth concluded somberly. "Let's not tell him that, alright? His ego doesn't need it."

"I wasn't planning to tell him this go around," she smirked. "I did tell him in Beta, after I dragged him out of the cottage and back into the fight. He demanded to know why it was so imperative that he get in the fight. I explained to him that of the key features missing when I'd arrived in Beta, he was among the most obvious. Without him there to learn about Horcruxes, to warn the people about Voldemort before he got too powerful, to train Harry for the task ahead, everything else just fell apart. Fate decided that Albus plays a major role in the war to come. I can't and don't intend to change that. However, much as I did in Beta, he will be working under my orders, and not the other way around. My intention is to establish a firm Resistance, knowing full well he'll try to establish the Order. I'll recruit people I know would have been recruited by the Order, and he'll be hard pressed to find people to follow his lead. Eventually, he'll have to realize that if he wants help defeating Voldemort, he'll have to answer to me."

"It will be more difficult to convince him to follow your orders in a world where he hasn't lost everything," Aberforth pointed out.

"I know."

"He's going to loathe you."

She shrugged. "I know."

A smirk formed on his lips. "I'm going to really enjoy the show."

Hermione laughed. "I know."

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