To Save Them All
Chapter 2
Diagon Alley
A/N:Sorry for the long update, but I doubt many people care. Just so you know italics are thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
The owl returned the next day with Professor McGonagall's answer with a date and a meeting point. So a few days later the Granger family was outside th Leaky Cauldron. Mr. And Mrs. Granger were about to enter when they turned to see Hermione standing rooted to the spot, fear plastered on her face. They didn't know what they were comforting her for but nonetheless it worked and Hermione led the way into the pub. It was dark inside, Tom was cleaning glasses talking quietly to a man in blue robes, an old witch with an owl on her shoulder climbed the stairs to the rooms above. It was exactly the same as Hermione remembered it before Tom was killed and Wormtail took over. It brought tears to her eyes just thinking that all these people had suffered such terrible fates, and still might, but didn't know it.
Minerva McGonagall watched the Grangers enter the pub and stop dead in their tracks. She smiled; it was the same with them all. But then she looked at Hermione Granger, the young girl looked close to tears and had an odd sad smile. Minerva hoped that the girl was going to be overly emotional. The Grangers spotted her and made their way over. The girl seemed very happy to see her, "Professor, it's so good to see you again!" She looked ecstatic.
Minerva nodded and said, "Likewise, shall we go?"
"Certainly," Said Mrs. Granger who seemed to be containing her confusion and curiosity rather well. They went through the back door and left the pub but were soon blocked by a wall. It seemed that the only way to go was back, but Minerva knew better.
"What are we doing out here?" The Granger girl asked in an odd voice; it sounded almost as if she knew what was going to happen.
"Watch closely." And with that Minerva opened the entrance to Diagon Alley. The older Grangers stood gaping in absolute shock while once again the girl reacted strangely; the sad smile reappeared and her eyes went teary again. The girl acted strange at every turn and seemed ready to hug people who passed her and she touched the walls inside the shops, which in itself was not uncommon for new muggleborns but she did it not to check that the wall was real but to stroke it almost lovingly. Despite all this Minerva McGonagall felt herself warming to the strange, intelligent girl. She couldn't help but hope that the girl was sorted into Gryffindor.
Hermione returned to her house that night feeling emotionally drained but an odd happiness had overcome her. She couldn't wait to see all her friends again, even if she didn't think she would entirely recognize Chris. I mean I haven't seen him since second year when... She didn't want to follow that train of thought; it could only lead her down a dark road. She fell asleep that night dreaming of Diagon Alley the day George and Percy died.
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Ron and Hermione apparated to Diagon Alley. They didn't have much time, the Death Eaters would be here any minuet. Hermione clutched Ron's hand and began to run down the empty streets that once thrived with life. The only sound was that of the clattering of their feet and Ron's muttering about 'Idiots not doing what he said and laying low'. They passed a burnt out shop with some lettering remaining that read, "Oliv and akers." They sped past a blank spot in the street that was filled with nothing bits of white marble. They neared the building which used to house Weasleys Wizard Whezzies. Ron's older brothers had run the shop and still owned the building except now they used it to house those running from the Dark Lord. All of a sudden there was a rush of noise and the two runners eyes widened in fear; they could hear one voice, though the man did not shout his voice simply carried.
"You have sheltered my enemies. That is treason." Voldemort let his words sink in and looked down at the two young men, bound and on their knees in front of him. They were brothers that much was clear from the red hair but the one on the left was a few years older and wore horn-rimmed glasses across his nose. Voldemort met their eyes and let out a hiss of anger; he saw no fear in there, only defiance. "Why do you continue to fight?" Voldemort bit out but there was curiosity behind it, after all the only two people who came close to matching him in power were now dead.
"Because," the brother to Voldemort's right said quietly but with a passion burning in his voice, "You have killed our friends, our family and then you killed him and had the balls to tell the world it was a suicide! Bastard!"
Ron and Hermione ducked down under a particularly large chunk of rubble as this was being said, they were directly behind the Dark Lord and had a clear line of sight to him with only three Death Eaters standing close by, most were inside torturing the run-aways.
Ron threw a questioning glance at Hermione to which she nodded. A steely glint entered made itself seen in both pairs of eyes. Just then Voldemort spoke again.
"If you try it, I'll kill them." Panic flashed in Ron's eyes. He took several steadying breaths before slowly looking over the edge of the makeshift cover. Ron let out a slow sigh of relief when he saw that everyone's attention was still focused on his brother's. Ron ducked back down and faced his wife, he held up three fingers, two fingers, one... And they both jumped up and non-verbally sent twin green curses flying at the man responsible for so much pain. "I warned you." Voldemort waved his wand and two of the three brothers' throats were cut. And then he was gone, the curses going through the space he had just occupied. And Death Eaters turned and saw two statues frozen in shock and fear.
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Hermione jerked awake and her right hand shot to her left forearm where her wand holster was. Except it wasn't. She started patting down her body searching frantically for her wand, until she froze remembering that she had only bought her wand that day in Diagon Alley. Hermione relaxed the muscles in her back and fell back down onto her bed. It was then that she noticed that she was drenched in sweat from reliving one of the better days of the war when they had managed to escape without any major injuries. It was that night, the night of George and Percys' death, that made her realize just how powerful she and Ron had become. They were nowhere near as powerful as Voldemort but they were very few Death Eaters who could match them in a one-on-one duel, even with the odds of about thirty-to-two that night, they had won. The battle had lasted at least an hour but they did win and managed to take out a few of the Death Eaters there, but it didn't even dent Voldemort's forces.
Hermione rubbed her eyes, they were wet, she had been crying in her sleep. She couldn't wait until September first when she'd be able to see all those people she had loved and lost.
What is that old saying? It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. I disagree, I think it's better to love, loose and then time-travel to save them all, so you never really lost them in the first place.
Hermione tried to go back to sleep but found that every time she closed her eyes, she was once again running through Diagon Alley. She decided to try something that Harry used to do after a bad fight or a gory glimpse into Voldemort's mind. She got up out of bed and walked over to her desk and started looking for some blank paper and a pencil. It wasn't long before she found them with her room being so tidy and her being so studious. Hermione sat pencil in hand, paper on desk and closed her eyes to get a clear view of Diagon Alley. Then she began to draw. Hermione knew she was no artist and she also knew she had to put in as much detail as possible so she sat sketching until dawn broke and she heard her parents moving down the hall. She got up hurriedly and flung the paper in her open trunk. She did not want to answer questions on why she had drawn such a horrible scene.
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Mr. Granger pushed a trolley with his daughter's school trunk in front of him and walked beside his wife while Hermione was walking a little in front. He looked at her now to see her gazing at a point in front of them and a little to the right. He looked that way too and seen a raven-haired boy, who also had a trunk, and an owl, talking to a red-headed woman. There were two red-haired children as well though only one had a trunk. The conversation ended and the boy with black hair started walking away, and then he was running. Mr. Granger looked in front of the boy to see why he was in such a hurry and seen that th boy was running straight toward a barrier between platforms nine and ten. Mr. Granger was about to shout a warning when the boy disappeared. Just disappeared!
And then he could have sworn he heard someone laughing.
Hermione did hear someone laughing, and it sounded so strange; it was familiar but that wasn't what was strange. When she first heard it, she had thought it was laughing at someone but after a second, she knew that it wasn't but that was the image it's owner wanted to project. Contrary to what it sounded like she knew it was laughing not at someone but almost laughing kindly as if they could understand whatever the object of their laughter was going through. She looked around and saw a boy, probably a first year, walking, pushing his trunk in front of him. He wore a cap so she could not see much of his face, but he looked so familiar. That was when it clicked.
Chris.
A/N: Well there you have it, a slight introduction to a character of my own creation; Chris Lietus. You don't know much about him yet but I hope you like what you see so far. Anyway thanks for reading and please review to tell me what you think.