Disclaimer: Despite my countless wishes, the Harry Potter characters are not mine. Although, I thank JK Rowling for allowing me to play with them…In a non-creepy way…
Playing God
Chapter 17
Hello,
I'm sorry that I didn't get in touch with you earlier, I've just been so busy lately.
I hope that you can forgive my ignorance and I was wondering if yo would like to meet up soon? I'm uncertain as to your work schedule, so you'll have to let me know – Although I hope it can be before the 7th February as Caitlyn has organised me (against my will, I would like to point out) a house warming party in our apartment complex and, of course you are invited, I'd like to get to know you in a much more…un-busy space?
Warm regards,
Hermione Jean.
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Hermione!
How nice to hear from you! Of course I'd like to meet up with you! How's Tomorrow sound? 3:00pm? The TriWand?
Ah, yes, Caitlyn will do that – I'm surprised that it's taken her this long to get around to it! She's normally straight on it! I'll definitely be there, but I know what you mean about it just being the two of us – I could really do with a female friend!
Hope to see you tomorrow!
Lily xx
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Hermione's fingers were working rapidly to tear the napkin in front of her into little tiny pieces, her legs moving up and down under the table rapidly as her brown eyes were focused intently upon the entrance to the TriWand, a concoction of apprehension, nerves and utter panic swirling around in her stomach, battling for dominance over the little voice in her mind that kept repeating that everything would be alright.
Madame Rosmerta stopped by her table and refilled her Butterbeer free of charge, sending a friendly wink her way before heading back to the bar to serve the burly man who had just flagged her down.
With a nervous glance at her watch which told her that she had another ten minutes before Lily was supposed to be here anyway, her mind flashed back two nights before when a plan had been laid out between her, Cal and Albus Dumbledore.
"Save Sirius, save the boy…It's quite remarkable actually." Albus said sadly, leaning back in his chair, a sad look tightening the corners of his eyes. She was used to seeing that look from her old headmaster, but it didn't stop her feeling the small pang in her heart that she now knew was the loss of her innocence. Being a soldier in this war would do that to you.
"That's it?" Cal asked, his expression one of confusion, "you're not supposed to stop Voldemort, just stop Sirius Black from being an idiot?"
Hermione nodded once, feeling like Cal was judging her slightly, "Harry has to be the one who defeats Voldemort."
"That's bullsh….scnickles." Cal corrected himself halfway through the word with a glance at Dumbledore, "the oppression will happen with or without this Potter boy…You mentioned a prophecy?" He paused to let Hermione nod, but before she could tell him what the prophecy entailed, he was speaking once more, "it might be more difficult without him, sure. But that doesn't mean it would be impossible…You also said that it could be a different boy! Couldn't we just save the Potter family, stop the boy from being killed, his parents would protect him and then, hey presto, we defeat the bad guy with 3 – 5 years of hard work?"
He was talking as if defeating Lord Voldemort would be a walk in the park…He had no idea how wrong he was.
"The prophecy will happen either way, no matter what we do. It's the prophecy that sets everything in motion." She had a small inner debate with herself before she decided that it would be best if they knew this, no matter how much she didn't want to tell them. "Voldemort split his soul into seven different pieces, across various objects. Not all of them have been created and we don't even know what all of them are in my time…Except for four…There's a diary, a ring, a locket and…I figured out a few years ago that Harry is one of them." She was surprised at the twist of her heart – she hadn't said those words aloud to anyone, afraid that just speaking the words would start an apocalypse. "In order to get Voldemort weak enough to defeat him, then he needs to split his soul to make seven – He'll make one when he returns in 1994, but right now? He needs to put a piece of his soul in Harry. The events that led up to James and Lily's death and Voldemort's disappearance need to happen exactly as they are about to…But, to give Harry the best chance of finding the others and to be brave enough to not fear death, he needs a guide from his childhood, to raise and nurture him and the only man that can do that with justice is Sirius Black."
There was a still silence that settled over the three of them, sat in Dumbledore's office as they registered her words and Hermione held back her tears. She had known for years that Harry would have to die at the end of the war, but the thought had been too much to bear, so she simply stopped thinking about it, pushed it to the recess of her mind, buried it deep under all the other information about Horcruxes that she'd acquired over the years.
"He can't be defeated now?"
"No. Not for years. He'll be dormant for eleven years after his curse rebounds and puts another piece of his soul in Harry and then he'll rise up again, and then it's up to Harry."
"We'll be raising him like a pig for slaughter!"
"I know." Hermione said quietly, huddling into herself. She had never felt more ashamed, scared and ultimately sad – it was almost as if a Dementor was hiding in this room, sucking up all of her potential happiness in the future and showing it to her in the shape of Harry falling to his knees, dead.
"Hermione…Hermione, that's cruel."
"That's life." She could feel the bitterness well up inside her, the thought that this wasn't fair cartwheeling chaotically through her mind, numbing her. She felt like she was drowning in what could be's, what would be's, and what she had to do to make sure that two people died and a boy was left an orphan.
Another silence fell heavily upon them, broken only by the tired sigh of Cal as he rubbed his temples, a furrow between his eyebrows. "So…Sirius Black?"
"Sirius Black." Hermione repeated his name in confirmation, even though she knew that there was no need to do so – Cal had heard her loud and clear and she could tell by his tone of voice that he was ready to help her, come hell or high waters.
"Shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"You don't know Sirius Black as well as you think you do." Hermione said with a soft laugh, "he's a womaniser, a man who lives in the moment. It's hard to get a man like that to settle down in such a short time."
"Maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do." Cal retorted, sitting up straighter, his muscles tensing, "I've seen the way he looks at you – he feels something for you, Hermione, it's obvious."
"It's the mirrors magic. It's pulling him to me, I know that, but I have to be the one who pushes him off the edge and then I have to catch him. It'll take a while, I think."
Cal nodded once, stood and, with a flick of his wand, a blackboard rolled towards them from behind a large statue of Gregory the Great. "Let's get to work."
Hermione was dragged back to the present by the chair opposite her being pulled out from under the table and a thin, willowy body dropping down to sit on it. She was greeted with dark red hair, brilliant green eyes and a soft smile. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Penny…" She said quietly under her breath, smiling at the woman opposite her who, with one words, somehow, managed to put Hermione at ease. "Sorry, I was just thinking of that party that I'm being forced to attend tomorrow."
"But you're the guest of Honour! You should be looking forward to it!" Lily laughed, "I am. It's been ages since I've let my hair down!" She turned in her seat to spot Madame Rosmerta and ask for a non-alcoholic Butterbeer and Hermione was struck by how easy this was turning out to be – When Cal had suggested that she befriend Lily, she had thought that it would be too difficult and it had taken Cal a long time to convince her that this was the best course of action.
"Think about it Hermione, what does Sirius value above anything else? In anybody that he knows?"
Hermione looked at the blackboard intently where Cal had wrote keywords, drawn little diagrams and had briefly played a game of noughts and crosses. "Loyalty?" She answered hesitantly, feeling as if she were on a game show and the wrong answer would send her falling into a pit of green gloop.
"Loyalty. And who does he value in his life?"
"His friends."
"Bingo. Now, to show your loyalty, you have to work your way into the friend group and, the best way to do that? Befriend the only female in their group."
"Lily?"
"Lily."
"No." She answered instantly, the thought of being friends with someone who she knew was going to die was too much for her. "Absolutely not."
"Hermione, think about it for a second!" Cal pleaded, "it seems like the easiest way for you to be able to worm your way into Sirius's system, especially now!"
"No, Cal, I can't! I can't be around them knowing that in a year and a half they'll be dead, betrayed by their friend, someone who they believed that they could trust."
"Are you upset because you'll be hanging out with Lily…Or because you'll be around Peter?" Hermione had almost forgot that Dumbledore was also here, as he'd barely said a word since the Unbreakable Vow was made between Hermione and Cal almost two hours ago – it seemed as if he'd faded into the background, letting Hermione and Cal come up with their own plan.
Hermione felt something close to shame twist in her stomach as her cheeks flushed a light pink and she looked away, not used to being called out on her real reasons from anyone other than Harry, Ron and, for a while, Draco. It unnerved her that Dumbledore seemed to be able to read her openly and, judging by the glint in his clear eyes, it was obvious that he knew it.
Almost half an hour later saw Hermione and Lily laughing together as the red-headed woman recounted a tale of her Hogwarts days which saw The Marauders acting like idiots which, according to Lily, they still did to this day. She wasn't at all surprised to learn this, considering that Sirius still acted like a child at heart even when he was well into his thirties, before his death in 1996.
Then a thought struck her with such force that she almost gasped: Would she still have to let Sirius die when he falls into the veil? Or, by saving him now, will she stop him from dying in 1996?
Was that what was supposed to happen? After she saved Sirius, stopped him from going after Peter Pettigrew and instead, stick around and care for Harry, was she supposed to go? And if so, where was she supposed to go?
She was so consumed by this sudden train of thought that she didn't catch what Lily was saying next, so the expectant look that she was faced with when she glanced at Lily caused a sheepish look to cross over her own expression.
"Sorry, I was lost in my own World for a while there – what was that?"
"I asked if you wanted to meet up again, after your party?" Hermione couldn't stop the groan from escaping when she thought of her upcoming housewarming party that Caitlyn was planning – she'd been cornered in her own courtyard by the preppy blonde haired woman, badgering her about what decoration theme she wanted. "I'm sure it won't be that bad. I'm not exactly a party girl myself." Lily confessed, "even less so now that I have a little one on the way." She shrugged, twirling the straw in her drink, placing her hand lightly on her stomach, "I'm still looking forward to it – Caitlyn's parties are always worth it. I promise."
There was something in Lily's tone which soothed Hermione and she knew in that moment that Lily would not only make an amazing mother, but an amazing friend to.
"I'd love to meet up after Caitlyn's party," she said, smiling brightly at her, "how about some time next week?"
A/N: And Hermione and Lily are slowly becoming friends! She has allies, she has a plan, she's on a mission!
Of course, it's not all gonna go smoothly – if it did, this would be finished with pretty quickly! But I'm nowhere near finished with this, so expect a bumpy road ahead of our heroine :D
Thanks for reading and I hope that you liked it!
Kelly
xxx