To be perfectly honest, I'm not totally happy with this chapter... this week has been... rough, to put it mildy. There was supposed to be some action in this chap, but I couldn't get myself in the mood to write it... so sorry!

I have the last little chapter that I'll post directly afterwards, and then I should hopefully post the first chapter of Book II, Envoy, next week! Make sure to subscribe to the Series to get the update on the next Book!

Enjoy!

March 14, 1999

Hermione

Hermione flattened her palms against the skirt of her kaftan inspired dress again, staring at her reflection in the mirror. It fit in a sheath style, with a subtle pattern woven in all white. It had a long cape that was embroidered with a periwinkle thread in smoke-like patterns around the edges. Her hair was braided and covered with a short veil. Henna covered her arms and hands, framing her engagement ring.

Andromeda was bouncing Teddy who was babbling away. He was turning 1 in a couple of months and was growing so quickly.

"You look beautiful, Hermione," Andromeda said.

"Thanks, Andi," Hermione murmured. "I'm not sure why I'm so nervous. It's not like I'm having cold feet."

"It's normal, I practically vomited on my wedding day, it didn't help that none of my family was there," she added quietly.

"Not this time," Hermione said, confidently. "It feels odd staying here so long when I know we need to leave," she sighed. "It feels like I'm play acting at life. Like none of this matters."

"It matters," Andi said, coming to stand over her shoulder. "You'll be a Charms Mistress. You're building out your plan to be successful in the 70s. You're surrounded by your family."

"Logically, I know that, but it's different than last time. So many people won't be around when we go back. Teddy for one, but also Neville or the Weasleys."

"I know you're missing Ron," Andi said quietly. "I wish that he would have gotten over his aversion and been here for your big day, but your family is here."

"Thank you for being my Sumo," Hermione murmured. "I think that you'd very likely have been my Mum's closest friend. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Of course," Andi said, setting Teddy down. "I'm always glad to learn about your traditions. A full beauty treatment and setting up the Marital Bed? Sign me up!" she added with a wink.

"I think my Mum would appreciate the nods to tradition while moving things into the modern age," she said quietly.

"I have no doubts," Andi said, pulling her into a hug.

They heard a knock 3at the door, "Mia, it's me," Theo called.

Andi smiled softly and opened the door, scooping up Teddy on her way. She stepped out so that Theo could come in. "Mia," he sighed, "You look beautiful," he said as he came towards her. "I wanted to make sure that I came to see you before the big to do."

"Thank you for coming, Theo," she said softly. "There is no one else I'd rather celebrate my day with."

"I know its not how you pictured it, and it's much earlier than any of us expected, but…" he trailed off as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I only wish that my parents and Harry were able to be here," she said quietly.

When she walked down the aisle towards Draco, she couldn't hold back the tears. He looked beautiful. Ted squeezed her hand that was resting in his elbow. "I'm proud of you, kiddo," he said quietly. "My nephew is a lucky man."

She just smiled at him and felt a tear track down her face as Ted handed her off to Draco. Augusta was performing the Ceremony for them. Honestly the whole thing went by in a blur of words and Magic. She could feel how close she was to him by the end, their bond more solid than she could have guessed.

In what felt like moments, Augusta was beaming, announcing that Draco and Hermione Malfoy Black Granger stood before the crowd.

"What a mouthful," Theo teased. Draco bumped his shoulder against his oldest friend, but Hermione could tell just how light he was feeling at that moment. Hermione practically floated through their reception, which was intimate.

Draco carried her over the threshold of their bedroom. "My lady," he murmured into her neck, "I don't think I've told you enough just how beautiful you look today."

Hermione beamed at him, "Good thing we got pictures, I don't want to forget today," she said, running her nose along his.

"I could never forget the way you look today, love," he smiled, setting her on the edge of the bed.

August 17, 1999

Draco

Being married was nice. Being a newlywed, the Dark Lord's Top General, an Order Spy, Potions Apprentice, and planning the Time Jump was not nice. He constantly felt pressure from all sides, except Hermione, she was just as busy as he was, but they both attempted to make as much time for each other as they could, although that often came in the form of passing out next to each other in their bed at odd hours.

While he'd been working through his own Mastery and diligently perfecting his skills under the not-so-diligent Slughorn, Hermione had been working for months to create a new diagnostic charm that would work with the Travelling. She wanted to make sure that she could keep everything straight.

After careful consideration, they'd all decided that both Theo and Hermione's masters needed to be looped in in order to better assist them. Flitwick had been fascinated by the Magic and had asked to look into the spell work. Theo's Arithmancy Mistress, Isolde Archibald, had been absolutely ecstatic to see their calculations and had added to their timeline with their own memories of events.

Draco apparated into their bedroom after a long day hunched over his potions bench. He fell backwards onto the bed with a groan. Unfortunately he couldn't take a break from any of his activities. He was so bloody tired, more so than any nineteen year old had any right being.

"Draco!" Hermione shrieked, launching herself at him. Hermione straddled him, beaming at him like mad. He could feel his cock twitch in interest. She'd filled out over the past year, he hadn't ever considered himself much of an arse man, but her thighs, hips, and arse changed his mind quickly.

"Hello, love," he smirked up at her, thrusting his hips slightly. "To what do I owe this greeting?"

"Oh!"she flushed, "well I really only wanted to tell you that I've completed the Charm!"

"The Charm?" He asked, sitting up and gripping her thighs.

"Yes! My diagnostic is perfect! Let me show you!" She scrambled off him and pointed her wand at him. "Bene Reprehendo Aeternum!" She waved her wand in a complex series of movements.

He blinked as he saw a list pop up next to him

Draco Lucius Malfoy Black Granger

June 5, 1980 (Age 20)

Time Jumps: 1

Marital Status: Married - Bonded

Generational Curses: Filius Puras

Children/Heirs: None

Blood Pressure: 95/80

Heart Rate: 70 bpm

Health Concerns: Cruciatus Nerve Damage (severe), Sleep Deprivation (moderate) Hemlock Exposure (mild), Depression (mild)

He looked at the floating words and numbers in awe. He wasn't surprised by the health concerns, he'd not been sleeping well and definitely wasn't feeling his best. He'd been working with Hemlock today, but knew that he'd have to take a step away from the poisonous plant for a few days at least. He cringed at the news about the Cruciatus, but wasn't surprised. He occasionally had spasms from huge repetitive Crucios he'd endured.

"Draco," Hermione asked quietly, "what is Filius Purus?"

"I assume it's something about why the Malfoys have only been having one son for the past few generations," he said thoughtfully.

"So we can only have one?" She whispered.

He finally looked over at her. He was a bit taken aback by how sad she looked. "Let's do some research," he said, taking her hands in his and pulling her to stand between his legs. "I'm the Patriarch to two houses and the Patriarch through marriage to a third, that would make me think we could have at least 3."

She chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "I'll see if I can convince Flitwick to let me look into generational curses more." After a few moments of watching her think, she said, "even if we can only have one, he'll be brilliant."

"With you as a Mum? There's no question," he said, kissing her on the tip of the nose.

A few weeks later, Hermione thrust an old time in front of him.

Filius Puras - this spell is most often used to guarantee Inheritance. It disallows the recipient from siring more than one heir. An Heir can only be sired through a bonded marriage between Purebloods. In cases where the recipient is the heir or Head of more than one house, each will receive their requisite Heirs. A secondary Heir can be sired if the Primary is unable to continue the line.

Other, illegitimate children can be had, with impure partners but can never be legitimised formally. They cannot hold holdings or name-rights.

He looked up at Hermione who had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot quickly. "Well?" she huffed.

"We can have three," he said softly.

"Draco!" she cried, "it's barbaric! I will not be having our children carry this on, what if they want to marry a Muggle?"

Draco blanched, he hadn't even thought about what it meant for future children. "What if it means that we can only have children once and in the future we can't have them?" he said quietly.

"I'm going to break it," she said confidently. "We won't have children until I do!"

"Of course, love, but that doesn't mean we can't practise," he winked lasciviously.

She rolled her eyes, but he could tell that she was pleased by his assertion. "You're not upset?" she asked. "I know you want them."

"Granger, we just got married and we're nineteen. We're going to live for ages even without our Jumps. I'm not in any sort of rush, I just want to spend time with my wife."

November 1999

Theo

Theo sucked in a deep breath. They'd been planning for months for this extraction. Regulus' Inferus was coming out of the water. They'd found a way to track him and draw his specific body out of the lake. It wasn't Dark Magic persay, but it definitely wasn't light. He stood next to Hermione who'd designed the charm, while Neville, the self-proclaimed muscle, stood on her right side.

"Alright," Theo said, cutting his palm and wiping it against the stones. His job was to get them in and watch their backs as Hermione cast and Neville pulled out the Inferus.

The three of them stepped inside and Theo let out a low whistle. The centre island was in disarray, with large stones littering the beach, a large hole was blasted through the ceiling. The waters were deceptively calm, but Theo could see the bodies loving through the water under the surface.

Hermione stood at the edge of the water, and looked to Neville who was crouched over the surface. He tied a rope around his waist, handing it to Theo and then nodded sharply to Hermione.

"Let's get him, Mia," Theo said, gripping the rope tightly, prepared to pull Neville if it came to that.

Although inferí weren't zombies, the three of them were dressed like they were Zombie Hunters in a Muggle comic book, covered in leather so that not an inch of their skin below their chins was showing. It didn't hurt to be careful when it came to the undead.

Hermione sucked in a deep breath and began casting. Ripples began to disturb the waters and it began to churn dramatically. Neville's head was scanning the water, waiting for his chance. Theo watched him lean forward and grip something in the water, sucking in a deep breath before his head went below the water in order to drag the body out.

Theo felt him begin to be pulled forward and threw his whole body into pulling his cousin back onto land. Hermione looked exhausted from her casting and was slumped against the wall, panting.

Moments later, Neville and the Inferus of Regulus Black flopped onto the cave floor. Neville gasped for air, while Regulus began to squirm. "Stupify!" Theo shouted, shoulders sinking in relief when the body stopped moving.

"Time to get back home," Theo said. "Bennett, Darcy, if you would bring us home!" The two elves popped in and each grasping two of them, popped back to the Granger Estate.

Andi and Ted were standing next to a worried looking Augusta. Ted rushed to Regulus and levitated him to the large aquarium that they'd acquired, it was full of nutrient dense water that would keep his body animated until their Jump next year.

Theo's eyes were drawn from the morbid scene of Regulus Black's body floating in a bluish goo to the scene behind him. Augusta had gasped loudly and Andi was muttering spells over Neville.

Theo took a step towards his great-Aunt who leaned against him heavily. "Not our Neville," Augusta moaned.

Neville coughed out a large amount of murky water and gasped, looking at Theo, "Fix it all," he croaked before seizing and then going still. Andi began to furiously cast spell after spell, until Ted pulled her away. Augusta was sobbing loudly.

"We're going to fix it, Aunt Gussie," he murmured as he led her towards a lounge chair. "Nev will grow up with his parents and we're going to save the world."

Between his studies and the group's preparation for their trip, he barely had time to think about all he'd lost. Until Neville's funeral that is. Looking at his cousin laying on the pyre broke him.

He found himself sobbing, being held up by a stoic Hermione. He stepped up with his Aunt to light the pyre, trying to hold in his tears.

For the next hour, they told stories about Neville. Hermione talked about how he was her first friend. The Weasley Twins told a riotous tale about Neville and Trevor and their first iteration of Skiving Snackboxes which required Trevor's mucus. Professor Sprout waxed poetic about his ability with plants. Theo sat next to Augusta soaking in all the words, not really hearing any of them.

When the pyre burnt out completely, the gathered group made their way inside where a small feast was spread. Theo picked at his food, not really taking in any of the flavours. He was done with this time. He was done with being surrounded by all this death. He was done with being hurt at every turn.

Fortunately, all of them were set to finish their Apprenticeships in the Spring, and should have all their supplies and plans ready to go by the summer. The Jump couldn't come fast enough.

Thoughts!?

As always, thank you to bam2305 3

If you're curious (because I know I always am when people say they're having a hard time), I work in a K-8 School and one of the students I work with passed away this week. She was super young, it's been a weird week for me and the school I work at. I've just been helping a lot of kiddos process trauma, and it's been... not fun. I'm hoping to take a look at all my chapters and do edits in the next few weeks, and should have the first chapter of Book II up next week!