I wasn't around, when you were talking
But I felt your teeth hit the back of my head
I'll go outside the first day of winter
I'll watch the snow change back over to rain

I've got a blister, all the way down
I've got a blister, from that sound
And that voice, snow on my shoes
I've got a blister, all the way down
I've got a blister, from that sound
From that sound

January 1, 2019 8:30 AM, Sunday
Department of Mysteries

The Department of Mysteries appeared as dark and silent as it had been when I first picked up the time-turner. Not surprising really, considering that according to our timeline we hadn't ever left. The time-turner shook in my hand and I quickly dropped it onto the floor and stomped on it as hard as I possibly could. Severus grasped my elbow as a comforting gesture but I quickly pushed him away and headed toward the door.

"Jenny…"

"Go back to Hogwarts," I commanded forcefully.

"Jenny…I"

"Just go!" I shouted angrily, keeping my eyes focused on the ground in front of me, "Don't you understand! You need to get far away from here…far away from me!"

Severus stared at me as if I'd gone crazy. "I can't just leave you to go on alone, not after…"

I shook my head, willing the tears away. When I finally turned to look at Severus my eyes were dry and my gaze was one of determination, not sorrow. "I won't be alone, not after I find Khalida and Draco. They've always been there for me."

"But Khalida lied to you," Severus stated worriedly.

"I know and I'm not very happy with her, but I'm sure she had a good reason to lie. She probably thought she was protecting me," I responded assuredly, "But once the three of us are together again we'll be able to figure things out and everything will work out, I just know it will." He didn't appear convinced by my words.

"Your father thought the same thing," he replied stonily, "and his friends deserted him. How do you know your friends won't do the same?" I could think of no response to his question so I turned and made my way toward the door. As I held the knob I felt Snape's hand grip my shoulder tightly. I slowly reached up and laid a hand over his.

"Thank you Severus," I said, my voice thick with emotion, "Hopefully you won't see me again until September."

"September?"

"He'll wake in September and then I'll return to Hogwarts," I replied calmly, "We'll be able to leave then and go far away from here."

"Are you sure that's what he'll want?" Severus questioned. I glanced back and gave him a pointed look.

"Wouldn't you?" I asked and he nodded in reply.

The circular room was empty and quiet as I made my way across to the other side. I selected a door at random, throwing caution to the wind. Follow my instinct, that's what Dumbledore had said, and I decided that's just what I'd do from then on. The door opened into a dimly lit, white hallway with plain white doors lining each side. Each door had a small window and the whole setup reminded me of a hospital ward.

I slowly made my way to the first door on the right and peered through the small window. The room was dark and empty so I turned to the door to the left. A light was on and a small figure lay on the metal frame bed inside. A thin white curtain kept me from seeing who it was so I decided to venture inside. The door swung open and the figure on the bed shifted slightly.

"Hello," I called out softly, "Can you hear me?" The sheets moved slightly in response to the sound of my voice.

"Is someone there?" a hoarse voice questioned. I stood in stunned silence as I realized the voice belonged to Hermione Granger-Weasley.

"Hermione!" I exclaimed as I raced past the curtain. I nearly fell over in shock at the sight of her.

There was a thick layer of gauze wrapped around her head and arms. The rest of her body was under a blanket but I suspected it was much the same. The skin on her face, or what was left of it, was the only thing visible. It seemed to be pealing off in large flakes, but there was no flesh underneath. Instead there was a scaly black second layer of skin. Instantly I was reminded of a snake's skin.

"What happened to you?" I asked worriedly.

"Jenny, I'm glad to see you're okay," Hermione whispered. I stepped closer as her eyes opened. The color had changed, they were now a deep green and her pupils were no longer circular, instead they were small black slits.

"I'm so sorry," I cried, "This is all my fault."

"No," she replied forcefully as she reached toward me with her bandaged right hand. I carefully took it in my own. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. You couldn't have known."

"But what's happening to you? It looks as if…"

"As if I'm becoming a snake?" Hermione questioned and I nodded in reply. "The doctor's and nurses won't speak in front of me but I doubt I'm turning into a snake, even though it might appear that way. No, I think my magic is reacting to the magic in your blood and it's slowly changing my appearance."

"I've also deduced that I'm…that I'm dying," she added somberly.

"NO!" I exclaimed, "Don't say that. I'll find a way to save you. I just have to find Khalida and Draco and we'll figure something out."

Hermione shook her head weakly. "There is no time and you have bigger things to worry about now. Besides, I do not fear death. For the organized mind death is but the next great adventure."

Her words stirred something inside me. I felt the need to cry out, to smash things, to bring the world down around us. The window in the door suddenly exploded, raining small shards of glass down onto the floor. I waited for the sound of guards, doctors, nurses, anyone, but there was only silence. I gave Hermione a questioning look.

"I haven't seen any of the doctors or nurses today. It's almost as if…"

"As if what?" I asked.

"As if everyone left for the day," she replied with a calculating look.

"I didn't see anyone on the way here," I responded warily, "Something's not right."

"It's a trap," Hermione hissed. My eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her forked tongue.

"Your tongue, it's…"

Hermione nodded with a small grin. "Yes and until today I haven't been able to speak to anyone. Well, I've tried to speak but no one can understand. I'm glad I was able to speak to you one last time. This language is such a fascinating one; I can't understand why wizards dislike it so much."

"Parseltongue," I stated, "We've been speaking Parseltongue this entire time and I didn't even realize."

"I've had a lot of time to think since I've been here," Hermione commented, "and I'm afraid that this is one problem I won't be around to help figure out. I guess I'm not as much of a know-it-all as everyone thinks."

"You're a genius Hermione!" I exclaimed, "You figured out those coordinates and the rest of us were completely stumped. If you had been there to hear and see everything that I have then I'm sure you'd have it all figured out by now."

"I don't think I have time for the full story, but perhaps you can tell me a little about what you've been up to," she replied weakly. I nodded and began my story, skipping over the unimportant parts, but recounting as much of the important details as I could recall.

Hermione's eyes began to droop and her grip on my hand began to loosen. "Hermione!" I exclaimed wildly, "Hermione wake up!"

"I'm sorry Jenny, I don't think I have any answers for you," she stated drowsily, "The bond between the Evans family and the Riddle family sounds fascinating though, I wish I knew more about blood oaths."

"Me too," I replied, "But that's not the part that I'm the most interested in."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "Your creation is what you'd like to know more about," she stated and I nodded. "The process must have been very difficult. I've heard of a homunculus before, of course, but I never thought such a thing was actually possible. Scientifically perhaps yes, but magically? I'm surprised that Harry came up with something so…farfetched…"

"Do you think someone else gave him the idea?"

"Most likely," Hermione responded thoughtfully, "Harry was always interested in spell creation, creating a homunculus would involve things like potions and ancient runes…neither areas of study were on the top of Harry's list of interests."

"And Charles Smith wouldn't be much help," I added, "I mean, he invented broomsticks and he was an alchemist but it would still take more than that."

"I wonder who the surrogate was…" Hermione wondered aloud.

"Surrogate?"

Hermione gave me a surprised look. "The woman who gave birth to you of course! Even if Harry created you I doubt he had the means to raise you up in some kind of lab. The simplest and easiest thing he could have done would have been to find a woman to carry you to term."

"So I have a mother then." I responded hopefully.

"Not exactly," Hermione stated and my expression fell instantly, "She would have had nothing to do with your creation but technically she gave birth to you. If she had nothing to do with you after the birth then I don't think I would consider her any kind of mother." The last sentence was said with a tone of extreme distaste.

We sat in silence for a minute or two, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Hermione's grip on my hand began to loosen once again and her eyes appeared heavy.

"I'm very tired," she hissed lazily, "I haven't much time left. I need you to do something for me Jenny."

"Anything."

"Tell Ron that I love him very much. Tell the Weasleys the same. And…"

"Yes?" I questioned loudly.

"Tell your father that I love him as well," she whispered huskily, "Tell him…" She paused for a moment, contemplating what she wanted to say next, "Tell him to go on and have a happy life. Tell him to get as far away from the wizarding world as he can. There's nothing here for him, the world he once loved is gone, it disappeared the moment he left Hogwarts."

"Hermione," I sobbed, "Please don't go."

"Your father is a good man," she continued, "He always was good. It's the world that's evil and it eats good people like him. It devours them until there's nothing left. Don't let that happen to you, please…"

"I won't," I replied, shaking my head wildly, "I promise, I won't."

"Also, tell Dumbledore," she paused and the corner of her mouth turned up into a sly grin, "That I figured out his secret in my sixth year."

"But how?" I stammered.

"I always was suspicious of the fact that he seemed to know everything," she stated, "and I discovered that Ron Weasley has a secret obsession involving wool socks." I let out a loud chuckle and Hermione smiled weakly.

"You should remember that Jenny," she added, her voice becoming weaker with each word, "No matter what timeline you are on, no matter how many times you try to change things, fate has its own way of straightening things out." I continued to hold her hand until her eyes closed completely and her chest fell for the last time.

The silence in the room was deafening as I laid her hands over her chest and pulled the blankets over her head. The tears I expected to fall never came for some reason. I was sad but at the same time I felt renewed and rejuvenated. The determination I felt in my heart seemed to become stronger than it ever had been before.

There was just one problem; I had no idea what to do next. I was almost a hundred percent sure that there was a trap setup somewhere down the hall, but I also knew that if Khalida was being kept anywhere, she would be in one of the rooms. I also had no idea who was waiting for me. It could be anyone.

I paused in the doorway before making up my mind and continuing to the next room. I glanced over my shoulder and then quickly turned away. There was nothing for me in that direction. I had come too far and now the only way to go was forward.

The next three rooms were empty and I became more nervous and agitated as I passed each one. I thought sending Severus back to Hogwarts was the best decision but now I cursed myself for it. I had no wand with me and my wandless magic was hard to control and completely unreliable. I thought of calling on the Brotherhood but decided to wait. If I ran into any real danger then I would call. Their methods might be brutal but they get the job done.

A shudder ran through me as I felt a small part of myself fall away. No, not a small part of myself, but instead a small part of the shell surrounding me. The separation between right and wrong, dark and light was becoming blurrier inside of me. It scared me but at the same time I was resolute in my decision to do whatever was necessary to save my friends.

Were these the same decisions my father had to make? The question resonated in my mind and the fear in me increased at the thought of following the same path. Perhaps history had already made the decision for me and now I was doomed to repeat it, drawing to a different conclusion this time, one that would finally satisfy fate.

Dumbledore had said that Hermione died in his timeline and now she was dead in this one. My father never existed in the original timeline, so it would follow that I never existed as well. If fate was working to "straighten things out" as Hermione had said, would my father and I cease to exist?

I pushed all of my questions to the back of my mind and turned my attention to the next door. There was a light on inside but the bed was empty. I stood with my ear pressed against the door but heard nothing until I was about to walk away. A soft scraping noise stopped me and I slowly pushed the door open. The room seemed to be empty.

Cautiously I crept into the room and stopped, letting the door shut behind me. A cough off to the right startled me and I nearly fell as I quickly turned in the direction of the sound. My jaw dropped open at the charred figure rocking back and forth in the chair next to the wall. Cold black eyes stared at me and I couldn't look away.

"I know you," the figure said with a toothy grin, "I can see you."

"Who are you?" I questioned as I examined the pathetic creature. Any hair the person had must have been burned away. A large white hospital gown covered most of their body; the rest was covered in blackened flesh.

"You probably don't recognize me," the deformed being stated in a wistful tone, "But I recognize you. I can see you better than ever now. The power in you has grown and the darkness is beginning to break through. Soon the barrier separating dark and light will be destroyed and then…and then…well, exciting times are ahead I think…"

The voice stirred something inside me. It sounded familiar. The tone was wistful and airy. It reminded me of a person talking to themselves.

"Luna!" I exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to you!"

"The Ministry found me after the wards at the mansion fell," she stated uncaringly, "They were going to let me go. There really wasn't anything wrong with me, just a little scratched up, but overall I was fine."

"But the burns?" I questioned worriedly.

Luna's skin cracked and split as she smiled wanly. "O, they didn't do that. I did."

"But why!" I asked in a horrified tone.

"Touch was getting in the way," she explained calmly, "I need to hear. I need to see. I can see you!" She giggled and cocked her head to the side. "And I can hear someone down the hall."

I ran to the door and peered out the small window. "I don't see anyone."

"You won't see them," she replied in an amused tone, "but they'll see you, even in the dark, they'll see you."

"Vampires?" I asked and Luna nodded in reply. "Is it Khalida?"

Luna's face twisted into a sour mask at the sound of the name. "Most likely," she responded, "But there are others."

"Other vampires?"

"I don't know," she answered airily, "I just hear…movement. Hermione's dead isn't she?"

Her question caught me off guard and it took me a moment to recover. "You knew she was here?"

"I suppose that means she is dead then," Luna commented, "Of course I knew she was here, I heard the nurses talking about how sad it was that she was turning into a snake. I told them that I think it would be interesting to be a snake and they called me crazy."

Suddenly I remembered something that Luna had said when I first met her and I had to ask for an explanation. "You told me that you felt me when I was in my mother's womb. Do you know who gave birth to me?"

"Ask the vampire," she hissed, "She knows…she knows many things. The vampires were very close to the Evans family, seek them out and you will find your answers. You may need to…"

"Need to what?" I questioned.

"Show them your power," she explained, "They live in fear of the Dark Lord, not because he is the Dark Lord but because he is a Riddle."

I started to ask her why the vampires would be afraid of the Riddles but a scraping sound outside the door drew my attention. The hallway still appeared empty but I could sense that someone or something was there. I slowly opened the door and took a step. I barely had time to turn my head before I was lying on the ground motionless. The stunning spell had been spoken so quickly that I had no time to react.

The uniformed man standing above me spoke into the microphone on his collar. His words seemed garbled and I realized that I must have been hit by a Confundus charm. My thoughts were so jumbled that I couldn't even curse my own stupidity.