This chapter was originally set for an upload tomorrow but since I'll be a bit busy, I've decided to update today.

This chapter is set in the present time, it mainly covers events that happened while the children were caught in their time-travelling rendezvous. I sincerely hope you like Hermione 'cause you'll see loads of her in this one.

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to Jo.

Chapter#14

Sombre

It was half past seven, when they rushed through the Burrow's main door, after receiving a distressful call from Molly about the children's sudden disappearance.

Her statement had been vague,

'The-the children...they're not here Ron! We can't find them anywhere...they...they've just disappeared'

Ambiguous, her words might have been, they were still enough to send Hermione into an indiscernible state of panic; she struggled to breathe as Ron quickly grabbed her hand and practically dragged her outside the protective wards of their house, before disapparating straight to the Burrow.

The others were already there.

Harry, Ginny...Percy...George, Bill, Fleur, Audrey...Angelina

Four gruelling hours then followed; they searched, ran, tried every tracking spell, charm, potion, anything their worry-worn minds came up with.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Her children were lost...

They couldn't find them anywhere...

But then...Ron came running in, claiming that he'd finally been able to contact Teddy and the children were all with him and they were all okay, they were safe.

She only had time to breathe a sigh of relief before Ron sat them down and asked to listen carefully and if possible, calmly.

And that was it...she immediately understood; something had gone wrong, something had gone very much wrong.

Call it a mother's instincts or just her impeccable ability to fathom situations, but she was right and she knew of the impending danger long before words of her husband, explaining the entire story, reached her ears.

She was incapable of any speech...her breath hitched in her throat as her heart fell into her stomach and her shoulders sagged under immeasurable weight.

'...they're in 1996...'

'Grimmauld Place...'

'...they've somehow time-travelled...'

She heard no words beyond...the few she had were enough. Her limbs felt as though they were made of lead; try as she might, she was rendered motionless. Soon enough, her vision too turned hazy as her head became unbearably heavy, images blended into one and within what she thought to be a couple of seconds, all she could see was black.

She felt herself losing all control of her body, falling to one side and hitting the arm of the sofa.

'Hermione, are you okay?'

'...Hermione what's happening?'

'HERMIONE!'

Far away voices, screaming her name in concern, were the last thing she heard before slipping into the elusive world of unconsciousness.

It had only been eight months since her wedding when she had first got the news. Having been rushed to St. Mungos after passing out in her office one day, the healer had informed her that she was pregnant. It was unexpected to say the least, and not at all planned; she was twenty-two at the time.

The pregnancy, though unanticipated had been perhaps the best thing that had ever happened to her; Ron too, was beyond ecstatic, with a grin so big that she was afraid it might split his face in half.

They told their families soon after that, both of whom were just as happy as them; their baby would be the second grandchild amongst the Weasleys while the first in the Grangers.

So lost, had they been in their thrill and elation, that they had forgotten about the complications the healer had warned them about...that was until, Hermione woke up one night almost screaming with pain.

That was the same night she miscarried.

The healers had explained the complications surrounding her pregnancy to her and Ron before. Her body had endured an extraordinary amount of dark magic, had been exposed to the sort of dark curses that no one should ever be able to survive, and yet she had.

Department of Mysteries was where it had all started, where she had been hit with a curse by Dolohov. She had lived through that, Madam Pomfrey had healed all her injuries but she couldn't rid her off the damage that it had caused to her body's endurance, the trauma was irreversible.

Then there was Malfoy Manor and the torture she went through at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. She couldn't even remember the number of times she had been put under the affect of the Cruciatus Curse by her adversary, the only thing she could recall was unimaginable, unbearable pain. So many hours, where the only thing she felt was unaccountable agony, acid instead of blood flowing in her veins, fire instead of air filled in her lungs and a hundred thousand knives skinning her alive.

In simple words, her body was not strong enough to carry a baby to term, the anguish she had went through as a teenager had taken that away from her. Still, the healers had been hopeful; they had placed her under an observation of sorts for her first time, informing her and Ron that there was a fifty percent chance that Hermione could give birth to a healthy baby.

Sadly, both of them had forgotten the other fifty percent, that said otherwise, could also be the possible outcome.

She had been devastated, feeling as though she had somehow failed herself...had failed Ron and worst of all, failed her child.

The months that followed had been the most hurtful of her whole life, worn by grief and filled with sorrow. The silence in the house had been piercing, deadly even; it consumed her very soul, clenched her aching heart and she cried days on end.

Hermione and Ron had decided after that they would not try again for a baby, at least not until the time they were ready. So, three more years passed just like that and they finally agreed on giving it another try.

This time the healers didn't even bother to keep her under observation, just told them of the impending heartache. This was the second time that she miscarried and if she was honest, it hurt far more than last time. The healers had all but suggested they adopt, for her body wouldn't be able to cope with pregnancy.

She had given up all hope after the second time, she felt pathetic.

But then...a miracle happened, a year and half after her miscarriage, she was pregnant again. This time the healers assured her that, if properly taken care of, she would be able to carry the child to term. She was on complete bed rest, working from home and not even allowed to go to the Burrow for Sunday lunch.

Seven months and two weeks into pregnancy and she went into labour, her baby had decided to come early or rather, her body had decided to throw her baby out early.

Eight gruelling hours of tears, screaming, cursing and she had her daughter in her arms; her Rose- Ron had named her. Hermione was delighted, happier than she ever remembered herself being, even if they kept Rose under special charms for a month and she wasn't allowed to touch her, she was there still, her daughter was alive and breathing and well.

Her family was complete, there was nothing more that either her or Ron could ever have wanted. And so, they never even suspected anything when Hermione started feeling nauseas a lot and threw up every morning for a week- Rose was six at the time. Sick with worry, Ron finally convinced Hermione to get a check up at St. Mungos and then...it happened again; another miracle.

Pregnancy with Hugo was even worse than Rose; she couldn't even work from bed most of the days. Her second child followed in her sister's footsteps and came a month early than the due date.

If she thought her family had been complete after Rose's birth, she didn't know how to appropriately describe the satisfaction and sheer joy after Hugo's. It was simply, wonderful; every moment spent with her children, her family was outstandingly glorious, beyond words.

It was dark...and cold, she couldn't find her way through it, couldn't see where she was, and worst of all she had no idea how she came about to be here.

"Hermione"

Suddenly she heard someone calling out her name, the voice sounded familiar and oddly comforting.

"Hermione...wake up...please..."

There it was again, the voice, calling out her name, asking her...no, pleading her to wake up. She couldn't understand though, what was she supposed to wake up from? Was she sleeping? And who was this person calling out her name...again and again?

And then, just like that it hit her, came crashing down on her with a force of hundred bludgers...everything that had happened in the last four hours...and-and the voice, it was Ron, he was calling her.

"Please...'mione...don't do this to me right now...I need you...please"

It seemed his words were the only strength she needed, as she focused every ounce of her energy on regaining consciousness. With all the might she could muster, she forced open her eyes. Eyelids feeling unnaturally heavy; she squinted, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. Immediately, she felt Ron grab her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"...Ron" her voice felt hoarse.

"Hermione..." Ron placed his other hand under Hermione's back helping her to sit up, "You okay?"

"Yeah..." she said meekly, though her head was throbbing.

"Wait" Ron leant forward, grabbing a glass of water from the bedside table and handing it to Hermione.

There was silence then, for several long moments, broken only by the occasional sound of Hermione drinking water from her glass.

"Ron...is-is it really true?" she finally spoke, her voice shaking with fear and apprehension.

Ron sighed warily before lifting his gaze to meet her, "It is."

"How can you be so sure...maybe-maybe the children are all joking, you know how they can get..."

Ron had to place both his hands on his wife's shoulders to try and get her to calm down somewhat, "Hermione...calm down...please Hermione, just relax for a minute."

"But-but you can't just take their word for it Ron!" Hermione was bordering hysterical now.

"Yes I can!" Ron yelled, finally losing his patience, as well as his temper, "They are our kids Hermione! Can you really see them kidding about something that they know is clearly a sensitive topic in their family? Even James and Dom are perceptive enough to know not to cross limits on the subject of war!" Ron was breathing heavily as he finished.

Hermione though just seemed scared, more than anything else, shocked even. Seeing her expressions, Ron realised the true extent of her fears and the heart-rending state she was in. His own anger melted away and he took her face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"Hermione...I know this is hard to believe and I know how you're feeling right now but you just can't keep denying it." Ron spoke so softly, "I talked to Dumbledore, surely that couldn't be a trick. We should believe what the children are saying, love."

Hermione just nodded meekly before breaking down into tears, her shoulders shaking with the barrage of emotion escaping her. Ron gathered her up in his arms as she sobbed into his shoulder; he stroked her back soothingly and kissed her head lightly while murmuring words of comfort into her ear.

After several minutes, when she had finally calmed down, she pulled back from Ron's embrace. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at her husband, with steely determination in her eyes,

"Have you already talked to them?" her voice was even and calm.

Despite the situation Ron couldn't help holding back a small smile from breaking onto his face at seeing the sheer grit and resolve on Hermione's face.

"Yes, I did" Ron nodded his head.

"Are they safe?" this time she was unable to halt the fear that crept into her even tone.

"Yes. They're at Grimmauld Place with our younger selves, in fact they were all already asleep when we called; the only ones who weren't were Teddy, Victoire, Dom and Molly. Dumbledore took them there; he's made sure they're safe."

"Did they tell how it happened?"

Ron then explained everything to Hermione, describing in detail whatever he knew.

"...Harry has gone to explain everything to the Malfoys and Andromeda while Percy already has a library opened up in the living room; everyone is reading up to find something relevant to help solve the crisis. Also, Bill's trying to contact his Unspeakable friend, in case he might be able to tell us something useful."

"Come on", Hermione stood up, "We need to find a way to bring our children back." She said as she extended her hand to pull Ron into a standing position beside her.

Ron kissed her forehead affectionately before the couple made their way down the stairs of the Burrow.

They had been searching everything they could find for the past half hour, the number of confidants having increased from before. The Minister for Magic, Kingsley had rushed to the aid of his friends on a single floo call from Harry. A distressed Andromeda Tonks too, had joined them after learning of her grandson's disappearance.

Yet, their most unlikely allies were the Malfoys, of whom Draco seemed highly disgruntled and his wife, Astoria equally distraught.

"None of this shall reach an ear outside this house, if so, consequences could be drastic." Kingsley said in a commanding voice, "Before you tell anyone, do inform me. I don't want the general public or Merlin forbid, the press knowing what has happened. It would create an absolute frenzy!"

Everyone nodded in understanding, as together they began their research for a way to bring their children back.

The next update will be on Friday.

I've uploaded another story if anyone's interested. Go check it out and any feedback would be highly appreciated.

Bye!