Chapter 8

Hermione's days seemed never-ending as she continued her duties as headmistress at Hogwarts, tried to separate Godric's magic from Ginny's baby and continued to research Salazar's tomes of potions and spells for anything that might lift the magical coma from Salazar and Godric. She would wake early in the morning and work nonstop until the early hours of the next morning before tumbling into bed exhausted but unable to sleep. She was restless and jumpy and her magic- still magnified by Salazar's- was unpredictable at best. If things didn't change soon, Hermione didn't know what she would do.

Today she sat, as she did every day whenever she didn't have other duties to attend to, in the library in the Chamber of Secrets with a thick, heavy book in her lap. The words on the pages were blurred and she was reading everything three times without it sinking in.

"Come on, give me something." Hermione begged, sinking her hands into her hair and groaning in desperation.

"Hermione, can I come in?" Draco's voice sounded as he opened the door and peaked in. She quickly swiped the back of her hand across her eyes before looking up.

Draco had been such a help to her these last weeks. When Hermione had brought Ginny to the castle almost three weeks ago now, Draco had instantly focussed his attentions on saving the baby. As well as that, he had acted as the go-between for Hermione and Rowena and Helga as Hermione was finding it difficult to deal with the two women.

"Of course, Draco." Hermione sniffed as she closed the heavy book and turned towards him. She gestured towards another chair and he took it. She sat silently, knowing that he had something he wanted to say. Eventually he cleared his throat and sat up straighter.

"Hermione, we're all getting worried about you. Harry and Ron say that you haven't owled them in a fortnight and unless it's for school business, we never see you. You haven't even visited Salazar in a few days. I think you need to take a break."

Hermione's anger instantly surfaced. How dare Draco tell her to take a break at a time like this. Her soul mate, the other half of her, was stuck in a coma and she had his immense power coursing through her veins and causing her magic to explode from her at the slightest provocation. She could already feel it itching to cause the sconce on the wall to explode into a shower of sparks that would set the bookcases alight.

"I am not going to take a break, Draco." Her voice was colder than she ever remembered it being and she could feel the bookcases vibrating slightly with her anger. "Sometimes I wish there were two of me, yes, but there is not and I will just have to get on with it."

Draco didn't answer, but jumped to his feet. His face was bright with excitement and his eyes fevered.

"Hermione, that's it! If there was two of Ginny then one could have the baby and one Godric's magic. Think about it- it won't leave her but we can make the baby leave it!"

Hermione also jumped to her feet. Creating a double was easy. But they couldn't double the baby and they couldn't double magic that didn't belong to the host- it was the perfect solution. This was it- one of their problems was solved. She grabbed Draco's arms and pulled him out of the library and down the corridor to Salazar's potion room.

Once inside, she headed over to yet another large and ancient tome and cast a quick spell to find the page she needed. She turned to Draco, beaming. "This is it. Look, it's a simple enough potion to brew and it should only take a few hours."

Without thinking, Hermione started gathering the ingredients that she would need until Draco stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Mione, I'm the potions master here. Move over."

He lightly nudged her out of the way with his hip and started shredding purple emperor wings.

"At least let me help," she muttered as she moved to another section of the bench. With a small smile he handed her a unicorn horn to grate and she set to work.

Four hours later they were both covered in sweat and smiling. The potion had reached a deep purple colour and was bubbling gently. It was ready.

Hermione handed Draco a conical flask and he filled it with the potion. They exited the Chamber of Secrets in a rush and headed to the hospital wing. It was more crowded than Hermione had ever seen it with Ginny, all four of the founders and various specialists that had been enlisted. All heads turned towards them as they entered.

Hermione went straight over to Ginny's bed. Gin was, as she almost always was, curled into the foetal position clutching her stomach. They couldn't stop the pain she was in, only dim it, and it worsened every day.

"Gin, we think we've got something." Hermione whispered so the founders couldn't hear. "If we create a double of you, we can transfer the baby over to it where Godric's magic can't reach it."

Ginny struggled to sit up and gazed suspiciously at Hermione. "But then it wouldn't be my baby."

Hermione frowned. "It would. As soon as we can remove Godric's magic from you then we'll transfer it back. The copy will be the same as you, with the same thoughts and memories until it is created. It's what is best for the baby, Gin, and you won't have to feel all this pain."

After a long pause, Ginny bit her lip and nodded.

Draco brought over the potion and handed it to Ginny with a reassuring squeeze of her hand. Hermione watched as Ginny drank deeply and set down the empty flask on the bedside table. Her face twisted in a grimace.

Then, with a loud pop, an identical twin of Ginny appeared standing next to the bed. Hermione let out a sigh of relief and turned to Draco.

"Now for the easy part. You do Ginny, I'll do the clone." She proposed and, with a nod from Draco, she turned towards the doppelganger and withdrew her wand. "This won't hurt."

In sync with Draco, Hermione chanted an ancient spell that she couldn't translate but had memorized instead. The room glowed yellow and silence had fallen over the onlookers. When the spell was finished, the doppelganger now sported a baby bump and both were free from pain.

Ginny stood and threw her arms around first Draco and then Hermione. Then she turned to the doppelganger.

"Hello." They both spoke in unison in the exact same tone and pitch. It gave Hermione chills.

The doppelganger placed a reassuring hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Don't worry; I'll take care of the baby. But I should use a different name to avoid confusion."

Relief broke across Ginny's face. "Thank you. Why don't we call you Anna? I've always liked that name."

"Then Anna I shall be." The Doppelganger smiled.

A weight had been lifted off of Hermione's mind, but as she turned to look at Salazar for the first time in days she felt an overwhelming flood of guilt. She had helped Ginny but she hadn't managed to help him. She walked to his side and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Brushing his hair from his eyes she whispered to him that she would never stop searching for a way to bring him back. Never.