Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N - 33 favourites and 111 followers - this story is truly coming of age! Naughty Mad Eye has upped the rating, though.
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Alastor Moody had just experienced the weirdest 24 hours of his life to date. He had been minding his own business, doing a bit of surveillance in the Leaky Cauldron, when in walks a little slip of a girl to turn his life upside down. Now, because of that idiotic chit who couldn't leave well enough alone, he was playing host to said time travelling witch. A witch who wanted to change History. Which is why he was here, now, staking out the Merlin-be-damned Hogwarts Express to kidnap a newly graduated Death Eater.
Logically, he knew he shouldn't be here. Time travel was restricted for a reason, for Circe's sake. Everyone in the magical world knew that bad things happen to those that meddle in time. He should have taken the little madam straight to Albus and let the interfering old fool deal with her.
And yet here he stood under his best invisibility cloak, watching the platform gate for the entrance of one Regulus Black. Because no matter how illegal it was, how dangerous, he had faith in the little witch. He couldn't explain it, but somewhere deep inside his shrivelled old heart he knew that this girl would save their world. History be damned.
The train was due to leave in half an hour, which meant the students had already started to trickle down to the station. Moody hoped that the Black boy had the sense to arrive early. It was always harder to abduct someone from the middle of a pack.
As if his thoughts called his target to him, the gate swung and a group of half a dozen upper-year Slytherin students made their way onto the platform. Moody's lip curled as they passed – these boys were all Death Eaters or as good as. The fucking Dark Lord was recruiting children and there was nothing he could do about it. Trailing just behind the other boys and making no attempt to join in with their crude blood-purist remarks, was his target. Instantly recognisable by the causal arrogance with which he held himself, long black hair and aristocratic face, he was the spitting image of his brother. If Sirius ever bothered to brush his hair and dress like a wizard, at least.
The boys were now heading onto the train. Moody crept up behind them. Timing was critical. As long as the Black boy entered the carriage last, it would be easy to snatch him. Grab and portkey as he climbs onto the train and no one on the platform will notice him disappear. The rest of the Death Eating little shits were too busy debating whether it was ever okay to fuck a mudblood to notice if he didn't follow them onto the train.
And so it went. Even better for him, Regulus paused at the train door. As the boy looked regretfully back towards the castle, Moody struck. A whispered pertrificus totalis, which hit the boy almost at the same second as the auror's hand wrapped around his bicep, while Moody's other hand grasped the enchanted fob watch in his pocket. A sharp tug and the two where whisked away from the gathering crowd without a soul noticing. He wasn't Master Auror Alastor Fucking Moody for nothing.
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Hermione was waiting in what she had dubbed the Interrogation Shack. She was pacing nervously along the room, anxiously hoping that Mad Eye managed to complete his mission without a hitch. No. Not Mad Eye. Not yet – and maybe not ever.
She had been taken to the shack nearly two hours ago. She insisted on being there to question Regulus as soon as they had him, so she was forced to wait the entirety of the stakeout in the horrible little room. There was nothing here to entertain her. The room was deliberately empty of everything but the most minimal essentials – the chair with shackles, the one without and a rickety little table. There wasn't a window, or even a door. So she paced the circumference of the room, sticking close to the wall because she was too nervous to sit and she really didn't want to be in the middle of the room when the portkey appeared. Another anxious look at her watch told her that there were twenty minutes left before the Express left for London.
A blue light filled the centre of the room. The portkey! If he was arriving before the train left, that should mean he has Regulus! Hermione's heart jumped into her mouth and butterflies swarmed her intestines as she watched the old auror appear, dropping the young man in a body bind to the floor as he struggled to hold his balance. Hermione made to rush forwards and help Regulus, but Moody held up an arm and stopped her approach.
"Careful, lass. Stay back while I get him in the chair. I know what you know about him, but we don't know how he's going to react when the body bind is released."
He used his 'Auror voice' to let her know in no uncertain terms that he was going to deal with their captive for the time being. A few deft swishes of a wand relieved Regulus of his own, as well as several obviously magical items, a small purse of galleons and three chocolate frogs. She also recognised the wand movements that revealed tracking and listening spells, of which there were none. Then Moody none-too-gently strapped Regulus into the interrogation chair, securing the shackles and rolling up the boy's sleeves. The ominous black lines of the Dark Mark stained his left forearm.
Finally, Regulus was released from the body bind and dropped down into the chair. His eyes were alight with terror when he saw in exactly whose custody he found himself. Moody growled and viscously jabbed his wand, sending sparks to splash across the grotesque skull and snake. "You, boy, are a Death Eater."
Hermione stepped forward, putting her hand on Moody's shoulder to remind him of why they were there. "That's enough, Moody. We're all on the same side here."
Regulus' head shot up to look at her. He looked completely baffled by her presence and utterly confused by her declaration. She smiled gently down at him.
"I know you joined Riddle two years ago -" and the uncomprehending looks of the two wizards she elaborated: "Riddle. The Dark Nutjob trying to take over the wizarding world. Born Tom Riddle, heir of Slytherin and son of a squib and a muggle."
Hermione allowed a moment for both men to compose themselves after this revelation. Before either could interrupt, though, she continued her original speech.
"Regulus, I know you joined Riddle when you turned sixteen, recruited early because your disappointment" - she said the word with a highly sarcastic tone - "of an older brother told Tommy Boy to go fuck himself. I know that you have so far managed to stay mostly safe behind the wards of Hogwarts. I know that you lent your master" - she spat this word with contempt – "your House Elf, and when he returned you discovered the darkest secret of your crazy megalomaniac lord. I know you plan to retrieve the horcrux and attempt to destroy it.
"What you don't know, is that the crazy inbred son of a bitch didn't just make one. There are currently five of the vile objects to destroy – currently, because the psychopath believes true greatness will come to him when he achieves a seven part fucking soul."
Hermione finally stopped her diatribe to take a breath. She clenched her shaking hands into fists. She needed to get a grip – her control was slipping as the reality of her task here in the past began to sink in. Evidenced in part by her progressively fouler tongue.
She had always stubbornly believed that swearing was for those not intelligent enough to express themselves otherwise. Harry and Ron had tried to convince her that there was some cathartic value to vulgar language but she had refused to give in. Apparently, near-hysteria and post-timetravel stress was all it took to release her foul tongue. And by Circe did it feel good.
Throughout her impassioned rant, Regulus' expression became progressively more shocked, terrified and disgusted. Once she finished, a pervasive silence bore down on the dingy room. Looking up at the strange girl with knowledge she shouldn't have, Regulus managed only to croak a broken "seven?" before the silence once more blanketed the shack.
Minutes passed. Eventually, Moody conjured three glasses and procured a bottle of firewhiskey from somewhere on his person. A flick of his wand and the shackles around Regulus' right wrist were released. The three shared a look before downing the large measure amber liquid in one gulp.
Alcohol, social lubricant that it was, helped dispel the chilling silence. The three once more found their voices. "I'm sorry, Miss, but who are you? How do you know so much? Are you a seer?"
Hermione shook her head. "I'm no seer. I know only the past."
"The past? You're a time traveller?!"
Hermione snorted. "Well, its obvious which brother got the brains.." she muttered, half to herself, though it was obvious he heard by the amused smirk that flickered on his face. Turning her attention completely to the young man, still partially chained to the chair in front of her, she answered. "Yes, Regulus, due to an accident of magic -" Moody snorted. Hermione glared at the old auror.
"- I fell back twenty years into the past and have decided to break every law of time travel I ever learned. Even though we won," she grimaced, "eventually, too much was lost because of Albus Dumbledore and his propensity for keeping information to himself."
She took a calming breath. She hadn't realised how infuriated talking about the old headmaster made her. "I don't know if I can ever get home. Even if I didn't change a thing, I have no idea what magic brought me here of how I might go about reversing it. If I'm going to be stuck here, then I'm going to make a difference. And if I do that, the world I came from will cease to exist.
"So I'm stuck here either way. I might as well go on another fucking horcrux hunt." She shrugged, then added with a sort-of careless acceptance. "At least I won't be stuck in a tent that stinks of cats this time."
Regulus took a moment to digest her story. "Twenty years? It takes twenty years to end the war? You barely look older than me – was it that bad in the future that they sent teenagers to hunt horcruxes?"
Hermione smiled sadly at the look of utmost horror and despair on his face. "It stopped, for a time. The wizarding world experienced a decade of peace before it fell to shit and the Death Eaters took control of the ministry.
"When I should have been enjoying my final year at Hogwarts, I lived in a tent with two boys hunting down horcruxes with little more than the few hints and suspicions that Headmaster Dumbledore had seen fit to share before allowing himself to be murdered by his own spy… by some miracle we found them and destroyed them and Harry – we won. But so many were lost. So many good people. I can't watch that happen again!"
"I died, didn't I. I failed to get the horcrux and died for nothing."
Hermione was once again impressed by the astute conclusions drawn by the younger wizard. "Not quite. You got the horcrux. You sent it with Kreacher to be destroyed. But you were weak and couldn't fight off the inferi…" Hermione stopped when Regulus blanched and remembered who she was talking to. "But that's not going to happen this time. That is why I got old Mad Eye here to kidnap you. I could only remember that you died days after graduation and didn't want to risk missing you."
"Who are you calling Mad Eye, lassie?" Grumbled the wizard in question.
Hermione gave an apologetic smile and teasing salute to her old mentor. "Sorry, Master Auror Moody Sir. Future nickname I shall endeavour to forget until or unless it becomes relevant."
He scowled at her and shook his head. They all appreciated the friendly banter lightening the depressive mood.
After a moment Regulus broke the silence once more. "So, did you have a plan beyond kidnapping me?"
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A/N - I hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think.