Chapter 9:
When the memory reappeared the visitors stood in the room Memory Draco and Hermione had been in earlier but now it was dark.
Visiting Hermione took in her surroundings. It was difficult to see but there were very clearly books everywhere. She would expect nothing less from herself.
In the bed there were very clearly two sleeping bodies. She assumed they belonged to herself and Draco.
"Hermione!" A shout came from downstairs.
The woman in the bed began to stir but not quite wake up. There was thumping on the stairs and the voice got louder. "Hermione, wake up!"
The voice belonged to Harry. Visiting Hermione could detect a twinge of anxiety in his voice. The voice travelled a few paces down the hallway and then said, "Malfoy! Malfoy, wake up! Come down stairs." Harry could then be heard running back down the stairs.
"I think Draco is in another room," Visiting Harry said.
"What?" Visiting Draco said as his memory self woke up along with Hermione. The two of them began to scramble out of bed and grab more clothes then the underwear they were wearing.
"He's right there," visiting Ron pointed out.
"No not me...I mean me-him-"
"Everyone in the memory doesn't know about the two of them still," Hermione clarified understanding what Harry was trying to say. "That's why Harry walked past my-her door to yell for Draco. Because Draco is supposed to be sleeping down the hall."
"Hermione! Malfoy!" Memory Harry called again from a distance.
Memory Hermione and Draco then rushed out of the room and downstairs. Hermione had managed to pull and oversized tee shirt on and Draco had slipped on pajama pants but that was about it.
The visitors rushed after them and followed them all the way downstairs to the kitchen where they all stopped dead in their tracks. A large portion of the order stood around in their pajamas all looking quite grave.
"This must be everyone living at Grimmauld place," Visiting Hermione observed. She then noticed Ginny sat at the kitchen table hunched over slightly with tears rolling down her cheeks. Visiting Hermione's throat tightened. Something bad has happened.
"Potter what happened?" Memory Draco said stepping slightly past Hermione and toward Harry.
"The...the Ministry...there's been…" Memory Harry sounded like he was choking as he spoke.
"Potter, what the fuck happened," Malfoy said stepping closer to him. It sounded quite aggressive but Visiting Hermione noticed the genuine concern on Memory Malfoy's face. She glanced at the man next to her to see if his expression matched his memory counterparts. It didn't. He seemed more confused then concerned.
"Kingsley is dead." The room was silent for a moment before Harry continued talking. "Bellatrix and the death eaters have control of the ministry."
The room was completely still for a moment, and then in one fluid moment memory Draco snatched a glass off of the table and turned on his heel and threw it at the wall behind him. It landed squared between Visiting Draco and Visiting Hermione. She should have been hit with shattered glass, but she wasn't actually there was she.
Memory Draco then stalked towards the glass he had broken and stopped within inches from visiting Hermione. She stared at him. His bare chest rising and falling. She doesn't know what compelled her to do it but she reached out and grabbed his shoulder, but her hand passed right through him, because she wasn't there.
Her hand remained outstretched as Memory Draco attempted to control his breathing with his back to the rest of the room.
Suddenly she felt a hand on her outstretched arm. She looked over and realized Visiting Draco had gently grabbed her. "He's not there. You can't help him."
She pulled her arm back and let his hand slip away. As he let go of her his memory counterpart began to turn back to the rest of the room.
"We still have people in there. And information that she can use against us," Memory Harry said looking down at his feet. "She doesn't have total control yet. It's still chaos. We need to get everything we can out."
"I'm going," Memory Draco declared, starring Harry down.
"No," Memory Hermione protested behind him, but she wasn't heard.
"Malfoy, you can't go. You're not supposed to leave it's not sa-"
"What it's not safe, Potter?" Malfoy shouted. "It's not safe for any of us! The world has gone to shit, there's no point in me trying to hide anymore. Besides Weasley can't go and you need a second."
"Are you kidding?" Hermione said looking between the two men. "Harry, you can't let him.
Harry ignored her. "Fine Malfoy. Let's go."
"You can't be serious," Memory Hermione seemed slightly outraged. "If he's going, I'm going too."
"No," Memory Draco said darkly. Visiting Hermione noticed that Memory Harry had looked ready to say yes to Hermione but stopped at Draco's demand.
"It's not your call," Hermione said trying to push past him to get to Harry.
Draco grabbed her and pulled her back in front of him. "You are not going."
The entire room stared watching them seeming very confused. Everyone was watching except Blaise and Ginny.
"Blaise knows," Visiting Draco said, noticing his friends averted eyes.
Hermione didn't say anything but she knew he was right. People were watching because this was a strange argument for Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy to be having, but Ginny and Blaise both knew that this was an argument that meant a lot more.
"Yes I am. You can't tell me what to do," Hermione said pushing against Draco.
He gripped her arms tight. "You are not going. I can't protect you," he was shouting now.
Hermione was yelling back. "You don't need to protect me!"
"Yes I do!"
The whole room was silent. But Visiting Hermione noticed the shift in Harry's face as well as others. They were realizing what was happening.
"Why?" Hermione demanded. Her face was red with frustration now.
"Because," Draco took a moment to calm himself and then very gently continued. "Because I can't lose you."
The two just stared at each other for a few moments. Visiting Hermione looked at the man next to her and realized he wasn't watching. He was staring at his feet.
Memory Hermione didn't say anything, she just took a step back from Draco and let him continue with Harry.
Harry nodded but didn't say anything. He, Draco, Blaise, George, Angelina, Neville, and Pansy begin to get ready to leave. Draco grabbed one of Harry's spare Auror cloaks and threw it over his naked torso. They all head for the floo and just before Draco steps in Memory Hermione stops him. "Draco." He just looked at her. "Be safe."
"I will." And then he was gone and then the memory began to shift.
"Well everyone knows about them now," Visiting Harry said as the memory reappeared. It seemed to be a little later. Memory Hermione was sitting at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'm...She's waiting," Visiting Hermione points out. She was waiting for Draco to come back. She looked over at the man next to her and could tell he knew exactly what she was waiting for. She was waiting for him.
The sound of apparition followed by the door opening could be heard and Memory Hermione bolted up from her seat at the stairs. Ginny comes down the stairs behind her.
The first to come through the door is George followed by Angelina. They looked worn down and tired. A few moments later more apparition could be heard and then Pansy, Neville, and Blaise made there way through the door. Pansy looked awful and this didn't go unnoticed.
"Pansy, what happened?"Memory Ginny asked walking a little further down the stairs.
Pansy swallowed and looked up at Ginny with empty eyes. "My father."
Visiting Hermione could hear Draco inhale sharply next to her.
"What do you-"
"He was there," Pansy continued. "He tried to kill me."
"Pans-"
"So I killed him," Pansy stated darkly and then continued into the house.
Blaise exchanged worried glances with Memory Hermione and Ginny and then continued after Pansy.
"Shit," Draco muttered quietly but Hermione heard it.
For the next few minutes they watched Hermione and Ginny anxiously wait for Harry and Draco to return.
"Ginny?" Hermione says.
"Yes?"
"Where are they?"
"I don't know Mione."
"I...I-" Memory Hermione was interrupted by the pop of apparition outside.
Seconds later Harry strode into the house. "Oh thank god," Ginny said going over to him.
"He's alone," Visiting Hermione says. Her chest was tight with anxiety even though the person she was looking for stood right next to her.
"Harry," memory Hermione says quietly.
Memory Harry turns to her with stress on his face. "I don't know...I don't know where he is Mione," Harry says moving towards her but it wouldn't do anything. Visiting Hermione could see herself already beginning to freak out.
"He was supposed to be with you? Where is he?"
"I don't-"
"Why isn't he with you?"
"Hermione, I'm sure he'll be right back," Ginny said trying to comfort her friend, but the fact that Draco should have been back was clear on her face.
"I should be back," Draco muttered quietly enough that only Hermione heard.
"Ginny what if he doesn't come back?"
"I-"
"He has to come back. I-He-I love him. He-he has to come back Ginny. Why isn't he back?" Memory Hermione's breathing was visibly increasing at an alarming rate.
"She's panicking," visiting Harry said.
Visiting Hermione turned her attention to Draco next to her. His attention was fully on the scene in front of him, she suspected that it was because he was worried about his future self but then she thought he had something that couldn't have been right but then he repeated louder. "I'm right here." He took a step towards memory Hermione but then stopped at the realization that he wasn't right there. He couldn't help her.
At the pop of apparition Visiting Hermione's attention was drawn back to the memory. The whole room froze as Draco Malfoy walked through the front door of Grimmauld place. He was drenched with sweat and stained with blood. Hermione couldn't be sure if the blood even belonged to him.
In three quick strides memory Hermione was across the room and latched onto Draco. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her back still gripping his wand in his fist. Visiting Hermione released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as Draco hugged her memory self tighter.
Memory Hermione wasn't audibly crying but by the way she buried her face in Draco's shoulder, Visiting Hermione could tell that there were tears.
"Where were you?" Memory Hermione said softly.
"I'm sorry," Memory Draco said pulling back from her. He kissed her on the forehead and then softly on the lips, not caring that Harry and Ginny were watching. Then the memory began to fade and shift again.
None of the visitors said anything as the memory reappeared. The entire Order was in the kitchen of Grimmauld place. Harry stood at the head of the table and everyone's eyes were on him. Ginny sat at his left and Hermione and Draco sat at his right.
"We lost the Ministry last night," Memory Harry said. "We're on our own." There was a moment of silence before Harry continued. "We're no longer safe. I would prefer if everyone were here." He looked at all of the Weasleys. "The Burrow isn't safe anymore."
Harry then turned his attention to Hermione. "In the event that we have to...run… Hermione has been working on something."
Memory Hermione emptied a small bag of galleons onto the table. "No way," Visiting Hermione muttered.
"For those of you that were in Dumbledore's army, you may remember these. The galleons were charmed to send messages. We would use them to send the location of where we were meeting. In the event that we have to separate we can use these to meet back up," she explained and began to give a coin to each Order member.
Harry nodded and then looked at Draco. "Malfoy," he addressed.
Draco nodded and sat forward in his seat a little. "Well last night at the ministry I saw her. I saw Bellatrix." He paused. "And well...she has...there's...she has another one."
"No," Visiting Hermione whispered knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"Shit," Visiting Draco breathed coming to the same realization.
"Another what?" Visiting Ron asked but before any of his companions could answer, Memory Draco did.
"She has another Horcrux."
The memory changes again. When it reappeared Memory Hermione stood in the library at Grimmauld Place with Ginny and Teddy. There is a shift in the air.
"What was that?" Visiting Harry said at the same time as Ginny.
Visiting Hermione started a thought, "The magic…" and her memory counterpart finished it, "The wards. They've been dropped."
Suddenly there were loud bangs and shouting.
"They're under attack," Visiting Hermione said.
"Ginny," Memory Hermione said looking at her friend frantically, "Take Teddy. Go. Now."
Ginny grabbed onto the little boy and turned on the spot apparating away. Hermione then dashed into the hallway and the visitors followed her. A spell flies past Memory Hermione's head. The visitors as well as Hermione watch the path of the spell and see it hit Hannah Abbott down the hall. She collapses.
There is a scream. It belongs to Neville. He rushes forward to his fallen girlfriend. Hermione rushes towards him.
"Neville you have to go," Hermione says as she attempts to block spells from hitting herself and Neville.
He ignores her. Pansy comes running down the hall. She sees the scene with Hermione and Neville. She fires a spell at the Death Eater shooting at Hermione and then grabs Neville. "Come on Longbottom." She apparated away with Neville.
Hermione continues to run down the hall, the visitors follow her. "Draco!" She turns the corner and sees Charlie Weasley go down. She fires a spell at the Death Eater that killed him and keeps moving.
"Why is she still in there?" Visiting Draco mutters. "She's going to get killed."
Further down the hall she sees Harry fighting off a Death Eater. She helps Harry take him down. "Ginny and Teddy got out." Harry looks relieved. That was clearly why he was still there.
"Hermione, we have to go," Harry says as she starts to run away from him.
"I can't. I have to find Draco."
"Hermione!"
"I have to find him, Harry."
She turns the corner again and crashes into a body. She steps back and sees the it's Draco.
Without saying a word he grabs onto her and dissaperates.
The world bent around the visitors as they disapparated. When they reappeared they were standing in a wooded area surrounded by Order members.
Harry stood hugging Ginny and Teddy. Neville is collapsed on the ground crying. Visiting Hermione counts the number of people she sees. "There's people missing," she says as she watches Molly walk around looking for all of her children.
Memory Hermione walks over to Harry and Ginny. Draco follows her. "Harry," she says. "Hannah...and...Charlie." Ginny jaw tightens at the mention of her brothers name.
"I saw Angelina go down," Draco said putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
Visiting Hermione saw George sitting up against a tree. Completely silent. She felt her chest tighten. She was watching her friends die around her.
Memory Ron limped over to the group, now wearing the leg Draco had made him. "We lost Angelina, Charlie, Hannah, and...Percy."
The memory started to change again. In the new memory Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Bill, Pansy, Blaise, and Ginny are sitting around a table inside of a tent.
"Harry," Visiting Hermione said looking over at her friend.
"I know," he replied. It was the same tent that she, Harry, and Ron had lived in during the war.
"If we can get the Fidelius Charm to work we can use it on the Manor. We can use that as headquarters," Memory Draco said to the group.
"Bill and I have almost gotten it figured out," Memory Hermione said. "But we're going to need a secret keeper."
"I'll do it," Pansy said looking up from her hands.
Before anyone could respond to Pansy there was a scream outside the tent.
The group ran outside and the visitors followed.
The scream had come from Fleur. Victorie stood about 30 feet away. Fleur didn't move as if there was something blocking her.
"They have boundaries set up," Visiting Hermione realized. "That's why Fleur screamed. Victorie is outside the boundaries right now. The magic is probably concealing their location. They're probably being tracked.
"Fleur don't move," Draco said rushing forward. He ran past her outside of the boundaries and grabbed Victorie and then rushed back. He handed the little girl to her mother and then looked to Harry.
"We have to go," Harry said. "Now"
The memory began to change again.
"They're getting shorter," Visiting Hermione said as the memory began to reappear.
"And more sporadic," Draco pointed out.
In the new memory Hermione stood at the window of a bedroom. Visiting Hermione could see that it was snowing a bit outside.
"This is the master bedroom of the Manor," Visiting Draco said.
"They got the Fidelius Charm to work," Hermione said as Memory Draco came up behind her memory self and hugged her.
"Draco?" Memory Hermione said.
"Yeah?"
"I don't think we can do it. I don't think we can beat her."
The memory disappeared again.
"I think we're almost at the end," Hermione said. In the next memory Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ron, Blaise, Arthur, Fleur, Bill, and Pansy stood in the entrance hall of the manor. Bill and Pansy had knapsacks, it looked like they were going somewhere.
"Are you sure you two want to do this?" Arthur said to Bill and Pansy.
"It's going to be quick dad," Bill said. "Besides we need the supplies. We can't wait anymore."
"It's going to be quick and safe," Pansy said. "We'll be fine."
"You really shouldn't be going Pans," Ron said.
"Who else is going to go," She argued. "Harry can't. He's basically our leader and besides he has a wife."
Visiting Hermione looked to Harry and noticed the wedding band on his finger. "You...He and Ginny must've gotten married."
"Well Bill has a wife too," memory Harry argued back.
"You're not going Harry," Bill said. "And no one else is either. It'll be quick we'll be fine."
No one argues and Bill and Pansy move to leave. Memory Ron steps forward and kisses Pansy hard, before she goes. Then the memory begins to skip.
When it returns Draco and Hermione lay in the bed of the room they had been in before. Draco bolts upright waking Hermione up. "Hermione. The wards. The wards are down."
The two jumped out of bed and began rushing around the room, wands gripped tightly in their hands.
Draco grabbed two knapsacks. He put one on his back and tossed the other to Hermione. She grabbed it and then ran after him out the door.
Down the hall Ginny could be seen disapparating with Teddy. In the other direction Blaise and Luna disappeared. They run down the hall checking for the friends as the visitors followed after them.
On the floor there was a body. It was Fleur.
"Draco," Memory Hermione said. "Victorie."
Draco nodded and the pair began to look through every room, searching for a little girl. Suddenly Draco stopped in front of a closet causing Hermione to almost run into him. He opened the closet door to reveal Victorie crouched on the ground with tears on her face.
Draco bent down and picked her up. "You're okay," he said and the grabbed Hermione around the waist and disapparated.
The memory changed again. The few remaining members of the Order now seemed to be hiding out in a are many faces missing.
"Ron," Visiting Hermione said. "You're...He's not there."
"Neither is Pansy," Draco pointed out. "They made her secret keeper. That's how the Death Eaters got into the manor. They killed her."
The four visitors were silent.
Victorie and Teddy seemed to be asleep in sleeping bags as the adults stood around talking.
"It's been three weeks," Blaise said. "We can't keep running every day."
"What else are we supposed to do Zabini?" Harry fired at him.
"There's nothing else to do Blaise," Hermione said much calmer than Harry had. "We have nowhere else to go."
"Whether you like it or not Blaise," Draco said, "the rest of our short lives are going to be spent running. We're going to die like this and there is nothing we can do about it."
The memory started to change again. "They've given up," Visiting Hermione said quietly. No one responded.
Now the Order sat around a radio in the same cave. Something wasn't right. Molly and Ginny were crying. Hermione's eyes were filled with tears and her jaw was clenched. Draco stood facing away from the group. Harry sat with his head in his hands. Blaise stood next to the radio with his fists clenched and Luna stood behind him, hugging him.
Visiting Hermione listened closely to what was being said on the radio. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been attacked. Headmistress Minerva McGonagall is dead. There are countless student casualties…"
"I have to go," Harry said standing up. "I have to help."
"Harry," Memory Hermione said her voice sounding broken.
"You can't help, Potter," Draco said turning around. "It's over."
The memory changed again. They were changing faster and faster. Hermione knew this was it. They were almost done.
It was now the middle of the night and everyone appeared to be asleep. Except Hermione.
She had her knapsack on and was fully dressed. She had two slips of paper in her hands. One she folded up and put in her pocket, the other she laid next to a sleeping Harry. Visiting Hermione could make out the words on the note for Harry. It simply said 'I'm sorry'.
"She's leaving," Visiting Hermione said.
Memory Hermione begins to walk out of the cave but she is grabbed by someone. Draco.
"She was going to leave him," Visiting Draco said softly.
"You're not leaving, 'Mione," Memory Draco said.
"I have to Draco. I have to do something."
"You have to get yourself killed?"
"What else am I supposed to do?" she half shouted. "I can't just sit around and watch my friends die anymore."
Draco was quiet for a moment seeming to think. "Well then I'm going with you."
"No Draco."
"Yes. I'm going with you. We're all going to die anyway Hermione. I don't know why we all keep pretending we're going to win. I promised myself I was going to spend the rest of my life with you Hermione, and I'm not going to let you ruin that by dying first."
Hermione thought for a moment. She didn't say anything, she just simply stuck her hand out and let him take it. With his hand in her's they disapparated.
When they reappeared they stood in the aurors office. It looked completely abandoned as if no one had been there in years.
Draco and Hermione ran towards the elevator and the visitors followed after them. Hermione hits a button and the elevator begins to move.
"Department of Mysteries."
"Why would she go here?" Harry asked.
"The time turner," Visiting Hermione said looking at her best friend.
This department was abandoned as well. Draco and Hermione began to wander until they find the time turners. The memories are messy now, almost difficult to watch.
"Before the Death Eaters took control of the Ministry," Memory Hermione explained to Draco looking at the time turners. "The ministry created two more." She reached out and grabbed one and as she lifted it up a piercing alarm went off. Her and Draco locked eyes. "Run."
They bolted through the department of mysteries and the visitors chased after them as death eaters began to appear from nowhere firing spells at the pair.
They sprint through the ministry heading for the Main Atrium apparition point. Suddenly Draco is hit with a spell. He collapsed.
Visiting Hermione stopped dead in her tracks staring at the dead man who wasn't really there as her memory counterpart let out a soul crushing scream. Another spell is fired and barely misses Memory Hermione. She keeps running but Visiting Hermione can't seem to make herself move.
"Granger go," Visiting Draco said grabbing her. "We have to follow her." He was refusing to look at his own body.
Hermione stumbled forward as her memory self reached the apparition point and the world bent around them landing them in Muggle London. Memory Hermione began to dash through the crowds, Death Eaters still chasing after her.
A spell flies past her head and hits a muggle man in front of her. It is the dead man they found. Another spell hits her in the side causing her to gush blood. She collapses on top of the dead man and apparated away.
When she reappears she is now sitting in the garden of the Burrow. It is completely destroyed. The side of the house was charred. It was unrecognizable. Hermione was sobbing as blood was spilling out of her side.
"She's going to die," Draco said quietly.
She takes the note she had written earlier and stuffs it into his pocket. She then takes out another piece of paper. Her hands are shaking. It's the photo they found on the man. She rubs a bloody finger over her and Draco and then places it in the man's hand. She places the time turner around his neck and then takes her wand and places it against her temple. And then everything goes black.
"Fuck," Draco whispers to the darkness.