CHAPTER SIXTEEN

She hit the ground hard, rolling a bit but far enough removed from the cabinet she had originally crashed into to see it crumble, rebuild, and crumble again in a pattern that would continue endlessly. Hermione managed to get to her feet and find her wand in time to Stun a Death Eater who was about to do the same to Harry. The adrenaline from the battle she had once again found herself in surged through her blood. Her inquisitive mind allowed her a moment's pause as she witnessed Time at work on the head of the Death Eater she had sent sailing into the seemingly innocent bell jar, but she was pulled back into the battle by the shouts around her. Her fight or flight instinct told her to run, but she was forced back into the fight when her pursuers burst through the door she was attempting to seal.

She was hit with a curse that had her flying back into another shelving unit only this time, she remained in the present, in the heat of the fight. Relieved to not only be in one piece, but also to have not smashed into another cabinet of Time Turners, Hermione took a deep breath and turned to find her friends. Her eyes scanned the room until they fell on another Death Eater who was attempting to alert his comrades of their whereabouts. She silenced him quickly before Harry Petrified another older wizard who had pushed past the one Hermione had quieted. The witch turned a smiling face toward her friend at precisely the wrong moment, for her eyes caught those of a certain blond who held an expression equally made up of surprise, disgust, and anger. Then his face shifted briefly to recognition before his mask of fierce indifference returned and she could tell he knew she was now aware of their shared history.

Hermione wanted to go to him, to talk to him and explain things, but as soon as she allowed her eyes to travel the contours of his face, she realized that he was no longer the same man she had come to love. He was even more cynical and tyrannical than he had been as a boy. He probably also now hated her for not only leaving, but for deceiving him as she had. No. This was best left alone, those days best served by forgetting them and leaving them in the past.

The entire thought process had taken less than half a second, but it was long enough to distract her from the war raging on around her. Mentally returning to the now, Hermione's eyes found Harry's again to congratulate him on a well-placed jinx, but the words never left her mouth. The Death Eater she had Silenced slashed his wand through the air and a violent purple-colored bit of magic hit her. The last thing her mind registered before once again going black was a complete look of fear in familiar crystalline blue eyes.

~*~*~*LMHG*~*~*~

She woke up in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Her mind was a muddled fog of events, sounds, and experiences. Blinking away the sleep, she looked around the familiar room and tried to place herself, wondering if perhaps she had dreamt leaving 1972. It wasn't until Harry and Ron came bounding into the room that she realized that she was back in her own time.

They spoke at the same time. Ron was telling her about all the cool stuff she apparently missed after she was knocked out, including something about brains trying to smother him, while Harry spoke of the Order arriving and then of Dumbledore's showdown with You-Know-Who himself. They told her about the giant Death Eater who was now walking around with an actual baby face, and Neville's bravery in the face of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand.

'I used an Unforgivable,' Harry said in a somber tone. Hermione was in shock, her mouth slightly open as Harry explained. 'She killed Sirius.'

The revelation hung between them. Before much more could be said, the doors to the hospital wing flew open again and the headmaster walked in with Madam Pomfrey a half step behind him. The two newcomers walked swiftly to Hermione's bedside and began fussing over her. Harry and Ron were sent back to their common room with the knowledge that their friend would follow as soon as the mediwitch could ensure Hermione's health and wellbeing.

'Well, Miss Granger,' began Madam Pomfrey, 'it would appear that the only damage done to you was a well-placed bump on your head. That's why you lost consciousness.'BRBR

'But what about the curse?' Hermione inquired.

'Curse?'

'Yes. Just before I lost consciousness, I was hit with a nonverbal spell. The jet of light was purplish and it felt like my insides were being ripped out.'

Albus and Poppy looked at each other before the mediwitch set to work casting diagnostic spells over Hermione's abdomen. Everything must have been all right because before long, Poppy Pomfrey was releasing Hermione back to her common room with instructions that she was to take it easy for a few days.

Hermione and Albus Dumbledore left the hospital wing together, walking in silence until they reached the corridor in front of the entrance to Gryffindor house. Just before they arrived at the portrait, the headmaster stopped her.

'Miss Granger, I understand you've had quite the experience in the past week. Should you ever find yourself in need of someone to speak with, know that my door is always open to you.'

She thanked him and entered the common room, where she was immediately surrounded by her friends. They were obviously happy to see her - those who had been with her at the Ministry asking how she was feeling while those who weren't were asking what happened to cause her stay. Not really wanting to talk much about anything, she excused herself to her room, telling everyone that while she had been released, she was still under orders to get some more rest.

Hermione entered her room and closed the door behind her. While she couldn't lock it, she knew that she could have solitude in the sanctity of her own bed. Crawling into her four poster, she drew the curtains and slid under the blankets.

Numb. There was no other word to describe the feeling inside her at that moment. So much had happened since the last time she'd been in this particular bed. She'd sat her History of Magic O.W.L after an abbreviated night of sleep the night before. It was during that exam that Harry'd had his vision about Sirius being tortured. This was followed by a rather eventful trip to Umbridge's office, where they'd been caught using the Floo. They'd finally discovered who sent the Dementors after Harry the previous summer, but Hermione felt a light sense of satisfaction knowing that Umbridge was off somewhere being tortured by the Centaurs. Then there was the debacle at the Ministry.

She'd known it was a trap. She'd tried to convince Harry of the fact, but he wasn't having anything to do with what she was saying. All he knew was that his godfather was in trouble and he had to save the older wizard. The battle that ensued was nothing short of traumatic, and that's without taking into consideration her trip to the past.

She needed to think about it, though. There was no way around it. When she'd returned to the battle, there was a moment when she and Lucius… Mr Malfoy… had looked at each other and known. He'd seemed surprised at first, but that quickly faded into anger and resentment. Thinking about the hurt look on his face, even only for the split second it was there, sent a feeling through her heart that could only be likened to a dull blade trying to tear through. It was hell. Curling up with her blankets and pillow, Hermione mentally said goodbye to her lover and cried herself to sleep.

O.W.L.'s went on as usual and the school year came to an end. The Daily Prophet was finally acknowledging that You-Know-Who was actually back and that Harry Potter himself had once again faced off with him and lived to tell the tale. They were calling him the Chosen One and all other silly sorts of nicknames, as if they hadn't been denouncing him as a complete nutter for about the past year. A few days after she'd gotten home from Hogwarts, an owl delivered an issue of the wizarding newspaper with a familiar man on the front page. She'd wondered what had happened to those Death Eaters at the Ministry, but now she knew: they'd all gone to Azkaban.

Try as she might, she couldn't help but cry for him. Sure, he'd done this to himself, but that didn't mean she couldn't be sad. He was older now, but he was still the man …boy… she'd loved. Loved. Still loved. Tears fell anew, sobs wracked her body, and inside of the sane part of her mind, she had to wonder if travelling all of those years back and forth through time had done something sinister to her hormones. She never cried this much! Looking at the paper again, she could see the defiance in his eyes, the haughtiness that was Lucius Malfoy, and she had to smile. Azkaban wouldn't break him. He was too strong for that.

He had to be…

~*~*~*LMHG*~*~*~

Summer with her parents went by quickly and soon she was back in the wizarding world, shopping for books and trying to convince Harry that Draco Malfoy hadn't taken up where his father could not now that he was incarcerated. It got worse once they were all back at Hogwarts. Harry had gone missing on the train only to turn up later with a bloody nose. Apparently, Malfoy had broken his nose and Luna Lovegood had fixed it for him. At least it looked straight and as if it had not been touched too much. Then there was the sketchy Potions text that was owned by someone who called themselves the Half-Blood Prince. That was another fight and a half. Ron thought it was brilliant, of course, and the boys once again joined up against her over the usefulness of the annotations in the text.

It had taken her some time, but she finally felt that she was moving on from her time with a man she could never have. It didn't hurt that every now and again, she and Ron would look at each other and she would be reminded of her love for him. She was even getting up the courage to say something to him when that slag Lavender Brown snatched him up from under her nose! The nerve! Her heart was broken again, but the relationship didn't last long. Before she knew it, sixth year was coming to an end and the entire world was being turned upside down.

Dumbledore was dead, killed by Professor Snape. Hermione, during her grief, remembered the small yet lanky boy from her time in Slytherin with him. He seemed so quiet, so innocent, and yet according to Harry, he'd done the unthinkable and murdered their headmaster. She couldn't wrap her head around it. After the funeral, Harry explained that he was going to go off and finish what Dumbledore started. Of course, she and Ron were going to accompany him. It was no question. But first, things needed to be done.

They said goodbye to Hogwarts. Hermione Obliviated her parents and sent them to the other side of the planet, quite literally, after completely erasing herself not only from their memories, but from the lives of everyone around her in the Muggle world. Then she went to the Burrow to stay with the Weasley's for a time. Together, they went to retrieve Harry from his aunt and uncle, but even that was fraught with disaster, as the Death Eaters seemed to be expecting them. Seeing as she, Ron, and Harry all temporarily looked like Harry, she was scared out of her mind. When the curses were flying and people were falling, she could only hope that no one she loved was injured. Not Harry. Not Ron. …not Lucius, if he were even up there with them. When they all finally made their way back to the Burrow, she was so happy to see her boys that she ran to them, overcome with emotion at their safety.

The safety wasn't to last, though. At the wedding of Bill and Fleur, she was sure that Ron was going to finally grab her and kiss her. She could see it in his eyes that he was completely smitten that night and she was overjoyed! Before anything could happen between them, the wards fell, the Ministry fell, and the trio went on the run. Tensions ran high, the hunt for the Horcruxes became too much, and Ron ran out on them. It was heartbreak all over again and Hermione cried for days. Her feelings for Ron were confused with her still remaining feelings for Lucius and she was distraught. Harry did his best to cheer her up, often holding her at night and trying to keep the mood light. It wasn't until after Christmas when Ron finally returned to them, and though it was hard, she eventually did forgive him. Besides, he came back with the Sword of Gryffindor and had used it to destroy another Horcrux, the very one that had driven him to leave in the first place.

~*~*~*LMHG*~*~*~

They messed up, or rather Harry had messed up. He'd said You-Know-Who's name and they were now on their way up a set of stairs inside of Malfoy Manor. She'd cast a Stinging Jinx on Harry, but had she known where they'd end up, she would have done so on herself. Now, she was face to face with a stranger, a shell of the man he once was, who was naming her in a bid to raise himself from the hole he appeared to be in.

She didn't remember much after that. There was pain, yes, and she knew of her torture in the same way one would view a motion picture, but a lot of her memories of that day came from what others had told her. She'd read somewhere that victims of great trauma often black out the most horrific parts in order to get on with their lives, but the scar on her arm, that one word, would forever be a reminder of how much hatred Lucius truly had for her. There was no way he would have allowed it to happen if he even had an iota of positive feelings left for her.

Dobby the house-elf was dead, but they had some semblance of a plan. With all the information they'd gathered from their time at Malfoy Manor, along with the conversations with Griphook the goblin and Mr Ollivander, they figured they not only knew of the location of another of the Horcruxes, but also what You-Know-Who was up to. The trio convalesced a bit, prepared for battle, and left their temporary sanctuary.

The battle would soon be upon them, and win or lose, it would all be over.