A/N: We are approaching the end soon, folks! It will be 48 chapters in total, and I can't believe I've managed to come this far! Thank you for reading and reviewing, your comments are cheering me on :)

Chapter 42: The Diadem

March 4th 1979 (Sunday)

Dumbledore broke the long silence by clearing his throat. "What do you mean by that?" He asked from Snape with a careful voice.

How the Headmaster managed to be as calm as he seemed, was beyond Hermione's understanding. Her pulse was racing, and she was quite sure she would soon suffer a nervous break-down. Voldemort knew that there was a time-traveller. What if he already knew it was her? No…This wasn't happening. What was she going to do now? Merlin, he was going to get her, wasn't he?

Snape's lips twitched. "Let's not pretend that you are unaware of this, and that Miss Dumbledore here is actually your relative," he said darkly. Dumbledore merely stared at Snape, supposedly reading his mind for confirmation.

Hermione's breath left with a sharp puff. "W-What?"

Snape gave her a bored look. "I've known for a while now. I had my suspicions about you, and they were confirmed when the Dark Lord found out about someone breaching the timeline," He drawled, studying her features.

Dumbledore hummed. "What exactly does he know? And how?" He asked, eyeing Snape with a calculative look.

"Someone inside the Ministry. An Unspeakable, perhaps," Snape said simply.

Hermione gasped. "I thought the Order dealt with Rookwood?" Hermione said urgently, panic rising inside her.

Dumbledore lifted a hand of reassurance. "We did. But it seems that there are others as well…"

Snape nodded.

"Merlin…" Hermione whispered. There were other Unspeakables working for Voldemort? "What are we going to do?" She asked, eyeing Dumbledore anxiously.

"Severus?" Dumbledore said calmly and looked at the man closely.

Snape stared back with a blank look. "He doesn't know who it is. He only knows that someone has inquired about a time-traveller some time ago, but no names have come up."

Hermione's mind whirled. By someone, did Snape mean Dumbledore? When Dumbledore had inquired about a time-traveller, after Hermione had travelled into this time?

Dumbledore nodded. "Then we do nothing yet," he said simply and turned to Hermione, a contemplative look in his eyes.

March 27th 1979 (Tuesday)

Hermione was worried. She had been worried since the last Order meeting in the beginning of March. Voldemort knew there was a time-traveller. How long would it take before he realised it was her? It didn't take that long for Snape to figure it out. What if he knew already? Or had guessed? After all, her sudden appearance had been rather…sudden. What then? Why did Dumbledore think that they shouldn't do anything? And was there something they could do about it? They were still in the process of destroying his Horcruxes. What if Voldemort managed to kill her? Hermione knew she was already living on borrowed time since Bellatrix's curse was supposed to kill her, but that didn't mean she was ready to die. No. Not before he was destroyed. For once and for all.

James and Lily had invited their friends to their place on Tuesday night, to celebrate James's and Remus's birthdays. Remus's birthday had already been earlier that month, but since everyone had been so busy and the full moon had been a couple of days after that, they decided to gather up at the end of the month instead.

"Lily? Can I help with those?" Hermione asked as Lily organised the drinks and snacks on a side table.

The redhead had been rather down lately. After everything that had happened with James's parents and everyone else, Lily had decided to relocate her family in order to protect them. A couple of weeks ago, Lily had come to Hermione's and Remus's place, asking for Hermione's help.

"Hey," Lily said as she stepped into the sitting room through the fireplace a moment after she had floo-called and asked if she could come by.

Hermione smiled at her friend, but the smile quickly vanished as she saw the morose look on her friend's face. "What is it, Lily? Has something happened?" Hermione asked quickly, leaping on her feet from the sofa, fearing for the worst. That someone had died.

Lily shook her head. "No, no, nothing's happened. Not yet, at least," she muttered.

Hermione let out a small sigh of relief, her feelings quickly turning into confusion. "Oh? Do you want to sit down? Remus is at Sirius's, but I can floo him if you want to see him as well?" Hermione asked as she took a seat on the sofa.

"No, don't." Lily said promptly and sat down on the sofa, next to Hermione. "The fewer people know, the better…" She said quietly.

Hermione's spine prickled with anticipation and worry. "Know about what?"

Lily sighed and rubbed her eyes. "The threats against muggles, the attacks…I need to get my family away from here," She said with a trembling voice, glancing at Hermione with a desperate look.

Oh. Hermione nodded slowly. "I'm…uh…okay." She said, nodding again. "I'll help you." She said and gave Lily a reassuring smile. Lily looked grateful. She didn't have to explain anything to Hermione, and that made everything a little bit easier.

A single tear escaped from the corner of Lily's eye. "Mione…" She whispered. Hermione swallowed hard. She understood. She more than understood. Hell, she had gone through it herself. She had obliviated her parents and made them move abroad, into safety. All the while taking the risk that she might not see them ever again.

"I know," Hermione said softly and pulled her friend into a warm hug. They were both quiet as Lily cried silently against her shoulder.

After a short while, the girls started going through some of the options, and in the end, Lily was quite adamant that she wanted to alter their memories, even though Hermione warned her several times about the risks.

A week after Lily's visit to Hermione, the plan had been set to motion. Lily's parents, her sister and her sister's fiancé had moved to Spain. Hermione had then realised that something else in this world had changed as well. Petunia and Vernon Dursley would never take Harry in, because if – and Hermione didn't really want to even think about the option – Lily was going to die, she would never be able to bring them back to Britain.

"No, I'm good." Lily said distractedly, continuing her work like Hermione hadn't spoken to her.

Alice gave Hermione a troubled look, but Hermione merely shook her head at her. Except for James and Hermione, Lily hadn't told anyone about the specifics regarding her family, since it was safer that way. The others only knew that Lily's family had decided to move away from Britain because of the danger they were in.

After dinner, everyone lounged comfortably in the sitting room, laughing and trading fun stories from their Hogwarts's years. Mary, Alice, Remus and Frank vacated one sofa, which had been conjured for the occasion, while Hermione, Sirius and Peter sat on another, smaller one. James was sprawled in an armchair, with Lily snuggled on his lap.

"I mean, how many times were you guys in detention during our school years?" Mary asked from the boys when they were discussing – and laughing – about the time James had ended up cleaning the teachers' bathroom without magic.

James shrugged. "Dunno…A couple of times, I suppose," He said easily, and Lily pursed her lips while Sirius, Peter and Remus burst into laughter.

"Well, I'm sure you would've been a lot more if Remus hadn't been there to keep an eye on you," Hermione said with a knowing look. She vaguely remembered Harry mentioning that Sirius had told him that Dumbledore had made Remus prefect in the hopes that he might be able to exercise some control over Sirius and James.

Sirius snorted. "I really hope you're not as naïve as you sound, kitten…" He said, sniggering with James and Peter, while Remus rolled his eyes. Hermione could see Remus's cheeks tinting with red.

"Oh? Do tell?" Hermione said curiously, looking at the boys with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Lily, Mary and Alice too stared at the boys expectantly. Of course they knew Remus had participated in the pranks, but the girls had always assumed that he wasn't the brains behind them. Or at least, that he wasn't the one urging the Marauders towards mischief.

James chuckled and turned to Remus. "Hmm…Remember that one time when we snuck into Hogsmeade, got pissed and then went skinny dipping in the Great Lake?" James asked, and Remus shook his head, looking exasperated, while Sirius and Peter laughed.

"Actually, I do remember, Prongs." Remus said wryly. "Although, if my memory serves right, after said dip in the lake you guys stole my clothes and my wand, making it impossible for me to return into our dorm without being completely starkers, and embarrassed like hell. And of course, not forgetting how I ran into Slughorn on my way back to the Gryffindor Tower," Remus said with a tight smile, while his friends howled in laughter.

Hermione arched a brow, stifling a laugh. "That doesn't seem like Remus was doing anything prank-like. Actually, he sounds like a victim in this story…" Hermione said, and the girls nodded in agreement.

Sirius wiped his eyes, chuckling still. "Yeah, well, Prongs and I'll take full responsibility on the latter part of the story, but sneaking into the village for a drink and afterwards indulging in a nightly swim whilst completely inebriated was all golden prefect Moony here," he said with a wink.

Everyone laughed and Mary gave Remus a mock-shocked look. "Utterly reckless…" She gasped, giving him a teasing shove.

"When was this? How come we haven't heard about it before?" Alice asked, sniggering slightly. "And what did Slughorn say?"

Remus shrugged. "I think it was fifth year…He practically acted like he hadn't seen me at all," Remus said with a smirk, shaking his head slightly. "And no one has heard about it because…well, mainly because it was embarrassing…" Remus said tightly. "And I made the guys promise they wouldn't say anything about it," He continued, narrowing his eyes at the other Marauders, who suddenly looked a bit worried.

"I feel like we're missing something here," Lily muttered, glancing at James. "What could you have to blackmail them into keeping their mouths shut?" She asked from Remus with an incredulous look.

Remus's lips twitched. "Loads."

The girls giggled while James, Sirius and Peter exchanged slightly anxious looks.

"Oookay, so, what if we talked about something else, eh?" James asked hastily. Remus rolled his eyes with amusement but said nothing.

"Yeah, like the time you and Pads sent a fan letter to Slughorn from Snape?" Peter asked from James, sniggering when Lily whirled around to glare at her boyfriend, making James cringe.

"In my defence, the idea came to us when we were…you know, a bit sloshed," James said with a wince. Lily rolled her eyes and muttered something in the lines of "Of course you were…"

Sirius barked a laugh. "Even if it was stupid, if was hilarious! Remember when old Sluggie avoided Snivellus like a plague for the rest of the term?" He asked, giggling as he recalled the incident.

Lily huffed. "I remember that! It was on third year, and you really made him worry! He was agonising about it the whole summer, thinking that he had done something wrong, worrying that his parents would give him hell if his grades were nothing short from perfect," Lily said with a disdainful look.

James and Sirius both rolled their eyes. "Serves him right for making Pete trip down the stairs in the Astronomy tower," Sirius said darkly.

Lily pursed her lips but knew it was pointless to argue about Snape and the Marauders. The rest of the girls knew it as well. Because the truth was, both sides were just as bad. Snape hadn't been a victim of their pranks, because he had paid in kind, or even worse sometimes. Even if the boys had toned it down a bit on their last year, Hermione too had heard enough about their earlier years to make the assumption.

They moved into lighter topics, and soon they were in the middle of a discussion about the boys being Animagi.

It had been over a month ago when the boys had decided to include Mary, Alice and Frank in on their secret. Since Lily, Mary and Hermione already knew about Remus's affliction, and Lily and Hermione about the rest of the boys being Animagi, the boys had decided that they could as well share the rest of their secrets after making sure the knowledge didn't leave the room.

Alice and Frank had been shocked by the news regarding Remus, but both had assured him that it didn't matter to them the slightest. The bigger shock had come when the rest of the boys had shown their Animagus forms to their group. Mary, Frank and Alice had all gaped at the three animals in front of them, speechless. Hermione and Lily too had been a bit astounded since neither of them had seen all of them, or this close for that matter.

"It seems a bit obvious now, when you think about it," Mary said, eyeing the boys. "With all the nicknames and animal-jokes and talking about Remus's 'furry little problem'…I mean, you weren't exactly secretive about the fact that you are all…animals," She said thoughtfully.

Sirius smirked. "Always gives me the thrills when witches say that," he said with a wink. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Sirius grunted, chuckling as the girls sent glares at his direction.

Mary rolled her eyes. "What I meant, was that someone was bound to figure it out," she said pointedly. "I mean, Hermione and Lily did, didn't they?" She asked, eyeing her friends.

Lily shrugged. "I knew about Remus, but not the others, not until I moved in with James and he disappeared during the first full moon Remus had come back...I had to practically extort the information out of him…" She said, glancing at James adoringly. James pinched her waist, narrowing his eyes at her in a playful manner.

"When did you find out about Moony?" James asked from Lily, frowning as if he tried to remember something.

Lily turned to squint at Remus. "Dunno, what was it? Our first year probably?" She asked, and Remus nodded.

"Yeah, right before the first year ended," Remus said with a small smile.

James scoffed. "So you knew about him before his mates even did?" He asked from Lily, seeming to be a bit put out by the knowledge.

Lily laughed. "Well, I am his friend too…And besides, I think Hermione was the one who figured it out the fastest, right?" Lily said, glancing at Hermione.

Hermione nodded sheepishly, trying to give the others a convincing look. "Yeah. Remus had been ill for a couple of full moons, so I kind of drew it from there…" She said evasively. Hermione saw James's eyes flash with something, recognition or suspicion maybe. Either way, it unnerved her a bit. James had opened his mouth to say something, his eyes fixed on Hermione, but he didn't have time to speak when Lily disentangled herself from James's lap and stood up.

Everyone's attention moved to the redhead, who was clearing her throat and eyeing her friends with a hint of hesitation in her eyes. "I know I've been…well, in a bit of a mood lately, and, well, like everyone, I've been dealing with some crap." Lily said with a weary voice. Everyone gave her looks of sympathy and encouraging smiles.

"I'm…There's something I wanted to say…to James," She said and turned to look at him. James gave his girlfriend a lopsided smile and stared at her attentively, his brows lifted in a slight surprise.

"We've both been through a lot lately…perhaps you more than me," she said carefully, while James shook his head and gave her a sad smile. "And when I look back at how all of this started, it's like, we've faced so much up's and down's already. And even before we started dating. The first time we met, it wasn't love at first sight," She said, and when Sirius snorted quietly and James's face became redder, Lily quickly continued, "Not for me. And I'm rather sure it wasn't love for you either…" She said pointedly, evidently reminiscing how James had tried to catch her attention during their school years.

"My love for you snuck up on me. It came so unexpectedly, that I didn't even realise it at first. And you didn't help with matters, you know?" She said with a mix of amusement and annoyance on her features. James suppressed a grin, looking at her with a small frown between his brows. The others around them eyed the scene cautiously.

"Your personality, your strong-willed, persistent personality…Your obnoxious hair, that you had to make even worse by ruffling it every time I stood in front of you…Your eyes, the fathomless, sincere eyes that I sometimes found myself grudgingly entranced with. And, of course your humour, which I'm still struggling to understand at times. All of that made me feel rather…confounded. And all of that made my heart skip a beat, making it clear to me that you were exactly what I was looking for," Lily said softly, and James nearly gaped at her, supposedly speechless from her confession.

Hermione had a good suspicion what it all was about, and by the looks the others gave the couple, they had too.

"Lils," James murmured, taking her hand and lacing their fingers together while she stood in front of his armchair.

"Will you marry me?" Lily asked, and there was a collective gasp amongst their friends. But it didn't matter, because nothing could've taken the couple's eyes away from each other. There was such adoration in Lily's and James's eyes, that Hermione felt her eyes moisten with tears.

James huffed. "W-What?" He mumbled and stood up, searching Lily's face.

Lily looked unsure. "Um. Will you –"

"No, I heard you," James interrupted, lifting his hand. Sirius sniggered next to Hermione on the sofa. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Shut the fuck up, Pads." James grumbled.

Sirius laughed harder. "I'm sorry, I really am," He said and nearly giggled. "This is just too much fun, really," he said and shrunk back a bit when Lily sent a glare at his direction.

Lily huffed with frustration. "I'm sorry, I was in the middle of something?" She said with annoyance, and James gave her a strained look.

"You've got something to say, James?" Lily asked with a warning voice, looking concerned all of a sudden.

James grimaced slightly before he cleared his throat. Sirius was staring at the scene with amusement, while the others were seemingly between confusion and glee.

"Um…You remember after the NEWTs, when Sirius was being an arse? And I shoved him? In the Great Hall?" James asked slowly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "If I had to remember every time one of you acted like an idiot, I would go mad…" She growled, and James nodded quickly.

"I had something with me then…I, um…It's something I asked from my parents," He said, staring at Lily with a serious look.

Hermione felt goose bumps all over her arms. She grabbed Sirius's arm, and he let out a small chuckle. "Oh my gods…" Hermione whispered.

The others started to realise it as well.

"What?" Lily snapped, eyeing the others and then James. "What did you have?"

James gave her a warm smile, staring at her with an intense look. "Something I wanted to give to you," He murmured, waving his wand. Lily gasped as soon as a small parcel landed into his hands.

Hermione felt like they were intruding a private moment, but Lily and James didn't seem to even notice the others anymore. Alice and Mary were both clutching each other where they sat, their eyes brimming with tears. Remus and Frank, who sat next to their partners, eyed their friends with knowing smiles. Peter was staring at the couple in the middle of the room with nervous anticipation, while Sirius, when he glanced at Hermione, had a huge grin on his face.

"James…" Lily whispered.

"Yes, love?" James asked quietly.

"I'm…I…"

"I will." James said sincerely.

Lily stared at him in confusion. "What?"

James smirked. "You asked me something. I gave you an answer."

"Oh. Oh! But why didn't you…? I mean, you had a ring…?" Lily stammered, staring in amazement at the now open ring box.

James grinned at Lily. "You weren't ready then. And I was determined to wait until you were," He said, giving her an amused look. "Turns out, you managed to surprise me, yet again." he said, slowly pulling the ring out and holding it in place for Lily.

Lily let out a nervous laugh and lifted her hand, staring deeply into James's eyes.

"Are we really doing this?" She breathed, her face glowing with happiness.

James chuckled. "Well…this is usually the thing people do after proposals," He said with a teasing smirk, and before Lily managed to scowl at him, James slipped the beautiful diamond ring on her finger.

Everyone around them started to whoop and cheer, springing to their feet to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

It was the perfect night, and Hermione couldn't have been happier for her friends. She felt unbearably overjoyed, but there was something that made everything less than perfect. Something inside of her, a dark spot in the midst of all the happiness. A reminder that while she had the privilege to witness Lily's and James's life, Harry hadn't. It made her feel cheerless, it made her insides clench with pain, and even though she tried to shake the feeling away, to appear nothing but delighted at her friends, she knew that she had failed miserably when she caught Remus staring at her with a sharp, insightful look.

April 14th 1979 (Easter Saturday)

On Easter Sunday, early in the morning, they were standing in the middle of a moor, staring at the several square miles of uncultivated hill land around them. They were in Dartmoor, south Devon, where Hermione knew some duelling contest had taken place several hundred years ago, and the Quidditch world cup would be held in 1994.

Dumbledore had suggested the place, since it was quite deserted, and they could easily set up some muggle repelling charms and other wards around them to avoid anyone crossing the lands. There was only a small number of trees in the area, but they would have to put up some protective charms around them as well, so that the cursed flames wouldn't burn everything around them, or worse, make the fire spread so that it would be out of control.

"So…last ones, right?" Fabian muttered as he and Hermione set up the protective enchantments and muggle repelling charms a couple of miles away from Dumbledore and Gideon.

Hermione shrugged. "I hope so. I mean, there's always the possibility he's made more of them. It's doubtful, but…I really hope that there's only one after this one…" Hermione said, chewing the inside of her cheek as she waved her wand.

"Yeah, me too…" Fabian said darkly.

Hermione sighed. "I just…I just hope that this time…" The words stuck into her throat. She was afraid that this time someone would get hurt again, that someone might die.

"Hey." Fabian said and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We are prepared now. And last time, you did great, you know? You were the one who destroyed the locket, remember? We would all be dead if it wasn't for you…"

Hermione swallowed hard. McGonagall had still died.

"Come here," Fabian murmured, pulling her into a warm embrace, soothing her back as Hermione took in shaky breaths. "You need to brace yourself, Hermione…You can't go in there like this. You know that, right?" He said quietly.

Hermione nodded, clearing her throat. "I know." She said, taking a deep breath and breaking away from Fabian. "I know."

After a moment, during which Hermione calmed down, cleared her mind and pulled up her Occlumency shields, they apparated back to the centre of their enchanted area. Dumbledore and Gideon were already there, waiting in front of a stone podium, similar to the one they had conjured for the locket.

"Ready?" Gideon asked from Hermione and Fabian, his brow creased with tension.

Hermione and Fabian both nodded at him. It was now or never.

Dumbledore eyed the others carefully, before he too nodded and waved his wand in a small circle, pointing at the stone basin. "May I suggest that you move back a bit and keep your wands at the ready," Dumbledore said firmly, glancing at the others. They complied, quickly taking distance to the stone, scattering slightly behind Dumbledore, wands lifted and eyes fixed on the podium.

The top of the stone podium started to glow, and Dumbledore took several steps back as the Diadem appeared on top of it. They all waited anxiously.

But nothing happened. No explosion, no voices, no forces throwing them backwards.

Hermione was just about to urge Dumbledore to cast the curse, to destroy the thing, but then she noticed him standing stiffly, wavering in place.

"He's fighting the Horcrux!" Gideon yelled, waving his wand to cast the Fiendfyre curse, but then his hand stilled in the air, shaking slightly.

Even though Gideon was some distance away from Hermione, with Fabian between them, she could see his features. His face was scrunched up in concentration and…pain. Both he and Dumbledore were swaying where they stood, both fighting mentally against the piece of Voldemort's soul.

Fabian stared at his brother in shock. "GID!" He yelled in panic, running towards his brother.

"Fabian, no!" Hermione screamed. "We have to destroy it!" Hermione yelled and waved her wand, preparing to cast the deadly curse, feeling the dark magic coursing in her veins.

The air in her lungs left with a rush, her head pounding so badly that she couldn't see straight ahead. She vaguely noticed that her motions were stilled, her wand hand trembling in front of her.

"Hermione…." Someone whispered.

Hermione gasped for breath, pushing herself as she tried to break free from the spell, or whatever the hell it was the Horcrux had on them.

"Hermione…" Harry's pleading voice echoed in her head. "Please, Hermione, please…"

No…No, no, no…It is not real, this isn't her Harry, Hermione thought, trying to shake the intrusion away from her head, trying to close her mind.

"Hermione…I know you feel guilty for leaving us…For leaving us to death. I know." Harry's voice said softly. Hermione could feel sweat and…tears seeping down her face.

"But you have a chance to save us now. To save me. To save Ron, and everybody else. I can help you…" Harry's voice said calmly. "We can be together again…"

Hermione's insides burned with grief, with guilt, with longing. No…She thought. It's not real. You're not real.

"Then you should've died instead of us," Harry said coldly, his voice changing into a taunting sneer. "You'd deserved to die and not live, after what you did." Harry growled inside Hermione's head. "How you left us, and didn't even try to come back to us…"

No…Hermione thought desperately, her throat constricting. I tried. I really, really tried…I wanted so much to come back, Hermione shouted inwardly, blinking rapidly to see something through her blurred vision.

Harry laughed mercilessly. "You stayed because it was easier. And you didn't even try to stop the future unfolding. The deaths you knew about. You let them die as well…" Harry's voice said nastily.

"You didn't try…Not truly. Because I've seen you…I've seen inside your head. You know that I'm speaking the truth. And I will never forgive you for what you did." Harry's voice, high-pitched and un-Harry-ish, snarled.

No. Hermione thought weakly, weeping now. She could only feel despair, pain and regret.

How dare he, how dare Voldemort taint her memories, her loved ones? Anger started to rise inside her.

"NO!" Hermione let out a muffled scream, breaking the hold the Horcrux had in her.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pressure in her head left, the force keeping her in place disappeared, and she collapsed on her knees, gasping for breath.

Remembering where she was and what was going on, Hermione quickly lifted her gaze at the stone podium, scampering up on her feet, holding her wand in front of her. She saw a fiery Sphinx sprinting towards the diadem, followed by a flaming Phoenix and an Eagle that soared side by side. Finally, a blazing Chimaera burst from the tip of Hermione's wand and charged towards the stone podium.

"Hermione, wait a moment," Gideon said as soon as they had apparated in the back garden of the Hog's Head.

Hermione turned to look at him, while Fabian and Dumbledore went inside the pub to give them a moment of privacy. The sun was shining brightly, and it was still morning, probably not even ten yet, Hermione thought as she glanced at the sky. She pulled her cloak tighter around her and eyed Gideon expectantly.

"What is it?" She asked, shivering slightly in the brisk spring air. It wasn't freezing anymore, since it was mid-April already, but the mornings were rather chilling in the North.

Gideon gave her a contemplative look. "You sure you want to go home?" Gideon asked carefully.

Before leaving Dartmoor, they hadn't talked much about what had happened, other than establishing the fact that the Horcrux had been messing with everyone's heads, reading everyone's darkest thoughts and fears and used those against them. After that, they had cleaned the area in silence and removed their enchantments and traces of magic before leaving towards Hogsmeade.

Hermione sighed. "Yes. I need to be alone right now," she muttered. Even though she knew, she knew the Horcrux was only reading into her insecurities and her guilt, she couldn't shake away what it had said to her. What Harry had said.

"What did it say?" Gideon asked after a short silence.

Hermione looked away, chewing at the corner of her mouth. She didn't want to talk about it. It hurt too much to even think about it. She didn't know what had happened to her friends after she had been thrown into this time. Did they even exist anymore? Did the world she once knew exist anymore?

She clenched her jaw. "It doesn't matter," she said quietly, shaking her head slightly. "It wasn't real."

Gideon took her hand gently between his, staring at her with a sorrowful look. "Hermione…" He said and swallowed hard. "I heard…Molly was dead. Because of me. They were all dead, and it was because of me," Gideon said, taking in a shaky breath. Hermione stared at him in shock. "Even though I know it wasn't the truth, it still hurt like a bitch," Gideon muttered, staring at his feet.

"Gideon," Hermione whispered, placing a soothing hand against his arm. "You…You fear for them? That someone's on going to hurt them because of you?" She asked carefully.

"Of course I fear for them. Why do you think I left Hogwarts? Why do think I'm alone? That I don't have anyone? I'm an Auror, Hermione. And we're at war." He said sharply, staring at her with dejection.

Hermione nodded slowly. That made sense. And it didn't. "You shouldn't let fear control your life," Hermione said quietly, giving his arm a sympathetic squeeze.

Gideon shook his head, looking thoughtful. "What did it say?" He asked solemnly.

Hermione took a deep breath and pulled her arms tightly around her, as if hugging herself. "It was…Harry," she whispered, and Gideon nodded, understanding of whom she was talking about.

She felt empty inside, hurting, as if it was just now that she had left Malfoy Manor, even though it had been nearly two years ago. "He, um…" Hermione said, her voice trembling. She forced herself not to cry. She had shed so many tears, felt so much guilt, pain, and misery over so many things during the past two years. It was exhausting.

"He said, that, h-he wouldn't forgive me," Hermione spoke quickly. "For leaving them to die, for letting everyone die," she said with a thick voice. She brushed a couple of treacherous tears angrily away from her cheeks with the backs of her hands, gritting her teeth as she tried to calm down. To clear her mind.

Gideon stayed silent, eyeing her with sympathy. "I'm sorry," he said eventually. "I'm sorry that you feel guilty, that you feel miserable. But what I've understood about your friends, about you, is that…You must know that no one would think that about you, right?" He said earnestly.

Hermione bit her lip to suppress a frustrated growl. She knew. Of course she knew. Harry would never, Ron would never think that way, because they were best friends. It was all in her head.

"I know," Hermione said calmly, nodding at Gideon. "I want to go home now."

Gideon gave her a wary look before he sighed. "Okay."

Hermione said her goodbyes to Aberforth, to Dumbledore, Gideon and Fabian and finally stumbled into her home, its familiar and safe smells and sights greeting her. She would only have to make it into her bedroom, pull up some silencing charms and then she could cry her eyes out, she could scream and churn in her misery.

"Hermione?"

Hermione jumped at the sound and whirled towards the kitchen, where…everyone was, as if waiting for something. For her, supposedly. Lily, Alice, Mary, Frank and Peter sat around the dining table while Remus, James and Sirius stood near them, with everyone's eyes trained towards the sitting room.

Lily, who had said her name gasped slightly as she saw Hermione's features, which Hermione assumed weren't, well…very becoming. She hadn't really slept the previous night, and instead had been tossing and turning the whole night in her old room in the Hog's Head, feeling nervous about the upcoming mission. She had a persistent head-ache which had started some time after they had destroyed the Horcrux, after all the mental struggle and pain she had gone through. She probably looked like a maniac.

"Hermione?" Remus asked cautiously, walking towards her. "Where were you? What's happened to you?" Remus asked with concern, and Hermione could only stand in place and stare at her friends, too tired to say anything, too empty to make any excuses. She had told them, well, Remus, that she would be staying at Hogsmeade a couple of days during Easter, but something in his eyes told her that he knew she had not been entirely truthful.

Hermione looked at her friends' concerned faces; filled with surprise, worry, compassion, and love. She took a couple of steps backwards to the couch and slumped down, feeling wretched, exhausted and empty, not able to hold back the tears anymore.