*Hem - Hem* The chapter you have all been waiting for.
Disclaimer: JK owns HP: Always
1989
Chapter 13
(Saturday, October 30th)
Charlie was mashing his fried eggs with the back of his fork again; the bright yellow yolk bursting and flowing it's way across the stark white plate. As usual, Hermione turned her nose up in disgust at his morning breakfast routine. She wasn't fond of eggs as it was, and to have any part of them under-cooked made her want to gag.
"Are you sure you can't come with us?" He asked as he tried not to laugh at the look on her face.
Though she knew she'd be missing out on a fun and likely memorable day, Hermione did the responsible thing and shook her head. "You already know I can't. It's too risky."
He sighed in disappointment. "Yeah, I know. It makes me feel better if I ask though."
"It makes you feel better to ask a question you already know the answer to?" She looked at him mockingly.
"Well when you put it that way." He scoffed before mixing the whites with the runny yolk, causing her to turn her head away so she wouldn't have to see it. "Is there anything I can bring you back at least? A favorite candy perhaps?"
"Hmm." Hermione's eyes twinkled at the idea of being brought sweets later. She'd thought a lot about Honeydukes while she and the boys had been in hiding. "A box of sugar quills."
"Alright." He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I think I can snag one of those."
"Thanks." She grinned. "Sweets do come second to baked goods after all."
He shook his head at her with a snort. "Typical Jean and her food."
XXXXXXXXXXXX
After breakfast, Charlie bid her a good afternoon as he headed toward the entrance hall with Devon. As the pair of them turned out of sight, Hermione made her way back up to Gryffindor tower alone.
She normally would have headed straight to the library to do more research, but after realizing the twins had discovered the Marauder's Map, she knew she needed to go and keep an eye on them instead. If she didn't get to them before they fully discovered it's secrets, there was no doubt in her mind that they would see the name Hermione Granger at some point before she made it back to her own time.
Her first instinct had been to steal the map. If they didn't have it, they couldn't see her name on it. But as soon as that thought crossed her mind she squashed it back down; that was something that would change the past too drastically. The map was a large part of what had made Fred and George who they were when she met them in their third year, so that meant stealing it from them was out of the question. And not only that, they needed it now so they could eventually pass it on to Harry.
After weighing several options, she decided to play it by ear. She'd already interacted with them more than she should have, so it was very likely she was going to have to obliviate herself from their memories before she left for her own time anyway. This only left the issue of them telling Charlie about her real name before she made them forget it.
As Hermione entered the common room, she noticed that it was still bustling with students, mainly first and second years. With a glance around, she noticed that neither Fred nor George seemed to be among the crowd, as their bright red hair would have been easy to spot.
Knowing that she needed to find them soon, Hermione crept up to her own dorm for some privacy. Once she was there, she took a quick peek around to make sure no one else was inside with her. Sure enough, the seventh year girls dorm was deserted; the other five women no doubt headed toward Hogsmeade alongside Charlie and Devon.
The thought of Charlie made her freeze. She was starting to wish she had gone with him after all, feeling rather threatened by the idea of him surrounded by other girls. He was one of the better looking men in their year, and she had no doubt that he could get a replacement date with little to no effort on his part.
Hermione tilted her head back and sighed. She wasn't supposed to feel this way about Charlie. Feelings like this would only complicate things with Ron further once she made it back to 1998.
"Oh, Ron!" She groaned out loud to herself, having not thought about him in a few days. "How are we supposed to start dating now?"
She plopped down on her bed and sat her beaded bag in her lap. "Your damn brother!" She added in frustration.
Knowing she still needed to take care of the issue with Fred and George, Hermione forced thoughts of the other two Weasley men out of her head, and began to dig through her bag. After a few minutes of unsuccessfully locating her copy of the map from the future, she finally gave up and accio'd it out.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She pointed grumpily at it.
From the tip of her wand outward, ink began to spread across the page, revealing the castle layout and its many inhabitants. Quickly, and out of habit, she found the Gryffindor common room on it; and there she was, a set of footprints in the room at the top labeled 'Hermione Granger.'
She then searched outward slightly, into what was the first year boys quarters, and luckily enough there were only two people in this room. The footprints on the map were facing each other and marked with just the names she was looking for.
"Thank heavens." She whispered in relief before standing back up. "Mischief Managed."
As the page went blank again, Hermione slipped the map back into her trusty bag and exited her dorm. She crept down the winding staircase and back into the common room to take a peek around. It seemed slightly emptier than before, meaning more third years and up had left to visit the small village down the road.
Another glance around the room let her know that no one else seemed to be paying her any attention, giving her ample opportunity to sneak over to the boy's staircase. As stealthily as possible, she crept up to the first level without running into anyone, and entered the first year's dormitory.
Fred and George had been sitting across from each other, between two of the large four poster beds when she arrived, but had quickly scrambled up as they heard the door open.
"Good morning." Hermione greeted them in as friendly a manner as she could fake.
"Oh looky here Georgie." Fred smirked. "It's dear Jeanie coming to see us yet again."
"Righty you are Freddy." George added. "Me thinks precious Charlie just isn't cutting it for her anymore."
"Ho, ho." Fred laughed. "Seems like he may have some competition from his wee brothers, eh?"
"Very funny boys." Hermione glared at them as she crossed her arms in front of her stomach. "I came to strike a bargain with the two of you, but if you really don't want my help with that parchment you've been trying to crack then I'll just leave."
Hermione started to turn, and just as expected they called out to stop her.
"Wait!" George cried at the same time Fred yelled "Hold on!"
"What do you know about this parchment?" Fred asked skeptically, eyes narrowed to slits.
"Yeah, you've been spying on us since we nicked this from Filch!" George added.
"I know that it's a map of Hogwarts first off." She revealed as she came to sit on the trunk at the foot of George's bed. "And that it shows all of the hidden passageways in and out of the castle on it."
"Wicked." They both grinned at the same time.
"It sounds cool, but how do we know you're telling us the truth?" Fred asked.
"Fair question." She nodded her head at him once. "It just so happens that I know most of the creators."
The two boys were trying unsuccessfully to keep up a poker face. "Which ones do you know?" Fred asked.
"Well Moony is the nicest." She decided to tell them the truth without revealing their real names. "Padfoot is the biggest troublemaker, Wormtail is an absolutely spineless bastard." The twins snickered. "And unfortunately Prongs passed away before I met him."
"Alright." George said, having learned the four names by being insulted by them. "You've piqued our interest."
"What's your bargain?" Fred added.
She knew she had won them over. After knowing these boys for almost half her life, younger versions of them were almost too easy to trick into doing what she wanted.
Hermione leaned forward toward them with a look of triumph. "I will tell you all the map's secrets that I know, for two favors from both of you."
Fred and George both looked at each other, as if silently communicating on what to do, which Hermione had to remind herself that they probably were.
After another minute Fred spoke. "Alright. We want the map. What are your two favors?"
"First, the map is supposed to stay in circulation. It had been in Filch's cabinet far longer than the Marauder's intended." Hermione said. "I want the two of you to promise me that you will pass this map on, and it's secrets sometime before you leave Hogwarts."
"How will we know who to pass it to?" George asked.
"Yeah." Fred continued. "What if whoever we choose decides to turn it, or us, into one of the teachers?"
Hermione smiled at the pair, knowing exactly how it would play out. "Trust me boys, there will come a time when you will sense that someone needs the map more than you do. And when that time comes you will be able to pass it off knowing that it will go to good use."
"Alright then." Fred agreed. "We find that to be an acceptable term. What's the other?"
"The map doesn't just show the layout and secret passages." She revealed. "It also shows all the inhabitants. Each person is labeled with a set of footsteps which shows exactly where they are located within the castle."
Both boy's eyes gleamed as if they had just won the lottery; the million dollar jackpot.
"Due to an unfortunate incident of which I will not reveal." Hermione continued. "I am having to hide my identity."
"So your name isn't Jean?" George asked, clearly catching on.
"No." She admitted. "And the map will tell you what it really is, as it never lies."
"Does Charlie know?" Fred asked.
"Not yet." She said getting a little nervous. She decided to keep her wand at the ready in case she needed to obliviate them and steal the map after all.
"So if we agree not to tell anyone, not even Charlie, what your real name is... you'll give us this code, or password or whatever it is?" George asked, piecing what she wanted together before she could tell them.
"Yes." She admitted. "Those are my two conditions. Do we have a deal?"
Fred and George looked at each other for only a few seconds before nodding at each other, and then at her.
"Deal." Fred said while holding his left hand out for her to shake.
Hermione looked at him suspiciously for a second before holding out her right hand instead. "Give me your other hand Fred." She demanded.
"Damn." George grinned as Fred shook her hand with his right. "She's good."
Fred took the shocker off his left hand and sighed. "Yeah. We're going to have to tell Charlie we approve of her after this."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
True to her word, Hermione had shown Fred and George how to use The Marauder's Map; every detail that they themselves had taught Harry. They had ooh'd and ah'd as if Christmas had come early, until finally she left them to enjoy it by themselves.
An hour later, she was back in the restricted section with a small pile of books already gathered. Instead of reading them in the library, she wanted to take them back to the comfort of the common room to study over the remainder of the weekend.
She was just searching for one more to add to her pile when her eyes caught a book with a metallic gleam to it. As she slipped it from it's spot she almost dropped it due to the sheer unexpected weight of it. Under further inspection, she noticed it seemed to be made entirely out of shiny black steel, with the title of 'The Art of Forging' etched onto the cover.
Hermione didn't know how this could possibly be useful to her search for winning the war, but her interest was piqued by the unique construction, so into her bag it went as she gathered the rest of her pile.
Figuring that she had enough to keep her busy for a few days, she decided to exit the Library and head toward the greenhouses. There was an exit on that side of the castle that would lead her to a cozy sitting area with a lake view and a nice breeze. It would be a nice place by which she could read for a few hours before dinner.
She had just made it halfway down the corridor when she heard a voice that was becoming all too familiar calling out from behind her.
"Hey, Jean!" Charlie shouted. "Wait up!"
Hermione turned to look at him, her feet seemed to be glued to the floor as he approached her casually. She was surprised to see him, as it was just after lunch and she hadn't expected him back for at least a few more hours.
"What are you doing back here so early?" She finally asked, only finding her voice once he reached her.
"Well I've been to Hogsmeade many times before, and it seems Devon's handsome mug just isn't cutting it for me anymore." He grinned at his own joke.
Hermione laughed at that, not knowing what else to say. She was excited to hear that he'd rather spend the day with her, than peruse Hogsmeade with his friends, but that thought also worried her. He was getting way too attached to her.
"Plus... there is someone much prettier I realized I'd rather spend the day with anyway." He confessed, as if laying his heart on the line.
"Oh?" She asked, taken aback by how forward he was being. A blush spread across her face from how much she liked him talking to her like that.
"Yeah." He admitted, flashing another charming smile her way. "Someone who seemed pretty excited about a certain box of sugar quills I promised to bring back."
Charlie reached into his bag slowly without breaking eye contact, and pulled the white box with a pink Honeydukes label out of it. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the long familiar box and her fingertips twitched at the thought of pulling one of them out to suck on while she read her books this afternoon.
"You know what?" He spoke up abruptly, shaking his head at her with a smoldering look. "To hell with it." He added, before throwing the box of sugar quills over his shoulder.
Hermione barely heard the clatter of it hitting the ground as he dipped his head down to press his lips to hers in a hurried kiss. She was so caught off guard, that there was little time to react before she found his fingers had tangled themselves in the curls at the base of her neck, keeping her in place so he could devour her mouth.
She gasped in a large intake of breath at his sudden attack, and her arms wrapped themselves around his neck of their own accord in order to keep herself upright. Charlie's tongue slipped past her parted lips, taking her gasp as an invitation to deepen the kiss.
Hermione couldn't help herself. She kissed him back; hard. Charlie was a fantastic kisser, who tasted just like the butterbeer he must have had before coming to find her. After weeks of wondering how the kiss he'd attempted to give her on her birthday would have been, she finally knew. And it was good. Better than good actually.
It was better than her first kiss, which had been with Viktor Krum. A million times better than the wet sloppy kiss she'd received from Cormac McLaggen in sixth year. And just as she'd feared, better than the kiss she'd shared with his brother the very night she had arrived to the past to begin with.
Shit. His brother. Ron!
With that thought in mind, she began to panic over what she had allowed to happen. So with a heavy heart Hermione detached her lips from his, and pressed one palm firmly against his chest to push him away.
Taking her cue, Charlie reluctantly pulled back. The snogging session was just starting to get good, and he was disappointed that she was cutting it off so soon.
"What's the matter?" He asked nervously.
"We can't." Hermione answered while shaking her head slightly.
"Why not?" He sighed, clearly frustrated. Charlie gripped both her hands in his and held them against his chest. He could sense that she wanted to run and was determined to keep her from doing so. "I know you like me too, Jean. You wouldn't have just kissed me back like that if you didn't."
"It's not that simple." She claimed while staring at their joined hands, unable to look him in the eyes.
"Well then try explaining it to me, because I don't understand at all." He pleaded, refusing to let her go. "You said you trusted me, remember? You know you can tell me anything."
"I want to. I really do… but I just can't." Hermione whispered, looking down.
"Why not? I haven't told anyone any of your secrets. Not even Devon." He kept trying to convince her. "I know you've been through some horrible and frightening things these past few months, and I know you are still hiding things from me." He faltered, as if searching for the right words. "So if that's all that's keeping you from letting yourself be with me, then I'm ready." He sounded so sure of himself. "Tell me what it is that could possibly be worse than you-know-who and his death eaters?"
"Charlie." She dragged out his name slowly, shaking her head back and forth at him the whole time. "You have no idea what you're getting into by getting involved with me...It's a bad idea."
"I don't care." He said as he moved his hands to cradle her face, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "I don't care what I have to do to be with you, and I don't care about the trouble being with you gets me into." He paused for effect again. "What I do care about though, is you and making sure you are safe. So why don't you tell me what it is that brought you here? What is this horrible trouble your supposed best friends have gotten you into?"
"I can't tell you, Charlie." She sighed. "It's against the rules."
"Rules?" He questioned her, starting to look annoyed. "What rules?" He raised his voice slightly. "I like you, alright! I really like you, and I know you feel the same about me. So if this big secret is all that's standing in the way of us being together, then screw the damn rules!"
Hermione looked up at his aggravated face, and couldn't help it. She laughed. She laughed at his outburst, and she laughed at the situation she had gotten herself into, and she laughed at the fact that he obviously wasn't going to let this go.
"Godric, Jean!" He looked even more frustrated. "What the hell is so funny?"
"You!" She shook her head at him before leaning forward to place a small single kiss to his lips; shocking him in the process. "You aren't just going to forget about me no matter how hard I try to push you away are you?" She asked, flattered by what he was willing to do for her.
"Never." He admitted, finally grinning again.
"I guess there's no point in hiding it from you if you are just going to realize who I am eventually anyway." She paused briefly when his grin turned to a look of confusion, before continuing on with her explanation. "Charlie, I'm not who you think I am."
"Okay?" He looked even more confused.
She let out one long sigh, knowing that this was it. For real this time.
"My name isn't Jean Walters...It's Hermione Granger."
Charlie tilted his head to one side before shaking it when he finally realized what it was she was admitted to. "Your name isn't Jean?"
"Technically it's my middle name, but no." She finally admitted nervously. "I needed an alias while I was here, so I chose my mother and father's first names and put them together."
"Okay then, Hermione Granger." Charlie tested her real name out as he gave her right hand a squeeze with his left. "Where are your parents now?...I mean, why is it that you have a normal English accent, yet you've never attended Hogwarts before now?"
"Well." She replied, knowing that her answer required more background information. "You know how I've been really evasive about where home is?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"That's because home isn't a where." She explained nervously. "It's a when."
Charlie looked more confused than ever, and his eyebrows crinkled downward as he attempted to understand.
"I'm from the future, Charlie." She finally admitted. "From 1998 to be exact."
Charlie froze. His mouth opened, and then after a pause it closed again. He pondered her revelation for a moment before the confused look on his face suddenly turned to one of anger.
"You know…" He faltered as his anger began to grow. "If you wanted to reject me, all you had to do was tell me you weren't interested. You didn't have to come up with some far-fetched lie to get me to leave you alone." He seethed. "If you want me to leave you alone then fine. I won't bother you anymore."
He dropped her hands harshly before turning to walk briskly down the corridor, stalking back the direction he originally came from.
It was Hermione's turn to freeze in place. Of all of the reactions she had expected, this clearly was not one of them. Confusion and denial maybe, but certainly not anger. It wasn't until he was half way down that hall that she finally gained her senses back.
"I am absolutely not lying Charlie!" She called after him, a little angry herself now.
He didn't stop or answer her.
Hermione knew that he was both too far away and too fast for her to catch up with, and there was only one thing she could now do to get him to stop.
"Remember those two best friends I told you about!" She called out to his retreating back. "Well their names are Harry Potter…"
He seemed to falter slightly at that name, but shrugged it off as he kept going. It wasn't until she uttered the next name that he finally stopped dead in his tracks.
"And Ron Weasley."
Charlie froze again, pausing for several seconds before he whipped around to face her again. He looked angrier than she had ever seen him before.
"Don't you dare bring my family into your web of lies and deceit Jean!" He practically spat as he stormed back toward her.
"I'm not lying!" She shouted back, meeting him part way. She was clearly offended that he would accuse her of making her life up. "And I can prove it." She said firmly as she threw her bag to the floor.
Hermione knelt to the ground and began to rummage through it like a madwoman, occasionally throwing something out of it to the floor in her search for something in particular. "Ahha!" She finally exclaimed in triumph, while throwing what looked to be a crumpled bit of fabric at him rather violently.
"And what's this supposed to be?" He sneered at her as he caught it easily. "One of your failed knitting attempts?"
"It's Ron's traditional Mrs. Weasley Christmas sweater from last year." She explained calmly as he unfolded it, revealing the large gold R knitted on the front. "From 1996."
Charlie paused as he rubbed his fingers over the fabric. It seemed he was trying to take in the familiarity of it.
"This proves nothing." He finally shook his head at her.
"Yes it does, and you know it." Hermione added. "Ron's is always maroon. Always."
"How do you know that?" He asked, voice bordering on anger and confusion. "And how did you even get this?"
"I told you I was carrying all of the stuff we needed while we were on the run from death eaters. I had spare clothes for all three of us in my bag when I accidentally got sent here to the past." She answered calmly, trying to remind herself how difficult this must be for him to hear.
"Okay then." Charlie finally seemed to be coming around, but was continuing to fight the truth. "If you are such good friends with my brother... then what is his middle name?"
"Billius." She answered without a pause. "After your uncle."
"Shit." He muttered.
"Your fathers name is Arthur, who works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office. Your older brother Bill works for Gringotts in Egypt as a cursebreaker." She continued to try and prove her point. "Your mother has always stayed home since Ginny and Ron haven't left yet." She smirked at the look on his face. "Or should I say Ginevra, if you'd like me to be more specific."
"Shit" was all it seemed he could come up with as a response.
"Also, Ron's room is under the attic that is infested with a ghoul that likes to bang on the pipes. Which as annoying as that is, it isn't near as obnoxious as the shade of orange Ron chose to decorate said room with after the dreadful team the Chudley Cannons."
Charlie was stunned. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he took in everything that she had just confessed. Not only was it all true, but none of what she had just revealed was information he had ever told her over the past two months. That meant that this was either an elaborate joke being played by the twins, or she was telling the truth.
There was a bench only a few feet away from where the two of them had rejoined each other during their spat, so Charlie promptly collapsed on it, burying his forehead in his hands.
"Fuck." He muttered under his breath.
Hermione sat beside him and placed a comforting hand to his shoulder. "I know this is a lot to take in." She said, "There are days I still can't believe it myself. But I'm up for explaining everything to you if you still want to hear it." She offered. "For real this time."
"Speaking of reality, you really are from the future aren't you?" He asked, lifting his head to look at her. "This isn't just one of Fred and George's pranks you got suckered into is it?"
"No, Charlie it's not." She shook her head. "It's my very real life. The complexity of it is precisely why I held off telling you for so long."
"Shit." He muttered for the third time, still shocked by her revelation. "Is that why you're always trying to avoid everyone? You're trying to keep yourself from changing anything aren't you?"
Hermione nodded. "It's also why I kept trying to avoid you as well, as you are my best friend's older brother. I have to admit you gave me quite a shock when I ran into you my first night here."
"I can imagine." He began to nod with her. "Wait! Does that mean we've met before?" He looked confused again. "Will meet? Or...you've met me?"
"Yes, actually." She confirmed. "Twice. The first time was the summer of 1994 when I attended the Quidditch World Cup with your family. The second time was just last year; for Bill's wedding."
Charlie finally started to look a little better and a smirk spread across his face. "Bill's a married man now is he?" He snorted. "I'm sure mum loves that."
"She does now." Hermione agreed with a shrug. "But she wasn't so fond of his choice during the engagement." She leaned in a little closer now that his anger had subsided. "Kept trying to bring Tonks around to get him to change his mind actually."
Charlie snorted at the imagery. "Dora? Really?"
"Gin was a bit disappointed it didn't work too though." She said, hoping she wasn't feeding him too much information.
"Hold on!" Charlie said suddenly. "You already knew Tonks before you tripped on her bag the other day?"
"Yup, seeing younger versions of people I've known almost half my life is a bit strange to be honest."
"Merlin's beard! This opens up so many more questions." He snorted, though looked overwhelmed.
"Then ask away." She slid her hand into his, and gave it a squeeze. "I'm not going to lie to you anymore."