The silence that filled the room once Emma stopped speaking was made worse by the sniffling coming from the couch. Emma looked over to see Hermione staring at her with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Mummy…"
Emma quickly got to her feet and pulled Hermione into her arms rocking her as she kissed her forehead. "It's alright Love, Mummy is alright… Mummy's alright Hermione…"
Dan stared at his feet doing his damnedest not to look at Hermione or Harry for that matter. The boy glanced over at Nigel who simply shook his head. Immediately Harry understood. He thought how he'd feel if some death eater cut Hermione down in front of him. He shivered wondering what other secrets Dan held close to his heart.
After several moments of Emma cooing and rocking the girl finally pulled away wiping away the tears that stubbornly remained. She opened her mouth before she paused hesitant to ask finally she took a deep breath.
"Mum, you said that… before you adopted me that you had a stillbirth… My big sister right? And the doctor told you that any further pregnancies were likely to end in the same manner. W-was that due to whatever that curse was?"
A small chuckle escaped Emma's lips as she fondly shook her head. "You'd think I'd be used to your brilliant mind by now seeing as we do share the same mind. Yes, Love you have to understand, unlike your Dad I was not as willing to return to being a normal Muggle. One of the reasons was the need to use a glamour." She looked into Hermione's eyes and smiled sadly. "I'm certain you want to see."
Hermione shook her head. "No, I really don't want to see what that horrible man did to you. I-I have to see it. I have to see what is going to happen to me…"
With pursed lips, Emma shook her head. "What could've happened to you. Your Father and I are not allowing this to happen to you Hermione Jean or to you Harry James. We are telling you all this because we've decided to hell with the timeline it was FUBAR already!"
Tonks blinked "you mean fucked up beyond all recognition?" She shivered at the look Emma was sending her way. "Er, that is what it means right?"
"Fouled up thank you, Tonks…" Emma growled lightly as Hermione actually smiled looking over at the baffled auror.
"Mum hates cursing, it's fairly forbidden in the house and Dad only gets away with it if he hurt himself." Hermione shook her head remembering the days where he was putting together her first bookcases she was fairly certain her father had spent those nights on the couch her Mother was so enraged that he had cursed in front of their little sponge named Hermione. She turned back to Emma "Please Mum, even if it isn't going to happen to me… I-I need to see. I need to see what has Daddy so upset that he won't even look at me or Harry…"
Emma simply nodded as she took a step back and unbuttoned her blouse revealing unmarred tanned skin. After a moment she took her wand out of her back pocket and touched the tip to her chest "Finite."
Hermione heard a soft moan of horror as the glamour her Mother had been using vanished revealing a sickly purple colored scar which traveled from her left shoulder to her right hip. Her hands flew up to her mouth as she realized that the moan had actually come from her. "Mummy…"
"It's alright Hermione, It doesn't hurt It… It's just a tad noticeable and difficult to explain so I keep a glamour over it most of the time." Emma smiled buttoning her blouse back up and sitting back down beside Daniel who was holding his head in his hands.
"You wouldn't even have that scar if I had just been able to hold onto my temper…" Dan finally said looking up at his wife who simply smiled and shook her head.
"Daniel James Granger do not even try and blame yourself it was all of our choices to leave the magical world before the scar could be healed."
"But…" Daniel stopped speaking as Emma placed a finger to his lips.
"I said we all decided, end of story. Understand?" Emma smiled as Daniel finally nodded before cupping her cheek with his hand.
"God, how did I ever become so lucky to have you in my life, none the less my wife!" Daniel kissed her lips softly.
"I think it had something to do with the troll you saved me from when I was twelve." Emma snuggled to his chest her head resting just under his chin as Daniel wrapped his arms around her.
Nigel coughed delicately into his hand. "Yes, well since Hermione was unconscious from this bit on and Harry wasn't exactly… Well, he wasn't in the right mind. I'll continue the story if that's alright?"
Hearing no disagreement he waited until Hermione had sat back down next to Harry and sighed running a hand through his hair. "Alright, so Hermione had just fallen."
Neville watched as Hermione crumpled to the floor a look of wicked satisfaction in her attacker's eyes. It didn't last however as Harry thrust his wand towards the silently laughing man. Without a word from Harry, the man crumpled in much the same way Hermione had.
"Hermione! Oh, God… no please no Hermione!"
Looking away from the death eater Neville grabbed the wand which fell from the death eater's hand. He nudged him with his foot and shivered as the body didn't respond.
"Hermione, Hermione wake up oh God please, please wake up!" Harry cried out cradling Hermione's head in his lap becoming more and more panicked as the seconds passed.
"'Awwy you ned to stay siwent!" Neville hissed at his friend as he grasped at Hermione's wrist roughly. After a few moments, he looked up at Harry. "Shes awive. I can feel hew pulse."
After a moment Harry looked up at Neville tears rolling down his cheeks. "S-shes alive but…"
"I pwomise you 'Awwy I cin feel it stwong in hew wiwst! But we ned to git hew to a heawlew as soon as we cin! Hewe I'll cawwy hew you take hew wand I'll onwy cause a mess if I twy to cast wiff my dose bwoken!" Neville carefully lifted the slight girl into his arms cradling her against his chest so her head didn't fall back. "Too bad we don't hab youw cloak 'Awwy. Come on we gotta git out of hewe." Without another look at the dead death eater in the doorway, Neville stepped over the body Harry following behind.
Against all odds, Neville and Harry were able to get back to the circular room without being spotted. The reason for that was immediately made clear as they walked into the first door that opened. In front of them was an all-out battle. The order of the Phoenix had finally arrived the death eaters were steadily being beaten back and Neville sighed in relief. It wouldn't be much longer before they'd be able to get Hermione to Saint Mungos. That was when it happened.
"Really Trixie? You call this dueling? I've been more challenged by a little bunny rabbit in transfiguration!" Neville turned to see the happy go lucky sounding man who was just fucking around with…
"Bellatwix Lestwange…" Neville's hands tightened tightly around Hermione's body reminding him that this was [not] the time for vengeance. The most important thing… the only thing he could do was his job of cradling Hermione's broken body counting the shaky breathes she took and ignore the blood soaking her jumper.
"Sirius!" Harry cried out to Neville's horror.
What is Harry doing! Did he forget we have Hermione! Neville watched in horror as Bellatrix turned at the same time that Sirius did an insane smile pulling at her lips as she locked eyes with Neville.
"Oh if it isn't wittle baby Neville! Don't you worry baby I'll be with you in just a bit then I'll get that prophecy from Wittle Potter. No need to worry about the mudblood she'll die on her own!" Bellatrix laughed before turning back to Sirius who growled at her.
"You stay away from them!" With a final glance at Harry, he smiled sadly then tackled Bellatrix both of them falling through the veil that had hypnotized Harry a short time before.
"Sirius! Sirius!" Harry cried out panicked when after a few moments neither Lestrange nor Sirius had emerged.
Acting quickly while the Order continued to beat back the startled death eaters Neville swung Hermione over one shoulder and grabbed hold of Harry before he sprinted for the veil. "Awwy no! We hab to go!"
Harry struggled against Neville as he tried to pull him out of the room "No! Let me go, Neville! Sirius! Sirius!"
"Awwy! He's gone! Hewmione needs help. Siwius is beyond our help!" Neville grabbed hold of Harry by the collar of his shirt yanking him from the room roughly. He cried out as Harry's fist connected with his eye. "Bwoody hell Awwy! Git a hol of youwself!"
"Let me go, Longbottom! Let me go!" He punched Neville against this time connecting with his law as Neville growled in pain and threw Harry into the door that opened causing him to slam into the wall of time tuners.
"Git a hol of youwself Pottew dink!" Neville grabbed hold of Harry's hair holding him roughly against the shelves. "You go out dewe and not just Siwius will be ded! Do you flucking undewstand!"
Harry glared up at Neville the air around them literally crackling as time tuner dust began to liberally cover the three of them. Had Hermione been awake it is likely she would have been able to stop what was about to happen. "I'm giving you one chance Longbottom let-me-go!" |with that he yanked free of Neville's grip causing the taller boy to stumble.
"You wight selfish bastawd Pottew!" Neville barely kept his balance as he punched Harry so hard that he fell back into the wall of time tuners causing a burst of white light.
Moments later the Time room in the Department of Mysteries was empty.