A/N: Updated and edited February 2023

For anyone reading this for first time, this chapter is really just an explanation of the future to Dumbledore. I would say you could likely skip this, HOWEVER, I make some changes during her fifth year and onwards.

Chapter 3

Hermione stepped through the door and into the headmaster's office as she introduced herself to the blue-eyed, silver-bearded man sitting behind his desk. He was looking at her with an uncharacteristic expression, shock was evident from his widened eyes to his gaping mouth. In different circumstances, Hermione may have had to hold back a giggle. She stood awkwardly by the door to the hidden room, not wanting to invite herself to sit before him. She also wanted to see how he would react; would he be as trusting as his future self had said in the future or would he force Veritaserum down her throat or invade her mind with Legilimency?

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Professor Dumbledore seemed to gain his composure and voice once more. He cleared his throat and smiled at her, the ever-evident twinkle in his eyes shining brightly. He gestured for her to take a seat at the chair in front of his desk, she sighed when she was finally off her feet.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. Based on where you have exited from, I can only gather you have an interesting and epic tragedy to share with me?" he said softly. She could see the obvious dismay at her presence as it confirmed the loss of the light, but she could also sense his relief that she was there to try and prevent that future.

Hermione was also relieved that he hadn't chosen Legilimency from the start, her exhaustion would have prevented her from adequately protecting her mind. While showing her memories and thoughts within her head would speed up the process of sharing the obstacles ahead of them to defeat Voldemort, she was not comfortable being that vulnerable. Her mind was very fractured after everything, and she acknowledged the truth of that, even without confronting the damage yet. She had been avidly avoiding the issues she was having within her mind, there were more important things to worry about presently.

"Hello sir, it can certainly be described as an interesting and epic tragedy. A tragedy where the Light loses and the Death Eaters destroy everything," she replied, holding back the tears as she recalled flashes of her fallen friends.

Ron falling-

'No, stop! Concentrate!' she scolded herself.

"First, explain to me how you came to learn of the portal. I do not recognize you, thus you are not a student in any of my current seven years. Also, when are you from? How many years do we have?" Dumbledore asked her.

"You told me of it," she replied, she was reluctant to admit it was from a deceased Dumbledore. How do you tell someone that they would die? Yes, everyone dies and that is unavoidable but telling someone and confirming it for them with a timeline, she couldn't do it yet, "I was told that if I looked in the mirror it would tell me who I could save and if I was true to my mission I would be allowed through."

"I am glad that it worked, it is a portal of my creation. I hoped it would never be needed," he said sadly, "I must have great trust in you, in the future Miss Granger."

"You believed I would survive," she replied emotionlessly, "I come from the year 1998, directly following the Final Battle at Hogwarts, that we lost."

"Twenty years from now? We are still fighting Voldemort in two decades?" Dumbledore choked, the colour draining from his face. The tragedy was worse than he could have imagined. He thought perhaps ten years away, at most, based on the age of the girl.

"Voldemort is dead, he was destroyed by the child of a prophecy. However, the Death Eaters continued their fight and brought the Light to their knees. Too many died in the first war, this war, and the second war fought by children my age. We were bound to be defeated, the Death Eaters were unyielding, unmerciful, and fully trained in dueling and the Dark Arts. My task, the reason I am here, is to end the war before the prophecy, meddle with time, and share everything I can with you, and the Order, to ensure Voldemort is defeated before he creates a large enough following," explained Hermione seriously.

"I understand, I created the portal as a fail-safe. Now that you are here, your future no longer exists. We have an entirely clean slate, there are no consequences to meddling with time here," responded Dumbledore.

Hermione nodded and accepted his words without considering exactly what he was saying. Clinically she understood, she could save Harry's future and everyone she knew that had died; however, she had not understood how that would affect her yet.

"I should start from the beginning, explain how there is a first and second wizarding war with Voldemort. The first war is happening now but on Halloween 1981, Voldemort will attack the home of the prophecy child, kill his parents, and fail to kill the child. His attempt triggers the prophecy, his spell backfires and the child is marked as the Chosen One. The family was put into hiding by you and a Fidelus Charm was placed to hide them and their Secret Keeper, one of your Order members, betrays them. He is not a current member, and that is my first task; make sure that you never allow Peter Pettigrew into your ranks," Hermione stares coldly at the headmaster. She wasn't angry at him; she was angry at Pettigrew.

Hermione wasn't surprised to see the surprise on Dumbledore's face, Pettigrew had somehow evaded suspicion from everyone. No one had suspected the rat. The headmaster's eyebrows had risen to his hairline, his posture adjusting so that he could lean forward, resting his elbows on his desk and placing his fingertips together in contemplation.

"Peter Pettigrew? Gryffindor that is entering his seventh year and is best friends with some of the greatest wizards that I am hoping to induct into the Order?" Dumbledore asked uncertainly.

"Yes, best friends with Remus Lupin, James Potter, and Sirius Black. They were the Marauders, brothers in all but blood. Yes, that exact boy," Hermione replied, her eyes narrowing as she thought about the disgusting man that she had watched beg Harry for mercy. Who had watched as she-

'Stop it!' she yelled internally at herself, flinching slightly at her chiding.

"I was also informed that his betrayal is far more consequential than even we knew, he must be stopped."

"I believe you should start from the beginning, please share everything you feel I should know, Miss Granger," Dumbledore spoke after a moment of silence.

"James Potter and Lily Evans will marry after graduating and have a son named Harry in July 1980. Shortly before he was born, you conducted an interview with Sybill Trelawney where she spoke the prophecy to you, which was 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...'.

"Severus Snape overheard the first part of the prophecy and as a Death Eater, he dutifully returned to inform his master. Unfortunately, Voldemort knew of two children that fit the description, James and Lily's son and Frank and Alice Longbottom's son. He chose to hunt the Potters, as Harry was a half-blood like him, whereas Neville was a pureblood. Now anyone that knows James Potter knows that his best friend is Sirius Black, that Sirius would do anything for James and was Harry's godfather. This troubled Sirius, he knew he was the obvious choice, he happily accepted the dangers and risks of being the Secret Keeper and would happily die for his brother, but he wanted to protect them more. He convinced James to choose a new Secret Keeper, one that wasn't obvious.

"Pettigrew wasn't an obvious choice, while he was a Marauder it was well known that he trailed behind the other boys. Remus was the bookworm, James was the romantic jock, and Sirius was the dark, handsome rebel. Pettigrew worshipped his friends, or that is what everyone thought. He just worshipped their power. And when a new power came that he saw as stronger, that also promised him whatever he wanted, well he gave it what it wanted. Pettigrew handed Voldemort what he was searching for, he gave him the Potters.

"Voldemort, being the exceedingly dramatic wizard that he is, chose to attack the Potters on Halloween night. James and Lily felt the wards shift the moment he passed through, and James sent Lily and Harry upstairs, promising to hold him off long enough. James Potter cannot be described as anything but brave when he stepped up against the evilest wizard of the century, without a wand, and refused to step aside to protect his family. Voldemort killed him without a second thought, stepped over his body, and continued to Lily, who stood in front of Harry's crib. He offered to spare her if she gave up Harry, and Lily, being a selfless and kind mother, refused to give up her baby. Her magic surrounded Harry and when Voldemort killed her, her protective magic surrounded Harry and saved him from the curse. The killing curse rebounded and hit Voldemort, the curse caused a blast that destroyed part of the house, leaving Harry to sit in ruins with his dead parents and nothing but Voldemort's wand and a lightning bolt scar.

"When Sirius arrived at the house to find his best friend dead and Rubeus Hagrid holding a distraught Harry, he offered to take him. Hagrid informed him that you had ordered him to take him to his muggle aunt and uncle's house. Sirius' grief and anger overcame him, and he left, he went to search for Pettigrew. When he found him, Pettigrew made it seem that Sirius had betrayed the Potters, blasted 12 muggles with magic, cut off his finger, and turned into his Animagus form of a rat. Sirius blamed himself for James and Lily and unfortunately, the Ministry took that as a confession and sent him to Azkaban without a trial.

"Harry grew up with his muggle aunt and uncle that hated magic, hated him. He learned about the wizarding world on his eleventh birthday and experienced his first form of kindness from Hagrid. He was essentially treated like a House Elf in his home, didn't know his name until he went to muggle school, and lived in a cupboard under the stairs. With that mistreatment, he somehow grew into the kindest, bravest, most loyal boy I have ever known. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and I became best friends in our first year, we were coined as 'The Golden Trio' and were always getting into trouble. Unfortunately, our trouble, unlike the Marauders, it was literal danger that always found Harry, and where Harry was, I was there," Hermione explained Harry's life. Remembering her friends, Harry and Ron, caused a strangled sound to escape her throat. It was a cross between a laugh and a sob. She loved every memory and that's all they were now.

"As I was saying," she coughed to remove the shake from her voice, "we had many troublesome adventures. In our first year, our DADA professor was possessed by Voldemort and had him on the back of his head under a turban. He used the possessed teacher to try and retrieve the Philosopher's stone that you had hidden in the castle. Thankfully, Harry figured out what he was up to, albeit with some incorrect details, and along with Ron and me, we were able to prevent him from retrieving it. Harry also learned that due to his mother's sacrifice, he still held his mother's protection as Voldemort could not touch him. It destroyed the vessel that was the Professor and Voldemort had to flee his failing host.

"In our second year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened. Harry learned he could speak Parseltongue and could hear a voice in the castle that sounded evil. Muggleborns began being petrified after he started hearing the disembodied voice and I was able to deduce that it was a Basilisk, unfortunately, I was petrified before I could inform anyone. Harry thankfully found my research in my hand a few weeks later and used it to help him solve where the chamber was located. Ron's little sister had been taken into the Chamber, Harry went down to save her and learned that a diary had possessed her into setting the snake on students, a diary that once belonged to Tom Riddle."

Hermione took a break to drink some water that Dumbledore conjured for them while she spoke. She had caught his attention once more by announcing Voldemort's muggle name, a name not many knew.

"Harry defeated the basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor and used a basilisk fang to destroy the diary, saving Ginny from the possessing spirit. When we started our third year, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, and Dementors were stationed at the school as it was rumoured, he was hunting Harry down to complete Voldemort's mission. Remus Lupin also became our DADA professor and taught Harry the Patronus charm, as the dementor's affected him much more. It was not until the end of the year that we learned the truth about Sirius and Pettigrew, even Remus had not known. Unfortunately, Pettigrew escaped, and we were unable to clear Sirius' name and he had to remain on the run.

"It was our fourth year that the war started to creep in, but we just didn't know it at the time. Death Eaters resurfaced at the Quidditch World Cup, torturing some muggles for entertainment. At Hogwarts, the Triwizard Tournament was introduced again, and Mad-Eye Moody became our DADA professor. Our three champions were chosen for the tournament, the Hogwarts champion was a Hufflepuff named Cedric Diggory, though as usual, trouble found Harry. He was named as the fourth champion as somehow the goblet spit a fourth name out. Due to it being a magically binding contract, Harry had no choice but to compete and did very well for a fourth year competing against of-age wizards.

"It was the third task that the motive behind his submission was found, the Triwizard cup in the center of the maze was a portkey. Harry and Cedric, both made it to the cup and being the fair players that they were, decided to share the Hogwarts victory. The cup transported them to a graveyard where Cedric was immediately killed for being there, and a dark ritual was performed using Harry's blood to resurrect Voldemort into a true form. Harry was forced to duel with Voldemort, but his wand with a brother core to Voldemort saved him and he was able to escape with Cedric's body. When he came back, we learned that Mad-Eye was a Death Eater under Polyjuice and had been behind Harry's place in the tournament. That was when we knew that the war had begun, and Voldemort was truly back," Hermione shivered at the memory, seeing Harry so broken over Cedric's body, the first death of so many. She took a breath before Dumbledore offered her another goblet of water.

"In our fifth year, the Ministry adamantly refused to believe his return. They hid their heads in the sand and deemed you and Harry as delusional nutters. A ministry official, Umbridge, was posted at the school as DADA professor, she refused to teach practical defensive magic and turned to rather sadistic punishments that she distributed based on her prejudice. Harry fought against her loudly, while originally, I kept my head down to avoid unwanted attention. However, being a Muggleborn and best friends with Harry, you aren't exactly inconspicuous.

"Umbridge would target Harry because of the Ministry and because she loved the Minister for Magic. While she targeted me because of my blood status, I could be standing beside someone breaking the rules and I would be punished. She would punish me for not stopping the misbehaviour or for speaking too loudly in class and being a disturbance. Her detentions were barbaric and inhuman, using blood quills with most students. She went a bit further with me, as I was from a muggle family my detentions consisted of writing lines stating 'I will learn my place' and then manually cleaning the floors with boiling bleach. After those detentions started, I realized that she would punish me no matter what because of my blood status, so I began to actively go against her. I suggested a defensive study group to Harry, where he teaches us based on his own experience, sadly that ended a few months later after we were betrayed.

"While we were handling everything at Hogwarts, the Order had its concerns. They were guarding the prophecy in the ministry, specifically the Department of Mysteries. If the Order had shared that information with Harry, when he received a false vision from Voldemort he would never have gone to the ministry. Regrettably, we did go to the ministry to save Sirius, who Harry saw being tortured, and it resulted in Sirius' death, my almost death, and the destruction of the prophecy. The only positive that came out of the mission was the Minister for Magic seeing Voldemort with his own eyes and having to admit that you and Harry were right all along.

"In our sixth year, you began to train Harry and taught him about Voldemort and everything you had learned. In the outside world, people were going missing, muggles were being attacked, and students were being pulled from Hogwarts. Inside the school there was quiet, it was like the quiet before the storm, and that storm came in the form of Draco Malfoy. He was a pureblood bully that liked to inform me of my place as a Mudblood," Hermione said, her fingers subconsciously scratching at her forearm. Dumbledore caught the movement but did not have any fears of a Dark Mark on her arm, his portal would not have allowed her through.

Hermione still felt conflicted about her old adversary. Their relationship had been so volatile at the start, but it had changed that year. He was different than the boy she had known, the man was more complicated. He would never be that boy now; he would never be that man she saw him becoming. Remembering that he let in the Death Eaters still angered her, she had adamantly argued against Harry that he would never do that, and she had truly believed it until she couldn't.

"Draco was confident and proud of everything about himself because he was a Malfoy. However, in our sixth year, that boy was gone. Instead, he was quiet, he kept to himself, he didn't laugh and sneer with his friends, he didn't harass Harry or me, and he physically looked unwell. He had bags under his eyes and fear in them. After Harry returned with you from your mission, you hid Harry and Draco confronted you, he had allowed Death Eaters into the school to complete the task of killing you."

Hermione chose this time to look up at the headmaster, she had been avoiding staring into the eyes of the dead wizard. It also encouraged her to speak objectively about her life. Finally looking at the man, she could see he was not surprised that Voldemort had issued an order for his death. Hermione had to remind herself that Dumbledore had been aware of Riddle since before he began Hogwarts and had always kept an eye on the future Dark Lord.

She took a deep breath and returned to her retelling; she was so close to the end. That would be the hardest part, how could she share the battle, the losses, without breaking down?

"Draco's mission was assigned to him with every intention that he would fail, die, and take the Malfoy name with him. He was a true Slytherin though, he was ambitious and incredibly smart. He discovered a Vanishing Cabinet that had a sister cabinet in Borgin and Burke's, however, it was damaged. He worked all year to repair it, desperation growing as the year passed. I learned that he was only committed to his task to save his mother, they had threatened to cause her extreme pain before her death. Draco did everything he did to save his mother, not himself, he had accepted his death," Hermione tried to defend Draco Malfoy.

No one had known, but Hermione had become acquainted with Draco over their sixth year. She couldn't describe him as a friend, but he was no longer her enemy. They had been arguing, insulting one another, when he had expelled a breath before backing down. Following that encounter, she watched him more and noticed that he had become more withdrawn and had also stopped instigating arguments with Harry and Ron. It was one night when she was performing her prefect rounds that she came across him sitting in the Astronomy tower looking utterly defeated. She didn't have the heart to punish him or to argue with him, so she just silently moved through the space to sit beside him on the windowsill. While she was terrified of heights on animals or pieces of wood that was a broomstick, she adored overlooking nature from high spaces.

Silently she and Draco sat staring out at the castle grounds, it became a routine. It was their third time sitting on the window ledge that he started talking. He spoke to her of the expectations he faced growing up, and now as a Death Eaters son, a fact he admitted to no one except her. He never spoke directly of his task or the specifics of it, he simply described having a role to play and not knowing how to do it with his mother surviving the end. He talked about how no matter what he did, he would always be a failure to the Dark Lord and his father. Hermione, in turn, told him of the expectations she faced, always needing to have the answers or the prejudice she endured. She could do no right under the eyes of wizarding society, if she is uninterested in boys she is a prude, yet when she tried dating she was referred to as a 'scarlet woman'. If she answered questions, she was a know-it-all, and if she didn't know the answer, they laughed at her and asked how she could believe, as a Muggleborn, she could succeed.

Hermione and Draco came to understand one another. He admitted to never believing she stole her magic, that she was a brilliant witch in her own right. She forgave him for the past views that were instilled in him by his parents and pureblood society. Together they promised to be an ear to listen to for the other when his mission became too difficult, or she was being disregarded by the boys once more. It was during these meetings over the year that Hermione truly understood that the children of Death Eaters were manipulated and forced into the side they were on, just as she, Harry, and Ron had been forced into the war. The only difference was that she had chosen her side, Ron had chosen his side, and even Harry had chosen the Light side, while Draco and others had not chosen.

She had learned so much from Draco and had come to care greatly for him. If Harry and Ron had ever known, she couldn't even imagine their reactions. She hoped that Draco too would have a better future in this world.

"While Draco plotted his way to complete his task, you were teaching Harry about his role in the war and how to defeat Voldemort. You were giving him private lessons showing him memories of Tom Riddle's life through the years, including one of him speaking with Professor Slughorn about Horcruxes," Hermione looked up at Dumbledore as she spoke of Voldemort's secret. The expression of shock returned to his face, his eyebrows raising to his hairline and his eyes widening to an almost comical size. He leaned back in his chair and let out a large sigh.

"He did-"

"Please sir, I know you have questions, but please let me just finish this. I need to finish," she pleaded, she wouldn't be able to explain her seventh year if they stopped now. "Harry retrieved the last memory that you needed from Slughorn to discover the final piece of the puzzle; it was a memory confirming that Voldemort asked about making seven Horcruxes."

The little colour left on Dumbledore's face drained at her words, thankfully he remained silent.

"You discovered the location of a Horcrux, and Harry requested to join you. Harry warned Ron and me that he suspected Malfoy was planning something that night while he was gone. Unfortunately, he was correct and Draco let Death Eaters into the castle," Hermione shuddered remembering the night. She still felt betrayed by Draco's actions, while he had prevented his and his mother's death, the Death Eaters were unnecessary and led to casualties. She blamed herself as well, she had found a way to save Draco but not Narcissa. "We fought along with the Order and the Death Eaters retreated. You and Harry had returned to the school and while we were fighting, Harry watched, invisible and paralyzed, while Draco confessed everything. Draco was unable to perform the killing curse after disarming you, he couldn't do it, and Harry watched as Severus Snape dealt the killing curse.

"After your death, Harry, Ron, and I knew we were no longer safe in Hogwarts or the Wizarding world until Voldemort was dead. Rather than return to Hogwarts for our seventh year, we began the Horcrux hunt. The Ministry fell, a Muggleborn registration was set up, torture became the punishment in school, and snatchers hunted anyone down that was against the regime. A Taboo was placed on Voldemort's name, rendering all safety wards and protections useless, allowing them to catch anyone brave enough to speak his name, usually Order members. Harry, Ron, and I became the most hunted people in Britain, thousands of galleons were offered for our capture.

"The Horcrux hunt was disastrous. We knew nothing and had no idea where to look or what to look for, all we knew was that he treasured important artifacts of the founders. We were also set back when we learned the Horcrux Harry retrieved with you, Slytherin's locket was a fake. We had to find five, for you had discovered and destroyed the Gaunt ring before finding the locket, and Harry had destroyed one in his second year; the diary. Through fortuitous circumstances we learned where Slytherin's locket was and retrieved it, however, we were forced to leave our safe house and hide in a tent, moving from location to location. We kept the locket with us, having no way to destroy it, and the dark effects started to influence our moods. Ron was affected the most and left us, leaving Harry and me to hunt alone.

"After a few weeks and a near-death experience, Ron returned to us using your Deluminator that you bequeathed him in your will. The night he returned to us, Harry was led to a small pond holding the sword of Gryffindor, by a Patronus. The sword was embedded with basilisk venom, thus could destroy Horcruxes. Ron destroyed the locket upon his return, leaving us down three, and four left. We believed Hufflepuff's cup to be one, something that belonged to Ravenclaw, and Nagini, Voldemort's snake. We were working under the assumption he intended to make his final Horcrux using Harry's murder, the destruction of the prophecy child, so we were only looking for three more. During a discussion one evening, Harry, in a fit of anger, spoke Voldemort's name. Snatchers surrounded us and to protect Harry, I cast a stinging spell at his face, causing it to swell and make him unrecognizable.

"The Snatchers were doubtful of the identities we provided and recognized me from the newspapers. They decided to take us to Malfoy Manor, the current headquarters of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Draco tried to lie and pretend he didn't recognize us, but it was futile, Ron was a Weasley and I was the most recognizable Mudblood in Britain," Hermione scratched at her arm again subconsciously, "It was while we were being inspected that Bellatrix Lestrange caught sight of the sword, which apparently should have been in her Gringotts vault. The maniacal bitch – sorry professor – became distressed and even more psychotic than usual, believing that we had been in her vault. She ordered Harry and Ron to the dungeons while she interrogated me, Mudblood is lower than Blood Traitor, so there was no real loss if I died during questioning," Hermione spat.

The Wizarding world made her head spin at times. She loved the world she joined so much, it was a beautiful place filled with literal magic, but their way of thinking was incredibly outdated and filled with bigotry. Even Mr. Weasley, as sweet as the man was, spoke to her about Muggles like he was astounded that they could create and invent the things that they did.

"Cruciatus curse was Bella's favourite. I can't tell you how long she held me under the curse, or how many times she cast it. It could have been three hours, ten, or an entire day. It was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced, and I have suffered my fair share of pain. She questioned me while I was under the curse, she was relentless, screaming at me to answer her questions. She wanted to know how we managed to get into her vault and what else we took. I withstood her torture, repeating the same answer over and over; we found it. Bellatrix finally realized that her curses weren't loosening my tongue and turned to a new method. She gave me this," Hermione had her fingers wrapped around her forearm so tightly that her knuckles were white, and her other hand had gone numb from lack of blood circulation. She wouldn't allow herself to cry while retelling her torture, nor while she showed her scar, she survived and didn't betray anyone. She was proud she had survived; she knew not many could.

Dumbledore watched her carefully while she shared her torture, while she tried to appear strong, he could see how close she was to shattering. Hermione sensed his uneasiness, while he was concerned about her mind and well-being, she assumed it was because the scar was on her left forearm, forgetting that he knew the portal allowed her through. She slowly raised her sleeve and turned the inside of her arm towards the headmaster, understandably he recoiled at the sight of her scar. It still stung her to see people recoil from her, despite knowing they recoiled from the word and not her skin or her, it didn't hurt any less.

MUDBLOOD

The carved letters still looked fresh; the blade was imbued with a curse that would never allow it to turn into a faded scar. No, her scar would always be dark and raised. Always visible, always there to do what Bellatrix wanted. Reminding her of what she was, and what people thought of her. She belonged to the world, she was a witch, but the word reminded her that many would rather she was dead than share it.

"It was a cursed blade, it will never fade," she explained with a tone of finality, "Thankfully, Harry and Ron escaped and with the help of a House Elf, rescued me before I was handed to Greyback. We escaped and while I recovered, we concluded that Bellatrix was distraught at the idea of us in her vault for a reason. We broke into Gringotts, found the Cup, and escaped on a dragon's back. Voldemort discovered what we were searching for and in his fury sent a vision to Harry, providing us with the location of Ravenclaw's diadem at Hogwarts. We returned to the school, found a way into the castle, and Voldemort descended with his Death Eaters. The final battle began, during which we found the diadem and it was destroyed, then we destroyed the Cup. All we had left was the snake.

"Voldemort hid away during the battle and called Snape to him. You see, Voldemort was hunting for his object while we searched for the Horcruxes. He was after the Elder Wand. A wand that he believed was passed from Dumbledore to his killer, Snape. Voldemort had Nagini kill Snape and retreated to the forest to call a ceasefire and collect our dead, Harry had one hour to hand himself over. Snape, in his dying moments, provided memories for Harry. Those memories shared Snape's past, his friendship with Lily Evans, and his promise to spy in revenge for Lily's death. He treated Harry poorly because he looked like James Potter, but he was always there to protect Lily's son. The memories also shared that you were already dying from a curse from the Horcrux, and Snape killed you on your orders to save Draco's soul. Snape also sent the Patronus that led us to the sword.

"The final memory Snape shared was that the night Voldemort attacked his home and killed James and Lily, he created another Horcrux. When the killing curse backfired, the curse reflected, destroying Voldemort's body and leaving a soul fragment to latch onto the closest host, Harry Potter. Harry became the seventh Horcrux and Voldemort could not die with that soul piece still alive. I knew where Harry went the moment I came out of the pensieve, he had gone to face Voldemort. I ran as fast as I could, but I was too late, when I arrived at the Entrance Hall, Voldemort was standing before us surrounded by his Death Eaters with Hagrid holding the body of Harry. I broke down, not Harry, not my Harry, he couldn't be dead, Nagini was still alive, Voldemort was still alive, and Harry should have been the one still alive.

"He tried to recruit us, tried to offer us our lives if we joined. Draco looked at me and I saw the resolve break in his eyes. While he believed in what we stood for, if he was to die, he wanted to do it by his mother's side. He walked to the other side, not choosing a side but choosing his family. Neville Longbottom reminded us why we were fighting, losing Harry was not the end. As punishment for refusing to join, Voldemort retrieved the Sorting Hat, placed it on top of Neville's head, and set it on fire. Neville's screams were horrifying but they pulled us out of our shocked trances and the battle began again. Neville managed to remove the hat, removed the sword of Gryffindor, and beheaded Nagini. Before I could even blink, an Acromantula leaped on top of him and killed him. The fighting continued; the frantic cries were heard but the words were lost in the noise. We were pushed back, retreating into the Great Hall, it was there that I saw Ron killed by Dolohov, Molly Weasley by Yaxley, and Arthur Weasley managed to get Dolohov before McNair killed him. I was hit with a tripping jinx and fell onto a pile of bloody bodies, the Death Eaters just kept coming.

"I was about to stand up and rejoin the fighting when silence descended on the Hall. The fighting stopped and everyone was looking toward the middle of the room. Somehow, in the center of the room stood Harry, he was facing Voldemort, his wand raised ready to fight. I could see the pain on his face, the devastation at everyone he knew was dead around them, he was blaming himself for not ending Voldemort sooner. Harry explained that when he died, he had sacrificed himself for everyone, that Voldemort had only killed the Horcrux within him. He also explained that when Snape killed you, he did not become the master of the Elder wand, because the master had already changed allegiances when Draco disarmed you. He continued to describe the events that led to Harry becoming the owner of the wand when they escaped Malfoy Manor. Voldemort and Harry faced off and Harry came out victorious, killing Voldemort.

"We thought the end of Voldemort meant the end of the war; we were incredibly wrong. The death of their master enraged every surviving Death Eater, they blaster their way through every standing defender of the Light. The speed and rage of every Death Eater made it impossible to stand before every member was dead. Bellatrix hit Ginny and Harry screamed in agony as he watched his love murdered in front of him. I watched as Harry was hit with multiple curses simultaneously and blood spewed out of his mouth as he fell. The last of the Weasleys were hit with some of the darkest curses I have ever seen. Within minutes, every person that had been fighting by my side was dead. The Death Eaters left to hunt down survivors and when I stood to look around me, not a single piece of the floor could be seen. Bodies, blood, body parts, dead creatures, and pieces of the castle covered the Great Hall.

"I heard Bellatrix and Greyback as they left, they were hunting for me specifically. I don't know if they knew I was still alive, but they were going through the castle searching for me. I was about to run, to find a way to escape Britain when I remembered the letter Remus Lupin gave me before the battle began. I read your letter, followed the instructions, and only managed to escape them as I came through the portal," Hermione finished. She slumped back on her chair, finally feeling the exhaustion creeping up on her.

Silence engulfed the room as Dumbledore processed the information from her future. She waited for him to start asking questions, she didn't know what the older wizard considered the most pressing matter.

"Miss Granger, is that correct?" she nodded, "Well that is an incredible tale, undoubtedly you are a very strong and intelligent witch for you to have survived, an accomplishment my future self believed in wholeheartedly. I would not pick just anyone to use the time portal I created and not just any witch or wizard could make use of it," Dumbledore spoke softly, the twinkle in his eyes returning, "The betrayal regarding the Fidelus charm, that was known, but you shared that there was a deeper betrayal?"

"Remus Lupin told me while he gave me the letter that nothing happened as it should, that they would have been happier with more love if Peter hadn't succeeded. I'm not sure what that betrayal is, however," Hermione replied thoughtfully, shouldn't Dumbledore have said something in his letter?

"I might have the answer for that," spoke Dumbledore, Hermione looked up at him in surprise,

'How could he possibly know what the betrayal would be when he didn't even know Peter had turned?' Hermione thought to herself.

"In your future, James Potter and Lily Evans are married with a son?"

"Um, yes?" Hermione responded, "Remus did tell me not to listen to the romanticized stories of the past, but the stories were always that James loved her from the moment he set eyes on her. He was arrogant and loud and constantly sought out her affection, which she repeatedly rejected until their seventh year. They were assigned Head Boy and Girl, James matured, and Lily decided to give him a chance and they were together from that moment on. They were referred to as the greatest couple of Hogwarts."

"Well, I can confirm that Mr. Potter shares his affections in a rather extravagant manner and Miss Evans has discouraged these exclamations quite vehemently. However, Mr. Potter has never shown a romantic interest in Miss Evans," explained Dumbledore.

Hermione felt her mouth go dry, her fingers and toes go numb, and the sound of rushing water fills her ears.

"What-" Hermione tried to say, but no words were forming. She couldn't even think of what to ask let alone how to form a coherent question. How were they going into their seventh year, yet James Potter had shown no interest in Lily Evans? Everyone always told Harry that James had been besotted with Lily since their first year, that they were the best couple anyone knew.

"Mr. Potter declared Miss Evans under his protection in their first year by announcing his fealty. He was informing the entire school that he was protecting the Muggleborn from foul play lest they duel him," Dumbledore explained further when he noted the confusion on Hermione's face. His description sounded like what they had been told in the future, though it was missing the romantic element, maybe that was what happened during their seventh year, "They have been best friends since that moment, a brother-sister bond.

Hermione stared blankly at the professor, a sibling bond. Hermione was afraid of what this meant, a sibling bond didn't exactly promote confidence in them getting married and having a baby. Also, how did James and Lily's current relationship explain Peter's betrayal, Dumbledore seemed to believe they were connected.

"You spoke of them being the greatest couple of Hogwarts?" Hermione slowly nodded.

"Yes, I am trying to understand how you believe their relationship status has anything to do with Peter though. Also, a little worried about how a sibling bond results in Harry Potter."

"The betrayal may have something to do with another relationship entirely. A lot would be affected if Miss Evans were to begin dating Mister Potter," answered Dumbledore, looking at her over his half-moon glasses.

"Why is that sir?" Hermione asked hesitantly, afraid of the answer.

"Because, Miss Granger, for the last five years Miss Evans has been dating Mister Remus Lupin."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that. Anyone who read the original posted chapter will notice I cut a lot of the details out from the book. I was a bit overly detailed before.

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