Draco Comes Through
Narcissa and Hermione were tangled up in each other's embrace, the gentle rise and fall of their breathing filling the quiet library. But the peace was shattered as the sound of footsteps approached, jolting them awake.
Hermione's eyes fluttered open, and she let out a sleepy groan as she realized they had fallen asleep while reading last night. She glanced up to see Draco loitering awkwardly in the doorway, doing his utmost to avoid meeting their gaze.
"Good morning," Narcissa said with a yawn. "Did you have a productive evening?"
Draco's eyes flickered uncomfortably between the two women. "I'm sorry to intrude." he murmured tentatively.
Narcissa chuckled, as she sat up, pulling Hermione with her. "Falling asleep on couches seems to be a bit of a habit with us lately," she said teasingly, much to the chagrin of Hermione and the discomfort of Draco.
Clearing her throat, Hermione shifted the conversation. "What brings you here, Draco? Do you have news?"
Draco nodded, his expression turning serious. "I do. We should move to the lab to discuss things. I'd like to have that extra level of security for this conversation."
Narcissa and Hermione quickly got up, following Draco to the lab. The three of them settled down, Hermione and Narcissa sitting close together as they waited for Draco to speak. Finally, Hermione broke the silence.
"So, what did you find out?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her
Draco took a deep breath, steadying himself before he began. "I had a conversation with my superior, Saul Croaker, the Head Unspeakable. I inquired about compulsion magic and the possibility of the Department of Mysteries housing any artifacts capable of manipulating people's wills."
"And?" Narcissa's eyes narrowed, waiting for Draco's response.
"Saul informed me of a malevolent artifact that's been stored away in one of the high-security storage vaults. It is called the Dominion Ring."
Narcissa's eyebrows raised in recognition. "The Dominion Ring?" she repeated. "I've heard whispers of it before. It's reputed to possess the ability to allow it's wearer to subjugate a person's mind, isn't it?"
Draco nodded gravely. "Yes, that's the one. According to internal files, the Department of Mysteries has safeguarded it since the ring's discovery by one of the earliest Unspeakables within some ruins in Cornwall around 1708."
Hermione's mind whirred with possibility. "Do you think our unknown time traveler could have employed the Dominion Ring to control Bellatrix?"
"It's a possibility," Draco said. "So, Saul and I spent the evening casting diagnostics on the ring to see if it had been tampered with or if anyone had tried to steal it. Those results were negative. Therefore, we spent the night bolstering the ring's protective wards."
Hermione sprang up from her seat, her heart racing with excitement and fear. She needed to find her notebook, to see if her suspicions were correct. Over by the Way-Back Machine, she finally located it. Hermione's mind was racing with possibilities as she frantically searched through her notes. Narcissa and Draco exchanged worried glances as they watched her, unsure of what she was looking for or why she was so frantic.
"What are you doing, Hermione?" Narcissa finally asked, unable to take the suspense any longer.
Hermione didn't look up from her notes as she responded. "I'm checking my notebook against my memories. Nothing has changed."
Draco looked confused. "What do you mean, nothing has changed?"
Hermione paused her frenzied search and looked up at the two of them. "I mean, the memories in my head match the notes I took over the last few days. The timeline hasn't diverged again."
Narcissa and Draco still looked confused, unsure of what Hermione was getting at. "I don't understand," Draco said.
Hermione took a deep breath and tried to slow down her thoughts. "What I'm saying is that the time-traveler didn't steal the ring after it's discovery, and the fact that it is unlikely it was stolen before 1708" Hermione glanced at Draco for confirmation and he nodded in agreement.
But before Hermione could finish her explanation, Narcissa gasped, "The time-traveler is from the future! If the ring wasn't stolen before yesterday evening that means it was taken anytime from the current moment to decades into the future. Or possibly even further in time."
Hermione smiled, glad Narcissa had caught on. "Since my notes and my memories are in agreement, there was no change in the timeline based on your and Saul's actions, Draco. Therefore protections must not be enough to have prevented the time-traveler from getting the ring."
Draco's face grew serious as he considered the implications. "So what do we do?"
Hermione thought for a moment before responding. "We need to track down any information we can find about the Dominion Ring. What it's capable of, who might want it, anything that can give us a clue. We look at the people who had the most to gain from changing the past. Who benefited the most from Bellatrix's corruption? We see if other people are being controlled and who benefited from controlling them? While these are a lot of questions all of it will provide nuggets of information to help us narrow down the suspect and then prevent them from gaining control of the Dominion Ring."
Narcissa leaned forward, her eyes fixed on Draco. "Tell us everything you know about the Dominion Ring."
Draco leaned back in his chair, considering his words carefully. "The Dominion Ring is a powerful magical artifact capable of controlling the actions of others. Basically, the person wearing the ring can force others to do their bidding."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "What about the permanence of the compulsions? Once someone is under the control of the ring, is there any way to break its control?"
Draco leaned forward, his voice low. "Early research by unspeakables showed that once a person is under the control of the ring, the compulsion remains until it's either interrupted by a large shock to their system or removed by the wearer of the ring."
Narcissa paused in thought for a moment. "That's strong evidence in favor of the ring being used to control Bellatrix. Remembering the moment of her death, Molly's last attack was a shock to her mind and body and it seemed as though a spell was broken. Did the ministry discover anything about the magical signature of someone under the compulsion?"
Draco hesitated before answering. "I really shouldn't be sharing this part, given your lack of clearance Mother. But, yes, the file on the research mentioned there was a significant dark magical signature detected on those who were under the influence of the ring."
"Considering this information, I think we are probably all in agreement that the time-traveler used the Dominion Ring to corrupt Bellatrix's thereby altering the timeline" Hermione said before the three of them lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
Draco was the first to break the contemplative quiet, "So, did you two make any progress after I left last night?"
Narcissa hesitated before answering. "Well, Hermione and I talked about significant moments that occurred in the original timeline before Bellatrix changed again."
Draco's brow furrowed in confusion. "And?"
Hermione took over, sensing Narcissa's discomfort. "One of those moments involved Bellatrix planning to help Narcissa escape her arranged marriage to Lucius."
Draco looked pained at this revelation but nodded at Hermione to continue. He knew his parents were unhappy together, but he didn't want to think about what might have been if Narcissa had run away with Bellatrix.
"It's likely that the time-traveler interfered at some point after Bellatrix left Narcissa to set up the plan and one am that next morning," Hermione explained. "If we can go back and prevent Bellatrix from being put under compulsion again, we might be able to help the timeline revert back to the original."
Draco rubbed his forehead, struggling to process what Hermione was suggesting. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this. How do we know that the original timeline would be better? What if Bellatrix does succeed in stopping my parents' marriage? What does that mean for me? Do I even exist in the original timeline?"
Narcissa looked stricken at the thought of losing her son, but then her expression hardened. "I refuse to risk Draco's life in order to save my sister," she declared firmly.
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I didn't even think of that," she admitted. "We need to find a way to determine who has been affected by the time traveler and to what extent."
Draco looked relieved that Hermione agreed. "Do you have any ideas on how to do that?" he asked.
Hermione considered for a moment before responding. "I have some ideas, or at the very least some ideas of what and where to research. I do think, given both Narcissa and I overlooked that obvious potential flaw at reverting the timeline, that it's time we bring in others," she said. "We need more perspectives from people we trust, especially if we are to catch this rogue time-traveler and plan on potentially fixing the timeline ourselves."
Draco's face visibly relaxed at the suggestion. "Who do you have in mind?"
Hermione thought for a moment before responding. "I was thinking Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. I trust them and I doubt any of them would be involved with whomever this mysterious time-traveler is."
Narciss added, "Andromeda should be included as well. I've already informed her about our investigation. She was supportive and I know we can trust her."
"So we increase our circle to include Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Andromeda?" Hermione asked, looking at the other two for confirmation.
Narcissa and Draco both nod in agreement. "I'll contact Andromeda and ask her to join us. When were you thinking we should all meet?"
Hermione mentally checked what she knew of her friend's schedules before responding. "How about Saturday at 10 am? We can meet here and start going over everything we've discovered."
Draco, still looking shaken by everything he had heard, stood up from his chair. "Sounds good, I think I'm going to take my leave," he said. "Mother, I'd like to hear more about what happened in your youth from both timelines. If you are willing?"
Narcissa smiles fondly at Draco "Of course, my little Dragon."
Hermione stifled her laughter at the nickname. "Little Dragon…" she repeats, finally succumbing to her laughter.
"Don't you ever repeat that to anyone else, Granger" Draco threatened, somewhat seriously.
Narcissa sighed at the younger adults' antics and got up from her seat. She walked over to Hermione and gave her a quick kiss goodbye, promising to be in touch soon.
A few moments after Narcissa and Draco left, Hermione was deep in thought, contemplating the implications of everything that Draco had revealed to them. However, after a moment, she gathered herself and headed to her desk to write letters to her friends.
She pulled out a quill and parchment and began writing out the request for help on a secret research project. Hermione asked them to meet at her apartment on Saturday at 10 am.
Hermione then headed out of the lab and into her regular office where she had transfigured an impressive natural habitat, for her owl to reside when not out delivering post. She cast a glance towards her cherished owl, Bonnie, and felt her lips curl into a contented smile. It filled her heart with joy to know that her feathered companion had a cozy and inviting home, instead of being relegated to a cold and austere owlery. She never understood why wizards had their owls live in a mews like structure when magic could provide so much better for them. Then again she didn't understand many things wizards did with regards to other beings.
Hermione mentally interrupted herself before going down that rabbit hole and instead focused on the letters she wrote, double-checking the details, before rolling them up and tying them to Bonnie's leg. She praised Bonnie and sent her off to deliver the letters.
Turning her attention to the side table she had set up for mail delivery, Hermione noticed a stack of mail waiting for her. As she sifted through it, one letter caught her eye. The parchment was thick and expensive, with a dark, foreboding quality to it. The writing was in a deep, inky black that seemed to bleed off the page. She felt a knot form in her stomach as she read the words.
"Stop meddling in things you shouldn't," the letter read. "You will face the consequences if you continue. Leave it be, or else."
Hermione's hands trembled as she held the threatening letter, her thoughts racing with a mixture of fear and outrage. Who could be so brazen as to send such a warning? Was it the time-traveler or someone else entirely?
She tried to steady her breathing, knowing that she couldn't let the letter intimidate her. She was Hermione Granger, after all, and she wouldn't let anyone stop her from uncovering the truth. With renewed determination, Hermione tore up the threatening letter and threw it in the trash. She would not be deterred by fear. She had work to do, and she was not going to let anything stand in her way.
