A/N: TW - Implied rape and mentions of rape. If concerned best to skip the memory from 1979 and the immediate section following that memory.
Eureka
Narcissa and Hermione were cozied up on the plush sofa, Hermione's head resting on Narcissa's lap as they watched A Few Good Men on the television. Though Narcissa wasn't particularly interested in the plot, she relished in the warmth and closeness of Hermione's presence. Meanwhile, Hermione seemed fully engrossed in the film, her eyes fixed on the screen, devouring every detail.
As the famous "You can't handle the truth" scene unfolded, Hermione's eyes widened, and she leaned forward, transfixed. Narcissa couldn't help but chuckle at her girlfriend's intensity.
When the scene came to a close, Hermione paused the movie and bounced up from the sofa, blurting out, "Veritaserum!"
Narcissa arched an eyebrow. "I hardly think the American muggle military would have access to such a potent potion for their court martials," she quipped.
Rolling her eyes, Hermione quickly composed herself before her face lit up with excitement. "I think we can incorporate it into the liquid of the pensieve in order to see the original timeline."
Narcissa was intrigued. "How would that work?"
Hermione launched into a detailed explanation of her theory, her hands gesturing animatedly as she spoke. "Veritaserum forces the truth. If it is incorporated into the pensieve before memories are introduced, it should make the memories show the truth. In theory, at least."
Narcissa nodded thoughtfully. "We would be able to see how things played out differently in the original timeline and provide us with an immeasurably valuable tool to investigate the time-traveler."
Hermione beamed, elated that Narcissa was on board with her idea. "Exactly! And with your expertise in potions, we could imbue the pensieve's base liquid with the veritaserum."
Narcissa smiled, pleased that Hermione recognized her skill in the field. "I'll work on it tomorrow," she promised. "It shouldn't take me long to figure it out."
Excitement brimmed in Hermione's eyes as she offered another suggestion. "I think I have a way to adjust the Wayback Machine to combine some of the new algorithms. That way, we can pinpoint a specific moment in someone's timeline and use it as an artificial memory and upload it into the pensieve. We wouldn't be limited to viewing the original timeline from conscious memories alone. Would you mind terribly if we stopped here for the night so I can get started?"
Narcissa hid her relief at stopping the movie, and reassured the younger woman that changing focus back to the investigation was a good idea. "Of course. I think it would make sense to test everything before we meet with the larger group on Saturday. Would tomorrow evening be enough time for you to make your adjustments?"
Hermione smiled widely. "That's a great idea and yes, that should give me more than enough time."
Narcissa leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow."
###
Narcissa greeted Hermione with a warm smile as she entered the lab, feeling a rush of excitement at the sight of the young witch.
"Hello, my dear," Narcissa said as she took Hermione's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I've been looking forward to seeing you all day."
Hermione returned the smile, her eyes sparkling with affection. "Me too. I have some good news to share with you."
Narcissa raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? What is it?"
"I did it," Hermione says triumphantly. "I successfully integrated the algorithms."
Narcissa's eyes widened with excitement. "That's wonderful news! I also had a very successful day." Narcissa reached in her bag and pulled out a vial. "I present to you pensieve liquid infused with veritaserum"
They both shared a moment of pride before Narcissa suggested they move on to the next step. "I was thinking about the test run. I suggest we start with the two earliest points in the timeline."
Hermione nodded, pulling up the variation timeline for Narcissa. After examining it for a moment she asked. "You were thinking the meeting with Bella that didn't happen and what I am guessing is Draco's conception?"
Narcissa replied with a simple "Yes."
"Alright, give me a second to set the system up." Hermione turned to the console and entered 12:55 a.m. on the date of Narcissa's wedding. A thin tube extended out of the Wayback Machine delivering a silvery substance that Narcissa assumed WAs the artificial memory into the pensieve.
With no hesitation, Narcissa placed her hand in the pensieve and headed to the past.
###
May 20th 1973
Narcissa felt a sense of disorientation as she suddenly found herself back in her younger body again. She could feel the younger version of herself pacing back and forth in the Black Family Library, her eyes fixed on her watch. Narcissa could hear the panicked thoughts racing through her mind, and she felt a twinge of sympathy for her younger self.
She listened as thoughts oscillated between worry of having to go through with the wedding to Lucius Malfoy, a man she loathes and rage at her parents for putting her in this position. Narcissa can feel the anxiety building inside her as her past self checks the time and realizes that 1:00 am has come and gone. She remembered this moment well, as it was the first time she ever had a panic attack. Just as the panic attack threatens to overtake her, there is a sound behind her.
"Well now this is different" Narcissa thought to herself as her past self turned to see Bellatrix step out from behind a bookcase, her face bruised and battered, revealing a secret passageway that neither versions of Narcissa knew about.
"What is it with libraries and secret passageways…" Narcissa internally mused.
"Since when was there a passage there?" Past Narcissa exclaimed.
"Come on," Bellatrix urged, grabbing the bag of Narcissa possessions that had been packed earlier. "There's no time."
Narcissa took a moment to observe her sister's appearance. Bellatrix had a black eye and her clothes were tattered. The past Narcissa was so worried about her own predicament that she hadn't even noticed her sister's injuries. Narcissa decided to use Legilimency to understand what had happened to her sister.
As she dug through Bellatrix's mind, Narcissa could feel her sister's frustration and anger.
"Typical Crouch ," Bellatrix muttered in her head, "always thinking he's so clever. Yet he comes up with this idiotic idea of a last-minute sting operation at Hog's Head! Assigning it to me without backup! The man is a bloody fool! I should have never agreed to this," Bellatrix cursed internally.
Narcissa can feel Bellatrix's anger boiling inside of her as she continues to rant and blame her boss not only for the beating she received at the hands of a few suspected Death Eaters, but also causing her to be late meeting Narcissa.
"Hog's Head . I wonder if that is where the Time-traveler interfered ." Narcissa thought as she focused back on her surroundings. Bellatrix and her past self heading down the passageway, leading outside. Bellatrix took her hand, and they apparated away to a small cottage where Minerva was waiting.
Narcissa watched as Minerva rushed toward Bella, concern etched on her face as she took in her younger love's appearance. Before Narcissa can observe anymore, she was pulled out of the past and back to the present.
###
As Narcissa reappeared from the depths of time, Hermione observed the apprehension etched onto her face. "You alright?" Hermione inquired, a hint of concern creeping into her voice.
Narcissa's head shook. "I'm unscathed, but we need to discuss what I heard in Bellatrix's mind."
Hermione's intuition informed her that Narcissa had stumbled upon some valuable information. "What did you discover?" she probed.
Narcissa took a deep breath before answering. "Bellatrix was late because of an Auror mission at Hog's Head. She was beaten by some Death Eaters and it was clear she was in a bad way."
Hermione's mind raced as she tried to connect the dots. "That's likely when the time-traveler struck, when she was vulnerable."
Narcissa nodded, having come to the same conclusion. "Sounds like a credible theory, but alas, there's no soul left among the living who we know was present at Hog's Head that we could extract a memory from, so we can't travel back to intervene."
Hermione's shoulders sagged as she acknowledged the impasse. "We'll have to postpone that idea for now." Narcissa's troubled expression didn't go unnoticed by Hermione, and she asked, "Is there something else bothering you?"
Narcissa hesitated for a moment before answering. "I'm worried about the next memory. If I didn't marry Lucius, then how does Draco exist?"
Hermione frowned, realizing the implications of what Narcissa was saying. "We'll have to see what the next memory reveals."
Narcissa nodded, still looking anxious. "Is it alright if we just view the memory on the screen? I don't think I want to travel back into my past self."
Hermione nodded. "Of course. Whatever you're comfortable with," she said, before turning to the console and starting to play the next memory.
###
September 5th 1979
Narcissa emerged from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, taking in the cool evening breeze as it brushed against her face. Her shift at the potions department had been a taxing one, and all she could think of was going home and getting some rest. As she made her way towards the apparition point a few blocks away, she turned down a quiet side street, only to be abruptly pulled into a nearby alley by a hand that reached out from the darkness.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she recognized the attacker — Lucius Malfoy. The man was known for his dangerous and dark reputation, and she had heard whispers that he was in league with the Dark Lord himself. Narcissa tried to steady her nerves and think of a way out of this situation.
"What do you want, Lucius?" she asked, her voice firm but with a hint of trepidation.
Lucius stepped closer, his breath warm against her skin. "What I've always wanted from you, Narcissa," he said, his voice low and menacing. "Your complete submission. Your undivided attention. Your body."
Narcissa's eyes widened in horror as she realized what he was implying. She tried to free herself from his grasp, but his grip only tightened around her. Her wand lay in her bag, utterly useless in this situation.
"Let me go, Lucius!" she pleaded, her voice trembling with fear and anger.
But Lucius was having none of it. His grip on her tightened even further, and he pulled her towards him, his lips crushing against hers. She fought back against him with all her might, but it was no use — she was trapped in his cruel embrace.
Malfoy pulled away from her, his eyes gleaming with a cold and ruthless malice. "You're mine now, Narcissa," he sneered.
###
Hermione stopped the screen before anymore could play. As she turned around Hermione saw Narcissa crumpled to the ground, her eyes wide with shock and tears streaming down her face. Hermione's heart broke for the woman, and she rushed to her side, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Narcissa," Hermione whispered, holding her close as she cried. "I'm here for you, always."
Narcissa sobbed uncontrollably, her whole body shaking with emotion as she recounted the painful memories of Lucius raping her during their marriage and how Narcissa had hoped in the original timeline she would be spared that fate. Hermione listened intently, her own eyes brimming with tears as she heard the horrific details.
"It's not your fault," Hermione said softly, rubbing circles on Narcissa's back. "You didn't deserve this. No one does."
Narcissa nodded, but the tears continued to flow. Hermione held her tightly, offering her comfort and support as she cried herself out.
Finally, exhaustion took over and Narcissa fell asleep in Hermione's arms. Hermione gently cast a featherlight charm on her and lifted her up, cradling her in her arms as she made her way out of the lab and into her bedroom.
She lay Narcissa down on the bed and crawled in beside her, pulling the covers up over them both. Hermione wrapped her arms around Narcissa, holding her close as she drifted off to sleep. Her heart ached for the pain and suffering the woman had endured, and she vowed to do everything in her power to help.
###
Harry stood outside the door of Fleur's apartment building, taking a deep breath before he knocked. After a few moments, the door opened, and Fleur stood there, looking surprised to see him.
"Harry! What are you doing here?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face as she stepped aside to let him in.
Harry entered her apartment, looking around appreciatively. "I like what you've done with the place," he said, trying to make small talk to ease his nerves.
Fleur's smile deepened, and Harry knew that she was pleased with the compliment. He was one of the few people who knew about Fleur's divorce from Bill, something they were keeping from Molly Weasley until the right time.
"What brings you here, Harry?" Fleur asked, her expression curious.
Harry took a deep breath before explaining the situation with the time traveler and collecting memories. Fleur's face turned dark as he spoke, her fingernails starting to grow more talon-like.
"Quelqu'un interfère avec la chronologie? C'est inacceptable! Il faut y mettre un terme immédiatement!" she exclaimed in rapid French, causing Harry to look at her in confusion.
"Uh, yeah," he replied, not understanding what she was saying.
Fleur took a deep breath and switched back to English. "When is the next meeting? I want to be part of this investigation."
Harry nodded, feeling a small surge of relief. He knew Fleur could be a valuable ally in this fight, and he was glad to have her on board. "We're meeting at 10am," he told her.
Fleur nodded, her anger subsiding slightly. "Wait here while I get changed," she said, disappearing into her bedroom.
###
Hermione stood in front of the group, her eyes scanning each of them, waiting for Harry's arrival. She could feel the anticipation building up inside her as they all waited for the investigation to continue.
Just as she was about to explain what she and Narcissa had accomplished the previous evening, Harry burst through the door, panting and out of breath. "I'm so sorry, I got held up," he apologized.
Hermione smiled warmly, "It's alright Harry, we haven't started yet."
Then, Hermione noticed that Harry wasn't alone. Fleur Delacour entered the room behind him, looking around in amazement at the laboratory surrounding them. While Hermione welcomed Fleur with open arms, she couldn't help but notice Ginny's disapproving grumbling in the corner of her eye.
Ignoring Ginny, Hermione turned to the group and began her explanation.
"Okay, everyone," she said, "so as you know, we've been collecting memories from trusted sources in order to understand the variations in the timeline. But we've made a huge breakthrough: we can now view the original timeline. We did a test run last night with Narcissa's memories, and it was a success."
The group stared at her in disbelief, struggling to comprehend what she meant. Ginny spoke up, asking the question that was on everyone's mind, "What do you mean, view the original timeline?"
Hermione took a deep breath before explaining their newest discovery. "We've created a new kind of pensieve liquid infused with Veritaserum, that allows us to see events exactly as they happened in the original timeline."
Hermione went on to explain that they had tested the new liquid the previous night with Narcissa's memories, discovering that Bella had saved Narcissa from marrying Lucius. But just as she was about to continue, Draco interjected with the question that Narcissa had been dreading. "If Lucius didn't marry mother, how would I exist?"
Narcissa hesitated for a moment before answering. "We'll talk about it later, in private."
Draco looked stricken, realizing what must have happened, and got up to hug his mother.
Giving the mother and son a moment, Hermione asked if someone was willing to volunteer to begin looking at variation points. She warned that it could be traumatizing.
Fleur spoke up, her eyes shining with determination. "I'll do it."
Hermione added Fleur's memories to the Wayback Machine and ran the variation analysis to create a timeline for her. Fleur examined the plot and looked thoughtful for a moment, then pointed to one of the earlier jumps in variation. "This one. It's the date of my first date with Bill. It should be innocuous enough."
Hermione nodded and input the date. "Okay, Fleur. Whenever you're ready, place your hand in the pensieve."
###
July 21st 1995
Fleur's mind swirled with conflicting emotions as she watched the scene unfold from inside her younger self. It was a strange sensation, one that she had never experienced before when using a pensieve. She could feel every aspect of her being, both human and veela, as well as the past version of herself's human and veela halves. It was overwhelming hearing that many voices.
"This is a strange sensation ," her veela half whispered to her.
Fleur was in agreement, "I know"
Her veela half shuddered, "I don't like it. It's like we're trapped in here, unable to fully express ourselves."
Fleur understood her veela half's frustration. "We have to focus on the task at hand ," Fleur said, her voice firm. "We have to find out what is different here."
As her younger self approached Bill, Fleur felt confused at what she was sensing from her younger self. This was supposed to be her first date with Bill. Why didn't this feel the same, where was the sense of romantic excitement?
"Bill, I'm so glad I get to finally meet Hestia," Past Fleur said.
"I'm excited for you to meet her too," Bill replied, his voice warm with affection.
"Huh?" Fleur was thoroughly confused.
"I am also confused, this is very different ." Her veela half replied.
Soon a tall, brunette joined them, giving Bill a quick peck on the lips as she sat down. Conversation soon flowed between the three of them. Fleur felt her younger self's heart fill with warmth at the sight of her best friend and his girlfriend, happy and in love.
As they talked with Hestia, Fleur couldn't help but feel impressed by her. Hestia was not only beautiful and kind, but also intelligent and strong.
"So, Hestia, I hear you're an auror?" her younger self asked, curiosity lacing her words.
"Yes, that's right," Hestia replied, her voice calm and confident. "I've been working as an auror for a few years now."
"That's amazing," Fleur said, her human half genuinely impressed. "It must be a challenging and rewarding job."
"It definitely has its challenges," Hestia said, a small smile playing on her lips. "But I believe it's important work, and I'm honored to do it."
Fleur could feel how her younger veela half swelled with pride. Hestia was a woman to be admired, Fleur could sense how strong the connection between Hestia and Bill was.
Her veela half recognized that as well "Hestia was meant to be with Bill."
As Fleur continued to observe from her younger self's perspective, she felt a surge of anger.
"How could someone do this?" she thought "How could this time traveler connard do this. Bill and Hestia obviously were meant to be together, and I was meant to find my true mate. Who would do something like this?"
###
Fleur blinked her eyes a few times, adjusting to the light in the lab after her journey back to the present. She looked around at the others, who were all staring at her with expressions of shock and confusion.
"Well," she said, breaking the silence. "That explains a lot."
"Explains what?" Ginny asked, looking baffled.
Fleur sighed. "Why Bill and I didn't work out as a couple. We divorced earlier this month. We realised we really were just best friends."
Hermione's concerned gaze fixed on Fleur's face. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle.
Fleur shrugged. "It was strange, yes, but I'm fine. I'm glad I saw it, actually. Now I know for sure that we're better off as friends."
She glanced at her timeline again, frowning. "But there's another big jump here. On the day of our 'wedding'. Can we load that memory, Hermione?"
Without hesitation, Hermione nodded, and Fleur felt herself being drawn inexorably back into the past once again.
###
August 1st 1997
Fleur's attention was fixed on Charlie, her companion in this groom's personal business, whom her younger self chatted away with, oblivious to the bridesmaids' arrival. But as the music changed, Fleur sensed a shift in her past self's focus. Her eyes darted towards the aisle, and she beheld the breathtaking sight of Hestia walking down, resplendent in her wedding gown.
Across from her, Fleur's younger self caught sight of Hestia's cousin Gwenog Jones and, beyond her, Ginny Weasley. Fleur's heart skipped a beat as her younger self's thoughts zeroed in on Ginny, realizing with a pang that they hadn't seen each other in months. She had missed the wedding setup the night before and even Ginny's birthday earlier in the summer.
As Fleur's and Ginny's eyes locked, Fleur felt her veela instincts stir. In a sudden rush of recognition, both her veela and her past veela cried out in unison, "MATE!"
###
Ginny watched in surprise as Hermione pressed a button on the console, pulling Fleur back from her journey through time. She was about to ask what had happened when Luna suddenly spoke up.
"Everyone, back away from Ginny," Luna said, her voice low and urgent.
"What? Why?" Ginny asked, feeling a bit alarmed.
But before anyone could answer, Fleur reappeared in the lab, her eyes glowing a bright, vibrant blue that seemed to draw Ginny in like a magnet. Ginny felt her heart racing as Fleur surged forward and captured her lips in a searing kiss.
At first, Ginny was too surprised to respond. But as the kiss deepened, she found herself responding instinctively, her arms wrapping around Fleur's neck as she drew closer.
For a moment, Ginny forgot everything else and lost herself in the kiss. It felt so right, so natural, and she couldn't help but wonder why she'd ever had any problems with Fleur in the first place.
Eventually, the kiss ended, and Ginny found herself breathless and a little disoriented. She looked up at Fleur, who was smiling. She looked around at her friends, all of whom were staring at her with various degrees of surprise and amusement.
Luna was grinning broadly. "Well, that's soulmates number two," she said. "One more to go!"
###
Hermione decided not to respond to Luna's statement, her attention drawn instead to the sight of Ginny and Fleur now snuggled together on the couch, their bodies intertwined. With a subtle shake of her head, Hermione pushed that image aside and refocused on the task at hand.
"Well, that happened." she said, her voice calm and measured. "Moving on, I think that potentially it would be better if we simply go in order of date with these memories, are there any objections?"
"None from me," Neville chimed in, and the others nodded in agreement.
Hermione examined the timeline once again and saw that the next variation was her own birth. She couldn't help but cringe at the thought of reliving such a moment, and she quickly made her preference known.
"I think it would be better if we just watched the memory on the display," she said with a shudder. "I don't really want to go back in time and experience being born again."
Draco let out a low chuckle. "Don't want to be born again, Granger? I'm surprised."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up, Malfoy."
Despite her joking, Hermione felt her anxiety rising, a knot of fear tightening in her stomach. After seeing Narcissa's and Fleur's memories she knew that whatever she discovered could change many things she thought she knew about herself.
As the images flickered across the screen, she searched desperately for a familiar face, a glimmer of recognition and finding none. Hermione's stomach dropped as the realization set in. This wasn't her mother and father, the Grangers who had raised her and loved her for as long as she could remember. These were two people she had never met before, yet they held the key to her very existence.
Hermione watched in stunned silence as the woman gave birth to a baby girl — herself. The man, who she assumed was her biological father, held her close with a look of pure love and adoration in his eyes.
Hermione's mind raced with questions and doubts. Who were these people, and why had they given her up? Did they love her, or had she simply been a burden they couldn't bear to keep? Hermione's mind took a more sinister turn, had the time traveler stolen her from them?
Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, a voice shattered her spiraling thoughts. Neville's voice, trembling with shock and disbelief, rang out from behind her.
"But… But… I don't understand," he stammered. "Those are my parents."
