"Memories are something that warm you from within and violently tear at your heart at the same time."

Haruki Murakami

The next morning, Remus woke up at dawn, dressed quickly and headed to the room on demand, his face closed. He was very stressed at the thought of destroying a horcrux. He had never had the opportunity to do it himself or to witness this particular destruction. He walked past the seventh floor wall three times and into the room that was now Hermione's bedroom. Remus' stress was small compared to Hermione's. Hermione had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and she wasn't sure she could handle it alone.

You're not alone, you have Remus.

The voice in her head wasn't entirely wrong, but Hermione couldn't help but doubt. Remus would surely forgive her for failing, after being angry for a while, for not including him in her trials, but she, wasn't sure she would forgive herself if the horcrux wasn't destroyed within the day.

Hermione was already up when her friend walked through the doors of the Room on Requirement. She gave him a tight smile and nodded for them both to leave the room. They passed the wall three more times and the room where everything was hidden appeared. Hermione gave Remus some hints as to where the tiara was, but his memories were still rather vague and a search of the room was mandatory. After a good hour, Remus found himself opening a black box and saw the glittering diadem inside. He called out to Hermione and the witch immediately ran over.

"Can you feel the dark magic emanating from this object? It's really powerful" he began, looking both awestruck and terrified.

Hermione nodded, just as terrified as her friend. They left the castle and walked apprehensively towards the heart of the forbidden forest. She placed the Slytherin tiara on the ground and took a deep breath. She looked at Remus, with a mixture of fear, stress and determination. Without saying a word, her friend placed a hand of encouragement on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

Hermione took out her wand and whispered the spell fiendfyre, low and behold, the flames shot out of the wand. Flames shot out of the tiara and two figures appeared.

"You abandoned us. It's your fault I'm dead. You're just a dirty little mudblood. How could I have been friends with you?" began the Ron-Riddle.

"You were the brains of the group, you had to save us. Without you, I'd be alive. And to think that my parents' fate rests on you! You're the weakest link in our trio, we accepted you out of pity. You have never been anything but a book to us. I am not your brother, your best friend. You are nothing to me," continued Harry-Riddle.

Hermione was paralysed and the flames were fading. She had many tears running down her cheeks and mingled with her whole being.

"Don't listen to them Mione. It's not them, it's the horcrux. You are stronger than it! Destroy it."

Hermione could hear Remus' voice in the distance, she focused on Harry and Ron and one detail struck her. Her friends' eyes were blood red. What would Harry be without his emerald eyes and Ron without his ocean blue eyes? She realised that this was just a dark illusion and put all her power into destroying the horcrux. As the two figures disappeared, Hermione stepped back and slumped into her friend's arms. She had gone to a world that only she knew existed, but this time Remus did not wake her with an aguamenti, but put her to sleep with a spell. She needed it. The wizard hadn't really known what to expect when he destroyed the diadem, but certainly not this. The dark magic that had emanated was simply terrifying, spectacular. Hermione's cheeks were still wet and furrows of tears had formed, it was at this point that Remus made his decision, he took a long look at Hermione's distress, knowing that she couldn't destroy all the horcruxes alone. It was impossible, the state she had put herself in meant one thing, no matter how much magic or mental power you had, you could not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Hermione was going to teach him the fiendfyre spell, he had decided. He would no longer let her carry the weight of the destruction of Voldemort's soul alone. He picked up the diadem that had been thrown a few feet away. He picked up Hermione in his arms and carried her to the castle.

"We did it, Mione. We've destroyed the first horcrux."

The marauders headed for an empty classroom, not knowing what really awaited them. Lily had sent them an owl while they were planning their next prank and had been very mysterious. So they hurried to arrive, their curiosity at its peak. They arrived in the room, where Lily, Mary, Alice and Dorcas were in discussion.

"Lily, what are we doing here?"

"I told the girls a while ago about the research we were doing on magical power and Mary had an idea."

The blonde witch spoke up and explained to the marauders what she had found, her friends already knew.

"I don't know if you know this, but my mother is a researcher. She's always worked on magic in the broadest sense, why some people have magic in them and others don't, but she also studies all the forms of magic that exist. Goblin magic, elven magic, old magic, blood magic... So I told her about the new one and she did a lot of research on her eyes, I had to show her my memories, so that she could understand that her eyes were indeed white.

Mary said that her mother had found this story very hard to believe. She had explained to her that the magical quality of a person was determined by the colour of their eyes after they were put under a spell.

"Here, I'll read you a passage. Of all the magical qualities, there is none more powerful than white, snow-like eyes. This form of power is the purest, most dangerous, but also the most beautiful there is."

"What does that mean? That Grace is the girl who will save the world and kill all her opponents in two seconds?"

"It's more complicated than that, Sirius. My mother explained to me that Helena was the most powerful person of our time. She is not sure if such power has ever been recorded. Powerful people do not always mix with the magical community. Their power is dangerous not only to others, but to themselves. All their emotions, their qualities, their defects are multiplied."

"I don't really understand."

"For example, you've wanted revenge before, haven't you? You may or may not have done it. It doesn't matter. Helena, because of her power, cannot restrain her desire for revenge. She has to be constantly in control of herself, and that's why she 'exploded' in November. There was so much pent-up magic, so many feelings that were not taken into consideration that she couldn't hold back. This power is more of a burden than an opportunity."

The marauders stood pensive, thinking about what Mary had just told them. How could a girl of their age be so powerful? It didn't make sense!

"There was also something else. To be so powerful, Helena has made enormous sacrifices, probably without realising it. She is exceptional, but such power also brings with it great suffering, explosions of magic, attacks of memory."

"That's what happened in the astronomy tower!"

"Yes, and I think it wasn't her first and she's almost certainly had them again. It's often due to a big emotional upheaval. I don't know what happened in her life, but it can't have been easy. I don't know what her biggest fear is, but she must be really terrified of it. That's one of her big faults. She can stand in front of her fear, and be completely helpless but be able to beat something much more powerful, much more terrifying to the majority of the population afterwards."

"Lucas should be asked to review the boggart. We'd know his greatest fear."

"I'm not sure, Peter, it could be dangerous. She could have new memory attacks, and be completely lost. But on the other hand, it could be very interesting. We have to think about it" Mary hesitated.

"Mary also forgot to tell you that you're very lucky that you only got away with a note on your head after you kidnapped her."

"We kept him for a week!"

"That's a small price to pay for what you did to him, Sirius. We don't know her, we don't know how she would have reacted. She's probably the one who put Black in that state. She's much stronger than any of us. She beat Snape in a duel."

"Don't talk about Servilus, Dorcas!"

"Your mother should be able to meet her, she could fully assess her."

"She is not a wild beast! However rare his power, she cannot be studied like an animal in a laboratory! Do you hear what you're saying Remus?"

The marauders looked at each other, wary. They feared what was going to happen. Every time the subject of 'Moony' was brought up, even unwittingly by people who had no idea of his condition.

"What do you mean Lily?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"We're not idiots, you're not the only ones who have a group of friends with unbreakable bonds. Do you think we only work when we go to the library or when the four of us are in the common room? Remus, you're a werewolf, it's not hard to guess, you get sick on a full moon, you have a 'little furry problem' when you've never had a troublesome rabbit. Helena Grace may have a lot of secrets that, let's be honest, we'll never find out. She's too suspicious, she'll never confide in us, no matter how close we are to her, which is not likely to happen when you see how you behave with her. Stop being angry at her for nothing. She's not a Death Eater, she's proven that. So for Mary's mum to 'assess' her, no it's not conceivable. You of all people should know that, Remus. Do you think you'd like to be locked in a room just because you change your appearance once a month? You disgust me!" finished Alice, breathless from her tirade.

She left without a backward glance, followed closely by Dorcas and Mary, then by Lily who glared at her boyfriend and the rest of the marauders.

"Who knew Alice could get so worked up?"

"Shut up Sirius," said the other three.

Hermione was eating breakfast in the Great Hall when she saw Mary and Dorcas walking towards Remus with smiles on their faces. They seemed to be asking him something and nodded. They hopped down from the stage and whispered to Lily and Alice. The time traveller stood up and immediately left the Great Hall and gave Remus a look that meant 'we need to talk'. She hurried to her chambers and waited impatiently on the sofa for him to deign to arrive. She looked at the few pictures that were there and saw with great surprise that Remus had left some of his clothes lying around. But although Remus was a neat freak, that wasn't the strangest thing. His shirt, which was usually sky blue, had a huge hole in it with black trim. She took the shirt and inspected it thoroughly. She easily recognized the spell that had caused the damage. Remus entered a few seconds later and saw Hermione standing there with one of her shirts in her hands, angry.

'Can you explain this to me?'

"A spell went wrong, but that's nothing, I have more."

"I hadn't guessed" she ironically said. "What I want to know is why, by Morgana, you used the fiendyre!"

"You're in no position to lecture me, you've been using it for a long time without telling me. But very well, if you want I'll explain. You did not see yourself during the destruction of the diadem. You were in such distress, seeing Harry and Ron like that, inhabited by darkness, it really destroyed you. I didn't put you to sleep by accident. You looked so lost, so far away, that I thought I couldn't bring you back. I don't think a splash of water would have been enough. Hermione, it's one thing to see Harry and Ron in your dreams and hallucinations, but this time you were fully conscious and in your 'normal' state. You saw them with your own eyes and it stirred up old demons. You can't deny that hearing your two best friends say such things didn't affect you. And I think it even did, much more than you think. You don't remember what state you were in, but I do. And I also know that you can't face the destruction of the horcruxes alone."

"Of course not, but you're here to help me!"

"And that's what I'm doing. We both know your power, we've talked about it, but if you don't listen to your body, you won't make it. You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders alone. That's why there are two of us and three time jewels. If one of us is injured, he can rely on the other, but we mustn't forget that there are three jewels, so if there's a problem, there's always Minerva. That's why we're going to go to her and tell her that we've destroyed the first horcrux. Tonight. As for the fiendfyre, I'm learning it so I can destroy the horcruxes too and help you do it. We're a team, so we'll take turns destroying the bloody horcruxes, or together, as we choose. That's non-negotiable. Why did you ask me here anyway?"

"I saw you with Mary and Dorcas, they looked far too proud of themselves not to be planning something, I wanted to know what they had asked you."

"They want me to do a course on boggarts. They claim to be lacking in the subject and prefer to be ready for the ASPICS. "

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them yes, I couldn't refuse them, that would have been too suspicious. It will be the subject of the next class, I wanted to start the patronus but it doesn't matter."

"What! I'm not going to come to your classes anymore Rem'. I can't face a boggart, I couldn't fight it. As for the patronus, I can't even summon one."

"Isn't yours an otter?"

"It was. I haven't been able to do a body patronus since Harry died and I haven't been able to do one at all since Ron died. I can't show weakness in front of others, so sorry, but I'll have to skip your classes Professor Lupin. Or Lucas, as you like."

"Whatever, you'll come here to train. We need to sort this out, you might need to tell someone and get stuck if you don't."

"It's happened before."

At Remus's questioning face, Hermione explained how she had found herself locked in the Slughorn storeroom with no one to rescue her. She had to wait a good two hours for Severus to come and get her.

The seventh years had had, as Mary and Dorcas had requested, a lesson on boggarts and everyone had had to get rid of their greatest fear. They had succeeded, with varying degrees of success, but the Gryffindors had come away disappointed, and that was due to the absence of the time traveller. How could she have skipped this class, one of the only ones she had missed in Defence Against the Dark Arts and where it was important that she came, so that the group of friends could finally know Helena Grace's weakness. Not to use it against her, which was not their intention at all, but to protect her from it, which might seem strange by virtue of the animosity between her and the marauders since they had made her drink veritaserum. However, the main reason for this course was simply curiosity, so what could be the greatest fear of the new girl, who on the face of it, was afraid of nothing and had a heart like a body, as hard as rock.

They had gone to the great hall, to lunch, with a defeated face. They saw with amazement that Hermione was already eating at their table. They all looked at each other and implicitly decided to sit next to her.

"Grace."

"Black."

"Why weren't you on the defensive earlier?"

"Sirius!" Lily chastised.

"I didn't know my schedule meant so much to you, dear. It's not the first class I've missed, nor the last. Why does this one in particular appeal to you?"

She looked Sirius in the eye, a look of determination on her face that made most heads drop. They all knew the answer, but had no idea that Hermione did too.

"Maybe you found out what my white eyes meant when I crashed in November?"

"How do you know?" Lily asked in a shaky voice.

"You're far too transparent, my darlings" she said mockingly as she stood up.

"How can you do this? This is mind rape!" Dorcas snapped.

Hermione, who was about to leave the Great Hall, turned abruptly and approached the witch. Her whole body was shaking and tears were welling up in her eyes. She raised her hand and was about to slap Dorcas when a voice in her head stopped her. You can't do this Hermione Granger. You can't just hit people like that, because they don't share your opinion. The female voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember whose voice it was. She shook it off and pulled herself together.

"How dare you? Your mind is not protected. I can pick up your thoughts as easily as I can hear you speak! You think of me, it's as if you were speaking to me! You conspire against me and you dare to call it rape! I have never entered your mind voluntarily. You dare to compare it to rape, you disgust me. I didn't do anything to you, you have no idea what the aftermath of a rape is like, so stop spouting such nonsense, stop researching me and GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

She felt the tears ready to fall and immediately took back her cool mask, which was far too cracked for her taste. She walked out of the Great Hall as calmly as possible, feeling the stares of the Gryffindors in her year on her back. She didn't go into the Room on Requirement but headed for the Hogwarts park, near the Forbidden Forest. She sat down by a tree trunk and cried for a long time.

"Helena."

The young woman turned and saw Snape standing beside her. There was something different about his face. His mask had fallen off too. He looked worried. Severus Snape was worried about her! He sat down beside her and hesitated before speaking.

"I heard you in the Great Hall, you were..., weren't you?"

Hermione hiccuped and sobbed harder. Severus didn't know how to comfort anyone. For as long as he could remember, he had never had to. But Helena had become an important person to him over the months. She was the closest thing he'd had to a friend since his fight with Lily two years earlier. So, although it cost him a lot, he moved closer to Hermione and hugged her. He cradled her, but wasn't sure if this was helpful or not, Hermione cried, then hiccuped. She didn't seem to mind doing it in the arms of her former Potions teacher, she was just crying.

"You're allowed to cry, Helena. Just because you're strong and don't show your feelings in public doesn't mean you should hold back in private. It's normal. "

He was about to continue, but gave up. He had never been very good with others, nor with words. He continued to rock Hermione, stroking her hair. Hermione was crying her eyes out. She was crying for all that she had seen, the horrors of the war that she had been through, she was releasing the pressure that she had had on her shoulders for many years. But all that was only a parenthesis. She would have to get up, dry her tears, talk to Severus, put on her mask of indifference, become a stone façade again. Thinking night and day about the mission, because she could not fail. Harry and Ron were counting on her. All the other dead people too. She would also have to talk to Remus about her slip, but for now, she didn't care about any of that. She was crying.

Here are two chapters since I forgot to post on Friday, I hope you enjoyed them.