"Our demons from the past resurface with certain badly healed wounds as soon as we reconnect with our oldest memories."

Unknown

Remus was having his coffee on the terrace of Florean Fortescue and working on the search for horcruxes. The full moon had been the day before, the dark circles on his face showed, but he had had a strange dream during the night and he wanted to check if it was true. After all, he had just changed back, he was probably hallucinating. A map was spread out on the small table and he was calculating data with his wand. The terrace was still deserted, good for him, his research was secret. There was no table in his room at the Cauldron and the room was full of travellers, so he had preferred to go outside, even though there was a greater chance of him being seen.

"By Merlin!"

A few passers-by looked at him in amazement and the wizard thought that perhaps he had spoken too loudly. He looked back at his research and did the calculations a second time. Everything matched. The place might be protected and one of the most secret places in England, but the source of the magic was far too powerful for it to be anything else. Remus had found a second horcrux, and although he still hadn't recovered the first, this was again a considerable step forward. The location was very strange though, how could Voldemort have placed a horcrux there?

He sent a patronus to Hermione on the spot. The witch arrived a few minutes later, scantily dressed and with her hair in a mess. She sat down at his table and ordered a coffee, her mind still not working.

"What's all this?" she asked sleepily.

"I've found another horcrux."

The young woman jerked her head up, fully awake. Had she heard correctly? What horcrux could it be?

"Was it?"

"From all my calculations and the spells I've done, yes, I'm sure."

"Now, where is it?"

"Here in London. At the Ministry."

"At, at the Ministry?" she stammered. "But how can that be? Well, he was never in the Ministry, you can't get in that way, Harry and Ron and I had to take polynectar. I don't see how he could have got in. Where did you say he was?"

"You didn't let me finish. In the Department of Mysteries. Then we'll get to the precise location. You probably didn't sense the dark magic around you, but you were on the other side of the building."

"I went to the Department of Mysteries" she hurried on. "I didn't feel anything."

"But I know the horcrux is there, I've checked several times."

"I know Rem'. That means the task will be even more complex. We're going to break into the Ministry, great!"

"I've got a specialist with me, I'm not worried" joked the wizard.

The only answer he got was a dark look from his friend.

The two friends prepared their escapade meticulously. They still hadn't heard anything from the Order or Moody, and that made them a little angry. It was thanks to them that the Ministry had been informed that an attack was going to take place, they were the ones who were present when the mangemorts started to attack. They saved several hundred lives that day. They knew that Dumbledore would still be reluctant, but they had hoped that Moody would have convinced him. No matter, today they would go to the Ministry and retrieve the horcrux. The two wizards had changed their appearance, thanks to human metamorphosis, and looked like two average Ministry wizards. For safety, they had disillusioned themselves and taken Harry's invisibility cloak with them. They transited through the entrance hall and made their way to level nine of the Ministry. No one noticed them and they passed through the doors of the department more easily than they had expected.

"When we go through a door, the walls will spin around to disorientate us. We don't want to get lost. Do you have the map, your wands?"

"Yes. But how did you find your way around in fifth year?"

"I had drawn a flaming cross on the doors with the Flambios spell so that we would know which doors we had come through."

The friends then went through the first door and as Hermione had said, the walls spun around. They tried to locate a place where dark magic was emanating from everywhere, but nothing helped, the horcrux was too protective. They went to the door to their left and as soon as it closed, they were separated.

Hermione found herself in a room she had visited before, a room full of brains. She winced in disgust and looked briefly for the horcrux, but soon saw that it was not hidden there. It was with relief that she passed through another door.

Remus had arrived in a dark room, and saw to his amazement that he was in the arcade, where Sirius had died. He could still hear the voices from beyond, though they were getting louder. He hurried out of here, this room was giving him too many chills.

He did this for about ten rooms, they entered, inspected the contents, searched for the horcrux and moved on to the next. They came face to face in an empty room. They took each other by the arm to avoid being separated again and explored other rooms. Then they came to a room that was more than familiar. The room was filled with all kinds of spheres.

"We're in the prophecy room aren't we?"

Hermione nodded and walked to the front row. She walked through it silently, looking focused.

"The horcrux. It's here, I can feel it. It's got me in the gut, I just know it."

"Do you feel anything else? The precise place where it might be?

The witch shook her head, looking contrite. It frustrated her to know that a horcrux was there, but to be unable to actually take it and destroy it. The Time Chosen scoured the aisles without finding anything. They were nearing the last few rows when Remus stopped abruptly.

"Can you feel it? The horcrux is over there. I know it is."

"How ironic. This is the very row where Voldy sent the vision of Sirius in fifth year."

"Maybe it's a clue."

"Or a trap. Shall we go?"

Hermione didn't wait for an answer and walked into the darkness. They couldn't see two meters away, but the closer they got, the more Hermione shared Remus' feeling. The horcrux was there. However, it probably wouldn't be as easy as the Ravenclaw Diadem, which had to be 'simply' retrieved from the Room on Requirement. They came across a wall, unmarked, the row was finished. They inspected the wall carefully and Remus noticed a slight crack in one place. He wondered aloud if he should put blood, like on the book of time, but he didn't have time to think about it any longer, Hermione made a horrible hissing sound. She tried again several times, without success.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm speaking Parseltongue. At least I'm practising. But it's difficult. Ron managed to open the Chamber of Secrets during the battle, but he'd heard Harry say it a few months before. It's been over five years since I've heard a Parseltongue so don't rush me. And Harry is a real Parseltongue. All I have is Ron imitating Harry. So it's gonna take longer."

"You never heard Harry speak Parseltongue?"

"In second year. But that was in dueling club with Lockhart. The Hufflepuffs thought he was trying to attack one of their own. Harry talks in his sleep, too, I've heard him in the tent. Now let me concentrate."

Remus obeyed and mentally prepared himself for the ordeal ahead of them. He didn't know what it was and it irritated him. Improvisation and haste were two things he couldn't stand, but unfortunately he'd had to deal with them all his life, especially since he'd become the chosen one of time. There was a slam and the door creaked and slid aside. After a good twenty minutes of trying, Hermione had (finally) managed to open the passage.

They slipped inside and arrived in a small round room with two new doors. Once again, this was going to be a separation. They were both reluctant, but knew they had no choice.

"What horcrux do you think we'll find?"

"Certainly not the Hufflepuff cup. He may be fascinated by the founders, but he wouldn't put on a show for her. It's probably the Slytherin locket we're going to see."

"Which door do you take?"

Hermione looked at them carefully and saw that there was an inscription on each one. She showed them to Remus and made up her mind.

"The one on the right, 'face your fears', sounds like a scarecrow or something, more dark magic. I can't face it. I'll take the one on the left."

"Are you sure? 'Face your memories' isn't much better. Probably won't be happy memories. I doubt you'll see Harry and Ron again, other than dead."

"I know what I'm doing, Rem. Besides, you've already had to face your memories with the Guardians, I'm not going to make you do it again."

Before her friend could protest, which of course he intended to do, Hermione stepped through the door, which closed immediately, leaving Remus alone in the stone antechamber. She was standing in the living room of her house, where she had lived since she was born. Her parents were not looking at her, they were happy together, smiling. Hermione raised her wand and said the spell that would change her parents' memories. She saw herself disappear from the family photos, but her parents did not change, at least not physically. Hermione Granger no longer existed.

The drawing room vanished and Hermione was now lying on the floor, tortured in Malfoy Manor by Bellatrix Lestrange. She was as weak as she was in pain, and the mudblood that freshly adorned her arm was bleeding profusely. She knew that any minute now Harry and Ron would arrive, but the memory changed before they did.

Hermione was now at Hogwarts, Harry's dead body beside her. Her green eyes were empty, they had lost their sparkle long ago, but now they would never find it. Hermione ached, her heart was bleeding. Harry was dead, it sounded so simple, but inside her a storm was forming. It was raining on her heart, the storm was bursting in her lungs. The hurricane was there, inside. Hermione kissed her late friend's cheek, though the word was too weak to describe their relationship, and left him, ready to go and fight to honour him.

The memory changed again and Lestrange Manor appeared before her eyes. She was once again with Bellatrix, who was having a field day with the torture. Not with cruciatus this time, but with all sorts of dark magic spells, each more cruel and horrible than the last. Hermione screamed until her vocal cords broke, but then the final blow came and Bellatrix put her mark on her, so that she was fully in control, more in control of herself. Her heart gave out immediately and her breathing stopped. She only survived thanks to Ron and Neville who arrived a few seconds later, and revived her with many spells. The entire resistance thought they had lost their leader that day.

The scene was gone, and another one came into view. The young woman was once again lying in Malfoy Manor, but this time surrounded by the entirety of the Death Eaters. Ron was like her, lying on the floor, but the spark of life had left his eyes and Hermione knew that she would soon do the same. The pain was coming from all directions, and they were all incredibly painful. A hundred Death Eaters were torturing her at once, it wouldn't be long before the witch either died or went mad. Perhaps both. When they stopped, Hermione felt that her end was near, the avada kedavra was about to be cast. But she was wrong. Voldemort approached her and raped her mercilessly, Hermione did not let go, in shock she could do nothing, she was crying, she was in terrible pain. The dark lord ordered his followers to do the same and Hermione was raped again and again. She was paralysed. Shock, pain, shame, all mixed together, she could not move. Ron was dead, she was tainted and would die in minutes, hours at most.

Hermione had crossed the globe and was on a small beach in Australia, sirens were blaring in her ears, there were ambulances, paramedics everywhere, the hustle and bustle was everywhere. Hermione relived the memories of Remus at her side, something that would never happen again. Hermione was suffocating in the atmosphere of battle. She could hear voices calling out to her, but nothing could be done. Remus was dead.

The room was dark and Hermione saw with amazement the body of Remus lying there, not breathing. She struggled to revive him while the Guardians talked as if nothing had happened. She had already thought she had lost him once, she couldn't do it again, because if Remus died, Hermione couldn't survive, not again, alone against the world. She gave him CPR and breaths, but she didn't feel that it made any difference.

Then she found herself in Hogsmeade and Mary dashed across her path, trying to keep her from being hit. She saw her suffocating, coughing up blood and the life slowly leaving her body.

The young woman arrived in a stone room, not unlike the antechamber she and Remus had entered. She was alone though, Remus was not there. She felt a warm liquid running down her arm and her eyes fell on her body. She was bleeding all over, from her face, her neck, her arm, her stomach... The pain radiated from everywhere. Hermione saw something lying on a table and before she could pick it up, she fell and lost consciousness.

Remus had taken the right door out of spite and arrived in a dark room. He saw a figure walking towards him. The person had short pink disheveled hair. Her clothes were full of blood and she was carrying a baby in her arms. His eyes were dark, almost cruel.

"Why did you kill me, Remus? You killed us both. Me, your wife, and him, your son."

Another figure appeared, followed by two others. James Potter and Sirius Black joined Tonks and kept saying that it was all his fault that they were dead. Lily joined them soon after. Teddy was crying, his hair kept changing colour, and Tonks was pointing at him, making it clear that it was also his fault. Hermione approached and spoke to him. She insulted him, told him that he was a bad friend, that he was just something she used, that she had become a werewolf because of him. The moon also appeared, it was full and werewolf howls could be heard. Remus came to a cliff and saw the sea crashing against the cliff, the figures still there. Snakes appeared and slithered between his legs. They climbed all over his body, the noise was deafening, between Teddy's cries, the reproaches of his wife and friends, the hissing of the snakes, the crashing of the waves, the sound of the wind. Remus's worst fears were concentrated in one place, he was suffocating, feeling slumped under the weight of his terrors. When he felt himself crushed under the snakes, he struggled to breathe, then all his fears disappeared, he was back in the stone room.

He looked around the room and saw Hermione in the middle of it, lying on the floor, blood pouring from her body everywhere. She had countless scars, yet she was still in the guise of Helena. Remus realised then that 'facing his memories' meant not only seeing them, but also reliving them. He became fully aware of what she had gone through, or rather relived. Her many tortures, her rapes, the deaths of Harry and Ron. All her wounds, physical and mental, had reopened. He went over to her and stopped her bleeding before shaking her to revive her.

"Rem"

"I'm here. Don't talk too much, you've lost a lot of blood."

"The horcrux?"

"We haven't got it back yet."

Remus finished his sentence and stood up abruptly. He looked around the room and saw a flicker that had not been there before. He moved towards the light and saw a black diary, similar to snakeskin. There was a thin inscription on the back of the book, Tom Elvis Riddle. The wizard grabbed the book and nothing happened, much to his relief. It emanated a peculiar aura. Remus could feel the dark magic, but it wasn't as strong or as powerful as on the Slytherin tiara. This notebook was the first horcrux that Voldemort had created and it was no wonder that Ginny Weasley had not felt that dark magic in her first year.

"We did it. We got the horcrux back, Mione. Can you get up?"

"The diary? I would have thought that Voldy would have put all those protections on his ancestor's locket, but it makes sense, it's his first horcrux."

Hermione stood up and immediately fell back onto her knees. She was still very weak, her scars were mostly bleeding profusely and she had no strength left.

"Okay, I'll carry you."

"No, it's okay, I can walk. You've been through a lot too, don't forget that. What was it anyway?"

"A concentration of my greatest fears. But I don't want to talk about it. When it comes to carrying you, I leave you no choice. You can't stand up, we have to leave as soon as possible. You're not heavy at all, I've done it before."

With that Remus grabbed Hermione and lifted her up. She was holding the notebook close to her and had disillusioned them. They exited the Department of Mysteries easily enough and transited to the Leaky Cauldron, their mission complete and successful.