AN: Hello, fanfiction and Harry Potter fans. I do not own Harry Potter, but feel free to enjoy this or hate it. If you enjoy it, please leave a lovely comment, if you hate it, then leave some constructive criticism, thanks!

AN2: So I've been very proactive this winter holiday, so I am really ahead of schedule. I will do Tuesdays, Thursdays AND Sundays, until it's no longer possible. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Thanks XD

Can You Take the Jump?

Chapter 10

"FIRS'-YEARS! FIRS'-YEARS OVER HERE!"

Sirius Black stepped off the Hogwarts Express and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. This heart thrummed with nervous excitement, unlike earlier that morning, when his stomach was filled with dread.

"Oi, Sirius! Look!" James, shouting over the clamor of students, pointed to a large silhouette at the end of the platform. "Who is that? He looks as big as a giant!" he practically squealed with excitement.

"There's no way he could be an actual giant, he's too small for that." Remus reasoned, but his words flew over his compartment-mates' heads as they hurried to the large figure. The young sandy-blond watched longingly and desperately wished to follow them, but he hesitated.

"You should hurry and join them."

Remus turned around to find the other twin that had locked them into the compartment.

"Hermione, right? Did you have a nice train ride?" He asked out of politeness.

"You should hurry and join them." She repeated. "They seem like the type to push through a crowd going the opposite direction and cause a ruckus just to find you."

"Oi, Remus!" James's loud voice cried from somewhere in the front of the horde of students disembarking from the scarlet train.

She wore a 'I-told-you' expression as she motioned him to go find his friends. "Also, that man is half-giant. You should let your friends know; I think they're the type of people who'll think that's cool."

"H-half-giant?!"

"REMUS!" Two voices cried in unison.

"Go, before they actually start pushing people to find you."

He gave her a thankful smile and turned to find the other two boys. He took around 3 steps, but stopped.

"How'd you lock us in?"

Hermione placed her finger on her lips, "Secret." She waved him off, and this time Remus ran ahead without stopping, weaving through people, to go find James and Sirius.

"What was that about?" Severus asked as he watched the sandy-blonde walk away.

"Nothing. We should get going, they're calling all first years."

At the head of the crowd stood a very large man with a scruffy beard and meaty hands.

"Why hello there!" he said as he let out a big belly laugh at the two excited young boys who were bouncing on their heels and a shyer boy behind them. "M'name's Hagrid, nice to meet yer."

"HOLY MERLIN! Are you really a half-giant?" James whispered as discretely as he could to the large man.

Hagrid's eyes widened for a moment, but when he saw only glee in the children's eyes, he gave them a small smile and a wink. He put his index finger against his finger, "Let's keep it a secret just between the four of us."

James and Sirius excitedly nodded.

"FIRS' YEARS!" he hollered once more with his booming voice. The boys covered their ears, but glanced at each other with excitement. "ESCORTIN ALL FIRS'-YEARS TO HOGWARTS!"

Once all the first years seemed to have gathered, Hagrid had guided them towards the lake where the boats would be.

"Now, in you get! Two per boat, don't want any of yous to fall into the lake now, right?" As he said those words, two dozen small boats started to drift to the shore line where all the children stood. Students scrambled to find a partner and one by one, the boats started filling up and setting off.

Hermione looked behind her and motioned for Lily and Severus to get on the boat. "You guys should take the boat together." She waved away Lily's protests and walked towards one of the boats. She sat down and stared off to the distance, not caring who she rode the boat with. She looked up when she felt her boat jostle, to see the same sandy-blond hair and green eyes looking at her with a shy smile on his face.

"Hi again." He said quietly. "Do you mind if I ride the boat with you?"

She shook her head, gesturing for Remus to sit. The moment his bottom touched the wooden bench, the boat started floating down the lake towards Hogwarts.

The rest of the children were busy chatting with their new boat mates, excited to see Hogwarts, but their boat remained silent. After a long and winded internal debate, Remus gathered courage and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he realized Hermione was deep in thought. She was staring out to the lake watching the moonlight make the water glisten in the dim evening light.

"They say the water of the Black Lake has magical properties."

Remus looked up at her sudden break of silence. Her voice was soft, like she was telling a bed-time story.

"After being exposed to thousands of years of magic by all the people that attended Hogwarts, as well as housing thousands of magical aquatic plants and creatures, they say that magic seeped into the very molecules of the water."

Remus tried to rake every passage from Hogwarts: A History, a book he'd read almost religiously before attending Hogwarts, but could not remember a single word written about the magical properties of the Black Lake.

"Do you believe it?" He asked, intrigued nonetheless.

To his surprise, she shook her head. There was a small glint in her eyes like she knew something he didn't. She reached down, careful not to tip the boat too much, and touched the cold water below them.

"I believe this lake was magical before Hogwarts was even built. I think the founders chose this location because of this lake."

"What? Why do you think so?"

Hermione brought her hand to her mouth and licked the finger that had just touched the lake. "It's not salty."

Before Remus could ask what she meant, he was interrupted by gasps and awes echoed by the rest of the first years.

Hogwarts stood tall and proud in the distance, illuminated by lanterns and fire from all around. All previous thoughts escaped his mind as his jaw dropped in amazement. It was magnificent. The castle was grand and majestic, more so than Remus could have imagined. He turned around to look at Hermione hoping to share this moment of glee only to see a blank expression on her face. As if she knew he was looking at her, she turned to him and procured an infinitesimally small smile; it was almost sad, like she was witnessing something entirely different than he was. Her porcelain skin glowed from the light as the smile broke her stoic face to one of beauty. Her auburn red hair danced gently from the wind like flames flickering around her head.

There was something tragically beautiful about her.

Realizing he's been staring, Remus turned around quickly, trying to hid the deep blush forming on his face.

"This is the best view of Hogwarts." She said from behind him. "It's why they bring all the first years by boat. First-impressions and all."

Remus nodded, but he was no longer looking at the stone castle. His face felt so warm that he wished to dunk his entire head into the lake just to cool it down. He placed his right hand on his chest and could feel his heart pumping under his palm.

For the remainder of the boat ride, neither of them spoke. They both faced the castle as it got closer and closer. When they arrived to the shore, Remus scrambled to get out of the boat. He immediately wished to run up the stairs to put as much distance between himself and the girl, but stopped when he heard the water slosh beneath the boat he just got off.

He hesitated.

The dangers of what he was and the damage he could cause that were instilled into him from his father ever since he was a child echoed in his mind, but he couldn't help himself as he watched Hermione wobble on the boat, trying to get off. He moved out of instinct when Hermione almost fell. He grabbed her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist to lift her onto the docks.

Still in his embrace, she turned to look at him. She looked surprised, but said nothing about the abnormal strength from her fellow boatmate. With a gentle push out of his embrace, she showed her thanks by awarding him with soft smile, much genuine than the one he'd witnessed earlier on the boat. Resisting the urge twiddle his thumbs, he turned on the spot and ducked his head down to prevent her from witnessing his red face and ears. His entire body felt like it was buzzing and his hand that touched hers felt prickly.

"What are you just standing here for?" Someone smacked him on the back, jerking him out of his daze. "Were you waiting for us?"

Remus looked up at Sirius who was standing in the exact spot Hermione had stood a minute ago. He looked up the dock to see her walking away with her red hair blowing slightly in the evening wind. A part of him was thankful that she'd gone ahead, but another part of him was sad she did.

James Potter put his arms around Remus's and Sirius's shoulders, "Come on!" he shouted, pulling his two new friends up the stairs that lead them to Hogwarts.

…

Sirius stepped into the castle with pure wonder in his eyes and heart. Stone pillars and arches supported high ceilings while the walls were decorated with stone statues of knights. There were beautiful carvings everywhere and a large and stunning embroidery of the Hogwarts' crest hung in the center. This was where he would spend the next seven years of his life, and he simply couldn't wait.

He looked to his side to see James wearing the same dumbfounded look on his face. He caught his eyes and they both smiled at each other broadly. This was all beyond expectations. Both boys had grown up in rich wizarding families with large houses, but this was a whole different scale. In Sirius's case, the castle had a completely different feeling to Grimmauld Place. None of that oppressive darkness he felt at home, but a light airiness all around with a tingling sensation of the overflowing magic all around.

"Welcome first years." A woman greeted, she had all her hair wrapped around in a tight bun at the base of her head and small reading glasses dangling around her neck by a thin silver cord. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I will be your Deputy Headmistress as well as your Transfigurations professor. I am also the head of Gryffindor House, so I will be seeing some of you again later this evening." She stated. Her voice was clear, enunciated, and stern. She was definitely a no-nonsense professor.

After Professor McGonagall finished explaining the rules and expectations, she led the group through the Entrance Hall and through two large double doors which lead to a huge room. Four long tables expanded the entire space with each of the Houses' banners hanging from above.

"When your name is called, please take a seat." Professor McGonagall called out, already at the front of the room standing next to a stool with a large ragged hat.

"Abbott, Joanna" A nervous red-headed girl slowly walked up to the stool and sat down. The entire hall was silent and stared the 11 year old girl sitting before all of the Hogwarts student body and staff to see.

With sorting ceremony starting, the anxiety built in Sirius's chest and his mind started thinking of the wildest ways to show the hat that he didn't wish to be a Slytherin. He glanced to his side to see James with a confident smile on his face. James wasn't nervous at all, but then again, why would he need to be? James was a Gryffindor through and through. Sirius looked down at his robes that displayed the Black coat of arms on his chest and his family's words Toujours pur. He frowned at the platinum script embedded into his clothes and crumpled it with his hand.

"Hufflepuff!" the ragged hat shouted and the table with the yellow and black banner above them roared with applause. The sudden noise startled Sirius, causing him to jump.

"Relax," Someone whispered into his ear while placing their small hand on his back. "The hat will put you in the House which you're best suited for."

Sirius turned around to see the twin who'd run out on them in the train, the girl who was Remus's boat partner. She made brief eye contact with him and then continued to look ahead at the next person to be sorted.

"And you're nothing like them. The hat will see that."

Sirius frowned at the girl, what was she saying? She had no idea who he was, what his family was like. How could a muggleborn girl that he's never seen before, know he was nothing like them?

She looked back at him, matching his stare, but there was something about the way she was looking at him that eased him. She was confident, just like James, but unlike his new friend who was confident about himself, she had confidence in him. There was not a single flash of doubt in her eyes.

"Black, Sirius." Professor McGonagall called out. The notorious last name caused murmurs to spread across the hall. Unlike the other students before him, Sirius didn't run to approach the stool at the front like the others. The entire hall was left waiting, as Sirius continued to stare at the girl next to him.

"Black, Sirius." Professor McGonagall announced louder.

"How do you know? How do you know that I'm unlike the others?"

"If you don't trust me, trust the mighty hat." She whispered. There was no waver nor tremble in her voice, everything about her screamed such conviction.

Depending on which House he joined, his fate would change entirely, he could feel it in his bones. Yet, in that moment, Sirius put all of his trust on the words spoken by a girl he'd met once for a short moment, only hours ago.

After a gentle push towards the stool, he took a deep breath in as he stepped forward. His shiny, new dragon hide shoes clacked loudly on the floor. He stepped up on the platform and sat on the stool facing everyone, almost like a store display, something for everyone to stare at and judge to their liking. When the old Sorting Hat was finally placed on his head, the same voice that had sang the cheesy song croaked at him.

"Ah, another Black."

He searched the crowd for the hazel eyes that had comforted his inner turmoil. "I'm nothing like them." He echoed the words spoken by the redhead who stared intently back at him.

The entire hall waited in quiet anticipation as the heir to the Black family sat on the stool. Sirius took much longer than his previous peers, but judging by the frown on the boy's face, there was no doubt that the hat and he had differing ideas on where he should be sorted.

"Very well, Mr. Black." The old hat finally spoke to everyone in the Hall. "You will be a… GRYFFINDOR!"

Cries of mostly shock and outrage spread like wildfire in the hall, but the loudest one of all was James Potter who whooped at his friend's results with delight. As if his joy was contagious, soon the whole Gryffindor table followed suit, cheering and welcoming the first Gryffindor Black.

It took a while for the ruckus to calm down, but once it did, the following sortings were done in a much quicker and less enthusiastic fashion. It was finally her turn.

"Evans, Hermione."

Majority of the student body were not excited or particularly interested in the young muggleborn girl, but Sirius looked on with absolute curiosity. A few words from her mouth had captivated him, Sirius watched with keen eyes as the girl gingerly sat on the stool, waiting for the ancient hat to be placed on her head.

Unbeknownst to Sirius, there were several others who watched the sorting with immense curiosity including Albus Dumbledore, who'd previously been gently clapping to the sorting of the other students, suddenly perked up at the announcement of Hermione's name.

…

For the second time in Hermione's life, the old, dirty looking hat was placed on her head. How had she never noticed how awfully gross this garment was? As Hermione Granger, she was probably too blinded by its magical properties to even note how old it was, but considering its sentience, she doubted it was willing to be washed in the washer like the rest of the clothes or beaten during hand washing. Magically washing had its limits too, and it definitely never erased smells. Hermione shuddered at the thought of all those centuries that's passed without a proper clean.

'My my my. What have we here?' its creepy magically produced voice echoed in her mind. 'You, my dear, have a lot of your memories locked behind very secure and thick walls, don't you? A successful Occlumens at such a young age? Very impressive.' The hat said as it passed through her walls like a ghost.

'No!' Hermione screamed in her mind and physically jumped in her seat. She could be exposed. She'd lied to every single person in this time line and gotten away with it, but now she was going to be exposed by a fucking hat?

'My magical essence is to read minds, it's nothing like Legilimency of a human's magic. I don't follow the rules, just like how elves can apparate in and out of Hogwarts despite the anti-apparition charm. Oh, you already know that.' It said, as it scanned that past 11 years of her life as Hermione Evans. 'I see your security walls are even more complex and stronger the further I go, but I've already seen the past 11 years of your life. What more can you possibly be hiding?'

'Get out. Get out! GET OUT!' Hermione was panicking, but all her screaming was no use as the Sorting Hat passed her mental wards as easily as before. Hermione's hands reached up to throw the hat off her head, but her hands stopped when she realized all the eyes on her. If she threw the hat off her head right now, she would be causing a scene.

Reluctantly and almost painfully, Hermione dropped her hands back to her lap. The hat remained silent as it scanned her past life like an unwanted voyeur. She felt violated, like she was mentally raped by a fucking hat.

'I will keep your secret. I'm bound my magic from my creator to never talk about another student. My job is to sort you into the correct house, nothing more.'

The Sorting Hat sounded solemn and sincere, but Hermione didn't care. She was shaking. The hat's reassuring words meant nothing to her. She wanted to destroy it, rip it to shreds, but if she did that then everyone would know something was wrong, so she did the next best thing. The memory of the hat burning on Neville's head was brought to the forefront of her mind.

'That's what will happen if you speak to anyone about what you've seen and learned.' She threatened.

'Understood.' It said, sounding a bit miffed, but Hermione just kept replaying the image of the burning hat over and over again. 'As for your sorting—'

'Gryffindor.' She said, stating the obvious.

'I don't doubt your courage, but for your plan to work, you need more than just courage. A plan like that requires ambition, resourcefulness, and determination. You will be…'

"Wha—NO!" she blurted out loud.

"… a SLYTHERIN!"

The silence was deafening.

Hermione was pretty sure she wasn't even breathing. With the same frozen expression on her face, she sat on still on the stool like all systems were shut down and her body was unable to move. Her mind was running at 1000 mph, but the rest of her body remained frozen.

Slytherin.

She was a Slytherin.

In 1971.

A part of her wanted to demand a re-sorting, another part of her wanted to just burn the hat like she'd threatened only moments ago.

If Hermione had been paying any attention, she would have noticed Lily look desperately at Severus, hoping he was able to help somehow, but he shook his head. The hat had made a decision, never in the history of Hogwarts had there ever been a resorting. Once someone was sorted, that was it.

Professor McGonagall softly spoke in Hermione's ear, but the words fell out the other ear. Nothing was making any sense. Eventually, McGonagall offered her a hand to stand up, after all, they had to proceed with the rest of the sorting.

Slowly but surely, Hermione's senses started to return to her, her mind grasping what had happened. She refused McGonagall's hand and stepped down from the platform on her own, trying to look as confident as possible. She looked over at the table where she would be forced to spend time with for the next seven years. Unlike the applause and welcome that everyone else received from their respective Houses, Hermione was looked upon with hatred, disgust and coldness.

A part of her knew the hat was right. Slytherin house was where she needed to go in order for her to achieve her goals. It was where she could get inside information, effect the most change, and learn about her enemies. Still, knowing what's good for you and doing what's good for you were two completely different things.

With nothing else she could do, but simply comply, Hermione took slow and steady strides towards the green and silver banner. Her almond-shaped hazel eyes quickly scanned the table to see the two younger Black sisters, Lucius Malfoy, the Carrow twins, Antonin Dolohov, Yaxley, Macnair and Selwyn. A good half of the first inner circle was in attendance at Hogwarts with her. Bloody fantastic. She tried to find a friendly face, only to see Damocles Belby fiercely avoiding her gaze.

With no choice, but to ignore it all, she turned her head up and sat on the edge of the long-table.

"Evans, Lily" McGonagall, quickly resumed down her list of first years, as if the situation could be avoided if they just moved on.

Before Lily even sat on the stool, someone slammed their hands on the wooden table.

"THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! UNACCEPTABLE!" Bellatrix Black screamed. As if her words were a rally cry, the entire Slytherin House exploded.

"You dare sit here?" A random Slytherin shrieked, appalled by her behavior. "You don't have the right to sit with us, you Mudblood!"

"Detention, Miss Bulstrode!" a much younger and thinner Horace Slughorn scolded the girl. "Miss Evans was sorted just like the rest of you. She is now one of us, and such language will NOT be tolerated."

No one seemed to care about Slughorn's warning or threat of detention. The chaos was escalating and the professors seemed powerless to stop it. What could they do if detention and loss of House points wasn't effective punishment? It wasn't like they could threaten the children with much else.

Someone pushed her; they were trying to physically force her out of their table. Hermione closed her eyes as she felt her stress starting to rise, making her unstable.

Hermione let out a gasp when she felt a scalding hot liquid being poured on her head. The pain from the burn instinctively made her jump out of her seat. She touched her hair to see brown goop covering her fingers. Gravy, someone had poured steaming hot gravy on her head.

The residual effects of Calming Draught she'd taken just hours ago, disintegrated within a mere second, completely losing the dangerous game of tug of war with her inner turbulent magical core. Bubbling with rage, Hermione turned to find the culprit. Everyone at the Slytherin table, except for Belby was snickering. Hermione glanced at the other tables who looked at her with pity. Unable to control herself, Hermione gripped her wand by her side.

"What are you going to do with that Mudblood? What spells could you possibly know?" Someone taunted.

"That worm." A scathing voice said beside her. As paradoxical as it was, the voice was alarmingly familiar, yet unrecognizable at the same time. She turned to see the owner of the voice, but froze on sight. Bloodied, wrathful, and filled with vengeance, 33 year old Hermione Granger-Weasley stood there, looking exactly as she did the day she died, with eyes aflame from absolute loathing as she glowered at the taunting Slytherin boy.

"A worm shouldn't look like a human. Worms should be worms." Her voice sounded less human, and far more animalistic than she remembered.

Hermione watched in fascination as her past-self reached into her muddy and blood-caked robe to pull out her wand. Her visions had never interacted with others before, she wondered if Hermione Granger-Weasley was actually able to cast a spell on the horrid children.

"That's enough." A firm and heavy hand gripped her shoulder, almost painfully.

Hermione snapped out of her daze. She looked at the hand gripping her shoulder to realize she'd raised her arm without knowing it. It was her wand directed at the boy, with the words of the vermiculus jinx on the tip of her tongue, not 33 year old Hermione Granger. When did she raise her wand arm? What just happened? She jerked back, shocked by her own actions.

"There will be no dinner for Slytherin House tonight." Albus Dumbledore's his firm hand on her shoulder didn't loosen until he felt her muscles relax and ease. The Headmaster flicked his wand and all the plates on the Slytherin table disappeared. He didn't even blink when the students quickly proceeded to protest and make threats about telling their parents.

"Slytherin House is dismissed."

Slughorn hesitated at first, but reluctantly followed Dumbledore's order noticing the anger burning like the center of a flame in those blue omniscient eyes. Slughorn ushered to the prefects to round up the students. Slowly, but surely, the fuming Slytherin students were dragged out of the Great Hall, with only Hermione standing at the front of the table, gravy still dripping from her hair.

Dumbledore flicked his wand once more, and all traces of gravy were gone.

"I'm so sorry everyone." Dumbledore turned and apologized to the rest of the Great Hall. "Professor McGonagall, please resume without me." He gave a firm nod to the older witch still standing at the front, holding the Sorting Hat above Lily's head.

"Miss Evans, please follow me."

Hermione felt apprehensive following Dumbledore, but she looked around her to notice everyone's eyes. Whatever conversation she might have, she knew she could probably handle an interrogation with Albus Dumbledore better than the stares of the entire Hogwarts student body.

They walked up the to the gargoyle that would lead to Dumbledore's office.

"Ice Mice." Dumbledore told the structure. The magnificent thing moved into a spiraling staircase that led to the headmaster's office.

"I don't think there as ever been a student's Sorting that had caused this much commotion." Dumbledore said as he settled into his seat behind his large desk. He was giving her a warm smile, but she did not reciprocate.

"You've certainly grown up a lot. I remember holding you when you were just a couple of hours old."

For the first time in decades (since Hermione's name was Hermione Granger), she met the old wizard's eyes. They were as blue and as cunning as she remembered. Immediately after their eyes met, she could feel him trying to pry into her mental walls, but Occulmency had become a natural reflex to Hermione. Her walls were tight and secure, something Dumbledore quickly realized, forcing him to retreat from her mind. They stared at each other; Hermione challenging him to try again, and Dumbledore studying the fascinating little girl he'd been watching since she was just a babe.

When the old wizard finally broke eye-contact, Hermione took the time to look around his office. Odd trinkets swirled around or even glowed, some made noises while others lay still, it was pretty much the same as she remembered it being. She touched the edge of Dumbledore's old mahogany desk, carved to perfection and preserved with years of magic. It was exquisite, much like the rest of the furniture in the headmaster's room, including the Pensieve that hid in the cabinet behind her.

"Why am I here, Professor?" Hermione asked, getting straight to the point.

"Slytherin is a good House. The attributes that define them are vital to society. I will not presume to know you well enough, but if the Sorting Hat has placed you there, I'm sure you're more than fit to be in that House."

"But?"

"But they will never accept you. Your Hogwarts experience will be challenging. If you wish, I'm going to allow a re-sorting."

Hermione raised her brow at the proposition. She'd never heard of anyone being allowed to get re-sorted into a different house. Dumbledore was twisting the school rules for her, just like he did with Harry.

How…unsettling.

"You don't think I'll be able to handle it?"

"If you handle it like you handled it today, then no, I don't think you'll be able to. Miss Evans, I stood in the operating room in which you were born. It looked like someone had caused a massive explosion. People nearly died. Some muggles called it a terror attack." He folded his hands together on top of the desk. "If you resolve your issues with your house like you were going to do today, I'm going to suggest you to go to a different house."

Hermione hesitated. A part of her wanted to jump at the chance to change houses. This was most likely an opportunity that wouldn't present itself again; to be a Gryffindor like she's always been had been the plan, but the damned sorting hat had given her a dangerous and unexpected opportunity that also wouldn't come again. She needed access and detailed information about the Death Eater forces, and there was no better place than behind enemy lines.

"I understand your concerns, but I will not change Houses." Hermione spoke resolutely. "This is not because of pride or stubborn will. It's not because I want to be there, but because I need to be there."

The look on her face spoke volumes about the seriousness of her decision, but Dumbledore couldn't help but hesitate. As the Headmaster, he had a responsibility towards the other students' as well.

"Miss Evans, you destroyed a hospital room when you were seconds old. If you lose control now, with your age and level of magical maturity, it could devastate this entire castle."

"I'm aware, but I prepared for the worst-case scenario." Hermione opened a small pouch by her side and lifted to reveal a sparkling bracelet. It was her 11th birthday gift from Alphard; the one she specifically asked for and the one he desperately didn't want to give. "It's an archaic wife enslaving device. The stones have the ability to suck up magical energy and the metal is unbreakable. The enchantments woven into this bracelet are far older and stronger than anything taught in Hogwarts or found in most books. This is Old Magik. I'm essentially magically shackled. With this on, my magical reservoir will be as small as a seasonal pond; quick to dry up and leave me as magical as a muggle. It'll only fill back up slowly over several hours of rest and non-magical use."

She placed the ostentatious glittering bracelet around her wrist, then locked it in place.

Dumbledore's eyes looked down at the expensive piece of jewelry with interest gleaming in his eyes. The magic that surrounded it was archaic and unrefined, but powerful as it fought against the essence of magic itself. He didn't know if it would hold out against a full grown Obscurial, but if there was anything that would, it would be that.

"Aren't you worried about your personal safety? While I don't wish to assume the worst of my students, I know those kids will not leave you be. You might not have enough magic to defend yourself."

"I'm aware, which is why I have a request." She gazed at the wizard's blue eyes with complete seriousness.

Dumbledore frowned deeply, unsure about how this will turn out, but he ultimately nodded.

"Go on."

"Like you said, if I'm going to avoid being bullied to death like some students in this school, I need to avoid the Slytherins when I can."

"I'm not sure if I—"

"I need to sleep somewhere else."

…

Hermione dropped her heavy luggage on the floor and took in a deep breath. She looked around her new quarters and nodded in satisfaction.

Unlike its scorched appearance in the future, the Room of Requirement was in perfect condition as she settled onto her soft pliable bed.

The plan had been to start the search for the curse diadem of Ravenclaw the moment she arrived, but as she looked around the familiar room, she decided the search could start tomorrow. There was another place she urgently needed to visit before the night was over.

She closed her eyes and wished for something she hadn't wished in a long time; a path to Hogsmeade.

A small pathway appeared on the wall to her left. Hermione dragged her trunk to use as a stepping stool and climbed into the small hole. Hermione grunted as she started crawling in the air-vent sized space. After what felt like 20 minutes of crawling, Hermione finally pulled herself out of the narrow tunnel and landed upright on the floor of the flower shop in Hogsmeade Village. She walked around the dark and closed shop and picked out 3 red roses.

The small village was quiet during the night, most of the shops were closed except for Three Broomsticks and Hogs Head. She walked down memory lane, trying to remember old memories without resurfacing the bad ones. She stopped at the spot Harry had thrown snowballs at Malfoy's head while he was invisible.

"It was a good prank."

Harry's voice and his presence didn't bring about the sharp pain like it used to, but rather a dull ache. It was still more comforting than being left alone with her thoughts, especially at a time like this.

"Yeah, it really was." She replied, allowing a small smile to form on her face, reminiscing about the old days. "I remember laughing a lot. Especially at the terrified look on Malfoy's face."

"The look on Ron's face as well. You were the only one who knew what was going on." Harry teased. "Funny because they're the ones who should be used to the idea of ghosts, at least more than us."

Hermione nodded, allowing Harry's infectious laughter to soothe her.

"Mummy!"

Hermione whipped around. At the end of the road, she could see her daughter waving at her while she held onto Hugo with her other hand. The young girl giggled then ran around the corner, pulling her baby brother along.

"Rose." Hermione whispered out loud. She stared to run after her little girl, her heart beating erratically in her chest. She turned the corner to see that beautiful face at the end of the road again, giggling.

"Catch me, mommy!" With that, she zipped around the corner, out of Hermione's sight.

A familiar discomfort pulled at her chest; a never-ending mother's worry. "Rose, sweetie, stay in mommy's sight please! Rose?!" she called out. She sprinted around the corner to find herself at Hogsmeade's main square. The dim moonlight made the moist cobblestone shine like silver. Other than the noise of the distant rowdy crowds at Three Broomsticks, the square was empty and silent.

To others, the moonlight was the only thing to see at this time of night in the small wizarding village, but to Hermione the scenery before her was nothing like reality.

This was where it all ended; where she watched her children die, where her husband tried to kill her, and then proceeded killed himself. The scene was so painfully seared in her mind that she didn't think an obliviate could erase it.

Her breath hitched. Her knees bucked, dropping to the stone floor.

She wasn't a crier, at least not when she was conscious. She didn't deserve the relief she knew it would bring, but standing in the exact spot her family died brought forth tears she'd repressed for a long time. Hermione started to shake her head, but she wasn't entirely sure why or what she was saying no to.

"Kill the man who couldn't appreciate your genius… He will kill your precious children if you don't kill him."

The words of Voldemort echoed in her mind replaying that treacherous night over and over again.

She let out a guttural scream as something painfully twisted inside her. She wasn't sure if she was the one shaking or if the world around her was shaking, but through teary eyes, she watched as pebbles on the ground vibrate and levitate off the floor. Her magical core was twisting inside her so violently that she felt like her innards were also ripping apart.

The excruciating pain hid the burning sensation on her wrist, but then, suddenly it was gone. All of it. The twisting, the vibrating, and the uncontrollable raw energy that was pouring out of her just a second ago, it was all gone. Actually, any sense of magic within her was gone. She never realized what it felt like, but now that it was gone, the absence of her magic felt like a hole in her chest.

"Wha—" Hermione gasped in shock, then realized the searing sensation on her wrist. "AH!" she shouted, instinctively tugging at the scalding bracelet on her wrist, but found that it didn't budge. A few seconds passed, and the bracelet's white-hot sensation disappeared, leaving a red mark on her skin and hands, but no burns or blisters.

She glanced at the bracelet in shock. While she expected the accessory to work, she didn't expect it to work quite so well. After a few moments of inspecting the bracelet, she sighed to reality of her situation hit her. With this on, being in Hogwarts at this time period as a muggleborn in Slytherin might actually get her killed.

Hermione slumped onto the cold and wet cobblestone floor of Hogsmeade's main square, staring at the spot her children had died. The emotions weren't as unhinged as before, but tears were streaming freely down her face and there was a numbness there that sat heavily on her chest. Hermione gripped her hands into a fist so hard until her nails punctured through the skin on her palms. The self-inflicted sharp pain cleared the clouds in her head until she was finally able to ease her breathing.

She pulled out the 3 roses she'd nicked from the flower shop. They were rumpled from her near-emotional carnage, but they maintained most of its petals and the stem was still good except at the tip.

She breathed in the scent.

They were Ron's favorite flowers; he used them to propose, to celebrate their children's conception and birth, when she got promoted at work. Anything. It was only natural that they named their baby girl after the beautiful flower. She gently laid them down at the exact spot where her children stood and died.

That future will never come to exist, which meant that her children will never exist, but they existed for her. They were painfully real to her. They were the definition of beauty, purity and goodness. As their mother, she felt it her duty to remember them, to cherish them, and to mourn them. She wanted them to have a proper burial, but for now, she would have to settle for a small memorial in their honour.

As Hermione stood and stepped away from the spot, she could see her babies waving to her.

"Mummy!" Rose shouted, wearing her big goofy smile as she used her entire body to wave goodbye as she held her baby brother in her other small arm. "Mummy!"

She gave them a watery smile while swallowing a huge lump in her throat. "Bye, my loves." She whispered to them.

"Who's there!" an angry sounding man stormed into the dark square, using his wand as a torch.

Hermione quickly ducked behind a building using the cover of darkness as she took heavy steps away from the hallucinations of her children still waving at her.

…