Chapter 3 Observations of a Star
Sirius sat at Patient X's bedside, gazing sadly at the gray haired, middle aged woman. He touched her cheek with a single finger, as though she were made of glass. There lay the Hermione he used to know, trapped in her mind forever, doomed to live a constant time loop of war from beginning to end. Without her magic to sustain her, she was growing old and frail, and with the department of mysteries itself unable to cure her, all they could do was clone her. Sirius sighed as he remembered that time.
()()()
"What do you mean you can't give the clone any magic?" Harry asked, wiping tears off his cheeks as he looked at the frail girl and the newborn baby.
"Calm yourself, Mr. Potter," said unspeakable Tamsin. "It is of no use to get worked up. We had to remove her magic because it was further tainting her physical wounds. Alas, we couldn't get her out of her head, thus the clone. Clones are created with only enough magic to sustain them and nothing more. At best she will be a squib."
"We'll take her in, right Moony?" Sirius said without thinking.
"We can't, Padfoot," said Moony, subtly kicking his shin, "We don't have jobs."
"None of you can take her in," said Unspeakable Tamsin. "We're giving her to a muggle family who will raise her away from magic. She can keep her first name but anything beyond that will be up to fate."
()()
It was all a blur after that. Sirius and Remus got a job, then moved after a few years to be in a more muggle neighborhood. They each took 3 or 4 years of community college, then without anyone the wiser, bought the establishments they actually worked for. Remus was a head librarian for a library he actually owned, which pleased him to no end. Sirius worked in the deli of the grocery store he owned. Whenever Remus asked him why a grocery store of all things he would answer "Why Moony can't I have a little fun in the meat department for once? I mean I'm not a werewolf like you but—" Which ended with a punch to and then a kiss to the face.
Harry kept in touch with Moony and Padfoot constantly, as he knew the muggle means to do so, while Ron fell off the map. At first Harry would make excuses, but after a while, his letters and telephone calls were directed purposefully toward asking how the men he called uncles were and asking if they had found Hermione yet. Hermione was admittedly in the system at Moony's library, and shopped at Padfoot's grocery store, but they always seemed to miss her when she was around. They were either on a break and had stepped out for some fresh air, or were in the back sorting inventory. It turned out that Hermione had been given to a set of muggle parents with the sir name Green, and both Moony and Padfoot both privately thought Hermione Green Sounded a lot cuter than Hermione Granger.
"You know sweetheart," said Sirius to patient X, "You're a shy little thing now. It doesn't stop you from hitting people though. I think it's frowned upon though. You still love books and are an avid reader, but I don't think you were ever the kind to try and get extra credit."
Sirius stood up and kissed Patient X's forehead. "She might have done," he thought to himself as he looked at the long fingered gnarled hand on top of the covers. Maybe the new Hermione took up music or poetry. He would just have to find out, now wouldn't he.
A/N I am so sorry for the wait. I'm not happy with this chapter but I hope it could bring some reviews. We now have three chapters and three POVs. Please send some reviews my way even if it's something you think you'd like to see more of. Flames will be used to warm my electric blanket.