Chapter 19
23 July 2003
Hermione stared at him for several seconds. How could he possibly know? As his eyes narrowed, she immediately strengthened her Occlumency shields. She had to stay calm. "I don't know what you're talking about. Remove these ropes!"
"You are not Hermione Granger-Malfoy. I suggest you tell me who you are before I am forced to contact our security team."
"Of course, it's me. You're being ridiculous. If you let me go right now, I won't mention this to Draco."
Instead of replying, he slammed a piece of parchment down on her desk. She looked down at it but had no idea what it was. It was covered with numbers and symbols.
"Do you know what this is?" he asked curtly.
She shook her head.
"This is a written diagnostic of your blood which carries your magical signature. I have had reason to run a diagnostic on Hermione Granger-Malfoy's blood before but because she is now carrying a child, I needed to analyze it again to account for the pregnancy. The magical signatures are very similar, I'll give you that, but they are not the same. And it has nothing to do with the pregnancy. So, I will ask you again. What have you done with Hermione? I suggest you tell me now because if she has been injured or harmed in any way, there is nothing that will save you from the wrath of the Malfoys."
Hermione had no idea what to do. She had no knowledge of the blood diagnostic he was talking about, but Malfoy Industries had made so many advances in so many areas, she wasn't entirely surprised by it. She briefly wondered why Snape would have needed to analyze her counterpart's blood. That wasn't important right now, however.
Besides telling him the truth, there really was no other explanation she could give. She had no idea how he would take it, though. Or if he would even believe her. But she couldn't take the chance of him telling Draco or Lucius about the blood analysis. If they asked her anything deeper than surface questions, she would have no idea what to say. Even simple questions might trip her up given her limited knowledge of this world. And if they gave her Veritaserum, they would find out the truth anyway. She did need someone she could tell about Voldemort and the Horcruxes; perhaps this was the opportunity she'd been looking for.
Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him. "You're right, I'm not Hermione Granger-Malfoy."
His hand tightened on his wand which had been pointed at her since he'd stormed into her office.
"But I am Hermione Granger. If you'll promise to listen to me before you call security, I'll explain everything."
He stared at her for a few moments and Hermione was positive he was going to refuse. She had no idea what she was going to do if he called the security wizards. Why had she allowed Padma to keep the Universe Hopper? She should never be without it. Not that she could have used it bound as she was, but still.
"Speak," he snapped.
Hermione immediately began her tale, explaining how she came to be in possession of the Universe Hopper and all that had happened to her since she had disappeared from her own world. When she finished, Severus was staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
"You really expect me to believe that tripe?"
"Why on earth would I make something like that up? How could I make something like that up?" Hermione tried to shift in her bonds; they were starting to cut into her arms. "Can you please loosen these a bit? I may not be the Hermione of his world but I'm still pregnant."
He glared at her but did loosen the ropes slightly.
"How is this possible?"
"If I knew that, I would have gotten home by now," she said with a tired sigh.
"And the device is in this building right now?"
"Yes, Padma has been studying it in one of the labs. She's trying to figure out a way to get me back to my own world."
Snape began to pace back and forth across her office. She knew he was thinking through everything she'd said and trying to decide whether to believe her or not.
"I can show it to you if you like," she said.
"I'm not letting you out of that chair until I've figured out what to do with you."
"Fine, let Padma bring it here then."
"I would like a word with Miss Patil about her abysmal judgement. She should have turned you in immediately."
Hermione rolled her eyes and felt annoyance from her other self as well. "She would have turned in the body of this world's Hermione, you realize. My consciousness may be in charge right now, but hers isn't gone. She's just as annoyed with you as I am as a matter of fact."
His eyes narrowed. "You can tell what she's feeling?"
"Not always but right now, yes."
"And how does she feel about you taking over her body?" he sneered.
"She's a bit put out about it, mostly because I won't sleep with her husband."
Severus seemed shocked into silence and Hermione couldn't help but smirk. "But she's also been very patient. As I hope I would be if something like this happened to me."
There was silence for a few moments before Snape spoke again. "Fine, let us get Miss Patil here with the device."
"You'll have to let me go so I can ask Sarah to send for her," Hermione said referring to her assistant.
Snape snorted. "Do you take me for an imbecile?" He rose and dropped the wards, then stepped out to speak to Sarah.
"What did you say to her?" Hermione asked when he returned. Sarah had no idea what Padma was working on, and it wasn't as if Severus could have told her.
"I told her to summon Miss Patil and have her bring what the two of you were working on. The message will be from you, of course, so as not to arouse suspicion."
They sat in silence while they waited. Hermione contemplated discussing Voldemort and the Horcruxes with him but decided to wait until he was convinced she was who she said she was. Besides, she didn't want Padma interrupting that conversation, as it was likely to be a long one.
It didn't take Padma long to arrive. She knocked on the door and Hermione called for her to come in. Padma started speaking before she was fully in the room.
"I thought we weren't meeting until," she trailed off as she saw Severus and then gasped when she saw Hermione bound to her chair.
"Close the door, Miss Patil," Severus said. His wand was still in his hand and Padma glanced at it before doing what he said.
He promptly disarmed her and then recast the wards on the office. He directed her to the other chair in front of Hermione's desk.
"What is going on?" Padma demanded as she sat. "She's pregnant."
"Miss Granger is fine," Snape replied, and Padma glanced sharply at Hermione, realizing he hadn't called her Granger-Malfoy. Hermione sighed and nodded. Padma looked fearfully at Severus.
"I believe you have brought something with you. I would like to look at it."
Again, Padma looked at Hermione.
"It's all right, Padma. Let him see it."
Padma pulled the box that contained the Universe Hopper from her pocket and set it on Hermione's desk.
"Please don't touch the device itself," Hermione said as Severus picked up the box. "I don't want any accidents, especially as it would strand me here." There was a brief spurt of concern from her other self. No, she didn't want Hermione to be stuck here either.
She watched as Severus inspected the Universe Hopper. His face gave nothing away but that was no surprise. After several minutes, he set the box back on the desk and looked at her. "This doesn't actually prove anything, except that you are very creative in your storytelling."
Hermione huffed in exasperation. "Give me Veritaserum then or use Legilimency on me if you must. But please release me from these ropes. I'm feeling ill."
He snorted. "What do you take me for?"
"I think you should do as she asks," Padma said. "I've been around her quite a bit the last few days and she doesn't look well."
Snape whirled on Padma. "You have nothing to say about this situation. If you had used your head, you would have turned her in immediately!"
Hermione's nausea had gotten worse in the last several minutes and she knew she was close to being sick, however, she wasn't going to let Snape blame Padma for this. "It's not her fault. She was just trying to help me."
"She doesn't even know who you are!"
"You said the magical signatures were very similar. You took the blood yourself. I couldn't have switched it on you. How can you explain the other Hermione and I having such similar magical signatures if we weren't essentially the same person?"
Severus was silent for a few moments. Hermione felt her stomach rolling. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nausea but it wasn't working. "Please, I'm going to be sick."
He finally released the ropes at the same time Padma picked up the rubbish bin and thrust it at Hermione. She proceeded to retch into the bin, face burning in embarrassment at having an audience. When she sat back, Padma had a damp cloth in her hand and there was a glass of water sitting on her desk. Severus must have conjured them as Padma no longer had her wand. Hermione gave him a nod of thanks as she took a drink of water to try and wash away the taste of sick. Then she opened her desk drawer and pulled out the vial of nausea potion, downing it quickly. It wasn't completely effective, but it was better than nothing.
She looked back at Snape. "I'm not trying to steal any company secrets or take Draco away from his wife or whatever other dastardly deeds you're imagining. I didn't ask to come here. I just want to go home." To her horror, tears formed in her eyes. Fucking pregnancy hormones.
Padma reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. Hermione squeezed back gratefully. Severus stood staring at her, arms crossed over his chest. At least he wasn't pointing his wand at her any longer.
"You will lower your shields so I can perform Legilimency?"
She nodded. She was a bit worried about what he might find, considering his non-existence in the other universes, but she had no other choice. She needed Padma to be able to keep looking into the device and she had to tell someone about the Horcruxes. Snape was her best choice in that regard.
He turned and looked at Padma. "You will stay until I am finished. I may yet need to take you to Lucius so you can explain what you've done."
"Yes, sir."
Severus turned his attention back to Hermione.
"I am going to lower my shields, so you don't need to go in like a battering ram," Hermione said.
His eyes narrowed. "What makes you think I would?"
"Let's just call it prior knowledge," she said remembering Harry's descriptions of his Occlumency lessons.
Snape stared at her for a few moments. She knew he wanted to ask more questions, but he refrained. "Get comfortable. This may take a while."
When Severus finally pulled out of her mind, he simply stared at her for a few minutes. Hermione, for her part, was exhausted. She closed her eyes and sighed. She stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ginger chew, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth. Snape raised a brow at her.
"Ginger chews. Muggle remedy." He said nothing. "Well? Are you satisfied."
"As much as I still cannot wrap my mind around what has happened to you, yes." He turned to Padma. "Have you discovered anything?"
"I was in the middle of something when you summoned me up here. If I could get back to it, I may have."
"I suggest you do that then," he said imperiously, as if it wasn't him who had kept her here for the last hour.
Padma just shook her head and rose. "Are you all right, Hermione?"
"I'll be fine," Hermione said. "Do you think you'll still be ready to meet at two?"
"Make it three then yes."
Hermione nodded. "Thanks, Padma."
Severus dropped the wards for her but replaced them as soon as she had left. He turned back to Hermione. "When do you plan to jump again?"
"It depends what Padma has to tell me this afternoon. But very soon, I hope."
"And Draco hasn't noticed anything?"
"Not that I know of. I've been able to pass off any odd behavior as related to the pregnancy. It's been a help in that regard."
"The other universes have been…interesting as far as your partner choices." His brow rose. "Ron Weasley?"
Hermione couldn't help an incredulous laugh. If even Severus Snape was surprised by her dating Ron, he must not be for her. "Yes, well, this universe has been completely different than any of the others, including my own."
"I sensed that."
"How deep did you probe into each one?"
"Not very. I mostly wanted to verify your initial encounter and accident with the device. Beyond that, there was quite a bit to get through and despite how it may appear, I was not interested in torturing you needlessly."
She managed a small smile. "As much as I have not enjoyed the last couple of hours, I must admit that I'm glad it happened. There's something I need to tell you." Her face grew serious. "It's about Voldemort."
He stiffened and his right hand unconsciously went to his left forearm. "What could you possibly have to tell me about the Dark Lord?"
"I'm afraid he may not be as dead as you all seem to think he is."
Severus stared at her, his face once again unreadable. "And what would give you that impression?"
She sighed. "First, I need to ask you a few things. What happened Halloween of 1981?"
For the first time, Severus looked pained. He quickly masked it but not soon enough that she hadn't seen it. She wondered if he'd been the one to give the prophecy to Voldemort in this universe as well. And if his relationship with Harry's mum had been the same.
"I assume you are aware I was a Death Eater?"
She nodded.
He sighed. "There was a prophecy."
"I thought so," she said. "Voldemort targeted the Potters?"
"Yes. When I learned of it, I begged Dumbledore to hide them."
"And Pettigrew betrayed them."
Snape's eyes narrowed. "I thought you didn't know what happened?"
"Padma told me a few things," she admitted. "I just wanted to be sure she was right."
"Yes, Pettigrew gave the Dark Lord the Potters' location. Although at the time, everyone thought it was Black. The Dark Lord went to Godric's Hollow on Halloween of 1981 to kill the entire Potter family. But Lily's sacrifice for her son caused the Killing curse to rebound and kill the Dark Lord instead.
Dumbledore, in his infinite wisdom," Snape said with a sneer, "gave Potter to his abysmal relatives. He grew up knowing nothing of magic until Hagrid arrived with his Hogwarts letter."
"And then three years later, Sirius escaped from Azkaban and Narcissa got him a trial. How did Dumbledore react when Sirius laid claim to Harry?" Hermione asked.
"He was not pleased but there was nothing he could do. With the Potters' will, the Wizengamot sided with Black."
"Did you ever wonder why Dumbledore was so upset about Harry not staying with the Dursleys?"
Severus studied her for a few moments. "He spoke of blood protection through Petunia."
"But if Voldemort was dead, why would that matter?"
Severus paused again. "There were Death Eaters that avoided Azkaban."
She suspected there was more he wasn't saying. "Like Lucius Malfoy."
Snape stiffened again. "Lucius was not a Death Eater by choice. His father had him under the Imperius and was potioning him to comply for years. Narcissa as well."
"I know. Padma told me."
His eyes narrowed. "I suggest you explain what you are hinting around about then."
Hermione took a deep breath. "I don't think Voldemort is dead. The curse he cast at Harry rebounded, yes, but I don't think it killed him."
Severus was staring at her, face blank.
"The reason I don't think he's dead is because in my world, he wasn't. He was a shade, wandering until he could find another body. He tried a few times, but it wasn't until the end of our fourth year that he was successful. With Pettigrew's help, he found an ancient ritual that resurrected him and gave him a new body." She paused. "And the reason he wasn't killed in the first place was because he made Horcruxes. Seven of them."
There was silence in the room. She was studying Severus closely, but his face was giving nothing away.
"My concern is that the same thing has happened here. But for whatever reason, Voldemort hasn't tried to return yet. I can tell you what all the Horcruxes were and their locations in my world, although I have no idea if they would be the same here," she finished.
"That won't be necessary," Snape said.
Hermione's brow furrowed. "I know you think he's dead but Dumbledore's actions after the Potters were killed here were the same as they were in my world. Why would he insist on putting Harry with the Dursleys if Voldemort were really dead? I understand about the Death Eaters but surely there would have been plenty of wizarding families that could have protected him.
You don't want a second war, and I definitely don't want this Harry to have to go through what my Harry did. Please, at least let me tell you what I think they are."
Snape sighed. He seemed to be trying to decide whether he should tell her something or not. "I will need a wand oath that you will not reveal anything I am about to tell you to anyone."
"I'm happy to do that but you should know that I'm fairly certain my other self is aware of everything that happens to me, or her, or well, you know what I mean."
"Once you are gone, I will extract the same vow from her if she does indeed know what I am about to relay to you."
"All right," Hermione agreed. She made the oath and then looked at him expectantly.
"The reason why I do not require you to tell me what the Horcruxes are is because they have already been destroyed."
Hermione stared at him in surprise. "Sorry?"
"When Abraxas Malfoy died and his machinations revealed, Lucius went through Malfoy Manor to clear it of Dark Magic. He knew that his father had collected many Dark and cursed objects and Lucius himself had been given one by the Dark Lord."
"The diary," Hermione said.
Severus gave a curt nod. "He knew it was important but not exactly what it was. Lucius had a specialist look at it and when we discovered it was a Horcrux, we Obliviated the man and locked the diary away until we could discover how to destroy it.
Lucius remembered that when the Dark Lord gave him the diary, he had also given something to Bellatrix Lestrange. He gave her the same admonitions about it being important and keeping it safe. Lucius suspected it was another Horcrux."
"Hufflepuff's Cup," Hermione said.
"Yes, although we didn't know it was the cup at the time," Snape said. "As all three Lestranges were in Azkaban, Narcissa, as Bellatrix's sister, had access to Lestrange Hall. Lucius and I went through it as we had Malfoy Manor, but we didn't find another Horcrux. We suspected that Bellatrix may have put it in her vault at Gringotts. The Lestranges had no living relatives and so again Narcissa, as Bella's sister, was allowed access to the vault. We found the cup and stored it away with the diary.
Our problem now became figuring out if there were others and how many. There was no one else that Lucius thought the Dark Lord had entrusted with one, but we had no way of knowing for sure. We were unsure how to proceed."
"Did you think of going to Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.
"We did until Lucius spoke to Black once he had been cleared and released. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Dumbledore could have ordered a trial for Black at any time, even overriding Barty Crouch and the Minister's decision. But he never did. While Black admitted that they had told no one about the change in Secret-keeper, not even Dumbledore, Black's relationship with James Potter should have given Dumbledore pause. The two had been inseparable since their first year at Hogwarts and Black had turned his back on his family's beliefs. He was named Harry Potter's godfather. How could he have then betrayed them?
Plenty of people wondered about it, many of them close to Dumbledore. As much as I hated Potter and Black and the rest of them, even I thought it made no sense. But Dumbledore never even questioned Black, just watched as he was sent to Azkaban without a trial.
Black also knew the entirety of the prophecy. Once he shared it with us, we decided that Dumbledore had different motives than we did and chose not to involve him."
Hermione didn't blame them. She had often wondered how Dumbledore could have allowed Sirius to go to Azkaban without a trial. In fact, there were times that she had wondered if Dumbledore had wanted Sirius in Azkaban so he could send Harry to the Dursleys with no argument. She hadn't liked thinking her former Headmaster that cold and calculating but sometimes she couldn't help it.
"How did you find the rest of them?" Hermione asked. "Or have you? And how did you know how many there were?"
It had taken them a year to find the rest of them. Like Dumbledore, they had questioned people from Riddle's past, Severus discovering his actual identity by going through old school records while he was still a professor. They knew that he had attended school with Lucius' father and knew what Riddle looked like, so it wasn't all that hard to find him in the end.
All the Horcruxes had been the same objects in the same places as they were in her world, but they hadn't had to go through the ordeal in the cave. When Sirius was released from St. Mungo's he decided to completely gut and remodel Grimmauld Place. While doing so, he had discovered the locket and Kreacher had relayed the story of Regulus' stealing of the locket. They had, however, decided to visit the cave anyway and rid it of the Inferi that inhabited it. While Muggles wouldn't have been able to get in, there was no guarantee that a witch or wizard might not have stumbled across it someday.
Snape had left his position as Potions professor at the end of this Hermione's third year in order to devote himself full-time to the Horcrux hunt. While they were looking for Horcruxes, they were also trying to determine where the shade of Voldemort had gone after he had fled Godric's Hollow that fateful Halloween.
It was more difficult than it likely had been in her world, as Voldemort hadn't made himself known in this Hermione's first year and Lucius had never given Ginny Weasley, or any other student, the diary in second year. Still, there were hints, as Voldemort had told his Death Eaters the night he was resurrected in her world.
Because Pettigrew had been captured before he had a chance to flee to Albania to find Voldemort, Bertha Jorkins was never killed and Voldemort never made Nagini a Horcrux. She was still his familiar and protector, however. When Severus and Lucius had finally found Voldemort, it was a struggle to destroy the snake without both of them getting killed. And once they had, the shade of Voldemort had tried to flee. Thankfully, they had been able to put up strong wards against his escape and were able to catch him in some kind of containment field. Hermione suspected it was the precursor to the containment fields they used in the labs at M.I.
"Once we had him trapped, we were able to force him into a warded box that suppressed his magic and kept him contained inside. We still hadn't mastered the Fiendfyre that we knew would be needed to destroy the Horcruxes so we knew Riddle would have to be 'stored' for lack of a better word, until we had."
Hermione had avoided asking the question the entire time he was talking, hoping that Snape would bring it up on his own. When he didn't, she knew she would have to ask. What if they didn't know that Harry was a Horcrux too? What if they'd destroyed the other Horcruxes and Voldemort, only to leave a piece of his soul in Harry?
She took a fortifying breath. "What about Harry?"
Snape stilled. "What are you referring to?"
"In my world, when Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow that night, he made an unintentional Horcrux. When he tried to kill Harry and the curse rebounded, a bit of Voldemort's soul ripped away and attached itself to Harry. In his scar."
Snape stared at her for a moment and then he sighed. "Yes, Potter is a Horcrux."
"But then, how did you get rid of Voldemort?"
"We haven't as of yet."
Hermione was stunned into silence. "I don't…I thought you said…what?"
He sighed again. "We have destroyed the rest of the Horcruxes, which weakened Riddle considerably. However, we were not about to kill Potter. Since Lucius started Malfoy Industries, I have been researching a way to get the Horcrux out of Potter without damaging him. I have not been successful as of yet, although I feel I am getting close."
"What about Voldemort?" she asked.
"He is still contained as he has been since we found him. He is…stored, here at M.I. in a room where only Lucius or I are able to enter. He will stay there until we remove the Horcrux from Potter and then we will destroy him."
Hermione stared at him, unable to keep the horror from her face. Voldemort was here, in this building, stored in some kind of container? With all the people that worked here? What if he escaped?
"There is no way that he can escape," Severus said, reading the fear on her face. "He is on a sublevel well below any of the other floors, in a room that Lucius and I designed just for this purpose. The two of us are the only ones that have access or even know that it exists."
"And what if something happens to the two of you?"
"Measures have been put in place should that unlikely event happen. Certain people will be notified and the work on removing the Horcrux from Potter will continue."
"What if you never find a way to remove it?"
"I am confident that we will."
"Does Harry know?"
"He does not."
She wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, she would never want Harry to live with the anguish of knowing he carried a piece of Voldemort in his head but on the other, she didn't like that they were hiding it from him as Dumbledore had in her world.
"You need to understand that the thing inside Potter's scar is not a Horcrux in the truest sense. Riddle spoke no incantation, nor did he complete the ritual needed to make a proper Horcrux. Add in the fact that it is inside a living being instead of an object, it is not stable as a true Horcrux would be."
"Isn't that more dangerous then?"
"Not necessarily. It is more of a…growth, than a true soul fragment. And it seems that it can be influenced by the host."
"What does that mean?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"I have been monitoring Potter since we discovered what was residing in his scar. I scan it once a year in what he thinks is part of a cleansing process for the residual Dark Magic that was in his scar. I have done so for the last nine years. It has been shrinking."
"Shrinking?"
"Yes. Our theory is that the more…positive emotions Potter is exposed to the more he kills off the thing inside his head."
"You mean love," Hermione said with a small laugh.
Snape raised a brow. "I suppose, yes."
"I'm sorry, it's just, in my world, Dumbledore told Harry that love was the 'power that he knows not' in the prophecy. And honestly, it is what saved Harry's life, so I suppose he wasn't wrong."
"Explain."
She took a deep breath. "In my world, Harry discovered he was a Horcrux after we had managed to destroy the rest of them except Nagini, Voldemort's snake."
"Nagini was a Horcrux?"
"In my world, yes, but it's obvious that she wasn't here. Anyway, Harry found out that not only was he a Horcrux but that," her breath hitched even after all this time. Even though she knew that he was alive and safe. "That he would have to die in order for Voldemort to be killed. So, he went to Voldemort willingly and just let it happen."
"Let what happen?" Severus asked sharply.
"He let Voldemort cast the Killing Curse at him."
"For fuck's sake," Snape swore.
"But he didn't die. The Horcrux died instead, and Harry decided to come back. There were a lot of people he loved already on the other side, his parents, Sirius, Remus. But there were more people still alive that he loved too. So, he came back and finished the job."
Severus stared at her. "Potter survived the Killing Curse twice?"
Hermione nodded.
Severus rolled his eyes. "Typical."
She couldn't help but laugh. She wondered though, if the thing that was in her Harry's head would have eventually shrunk as well. She remembered when Harry had told her about Voldemort possessing him after the Department of Mysteries debacle. That when Harry started thinking about his friends and the Weasleys and Sirius, people he loved, Voldemort had fled his body, no longer able to stand it.
Or perhaps it was only here where he'd been able to live with Sirius, where he still had both his godfather and Remus in his life. Where he had the close friends he had in her world, plus many more as well. Where he had a woman that he was clearly in love with, where he had a job that he loved, where he hadn't had to suffer the same trials and horrors during his school years that he had in her world.
She didn't know but regardless, he wouldn't have been able to kill Voldemort with it still in his head, so it was likely a moot point. She looked back at Snape. "I'm glad you haven't told him. He seems happier here."
Severus simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"What is Dumbledore's stance on all of this?" she asked.
"As I am not in frequent contact with him, I have no idea."
"He doesn't know that you've destroyed all the Horcruxes though, does he?"
"He knows nothing about the Horcruxes or Riddle's current location, no."
"But does he think that Voldemort is still alive somewhere? That he might still come back?"
"If he does, he has not shared that information."
Hermione wondered if Dumbledore had given up on Voldemort returning since the events of her first two years in school hadn't happened here. And since Severus and Lucius had captured Voldemort, there obviously hadn't been any hints of his existence since. Death Eaters had never been broken out of Azkaban, Pettigrew had been captured and while there were likely some that had avoided imprisonment after the first war, it didn't seem as if they had been active at all since. Dumbledore wasn't interfering in Harry's life at any rate, and he'd officiated this Hermione and Draco's wedding. Perhaps he was different as well. She hoped so.
"Can I ask you something?" she said.
"You may, although I will not guarantee I will answer."
"Why did Lucius' father feel the need to put him under the Imperius curse?"
Snape studied her for a moment before he responded. "When Lucius Malfoy started at Hogwarts, he was not the bigoted blood purist he became later. This was largely due to this mother, as his father spouted anti-Muggle rhetoric all the time.
His mother was much more tolerant. Evangeline was concerned about Muggleborns, yes, but only because she felt that some of the traditions and rituals of our world were being forgotten or outlawed altogether, as well as being concerned about the breach of the Statute of Secrecy. While a Muggleborn's parents or guardians and siblings were allowed to know about the magical community, it was supposed to end there. However, it often didn't. The majority of Muggleborns were careful but their families weren't always as circumspect as they should be."
Hermione could understand that. She was an only child, as were both of her parents, but she had been close to her grandmother. It was extremely difficult to have to make up stories about the fictional boarding school for gifted children that she attended. She would have given anything to tell her Nan about the things she was actually learning at Hogwarts. She could see where other families would have slipped or outright ignored the rules.
"Abraxas Malfoy was a cruel man," Severus continued, "using physical punishment whenever he felt his son and wife were not measuring up to his standards. Lucius learned very early on to conceal any thoughts and ideas that did not agree with his father's. This included Evangeline's beliefs about Muggleborns, which he himself had adopted. Even though he had never interacted with anyone other than Purebloods before he went to Hogwarts, he went to Hogwarts cautious about Muggleborns but not outright hating them."
Hermione was surprised. She didn't know anything about Lucius Malfoy's mother, of course, had never even heard the woman's name. She knew that Draco's grandfather had died at some point when they were students, remembering that Professor Slughorn had offered Draco his condolences during sixth year. But his grandmother was never mentioned. She wondered if the Evangeline Malfoy of her world had been the same. And if she had, she wondered what had happened to Lucius to make him the man he had become in her world.
"When Lucius was a fourth year, he was paired with a Ravenclaw Muggleborn in Ancient Runes for a project," Severus said. "After working together for several weeks, they became friends. It had been clear to Lucius from his first year that Muggleborns were not inferior as his father had always insisted. There were plenty of them that were very intelligent and skilled in magic just as there were Purebloods that were not. Lucius attempted to keep the friendship from his father, however, I am sure you are aware of the gossip mill that is Hogwarts. Abraxas found out from an associate whose daughter had told her father all about it. When Lucius went home the summer after fourth year, he was punished severely."
Severus paused, studying his hands which were clasped in his lap. "I do not know the details as Lucius does not like to speak of it. But from what I could piece together, his mother tried to intervene in his punishment. She died from her injuries."
Hermione gasped. "That's, wasn't Abraxas arrested?"
Severus snorted. "Abraxas Malfoy had blackmail material on more Ministry officials than you would care to know about. So no, there was no possibility that he would be arrested. Lucius knew this full well. So, when he attempted to retaliate against his father, Abraxas put him under the Imperius curse.
Lucius fought it, of course, and managed to throw it off a few times. That is when his father added the potions. By the time I started Hogwarts, Lucius was a sixth year and the perfect Pureblood scion of the House of Malfoy."
"That's, that's horrible." Hermione found herself feeling sorry for Lucius Malfoy. She couldn't imagine the guilt he must have felt over his mother's death. She wondered if the Lucius from her world had suffered similarly. Even if he had, he had still made the choice to follow in his father's footsteps, no potions of Imperius curse needed.
After a few minutes of silence, Severus spoke again. "I would ask you about the differences in your world versus ours, but I sense that I would not like the answer."
"No, you wouldn't. It's probably better if you don't know."
He nodded. "Once you have spoken to Miss Patil about her findings regarding the device, I would like to be informed as to when you think you will be leaving us."
"All right."
"You are certain that inhabiting the body with your other self causes no ill-effects."
"I can't be certain as I have no idea what happens once I jump." She felt that same stab of pain she always did when she wondered what had happened to the Hermiones of the other worlds she'd been in.
He nodded. "Would you permit me to cast a diagnostic?"
"Of course," she replied. She'd already run a couple herself so knew he wouldn't find anything troubling.
Severus drew his wand and cast the same spell she'd done on herself and explained to Padma a few days ago. He scanned the readings and then nodded as everything looked fine. "As for the nausea potion, I think it best if I wait until you are gone and formulate it for this world's Hermione."
"I understand," she said. She'd been dealing with the nausea for a few days now, she could deal with it for a few more, or less, depending on what Padma had to say.
Snape stood and prepared to leave her office.
"Thank you," she said before he opened the door. "For everything you've done here. I wish Harry could have been spared it in our world."
He studied her for a few moments. "I'm sorry that the adults of your world failed you as they did."
She felt tears gathering in her eyes and simply nodded, unable to speak.
Once he was gone, she pulled in a ragged breath. She wouldn't dwell on what could have been. It wouldn't change anything.
"Please tell me you've found something," Hermione said to Padma a few hours later once she had arrived for their meeting.
"I've found quite a bit," Padma said. "I'm just not sure if it will help you or not."
"What do you mean?"
"The charms and enchantments on the device are extremely complex. Even the most precise diagnostic spells I have had a tough time teasing anything out. Whoever created this was a genius. That said, I have found a couple of things."
"Which are?"
"It's formulated a bit like a Portkey, although far more advanced of course. But the basic travel charms and spells that are on a Portkey are there. I've never studied an actual Time-turner, just read about the theory, so I can't be certain, but I would venture to guess that there are similar charms to a Time-turner on the Universe Hopper as well. There is another set of enchantments that ties everything together. It's powered by the runes and symbols on the rings and connected to the sand in the middle disc as well. That's what's propelling you from universe to universe."
Hermione's hopes rose. "Does that mean you can manipulate it to take me to a certain place?"
"I could if I knew how the device determined what place you wanted to get to. That seems to be controlled by the rune and symbol array, as well as the sand and the turning of the rings. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to determine how to manipulate them to get you home. There's nothing in the charms on the device itself that would indicate how."
Hermione sighed and slumped in her chair. She wasn't completely surprised; that was the sticking point in all the other universes as well.
"This is probably stupid question because I'm sure you would have consulted them before this if you did, but do you have any idea who made this?" Padma asked.
"Not for certain but we suspect it might have been Augustus Rookwood."
Padma's brow furrowed. "I don't think I know who that is."
"You probably wouldn't," Hermione said with another sigh. "He was an Unspeakable that became a Death Eater during the war with Voldemort. He was sent to Azkaban in 1981. I assume he's still there."
"He was in Azkaban in all the other universes then?"
"Either in Azkaban or dead. There was no way to speak to him without arousing suspicion and none of the other Hermiones or Padmas had any knowledge of the Universe Hopper being found in their worlds. In the second universe, we got some information from Theo Nott. His father had notes and drawings for a Time-turner that could go back as many years as you wanted. Theo said that Rookwood visited their house a lot so we speculated that they might have been working on it together. We used the plans for the Time-turner to line up the symbols and turn the rings on the Universe Hopper That was the first time I jumped into my other self's body."
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Padma spoke again. "There was one other thing."
"What?" Hermione asked immediately.
"Well, I don't know what it means exactly but there's that symbol that looks like it wraps around the edge of the outer ring. I couldn't see the whole thing because I wasn't able to touch the device to turn it over. But it seems like it's the only one that's positioned that way, so I wondered if it was significant."
"We've been asking that question since the first universe. I know it must mean something since it's changed every time I've jumped but I've no idea what."
"It's changed?" Padma asked.
Hermione nodded. "One of the other Padmas thought that it might be something that marks the universe I'm in."
Padma frowned. "Why would you want to know that though? I mean I guess if you were planning on going back to a universe more than once, you would want to identify it somehow. But how could you know in advance?"
"You couldn't, obviously." Hermione's brow furrowed in thought.
"And even if it did mark the universe you were in, how would you recreate it to get back there? I suppose you could etch it in but then how would you get rid of the current mark?"
"Right," Hermione said, gears turning in her mind but unable to land on anything. Padma was right, it made no sense for the symbol to designate the current universe if you couldn't manually change it.
"Do you think that you could change it with a spell?" Hermione asked. "Vanish the current symbol and then put a different one in for example? Then you could go back to the same universe more than once."
"With all the charms on that thing, I doubt it. It's even got protections on it so you can't change some of the enchantments. Trying to vanish one of the symbols would likely damage the entire device if it would even work in the first place."
"Then that symbol has got to mean something," Hermione said. She bit her lip in thought. "Does M.I. have a Pensieve?"
"Yes, of course," Padma said. "Why though?"
"If I show you my memories from my jumps and you can see all the different symbols, maybe you can figure something out about what they mean. I will warn you though in the first couple, you'll only see one side. We didn't decide that might mean something until before my third jump. I always checked it after that."
"Yes, let's do that," Padma said, excited gleam in her eye. "Let me make sure that the Pensieve is available. I'll meet you in the lab."
Hermione glanced at the clock on her desk. It was already half three and Draco always showed up at her office promptly at five to pick her up to go home. She didn't have a lot of time, but she could at least give Padma all her memories and even watch the first one or two with her. Merlin, she hoped they could come up with something this time.
