Voldemort.
Dead.
Finalyl.
Hermione had raged a quarterless war against the dark lord all her life. She was shocked to find that chapter so suddenly closed. But it was fitting, she suppoused, that the man that many feared would end time had met his end at the begining of time. 'Life sure is crazy,' she thought with a deep inward sigh.
Several days had passed and Kraug remained paralyzed. Mecha Granger 20-30 had initially tired to cure Kraug's affliction with her steely cold science but Harry had scoffed at the idea, causing tears of shame to burts from MG23's tear valves.
"Well you've certainly learned a lot today," Hermione faux-praised Harry. He had blushed with pride initially, but her scornfull tone arose on his mental palate like some extrasnensory aftertaste of melodious nature. "You've learned a lot indeed! A lot about bullying robots and being crude!" She strode off with the still sobbing MG23 and Harry was left to think about what he'd done.
As always, Kraug was there with him, but she still couldn't move and wasn't reallly much of a conversationalist to begin with and Harry eyed MG23 and Hermione Lion Heart's dance party with mopey jealousy.
Finally, one day, magic struck twice. Harry and Hermione were both going to fish out some fresh coconuts from the river for their respective mid'noon snacks and they bumped heads. The two fell instantly into spasms of uncontrollable laughter. They'd not had a proper giggle in ages, in all that time spent waiting. Instantly all the bad blood between them was exsanguinated in an aterial spray of forgiveness.
Harry and MG23 and The Time Child passed the time, waiting for their time to catch up with them so they could go back to Hogwarts and tell of their grand adventures, by playing leap frog and truth or day for millenia on end.
And then.
Quite suddenly.
Hogwarts! Neville! Professor Sprout, Flitwick and Padma! They were all there again, and just beyond, Hogwarts; grand as ever. The front lawn was bubbling with a raucous crowd, who had come to usher in the return of the golden trio. MG23, Hermione Lion Heart, and the fearsome god Kraug, with her turtilian aspect and magic powers. They surged and swelled over the little group, nearly trampling all over poor Harry, who in the confusion had to back pretty far away. His stumblng backwards regression cruelly cut off by a toss on his rump when he'd tripped over a gnarled tree root.
He eyed the cheers and salivations of adoration the trio inspired. Not so long ago he had been special. The boy who lived, he spat with self pity driven disdain.
More like; the boy who was...forgotten
But he was far from the only one with tears of envious languor misting his vision. Clutching Ron's shoulder, there was Padma. So recently had her twin departed from her, the wound still fresh and raw, and here before her... Kraug and her double set of twins, the sleek and sassy MG23 and the Time Child herself. No. No, it wasn't so long ago that Padma had had someone almost just like her and infinitely special to her. But fate had snatched that away. He knew Ron was friends by association with Kraug, which made him friends once removed of Hermione and MG23, so she played nice.
But underneath her brittle smiles and nods, a poison secret clutched at her tender heart.