"Just because the solution is difficult doesn't mean it's not the best one."

Unknown

Hermione was scarily pale. She was nauseous and shaking on her feet, unable to stop herself. Her breathing had stopped and she couldn't get any air. Her vision was blurred and all she could hear was the incessant ringing in her ears. She could see figures moving around her. She could no longer control anything, she felt herself sitting down, someone was talking. To her? She didn't know. She could no longer distinguish reality from nightmare.

"Hermione, Hermione. Can you hear me? It's Ella."

Ella? But who was Ella? The only person she wanted to see was Harry. Why wasn't he with her? He'd always been there. Something couldn't have happened to Harry, could it? And Ron, where was Ron? He was normally there too. Her best friends couldn't have abandoned her, so what was going on? Like a flash, all his memories came back. Harry. Ron. Australia. Remus. Hermione's lungs filled with air again and she burst into tears. Everyone she had ever loved, or even known, was dead. How was she going to survive? She cried and cried. Her tears were for Harry, for Ron, for Remus, for all the people she had met in her life who were no longer in this world.

Several passers-by stopped to see the young woman's distress. Some looked at her with pity, others with surprise. What could have happened that a woman, barely grown up, could be sitting on the ground crying so loudly that she could be heard ten metres away?

"Hermione, we have to go. I'll explain."

Seeing that the young woman hadn't moved, Ella began to disperse the small group of onlookers who had approached Hermione, shouting.

"Hermione, you have to listen to me, we have to go to the hospital. Come on."

"What's the point of going, I'm alone now." Hermione muttered.

"Come on Hermione" Ella began, then seemed to realise something. You don't think Remus is dead, do you?

"How can you say that? You just told me. Do you think I'm so blind that I can't see the ambulances or the helicopter?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Hermione, that came out wrong. Yes, something did happen to Remus" she continued, feeling her friend's gaze. "But he didn't die. Badly injured, yes, but not dead. Alex is with him. Come on, let's go to the hospital. I'll explain more."

She took Hermione's arm and forced her to stand up. They walked towards Ella's car, which had finally received a message from her cousin to inform them which hospital the paramedics had taken Remus to. Ella turned on the ignition and started her car, she drove without a word, glancing worriedly at Hermione every five seconds. The young woman had taken refuge in a disconcerting silence. She turned her head towards the landscape and her eyes were vague. She didn't seem to notice Ella's persistent gaze. Hermione had taken refuge in a world that only she knew and could enter. After ten minutes of silence, heavy for Ella and insignificant for Hermione, the former spoke up.

"Do you want to know what happened with Remus? I don't know the whole story, but I can at least tell you the broad strokes."

This question brought Hermione out of her silence. She raised her head and nodded in her friend's direction.

"Alex had spoken to a tourist who had seen something strange near the Great Barrier. He decided to go and have a look, and on closer inspection he realised that the strangeness was only a kilometre away from Remus' dig. He didn't see anything suspicious on the surface, so he waited for Remus to come out of the water to tell him about it. But half an hour later, he felt the earth shake and the sea suddenly became rough. Big waves started to form. Thank God it wasn't a tsunami. With magic, as you proved, you can't be sure of anything. Anyway, I digress. That's when he saw bodies flying and he called me immediately. Other people had called for help. No one died, fortunately. There was a group of tourists who were swimming near the explosion who were also injured. "

The two friends finally arrived at the hospital after a little more than twenty minutes of driving.

"Hi, we're here to check on Remus Lupin. He arrived by helicopter about half an hour ago."

"He's in surgery. You can stay in the waiting room until the operation is over."

The secretary showed them to a room at the end of the corridor. They went there and met Alex who was pacing back and forth looking more than a little anxious.

"Ah, what have you been doing, I've been here for half an hour" he said.

His cousin's dark look made him shut up immediately. He beckoned her to come and sit next to her, so that she could explain. Except for them, the room was empty, so Hermione had gone to the other end of the room to rest. Ella began to tell Hermione's story, making sure that Hermione could not hear her. When she had finished, there was an awkward silence and the long wait began.

Hermione hated hospitals. Oh, not many people liked them, but Hermione had a visceral hatred for them. It started when she was eight years old, she went there for her appendicitis. She had been there for a fortnight, enough to traumatise her. The following year she had gone back, to say goodbye to her grandfather, before he passed away. By the time she entered Hogwarts, her visits to the hated place had subsided and she only went back when Mr Weasley was attacked. In sixth year she accompanied Neville to see his parents when his grandmother was ill, the young man not having the strength to go alone and had asked her to accompany him. The witch could not refuse her friend this favour. Then came her own stay in Spain. Not to mention all the times Harry, and less often Ron, had been in the Hogwarts infirmary. Hermione hated the hospital, for its stench, for the misery it brought, for what it had broken in her life.

After a night of waiting, a woman entered the waiting room, waking the three friends. All three of them looked up. The two cousins had scraggly hair and a mark on their cheek while Hermione had reddened eyes and dark circles.

"Hello, are you the family of the man who arrived by helicopter yesterday after an explosion?"

"No, we're his friends."

"Yes, I'm his sister."

Hermione paid no attention to the questioning looks from Ella and Alex. When the woman announced that only the victim's family could see him, the cousins glared at Hermione for not telling them. They were obviously being rude, it was only logical that Hermione should be the one to see Remus first, as she was his closest friend. The young woman followed the surgeon, as she had finally introduced herself, into a small office.

"Well, then, can you tell me your brother's full name, date of birth, place of residence."

"Lupin, Remus John, March, 10th 1960, 15 Coral Square, Cairns" she said, like a robot.

"Well, were you present at the accident? I must confess I've never seen such injuries. They were very difficult to close, I felt as if the skin was swallowing the thread. Never in my thirty years of experience had I seen such a thing. Do you know what happened?"

"I have no idea, it's true that it's quite strange. Could I go and see my brother?"

"Yes, of course, but I should warn you that he may be slightly disoriented. He should be awake by now. Good luck to you."

"Good luck to you."

Hermione left the room and headed for Remus' room, which had been indicated to her by the surgeon. She knocked on the door and entered, without waiting for her friend's answer.

"Remus? It's me"

"Hermione?"

"Yes Rem'. Are you feeling better? Do you know what happened?"

A flash of clarity crossed Remus's eyes, he seemed to have remembered an important detail.

"My clothes, where are my clothes Hermione? It's urgent."

"Your clothes? Rem' why would you need clothes? You're dressed. If you want I'll pick up some clothes from the flat but I don't see what's so urgent."

"I need the clothes I had on when the accident happened. Don't ask, I'll explain everything later."

Hermione went in search of the clothes. She questioned anyone in the medical profession who could help her, but at best, someone would tell her that they hadn't taken care of Remus, and at worst, they would walk past her without giving her a second glance. After questioning the entire department, Hermione found her hopes dashed. She went back to Remus' room dejected. She was about to open her mouth to tell Remus about her failure when a young nurse entered the room.

"Hello, are you the one who looking for clothes? I think they've been thrown away. But, if you really want to, the bins don't leave for another hour. "

Hermione thanked the young man and rushed out of the hospital. She arrived at the bins, checked that no one was looking at her and took out her wand.

"Accio Remus' clothes."

She collected them and put them in a bag. She masked the smell of the garbage with her own clothes. The smell was not pleasant for anyone. She went into Remus' room who was asleep, still exhausted from his accident. Hermione tried to be discreet as she sat down in the armchair next to the bed.

Unfortunately for her, it was quite old and it creaked when she leaned on it. The creaking woke Remus, who immediately raised his head.

"Ah, it's only you. I was frightened. Do you have my clothes?"

Hermione nodded and handed him the bag. Remus reached for his trousers, which were in a sorry state. He pulled out a necklace which had a thin silver chain and a rather large stone, which looked like a diamond. From this jewel emanated an incredible light. Hermione had never seen anything like it. In all the books she had read, such a phenomenon had never been even mentioned. The jewel seemed to live.

"You found it! But how? You did it!"

Hermione could hardly express herself, her surprise was so great. After many long and arduous months of searching, Remus had found the first Jewel of Time.

"Like every day, I was doing my research and I felt a call within me, telling me to go further. The more I resisted, the more it grew inside me. So I gave in. I let myself be carried away by this call. The more I swam, the more a light seemed to emanate from somewhere in the barrier. The magic was so great that I could feel it entering my veins. One by one I began to remove the barriers that prevented me from accessing the jewel. The last one was much more complicated. I spent hours on it. I had to combine different forms of magic. I lost a lot of energy at that point. And then I had to give blood. The barrier fell. I finally grabbed the Jewel and everything exploded. Black hole and I wake up here in the hospital."

"Remus, can you believe it? We've finished phase one, now we can do phase two."

"Yes, we'll have to prepare to leave Australia. I doubt the next phase will take place here."

The two friends didn't say it to each other, but they were both thinking the same thing. Completing the first phase meant leaving Australia, their habits, their life for the past year. And leaving Australia meant leaving Ella and Alex, obliviate them.

Hermione was pensive. She was thinking about where the next phase would take them. It had been a week since Remus had discovered the necklace. He was due to be discharged from the hospital in the afternoon, Alex would pick him up, since Hermione didn't own a car and he wasn't yet well enough to disapparate, although the two wizards used that means of transport very little, Voldemort could control them from anywhere, nothing was certain.

They were finally going to find out what the second phase meant. They had not yet told their friends about their imminent departure, preferring to tell them as late as possible. It wasn't very brave, but they knew that losing Ella and Alex would be a new trial.

Hermione heard the two friends enter the flat, she helped them and levitated Remus' things to his room while Alex helped him sit on the sofa. She dismissed Alex, who promised to return the next day. The two friends looked at each other and with an unspoken agreement, Hermione went to get the Book of Time.

"What do you think we should do, we're not going to spill blood on the necklace are we?"

"No, open the book, on one page you put the necklace and on the other you pour the blood."

Hermione did as Remus advised, and as soon as the Jewel came into contact with the book, it began to glow so brightly that Hermione felt as if she were standing in front of the sun. Remus told her that it was exactly that light that he had followed to find the jewel. Hermione poured the blood on the other page and the runes turned into letters.

« Time Chosen, congratulations, you have accomplished the first phase in a spectacular way. But from now on, only the next phase counts. For this object is nothing without its fellows.

Time Chosen, this is phase two:

Situado entre los Andes y el bosque más grande del mundo, la segunda fase será. Pero sólo los más poderosos podrán acceder a la vieja montaña y descubrir el codiciado objeto...»

"Is that Italian?"

"No, Rem, it's Spanish. I think I can translate it, I just need to remember what my grandfather taught me."

Hermione went to get a pen and paper, she had to concentrate. It only took her a few minutes to translate the sentence, although her memories were far away. She came to present her translation to Remus, who could only agree, not speaking a word of the language.

Located between the Andes and the largest forest in the world, the second phase will be. But only the most powerful will reach the old mountain and discover the coveted object.

Hermione and Remus had gone to bed without having solved the riddle. They knew that the farewell with the cousins was near, and that made them sick. They had never imagined that they had become so attached to these two muggles when they had met them. That night neither of them slept much, they were thinking too much about this new riddle, which would change their lives. Again.

The next day, Alex and Ella arrived at the two wizards' flat when the sun had not yet shone into the living room. Hermione was still in her pyjamas, reading a Muggle book on the sofa and Remus was still asleep.

"We've brought breakfast! Where's Remus?"

"He's still sleeping, well was sleeping, with all the noise you're making I think he woke up."

"Yes, I'm here."

The four friends ate their breakfast together, in a good mood. They talked about various subjects, as any group of friends would. It had been a while since they had eaten together, only seeing each other in passing to talk about the mission. After clearing the table, Hermione and Remus felt that Alex and Ella wanted to talk to them more seriously.

"We know that something happened in Remus' accident" Ella began.

"And we also know that it's related to the mission" Alex continued.

Remus and Hermione looked at each other, slightly desperate. They knew this moment had to come, but they had put it off until as late as possible. But this escape had been short-lived. Now they would have to explain everything to their friends.

"You are right. If we kept it from you, it's to protect you. And to protect us too. Because we're all going to suffer. Remus, just before his accident, found the object we were looking for."

The two cousins suddenly turned pale. Alex was shaking and Ella's eyes were wide open in shock. Like the two wizards, they knew what this discovery meant.

"Can we see it?"

Hermione questioned her friend with her eyes, who nodded. They would forget about it anyway. She went off to get the jewel and returned a few seconds later with it.

"So where is it?" Alex asked impatiently.

"It's in front of your nose Alex."

"I can't see anything, is this a joke?"

Hermione turned to Remus, and seemed to ask him for an explanation.

"Well, Hermione, it's not that hard to guess. I thought you were the smartest witch of your generation. This jewel must be made to be seen only by wizards. That's why no one has ever found it, even by chance. It's invisible to muggles."

She turned to the cousins, who seemed on the verge of panic.

"And the second riddle? Did you solve it?"

"No, Alex. And before you say anything else, let me finish. We won't tell you about the next phase. That's for us, and us alone, to solve. I'm sorry. Remus and I want to thank you for all the help you have given us. For your support, even when you didn't know about the mission yet. But, as you know as well as we do, the time has come. We will have to forget about you."

"NO! Hermione… Remus…"

"I'm sorry Ella, but Hermione's right. We'll do it at your place, so you won't have to wonder when you 'wake up'."

Remus and Hermione walked them home with a heavy heart. All four of them had tears in their eyes. It was a heartbreaking farewell, once again Hermione and Remus had lost a loved one. Two loved ones. They hugged each other in turn and then Hermione took out her wand.

"Obliviate"

The two friends had spent the day wandering around, not really knowing what to do. They had to pull themselves together, however, as the full moon was scheduled for that evening. It was going to be a complicated one. That day, as on all previous occasions, everyone locked themselves in their rooms with the help of several spells. They had devised this ploy to avoid having to go outside in this form, and thus endanger the muggles around them. They also avoided being in the same room, not knowing how the two wolves might react. What if they tried to kill each other? It was best not to think about that.

The sun was slowly rising over the coral sea in this beautiful June. The sky was a beautiful shade of pink, orange and blue. A sky like one rarely saw. It had been a very long night for the two wizards, their wolves had felt their distress and so they had inflicted many wounds on themselves. When she woke up, Hermione dressed and headed for Remus' room. They had started this little ritual, at the end of each full moon, Hermione would go to Remus' room and each would treat the other's wounds. They would always treat the one with the most serious wounds first and the other would be treated afterwards. On this day it was Hermione who had the deeper wounds but she did not mention them, preferring to attend to Remus' condition, still fragile after his accident. She tended to each wound carefully and when it was her turn, Remus became angry.

"You've seen what you've got Hermione! I wonder how you manage to walk. I've told you before to put the wounds first, not me. You count just as much!"

Remus was referring to Hermione's first full moon, where the young woman had been badly injured and she had first treated Remus, before he had looked after her. The wizard had lectured her and Hermione had made it clear that she would not do it again.

"Just because I got hurt last week doesn't mean I should be protected like this."

Hermione didn't answer him for fear of escalating the already tense situation. She ignored Remus' reproachful look and went to make breakfast.

"Hermione, go and sit down, I'll take care of it."

"How can you do that? I remind you that you're still on crutches. You don't just have a leg injury, it's a magical injury. So rest up, I'm fine. Stop worrying Rem' I'm not four anymore."

After eating a hearty breakfast, the two wizards began to study the riddle of the second phase. The sooner it was solved, the better. Even though they had to leave their friends, Hermione and Remus were happy to have finally completed the first phase. For more than a year they had gone to bed every day with a deep sense of despair and had risen the next day with an iron will. It had been a trying year, and the two friends knew that the next few years would be just as hard, if not harder.