Chapter 22

27 July 2003

Hermione woke with a pounding headache. Her tongue felt like she'd licked a kneazle. She groaned and opened her eyes, then quickly closed them again. Why was it so bright? Gods, why had she drunk so much?

She didn't remember a whole lot of what happened the night before after she had sex with Sirius. She knew there was takeaway and more wine. A lot more wine if she remembered correctly. She was fairly sure there was more sex too. Fuck, she'd been so stupid. She could have done or said anything while she was pissed and wouldn't have been able to explain it.

Except, for some reason she wasn't sure that was true. Not that she would have been able to explain who she really was but that she would have had reason to. She had the feeling that she hadn't been in complete control last night. It was almost like her other self had taken over at times. Not completely, Hermione had still been there too, but it was…different.

She'd gotten used to getting feelings and thoughts from her other selves in previous universes. They'd never been as strong as in this one though. And she had never felt like the other Hermione had pushed herself forward like that.

It must have been the wine. She'd drank in other worlds too but not as much as she had last night. She couldn't let herself do that again. She had to stay in control.

Hermione heard the door to the bedroom open. Then the mattress dipped as someone sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Here, love," Sirius said and pressed a vial of something into her hand.

She slitted one eye open and saw the blue hue of a hangover potion. She tipped the vial to her lips, sighing after she drank it down. Sirius took the empty container from her, then brushed her curls from her face.

The potion didn't take long to work, thank Merlin. She opened her eyes a few minutes later to see Sirius smiling down at her. He must not have been awake for long as he was still in just his pants, although he had put on a t-shirt, much to her disappointment. Without conscious thought, she pulled on his arm. He obliged her, lying down next to her.

She burrowed into him, much like she had the night before, not even caring that she was only in her knickers. He wrapped his arms around her, then kissed the top of her head. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I'm glad you brewed as much as you did the last time. I'm sure we're going to need it."

Hermione said nothing, having no idea what he was talking about. Except apparently, he thought they would be drinking to excess again. Well, she wasn't. Last night was too odd to repeat.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked after several minutes of silence.

"A little. What time is it though? I'm meeting Padma for lunch."

"Right, I'd forgotten. It's half ten."

Half ten? Hermione couldn't remember the last time she'd slept that late. While she did sometimes like to have a bit of a lie-in at the weekends, she was usually up by nine at the latest. Again, she was blaming it on the wine.

"Maybe just some toast then," she said. She needed something in her stomach, but she didn't want to have a large breakfast if she was going to be eating lunch in a couple of hours.

"I'll get it in a minute," Sirius said as dipped his head down and kissed her.

Hermione lost herself in the kiss for a bit. But when Sirius moved to her neck, she stopped him.

"I have to meet Padma soon," she said, breath hitching as he found a rather sensitive spot.

"Plenty of time," Sirus said, hand traveling up her torso to cup a breast.

"Sirius-" but whatever else she was going to say was forgotten as he moved down her body, head disappearing under the sheets, hands tugging her knickers down her legs.

Hermione's hands buried themselves in his hair, breathy moans and whispers of his name falling from her lips as he applied himself to his task. And then her hips were bucking, and she was crying out as she fell over the edge.

He crawled back up her body, kissing her fiercely as he buried himself inside her, having lost his pants at some point. Their coupling was more frantic than it had been the other times, but she met him thrust for thrust feeling herself quickly headed for the edge once again. Sirius sped up his movements, hips snapping quickly as he gripped one of her hips, propping himself up on his other elbow.

"Yes, fuck, Hermione, I," he trailed off, eyes closing as he neared his own release.

She used her own fingers to push herself over this time and he followed almost immediately after, shouting out her name and then collapsing on top of her. They were both panting as they came down, Hermione's fingers drawing lazy patterns on Sirius' back.

He finally gathered enough strength to roll off her, waving a hand to cast another cleansing charm over them. His hand searched between them until it found hers, taking it and squeezing. She squeezed back as they both lay staring up at the ceiling while they recovered.

"Move in here with me," he said a few minutes later.

"What?" Hermione asked in confusion. "I already live here."

"Not here in the house. Here. In this room. With me." He rolled to his side to look at her.

Hermione began to panic. She didn't understand. It was clear that her other self slept in this room. Her clothes weren't here true, but that was more about space than anything. Wasn't it?

Sirius sighed. "Hermione, it's been three years. I think I've proven that I'm not going anywhere."

She blinked, having no idea what to say. But there was an underlying feeling of uneasiness from her other self. Almost like they'd had this conversation before, and the other Hermione didn't believe what Sirius was saying.

He took her hand again, lacing their fingers together. "I love you. I want you here, with me, fully. Please, love."

"The space," Hermione said lamely, not knowing why she said it.

"That's a bullshite excuse and you know it. Space is not the problem. I can move another wardrobe in here." He waved a hand at the wall opposite the bathroom. "Hell, I can knock that wall out and turn the bedroom next door into a giant walk-in wardrobe if you want me to. Actually, that's not a bad idea. And at least then you wouldn't be able to use space as an excuse anymore."

She stared at him, saying nothing. He sighed again, flopping down on his back. She knew he was upset but she didn't have any idea what was going on and her other self was giving her no help. It was obvious this was an argument they'd had before but she had no idea why the other Hermione hadn't agreed. There must have been a reason. Still, she needed to say something.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know you are," he replied, voice flat.

She bit her lip, feeling tears well but she wasn't sure why. She sniffled a little and he turned his head towards her, expression softening as he took in her face.

"Ah, hell," he said, then pulled her to him. "Don't cry, love. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked now."

"Sirius, I-" but he cut her off before she could continue. Not that she had any idea what she was going to say.

"It's all right. Just promise me you'll think about it." He pulled back and looked at her. "Please?'

"I will," she said. He looked at her a bit skeptically. "I swear I will."

He relaxed at that and hugged her to him again. Hermione really needed to talk to Padma.

Hermione made her way through Diagon Alley to the café where she was meeting Padma. Her mind was churning with questions, but also anxiety at once again having to explain to the other woman what was happening. She hoped she could convince Padma to go to her flat first. Hermione had no intention of telling her story in public, especially not in the middle of Diagon.

She reached the café to see Padma already waiting for her. Hermione felt a sense of relief as the other woman smiled at her. Padma was her friend, they worked together, she would understand and help Hermione as much as she could.

"How are you?" Padma asked as she hugged Hermione. Padma took a step back, looking at her in concern.

Hermione's brow furrowed. Obviously, something was going on that she didn't know about. Just one more thing to ask. She decided to answer honestly though. "I've been better."

Padma gave her a sympathetic look, then reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. She didn't say anything, however.

Hermione glanced around the café, about half full given it was lunchtime at the weekend. "Listen, I really need to talk to you about something, but I don't want to do it here. Do you think we could go somewhere more private?"

"Of course," Padma said. "Do you want me to come to yours?"

"No, Sirius is home, and this is, well," Hermione trailed off.

"I understand," Padma said with a small smile, squeezing Hermione's hand again. "We can go to mine then. Parvati's out for the day. She and Lavender are shopping for, erm, they're shopping."

Hermione managed not to react, although she did wonder how Lavender had survived. That wasn't important though. Although, she was sure that Padma had been about to say something else. And she and Parvati obviously lived together, which wasn't the case in Hermione's world. The two sisters had shared Padma's current flat right after Hogwarts, but Parvati had moved out a year later to move in with her boyfriend, now husband.

"Thanks, Padma," Hermione said.

Padma smiled. "Come on. We can get takeaway from the Leaky."

Hermione followed her back to the Leaky Cauldron and they ordered their food. Once it had been handed over to them, they walked to the Floo. Hermione listened closely as Padma called out her destination then smiled as she realized it was the same flat Padma had lived in in every other universe, including Hermione's own.

As she stepped out of the fireplace, Padma had already gone into the kitchen to get plates and utensils. They took a few minutes to open the containers and tuck into their food. Padma took a drink of her butterbeer and then looked at Hermione.

"So, what's the problem with Sirius?"

Hermione looked at her, wondering why she'd decided to ask that particular question.

"I just assumed, since you didn't want to go back to your place to talk while he was there."

"Oh, right, well, there's something else too but, he did ask me to move in with him again. Into his room, I mean." Hermione hoped that this was something that her other self had spoken to Padma about before.

"And you said no again?"

"I said I'd think about it."

Padma nodded but didn't say anything else. Hermione could tell she wanted to though. "Go ahead, tell me."

Padma sighed. "Look, I know that you think the two of you wouldn't have gotten together if it hadn't been for," she paused and glanced at Hermione, then continued, "everything that happened. But it's been three years, Hermione. If he were going to leave, he would have done it by now, don't you think?"

That response didn't help her much. It wasn't anything different than what Sirius had said to her this morning. Still, knowing how her other self felt during the discussion with Sirius and what both he and Padma had said to her, it must have been something the other Hermione was worried about.

She wondered why though. Sure, she could see a bit of insecurity given it was Sirius, but she would have thought after three years the other Hermione would have gotten over that. Sirius had told her multiple times that he loved her just in the two days she'd been here. She imagined he said it to her other self quite often as well. And it wasn't just saying it. It was clear to Hermione that he really did love her other self with the way he acted, the things he did for her.

Padma sighed, the prolonged silence obviously making her think that Hermione didn't believe a word of what she was saying. "Can I tell you something without you getting upset with me?"

"Of course," Hermione said. She wouldn't get upset with Padma after all and maybe it would help her understand.

Padma took a deep breath and looked Hermione in the eye. "I think you feel guilty because of Harry. I think you're not letting yourself be happy, genuinely happy, because of that."

Instead of helping, Padma's statement made Hermione even more confused. What did she mean because of Harry? Did he not approve of the two of them? If he didn't, Hermione couldn't see herself or Sirius continuing the relationship. Harry was her best friend. She wouldn't date his godfather if he were truly against it. And Sirius wouldn't have done that either. Harry was too important to him.

Well, at least she and the Sirius of her world wouldn't have. She obviously didn't know anything about her other self, nor much about this Sirius. Maybe her other self and Harry weren't that close? But no, that made no sense given all the letters he'd sent while he was traveling. It was clear from them that the other Hermione and Harry were just as close in this world as they were in hers. She couldn't imagine it was any different between the Sirius and Harry of this world.

Although, Sirius hadn't mentioned Harry once since she'd been here. And Harry hadn't contacted them either. She didn't even know where he lived. Even in the last universe where she'd been married to Draco Malfoy, she and Harry were still close friends. None of this made sense. And her other self wasn't giving her any kind of clue.

"I'm sorry," Padma said after Hermione hadn't responded. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no, I'm not upset, just…thinking." She gave Padma a half smile. "But that's really not what I wanted to talk to you about anyway."

"Oh?"

"No, I, erm, well," Hermione sighed. "There's something I need to tell you, that I need your help with. And I know it's going to sound mad but please just hear me out. Remember where we work and hear me out."

She was taking a chance, Hermione knew that. It was entirely possible that Padma wasn't an Unspeakable in this universe. But Hermione didn't really see another way that they'd have become close friends if they didn't work together. In the universes where they didn't, they weren't close. They barely spoke in some of them.

"All right," Padma said warily.

Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm not who you think I am."

Padma blinked, gaze locked on Hermione. "I'm not sure what to do with that statement."

"I am Hermione Granger but I'm not the Hermione Granger of this world. In my world, I'm also an Unspeakable. I was examining an unknown device that was recovered from a known Death Eater's residence and had an accident. Since then, I've been jumping from parallel universe to parallel universe, trying to get back to my own. This is my sixth."

Padma stared at her, saying nothing. Hermione bit her lip, wondering what was going through her friend's head.

"You're having me on, right? This is some kind of, I don't know, payback for what I said about you feeling guilty."

"No, no," Hermione said. "It's true. I swear."

"You do know how crazy this sounds? I understand that you're having a rough time right now, but this is-" Padma laughed nervously.

"I know it sounds mad, but I can prove it to you," Hermione said ignoring the 'rough time' comment. She had no idea what that meant and was tired of trying to figure things out. She just wanted to show the Universe Hopper to Padma and get some help to get out of here. Hermione started to reach into her pocket, but Padma was on her feet, wand in hand.

"Hermione, I, let me just call Sirius, yeah?"

Hermione held her hands up. "I was just going to show you the Universe Hopper."

Padma's eyes widened. "The what?"

"I know it's kind of an odd name but it's what someone in one of the other universes started calling it and it's just stuck."

"The other uni-, Hermione, listen to me. Let me take you to St. Mungo's. You can talk to Healer Southwark. I'm sure she can help you. Like before, remember?"

Hermione scowled. She had no idea who Healer Southwark was, but she had no intention of going to St. Mungo's. And Padma was talking to her as if she were a child. Or barmy. This hadn't happened before. Padma had been wary yes, outright disbelieving at first, but she'd never treated her this patronizingly.

"I don't need to go to St. Mungo's. Just let me show you. Summon it if it will make you feel better."

Instead, Padma petrified her, then levitated her to the couch. While Hermione was annoyed, she couldn't say she blamed her. This was definitely the most suspicious Padma she'd encountered. Although, she suspected it had something to do with whatever it was the other Hermione was going through. Which, frustratingly, she still didn't know.

Padma performed a number of scans on Hermione to detect Portkeys, hexes, jinxes, or Dark magic. When she found none, Padma summoned Hermione's wand, then the Universe Hopper. Padma levitated the box to the table, performing the same series of scans on it before she finally seemed satisfied. She still didn't end the spell on Hermione, however.

Instead, she opened the box that held the Universe Hopper. Brow furrowing, she bent down to inspect it more closely. Hermione, frozen as she was, couldn't warn her friend not to touch it. Thankfully, it seemed as if Padma had no plans to do so. After looking at the device from as many angles as she could, she turned and ended the spell on Hermione.

"Explain," she said crisply.

"It's like I said," Hermione replied as she sat up on the couch. "The DMLE got an anonymous tip about a previously unknown property of a Death Eater, one that was serving a life sentence in Azkaban. They raided the place and confiscated a number of things, including this. It was turned over to the DOM because they didn't know what it was. The Head Unspeakable put me in charge of investigating it.

While I was doing so, there was an accident and it activated. It took me to my flat, well what I thought was my flat. Instead, it was the flat of another version of me. I'd traveled to a different universe. Very similar to my own but different in some significant ways."

"What significant ways?" Padma asked.

"The other me was married, for one. And the person she was married to was dead in my world."

Padma sank down into the armchair next to the couch, breath leaving her in a rush. "I can't, this doesn't, this is impossible."

"Remember where we work."

"Yes, but alternate dimensions? That's a bit far-fetched, even for the DOM."

"I can assure you that not only is it possible, I've visited six already. All different in some way, or many sometimes, from my own world. In every new universe, I've worked with your other self to try and figure out how to get me home. We've tried different things each time, but so far, nothing has worked."

Padma continued to stare at her, then looked back at the device, then back at Hermione. "How does it work?"

Hermione explained the device, going through what they had discovered about it in each universe and the way in which she'd manipulated the rings and center disc with each jump. "There's also a symbol that wraps around the edge of the outer ring. We haven't been able to figure out its significance yet. But it must have some importance."

They fell silent for a few moments as Padma continued to look at the device in its box. Hermione's stomach was churning with anxiety. It seemed like Padma believed her, but Hermione couldn't be sure.

"What about the Hermione from this world? Where is she? Do the two of you switch places?"

"Not exactly," Hermione said, not at all eager to explain this part. This Padma seemed so much more suspicious than the others had been. No one else had cast a spell at her. Some of the others had drawn their wands, yes, but Hermione had been able to convince them before any spells were thrown.

Padma's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

Hermione sighed, ready to be hexed again. "In the first two universes, the other version of myself was present along with me. It wasn't until we translated all the runes and symbols and attempted to line them up that things changed. When I jumped the third time, instead of two of us, there was only one."

"Right, so what happened to the Hermione of the world you jumped into?"

"She was still there too."

"I don't understand," Padma said, brow furrowed. "You just said there was only one of you."

"Yes." Hermione looked at Padma. "Please don't overreact. I can explain, I swear. But I jumped into the other Hermione's body."

It only took a second for Hermione's world to go dark.

When Padma countered the stunner, Hermione glanced around the room, terrified that Padma might have called the Aurors or Sirius. They still appeared to be alone, thankfully. Padma was pacing back and forth across the room and Hermione realized that even though she was awake, she couldn't move. Padma had bound her in ropes before waking her.

"You don't know how close I am to taking you into the Ministry," Padma said. "Whether I turn you over to the Aurors or the DOM remains to be seen."

"Please, Padma. Please just listen to me. The other Hermione is fine, I swear it."

"How is that possible? You took over her body!"

"I know but she's still here."

"What are you talking about?"

"She's in here with me. Think of it like possession. She's still here and she's fine," Hermione promised.

"How do you know?"

"I can still feel her, emotions and thoughts sometimes. And yesterday, I felt like," Hermione trailed off, biting her lip in thought. What had she felt like last night? Had it just been the wine, or had it been something else?

"You felt like what?" Padma demanded.

"Like she might have taken over for a bit somehow? I mean it could have been all the wine I drank but I don't know. I was still aware of everything but maybe I wasn't exactly in control? I'm not sure to be honest."

Padma stared at her for a few moments. "Let me talk to her."

"I can't," Hermione said. "I don't know how it happened or if it even did. Like I said, maybe it was just the wine."

"So, you have to be pissed for it to happen?"

"I don't know, it's never happened before. In the other worlds, it was just emotions and thoughts I could feel. Maybe a little bit of prodding to do things I might not have otherwise. But it's not as if I get any information from my other self or can see their memories or anything like that. If I could, it would be a lot easier to figure out what my situation is in every universe," she said in frustration.

"But how can you be sure that she's all right?"

"All I can tell you is what I've experienced. And what Luna told me the first time I'd jumped into the other Hermione's body," Hermione said.

"Luna? Luna knew about this?"

"I didn't tell her anything, she just knew. My Luna is the same."

Padma smiled a bit. "She's like that here too."

"All right, well, she told me that the other Hermione was fine. That she wasn't gone, she was just hiding. And that once I was gone the other Hermione would come back and she would be okay, maybe just a little confused. Before I've jumped, I've written a letter to my other self, explaining everything." Hermione shook her head a bit. "Although, I'm not really sure I need to. They seem to know what's going on."

Hermione was actually a bit concerned. It almost felt like her other self was getting stronger or something. When she'd been in the universe with Neville, she'd only gotten brief hints from her other self, emotions or actions that she was nudged to do. But in each subsequent world, the other Hermione had made her presence more known. With Kingsley there had definitely been emotions and a few thoughts, with Draco, she'd actually had conversations with her other self and the other her had seemed to be more present in Hermione's head. And now, she couldn't be sure if she had been completely in charge last night with Sirius. But it had been more than that even and she wasn't sure it was only the wine to blame.

She looked up at Padma. "I understand why you're acting the way that you are. I would probably do the same in your positions. But I swear to you that all I'm trying to do is get home. I don't want to keep doing this, displacing people and messing with their lives. I never wanted any of this. I just want to go home." Traitorous tears began to form in Hermione's eyes, but she swore she wouldn't let them fall. She wasn't going to try and convince Padma through pity.

Padma sighed and waved her wand to release the ropes. They hadn't been overly tight, but Hermione was relieved all the same. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe you. And I'm willing to help you."

Hermione had Floo-called Sirius to let him know she was going to spend some time with Padma. He told her he had planned to visit Andromeda and Teddy that afternoon and said he would see her at home for supper. Hermione was glad to have the entire afternoon to discuss things.

Hermione again explained everything that she'd tried so far when jumping. She had cast a magnification charm on the device to make the runes and symbols larger. When she started to explain what they all meant, however, Padma stopped her. "I'd like to translate them myself if you don't mind. Just as a double-check they're all translated correctly."

Hermione hesitated. That would mean leaving the device with Padma. Not to mention it had taken them two universes to get things fully translated before. She didn't think she wanted to stay here that long. Something was telling her that she should get out of this universe as quickly as possible.

"I can do the runes right now," Padma said. "I recognize most of them. And I've got all the syllabaries here for those that I don't. It shouldn't take that long. As for the symbols, I have one reference here that might help. I could at least get a start?"

"All right," Hermione agreed. She didn't plan to leave the Universe Hopper when she went back to Grimmauld, but she'd let Padma study it until then.

Padma was right, it didn't take her long to identify the runes on the front face of the device. They hadn't made any mistranslations on those. She retrieved the symbol reference she had in her flat and found two of the symbols, also identified correctly.

"This one I recognize too, but I don't know what it is off the top of my head," Padma said, pointing to another of the symbols. "I know what book it's in though. Explain again what you found in the last universe, about the charms and enchantments and the disc in the middle."

Hermione did so, not knowing how that would help. The Padma in the last universe had told her that there was no indication how many times she should turn the disc. Then Padma asked about the symbol that wrapped around the edge of the outer ring. Hermione explained, again, how it had changed each time and that at first, she hadn't even looked at it in its entirety.

"Can you give me the memories?" Padma asked. "I can use the Pensieve in the DOM."

"I don't want to draw suspicion," Hermione said. "I'd rather no one else know about this."

"Don't worry about that," Padma said. "The project I'm working on right now requires me to use the Pensieve quite often. No one will think anything of it."

"All right," Hermione agreed. Padma procured a few vials and Hermione pulled each memory to the forefront of her mind, dropping a white strand into each vial and handing them over to Padma. She thought briefly about asking Padma what she was working on but thought better of it. Padma likely wouldn't tell her and Hermione had more important things to focus on.

Padma conjured a box and put the vials of memories into it. Then she warded it to the hilt. Hermione relaxed a bit at that. Not that she thought Padma would be careless with them, but it made her feel better all the same.

When they finished, Padma turned to Hermione. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"What were they like? All the other universes?"

While Hermione had explained everything about the Universe Hopper, she hadn't really touched much on the universes themselves, save for the bit about Malfoy Industries and both she and Padma working there. She'd always told all the other Padmas the details of each universe when she told her story but this time she'd only focused on the device. Because this Padma had seemed so much more suspicious, Hermione had stuck to the most relevant information.

"They were all different. I was with someone different in each one, which has been a bit strange. Sometimes, like the first universe and this one, the person I was with was dead in my world."

"Sirius is dead?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm not sure if it happened here or not but at the end of my fifth year there was a battle in the Department of Mysteries. Sirius was cursed by Bellatrix Lestrange and fell through the Veil."

"That happened here but Sirius didn't die. He was actually arrested at first. Fudge had to admit that Voldemort was back, but he still thought Sirius was a Death Eater. He almost had him Kissed but Amelia Bones stopped him. She was head of the DMLE then and asked Fudge why Sirius would be fighting with Dumbledore if he was a Death Eater. Did you know that Sirius never had a trial after the First War?"

Hermione nodded.

"Well, when Madam Bones found out about that, she insisted he be held in the Ministry until they conducted an investigation and held a trial. It took a few weeks, but he was eventually cleared of all charges except being an illegal Animagus. Since he'd already spent twelve years in Azkaban for something that was normally a fine and maybe a couple of months in prison, they released him."

Hermione had more questions, like if Amelia Bones were still alive in this world since she'd been killed in Hermione's only a few weeks after the DOM battle but there were more important things to focus on right now. Like what Padma kept referring to about the other Hermione and what she was going through.

Before Hermione could ask though, Padma spoke again. "Have you been with the person that you're with in your own universe at all?"

"No."

"Who is it if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ron Weasley."

Padma stared at her in shock. "Ron?"

"Technically. I mean we've been having some problems and right before the accident I had been contemplating breaking things off. After all these universes, and my other self's relationships in all of them, that thought has become a certainty. If I ever get back that is."

Padma still didn't say anything, still looking stunned.

Hermione gave her a wry smile. "That was your reaction in a few of the other universes. Although, I think this is the most surprised I've seen you."

"Sorry, it's just," Padma shook her head, "never mind."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "What is it?"

"Nothing, it's not important."

Hermione was extremely curious now. "Padma, remember that I'm not this world's Hermione. Just because you think she might be upset doesn't mean I will be. I'm sure that Ron is with someone else here since my other self is with Sirius. It doesn't bother me, especially as I've just told you I'm planning on breaking things off with Ron."

"It's not that. Well, it's partly that, I suppose but it's," she took a deep breath and met Hermione's eyes. "You, the other Hermione, that is, she and Ron don't speak."

Hermione blinked. It shouldn't have surprised her, she supposed. There were other universes where her other self didn't really talk to Ron or were downright hostile to one another. But it surprised her here, given that they had obviously dated for at least a year.

"Why not?"

"Well, it was mostly because he left you, her, and Harry when you were hunting for Horcruxes."

Hermione wasn't surprised that Padma knew about that. The DOM in her universe knew about them after all. She was surprised, however, that Ron had still left while they were on the run, given his relationship with the other Hermione.

"They managed to make it through the rest of the hunt but after the Final Battle, the other Hermione told him that while she forgave him for what he did, she could never fully trust him again. They had a huge row and Ron accused her of sleeping with," Padma paused for a second, "with Harry. Which wasn't true, of course, but the damage was done by that point. She thought that maybe they might have reconciled later, after…everything. But that didn't happen."

"Why not?" Hermione wanted to know what the 'everything' was but decided to ask later.

"Because of Sirius. For some reason, Ron took that as a personal betrayal. I'm not sure why, exactly. The other Hermione did date a couple of people before Sirius and Ron didn't seem to have issue with them. Maybe it was the circumstances, that you turned to Sirius instead of him. Although, why he thought you'd turn to him anyway when the two of you barely tolerated each other's presence, I don't know. And now he's marrying Lavender. That's actually what she and Parvati are shopping for today. Lavender's wedding robes." Padma looked up at her. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have told you that."

Hermione waved a hand. "It's fine. The Ron of this universe isn't my Ron. I do have a question though."

Padma nodded.

"What is the 'everything' you referred to. I feel like you've referenced it a few times now but I have no idea what you're talking about."

Padma stared at her, eyes going wide. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"Oh gods," Padma said, hand coming to cover her mouth. Hermione saw that her eyes were bright as if tears were gathering.

"Padma, what is it?" She was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Padma shook her head, then met Hermione's gaze. "Hermione, Harry is…dead."

All the breath left Hermione's lungs. She stood abruptly, looking around wildly, trying to make sense of the words Padma had just uttered. This wasn't possible, it wasn't, Harry couldn't be, he couldn't. Voldemort had tried to kill him multiple times, thrown the killing curse at him twice, and he'd survived. He could not be dead. It wasn't possible.

But he was. She could see it on Padma's face. Everything that Sirius had said, everything the other Hermione had felt and done since Hermione had gotten here proved it to be true. Harry was gone, he no longer existed in this world. And that was something Hermione could not abide.

She grabbed for the Universe Hopper on the table. She'd jump again, she had to. She could bear to see him with other people, but she couldn't stay somewhere that he didn't exist.

She managed to grab the box before Padma grabbed her wrist.

"Let me go," Hermione said, tears streaming down her face now. "I have to go, I can't do this, I can't."

"Where will you go?" Padma asked. "Back to one of those other universes where you've already been?"

"No, no, I'll just go somewhere different. I just, I can't stay here."

"And what if you end up somewhere worse? Or somewhere I don't exist and can't help you? Somewhere you're not a witch? Somewhere you don't exist?"

"I don't care," Hermione cried. "I can't stay here. I can't bear it."

"What if you end up somewhere that Harry is dead because Voldemort won? Harry will still be gone and you'll be in no position to get yourself somewhere else."

Hermione shook her head violently. She didn't want to think about this anymore. She wanted to get away. It didn't matter if she got home or not, she just had to get away from here.

"Listen to me, Hermione," Padma said, her voice quiet. "I know how much you're hurting."

Hermione looked at her as if she were daft. She couldn't possibly know how much this hurt. It was Harry.

"I know, because I know how much the other Hermione hurt, how much she still is. I know. But let me help you. Please, let me help you get back home. Just a few days. Your Harry is still alive. Remember that. Let me help you get back to him."

"I, I," and then Hermione broke down into sobs. Great, heaving sobs that felt as if her heart was being torn from her body and stomped on over and over.

Padma wrapped her arms around her and Hermione sobbed into her shoulder. Harry was gone. Gone forever. How had her other self survived? How had she gone on? Hermione didn't know if she could have. Harry was her best friend, her constant. Harry was everything.

"Just a few more days," Padma said again when Hermione had quieted somewhat, her sobs turning to hitching breaths.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes as Hermione further composed herself. There were still tears making their way down her cheeks, but the sobs had ceased.

"I don't, I don't know," Hermione said as Padma handed her a few tissues. "I don't think I can do this. I want to leave, I-"

"I know you do," Padma soothed. "But you still won't get home."

"I could turn the disc a different way or more times or-"

"You know that's not going to work," Padma said. "You'll just end up somewhere else. Let me look at it, let me try. Please."

Hermione looked at the woman who was her closest friend next to Harry. It was odd, given how suspicious Padma had been at the beginning, that she now wanted to keep Hermione here longer. "Why do you want to help me so much?"

"Because," Padma said, pausing to swipe a tear from her own cheek, "because there's been nothing I could do for my Hermione. I couldn't bring Harry back or take away her pain. But this I can do. I can help you."

Hermione felt a wave of sadness, gratitude, and love that wasn't coming from her, but her other self. Of course, the other Hermione hadn't expected Padma to be able to change anything, but Hermione understood where Padma was coming from. Hermione wanted nothing more than to change this too.

"You've been there for her. That's important. Probably the most important."

"Just a few days."

Hermione found herself nodding, although she hadn't intended to. A few days in a universe without Harry seemed like an eternity. But Padma was right. Hermione would just end up somewhere else. And it could be somewhere worse. She had to wait, see what Padma came up with. She just had to remember that her Harry was alive. She would see him again. She would.