Chapter 29
8 August 2003
Hermione sat down at her, the other Hermione's, desk. She put her elbows on the top and dropped her head into her hands. She couldn't believe it had happened again, only six hours later. This time, though, it had been different. She hadn't blacked out or fallen asleep or whatever. Well, not entirely anyway. She had, at first, but only for a few moments. When she woke up, she knew that she was still in the other Hermione's body, but she clearly wasn't in control. She couldn't hear what was being said, only sensed that her other self was agitated. It had been, frankly, terrifying.
At first, she hadn't been able to do anything, had simply tried to orient herself and figure out what was going on. When she realized that her other self was in control, Hermione had started to struggle against it. She tried to surge forward but really had no idea how or what to do to accomplish it. It had been a harrowing few minutes of feeling trapped and not knowing if she'd ever find a way out.
She had finally managed to tap into her other self's senses and could see Padma in her office. It was then that Hermione pushed as hard as she could. She still couldn't pinpoint exactly what she'd done to break through, but the other Hermione had fought back against it until she just stopped. Her other self had retreated, and Hermione had moved forward until she was in control once more.
Now, however, she was even more petrified of what might happen if her other self took control again. Being unaware as she had been the first few times was one thing; knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything about it was quite another. Hermione shivered involuntarily. She really hoped Padma had been right and her other self planned to stay away until Hermione jumped.
She had to leave now, she knew that. She'd known it all along, of course, but there was always that small bit of her that thought maybe she could stay. The situation now was unsustainable though. Rookwood had to have answers for her, he just had to.
"Are you ready?" Padma asked as they walked to the Apparition point.
Rookwood had replied to Padma's owl telling them to come by right after work. Hermione had sent a memo to Harry telling him that she was going to get a drink with Padma. It was something that she did in her own world on occasion and Padma had told her that she and this Hermione did as well. Hermione was a bit concerned about what Harry would say, given their conversation that morning about the mind Healer, but he'd simply told her to enjoy herself. He said he would probably see if Ron wanted to do the same and he would see her at home later.
"Not really," Hermione admitted, nervous about what she was going to find out, or not find out as the case may be. She was terrified that Rookwood would either have no idea about the Universe Hopper or he would and tell her she could never get home.
Padma squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. They reached the Apparition point, Hermione grasping Padma's arm as she Disapparated.
When they landed, Hermione took a deep breath, walking up the path to the cozy-looking country cottage where they had arrived. The front door opened before they reached it, and Hermione saw a face she nearly didn't recognize. She could see hints of the Augustus Rookwood of her world, but this man was smiling widely, holding his hands out to Padma as she approached, and kissing her cheek after he took them.
"You look lovely as always," he said with a smile before turning to Hermione. "Mrs. Potter, a pleasure to see you again."
She could only nod in acknowledgement, unable to reconcile this man with the Death Eater she knew. And she had never met him before, of course. It was the other Hermione he was referring to. Hearing Mrs. Potter, however, was just strange.
"Hermione, please."
"All right. Come in, come in," he said, ushering them inside. "Eileen has gone round to the shops to replenish our stores, so we've got some time to ourselves."
"How was your holiday?" Padma asked as they followed him into a comfortable sitting room.
"Glorious," Rookwood said with a smile as they all sat.
"I'm sorry to bother you so soon after you've gotten back."
"Nonsense," he said. "You know I'm always available to you. You said it was urgent?"
"Yes," Padma glanced at Hermione. "It's also rather sensitive so I would appreciate anything we tell you be kept in confidence."
Rookwood frowned. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Padma assured him. "It's not to do with me, actually. It's Hermione."
"Are you in trouble, Hermione?"
"Sort of," Hermione said. "Nothing dire. Well, not yet anyway. At least I don't think so, I," she trailed off, face growing red. She always rambled when she was nervous. "Sorry."
He reached out and patted her hand. "Not to worry. Why don't you just tell me what's going on?"
Hermione took a deep breath. This was always the worst part, having to explain who she was and where she came from. Hopefully, given that Rookwood had been an Unspeakable for years, she wouldn't have as much trouble convincing him.
"I need help with a device that has come into my possession. It was given to me to study by Head Unspeakable Croaker. At the time, no one was sure what it was; it was found in a raid of the property of a Death Eater."
Rookwood nodded, brow furrowed in concentration as he listened to her.
"When I was studying it, I made a mistake. A stupid one really, lost my concentration and it activated. It brought me here."
"What do you mean 'here'?" Rookwood asked.
"I mean this universe. I'm not from here. I came from another world."
Rookwood's eyes widened and he sat back in his chair. Hermione's brow furrowed as she took in his face. There was a hint of…fear if she wasn't mistaken, but also, anticipation maybe?
Padma must have seen the same. "Augustus?" she said in concern.
"Do you have this device?" Rookwood asked, ignoring Padma and sitting forward in his seat. He looked a bit eager. And he hadn't questioned Hermione about what she'd said or seemed as if he didn't believe her. Which was odd.
"I do," Hermione replied. Perhaps he'd had the idea to invent something similar and hadn't been successful. Or maybe it was just the excitement of seeing something new that was common with Unspeakables.
"May I see it?"
Hermione glanced at Padma who simply shrugged her shoulders, clearly at a loss to explain Rookwood's behavior. Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out the box that contained the Universe Hopper. She handed it to Rookwood.
He opened the box with shaking hands, breath leaving him in a rush. He stared at the device for several seconds before he whispered, "I never thought I'd see it again."
Padma's mouth dropped open, and Hermione stared at him in shock. "I'm sorry, what?"
Rookwood looked up, giving them both a wan smile. Then he summoned a bottle of Firewhiskey and three glasses, pouring a healthy measure into each. "I think we may need this." He passed one to Hermione and then Padma.
"I can only assume, Hermione, since there is only one of you at this meeting, you are currently sharing body space with your counterpart?"
Hermione swallowed thickly. How did he know that? "Yes."
He nodded. "I figured as much." He picked up his glass and swallowed it all in one go, then refilled it.
Padma finally regained her voice. "Augustus, what is going on?"
"Patience, my dear. It is quite a long story." He sighed and took another sip of his drink. "As you may know, I joined the Department of Mysteries after I finished at Hogwarts. I had always been intrigued by Time-turners and the theories of time, whether it was a loop or it could be influenced, things of that nature. It was much of my early study in the DOM.
Along the way, I began to wonder, if time could be changed, rewritten, so to speak, what happened to the previous timeline? For example, if someone had died, say ten years ago, but I went back in time and prevented that event, what happened to all the memories that people had of the previous ten years where this individual was dead? Did they just forget them, like they had been written over? It was something I focused on for quite some time.
The possibility of parallel universes also fascinated me. It was a myth, of course, or so we always thought. But as my study of time progressed, so too did my study of the possibility of multiple universes. I believe the Muggles call it string theory."
Hermione nodded in confirmation. Padma looked shocked that Rookwood knew such a thing.
He chuckled. "Pureblood I may be, but I have never discounted Muggle science and their contributions. They are much more advanced than we are in many ways. Although, I will say that the theory of parallel universes has been around much longer in the magical world than in the Muggle. In mainstream science, at any rate.
In any event, I thought the possibility of parallel universes would also explain my question about time. If an event in the past were changed, the original timeline didn't just disappear, but a new one created with that change. The old one would continue on with the same outcome as before, but the new would continue with the change that was made.
The more I studied Time-turners, the more I began to wonder if the same type of device could be constructed to travel to other timelines, or universes, as it were. It would be a way to prove my theory if I could manage it. My superior at the time was not overly enthusiastic about this project, however, so I continued to work on it in my own time."
"Are you saying that you invented this?" Hermione asked, pointing to the Universe Hopper.
He smirked. "I'm saying, patience, my dear. There is much more to this story."
Rookwood sobered and sighed. "During this time, I was also under pressure from my parents to find a bride. Betrothals amongst Purebloods were commonplace at that time. I was one of only a handful amongst my peers to start at Hogwarts without one. The rest were all entered into contracts at some point during their school years. The reason I didn't have one is because of my great-great-grandfather. He had contract when he started Hogwarts but fell in love with someone else in his sixth year. She was Pureblood as well and would have been a perfectly acceptable match, but she was also betrothed to someone else.
They were both forced to marry per their contracts, and they were both miserable. They carried on an affair for decades, stolen moments that were few and far between. It wasn't until they were both over one hundred and both their spouses had died that they were able to be together once again. They lived for another twenty years and were blissfully happy according to their portraits." He smiled.
"In his will, my great-great grandfather outlawed betrothal contracts in our family unless they were requested by the individual involved. He wanted all of his descendants to marry for love, not obligation. Some did, some still requested contracts, but parents could not force their children to sign one. If they did, they would be disowned, and the fortune redistributed to the remaining members of the family."
"No one could change it later on?" Hermione asked, so engrossed in his tale, she'd nearly forgotten about the Universe Hopper.
"No. Magic is powerful, familial magic even more so. The will was imbued with my great-great grandfather's magic by the Goblins in such a way that it could not be changed. Anyone that attempted would lose their magic. And the Rookwoods might not be Sacred Twenty-eight, but we were a Pureblood family going back generations. No one was willing to risk that.
As for me, I'd dated at Hogwarts but no one very seriously. No one I even considered marrying anyway. And once I started working for the DOM, I was far too immersed in my studies and experiments to even think about finding someone to date, let alone marry. Especially as all of my free time was being spent working on my parallel universe theory.
My parents, especially my mother, continued to throw women into my path, at holiday events and balls I couldn't get out of attending. None of them made much of an impression on me. My parents grew ever more frustrated and threatened to disown me if I didn't find a 'proper' wife. Which, of course, meant a Pureblooded woman from what they considered a good family.
He smiled wistfully. "And then I met my wife. She was everything my family would never approve of, independent, opinionated, didn't give a fig about what other people thought of her, and she was Muggleborn. I couldn't find it in myself to care, not that I'd ever really cared about such things. Pureblood supremacy was ridiculous in my opinion."
Hermione couldn't help but gape at this. If Rookwood noticed, he didn't say anything, simply continued with his story.
"I was enchanted with her the moment I met her." He laughed lightly. "Not that she felt the same way. It took me weeks to get her to agree to a date with me. I still think she did so out of simple exasperation."
Hermione looked over to see Padma smiling. Hermione wondered if she'd heard this story before or if she just knew Rookwood's wife well enough to picture it.
"We had a whirlwind romance and six months later, she agreed to marry me. When my parents found out, there were threats made. But there was nothing in my great-great grandfather's will that said I had to marry a Pureblood. My father could cut me out of his own will, but there were still inheritances and bequeathments that he couldn't touch.
I honestly didn't care about any of that. She wasn't with me because of my vaults. We married in a Muggle church so her family could attend since I knew mine wouldn't. And then we had a ceremony here in the Ministry to make it official in the magical world.
My independent work had taken a backseat for a while as all of my free time had been spent with my wife. But after we married, she encouraged me to continue with it. She found the subject just as fascinating as I did. We spent many an evening discussing and debating the possibilities of parallel universes, as well as the likelihood that I might be able to invent a device to travel to them. We were quite happy for a time."
Rookwood took a breath and blew it out, frowning down at his lap. When he met Hermione's gaze once again, he looked haunted. Padma's brow furrowed. It was obvious she didn't know what had caused the change in his demeanor.
"Just before I met my wife, Voldemort had begun recruiting and gaining followers. My father didn't take the Dark Mark, but he contributed financially to the cause. I was approached but always managed to put off whomever had been sent to try and recruit me. A year after I married, my brother joined. He came to me a few months later, drunk, railing against my marriage to a, well, I won't repeat what he said but I'm sure you can imagine."
Hermione nodded. She'd heard plenty of slurs over the years.
"Thank Merlin my wife wasn't home to hear any of it. I told my brother to sod off and never darken my doorstep again."
Rookwood took a shaky breath and Padma put a hand on his arm in concern. He gave her a wan smile and patted her hand. "I apologize that I've never told you the whole story. There's never been a need before now."
"I don't understand," Padma said.
"You will," Rookwood replied. "Soon enough."
Hermione was beginning to suspect what he was going to say.
"For months after my brother's visit, no one approached me. My research had reached the point where I thought I could start to work on an actual device to attempt travel to another universe." He looked down at the box in his lap. "This device."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Padma. Rookwood gave a rueful smile. Hermione was bursting with questions. Had he used it himself? How had it ended up in her universe? Had someone stolen it from him? Was this Rookwood from a different universe altogether? She asked none of them, though, knowing they would all be answered as he finished his story.
"While my wife had helped me with the theoretical research, I didn't allow her to help me with the actual construction of the device. It was based partly on a Time-turner and my vows as an Unspeakable wouldn't permit me to tell her what she would have needed to know in order to assist me."
Rookwood sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. "I'm ashamed to admit, that once I started, I became obsessed with it. Every free moment I had I spent working on this. It got to the point where I wasn't even stopping to eat with her. But she never complained. She would bring me a plate, kiss the top of my head, and tell me not to stay up too late." He shook his head, then took a shuddering breath.
Padma, seeing his distress, moved closer to him on the sofa, taking one of his hands in hers. When he looked up at her, there was a sheen of tears in his eyes and Hermione's stomach dropped. She knew what was coming.
"I did my work out in a shed we had behind our home, both for privacy reasons and because I didn't want to disturb my wife with my late nights. It was warded extensively, of course. I didn't know what was happening until it was too late."
"What was happening?" Padma asked hesitantly.
"This was the early seventies, so things had not come to the point they did by the end of the first war. Attacks were few and mostly went unnoticed by anyone outside law enforcement. Death Eaters hadn't yet begun to leave the Dark Mark in the sky as a calling card. But I knew who it was and why it happened."
He took a breath. "My brother led an attack on my home in the dead of night. My wife was the only one inside. They tortured her, for how long I don't know but it was, it was," he broke off, shaking his head, tears begin to leak from his eyes. "When I finally left the shed that night to go back into the house, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I ran but it didn't matter. When I found her, she was nearly gone. I tried, of course I did, but her injuries were too extensive, and it had been too long. If I'd gotten there right away, then maybe, maybe I could have done something. I don't know. She died in my arms a few minutes later."
Padma stared at him in horror. Whether because of what had happened to his wife or because of what she'd figured out that he'd done after, Hermione wasn't sure. Maybe a bit of both.
"You used the device, didn't you? To find her again," Hermione said, "in another universe."
"Not right away; it wasn't finished. After I buried her, I resigned as an Unspeakable and did nothing but work on it. I also thought about trying to invent a long-range Time-turner. I thought I could go back and save her, prevent it from happening altogether. But I couldn't be sure that my theory about events being able to be changed was the correct one. I didn't want to take that chance. So, I focused on this device instead. It took me a year, but I finally finished it. I couldn't live without her. She was everything to me. I knew I was meant to be with her."
"You meant to take over someone's life?" Padma asked in dismay.
"I didn't intend to replace anyone else. I was hoping for a universe where I never existed. I knew there had to be one, maybe multiple. I thought I had designed the device in such a way that if I didn't manage to jump to a world where I didn't already exist, I would simply change places with the other version of me."
"That's still stealing someone's life, Augustus!" Padma exclaimed.
"I was foolish, I know that. But I was so lost in my grief, I wasn't thinking clearly. I know that's not an excuse, but I just wanted to be with her again."
"That didn't happen though," Hermione guessed.
He shook his head. "Things went wrong almost immediately. I ended up in a universe where I was married to her, which was what I wanted, but instead of switching places with my other self, I ended up in his body with him. At first, I wasn't sure what happened. When I figured it out, I was horrified."
Hermione nodded, remembering the feeling herself.
"I had no idea what had gone wrong but the fact that I was with my wife again overshadowed everything else. I didn't even attempt to work on the device and figure out a way to fix it, I was too busy enjoying having her alive and well. And the best part of all was that there was no Voldemort, no Death Eaters. He'd never even been born as far as I could tell. It was the ideal world for the two of us.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense," Padma said in confusion. Because Voldemort had existed here. They'd gone through the same two wars Hermione had. Rookwood had obviously been somewhere else first before coming to this world.
"He started fighting you, didn't he?" Hermione asked, ignoring Padma's confusion for the moment. "Your other self."
"Yes," Rookwood said with a sigh. "He'd take over for a few minutes at a time at first. Then I wouldn't feel anything from him for several days. But as time went on, he got stronger. It was hours then eventually days. And his recovery time got shorter and shorter. Once, he was in control for an entire week and when I was finally able to surface it was only for an hour or two. I tried to fight him, but it got harder and harder each time. I knew then that I had to leave.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance right away as when he gave up control again, we were on holiday, and I didn't have the device with me. By the time we got home, I barely had five or ten minutes of control at a time. It happened more often, once or twice a day usually, but there was no guarantee I would be able to get to the device and use it before my other self took over again. The box was in a warded drawer in his study. Depending on where I was in the house, I might not have time to get to it and set the rings.
I tried, twice, unsuccessfully. Finally, I managed to take over during the night while he was asleep. I made it to the study and got the wards off the drawer but then I could feel him trying to reassert himself. I threw the chain around my neck and managed to turn two of the rings before he was back in control. It was enough though, as the next thing I knew I was in my bedroom at Rookwood Manor."
"With another version of yourself, I'm guessing," Hermione said.
Rookwood looked at her. "I take it you've experienced this?"
"Yes. The first two times I jumped, I ended up wherever the other me was. It wasn't until my third jump that I started sharing a body with my other self."
"Third?" Rookwood questioned. "Just how many times have you jumped?"
"Seven," Hermione said.
He stared at her in surprise. "Seven?"
Hermione nodded.
"Have you met with another version of myself before now?"
"No."
His brow furrowed. "Why not?"
"Wait," Padma said, interrupting and looking at Rookwood. "How many times did you jump?"
"Just the two."
"Then, it was when you came to this universe that you ended up with your other self instead of in his body?"
"Yes."
"What happened to him?" Padma asked, then looked from Hermione to the Universe Hopper. Her eyes widened. "He jumped to Hermione's universe, didn't he?"
"It appears so," Rookwood said with a sigh. "I knew he'd gone, of course. He stole the device from me. I just didn't know where he ended up." He looked up at Hermione. "You said this was recovered during a raid of a Death Eater's property?"
"Yes," Hermione replied.
Rookwood looked pained but continued his explanation. "When I arrived here, my other self immediately stunned me. When I woke, I was bound to a chair. He had waited over an hour in case I'd taken Polyjuice and had run all kinds of revealing spells on me to drop any glamours I might be wearing. When my countenance didn't change, he was convinced it was some kind of Dark magic powered by the device which I was still wearing around my neck. Thankfully, he hadn't tried to touch it, although he did run several scans. He was an Unspeakable as well and while he recognized some of the magic, he still didn't know what it was.
After I explained, he was fascinated. As we spoke, I realized not only was he not with my wife, but he also didn't even know who she was. He was disgusted to find out she was a Muggleborn. Coming here, it was like losing her all over again and I admit that I told him far more than I should have about the device in my haze of grief. Although, I also suspect that he gave me Veritaserum while I was unconscious.
"Was he already a Death Eater here?" Hermione asked.
"No. Surprisingly, my, his, parents were not Voldemort supporters here. I can't say that they were completely accepting of Muggleborns, they still didn't want their sons marrying one, but they weren't intent on their exclusion from our world. His brother never became a Death Eater. But my counterpart felt they were wrong in their neutrality. He wanted to join Voldemort, however, hadn't as of yet. He knew that his parents would likely disown him if he did, and he liked their money too much to do it.
Rookwood sighed. "I babbled on about many things that I shouldn't have, including my own parents' views on blood purity and Voldemort. Whether the universe I came from and the one he jumped to, yours Hermione, were one in the same, I cannot say. However, now that he knew that people didn't always have the same beliefs in every universe, I'm sure he decided the best thing for him to do was travel to another and find one where his parents wouldn't cut him off for becoming a Death Eater."
"But how did he deal with his other self?" Padma asked. "Surely he would have had the same issues you did."
"Not if he jumped the way that I did at first," Hermione said.
"Just so," Rookwood agreed. "I can only assume that he did away with his other self when he jumped. It's obvious now that he was capable of it." He sighed. "I must apologize to you, Hermione. All of this is my fault. Had I never invented the device, you wouldn't be here."
Before Hermione could ask him if he could get her home, Padma spoke again. "What about Eileen? How did you meet her again?"
Rookwood smiled. "I didn't meet her again. I met her for the first time here in this universe."
Padma stared at him in confusion. Hermione did too at first before she realized. He'd never actually told them his wife's name when he was telling his story. They had just assumed it was Eileen.
"I don't-" Padma began but Rookwood held up a hand to stop her.
"After my other self fled with the device, I was devastated. I spent time mourning my wife again. I went to work and interacted with his family, now my family, but all of my free time was spent alone, thinking about her. When she died in my original universe, I threw myself into working on the device and had never really taken the time to grieve.
As I came to grips with what had happened, I realized that even if my wife existed here, she wasn't going to be the same person. Even in the previous universe, she hadn't been exactly the same. I wasn't the same either. The events that we experience throughout our lives contribute to who we are, just as our core personalities do. Take the same person and give them different experiences and they'll be different regardless of their DNA."
Hermione sobered at that. She knew he was right. The Harry here wasn't the same person as her Harry. They were very similar, of course, but they weren't the same.
"I came to the realization that I had a choice," Rookwood continued. "I could stay here and try to make a life for myself, or I could build another device and continue on my quest. But the thought of continuing to travel from universe to universe no longer appealed to me. I still missed my wife desperately, but I knew that I would never find her, specifically, again. And my better judgement had finally kicked in. How could I take away someone else's life? I would be doing the same to them as had been done to me, albeit in a different way. And I wasn't sure how I could configure the device to take me to a universe where I didn't already exist. Or if that would even be possible.
And so, I decided that I would try to live a life here. I still enjoyed my work and buried myself in it. I had to fend off those that had been courting my other self to try and get him to join the Death Eaters. A few well-placed Obliviates and some Confundus charms and they eventually forgot about me. Thankfully, it didn't appear as if they had mentioned my other self to Voldemort as of yet. In the early days, he was not so involved in recruiting. He left that to his followers for the most part, waiting for them to bring those interested to him.
I moved out of my childhood home and bought this cottage. I became something of a recluse, I will admit. My mother still hounded me to marry." He chuckled. "I suspect that would be the same in any universe I went to. And then, one Saturday afternoon, two years after I arrived here, I walked into her shop and met Eileen. And, well, you know the story."
"What was your first wife's name?" Hermione asked softly.
"Janet. She and Eileen were similar in many ways, although there are definitely differences. But I fell just as hard for Eileen as I had for Janet. And she was just as stubborn about it at first. It took me a bit longer to convince her to marry me. A year instead of six months, but my parents still refused to attend, and my father still cut me out of his will. My brother, on the other hand, has always been supportive. I think what he saw as a change in personality in me had a lot to do with that. He hadn't liked that his actual brother wanted to be a Death Eater."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, all obviously lost in their thoughts.
"Did you ever look for her?" Padma finally blurted. "Janet?"
He smiled sadly. "I did. But it seems in this universe, she was never a witch. She died when she was twelve. Thrown from a horse and broke her neck."
"I'm sorry," Hermione said.
He shook his head. "It's tragic, yes, but she wasn't my Janet. Or wouldn't have been had she lived. And I don't just mean because she didn't have magic. I've come to realize that in the infinite number of universes that there are, I would not have been with Janet in all of them."
Hermione nodded, knowing that was true. She'd experienced seven different partners, after all.
"But what about the destiny symbol?" Padma asked.
"What symbol are you referring to?" Rookwood replied.
"The one that wraps around the edge of the device. It's a mix of two symbols actually, one for movement and one for destiny. Hermione's has been changing with every jump, losing more of movement, and gaining more of destiny. Now that she's here, with Harry, it's almost completely destiny."
Rookwood looked at the box he'd set on the table in front of him. He drew his wand and cast a stabilization charm on the Universe Hopper, then picked it up and, after casting a magnification charm, examined the symbol Padma had been talking about. "Extraordinary."
Hermione's face fell. Rookwood sounded as if he had no idea this symbol existed. If he hadn't put it there, how could he help her get home? Was there another Augustus Rookwood out there that had invented a nearly identical device?
"You didn't put this here?" Padma asked.
"You said it's been changing?" Rookwood asked, ignoring Padma's question.
"Yes," Hermione said, finding her voice despite her anxiety. She explained what it had looked like through the various universes. "We hypothesized early on that it was a combination of two symbols but wasn't until the last universe that the Padma there figured out what the two symbols were."
"Fascinating," he said.
Hermione bit her lip, asking Padma's question again. "Are you saying that you didn't put that symbol there?"
"Not as such," Rookwood said. "Obviously if I had etched it in, it wouldn't be changing the way you've described. What I did do was weave a spell into this area of the device in order to get me home again. If something went horribly wrong when I traveled, I wanted to be able to get back to my own world." He paused as if gathering his thoughts. "Spells are about intent, yes?"
Both women nodded.
"Part of what makes the levitation spell work, for instance, outside of the incantation and the wand movements, is that you expect that whatever it is you are trying to levitate will do so. It's your intent when you cast the spell, or your magic's intent to be more precise. It's why the Unforgiveables won't work unless you really mean them. The spells and enchantments I cast on the device are similar. When used properly, your intent of where you want to end up is part of the magic that takes you there."
"But I've been wanting to go home the entire time," Hermione said, brow furrowed.
"And how did you manipulate the rings on the device?"
"With the exception of the first time I intentionally jumped, I tried something new each time until this last jump," Hermione said.
Rookwood nodded. "The device will take you somewhere else, regardless of how you turn the rings or how many of them you turn, as I discovered. Getting home, however, requires the proper configuration, along with the intent to return. You could turn them properly but if you didn't intend to get back to your own world, you wouldn't."
He summoned a piece of parchment and quill, then began to sketch something. "Were you aware that this symbol for destiny is very similar to this one for home?"
He turned the parchment around to face Hermione. The symbol he had drawn was nearly identical to the one for destiny that was etched into one of the rings of the Universe Hopper. There was just a small difference in the lower left side. The side that had still contained a bit of the movement symbol when Hermione arrived.
She looked up at him, hope in her eyes. He nodded.
"You're saying that if she uses the Universe Hopper properly, her intention to get home will take her there?" Padma asked.
"Universe Hopper?" Rookwood asked in amusement. Hermione realized this was the first time they hadn't called it 'the device' since speaking to Rookwood.
"Someone in the second universe named it that," Hermione said with a wry smile. "It stuck."
Rookwood chuckled. "Apt, I suppose. But to answer your question, Padma, yes, that's what I'm saying."
"What is the proper configuration?" Hermione asked eagerly.
As Rookwood explained, Hermione's face fell. Everything he was telling her was what she had done when she left both the Draco universe and one with Sirius. When she told him as much, he studied her for a few moments.
"Before you traveled from both of those universes, what were you thinking about?"
Hermione recalled her last conversation with Severus and realized that she wasn't expecting that she would get home. She'd told him she was waiting to jump until the evening because it was safer not to arrive during the workday. She hadn't really even though about home. She'd just assumed she would end up in another universe.
Rookwood just nodded after she explained. "And before you arrived here?"
"I was hoping that I was going to get home but I had a feeling that I wouldn't."
"And why was that?"
"A friend of mine in the last universe, someone I'm friends with in my own, told me that I was going to have to jump one more time before I got home."
Rookwood looked surprised. "Had you told her about your journey so far?"
"No," Hermione said with a light laugh. "Luna just seems to know things. I honestly think she's got a bit of Seer in her, although she would deny it if asked."
"Were you thinking about anything else?"
"I, well," Hermione paused and bit her lip. "Before I had my accident, I'd been contemplating breaking things off with my current boyfriend. As I traveled, I had made up my mind to definitely do it when I got back." She took a breath. "In the last universe I was in, my best friend had died. I've…had feelings for him for a while now, feelings that I never acknowledged. Not having him in my life made me realize that he's the one I want to be with."
"Harry Potter is not the one you're dating in your world," Rookwood guessed.
Hermione shook her head.
"And would it be possible for the two of you to be together if you went home?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure if he feels the same way about me. Even if he does, he's married, although when I left, he and his wife were having problems. He wasn't sure he wanted to stay married to her."
"So even if the two of you both feel the same, there are obstacles."
Hermione nodded.
Rookwood smiled. "That is why you ended up here. This is the life you want, the person you want to be with. Home isn't always a place."
Hermione sucked in a breath, realizing he was right. Harry was home to her.
"As I said, it is all about intent, along with the proper configuration of the rings. You had set the device correctly, but the first time, you weren't even thinking of home. And the second, you were thinking of what your friend told you, coupled with a yearning to see Harry again. But now, knowing what you do, you must concentrate on getting back to your own world. You must believe that you will, not only think that you might."
"I understand," Hermione said.
"I must say, I am extremely impressed that you and the people that helped you were able to discover the proper setting of the device." He glanced at Padma. "I trained you well."
"I can't take any credit, I'm afraid," Padma said. "She'd already figured it out before she got here. I just noticed your symbol while I was studying it."
Rookwood's brow furrowed. "Why did you not speak to any of my other selves if you suspected that I was the one that invented it?"
Hermione hesitated. This man was nothing like the Rookwood of her universe. She hated to have to tell him that he was a Death Eater is so many other worlds.
"You weren't available," she finally said.
"And why was that?"
Hermione sighed, glancing at Padma who looked pained. "In every universe I was in, you were a Death Eater. You were either in Azkaban or had been killed in the war. There would have been too many questions if I had tried to speak to you at the prison."
"In all of them?" Rookwood asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said.
He sat silently for several seconds before sighing, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given my own upbringing."
"But you weren't a Death Eater," Padma said fiercely, gripping his hand in hers. "That's all that matters, Augustus."
He patted her hand with his free one and nodded. Before anyone could say anything else, the front door opened, and a woman walked into the room. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. I thought you would be finished."
Padma stood. "It's good to see you, Eileen."
The older woman embraced her. "You as well, darling." She turned to Hermione once she'd released Padma. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure. You must be Mrs. Potter."
"Hermione," Hermione said, shaking Eileen's hand. "Your home is lovely."
"Thank you, Hermione. I'll just let the three of you continue your conversation while I put these things away." She held up the small bag she was carrying and Hermione figured was filled with shrunken packages. "Will you stay for supper?"
"Oh, no, we couldn't impose on your first night back," Hermione said. "We've already taken up enough of Mr. Rookwood's time."
"It's no bother," Eileen said.
"We've got something we need to work on, Eileen," Padma said. "Thank you though."
"All right, then." She leaned down and kissed Rookwood briefly. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her as she pulled away.
They watched her walk into the kitchen and then Rookwood put up a few privacy charms. "When will you leave?" he asked.
She looked at Padma and realized there was no real reason to stay. Hermione didn't need to write a letter this time; her other self was well aware of everything that had been happening. There was a large part of her that longed to say goodbye to Harry, but she knew he would suspect something.
"Now, I suppose." She looked at Padma. "Maybe I could go from your flat?"
"Nonsense, you'll leave from here," Rookwood insisted.
"Oh, but, are you sure?"
"We can go out to my lab," Rookwood said. "Eileen won't think anything of it. It's properly warded and that way, if there's any disorientation for your other self, we'll be there to help."
Hermione looked between the two of them and finally nodded. "All right."
"Now my only other question is when you want to return, in your universe."
Hermione looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You can arrive in your world at this day and time, as you have been all along, or you can go back to the exact moment that you left."
"The exact…I…how?"
His eyes twinkled with delight. "A little something I built into the device in case things didn't go the way I planned. I wanted to be able to return to the same moment in time that I left."
Hermione, who had stood when she greeted Eileen, sank back down in the chair she'd been sitting in, all breath leaving her. She could go back to the beginning. She could go back as if nothing happened.