Hermione walked down the field like a woman on a mission. Students who waved at her were almost ignored immediately, her quick pace going right by them. Many even wondered if she had perhaps forgotten about an assignment or some homework, but quickly dismissed the odd behaviour to resume their activities.
Though one person knew what mission she was on, since he was having to keep up the pace, something that seemed harder than it should have been, he had to almost run behind her, caring the books she had requested.
"Hermione, slow down!" Fred whined as they reached their designated spot. "I didn't even know you moved this fast." He huffed. Despite training for Quidditch, Fred was still out of breath by the time she stopped at the willow tree.
"Oh-Sorry" She apologised, suddenly feeling bad that she had made him work so diligently to follow her out here. "But I thought this might actually be important."
"Alright... Well, I don't think anyone is out here," He muttered looking around. What did you find?"
"Muffliato," she casted, to ensure no one listened in on their conversation. "I was remembering something this morning and I thought, we should write a timeline for all of this."
"No matter what, we've already changed time enough. What if these things don't happen at the proper times? What then?" He asked, laying his cloak on the ground to sit on.
"Then we'll try to work with it." Hermione took out a notebook, quill and notebook. "Our presence changes things, you've mentioned it already, but what if these events happened because we travelled back?" She asked. "how much do you know about time travel?"
"I know enough, seeing as you've used a time turner in your third year, yes I know about that." He started. "Fixed points are events that must happen or the events following them will change. Don't change the fixed points, but you can change the smaller, minor details without major changes." He thought back. "If I'm not wrong, that's how you saved Sirius and Buckbeak."
"I'm going to ask how you knew about that later, but precisely. But we didn't travel by time turner, meaning that this is going to be a bit different. Our presence alone has already changed events, such as family relations and future lordships." She looked directly at Fred. "Sirius is no longer in the carefully watchful eye of Walburga anymore, you're in everyone's eye."
"Don't remind me, please." He cut her off briefly.
"Anyway, Sirius is no longer a primary target, but he is still in line after you. If you start behaving like a Gryffindor, most of the Blacks are going to try and get rid of you. Pureblood Black only gets you so far when you've been disowned for having redeeming qualities." She told him. He knew she was right, the moment he started showing the qualities of someone who was friendly to Muggleborns or thought of Half-Bloods as equals to Purebloods, and he'd be gone from the tree just like those who married or were muggle-sympathisers. "You have to keep up the image of a narcissistic Pureblood supremacist."
"No way am I doing that." Fred said. "that would be an insult to my whole life before this. I can't be a blood supremacist after being a blood traitor, do you know how I weird that is? I would go from friendly with muggleborns and Half-Bloods to calling people Mudblood, and you know I can't do that."
"I'm not saying to call people mudb-"
"That's exactly what you're saying. If I don't it causes too much doubt. And when you're keeping up a lie, that's the last thing you want." Fred stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "We got off track. Writing down fixed points."
"Oh-uh, yes." Hermione scrambled to pull out her book and laid out the blank page. "Do you remember when people first started dying?"
"That's a grand first question after the previous one."
"Answer it."
"Just joking, let me think." Fred looked up to the cloud and stayed silent for a few minutes before answer. "It happened one or two years before mum and dad graduated." He answered. "A bit vague, I know, but they didn't like to talk about it and we didn't learn about it in History of Magic either so it's all very blurry."
"We'll write down next year then. Do you know around what time of the year?"
"After Christmas, definitely after Christmas, but not before summer."
"We'll write between New Year and Easter." Fred laid down on the grass while Hermione scribbled down the dates 1968 (spring) on her paper. "What else happened?"
"Well, the Ministry was hiding most of the weird killings for a while before it became evident something was going on. The war started in 1970, parents already graduated by then, but it started before then."
"Oh no," she mumbled, stopping Fred from continuing. "If the war started in 1970 but people were dying before that, then it's probably already started happening."
"how did you not realise this sooner? Damn, I thought that was common knowledge. He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named started gaining followers in the early 1960s, according to my dad, but I could be wrong. Death started looming over everyone by then, and it hadn't even been announced yet. It just felt like war was coming."
"This is going to be harder than we thought."
"Oh definitely, I'm surprised it's only dawned on you now. Hey, now that this is the talk, how in Merlin's name did Boy-Who-Won't-Die Potter and my kid brother even defeat ol' snake face?"
"Spelling it out for them. Quite literally, I had to give them all the answers." Hermione groaned at the memories of the countless hours spent in the library, searching through hundreds of books for the small bits of information that could either be good, bad or too bias to use, only to have something go wrong and the plan to get blown into smithereens and all three of them getting into trouble. Almost every single year.
"Well, at least I'm not afraid of a couple of books, so if you need any help, just holler and I'll try to help."
"Oh, I was going to make you read even if you weren't going to volunteer. I made Harry and Ron do it, I'm not afraid to make you do it either." She smiled, closing her book and shoving it into her bag. "Try and think about the things that happened before the war that might help us figure out a course of actions to take."
It was late when Hermione returned to her dorm after dinner time.
For an odd reason, the torches that usually lit up the dungeons were burning down to a point they might extinguish and the light was a small green colour, just like the ones inside her dormitory. Not a single sound could be heard, no footsteps, no words, just the droplets of water falling from the ceiling onto the floor.
Then all of the lights went out and she was engulfed in darkness.
"Who's there?" Hermione took out her wand and casted Lumos quietly. "Show yourself." She said, trying to keep her confidence up.
Never had the torches down in the dungeons gone out, not like this. A heavy gust of wind blew around her, as if she standing in the eye of a tornado. She caught a small white light go flying past her head, inches away from her face before she heard whispers.
The gust of wind and the torches abruptly turned back on once again, lighting the hall as if should be. Hermione quickly turned around, sighing that she was the only one in the hall now.
"Miss Malfoy? What happened?" She heard Professor Slughorn's voice approach. "Are you the one who extinguished the lights?"
"Uh, no sir." She answered, looking up at her Head of House.
"It's getting late, you should be going back to your dorm." He patted her shoulder and accompanied her down the hall where they were greeted with a large message on the wall. "Oh now, that is unacceptable!" The professor visibly grew irate as he marched down to the common room. He barely mumbled the password while the entrance opened hurriedly to let in the professor.
"Professor Slughorn, good evening." Prefect Esposito greeted him as he made his entrance.
"Gather everyone here, immediately." He told her, making her run off and find the other prefects.
In less than five minutes was everyone gathered in the sitting area, Professor Slughorn in front of the fireplace with everyone's attention on him.
"Who knows why I called everyone here?" He asked, no one standing up or lifting their hand to tell. "I better not hear anyone mention any of those- those foul words in this House, or the consequences will be severe, am I understood?" Everyone complied and nodded, answering all together while the Professor went off to his office.
Fred approached Hermione with a raised brow. "What was he talking about?"
"Someone wrote Blood Traitor on the wall." Hermione told him quietly.
"It could have been directed at anybody," Fred mumbled, "why is he only telling us?"
"It was painted on one of the dungeon walls near the entrance. It's part of the path that we have to take to get in here." Fred nodded, understanding what she meant.
"Think it's directed at anyone in our house?" He asked, the room quietly dispersing and emptying itself of people.
"No, I don't think so." Hermione lied. There was no use worrying anyone or popping up with wild conclusions this quickly, as it could have been a joke.
In the boys' dormitory, the first years were either working on their assignments or simply lying down to take a nap. Fred on the other hand, had taken to closing his bed curtain and had taking his notebook in bed with him to write.
He kept fidgeting with his quill, trying to wrack his mind for anything that might help him figure out the entire time travel business. But no matter how much he thought about it, the memories seemed to miss certain portions. Even remembering events from his own life that he held close to his heart were blurred.
"Give her hell from us Peeves," He remembered shouting that when he left Hogwarts on his broom with George. Though he only remembered a few parts of the ride, and he doesn't remember anything after he floo'ed until he went to bed. Of course, the memory wasn't full. He didn't floo and go straight to bed, he knew he had worked hard for the rest of the day because he'd been jumping between places to hide out.
Is this happening to Hermione too? Blanks in memories? He wondered. Why did he keep putting off this specific question? If they were going to write down the events on the timeline, sooner the better, lest one of them forgets what's necessary for their mission.
"Hey Frederick, pull the curtain!" He heard someone say loudly, breaking his thoughts. He quickly shoved the book beneath the mattress and opened the curtain. Cantankerous was standing on the other side of the curtain in his sleepwear. "What are you up to back here?"
"Reading a book." He answered, pointing to the stack of his workbooks. "Have to do my work, you know." He flicked one of the books and extended his legs on his bed.
"You've been quiet since you came in. Was it what Ol' Sluggy said?" He leaned on the wall, a raised brow and looking for any sign of a reaction from the younger heir. His voice was at a lower tone, loud enough for no one else to hear.
"Oh no, nothing of the sort." He waved it off.
"I heard about Walburga moving in." He said, Fred deciding he hadn't noticed the topic change. "Happy about that?"
"What do you think?"
"Aha, thought so. She's the one who can't shut her trap, isn't she?" Fred nodded and laughed. "Would hate to live in the same house as her. Shove over." Cantankerous laid on his bed. "Poor you" The teasing tone made him want to slap the other in the face.
"I mean, get to have my cousins in the house. Won't be the only guy anymore." Fred laughed. If only Cantankerous knew about how he'd had five brothers and only one sister and how different it was.
"Don't like having three sisters? Could learn a thing or two," Cantankerous roughly ruffled the hair on his head before pushing him off the bed and landing on him in an impromptu sparring match
"CAN'T BREATHE!"
"I CAN BREATHE JUST FINE!"
"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!"
So that was the second part of the double update, if you haven't read the other part, then go back a chapter and read that one too!
Reviews are always welcome and they encourage me to write too!
Maybe I've gotten my inspiration back! Let's hope it doesn't vanish like nothing...