"The future torments us, the past holds us back. It is for these reasons that the present escapes us."
Gustave Flaubert
When Hermione realised what state Remus was in, she rushed to him. She checked his breathing, but all she could hear was his own. She began to give him CPR.
"My poor Remus, what have they done to you?"
Hermione tried her best, but she had never done CPR before. Her tears were flowing, she couldn't stop them. '
"Remus, stay with me, you can't leave, you hear me? Not now, after all you've been through, after all we've been through. You can't do this to me. I won't survive on my own."
"Honey, what have you done? We said no one was to die during the test unless they had enough potential, and I doubt that man did" the Guardian began.
"It's okay, he's not dead yet. I just broke his neck."
Hermione stopped what she was doing and jumped to her feet. She turned to the guard, hands on her hips.
"You broke her neck? You're completely insane! You killed him! You can't survive that!"
"You may know a lot of things, but magic is and always will be a mystery Hermione Granger. Remus Lupin is not dead, at least not yet."
Hermione immediately began to do CPR again, her tears had stopped flowing but the furrows were still clearly visible on her cheeks. The Guardians had resumed their discussion, not caring about the two wizards.
"You have to play by the rules, or you know what She'll do. Oh, that's disgusting" he paused as he saw Hermione giving Remus CPR and breaths.
"Well what? Do you see a defibrillator and an oxygen mask in the room? You can help me save Remus instead of talking unnecessarily. You'll have plenty of time to do that later."
The Guardian took offence and put a shocked look on his face.
"Never, in five hundred years..."
"Yes you will speak later, help me!"
He looked down at Hermione and waved his hand. Remus' chest rose sharply and he seemed to catch his breath slowly.
"Remus, Rem'? Can you hear me?"
"Dora, is that you?"
"No, Rem', it's Hermione we're in Peru, remember?"
"Mione? Can you help me up?"
Hermione did as Remus asked and helped him sit on the couch. She questioned him about what had happened, before noticing the tear streaks on his cheeks.
"We can talk about it later if you want. "
"No, it's fine, we might as well do it now. She has tested my emotional potential." He hurried on at Hermione's questioning look. "That is, she made me relive my worst memories. From my bite, to the deaths of my friends, to the full moons, she made me relive everything. Don't look at me like that, I don't want your pity Mione"
"-I don't have pity!" she took offense. "I just feel compassion, I understand your condition better. I don't know if I could have been as strong as you."
"And what did he do to you? I think you must have been tested."
"He tested my physical potential. I had to fight him using a combination of Muggle and magical methods, all without a wand. It was hard, but he told me that I had succeeded..."
"It's fine, we're not bothering you too much? We don't have that much to do," interrupted the Guardian.
"It's not like you're doing anything in your own time, you idiot! They're the first visitors in centuries, show them some appreciation," replied his wife.
"Appreciation? They are disturbing my peace."
"Shut up! She might hear us."
"Will you finally explain who you are and what your role is? You may not have much to do, but I don't. Incidentally I have the world to save" Hermione cut them off.
"They're Guardians," Remus began. "I think they're guarding the second Jewel of Time. The woman's name is Proserpina. Doesn't that remind you of anything?"
"Proserpina, Proserpina, in Roman mythology is the wife of-"
"Pluto. And that's what you call yourself, isn't it?" he asked, addressing the man.
"How did you guess? No one ever had a clue" he stammered, looking surprised and amazed.
"Because you and I know very well that there is more to it than that. You are the Damned Spouses."
The two guards turned suddenly white as Remus revealed their secret. They had promised themselves never to mention the name again. It was so taboo that it had not been uttered for centuries.
"How dare you?" the Guardian shouted indignantly.
"The what?"
"The Damned Spouses. You don't know the legend? It's quite well known. But it's true, only children with a witch parent can know it. It's passed down from generation to generation. I can't remember the whole story, but it took place about a century after Hogwarts was founded. Two students fell in love beyond reason. They loved each other so much that their love became an obsession. They could not spend a single moment without each other. Gradually, they began to destroy all those who stood in their way. They destroyed themselves. One day the headmaster saw stones all around the castle. It was the foundations of Hogwarts that were crumbling, as if the castle was crying. Love had destroyed the castle. To punish the couple, a group of students killed the young woman and her husband was said to have wandered around like a lost soul for months. He found a way to bring her back to life and it all began again. They were judged, it is not clear by whom, but they were sentenced to serve Hogwarts for the rest of their lives for blaming their monstrosity on love. But they were immortal, we don't know how either. It is said that every year, at the time of their damnation, they return to the castle to haunt the current headmaster and the teaching staff. Their love has turned them into monsters and they are condemned to pay for it all their lives. They are no longer human, for they are neither alive nor dead. They have become a species of their own, the Damned. This story is told to children to teach them that the most beautiful of things can turn into a real horror if approached with excess. I don't tell it very well but it's been a long time since my father shared it with me.
"It was because I revived my wife that we became immortal. We had managed to counteract death, and Death doesn't accept to lose, it didn't want us anymore. And it is good for it to leave us to Her."
"But who is this Her?"
"You will know Her if you deserve it. She doesn't show herself to the first people who come. It was She who condemned us. Strange sense of humour, no? Pluto and Proserpina, the Damned who keep a thing, underground. She loves mythology. How do you say now? She's a fan!"
"By the way, the term 'Damned Spouses' is wrong, we never had time to get married."
"Are we underground?"
"Yes, Hermione Granger, several hundred feet underground."
"But you still haven't answered our main question. What are you doing here? What is your role?"
-We're protecting an object. An object to which you seem to pay great attention. You call it a 'Jewel of Time'. Our mission is to examine travellers who venture into the Underworld —again, a lot of humour in the name of our residence—. We can give them a test on their physique, feelings, magic, logic, knowledge. We are quite free with this. I always do the women and Proserpine always does the men.
"And if there are two women or two men?"
"Then the other one will have twice as much work."
"I'm not allowed to go near a woman alone since I pulled the last one apart" said Proserpine suddenly.
Seeing the shocked look on the two wizards' faces, she hurried on, which did not help matters.
"She had looked too hard at my husband. "
The two friends, still flabbergasted, preferred not to add anything.
"Are there any conditions to enter here?"
"Of course there are. Two people, not one more, not one less. Logically, you have to have passed the first phase. You don't have to be a couple."
"Does that mean that only friends can come here?"
"Friends, colleagues, even complete strangers, as long as they haven't acted in the flesh."
"Flesh act?" Hermione repeated, unsure if she had understood correctly.
"To sleep with. As long as they haven't slept together" Remus explained.
"Exactly, so to get back to your question, not just friends and not all friends can come together. For example you with-"
"No, I don't want to hear any more, that's part of my private life," Hermione interrupted him abruptly."
"No more talking, even though you've only been here two moons, we're going to have to let you go."
"Two moons? But we've only been here a few hours."
The Guardian shook her head and explained that time passed more slowly in the underworld than on the surface. She took her companion's hands, since they were not married, and they murmured a Latin incantation. They began to glow, until the room contained not a single shadowy corner. Then everything stopped.
"Excuse me, but what was that supposed to do?"
"You should pay more attention to detail, Hermione Granger. Look at your wrist."
Hermione looked down and was amazed to see a multi-coloured bracelet adorning her wrist. Like the necklace, it emanated an extremely powerful magical aura. Hermione jumped into the arms of Remus who was also jumping with joy.
"We did it Rem'! We've got the second jewel, we just need one more."
"And it will surely be the most difficult to reach. Remember what I told you Hermione Granger. Train in combat, relentlessly, train Remus Lupin too, that's what will make the difference."
"I will. Thank you, thank you so much for your advice and help. This jewel is vital to us. I hope She, whoever she is, will treat you a little better from now on."
The Guardians stood in front of them, hand in hand, and a light from their hearts seemed to stream through their bodies. They looked at each other and began to cry.
"You saved us..."
"But how?"
"Your mercy, it acted as forgiveness. It has forgiven our past faults."
"Fate be with you, you saved our lives."
The two Guardians turned to dust and the two wizards looked at each other, not knowing what to do. They started to look for the exit but the guards had given them no indication of where to go.
"Pass me the bracelet, I have an idea."
Remus placed the book of time in the centre of the room and placed the two jewels at one end of the book each.
"Give me your hand and touch the book with the other."
Hermione did as Remus asked and he did the same. At first nothing happened and Hermione was about to break the silence and look for something else to get out of the Underworld, when the book began to shimmer and a dome encompassed the jewels, the book and the wizards. They felt themselves being sucked in and reappeared at the edge of a large staircase.
"Where are we?"
"We're still underground, we've just come out of the Underworld. Look at these stairs. We'll have to climb it to get back to the surface."
"Climb those stairs? But Rem' they said we're several hundred meters underground, how are we going to get it all back up?"
"We don't have a choice, disapparate is impossible."
The two friends climbed the steps for hours. They were exhausted and the few breaks they took did not really refresh them. They were so exhausted that they fell asleep during a break. They were not sure how long they had slept but they preferred to leave this place as soon as possible. Fortunately for them, magic was possible and they could make water appear and could light themselves. After several days of climbing, the wizards finally saw the sunlight. It was quite hot and the air was very dry.
"Do you think we're still in Peru?"
"I don't think so."
"What makes you say that?"
Hermione turned to Remus, who was looking in the opposite direction. Hermione looked back at the landscape before her. Hermione and Remus were standing in front of a gigantic Egyptian pyramid. They had never seen anything like it. They were used to the vastness of Hogwarts, but this pyramid gave off something else, it was made by Muggles, and it was just plain impressive.
"Do you think it's the Great Pyramid?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure it is. It's really beautiful but we shouldn't stand here. We look a bit suspicious in the background."
Judging by the location of the sun, it was still quite early in the morning and the tourists had not yet disembarked. Remus was trying to find his bearings and someone who spoke English to give him the day's date while Hermione was looking for food. An hour later they found themselves on a small terrace enjoying an Egyptian dish.
"It is the twenty-eighth of November, the Guardians were right, two moons have passed. I wonder how we managed to escape the transformations."
"We're not going to complain about it either. I think it was because we were so deep underground that the moon had no influence on us. How long until the next one?"
"Two days, we have to be ready, I don't know how the wolves will react to not being out for two moons. I have a feeling it's going to be very painful. We have to find a hotel or a guesthouse for the transformation, for the third phase but above all to sleep."
The two friends had slept more than nineteen hours each. Sometimes they had woken up after a nightmare, but their exhaustion had got the better of them and they went back to sleep instantly. It was as if their bodies were becoming aware of the two months without sleep. After recovering their strength, Remus and Hermione locked themselves in Hermione's room to find out what the third phase was all about. They were reluctant to call it 'final phase', they knew that even when their quest was over, it would never be the end.
Remus dripped Rosier's blood on the book and the same phenomenon as the previous time happened again. The jewels and the book began to glow and light up the whole room. Gradually the words began to form on the page, which had previously been strewn with runes.
« Time Chosen, congratulations, the first two phases have been successfully completed. You have been through a lot, but the hardest part is yet to come. Here is the riddle that will take you to the final phase:
The final phase will take place through the twists and turns of time. The Chosen ones will have to prove their will to the Almighty. Only Destiny will decide, where it all began.»
The two friends looked at each other, stunned by what they had just read. This riddle was very different from the others. Their destiny no longer seemed to belong to them. The last words could only mean one thing. Where it all began. Where they learned so much, where they met, where the darkness turned, where the light lost. Remus and Hermione looked at each other and in their eyes they knew they were thinking of the same place. Remus looked like he was about to cry and Hermione looked as pale as a ghost. The young woman spoke up, her voice shakier than ever, and revealing their worst fear in the process.
"Rem' can't mean we have to go back to Hogwarts, can it?"