A/N - Hello everyone! Just a quick note for this chapter in case anyone gets confused - original Hermione is Hermione, parallel universe Hermione is the other Hermione. The only time this differs is when Padma is speaking to them, she calls them both Hermione but I've tried to make it obvious who she is talking to. Hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!
Chapter 2
24 June 2003
When Hermione landed, all she had time to register was that she was in her flat.
"Expelliarmus."
She heard the whispered spell before she could grasp her wand. It flew from her pocket and into the waiting hand of…herself? She stared at the other her in shock for a moment. The other Hermione was wearing Unspeakable robes as well. Hermione immediately slammed her Occlumency shields into place.
"Who are you?" they both demanded at the same time. They stared at one another, neither answering.
"How did you get into my flat?" the other Hermione demanded.
"I was about to ask you the same question," Hermione said. She had warded the flat to only let certain people enter through the front door. The Floo was the same. Anyone could call her but not everyone could come through. It was necessary after the war and she'd never changed it.
She glanced around as best she could without taking her eyes off the other woman in front of her. The furniture was the same although Ron's cloak was conspicuously missing from the back of the couch where he always tossed it. Never mind that there were hooks right next to the door.
The other Hermione studied her, eye catching on the chain in her hair. She raised her wand higher. "What is that? Is that how you got in here?"
"I got in here because it's my flat," Hermione said. She looked down at the device, which was now hanging over her arm, the chain still tangled in the ends of her hair. If she still had her wand she would cast a stabilization charm on it. She should have done so before but had hesitated, not knowing how the magic would react. Now, she didn't care. She didn't want to risk it sending her somewhere else. Maybe it was some kind of Portkey? But then why was this other her here? That didn't make sense.
"I won't ask again," the other Hermione said. "Who are you?"
Hermione opened her mouth to retort, then closed it again as something glinted in the light from the lamps.
The other Hermione had a ring on her finger, the ring finger of her left hand. She was engaged or maybe even married. Another glance around the flat made Hermione realize that while everything was mostly the same, there were some differences. There was an ottoman she didn't recognize and more photographs on the mantel. She couldn't see most of them from where she stood but she caught a glimpse of a wedding photograph of her and someone with red hair.
She must be in the future and she'd married Ron. The thought made her eyes widen. Something significant must have changed for that to happen. Earlier tonight she'd been ready to break things off with him.
Maybe that was why the device had been similar to a time-turner; it sent one to the future not the past. But if she had gone to the future, wouldn't the future version of herself remember that this had happened? If time were a loop anyway. Maybe the theories had been wrong and it wasn't. She wondered how far into the future she'd gone. "What is the date?"
The other Hermione looked at her in confusion. "Sorry?"
Hermione huffed. "I'm you. I think I traveled to the future."
"Time-travel to the future isn't possible," the other Hermione said immediately.
"We never thought so," Hermione said. She pointed to the chain in her hair. "But this brought me here. And honestly, I'd like to get it out of my hair before I end up somewhere else."
"I would remember if I'd gone to the future," the other Hermione scoffed.
Although, she did step forward to get a closer look at the device. She didn't lower her wand but Hermione hadn't expected her to. They stood in silence for a few moments before the other Hermione spoke again. "What did I break when I was six and blame on Nanna's cat?"
Hermione smiled at the memory. "The vase that Nanna's sister had given her for her birthday. She thanked the cat and said she'd always hated it anyway."
Her grandmother had never told anyone that she knew it was really Hermione that had broken it and she'd died when Hermione was thirteen. If either of them were an imposter, there was no way they could have found out about it.
The other Hermione asked question after question, all of which had involved only Hermione and one other person. Hermione seemed to answer satisfactorily until the last.
"What did my mum say to me on my wedding day?"
"I don't know," Hermione said. "I'm not married."
The other Hermione stared at her for a few moments and then lowered her wand. "I can't believe it."
"That makes two of us," Hermione said. "Now can you help me get this untangled?"
"Where did that come from and what happened?"
"Work," Hermione said. "You never studied this?" She frowned at that. If she was in the future, the other Hermione must have been investigating this too.
"No," the other Hermione said stepping closer again. "It doesn't look like a time-turner."
"What's the date?" Hermione asked again.
"It's the twenty-third of June," the other Hermione said, still looking at the device.
"What year?"
"2003."
Hermione gaped at the other version of herself.
"What year did you come from?" the other Hermione said.
"2003," Hermione whispered.
The flat was completely silent as the two women stared at one another incredulously for several minutes.
"Well, that can't be good," the other Hermione finally said.
They had gotten the device untangled from Hermione's hair and the other Hermione had conjured a warded box that it now sat in. She'd also made tea and the two women sat staring at the box, neither speaking. It was beyond odd to be sitting here with herself and not have any idea what to say. She talked to herself all the time. Hermione covered a snort by taking a sip of her tea.
"The most logical answer is dimensional travel," the other Hermione finally said.
Hermione stared at her. "Logical?"
The other Hermione waved a hand in dismissal. "You know what I mean. Besides, it's not that far-fetched. Non-magicals have been studying string theory for decades."
"Studying, yes. Proven, no."
The other Hermione shrugged. "Do you have another explanation?"
Hermione did not. She had arrived in her flat, well this version of her flat, the moment that she'd disappeared from the Department of Mysteries. The reason she knew was because her watch had stopped when she'd…leapt or whatever she'd done. And this Hermione had looked at the clock the second the wards had shifted to allow her entry.
"No, it's just, how on earth was Rookwood able to make something like this? As far as I'm aware, wizards don't know anything about string theory, especially Pureblood wizards. And I've never heard anyone talk about parallel universes either."
"Rookwood made this?" The other Hermione's voice went low and hard at the mention of the Death Eater.
"Yes?" Hermione said unsure of her other self's reaction.
"He's not a Death Eater in your universe?"
"No, he is. He's in Azkaban. The DMLE got an anonymous tip about a property of his they hadn't been aware of before. This was found there." She indicated the box with a nod of her head. "What's his status here?"
"He's dead," the other Hermione said flatly. "Killed at the Battle of Hogwarts."
There was something else going on here. Yes, Rookwood was a Death Eater but he had never been one of the particularly blood-thirsty ones. In fact, as far as Hermione was aware, he had spent most of his service to Voldemort researching. Researching dangerous, probably horrible, things, yes, but researching all the same.
"How?" Hermione asked.
"Fred killed him. After Rookwood caused the explosion that killed Percy."
Hermione stared in shock. Fred was alive? She was at once elated and devastated. Elated that George had never lost his twin but devastated that the Weasley family had still lost one of their sons. Especially after they had just reconciled with Percy.
She also wondered what that meant Ron was doing now. He'd gone to work with George three years ago in her world but if Fred were still alive here maybe Ron hadn't done that. She realized she'd never taken a good look at the wedding picture on the mantel. She was interrupted by the other Hermione's next question.
"I take it that isn't what happened in your universe?"
"No," Hermione said quietly. "There was an explosion but Percy wasn't killed and we never knew for sure who did it."
"Did anyone die?"
"Yes," Hermione said. She looked up at her counterpart, biting her lip. "Fred."
All the air left the other Hermione's lungs. Her face turned stark white and her hands began to shake. Hermione quickly took the teacup from her and set it back on the table. She grabbed the other woman's hands.
"What is it?"
"F-fred died?" the other Hermione whispered.
Hermione couldn't help the tears that gathered in her eyes. She nodded. "It's been so hard for George, and everyone else too but especially for him."
"I-I, I'm sorry, I-" the other Hermione wrenched her hands away and bolted from the room. Hermione heard the unmistakable sounds of retching from the loo a few moments later. She grimaced and then stood, heading to the kitchen to get her other self a glass of water. Maybe she shouldn't have told her.
As she passed the fireplace, Hermione glanced up at the mantel and froze. The wedding photograph that she had assumed was of this Hermione and Ron wasn't. It was indeed this world's Hermione but the redhead in the picture was not Ron. It was Fred.
She was still standing, staring slack-jawed at the wedding photograph when the other Hermione emerged from the loo.
"I'm sorry," the other Hermione said softly. "It was just, thinking of him being gone, I couldn't."
Hermione finally pulled herself from her stupor. "I understand." She turned to face her counterpart. "How did the two of you end up together?"
The other Hermione laughed. "He would tell you it was because I always had a crush on him."
"Did you?" Hermione had to admit that she had always thought the twins were brilliant. Exasperating but brilliant. And fit.
"Merlin, no," her other self laughed. "They drove me mental the year I became Prefect with all their experimenting on first years."
Hermione smiled. "I think that would be the same in any universe."
"You too, then?"
Hermione nodded.
"And Ron was no help," the other Hermione said with an exasperated sigh.
Hermione laughed. "No, he wasn't."
"It was after the war and they were working on reopening the shop. I helped them brew one afternoon when I needed a break from the rebuilding at Hogwarts. And then I went back again the next week and the one after that.
One afternoon it was just Fred and me. He was working on a new product while I brewed. He made me laugh more than I had in a long time. And then the next minute we were having a debate about whether the amount of powdered moonstone he had estimated was too much. And I realized that, for the first time in a long time, I was actually enjoying myself. I spent a lot of time in their shop that summer."
She smiled. "When I went back to Hogwarts in the fall, we wrote letters all the time. And when I came home for the Christmas hols, he asked me on a date which ended with us getting caught under the enchanted mistletoe they had invented. And that was that."
"How long have you been married?" Hermione asked.
"Almost two years," the other Hermione said. "So, when you told me that he'd died in your world, well."
Her breath hitched and Hermione reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry about that. I wouldn't have told you if I'd known."
"No, it's all right," the other Hermione said. "What about you though? Is there someone?"
"Oh, erm, sort of," Hermione hedged.
The other Hermione's brow furrowed. "Sort of?"
"Things aren't exactly working out and just before this happened I was thinking it was time to end it. Part of the reason I was distracted enough for this to happen in the first place." She indicated the two of them.
"Who is it?"
"It's…Ron."
The other Hermione stared at her for a few moments, clearly surprised. "Ron?"
"Didn't the two of you, well," Hermione trailed off.
"Kiss in the middle of the Final Battle?" the other Hermione said, a bit of a smirk on her face.
Hermione gave a startled laugh. "Well, yes."
The other Hermione chuckled. "We did. But once everything was over and I had time to think about it, I realized that had been a heat of the moment kind of thing. I'm not going to deny that I fancied Ron for quite a while but when he left us in the tent," she looked up. "He did that to you too, right?"
"Yes," Hermoine said, wondering if what had happened in the tent after Ron left, had happened with this Hermione too.
"Right, well, I had forgiven him for it but I wasn't sure if I could trust him again. I mean, I know part of it was the Horcrux but part of it was just Ron, you know? It affected Harry and me too but we never threatened to leave."
Hermione nodded. She'd had the same thoughts but had ignored them, telling herself that Ron was different, that he'd grown up. And he had to an extent. But there was still a part of him that she knew she would come to resent as time went on. She had come to realize that they just weren't going to be compatible long-term.
"Anyway, the more I thought about it and the more time I spent with Fred, the more I realized that Ron and I would never work as anything more than friends. After I got my parents from Australia, we had a talk and to be honest, he seemed almost relieved. I think he'd had the same thoughts but was afraid to tell me. We never actually even dated, not officially. When we saw each other after the Battle it was always at Hogwarts rebuilding or at the Burrow for meals. Nothing romantic about it."
Hermione wondered what would have happened if she'd done the same in her own world. Obviously, she wouldn't have ended up with Fred but would she had found someone else? And who would it have been? She ignored the thought that tried to form. No use going down that road.
"Where is Fred?" she asked instead.
"He closes the shop on Mondays," the other Hermione said. "He won't be home for another hour at the least. We have some time to figure out how to get you back where you belong."
"I suppose the easiest thing would be to talk to Croaker."
"Croaker?" the other Hermione said in confusion.
"Head of our Department?"
"Croaker died in the war," the other Hermione said. "He was killed by Death Eaters just before Voldemort took over the Ministry."
Hermione sat in stunned silence.
"Davidson is Head here," the other Hermione said. "She was appointed after the war."
Gwendolyn Davidson was an Unspeakable in Hermione's world as well and would be one of those considered for the Head position if Croaker were gone. She wasn't Croaker though and Hermione had never gotten along with her that well. She suspected it had something to do with Hermione's war hero status. Davidson had never been convinced that Hermione had been hired on her own merit and not her name.
"What's your relationship like?" Hermione asked.
"She tolerates me," the other Hermione said with a wry smile.
"Me as well. Maybe not her then unless we have no other choice."
"Agreed."
"Is Padma Patil an Unspeakable here?" Hermione asked. "I'd briefed her on this before I…left."
The other Hermione grinned. "Yes."
"You're close, I take it?"
The other Hermione nodded.
"Good," Hermione said. She had hoped so. Padma was probably her closest friend after Harry.
"Maybe you could stay with her," the other Hermione suggested. "It's probably not a good idea to try and explain this to Fred. Or Harry or Ron for that matter."
"Definitely not." Hermione bit her lip trying to decide if she should ask about Harry. She really wanted to know if things were the same with him in this universe but was also a little nervous to hear the answer.
Finally, curiosity won out. "Harry, is he," she trailed off.
"He's with Ginny," the other Hermione said, then frowned. "They're having a few problems right now though."
Hermione huffed out a laugh. "We had the exact same conversation just before I was brought here."
"I'm sure they'll work it out. The two of them have always seemed meant to be, you know?"
"Yeah," Hermione said forcing a smile on her face. "So, Padma?"
"Right." The other Hermione stood and walked to the fireplace, picking up the pot of Floo powder. She tossed it in, then kneeled down and called out for Padma's. Hermione realized it was the same address as in her world.
"Hi, Padma. I've got a bit of a situation here and wondered if you could help me."
Hermione couldn't hear Padma's side of the conversation but she must have answered in the affirmative because the other Hermione continued by telling her it was probably better if she just came through. She rose and came to stand next to Hermione as the Floo flared green and Padma stepped out.
"What's going on, Hermione?" Padma asked, not looking up as she siphoned ash from her clothes. When she finally raised her head, her mouth dropped open for just a second before she pulled her wand and had it pointed at both Hermiones.
"Who are you?"
"It's all right, Padma. We're both, well, me," the other Hermione said. "Trust me, I've vetted her."
Padma's eyes narrowed, her gaze flicking between the two of them. She didn't lower her wand. "You know that you're not supposed to see yourself when you time travel."
"It's not time travel," the other Hermione said.
"You'd better tell me what you've been working on, Hermione," Padma said. "Or I'm going to stun now and ask questions later."
"It's not what she's been working on," Hermione said. "It's what I have." She indicated the box on the table with a nod of her head.
Padma's eyes drifted down to the open box for a moment before looking back up at the two of them. She muttered a quiet disarming charm and both wands flew from the other Hermione's pocket into Padma's waiting hand. She pocketed them herself and then looked down at the box.
"What is it?" she asked after examining the device for a few minutes.
"It appears to be a dimensional travel device," the other Hermione said.
"That's not possible," Padma said immediately.
"No one thought so but clearly, I'm here," Hermione said.
"Are you sure she's who she says she is?" Padma asked.
"Positive," the other Hermione said. "I was very specific in my questioning."
"Merlin," Padma said, dropping down into one of the chairs by the fireplace.
"My thoughts exactly," Hermione said with a wry smile.
"How did this happen?" Padma asked.
Hermione proceeded to explain everything she'd discovered in her examination of the device and how she had ended up in this universe.
"So, you ended up here on the exact same day at the exact same time as when you left?" Padma questioned.
Hermione nodded.
"That's just," she paused and shook her head. "With everything we've studied in the DOM I shouldn't be surprised but I am."
Hermione snorted. "Not nearly as surprised as I was, trust me."
Padma chuckled.
"She obviously can't stay here," the other Hermione said. "We were hoping she could stay with you while we work on getting her back."
"Of course," Padma said immediately. "I assume you're going to talk to Davidson in the morning."
"No," Hermione said.
Padma looked at the other Hermione in confusion.
"You know she feels about me, Padma," the other Hermione said. "I can't imagine what she'd say if she knew that not only was Hermione here but we'd had significant interaction. We're going to keep this between the three of us for now. If we ultimately need to bring Davidson in, we will."
"I suppose you're right," Padma said.
"You should probably get going," the other Hermione said. "Fred will likely be home in thirty minutes or so."
Hermione stood and closed the box, then stowed it in her robe pockets. "Thanks for helping us," she said to Padma as they moved toward the fireplace.
Padma smiled at her but before she could say anything, the Floo flared. Hermione looked to her counterpart in panic. Padma, however, wasted no time in casting a Disillusionment charm on Hermione and then shoving Hermione behind her. Thankfully, Padma was a few inches taller.
"Stay still," Padma said just as Fred stepped out of the Floo.
Hermione had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep silent. Seeing Fred, alive and whole, after five years was nearly too much for her. She could feel the tears making their way down her cheeks and clenched her jaw to keep from making any noise.
"Hello, love," Fred said, pulling the other Hermione into his arms and kissing her soundly.
The other Hermione was smiling softly at him when they parted. The look of adoration on both their faces made Hermione's heart twist. It had been a long time since Ron had looked at her like that.
"Hi, Padma," Fred said turning to the other woman in the room. The only one he could see at any rate.
"Fred," Padma greeted. There was a short silence as Padma and the other Hermione glanced at one another.
Fred looked between the two of them, brow furrowed. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Just a work thing," the other Hermione said.
"Ah, well in that case, I'll just go wash the day off me and let you two finish up." He kissed the other Hermione again, waved to Padma, and then walked down the hall to the bedroom. Hermione heard the door shut behind him with a soft click.
The other Hermione threw up at 'Muffliato' around them. "Thank Merlin you're quicker on your feet than I am."
Padma chuckled. "We should probably go." She reached behind her and Hermione grasped her extended hand. "I'm leaving the charm on until we're at my flat."
Hermione squeezed her hand in response. Not that didn't trust the 'muffliato' but better safe than sorry.
"I have to finish that report for the case I'm working on tomorrow, but I should be able to take the afternoon off to try and figure out how to get her back," Padma said.
"I'll join you after work," the other Hermione replied.
Padma nodded. "What are you going to tell Fred?"
"He's used to me having to work late sometimes. He won't think anything of it."
"All right, let's go."
She grabbed the Floo powder and tossed it in. She stepped into the flames, pulling Hermione with her.
25 June 2003
Hermione stretched her arms over her head, trying to get the kink out of her neck for being bent over the table in Padma's flat for so long. The device lay in its box in the middle of the kitchen table. Hermione had figured out about half of the runes and most of them made sense to her if this was a dimensional traveling device. She'd been less successful with the symbols but Padma hadn't had many references in her flat.
Padma's flat was exactly the same as it was in Hermione's universe and it was a bit of a comfort in this otherwise completely stressful situation. It wasn't until she had cast a set of wards on Padma's spare room last night that everything had caught up with her. Of course, that had everything to do with the fact that she had finally dropped her Occlumency shields. All the terror and shock that had been tempered by her shields had flooded her mind and Hermione had allowed herself to have a breakdown. It had taken a lengthy meditation session afterwards to allow her to sleep.
The feeling of panic hadn't gone away of course. What was happening back in her own world? Was time passing there as it was here? She'd been gone for over eighteen hours now. Even if Ron hadn't reported her missing last night, Croaker would have found the box and her camera this morning when he came into work. And Hermione had no idea what he could do to help her, given they hadn't even identified the device before she'd been brought here. She supposed they could try to question Rookwood, if he were even sane anymore. The Dementors had finally been removed from Azkaban three years ago but Rookwood had been mad before he'd even been sent there. If the Wizarding world had anything like Muggle psychiatric facilities, he surely would have been sent there instead. According to Croaker, it was because of all the Dark Magic Rookwood had been immersed in, not to mention exposure to the Dementors after the first war.
There was no telling how long she would be here. And, of course, here there was no Rookwood to question, mad or not. What if they couldn't figure out how the device worked after all? What if she were stuck in this universe? She'd have to leave Britain; there couldn't very well be two Hermione Grangers running around. The thought made her stomach clench and the panic increase. She thought she might be sick.
But even if she stayed here, found some way to disguise herself, the people in this universe weren't her people. They were similar, of course, some more than others. But even in a world that seemed nearly the same as her own, they'd all had subtly different experiences.
Percy had died, not Fred, which meant there was no Audrey currently pregnant with their first child. Hermione had had a lengthy conversation with Padma last night about this universe. Ron, never having dated Hermione, had a string of short-lived romances for a few years and was now dating Susan Bones, seemingly quite seriously. He had still quit the Aurors but instead of working for Fred and George, he was a scout for the Chudley Cannons. As a result, the Cannons were near the top of the league.
Even Padma was dating someone different here. At home, she had an on-again, off-again relationship with Ernie McMillan. Here, she was dating an older Ravenclaw, Gareth Atkinson, who Hermione knew had died in the Final Battle in her world. He had been killed by Rookwood, which Fred had prevented by killing the Death Eater.
Hermione sat back and looked down at the parchment. There wasn't much else she could do until Padma got home with the books from her office. At that thought, Hermione heard the Floo. She stood, then smiled when Padma walked into the kitchen.
"I finished sooner than I thought," Padma said. She took her bag off her shoulder and began pulling a few books and scrolls from it. "Sorry I only brought a few but I didn't want Davidson getting suspicious. I told her I had a family emergency. Hermione is going to bring more when she comes after work."
"It's fine. This is a good start."
The two women separated the books into piles, one dealing with runes and the other the symbols. They settled in to work, Padma concentrating on the symbols and Hermione the rest of the runes.
"I think I found one," Padma said nearly an hour later.
Hermione looked up from the syllabary she had been immersed in. Even though she was familiar with many runes, she didn't know them all. "Which one?"
"This one here," Padma said pointing to the tiny symbol on the device. Hermione glanced at it then looked at the scroll Padma had opened next to her.
"That's definitely it," Hermione agreed. "It means 'join'?" Her brow furrowed in confusion. What could that have to do with dimensional travel?
"I'm thinking that he might have used it as a way to link two other runes or symbols together."
The symbol was on the innermost ring between a rune Hermione hadn't deciphered yet and two other symbols because of course it was. She sighed.
Padma patted her arm. "Don't fret. We'll figure this out."
Hermione nodded and retook her seat, going back to work.
By the time the other Hermoine arrived that evening, they knew that the rune on the innermost ring meant 'destiny' but they hadn't figured out the symbols yet. Padma had figured out another two symbols. Their growing list was encouraging, although they still hadn't made much sense of what they'd discovered. If the symbols did connect the runes, they were going to need to translate all of them before they could even think about working out how the device functioned.
After a quick dinner of Chinese takeaway, the three went back to work. It was odd sitting and researching next to someone who was essentially herself. While Hermione had caught glimpses of herself when she'd used the time-turner third year, she had never had a chance to really study her. It was strange seeing the exact same mannerisms and little quirks.
This Hermione was different though, too. Her entire demeanor seemed more relaxed and content. Hermione chalked that up to the other Hermione's relationship with Fred. It obviously was a very happy one and didn't cause the stress Hermione's relationship with Ron did.
She didn't realize she'd been staring until the other Hermione spoke. "Everything all right?"
"Sorry," Hermione said immediately. "This is just…strange."
The other Hermione laughed. "A bit, yeah."
Padma snorted. "'A bit' is understating things just a little, don't you think?"
The three of them burst into laughter. Hermione supposed it was better to laugh about how bizarre this was than cry.
When they had finally composed themselves, the other Hermione reached across the table and grasped Hermione's hand. "We're going to figure this out. Don't worry."
Hermione could only nod, emotion clogging her throat. Padma patted her shoulder and they set back to work.
27 June 2003
Hermione had been here for over three days now. They'd translated all the runes and over half the symbols on one side of the device. They hadn't yet determined how, or if it was even safe, to turn it over and get to the other side. The other Hermione and Padma had exhausted all of their own collection of research materials, as well as some of their colleagues'. Only the Head Unspeakable knew exactly what each individual was working on so the other Hermione and Padma's requests to borrow books hadn't raised any questions from their coworkers. But if they wanted anything else, they were going to have to loop in Davidson. There was a library in the DOM but anything that was checked out was recorded and it was highly probable that Davidson would question them about it given that neither the other Hermione nor Padma was working on anything to do with Runes at the moment.
"I'm starting to think that it doesn't matter if we decode the rest anyway," Hermione said, setting down her sandwich with a sigh. The other Hermione and Padma had come to the flat for a quick lunch and discussion. "We still won't know how it works."
"If we translate the rest it might tell us," Padma said.
"Time-turners don't," Hermione said.
"I think we've determined this isn't a time-turner," the other Hermione said.
"No, but it's similar enough," Hermione said. "Likely Rookwood is the only one who could have told us how to use it. Which, of course, is a moot point since he no longer exists here."
"I know you're frustrated," Padma said. "But we've made a lot of progress."
"I know we have," Hermione said with a sigh. "It's just-"
"You want to go home," the other Hermione said.
Hermione nodded, unable to help the tears that gathered in her eyes. She should have put up her Occlumency shields before they started talking about this. She just had this horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wasn't ever going to get home again.
"Maybe it's time to talk to Davidson," Padma said, putting a hand on Hermione's arm and giving it a squeeze.
"Let's give it the weekend," the other Hermione said. "I'll take a look at Grimmauld's library. Harry is used to me going through it when I'm on a new project."
The mention of Harry sent a pang through Hermione. She missed her best friend. This Hermione hadn't really mentioned him after that first night. Hermione wondered how her Harry's talk with Ginny had gone and if the one in this universe had figured things out either.
"All right," Hermione agreed because really, what choice did she have?
28 June 2003
Hermione lay on Padma's sofa, arm over her face, the book she had been looking through discarded on the coffee table. Padma had gone out to the shops to pick up some food and run a few other errands. Hermione was getting extremely tired of the flat and was contemplating Apparating somewhere in Muggle London for a change of scenery. She didn't though, knowing Padma would be worried if she came home and Hermione was gone. Not to mention she couldn't risk being seen by anyone she knew, no matter how unlikely the possibility.
The Floo activated and Hermione sat up abruptly. Padma had taken to warding it before she left for work in the mornings so no one would accidentally happen upon Hermione but she must have forgotten before she left for the shops. Hermione stood but there was no way she was going to get out of the room in the seconds she had.
Fred's face appeared in the grate and Hermione swore in her head. "Hey, Padma, I wanted to…Hermione? What are you doing here?"