A/N - It's unlikely that I will get another chapter posted before Christmas, so whatever holiday your celebrate, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Chapter 27
4 August 2003
When Hermione got to the DOM the next morning, she went straight to Padma's office. Her friend wasn't there, however, so Hermione left a note asking Padma to come see her as soon as she got in. Then she went to her own office and paced.
She'd barely slept the night before, the events of the afternoon playing over and over through her mind. She was convinced that the other Hermione had indeed taken control for a few minutes and spoken to Harry. It was the only thing that made sense, even as much as she didn't want it to be true.
She hadn't felt her other self since, either, which was just as worrisome. Had the other Hermione been damaged somehow by taking over like she had? What if it were permanent? Did that mean if Hermione left, this Hermione would be incapacitated? What if it were like someone who'd been kissed by a Dementor? Alive but not there? Or what if the other her…died? Harry would be devastated.
A knock at her door interrupted her increasingly dire train of thought. She walked over and opened the door, relieved to see Padma on the other side. "Thank Merlin."
"What's going on?" Padma asked as Hermione ushered her into her office and warded it with everything she could think of. Padma looked at her warily. "Hermione what's wrong?"
"Something happened yesterday after I got home from our lunch."
"What?"
Hermione sighed and sank down into her desk chair. She told Padma the entire story, losing her tenuous control over her emotions as she did so. When she finished, her hands were shaking, and her voice was uneven. "I haven't felt her since. I'm afraid something's happened to her."
Padma, ever the voice of reason, took a deep breath. "Let's not jump to conclusions."
"I'm trying not to but what if, what if I've permanently damaged her or, or," Hermione's voice dropped to a whisper, "killed her even."
"You've said that there were times in the other universes that you couldn't always feel your other self. Why do you think this is different?"
"It's lasted longer," Hermione said. "And I've tried to sort of reach out to her. But she's just…gone."
"There has been varying degrees of contact or awareness between you and your other selves in all the universes. Just because you can't feel her right now doesn't mean she's gone."
"Yes, but my other self has been getting consistently…stronger, for lack of a better word. Either that or I've gotten better at communicating or whatever, with her. This would be a regression, even from when I first got here."
"It's possible that taking over like that tired her out and she just needs rest," Padma said. Hermione could tell that Padma was trying to convince herself as much as Hermione. The two women were best friends, of course she was worried.
"It's definitely possible," Hermione said. "Likely, even. My other concern is that she could do it at all. This has never happened before."
"Maybe because it hasn't needed to happen. Harry and Hermione, they never want the other to worry. Harry would have gotten really anxious if you hadn't been able to come up with a reason you were upset. Like jumping to worst case scenario anxious. When you couldn't answer him, she knew she had to step in."
While what Padma was saying made sense, Hermione could think of other instances where the other her would have wanted to take over given the situation. The pregnancy scare with Draco came immediately to mind.
"Maybe every Hermione of every other universe has had the capacity to do this, but knowing they would be out of it for a while afterward kept them from doing anything," Padma said.
"How would they know that though?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe they didn't for sure, but they didn't want to take a chance," Padma sighed and shook her head. "We can speculate all we like; we're not going to know the answer until my Hermione comes back."
'If she does' was on the tip of Hermione's tongue, but she didn't say it. There was no reason to upset Padma further. "Right, you're right. I'm overreacting. I'm sure it was difficult to shove me out like that. She must have done it especially hard since I blacked out."
"Exactly. She could have just pushed forward while you still remembered everything that happened. She must have just gotten too much adrenaline or something and pushed you out altogether." Padma smiled slightly, which Hermione knew was to convince herself more than anything.
"So, we'll just wait until she gets her strength back then," Hermione said with a forced smile. "Anything new with the Universe Hopper?"
Padma looked grateful for the change of subject. "I finished verifying everything that was discovered in the other universes. I didn't have a chance to do anything else before Ron got home."
Hermione nodded.
"Unfortunately, I won't have a chance to look at it again until tomorrow night. Ron's got the night off tonight, but he's got the closing shift tomorrow."
"I understand," Hermione said. "I really appreciate you spending all this time on it as it is."
"It's fascinating, really."
Hermione laughed. "Spoken like a true Unspeakable."
Padma grinned. "I should get back to my actual job, I suppose." She stood and walked to the door, pausing before she opened the door. "It's going to be all right, Hermione. She's fine, I know she is."
Hermione nodded before dropping the wards so Padma could leave. Once she'd gone, Hermione put her face in her hands. She wasn't sure that Padma was right.
Hermione managed to immerse herself in the other Hermione's current project for the rest of the morning. A part of her didn't want to do too much work on it, given that her other self was currently not aware of what was happening, but she really needed something to keep her mind occupied. She could leave notes for her other self if necessary. Not that she thought the other Hermione wouldn't understand what she'd done.
When she finally took a break, it was nearly time for lunch. She planned to meet Harry. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face at the thought of him. As concerned as she was about what had happened yesterday, she couldn't deny how happy she was to be with Harry.
Thinking about the logistics of what might happen when she got home, if she did, made her want to just stay here. From something Harry had said the night before she'd figured out that the other Hermione's parents had had their memories restored. They had stayed in Australia, not wanting to start their lives over once again, but the other Hermione still saw them a few times a year.
While she knew that the other Hermione and Harry were still friends with Ron, Hermione had no idea what their relationship was with the Weasleys as a whole. With Teddy being over at the weekend, and all the time she had Harry had spent together, she hadn't had a chance to look for any photo albums. She assumed that Padma would have said something if Molly had shunned them or something but that didn't mean that they were close either. And no one had said anything about Ginny.
Even if everything were fine, if everyone had accepted this Hermione and Harry's relationship, if they were still treated the same as they had always been by the Weasleys, that didn't mean things would go the same way when she got back. This Hermione and Harry had been together since the Horcrux hunt. And neither of them had been dating Ron or Ginny at the time they got together. In her world, Harry and Ginny had been together since shortly after the Final Battle and married for three years. Hermione and Ron had been together for five. Neither of them had ended those relationships before she'd had her accident.
She was getting ahead of herself, she knew that. Far ahead of herself. She didn't even know if her Harry felt the same way she did. Even if he did, it's not as if she was going to get back and they were immediately going to be a couple. She planned to break things off with Ron as soon as she got home, yes, but Harry was married. If he made the decision to leave Ginny, that would take time. He shouldn't get into another relationship right away either. He would need time to grieve the end of his marriage, even if it was his decision to leave. Not to mention, neither of them needed any speculation by the press that they'd been having an affair or something.
It would be so much easier if she could just go back to that morning in the tent after she and Harry had slept together. She would talk to him, tell him how she felt about him. Maybe he wouldn't have felt the same but at least she wouldn't have the regret of not telling him. If only the Universe Hopper had a Time turner element to it. Although, she definitely wouldn't want to have to repeat everything that came after, Malfoy Manor, robbing Gringott's, the Final Battle. Not to mention all the grieving for the people they'd lost.
Sighing, she pushed those thoughts aside. Given how complicated her life was probably going to become once she got back, she was going to enjoy her time with Harry now. After straightening up her desk, she left her office to meet him for lunch.
Just as Hermione was tidying up her desk for the day, a Ministry memo zoomed into her office. As it landed on her desk, she recognized Harry's handwriting.
Just caught a case and have to work late. Not sure how long it will take so don't worry about supper, I'll just grab something. Sorry, love. See you whenever I get home.
Harry
Hermione was used to Harry having to work late sometimes, it happened in her world as well. She wasn't looking forward to going home alone, however. She knew she would just stew in her thoughts about what had happened with her other self the day before. She thought about asking Padma if she wanted to have dinner, then remembered she'd said Ron had the night off tonight. Bugger.
Although, this would give her time to look around for photo albums and the like. She couldn't look too much like she was snooping though. Kreacher was still giving her looks from time to time. She couldn't really figure out if he were suspicious or just being his usual self.
In her world, Kreacher was polite to her whenever she went over to Harry and Ginny's, but she always got the feeling he wasn't entirely comfortable with her being there. Whether that was because of her blood status or because he sensed that she had feelings for Harry that went beyond friendship, she didn't know. House Elves seemed to just sense things, part of their magic she knew.
Deciding not to waste any more time worrying about it, Hermione grabbed her bag and left her office, warding it behind her.
Hermione flipped another page in the wedding album she'd found in her search of the library. She had decided to search rooms where her other self spent a lot of time, figuring Kreacher wouldn't think it odd. It was also the most likely place to find what she was looking for.
A search of the other Hermione and Harry's bedroom didn't turn up anything besides the photographs on their bedside tables she'd already seen, so she'd come to the library. She knew that they spent quite a bit of time here in the evenings. Either here or in the drawing room.
She had planned to start with her other self's desk, but her eyes were drawn to the bookshelf just behind it. One shelf held a number of photo albums. Hermione recognized a couple from her childhood, apparently this Hermione had the same ones. She also found the album Hagrid had given Harry at the end of first year. There was one that held a variety of photos from their years at Hogwarts. Then she found their wedding album.
Hermione had eagerly pulled it from the shelf and begun to flip through it. Padma had been her maid of honor and Luna her other bridesmaid. Ron had stood up for Harry, which was a bit surprising to Hermione, if she were honest, as well as Neville. Teddy was the ring bearer. Harry and the other Hermione looked blissfully happy.
There were photographs with Hermione's parents, with Andromeda, and with Molly and Arthur. There was even one with the entire Weasley family. The only person conspicuously absent was Ginny. Hermione didn't see her in any of the candid photos from the reception either.
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, wondering about Ginny. No one had mentioned her since Hermione had been here. Not that Hermione had asked about her or anything, but her name hadn't come up in conversation at all. Even when Padma talked about the other Hermione and Harry getting together, she only mentioned Ron's reaction, not Ginny's. Of course, if things had been the same here as in her world, Ginny and Harry had broken up at the end of sixth year, so there really would be no reason for Padma to mention her.
Hermione continued on through the album, unable to help the soft smile that graced her face as she looked at the photos of the other Hermione and Harry. She paused on one where Harry leaned down to kiss her other self, then simply stared at her for a few moments. The other Hermione put a hand on his cheek, and he kissed her palm before the sequence repeated itself. It was obvious how much they loved one another.
Hermione sighed softly and ran a finger down the edge of the photograph. And then she nearly dropped the album as she felt a tendril of love and fondness from her other self. Hermione held perfectly still for a moment before she felt it again, this time tinged with reassurance.
"Thank Merlin," Hermione whispered, feeling her eyes begin to fill. "I thought you were gone."
There was another faint feeling of reassurance before she seemed to fade away again. Whatever she'd done to take over her body from Hermione must have taken a lot out of her. The feelings Hermione was getting were nowhere near the strength they'd been. But her other self was still here. That was all that mattered.
"I'm so sorry," Hermione said quietly. "I won't let that happen again."
A tiny flicker of acknowledgement and the other Hermione was quiet again. Hermione blew out a breath and returned the album to the shelf, then sat in silence for several minutes. Padma was going to be so relieved. Hermione was as well. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she'd caused some harm to the other her, unintentional though it was.
Grabbing the last album on the shelf, Hermione found that it covered the years after the war. She made sure to search for Ginny as she looked through it, but the only photo Hermione could find was a group photo of the D.A. from a gathering a couple of years ago. The redhead was at the opposite end of the photo of Harry and Hermione, standing between Dean and Luna. Most everyone was smiling and laughing and trying to jostle for position. But when Hermione concentrated on Ginny, the younger woman's eyes shifted towards Hermione and Harry. Ginny didn't look happy at all when she glanced at the two of them, although she was attempting to smile. Hermione knew her well enough to know it was fake. Ginny obviously wasn't happy about Harry and Hermione's relationship.
There were other photos in the album that were clearly taken at the Burrow, but Ginny wasn't in any of them. And there weren't any photos from Ginny's quidditch games as far as Hermione could tell. She wondered if Ginny played for the Harpies here or even played at all. Hermione hoped there wasn't an estrangement between Ginny and her family just because they appeared to accept Harry and Hermione's relationship and Ginny obviously didn't.
Sighing, Hermione closed the last album and returned it to the shelf. The photos had only supplied her with more questions. She supposed she would just have to ask Padma about it tomorrow.
A search of the desk didn't reveal much, except a couple of letters from her parents. Hermione smiled as she read them. It seemed this Hermione and her parents had a closer relationship than Hermione did with hers, even if her other self's parents lived thousands of miles away. Hermione vowed to work on her relationship with her own parents when she got home.
She contemplated looking around a bit more, maybe in the drawing room or something but decided against it in the end. What was she even really looking for anyway? Harry and Hermione were happy, they were still friends with Ron, and the Weasleys appeared to approve of their relationship enough to come to their wedding. She would ask Padma about Ginny tomorrow.
There was a pop and Kreacher appeared in the room. "Supper is being ready."
"Thank you, Kreacher. Will you keep a plate warm for Harry please? In case he's hungry when he gets home." She knew Harry had said that he'd grab something to eat while he was working but she knew from experience it wouldn't be much.
"Kreacher has done so."
"Thank you." Hermione smiled at the old elf, but he just popped away. Shaking her head, Hermione stood to make her way to the kitchen to eat.
"Hermione," a voice whispered.
She made a noise of protest and batted at the hand that was running through her curls. She heard a low chuckle but stubbornly kept her eyes closed.
"Wake up, love. You don't want to sleep on the sofa all night."
Hermione's eyes fluttered open to see Harry smiling down at her. The last thing she remembered was lying down on the couch in the library with a book. She must have fallen asleep while she was reading.
"What time is it?" she mumbled.
"Just after midnight," Harry said.
"Did you just get home?" Hermione asked, sitting up with a yawn.
"A little bit ago. I changed and had something to eat before I woke you." He reached out and took her hands in his, pulling her to stand. Then he wrapped his arms around her. Hermione snuggled into his body, resting her cheek against his chest, eyes falling closed once again.
Harry kissed the top of her head. "Come on. Let's get you in bed before I have to carry you."
"You didn't mind carrying me yesterday."
"Well, if that's on the table," Harry said. She looked up at him and he waggled his eyebrows at her.
"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid I'd fall asleep in the middle."
Harry laughed. "Don't need that kind of blow to my ego." He leaned down and kissed her, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her upstairs to the bedroom.
5 August 2003
Waking up next to Harry was definitely her new favorite thing. Her arm was flung over his chest, her body pressed up against his side. His hand lightly gripped her thigh, his face turned towards hers. She kissed his shoulder and snuggled more tightly to him. Harry rolled toward her in response, arm leaving her leg to drape across her waist. She tucked her head into the space between his neck and shoulder and he absently kissed the top of her head.
Hermione didn't say anything, she didn't think he was awake yet in any case. She just reveled in the feeling of being next to him, knowing that when she left here it might be a long time before she could do so again, if ever. Not wanting to start her day with her anxious thoughts, she began to trace random patterns on Harry's chest.
"Are you drawing runes on me again?" he murmured a few moments later.
She laughed softly because she had, in fact, been doing just that. Not intentionally, it had just happened. "Perhaps."
Harry's arm tightened around her, and he rolled to his back, tugging her to lie on top of him. She propped her chin on his chest and smiled when he opened his eyes. "Good morning."
"Morning," he replied, tipping his head to kiss her lightly. His fingers began to run up and down her sides, making Hermione shiver. He grinned at her, then shifted her slightly upwards so he could kiss her properly.
His hands moved from her sides to her back, pushing up her vest top until his thumbs brushed the sides of her breasts. At the soft whimper from Hermione, he rolled them over and began to attack her neck and jaw with his lips. They were probably going to be late for work, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
Leaving her neck, Harry shoved her top up further and moved his attention to her breasts. She tangled her hands into his hair, holding him to her as he continued. She was a panting, moaning mess when he looked up at her with a grin.
She yanked him back to her for another toe-curling kiss, her own hands wandering until one slipped beneath the waistband of his boxers.
"Fuck, Hermione," he stuttered out as she gripped him in her hand, stroking slowly.
"Please, Harry," she said, hips bucking towards him.
He leaned down and kissed her again, more forcefully this time, then moved down the bed, stripping her of her shorts and knickers. Hermione pulled off her top as Harry ran his hands back up her legs. She writhed and moaned when his mouth found its target. Fisting one hand in the sheets beside her, the other in his hair, Hermione panted and mewled as Harry continued his ministrations. And then she was crying out, hips bucking as she fell over the edge.
Harry kicked off his boxers and crawled back up her body kissing her fiercely before lining himself up and plunging into her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, meeting him stroke for stroke. She ran her lips over his neck, lightly nipping at his shoulder. He grunted and she soothed the sting with her tongue.
"Gods you feel so good," Harry panted out.
Hermione pulled him down to her for another kiss. He slipped a hand between them and then she was calling his name as he shouted and spilled himself inside her.
He collapsed on top of her, and she tightened her arms and legs around him. She never wanted to let him go. How could she let him go not knowing what would happen when she got back?
"I love you, Harry," she whispered after their breathing had calmed. "I love you so much."
He rose up on his elbows and smiled down at her. "I love you too." Then he kissed her. He smiled again when he broke the kiss. "We're going to be late for work."
"I don't care," Hermione said and pulled him down for another kiss.
Harry laughed when they parted. "Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Potter?"
While she knew he meant it as a joke, her heart began to pound and she froze, staring up at him. All coherent thought had flown from her head.
"Hermione?" he said in question, brows furrowing.
She had to say something. Her other self was in no condition to step in again. She forced herself to smirk. "Maybe I've decided there are more important things than work."
He stared at her for a second before he laughed again. Leaning down he kissed the tip of her nose. "As much as I would like to celebrate this revelation of yours, I have to go in today. That case last night," he said by way of explanation.
She sighed heavily as if it were some great imposition to do as he asked. "All right, fine."
He grinned. "I'm going to remember this next time I'm trying to badger you into taking a day off."
Hermione merely leaned up and kissed him once more. He pushed himself up and off the bed, then paused and looked back at her. "Of course, it would probably save time if we shared the shower."
Hermione sat up and jumped onto his back. Harry laughed and he wrapped his arms under her legs and carried her into the loo.
"She's back," Hermione said without preamble once she'd closed the door to Padma's office.
"Oh, thank Merlin," Padma said, closing her eyes for a moment.
Hermione knew that her friend had been worried. As positive as she'd been about the other Hermione only needing rest to recover from taking her body back, it had been obvious that Padma was trying to reassure herself as much as Hermione.
"What happened?" Padma asked.
"Last night, Harry had to work late so I was looking at their wedding album," Hermione said. "There was a photograph of the two of them kissing and while I was looking at it, I just felt her. It was faint, not like it was when I first got here, but she was there. I talked to her, and she was able to reassure me that she was all right. Then she faded out again."
"And you haven't felt her since?"
"Not as such." Hermione brow furrowed in thought. "She's not reaching out or anything, but I can still tell she's there."
"All right, good," Padma said. "That's good."
There was still a part of Hermione that was concerned her other self was permanently weakened by what she'd done but hoped that the reassurance she'd gotten from the other Hermione meant she was wrong. There was nothing Hermione could do about it anyway, except jump again. But she had no intention of doing that until Padma had completed her inspection of the Universe Hopper.
"Can I ask you something?" Hermione said after a few moments of silence.
"Of course," Padma replied.
"When I was looking at the wedding photographs, I noticed that Ginny wasn't in any of them."
Padma winced. "She didn't go to the wedding."
"I got that much. I was just wondering why."
"Given that the Harry in your world is married to her, I would have guessed you could have figured it out."
Hermione nodded. She'd suspected as much. "Will you tell me what happened anyway?"
"The day of the Final Battle, when Ginny showed up at Hogwarts with Fred and George, she had no idea Harry and my Hermione were together. Bill didn't say anything when he brought Mr. Ollivander to Muriel's. As soon as Ginny spotted Harry in the Room of Requirement, she ran towards him and kissed him."
Hermione bristled on behalf of her other self.
"Harry pushed her off rather quickly but only told her it wasn't the time."
Hermione nodded. It hadn't been the time. They were about to fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters. No one needed the distraction of Harry's romantic life at that point.
"So, when Voldemort announced that Harry was dead and Hermione had just as much of a reaction to that as Ginny, well, it wasn't hard for a lot of us to put two and two together. I don't think Ginny wanted to believe it and it distracted her. She was almost caught by a Killing Curse from Bellatrix Lestrange. Then Molly killed Bellatrix."
"That happened in my world too," Hermione said. "But obviously not for the same reason."
"After everything was over, my Hermione immediately went to Harry. And he kissed her in the middle of the Great Hall in front of everyone. I don't think he meant to, I think he was just so relieved that they were both alive, he just reacted. As you can imagine, Ginny wasn't happy about that at all."
Hermione nodded. She could just imagine how the younger woman had felt.
"She still hasn't come to terms with it. She's dated, even had a few longer relationships but they haven't lasted. It's like she's still carrying a torch for Harry, even though it's obvious that he has no intention of leaving Hermione."
Hermione bit her lip. "How does Molly feel about all of this?"
"It took her a bit. She felt like both her youngest children had been jilted by those they were 'meant' to be with. Harry and Hermione didn't have a lot of contact with the Weasleys for a while. Molly would do things like only inviting Harry to family dinners or try to get Hermione there when Ron had the day off.
Then Ron started dating someone and he and Molly had a huge row about it. She wanted to know why he wasn't trying to work things out with Hermione so Harry could get back together with Ginny. Ron told her that she was completely daft if she could look at Harry and Hermione and think there was a chance they might change their minds about one another. And that if he had accepted that, what was her problem?"
Hermione could help the laugh that escaped. She couldn't picture Ron standing up to his mother like that, especially about Harry and this Hermione's relationship. She would have thought it would have taken him a lot longer to accept it, if he ever would.
Padma grinned in response to Hermione's reaction. "I convinced him to show me a Pensieve memory of it once. I love Molly, but I'm sure you know how she is. If she doesn't stop nagging us about when we're going to get married, we just might never do it out of spite. Can you imagine if we had kids but weren't married? She might explode."
Hermione laughed again. This Ron was obviously much different than hers. He seemed much more mature for one. And much less under his mother's thumb. Hermione loved Molly as well, but the woman could be overbearing and certainly had no problem sharing her opinions. Hermione couldn't even imagine what it was going to be like when she broke things off with Ron, regardless if she got together with Harry or not.
"Anyway," Padma continued. "Even after Molly stopped meddling and accepted their relationship, Ginny couldn't. Ron thought that she needed to go to the wedding to finally accept that Harry wasn't coming back to her and tried to convince her to attend. Molly did too. But Ginny refused. There was a scene; love potions were mentioned, so was the Imperius, and then Ginny stormed out. It wasn't pretty."
Hermione stared at Padma in astonishment. "She thought the other Hermione used the Imperius on Harry? Or a love potion?"
Padma nodded. "Like I said, it wasn't pretty. Ron was furious on your behalf, as was Arthur. Even Molly was angry."
"They shouldn't have tried to force her to go though," Hermione said. "She had every right to make the choice that she did and everyone else should have just accepted it. The Ginny in my world was half in love with Harry since she was a child. It had to be difficult to have that fairy tale end a different way than she wanted."
"I agree, but that doesn't excuse her ridiculous accusations."
"No, of course not, but I don't agree with trying to force her to go to a wedding she didn't want to go to."
"No, you're right. Ron realized it too, later, and tried to apologize to Ginny but was having none of it. Bill was the only one she spoke to for months," Padma said. "Even now, her relationships with the rest of the family aren't what they used to be. I think she's upset that everyone has just accepted Hermione and Harry."
"Family gatherings must be interesting," Hermione said.
"Well, Molly tries to keep the three of them separated as much as she can. Harry and Hermione only go to family dinners when Ginny's gone with the Harpies. Christmas, they spend time with Hermione's parents and Andromeda and Teddy and usually only go to the Weasleys on Boxing Day. Most times, Ginny isn't there. Birthdays they just try to stay away from her as much as possible. She's not always there at any rate if there's a match or the team is traveling."
"Still, that's so sad. I mean the Weasleys are her family not ours, theirs, I mean. She should feel welcome to see them without being worried that she'll run into them."
"Ginny makes her own choices," Padma said with a shrug. "It's been over five years and Harry and Hermione have been married for almost three. She's the one that's decided to keep pining and not move on."
"I suppose," Hermione said, although she still felt incredibly guilty. Not that she personally had done anything to this world's Ginny but she held no illusions that things wouldn't go similarly in her own world if things went the way she wanted them to with Harry.
She shook her head, pulling herself from her thoughts. "I should let you get to work."
"You'll let me know if anything changes, as far as my Hermione?"
"Of course," Hermione said.
"I'm leaving a little early so I can work on the Universe Hopper."
"You don't have to-" Hermione began but Padma interrupted.
"It will give me more time before Ron gets home."
"All right," Hermione said. "If you need any help, I can probably convince Harry I have to work late or something."
"Let me start on my own for now, but I'll let you know."
Hermione nodded and then left Padma's office, heading back to her own.
Hermione went home by herself again that night. Harry had to stay a bit longer to wrap up the case he'd been working on the day before. But he promised her that it would only be an hour or two at most. He definitely wouldn't be as late as he had been the night before.
Hermione wandered into the library after asking Kreacher to hold supper until Harry got home. She pulled the wedding album from the shelf again and began paging through it.
Thoughts of returning to her own world had constantly been on her mind in all the other universes she'd been in. But now, here, she had everything she wanted. Harry, her parents, the Weasleys, well most of them anyway, her job, Padma, and the rest of her friends. Going back to her own world, as much as she hoped for it, there was no guarantee she would end up with Harry. She didn't even know what his feelings for her were. Or whether he was willing to implode his life to be with her, even if he wanted to.
She knew that things with Ron and Harry would never be the same if they could even get to a place where they could speak to one another again. It would likely be the same with the Weasleys. Hermione's relationship with her parents wasn't the greatest either. Sure, they'd still have their jobs and some of their friends, but things would be vastly different than they were here. It was worth it to Hermione, but would it be worth it to Harry?
It would be so much easier to just stay here. She knew she couldn't, but she thought about it quite often. They were married here, their life well established. They were trying for a baby. If anyone had asked Hermione in her own world if she were ready for children, she would have told them emphatically no. However, here with Harry, it was different. She felt excited about it and that wasn't her other self's emotions either.
Her other self hadn't seemed to be much stronger today, or at least wasn't making her presence known. If she stayed as weak as she was now, what would happen if Hermione left? Would her other self regain her strength as soon as Hermione was out of her body, or would it permanently affect her? Sometimes, Hermione thought it might be better if she just stayed unless she was sure that her other self was all right.
Hermione knew she shouldn't be thinking like that, but it was difficult. She had everything she wanted here; how could she give that up?
She'd gone over what might happen if she got home. Croaker would want to keep her in the DOM until he'd studied her and the device thoroughly. There would be all kinds of questions about what effect she'd had on the other universes she'd been in, even if there was really no way to know without visiting them again.
Once he was finished, however long that might take, Hermione would have to deal with the fact that she'd been missing for a month and a half, likely presumed dead. Would that make it easier to break things off with Ron or harder? Ron would be shocked if she came back just to break up with him, that she was certain. He'd be convinced that something had happened to her mind while she was gone and that had caused it.
Harry would have missed her, that she knew. But would it have driven him back to Ginny for comfort? Would the redhead have given it to him? Perhaps their relationship was stronger than ever. Tragedy brought people together as often as it drove them apart. Hermione had no way to know which road Harry and Ginny's relationship would take.
This would make things harder with her parents as well. They rarely talked about magic anymore, after their reaction when she'd restored their memories. Knowing that their daughter had disappeared for weeks because of an unknown magical object wouldn't endear the wizarding world to them more either.
Sighing, Hermione flipped to the last photograph in the album, the one of Harry and the other Hermione kissing. She smiled at the image, then slowly closed the book. Gods, she wished she could just stay here.
6 August 2003
Hermione had barely had time to set her bag down on her desk and start going through her memos when Padma appeared in her office. She quickly shut the door and warded it before turning to Hermione, looking excited.
"You found something?" Hermione asked, not sure how exactly she felt about it. After her thoughts the night before, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to go home yet. If ever.
"Not something, someone," Padma said with a grin.
"I don't understand," Hermione said in confusion.
Padma set the box that contained the Universe Hopper on Hermione's desk. She opened it, then cast a magnification charm. A much stronger one than Hermione had used to read the runes and symbols.
"Look here," Padma said, pointing to the center disc. "Just to the right side and down about a quarter of the way from the midline."
Hermione did as she was bid, squinting as she saw a tiny etching in the metal that encapsulated the disc. It was so small it didn't surprise her that she'd never seen it before. She was shocked that Padma had found it, honestly.
"What is it?"
"Inventor's mark," Padma said. "One I've seen before."
"You mean the person who made this?" Hermione asked.
Padma nodded excitedly. "I know who they are."
Hermione realized that she had never told this Padma about Rookwood's suspected involvement. She hadn't done it intentionally; it just wasn't a question Padma had asked. Given the fact that Hermione hadn't been able to talk to Rookwood in any other universes, she's not thought it overly important to mention. Finding it among his belongings didn't necessarily mean he was the one that had invented it after all.
"Not only do I know who it is, we can talk to him. Well, the one of this universe anyway. I don't know if he attempted to invent one himself, but he might have some knowledge of how it would work. He might be able to tell you how to get home. I know he'll help us however he can, at any rate." Padma was grinning widely.
"Who is it?"
"The former Head Unspeakable," Padma said. "Augustus Rookwood."