Chapter 30

8 August 2003

Hermione didn't know what to do. She'd never expected that she could return to her own world and arrive at the same moment she left. When she thought about returning, she knew that she would have to debrief with Croaker for who knew how long. She hadn't even been sure he would let her go home until he had finished with her. Which could be some time considering all she had experienced.

But now, if she went back to when she left, that wouldn't be an issue. She would tell Croaker what had happened, of course, her conscience would let her keep it from him. Plus, she would want to warn him about the Universe Hopper. But when she'd had her accident, she had been the only one in the department. Everyone had already gone home for the night. She could go home as well and explain to Croaker in the morning.

She could end things with Ron and check on Harry. She could, well, no, she couldn't tell Harry how she felt. Not yet. Telling another man you were in love with him immediately after breaking things off with his best friend was not a good idea. Not to mention that Harry was still married to Ginny, no matter what problems they were having.

She wouldn't have to tell her parents anything, wouldn't have to worry them that she'd been negatively affected by magic yet again. Everything could just continue on as it had been.

Except, what of Rookwood's theory about alternate timelines? If she went back to the moment she left, would she create a new timeline? Would the one where she'd disappeared just continue on with no one knowing what had happened to her? She didn't want to put anyone through that.

Going back to the current time would mean that she had been gone for almost seven weeks. Croaker had likely informed everyone that she had disappeared in the middle of an experiment, and he had no idea when she would return, if ever. They had likely mourned her and assumed she was dead. She didn't want any of them to suffer that either.

And, selfishly, if she returned to the current time, Harry and Ginny might have reconciled, brought together by their grief. The opposite might have happened too, of course, but she had no way of knowing. It would be much more difficult to end things with Ron if she had been missing for almost two months. He wouldn't understand and assume it was some side effect of her accident or something.

Rookwood's theory about alternate timelines wasn't necessarily right. It was just a guess on his part. And it couldn't possibly explain every alternate universe. There was no way that all of them had been created by someone going back in time and changing things. Even if Time-turners were responsible for some of them, there had to be other reasons that they existed. Between a theory that her arriving back at the time she left might cause an alternate timeline where she never returned and the guarantee that she had been missing for seven weeks if she went back to the current time, she'd take the former.

Or, what if she could go back even further? What if she could go back to that night in the tent with Harry? She could tell him how she felt, just like the Hermione of this world had.

Except that meant living through the rest of the war again and she didn't think she could do that. She would want to change too many things, her torture at Malfoy Manor, saving those that had died in the Final Battle. She didn't know if she could change any of those things or if she could if they would change the outcome of the war. But she knew she couldn't go through her torture again or watch people she loved die. No, she couldn't go back to the tent. But maybe she could go back once the Final Battle was over. Harry and Ginny hadn't gotten back together until a few weeks later, if she could talk to Harry before then, well, maybe.

"Can I go back further?" Hermione asked.

Rookwood gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, no. The failsafe was only for the moment I left."

Hermione nodded, disappointed but not surprised. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Rookwood and Padma. "I want to return to the moment I left."

"Excellent," Rookwood said, picking up the box with the Universe Hopper inside. "Come with me."

The two women followed him out the back door and crossed the garden to the shed. Once inside, he reset the words and then set the box on a table, turning to Hermione.

"You will turn the rings in the same manner that you have the last two universes. However, instead of flipping the center disc once, you must turn it three times, in the opposite direction from the rings. Most importantly, you must concentrate fully on your world. You must believe that you will return. Intent."

Hermione nodded. "I understand."

"It has been a pleasure meeting you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled. "Likewise, Augustus. I'm glad you found your home."

He clasped her hand between both of his. "And I wish with all my heart that you will find yours."

A lump formed in Hermione's throat, and she could feel the sheen of tears in her eyes. She turned to Padma. "Thank you."

"You never have to thank me, Hermione."

Hermione laughed shakily. "You know, every version of you has said something to that effect in every universe. You are an amazing person, Padma Patil, and I'm so glad you're my friend."

Padma threw her arms around Hermione. "I'm going to miss you. I wish there was a way to know that everything turned out all right."

"Me too," Hermione said, hugging her back tightly. They both brushed away tears when they parted.

Hermione took a deep breath and focused on her other self. She had been hovering during the entire conversation with Augustus. "Thank you for being patient so I could do this. I'm sorry I disrupted your life. I hope that you and Harry have the family you want soon."

She felt a wave of warmth from her other self, although it was tinged with impatience. Hermione chuckled and turned back to Rookwood. "I'm ready."

"Remember what I said. Good luck, my dear."

Hermione picked up the Universe hopper and put it around her neck for the last time. She took another deep breath and filled her mind with thoughts of her world. She pictured the room in the DOM she had been in when she left and focused Padma, her parents, Ron and most of all, Harry. She focused on home. She manipulated the rings into position and turned the center disc three times as Rookwood had instructed. The last thing she saw was Augustus and Padma raising their hands in farewell and then they disappeared from sight.

When she landed, she kept her eyes closed for a moment, afraid that it hadn't worked again. All was quiet, which was encouraging. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw that she was indeed in the room where she'd been examining the Universe Hopper in the DOM. She looked down and she was once again dressed in her Unspeakable robes. Closing her eyes again, Hermione concentrated on searching for another her, but she felt nothing.

She took the device from around her neck and settled it back into the box that sat on the table. The camera was sitting on the table as well, her wand was in her pocket, and she was wearing the same shoes she'd had on when she disappeared. Still, she needed proof that this was indeed her world.

Hermione closed the box and picked it up along with the camera, hurrying from the room to her office. Everything looked just how she'd left it. She sat down at her desk and opened the bottom right drawer, shoving her hand to the back until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the photograph of her and Harry that had been taken at a fundraiser for the War Orphans fund a year after the war. This photograph hadn't been in her drawer in any of the other universes where she'd been an Unspeakable, she had checked. And she hadn't found it anywhere else either. She was almost certain she was home.

But when was it? The day calendar on Hermione's desk was still set to the twenty-fourth of June, a good sign but not necessarily proof. They could have just not cleaned out her office yet. Still, everything was pointing towards her being back.

Hermione took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She took the box with the Universe Hopper and put it into the small, warded safe in the wall of her office. Each Unspeakable had one to store projects they were currently working on when they weren't in their offices. Then she grabbed her bag and headed to the Floos.

When Hermione stepped into her flat, all was quiet. Another one of her didn't appear to ask her who she was or what she was doing there. Ron wasn't there either, but that wasn't surprising. He normally closed the shop on Tuesday nights and if she'd come back to the same day she'd left, that's where he would be.

She went into the kitchen, knowing that the morning she'd had her accident, she hadn't thrown out the Prophet. She doubted Ron had either. He never did much tidying up in the flat.

Sure enough, the newspaper was folded on the kitchen table where she'd left it. Holding her breath, she picked it up and looked at the date at the top – 24 June 2003. Hermione sank down into one of the chairs in relief. It had worked, date-wise anyway. She had to be certain though.

A brief search of her flat convinced her that she was indeed back in her own world, in her own body, in her own life. All of the photographs were the same and where they always were. Her clothes and Ron's were all the same, including the jumper and pair of jeans that Ron had left lying on the chair in their bedroom. Hermione sank down onto her bed, covered her face with her hands and wept.

She couldn't believe that she had finally made it back. She had finally gotten home. And at the same time that she left. "Thank you, Augustus," she whispered when her tears had slowed.

She wanted to strip off her clothes, crawl into bed, and sleep. She had finally allowed all of the stress, the fear, the pure emotional upheaval she'd been going through the last seven weeks to catch up with her. She was exhausted.

Ron would be home soon and while she wanted to get their breakup over with, a part of her thought maybe it would be better to wait until she'd gotten some sleep. But that would mean waiting until tomorrow after work as there wouldn't be enough time in the morning. And she had no way of knowing how long Croaker would keep her in the DOM once she'd told him everything that happened. No, best to get it done tonight.

She shed her Unspeakable robes and headed to the loo for a quick shower. After, she would have something to eat and wait for Ron. The shop had closed a few minutes ago and he would be home in less than an hour.

While she showered, she thought about what she would say to him. She wondered if he would be shocked or if he would have seen it coming. As she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off, a heavy sadness fell over her. As much as she wanted to do this, as much as she knew it was the right thing, it was still Ron. He'd been her best friend for almost twelve years. Now she was going to lose him, maybe forever. And who knew who else along with him?

She faltered for a moment, then took a deep breath and shook her head. No, she wasn't going to second-guess. She didn't belong with Ron. Even if she didn't end up with Harry, she didn't belong with Ron. She couldn't stay with him out of fear of who else she might lose. It wasn't fair to either of them.

She dried her hair with a spell and then quickly braided it. She threw on a t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts and then went into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. When she'd finished eating, she sat on the couch in the living room to wait for Ron.

The Floo flared ten minutes later, and he stepped out into the room. He glanced at her warily. He hadn't been home the morning of her accident, having either slept at the flat above the shop or left before she got up. Though it had been weeks for Hermione, Ron had only seen her hours ago, their row their last interaction. She had to remember that when she spoke to him.

Ron shrugged out of his work robes, laying them on the back of the armchair, as usual. The action made Hermione bristle, but she didn't say anything. Ron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know you're still angry, Hermione. And I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it like you thought, I-"

"This isn't working," Hermione interrupted.

He looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"This, us, Ron. It's not working."

"Because we had a fight?"

"It wasn't just one fight. We argue all the time."

"We've always argued all the time," Ron said.

"Do you really think that's healthy for a relationship?"

He sighed. "All couples argue, Hermione."

"Not as often as we do."

Ron stared at her for a few moments before sitting down in the chair where he'd tossed his robes. "Is this about your parents?"

"Partly," she said. "But it's about more than that. You can't tell me that you've been happy lately."

His gaze flicked to his lap and then back to her face. She could tell he wanted to deny it, even though he knew it was true. Her voice softened. "Don't lie to me, Ron. And especially don't lie to yourself. Neither of us has been happy lately."

"No," he said quietly. "But everyone has rough patches, right?"

"I think this is more than just a rough patch."

He sighed, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his thighs, hands clasped and hanging between his knees. He looked at her sadly. "Maybe we could, I don't know, do more things together or something."

She gave him a sad smile. "That's just the thing though. It doesn't seem like we can really find things that we want to do together."

"We could try harder," he said but Hermione could hear the defeat in his voice.

"It's been five years, Ron. I don't know how much harder we can try."

"So, we're just going to, to end things? Just like that? After five years?"

Hermione moved down the couch so she sat at the end closest to his chair. She reached out and took one of his hands in hers. "I think if you're honest with yourself, you'll agree this has been coming for a while. We just don't…fit anymore." She didn't say that she wasn't sure they ever had.

"How are you so calm about just deciding to throw away the last five years?" Ron demanded, snatching his hand away from hers.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now," Hermione said honestly.

"Yeah, well, I haven't!" He stood from his chair and stalked across the room, running his hands through his hair in his agitation.

Hermione watched him for a few moments. "Is that really true? You've never thought about it once? That maybe we didn't belong together?"

"No!" Ron shouted.

She cocked her head, giving him a look that meant she didn't think he was being honest with himself. His shoulders slumped and Hermione knew she was right.

"I, I," Ron shook his head then sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I've thought about it." When he looked up at her, he looked utterly miserable. "I love you, Hermione."

Hermione couldn't swallow over the lump in her throat, and she felt tears gathering in her eyes. "I love you too, Ron. I always will." She paused and sniffled. "But I don't think, I don't think we're in love with each other anymore."

His chin began to wobble, and she stood from her seat, crossing the room and stopping in front of him. She wanted to hug him, but she didn't know if he would want that. "I'm sorry, Ron. I'm so sorry."

He stared at her for a moment before he pulled her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Hermione could feel his tears dripping into her hair and hers ran freely down her cheeks, soaking into his shirt.

"I'm sorry too," he whispered.

Ron left their flat that night, despite Hermione insisting that he didn't have to. He packed a few things into a rucksack and told her he'd come back for the rest of his things the next day while she was at work. She told him there was no rush, but he just shook his head and told her there was no reason to drag it out. They were both crying when he stepped back into the Floo to stay in the flat above the shop.

Hermione walked slowly into their bedroom, eyes roaming over everything of Ron's. It was hard to believe that by the time she got home from work tomorrow, it would all be gone. She sniffled as she lay down, burrowing under the covers, still able to smell Ron's scent in the bed. Even though this had been her idea, and she knew it was the right thing to do, it didn't make it hurt any less. She finally drifted off to sleep, hugging Ron's pillow to her chest, tears drying on her cheeks.

25 June 2003

Hermione took a deep breath before she knocked on Croaker's open office door. Despite everything that had happened with Ron the night before, she'd slept relatively well and had arrived in the DOM before anyone else. She'd gone to her office and retrieved the Universe Hopper, waiting for her boss to arrive. She knew she had to tell him, it was going to be her recommendation that they destroy the device given everything that could happen should it fall into the wrong hands, but she was dreading it all the same. She had no idea how Croaker was going to react.

He looked up and nodded. "Granger."

She stepped inside, closing the door behind her and casting a privacy ward. His eyebrows rose on his forehead as he watched her. "Something wrong?"

"Not exactly," Hermione said setting the box with the Universe Hopper on his desk. "But I've figured out what this is."

His eyebrows rose higher. "I just gave it to you two days ago."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "However, I've been studying it for seven weeks."

He sat back in his chair and stared at her for a few moments. "Explain."

She did. She told him everything that had happened once the device had whisked her away from their universe. Croaker listened in silence until she told him she'd started sharing a body with her other self. At that, he jumped up from his desk, pointed his wand at her and bound her tightly to the chair she was sitting in.

Hermione had expected it; she was actually a bit surprised he hadn't done it from the beginning. He cast all kinds of diagnostics and scans on her, all of which came back clean, thankfully. As much as she felt as if she were her normal self once she'd arrived home last night, she had to admit, there was a small part of her that was worried she'd brought a bit of something, or someone, with her.

When he finished scanning her, he loosened the ropes a bit, but didn't remove them. He ordered her to continue, and she did, explaining her research with the Universe Hopper and a bit about each universe she'd been in. When she reached the part about Rookwood, he swore out loud.

"Augustus Rookwood? Death Eater and spy for Voldemort? You consulted with a Death Eater?"

"He wasn't a Death Eater in that universe, he'd never been one. But it was ultimately because of him that the Universe Hopper ended up here. He was the one that invented it and another version of himself stole it from him and came here."

Croaker glared at her for a few minutes, then scrubbed a hand down his face and swore again. "We'll have to question him. Corroborate what this other Rookwood told you. I fucking hate going to Azkaban."

Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing. She'd just told her boss not only were there other universes, but that's she'd visited seven of them and he was angry he had to go to Azkaban.

He sighed and released her from the ropes. "Tell me everything Rookwood said about this." He tapped the box that held the Universe Hopper.

As Hermione told him all she knew, which, admittedly, wasn't anything having to do with the actual construction of the device, just the use of it, Croaker took notes. He tapped his quill against the parchment when she'd finished. "And he didn't tell you where he got the sand for this? What the spells were that he used to enchant it?"

"No, and I didn't ask."

"Why not?"

"Because I think we should destroy it."

Croaker sat back in his seat and stared at her. She couldn't tell if he agreed with her or not.

"And why should we do that?"

"Because it's dangerous," she said. "When I was in the last universe, my other self started taking over her body completely, leaving me unaware of what was happening while she was in control. Augustus reported the same thing had happened to him. If either of us had stayed, we might have lost control permanently. As it was, Augustus barely got away. It was how he ended up in a universe with his other self instead of sharing a body. And, ultimately, how he lost the device.

The device ended up here, so that Rookwood either came here initially or hopped around until he ended up here. Or maybe a different version of him stole the device again and that one came here. Obviously, we have to talk to the Rookwood we have in Azkaban. The Rookwood that stole the device could have killed the Rookwood from this world or vice versa. The Rookwood that stole the device could have wreaked havoc on any number of universes before the device ended up here. It's dangerous, sir."

"You know the function of this department is to investigate. Replicate the device if we can, test it, study it."

"I understand that, and I would normally be the first person to agree with that approach. But with all due respect, I'm the one that experienced what this device can do. We should not follow the usual protocol in this case."

Croaker was silent for several seconds. "You interacted with many people in all these other universes. Who knows what changes you have affected."

"Considering I had a wand in my face withing ten seconds of arriving in the first universe, I really don't see how that could have been avoided," she said dryly.

"Perhaps not the first time but what about all the universes after that? In fact, why did you keep jumping at all? Why not just stay in the first universe until you had discovered how to return?"

Hermione tried to keep her anger in check. She knew that this was part of debriefing. Croaker would ask her questions that would rile her. He had never been one of those bosses that insisted on protocol at all costs, there were always grey areas. But he had to ask the questions and make the observations.

"Had I done that, I never would have gotten back. As I told you, in each universe, I learned something new about the device. However, it wasn't until I met the inventor that I truly learned how to return. I continued to jump because each time I learned something new, the only way to know if I could get home was to test it."

"Except the first universe," Croaker said. "That was a completely emotional choice."

Hermione nodded, remembering her impulsive departure from the first universe. "You're right, it was. However, I would hope that you would have a little compassion given my situation. At the time, I had no idea whether I'd be able to return home or not, and I was concerned about how long Davidson would keep me in the DOM. Her relationship with the other Hermione wasn't any better than mine is with her here. And I'll say again, I likely would have been there indefinitely, considering that it was Rookwood that told me what exactly I had to do to return."

"How many other people outside of Padma and your other self knew who you were in the other universes?"

"Not many," Hermione said. "Fred Weasley saw me in the first universe, but didn't know who I was. The other Hermione simply told him it had to do with work and swore him to secrecy. Theo Nott was present when I landed in the second and was eventually told who I was. He had information from his father that helped us figure out more about the device.

Luna Lovegood knew in the third universe as well as the last, but I never told her anything. She just knew. And I told Severus Snape in the fifth universe. He was trying to tailor a nausea potion for my other self and found something off about my magical signature. He confronted me and I felt, for both my and my other self's safety, I needed to tell him. That's all."

Croaker didn't react to the fact that Snape had been alive in another universe. Nor Fred. Although, Hermione had no idea if he knew who Fred was, in any case. "Your magical signature was different?" he asked instead, clearly intrigued.

"Apparently. Snape told me they were remarkably similar but not identical."

"Interesting."

There was a knock at the door of Croaker's office. He dropped the privacy wards. "Enter."

The door opened and Padma stood in the doorway. It took everything in Hermione not to jump up and hug her friend. She had missed her terribly. All of her interactions with the Padmas in the other universes had just made it worse.

"Oh, Hermione, you're here," Padma said. "I was going to come find you after I turned in my report." She handed a stack of parchment to Croaker. "I'm ready to help you with the device now."

Hermione glanced at Croaker.

"Thank you, Patil," he said. "Granger and I are just discussing the device. We'll let you know when we're finished."

"All right," Padma said, brow furrowed. Clearly, she was wondering why she wasn't being included in the discussion if she were working with Hermione on the project. Still, she left the office and Croaker set the wards once again.

"I understand your questions about what I might have changed in the other universes, but they were other worlds. Even if I did change something, it's not going to affect us here."

"Unless Rookwood makes another one of these and loses it again," Croaker retorted.

"Trust me, he's not going to do that. He is where he wants to be and had no desire to go jumping through universes again."

Croaker sat back in his chair and sighed. "Fine. First order of business is going to be talking to Rookwood in Azkaban. Once we can confirm what actually happened to bring the device here, we'll discuss what to do from there. I'll keep this in my safe."

"What should I tell Padma?"

"I'll talk to her. I need to assign her something else in any case." He tapped the box that held the Universe Hopper. "If I do decide that we're going to do more research on this, the only people that will be working on it are you and me. The fewer people that know about it, the better."

"I've already shown it to Padma."

"She doesn't need to know we're still working on, if we do."

Hermione nodded in acknowledgement. "What do you want me to do?"

"Write up everything that happened while you were gone. In detail. I'll set up a visit to Rookwood."

Hermione stood and headed for the door.

"And Granger," Croaker said as she grabbed the doorknob. "I'm glad you're back."

She smiled. "Me too, sir."

Hermione was working on the report Croaker had asked for when Padma knocked on her open door. Hermione squashed the urge to run up and hug her. She opened one of her desk drawers and stuck the stack of parchment inside. "Hey, Padma."

Padma walked into the office, closing the door and casting privacy charms. "What is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not working on the device anymore; Croaker just gave me a new assignment." Padma crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Hermione.

"What did he tell you?"

"That he's decided to shelve the project."

"Oh, well, yes," Hermione said.

Padma studied her for a few moments. "Why do I feel like you're not telling me everything?"

Hermione sighed. "The project is shelved. For the moment, anyway. Possibly permanently."

"Why?"

"I can't talk about that."

Padma said nothing. The DOM was called the Department of Mysteries for a reason. And not just to keep the public ignorant of what they did down here. Unspeakables themselves often had no idea what their colleagues were working on in more than a general sense. And sometimes not even that.

"Did something happen?" Padma finally asked.

"What do you mean" Hermione replied, even as her heart started to beat faster.

"I mean why would Croaker shelve this all of a sudden? Did you figure out what it does or what it's for? Did he speak to Rookwood about it?"

"Padma, I," Hermione sighed. "I can't talk about it." She hated this with every fiber of her being. Every other Padma Hermione had met knew the whole story, had helped her. And now, she couldn't tell this Padma, one of her best friends, what had happened.

"It's all right, Hermione. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be badgering you about it." Padma sat down in the chair in front of Hermione's desk and sighed herself. "It's just, I know I only looked at it that one time but there's just something, I don't know, something I don't like about it."

Hermione's brow furrowed. The Universe Hopper had been inside a containment ward the entire time Padma had examined it. And it wasn't Dark either. It was a strange thing to say.

"What, exactly?"

"I'm not sure," Padma admitted. "That's what makes me even more concerned." She studied her hands in her lap. "I feel like something happened. Or might happen? With you and that device. I don't know." Padma shook her head in frustration. "It makes no sense, I know."

Actually, it made perfect sense to Hermione. She had actually been gone for seven weeks, no matter that she had returned to the moment she'd left. What if Padma's nervousness about the device was because she'd actually lived through the time that Hermione had been gone? Even if the memories had been written over or forgotten or whatever, what if the emotions were still there, just muted or buried or something? Padma would have been one of the people most affected by Hermione's disappearance.

"Merlin, I'm starting to sound like Luna," Padma said with a laugh.

Hermione managed a weak chuckle, the implications of what she was thinking still reeling in her brain. "I don't know what's going to happen with the device if anything. But I promise I'll be extremely careful."

"You had better," Padma said as she stood.

Hermione smiled, hoping it looked genuine, and then Padma dropped the wards. She turned and looked at Hermione over her shoulder. "Lunch?"

Hermione nodded. She wanted to tell Padma about Ron, but work wasn't an appropriate place to do it. Padma smiled and left her office.

Once she was gone, Hermione waved her wand to close her door and lock it. She took a deep breath and blew it out. If Padma's unease about the Universe Hopper was because she had some thread of something she was remembering from Hermione's accident, would other people be affected the same way? If it were true, it made sense that Padma would feel that way. She and Hermione were extremely close, best friends actually. Given she would have been more affected by Hermione's disappearance than most other people, would others that Hermione was close to react the same way?

Ron hadn't seemed to. He'd acted like he'd just seen her the night before. She knew that didn't necessarily mean anything. Ron had never been the most emotionally intune person, although he'd matured since they'd left school.

She hadn't seen Harry yet, so she had no idea if he would react like Padma or like Ron. Hermione bit her lip. If he were like Padma, and had some kind of feeling that something had happened, what would that mean? All of the thoughts and doubts she'd had before she decided to come back to the time she'd left churned through her mind again.

Hermione shook her head. It didn't do any good to speculate. She still needed to talk to Harry. Today, if possible. She had already agreed to lunch with Padma, but maybe Harry would want to get together after work. She'd send him a memo and ask.

"I broke things off with Ron last night."

Padma's fork stopped halfway to her mouth, and she stared at Hermione in surprise. "Truly?"

Hermione nodded.

Padma set her fork back on her plate and sat back in her chair. "What brought that on?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while," Hermione said. "And our argument over dinner with my parents the other night was the last straw."

"I, well, I'd be lying if I said that I thought you two were right for each other. But I'm still a bit surprised. How are you doing?" Padma sat forward again, looking at Hermione in concern.

Hermione sighed. "I'm just, I don't know. It was my idea, and I know it was the right one but it's still hard." She felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

"How did Ron take it?"

"He was angry at first, but I got him to admit that he hasn't been happy either. And that he'd thought about ending things as well. He stayed at the shop last night and said he was going to move his things out today while I was at work."

One traitorous tear fell from Hermione's eye, and she wiped it away quickly. Padma reached across the table and took Hermione's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"It's okay to be upset, you know."

"It's what I wanted though."

"But it was still five years of your life. And Ron was your best friend first."

Hermione nodded. "I know and I don't know if we'll ever get that friendship back."

"Not right away, no," Padma said. "But you never know what might happen after you've both had time."

"Maybe," Hermione said.

"Does Harry know?" Padma asked.

"I haven't told him. I'm not sure if Ron has said anything to him yet. We're getting together after work, so I'll tell him then."

"How do you think he's going to take it?"

"I don't know," Hermione said honestly. Because she really didn't know. She was sure that he would be upset for both her and Ron, but she didn't know what would happen after that. She knew that Harry wouldn't completely abandon her, they were too close and had been through too much together for that. But the fact remained that Ron was his best mate first and he was married to Ron's sister. The Weasleys were Harry's family just as much as Hermione was. If they decided to shun Hermione, well, she didn't know if she would be seeing as much of Harry as she normally did.

Padma, understanding what Hermione wasn't saying, reached over and squeezed Hermione's hand again. "You and Harry are close. He'll be there for you."

"I don't want him to have to choose," Hermione murmured.

"He doesn't have to choose. It's not as if you and Ron broke up because one of you cheated or something. There's no one to blame, it just wasn't meant to be. Harry can support both of you."

Hermione nodded. She knew Padma was right, she just hoped that Harry felt the same way.

Hermione was nervous. She shouldn't be, it was just Harry for Merlin's sake. But she was. Given everything she'd experienced in the last universe with that Harry, she knew she was going to have a hard time keeping her feelings to herself.

She had to though. She couldn't tell Harry how she felt. Not yet, while he was still with Ginny.

They arrived at the Atrium level and Hermione followed everyone else out of the lift. She took a deep breath and made her way to the Floos, looking for Harry as she did so. She finally spotted him leaning against the wall, scanning the crowd himself.

"Hermione," he said, pulling her into a tight hug the moment she reached him.

"You heard then," she said quietly relishing the feeling of his arms around her.

"Heard what?" he asked in confusion.

"About Ron and me."

"What about you and Ron?"

Hermione was confused. "Why did you hug me like that?"

"I just missed you is all."

"You just saw me the day before yesterday."

"So?" Harry said with a shrug. "Now what about you and Ron?"

Hermione stared at Harry for a moment. That was the kind of hug Harry would give her when they hadn't seen one another in weeks, not just two days. Her thoughts that she'd had earlier about Padma's reaction to the device returned. What if that was what made Harry hug her like that? Because she really had been gone for weeks.

"Hermione?" Harry prodded.

"Sorry," Hermione said. Regardless of what was going on, this wasn't the place to talk about it, or her break up with Ron. "Let's go to mine. I need to talk to you."