Story Title: Time, Interrupted
Chapter Title: Realization
Author: Madm_05
Rating: Strong PG-13/T
Warnings: Angst and Drama ahead
Chapter Word Count: 5,737
Date: 22 July 2006
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everyone else from Potterverse belong to JKR.
Chapter Ten: Realization
When did the floor become so soft? Hermione wondered as she slowly began to wake. She couldn't recall the floor of her prison being so comfortable. Her whole body ached, jolts of pain sometimes shooting through her body. Though she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, she forced her eyes open and screamed in shock.
Hovering over her was a set of sapphire eyes. The face hanging over hers jerked back at her cry, to reveal a head of honey - blonde curls and a sweet face. "Oh my, I'm ever so sorry. We weren't expecting you to wake so soon," the woman said breathlessly with a wide grin. "Now, I'm Matilda Rosen, your mediwitch here at St. Mungo's, but please, call me Matilda. Do you need anything, dear? Water, something to eat, perhaps?"
Hermione was silent for a minute before a small smile crept over her lips as she realized where she was. Thank you, Dobby. "How long have I been here?" She rasped, her throat dry.
The mediwitch's smile fell. "Oh, I'm afraid you've been here for nearly seven days, little one." She shook her head sadly. "We don't know what happened to you other than what your little friend has told us, which wasn't much." The woman was talking more to herself now than to Hermione. "Amazing. Even as a little boy, Harry Potter is such a hero. I understand the two of you are betrothed. I must say, you are such a lucky little witch, getting to marry Harry Potter!" The woman said cheerfully.
Hermione cringed. She hated it when people thought of Harry as nothing more than the Boy Who Lived. She looked around her empty room. "Where are they? My family, I mean. Where's Harry and Papa Remus? Where is Sirius and T-- erm, Dora?"
"They should be here soon." Matilda said as she swished her wand over her bedside table, conjuring a glass of water. "It's still quite early yet-- not even eight in the morning. Visiting hours begin at seven you know, and they end at eleven. We have a very strict policy here at St. Mungo's. We like to provide the best care for our patients." Matilda pulled absently on the bed sheet, straightening it. "So never you worry, dear, your little friend will be here soon. He's such a loyal little thing. I hope he's a Hufflepuff. You may not know it, but that was my old house when I was a young thing in Hogwarts."
Hermione watched in amazement as the woman continued to talk non - stop. Doesn't she breathe? She raised her hand to her eyes and realized that it still hurt to move. Perhaps she didn't have her necklace back-- that would explain why she felt horrible. "Excuse me," she said weakly. "I need something for the pain. It hurts."
The woman froze. That was never a good sign. "Well, you see dear--"
"Wotcher, Hermione!" Tonks said cheerfully as she walked in. Hermione noted with amusement that her hair was neon green.
"Hermione!" Remus called out as he walked into the room. "You're awake!" He grinned briefly before he took on a concerned expression. "Are you alright? The mediwizards said that you had been through a lot." He sat down on the edge of the bed as Tonks, with Harmony in her arms, Sirius and Harry came in. Harry, she noted, looked particularly sad. The mediwitch quietly slipped out of the room.
"Guess what, Hermione!" Tonks fairly chirped as she bounced a giggling Harmony in her arms. "Remus was able to get custody over you again. You get to go home with us, Sweet Pea!"
Hermione cringed inwardly at the nickname then felt relief wash over her-- she was terrified that she would end up with yet another Pureblood Elitist family. She smiled weakly and winced in pain. "Can I please have a pain - relief potion? It hurts so much."
"Well," Remus shifted nervously. "The thing is, Hermione, that--"
"My - My!" Harmony shrieked happily, reaching her arms out for Hermione. Tonks held on to the squirming baby, refusing to let Harmony dive out of her arms. Upset, Harmony turned to Tonks, "Doh - Doh!"
"Dodo?" Hermione asked in amusement.
Tonks flushed. "We think it's her way of saying Dora," she murmured. Remus and Sirius snickered. "Well," she scowled, "at least Harmony doesn't call me Moo - Moo or Pee - Pee!" The two men quieted immediately and suddenly became fascinated with the ceiling.
"Alas," Sirius said dramatically. "Dora is an extinct bird, Moony is a cow, and I, Padfoot, am bodily waste. Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
The group chuckled at his antics, stopping abruptly when Hermione winced from the sharp pain shooting though her body. "Can I please have a potion for the pain," she gasped.
Hermione felt a surge of panic when silence fell over the room again. Remus cleared his throat and sat on the edge of her bed. "Well, you see Hermione, we can't give you a potion. It's uh, it's complicated. Mr. Malfoy, the man you were staying with after… ah… you left, he, well, he did things to the food you ate, very bad things."
Hermione felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as Remus began to wring his hands before the werewolf grasped her hand gently in his. "Hermione, Mr. Malfoy gave you what is called a two - part poison." Her stomach knotted. "That means that he mixed something into your food that could hurt you very much, something that could kill you. You don't have to worry, though, not yet. This poison that he gave you will only hurt you if it is mixed with the what triggers it."
Hermione thought briefly about telling him that she already knew what a two - part poison was, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. Besides, little girls don't know about things like that. Remus was still talking, but she wasn't listening. A two - part poison? When did Malfoy intend to give her the other half, the potion that would trigger the first part and kill her? What could trigger the first part? From what she had read on the subject, it would either be a potion or a specific ingredient that triggered the poison. Surely there must be some connection between the two - part poison in her system and her not being allowed to have a healing potion.
"So you see," he said, pulling her away from her thoughts. "I can't give you anything for the pain, because the poison in your body is triggered by lacewing flies. Now usually, lacewing flies are used in antidotes because they give a person energy. But the thing is, lacewing flies are used in a lot of healing potions, not just antidotes, and that means that you can't use any of them, or you'll die. Unfortunately, lacewing flies are used in pain - relief potions, as well as the potion used to soothe people who have been put under the Cruciatus Curse." Remus concluded sadly.
"Thankfully, no one gave you anything with lacewing flies in it when you first arrived. It's the policy here for the mediwizards and mediwitches to run a lot of tests over anyone who enters into their care. Unfortunately, you were put under the Cruciatus Curse so many times without being able to properly recovering in between bouts that, well, it will take you a while to recover completely. But you will recover," he rushed to add.
Her head was whirling. When will I be able to rest? Can't just one thing go right? Every thing seemed to be going wrong. She simply couldn't believe that she had come so far, done so much, only to have yet another set back. Were the fates not content to know she would never see her parents again? Never use a wand?
And that's when it struck home. She could die. She was mortal, just like everyone else. It had seemed so surreal. She hadn't even known she had died before, and it still didn't seem real to her. Death had been so much like a dream, like a fairy tale, complete with a family reunion and a happy ending. It had always been a distant fact and never a reality. She, Harry and Ron had defied death so many times before that it hadn't seemed real to her. Now she faced her mortality-- one wrong potion, and she would die. She would fail in her mission and either Voldemort would win, or Harry would become the next Dark Lord.
"It will be alright though, because muggles-- people who can't use magic-- don't use lacewing flies at all in any of their medicines." Sirius soothed, pulling her from her thoughts. "Since it was decided that you will be coming home, I took the liberty of buying some muggle medicines. I don't know what medicines work for what illnesses, so I just bought a little bit of everything. You can tell us which ones work the best for you."
Hermione nodded slowly, taking in what Sirius said. Well, she though wryly, I wanted a way to keep in touch with the muggle world. I guess this is one of those cases where I should have been more careful about what I wished for.
Her thoughts were disrupted when the door burst open, revealing none other than Minister Fudge himself. "Ah! Our Wandless Witch and the Boy Who Lived, awake and safe and sound. You are well, I hope?"
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but Remus spoke before he could reply. "About as well as two children who were very nearly killed can be, I suppose. But then, as Harry hasn't spoken a word to anyone since he told the healers here at St. Mungo's that Mr. Malfoy was dead and that Hermione was hurt, and Hermione herself has only just awoken from just shy of two weeks of torture, we really wouldn't be able to say."
Hermione's head snapped towards Harry, ignoring the pain caused by the sudden movement. He looked paler than normal, and his face had a haunted look to it. It didn't seem like he had been sleeping very well, either. Harry hasn't spoken? Oh dear, Malfoy's death must have had a terrible impact on him.
Fudge laughed nervously. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing they can't bounce back from. They're resilient little things."
"They are children," Sirius scowled. "They have been through a traumatizing experience and need to be left alone so that they may have time to recover from their ordeal." His lips quirked into a smirk. "I suggest you leave before you get into even more trouble than you already are."
The Minister began to sputter. "Now see here," he snapped. "I am the Minister of Magic, and I--"
"You won't be for long though." Sirius said coolly. "I'll see to that."
Fudge turned red and glared. "Is that a threat?"
Sirius smiled, his eyes glinting with mischief. "At the risk of sounding cliché, no, it's a promise." He turned his back on the Minister and sat down, leaning back nonchalantly.
Trying and failing to hide a smile, Tonks pulled a piece of parchment from one of her many pockets and handed it to her cousin. Giving Hermione a wink, the former auror in training handed Harmony a rattle when the baby began to fuss in her arms.
"Do you know what this is?" Sirius asked, waving the parchment in the air. "It's a transcript. Not just any transcript of course, this is a transcript of the trial of Peter Pettigrew and the custodial hearing of Hermione, Harmony, and their dog Horace.
"There is a lot here, so I'll just read you the interesting part. Ah, here it is. 'Remus Lupin then approached Harmony Granger, stating "You should try to stay on Harmony's good side because she has good aim. If she likes you, she pulls your hair." Following his remark, the child then pulled his hair while giggling. Lucius Malfoy then raised his cane and attempted to strike either Remus Lupin or Harmony Granger-- his target has not been determined-- but was repelled by Hermione Granger's wandless magic.' Isn't that interesting Minister?" Sirius asked, folding the parchment in half and tucking it in his robes.
His eyes bore into the Minister's. "You were presiding over the hearing, Minister." Sirius said, his voice deceptively soft. "You put Hermione in the care of the Malfoys knowing that Mr. Malfoy tried to hit someone in front of the entire Wizengamot out of anger. That is wilful child endangerment." His eyes narrowed as the Minister began to shift uncomfortably. "I'll have your office for this, mark my words." He smiled grimly. "Yes, that's a promise, not a threat."
Fudge paled dramatically before clearing his throat. "Well," he shifted nervously. "I've come to check up on--"
"Uck!" Harmony shouted, throwing her rattle at the Minister's head, hitting him in the middle of his forehead.
"That means she doesn't like you," Remus said casually. Harmony began to chew on Tonks' hair, making happy noises. "She likes Dora, though."
Sirius grinned rakishly. "Not to mention I know for a fact that at least fourteen members of the Wizengamot have accepted bribes, and I have no qualms with confessing to being the one bribing them if it gets them removed from their positions."
"Ha!" Fudge shouted with glee. "I'll have to report you, Mr. Black. You're going to be punished for this--"
"What are you going to do, throw me in Azkaban?" Sirius snorted. "You know as well as I that in the wizarding court, considering that I willingly came forward this morning before coming to visit Hermione, I'll be fined and nothing more. Even then, the most I can be fined is a thousand galleons for each person I bribed." Sirius smirked. "Fourteen thousand galleons is pocket change to me, Minister." He somehow turned the title into an insult.
"Now if you would," Remus interjected coldly, "we have two very young and likely traumatized children trying to recover. It would be appreciated if you would leave."
"Now see here, you filthy beast, I am the Minister of--"
"Not for long," Sirius snarled, leaping to his feet. "Remus may lack the resources to get you out of office, but rest assured, you will not be in office much longer after what you've done. Once the public learns of you careless dealings with Hermione-- and make no mistake, the wizarding world will learn all about them-- you'll be removed from office faster than you can say 'Wizengamot.' I strongly suggest you leave. You may even want to resign to save face."
Fudge sputtered indignantly before he calmed himself enough to speak. "I have come to personally inform you that the two children will need to bear witness at the trial of Narcissa Malfoy. Before that, however, they will be required to tell aurors," he glanced maliciously at Tonks, "what happened to them at Malfoy Manor. The aurors who will be questioning them will be here within a few minutes. Until then, I will remain here to be sure you do not coach the children in any way."
Hermione found it difficult to breathe. Now they wanted to make the Malfoy family pay for their crimes? Why couldn't they just sweep it under the rug, like every other time the Malfoys chose to break the law? I don't want to talk to them about what happened, she thought vehemently. I want to forget it!
A few moments later, a pair of aurors walked in and Hermione immediately recognized Alastor Moody. He must not have retired yet. She had no idea who the other man was. She found herself contemplating Moody. He didn't seem quite as scary or as crazy as he was in the future. "Well," the Minister said, alternating between glaring at Sirius and Remus. "I'll take my leave of you."
"It's about time," Remus muttered. "Sirius, are you sure you don't want to run for Minister?"
"I'll pass," Sirius said waving his hand dismissively. "While the idea of being a legal con artist appeals to me, politics isn't very interesting to me, especially since it means I have to actually listen to what those bags of hot air have to say."
"Hello, Mad - Eye. I trust you're well." Remus said.
The gruff man nodded sharply. "Black, Lupin, Tonks, Potter," Moody said harshly, nodding to Harry before he turned to Sirius. "He still not talking?" Sirius shook his head grimly. "Happens," Moody nodded. "Sometimes kids see some awful stuff and refuse to talk." He turned to Hermione. "What about you, are you going to tell us what happened?"
Swallowing, Hermione nodded. Moody flicked his wand around them. "I'm auror Moody and this is my partner, auror Doyle. I just cast a privacy charm, so Harry Potter can't hear your story and copy it. Your statement is more important though, young lady, and if I think your lying, I'll give a potion to make you tell the truth, got that? Now, tell me what happened." Moody held up his wand, the tip pulsing with a red light, telling her that the conversation was being recorded.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione told the aurors the basics of what happened. She wasn't in the mood to tell them everything, and she was hoping they would let her leave the more painful aspects out-- especially Narcissa Malfoy's remarks about her parents.
She explained how Mr. Malfoy had taken her necklace, leaving her unable to move from the intense tingling of magic and how Dobby had been sent to feed and clean her. Hermione explained that Lucius had questioned her extensively in regards to her ability to use wandless magic, as that is what she assumed he meant when he demanded that she tell him her secrets. She told them how she had been questioned using varying torture methods, from the breaking of her fingers to the use of the Cruciatus Curse, carefully to avoid telling them too much detail. She told them how she had been a tool used to teach Draco Malfoy the Dark Arts. Then she told them how she had killed Mr. Malfoy accidentally.
"I was so afraid he was going to kill me and Harry," she said quietly as she looked down and tugged at her bed sheets to hide her eyes from Moody. "I just wanted him to stop, and my magic reacted and knocked him away from me and Harry and he fell on the spear." Hermione concluded, still looking down, noting distantly that she actually was wearing her necklace, she just hadn't been able to tell earlier. Though she was sure her Occlumency was working perfectly, she didn't want to risk that they would see the lie in her eyes. Best to make them think she was ashamed or afraid.
"Alright then," Moody said, looking deep in thought. "Considering my years as an auror, I'm going to guess that you didn't tell me everything. You gave us a good description of what happened after your friend arrived, but haven't told us much about what happened while you were in Malfoy Manor. You're a scared little girl, I understand that, but you need to tell us everything that happened, or I'll be forced to give you that stuff that makes you tell the truth." His magical eyes whirled around in his head and focused on her.
Hermione knew he was lying. She doubted very much that he would have come here without knowing about the two - part poison, and she was sure that he knew lacewing flies were part of Veritaserum. Sadly, as a six year old little girl, she wasn't supposed to know that, so she had to tell him more.
Drawing in another deep breath, she told the two aurors about the treatment she received from Narcissa Malfoy. She had to stop to prevent herself from breaking down into tears on several occasions while she spoke. I'm not going to cry, not for them. If I cry for them, that means they won. I won't cry.
She told them of her strange conversation with Draco and her confusion as to why he would want her to smile for him. She described the spells the older Malfoy had taught Draco to cast on her, then Hermione told the two aurors how Draco had used her for target practice with some of the spells he had been taught.
Then she told them more of her trials with Lucius. Hermione gave them more detail as she described her torture sessions with Mr. Malfoy. Sometimes she would have to stop to clam herself. These are my secrets, she thought. I shouldn't have to tell them, I should be allowed to keep my secrets, but if I don't… She forced herself to tell them everything that she could safely tell them, no matter how much it hurt to think of what had happened. She was only thankful that Lucius Malfoy did not care for little girls as anything other than a target to throw hexes at. Hermione even bashfully admitted to have goaded the Malfoys by comparing them to muggles.
Time seemed to drag by as they questioned her on the finer points of her story relentlessly, but soon she was done, and Moody was satisfied. He took a drink from the flask on his hip before looking at his partner. "Pensieve?" He asked.
The other man nodded. "Definitely." Doyle waved his wand and stood up, turning to the others. "We've finished questioning Hermione Granger and have decided for her sake and for the sake of simplicity, that a pensieve should be used for her statement at the trial. After hearing what she had to say, we think it best that we simply view her memories rather than have her repeat what happened. Then we won't have to worry about her exaggerating and we probably won't even need the boy's statement. Her memories should be more than enough."
Hermione felt herself relax. If she could put her memories into a pensieve, it would be that much easier to convince them that she killed Malfoy in self defence and Dobby would be safe. Part of her was angry that she hadn't been allowed to use a pensieve for her statement at her custody hearing.
It was just a shame that she couldn't get her hands on that journal. With Malfoy dead, there was no one to give it to Ginny in the future. She would simply have to find another way to get hold of it.
"Right," Moody said gruffly, his eye whizzing around and looking at everything. "We better be off, eh Doyle? We need to make a transcript to submit as evidence and prepare other evidence." He began to grumble. "You'd think that with my experience I'd be out at Malfoy Manor, looking for Dark Artefacts, but no, I'm here questioning kids." He looked back at Doyle. "Let's go."
"Actually, Alastor," Remus said stepping forward. "Sirius, Dora and I have some questions we would like to ask you about wards. As I'm sure you know, we've decided to set up a school for kids who can't quite afford to have a proper education. We would like your advice on what wards to put on the house and anything else you can tell us about."
"You're really going to do it, eh?" Moody asked.
Sirius grinned at him. "We sure are. I'm nearly finished with the paperwork, I'm close to having a full staff, and I've gotten several letters from families wanting to send their kids to our school. There will be quite the variety of kids there-- we're expecting the five youngest Weasleys and Frank and Alice's boy, to name a few. We'd like to be sure that the kids are secure. That and I've heard the Weasley twins are quite the jokers. I thought you might give us some pointers on damage control."
Moody scratched his chin. "I suppose I could give you a few pointers on the matter. You can never be too careful, even in peaceful times. Constant Vigilance, that's my motto." The auror nodded his head, his magical eye glaring at Harmony. "The baby can't be there. You never know what charm has been placed on a baby. Just because they look all cute and innocent doesn't mean they are."
Maybe he's not as sane as I thought he was, Hermione thought. "You can leave Harmony with me and Harry," the young witch said. "I don't mind." Tonks shared a quick look with Sirius and Remus before she agreed and set Harmony on the bed. Hermione smiled at her sister. "Hey there, little one, did you miss me?" Harmony began to babble happily as the adults filed out of the room to discuss wards.
Hermione looked over at Harry, who was staring out the window. He hadn't moved since he came in. "Harry," she called softly. "Harry, will you come over here? Please?" Harry looked up then slowly trudged over to her bed and sat on the edge. She could tell he was going to make this difficult.
"Harry," she said softly, "will you please tell me what's wrong? The grownups said you won't talk, Harry, and that scares me. Will you tell me what's wrong?" Harry pursed his lips and shrugged. Hermione sighed. "Please Harry, please tell me what's wrong," she whispered, setting her hand gently on his shoulder. "I want to help you. What's wrong?"
Harry was quiet for a moment. "Everything," he said in a broken voice. Hermione didn't know whether to be relieved that Harry had spoken or frightened that he thought everything was wrong. Deciding that it would be best to let him talk on his own, she began to rub his back in soothing circles.
Tears were forming in his wide emerald eyes. "I'm afraid," he said, not looking at her. "I was talking with Dobby and he told me that we aren't really married and that's why he can't obey you, and I'm afraid that now that we're not married anymore, that you'll realize I'm a freak and leave me like Dudley said you would."
"Oh Harry," she soothed. "Never, I'd never leave you." She pulled him into a tight embrace. "You're the first friend I've ever had," in this timeline and in the other. "You're my best friend Harry, and I'll never leave you." She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "And I'd better not hear you calling yourself a freak ever again, do you hear me? We're a lot alike, you and I," we both have the weight of the world on our shoulders in some way. "And if you call yourself a freak, then your calling me one as well." Harry seemed slightly aghast at the thought.
"Do you promise? Do you promise to always be my friend?" He sniffled. "You're the only friend I have, Hermione, and I don't want to lose you."
Hermione smiled softly at him. "Yes, Harry, I promise you that I will always be your friend. And you know, you may have more friends if you tried talking to more people. Do you remember that boy Neville? I'm sure he would like to be your friend, if you'd let him." And I'm sure being your friend at such a young age will do wonders for his confidence.
Harry nodded and sighed heavily. "You're going to hate me when I tell you what I did. Then you're not going to be my friend anymore." He said quietly, his soft voice breaking as his lip quivered.
Hermione felt her stomach tighten. "I told you I would always be your friend Harry. There is nothing that you could have said or have done that would make me hate you."
The young boy swallowed thickly and looked unseeingly at the far wall. "I did it." Harry said, his voice hoarse.
"What did you do?" She asked, her stomach twisting in knots. Harmony, sensing Harry's distress began to whimper.
"I--" he choked on the word then forced himself to continue. "I did it. I k-killed him, I k-killed the man who kept hurting you." He was gasping for air as tears streamed down his face. Time seemed to stop as Hermione paled dramatically. "But you were hurt, and I wanted to protect you, and I wanted to make sure that he never hurt you again." He was sobbing now.
"B-but the noise," Hermione said weakly. "House - elf magic makes noises."
"D-Dobby th-threw up a shield around us to p-protect us," he sniffled. "But I didn't know, I swear I didn't know," he was shaking as he cried. "I'm a killer, a bad boy, a freak, and I'll--"
"No," Hermione interrupted and pulled him into a hug. "No, you're not a killer Harry, you're not a bad boy or a freak." She cupped his face gently in her hands and made him look her in the eyes. "You're a hero, Harry," she whispered softly to him. "I would probably be dead by now if you hadn't come for me. I'd bet my necklace he would have given me a potion with lacewing flies if he thought someone was coming to take me away, and then I would be dead." He didn't look convinced. "You saved me, Harry. He was a bad man, Harry, a very bad man. He was a killer, not you. He would have killed me if you hadn't stopped him."
"But I'm going to get into trouble for killing him and I'll be locked in a cupboard without meals for weeks!" He sobbed.
Hermione mentally cursed whatever powers may be for forcing this life on him. A six - year - old boy shouldn't have to deal with things like this. "No Harry, you won't. I told them that I killed Mr. Malfoy." His head snapped up as he looked at her. She had to take the blame now, because she had already told the aurors that she killed Malfoy. "I told them I killed him in self defence, Harry, and they said it was alright. You're not going to get into trouble Harry, because no one will know." She looked into his emerald eyes. "I'll take care of it, Harry, I promise. I'll take care of you."
Hermione decided not to lie to him or to make it seem trivial. To a six year old boy, killing someone was not trivial. She wouldn't tell him it was a job well done, she wouldn't try to tell him everything was going to be alright, because she knew this would always haunt him. There was no spell to take away the pain, no matter how much she might wish there was. There were no magic words that would make everything wonderful. So Hermione did the only thing she could do to help him.
Holding Harry close, she wept with him. For the first time since Remus had found her crying in the broom closet at the Ministry, Hermione allowed herself to cry. She opened her arms and grabbed Harmony when her sister began to cry as well. Harry loosened his grip on Hermione to wrap an arm around Harmony until the three children were tangled together, crying.
Harmony cried because her sister and Harry were crying. She didn't like it when they cried, because she loved them very much. She wanted them to stop crying.
Harry cried because he was tired of being a bad boy, of doing bad things. It seemed he was always doing something wrong, like the time he had finished weeding the garden and accidentally tracked mud all over Aunt Petunia's kitchen. He didn't want Sirius or Remus to find out that he was a bad boy and had killed someone, or they might lock him in a cupboard under the stairs. He had never been so afraid of himself-- what if his magic hurt Hermione?
Hermione cried because it was always going to be Harry. Always. She could try as much as she wanted, she could collect Horcruxes until she had them all, she could try to find a spell to vanquish Voldemort once, and it wouldn't matter. It was always going to be Harry. In the end, Harry would face Voldemort, not her. Now he felt he was a killer. Children, she knew, have a different kind of logic than adults, so there was no way of appealing to the common sense of a little boy. It hurt to know she had not been able to do more to keep him happy.
When she accepted the task of saving Harry's soul, she knew there would be hardships. She had never thought that she would wind up an orphan, living Sirius and Remus, betrothed to Harry or be held prisoner by the Malfoys, but she knew there would be hardships. She didn't know that her most difficult challenge would be standing by while Harry dealt with demons he was too young to face. It hurt that she couldn't help. Hermione could only hold her sister and Harry closer, trying to comfort them as much as she could.
In the hallway, Sirius, Remus and Tonks watched the scene with heavy hearts. They hadn't been able to hear what had been said between them, but it was painful to watch the three children cry. "Bad things come in threes," Remus murmured. "Hermione's parents died, then she found out she can no longer use a wand, then she was taken to the Malfoys, and now she's been poisoned because of it."
"That's four," Tonks said with a heavy sigh.
Remus shook his head. "Malfoy poisoned her while she was with him. It only counts as one."
"Harry lost his parents, had to live with the Dursleys, then whatever happened at Malfoy Manor… Harry is up to three as well. Let's hope the fates realize they've had more than their fair share of tragedy." Sirius added solemnly.
"I don't know. Sometimes it seems like some people are just destined to have bad things happen to them." Tonks said, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced at her companions. "Look on the bright side. At least they didn't have to battle with a basilisk or something like that at Malfoy Manor."
The two men hummed their agreement and watched as the children continued to sniffle until they fell asleep.
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A/N: Well, now the darkest part of the story is over. Yes, I'm done being cruel to Hermione. Mostly. To explain the poison, I realized that Malfoy wouldn't let her get away easily, and that he was probably doing something to her food, so it is quite logical. Further, as Hermione sort of realized, she had always felt sort of immortal since she had escaped death so many times. This was my way of reminding her of her mortality.
Well, thank you for reading and special thanks to those who reviewed last time. I had a tough time with Harry and Hermione's conversation at the end, so tell me how it turned out. It's the most emotional scene I've written so far, and I'm curious to see what you think. Thanks again, and please review.
Cheers,
Madm_05