Bad Wolf: Part Three
Hermione lifted up her cup closely to her lips, trying to steady her hands as much as possible as she prepared to take a sip of her cup of tea, which the other Hermione had made.
She looked around the table, Harry was chatting animatedly with Ron, but she couldn't hear their words. While she was being stared at by her.
She looked identical. With her big brown eyes, small body and full lips there was no mistaking them for twins or sisters. They were the same. Hermione smiled to herself as she realized the only difference between them was the other one had never heard of hair straighteners.
`This must be some sort of record!' Ron suddenly said making Hermione break eyes with the other one so she could see him rocking backwards and forwards laughing.
`I agree, I've never seen Hermione lost for words…' Harry said with a grin before adding as an after thought `either of them'
`Well its not everyday you meet your clone' the other Hermione said wryly a fraction before she was going to say something to the same effect.
`I am not your clone' Hermione said angrily shaking her head back and forth `If anything you're a copy of me'
`No ones a copy of anyone' Harry said leaning forward and talking forcefully `your completely different in everyway but looks, trust me'
`How are we different?' Hermione asked, she needed to know something, anything, that made her herself.
`A hundred ways that will become apparent' Harry asked as he looked around the place smiling `What protections do you have up?'
`The same as before' Ron replied, the wide smile he had been wearing since they had arrived was still on his face.
Harry raised his wand over his head for a few seconds and then placed his wand slowly into his pocket.
`What was that?' Hermione asked suspiciously.
`Just a few more protections, the Fidelius Charm and a few things I invented' Harry said brightly `we don't want just anyone walking in right now, do we?'
`But doesn't the secret keeper charm take hours and three people to perform?' Hermione asked suspiciously.
`Not for me' Harry said simply as he looked about the place smiling.
`What does that mean?' Ron asked confused.
`It means I'm a lot better at this magic gig than I was when I was last here' Harry said, and then he turned to Hermione and laughed `I use to be pretty useless at all this…took me months to learn the accio spell in Year Four'
`Months to learn the summoning charm?' Hermione said teasingly `I could learn it quicker than that and I cant do magic!'
`You're a muggle?' the other one said, her mouth dropping down in shock.
`I'm…she's a witch?' Hermione asked incredulously.
`Yeah' the other one said with a kind smile. Her kind smile.
`I meant that as an insult' Hermione snapped back. How was she a witch in this other world? And now she not only had to compete with a woman who looks exactly like her who has known Harry since he was a teenager but also can do magic.
`As I said earlier you're completely different' Harry said smiling `and this is just the beginning of those'
`This is crazy' Hermione said standing up. She couldn't be here, with her, in this world where she didn't belong `this isn't my wolrd! I…I…'
`Hermione…please sit down' Harry said leaning forward and taking her hand. She looked down at him, saw his kind smile and knew she had to at least hear him out. He was still the same Harry who had saved her and her world on so many occasions, and he owed him that much at least. Sitting down she looked into his eyes and however much she wanted to scream and shout at him she couldn't help but be calmed by his bright green eyes as they started into her `This was…is…my world. I was born here, raised here and went to school here'
`Then what were you doing in my world?' Hermione asked earnestly. All the questions she had about Harry, who he was and where he was from, was just about to be answered, but she didn't feel excited like she thought she would. Instead fear came over her at what her answers meant. For her and for them.
`That's a really long story' Ron said shaking his head, Hermione could tell that he wasn't comfortable thinking about it, let alone talking about it again.
`I want to know what happened after…' the other Hermione said softly, her eyes shooting momentarily onto Hermione `and more specifically why there's now two of me'
`Me too' Hermione said fiercely looking straight at Harry.
Harry seemed to flinch slightly and look around the group, his eyes working busily to work out a plan in the same way Hermione had seen so many times before. Seconds passed in silence before Harry breathed a long sigh and started to talk.
`There was a wizard...' Harry said slowly `Tom Riddle turned bad…and I'm not talking your everyday garden variety bad either, but a whole new level…Tom became Lord Voldemort'
`Isn't that the guy you mentioned to Albus?' Hermione asked interestedly.
`Albus is alive?' Ron asked, his eyes bulging slightly in hope.
`Pay attention, Ron' the other one said rolling her eyes `it's a different world, a different Albus, probably a different you…and definitely a different me'
`A prophecy was made' Harry said speaking over Hermione `and that led Lord Voldemort to believe he had to kill me…he murdered my parents, and tried to kill me when I was one…'
`How did he fail?' Hermione asked, she knew Harry was fantastic and powerful but as a baby?
`My mother died protecting me' Harry said shrugging as he ran a hand through his hair `and when Lord Voldemort tried to Avada Kedavra…that's a killing spell…it rebounded back onto him'
`So he's a ghost?' Hermione said hopefully, Harry had already defeated a ghost pretty easily.
`No' the other Hermione said shaking her head `he had created Horcruxes, and split his soul so he could not die'
`Isn't that the plot to Lord of the Rings?' Hermione said shaking her head.
`Pretty much' Harry said brightly `although Voldemort has more flair than that eye-guy-thing…he did it seven times'
`So Frodo had to destroy seven rings?' Hermione asked.
`I don't look anything like Elijah Wood!' Harry said in shock.
`Some were already destroyed when we started' Hermione carried on `we had to hunt down and destroy four of them, and then we were left with the task of defeating the most powerful wizard in the world'
`Lets guess' Hermione said smiling `Harry walked back and forth a bit, went on some rant that no one understood and then saved the day?'
`Not quite' Harry almost whispered as he looked down at his feet.
`You couldn't just walk up and kill you-know-who' Ron said shaking his head `he had too many followers, and even if you got past them Harry wouldn't of lasted long against You-know-who face to face'
`So we came up with a plan' Hermione said joining the others in looking away from everyone.
`Actually Hermione here did' Harry said happily `my godfather, the only real family I had ever known, was murdered when I was 15'
`By Voldemort?' Hermione asked.
`No, by my godfathers' niece or something, Bellatrix' Harry finished `she sent him falling backwards through the veil, through the archway we just walked into'
`So he's in our…my world?' Hermione asked interestedly.
`You forget that I created a link between the two worlds' Harry said softy.
`He fell into the void?' Hermione asked shocked.
`Or hell as some call it' Harry grimaced making Ron and Hermione shoot him outraged looks, but Harry ignored it and carried on `Hermione realized that all Bellatrix had done was land one hit on Sirius and the Archway did the rest'
`But landing one hit on Vol-Voldemort was a big problem' Hermione added.
`I could last a while against him, but I had no real power behind my attacks' Harry said shaking his head `there was no chance of me beating him in one on one fighting, or even landing a hit'
`So I suggested that if we can't push you-know-who to the Archway, we make the Archway go to him' Ron said this like it was a confession, looking up at Harry as if seeking forgiveness.
`We battled in the Ministry, where the prophecy had been stored for 15 years, and after lives were lost and blood was spilt, only the two of us remained' Harry said looking straight into Hermione's eyes `I exploded the Archway as Hermione had suggested, she knew that the effect would be a loosening of the archway, making the entry into the void fill the whole room'
`The room was created to hold the explosion just in case' Hermione said `the void could not pass out of that room due to ancient magic and so the room became an entrance to the void for a few seconds…and then it disappeared'
`So how did you end up in my world and Voldemort in the void?' Hermione asked.
`The Ford Anglia' Harry said simply, Ron's head snapped onto his with a smile `it's what I put the machine into in the other world for protection'
`I knew it would work, that Harry and Voldemort would end up in the void, and that no one could escape it' Hermione said, a few tears were building up in her eyes `but I couldn't allow Harry to do that…we worked together to create a device, made from a time turner and portkey, for him to activate in the void and bring him back to us'
`So that's why there's so many rooms in the Anglia!' Hermione said amazed.
`Yep' Harry said smiling `you asked when we were visiting the unicorns why I needed so much power in the machine that I had to spread it out of thousands of rooms'
`You needed all that extra power to rip you from hell back into the land of the living, and if you hadn't created such a large space to spread the power out over the power used to push you through space and time would have ripped a hole in the world…like the Magicallds were trying to do…and you would have destroyed the world?' she said slightly worried.
`I see Hermione's a brilliant as Hermione' Ron said smiling.
`You don't know the half of it' Harry said laughing.
`But I should have worked it out' Hermione said shaking her head `I should of guessed the truth'
`That I was from another world?' Harry teased.
`Exactly' Hermione laughed `because no one in the whole world is as crazy as you'
`So what happened?' the other Hermione said interrupting them.
`I activated it… almost as soon as I entered' Harry answered pausing slightly, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what happened to Harry in the void, in hell, but these thoughts were lost as Harry continued `and I was ripped from there, rather painfully actually, and I arrived in the mid nineties…I tracked you and Ron down but you were different…I didn't talk to you back then because I was in another time, and didn't know what damage I could make, if I'd even undo my own existence…but you weren't you, and I realized I was in another world'
`I thought you might be' Hermione said smiling.
`How come?' Harry asked.
`I knew that the device would work, that you'd figure a way out of the void…' Hermione started `so when you didn't come back I got to thinking…why would someone make an archway to hell? Then it occurred to me, the Archway was actually made to bridge two places…'
`Kind of like Stargate' Harry added.
`Exactly…' Hermione said smiling `so I thought that you might have ended up on the other side, and maybe it was another world because for the void to lay between the two it couldn't just be a different time or place…I used to hope that in the other world you would find your family'
`So that why you rebuilt the archway?' Harry asked slightly awkwardly, his eyes shooting to Hermione ever few seconds.
`Yeah' she said smiling `I didn't know if it would be any help, but it was a link between where you were and back home... I tried to make the connection active, but I couldn't'
`Don't worry' Harry said as he raised a hand up to her face and stroked away a tear `I'm home now, aren't I?'
Hermione watched Harry embrace her counterpart and felt a snapping inside her chest. His hand should be on her face, not the other girls. Harry was hers.
`You let Harry sacrifice himself?' Hermione interrupted incredulously.
`You don't understand' the other Hermione said `Vol-Voldemort…don't shudder Ron… was the most powerful wizard. Pure Evil. But supremely powerful'
`And?' Hermione said angrily, she didn't like the idea of Harry having to sacrifice himself and couldn't believe that she would, even in an other world, would have let him `Its Harry we're talking about, he would have figured out another way'
`Voldemort was too strong' the other one said sounding like she was getting on the verge of tears, but this only angered Hermione even more `if there was another way…'
`If you had given Harry more time this Voldemort wouldn't have stood a chance' Hermione snapped shaking her head forcefully.
`He would have taken over the world if we didn't act then' Ron said stepping in.
`And Harry would have saved it once again!' Hermione snapped disbelievingly.
`Voldemort was too strong' Hermione said forcefully `if we had waited fifty years there would be no guarantee that Harry would have beaten him!'
`Oh, come one' Hermione said laughing `you knew Harry before he even became a teenager…trust me that the man version is a lot different, and a hell of a lot more powerful'
`Not that much' Harry said but no one listened to him.
`We weren't just your ordinary O.C teenagers' Hermione said shaking her head triumphantly `we beat a three headed dog named fluffy when we were eleven'
`I rather like the O.C' Harry grumbled under his breathe.
`A three headed dog?' Hermione said incredulously `try bringing down an evil Government of England'
`Try defeating a Dragon' the other one snapped back.
`A Plactocrese intent on killing the whole of humanity' she said laughing `and making friends with me while he does it!'
`A hundred Dementors!' the other one snapped angrier leaning forward across the table.
`Harry painted me and now I belong in a museum' Hermione said triumphantly, and that seemed to stop her momentarily.
`Harry…?' Ron said looking at him confused but Harry just shrugged.
`We travelled back in time to save his Godfather' Hermione said dramatically once she had recovered from the shock of hearing about Harry the Artist.
`Please!' Hermione said almost rolling about in laughter `we travel back in time every single day! We met Shakespeare and Guy Fawkes!'
`Try beating…' she began but instantly stopped mid-sentence her eyes snapping onto Harry.
`Now I'm in for it' Harry groaned and slumped his shoulders.
`Please tell me my counterpart is delusional' she snapped angrily at Harry `and that you haven't been using the device in the other world…'
`Well…' Harry cringed `what you don't understand is…'
`Oh my god, Harry!' Hermione said throwing her hand up dramatically `I can't believe you'd be so irresponsible! You know all about the Ministry laws on time travel and the repercussions of it! At least say you followed most of the laws'
`It depends on what you mean by most?' Harry said not looking her in the eyes. Hermione had never seen Harry acting like this, like a boy being scolded by his teacher, and she had to admit she didn't like it.
`Changing events, telling people anything of consequence, saving lives' Hermione said counting them of on her fingers.
`Guilty, guilty and guilty' Harry answered looking away from her slightly.
`Was there any laws you followed?' Hermione asked.
`I never…' Harry started but stopped mid word and sighed `actually I did that one'
`Harry' the other Hermione pleaded incredulously while Hermione and Ron laughed under their breathes.
`I never slept with a family member!' Harry said brightly as if he had somehow won the argument with this.
`Oh…' she said softly, calming herself down slightly `your family were in the other world?'
`No…' Harry admitted making Ron laugh `but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have done that one even if they were!'
`So that's it!' Hermione said rolling her eyes incredulously `in five years of travelling through time the only law you haven't broken is incest?'
`Pretty much' Harry admitted brightly, sounding more like the Harry she knew again `but I did make a few extra laws on my travel which I thought balanced things out a bit'
`What laws?' she asked interestedly.
`Well…' Harry said his face flushing slightly with embarrassment `Because of me goats could vote in the 1568 Local Election in Sussex'
`What?' Ron said laughing loudly.
`I was drunk' Harry said shrugging `and no one seemed to get the fact that I was joking!'
`And that makes up for time travelling and breaking every law' Hermione asked raising an eyebrow `I cant even imagine the amount of destruction you have made in that world'
`I didn't destroy anything' Harry said angrily shaking his head `I'm experienced, I know what I'm doing'
`Time is too complex, too many variables' Hermione said dismissively `and the Harry Potter I know isn't even too good at dealing with the one variable at a time'
`I've changed' Harry said with a little smile `I've changed a lot…'
`Like how?' Hermione asked, her anger seemed to have swept away now and she was staring at Harry with a look she knew too well. The other Hermione was scared that Harry had changed too much. She was scared of losing him again.
`I can see everything…' Harry said looking upwards in thought `magic, time, power, life, things that never were…the whole of creation atom by atom if I try hard enough'
`And what do you see?' she asked biting her lip slightly that Hermione recognized as another trait they shared.
`That time and life is the same thing, that everything rises and falls in its own way…' Harry said looking at her again for a moment before looking back at the other Hermione.
`But what does it mean?' Hermione asked. Harry looked at them all for a few seconds, took a deep breathe.
`Its hard to explain… but do you remember the first time that someone, probably your teacher in school, told you that the world's actually turning, and its unbelievable! Completely and utter madness! Because you stand on the spot looking around and everything is still. The tress, the people, buildings, even the wind are all perfectly still...Well, I can feel it….The turn of the Earth' Harry said, his eyes flicking from person to person as he talked slowly `The Floor beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour while the planet hurtles around the Sun at 67,000 miles an hour… and I can feel it all when I try… We're falling through space, all of us, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world… and if we let go...That's what I see…'
`Harry…' Hermione said softly reaching out and taking his hand, he was hers now. He had changed too much. Let the other Hermione have the child version and memories. Harry, the hero he was, was hers.
A tapping at the door broke there concentration and all eyes spun around to look at the door, Harry's hand flinched slowly down and held the wand in his pocket.
`Down worry' Hermione said standing up and walking over to the door `it's only The Prophet'
`The Prophet!' Harry said delighted `god I missed that rag!'
`Harry Potter misses the Prophet!' Ron said laughing `now that's front page news!'
`What's the Prophet?' Hermione asked as she watched her counterpart slowly walk over to the table with a newspaper in hand.
`The magical communities newspaper' Harry said `I'm a big star with them'
`They still mention you pretty much every day' Hermione chuckled as she looked down at the newspaper `they managed to start the housing initiative yesterday'
`The Ministry allowed them?' Ron said impressed.
`The Ministry allowed what?' Harry asked confused.
`This new charity group have emerged recently' Hermione said handing over the paper to Harry.
Harry took the paper and stopped dead, his whole body perfectly still and tense like Hermione had seen a thousand times before, and which meant only one thing, trouble was at hand.
`Explain' Harry said slowly, his eyes still scanning the front page `what has this group been doing?'
`Helping people' Ron said happily `and not just the magical community, but the muggles too. They do soup drives, homes for the homeless'
`Their calling this Britain's Golden Age' Hermione said smiling.
`Britain's Golden Age?' Harry said softly as he stood up `oh how this world misses Albus…how this world misses me for that sake…they call it Britain's Golden Age when really they should mean the Dark Times'
Harry slammed down the paper, his eyes trapped on Hermione's and pointed at two words in the headline.
`Bad Wolf?' Hermione said, her heart beating faster. How could those words be here.
`That's the charity group' Ron said `named after some muggle fairy tale'
`I've seen these words before' Hermione said worried.
`We've seen them everywhere' Harry said, anger sounding in his voice as he spoke `Emma with the Unicorns told you of the Bad Wolf, and the Slytherins named a law after it'
`And something was filling Guy Fawkes head, telling him to do what he did' Hermione said standing up, she knew Ron and the other Hermione must be staring at them confused but now was not the time for etiquette `and it kept on saying those two words'
`And the person who gave Dubont the power to make painting was the Bad Wolf' Harry said shaking his head in anger `Someone has been playing a long game with me, a year I've seen those two words, stalking me…and now its appeared in this world too...when I find out…'
`What is going on?' Ron said sounding worried.
But as Ron said these words Harry suddenly feel to the floor, Hermione jumped forward but her counterpart beat her and she caught Harry. Hermione had to stand still, her heart beating out of her chest, as she watched the other Hermione holding Harry in her arms as Harry wriggled in pain.
`What's happening?' Ron said in panic.
`I don't know!' the two Hermione answered at the same time.
`It's him…' Harry said through clenched teeth his hand had started to scratch painfully at his forehead.
`Is it your scar?' Hermione asked, fear mixed with her words to make her speak high.
`Harry doesn't have a scar-' Hermione said but stopped as she saw a line of blood flowing from Harry's forehead dripping down into his eyes, Hermione's hands trying to brush it away fruitlessly, and under this blood was a scar. A scar in the shape of a lightning bolt `what is that?'
`No time' Harry breathed through pain `prepare…he's…he's…'
`What's happening!' Ron yelled in anger as he fell to the floor next to Harry.
`It's the bad wolf…' Harry said scratching at the bleeding scar as if determined to peel it away `He's…He's…here…'
`Who's the bad wolf?' the other Hermione asked, tears spilling down her cheeks as she tried to pull Harry arms away from his face.
`He's been leading us here…' Hermione said, her heart beating violently, she knew what was happening, and she knew who the Bad Wolf must be now they were in this world `He's always been watching, following us, leading us here…'
`Who?' Ron said urgently as he turned away from Harry was wriggling on the floor.
`He knew we'd come' Hermione said, her mind reeling quickly from logical jump to logical jump, from fact to fact `we pressed to hard into the world, became too visible…'
`What are you talking about' Hermione said looking up at her.
`Before I joined him, Harry had worked hard at staying invisible' Hermione said as the final pieces fell into place `shielded his name and image from existence with the secret-keeper charm…but we broke it defeating the Slytherins…and now he's followed us here…'
`Who?' Hermione and Ron yelled together.
`The Bad Wolf' a low hiss like voice came from the corner of the room, and all of them looked quickly at it. A man stood in the dark, a black robe covering his face. The other Hermione and Ron fell backwards as they pulled Harry away. But Hermione stood still, she need to know if she was right, if she had brought this back to life.
The man stepped forward out of the dark and raised his hands up to the hood, slowly withdrawing it from his face. Hermione saw the mans face and almost had to turn away, his eyes were red and more slits than eyeballs, and his nose was flat like a snake. His lips wore a triumphant sneer. She was right.
`The Bad Wolf has arrived…' the man hissed again taking another step closer, his eyes focused on Harry as he twitched slightly.
`Lord Voldemort has arisen'
*
Hope you enjoyed that…and I know that Lord Voldemort being the Bad Wolf isn't exactly a twist, but how can I tell a Harry Potter action story without bringing in his greatest enemy? The one man that Harry can't beat? The one man who is as powerful as Harry?
I hope you liked it. I found it really hard to write, 2 Hermione's are definitely A LOT of trouble for me as well as Harry, but am reasonably pleased with the outcome…
I was half hoping to finish this story this weekend, but there's not much chance of that now…so I promise it'll be done by Christmas…
Till next time…
Jms Granger…
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