Time Changes All Things: Now Complete
Chapter 61: The Truth Hurts
Chapter 61: The Truth Hurts
Hermione woke up groggy and naked in her own bed. When had she been brought back to their room? The last thing she remembered was being held in her lovers’ arms after she and Tom’s vigorous round of lovemaking. Her still swollen lips and many love bites attested to that fact. Looking around their room she noticed that her son wasn’t in his crib either. There was no sign of life at all, and the eerie silence made Hermione’s stomach flip-flop. Reaching out to the nearby chair, she gathered her clothes and dressed. As she buttoned up her blouse, she grabbed her wand to fix the four missing buttons that had been ripped off by Tom in his hurry to undress her. Hermione always knew how clever Tom was, and his diversion to avoid answering her question had worked perfectly. But, she still wanted, no needed to find out what the plans were in this infernal war.
Hermione opened the door quietly looking down the hall both ways. Still there was no one in sight. She tiptoed her way down the hall towards the grand dining room. There had to be a sign of someone there. Opening the doors proved that there was still no sign of anyone. She almost left when something caught her eye. There on the large dining room table sat seven large, very detailed maps. Hermione picked up the first map, one of the village Hogsmeade. The next map was a full sketch of Diagon Alley. She ran down the table to sweep up the next map that clearly showed Hogwarts, it’s grounds and The Forbidden Forest. Her heart was pumping faster as she tried to hold onto the next map, one of Godric’s Hollow. With her hands shaking, she then looked at several more maps of the villages and towns where Order members lived. Hermione fell into the nearest chair because her legs were shaking so bad. What did all of this mean? Gods! What if she were too late to try and help her friends? It was too soon for Lord Voldemort to go after the Potters. All of the maps had details of Death Eaters names on them, names of Order members and times. It was pretty apparent that The Death Eaters were planning a complete and bloody takeover of the wizarding world. The only thing missing were dates on when everything was going to go down.
Pure panic over came her, and her fingers went up to her temples to massage them. Her head was pounding and she tried to think what she should do? Could she get a message to Lily or Sirius about what she had just seen? Then the searing pain in her heart made her sit back with indecision. Could she betray Tom like this? She had never felt so out of place, and stuck in the middle of a situation like the one she found herself in now. What was the right thing to do? If she sat back, and let it all play out as it had during the first war could she live with herself?
Maybe it was time to just step back and quit messing with the timeline. She knew that her even becoming involved with Tom had seriously changed the people around her and him also. Then to be taken in by The Marauders that dark and crazy night when she had Thomas…it seemed like fate had decided many things for her. Did Tom not want her to see the maps and know his plans? Maybe he still didn’t trust her after knowing that she had been seen with his enemies. She’d found out about how she and Sirius had been spied on while out on the picnic. Her cheeks flamed when she recalled how they had first snogged that day, out in the open, in the park.Hermione wished that she had a camera to take a picture of the maps. Would anyone even believe if she just tried to send a message about what she saw? Suddenly, Hermione broke into a fit of maniacal laughter. “I’m a witch aren’t I? I need to calm down.” Then it occurred to her what she needed to do. A Duplication Spell is what she would use, and then she would decide what to do with the maps. Looking at the double doors behind her, she saw no movement and went to lock the doors and added an extra locking spell. Gathering all of the maps she laid them one on top of the other. Withdrawing her wand from her sleeve she put her left hand on top of the pile, closed her eyes and imagined two of all of the maps and started the incantation,” "That which is one now becomes two. That which is two forever will be. That which will be shall appear to you."
Opening her eyes she saw two piles of the maps. Quickly she vanished her maps into her bag back into her room. She tried putting the original maps back in their spots around the table just as she had found them. Thank goodness she had perfect recall. With a huge breath, and a toss of her full mane she unlocked and opened the doors. Looking down the hallways she still saw no one.Hermione called for Dossy, the nurse elf. “Dossy I need you.” Dossy popped into the hallway hugging a squealing Thomas who clearly wanted to be put down. His chubby legs were kicking out and his loud squeals displayed the two new teeth making their way in his mouth. Thomas had not been a happy baby the past few weeks while teething. Reaching out for her baby, Dossy pushed the baby in her arms.
“The Young Master has been missing his Mum. Dossy’s glad that you are now awake my Lady.” Dossy looked tired and worn out. The smile the house elf normally showed wasn’t there today. Thomas started settling down once he was in his mum’s arms. She bounced him up and down in her arms. His little cheek was against hers, “It’s OK sweet pea. You’re fine.” She cooed at her son like only a mum can. Thomas sucked on his thumb and laid his head down on Hermione’s shoulder. “That will be all Dossy. Go take a much needed rest.”Dossy nodded, “Yes, my lady. Thanks.” She disappeared and Hermione went back to her room to contemplate what her next step would be. Keeping the maps secret would be her first and most important thing to do. Then she needed to corner a Dark Lord and try to get the truth from him about what his plans were and how this would all affect her and their son.Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The feeling of unrest filled the Potter house. Ever since Lily had her lunch date with Hermione she had not been able to sleep or eat very much. James was extra moody because of her behavior and the extra pressure Dumbledore was placing on The Order members. He was gearing up for a face-off with Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.Lily had also been extra protective of baby Harry. She would not let anyone touch him but she and James. She never left the house anymore. She basically had experienced a complete mental breakdown at the news of her “potential” upcoming murder. Of course she hadn’t said a word to James of what Hermione had shared with her. Whenever James and his friends left the house, she would take out the picture of Hermione, Harry and the Weasley boy and stare at their young faces. Of course she believed everything Hermione had told her. There was no good reason to lie about it. Also, Hermione knew too much about Harry and their future. All along something hadn’t felt right about Hermione and her story. Once she had shared the truth, things felt right where Lily couldn’t deny what Hermione had warned her about. Lily’s main concern was about Hermione being with a Death Eater now? Was she one of them? Would she someday find herself, wands drawn, fighting against her friend? That single thought ached away at her soul.In the meantime Lily had secretly packed a bag away with things for her and Harry. If she needed to, she wanted to be ready to flee quickly if she felt danger nearing her or Harry. That feeling of safety was now gone, even with her home being Secret Kept. Lily also now did not trust Dumbledore. After Hermione’s reaction to Dumbledore and her encounter with the old wizard, Lily was put on alert to be very wary of him. James had not questioned her when she stopped going to the Order meetings. He also hadn’t said a word when she told him she wouldn’t be available to do anything for The Order, and her only priority now was staying home and taking care of Harry.Lily had informed James of this one morning at breakfast. The only person who’d looked at her strangely had been Sirius, who knew she had seen Hermione the day before. He’d looked up from stirring cream in his coffee; eyebrows raised, and make eye contact with Lily. She’d given a small shake of her head to discourage him from saying anything. So he hadn’t said anything to her then. James had been too busy reading his copy of The Daily Prophet to notice the exchange between his wife and his best friend.
James folded his paper and stood pushing his chair back. “I need to meet with…someone. I’ll be back in a few hours. “ James, left the kitchen without kissing his wife or saying anything else to either her or Sirius.”Lily let out a held breath, “What is wrong with that man? Something is happening Sirius, please tell me before I have to torture you.”Sirius gave Lily one of his charming grins, “I enjoy that treatment from woman, so that’s no threat at all.” Lily only rolled her eyes at him. “What’s more important is what happened yesterday afternoon when you met with Hermione.”“Quiet Sirius!” Lily almost pounced on the man.“Whatever for Lily? There is no one else in this house except Harry, and I don’t think he’ll be telling anyone secrets for a long time, so spill.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair in a defensive mode.Lily sighed, “I’m not quite sure I want to share this with you or anyone else.” She then leaned back in her chair crossing her own arms. The showdown had begun: No words spoken and only glares were being shared.Sirius said, “Is Hermione coming back?” he finally broke the silence in the room. The hope in his eyes only made Lily uncomfortable. How could she ever truly try to explain everything that Hermione had told her? Would Sirius even believe that Hermione was from the future and was a friend of Harry’s eleven years from now? It all sounded quite crazy.“She’s not coming back Sirius; so don’t go there.” Lily jumped up to put water on the stove for tea. She bit her lip trying to hold back what she wanted to scream from the rooftop… “Hermione is not who we all thought she was! She’s really from the future and she knows that James and I are going to be murdered by that psychotic leader of the Death Eaters, Lord Voldemort! Harry is going to grow up an orphan and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it!”Lily kept her back to Sirius, arms folded around her middle, as she stared at the teakettle.
“Lily, what are you not telling me?” Sirius’s voice spoke up with concern. “You are scaring me now. You know that means something if something scares me.”Lily’s shoulder’s started to shake, as she couldn’t hold back her tears. The sobs couldn’t be stopped as she slowly turned around. Sirius jumped up and scooped her into his arms. “Bloody Hell Lily! What did Hermione do to you?”With her tear streaked face she looked up at her friend, “Nothing. She did nothing but…came back in time to save our lives; me and James.” Sirius’s grip on her arms burned as the shocking words tried to register in his brain. His eyes searched her face looking for any signs of deceit.“Oh Merlin! Hermione’s from the future?” Sirius looked as if he had just been hit with a bludger. All Lily could do was nod her head yes and then she fainted in Sirius’s arms.Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes, I’m really ending it here. Doesn’t everyone love a cliffhanger every now and then? Please review and let me know if you liked this chapter!
The Duplicating Spell comes from Spells of Magic.com. This spell served my purpose better than the Gemino Curse used in Deathly Hallows.