Prologue
10:20 am, March 6th, 1916 - Hogwarts Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
"Grandmother! You made it!" Minerva McGonagall turned with a smile as her youngest granddaughter, Hermione, came rushing up to her. The tiara on her head falling to the side as it tangled in her bouncy curls, her cheeks flushed from running (and probably causing mischief). Ignoring royal etiquette, the Dowager Empress leaned down as the princess launched herself into her grandmother's waiting arms. "Mmph! I missed you! Why do you always have to go away for so long?" The girl pouted as she clutched the older woman's neck, taking in the inviting scent of peppermint that always clung to the woman's clothes.
"Paris is a long way from here, my darling girl. You know I must return after the ball," she feels the girl frown at her words. "I have something for you." She sets her granddaughter on her feet and leads her to the thrones lining the wall, taking a seat on her own as she pulls the girl into her lap. "Here." She pulls a box from her robes, its red-painted exterior trimmed in dazzling gold that sparkles under the chandelier lights.
"What is it?" Hermione inquires as she takes it from the offered hands, turning it this way and that as she examines it. "Is it a jewelry box?" The Dowager Empress chuckles.
"No, pet. It's not a jewelry box." She pulls a necklace out from around her neck, the thin chain holding a sun pendant on the end that she inserts into a small opening in the box. She twists it three times before the lid opens slowly, revealing two small figurines that begin to dance to the tune deeply engraved into both of their hearts. "Hmm-hmm-hmm," she hums along softly.
"Soon you'll be home with me, once upon a December. It plays our lullaby!" The girl exclaims cheerfully as the song finishes.
"You can play it at night when you miss me, and pretend it's me singing to you." She tells her, her warm, withered hand gently cupping her beloved granddaughter's cheek. "This is my gift for you," she explains as she gently lowers the necklace over her granddaughter's head. "Read it." Hermione lifts the pendant close to her face, taking in the tiny words engraved on it.
"Together...in...Paris. Oh, Grandmother! Thank you!" She shouts as she hugs the older woman tightly once more.
6:00 pm, March 6th, 1916 - Hogwarts Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
"Higher Papa, higher!" Hermione giggles as her father, Tsar James Dumbledore the second, twirls her around in the air.
"Dear, don't fall," Tsarina Lily chuckles softly as her husband and daughter dance. Shaking her head she goes back to tending to their son, Harry. "At least one of you is keeping me company tonight." The boy nods solemnly, watching as his sisters dance, wishing he had the freedom to join in.
"Mother, can't Harry join us? We promise to be careful," the third daughter, Ginevra, calls out as the Grand Duchesses flock to their mother's side from the dance floor.
"Yeah, he deserves to have some fun too! After all, we're celebrating the Tercentenary today. It's not fair he has to sit out," the oldest girl, Pansy, exclaims.
"We know better than to be rough with him Mother, so please can't he dance just one song with us?" the second, Astoria, begs. The Tsarina looks over her children's pleading faces, her eyes settling on her youngest child. Her Harry, who suffers from Hemophilia. The disease she cursed him with, the guilt that eats her alive every day surging in her chest as she looks into his eyes. Her expression softens as she pets his face affectionately.
"If you promise me you will be safe and careful, you may go with your sisters. But the minute you feel fatigued or if anything happens you must come right back. Understood?" She compromises.
"Yes, Mother!" He smiles widely as he sets off to the ballroom floor with his older sisters. "Come on Mione, we're all going to dance!" He calls to his sister, the one closest to him in both age and personality (their shared mischief the cause of more than one headache for their parents and advisors).
"Papa, may I go?" She asks her father from where she sits in his arms.
"Of course, dear." She snuggles him affectionately for a moment and he kisses her forehead before he lets her down to go with her siblings. Straightening as the children run off, the Tsar makes his way back to the thrones in the front of the room, sitting next to his wife and mother. "I'm proud of you, my flower," he whispers to his wife. Knowing how hard it is for her to let Harry out of her sight at times. She smiles sweetly to him and they entwine their fingers briefly before letting go to watch the crowded room.
10:30 pm, March 6th, 1916 - Hogwarts Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
Gasps rang out around the ballroom as the lights flickered out, a cloaked figure making his way up the center of the crowded room.
"You!" Tsar James cried in outrage, standing to meet the man who many once thought was holy. "How dare you return to the palace?"
"But... I am your confidant!" The man cries, false outrage on his face.
"Confidant? Ha! You are a traitor! Get out!" The monarch banishes the man once more. The magician who claimed he could cure their son was nothing more than a philandering conman who wished to steal the royal power and prestige for his own personal gain.
"You think you can banish the great Voldemort?" The man chuckles darkly, pulling a glowing talisman from his robes. "By the holy powers vested in me, I banish you! With a curse," shocked whispers can be heard from the nobles around the room. An eery, green, glow begins bathing the room in an unearthly energy. The Grand Duchesses and the Tsarevich rush to their mother's side, crowding around her throne in terror. "Mark my words, you and your family will die. Within the fortnight! I will not rest until I see the end of the Dumbledore line forever!" The sorcerer declares as he thrusts his talisman into the air, a blinding flash bursting forth and severing a cord to the large, central chandelier. People scream and rush out of the way as it crashes to the floor.
"Guards! Seize that man!" The Tsar calls out, rushing back to his family where he stands in front of them protectively, his arm outstretched in front of his mother as well. One more bright light bursts through the room before the candles flicker back to life and a collective gasp is heard. Where the charlatan had once stood there was nothing more than some lingering smoke.
1:15 am, March 8th, 1916 - Hogwarts Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
The sound of gunshots and screams could be heard coming from outside of the palace walls, the rebels had finally breached the gate. They had torn it and the statue of Merlin down as the mob came ever closer to the royal sanctuary. The Tsar and Tsarina had taken Tsarevich Harry and Grand Duchess Astoria out the back door. Grand Duchesses Ginevra and Pansy had gone out the servant's entrance with their attendants. The only royals remaining now were Empress Dowager Minerva and Grand Duchess Hermione, who'd made it halfway out before turning around.
"Hermione! Mione, we must go! Come back, come back!" The woman cried as she followed her granddaughter into the princess's room.
"I left it, I need to get my music box!" Hermione declared as she rushed through the doors, heading straight for the red and gold box on her desk.
"Hermione! We have to get out of here," the former empress was frantic as the sound of an explosion rang through the air. Suddenly a hole opened in the wall, and a boy no older than her granddaughter appeared before them.
"Quickly, this way! Out the servant's quarters!" He urged as he pushed them into the opening he'd just appeared from, his platinum blond hair flopping into his eyes as he struggled to close the wall behind them.
"My music box, please I dropped it!" Mione cried as she turned to see it lying on the floor behind them.
"Mione, we must go, we don't have time!" Her grandmother grabbed her arm and pulled her as they headed down the dark tunnel, the entrance now sealed behind them. They could hear shouting coming from the room they'd just escaped from and the thud of a body hitting the floor before they turned, pushing their legs to go faster. To get further away from the people trying to kill them. They burst out of the palace, rushing into the blizzard outside as they searched for a way off the property. "Keep up with me darling!" Hermione huffed and puffed as she pushed her lungs and her legs to match her Grandmother's pace before a sharp scream was torn from her lips. A figure appeared, ambushing them from above on the bridge as they crossed the frozen river and landing low enough to grasp the princess by the ankle. "Voldemort!"
"Let me go! Please," Hermione begged, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to pull her leg from the madman's grasp.
"You'll never escape me, child!" He growled, clawing his way closer as she thrashed harder. "Never," he chuckled maniacally. A loud, low groan was heard beneath them before the ice under the sorcerer split open, a gasp escaping his lungs as he was pulled under. His grip loosened just enough that the girl was able to shimmy out of his grasp, scrambling up and running with her grandmother as he clutched at the snow-covered ice. His hands found no purchase as he started to sink into the icy river. "Wormtail, save me!" He called out as his mutated pet rat attempted to help him out of the water.
1:26 am, March 8th, 1916 - St Petersburg Station, St Petersburg, Russia
"Hermione, hurry. Hurry!" The Dowager Empress called over her shoulder as they rushed to catch the train. They'd been running for the last ten minutes, both exhausted and losing their strength. But this was their way out, the last train leaving the city. The train that the rest of the family was supposed to already be on. The older woman managed to reach far enough to grasp a couple passenger's hands, getting pulled up onto the moving car as the train pulled out of the station. "Mione!" She turned, frantically reaching for her granddaughter.
"Grandmother!" The girl called, her face flushed from exhaustion and tears. Terror in her eyes as she reached for her grandmother's outstretched hand, not quite able to reach.
"Take my hand! Hold onto my hand!" Finally, their fingers managed to reach each other. "Don't let go!" A scream broke through the air as the princess tripped, falling backward and getting lost under a crowd of rushing people. "Hermione! Hermione, no!" The train whistle blew as it pulled further and further away from the unmoving figure on the ground, the cries of her Grandmother slowly lost in the wind.