Rewind for Reprieve

June 30, 1997

How can that Portkey bring me back in time? 

Hermione sat on her bed, contemplating the reasons why this kind of occurrence is possible.The girl standing in front of her displayed a look of puzzlement.

“Uh, are you okay?” Lavender asks.

She looked at the girl's face. When students and professors gathered all the bodies of those who had fallen to the great hall, she overheard a few who talked with horror when they described Lavender's condition. Greyback mauled it to the point where the girl’s face was already unrecognizable. 

Hermione stood up from her seat and embraced the girl, confirming her existence. Once she felt her body heat, tears streamed down her cheeks as she yielded to an uncontrollable weeping. Her shoulders were shaking from crying, leaving a damp imprint on Lavender’s sleeves. Although surprised with the sudden breakdown, the girl gave a somewhat unsure pat on Hermione's back.

That was enough for her as consolation.

When she calmed down, she clasped Lavender’s shoulder, “Don’t come back to Hogwarts when you get home, you hear me?” tears still lingering on her cheeks.

“What? You’re starting to weird me out, Hermione” The girl responded as she slowly freed herself from Hermione’s grasp. 

“No! You have to listen t–”

“Enough!” 

The shout from Lavender vibrated throughout their room. Agitated as she cannot comprehend the sudden words coming from her dorm mate. Stressed with the situation, she decided to move towards the door, but Hermione caught her hand. 

“Please, you have to hear me out” She pleaded, but she was met only with furrowed eyebrows and a vexed expression. Lavender slapped her wands away and left her alone in the room. 

Fuck

A throbbing ache pounds through her head as the result from the whirlwind of events that had left her mind entangled in a storm of overwhelming emotions and thoughts. She tugged her hair, frustrated that her warning was ignored.  

Frustrated that she’s back again to experience it all. 

Frustrated with not even understanding everything that had happened. 

So much for the brightest witch of her age. 

Hermione pressed her hands on her temples to alleviate her headache. She shuts her eyes and tries to reason. 

No, I have to think of this logically and not emotionally. 

If today is the day that Dumbledore died, then that must mean that I can do something to prevent it. The center of the mess that day, what is it.. 

Wait…

The question should've been, who is it?That person would be…

Her eyes widened to the realization. How can I be so stupid! She quickly stood and ran towards the boys’ rooms. I have to find Draco Malfoy!

Standing outside Harry and Ron’s room, she knocked aggressively on the door, the sound of her impatient foot tapping echoed against the floorboards.   .

“Hermione?” Harry sleepily asked while rubbing his eyes and letting out a soft yawn. 

Looking at her friend, she realized how much Harry had changed. Although the boy in front of her has bags under his eyes as a sign of insomnia, it was clear that his complexion was much better than it was during the war. 

He also has grown and matured more after the war. Seeing his juvenile state now only brought her back to reality.

“Can I borrow your map?” She abruptly asks.

Their exchange might have stirred the rest of the boys, prompting the others to groan and Ron to cautiously peek through the doorway. Upon seeing her, he closed his eyes and took a pillow to shield his ears, eventually drifting back to sleep.

“Hermione, it’s…” he cast a swift glance at the clock, confirming the persistently early hour, "It's merely five-thirty in the morning."

“Harry, can I please borrow your map?”

It seems that the hastiness in her tone made Harry completely awake. His gaze was filled with confusion for her unusual behavior. But to comply, he took tentative steps towards his bed to get the Marauder's map she has been requesting for. 

In truth, Harry already had no use for the map. She recalled that he stopped consulting it after he casted a sectumsempra spell to Malfoy. She couldn’t blame him. The weight of the guilt was too heavy due to that hex nearly killing someone.

Although skeptical, he gave the map to Hermione, "You’re familiar with how to activate the map, aren’t you?" 

"Of course Harry, thank you!" 

With that, she gave a kiss on his cheeks before running off to the library.

"Remember to return it once you're done!" 

His voice trailed behind her as she sprinted down the corridors, her response was merely a nod.

.

.

Upon stepping inside the library, her eyes were greeted by the familiar sight of books that have become her steadfast companions throughout the years she has studied at Hogwarts.Relief washed over her as she saw that the place had remained untouched after the war. 

Oh, this was before the war..

Hermione shook some sense into her mind. Focus! She moved past the books she had been perusing and proceeded to turn towards the librarian’s desk. Madam Pince appears to be distracted as she lectured a group of chattering Ravenclaw students. A good time for her to secure the key to the restricted section.

The restricted section was fortified with wards to prevent students from sneaking inside and using ‘alohamora’. Although that’s not enough to dissuade Hermione from breaking in. She’s a Gryffindor not just for nothing. 

She twirled her wand around her and with a soft murmur, she casted the disillusionment charm. Slowly, she approached the desk and looked for the rustic key. The key rested next to a stack of books, likely used by the librarian just recently, having it just laying there on the table.

Grabbing the key and the lamp, she now had access to the restricted section and walked towards its direction. 

Finally, with a click thatshe was able to unlock the gate and strode inside. When she saw a vacant spot, she sat there and looked at the clock on the walls of the library, 6:30 AM

Taking the map from her pockets, she gently positioned it to the table. Then by softly saying, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good”, and tapping her wand on the map that the contents revealed itself to her.

By inspecting it, she saw different names that she was familiar with. However, she skipped past all of them until she eventually saw…Draco Malfoy.

It was strange seeing his steps moving, considering that she witnessed the young man’s death. As Hermione continues to gaze at the map she sees the names of Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. Their steps are not moving, a sign that the boys were still sleeping.

Nott must be a really loyal friend considering that he verbally attacked me just from clapping and smiling.

She glanced at the clock, 6:40 AM

She recalled the sequence of the previous events. Harry left during lunch because he received a scroll asking him to meet Dumbledore. Her estimation of the exact time rested around 12 PM. 

Then later on, upon returning at night, Dumbledore died. It logically followed that during the period of time that those two left, Malfoy must have done something. She remembered Harry telling her that Malfoy was the one who let death eaters inside the castle, but she didn’t know the specifics on how that happened.

She looked back at the map once more, reassuring herself that as long she sees him, everything will be fine. She had ample time left. 

Thinking back to her goal, she needs to find something that could potentially help her stop Malfoy from doing the things he has done before. He’s bound to do those things because of pressure. She knew that because at the last second of the war, he changed his allegiance. Hermione has concluded since then that Draco Malfoy is an…okay person.

Standing up from her seat, she looked through the bookshelves, determined to change everything.

For hours, she scanned books and only found five that held value to her, each emanating an aura of animosity. She glimpsed at the clock and realized that it was 8:50 AM already. The Great Hall must be full of students having their breakfast. Thinking of breakfast made Hermione’s stomach growl.

This is no time to eat food!

Sitting on her chair earlier, she quickly looked at the map and saw that Malfoy was walking towards the Great Hall together with his two friends – Nott and Zabini. After confirming that Malfoy was still on sight, she focused on the stack of books in front of her and read it one by one.

The first one had the title ‘Binding Rituals’, but after scanning the pages she knew that the book was useless for her. She needed something that she can do with swift and not hours, considering that the clock was ticking.

She moved on with the second book and repeated the same process of scanning. However, it was still no use. Two more books later, she let out a frustrated groan. All the books provided are spells, rituals, and enchantments that needed hours and certain things for the binding to be able to work.

She held the last one, this one, however, looked more like a diary rather than a book. She took it since she had read something about thread that binds users.

Please, please, please, be something useful.

It was as if the book read her mind, and a certain page caught her attention.

THE RED STRING OF FATE

This thread doth entwine the very souls of two individuals, uniting them in an unbreakable bond. Whilst a soul may venture, it shall inevitably encounter its counterpart, bound by this invisible crimson strand. Though imperceptible to mortal gaze, this scarlet thread is subject to enchantment, a feat which I, Cecilia, have wielded with mystical prowess.

(This thread binds the hearts of two people together. Wherever a person goes, they will eventually find the one connected to them. This red thread is not visible to the eye, however, through magic that I, Cecilia, was able to manipulate the thread.)

By means of such manipulation, the primeval scarlet strand shall find itself severed from betwixt those two users. Furthermore, an unrelenting force shall ensure that the duo remains not distanced beyond thirty feet from each other's company.

(But with that manipulation, the original red string will be cut off from those two users. A force will also not let the two away from each other from more than 30 feet away.)

Hark, if thou art perusing this missive and art yet inclined to enact the binding, the foremost action thou must undertake is to commingle thine own life's essence with the other moiety. Next, thou shalt immerse a filament within the amalgamation and utter the incantation, "firmus," thus rendering the filament impervious to sundering. And thirdly, fasten the opposing terminus of the thread to thine own digit, as well as to the other.

(If you are reading this and still want to perform the binding, the first thing you must do is mix your blood with your other half. Second, dip a thread inside the mixture and say, “firmus,” to make the thread unbreakable. Third, tie the other end of the thread to your finger and the other person.)

In conclusion, direct thy wand toward thy bosom and enunciate the ensuing verbiage...

(Lastly, point your wand at your heart and say the following…)

“Juntos para siempre”

In perpetuity shall we be entwined, impervious to enchantments that would fain rend this bewitchment asunder. Merely through severing thy finger where the thread was spun can we anticipate the dissolution of this indissoluble connection.

(Together Forever, no magic will ever break this spell. Only by cutting the finger where the thread was, that the connection will break. )

Overflowing with ecstasy over the revelation within the text, she realized that she had found the solution to her predicament. She was familiar with the red string, a symbol of love for many muggles. It gives hope that there's always a perfect match for each and every one. 

Looking back on the diary, she realized now that magic is really potent. Would she sacrifice meeting her fated someone just to babysit Malfoy? 

It's probably Ron. So, it doesn't really matter. 

She then thought of Malfoy. What if this ruins his chance of meeting his future wife? She contemplated but brushed off the thought. 

Well, this is better than him dying.

Next problem for her was the cutting of a finger. In due course, she will need to break the binding as she wouldn’t want Malfoy being at her side forever. She then realizes that if the choices were a missing finger or the lives of the people she knew. She'll always choose a missing finger. 

Finalizing her decision, she meticulously puts back all the books that were not useful to her to their designated shelves before glancing at the clock, which announced that the time was already 11 AM.

She closes the map and utters, "Mischief managed" before leaving the restricted section.Retracing her steps toward the entrance, she swiftly returned the key and the lamp. 

Thanks, Madam Pince.

With that, Hermione left the library with a solution on hand. She’s going to prevent this war, even if it's the last thing she has to do.

.

. 

Eating at the great hall has never been this enjoyable for Hermione. She swallowed a great portion of food, preparing for the work that she has to do later. Some individuals who were at the table, probably eating their early lunch, were fixedly staring at her plate. Nonetheless, she dismissed it all, her mind engrossed in thoughts as she devised a strategy. 

Do we still have to hunt for horcruxes? 

"Bloody hell, 'Mione, you're not even eating right" A familiar red headed figure sat in front of her, his eyes on Hermione's fork that was on the table instead of the food.

Instead of replying, Hermione carried on and ate. She needed strength, and no amount of weird gazes from other people can stop her from getting the energy that she needs. 

I should make a more efficient plan when we hunt horcruxes

Unlike before, Hermione now knew where the horcruxes were. This should be an easy feat for the three of them to accomplish. However, she thought of how she will explain to Harry and Ron the reason why she knows where those are hidden. Another issue is explaining why Malfoy is with her.

“Earth to Hermione?” 

She glanced back again at Ron, she remembers when he was completely agitated with her and Harry when he wore the slytherin’s locket. Wait! Her eyes widened at a sudden realization.

We can get the basilisk fang in the chamber of secrets in advance!

She felt like everything falls in place this time, now, they can easily break the horcruxes without wearing them. If this continues, maybe they can kill the dark lord much earlier and minimize the casualties, Hermione thought.

“Where’s Harry?” 

She looked at Ron who was busy filling his plate with food, “Isn’t it too early for you to eat lunch?” she asks.

“Coming from you, look at your plate” 

“This is my breakfast and lunch, Ronald” 

“I can see that,” as he looked at her still full plate, he continued with his mouth stuffed with food. “Harry’s probably on his way here”

She then shifted her gaze at the Slytherin table. The table was slowly filling up with students but no platinum blonde hair was amongst the group. That made her tense as it was not a good sign.

What if he’s already planning something.

Her focus was broken when a pair of green eyes suddenly appeared in front of her. Harry looked at her intensely, the incident that happened that morning must have disturbed him more than she thought.

“Yes, Harry?”

The young man filled his plate with a modest portion of food, “Did you happen to bring the map with you?” his eyes observing her again.

“I do but I was wondering if I can borrow it much longer?”

“Sure”

“What, you let her borrow the map?” Ron exclaimed, nudging Harry and grumbled to how unfair it was that he never let him borrow it. Eventually, Harry changed the topic to the Half-blood prince to stop Ron from pestering him any longer.

The half-blood prince, the other person that Harry was obsessed with at sixth year other than Malfoy. She knew who it was but she thought it would only make him more suspicious of her. So, to lessen that, she repeated the conversation that happened in the original timeline.

She looked inside her beaded bag to see if the newspaper article she saw before was in there, she felt thankful of her habit to put everything in her bag. She grabbed the article, “Well I saw this article of a girl named Eileen Prince and it seemed that she excelled with potions. That book was old, and pin pointing it to that, it may be her who owns it”

She’s not really wrong at that part as the young girl she just mentioned to Harry turned out to be the mother of Professor Snape – The true Half-Blood prince.

“A prince seems to be more like a little boy than a little girl, Hermione,” he replied, grinning. She rolled her eyes in response, nothing changed.

They continued to talk until the owl Hermione was anticipating finally came and gave Harry a scroll. She knew that in a second, Harry would stand and say..

Professor Dumbledore has requested to see me, I’ll see you later.

“Professor Dumbledore has requested to see me, I’ll see you later.” and he left quickly to go to the headmaster’s office.

“Why do you reckon Professor Dumbledore wanted to see Harry again?” Ron asks, still gazing from the doors of the grand hall where Harry just left.

"'Cause Harry is his favorite?" she replied, unexpectedly, Ron burst out laughing and that made others look in their direction. 

"That's one thing for sure" he remarked, simultaneously drumming his fingers on the table while stifling his laughter.

"Shhhh!" hushed voices chimed in, causing Ron’s face to flush red. Hermione can only shake her head in reaction. 

After quickly finishing her meal, she bid goodbye to Ron who was still eating. Beside him was Dean and a few Gryffindor boys so she guessed it was fine to leave him with them.

She organized her thoughts while quickly walking to the corridors. The first thing she needed to do was find a thread, which should be easy as the girls in their dorm have a lot of it. Next, is a vial where she would put their blood.

When she got to the grand staircase, she waited for it to provide a way to their dorm and once she stood in front of the fat lady.

She was stuck.

The password always changes, and she can't remember their password for that certain week. 

"Umm, I seem to have forgotten the password, can you just please let me in this one time?" 

However, the fat lady ignored her first and continued to sing for about two minutes. Hermione can only groan at the inconvenience. 

"The youth of today, so prone to forgetfulness, unlike in times past. Very well, you may enter then."

And with that, the fat lady opened the way inside the dorm. She paced towards their room but got bumped by a group of girls - Parvati, Padma, and Lavender. 

"Still have Hallucinations, Granger?" Lavender mockingly asks her. Parvati and Padma giggled, Lavender must have told them what happened that morning. 

She dismissed them and continued to go up the stairs but in the middle of it she looked back at them, "You don't happen to have threads, do you?"

The girls looked at each other, and then her. "I have them inside my bedside drawer" Padma responded, she smiled and nodded then proceeded to go up to their room.

Upon spotting the said drawer, she opened it to retrieve a strand of thread.  A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was 1:30 PM. She then reopened the map, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" 

When the map revealed itself, she scanned it to find Draco Malfoy. However, the longer she looked at the map, the longer her heart rate went up. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. 

But that's not possible. No one can leave the castle, why is he not here? 

Studying the map didn't provide answers. She thought of various strategies, exploring potential explanations for Malfoy's absence from its view

What's the one place where the map will not be able to trace him?

She cast another glance at the clock, 1:40 PM. And then it struck her – the singular location renowned for concealing individuals, the Room of Requirement!

She immediately bolted towards the seventh floor, she even bumped into a few students, but she had no time to apologize.

"Hey, slow down!"

Once at the familiar room. She paced in front of it three times and thought of how she wanted to see Malfoy. With that, she finally went inside. 

Drawing a deep breath, her heart hammered inside her chest. She found herself sweating from nervousness to see Malfoy. She never felt that before, but now it differed as there was no longer hatred. This time, there’s an obligation to help him. Hermione continued to walk in the maze-like room that was full of clutter, her steps were light. She gripped her wand tightly, readying herself from an impending attack. 

Breathe, Hermione. You can do this.

And there he was, her eyes fixed upon his figure that was sitting on the floor, his attention was absorbed by an old cabinet. Her own gaze then lingered at the cabinet, it was old and antique. 

Staring it longer, she felt a sense of familiarity. Connecting the dots, she realized that it was the cabinet that she and Harry saw in Borgin and Burkes. 

How can I be stupid! Of course, that's how the death eaters were able to infiltrate Hogwarts!

Approaching Malfoy with measured steps, she raises her wand and points it at him. His ice gray eyes widened and looked at her with surprise. 

"How did you get here?!" His voice strained with tension and anger. 

"Stay there," She demanded, still pointing her wand at him. 

"What the fuck?!"

Swiftly, he retrieved his wand from his pockets and with a fluid motion, "Expelliarmus!" a red light streaked towards her.

"Protego!"

"Stupefy!" 

"Petrificus totalus!"

Finally, her spell hits him, resulting in a thud as he falls to the floor. Her breathing is still uneven from their duel. 

She then slowly approached him. Her gaze met his and that was the first time she realized that Malfoy had nice eyes, however, those very eyes were vexed. He blinked uncontrollably and she knew what it was, Malfoy was using morse code. 

.. - . ..- -.-. -.- (Fuck)

-.-- — ..- (You)

"And to think I had assumed you were somewhat decent, Malfoy," She says while grabbing a knife from her beaded bag. The knife, of course, was smuggled during lunch at the great hall. She also checked if a vial was there and she was right. She always keeps an extra vial for Professor Slughorn’s class.  

She checked Malfoy, and he was petrified both physically and mentally while looking at the knife.

To humor him, she says, "Unfortunately for me, I do not intend to kill you" 

She then aimed the knife on his legs, her hands shaking. "I'm sorry for this though" and proceeded to cut through his trousers and legs. When his legs bled, she quickly grabbed the vial and placed it on the cut. Malfoy's body made a thud sound, a sign of his struggle. He'll be able to get out of the spell soon, she needs to do it faster.

Once she saw an acceptable amount of his blood on the bottle, she aimed her wand at Malfoy's cut and softly murmured, "Ferula," bandages then appeared around his legs. 

She proceeded to sit down and did the same cut to her leg. Seeing her blood mix with Malfoy was not a good feeling. She knew that he values his blood, as that was the reason he bullied her. However, she needed to do this. 

When she's done, she casted another "Ferula" for her and puts the thread she got earlier inside the vial. The white thread was now crimson red from their blood. 

"Firmus" she murmurs and points her wand to the thread to make it unbreakable. As soon as she’s done, she removed it from the vial. Closing her distance at Malfoy, her body shivered as his aura was emitting pure anger.

He was vexed.

Nonetheless, she continued to tie the other side of the thread to his pinky finger. After that, she examined her fingers.

Now what finger should I lose?

In the end, decided to tie it to her pinky finger as well. Then to finish the binding she points her wand at her heart and finally says…

"Juntos para siempre"

As she omitted the words, the thread illuminated with light and then it concealed itself. She held her chest, and breathed like she never did before. 

It's done, I've prevented Malfoy from letting death eaters inside Hogwarts! 

She felt ecstatic, but an angry shout then vibrated throughout the room of requirement. 

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME, GRANGER?!"