Leaving home
July 1, 1997
Hermione felt a weight pinning down on her, she groaned trying to remove it but her efforts were futile.
As she opened her eyes, the familiar sight of her childhood room with its curtains and bookshelves greeted her. It was when she looked beside her that she realized the source of the pressure was none other than a peacefully sleeping Parkinson.
However, the peacefully sleeping girl was the same one who had caused a commotion the previous night, adamantly refusing to share a bed with her.
"What do you mean I have to sleep beside you?!" Parkinson whispered angrily to Hermione as they ate the dinner her mother had prepared.
Hermione took a sip of water and then cast a quick glance at the girl, asking, "Would you prefer to sleep outside instead?"
The girl glared daggers at her before turning her attention back to the table and giving fake smiles to her parents.
But, being Parkinson, she didn't stop there and kicked her beneath the table, which Hermione gladly reciprocated.
In the end, the girl had no choice but to sleep on her bed as the other three boys slept in the guest room.
However, that also made her nervous as Ron would be sleeping with the people he hated his whole life at Hogwarts.
She glanced at the wall clock in her room and saw that it was six in the morning. She couldn't tell how to feel when Parkinson's weight woke her rather than a nightmare.
As Hermione rose from the bed, a ball of fur suddenly circled around her feet, and she immediately recognized the culprit. With a surprised voice, she cried out, "Crookshanks!"
The cat's beady eyes met hers, and it responded with a gentle purr. Hermione couldn't resist; she immediately scooped the cat into her arms and cuddled it.
Memories from the previous timeline, flooded back - The time when Crookshanks had gone missing, never to be found again. Hermione had always felt a deep sense of responsibility for his disappearance, and it was one of the things that plagued her thoughts during sleepless nights. She often wondered if the cat had been searching for her or if something bad happened to him.
Carrying the cat into the living room, she was greeted by her parents conversing while having breakfast. They seemed happy and Hermione felt a twinge of pain that she was about to break it.
At night, she considered several reasons that could make her parents take a vacation someplace far away as she wouldn’t want to remove their memories again. That course of action only brought pain to them after the war.
She sat in front of them, the chair making a noise that drew their attention to her. "Good morning, dear," her mother said, followed by her father. Hermione smiled faintly at them.
"Is something bothering you? You don't seem well," her father remarked, studying her expression closely. Hermione gently set Crookshanks down and took a deep breath, summoning her resolve.
“I need to do something and it’ll take months to finish”
Both her parents looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, “And what is that?” her mother asked after a brief pause.
Hermione bit her lower lip, anxiety creeping in. She knew that her parents wouldn’t just let her go on a trip with people they barely knew about, well, except for Ron. Whenever she returns from Hogwarts, she always tells stories about Harry, Ron, and their escapades minus the dangerous parts.
Her parents have always been protective of her being their only child, and she wouldn’t even begin to imagine what their reactions would be if they found out the things she did without their supervision.
“There’s an internship that we need to do for us to be able to graduate”
Her parents were silent at first but when they exchanged glances the two burst into laughter which made her tilt her head from the confusion.
The first one to enlighten her was her mother who was still wiping her tears from laughing, "We thought you might leave us or something, but it turns out it's just for an internship."
"What a good kid" Her father remarked, still amused.
Hermione can only give an awkward laugh to her parents as she crossed her fingers behind her back. She lied again, but she consoled herself with the thought that it was probably for the best.
"So.. you're allowing me to go?"
Of course" Her parents replied in unison, Hermione thought that relief would flood her by hearing that they would let her go but that only added to things she'd overthink about.
A liar is what she is, a good kid is not something they should brand her. Hermione did not feel good, it broke her.
"Will you go with the friends you brought home?" Her father inquired, and she nodded to confirm his suspicion.
"I'll be leaving today"
Both his parents' happy demeanor appeared to diminish from her sudden declaration.
"Why so soon?" Her mother asked, reaching out for her hand and holding it.
"I'm sorry for being so sudden"
"It's alright, dear. You've grown up, and we won't stand in the way of your dreams. We just wished we'd have more time with you, but we're your parents, and we'll always be there for you," her father said with a reassuring smile, while her mother teared up slightly.
Hermione felt her conscience will eat her any minute now, she fidgeted with the loose string from her clothes before saying, "Wouldn't you want to go on a vacation while I'm at my internship?"
They turned to her again, "Hmm, we still have work to do so–"
"But it will be a wonderful opportunity to spend time with each other, I'm always with you and now that I have an internship, it'll be like a date!"
Her parents halted and seemed to consider her suggestion. Hermione tapped her foot impatiently while waiting for their decision.
"Our daughter does make a good point, would you like to go on a trip, dear?" Her mother asks, glancing at her father. He adjusted his glasses and smiled at his wife.
"Why not?"
Hermione let out a sigh, thankful that everything was going as planned. She didn't need to remove her parents' memories and that mattered most.
"What place will you go?"
"Well, Australia doesn't sound too bad" Her father replied, mentioning that it had been on his bucket list, her mother agreed.
With her plan successful, she had breakfast with her parents but couldn't muster enjoying it from lying to them just recently.
They chatted about the things she did while at Hogwarts and introduced them to the classmates she brought home.
She only had to tweak little details to avoid suspicion, but that's fine. A little white lie wouldn't hurt, right?
.
.
Hermione kissed and hugged her parents goodbye before they headed off to work, cherishing that moment, knowing it would be the last time they saw each other before she left.
As she closed the door, someone cleared their throat behind her which made her flinch and look back annoyed.
Glancing back, she was met with a stunning Malfoy who had just woken up. Hermione stared at him from head to toe, taken aback by how different he looked with his night clothes.
"Granger" He muttered, making her eyes meet his once more. Hermione stood straight and fixed her hair before replying, "Yes?"
"Before deciding to walk somewhere, can you think that oh maybe I've stuck Malfoy with me and he'll have to follow me to wherever the fuck I go"
Her words left her mouth for a while, then asked, "Did you hear me talking with my parents?"
"What do you think?" He sneered.
"Oh"
Malfoy crossed his arms, keeping a watchful eye on her as she stood near the door. She felt self-conscious and avoided making direct eye contact.
"You're quite the liar, aren't you?"
"I don't want to hear that from you," she retorted, irritated that he had spoken the truth.
"Why, because I'm a Slytherin?"
Hermione defensively laughed from the accusation. "No! Of course not"
Malfoy stayed silent while wearing a 'not-so-amused' look.
"Wait, so what happened to you when I moved? Are you awake at that time and followed me or..?"
"Never in my life will I follow you willingly, Granger." He says with the most disgusted expression he can muster before adding, "I was pulled"
"How does it feel getting pulled?" She asked, curious with the recent discovery regarding their binding.
"It felt like being PULLED, Granger" He responded sarcastically which made Hermione clench her jaw from the irritation.
Do I always have to be greeted by this git every morning?
A yawning Ron then suddenly appeared in her line of sight, and stopped when he spotted the two of them, "What going on?"
Hermione strolled past Malfoy and settled onto the sofa, cuddling Crookshanks who was resting there. The two boys fixed their gaze on her until she addressed them, saying, "Breakfast is on the table. Malfoy, you can wake up your two friends."
"I am not their elf, they can wake up by themselves"
Elf, the word caught Hermione's attention causing her to furrow her eyebrows as she asks, "You make elves wake you up?"
Malfoy seemed to be amused by her anger and replied, "So?"
"Oh no, you shouldn't have done that" Ron commented his words inaudible because of the piece of bread in his mouth.
"What do you mean, 'so'? Elves are also living beings! They deserve to experience the life that they want to live and not the life that YOU people want to live"
"What do you mean by 'you people'?" Malfoy demanded, who's now getting agitated like her.
Hermione rose from her seat and walked over to him, maintaining eye contact before answering, "Pretentious, self-centered, thinks that they are superior just because they are purebloods…you want me to continue the list?"
Malfoy shot an intense glare at her, their staring contest only ending when Nott placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, jesting, "Oh I'm sensing a lot of tension around here"
She looked at Nott who was smirking then to Malfoy who nudged her and went to the dining table.
"Are you okay, 'Mione?" Ron, who's now standing behind her, mumbled.
"Just finish your breakfast Ron, you're spreading crumbs everywhere"
Ron blushed and tried to pick up the crumbs but Hermione let out an exasperated sigh before picking up her wand and casting a spell to clean them up.
The two slytherins took their seats at the dining table before glancing at it. Nott then lifted a box, asking, "What's this?"
Hermione glanced before answering, "That's a cereal"
"And… how do you eat this cereal?"
"Just put it in your mouth, Nott" Ron interjected as he settled on the sofa, turning his attention to the television in front of him.
"What's this, Mione?"
"That's a television, Ron, you watch things with it" She explained as she approached Nott, who's on the verge of eating the cereal straight out of the box.
Hermione held his arms to stop him, fetched a bowl, and a fresh milk from the fridge. "This is how you eat cereal" she instructed, pouring the milk into the bowl and adding the cereal into it.
Handing a spoon to Nott, she watched as he hesitantly took a bite. With each passing minute, he grew more comfortable and continued to eat.
Hard to believe he's the same person who cornered me to give a piece of his mind.
She then returned to Ron who's curiously touching things inside the house. Hermione groaned before gently pushing him onto the sofa and turning on the television for him to watch.
Ron appeared to be amused watching the morning news, and Hermione couldn't help but grin, realizing he was happy not because it was news but because it was something new.
Lastly, she turned her attention to Malfoy who was just quietly sitting and eating a piece of bread with jam. "Do you have any questions?"
"No, I'm not stupid, I know how things work" He responded, still maintaining his arrogant nature.
"If you say so"
Hermione felt a mother to these wizards, but it made her smile knowing that they are experiencing everything in a muggle way. Possibly, giving them a new point of view in life.
She just hoped that Harry was there to smile on this occasion with her.
An hour passed before Parkinson woke up, agitated, as always. Hermione glanced at the clock and confirmed that it was already nine in the morning.
"Why did you not fucking wake me up?" The girl demanded as she observed the group who was sitting in front of the television. Of course, the two slytherins sat the farthest way possible.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed" Nott taunted which made Parkinson slap his arms playfully.
"The bed in question wasn't even that comfortable" Parkinson declared.
Hermione observed her, particularly taking note of what she was wearing—a nightgown. The previous night, she had appeared shocked by it, but now it was even more surprising to see her standing so comfortably around the boys.
"Seeing that you're the one who woke up late, I can't find myself to believe you" Ron snickered, still watching the news.
"I don't need your validation, Weasley" Parkinson replied, flipping him off behind his back.
"Eat, breakfast is on the table. We will leave at noon" Hermione announced which made all eyes focus on her.
"Where are we going?" Nott asks.
"We'll start our plan, the first horcrux that we will get is the slytherin locket"
"The one at the ministry?" Malfoy interjected and Hermione nodded in return.
Parkinson sat at the dinner table, eyeing the food before saying, "How am I supposed to enjoy a not even enjoyable breakfast by you telling us that we'll die later?"
"We'll not initiate the plan immediately, we have to observe Umbridge first. So, we need to find an apartment near the ministry"
"Is that supposed to comfort me, Granger?" Parkinson sneered
"Just eat" She replied, getting tired of the constant comebacks from the girl.
They needed energy, and it would not be productive to throw words at each other every other minute. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, focusing on calming herself and shutting out distractions to think of potential plans.
.
.
"Crookshanks, you stay here and keep mom and dad company, be a good boy" Hermione commanded her cat who was now meowing.
"For salazar's sake, Granger, let's just go" Parkinson said, her foot tapping impatiently.
Keep calm, Hermione.
She caressed Crookshanks fur one last time and gave him a kiss before standing up and straightening her clothes.
"Let's go"
"How will we get there?" Ron asks, staring at her. The slytherins mirrored his gaze, carefully waiting for her instruction.
Hermione considered apparating but that would be risky for her and Malfoy, so it was not an option. Traveling by floo might be a good way to get there fast but there weren't any floo networks around them. In the end, they needed to do it the muggle way.
"We'll take the bus, again"
Parkinson groaned while the others remained quiet. However, silence was enough for her to feel that they didn't like commuting.
"We have no choice"
"We always have no choice" Parkinson sneered but Hermione ignored it, surveying the group.
The Slytherin boys were once again dressed in suits, while Parkinson wore a fitted dress and boots. She turned her gaze to Ron, who was dressed in his usual attire.
Ron passed the test, Parkinson barely, but the other boys needed a costume change.
"You have to blend in with Muggles, you can't look like that," she finally said, pointing at Nott and Malfoy. The two boys looked at each other and then examined their outfits.
"I thought I looked good," Nott exclaimed, still studying his suit.
"You have to blend in with muggles, you can't look like that" Hermione reasoned, both boys do look good but it was not something a muggle would wear on a common day.
"So what do you propose, Granger?" Malfoy asks.
"I can do a little spell"
"Tsk, you and your little spells" He sneered, still bitter about her reason for doing the binding.
"How about me, Mione? Is my clothes enough?" Ron interjected.
Parkinson mockingly laughed before saying, "It's even less than enough"
"Coming from the girl who looks like she's straight from a funeral" Ron retorted which made the girl laugh even harder. "It's for OUR funeral since Granger doomed us to death"
"Can you have your conversation as far away from me as possible?" Hermione reacted, now crossing her arms and looking at the two.
She couldn't help but notice that despite Parkinson throwing insults at Ron, he always seemed happy and amused.
They have more chemistry than we do.
"Just do the 'little spell' to get this over with" Nott said, raising his hand and waiting for the spell.
She sighed but aimed her wand to Nott, concentrating on the outfit she wanted for him before softly murmuring, "Multicorfors"
Theodor Nott's clothes then changed into a white long sleeved shirt and jeans. He looked regal, Hermione nodded at herself, proud for what she did.
Then she turned her attention to Malfoy, who looked thoroughly unamused with everything that was transpiring.
Again, she concentrated trying to picture the clothes she wanted for Malfoy before casting, "Multicorfors"
Draco Malfoy's clothes then changed from a suit into a hoodie and jeans. When she inspected him, her eyes wandered and instantly knew that if he lived in the muggle world, he'll be someone popular simply because he looks good.
"So, this is muggle fashion, you both look awkward" Parkinson playfully said and touched the boys' clothes.
"Now we look like we borrowed clothes from Weasley" Malfoy commented which made the other two slytherins laugh.
"Fucking slytherins" Ron huffed.
"I think you look good, Ron" She said and tapped his back, he looked back at her and smiled before saying a thank you.
After they changed into more suitable outfits, they walked to the nearest bus station and waited for a bus to arrive.
Just like the day before, they found seats after Hermione paid for their tickets.
"I swear, for Godric's sake, all of you owe me for making me spend my money."
"Not a problem, Granger. It won't even make a dent in my wallet," Malfoy remarked.
What a prick.
.
.
Once Hermione recognized the familiar setting, they immediately went down the bus.
"Where are we?" Parkinson inquired, taking in their new surroundings.
Hermione couldn't help but notice a few people staring at their group, particularly at Nott and Malfoy.
She knew this would happen.
"We're at the heart of London" She replied, before setting off, with the others following her.
Ron walked beside her before asking, "What's this place supposed to do with the ministry?"
Hermione stopped and pointed to a red telephone box, the group then gazed at it and looked back to her even more confused.
To enlighten them, she explained, "That's connected to the ministry.." She then tapped her foot on the sidewalk, "it's beneath us"
All of them were wide eyed and looked at the ground, "How do you know all these things?" Nott curiously asked.
"I'm Hermione Granger"
"What a show-off" Parkinson rolled her eyes, "So, what are we going to do now, march down there?"
"Of course not, as I said, we observe our target. To do that, we need to find somewhere to sleep around here first"
All of them silently agreed to the witch and that prompted her to go around the block and search for apartments.
They went around for a while, before eventually seeing one with an available space.
"I think my life savings will be drained after this" Hermione remarked while putting things down in their room.
The room was filled with two beds and one bathroom. Seeing it made all of them groan as a sign of disapproval but she reminded them that she's the one spending her money.
"Aren't your parents like big shots in the Muggle world?" Malfoy inquired, causing Hermione to turn and look at him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You mentioned they were dontists during Slughorn's party, and you talked as if they were doing well."
Hermione stares at Malfoy who's looking at her curiously. She only remembered now that he's also part of the slughorn club. What's even more amusing is him listening to her stories during the party.
It took a while before she responded, "First, they are called dentists. Second, I don't ask them for money."
"That's clear. Look at what you've made us experience on our first Muggle vacation," Nott commented as he flopped onto one of the beds.
"You must be having fun, Weasley. This is like a mansion to you," Malfoy sneered, provoking laughter from his friends, although Ron scowled.
"You think you're funny?"
"Oh, he's a big boy now," Nott added, which only intensified Ron's anger, making his face turn even redder.
Hermione massaged her head and pleaded, "Can't we just have one moment of peace, please?"
The boys shut up but Parkinson did not let it go, mentioning that she should've thought about it before bringing them into this mess.
Hermione felt a headache coming on, so she opted to step outside and sit in the corridor.
Things were a mess, and Parkinson had been right. When she had first planned everything, it had been in the heat of the moment. She had never imagined bringing them along on a Horcrux hunt, instead of just being with Harry, Ron, and, well, Malfoy.
Where are you, Harry?
A piece seemed to have been missing inside of her ever since Harry went missing. Ron must have felt worse as he was always by his side.
The only thing she could do to help her best friend win the war again is to do all things flawlessly.
Less sacrifices, less damage, and less pain.
"You're having an episode again" a voice said which made Hermione jump from her spot and look up.
"You again"
"You should be accustomed to this face because you'll always see this beside you no matter where you go" Malfoy mumbled as he sat beside her staring at the wall.
"Now that you mention it, that does sound like more of a curse"
Malfoy pursed his lips trying to suppress a grin. Noticing it, Hermione looked away and did the same.
There was silence after that, and that silence felt more. It was what she needed after racking her brain for three straight days.
"You're tolerable when you remove the sarcastic and self centered parts of you" Hermione uttered.
"So you want to remove all parts of me?"
Both of them chuckled at his retort, she never knew Draco Malfoy would make him laugh.
"Why are you here?"
"The string pulled me again" He shrugged.
"Doesn't that bother you, always getting pulled?"
"It does, but there's no turning back now"
"I'm sorry, Malfoy."
He stayed silent while both of them gazed at the blank wall.
Turning back in time was an opportunity, at first, Hermione thought it was a good one. However, the longer she stayed in this timeline, the heavier the responsibilities she carried.
Is this how Harry felt when he tried to do the best he can to save us all?
Isn't she being too ungrateful for him, trying to alter everything he has done before?
Is that why Harry was missing, because everything that he was supposed to do was changed?
Defeating the dark lord isn't supposed to be easy. So turning back in time is like cheating time itself.
From overthinking, Hermione didn't notice Malfoy standing up and was only brought back to reality when he offered his hand to her.
She looked up at him and their eyes met, his gaze was piercing, ice cold. But she prefers it that way. She wouldn't want to see him lifeless again.
With resolve returning to her, she took his hands and stood.
"Thank you, Draco"