The Plan Starts
July 2, 1997
It's been a day after the unexpected name-calling and all of a sudden, Hermione always catches Draco Malfoy staring at her.
“What?” she asks, fed up with the behavior.
“Nothing” he replies and shifts his gaze at the window.
Last night was a mess. Neither of the two groups can compromise on their side of the bed. Ron acted out and said he could never sleep beside the two Slytherin boys again.
“And what? You’ll sleep beside Granger?” Draco asks, making the boy blush.
“No! That’s not what I meant” Ron denied enthusiastically.
Hermione looks at the two, “It doesn’t matter who sleeps with whom, the beds are literally beside each other”
“It matters, I don’t want to sleep with you again,” Parkinson protested.
Feeling her frustration build, Hermione breathes heavily, as if smoke would come out of her nose from exhaling and inhaling too much.
Nott, on the other hand, was unfazed by the chaos and had already decided on the bed he would sleep on.
Being done with it all, she goes to the end of the bed and pushes it closer to the other, eliminating the tiny space that was there before. All eyes looked at her as if she was crazy but Hermione shrugged it off.
“Now, let’s sleep”
The others groaned but Hermione ignored them, picking her side and laid there.
Today, Hermione decided to take action on their plan. This marks the beginning of really altering everything as dwelling in it wouldn’t help. The moment she prevented Draco from allowing Death Eaters inside the castle, she already initiated the change.
“I’m starving,” Ron grumbles, clutching his stomach.
She surveys the group. Nott and Parkinson remained sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling with nothing else to do while Draco sat beside the window and Ron occupied the small space where a table and chair were placed.
It will be noon soon and she too, felt hungry. Hermione already thought that it was better to cook their meals than dine out, considering the need to save money.
“Let’s go to a store, I will cook for us” she offered and Ron raised his head quickly.
“Thank Merlin, I can eat anything right now,” he exclaims, springing to his feet and heading to the door. “Let’s go, Mione”
“I don’t trust the two of you, what if you just leave us here?” Nott protested.
Hermione rolled her eyes and then turned to Draco, “Are you coming or not?”
“Ask nicely” he retorts, still sitting on the same chair.
She crosses her arms, knowing that the string could just pull him if she goes with Ron, but being nice once in a while wouldn’t hurt.
“Can you please stand up and come with us?” she said, emphasizing every word.
A small grin curved Draco's lips before he stood up and followed them.
“Why do you always ask Draco to come with you?” Parkinson asks which catches them off guard. Ron is aware of their circumstances but the others are not, she wonders if they should reveal it to them.
Ron steps in, saying, “Well, would you prefer to come with us instead?” which earned him a glare from Parkinson, “I thought so” he added before leading Hermione and Draco outside.
Hermione looks at her friend, surprised. He always seemed to be saying something new to her ears, and she wasn’t sure whether this behavior change was a good thing or not.
He’s not like the same Ron from the original timeline.
They descended the stairs in silence, their footsteps the only noise that prevented it from becoming awkward. She glanced at the reflection from the metal railings and noticed that Draco was staring at her back intensely.
What’s his problem?
Calling him by his name is something that should have been normal, but being enemies might have proved it otherwise. It was something that she would have not dared to do if she only knew of the consequences.
His staring every time she moved was something that made her feel stiff, and she couldn’t move freely like before. Whenever she asked him about it, he’d simply disregard her.
“I wonder” Ron began, catching Hermione’s attention and breaking her train of thought.
“Yes?”
“Among all the other spells, why would you choose the one that will make you stuck with him?”
Hermione stopped in her tracks and thought about his question. During her research on spells, it was the one that she could perform immediately, the one that would guarantee that Draco would not leave her sight and vanish as he did before, ultimately leading to his death.
Why am I so obsessed with him not dying?
That question, however, is not something she can answer easily. He bullied her for years even calling her a slur, so why would she save him? Narcissa might be one of the reasons.
But was that the whole truth?
Or was it the feeling of witnessing someone she had grown up with take their last breath?
Draco remained quiet as he too, waited for an answer. Both boys stared at her as she continued to bite her lip struggling to explain herself.
“It’s the first spell that I can do right away,” she finally answered.
“But didn’t you think that it was too inconvenient?” Ron pressed.
“Look Ron, I know that doing the spell was a wrong choice but I have already done it. There’s no going back”
“And saying that you don’t know how to break the spell is not you, Hermione. You always know what to do”
“Please Ron, can we just go”
“But-”
“Weasley, can’t you just fucking drop it?” Draco hissed. Ron glared at him, but he did as he was told and kept his thoughts to himself.
Hermione was left tense by Ron being suspicious of her. Draco was the only person who knew that she had come back from time, and he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t obtained it forcibly.
She wasn't sure if sharing it with others was a wise decision. If Draco could read her mind so easily, what would happen if Voldemort got hold of her and did the same? It would be the end for them all, and she couldn't bear the thought of her best friend being in danger.
If she couldn't protect her mind, then what more if it was Ron? She glanced at Draco for a second, Maybe I should ask him to teach me occlumency.
They continued to stroll, and her best friend has been quiet since the questions he asked earlier, Draco sometimes makes snarky remarks about the muggle world to which Hermione will reply in offense.
However, that didn’t remove Hermione’s concern about her friend. If she was him, she'd be suspicious about her too, but she had no choice but to keep everything as there was no point in endangering his life or anyone else.
Maybe after breaking all the Horcruxes, I’ll tell him.
But, another worry nagged at her. Would Ron even believe her? He is not Draco, he cannot see what’s in her mind. The only thing he can hold onto is her words. In the end, it’s a matter of whether her words were enough for him to trust.
Going back to reality, she realized that it was a good thing that they found a hotel on a busy street with plenty of nearby stores they could just walk into.
“What do you want to eat, Ron?” She asks, trying to break his silence.
Ron gazed at her for a moment before answering, “I would eat anything, but soup would be good”
Hermione smiled and nodded before scanning through the store’s shelves for ingredients for the meal that she planned to cook.
.
.
When they returned to their room, Parkinson and Nott were debating about something but abruptly ceased when they noticed the group barging in.
“I’m fucking starving, this is how Weasley must’ve felt every day. I apologize for insulting you about it.” Nott admitted, placing his hand over his heart as if taking an oath.
“Fuck off” Ron retorted before taking a seat.
Parkinson then stood and looked at her, who was holding a plastic bag. “Now we have to eat whatever the Mudblood cooks”
Hermione tosses the plastic aside before confronting Parkinson, saying, “Stop calling me Mudblood”
“Or what?” Parkinson replies, slowly advancing towards her.
“Enough of this Pansy” Draco intervened.
"I won't tolerate any of you using that term to refer to me. If you do, I'll let you starve to death," Hermione warned.
"Whoa," Nott exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender. However, Parkinson seemed unfazed by the threat.
"Who do you think you are? You always make decisions for us without our consent! Do you think you know it all? You've put our lives in danger!" Parkinson accused.
Hermione was completely taken aback by the girl’s words. She felt a pang of guilt, knowing that it was true. She had been selfish in making decisions for everyone, but her only desire was to save them all.
"I was the one who made the decision," Draco interjected, positioning himself between the girls. Ron, who had been sitting, got up and shielded Hermione with his body.
"But Draco—"
"Shut it."
With those final words, Parkinson stormed out of the room, hurt by her boyfriend's words. Nott followed her immediately to offer comfort, while Draco remained inside the room, taking a seat near the window.
Still stunned, Hermione turned to Draco and said, "Thank you for defending me." Not looking at her, he replied, "Just cook the damn food so we can put an end to this."
She glanced at the door, thinking about how Nott was the one to comfort Parkinson instead of Draco as he is her boyfriend after all.
"Hey, why'd you only thank him?" Ron teased which made Hermione let out a small laugh before saying, "Thank you too, Ron"
After a while, Hermione took the plastic bag and began preparing their meal at the small counter in the room. Ron offered to help, but she declined, knowing he wasn't a skilled cook.
While cooking, her mind cannot rest as she continues to contemplate her existence in this timeline. Every day, the only thing she did was doubt herself and the words of others only proved that she was worth doubting for.
I'll just have to finish what I started…
At some point, Parkinson, with her eyes swollen and red, came back with Nott. Hermione felt sympathy from the girl and was guilty of her earlier outburst. Maybe insulting her was just a way to cope with the situation.
Unlike her, they left their families without even saying goodbye.
.
.
When she finished cooking the pumpkin soup, she served it in the bowls they had brought and accompanied it with bread. She also thought ahead and brought some canned foods for when they continued their journey to find the Horcruxes.
They all ate in silence, and once they had finished, Hermione broke it by saying, "It's time to start the plan." Their eyes turned to her, and the moment had come for them to get serious.
"There's only one way to infiltrate the Ministry," she began.
"What's that, 'Mione?" Ron inquired.
"Polyjuice"
"And who's going to brew it?" Theo interjected.
"That's not possible, Mione. The last time you brewed it, that took you a whole month!" Ron exclaimed.
“Who says that we’ll brew it?”
“What do you mean?” Draco asks.
In the previous timeline, Hermione had managed to acquire a stockpile of Polyjuice Potions when she took them from Mad-Eye Moody during the plan in which they used it to impersonate Harry. However, with Harry now missing, there was only one solution…
“We steal them.”
Her words left the group dumbfounded. The innocent Hermione Granger was proposing theft.
“Spoken like a true Slytherin, Granger,” Theo remarked. She merely rolled her eyes in response.
Gazing at the room, she couldn't help but notice that when they discussed the plan, they managed to coexist. If only that could happen at all times then maybe they could finish this hunt in just a month.
“And where will we get these potions?” Parkinson asks, raising her eyebrows.
“Ron, your father is still employed at the Ministry, correct?” She turned to her friend, who met her gaze for a moment before nodding.
In the original timeline, all members of the Order would have been dismissed. However, Voldemort has yet to take any action since Harry's disappearance. This suggests he is still searching for Harry; if he had captured him, he would have announced by now.
"What does that have to do with Polyjuice Potions?" Ron asked, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"Well, we'd steal from your father,"
"What?!" Ron exclaimed, leaving the other three equally perplexed.
Previously, Molly and Arthur always kept a decent supply of Polyjuice Potions on hand, ready to conceal the trio whenever they were in their presence as people were hunting them for the approval of the dark lord. They must have brewed some in advance, not anticipating Harry's disappearance.
"Can't we simply request some from them? They're his parents, for Salazar's sake," Parkinson suggested, gesturing toward Ron.
"They won't just hand it over. They don't even know about this mission to begin with," Hermione responded, glancing at Ron for his agreement.
Ron nodded and added, "I only mentioned that we'd be searching for Harry."
“Then how are we going to steal it?” Draco asks.
“We will go to the burrow. Ron you distract them while we get the potions”
“Bloody hell, Mum’s gonna kill me”
Hermione stood up and got her bag before saying, “All of you should get ready, we want to finish this plan as soon as possible”
“How are we going to get to the burrow?” Nott asks.
“We follow Arthur”
Hermione checks the time and it is afternoon, Arthur will go home soon. They just need to follow him.
All of them headed towards the door, but before departing, Hermione turned to face them. "Ron, what will you say when we get there?”
The boy gazed at her, remaining still for a minute, thinking of a reason.
"Just say you forgot something," Parkinson suggested, prompting Ron to glance at her. "My parents aren't that gullible, Parkinson."
Parkinson rolled her eyes. "Do you have a better idea, then?"
"Umm…"
"Granger, help him out, his brain's in overdrive," Nott remarked, causing the other two Slytherins to grin. Hermione could only shake her head.
"Will they let you leave again if you meet them?" She asks.
"I-I don't know. I don't think so," Ron replied. Hermione sighed and looked at them. She needed a backup plan. Her initial plan was to go with Ron while distracting his parents, but Draco was her primary concern. She couldn't let them see him; he was missing, and surely, many people were looking for him now.
"Wait, maybe we can ask for help from the twins, and they can distract your parents," Hermione suggested, and Ron's face instantly lit up.
"That would be a good idea, 'Mione. They're experts at distractions."
"So, can we go now?" Parkinson impatiently asked.
Hermione turned her back to them before walking outside. Arthur would most likely use the fireplace in the atrium to go home. They needed to get inside the Ministry for a while somehow.
Once inside the Ministry, they would double back and use the Floo Network. While waiting for Arthur, they could obtain hair from Ministry workers and then leave to prepare the Polyjuice Potion. After transforming into Ministry workers, they would finally sneak inside the Ministry.
That was the plan, and Hermione hoped it would be successful. If only Harry were here; then maybe Molly and Arthur would listen to them sensibly and offer their help.
Once outside, they cast Disillusionment Charms on themselves to conceal their identities.
"Follow me," she commanded and entered a bathroom, the group looking at her suspiciously. But she insisted.
"Don't you know about this? your father works at the ministry" She asked Draco silently, the boy then looked at her offendly.
"Our home is connected to the ministry, we don't do bathrooms, Granger"
"Oh" was the only thing she said as they continued to walk. There’s no need to act that way, I was just asking.
Their plan would have been much easier if Ron had gone home with his parents, but during the train ride home, he had insisted on going with her, as she was with people he didn't know. So, they were in for a hassle.
However, she hadn't told Ron about stealing from his dad beforehand, so maybe she should have done that.
Why am I so forgetful?
Inside the underground bathroom, there were a few people in line. She turned to the group and mouthed, "Try to get hair from Ministry workers now."
"Now?!" Ron silently shouted, to which she replied with a hush and a nod. The group looked at the people in line.
As they approached the line, Hermione exchanged a glance with Parkinson. They decided to split up with the boys, and headed towards the restroom marked "Ladies." Hermione was about to walk away when someone suddenly grasped her hand, causing her heart to skip a beat. She turned to see the familiar eyes that always met her gaze.
This time, she understood why he had pulled her aside.
"What about me, Granger?" he asked, his face wearing a frown.
"Well..." she replied, glancing back at the ladies' bathroom and then back to him. His expression fell as he realized his impending dilemma.
"I'm not going inside there!" he protested.
"Just walk quickly into the cubicle, and I'll follow right after." She said as she continued to walk inside. She could hear Draco grumbling and cursing under his breath as they went along. Hermione grinned, enjoying herself as he struggled with the situation.
Parkinson was already inside and appeared to be waiting for her. When the girl saw her, she immediately rolled her eyes. However, when she spotted Draco's blond hair, her eyes widened, and she scanned the room, noticing a few other witches inside.
Hermione looked at Parkinson, her eyes silently pleading for help to conceal Draco. She took a deep breath before shouting, "It hurts!"
The women inside immediately turned their attention to her, crowding around Parkinson to see what was wrong. This was the signal for the two of them to enter the restroom, and for Draco to quickly slip into a cubicle.
Parkinson put on an act, but once she saw that Draco had safely made it inside a cubicle, she discreetly plucked a hair from a nearby girl and used it to help herself stand up as if nothing had happened.
"Ouch!" the girl exclaimed when her hair was unexpectedly pulled, but Parkinson merely rolled her eyes and straightened her clothes. Hermione was taken aback by Parkinson's boldness. That could have easily been her if Draco and Ron hadn't intervened. She winced at the thought.
The girl confronted Parkinson, and the others in the restroom turned their attention to the escalating scene. "Did you see that? She pulled my hair!" the girl shouted.
"That's because you're my father's mistress, and just seeing you hurts," Parkinson declared dramatically, causing the others to gasp and cast accusing looks at the girl.
"That's not true!" she defended, but the others had already judged her and were ignoring her. Parkinson glanced at Hermione and smirked before revealing her hand full of hair strands.
Hermione showed an awkward smile commending her for getting the strand she needed. We only need one, but..
She’s Parkinson so she let her be and focused on her mission by tapping a girl near her and saying, "You've got something here," as she plucked a hair strand from the girl's shoulder. When she was done, she smiled at the girl, who returned the gesture and said, "Thank you."
"No worries," Hermione replied.
She then glanced at Parkinson, signaling for her to enter a cubicle. Once Parkinson did so, Hermione looked at the one in front of her, where Draco was hiding. His shoes were slightly visible from the outside. He’s uncomfortable and Hermione can feel it, to end his misery, she enters inside with a deep breath.
His cold eyes greeted her as she entered, and he stood awkwardly inside the tight cubicle. Hermione moved quickly and locked the door, realizing there was barely enough space for both of them.
"Scoot over," she instructed Draco, but he remained still, staring at her.
Hermione held his gaze, but it took a full minute before she remembered they had a mission to accomplish. She pushed Draco to the side, her hands on his shoulders. He looked at her hand and unexpectedly grabbed it, his eyes flickering.
"Let go," she protested, attempting to free her hand from his grip, but it tightened, causing her to wince.
"Draco, let go!" she whispered urgently, and those words seemed to prompt him to release her hand. She touched her hand and shot him an angry look. "Why did you do that?"
He grinned mischievously before replying, "I just wanted to."
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and retaliated by quickly grabbing his hand and squeezing it harder than he had squeezed hers. Draco gave her an amused look as she continued to struggle, trying to provoke a reaction from him.
Hermione looked perplexed and stopped her attempts before reaching for her wand. This time, it elicited a slight reaction from Draco.
"So feisty"
She was about to retort, but suddenly, a voice from outside their cubicle interrupted them.
"Hey! This is the ladies' bathroom, and I heard a guy in there. Do it in the bedroom for Merlin's sake."
Hermione blushed, and surprisingly, Draco did too. She suddenly thought about how Parkinson might react if she overheard the comment; Hermione would surely lose all her hair.
However, panic began to settle in as she realized they had been inside the cubicle for a few minutes, and the others must have already entered the Ministry.
Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and stepped onto the toilet, gesturing for him to do the same. He looked disgusted as he eyed the toilet, but he had no choice as she pushed him inside.
The two of them squeezed into the tight space, their bodies pressed close together, creating an awkward situation between them. Hermione could feel Draco's chest beating rapidly.
To avoid further awkwardness, she finally pulled the string to flush them into the Ministry.
Both of them were greeted by the sight of Ministry workers crowding the place. Hermione scanned the room anxiously, searching for Ron and the two Slytherins.
The last time she had been here, it was for Narcissa Malfoy's trial, and now she was back with her son, who was supposed to be dead.
Who would've thought?
"'Mione," a voice whispered, and she immediately turned towards the sound.
There stood Ron with Nott and Parkinson, hiding in a corner, all looking at them impatiently. Hermione and Draco walked towards them.
"What took you so long?" Parkinson irritatingly said.
"There's just–"
"Isn't that Lucius's kid who was missing?" a guy pointed to Draco, and their eyes went wide, making her heart race.
A lot of people stopped at their tracks and looked at them to check if the man's words were true. Some gasped confirming it. Draco's disappearance may have also been the talk of the town, much like Harry's.
"Let's go!" Hermione urged them, signaling to head back to the Floo network where they came from earlier.
"Ron, go with Nott and Parkinson, apparate to the Burrow!" she commanded, and Ron nodded instinctively, fueled by adrenaline. Ron held the two Slytherins' arms, ready to apparate, but it seemed Parkinson had been caught by a man.
The man held her by the waist, lifting her, and she struggled to break free. "That's her father!" Draco informed Hermione, about to dash to their aid, but Ron acted first, casting a spell.
"Everte Statum!"
Instantly, Parkinson's father was thrown backward. Without wasting a moment, Ron grabbed Parkinson and, along with Nott, disappeared into the fireplace to apparate.
In the end, they weren't able to wait for Arthur Weasley, and apparate discreetly at the burrow. It was a fail, and she can only hope that the next one succeeds.
Hermione glanced at Draco, whose eyes were relieved to see Parkinson saved. Following Ron's lead, she held his hand and stepped into the fireplace to apparate to the Burrow.
At the last moment, Hermione could swear she felt him holding her hands back, gripping it tightly as if unwilling to let go.