When Harry, Hermione, and Daphne arrived at the top of the staircase, they were confronted with a door. Harry glanced between the two women, frowning. "Well, this is a trap."
"Clearly," Daphne said sarcastically.
"We're going in, aren't we?" Hermione asked despairingly.
Harry grinned and pulled the door open, a blinding white light overwhelmed them, but faded as quickly as it appeared. When Harry and Daphne lowered their arms, they found themselves in a large hall, empty but for a large pile of rags at the opposite end from where they were standing. The two glanced around worriedly and then back to each other.
"Harry, where's Hermione?" Daphne asked.
A chuckle emanated from the rags, drawing their attention. Harry cautiously approached with his wand raised. "Hello? Do you know where our friend is?"
The chuckling turned into a cackle as an eye peered at Harry from within the rags. "Your friend is dead, or she will be soon. The mudblood is going to get the bite."
Hermione lowered her arms to find herself alone in the corridor. She scowled and drew her wand. "Ok, deep breath Granger, you've got this."
Moving cautiously forward, Hermione kept a keen awareness of her surroundings. Her footsteps echoed off the walls, making her feel even more alone. As she walked, she started hearing footsteps ahead of her. She slowed to a stop, tightening her grip on her wand.
"Who's there?"
"I'm disappointed Miss Granger, who'd have thought you'd forget your former teacher?"
"Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked, lowering her wand slightly.
"I was, once, now I'm just Remus. I had a steady job, a future, until you ruined it."
"I-I… I didn't do it deliberately!" Hermione protested.
"You figured out I was a werewolf and told the entire school! Because of you I had to resign! I lost my self-respect, my well-paying job, my hope for the future… FOR WHAT?!"
Hermione had tears running down her face now. She had figured out Remus was a werewolf first, she'd talked to Professor McGonagall about it, who assured her that he was safe to be teaching children. But an errant comment in Lavender's presence had quickly spread that knowledge around the school.
It wasn't until after the incident in the Shrieking Shack that people began demanding Remus be sacked. But Hermione had always felt a bit of guilt for having a tangential hand in outing Remus, so to speak.
"I will never forgive you; you jumped up little mudblood. You ruined my life, so I'm going to ruin yours," Remus hissed, glaring at Hermione.
Hermione raised her wand. "Don't come any closer, I will use this."
Remus laughed. "Do you think that will stop me? I'm a werewolf," he said as the corridor changed around them, shifting until the ceiling and walls were gone and they were standing on a long narrow section of roof. "And the moon is out."
Hermione's eyes widened as Remus howled, she could hear and see his bones contorting beneath his skin, lengthening his arms and legs, and turning his face into a snout. Lupin growled at her, baring his sharp teeth. "Start running, mudblood. I'm going to make you suffer, before I turn you into the thing you hate."
"Potter, stop!" Daphne yelled, reaching out and grabbing Harry by the arm. She intercepted him halfway to the man buried under rags.
"Greengrass, Hermione is in danger…" Harry began angrily before Daphne cut him off.
"I know, but threatening our only source of information isn't going to help anyone. Use your brain for once, instead of rushing into a situation like a bullheaded Gryffindor."
Harry glared at Daphne, but reluctantly nodded. He turned his attention to the man buried in rags once again. "What do you mean, she's going to get the bite, where is Hermione?"
"The little mudblood is going to pay for what she did, she's going to pay for her sins. The little mudblood has been a bad girl, and now he's going to ruin her life. Not even you'll want her when she's howling at the moon."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Why would a werewolf attack Hermione, she's never done anything… oh…"
"Potter?"
Harry frowned. "Do you remember when Snape taught a defense lesson one time in third year?" Harry asked to which Daphne nodded. "Hermione worked out that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, and she mentioned it in passing while Lavender was in earshot. It got around and after Professor Lupin was set loose on school grounds at the end of the year, the headmaster had to sack him."
"Wasn't it Snape who told everyone?"
Harry glanced at Daphne who shrugged her shoulders. "That's how I remember it."
"Maybe he did, all I know is Hermione felt guilty after it was over. Even though it wasn't her fault."
"Yes, it was, Potter, it was her fault and now she's going to suffer for it," The man under the rags replied. "She'll suffer even more when she sees how I've decorated the walls of this corridor with your guts."
Harry spotted it first, shoving Daphne out of the way as the man in the rags dove at them with a knife. When Harry rolled onto his back, letting off a couple of stunners in response he almost stopped himself.
Standing between Harry and Daphne was a ragged and dirty looking Sirius Black. His eyes darted between them wildly, as if he expected an attack at any moment. He snarled at Harry, waving his knife in the raven-haired boy's general direction.
"Sirius… why?" Harry pleaded, staring worriedly at his godfather.
"Toujours Pur!" Sirius hissed.
"Always pure," Daphne translated for Harry's benefit.
"It's been my family's motto for generations, and I refuse to hand it over to a mudblood lover like you. I won't let you sully my family's legacy by marrying that little bitch."
Harry's eyes darkened and started glowing with power and rage. "You're not the Sirius I know, the Sirius I know would never use disgusting language like that against the woman I… the woman I love."
Sirius caught the deflated look on Daphne's face out of the corner of his eyes and sneered at Harry. "Whoops, I guess you didn't tell your other girlfriend you love the mudblood. What a shame when she had her heart set on becoming a Potter."
"Daphne…?" Harry said, looking uncertainly at the blonde.
"This isn't the time, Harry, we can talk about it later," Daphne said angrily, glaring at Sirius.
"What do you think you can say that will make him love you? Embrace your heritage, help me kill him, relieve yourself of this burden."
"Diffendo!"
"Protego!" Sirius yelled, grunting when the spell impacted his shield. "You little…"
"Fuck you, you can't make me betray Harry. I won't, I came back to save him and nothing you or Voldemort can do will stop me doing that," Daphne said angrily, her magic flaring out around her.
"Your friend certainly has spirit," Voldemort said, running his fingers down the screen they were using to watch events unfold. "She knows Potter will never love her the way she wants. And yet she defends him."
"Daphne is tougher than she looks, she had to be…" Hermione said quietly, dropping her head. "It wasn't about making Harry love her. We did this to save him."
"Is that really the only reason? Didn't you wish you could have been the one sent back. Stepping into the shoes of your younger self so you could fulfill your dream?"
"That's not true!" Hermione protested.
"Isn't it? I can see inside your mind. We may be inside your precious Harry's mind, but this corner is my domain. I decide what happens here, and I see all. I know you've thought about it since you came back. How you resent her, and your younger self. You can try and deny it, but I've seen the truth."
"You're a professional liar, if you told me the sky was blue I wouldn't believe you…" Hermione said bitterly. Despite her words, she knew there was an inkling of truth.
It had been an occasional passing thought, about how she might hijack the body of her younger self, and make all her dreams come true. But she'd immediately dismissed it out of hand. She'd never be able to live with the guilt of taking away her younger self's future or Daphne's dream.
"What is worse, me lying to you, or lying to yourself?"
Hermione jumped backwards as Remus slashed at her with his claws. He growled at her as she waved her wand at him. She knew it was pointless, magic would splash off Remus's hide. But if it made him hesitate even for a second, that would be extra time she could use to formulate a plan.
Hermione pointed her wand down at Remus's feet and cast a blasting curse. Remus shut his eyes and turned his head, the splinters from the wood getting tangled in his fur. When Remus looked again, Hermione was running away.
"You can't get away Granger! I won't let you escape!" Remus snarled as he bounded after her.
Hermione had no idea where she was going, all she knew is she needed to create distance to formulate a plan. Seeing a window appear up ahead she pulled up her hood and covered her hands with her robe and dove for it.
Voldemort spun around and glared at the crystal behind him. He grit his teeth, knowing he couldn't lash out like he wanted. He needed to keep calm, the girl was his objective.
Voldemort walked away from the crystal and resumed pacing in front of Hermione, rotating his wrist. "You could have come back and saved the man you love, Miss Granger, but you chose to be stupidly noble. The worst trait of a Gryffindor. What has it gotten you? Only suffering."
"Are you building to some kind of point?" Hermione asked acerbically.
"It's not too late to fulfill your dreams, if you're willing to work with me," Voldemort said, extending his hand.
"Enough talk! It's time for you to die, I won't let any of you take my family legacy and soil it with your filth!" Sirius screamed, slashing his blade through the air going from Harry to Daphne and back. "You'll both die today, and I'll leave your corpses to rot, until your pretty little girlfriend stumbles across them and I slit her throat."
"You're not touching anyone. This ends now," Harry stated coldly, raising his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!" Sirius bellowed, launching his sickly green killing curse at his godson.
"Bombada!" Harry yelled, aiming at the floor to blast debris into the path of the killing curse.
"Diffindo!" Daphne said, casting another cutting curse in Sirius's direction, he snapped a shield up at the last moment.
That distraction allowed Harry to fire off his signature spell, relieving Sirius of his wand. Harry immediately snapped it over his knee and tossed it away.
"HARRY! LOOK OUT!!"
Harry tried to raise his wand, but it was too late. While Harry was distracted, Sirius had lunged forward, burying his blade into Harry's chest. The weight of Sirius's body pushed him into the wall.
Sirius cackled as he got up, yanking the blade out of Harry's chest. "You stupid boy, you should pay more attention," Sirius said, licking Harry's blood off the knife as he collected Harry's discarded wand, he cast a petrifying charm on Harry and smirked. "Why don't you sit here like a good little Gryffindor, and watch me gut your girlfriend."
Sirius grinned as he spun around, twirling Harry's wand between his fingers. "You could have been such a good pureblood wife. But you chose to throw it all away for a mudblood loving half-blood. Maybe your sister will be less of a disappointment."
"I refuse to dignify your empty threats with a response," Daphne haughtily said. "You're a sad little man who shirked his responsibility to chase petty revenge. I pity you, Harry deserves so much better."
"You have no idea who I am or what I went through. I tried to be a good little soldier for Dumbledore, I tried to be a good friend. I ENDED UP IN PRISON! TEN YEARS OF MY LIFE SUFFERING! NO ONE WORRIED ABOUT ME! NO ONE CAME TO SAVE ME! NO ONE TRIED TO DEFEND ME! They all believed I was as bad as my relatives, so fuck you, fuck Potter, fuck everyone. I will embrace my heritage and rid the world of the filth. Starting with you."
Neither Voldemort nor Hermione were paying attention to the screens showing the fights going on below. Voldemort had muted the sound so as not to interrupt their discussion.
Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock, she was speechless for a few beats before she began laughing. "Are you out of your tiny little mind? Why would I work with someone I hate? I spent years trying to destroy you, now you want us to work together?"
"Don't you want to save the boy you love? Are you really willing to throw away your last chance? You could spend the rest of eternity with him while the world burns down around you. All you have to do is join me."
Hermione stared at his extended hand, she knew he was evil and was most likely lying. But what if he wasn't, what if she could save Harry. A life, even in a fantasy, would be better than nothing.
"You may hate me, but your dream is in touching distance. All you have to do is reach out and grab it."
Hermione raced down the corridor with Remus close behind. He cackled as he rounded the turn bouncing off the wall to maintain momentum. "Keep running, make this fun for me. If you entertain me, I might keep you alive a little longer. I'll let you watch as I rip your boyfriend's throat out."
"BOMBARDA!"
Hermione spun around and fired off the blasting curse, but instead of aiming at Remus, she pointed her wand at the ceiling. Reflexively Remus skidded to a halt, shielding his face with his arms. He realized too late that she wasn't aiming at him as he was buried in stone and masonry.
Breathing heavily out of exhaustion and fear, Hermione turned and started running, knowing she'd only bought herself a minute or two. Logically, she knew she shouldn't be afraid, none of this was real. But Voldemort was doing a good job of making this feel real, and provoking a visceral reaction out of them. Hermione dearly hoped Harry would let her punch him in the face eventually.
'I need somewhere I can fight him, I need somewhere…' Hermione thought to herself as she ran by a window and into the shadows cast by the wall beyond. Hermione slowed down to a stop as she stepped into the moonlight again and her eyes widened. 'I need somewhere the moon's light can't reach!' She said in her head, worried Remus might overhear her.
Hearing the sound of stone being pushed aside at the other end of the corridor signaled it was time to resume running. Hermione darted around a corner and out of Remus's sight.
"Protego!" Daphne yelled, snapping a shield into place to block Sirius's blasting curse. She grunted as she felt the magical backlash pass through her body.
"You're so weak, little girl, if you surrender now, I might consider giving you a swift death," Sirius said as he advanced on her.
"You're impressively powerful, but I am better," Daphne bluffed. She recognised that Sirius was dangerously stronger than her. She was magically powerful, but she wasn't an adult anymore. Her magic was still developing, she couldn't keep up with a fully grown adult right now. In a few years she would have magic to spare, but she wasn't there yet.
Sirius sneered at her, likely knowing she was bluffing. "Oh, then please, don't let me stop you."
Daphne scowled, letting her eyes dart over to Harry, for a half second. She needed to fight smarter, not harder, and find an advantage she could exploit. She already knew Sirius had a short temper, and someone blinded by rage could be manipulated into making a mistake.
Daphne looked behind Sirius, taking note of the structure of the corridor. She wondered to herself, if she could use the decorative molding as a weapon, if she got him angry enough. The trick would be getting him angry enough to force a lapse in concentration, but not so angry he tried to stab her to death.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I know you by reputation, and by what my mother told me. But I never expected to meet you like this."
Sirius spat on the ground. "Another blood traitor. You'd think being married to Joseph Greengrass would have put some sense into the stupid woman."
It took all of Daphne's Occlumency to keep her face neutral, and let the slight against her beloved mother go unchallenged. "What an utter disappointment you've turned out to be. You failed at being both a pureblood and a blood traitor. What does that make you? A muggle."
Sirius's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Watch your tongue girl, unless you want me to cut it out."
"Do you think your threats work on me? I am a Greengrass, the heiress to the most powerful family in Britain. One day I will be Lady Greengrass, and my husband will be the puppet with which I control the magical world. As it has always been."
"My family is among the twenty eight oldest magical families in Great Britain, we sit above all others, no one is superior to us!?" Sirius screamed, his eyes darting around the room and his body shaking in rage.
"The Black family has been a disgrace to the wizarding world for generations. Your ancestors may have held sway in the halls of power, but that was decades ago. The Black family is a joke, Lucius Malfoy wanted your title because he thought, in his tiny mind, it still meant a damn. But everyone with a brain knew the truth."
"I'm going to kill you!" Sirius screamed as he dived at Daphne.
"Bombarda!" Daphne shouted, thrusting her wand into the air.
Sirius put up a shield to block Daphne's spell, but when it passed over his head he began to laugh. "Stupid gi…"
Sirius was cut off by the ceiling collapsing on top of him. Daphne put up a shield of her own to block the debris from hitting her. Daphne skirted around the edge of the debris pile with her wand out, waiting.
Spotting movement under the rubble, Daphne raised her wand. She knew it was dangerous to wait, but she didn't want to risk only wounding him. She needed to end this and get back to Harry.
When Sirius's head emerged from the debris, Daphne tightened the grip on her wand and fired. "Bombada."
Sirius was unable to avoid the spell, trapped as he was in the debris. His head was blown clean off his shoulders, but to Daphne's relief the spectre disappeared before the blood and viscera decorated the landscape.
Daphne rushed over to Harry, sliding to a stop on her knees. "Harry, say something." She pleaded, pressing her hands against the wound in hopes of stemming the bleeding.
Harry grunted, letting out short rasping breaths. "I'm ok, it's just a flesh wound."
"You're such an idiot, Potter, that Gryffindor arrogance almost got you killed," Daphne said as she tore strips off his robe to wrap around his wound.
Harry grinned lazily as his eyes became glassy from the pain. "I always knew you wanted to get me naked."
"Shut up," Daphne replied, blushing.
Running through a maze of corridors, Hermione was looking for anything that would even the odds between herself and Remus. She stumbled to a stop in front of a familiar trophy cabinet. Her eyes narrowed, spotting something shiny, glinting in the moonlight. Shedding her robe, Hermione wrapped her hand tightly and reared back, smashing the glass.
Hermione took her prize, admiring it for a moment before sliding it into her skirt. Hermione knew she had one last thing to find, an appropriate setting for their fight.
"He is suffering, you could save him. And yet you sit here, refusing to raise a hand in defense of the boy you claim to love. It is a regrettable situation," Voldemort opined as the two watched Daphne try to save Harry's life.
Hermione tore her eyes away from the screen, looking down at the ground as tears welled in her eyes. She hated being so powerless. She thought coming back would be enough. She had faith that Daphne would be able to do all the work on her own.
Hermione had listened to Harry's sham trial from the safety of her tiny house. She'd even mustered the courage to listen as they condemned him to the veil. But she'd never tried to help, never visited while he was being held by the Ministry.
She didn't even try to determine whether the allegations were false. She knew in her heart that Harry wouldn't dabble in necromancy. But she knew she should have found verifiable proof, if only for her peace of mind.
Why hadn't she tried to help Harry, her best friend, the man she loved? Was it resentment? Harry had chosen Ginny over her in the future, he seemingly hadn't even considered her as a romantic partner. It was only now with Ron out of the way, that they'd grown close enough for her younger self to have the courage to confess.
Did Harry's future self never love her the way she loved him? Did she miss her chance in her own past?
"So, what will it be, Miss Granger? Will you save your young Harry, or let him suffer and die? This is your last chance. Decide now."
"I…"
Remus emerged from the rubble with hate in his eyes. He was planning to draw out Granger's suffering, she was going to find out why you never cross a werewolf. Inching forward, Remus approached the end of the corridor cautiously, he couldn't afford to underestimate Granger. She'd caught him unaware once, and he wouldn't let her do it again.
Remus's nose twitched, there was a strong scent of Granger drifting towards him from the left. Remus growled and bounded down the corridor, drawn by the scent and the blood lust pumping through his veins. He wanted to end Granger, and he would in the most painful way possible.
Remus followed Hermione's scent through a maze of corridors until he emerged into the Hogwarts entrance hall. He stopped and walked in a circle, eyeing off the staircases flanking the exterior door. But the scent didn't go out the door, it took a path further in, the Great Hall.
Remus bared his teeth, as he burst through the doors of the Great Hall. He cast his head around, searching for Hermione. He spun around when he heard the doors slam behind him, swallowing him in darkness. It was then he realized what the little bitch had planned. He felt his body shrinking as he returned to human form.
Remus immediately brandished his wand, trying to find Hermione's scent in the darkened room. Tightening his grip on his wand, Remus spun around, into a blade wielded by Hermione Granger.
Remus staggered, grasping his neck as blood splattered the floor in front of him. Hermione waved her wand and the fire burst forth from the sconces. As the life drained from Remus's body, his eyes darted down to the silver blade, stained with his blood.
"A long dead Goblin king, gifted this blade to the school. In recognition of the efforts of a long forgotten headmaster to cure a plague that was devastating the population that lived under Gringotts."
"It was a gift that was meant to signify peace between the magical and goblin communities. Now it's stained with the blood of hatred. I'm sorry."
Remus looked like he wanted to say something, but he fell to the ground in a heap, as blood pooled around him.
Slowly the Great Hall faded, taking Remus with it. Leaving, Hermione, Daphne, and Harry back where they started. Hermione saw the two sitting on the ground and rushed over, hugging Harry. "Are you two ok?"
Harry kissed Hermione on the head and smiled. "We are now. You missed a hell of a show, Hermione, Daphne was brilliant."
Daphne blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Harry."
"Are you ok?" Harry asked.
"I am now," Hermione replied, snuggling into Harry's chest.
Harry extended his arm to Daphne and she reluctantly shuffled over to press herself against him. Normally she would have resisted, but after fighting Sirius, she needed the comfort of another.
After some time passed, the three stood up and collected themselves. Harry glanced around, frowning. "Um, I don't see a set of stairs?"
"Maybe it's further down the corridor," Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, maybe," Harry agreed.
The three began walking before a voice drew them back. "Harry?"
Turning around, Daphne gasped. "Hermione!"
Harry and Hermione found themselves face to face with Hermione from the future for the second time. Daphne rushed towards her friend before realizing Hermione had run past her towards Harry.
Older Hermione embraced Harry and smiled. "You're safe, I was so worried. But don't worry, I won't let anyone harm you, ever again."
Before any of the three could say or do anything, they were consumed in a white light.