Fanfic [HP]: A Posteriori [02/12]
Title: A Posteriori
Category: Harry Potter
Character/Pairings: Eventual Hermione/Fred, Trio centric + Sirius and the Twins!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling & Bloomsbury, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Rating: M15
Word Count: 1,886 words
Spoilers: PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP & DH.
Warnings: AU, Character death (temporary!)
Summary: After all, it was a well known fact that horrible things happened to those who meddled with time. These facts were known to every single Unspeakable working within the Department with clearance high enough. These facts were written in sealed Ministry records, kept under lock and key within the deepest vaults of the Ministry. Until 1997, wherein the timelines diverged - and Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Bilius Weasley succeeded in doing what the world had thought to be impossible. They changed history.
Notes: Props to Enigma for both main and chapter titles. A Posteriori Chapter Index can be found HERE
[02] Feel Me Heaven
Of course, once this had happened, the Unspeakables had to make a decision. The two had ripped apart the fabric of time, had changed destinies. It was a crime worthy of consecutive life sentences in Azkaban - yet, they had done it for the good of the Wizarding World. Voldemort could not be allowed to win, their Seers had been unmovable on that front.
So the Unspeakables watched avidly, waiting for their chance. There was so much to learn - what had happened in the original timeline to make the two teenagers risk everything?
~~***~~
Hermione stared into the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, attempting to assimilate her thoughts. It was a rather odd experience, being almost eighteen years old and having to be stuck in her fourteen year old body. Merlin, she was going to have to go through puberty again. Sometimes there was truly no justice in the world. Crookshanks was curled in her lap - and oh, that was a whole other can of worms wasn't it?
What on earth were they going to do about Scabbers?
"Merlin's beard, but this is bloody well messed up, isn't it?" Ron let out a groan as he collapsed onto the sofa next to her. Hermione snorted. If that wasn't the understatement of the year, she didn't know what it was.
"Where's Harry?" They needed to discuss certain things and their bespectacled friend could not be around when they did.
"Fred and George dragged him off - something about hiding from Oliver? Dunno, really." The redhead shrugged, stretching himself over the armrest.
"Is Scabbers around?" Okay, she was really going to have to work on not snarling that name out. Ron bolted upright, his eyes going wide.
"Oh, bloody buggering fuck." The expletive caught the attention of some of the first year girls, who looked at each other before bursting into giggles.
"Ronald!" The tips of his ears went bright red, a sure sign that his temper was starting to build. "Ron, calm down - he's just a rat, remember?"
"He's upstairs, sleeping, I think."
"Good - you're just going to have to get a nice little cage." Ron looked at her askance. "Well, if he keeps getting loose, who knows what Crookshanks might do to him!"
"That's brilliant - but what's to stop him from, you know," Ron paused, knowing he couldn't say the words on the off chance that someone was eavesdropping.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm thinking something like the Azkajar I used on that annoying beetle a few years ago should do the trick."
"What are you guys talking about?" Ginny popped out from behind the sofa, cradling Scabbers in her hands. "Ron, you should really start taking better care of him you know - I almost stepped on him!"
"Great loss that would be, I'm sure." Hermione's muttered comments were just audible enough for Ron to hear, who snickered. "Don't worry Gin, we were just mentioning that we were going to get a cage for Scabbers - that way he wouldn't have to worry about anything and he'd be able to get all the rest that the shopkeeper said he needed!" Crookshanks caught sight of the rat and hissed, fighting to get out of Hermione's arms.
"Do you think McGonagall will transfigure something into a cage for me then?"
"Well, I could probably do it, if you had something to change." Ginny shot Hermione a startled look as Ron bolted up the dormitory stairs.
"But permanent transfigurations are OWL level work Hermione!"
"Uh, I read ahead?" Hermione blushed. "Plus, it's not exactly a permanent transfiguration, is it? I can renew the spell until the first Hogsmeade weekend, anyway."
Ron thundered back down the stairs, nearly bowling over Colin Creevy who merely shrugged and snapped a photograph. "Will this do Hermione?" He held out a small mesh ball to Hermione who examined it for a moment before nodding.
"Yup, this is perfect." A subtle twirl of her wand and a muttered incantation later, a wire cage sat on the sofa between the two third years.
"Wicked." Ginny grinned, gently placing Scabbers into the cage. Hermione slammed the door shut quickly, and flicked her wand again rapidly, causing a soft yellow glow to settle over the cage and Scabbers, who scurried around nervously. "Whoa, what was that?"
"Oh, that was just to make sure that Crookshanks can't get through the mesh." Scabbers visibly relaxed, settling into a corner.
Ron smirked, his blue eyes hard as he stared down at the oblivious rat. "Azkacage?"
"Na, doesn't quite have the same ring to it."
"You two are mental." Ginny shook her head in disbelief, staring between the two. "I'm off to bed now though, so I'll see you at breakfast, I suppose."
"We know." Hermione grinned, running her hands through Crookshanks' fur. "G'night Gin," she called to the retreating girl.
~~***~~
“Hey, are you still using the, you know,” Ron pointed to his watch in an attempt to get his point across. “You’re not going to do all those classes again, are you?”
Hermione shrugged, looking around for Harry. Oliver Wood had pounced on him as they’d been leaving the common room, and if he didn’t get away soon, he’d miss breakfast. “Well, it’s not like I can just suddenly decide to drop everything, Ron.”
“But you almost went mental last time!”
“Yes, well, it should be easier this time around,” lowering her voice, Hermione continued. “Plus, what if I need it to save Snuffles again?”
“Snuffles? Why Miss Granger, do you have -”
“A pet name for someone?”
Hermione groaned as the twins appeared from behind, each slinging an arm around her shoulder. Ron’s siblings had an unfortunate habit of popping out at the worst times. “Go away.”
“Now, now, Granger, that’s -”
“Not very nice of you is it?”
“Shove off, will you?” Ron rolled his eyes, snickering when they huffed dramatically.
“Look at that Gred, Granger’s been corrupting our little brother!” George tugged on Hermione’s hair playfully, grinning when she swatted his hand away.
“I say, Forge, do you think Mum knows how much of a bad influence she is?” Fred teased, reaching across her to tap George on the shoulder.
Hermione groaned again, feeling her temper rising. There was so much that they still had to talk about and with the twins around, that was going to be impossible. Also, they were quite a bit taller than her and walking squished between them was more than a little awkward. “It is far too early in the morning to deal with the two of you,” she ducked out from underneath their arms, fighting back a laugh as they pouted.
“Hermione!” Harry’s voice rang through the corridor and they all turned around to see the raven haired Seeker running up to them, breathing heavily. “C’mon, we’re going to be late!” Hermione threw him a startled glance as he tugged on her arm, pulling her forward.
“Harry, what are you doing?” She pulled at her robes in an attempt to keep from tripping, shrugging when Ron looked at her, confused. “What are we going to be late for?”
“What’d you mean, Hermione?” Harry slowed to a walk, hurriedly taking her bag from her. “We have to meet with the new Defence professor this morning, remember?”
“Huh?” Hermione stopped, exchanging a startled glance with Ron. “When did this happen?”
“Hermione, are you alright? He told us on the train yesterday, said he needed to talk to us about something important. Now c’mon, we’re going to be late!”
They started walking again, slowly breaking out into a run to keep up with Harry, while her mind worked furiously. This had never happened in the first timeline, or in any of the others. In fact, she hadn’t spoken to Remus until the first Defence lesson. Harry knocked into someone, yelled out a hasty apology and tugged on Hermione and Ron until they were all sprinting through the corridors.
They slid to a quick stop in front of the classroom, Hermione knocking into Harry as she stumbled. “Ah, there you three are.” The door swung open of its own accord and they walked in to see Lupin sitting at his desk. “I was beginning to think that you’d decided not to come, after all.”
“Sorry Professor, we got a little sidetracked.” Hermione remained silent, quite willing to let Harry do all the talking for once. She was far too busy trying to figure out what they’d changed, but she was more than a little confused. They hadn’t merged until after they’d arrived at Hogwarts, so what could they possibly have done?
“That’s quite alright, Harry, er, Mr. Potter,” Remus stumbled over Harry’s name before continuing. “I wanted to talk to you about your reactions to the Dementors on the train yesterday.”
Hermione inhaled sharply - in the original timeline, it’d been Harry who’d fainted. Who knew how the Hermione and Ron in this timeline had reacted? Standing next to her, Ron tensed, his eyes wary.
“What about our reactions?” Hermione had never been so thankful for Harry’s defensive nature.
“To be honest Mr. Potter, it isn’t so much your reaction that I was concerned about - given what you have gone through in your short life, it is more than understandable.” Lupin’s eyes fell on Hermione and Ron, the blue both familiar and unknown all at the same time. “However, the effect the Dementors had on both Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley here was most interesting.”
Hermione felt Harry’s gaze on her but couldn’t look away from Lupin’s eyes. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean Professor,” she said softly, attempting to keep her voice steady. Lupin’s eyes narrowed, his gaze searching.
“And you, Mr. Weasley?”
Ron shifted next to her, hands clenching into fists. “Honestly, Professor?” Hermione’s breath hitched - surely he wouldn’t tell? “I don’t remember much about the train ride yesterday at all. I don’t have a clue how I reacted.”
Hermione’s heart rate settled into a steady rhythm as she continued to stare at Lupin. “I don’t mean to be rude, Professor, but breakfast will be over soon and we still have to get our timetables’ from Professor McGonagall.”
“Oh, of course.” Lupin’s sharp gaze softened into a smile. “I didn’t mean to keep you - now, run along and I shall see the three of you in class.”
They left the room hurriedly, Harry relinquishing Hermione’s satchel. Ron gave her a startled glance, and Hermione shrugged, utterly confused.
“What the bloody hell was that?” They fell back minutely, enough so that Ron’s harsh whisper couldn’t be heard by Harry. Hermione watched the back of his head pensively, brown eyes concerned.
“I have no idea.”
~~***~~
In the Time Room, a small change was noted. Nobody, not even the Unspeakables, could have discerned just how much a lack of reaction could have changed things so much. The incident on the train occurred before the merge, so the Unspeakables were at a loss to explain why things had been changed, much in the same way as Hermione Granger. Of course, neither the Unspeakables nor Hermione Granger were aware of the others’ confusion on the matter - that however, was soon to change.
After all, it is a fact widely known that even the smallest butterfly flapping its wings can cause widespread devastation a thousand miles away.
[x] Reviews are much appreciated!
Category: Harry Potter
Character/Pairings: Eventual Hermione/Fred, Trio centric + Sirius and the Twins!
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling & Bloomsbury, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Rating: M15
Word Count: 1,886 words
Spoilers: PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP & DH.
Warnings: AU, Character death (temporary!)
Summary: After all, it was a well known fact that horrible things happened to those who meddled with time. These facts were known to every single Unspeakable working within the Department with clearance high enough. These facts were written in sealed Ministry records, kept under lock and key within the deepest vaults of the Ministry. Until 1997, wherein the timelines diverged - and Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Bilius Weasley succeeded in doing what the world had thought to be impossible. They changed history.
Notes: Props to Enigma for both main and chapter titles. A Posteriori Chapter Index can be found HERE
[02] Feel Me Heaven
Of course, once this had happened, the Unspeakables had to make a decision. The two had ripped apart the fabric of time, had changed destinies. It was a crime worthy of consecutive life sentences in Azkaban - yet, they had done it for the good of the Wizarding World. Voldemort could not be allowed to win, their Seers had been unmovable on that front.
So the Unspeakables watched avidly, waiting for their chance. There was so much to learn - what had happened in the original timeline to make the two teenagers risk everything?
~~***~~
Hermione stared into the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, attempting to assimilate her thoughts. It was a rather odd experience, being almost eighteen years old and having to be stuck in her fourteen year old body. Merlin, she was going to have to go through puberty again. Sometimes there was truly no justice in the world. Crookshanks was curled in her lap - and oh, that was a whole other can of worms wasn't it?
What on earth were they going to do about Scabbers?
"Merlin's beard, but this is bloody well messed up, isn't it?" Ron let out a groan as he collapsed onto the sofa next to her. Hermione snorted. If that wasn't the understatement of the year, she didn't know what it was.
"Where's Harry?" They needed to discuss certain things and their bespectacled friend could not be around when they did.
"Fred and George dragged him off - something about hiding from Oliver? Dunno, really." The redhead shrugged, stretching himself over the armrest.
"Is Scabbers around?" Okay, she was really going to have to work on not snarling that name out. Ron bolted upright, his eyes going wide.
"Oh, bloody buggering fuck." The expletive caught the attention of some of the first year girls, who looked at each other before bursting into giggles.
"Ronald!" The tips of his ears went bright red, a sure sign that his temper was starting to build. "Ron, calm down - he's just a rat, remember?"
"He's upstairs, sleeping, I think."
"Good - you're just going to have to get a nice little cage." Ron looked at her askance. "Well, if he keeps getting loose, who knows what Crookshanks might do to him!"
"That's brilliant - but what's to stop him from, you know," Ron paused, knowing he couldn't say the words on the off chance that someone was eavesdropping.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm thinking something like the Azkajar I used on that annoying beetle a few years ago should do the trick."
"What are you guys talking about?" Ginny popped out from behind the sofa, cradling Scabbers in her hands. "Ron, you should really start taking better care of him you know - I almost stepped on him!"
"Great loss that would be, I'm sure." Hermione's muttered comments were just audible enough for Ron to hear, who snickered. "Don't worry Gin, we were just mentioning that we were going to get a cage for Scabbers - that way he wouldn't have to worry about anything and he'd be able to get all the rest that the shopkeeper said he needed!" Crookshanks caught sight of the rat and hissed, fighting to get out of Hermione's arms.
"Do you think McGonagall will transfigure something into a cage for me then?"
"Well, I could probably do it, if you had something to change." Ginny shot Hermione a startled look as Ron bolted up the dormitory stairs.
"But permanent transfigurations are OWL level work Hermione!"
"Uh, I read ahead?" Hermione blushed. "Plus, it's not exactly a permanent transfiguration, is it? I can renew the spell until the first Hogsmeade weekend, anyway."
Ron thundered back down the stairs, nearly bowling over Colin Creevy who merely shrugged and snapped a photograph. "Will this do Hermione?" He held out a small mesh ball to Hermione who examined it for a moment before nodding.
"Yup, this is perfect." A subtle twirl of her wand and a muttered incantation later, a wire cage sat on the sofa between the two third years.
"Wicked." Ginny grinned, gently placing Scabbers into the cage. Hermione slammed the door shut quickly, and flicked her wand again rapidly, causing a soft yellow glow to settle over the cage and Scabbers, who scurried around nervously. "Whoa, what was that?"
"Oh, that was just to make sure that Crookshanks can't get through the mesh." Scabbers visibly relaxed, settling into a corner.
Ron smirked, his blue eyes hard as he stared down at the oblivious rat. "Azkacage?"
"Na, doesn't quite have the same ring to it."
"You two are mental." Ginny shook her head in disbelief, staring between the two. "I'm off to bed now though, so I'll see you at breakfast, I suppose."
"We know." Hermione grinned, running her hands through Crookshanks' fur. "G'night Gin," she called to the retreating girl.
~~***~~
“Hey, are you still using the, you know,” Ron pointed to his watch in an attempt to get his point across. “You’re not going to do all those classes again, are you?”
Hermione shrugged, looking around for Harry. Oliver Wood had pounced on him as they’d been leaving the common room, and if he didn’t get away soon, he’d miss breakfast. “Well, it’s not like I can just suddenly decide to drop everything, Ron.”
“But you almost went mental last time!”
“Yes, well, it should be easier this time around,” lowering her voice, Hermione continued. “Plus, what if I need it to save Snuffles again?”
“Snuffles? Why Miss Granger, do you have -”
“A pet name for someone?”
Hermione groaned as the twins appeared from behind, each slinging an arm around her shoulder. Ron’s siblings had an unfortunate habit of popping out at the worst times. “Go away.”
“Now, now, Granger, that’s -”
“Not very nice of you is it?”
“Shove off, will you?” Ron rolled his eyes, snickering when they huffed dramatically.
“Look at that Gred, Granger’s been corrupting our little brother!” George tugged on Hermione’s hair playfully, grinning when she swatted his hand away.
“I say, Forge, do you think Mum knows how much of a bad influence she is?” Fred teased, reaching across her to tap George on the shoulder.
Hermione groaned again, feeling her temper rising. There was so much that they still had to talk about and with the twins around, that was going to be impossible. Also, they were quite a bit taller than her and walking squished between them was more than a little awkward. “It is far too early in the morning to deal with the two of you,” she ducked out from underneath their arms, fighting back a laugh as they pouted.
“Hermione!” Harry’s voice rang through the corridor and they all turned around to see the raven haired Seeker running up to them, breathing heavily. “C’mon, we’re going to be late!” Hermione threw him a startled glance as he tugged on her arm, pulling her forward.
“Harry, what are you doing?” She pulled at her robes in an attempt to keep from tripping, shrugging when Ron looked at her, confused. “What are we going to be late for?”
“What’d you mean, Hermione?” Harry slowed to a walk, hurriedly taking her bag from her. “We have to meet with the new Defence professor this morning, remember?”
“Huh?” Hermione stopped, exchanging a startled glance with Ron. “When did this happen?”
“Hermione, are you alright? He told us on the train yesterday, said he needed to talk to us about something important. Now c’mon, we’re going to be late!”
They started walking again, slowly breaking out into a run to keep up with Harry, while her mind worked furiously. This had never happened in the first timeline, or in any of the others. In fact, she hadn’t spoken to Remus until the first Defence lesson. Harry knocked into someone, yelled out a hasty apology and tugged on Hermione and Ron until they were all sprinting through the corridors.
They slid to a quick stop in front of the classroom, Hermione knocking into Harry as she stumbled. “Ah, there you three are.” The door swung open of its own accord and they walked in to see Lupin sitting at his desk. “I was beginning to think that you’d decided not to come, after all.”
“Sorry Professor, we got a little sidetracked.” Hermione remained silent, quite willing to let Harry do all the talking for once. She was far too busy trying to figure out what they’d changed, but she was more than a little confused. They hadn’t merged until after they’d arrived at Hogwarts, so what could they possibly have done?
“That’s quite alright, Harry, er, Mr. Potter,” Remus stumbled over Harry’s name before continuing. “I wanted to talk to you about your reactions to the Dementors on the train yesterday.”
Hermione inhaled sharply - in the original timeline, it’d been Harry who’d fainted. Who knew how the Hermione and Ron in this timeline had reacted? Standing next to her, Ron tensed, his eyes wary.
“What about our reactions?” Hermione had never been so thankful for Harry’s defensive nature.
“To be honest Mr. Potter, it isn’t so much your reaction that I was concerned about - given what you have gone through in your short life, it is more than understandable.” Lupin’s eyes fell on Hermione and Ron, the blue both familiar and unknown all at the same time. “However, the effect the Dementors had on both Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley here was most interesting.”
Hermione felt Harry’s gaze on her but couldn’t look away from Lupin’s eyes. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean Professor,” she said softly, attempting to keep her voice steady. Lupin’s eyes narrowed, his gaze searching.
“And you, Mr. Weasley?”
Ron shifted next to her, hands clenching into fists. “Honestly, Professor?” Hermione’s breath hitched - surely he wouldn’t tell? “I don’t remember much about the train ride yesterday at all. I don’t have a clue how I reacted.”
Hermione’s heart rate settled into a steady rhythm as she continued to stare at Lupin. “I don’t mean to be rude, Professor, but breakfast will be over soon and we still have to get our timetables’ from Professor McGonagall.”
“Oh, of course.” Lupin’s sharp gaze softened into a smile. “I didn’t mean to keep you - now, run along and I shall see the three of you in class.”
They left the room hurriedly, Harry relinquishing Hermione’s satchel. Ron gave her a startled glance, and Hermione shrugged, utterly confused.
“What the bloody hell was that?” They fell back minutely, enough so that Ron’s harsh whisper couldn’t be heard by Harry. Hermione watched the back of his head pensively, brown eyes concerned.
“I have no idea.”
~~***~~
In the Time Room, a small change was noted. Nobody, not even the Unspeakables, could have discerned just how much a lack of reaction could have changed things so much. The incident on the train occurred before the merge, so the Unspeakables were at a loss to explain why things had been changed, much in the same way as Hermione Granger. Of course, neither the Unspeakables nor Hermione Granger were aware of the others’ confusion on the matter - that however, was soon to change.
After all, it is a fact widely known that even the smallest butterfly flapping its wings can cause widespread devastation a thousand miles away.
[x] Reviews are much appreciated!