Soul Bound 02/? (Hermione/Spock - PG13)
Title: Soul Bound - 02
Categories: Harry Potter, Star Trek AOS/Reboot/IX/2009
Type: gen, het, romance, drama, scifi, supernatural
Rating: PG13
Characters/Pairings: Hermione/nu!Spock
For: crossbigbang
Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and co, JK Rowling does. I don’t know Trekverse and associated characters, Paramount and various other holding companies do.
Author Notes: See the Master Post for full notes.
AU after B7 Deathly Hallows; ignore the epilogue. AU to Star Trek Reboot the movie. The Narada destroys the Kelvin but the events in the movie have changed because Spock’s motivation, character, and history have changed since he met a particular little girl. Butterfly Effect.
Acknowledgments: Janni, for the art created and my beta Kit.
Last Edited: June 11, 2011, Please note this may be revised & updated.
Summary: Harry and Hermione create their own futures and are relatively happy. But then Hermione's past catches up with her and she is required to make a choice between what is easy and what is right. She chooses what is right.
AN: Starts after Ron leaves them mid-Horcrux Hunt in B7 Deathly Hallows. AU after this. Post B7, EWE. The future/train scene is just a dream, not even close to reality in this fic
AN: Some flashback scenes from canon ST Reboot the Movie.
~ooO 02 Finding Her Own Way Ooo~
Hermione wept as the reality of the situation sank in. Ron had left them. Harry was refusing to even look at her. He was more interested in studying the Marauder's Map and Ginny than focusing on the situation, doing the research necessary to locate, recover and destroy Voldemort's horcruxes.
For the not first time since she entered the wizarding world, Hermione Granger made preparations for an astral journey. It was unhealthy and dangerous but she could not stop retracing the path to the one being who was honest about their relationship, the one male who had the courtesy to face her before turning away and abandoning her.
Hermione was used to being used and abandoned. It hadn't mattered when she had Spock but when he left her she had been desperate to find someone else to anchor to. She thought she had found it in a pair of boys who saved her from a Troll. She had ignored the cracks and flaws, the petty jealousies and humiliations, desperate to find the acceptance she had with Spock.
Whenever she was on the outs with Ron or Harry she made the journey through the dreamscapes seeking Spock. His discipline and organized mind denied her voice but she could still get small glimpses of the more emotional moments in his life.
~o~
Being rejected by T'Pring.
Finding her mid-coitus with Stonn, his childhood tormentor.
Researching Starfleet and applying to Starfleet Academy, as a back-up.
Severing the betrothal with T'Pring with T'Pau's unexpected private blessings.
Denying the VSA offer of admission after the blatant racial prejudice experienced at the meeting from one who should be above such pettiness.
Leaving Vulcan.
Struggling to find his place on a planet so cold he wore thermals even in the spring and fall seasons.
Flourishing intellectually but fumbling in personal relationships.
Walking alone in a crowd without flinching, content with having purpose and ambition.
Focused, seeking, intent on a specific post: science officer on a deep space exploration vessel. His mentor, Christopher Pike, informing him one such Constitution-class vessel was in the planning stages.
~o~
He was alone but he found pleasure, satisfaction in his self-determined purpose. Envious of his certainty, pleased by his success, she was determined to mimic it.
As Hermione settled into a more natural sleep, she made a silent vow. Once the war was over, she would do things for herself, sate her desires/ambitions/interests. If she made a few others unhappy, why should she care? All sentient beings were responsible for their own happiness. She was not in any way obligated to please people who weren't kin to her, people who slighted her and turned their backs on her for the flimsiest reasons, people who placed her much lower on their list of priorities.
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
Harry Potter focused on chewing his grilled chicken burger between sips of his coke. After the war ended, Harry discovered he had safe bolthole from the expectations and pressures of the Wizarding World. Whenever he needed a break, he used Muggle transportation to travel to different cities and played tourist where his celebrity status was unknown and no one recognized and chased him.
Ron did not understand why Harry hated the publicity; the youngest male Weasley thrived on attention from pretty girls and the press. In fact it was probably why Hermione refused Ron's sporadic attempts at romance. The red-head always accepted her rejections in bad grace before drowning his 'sorrow' in the attentions of the latest pretty witch willing to fall in his bed.
Of course, Molly Weasley had not taken it well. She had expected Hermione to agree to Ron's haphazard courting and proposal without hesitation before promptly marrying and settling into married life to produce a brood of grandchildren for Molly and Arthur.
Ginny's accusations when she found out Harry was not going to pick-up where they left off didn't help either. She accused Hermione of sleeping with Harry and stealing him from her. Harry shuddered. Hermione was his sister. The idea of even seeing her naked was completely gross.
"Hi Harry! Sorry I'm late. Did you order for me?"
The green-eyed wizard grinned at the pretty young woman sliding into the booth across from him. She glanced at the untouched chicken Caesar salad and iced tea on his tray. Harry obediently pushed the items over.
Once she had consumed half the salad, she slowed down and spoke.
"What do you want to do today? There is this exhibition on medieval warfare at the local museum. In fact the local historical society is going to put-on a demonstration today afternoon at two."
Harry cocked his head. "Do you want to see it?"
Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Actually, yes. I don't like violence, but sometimes it is the only option. Given how nothing is really changing in the Wizarding World, I think war is going to break out again in a few decades."
Harry frowned and looked down at his burger. "I have to agree. In fact, I refused the offer of Auror Apprenticeship today."
Hermione was taken aback. "But why? I thought it was your dream to be an Auror."
Harry shrugged. "At first it was. But then the war happened. I'm tired, Hermione. I don't want to clean up other people's messes anymore. My life has been almost one long sequence of conflicts and suffering. I want some peace and a private life. Some place where I can just be Harry."
Pale brown eyes softened as Hermione reached over to cover Harry's hand and squeeze it supportively.
"I know how you feel, Harry. For so long, I felt obligated to help others, to save them, to protect and teach them… I'm tired of it. Not of you," she hastened to add. "But of the others, the Weasleys, mostly Ron. Even McGonagall's expectations." Hermione's expression hardened. "Sometimes I just want to tell her where to stick it. I swear if Dumbledore were alive, I'd set his beard and robes on fire for what he's done."
Harry laughed because he could see Hermione doing just that. After all she had set Snape's robes on fire when they were first-years.
She continued earnestly. "I love you like the brother I've never had. I know you were a selfish insensitive prat at times, but you never wilfully hurt me and expected to be forgiven after a half-hearted apology like Ron. Don't try to excuse him. You know how he treated me when I went to McGonagall about your broomstick. Or you when the Goblet spit out your name for the Triwizard Contest." She snapped sharply. "You know all that he's done! Never again. I can't trust him. I won't trust him."
He nodded, remembering how badly Ron had treated her, and how sad Hermione had been she told McGonagall about the broom, when Harry was chosen as a Triwizard champion, when dated Lavender Brown, and when he abandoned them in the middle of the Horcrux Hunt. Everyone had a breaking point and Harry guessed Hermione had eventually reached hers.
"So what do you want to do?" He asked. Hermione had insisted they return to Hogwarts and finish their NEWTs. Ron had done very badly (more interested in basking in the publicity and playing the returning hero than studying), while Harry had earned a respectable number of NEWTs. Hermione had blown the curve, breaking records set by Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore.
Her usually confident expression turned shy and hesitant.
"I received an offer of apprenticeship. From the Department of Mysteries," she confessed in a low voice.
Harry winced. That place was filled with bad memories and regrets. It was where Sirius died. Hermione nodded slightly.
"We only saw a small fraction when we broke in, the public spaces where Ministry official and visitors can enter. The others are hidden and more strongly warded, labs and libraries where the Unspeakables research and experiment. They said they've kept an eye on all six of us since we broke in. Luna received an offer as well, and she has accepted it."
Harry was slightly offended. "What about the rest of us?"
Hermione raised a sceptical brow. "Do you really want to do research and experiments? Harry you hate writing pre-and-post reports for any potion Snape assigned!"
Harry sagged. "True. Do you know…?"
"Only us two from our group. There might be more from our year, but I won't know until our orientation. Once that happens, I'll be taking vows of confidentiality and I won't be able to share anything with you."
Harry grinned. "That's okay. I really don't want to know about the latest mouldy old tome you're translating. When we meet, we can talk about just the fun stuff."
And then the conversation turned to more mundane and light-hearted topics.
That night when Hermione prepared for bed, she was pleased by the way her life was progressing. Her friendship with Spock might have been lost when he denied her, but she still had the utmost respect for him. Without his lessons, his example, she probably would have bent under social pressure and expectation, married Ron and settled into family life without accomplishing anything truly meaningful. Knowing Spock had forced her into developing the habit of self-examination and almost brutal honesty in the sanctuary of her own thoughts. It was why she had never taken offence at Snape's tongue in Potions. It was only when that tongue had lashed at her appearance that she had faltered.
Hermione found she was very eager to start on her apprenticeship. She hoped Harry would find something that would challenge him and give him purpose, just like this Apprenticeship was invigorating her. Just like the opportunities Spock found in Starfleet.
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
Hermione smiled as she wandlessly levitated the decanter filled with a pale creamy violet liquid and poured it into a goblet that floated over to the over stuffed loveseat where she was curled up under a quilted throw. As she sipped the twenty-year-old bleeding heart flower wine, she relaxed minutely and allowed her thoughts to drift onto all that had happened in the past five years.
At twenty-four she had surpassed each milestone she had set for herself. She finished her NEWTs and completed an Apprenticeship in fields that truly challenged and interested her. The first year after she achieved her Mastery she had forced herself to remain Unfocused, to gain experience from a variety of more senior Unspeakables specializing in different aspects of magic.
The second year, she had enough seniority to request smaller projects. She had chosen topics that had intrigued her and produced significant finds and results. Her data and conclusions had been carefully filtered into public awareness through various Guilds. Her third year, she was given more and more latitude in choice and scale, even over the more senior Unspeakables.
A great deal of her success could be directly linked to what she had learnt from Spock and in Muggles schools. Unlike most witches and wizards, Hermione had no trouble blending the mystical and the scientific. Vulcans had done that for centuries before they managed to quantify at least some of their Mysteries. Spock had been very curious about her power and instinctive abilities, and a lot of their time together involved experimenting and testing her limits. His advanced scientific knowledge gave her an advantage over her colleagues in regards to constructing and deconstructing anything magical. Part of her discoveries resulted in an entirely new class of protective wards that did not have to be cast on foundation stones to be long lasting.
Many of her creations were generating a hefty return in patent fees and royalties. Hermione did not need to work a day for the rest of her life, but she continued to for pleasure, and to ignore the urgings from old school friends and teachers to socialize. She had no interest in moving in Wizarding society. Despite the war and huge losses, the Wizengamot and Ministry continued to cling to the old ways, to the status quo that had nearly destroyed them all. Within two years of the final battle, it was back to business as usual in the Ministry with the wealthy purebloods holding the reigns.
Harry had refused to get involved in the situation, and honestly Hermione agreed with him. Revolution and lasting change had to come from the bottom-up, not from a single individual. She had learnt that lesson well from her time in Hogwarts. She could bash her head forever against their traditions and not make a dent.
In fact, Hermione had run several Arithmacy simulations using various magical, Muggle, and Vulcan models. Each one produced the same results. The British Wizarding World was going down the toilet. Unless real change happened in twenty years, their society would implode within seventy years.
Hermione had debated long and hard with herself before deciding this was one cause she was not willing to hitch herself to. Once she passed the Magical data to her supervisor, she made her own plans. When things started to fall apart, she wanted a bolthole for herself, Harry, and a few select friends in the Muggle world.
She finished off her wine and set the goblet down before opening the file for her latest pet project and began reviewing the data.
A seven-hundred year old set of jewellery Enchanted and crafted by a Roman wizard, purpose was unknown. Every study done in the last two-hundred years agreed on certain facts. It was not Dark or harmful, but almost benign. Many witches had owned and worn the set without any side effects. The last one was an Unspeakable who had gifted the set to the Department.
Absently, she reached out and lifted the rosewood box from the side table, setting it on the cushion beside her. The lid flipped open at the touch of a finger (and a small pulse of magic). There were several pieces made of various precious and semi-precious stones: turquoise, lapis lazuli, amethyst, carnelian, haematite, onyx. There had to be a rhyme and pattern in the design, a purpose in the gems selected and the Egyptian motif. Or maybe there was no purpose other than making the wearer look and feel good and powerful.
Feeling whimsical, she picked up the pieces and slipped them on. First the collar, then the bicep snake bands and the wristlets covered with runes and glyphs and stones, then finally the headpiece.
She conjured a mirror against one wall and posed, examining her appearance. Her sleeveless knee-length white cotton night-dress vaguely resembled an Egyptian tunic adding to the image of some Ancient Egyptian priestess. Absently she noted the effect on her psyche: nothing other than pleasure felt by any woman wearing a nice dress, or expensive shoes and jewellery. Feeling weary, she sat down on the loveseat.
~o~
"Miss Granger."
Hermione spun around and realized she was no longer in her private study. There was no one around. In fact as far as she could see there was nothing but white.
"What do you want?" It was best to be polite and get as much information as you could.
"Shouldn't the question be where am I?" The voice sounded amused now.
Hermione shrugged. "I presume I'm dreaming, somewhere in the astral plane."
"Oh yes, you have been here before."
Hermione stiffened. How would anyone know that?
If the voice sensed her tension it ignored it. "Are you happy with your life Miss Granger?"
Hermione considered the question and shrugged. "Reasonably so. I have accomplished more than most witches."
"And you failed in your schoolgirl ambitions to reform the Wizarding world. How do you feel about that?"
Hermione kept a firm grip on her temper. She considered the question carefully before responding. "Where does it say it is my responsibility to save the Wizarding world?" She inquired cynically. "Is there a prophecy that involves me somehow?"
That set the voice aback. "You feel no obligation towards your people?"
She snorted. "My people? What have you been smoking? Wizardings are not my people. My people are my friends who believe and listen to me. I have tried many times and they have always laughed at me. I've given my report to all the Department Heads in the Ministry and sent a few copies to colleagues abroad. If they fail to act on that information, it is their fault, not mine."
"So you are not happy with your world."
"I would not say I am happy with Wizarding society, but I am grateful and pleased with my friends, amiable towards my co-workers, and I'm satisfied with my occupation."
"Would you give it up to save strangers?"
"I thought I told you I won't lift a finger to save-."
"No. Not the Wizarding world. Would you give up your position and influence to save the non-magical world? Would you sacrifice to save billions who know nothing of magic?"
Hermione stilled. "What do you mean?"
And she sagged as images were forced into her mind.
~o~
A green planet being consumed by a sun going supernova.
A tattooed Vulcan going insane with grief and loss.
A huge ship chasing a small more agile craft piloted by an aged Vulcan.
A black hole sucking both vessels.
The huge spider-like vessel emerging and destroying a much smaller vessel shaped like a saucer with slim tubes and fins propelling it.
A golden haired blue eyed baby born on one of the few tiny vessels that survived the destruction.
The same spider vessel attacking a very familiar red planet.
A platform being deployed, a laser cutting through the mantle, drilling into the core of Vulcan.
The Spider destroying countless smaller saucer and arrow-head vessels trying to stop it.
A single saucer-shaped vessel arriving late and succeeding in severing the device boring a hole into Vulcan's core.
Spock appearing on the surface, running to save his parents, the Vulcan Elders in an underground chamber.
The Spider deploying something, perhaps a missile, into the hole drilled.
The planet shaking itself to pieces, crumpling inward, into a black hole that had just been created within its core.
Spock's group appearing in a white and grey room, all but one. Amanda Grayson had fallen into the crevasse that opened just a few feet from her.
Spock's absolutely shattered expression when he realized Amanda was gone.
His emotional breakdown, his absolute loss of control, strangling a blonde blue-eyed human male in front of nearly a dozen people.
~o~
Hermione came to sharply. She was back in the white room.
"It's not real. It's just a dream."
"It has happened. It has the potential to happen. It will happen if outside variables are not introduced."
Hermione started hyperventilating. "I'm only one witch! What on earth can I do against a ship like that? It is too bloody big for just me to destroy! I'd need an entire fleet of starships and that didn't help them!"
"For want of a nail Miss Granger, for want of a nail."
Hermione stilled before reciting the well-known rhyming proverb. "For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the army was lost, for want of an army the battle was lost, for want of a battle the war was lost, for want of a war the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a horse shoe nail."
"Yes Miss Granger. The correct person in the correct place at the correct time can work miracles even we Q cannot."
"Q?"
"I am called Q. All of my kind are called Q. Some of the less advanced races would call us Gods. We might be omnipotent and nearly omnipresent, but we have certain rules we must follow. If we did not the multiverse and existence would collapse."
Hermione chewed on her lower lip as she began pacing. "I'm not certain how I can help. I'm a witch; not a scientist or engineer. The physics of starships and their weapons are beyond me."
"Tell me, Miss Granger, how does magic affect electronics?"
"It fries them," she admitted. "My pet theory is magic acts like an EM pulse."
"You are close, but not completely accurate. What you call magic is energy manipulation on the quantum level. It is how spells like transfiguration and charms are possible. You create a quantum flux in physical reality by affecting the underpinning energies."
"Quantum flux. Q-flux. Q. Is it anything similar to what your kind does?"
"Very good. And you are quite correct. My race is ancient. We do not have the preconceived mental limits of wizarding kind or the energy channelling restrictions of a physical body. If I will it, Anything can happen."
Hermione became very still. "May I see you in a physical form? It is rather distracting, talking to thin air."
A serene, ancient Oriental monk in saffron robes appeared before her.
"What do you want from me?"
The being called Q spoke in soft, clear tones. "Would you give up your position and influence to save Vulcan? Would you sacrifice all you have to save billions? Would you voluntarily exile yourself to save those who know nothing of magic or you?"
"You can't be serious!"
"Oh but I am Miss Granger."
"Why can't I return after saving Vulcan?"
"Because you will have changed. You will have knowledge no one from your time and world should have. If you choose to save Vulcan, you cannot return to your time."
Hermione went still. It wasn't an easy thing, what Q was asking of her. He was asking her to give up everything she knew! For strangers… Billions of strangers who would die if she refused. She bit her lip hard and considered her situation pragmatically.
Did she really have anything holding her back? She was not in a committed relationship, married or have dependants. Her parents had died in a car crash in Australia; they had died not knowing they had a daughter, a witch fighting in a magical war in Britain. Her job was intriguing, but she was not irreplaceable; if she ever died, her co-workers and boss would be saddened but they would move on without much difficulty. A few of the Weasleys, her old teachers, and a few friends might grieve but they had drifted apart since graduation. The only ones who would truly mourn her death were Harry and Luna.
And there was Spock. Her heart beat fast.
"I have friends who would miss me."
Q eyed her carefully. "You sound like you are considering my request."
"Hypothetically speaking, if they were agreeable to leaving the Wizarding world can they come with me? The task you have given me is an immense one. Having other views and helpful wands can only help."
Q tilted his head and nodded. "Agreed. No more than five though. Any more will destabilize the situation."
"And I would need resources that are not available in that time. Magical books, tools and supplies to create what I might need. Money to buy what I lack."
Q was amused. "Do you expect me to create gold for you?"
Hermione smiled brightly. "No, but I expect you to allow me to bring all I can with me. Books, seeds, tissue samples, tools, metals, gems, potions, and any else I can think of."
Q laughed. "If you can pack and carry it with you, you can bring it little witch."
Hermione nodded firmly. She knew he was making fun of her but she ignored it, just like she had ignored snide comments and snobbery from purebloods and most of her old schoolmates. In an odd way he was doing her a favour. He was giving her the chance to save an entire world, so if he wanted to tease her she'd let him. She began reviewing her mental database for expansion, packing, and stabilization spells. She had the money and knowledge to fill something much smaller than a beaded evening bag with a lot more than the Horcrux Hunt supplies.
"Well then Q, you have a deal."
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
Harry appeared behind a tall stand of evergreens with a small pop. He shook out his leather trench coat and cut through the tiny park to twelve Grimmauld Place. Harry had sold the property to Hermione for ten galleons over the Christmas of their last year in Hogwarts with immense pleasure at the thought of the former Black property being owned by a Muggleborn Gryffindor. Then he had helped her unravel the wards before clearing and remodelling the structure into a more modern duplex. The upper level was leased to a Halfblood Healer and his Muggleborn wife who worked as a clerk for the Ministry. Hermione lived in the lower level that was warded against outsiders and reinforced to contain any spillovers from her at-home experiments.
He blinked when he ran into Luna just outside the entrance to Hermione's home.
"Hi Luna. Did Hermione ask you over for dinner too?"
"Yes. She has something important to ask of us." Luna murmured.
Green eyes sharpened. Luna often saw what others missed. "Oh really?"
"Nothing dangerous dangerous but still dangerous," Luna explained smiling vaguely. "She just wants to ask if we will help her."
Harry snorted. "I don't know about you but I don't have to really think about that. Hermione helped me at great cost when we were younger. It's only fair I repay the favour if she needs help."
The door opened, revealing the witch in question. She was dressed in deep forest green velour pants with a matching silk tunic embroidered with bright purple flowers.
"Come in guys. I have some snacks in the basement den. Pizza and wings will arrive in an hour. You can think while you eat because what I'm going to ask is really heavy."
Harry and Luna followed Hermione down the stairs to the basement den. Harry was feeling nervous but he took some comfort in Luna's tranquil expression. She seemed to have a better idea of what was going on and it didn't seem to concern her. Of course few things bothered Luna.
The large oval table dominating the room covered with trays of various sandwiches, plates of cheese cubes and crackers, and a tray with cups and drinks at one end. At the other end were piles of books, sheets of foolscap covered with various diagrams and notes, and a waist-up mock-up of a woman modelling a set of Egyptian jewellery.
Once the three friends had filled plates with food and consumed half the contents they settled at the other end of the table.
"My first request is a vow of silence. I am not expecting you to agree with me, but I need a guarantee you will not even accidentally let anyone else know."
Harry and Luna complied with the request without qualm. What Hermione would be telling them was her secret, and she was not the sort to make such a request lightly.
"First off let me make my own vow. I swear upon my magic, what I speak of tonight, until this candle is extinguished, is the complete truth as I know it."
A blue glow formed around the tip of her wand and sparked off to light the short stubby beeswax candle in the centre of the table.
"Hermione!" Harry cried out aghast. "Why in Merlin's name did you do that?"
Light brown eyes met green squarely. "Because I need you to believe me. No matter how outlandish or incredible it sounds what I'm going to tell you is the truth. I have made my choice and I need your opinion. You may not agree with it and refuse what I'm going to ask, but in both cases I will need your help to prepare."
Luna reached out and patted the older witch's hand. "Don't worry Hermione. Just tell us what you need to tell us. Harry and I will listen. If Harry acts up I'll body bind and Silencio him," she reassured her friend cheerfully.
Harry sputtered for a moment, but subsided and listened. Hermione generally had very good reasons for whatever she did. She was the one to always research everything thoroughly before writing her reports or making suggestions. If she was making a vow she probably had a bloody good reason to do it. Besides, he did not want to be put in a body bind.
As he listened to Hermione tell her tale, Harry felt very glad she had made that vow in the first place. Otherwise, he would have burst out laughing before she was even half-way through. Within ten minutes, Harry stood up and brought the decanters of alcohol over to where they were sitting; firewhiskey for him and bleeding heart flower wine for the girls.
"I've made my choice, you guys. I'm going to save Vulcan." Her chin was lifted up in a very familiar way. She was not going to change her mind. "I can't stand by and do nothing, knowing what I know." She looked away briefly and Harry could see she was clearly affected by what she was planning to do. Her fists were clenched tight on the table, her mouth trembling slightly. "There are a few people I'd really miss. You two are on that list."
Luna came around the table and hugged the older witch firmly before returning to her seat. "I would miss you as well," she confided.
Hermione smiled hesitantly now, almost pleading. "Yes. That's why I'm asking you two to go with me. If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll still need your help preparing for the trip. I'm going to go on a huge shopping spree, packing every single expandable trunk I can purchase and enchant for my departure." She spoke quickly, in a rush to get all her words out without a pause.
Harry blinked and considered the request and the outpouring of information.
Luna smiled gently. "I'll need to sell the Rookery, since I won't be having much use of it where we are going. We can use the galleons to pay for part of that shopping trip." She had made her decision. She was going with Hermione.
Harry did not have to think really hard. This was Hermione. She would not do anything without thinking it through. Besides he had every reason to leave, given the increase in public and Ministry pressure to enrol in the Auror program. Minerva wanted him to settle down, marry and become the DADA instructor. With Ginny stalking him and Molly turning banshee, life was becoming unpleasant in Magical Britain. If Hermione had not asked him to join her he probably would have moved to abroad, to America or Australia; anywhere far away Europe and Magical Britain.
"Count me in. It's going to take me longer to unload my properties, though. I don't want anyone to find out what we're doing."
Hermione smiled tearfully and stood up before going around the table to hug the platinum blonde witch and the black haired wizard in one go.
"Thank you. Thank you so much." Her voice was muffled and filled with relief and joy. Harry could feel her trembling and awkwardly patted her back. He wasn't very used to comforting Hermione. Usually she was the one who comforted him.
The trio stood like that for several minutes, arms across each others backs, foreheads pressed together while they murmured reassurances and promises to each other and to themselves.
It was Hermione who finally pulled herself away, wiping away tears of relief and joy. Her voice was brisk and no-nonsense when she spoke.
"We have a lot to do. I think we should start with lists, personal and magical, things you'd miss or think might be useful. If you can think of anything research related, feel free. I'm going to go through catalogues from Flourish and Blotts and Jiggers and Slugs to start."
She reached for a pile of three journals from the table and handed them out -the green to Harry, the grey to Luna- before holding onto the brown one herself.
"These are linked journals, protected by magical signature detecting wards. Only you can open read or write in it. Whatever one writes in one shows up in the other. Use these to build and update your lists. When we start buyingb we can cross the items off the list as well. You can use your wand to rearrange and move the text using the Editing Charm."
Harry winced. "Hermione, could you show it to me? I think I've forgotten the wand movements for it."
"Oh Harry!" The exasperation was voiced in familiar very Hermione tones.
"Hey! It's been years since I've used it Hermione!"
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
Six weeks later the three friends gathered at Stonehenge. Hermione glanced at her companions thrilled and slightly afraid.
The past few weeks had been very busy for all three of them. Each had met with the goblins from Gringotts to convert a portion of their vault contents to gems and other rare metals, to withdraw and store some relics and sell the rest. The properties and other assets were sold and the money used to pay for the enormous shopping sprees all three of them went on abroad. It was too risky to make such large purchases in Diagon Alley.
The magical communities in the Americas, Northern Europe, the Far East and Australia reaped the full benefits of their shopping. Harry had made several international trips to buy various magical goods in the countries they were made. Luna had done the same for her section of the list, dealing with magical plants and creatures and other potions ingredients. Hermione had focused on books and other magical tools. Luna cajoled a book on wandlore from a Scandinavian wandmaker and stockpiled a variety of suitable woods and coring materials. If they survived, they might decide to have families, magical children who'd need wands. Harry insisted on a selection of brooms and three sets of Quidditch balls, Hermione added carpets from India.
The properties they didn't have time to sell were deeded to a trust that would also get Hermione's patents. The money generate would provide scholarships and living stipends for Muggleborn and Halfblood students in-need. It would be run by five witches or wizards from a list of thirty the trio had decided upon. If none of them were available or willing then the Heads of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff would recommend five Muggleborn or Halfblood graduates to run the trust.
"Any second thoughts? Last chance to back out."
Harry snorted. "Don't be silly. Molly sent me a howler yesterday evening. I think she found out from Bill I'm making large withdrawals from Gringotts. If I hang around any longer she's going to show up with the Order of the Flaming Turkey and stage an intervention." He nodded firmly. "I have no intention of sitting through that."
Hermione choked on a laugh.
Luna nodded as well. "I feel the same. I've written and post-dated my letters. They will be delivered Friday morning."
Hermione sighed. "Same here. It was odd. Most were just notes of farewell. There was nothing really left to say."
Harry smirked maliciously. "I don't know I enjoyed spelling the Howlers quite a few folks are going to receive Friday morning. My only regret is not hanging around to see their faces. Especially Molly, Ginny, and Ron."
All three laughed. Then their expressions turned sober as the full weight of their situation settled down on them. They were leaving their world. They were leaving everything familiar and known behind. Hermione looked at Luna and Harry in turn. "Last chance to opt out, guys."
Both Harry and Luna shook their heads in negative.
Hermione closed her eyes and reached out to grab their hands. Their trunks had been shrunk and stored in the voluminous pockets of the trench-coats all three wore over sturdy denim jeans and cable knit sweaters with heavy boots finishing the look.
"Q, we are ready to leave this world and time."
A white flash filled the area. When it faded all three were gone.
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
TBC…
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