[open] Time it is past and I roam free

[lumenrelegandus]

Who: lumenrelegandus and anyone
When: Early in the week
Where: The dojo, the streets, the path toward the Ruins and/or Hunting Grounds.
Format: Prose
What: As if any loss weren't bad on its own, sometimes it opens up past ones.
Warnings: I'm being bad for posting a new log without doing any tags for ongoing threads! I have company for a few days and am semi-

Comments

You are worth the wait, bb.

[femininehermes]

With a tremendous effort, Hermione kept herself silent. She continued to hold his hand, petting over the back of it to give him some modicum of comfort. What else could she do? She had no idea how much he knew or what Anatole had told him about their home. But maybe she could correct any discrepancies? If any existed that is.

"Remus..." her blood ran cold at those words, "N-No." her voice trembled and tears pricked at her eyes, "H-How does it happen?"

More importantly, was it preventable? Hermione didn't want to face a world that lacked Remus and Tonks. They were...so good and so strong. Her stomach churned at the thought of telling Harry that...

No! We have options.

"Hm?" her hand shook as she took the photo. Wiping at her cheeks, she stared in wonder at herself, Ron, Harry, Ginny and...

Kids.

"I c-can't believe it." she smiled sadly, not bothering to hide her tears, "L-Look at them..."

Her joy was short-lived, however, as she remembered that Remus would not be there to -

"We'll save you and Tonks. Somehow." she squeezed his hand, "You n-need to see them born."

/loves you/

[lumenrelegandus]

"No." He put his arm suddenly around her shoulders, pulled her close to him, and fiercely kissed her forehead.

"No," he repeated, his chin now resting lightly on top of her head. "Nothing can interfere with this future. Whatever you, Harry, and Ron did was exactly what you needed to do. It ended the war. It made a world where this-" nodded again, uselessly because she couldn't see it, but clearly at the photo nonetheless "-could happen. Your mission will always be stopping Voldemort and ending the war. I know you wouldn't let anything-anything-distract you from it. In either world, I wouldn't want you to."

A faint smile into her hair. "I wish I could see them too. But I'd rather miss seeing them born and know that they will be."

He held onto her a moment longer. Then added Moonyishly, "I admit I expected a stronger reaction to other aspects of this revelation."

(And one might think he would have asked this Anatolian oracle after someone else…)

/loves back!/

[femininehermes]

"B-" Hermione put the photograph in her lap and threw her arms around him. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to keep from sobbing. So many good people - and beings - had been lost already. With each loss, it felt like the Magical World was becoming darker and darker.

"W-We love you." she choked. He had to know that. That...was the most important thing. Even if they fought, even if they got mad at each other, that never changed.

"He will die. Harry is determined and so am I." she clenched her fists, "We are w-well on our way." she was fibbing a little, but they had made headway, "There might be a way we can still save you and Tonks. I just...I don't know." she glanced at his chest sadly, "They will know all about you regardless."

That was a promise she could keep.

His last comment caused her to pull back and blink awkwardly. She blushed a little and shook her head.

"Ron and I... It's complicated. I feel like I'm always angry at him, but...he's a good person and...I l-love him." Hermione dropped her head forward, "It's ridiculous."

/even though I just realized I never officially asked your permission re: fourthwalling! I'm bad

[lumenrelegandus]

He kissed the crown of her head again and decided not to say anything further about it. He trusted her. He knew, all else being even, if she remembered this world and conversation at all (when she returned), that she would always get the job done. -Really, this changed nothing: they'd all known, all along, that the war could claim any of them, at any time.

-Not to say anything further except whisper back, more easily than he'd thought possible since Tonks's death, "I love all of you, too."

She pulled away and he resettled himself to accommodate, smiling and averting his eyes as she blushed. "I apologise, I didn't mean to pry. And certainly not to poke fun. It's not ridiculous one bit."