Since 1970

Chapter 39

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 39

August 3, 1995

(the present)

"Where have you been all this time, Hermione?"

"And why are you with Severus Snape?"

Hermione heard those questions as soon as they all sat down and wiped their tears. They took the sofa and Hermione was sandwiched between her two friends.

She smiled and looked at her old friends. Amelia - Madam Bones - still looked beautiful and sophisticated in her pale pink working robes. She looked older, but there was never a wrinkle on her face.

Alona still had that motherly and nurturing look in her. She was dressed in a black and white women's suit, but she had the face of a homemaker. Hermione smiled at the two of them and squeezed their hands.

"Sev and I were still together during our seventh year," she confessed. "We sort of broke up for four months, but got back together, even after our graduation..."

Hermione felt Amelia staring at her. "So, is it true, then? He is really Dumbledore's spy?"

Hermione nodded. "Our break up was a sham. Lucius Malfoy and the other older Slytherins were recruiting Sev and the others, so he went to Dumbledore to ask for help. He asked him to be his spy, so he started working as a double-agent. He had to tell everyone that his views about Muggleborns and Muggles have changed. We had to let everyone see we broke up. But I was meeting him, Alice, and Frank secretly."

"Alice and Frank?!" her two friends exclaimed.

"But why?" asked Amelia, looking puzzled.

"They became members of the Order, too - you know, Dumbledore's - "

"Yeah, I know," Amelia interrupted her gently. "My late brother, Edgar, was a member, too."

Hermione bit her lip and squeezed her friend's hand.

"But he never mentioned seeing you or Severus."

"It's because I was Sev's handler. I never showed up at meetings. I meet Dumbledore secretly to relay Sev's messages. I also meet Alice and Frank in private... We pretended that we weren't friends anymore. We had to be very careful, " she explained.

"You were all Dumbledore's pawn," Alona commented rather emotionally.

Hermione gave her a sad smile. "We had to do everything to win the war against Voldemort." Her friends flinched, but just for a moment, and then they gave her an impressed look.

"But what about the Potters? Why did You-Know-Who target them?" asked Alona.

"Because of a prophecy," she said carefully.

"What prophecy?" asked Amelia.

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February 14, 1980

(fifteen years ago)

Hermione continued setting the table, even if she already heard the faint sound of Apparition and familiar footsteps. She smiled to herself and looked up at the wall clock in their dining room.

He was fifteen minutes early.

But Hermione wasn't prepared when a pair of strong hands caught her waist and turned her around. She didn't even have the chance to scream or yelp because her captor instantly claimed her mouth for a kiss.