Second Chances (Fremione)

30.

Hermione spent the first month of the summer just being with Fred. There was little talk of plans or death, just the comfortable feeling of being together.

It came time for them to visit her parents again, and Hermione had little doubt that Fred had something extraordinary planned. A wave goodbye to the Weasleys and a very uncomfortable apparation later, Hermione found herself in a dark alley. She took Fred's hand and fumbled around for her suitcase, then they headed toward the lights and sounds of the busy city street. Times Square, New York City.

Dropping their bags in a hotel room, they headed back out into the street. "Where can one find some decent food around here? I'm starving." Fred exclaimed as they started walking aimlessly through the streets. "Have you ever been here before?"

Hermione nodded her head. "Once, just for a couple of days with my parents for a dentist conference. But I know enough to know that when you're in New York City, you've got to eat pizza."

Fred looked confused. "Oh come on!" Hermione shouted. "Don't tell me you've never had pizza, Weasley!" Fred shook his head. "Sorry!"

Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street to the first pizza joint she found. "2 slices of pepperoni pizza please!" She said. "And 2 cokes!" Fred added with a grin. "Look at me sounding like a muggle!" Hermione just smiled and shook her head as she took the food from the man behind the counter. Fred paid him and Hermione went outside to find a bench.

She handed a slice to Fred and stared eagerly at him. "What?" Fred asked, laughing.

"What do you mean what? It's a historic moment! Your first bite of pizza. I have to see your face when you taste it for the first time."

Fred rolled his eyes and picked up the slice, but it kept flopping around and he was having trouble getting it in his mouth. Hermione threw her head back and laughed.

Fred pretended he wasn't laughing, but she could tell he was as he set the pizza back down on the paper in his lap and took a napkin to his mouth. "Are you going to keep laughing at me or are you going to show me the secret to this whole pizza thing?"

"Observe." Hermione laughed as she picked up the slice, folded it down the middle and put it easily in her mouth.

"Really? It was that easy and you let me sit here looking like an idiot for five minutes?" Fred smiled as he did the same.

"Merlin's beard!" He exclaimed with his mouth still full. "That's so good!" Hermione smiled and nodded as she took another bite.

"Ok, down to business." Fred finally said after he had inhaled half his slice. "What's next on Hermione's time traveling adventure?"

"Well, this year, Dumbledore is going to start teaching Harry about horcruxes."

"What on earth is a horcrux?" Fred asked, mouth full of pizza.

"It's an object that someone can conceal part of his soul in. Horrible dark magic that keeps wizards alive as long as the object remains. But in order to make one, you have to kill someone in order to split your soul."  Hermione explained.

"So You-Know-Who has one, and that's why he's still alive." Fred guessed as he put the last bit of crust into his mouth.

Hermione shook her head. "Seven."

"Seven?" Fred repeated, shocked. "You-Know-Who split his soul seven times? He killed seven people?"

Hermione nodded. "Dumbledore is going to start to destroy them, but he'll get Harry's help by the end of term, and then..." she stopped.

"And then what? Does someone else die?" Fred asked. All Hermione could do was nod.

"Who? Not Harry!" Fred hoped. Hermione shook her head. "No not really. And not yet."

"What do you mean not really? And not yet? Hermione, does Harry die?" Fred asked, taking her hand.

"Yes, next year during the battle. But he comes back. It's a long story and it's not really time to explain all that just yet. But he had to die because Voldemort accidentally made him into a horcrux." Hermione tried to explain.

"Ok, I'm not even going to try to decipher that one. We'll figure that out later. Just tell me about this year. Who dies this year, 'Mione?" Fred pleaded.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Dumbledore."

Fred sighed, but he didn't really look shocked. "I kind of figured he would. When you said that people had died, he was actually the first person that came to mind. Honestly it makes sense. Do you think it's one of those fixed points? Do you think we can save him?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe, but we have to try"

Fred nodded. "Ok. Who does it? How does he die?"

Hermione explained the night in the astronomy tower the best she could, piecing together the bits of the story that Harry had told her. "Voldemort wants Draco Malfoy to do it." She finished. "I think it's some kind of penance for his father's mistakes."

"Malfoy, huh? I'm not surprised." Fred said. "As much fun as it was to see you punch him though, and as horrible as he is, I kind of always thought, hoped I guess, that he'd turn it around. I mean with a father like his, it's no wonder he's such a rotten kid."

Hermione nodded. "I think he can, that's the thing. I hope he will. And he doesn't kill Dumbledore."

"But you said..." Fred started.

"I said Voldemort wants Malfoy to do it. But he can't go through with it."

"Then who does?" Fred asked.

"Snape." Hermione answered. "Snape makes an unbreakable vow that he will finish the job if Draco can't. He's pretending to work with Voldemort."

"Sounds like he's doing an excellent job." Fred said. "Wow, Snape. And an unbreakable vow. That means if you stop him from killing Dumbledore, Snape will die instead."

Hermione nodded. "I know. And like you said, it sounds very much like a fixed point anyway. I'm not sure people really know what Voldemort is capable of right now. If Dumbledore dies, people will start taking it a lot more seriously. Plus, it seems like it becomes a bit of a motivating factor for Harry to find the horcruxes."

"So you're not going to try to save Dumbledore?" Fred asked.

"No I'm going to try, I'm just not sure I can. There is something else I want to do this year though, someone else I think I can save."

"Someone else dies?" Fred asked.

"No, he doesn't die. But I think I can save him from something else, someone we've already talked that we believe could be good."

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Fred asked, confused.

"I have to befriend Draco Malfoy."