Time After Time

Prologue

March 27, 2007

Hermione Granger had a fulfilling life—she was the youngest Deputy Minister of Magic in the history of the Wizarding World, had read more books than anyone she knew, and was proud godmother to James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. Crookshanks had passed away three years previously, and Harry and Ginny had surprised her the Christmas before with a lovely Half-Kneazle she had called Sharma. The female was clearly part Siamese and quite intelligent, and liked nothing more than to be curled in Hermione's lap if she was sitting in front of the fireplace, nose in a book, or by her feet if she was doing the same in bed.

It had been a relief to find her mother and father in Australia in mid-May of 1998, and she had set off there in the wake of Harry's defeat of Voldemort. Once she had fixed their memories and had explained the situation, they, although understanding, were quite put out that she had put herself in such danger, and had merely saved them. Hermione sat them down and told them everything she hadn't been at liberty to tell them before, and they forgave her. They returned to their home in Hampstead, and resumed working at their dental practice, and Hermione knew entirely well that they were, one day, hoping for grandchildren.

However, she and Ron had never gone past a ferocious snog during the Battle of Hogwarts, as he had been utterly joyful to see that Lavender Brown had indeed survived the clutches of Fenrir Greyback. Not wishing to hold her friend back, for, above all things, Ron Weasley was indeed a dear friend, she promptly released him from any promises he had made and had all but shoved him towards Lavender's bed in the hospital wing. She had been a witness to their wedding, and was too godmother to their brood of four children—Gregory, the twins Belinda and Lucinda, and little Joshua.

Viktor Krum had been a guest at Harry and Ginny's wedding three years after they had all graduated from Hogwarts. It was held at the Burrow, as all Weasley weddings were, and he had been most pleased to see Hermione. However, Hermione hadn't been receptive to his romantic advances, and, in the present, he was married to Gabrielle Delacour, and the pair had beautiful children together as well. She had happily danced with him that night, of course, but didn't lead him on, and the Bulgarian Quidditch star was quick to catch on that the pair would never be more than friends.

It was equally amusing when Draco Malfoy had attempted to make his play for her; he was just beginning his residency at St. Mungo's, and Angelina Johnson-Weasley was supervising him, along with all the other residents. She had been ambushed one evening at their cottage in Kent, and the evening was quickly revealed to be a dinner party double date. Angelina, pregnant with her second child at the time (the eldest, Fred, in the care of Arthur and Molly at the Burrow for the evening) was finally worn down at Draco's attempts to ask Hermione out through herself and George, who was running the joke shop with Ron in Diagon Alley. Hermione had politely declined the offer, although she was inwardly seething at being used in such a manner, and had introduced her then-co-worker, Astoria Greengrass, to Draco, who was quickly smitten, and the pair had married quickly, having a son, Scorpius, soon thereafter.

Hermione just hadn't had time for dating. After going through Auror training with Harry and Ron and realizing that it wasn't for her, she had gone through the instruction to become a full Unspeakable. Considering that she only lived with Crookshanks, and then Sharma, she was perfectly all right in discussing her cases with them. Naturally, she considered the whole fling and one-night-stand, but she figured, if she was going to do it at all, she may as well attempt to get it right the first time.

This meant, however, that she was placed in the awkward situations of horrible set-ups by friends who just thought they were helping her out. However, she had finally gathered Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lavender together and told them to knock it off. Thankfully, Molly and Arthur soon talked to the rest of the Weasleys, who naturally spread it around that Hermione was off the market by choice, not because she was holding out for something, anything, in particular.

"What do you think, Sharma?" she asked one evening in late-March.

Sharma opened her eyes and stared up at her mistress as if to say, What?

"Of this case," Hermione went on, proffering it towards her familiar. Even though she was now the Deputy Minister of Magic, she was still permitted to oversee various Unspeakable cases in her free time, especially if the underlings needed an answer and fast. "Even I know that the only way to turn back time is a Time Turner, and those are highly regulated. Imagine the paperwork that Minerva had to go through in order to get me mine," she said, chuckling to herself, and Sharma gently opened and closed her eyes; Minerva had been to tea on more than one occasion to Hermione's cottage in Hockworthy, a part of Devon, and had interacted with Sharma in and out of her Animagus form.

Sharma moved from her position, limbs shaking slightly as she stretched, and moved closer to her mistress, before lying beside her.

"Wish Magic," Hermione said, scoffing as she read the missive further. It had been sent by Astoria earlier; she was now a top-Unspeakable, and managed an entire unit within the Department of Mysteries, and Draco was quite proud of her. "I have a mind to write Astoria back right now and tell her that these thoughts are fanciful at best."

Sharma blinked slowly in reply, You know you can't do that.

"I'm not about to go making wishes for the impossible either, Shar," Hermione said firmly, and knew that Sharma would hear the firmness in her tone of voice; it was the very same as when she informed her feline that no, she absolutely would not get a second helping of tuna. "You know as well as I do that Wish Magic is impossible."

And what do you have to base that on? If I recall correctly, you left the Department of Mysteries before they even touched upon that topic in depth, Sharma seemed to communicate.

Hermione let out a noise of pure frustration. "It's not as if I could have stayed, even if I'd wanted to, and you know that," she replied, her tone impatient. "Kingsley wanted a permanent Deputy Minister, and said that I was the best for the position."

Sharma yawned and stretched out her front paws, the claws escaping temporarily from beneath her fur and clawing gently at Hermione's duvet. And we all knew that Percy was simply dreadful in that position anyway, no matter how fleeting, she seemed to muse, as she affixed her mistress with a look.

Hermione pursed her lips. "I know you've never liked Percy personally, Shar, but even you have to admit that he's settled down some, now that he's married Audrey, and they have little Molly and Lucy to look after?"

Sharma made a small moaning sound. He spoke about the benefits of having a dog in the house, in my presence, no less...

"I admit, it wasn't very tactful of him, but Audrey and I put a stop to it," Hermione said, reaching out and soothing Sharma's fur. "However, you know as well as I do that we cannot control what it is people do and don't think about."

Sharma yawned again. If you say so, her body language seemed to say, before laying down her head upon her paws, falling asleep.

Hermione sighed, taking one final look at the report Astoria had sent her, and shook her head in a moment of disdain. "Wish Magic," she murmured to herself, scoffing again. She banished them to her desk on the other side of the room, before whispering, "Nox." She sighed, remembering as the room folded into darkness that she'd forgotten to close the curtains, and that was one thing done better without magic. Grumbling to herself, she got out of bed and went to do just that, before she caught a glimpse of the waxing gibbus moon high in the night sky. She shook her head again, whispering, "Ridiculous," and pulled her curtains closed.