A Paradox In Time

Squaring the Circle

It was a very frenetic Hermione Granger who returned to the present day. She raced immediately towards the Ministry of Magic's Hall of Records, with Harry panting as he struggled to stay in the slipstream of this restless ball of energy.

"Hermione! Wait!" Harry called after her. "What's your rush?"

"We have to see," Hermione cried back. "We have to see if it worked."

"We know it worked ... we just saw it! Just did it," Harry reminded her in puffy breaths.

"I know that! But I still have to see."

And that was that as far as arguments went. So Harry gave up trying to slow Hermione down, and just did his best to keep with her. He watched as she skidded out of sight into the the Hall of Records to the left of the corridor, and by the time he'd reached her again she had already pulled several copies of old Daily Prophet trial coverage to her, as well as the official parchment documents stored by the Ministry.

Harry didn't dare interrupt as Hermione read, but he didn't have to wait long. It was barely a minute before Hermione looked up at him, eyes shining and a beaming smile crossing her face.

"We did it, Harry! We did it!" she sang, before flinging her arms around his neck and threatening to squeeze the life out of him.

"H-Hermione," Harry panted. "I'd quite like to see this amazing future of ours, so do you mind not choking me out of it?"

Hermione let go sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be," Harry half-grinned, half-grimaced as he massaged his neck. "There are few things as potent as a true Hermione Granger hug. Even the ones that hurt are worth it."

"Hush you," Hermione huffed genially. "Enough of that though, let me show you the proof of our success."

Hermione guided Harry back to the table and gestured at the documents spread out before them. Moving pictures of the trial screamed back up at them ... or, at least, the one of the Polyjuiced Molly Weasley did.

"Wow. She looks pissed!" Harry chortled.

"Wouldn't you be, to be fair?" Hermione argued, reasonably. "We'd just derailed all her plans for a domination of your life through a daughter she lost the right to have when she became a Weasley. All those schemes, all those elaborate strategies, up in flames, just like that. It's the sort of thing to really put a dampener on your day."

"What does the article say?" Harry asked.

"Well, the most important document is this one, the Court Minutes from the trial," Hermione began, passing the offending parchment sheet for Harry to look at. "See here ... Englebert Weasley, for the Act of Treason in promising his daughter, Ethel, to the New World Order of Gellert Grindelwald: Convicted as Charged. Sentence: The denial of future daughters to the family line. Signed, Hector Dagworth-Granger, presiding judiciar and curse-caster. You know, I think I should have come up with a better signature. My 'w' is all wonky."

"It was your first go, don't be so hard on yourself," Harry chuckled. "You won't have to do it again, will you? So it doesn't really matter."

"I suppose not," Hermione accepted in a sniffy voice. "It was a good job that the curse was already lined up to use. We didn't really think about that, did we? It was lucky we didn't get caught out."

"I prefer to call it serendipity," Harry argued. "It was just meant to be. It was more of a good thing that you cast spells so perfectly at the first time of asking."

"You know, I think I will really get used to these showers of compliments you keep giving me," Hermione laughed. "Where has this you been hiding all these years?"