To a Better End

Chapter 14

January 5th 1942

After their excessive use of Time-Turners in such quick succession, followed by a necessary apparition into town to get supplies, the pair were utterly depleted. Between eating and going over the finer details for their upcoming school years, the pair spent the following days resting and recharging on the couch.

Malfoy solved calculations upon calculations, ensuring this plan had a viable chance. From his findings, success was very likely. It instilled a newfound sense of optimism in Hermione, which was welcomed after her blunder with Albus' unfortunate employment at the school.

One of the catches was if they were, in fact, able to stop Tom from tearing his soul apart, they would need to revisit future years to ensure that certain poignant events, like James and Lily meeting and falling in love, still happened.

The nearby town hadn't changed much in the last forty years. She and Malfoy frequented the shops there separately, taking time to gather supplies for their brews across several weeks, under the careful guise of Polyjuice potion. Nightly, they revisited their plan, combing through all details of it until they had every letter memorised. By January, Hermione was certain it couldn't go wrong. They had accounted for everything.

Hermione continued to write to Theo several times a week. Usually, it would start with a "good morning" from one of them and then a brief update on their friends, and any changes on either end of the timeline.

Hello Goldy,

I hope my favourite time travellers are doing well. The lapses in time increase when I leave the house, and I was wondering if that's normal. I've no problem staying inside if my leaving is an issue. I'm sure once you get back, it will be like I never missed anything.

Time is weird.

Nott

Lapses in time. That was worrisome, to say the least. The magic would hold for decades until Malfoy and Hermione returned to remove the stasis. However, if the lapses in time were increasing, Hermione was unsure of how protected Theo would remain.

Theo,

Are you experiencing anything inside of the manor? Or just outside? It might be time to restrict your visits if this continues. Did you want me to jump to you and bring you here? It might be the safest place and time for you.

HG

Hermione paced, sweat dripping from her brow even though it was cold. She held the journal open in her hands, waiting for words to appear.

Swotty McSwotterson,

That won't be necessary. I'm sure it's nothing to be concerned about. I'll keep my visits limited. Once you get back from saving the world, I'm sure it will even out.

Notty Boy

P.S. Make sure you tell Draco to stretch.

With frustration and worry painting her expression, Hermione stared at the very poorly drawn winking face. In spite of her worry, she couldn't help but smirk at his reply. Theo obviously wasn't upset, but how did he find out? Malfoy must have let it spill at some point. He did mention they had little in the way of secrets. Under normal circumstances, she would have brought it up to Malfoy, but she didn't want to create a strain here. He was all she had, in this timeline and all timelines predating their present.

*****

August 19th 1942

By March 5th, they both agreed that they were ready to leap to August. With all the details committed to memory, dawdling just didn't feel right. All that was left to do was brew a very special potion to ensure their success.