A Second Channe Through Time

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Page count: 12

Potter Manor - Saturday 24th April 1982

Three days later, Molly and Narcissa had their hands full with preparing for the wedding. They were both furious and thrilled to learn James, Hermione and Sirius were getting married the night before the Final Battle and luckily, the wedding had mostly been planned and after many happy tears, they immediately set to work preparing the grounds of Potter Manor for the ceremony.

James, Sirius and Hermione left it all in the capable hands of the two witches as they were preoccupied with preparing to destroy the Horcrux within Harry. A spring Saturday was the day. It was sundown.

The Marauders gathered by the lake on the Potter grounds, a blanket laid out on the floor with Harry in the centre playing with his stuffed dragon.

"You can do this, I have faith in you," James said, giving her hand a squeeze as he watched his son, oblivious to the happenings in the world and absorbed in his own little bubble of happiness.

She shook her head, forcing herself not to cry. "What if I fail?" Fear laced in her words.

"You won't; your bond and your love for Harry will keep him safe," Sirius assured her.

"You will save us all, Mia," Remus promised, far more confident than the others had been and with his confident stance, tone and expressions, she couldn't help but feel a little more confident in her plan.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered, releasing James' hand and approaching Harry, sitting next to him and handing him some milk laced with a Pain Potion.

He took it with a giggle and drank happily consumed it and within in a matter of minutes, drowsiness set in and he fell asleep. Hermione settled his sleeping form in her arms and reached for his sun pendent, clasping it together with her moon pendent and then James stepped forward, draping the Invisibility Cloak over them. Remus stepped forward, placing the Resurrection Stone in Harry's hand and Sirius pressed Hermione's wand, the Elder Wand, into the other.

Once they all stepped back and were clear of the perimeter lines Hermione had drawn onto the ground, Hermione's eyes examined Harry's sleeping face before she lifted her gaze to the sky above, summoning her magic within her and pulling on the magic of the Moon Goddess.

"Please help me," she pleaded, her tone thick with tears. "Please don't let him die, I've failed him once, I won't do it again."

Screwing her eyes shut and taking a calming breath, she removed a vial of basilisk venom from her pocket, tugged the stopper free and lifted it, hovering over Harry's forehead. Not wanting to give herself the chance to hesitate, she tipped the vial and several drops of basilisk venom fell onto his scar and moments later, black smoke poured and there was an ear-splitting scream. Everyone winced and slammed their hands over their ears but Hermione tightened her hold on Harry as tears streamed down her face, mumbling the binding vows under her breath and praying to the Moon Goddess and the Sun God.

The black smoke faded and the scream stopped, leaving only the sounds of the wildlife around the grounds and Hermione's sobs and muffled words.

Harry wasn't breathing.

"No, please, please, save him!" She begged.

She bowed her head, hugging him against her tightly as she rocked, tears streaming down her face and landing on Harry and then their combined necklaces began to glow a silver-gold, it growing so bright they had to shield their eyes.

"Merlin!"

Hermione's head snapped up to see what they were looking at. The sun and the moon were glowing brighter then she'd ever seen them. When she'd started the process, the sun was setting and the moon rising, but that had changed. The sun and moon were moving across the sky, moving closer together.