Braving the Past

Chapter 35: Lost and Found

"So her last name's Granger?" Hermione heard Lily ask James as they walked into the room, the door closing behind them.

"The map never lies," James confirmed.

"I've never heard that name here before," she commented, looking up at the high piles of items.

"That's because she's just like you," James said with a smile. His eyes had yet to leave her face.

"Muggleborn?"

"I was going to say strong, brilliant, and caring, but I suppose muggleborn is the more obvious similarity."

Hermione tuned out their conversation and went to work on finding the diadem. Harry had been the one to spot it before while Hermione and Ron were preoccupied with Crabb and his Fiendfyre. But she could still slightly picture what it looked like before it had been thrown into the fire.

Silver and blue, ornate, fit for a princess.

Remus came up next to her, matching her stride. His hands were stuck in his pockets. Sirius had gone down a different isle and was out of eyesight while Peter stayed just a few paces behind them, lost in the wonder of the room.

"Do you know what to look for?" she asked.

Remus nodded. "A fancy crown shouldn't be difficult to find amongst the piles of junk here."

Hermione agreed. Her eyes searched high and low, taking in every little detail, searching for any glittering that might catch her eye.

"I'm curious," Remus began. "And I know it can be a sensitive subject, but please forgive my straightforwardness...how did you become like me?"

Hermione's steps paused. She looked down to the ground, biting her lip. Now was not a good time to be having this conversation.

"Can this possibly wait?" she asked with a squirm.

"Yeah, no of course. It was rude of me to ask." Remus shook his head at himself and avoided her gaze.

She felt bad for him, but this wasn't pressing. There were more important things to focus on at the moment.

They searched many piles in silence, eyes becoming weighted, tired, and blurry from exhaustion. The distant chatter of James and Lily soon dispersed to be replaced with the quiet footsteps of each member in the silent room.

Remus stopped again with a grunt. "This must be my tired mind talking, but is there a reason you're not telling me?"

Hermione had almost forgotten about their earlier conversation. Her forehead creased with worry.

"Remus..." she tried.

"I know, I know, it's not a good time. But will it ever be? I mean, who wants to talk about such a horrific moment in one's life? I know what you're feeling. I know it's scary to tell someone about this, but how can I empathize with you if I don't know what happened?"

Hermione scrunched up her face, her mind going in several directions at once.

Focus on the task at hand.

Just tell him already, he'll be alright.

You're running out of time.

How will he react?

Tom is getting closer to Voldemort.

Tell him now and you can finally focus.

"I was running from Death Eaters when it happened," Hermione acceded. "The day I was taken back to Tom Riddle's time, actually."