Chapter Text

One

“Dad!” Teddy shouted as he raced into Grimmauld Place. 

“No running!” Hermione called after the eleven-year-old boy.

Teddy didn’t slow down as he turned and raced into the newly constructed first-floor kitchen.

Hermione rolled her eyes fondly. She shrugged off her cloak and hung it up on the coat hanger beside the hallway mirror. It hung where Walburga Black’s portrait once did. It had taken Hermione a lot of time and energy to get the portrait removed and she relished the peace every time she came home.

Hermione entered the kitchen and smiled at the sight of Harry standing at the stove with Teddy leaning into his side. She rested her hands over her pregnant belly as she leaned against the open archway. 

“And then Miss Riley took us outside and we had a water balloon fight!”

“A water balloon fight?”

“Yeah!”

“Bet that was fun.”

“It was so much fun! I got soaked .”

Harry ruffled Teddy’s bright pink curls. “I’m glad you had fun, pup.” He looked over and smiled at Hermione, love shining in his emerald eyes. “There you are. How was your day?”

“Good.” 

She came over and grabbed a juice box from the fridge which she handed off to Teddy. The young boy took it and gave a quick thanks before dashing off to the kitchen table where there were crayons and papers left from that morning. 

“I finished up the research for my next paper,” Hermione continued. “Picked up the mail from my flat before I went and got Teddy from school.”

“Can I have Goldfish crackers?” Teddy asked.

“Only a few,” Harry responded over his shoulder, “dinner will be ready soon.”

Hermione turned to the cupboard to grab some crackers and a bowl. “How did your day go?”

Harry hummed. “Alright, I suppose.”

“You’re working in the Hall of Time now, yes?” 

Harry narrowed his eyes and didn’t respond. She smiled at him as she set the snack bowl next to Teddy. “You can’t still be in the Rem Room, you haven’t taken any work leave in weeks,” she surmised.

Harry looked up at the ceiling as he sighed heavily. 

Hermione pressed a kiss to the top of Teddy’s head before returning to the counter. She went to open the fridge, but was pulled away by Harry’s hand on her waist.

“Hey, come here.”

She turned as he drew her into his side. Harry pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Hi.”

“Hi.” She leaned in closer and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

“How're you feeling? Nauseous?”

She shook her head. “Not anymore. Pregnancy is a dream with potions readily available.”

Harry grinned crookedly. “Does that mean we're going to have a litter of Potter-Blacks?”

“You should be so lucky,” she teased.

Harry grinned. “I certainly feel it.”

Hermione's eyes narrowed. “Are you working in the Love Chamber?

Harry shook his head as he sighed, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I’m an Unspeakable , the description is in the name.”

“You say that like I didn’t help you with your time-magic project.”

“Yes, and I got in deep shit for that. I took vows.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows. “You and I both know that the vows the DoM makes you take are child's play against your magic. You can overcome them easily.”

“Yes, and Otis knows that too. But if I keep blatantly disregarding them, I will get into a lot of trouble.”

Hermione scoffed at that. “With who? Kingsley is the minister. He adores you. He was a part of the Order!”

Harry raised his eyebrows at her, amused. “Hermione, are you suggesting I accept nepotism ?” 

Her face flattened. She stuck a finger under his nose. “I want to know what you’re working on. If I wasn’t so rubbish at occlumency I’d have gone into the DoM myself. Let me live vicariously through you.”

Harry grinned. He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“You’d better.”

The sound of the floo activating echoed through from the drawing room. 

“Honey! I’m home!” Ron hollered.

“In the kitchen!” Harry called back.

Their best friend appeared a moment later in his Auror robes. “Dinner ready yet?”

Harry scoffed in amusement. “Who invited you?”

“Missus,” Ron responded cheerfully as he ducked further into the kitchen. “There he is! How’s our little pup?”

“Uncle Ron!” Teddy cheered.

“Well, this is cute,” a voice drawled.

Hermione and Harry looked over to find Draco Malfoy standing in their kitchen doorway in matching Auror robes to his partner. Harry narrowed his eyes while Hermione brightened.

“Draco! Hello. Ron invited you?”

Draco tilted his head in agreement. “If it’s alright.”

“Of course it is. You’re always invited.”

“Lord Black,” Draco greeted as he entered the kitchen.

“Malfoy.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Teddy, say hello to Draco.”

“Hi!”

“Hello, cousin,” Draco greeted warmly as he joined Ron and Teddy at the table.

Hermione turned to Harry. “Be nice," she hissed.

Harry’s mouth twisted as he stirred the bolognese sauce. “I will if he will.”

She rolled her eyes again as she huffed. “Butterbeers?” she asked their guests and grabbed two when they agreed. “Are you sleeping over tonight?”

Ron looked up from where he was colouring with Teddy. “Yeah, if it’s alright? Nev’s bringing his boyfriend over. I really don’t feel like being around for that.”

Harry snorted as Hermione laughed. “You’re more than welcome. You as well Draco, we can make a night of it. It’s Friday, after all.”

Draco glanced at Harry. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding,” Hermione immediately refuted. “You’re a Black and this is the home of the Head of Black House. You are always welcome. I’ll set up the guest room.” She turned away before he could refuse. She shot her husband a sharp look.

Harry sighed before looking over his shoulder. He nodded at Draco. “Stay.”

Draco inclined his head. “Thank you.”

“Sleepover!” Teddy cheered.

Draco turned to his cousin with a fond smile.

Hermione returned to the table with a glass of juice for herself and sat down. “How was work?”

Ron made a face and shrugged. “Same old, same old. Would have been more fun if your boyfriend decided to actually be an Auror.” Ron rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

Hermione grinned at the age-old gripe. Any lingering annoyance was long past. Despite his whining, Hermione knew that Ron supported Harry’s decision not to be an Auror – more importantly, Harry knew it too.

A large part of Harry’s decision to change careers had been because of Andromeda’s illness. She was only getting worse and it had already been established that Teddy would live with Harry when the time came that she couldn’t take care of him full-time anymore. As it stood, Teddy spent most days with the Potters at Grimmauld Place.

“More fun or more dangerous?” Draco wondered. “Lord Black has a penchant for trouble.”

“I'll say,” Hermione grumbled. She leaned her chin in her hand. “Did you finish the Pincer investigation?”

“All done,” Ron replied as he ate some of Teddy's crackers. 

“There’s been an uptick in dark magical objects in the Alley,” Draco explained. “We’ve been on that.”

“Dark magical objects?” she queried.

Ron shrugged. “They’re always around. Lots of trafficking of them in Knockturn, but we know it’s bad when the objects spill out into Diagon Alley.”

“Sounds like it could cause some problems.”

“Only if it isn’t contained,” Draco responded.

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Harry said and shot his wife a significant look.

Hermione pursed her lips at Draco and Ron. “Thanks. Now, I can’t go to Diagon Alley alone.”

“You shouldn’t,” Ron and Draco immediately returned.

Hermione rolled her eyes and groaned as she set a hand on her protruding belly. "I'm not made of glass."

All the wizards in the room wisely didn't respond.

“Alright!” Harry called from the stove. “Clear off the table, Ted, time for food.”

Ron and Draco helped Teddy clean up his crafts while Hermione waved her wand to set the table. The five of them sat down together with Ron and Draco on one side of the table and Hermione and Teddy at the other. Harry sat at the head and pretended not to be keeping a close eye on their guest. 

It was a nice, peaceful calm that they had become accustomed to in the decade since the war ended. Sometimes, it felt surreal to think back on the time they had sat around a fire and tried to eat boiled water and foraged mushrooms for a year. 

Their dinners in the years since the end of the war had been filled with laughter, warmth, and love. 

“Uncle Ron, can you tuck me in?” Teddy asked that evening, already bathed and in his pyjamas. 

“Sure thing, buddy. Let’s go. Give mum and dad a kiss.”

Teddy hurried over to where Hermione and Harry were sitting together on the loveseat. Teddy gave them both a big hug and kiss before rushing off to Draco. The blond Auror looked nonplussed to be included. He froze as Teddy hugged him tight and grabbed his hand.

“Come on,” the boy urged. 

Draco shot Hermione a look of alarm as he allowed himself to be pulled up the stairs with Teddy and Ron. Hermione smiled after them.

“Love you!” she called at the same time as Harry said, “Sleep tight!”

Hermione stared after his head of blond hair, tinged teal at the ends. It was a look Teddy tended to favour more recently. She looked over at Harry with a sad smile.

“He’s going to Hogwarts in a few months.”

Harry shook his head. “I can’t believe it. He’s so big.”

“No, he’s not. He’s a baby ,” Hermione argued as she wrapped her arms around her belly. “He’s too little to go off and live in a castle. How were we allowed to do that? How is that legal?”

Harry laughed. “He’ll be fine.”

“He’s going to cause so much trouble.”

“Exactly, he’ll be fine.”

Hermione groaned. “How are you so okay with this? Do you not remember what we got up to in our first year?”

“Riddle isn’t exactly around to cause a fuss for him.”

Hermione twisted in her seat from where she had been leaning back against him. She met his bright green eyes with obvious alarm. “Harry. We tried to smuggle a dragon out of the country. And that was before Voldemort got involved.”

Harry tilted his head. “It was a baby dragon though.”

Hermione laughed despite herself. “Oh my god. You’re the worst.”

He grinned and used his arm around her waist to pull her into his lap. He pressed a kiss to her jaw and rested his hand on her pregnant belly. “Whatever he does, it won’t even be half as crazy as the shit we got up to. Just thank your lucky stars that he isn’t at school with us .”

“Can you imagine?”

“Yes. Which is why we’re very lucky.” He smiled with a soft charm that always filled Hermione’s chest with warmth. “And at the end of the day, Minerva will be watching. He’s a Lupin and a Tonks and raised by us . She’s got a million contingency plans in place, I bet.”

“Yeah, retirement,” Hermione joked and Harry laughed.

Hermione preened. It always felt like such an accomplishment to make Harry laugh. Even now, even though years had passed since the Horcrux was gone and Harry was so much easier to make laugh. She still prided herself on being able to make him throw his head back and lose himself in the amusement of a moment. 

Hermione cupped his jaw and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Harry hummed. 

When Ron and Draco came downstairs just a bit later, he found the two of them sitting together with their foreheads touching and eyes closed. 

“Oi!” Ron clapped his hands.

Harry and Hermione pulled apart and looked over.

“Who wants to get pissed?”

“Drunk Exploding Snap?” Harry suggested.

“I can’t play,” Hermione whined.

Harry grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as he stroked a hand across her belly.

Ron jerked a thumb at his partner. “Draco will play in your place.”

Draco frowned at them. “I don’t know how to play Drunk Exploding Snap.” He looked at Hermione. “Am I about to get hustled – again ?”

“No…” all three Gryffindors returned unconvincingly. 

Draco looked up as he sighed “Great.”

><

A loud clanging noise pierced the quiet of Grimmauld Place.

Hermione lurched upward, wand in hand. Beside her, Harry was already on his feet and halfway to the door. She scrambled after him, much slower due to her pregnancy. He opened the bedroom door and the clanging sound was even louder. It echoed loudly through the house. 

“What the bleeding hell is that?” Ron shouted from the second floor where all the guest rooms were. 

“I’m not detecting any other people!” Draco shouted from the same floor.

Harry raced to the stairwell and looked over the railing down at the two Aurors.

“Mummy?”

Hermione turned to find Teddy stumbling out of his bedroom. He rubbed his head, eyes still mostly closed. 

“Stay with Teddy,” Harry ordered before racing down the stairs to join Ron. 

“Come here, darling.”

Teddy immediately rushed to her and she pulled him into her arms. She ran a hand through his messy sandy-coloured hair and pressed a kiss to his head.

“It’s alright, Teddy.”

“‘Mione!” Ron hollered over the noise. 

The clanging stopped suddenly just as Hermione reached the stairwell railing. She looked over the bannister with her wand in one hand and Teddy’s hand in the other. She met Ron’s gaze two floors down the winding staircase.

“Harry’s muted it,” he told her. “It’s something in your cloak?”

Hermione frowned. “From the mail I picked up?”

Ron turned to Harry. They exchanged a few words before he leaned back over and looked up. “Come on down. We don’t think there’s a threat.”

Hermione turned to Teddy. “How about you go back to sleep, sweetheart?” 

Teddy shook his head and rubbed his eye again. “Can I have some water?”

“Sure. Come on.”

She headed down the stairs with Teddy. She was unsurprised to find Draco standing with Harry and Ron at the base of the stairs. All three men looked up, their eyes flickering across her and Teddy for signs of injury that weren’t there. 

“Can you get Teddy some water?” she asked Draco who quickly nodded and disappeared.

“It was this one,” Harry explained as he held up a simple padded mail package.

Hermione frowned as she took it from him. “This is muggle though?”

“Easy way to get things past magical security measures,” Draco explained as he returned with a glass of water. He handed it to Teddy who sat on the bottom step of the stairs and then turned to Ron. “Isn’t that one of the ways they’re getting the dark objects out of Knockturn?”

Hermione’s eyes widened and Harry immediately took the package back.

“Did you check if it was safe?” she asked him.

Harry frowned at the muggle package. “It passed all my checks. If it were dark, it wouldn’t even be allowed through Grimmauld’s wards.”

Hermione looked between Ron, Draco, and Harry. “Are we going to open it?”

The three men looked pointedly at her pregnant belly. None of them were willing to risk her or the baby. Her magic was delicate while pregnant and the risk of miscarriage when there was dark magic around was high. This far along in her pregnancy, a miscarriage could be life-threatening.

“Hand me my cloak,” she ordered. “And Teddy’s.”

Harry handed the package to Ron as he grabbed two white cloaks off the hook and handed one over. Harry had customised the fabric himself. It protected her against dark magic as well as general charms and spells. Anything and everything was a cause for concern when a witch was pregnant. Many witches didn’t even leave their houses during pregnancy.

Draco fitted the second smaller cloak around Teddy as the boy whined tiredly. “Let’s take you back to bed,” Draco murmured.

“No,” Teddy whined and hugged his water to his chest.

Draco stood with a sigh and turned to Harry and Hermione, looking for help.

Hermione waved her hand as she finished clasping her own cloak in place. “Let him finish his water. Then we’ll go back to bed, right Teddy?”

Teddy mumbled and took a sip of his water. His eyes were drooping.

“Open it,” she instructed Ron.

Ron shot her an uneasy look before ripping the package open. He dumped the contents out into his hand. Hermione immediately felt her heart drop into her stomach. Harry and Ron both tensed. Draco took a step back.

“Is this-?” Ron asked, voice hushed.

Harry didn’t say anything.

Hermione swallowed thickly as she stared at the red and gold time-turner in Ron’s hand.

“A time-turner?” Draco whispered.

“Who sent you this?” Harry asked, his voice as close to harsh as it ever got in front of Teddy.

Hermione shook her head. “I don’t- I just picked it up in the mail.”

Ron turned the package open. “There’s no return address.”

“What does the note say?” Draco asked, voice filled with Auror authority.

Ron, hands full, handed the note over to Draco. 

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past .” Draco frowned. “I don’t understand. Who sent this to you? And why?”

“What does that even mean?” Ron demanded.

"It's Orwell," Hermione explained.

"It's a what?"

"Not a what, a who. Orwell was a writer. Extremely famous. This is from his novel, 1984. But that was a book about a body of government controlling the people. It's... more applicable to our time during the war. Not now."

"Is it?" Harry asked quietly.

They turned to him. "Think about it. Half the Wizengamot is gone. So many magical families perished during the Second Blood War. We can barely get anything done anymore. Our government might be working, but it moves at a snail's pace."

"Miraculous considering how slow it was before," Draco drawled.

"Exactly."

Hermione frowned at Harry. "You cannot be suggesting what I think you are."

"No," he scoffed. "Definitely not. I have no desire to go back to any time that wasn't maybe last Saturday." He winked at her.

Hermione blushed. "Harry."

“What do we do with it?” Ron asked. “It’s the last one, right? All the others were destroyed at the DoM in our fifth year.”

Harry and Ron both looked pointedly at Hermione. She tilted her chin up, unapologetic. Draco looked back and forth between them. His head snapped around to Hermione.

“Did you destroy the Hall of Time?” he demanded.

“ No, ” she hissed. “Don’t be ridiculous .”

Draco's eyes widened and a smile teased the edges of his lips. “Holy shit, Granger.”

“It’s Potter,” Harry snapped.

Hermione turned her own pointed stare towards him. “Perhaps there are more now. If only we knew someone who knew .”

“If only,” Harry immediately replied.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

“Are we done now?” Teddy asked sleepily.

“Yeah, bud,” Harry replied gently. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

He brushed past Ron and the time-turner immediately began to glow.

“Oi!” Ron shouted. “Everyone down!”

Harry lunged for Teddy at the same time as Draco grabbed Hermione. Hermione threw her hands over her head as Draco crouched protectively over her.

The room exploded with a bright golden light.