Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1 - MARITAL PROBLEMS
Harry took a deep breath and tried to relax as he leant back in his chair in the garden at the Burrow. It was a bright sunny day and they were planning on eating outside, only Harry wasn’t hungry, he’d lost his appetite and hadn’t felt inclined to eat much for a while now. Everyone else was happy and carefree, everyone except Harry it felt like.
‘You look how I feel.’ Hermione joked as she sat down next to him. Only, Harry noticed, the joke didn’t quite reach her face.
Harry narrowed his eyes at her, noting the tightness around her features and the tense set to her jaw. He glanced around them checking to see if anyone was watching them but everyone was too busy with something else.
Molly was still inside cooking, George hadn’t turned up yet, and no one was actually expecting him to. Percy was droning on about something while Arthur was staring intently at what looked to be the spray part of a spray bottle, while Ginny and Ron were arguing about a broom. Bill and Fleur were watching Charlie entertain Victoire and Teddy with his hands emphasising his points while they watched utterly entranced. ‘Think we can slip away?’
Her eyes widened. ‘You serious?’
Harry nodded, suddenly feeling guilty. He hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t happy, too wrapped up in his own affairs to realise that his best friend was struggling with something too.
Hermione blinked at him before slowly nodding. She inclined her head at the path to the shed and motioned him to stand up before chatting away about her work. ‘It’s such a simple remedy I can’t believe no one's even thought of it before, and while the legislation is actually quite complex, if we can get the bill voted through the Wizengamot, it would be easy to put into action.’
Harry followed her as she led them past their other halves where Ron's eyes glazed over and Ginny gave him a sympathetic look but left them to it. Harry swallowed and smiled weakly at Ginny as they passed, thankful that her busy schedule had kept her from noticing his growing distance while he desperately tried to figure things out in his head.
Once they reached the shed, Hermione grabbed his hand and they darted down the overgrown path to the field where they occasionally played the odd quidditch game.
‘I can’t believe that worked!’ Harry gasped as they came to a halt, feeling some of the heaviness lift from him.
‘Yes, well, it's amazing how boring I can be without actually saying anything.’ Hermione’s tone was joking but her eyes were serious and Harry winced, knowing he was guilty of thinking that about her.
He went to apologise but she’d already taken his hand and with a sharp crack apparated them away. Harry blinked as he looked around them, staring at the dust covered room they were in.
‘Grimmauld Place?’ He asked, looking at what used to be the kitchen. It had been years since he’d been here, Ginny had hated it so they’d found somewhere else to live, more suited to the both of them and he’s slowly forgotten about it.
Hermione sighed and slumped into one of the chairs, a wave of dust billowing up around her. Harry was surprised it didn’t break. ‘The only place I could think of that they wouldn’t look for us.’
‘Hermione, what’s wrong?’
She shrugged but bit her bottom lip and he could see the tears that suddenly sprung up into her eyes. He reached out and held her hand.
‘I-I don’t think I should have married Ron.’
Harry blinked at her while two very different emotions whipped through him. Anger, initially, because that was his best friend and how dare she? Swiftly followed by relief, relief that he wasn’t the only one. ‘I know I shouldn’t have married Ginny.’
Hermione stared at him, her mouth opened wide in shock. ‘You too?’
Harry shrugged, fairly certain that they had very different reasons for feeling this way. ‘She’s cheating on me.’
‘What?’ Hermione practically screeched, her eyes darkening with anger.
Harry nodded. ‘She doesn’t know I know.’
Hermione blinked and he could almost see the gears turning in her head. ‘What are you going to do?’
He took a deep breath trying to push down the feelings that bubbled up inside of him. ‘I don’t know. She’s talking about retiring and starting a family only…’ he trailed off unable to carry on. Tears pushing at his own eyes. He’d known for a while but it still felt raw and he couldn’t quite seem to get to grips with the betrayal, was it his fault? Had he done something? Did she no longer love him?
‘Oh Harry.’ Hermione stood up and wrapped her arms around him.
He burrowed into her embrace, finally allowing his tears to fall free and letting go of his pent up emotions. He didn’t know how long it was until he finally came back to himself and found that he was lying on a comfy sofa in her arms.
He swallowed and found himself free of his anger and hurt, left only resigned and tired and feeling stupid. ‘I performed a pregnancy diagnosis spell on her a couple nights ago while she was sleeping. It was positive, only we haven’t slept together since I caught her with him four months ago.’
Hermione’s arms tightened around him. ‘She’s pregnant?’ She whispered.
Harry nodded. He knew he’d invaded her privacy and that he was in the wrong for doing it, especially behind her back, but when she’d started talking about starting a family so suddenly, and giving up the career she loved, the career she had said she’d never leave only a few months ago. Things just hadn’t added up, and now he knew why.
‘Merlin Harry, I’m sorry.’
He shifted slightly, resting his head against hers. ‘So, what’s happening with you and Ron?’ He found he wasn’t angry at her anymore, only curious about why their relationship wasn’t as stable as he’d believed it to be.
She sighed, looking miserable. ‘We’re arguing constantly. About everything, what to have for dinner, who’ll cook or pick up take away, what take away and where from.’ She paused and he knew the real problem was this next one. ‘Why I’m not already pregnant and raising our children, why I keep giving George so many chances.’
Harry blinked. He wasn’t touching that one about Hermione being pregnant with a barge pole, everyone knew how much she cared about her career and how important it was to her but… ‘What's George got to do with it?’
Hermione tensed.
Harry sat up and looked at her. ‘Hermione?’
She sighed and fiddled with her fingers. ‘Ron wants to take over Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.’
Harry frowned, he already knew this, Ron wouldn’t stop going on about how great he could make the shop if George would only let him. ‘Yeah I know, he wants to run it with George, become a full on partner.’
Hermione shook her head. ‘George isn’t having any of it. It was his and Fred’s dream. Ron thinks he can take it over and run it himself, without George.’
Harry felt his blood run cold. He could understand where George was coming from, it had been his and Fred’s dream and George had never gotten over Fred dying. He’d stopped inventing and the shop only sold the products they’d already come up with, but they’d come up with so many, Harry doubted he’d ever go out of business. But Ron wanting George out? That was news to him and even as he struggled to believe it, his brain came up with comments Ron had been making about George and the joke shop and he knew it was true.
‘What are you going to do?’
Hermione shrugged, looking small and helpless for the first time he had known her.
‘What do you want to do?’
She gave a broken laugh. ‘Go running to George, tell him everything and make sure Ron never has anything to do with the joke shop ever again.’
Harry nodded, wishing his own problems could be sorted that easily and he knew how close Hermione had gotten to George in the last few years. She was just as close to George as she was to Harry, if not closer.
‘What about you?’
He shrugged, staring at the old fireplace and wishing for the impossible. ‘Go back in time and do everything differently.’
Hermione tensed again.
Harry turned to look at her but she avoided his gaze. ‘Hermione?’
‘Hmmm?’ She asked, wrapping her arms around herself.
‘What do you know?’
‘What? Nothing! I mean,’ Hermione frowned, looking confused. ‘Lots of things, I know lots of things, why?’
‘Hermione, you know something that could help, what is it?’ Harry demanded with a sharp edge to his tone that he never used around her.
He regretted it the second he saw her deflate.
‘Hermione…’ he pleaded in apology, wrapping her up in his arms.
She pushed her head onto his chest, taking the comfort he offered before he felt her take a deep breath as if to steal herself for something. ‘There’s a spell I found a year ago. To take you back in time, similar but different to a time turner. A time turner can take you back in time but only to a maximum of twenty four hours and it takes your physical body back so that there are two of you.’
Harry nodded, he remembered their third year and the time turner and how they’d accidentally destroyed them all the night Sirius died.
‘This spell doesn’t take your body back in time, it sends your mind back to your younger self, and there is no time limit on it. You can go back as far as you want as long as you still have a body. You could go back to the day you were born for example.’
‘What’s the catch?’ Harry asked, attempting to joke but really wanting to know.
‘You need three people to do it. And you all go back to the same time. We would all have the memories from this life, no matter how much we change the other one. And if you don’t succeed, the spell takes your life as forfeit.’
Harry ignored that last part. It wasn’t like they were serious about actually going back or anything, it was just interesting, having options. ‘But we could change the direction our paths take? Not get married.’
‘Oh Harry, we could do so much more depending on how far back we went.’ She pulled back, looking at him intently as if needing him to realise something.
He frowned at her but it suddenly clicked. ‘Sirius. We could save him, stop him from dying.’
She swallowed, ‘Fred too, and Remus and Tonks. Dumbledore.’
He stared at her and nodded resolutely. ‘So who’s our third?’
She smiled at him, relief covering her face. ‘You are.’ He frowned at her but before he could ask her what she meant she squeezed his hand. ‘Do you really think there isn’t anything George wouldn’t do to get Fred back?’
He let out his breath noisily. ‘Of course. Does he know?’
She shook her head. ‘I wasn’t going to get his hopes up until I knew I was serious about this and not being selfish. And only if I could find someone I trusted to go back with us.’
Harry frowned and stared at Hermione intently. ‘What else is going on? You're not doing this just because of your marriage.’
Hermione winced. ‘Some of the things I’ve learnt from working at the ministry...’ She swallowed loudly and took a deep breath. ‘Its rotten at the core. If we’re doing this again, I certainly won't be working for them.’
Harry stared at her, he knew the ministry wasn’t perfect, he worked for them too and often found himself banging his head against a brick wall, but the way Hermione was talking was something else entirely. ‘Is this why you changed departments last year?’
Hermione nodded slowly. ‘The ministry is a lot more indoctrinated into the pureblood society than I ever realised.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The pureblood Houses.’ Hermione informed and at his lost look began explaining. ‘All the old wizard names are what’s known as Houses. The House of Weasley, the House of Potter, the House of Longbottom for example. Only the House of Weasley lost their seat at the Wizengamot years ago. The House of Potter stopped when your parents died.’
‘Why have I never heard of this? If my family is a part of this?’ Harry demanded.
‘Partly because you weren’t of age to do anything, and partly, I’m certain, because your mother was muggleborn.’
Harry stared at her.
‘They want to keep all the Houses pureblood, like the House of Malfoy and the House of Black.’
‘Sirius had a house?’ Harry asked astounded.
Hermione nodded. ‘Grimmauld Place was one of the House estates. It wasn’t the family manor, but their London house.’
‘Family manor?’
Hermione nodded. ‘Sirius didn’t leave an heir, or rather, he never accepted his role as the head of the family meaning the House of Black didn’t have an heir. However magic recognised you as his heir and left you Grimmauld place and his personal vaults, but the Black family manor and the vaults and heirlooms went to Narcissa Malfoy nee Black.’
Harry blinked at her, feeling nauseous. ‘What?’
Hermione sighed and rubbed her eyes. ‘Every single member of the Wizengamot is a pureblood, it’s why I’ve been fighting an uphill battle in everything I try to do. I’m muggleborn so either don’t know what I’m talking about, or want to abolish pureblood traditions.’
‘That’s ridiculous!’ Harry stared at her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘There’s nothing you can do about it Harry, it’s the way of the wizarding world.’ Hermione sounded defeated. It was not a tone he liked hearing on her.
‘So how do we change it?’ Harry asked, determined.
Hermione half smiled at him. ‘I don’t think we can.’
‘Of course we can.’ Harry pushed. ‘We defeated Voldemort, we can sort out the ministry.’
Hermione snorted, but then squinted at him. ‘I do have an idea, but we can only try it if Sirius agrees.’
Harry beamed at her.
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