Out of Time

Chapter 29

She's got books, clothes, an assortment of outdoor gear, and some basic toiletries. What else she'll need will depend on what Mr Weasley is able to help with - if anything. But if he won't (or can't), Hermione can make a trip into Ottery St Catchpole.

Speaking of the Burrow, Hermione chews on her lip. She needs something for the wedding, too. It's not ranking as important but it does matter. She hasn't a single, solitary dress that's 'wedding' attire. Her Yule Ball gown would work if it still fit her. Alas, she's rather curvier than she was in her fourth year. She liked the colour, though, so maybe another one like that. She'll wear one of the sets of heels Draco bought her, and that thought lifts her spirits. He likes the peep toes with the strap around her ankle the best, so that's what she'll do.

She pops into the next shop that looks promising and after an hour of obnoxiously contentious mental wrangling, she settles on a pretty sky blue number with an empire waist. It's decent. She's not in love with it but she figures it makes no real difference. Draco won't be there and she has no other reason to give a toss about what she looks like.

Her parents love it, though. Her mum gushes over it, even though she's no budding fashion icon like Pansy Parkinson (the ache of Pansy's absence strikes harder than Hermione expected). Her mum is her non-fashion icon. She's never cared about clothing or trends. Her mum is of the business-end hairstyle, minimal makeup, and functional attire. On the occasions when Jane Renée Granger attended dental industry dinners or events with her father, or charity galas her parents would sponsor, Hermione would watch her mother apply what she can now identify as only foundational makeup. She'd wear dresses she already owned and choose shoes from her closet that were scuffed on the heels and toes.

To Hermione, she was the prettiest lady in the whole world.

Her mum gushes over Hermione's dress even though they know the wedding is going to cut short her summer with them.

They have no idea how short it's going to be.

* * *

Tonight, she decides. She needs to do it tonight.

She's been putting it off and she's cut herself some slack up to now, but it really must be done. It's going to take time and she can't risk procrastinating.

What she's planning is complex. Intricate. It has to be, to succeed. That layers in extra difficulty in the details, and acing the details is the only way it will work.

Hermione might die on this mission - or at any point in this war. If she's captured and not killed, her parents will be used against her. Her parents could even be used to lure her out of hiding in the first place. The only way to prevent that is to prevent them from being found and she's accepted what must be done.

It's been hard. Every night that her father proposes a new board game, every night that her mother asks Hermione's opinion on a specific set of x-rays (still holding out hope of swaying her daughter to a Muggle profession of dentistry, or maybe just from nostalgia), delays her resolve. It's too easy to say 'yes' to those things in the moment, too easy to join in. But no more. Hermione knows this will take time. It's... complicated.

It's still hard to force herself into. Legalities aside (Hermione could face a lifetime in Azkaban for this, for the use of an unregulated memory charm upon two Muggles), how can she pick up her wand and aim it at her parents? Even if it's to keep them safe?

At the last possible minute, she grabs Roary. She hasn't held Roary in years. Not like this, like she needs to borrow strength from her most resilient stuffed animal. It's a comfort reserved for younger children and Hermione clutches onto it in desperation now. With Roary tucked under her arm, she unsteadily makes her way to the living room where her mother is watching the news.