Between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as lovers.
The Burden of Secrets
Hermione Granger sat in the dim candlelight, the ticking of her enchanted watch mingling with the distant thrum of the castle. Outside, the Scottish chill whispered secrets of its own to the dark waters of the Black Lake, secrets of time and tide and the mysteries that lay beneath.
It had been a fortnight since that ill-fated night at the Ministry. A night that had thrown her, Harry, and their friends into the depths of fear and despair. The memory of Sirius's fall still haunted Hermione, as it did Harry, though he bore the weight of it in silence. She had watched him closely since, with a heart brimming with shared grief. Hermione saw the pain buried beneath Harry’s emerald eyes, eyes that once sparkled with mischief, now dulled by loss.
The Secret Task
Yet, in the wake of the tragedy, a fierce determination had hardened within her. A secret project had taken root, one that she believed could turn the tide of their battle against Voldemort. An advanced Time-Turner hidden beneath her pillow was the focus of her efforts. Not to travel a few hours back in time, but to visit parallel worlds— to find answers, strategies, anything that could help stop Voldemort once and for all.
The watch, a modified Time-Turner, was nearly complete. Its intricate gears and glistening sands promised a world of possibilities. But with such power came great risk. Hermione remembered, all too well, the last time she'd used a Time-Turner. Their third year already felt like a lifetime ago, and she had been cautious then, only traveling back moments in time. This was different; this was dangerous.
Just as she was tucking her watch away, the door creaked, and she quickly stashed the device under her blankets. It was Harry, his footsteps soft against the stone floor of the Gryffindor girl’s dormitory.
A Confidant Revealed
"Can't sleep either?" Hermione asked, trying to sound casual, but her heart had quickened like the flapping of a snitch's wings.
Harry shook his head, a ghost of a smile flickering on his lips. "I keep going over everything... thinking about what we could've done differently," he admitted, sitting on the edge of her bed.
Hermione reached out to him, placing a comforting hand on his. "It's not our fault, Harry. We did everything we could."
He met her eyes, and for a moment, there was an unspoken understanding. It was a connection that had always been there, forged in the fires of their challenges, but it seemed to have deepened recently. With shared experiences pulling them into an orbit from which they could not escape, both felt it but neither spoke of it.
It was then Hermione made a decision, one that set her heart racing. She would show Harry her creation; she needed someone to confide in, and who better than the boy who had been her steadfast friend since she was eleven? With an anxious breath, she retrieved the watch, its surface gleaming in the moonlight.
"Harry, I've been working on something," she whispered, her fingers trembling as she handed him the Time-Turner.
A Leap into the Unknown
Harry inspected the watch with a furrowed brow. "Looks like a Time-Turner... but different," he said slowly, a trace of alarm in his voice. "Hermione, what have you been doing?"
She took a deep breath, explaining her plan in hushed tones, the enormity of their endeavor hanging between them. Harry listened intently, his initial skepticism giving way to a spark of hope— a rare commodity these days.
"It could work," he finally said, "but it’s a huge risk. What if we can’t get back? Or change something we shouldn't?"
Hermione nodded solemnly. "I know, but Harry, this could be our chance to change the future... to save lives."
They spoke for hours into the night, weighing the dangers and possibilities. As the sky began to bleed with the first light of dawn, they reached an agreement. Together, they would take the leap into the unknown, for the sliver of a chance at a better world. Hermione clasped the Time-Turner in her hand, Harry's fingers over hers, a silent oath to face whatever lay ahead— together.
The last chime of the watch echoed in the still morning air as they turned it, vanishing from the safety of Hogwarts into an uncertain future.