Destination Unknown

Prologue

July 31^st, 2001

"Stupefy!" shouted Hermione Granger. The Death Eater in front of her collapsed in a heap. Behind her she could hear Ginny Longbottom yell, "Impedimentia!" Another Death Eater fell. Ron Weasley walked in at that moment, looking rather worn out.

"Are you done?" he asked his sister. Ginny and Hermione looked around. Twenty Death Eaters lay fallen in the room. She nodded.

"How's Draco?" Ginny asked Ron.

"We're done as well. He's coming," he replied. Hermione had just opened her mouth to say something when Draco Malfoy swaggered in.

"Good job," he said, nodding at the two girls. The four of them smiled at each other.

"Any news?" Hermione asked.

Draco shook his head gravely.

"Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall have gone after them," he said. "I don't know much more than that."

"I just hope that he's all right," said Ron.

"Me too," Ginny agreed fervently.

Hermione nodded, holding back the urge to burst into tears.

"Maybe we should go after them?" she suggested timidly. "Maybe we can help?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Herm," said Draco.

"No, she's right!" Ron exclaimed. "He's our best friend!"

"There is no need for that, Mr. Weasley," came Dumbledore voice. They all turned to face him. He stood in the doorway, McGonagall and Snape on either side, both carrying a bundle.

"Where's Harry?" asked Hermione fearfully, trying to look behind them for any sign of the man she loved.

"Have we won?" asked Draco at the same time.

Dumbledore sighed and moved forward.

"This is not the place to talk," he said, looking at the unconscious bodies of the Death Eaters lying around. "We need to move to my office."

A few minutes later, they were all seated in the Headmaster's office.

"Is Harry alive?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of tense silence, voicing the question present in the four friends' minds. She held her breath as she waited for Dumbledore to answer. She had loved Harry since she was a child. It was true that Harry loved her as a sister, but that didn't diminish her affections, though she had accepted that Harry and Hermione were a couple, or soon-to-be a couple, provided Harry survived Voldemort. She had married Neville Longbottom soon after her graduation, and was six months into pregnancy with her first child.

Dumbledore sighed heavily and there was no twinkle in his eyes when he looked up. Instead, his eyes glistened with unshed tears. The four friends feared the worst.

"Yes, and no, Mrs. Longbottom," he said quietly. "Harry Potter as you all knew him is dead. So is Voldemort, for that matter." He motioned to McGonagall and Snape. Both the Professors moved forward and laid their bundles on the table very gently and uncovered them a bit.

The four friends looked into the sleeping faces of two newly born black-haired babies, who looked a lot alike.

"Who are they?" Ron asked, puzzled.

"Harry and Tom," said Dumbledore simply.

"But there's no scar!" said Hermione.

"True, Ms. Granger. Harry's scar disappeared when Voldemort died."

"But this other baby...." Draco began.

"Is not Lord Voldemort, Mr. Malfoy. Tom Riddle became Voldemort because of a lot of reasons. One of them was his upbringing in a Muggle orphanage," said Snape.

"What happened to them?" Ron asked.

"Alas, Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid that we do not know the answer to that. When we reached there we found them in this state," Dumbledore said sadly.

"What are we going to do with them?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not sure. We will probably put them in an orphanage," said McGonagall.

"No!" said Hermione, standing up. Tears fell unheeded from her eyes. "I will not let them lead painful lives again. I don't know much about Tom Riddle, but my Harry will not go through that hell again!"

"What do you propose, Ms. Granger?" asked Dumbledore.

"I will take them. They will be brought up as my sons."

"You will have to marry, Herm," said Draco. "Witches cannot give birth if they're not married. Neither can wizards sire any children. There's an ancient charm in our genes to prevent that from happening. And adoptions are bound to raise unwanted questions."

Hermione's face fell. Draco had an idea, but he was not sure if she would accept it. He knew that she loved Harry. But Draco had always been in love with Hermione. Ever since his first year at Hogwarts, when she had beaten him to the first rank. He had thought her to be a worthless Mudblood before that, but her intelligence had charmed him. He had not been sure of what he was feeling, and in his confusion, he had lashed out at her. And of course, he hated Harry Potter and she was best friends with him. She had been one of the main reasons of his joining the Light side.

"Herm, I'm not sure if this is the right time and the place to say it, but I have been in love with you since a long time...if we marry, then we can take in these children after a year or so. I know you loved Harry, and I won't try to replace him, but that is the only way you can keep him."

Ginny nodded. "The babies can pass as twins. They look rather similar," she said.

"But they are not alike as Fred and George are!" said Ron.

"They can be fraternal twins, Ron," Hermione muttered distractedly. She turned to Draco.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked him. "You're not doing this out of pity, are you?"

"Pity? For Merlin's sake, Herm - I love you! I never said anything because of Harry, but now...."

Hermione was silent for a minute. She seemed to be thinking hard.

"I accept, Draco. I like you a lot, and I have to move on with my life and have someone.... I may never love you as much as I loved him, but I promise that I'll be a good wife to you," she said.

Draco released the breath that he had been holding.

"You don't have to do that, Hermione, if you don't want to," said Ron suddenly. "I'm marrying Luna soon, and we can take in the kids. Or Ginny and Neville can do it."

Hermione shook her head.

"No, Ron. You can't. If the children are named Weasleys, they will have to have red hair. My father's side has had black haired men. Draco has some black haired ancestors as well. We'll fix Harry's eyes magically. I doubt if there will be any problems after that. And I don't think that it would be a good idea to allow this news to leak out of this room," she said softly. "Besides, I like Draco - I'm sure that I'll be in love with him, too...after I've gotten over Harry. It will be better for the children as well."

"How will you fake the pregnancy and the birth process?" asked Ron.

"Well, I can put an Engorgement charm on my belly; I will keep enlarging it for nine months...a bit more than usual...twins take up more place. Maybe I can look at some pictures of your mom when she was with Fred and George. Then we can bring in Ginny for the delivery at Malfoy Manor; she's a qualified Mediwitch."

"It's a perfect plan!" squealed Ginny.

"Good decision, Ms. Granger. I will put the babies in Stasis. The world shall be told that Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are both dead. I suggest that you all wait at least a month before getting married - the Wizarding World shall mourn the death of their hero, and it will look awkward if his best friends are seen marrying so soon after. Then you can wait eleven months to have the babies. I can hold them in stasis for a period of a year only," said Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir," the four friends cried in unison.

"And we must all swear not to tell anyone about this. Not ever...not even the children."

"Yes, sir."