Legacy Of Love

They're so done for.

Absolutely done for.

In fact, they couldn't possibly be any more done for.

This is the end of their time at Hogwarts. It's the end of their time together. It's the end of all time that can exist and the end of all time that is simply an illusion designed to school routine into children's heads so that they conform without question in later life.

At least, that's what Dan would tell you if you asked him. If you asked Phil, you'd get a different response. A completely different response that would make you question how two boys with such different responses to a potentially hopeless situation could ever be friends.

But of course nobody gets a chance to ask Phil because Dan's the one who's currently panicking and rambling about fireworks being exploded without proper consent. Which is a debatable topic that has absolutely no relevance whatsoever to anything at all in this particular moment.

The two of them hadn't actually been doing anything wrong, illegal, or immoral, but they'd had the unfortunate misfortune of being caught by the brightest witch in recent history. It only takes a few minutes for said witch, who'd brought them back to her office before either of them could even begin to justify their actions, to sigh in frustration and place her hands on her hips with a doubting frown on her face.

"And you two were trespassing because?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

Dan finally decides to shut up about the fireworks, letting Phil lace their fingers together and step forwards, as if shielding the rather panicked teenager with his superficially elegant poise.

"We're sorry, we've gone there before without knowing that it's private land and simply went back to get something we'd left behind; we weren't trying to steal anything," Phil explains calmly.

Dan doesn't know how he can be so calm at a time like this. Well, he doesn't know how Phil can be calm at any point in life. How can someone who possesses the power to change all known laws of science ever be calm when their world is constantly revealing how ignorant they used to be?

"You're not lying." The witch sounds surprised, as if expecting them to have lied, to be evil.

"We're really not." Phil squeezes Dan's hand as he says this, urging him to stay calm.

Yet again, Dan wonders how Phil can tell when he's upset or stressed. He wonders how the two of them are so connected that one can be aware of the emotions running through the other's veins even when they're facing opposite directions. He would call it magical, but the irony of that phrasing would never forgive him.

"What were you attempting to retrieve?" the witch asks, again, looking a lot more relaxed now that she knows they're not a threat.

And now it's Phil's turn to panic, or rather, freeze as he internally panics.

Clearing his throat, Dan pulls the other boy backwards and meets the witch's curious gaze with a confidence he only feels when protecting Phil. "It was a… uh, trinket. Of sorts."

The witch's expression hardens suddenly, as if detecting something. She narrows her eyes at them, as if realising something. And, as she pulls out a golden necklace that looks suspiciously like the one they'd gone back for in the first place, the two boys gasp as if something has suddenly dawned on them.

"No!" Dan yells as she turns the dial and vanishes, knowing that she knows they know she knows exactly what they were looking for.

"Dan…" Phil starts, but even he trails off as he thinks about it, the two of them subconsciously edging closer to each other as they wait.

It takes the witch longer than expected and neither of them would like to wonder why. If they were thinking clearly, they might have considered something positive, but having viscous oil dumped on you as you fall through fake clouds does wonders for pessimism.

So the two of them end up pacing, simultaneously trying to get rid of the liquid still dripping off their clothes. Just when they're about to give up and throw themselves onto the beanbags, someone knocks on the door, a split second before the whole thing flies off its hinges and soars above their heads, landing so close to their heels that they can feel the heat radiating from it.

"Oh, sorry boys!" a tired voice calls, the witch appearing seconds later, twirling her wand to fix the door as if nothing had ever happened.

"Please, we-" Dan starts, but he's cut off by his own shocked gasp.

"Is that the-?" Phil can't even finish the question, his eyes lighting up like the moon on a summer's day.

The witch smiles at them. "Come on, I'm not so mean as to deprive you of what's rightfully yours, am I?"

She holds out the time-turner that had landed the boys in this mess, the time-turner that had been around her neck when she'd caught them, the time-turner that had been taken away from them by someone with frizzing brown hair…

"It was you?" Phil asks incredulously.

The witch laughs, "Well, aren't you bright?"

Dan stiffens on behalf of Phil but the witch waves a hand. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to be rude."

"Anyway, I trust you with it."

"You do?" Phil asks.

People usually don't trust him with things. They can't trust him because he's too clumsy, because he's so pale he looks like a vampire, because he listens to weird music, because he actually likes plants, the list goes on.

But this witch, the one who went to the effort of using a time turner to go back in time and steal the exact same object from him while he tries to get it back after having it taken away, is handing it right back? And that too, after having broken at least four rules of time manipulation in the process? All because she trusts Phil?

"Phil, love, breathe," Dan murmurs softly, squeezing his hand.

The witch smiles at them and Phil uses Dan's gentle nudge to remind his lungs that oxygen is a necessary ingredient for life. Once he's successfully inhaling again, he coughs. "Are you being serious?"

"Absolutely. I do not joke."

"That I can agree with," Dan mutters under his breath, Phil stifling a laugh.

"Listen, I know what happened," she tells them.

Dan and Phil couldn't possibly look any more stricken, both staring at her with shocked and worried expressions as they edge towards each other again, as if looking for a solace they can only find in each other.

"It's okay, I'm not going to punish you. I know how it feels, the need to turn time back."

"No, we weren't going to-"

The witch lifts up a hand, her knowing smile only widening. "I'm well aware that the two of you were simply trying to amend someone else's mistakes. But some mistakes are better left written – not erased – trust me."

"But-"

The witch holds up a hand, shaking her head. "No. You can't change someone's death."

"You did!" Dan argues.

"Actually, I didn't. The victim in my case never died, but your friend… it would be another mistake to return his life. Believe me."

Phil exhales sadly, squeezing his eyes shut. Seeing the action, Dan's small supply of optimism depletes, and he leans on Phil as he tries to wrap his mind around the fact that they can't change anything and that everything they did was for nothing.

The witch pauses sympathetically, then smiles warmly. "Would you like a drink?"

Too upset to be impolite, the two boys nod, taking a glass each when the witch materialises them. Too upset to remember that magic can be hidden in drinks, they each take a small sip. Too upset to recognise the signs of forced fatigue, the two of them sway and fall to the floor with soft thumps before they can even identify the taste of their drink.

The witch curses, half regretting her actions, then shouts: "Ron!"

"What have you done now?" he yells back.

"Just get up here!"

Ron groans when he walks in the room to see two young wizards draped over each other on the floor, unconscious. It takes him less than a minute – and obviously the sight of their spilled drinks – to understand what had happened, and he places a comforting arm around the witch, shaking his head.

"What happened this time?"

"It wasn't their fault actually. They just wanted to save their friend from death," she tells him sadly.

"And you gave them your time turner?" Ron asks, seeing the golden chain wrapped around Phil's hand.

"It's technically his now, I stole it back before deciding they should keep it."

"You can explain that to me another time."

"Right." The witch nods, shaking her head to remind herself of the most important issue at the moment. "I might have given them something to make them forget they'd ever gone there in the first place."

"Really?" Ron sighs, but he's not surprised, knowing that his wife is too compassionate to let them live their lives with regret nestled in their heart. After all, both of them know first-hand that regret is one of the most dangerous emotions known to man and wizard alike, as well as everyone that falls in between.

"Just, help me with them?" the witch requests.

Ron looks sceptical but the witch pouts. "Won't you do it for me as a birthday gift, please?"

"You know I will…" Ron sighs, rolling his sleeves up.

Which is exactly why Dan and Phil wake up an hour or so later with almost identical groans, matching headaches, and weird metallic tastes in their mouths. They both look for each other as soon as they're alert enough to remember who they are, and fingers have honestly never been interlocked so fast.

Both Ron and the witch have to stifle their laughs as the two boys scramble to their feet, and Ron quickly grabs their abandoned drinks, shuffling out of the room so they're not confused when they properly wake themselves up.

"Are you boys okay?" the witch asks, now in a different version of the same outfit and sporting a much neater hairstyle that's almost completely frizz free.

Phil mumbles an affirmative before realising that the golden necklace is now hanging around his neck. He gasps, his free hand flying to the trinket, and looks up with a baffled expression, a strange hope shining in his eyes.

"What happened?" Dan asks on behalf of them both.

"You, uh, had a minor run in with one of our escaped creatures while retrieving that time turner."

"We're sorry that we-"

"It's alright, I'm not penalising you," the witch assures, smiling softly.

"Thank you," Phil breathes, his grip on Dan's hand tightening.

"Now, I presume that your next request will be a return journey to Hogwarts, yes?"

Dan and Phil share a glance before slowly nodding, still slightly confused. Neither of them remember that they'd been mourning before they'd been caught so they have no idea why they're covered in oil. Apparently memory potions and their effects don't work on oil.

The witch watches as the two of them are escorted out of her office, and she watches them giggle at each other's jokes as they walk to the main gate. They sees the way they lean into each other and barely ever look away from one another, smiling each time they bump shoulders or almost step on each other because they're walking so close together.

She almost jumps when Ron puts his arms around her waist, his chin settling on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you, you know that, right?"

"Yes, Ron, you only remind me every day." And even though eyes are rolled in exasperation, the phrase is said with sincerity and love.

"Happy birthday, 'Miony," Ron whispers gently, chuckling.

"I love you too," Hermione replies with a soft giggle.

She knows that Ron has planned a romantic dinner for the two of them because he's truly terrible at keeping secrets, even after all these years, but it doesn't matter. Somehow, the knowledge that others can experience the love that they share is the best birthday present she could ever have wished for.

She's content knowing that if she and Ron have a legacy, it's much better than a statue or a document. It's a promise. It's a promise that anything can happen, that anyone can be anything, and that first impressions are most definitely not last impressions. She's content knowing that their legacy is their love and their love is their legacy.

Well, that, and knowing her time turner is in safe hands.

Probably.

Hopefully.

Actually, she might have to check that…

I know, I know, it's a day late. I'm sorry! Happy birthday to our dear Hermione Granger! And hello to the youtuber fringe buddies :)

Please leave a review! Any thoughts and feedback or requests for something else? Have a good one :)