Disclaimer: I do not own 'Harry Potter' or anything relating to the series

Summary: It could end in only one of two ways. He would destroy her or she would save him. It was a 50% chance. Heads she lives. Tails she dies. Tails he lives. Heads he dies.

A dim light was all that lit the dark pub. It was rather silent for a Friday night; but not many ventured far from home anymore. Some were hidden in corners, heads bowed together, whispering dark secrets into each other's ears. Others were simply gathered around tables, playing drinking games, although the constant nervous glances towards the door betrayed their anxiety. Everyone had someone with them, many in large groups, while others fingered not-so-discreet weapons. The only one alone was a woman whose face was shadowed behind her cloak.

She jiggled her keys to a tempo only she recognized, the scarce light in the room only briefly shining off of the metal, as she sat, looking this way and that, as though expecting someone. Long, firm legs, holding a slim, lithe body, led to a splendidly shaped face. Very few things were prominent due to her dark cloak obscuring her features from view, but if one were to really look, they would see that her deep silver-grey eyes, with their sharp gaze, spoke of maturity and experience beyond her years. And although tattered and messy, the dark, wavy hair that was visible under her cloak fell to her waist and shone brightly like the sun.

The woman huffed in annoyance and shoved her keys back into her pocket, resorting to wait in silence. Few minutes had passed however; before her elegant fingernails continued with the abandoned beat, when finally, her awaited guests entered the Muggle pub.

The blonde haired woman smiled serenely with a far-off look in her eyes as she searched the room looking for someone, while her companion scanned for any signs of trouble. The man was slightly built, and could be mistaken for chubby, but he had an aura around him that said he was sweet and kind until you overstepped your boundaries. He stood close to his partner, keeping his hand on her lower back, prepared to grab her and throw her out of harm's way at the first sight of trouble. The woman barely noticed this as her blue eyes caught grey, and she skipped towards her cloaked friend, taking her sweetheart with her. The man regarded the woman sitting at the table with something akin to surprise littering his eyes.

"Hermione?" he questioned uncertainly.

The grey eyed lady, now known as Hermione, nodded and gestured for them to sit. Once they had, they ordered what the Muggles called 'Lemonade' before speaking to each other.

"It's been awhile, Neville, Luna," she greeted in a soft voice. "Have you been well?"

Luna nodded. "We've been in Scotland mostly. I don't quite like the weather, it attracts the Moon Frogs. While they're not particularly annoying, the farmers definitely don't like them…" she trailed off, unaware that her ramblings were being ignored.

Neville watched Hermione with a suspicious eye before asking, "Remember when you stupefied me in first year?"

Hermione smiled slightly but shook her head. "I didn't stupefy you, I used petrificus totalus, remember?"

Neville's shoulders slumped with obvious relief. He and Luna had had quite the journey there, having run into death eaters along the way, but Luna managed to outsmart them, and before they knew it, they were safely away from any danger and within walking distance of Hermione's selected meeting place.

Luna smiled and spoke again. "We're been very worried about you, Hermione. We rarely hear from you anymore and when we do it's only a short note. The last one simply said 'I'm alright, I'm onto something. Don't know when I'll be back.' You shouldn't do that, it worries Molly very much and plays on her nerves, it does. It doesn't help that the wrackspurts have been bothering her of late."

Hermione nodded, barely listening to Luna's ramblings, which wouldn't matter if this all went according to plan, and sought Neville instead. "How's the safe house there?"

Neville, although still wary of her newfound appearance, answered. "It's secure. I saw Finnigan just last month. He wanted to come back to London, but it was too risky. We persuaded him to stay in hiding a bit longer, but Merlin knows he won't last long."

Luna nodded. "Ever since You-Know-Who killed Hannah I'm afraid he's been a little vengeful. The slightest rumor of a sighting has him running off without thinking. We're really worried about him. At this rate, he could be killed…" Luna trailed off sadly.

"Hopefully that won't happen if all goes well with the plan," Hermione interrupted. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes," Luna smiled. "We're ready whenever you are."

"Good, than I shall leave tonight."

Neville watched Hermione and sighed. "I'm against this Hermione. You know I am. You're not thinking properly. I mean, the old Hermione wouldn't even think…"

"That girl is dead, Neville," the once brunette snapped. "She died four years ago, along with three quarters of her classmates, half her professors and her entire family. She's done…gone. The new her has fresh ideas and is going to go through with this plan."

"But still…"

"I have not been preparing this for four years only to back out now! I no longer care what I could damage!"

Neville scowled at her. "You could screw things up. You could make everything worse!"

"It can't get any worse than this!" she yelled, attracting attention from already frantic pub members.

Neville stood glaring at her, but remembered to keep his voice low. "Hermione, this is wrong and you know it. You're not supposed to meddle with time!" he shouted as loud as he could without attracting the notice of surrounding Muggles.

"And live in this, instead?" she gestured around the room.

Scattered across the walls were numerous newspaper articles. All mentioned unexplained disappearances and massacres of towns and cities, leaving few alive, most dead and some in slavery. Pictures of missing person's posters hung on the wall of the pub, asking 'Have you seen this person?' in big, bold print. Some newspapers even had pictures of presumed killers, most frequent of which was Bellatrix Lestrange. There was also a bulletin board on the wall, with what Hermione presumed to be a bounty hunters information list, and had many familiar faces upon it, such as Seamus Finnigan, Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, and Arthur and Molly Weasley. There was one of Fred and George as well, but it had a large stamp over it, saying 'Eliminated', as did the pictures of Hannah Abbot and Cho Chang. Even more disturbing, was the face of a girl whom was once considered the smartest witch of her generation and also a part of the famous golden trio. She, Hermione Granger, had a bounty that was worth more than all the others combined.

Neville looked down at his feet. "Yes, I know. But still, you could make it worse…" he argued feebly.

"How could it be worse?" Hermione spat, preparing for a fight.

Neville went purple with rage, but Luna kept her hand on his, muttering soothing words in his ear until it went back to a healthy pink color.

"If you can't figure that out, you're not as smart as I thought Hermione. I'll meet you at the hotel, Luna." And with that said, he stormed off.

Luna's usually peaceful face was contorted with indecision for once. Did she help her friend or did she follow her lover? The loud slamming of the pub's door and the jumps of its occupants were enough to allow Luna to know he needed time to calm down.

It was quiet for a few minutes before Luna smiled softly. "I heard some rumors the other day; that Ron was running around somewhere in Prague. My source said he was tracking down a death eater..."

"Luna," Hermione interrupted her with a tired voice. "It wasn't Ronald. He went missing two years ago, remember? If he were alive, he'd have sent word somehow. He wouldn't be chasing after random death eaters."

"He would if it were Draco," Luna pointed out.

Hermione choked back a sob at the name. She bit her lip and hardened her eyes. "Don't say that name around me."

Luna nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry…"

Silence reigned around them again as they both fiddled with their Muggle drinks. Taking timid sips, Luna decided she liked wizard beverages better, and couldn't say she liked the strange bitter, yet sweet taste of 'Lemonade'. The silence was again broken, only this time it was Hermione.

"It's been so long," she murmured so softly that Luna almost missed it.

Luna didn't need to ask what she meant as she hummed her agreement. "I miss them too. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if Harry hadn't died."

Ignoring the stab in her heart and the flinch in her chest Hermione muttered, "That's what I intend to find out, Luna. I'll do it with or without yours and Neville's help."

Luna nodded and searched through her bag for a bit before coming across a fairly large box. "Here; it contains everything you asked for. Shall we see if it works?"

Hermione opened the box and looked inside to find many potions and documents, as well as a sack that contained a powder that would be crucial in her journey.

"Now, do you have that something for me?" Luna enquired.

Hermione discretely slide her keys across the table to her blonde friend. Luna held them closely to her chest.

"It's already enchanted." Hermione told her.

Luna nodded, stood and smiled sadly. "Bottoms up, Penthesilea."

Penthesilea nee Hermione Granger threw back her hood revealing an ugly, deep scar that ran across her face. It started from the top of her right temple, across her right, blinded eye, and ended just below her parted lips. She grabbed one of the potions and swung her head back, swallowing it quickly.

She slammed the vial onto the table and clutched her face, whimpering in agony as Luna patted her back comfortingly. Her face shifted as if worms were wriggling underneath and Hermione held back tears, desperate for relief. After a few minutes, Penthesilea's pain subsided and she looked up at Luna worriedly.

"Did it work?"

Luna smiled coyly. "Like a charm."

Penthesilea hesitantly held her hand to her face to feel the unmarred skin and breathed in relief. She began looking around the pub, staring directly at random objects and sighed realizing that the spell had healed the hideous scar but her eye still remained as blind as a bats. She tried to quell the disappointed that rose in her chest, but immediately crushed it and cursed herself for her selfishness. This mission wasn't about her!

"Now," Luna started, interrupting Hermione's mental self-scolding, "that must be taken every month consistently. The hair coloring should go in your shampoo and the eye coloring potion in your drink." She leaned forward and whispered in ex-Hermione's ear, "Don't forget only a sprinkle of powder, otherwise you're only asking for trouble," she stressed pointedly, leaving the reason for its purpose secret in case someone was listening in. "The aging potion is only needed once. Anything else and you're on your own."

Penthesilea smiled. "Thank you, Luna," she said sincerely.

Luna smiled brightly. "It was no problem. Just make sure you succeed. I suppose that this is goodbye, Penthesilea," she said, turning to leave. She was almost out the door when she spun back around. "Hermione, can I ask one last favor?" At Penthesilea's nod, she continued, "Please make sure Neville and I meet," she requested shyly, timidly playing with her fingers. And then without waiting for an answer, Luna left without another word.

Hermione grabbed the box, tucking it under her arm, and looked at the vial that contained the future in the form of the past. She sniffed it a little and almost gagged at the revolting smell, but with a grimace, she shrugged and held it to her lips.

"Bottoms up."

It tasted as vile as she expected and she had to suppress the urge to vomit that instantly hit her.

'For Harry, Ron and everyone else,' she thought briefly, before the room suddenly started spinning, her stomach dropped, and her eyes squeezed shut, as her knees collapsed underneath her, sending her to the floor with a loud, painful thud.