What if Harry wasn't born until the end of the ninth month? What if he was in the next year of school, with different friends and different rivals? What if he wasn't at Hogwarts yet that first year? What might that mean for Hermione? Fair warning: Some Ron and Dumbledore bashing.

Victory cost more than Harry ever imagined. In the face of such loss, unable to go on, he relies on the one person who always had his back. The one person he trusts to catch him when he falls. Trigger Warning: Suicidal theme.