YEAR III: Scared to get close
Chapter 1: Wishing back lost minutes
A/N: I own nothing except my mistakes. Also, this story takes place midway through their third year, and will continue all throughout war, and maybe until after. So be in for a long journey!
"Yeah, you're not dangerous at all, are you?" Hermione whipped her head to the snarky voice, watching in horror as Buckbeak protectively kicked out in front of him, crashing his hoof right in Malfoy's face, who tumbled backwards with the force.
A shriek came from her right, Pansy Parkinson rushing to Malfoy's side, who laid motionless on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose in a fast pace. "Do something, you dumb oaf!" Pansy bellowed at Hagrid, who stood rooted to the spot.
He seemed to snap out of it at last, and hurried to Malfoy's side and scooped the unconscious boy in his arm, quickly dismissing the class and taking quick paces out of the forest. "I don't know who to feel more sorry for. Hagrid, Malfoy, or Buckbeak." Ron muttered by her side, then scoffed as he shook his head. "Although, probably not Malfoy. The git had it coming."
Hermione shook her head in disapproval at her best friend. Yes, what Malfoy did was reckless and incredibly stupid, but he looked horrible. The blow had knocked him unconscious, and even though she couldn't really make out the damage underneath all the blood, it didn't look all that good. "Come on, let's head back to the castle." Harry offered, giving a last stroke to Buckbeak's beak, trying his best to comfort the panicked bird.
"D'you think he'll be all right?" Hermione wondered, panting lightly as they walked up the steep hill. "Who cares, it's only Malfoy. Actually, I'd pay to see his face all distorted." Ron grunted, struggling with the leather strap of his bag that was hanging on just a few threads. "It's not Malfoy I'm concerned about. What do you think it'll do to Hagrid? I mean, he just had his very first class. And like it or not, it is Malfoy. Who knows what will happen to Hagrid?" Hermione said, her brows furrowing in worry as she thought of Hagrid getting sacked.
There was no denying that Hermione had disapproved of Hagrid's teaching material as soon as she had laid eyes on Buckbeak, but the man had good intentions, no matter how clumsy he brought them sometimes. And after all that Hagrid's been through in his life, well, the least he deserved was getting the opportunity to teach a subject he absolutely loved. "We'll make sure nothing happens to Hagrid." Harry assured her, taking big strides as they neared the stone circle and passed over the wooden bridge.
"Hagrid?" Harry called out to the half-giant that rounded the corner of the Hospital Wing right as the trio walked into the castle. But Hagrid didn't look up, too preoccupied staring down at his handkerchief as he blew his nose, hiccuped sobs leaving his body. Harry exchanged a worried glance with Ron and Hermione before setting off in a sprint, catching up with Hagrid.
Hermione sped her own pace up as well, joining Harry shortly after along with Ron. "- sent me back out. Dumbledore's sayin' he'll have to owl Lucius Malfoy. It's a school's obligatory to notify the parents when a student's bin put at risk."
"How bad is he?" Hermione quipped, shooting a quick glance at the closed doors of the Hospital Wing. Hagrid waved his handkerchief around in dismiss, but spoke between sobs nonetheless. "Madam Pomfrey said she'll be able ter patch him up almost as new. Got a broken nose an' a severe cut on his cheek." Hermione sighed in relief, knowing the damage wasn't all that bad. It's something she'd be able to easily fix. "An' a concussion." Hermione's heart sank at that. Now, it was definitely treatable, but a concussion would surely need rest, even in the Wizaring world, and it would take a great toll on his education.
"What's gonna happen to you, Hagrid?" Ron asked, looking genuinely concerned for their big friend. Hagrid shrugged, his body shaking as more sobs came out. "I'm sure Dumbledore will do the best he can.. but if Lucius Malfoy gets word of what happened.."
The last seemed to draw the last straw for Hagrid, and he quickly excused himself as he took big strides out of the castle, leaving the trio to sulk in his absence. "If only Malfoy hadn't been such a fool to step out." Ron muttered angrily, his eyes fixated on the spot where Hagrid had just stood.
Releasing a shaky sigh, she took a quick glance at the empty corridor. "Not much we can do now. We'll have to wait for Professor Dumbledore's word, I guess." Hermione spoke gloomily, then readjusted the leather strap of her bag on her shoulder, hissing slightly out in pain at the heavy weight of it. "Wanna go to the common room?" The boys said nothing, both sunken deep into their thoughts, and instead gave a single nod, dragging their feet across the floor as they walked their way up the few stairs to the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione unloaded half her bag in the girls' dormitory, then refilled it with new books for all the subjects she'd have after lunch. When she had finished that, she left her bag on her bed, deciding to pick it up right before lunch would end, and joined Ron and Harry down in the common room, where they were sitting huddled up in a corner. More Gryffindor students had poured into the common room in the time she had been in the girls' dormitory, all third years who were heatedly discussing the previous events.
"Wanna play some Wizarding Chess?" Ron offered, breaking the heavy silence between the trio. Harry seemed to shake out of his thoughts, and gave an absent-minded nod, which was her cue to hurry up the stairs that led to the girls' dormitory, grab her History of Magic book, a scroll of parchment and a quill with some ink and bring that all back down and sprawl it out on the small wooden coffee table, indulging herself into her essay.
Despite her worry for Hagrid, she did still have an immense load of homework to finish, and she would need all the time she could get. Normally she'd be an hour short for her homework, but with Care of Magical Creatures class being cancelled halfway through, she might be able to finish her History of Magic essay in the time she had now before lunch would start.
"Hermione?" She jumped up as a hand came to a rest on her shoulder, gentle shaking her. Having been so focused on her homework, she hadn't even heard Harry and Ron call her name for five times prior to the shaking. "You coming to lunch?" They asked, a concerned furrowing of the eyebrows on both their faces. At first she thought they were still thinking of Hagrid, but when they remained an intense gaze on her and her homework, she realized that it was directed to her. Honestly, she was fine. A little tired, yes. More than overworked, for sure. Yet, she managed everything, and that's all that mattered.
"Yes, 'course. Give me one second, though." With that she dropped her almost finished essay on her bed – which was still three inches short. Well, originally it was one foot and five inches too long, but there was still one thing she really wanted to include – and then took her side next to Ron as they roamed through the corridors down to the Great Hall where they took a seat on the bench.
As if they had all been planning to look at the teacher's table as soon as they sat down, they looked simultaneously at it, trying to spot a certain half-giant, but a quick glance told them that he wasn't there. He wouldn't have been hard to miss, either.
Upon a closer look at the other teachers, though, Hermione noticed how tense all of them looked, every single one of them unable to get any of the food inside, while at the same time hundreds of students – half of which was still unaware of what happened to Malfoy – were happily chatting away and shoving food inside their mouths as if their lives depended on it.
Speaking of Malfoy, had he returned from the Hospital Wing yet? Hermione doubted it, and when she directed her gaze at the Slytherin table and spotted no sign of the platinum blond locks of a certain Malfoy, she averted her eyes back to her plate and forced herself to eat at least one slice of bread.
A certain tension seemed to hung in the air between all third years who just had Care of Magical Creatures – although other students seemed oblivious to this – and even Ron seemed to have trouble getting food down his throat. It wasn't so much knowing what had happened that had caused the distress; more what didn't happen yet that everyone was so afraid of. Especially the Gryffindors that had the best at heart for Hagrid.
"May I have all your attention for a moment." Dumbledore spoke, taking his stance at his owl lecturn. The chatter of a hundred students died out like the fire of a candle being blown out by the wind, and Hermione shifted her body to the front, so she could take a good look at their Headmaster.
The old man had a grave expression on his face, hesitating as his mouth was left agape, a strung of words caught behind his tongue that didn't seem to want to make it out into the world. Hermione wiped her hands on her robe, feeling them sweat up in anticipation. Never did Professor Dumbledore bother to make an announcement in a simple lunch, and it got her heart beating faster with each passing second.
"As many of you have come to hear, a fellow student, Draco Malfoy, has suffered a great impact in today's Care of Magical Creatures class." The whispers spread like wildfire throughout the Great Hall, many students who were still in the unknown asking their fellow Housemates what has happened. "Silence." Dumbledore ordered, and the students obeyed.
"In the name of the Ministry, I am to inform you that Hogwarts will be closed. Tomorrow morning the Hogwarts Express will be awaiting you all, and you're expected to pack your luggages before nightfall." Dumbledore spoke in lamentation. This caused a great explosion of outbursts from protesting students all around the Hall, one that even Dumbledore failed to silence. "He can't be serious!" Ron exclaimed, along with Dean and Seamus who chimed in with agreement.
Hermione, however, remained completely silent, stunned as she stared at her Headmaster who was sorrowfully gliding his eyes over the heads of students. "And on whose orders did the Ministry act, if I may ask, Professor?" Percy Weasley managed to yell over the rowdy crowd.
That questioned peaked everyone's interest, and they all fell quiet at once, looking at Dumbledore expectantly, who in turn let out a deep sigh. "I do suppose you all have the right for answers." He nodded, as if to agree with himself. "Very well."
"As it had been my duty to inform an injured student's parents, I have sent an owl to Mr and Mrs Malfoy, who have taken actions." Dumbledore said, but no single person had a chance to react before one other person beat them to it. "That foul git! I bet you anything he begged his father to have a word with the Ministry." Ron roared in angry, a little too loud in the dead silence.
"Mr Weasley," Dumbledore bellowed, shooting the boy a hard stare. "I can assure you that the consequences have been entirely out of Draco Malfoy's hands." Ron scoffed in disbelief, so Dumbledore continued. "Lucius Malfoy has taken it on his own to justify the damage done to his son."
Seamus was the first to speak up, a bitter snark on his lips as he spoke. "And what makes Malfoy so special? What power has his father to control the entire Ministry for a shutdown of Hogwarts?" If possible, his Irish accent came out even stronger than it usually did. "Yeah," a lot of students from all Houses hummed, agreeing with Seamus, wondering the same question.
Even Hermione had her interest peaked, wanting to know the answer to that question herself as well. "With the exception of the First Years, I am certain that all of you remember last year," Dumbledore began, encouraged by the acknowledging nods of students, "and considering the events that have happened with Ginny Weasley," it was almost a comical sight to see each head's student turn so fast to a very red faced Ginny, that Hermione almost burst out laughing if it hadn't been for the current situation. If anything, she felt like crying at the thought that Hogwarts might be closed for good.
"What happened today with Mr Malfoy seemed to have been the cue for the Ministry to conclude that Hogwarts isn't capable of protecting its students." Even the Slytherins, who would have wanted nothing more than anything to get revenge for what happened to Malfoy, seemed taken aback by the news. "That's rubbish!" A fifth-year Ravenclaw boy yelled, clearly outraged by the events. Like any one of them.
"All today's classes are dismissed, and the Head of your House will walk you all to your common rooms, and discuss the final arrangements of tomorrow." With that Dumbledore dismissed himself, leaving his owl lectern – to which the owl folded his golden wings back in again – and hurried off the platform down the small stairs.
His robes flared behind him, a million questions thrown his way as students were left in their confusion, but he ignored them all. "Miss Granger," Hermione raised both her eyebrows in surprise when her Headmaster came to a stop in front of her, "a word, please." Without waiting for a reply, he continued his pace out of the Great Hall.
Hermione swallowed, though it was difficult to do. Her throat had seemed to clench shut, unable to even get a word out as she exchanged questioning glances with her best friends. Knowing they didn't have a clue on why she was called either, she decided it was best to find out for herself, and hurried off the bench as she ignored all the stares of the students that were watching her follow Dumbledore.
"Professor?" Hermione quipped, joining him by his side as they practically ran up the marble staircase. Well, with his long legs he simply managed to skip ten skips at a time, whereas she wouldn't manage to get more than five and thus had to ran. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but we're short on time." Dumbledore spoke in between breaths, emphasising his words as if she was supposed to know what he meant.
Which on second thought, she did know what it meant. "Time.." She whispered to herself, then sped up her run even more as they had reached the fourth floor. "Professor, you can't possibly mean that-" but she was caught short as he threw a quick glance over his shoulder at her, his eyes full of worried determination as he gave a curt nod. "That's exactly what I mean, Miss Granger."
"Where are we heading?" Hermione asked, hundreds of questions soaring through her mind, but deciding to get the easiest one out first. Yet, he didn't have to answer as they rounded another corner and walked straight to the grand doors of the Hospital Wing, which opened with a flick of Dumbledore's hand. What in the world were they visiting Malfoy for? "Poppy, if we may, please." Dumbledore spoke politely, though there was undoubtedly no room for arguing in his sentence. "Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey exclaimed in surprise, then swayed on her spot as she took a wet cloth from Malfoy's forehead before at last taking off into her office.
Taking a good look at Malfoy, she saw how well Madam Pomfrey had already patched him up. His broken nose had been fixed, and with all the blood cleaned up, he seemed almost the same as before he got injured. The only difference was the cut on his left cheek, that was currently covered in a green healing cream. "How are you feeling, Mr Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, slowing his pace down as he stood at the foot of the bed, Hermione coming to a halt at a good two feet away from the bed. "As if I've just been attacked by a bloody chicken." Malfoy sneered, wincing in pain as he tried to straighten up. Right, he was suffering from a concussion, she almost forgot.
"Have you heard of the outplayed events?" Dumbledore asked curiously. Hadn't the Headmaster bothered to share the news with the so called victim at hand first before telling the school? "What are you on about?" Malfoy asked sceptically, shooting a glance her way, and his face contorting in disgust as if she was fouling the air.
Dumbledore took a good minute to summarize the entire situation, which Hermione found rather pointless. What was the Headmaster hoping for as a reaction? Surely he would know as well that Malfoy would be pleased to hear that the school got punished for injuring him. Yet, the hopeful shimmer in the old man's eyes remained, and by the time he was finished Malfoy's sneer had already fallen, and a simple look of annoyance remained on his features.
"What did you do, Father?" Malfoy muttered to himself as he propped himself up higher in bed, despite his body's clear protests. "What are you here for?" Malfoy said, his sneer returning as he looked up at her. "No need to look at me like that, Malfoy. If I could I would have never stepped a foot into the same place as you." Hermione squinted her eyes in anger, hoping to shoot actual daggers with her hard glare. He might not have called the shots to shut down the school, but his father still did cause the result.
Before the situation could escalate Dumbledore chimed in, sharing a quick look between the two students. "She has come on my request." Both remained silent, each wanting answers on why Hermione was here with them. "Last Summer I was in the heart of London, enjoying one of the Muggle's newspapers when I stumbled on an article." Hermione's mouth dropped open in disbelief at the starter of his explanation. Was he honestly going to bring something like that up now? "The woman who wrote it had a curious view on how we spend our time, and as she so nicely put it: 'Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.' and in this moment I can't help but find myself agreeing with that saying." Even Malfoy, who hated Hermione with a passion and had accepted the unspoken agreement that they were enemies, looked at her as if Professor Dumbledore had gone nuts.
She was almost about to return that look, when she remembered how their Headmaster had told her that they were short on time as they were running to the Hospital Wing. With the realization dawning on her, she unconsciously reached her hand to her neck, gliding her fingers across it until she felt the metal of a chain, and pulled the entire necklace out from under her robes.
Upon the sight of her precious Time Turner – a device she had gotten from Professor McGonagall at the start of Third Year so she could attend all her classes – Dumbledore smiled in confirmation. "The bloody hell is that ugly thing?" Draco asked, wrinkling his nose at the necklace. "I do believe, Miss Granger, that you and Mr Malfoy can help this school from a downfall."
Hermione let her fingers glide over the material, staring at it in fascination, as if it was the first time she had seen it. "Why do I have to join?" Hermione asked at last when she snapped out of her trance, and looked up at her Headmaster. As far as she could see it, Malfoy was the only one who could truly take actions to change the outcome.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow in amusement, as if it had been a needless question to ask. "As far as I know, you're the only one around who knows how to work it safely." Hermione furrowed her eyebrows, thinking that over. "Professor McGonagall knows how to." Dumbledore released a soft chuckle. "We aren't especially authorized to mess with time, if you know what I mean, Miss Granger." She did. If the Ministry would find out that she used the time turner for any other occasion than school, and especially on a teacher's order, then they would be in even more trouble.
"What do you want us to do?" Hermione asked eventually, making up her mind. If she could do something to prevent the school from getting closed, even if it meant breaking a very important rule, then she was more than ready to help. Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction, clearly agreeing with her willingness to cooperate. "I believe four turns will do."
"Four turns? What are you all bloody on about?" She had completely forgotten about Malfoy's presence until he spoke up, and one look at his face told her he was less than happy about being left in the dark. "Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore carefully began. Even he knew that it was utmost important to get Malfoy on their side, because there was no way this would work without him. "Do you wish for Hogwarts to close?"
Malfoy looked at the man suspiciously, as if it was a trick question. "'Course not," Malfoy at last spoke, albeit a bit careful. Contrary to popular belief, Hermione knew how much the education meant to Malfoy. He might be an absolute brat, but he was smart enough to know better than celebrate that soon he'd have all the time in the world without an education. After all, that wouldn't land him a job in the future. "Due to the actions of your Father, however, I fear that'll happen."
"If you came here to punish me for my Father's actions-" he didn't get to finish that as Dumbledore interfered. "Actually, I came here to do the opposite. I want to offer you a chance to set things right." It surprised her to see how conflicted Malfoy looked, as if he was contemplating to be the good guy for a second or not. "And how exactly would I be able to do that?"
Professor Dumbledore nodded at the device hanging around Hermione's neck. "Surely you have heard of a Time Turner?" Malfoy nodded. Of course he had heard of it. Which Wizard family, especially one where a family member worked in the Ministry, hadn't heard of such a powerful device?
Malfoy looked at the Headmaster expectantly, waiting for him to continue, but when it soon became clear that Dumbledore was waiting for Malfoy to figure the rest out on his own, he at last lowered his gaze as a soft, "Oh" escaped his lips.
Hermione couldn't help but shoot a look over her shoulder as she watched the time tick by on the clock the longer Malfoy remained silent, completely emerged in his own thoughts, the only sign that he was thinking it over was the deep line in his forehead. "Okay." He said at last, and Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. If they'd wait too long, then they would hit the five hour mark, which was the absolute maximum of how far you could travel back in time without endangering things.
Dumbledore nodded with a smile, then took a step back. "I'll leave you two to it, then." With that Dumbledore brushed past her, grabbing the wooden doors by the handles. "Oh, and Miss Granger," he said before closing the doors completely, "try to not get seen." And with that the doors fell shut and Hermione was left alone with her enemy.
"So what's the plan?" Malfoy asked through thin lips. It took him a great effort to communicate properly with her, though she was glad he was wise enough to know that it was for the best. If they spent time bickering away, then there was no way they could make a change. "Okay," Hermione said, trying to push her disdain for the boy in front of her aside, and sat herself down on a bed next to him.
"We go back in time," Hermione started, but was interrupted immediately by Malfoy who muttered "Obviously" under his breath. Shooting him a hard glare, she continued. "We go back in time, and we somehow get our past selves momentarily out of the picture." Hermione racked her brain as she quickly ticked back the hours. Where were they exactly four hours ago?
Last hour they spent eating lunch.. then a free one and a half hour where they had been dismissed from class.. and one and a half hour actually spent in class. Which, with a glance at the clock, would leave them exactly fourteen minutes before the class started if they went back in time now. "Where were you four hours ago?" Hermione asked, her words nearly inaudible by the speed they came out.
Malfoy scoffed, "On my way to class, of course." Hermione rolled her eyes, grumbling impatiently. "Where were you exactly?" She really didn't have time for vague answers. Malfoy took a second to think. "I was in the Dungeons, on my way to the Slytherin common room, about to retrieve that hideous Care of Magical Creatures book." Hermione quickly mentally noted that. "Anyone with you?" Malfoy was about to comment on her question, but she raised a threatening eyebrow. "No, Crabbe and Goyle went up ahead." Good.
"Okay, listen to me. We go back in time, and we split up. I'll go down to the dungeons where your old self will be, stun you - "Stun me?" Draco exclaimed, - "just a simple Body-bind curse, Malfoy, and you'll do the same to my old self. I'll be in the library, packing my books in row fourteen in the far right corner. After that we walk to Hagrid's hut separately, and make sure you don't get hurt in any way by Buckbeak."
"Hang on a second, why are we not just body-binding our own selves?" Hermione stood up, her temper seriously running out. They were losing a lot of time. "We don't have a second. Didn't you hear what Dumbledore said? We can't be seen. That includes us. What do you think will happen if we see ourselves?"
Hermione pulled on her necklace, and was glad that it was big enough to fit two heads. "Get your hands off me, Mudblood!" Hermione ignored the stung of his words, thn swatted his arm away as he tried to push her off him. "We don't have time for your rubbish disgust towards me, Malfoy." Hermione shot a quick look at the clock, and Malfoy did a same. The little time they still had made him swallow back his protests, and she took this as her chance to wrap the chain around his neck as well, turning the small hourglass four times and allowing herself to be lurched back into time.
A/N: The quote that has been mentioned is from 'Margaret Peters', who holds full credit for it.