"Okay how do I say it again?" Draco said for what seemed the billionth time.
"Mutarrrre- roll your r and emphasize the ay at the end- vesti," Hermione told him once again. They were in the library working on transfiguration, and at the moment Draco was struggling with saying the enchantment Mutarevesti properly in order to transform his blank piece of paper into a collared shirt.
Yes, Hermione Granger was indeed tutoring Draco Malfoy, and had been since the beginning of the school year. It was an assignment given to her by the headmistress herself. Unfortunately, Draco's unproductive sixth year and lack of presence during what would've been his seventh year had cost him to fall very behind. As a result he was forced to spend a couple of hours every day with the Gryffindor bookworm and catch up on past lessons, while still keeping up with his regular lessons. Luckily for him, he was usually a fast learner, except for what he was attempting to do at the present time.
"Mutarevesti!" He said once again, this time managing to somewhat mimic Hermione's pronunciation. It seemed it was good enough, for the sheet of paper that had been laying in front of him in an instant turned into a folded shirt, just like he wanted.
"You did it!" Hermione squealed happily, and Draco smirked back at her.
"Of course I did. Malfoys master everything eventually," he said.
Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and then with a flick of her wrist changed the shirt back into its original state. "You're not a master until you can do it perfectly fifty times in a row," she retorted.
"Says who?"
"Says I, the tutor in this tutoring session," Hermione said, giving a smirk that rivaled Draco's. "Now you know the drill- do it again,"
Draco groaned and began his fifty rounds of transfiguring the paper into a shirt, with Hermione changing it back each time he successfully did it.
As they did this, Hermione couldn't help but think about how things had changed between them over the past months. It was now the middle of March and somehow in between the start of the school year and then they had become friends.
It certainly hadn't started that way though.
When McGonagall told Hermione that she would be tutoring the Slytherin Prince she was not pleased or excited in the least, and neither was Draco. Sure they had put their prejudices behind them, but there was still the existing animosity from just merely being each other. But Hermione knew she'd feel guilty if the reason one of her fellow classmate's, regardless of who they were, failed to graduate was because she had refused to help them; Draco knew that without the best help possible, which could only be provided by Hermione, he wouldn't graduate from Hogwarts. So they both decided to put the past behind them and work together as amicably as possible.
It worked out better than they had expected. Right from the beginning they had decided to refrain from insulting and arguing with each other, and focus solely on the tutoring, but it wasn't long until they found themselves actually having decent conversations. They soon began acknowledging each other in the halls, instead of ignoring each other as they had done before.
Now, even after Draco was fully caught up on everything he needed to be, and technically didn't need Hermione any more, they still found themselves studying for a couple hours each day in the library. It was strange, but Hermione knew that if their daily sessions were to end, she would miss them. She'd miss him.
It was nice spending time with someone other than Harry and Ron, especially one that could keep up with her level of intellect. She found she could talk with Draco about almost anything, and it was great to vent to him about the two men in her life. He made her laugh a lot with his I-could-care-less snarkiness, and she was always in a better mood after studying with him.
The only thing putting a damper on their friendship was Ron. While Harry and Ginny had accepted that Hermione and Draco had some sort of friendly relationship, Ron hadn't. He still glared every time Draco passed by or said a word to Hermione. She really hoped he'd get passed his jealous boyfriend phase already, it was getting old.
It's not like Ron had anything to be worried about. She loved him, and she told him every day. There was nothing going on between her and Draco that should be getting his knickers in a twist.
There were times however when she wondered what her life would be like if she weren't with Ron. It was those times when she caught herself unconsciously staring at Draco. He really had changed from the person he was before, and she'd be the first one to contest anyone that said otherwise. After all she had spent enough time with him to know.
She knew that he had stopped believing in pureblood supremacy the minute he had been instructed to kill Dumbledore. She knew that he never wanted to take the Dark Mark. She knew that the only reason he did those things was to protect his mother, who he cared for most in the world. She knew that he wished he could've saved her from his Aunt and that he threw up right after she, Harry, and Ron had escaped and didn't leave his room for days.
He'd told her all of this within the first couple months, and in turn she'd opened up to him about life on the run with Harry and Ron and what she'd had to do to protect her parents. She told him about being a muggleborn in the wizarding world and how it hurt every time he jeered at her for it. He apologized and she forgave him, which had been surprisingly easy.
It was probably this sharing of personal information that brought them closer than they had ever expected to be.
Once that was all out of the way they moved onto less heavier subjects, like when Hermione first found out she was a witch, and Draco's one time venture into the muggle world. Hermione's adventures with Harry and Ron over the years, and Draco's with Blaise Zabini, his best friend, were always great topics. Hermione loved the way his eyes would light up when he talked about the times with his family before Voldemort became a main fixture in their lives.
God his eyes. They were like grey clouds, heavy with rain, and yet when he smiled there would be this shine to them, as if the sun was breaking through. And every time he smiled, his face would light up in a way she had never seen before in their seven years of knowing each other, and Hermione wished she had a camera to capture the moment, for it didn't seem like he smiled that often. It made her feel special that she was one of the few people that got to see him to do it, and was maybe even one of the reasons why.
"Granger?" he said. She also loved the way he said her surname. It made her tingle and go all warm inside.
Wait a minute, Hermione thought. What am I thinking? Eyes that shine, a smile that lights up his face, and loving the way he calls me 'Granger'? If Ginny could hear this she would most definitely think… oh no.
Hermione had fallen in love with Draco Malfoy.
This cannot be happening. You have Ron for goodness sakes! Why would you give him up? No, it's not possible. You do NOT have any feelings whatsoever for Draco Malfoy.
"Granger, are you okay?"
"Hmm?" Hermione said, blinking herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine,"
"I successfully turned this piece of paper into a shirt fifty times, I think it is fair to say that I am a master," he smirked.
"That you are," Hermione laughed shakily, her mind still reeling at her recent thoughts. It was then she realized that there was something in her hand, and it most definitely wasn't a quill. She looked down and saw Draco's hand wrapped comfortably around hers. She quickly drew it away, causing him to look at their hands too.
"Sorry," he said, reddening. "I hadn't even realized I'd done that,"
"It's alright," Hermione blushed. "Just forget about it. Er, we still have about twenty minutes left, do you want to practice something else?"
"Okay," he replied, and Hermione began to flip to the next chapter of their textbook. "Granger?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Hermione grinned, turning to grab something for Draco to transfigure from her satchel which was seated next to her. Unfortunately her elbow decided to come in contact with her book, knocking it off of the table. Sighing she bent over to get it at the same time Draco did.
"I got it," he said, but she was already down there with him. They avoided colliding heads, but what they couldn't avoid was them catching each other's eyes as they lifted their heads back up, their faces only an inch apart.
Before Hermione knew it Draco had pressed his lips to hers and she was being kissed. The instant they made contact her body went numb, and her heart leapt in her chest, after which it just seemed to stop beating completely. It was a still kiss, their lips not moving at all from their initial position, but it sent electricity through her body nonetheless.
Hermione wasn't sure how long it had lasted. It felt like hours, but it really couldn't have been more than a second. When they parted, they just stared at each other, silent with shock over what had just happened.
A second later and Draco had jumped out of his seat, fluidly placing the book back on the table and grabbing his pack. "I have to get to charms now," he said quickly before disappearing out of her sight.
Hermione could do nothing other than nod and sit there, wondering if it had been real or not. She was so taken aback she wasn't sure. Another good minute passed before she remembered that they had charms together.
Just forget about it Hermione. It was just a spur of the moment thing. It won't happen again. Both of you will just pretend it never happened. Just act normal and it will all be okay.
That was what Hermione kept telling herself as she made her way to charms fifteen minutes later. When she entered the room she glanced in Draco's direction, but he made no indication that he had noticed her walk in. Hoping it was just because he wasn't paying attention and not that he was trying to avoid her, Hermione went to sit herself next to Ron.
"Where were you?" he asked. "We actually made it here before you,"
"Library," was her one-word answer.
"Good afternoon class," Professor Flitwick greeted his students. "As you may have guessed from your assigned reading today we will be attempting to master a charm and potion combination: the Disparem charm. Would someone like to explain to us exactly what this charm is just to be clear?"
As to be expected, Hermione rose her hand up in the air, though not as eagerly as she had in previous years. She had come to learn that feeling immediately inclined to answer every posed question was annoying to most of the student population. Now she kept her hand down for a good five seconds or so to allow anyone else that wanted to answer the chance to do so before offering herself.
"Ah yes, Ms. Granger," Flitwick smiled.
"The Disparem charm allows the person it is casted upon to experience two alternate realities for a period of five minutes, starting from when the charm is cast over them. It permits harmless decision making, for in between each reality you are brought back to the original space and time from when the charm was first cast,"
"Excellent description, Ms. Granger!" Professor Flitwick said. "Five points to Gryffindor!"
Hermione blushed as she was always wont to do, as the rest of the class started to whisper about the effect of the charm.
"Now," Professor Flitwick went on, "In order to work, the Disparem charm must be cast after the intended user has taken its corresponding potion. It is the potion that allows your body into a state that can withstand being automatically thrust back through time twice. The main ingredient for the potion is kava root extract, which, as we have studied before, contains numbing properties. The dosage used in the potion will cause you to overdose and enter a catatonic state should you take it more than once within a twenty-four hour period. So, as grand as it would be to be able to control every five minutes of our lives, it is not advised. Yes Ms. Brown?"
"Is there way to lengthen the amount of time we're allowed to experience?" Lavender asked.
"Unfortunately, at this moment five minutes is the limit. There are, however, some ambitious wizards trying to figure out exactly what you asked. Now, I'm going to ask you to separate into pairs to brew the potion together, but you will each cast your own charm when the time comes. Go!"
With his final permission, the students began to noisily partner together. As usual, Harry and Ron were fighting over who would get Hermione as their partner. After a quick game of paper-scissor-rock it was decided that Harry was the lucky winner, and Ron had to join Neville at the next table over.
"You set up the cauldron Harry, and I'll go get the ingredients," Hermione instructed.
"Alright then," Harry answered, and willingly began to set up their cauldron while Hermione made her way to the storage cabinet. She paused for a second as she realized Draco was already there collecting things for him and Blaise. Deciding it would be even more awkward if she stayed where she was, she stepped into place behind him to wait for her turn. As he pivoted around with his arms full of the needed ingredients he almost bumped into her. They caught each other's eyes for merely a flash before he wordlessly stepped out of the way and hastened back to his desk.
Hermione groaned internally. After putting everything that happened in the past behind them within the space of a few months, they were going to end up pretty much where they started? No, she wasn't going to have that. He meant too much to her now to let go of just because he was a few pages ahead of her, and she wasn't even sure they were in the same book. They'd work through it and it would be okay.
I'll catch him after class, she affirmed to herself as she gathered what she needed and returned to her desk, where Harry already had the cauldron simmering.
Twenty minutes later and nearly everyone's concoctions were ready. Professor Flitwick went around the room from cauldron to cauldron making sure each pairs' potion was the correct shade of aqua green, before giving them the go ahead to each take a spoonful.
Hermione excitedly sipped hers down. It tasted pleasantly like a medicine she used to have to take when she was younger for ear infections. She would've gladly chugged the whole thing down if the side effects weren't too dangerous.
"Alright then," Professor Flitwick began once everyone had taken their potion. "You will now get ready to experience the actual charm. You will line up in your pairs in front of the classroom door. On my count of three the person on the left in the first pair will cast the charm on the person on the right. Once the charm is cast the person on the right will have five minutes to wander outside this room. When that five minutes is up they will be returned to the space and time when the charm was cast and then are free to wander around for their second set of five minutes. When this time is up they will once again be returned to the space and time when the charm was first cast. At this point they will say the word "done" to their partner to signify that they have completed the charm. The person on the right will then cast the charm on their partner and the process will repeat itself. Once that partnership is done the next pair of students will cast the charm in the same sequence. After you have completed the charm you are to return to your seats and write about your experience. Now line up!"
Hermione hurriedly dragged Harry to the front of the line, excited to test out the charm. Behind them were Parvati and Lavender; Ron and a nervous Neville ended up somewhere near the back; Draco and Blaise were somewhere near the middle.
"Ready?" Harry said, and she nodded in response.
Seeing that everyone was lined up properly, Professor Flitwick made his way to the front of the line next to Harry and Hermione. "On my count of three Mr. Potter," he said. "One, two, three!"
"Disparem!" Harry said clearly, swishing his wand up and then straight back down in front of Hermione. There was a flare of brilliant light that matched perfectly the color of the potion, and Hermione could feel a strange sensation course through her insides.
"Go Ms. Granger!" Flitwick said to her.
Without hesitation Hermione went through the door out of the classroom and into the empty hallway. Not having any plan of action for what she was about to do, she decided to just venture right for her first five minutes, and then left for her second set. If only she really had a choice that needed to be made, then this would have been more interesting than it already was. But who knew, maybe she'd stumble upon something.
By the time her first set of five minutes were up Hermione had done nothing but successfully make it from the charms classroom to the great hall in record time. She felt an odd tug on her body as it was shot back through time and she ended up right where she had been standing next to Harry.
Not wanting to waste a moment she made her way through the door again and into the hallway. This time she decided she was going to head to the library, see if she could make it there in less than five minutes. She did, and in fact had time to read the first couple pages of a book she thought looked interesting.
The remainder of her five minutes passed, and then she was brought back to Harry's side.
"Done," she said with a smile before performing the charm on him. In less than two seconds he repeated the word back to her, and Hermione couldn't help but marvel at the fact that her ten minute experience also lasted that long in reality.
They headed back to their seats, ready to write down what they had done. Harry had decided to take a risk with his allotted time and go find Ginny in her classroom. McGonagall had not been happy with the interruption. His second go around, he sent a note into her class instead, saying that she was needed in the Hospital Wing. That went better than the first time.
As everyone else went it seemed that all the boys had decided to do something reckless with their time. Some of them were able to get away with their actions in their false reality, while others were not as lucky. It was a good thing none of it actually happened, or many of the boys would be finding themselves a one way ticket home on the Hogwarts Express.
Hermione watched as it was Draco's turn to be charmed. Blaise cast the "Disparem" and a couple moments later she heard Draco say, "Done." She was about to return to her work when she noticed that he was staring at her intently. There was something about his expression that didn't sit well with her. It was different than before; no longer embarrassed or awkward from what had transpired between them. He looked sad. As he turned away from her and sat back down at his desk, she couldn't help but wonder if something had happened in his experience to have him look at her that way.
Class ended and Draco was the first one out of the room; Hermione followed quickly after him, ignoring Harry and Ron's shouts.
"Draco!" she called after him, but he didn't turn around. "Draco!" She latched onto his arm as she caught up with him, keeping him from going any further. "Can we talk?"
"I have a Quidditch game to get to, you know that," he replied.
"It'll be quick," Hermione said.
"Everything alright Hermione?" Ron asked, him and Harry coming up next to her.
"We just need to discuss our next study session is all," she lied smoothly.
"We'll see you in the Quidditch stands then," Ron said, placing a kiss on her cheek. Harry said his farewell and they both went on their way, but not before Ron shot Draco a warning look. I'll have to have a talk with that boy later, Hermione thought, not appreciating his possessive actions.
The hall soon emptied so that it was only she and Draco, standing in a somewhat awkward silence.
"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Hermione sighed. "I don't want what happened earlier to get between us, so let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"
Draco gave a small smile before answering nonchalantly. "If that's what you want, then that's what will be."
"Thank you," Hermione said softly. She could tell that wasn't really what he wanted, but it was what would be best for both of them. "Well then…sorry for keeping you, you can go off to your match now."
"Who are you going to cheer for?"
"Who do you think?"
Draco smirked halfheartedly. "Wishful thinking, I guess."
"Hey, I may want Gryffindor to win, but that doesn't mean I won't be happy if you catch the snitch."
"Thanks Granger," Draco said as he walked away. Before he could get too far, Hermione ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug.
"For good luck," she said. He smiled down at her and then hurried toward the Quidditch pitch.
That went well, Hermione thought happily.
With Draco and her back on track, and a good half hour until the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch match, Hermione decided to do some studying in the library. After all, a little extra studying never hurt anybody.
Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, Hermione thought as she ran towards the Quidditch pitch at top speed. She had gotten so lost in her studying she didn't realize that she was officially five minutes late for the match. If she didn't get there by the time the players came out and Ron saw that she wasn't waving at him from the stands, he'd be despondent for the rest of the night, saying things like 'You don't care enough' and 'If you loved me you'd be on time.' She really didn't feel like dealing with that.
Hermione was nearly to the pitch when she heard the unfortunate shrill blow of the whistle.
I'm dead, she thought. Ron would not be happy, especially since it was a game against Slytherin, which according to him were the games that mattered most. She hurriedly made her way to the Gryffindor stands and started climbing the stairs.
"And Ginny Weasley has the Quaffle!" She heard Luna shout, doing her duty as commentator. "She passes it to Robins and oh! Robins drops it while dodging a Bludger from Zabini!"
Hermione was now at the top of the stands. She spotted Neville sitting at the opposite end, a free spot next to him that he had been saving for her. "Excuse me- pardon me-" she said politely as she shuffled past those already sitting.
"No I will not let you use my body spray!" One of the girls Hermione was about to pass in front of squealed to her friend.
"Oh come on, just a spritz!" The other said, trying to take it from her.
"Excuse me," Hermione said, but they didn't hear her. Rolling her eyes, she began to side step into the space between them and the edge of the stand.
"My boyfriend gave this to me, and I want it to last as long as possible," the first girl said firmly, forcefully snatching her arm back and away from her friend and standing up, sending it right into Hermione. Before Hermione knew it, she had been pushed over the railing and was now free-falling towards the bottom of the Quidditch pitch. Everyone's attention was turned towards the Gryffindor stands as the other students began to gasp and scream.
"Oh no! Hermione!" Luna screeched. This got the attention of the flying Quidditch players, who were now stopped in midair, watching the scene unfold.
"Hermione!" Ron shouted, followed by, "Disparem!"
There was a flash of aqua as the spell hit her, but she continued to fall.
"Ron you git!" Harry yelled, snatching they boy's wand out of his hand and smacking him on the back of the head with it. "That's the alternate reality spell, not whatever you thought it was that was going to bloody save her! Wingardium Leviosa!"
Harry's hover charm was unneeded however, for to everyone's shock and surprise, Draco Malfoy had already caught her in his arms, right before she was about to hit the ground, using his body as a shield just as they made contact.
"Granger?" he said, lightly lifting her off of him and cradling her in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't responding to his light shakes of her body; she was undoubtedly unconscious.
"What the hell Weasley!" Draco yelled as they stood by Hermione's bedside in the hospital wing. The game had been postponed due to her unfortunate incident. "Did you completely lose all form of intelligence?"
"It was the first thing that came to mind, okay? And what are you still doing here?" Ron shot back from his seat on the other side. Harry and Ginny were next to him.
"Well in case you haven't noticed, Hermione and I are friends now, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I was here. She actually might prefer waking up and seeing me than seeing you, being the one that actually caught her."
At that Ron leapt from his spot and lunged after Draco, knocking him to ground. They both began to throw punches at each other, with Draco gaining the upper hand as he flung Ron over so he was against the floor face down. Harry attempted to get them off each other, but just succeeded in getting himself hit in the face.
"What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall boomed as she finally made her way into the room, Madame Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick behind her. The Headmistress said a quick spell that blasted the two boys away from each other. "Detention, both of you! And fifty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin! You may stay for Ms. Granger's prognosis, but after that I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave! Now Professor Flitwick, if you would please,"
"Yes, Headmistress. It appears that due to the remnants of the Disparem potion still present in Ms. Grangers body, the spell Mr. Weasley cast was able to take full effect,"
"But then she should've woken up already!" Draco shouted impatiently.
"Mr. Malfoy, I will not hesitate to cast a silencing spell on you if you can't hold your tongue," McGonagall said sternly. Draco complied with a low growl.
"As I was saying," Professor Flitwick continued, "Ms. Granger is under the effects of the Disparem charm, and as Mr. Malfoy pointed out, yes, Ms. Granger should've come to by now. However, in certain cases, a charm can have unexpected effects if the person it is cast upon is under duress. The trauma of Ms. Granger's fall has caused her to enter a prolonged state of altered reality, and there is no way of knowing when she will escape from it. She is alive though, and that we can be grateful for, if nothing else. It really is quite an astonishing event."
There was silence in the room as Professor Flitwick finished his prognosis of Hermione's current condition, and all three boys were staring at blankly at the short man.
"So that's it?" Draco was the first to speak up. "She's just going to lay here for who knows how long while she experiences some strange time in the future?"
"No! I want her back now!" Ron yelled, at which Draco shot him a scowl.
"We'll do everything we can to figure out if there's a way to get Ms. Granger out of this, but as of right now this is what's happening," McGonagall said. "Now that you know the circumstances regarding Ms. Granger I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave. Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley are allowed to stay."
Grudgingly the two boys made their way out of the hospital wing, Harry and Ginny giving them apologetic looks as they went. Draco took one last glance at Hermione's sleeping form before leaving the room. He hoped it wouldn't be long until she opened her eyes again.
Hermione opened her eyes, the sunshine streaming through a window to her right blinding her awake.
Nice to know I survived that fall, she thought. Stupid, inane girls.
She shifted herself up, and wrapped the blanket that was draped over her more tightly around her as her vision came into focus. Wait a minute…
The room she was in was definitely not the hospital wing. In fact, it wasn't any sort of hospital room. It was a regular bedroom, with white-washed walls and an elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling. To her left was an archway leading to what she could only assume was a bathroom. Directly in front of her were two French doors. The bed she was in was king-sized, had sheets of silk, and the fluffiest comforter she had ever slept under in her life.
Where am I?
Slowly Hermione untangled herself from the bed and made her way over to the bathroom. The entire room was his and hers, except for the one shower, which could have comfortably fit six people. Right next to it was a bathtub that looked like it belonged in a high class spa rather than someone's home. The tile she was stepping on was pearly white and cool under her feet.
Hermione could only come to two conclusions: she was either at a really fancy hotel, or someone's home. Either way, whoever was there with her was filthy rich.
She cautiously ventured back into the main room and out its doors, where she entered a long, wide, and vacant hallway. Nope, definitely not a hotel.
She started walking down the corridor, her pace quickening as the apprehension of not knowing where she was caught up with her. She reached a set of stairs going down to a lower level, and hurried down them. She passed by a large living room, a sitting room, a personal theater, and a couple wall fountains. Then she finally heard noises coming from not too far ahead of her.
Moving toward them, Hermione found herself in a brightly lit kitchen filled with jet black appliances and red marble counter tops. A man with red hair had his back to her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He must've heard her come in because he turned around to face her.
"Oh good, you're up," he said as he took a sip from his mug.
Hermione had to keep herself from falling over as the face of Ronald Weasley looked back at her, older, and smiling.
"Did you sleep well Mrs. Weasley?"
Oh crap.