Part One

Chapter 1-You Do Not Belong Here.

As her vision finally cleared Hermione found herself staring at a Draco Malfoy whose pallor was even paler than usual. In truth he looked like he might faint.

"Miss Granger?" Professor Flitwick queried,

"Yes professor," she acknowledged.

The diminutive professor audibly swallowed.

"I think you had better come with me."

Although confused, Hermione made to follow her professor acutely aware of the preternatural silence that engulfed the classroom.

"It's alright Draco," she heard Blaise Zabini mutter as she reached the door, "it can't be her."

Hermione's head snapped back around in surprise to see Malfoy apparently hyperventilating as his friend struggled to hold him upright.

She couldn't hold her tongue, even though she knew she ought;

"Is he alright? Perhaps you should take him..."

Hermione was interrupted before she could finish.

"Just go," Zabini told her firmly but not unkindly.

Thus dismissed Hermione thought better of arguing.

Rushing to catch up with Flitwick who, despite his slight stature, was making rapid strides down the corridor, she called;

"Professor," she tried to get his attention, "I'm not sure Malfoy is well perhaps..."

Without addressing her statement he merely reiterated;

"Come along Miss Granger."

Hermione followed, her confusion mounting. Finally they reached the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's study and Hermione was shown in.

"Miss Granger, I assume," the ancient Headmaster of Hogwarts began, "I would be interested to know how you found yourself here?"

"I'm not entirely sure I understand what your mean Professor?" She confessed, "there was a bright light and then Malfoy looked like he might be about to faint and Professor Flitwick insisted I come here." She was rambling, she knew, but Hermione couldn't account of the sequence of events that had occurred over the last few minutes and when she was confused she rambled.

"Perhaps you should sit down," Dumbledore said motioning to the chair before his massive desk. Hermione did as she was asked and watch as her Headmaster took his seat and steepled his fingers before him.

"You don't belong here Miss Granger," he announced without much preamble.

Hermione could feel herself beginning to panic; they were going to send her away from Hogwarts back to the muggle world.

"But Sir… I got my Hogwarts' letter, I am..."

"My dear girl," he interrupted, "do not distress yourself, I merely meant to inform you that this is not your reality,"

"What?" Hermione snapped, her anxiety stripping away all semblance of manners.

"You do not belong in this universe, in fact, I am sorry to say my dear that, in this universe Hermione Granger has been dead for over 18 months."

"What?" Hermione spilled out for the second time in rapid succession. Well that certainly answered one question, why everyone had been so quiet when they saw her but it did not answer why Malfoy seemed most affected by her appearance, had he been somehow involved in her death? She considered.

Over the next few days Hermione slowly discovered a number of differences between this reality and her own; physically it was very much the same, Hogwarts had the same corridors, the same classrooms. In outward appearance she found things as they were in her own world but ideologically there was a gulf between this world and the one she called her home. In this universe there was no blood prejudice. No one had ever heard of the term 'mudblood' and the halls of Hogwarts had never been graced by Harry Potter but most shockingly of all, at least to Hermione herself, in this reality Draco Malfoy was something entirely different.

The spoilt, elitist prig of her reality was instead an articulate, polite and intelligent young man. After that first day, when he appeared pallid and ill, Hermione very quickly became fascinated with the blond. His features were the same but somehow, softened by a more sympathetic nature, he appeared handsome. What, however, seemed to Hermione most bizarre was that he appeared pained if he had to interact with her. He was never rude nor unpleasant but he was obviously uncomfortable around her. In the end curiosity got the better of Hermione.

Hermione had only been at this version of Hogwarts for hours when Pansy Parkinson had informed Hermione that Hermione and herself were firm friend, (much to Hermione's surprise) and it was Pansy that Hermione turned to for answers about Malfoy.

"Why do I get the feeling Malfoy doesn't like to be around me?" She asked in exasperation.

Pansy didn't answer immediately;

"Perhaps you should ask him," Pansy suggested,

"Really!' Hermione asked, her eyebrows rising in incredulity.

"It's not my place to say Hermione," Parkinson told the curly haired witch solemnly.

Hermione merely huffed her curiosity left unstated.

It was a few days before the opportunity to find out why Malfoy was so stand offish presented itself. It was not as if she was unused to him ignoring her. In her own world he regarded her as beneath his notice, even when he taunted Harry and Ron he mostly ignored her, but this Malfoy was well liked by both the teachers and his peers. He didn't sneer, he wasn't sarcastic, he wasn't spoilt, he held no blood prejudice so she couldn't understand why he behaved as he did.

"I have done something to offend you Malfoy?" She asked him.

He winced at the sound of her voice looking momentarily startled that she had addressed him but then he replied simply;

"You're not her."

He said no more but he had made eye contact and Hermione recognised the emotion in his eyes. It was pain.

Why does it pain you to talk to me? She asked him silently as he walked away.

"Give him time," she heard a male voice say from behind her, "it was a massive shock."

It was Zabini who had spoken.

"I think I shocked everyone!" Hermione replied.

"But not everyone was in love with you, and not everyone still blames themselves for your death."

With that Zabini turned to walk away,

"Wait!" Hermione called after him, "you can't just say that and walk away, tell me what happened," she demanded.

Zabini grabbed her arm and pulled her aside into a quiet alcove off one of the main corridors.

"You died saving him," he hissed, "he can't forgive himself and he doesn't want to know you because:" Zabini paused , "he couldn't bear to lose you again."

"But..." Hermione began Zabini cut her off;

"What do you think will happen to him when you return to your own world?"

Hermione looked up at the dark haired wizard, contemplating that this was perhaps the first time she had ever given any thought to how Malfoy felt.

"I won't let you break him again, stay away from him Hermione." The tale dark wizard demanded.

Hermione bore the Malfoy here no malice; she had no cause to want to harm him.

"Okay, I will keep out of his way," she told Zabini sincerely.

"Thank you," he said seemingly relieved and began to walk away.

"What if I can't get back?" She called after him. Zabini didn't reply, if he had heard he had chosen to ignore her.

Author's note.

Couldn't resist writing a new Dramione fic for 2019- hope you like it -please review.