A/n: This is a story that came to mind, and I've written a couple drafts to try and get my brain working to go back to Breaking Skin.
If you've read my story Imagine, this will have a similar feel with time travel mixed in.
Please note: my old English is pretty rough, so I will edit it as a I go or I will simply annex it and have everything in modern English. However I find that time travel stories are lacking in the area I would like to see it, so I decided to try it myself.
I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts. As the story unfolds more details will be explained.
Hermione slipped between two sixth years, barely dodging the burly shoulders as she continued rushing down the hallway, her bag slapping against her left hip. Fifth year was off to a banging start and if she did not get to class soon she would undoubtedly miss something important.
If the hallways weren't so busy she could get there faster, but getting to Care of Magical Creatures was difficult at best. If her last class wasn't on the sixth floor she wouldn't have this problem.
At least Harry and Ron were in her next class. She wasn't sure she could handle a class so weighed down by Slytherin's without them.
"Oi, 'Mione!" someone called out from behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Ron and Harry approaching. The latter appeared even paler than this morning.
"Are you sure you've been getting enough sleep?" she asked again, ignoring Ron when he tried poking her in the side and calling "'Mione" again. "You're worse off than earlier."
"It's just these headaches," Harry muttered, keeping pace with his two friends. "The past couple days I just can't sleep."
Frowning, she tried to keep her worry down. Fifth year was only just beginning and Harry never looked so sickly. He'd gotten paler in the last week since term started, and he'd started complaining about headaches and night terrors. She was concerned what this could mean. Usually he didn't have any issues the first few weeks of term.
"Does it have to do with You-Know-Who?" Ron asked as they approached the class. "I mean, you said the other day you thought something might be in the works."
"I never really know," Harry admitted, wiping at his brow. She could see the lightest sheen of perspiration, and that was worrisome. "Just a feeling. Even Dumbledore seems disturbed by whatever is going on. I don't know what he has in store and I have no idea what to expect."
Hermione nodded, well aware that something fishy was going on. It was all over the grounds; there was a shift in the wind that just couldn't be explained. After the tragedy of last year everyone seemed on edge. Even the Slytherin's were acting strangely, like they could tell something was up too.
Though she wouldn't admit it, some of the staff were questionable too. The same teachers were always around but now some of them were picking up strange habits. She would be surprised if Dumbledore didn't suspect something was up.
The trio stood in the outer ring of the group of students, continuing their conversation. No need to have the whole school in an uproar over nothing. Besides, Harry got enough looks for being so pasty lately as it was. The student body couldn't handle a catastrophe right now.
Brushing back her hair, Hermione was surprised to feel a zap. The air around them was charged with magical energy, and everyone could feel it.
But no one knew why. It'd been like this for days, excess magic hanging around the school. How one explains that she didn't know, but it was beginning to cause static shock just by contacting something with your hand.
"What would they be planning though?" Ron continued, scrunching up his eyebrows. He glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention. "It doesn't make sense for a new attach to start when the Death Eaters were defeated a couple months ago. They should need to recoup for longer."
"Dumbledore thinks Voldemort found a new secret weapon," Harry replied, his voice no more than a whisper. "He didn't say what."
"That's because no one is sure what the Death Eaters may have found," Hermione breathed, keeping one eye on Hagrid at the front of class. He'd begun talking, and she was surprised to realize she hadn't noticed. "How could they possibly turn the tides so quickly? We haven't' even fully figured out how to kill You-Know-Who yet."
Harry rubbed at his temple, inclining his head towards class again. "We can't talk anymore here, it's too dangerous."
Despite herself Hermione couldn't really argue that he was wrong. They couldn't speak brazingly about something so secretive in the middle of class, even if it was extremely important. Whatever Voldemort had in the works was enough for the whole school to notice a shift, and even the Slytherin's seemed on edge.
"… and will be our assignment for the next 'ew days," Hagrid was saying, surveying the class. "Now, I've partn'red you up with others who will benefit you, and my assignments will not be changed. Your partner is to your benefit."
Glancing sideways, Hermione shared a look with Harry and Ron. Hagrid never picked partners for you, so this couldn't be good. And now they had no idea what kind of assignment they would be dealing with.
Hagrid was one of the faculty members who was acting strange lately. He didn't let them come inside his house when they were down here yesterday, and rather rudely turned them away. Hagrid, even in his most unusual times, was never rude or cruel to the trio. Something was up, but she hadn't figured out what yet.
Whatever it was, she was ready for class to be over and lunch to begin. They needed to keep talking, and maybe they needed to demand an audience with Dumbledore. None of them should be kept in the dark about Voldemort's newest plans, least of all Harry. She was irritated that he hadn't even tried to talk with them on the matter in at least two days.
Something needed to be done, and fast. Even though she loved school she couldn't focus on class when a much bigger picture was in the middle of unfolding.
"… 'nd we 'ave Parkinson 'nd Weasley…"
"Bloody hell," Ron muttered, snapping to attention. Hermione's eyes widened at the two familiar names being partnered together, and took a good look around the class. Everyone was scowling, and she slowly realized they were being partnered between houses.
Why would Hagrid do that when he knew everyone was at each other's throats? Hermione blinked, straightening out a little to study her teacher closer. He was acting awfully strange today, not only partnering up students but making matches that made no sense.
It wasn't like Hagrid at all.
"… Greengrass and Potter…"
Harry shot her a terrified look, apparently as surprised by the situation as she was. These pairings were starting to sound like a match made in hell. And with Greengrass he'd be lucky if she didn't bite his head off.
"…Malfoy and Granger.."
"You can't be serious," Malfoy snapped, dragging the words right out of Hermione's mouth. She felt the atmosphere in the group shift as their names were called, and it seemed students on all sides were surprised Hagrid of all people believed they should be partners.
They'd kill each other by the end of the day, and that was just if things went well.
"Hagrid, these pairing are a joke, right?" Harry asked, stepping forward. Hermione glanced towards Malfoy, watching his pale face redden as he approached Hagrid, screaming profanities her brain wouldn't even track. Harry moved to step forward as well but she reached up to place a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from approaching.
"This isn't like Hagrid," she muttered, watching Malfoy scream at the half-giant. For his part, Hagrid seemed strangely unaffected. "Why on earth would he pair us up with a bunch of people we hate during a time when we are all on edge anyway?"
"Has he absolutely lost it?" Ron continued, stepping up beside them. "You're right Harry, this has got to be a joke."
"Hagrid doesn't look like he is joking," she replied, watching his unwavering expression as Malfoy continued to vent. Some of the other students were starting to argue as well about the assignment, and she worried they would all start to rebel until he began screaming.
"Alright, that's enough!" he cried, startling the students right next to him. Even Malfoy fell quiet, perplexed by his outburst. "The assignments are final! You are only partn'red together for a day, you will be fine!"
His outburst didn't stop the students from mumbling, but at least now it wasn't as loud. Hermione watched as everyone backed off again, giving in to what Hagrid had said. Still, she didn't trust what he was saying.
Hagrid hadn't acted like this the last few weeks, why would he now that everything was so tense? Sure his behavior was strange, but this was downright weird.
She listened for a few minutes as Hagrid continued explaining the assignment about tracking the animal patterns in the area, though this did not seem like the most constructive or important assignment. She noted as he spoke that his eyes kept darting around in an almost nervous manner.
Hermione couldn't really focus though. She was trying to determine how quickly Malfoy would try to kill her. The venomous look he was shooting her across the group spoke volumes.
"You should be back bef're the end of class," he finished, sweeping a hand across the group. "Don' be late now or you will miss lunch!"
Harry shot both of them a concerned look as Daphne Greengrass approached rapidly, her hands shoved deep into her pockets and a scowl already dancing across her cheeks. There was a fire in her eyes as her full attention zeroed in on Harry, daring him to run. "Come on then, I don't want to be out in the wind anymore. It's going to ruin my hair!"
Stricken, Harry followed slowly after the thin Slytherin girl who was stomping into the trees, leaving Ron to be dragged off by Parkinson in her hot pursuit to get out of that clearing. Hermione found herself to be one of the last people in there, a brooding Malfoy scowling on the other side.
Just my luck, I get stuck with the blond drama queen. At least I'm pretty sure I can best him in a duel.
With a sigh she began approaching Malfoy from the other side of the group, ignoring the curious looks people shot her way. Of course everyone wanted to know how this pairing would go. The only saving grace was Harry and Ron weren't overbearing with her assignment.
They at least knew she could handle herself. And they had their own maddening partners to worry about.
Approaching Malfoy she got her first proper look at the blond since the start of the year. For the most part she'd been doing her best to completely ignore him. He'd grown almost a foot since last year, and his cheeks were hollow now like he wasn't eating. His hair was longer and fringed, covering his leftmost eye when the wind blew.
He also looked ready to murder the next person who got near him, and she got the great pleasure of being that person.
She would not be deterred by a grouchy brat. Besides, the sooner they did whatever their assignment sheet said the quicker they could be done.
"Come on Malfoy," she signed, taking the last assignment sheet from Hagrid. The giant cast a dark look over her, and she frowned. He'd never given her such an odd look before. She would have to confront him later about this. "Let's get this over with."
"Don't boss me around Granger," he snarled, stomping past her. "I'm not about to listen to some little Mudblood."
Hermione tensed, waiting for another argument between Hagrid and Malfoy. Surely he wouldn't stand for his students talking down to one another like that. Yet instead of commenting he turned away, headed for a chair propped up on his porch.
Her jaw actually fell open. What was going on?
"I- ugh – Malfoy!" she cried, jogging to catch up. She could worry about this later, right now she needed to finish the assignment and go find Harry and Ron to tell them about this. "We're supposed to be a team, you know?"
He scoffed, turning to take their assignment sheet and tear it in half. "We can each do half the work without needing to talk. Go on, go study some stupid little creature." He turned without a word and continued stomping away.
Clenching her jaw she jogged behind him and grabbed the back of his cloak, startling the blond enough to get him to stop and turn around. He was in her face in an instant, wand drawn.
"Let go."
"We are doing the damn assignment together Malfoy," she snapped, using her wand to accio his half of the assignment into her hand. "That's the point, and I'm not going to get marked down just because you're being a douche."
Malfoy sputtered a moment, his wand arm slackening a bit. "Did you just call me a douche?"
"It's not like I have anything else to call you," she seethed, turning away from him to walk in a different direction. "Look the longer we argue the more time we have to spend together, and I'd rather just get this finished Malfoy."
He muttered something she couldn't hear, and after a moment she could hear the faint sound of his footfalls following her. "What is that blasted teacher doing anyway pairing us up? This is ridiculous! I don't want to work with a-"
"I swear Malfoy," she snapped, spinning around to face him, "If you call me that one more time I will hex you."
"Am I supposed to be scared Granger?" he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he approached, turning suddenly to walk backwards at an angle away from her. "Other than that imbecile's decision to pair us up, I haven't seen anything truly scary today."
"Malfoy, you can't be-"
She was cut off as he suddenly disappeared with an oof, slipping below the surface of the path. Eyebrows shooting up she dashed forward to where he fell, peering over the edge of a hole.
"Malfoy?"
The hole was dark for a moment before a light appeared, and she realized he was using his wand to light up the space. In reality he was only 6 meters down, and he looked completely unhurt, if not a bit dusty.
"Bloody hell," he snapped, coughing at the dust. He waved his arm around, looking at the little enclosure. With his stature he was almost as tall as the hole itself, and she was surprised he didn't hurt himself on the fall down.
"How did you manage to fall in a hole?" she sighed, fighting back a giggle. It was marginally funny that this angry Slytherin fell into a hole while trying to be cocky.
"Well it's not like I tried falling!" he snarled, glaring up at her. "Get me out of here right now."
Eyebrows shooting up, she did a glance down at herself for dramatic affect. "You expect me to help get you out of the hole?"
"Well it's not like I'm expecting you to lift me!"
"You can reach the edge!" she argued, kicking at the packed earth. "You can pull yourself out. Or just magic yourself!"
"I fell in the hole!" he snapped, waving around the space. The entire enclosure couldn't be more than 5 meters wide. "Magic me out yourself."
"That's really not how it works Malfoy – hey, don't ignore me!"
She watched as he spied something in the little hollowed out space, suddenly ignoring her to get closer to one of the packed walls. She huffed and folded her arms as his attention was diverted. He disappeared partially from view to further inspect it, and she lost her patience.
"Malfoy, are you kidding me? Get out of the-"
"Granger, get in the hole."
"Excuse me?"
"Just come down here."
"And why exactly would I get into that dingy little hole?"
"Granger-"
"Enough games Malfoy, we are wasting time. Get out of-"
"You ever seen a time turner?"
Hermione felt the words catch in her throat, and she twisted her neck to try and spy whatever Malfoy was looking at. Getting in the hole seemed like a truly awful idea, but she couldn't just ignore his statement. What was a time turner doing buried in the dirt?
Better yet, why did Malfoy know what it was?
Against her better judgment she hopped into the hole, careful to land without hurting herself. Dust shot up from the dirt on her landing causing her to cough, and she had to wave her hand a moment to clear the air. Turning, she spotted Malfoy on the other side with his wand, peering at a packed spot in the earth where something was wedged. She was amazed the thing wasn't broken.
Stepping closer she gazed at the device, confirming Malfoy's suspicions. She'd used a time turner long enough to be familiar with one. However her time turner was nothing compared to this. The one wedged into the earth was at least three times the size of hers, and she couldn't imagine it ever passing as a necklace.
Still, she was impressed he knew one on sight, and more impressed that he told her it was there.
"What is this doing down here?" she wondered, lighting her own wand to study it. From the looks of it the device was down there a long time.
Malfoy on the other hand seemed elated to have found it, his lips pulling back into a smirk. "No bloody way."
He reached forward to grab it and she swatted his hand away. "What are you doing? We need to take this to the Headmaster right away."
Scoffing he shoved her back, reaching for the time turner again. She latched onto his wrist just as the he came into contact with it. "Fuck Dumbledore Granger, with this I'll-"
Malfoy stopped talking as the world around them morphed and turned, causing her stomach to want to empty. Her grip on his wrist tightened as the scenery around them shifted, the light overhead fading and coming back bright again.
Around them, the earth shifted slightly and then all at once, moving to begin refilling the hole. It happened in seconds, and what should've taken years took moments as the earth swallowed them up.
Hermione gasped, choking on earth. The sick feeling disappeared as panic set in. The earth all around her was back in place like she'd never moved and she couldn't see anything. Dirt was in her mouth and nose and she could feel herself quickly suffocating.
Mustering up her strength she jerked around to try and get the dirt to shift. She couldn't feel Malfoy's wrist anymore, she must've pulled away from him. The earth was loose and swayed with her movements, and after several moments of struggling she was able to break the surface and cough up the dirt in her mouth.
Pulling herself out of the loose earth she laid on her back and tried to breathe deeply, inhaling air she didn't realize she was missing. The sky looked much darker than before, but maybe that was the fogginess in her head from just being buried alive.
How the hell did that happen?
She jumped when the earth beside her broke away, and Malfoy's dusty head appeared. He coughed as well, throwing something across the clearing that she couldn't see before slumping over, spitting out dirt.
Rolling onto her side she ensured she had dragged her wand out of the earth before shifting to her hands and knees, trying to get her bearings. Everything felt wobbly, and it took several deep breaths before she could push herself to stand up and look around.
They appeared to be in a clearing, but it didn't look anything like before.
"Oh Merlin," she whispered, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat, watching Malfoy shift to properly sit up. "Where are we?"
"Where?" he asked, coughing again. "What do you mean where?"
Eyes widening, she turned to glare at him. "That was a time turner Malfoy! I don't know how, but I'm pretty damn sure we've traveled somewhere. Why else would that hole suddenly fill with dirt again?"
"What do you mean you don't know how?" he sneered, standing up. He flicked his wand, retrieving whatever he had thrown. She realized he'd tossed the time turner, which immediately flew back into his hands. "The fucking thing sent us here."
"That's not exactly how a time turner is supposed to work," she replied, walking closer. She ripped it out of his hand, certain it wouldn't send her somewhere else now that he had already touched it. The device was very war, and the topmost part that appeared to hold the date they traveled to was literally melted off.
She huffed. "Great. Of course the one part that gets ruined has the bloody date."
Malfoy shrugged, glancing around. "I can't tell how far back we traveled. The forest is a little more dense, but that hole could technically have been dug at any point. Without a date we have no idea."
Hermione started to say something and stopped, eyeing him suspiciously. For someone who seemed to not understand the basics of time turners he seemed very unaffected by their sudden arrival to wherever. Maybe Malfoy knew more than he was letting on.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just get back to school. Time turners are not meant to take you through long periods of time, so we can't be that far off from class." She pocketed the device in her cloak, straightening out her school uniform. "And we will be handing this to the Headmaster."
"Fat chance Mudblood," he snapped, drawing his wand again. "I found the device. It will stay with me."
"And you seriously think I will agree to that?"
"I don't give-"
"Malfoy, we seriously don't have time to argue about this," she huffed, cutting him off. "It's getting dark and I don't know about you but I've had enough experiences with the Forbidden Forest in the dark for one lifetime. Let's just get back to school, we can figure this out later."
She spun on her heel and headed back in the direction they had come, hoping she recalled the path correctly. With all their arguing on the way in she wasn't so sure which way they'd come, but she had enough of an idea to not get lost.
Despite his arguing, Malfoy fell into step beside her. He might be a git but he understood just as much as she did that they needed to get back. Even if they only shifted in time a couple hours, the consequences could be huge.
Besides, she didn't quite know how to make a time turner work that didn't have rings, and that had a date and time that was now melted off. Perhaps the device was that way before they found it, but either way she doubted it worked properly now.
"We're going to see Dumbledore right away," she said, eyeing Malfoy as they escaped the forest. "I have no idea why this was buried in the forest, but it could be cursed-"
"Granger, we got buried alive after touching it. I'd say it's cursed."
Hermione shrugged, unable to disagree. Immediately she noticed that the grounds were almost barren, and she couldn't spot Hagrid's hut in the distance. She paused, doing a double take to see if they really came out in the right place.
"Doesn't the oaf live over here?" Malfoy asked, looking around. Off in the far distance they could see the Whomping Willow, but that was all that looked familiar.
"Oi!" someone called, drawing their attention. A student was fast approaching them, their cloak blowing in the wind. "What dost thou think thee are doing?"
They exchanged a look as the man walked closer, hints of stubble on his chin. He cast Hermione a disdainful look before directing his attention to Malfoy again. "What is she doing? Thou cannot dress so scandalous!"
"What are you, a wanker?" Malfoy asked, eyebrows knitting together. "Who the fuck talks like that? And what do you mean scandalous? Granger is literally the only girl who wears the blasted skirt to her knees."
"Who the e'll is Granger?" the other boy asked, eyeing her again. "An' who art thee?"
Malfoy's eyebrows short up, and Hermione wondered for a moment if they would fly off his face. "I'm Draco Malfoy you moron. And who are you? I've never seen the likes of you before; you can't possibly be a Slytherin."
The other boy snapped to attention, pushing back his hood to reveal a strikingly blond head of hair. His wand shot out, and in a moment was pressed to Malfoy's jugular. "Well Draco, I Brutus Malfoy and I'ave never heard of a Draco in the family."
Hermione's eyes widened, glancing back and forth between the two. She did not know much about Malfoy family history, but she was pretty sure they shouldn't be in the same timeline as Brutus.
Brutus eyes her again, moving faster than she expected with his other hand. They were all very close, and he was able to shove her back into the dirt and redirect his wand in her direction.
"Now, thou best tell me who thy really are, or I shall blast thy friend to the heavens."
A/n: So, this will be a time-travel piece but it has a bigger focus than getting home. Technically, if this story continues it will be war-centric and Draco and Hermione will return to their time to fight Voldemort, so be mindful of foreshadowing.
I wrote this to try to get out of writer's block so we will see where and if it goes. I like time travel stories and have never been able to really write one, so we will see where it goes.