Round 5 of QL.

Chaser 2: (Mirror Dimension) Write about a story where good is evil and evil is good, or you could write about reverse characterizations. Think polar opposite from canon

[Object] A portkey

[Dialogue] "Don't look at me, I didn't do it.

Lindsey Stirling shatter me

A/N: I'm changing Hermione's age by one year. She is only 16 in this fic. Also, I'm not really clear on how Time Turners work in canon, for example, if they can even go forward in time, but in my fic, they can. Honestly, I didn't read/ watch Cursed Child. I think that has something to do with Time-Turners, but not sure. So, just suspend disbelief when you get to that part. I mean, it's a Time-Turner, it should be able to go forward right?

I didn't put them in a different dimension but made Draco be polar opposite from canon. I believe this was permissible according to other people asking if it must be in a different dimension. I just couldn't make that happen.

Also, once the comp is over, I may make this more than a one-shot. I really enjoyed writing this story.

Word count without A/N: 2813

In another world, Draco would have chosen to be born into a less well-known family. But he was a Malfoy, and as a Malfoy, there were expectations set upon him. Those expectations weighed him down. He didn't like the person he had become and was tired of hiding who he was.

He was only sixteen, sitting in the library researching ways to fix a Vanishing Cabinet that he didn't want to repair. He hadn't wanted to be branded by a madman or be tasked with an impossible mission. Draco took out a small pearl encrusted comb that was wrapped in a midnight blue cloth. His mother had shoved it in his pocket with a note right before he had jumped on the train to go to Hogwarts last month.

The comb was a Portkey to a safe house that he could use if he ever needed to disappear. He could never leave his mother to the wrath of the madman, though. Narcissa Malfoy was innocent and truly didn't want to follow the Dark Lord. She didn't believe in genocide, but his father could go to hell for all he cared. He was the reason they were in this mess anyway. He was like a lap dog, doing the bidding of the Dark Lord.

All Draco had to do was touch the comb with his skin. He shouldn't carry it with him, he knew this, but he couldn't help it; the comb meant freedom from the metaphorical shackles that bound him so tightly. So, Draco tucked the comb back into his pocket and pulled the book he was studying toward him. He had to figure out how to fix the Vanishing Cabinet.

After taking notes for what felt like hours, Draco stood up and went to reshelve the book he had been studying. It had given up all its secrets. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, turned to pick up his satchel from his table and headed back to the dungeons.

His hands found the comb through the cloth in his pocket, and he rubbed it like a talisman. Draco wasn't paying attention as he exited the library and collided with someone. That 'someone' had curly brown hair, and they both fell to the floor in a flurry of bags and limbs.

"Granger, watch where you're going!" he yelled at the Gryffindor swot angrily. He shuffled around, making sure he had everything he'd dropped.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do it! You ran into me, you great prat! What were you thinking, opening the library door and not looking before walking out?" She scurried around stuffing books back into her own satchel.

Then Draco saw it. His Portkey, laying on the ground almost equidistantly between him and Granger, laying next to the cloth it had been wrapped in. He lunged for it, at the same time as she also went to pick it up. He wasn't thinking, and they both touched it with their skin.

Less than a second later, they were transported to the safe house.

"That was a Portkey?! Portkeys are not allowed in Hogwarts. Haven't you ever read Hogwarts, A History?" Hermione yelled as she dropped the comb and moved away from him, fear filling his eyes. She must think he had planned on kidnapping her, given how terrible he had always acted toward her and her friends.

In horror, he collapsed to the floor, tears filled his own eyes. His mother would be dead as soon as it was discovered that he was gone. His desertion would be dealt with harshly by the Dark Lord, especially since his family was still in such disfavor since Father's failure to get the prophecy last year. He had to believe that his mother could still make it out alive. She had mentioned in her letter that she would be alerted if he used the Portkey, maybe she would show up when she was able. He could only hope.

Hermione stared at him in shock. He knew he needed to keep it together, to stay strong and think of a way to get back to Hogwarts, but this was a safe place. They didn't know how to Apparate yet, classes would begin soon for that, but it didn't help them now. The fireplace was not set up to the Floo network to prevent just anyone from showing up if they had access to the network. With the Dark Lord gaining more and more control over the ministry, the floo would be too easy to trace. Other than walking to the nearest town, and hoping for the best, there was nothing they could do. They were stuck for the foreseeable future.

"Don't look at me like that," Draco pleaded with her. He couldn't take the pitying look that she was giving him. He tried to wipe away the tears that fell uncontrollably down his face, but they just kept coming.

"Why are you crying? Where are we?" Hermione asked petulantly. She started to pace the room, her hands on her hips. She still had her satchel; she had managed to get most of her schoolbooks back into the bag before touching the portkey.

Draco calmed himself down enough to look around, trying to place where they were with his memory of all the Malfoy properties.

"I'm not sure. This could be a Black property; it's a safe house set up by my mother as a place to escape if things got worse. There should be enough food under a stasis spell to last for years. We will be safe here," he explained quietly. He stood up and moved toward the kitchen. The cabin was small with the kitchen and living area all in one room, and two small bedrooms with a bathroom between them.

"Would you like some tea?" He turned and asked Hermione kindly. He didn't see a reason to continue the fake animosity toward the girl he secretly wanted to get to know. Draco had admired her since she had hit him in third year. She was strong in her convictions. In that, he wanted to be more like her, especially since she destroyed all the convictions he once thought he had about Muggleborns. She was smart, and he was sure she could keep up with him. Crabbe and Goyle were never much for conversation. Hermione was a girl he desperately wanted to know and be friends with.

Hermione's face was one to remember. She was staring at him as if he had grown two heads. She shook her head as if to shake thoughts away and said, "Umm…yeah…that would be great."

Draco nodded and set up the kettle to heat up the water. Being underage, they wouldn't be able to use magic without alerting the ministry to their location, and he didn't want to do that if he could avoid it. The ministry was more and more Voldemort's pocket, and that was a sure way to get his mother killed.

"Earl Grey or Yorkshire Red?" he asked quietly. He moved around the kitchen, finding biscuits for them to eat.

Hermione had walked to the table, sat and placed her head in her hands. "Earl Grey is fine, thank you," she said, equally as quiet. He poured the tea, brought it to the table, and sat down across from her.

She looked up and wrapped her hands around the mug. "We are stuck here, aren't we? Correct me if I'm wrong, but your mum could possibly still escape. She seems like the kind of woman who would have a Portkey set up to get to you. We can't just do magic and alert the ministry. Walking to the nearest town is futile if we don't know where we are. I can't think of a way home," she rambled, sounding slightly panicked towards the end.

"Calm down. It's going to be okay. Yes, we are stuck here, but it's not the end of the world. As I said, we have food and a roof over our heads. We are safe from the war. I hate that we can't protect those we love, but we could both be dead right now. Oh, and we also have plenty of books." He finished with a grin.

Hermione frowned at him and looked around. "Books, I don't see any books. And if you think I'm staying here and allowing Harry to fight alone, you are wrong. I will figure a way to help my best friend defeat that megalomaniac," she scolded with conviction.

He stood up and walked to the living room and lifted the rug, revealing a hidden door in the floor. "My mum told me about this in the letter explaining the Portkey. She has been squirreling away books for years now. She set this up for her and me to be safe, thus the books. We both are avid readers. I know you are, as well. I'm not sure how we can manage it, but if you want to leave, we will figure a way for you to help Potter."

Hermione, again, stared at him as though he had gone mad. "Why are you being so nice to me? Not once since we arrived here have you been petulant or called me a foul name. You are acting like a completely different person."

Draco frowned and thought about how to explain what he was feeling. "I haven't wanted to be the prat you've known me to be. I mean, first and second year, I really was that awful, but when you hit me in third year, I didn't want to be that boy anymore. I realized I was horrible to you guys, but there were always expectations from my father to act a certain way. I'm sorry for how I treated you, Potter, and Weasley. I'm sorry for the vile things I called you."

She sat looking at her tea, for a few moments, clearly contemplating what he had said. "I forgive you," she said simply as she stood up to wash her mug.

"Come again? How can you forgive me?" he asked, shocked at her generosity.

Hermione turned and smiled at him. "Draco, we are stuck here for an indefinite amount of time. There is no reason whatsoever for me to hold a grudge. If you say that you are sorry, I believe you. I forgive you. I understand the pressure and expectations. I look forward to getting to know the real you."

"Thank you, really." He tried to hide a yawn. "Let's figure out which room was meant for me, and you can sleep in the one meant for my mother. I'm sure there are nightgowns you can wear."

She followed him as he opened the wardrobe in one of the rooms. The bedrooms were miniscule compared to the Manor, with only a single bed and wardrobe in each room. The first room held his extra clothes; he thanked the gods that his mother had made such preparations.

"The other room should have clothes you can use. Feel free to use any you need," he said, as he took her hand and tugged her toward the other bedroom. He stopped when he realized she wasn't allowing him to lead her.

She looked up at their joined hands, her eyes went wide, and said with shock in her voice, "I don't think you have ever willingly touched me. You really are not the same prat you used to be, are you? Do you think that I'm a dirty Mudblood still?"

He winced at her words. "I don't see you as any different from me. We are magical, and we are both human," he spoke simply, as he looked down at their joined hands.

"Thank you," she said softly and squeezed his hand.

Draco led her to the other room and left her. He went back to his room and closed the door to undress. He went to the living area to grab his novel from his satchel and laid down on his bed. After only a few paragraphs, he heard the creak of the mattress as Hermione laid down on the bed in the other room. He fell asleep after reading only a few more pages.

Draco woke to the sound of Hermione running water for tea. He could also hear a small amount of music coming from somewhere, but it was an unknown song to him. He sat up and looked around at the kitchen.

A grin spread across his face as he watched Hermione mouthed words to a song and dance around in the kitchen. She was incredibly quiet for having some sort of ear mufflers and string coming from her ears. He assumed that was where the music was coming from.

Draco stood up and went to the bathroom quickly and returned to find Hermione making breakfast of eggs and bacon. She was no longer dancing around, and he noticed the ear mufflers and string were gone and lay beside the stove.

He picked up the ear mufflers and asked, "What are these? I heard music earlier; is this where it was coming from?"

Hermione grinned at him. "Yes, I was listening to music. It's a CD player. See this?" She pointed to a grey square thing and pushed a button, and it opened to reveal a round disc. "This is a CD. It contains music. It is one of the few Muggle electronics I can get to work at Hogwarts. Here, put these over your ears. They are headphones." She gave him the headphones, and he put them on.

Once they were settled over his ears, he saw her press a button on the square after closing the disc back into it. The music swelled into his ears. He heard violin music and a woman singing. He couldn't lie, the words drew him in. Draco looked at Hermione in shock as he listened to Muggle music for the first time. He had never wanted to dance spontaneously before. A grin spread across Hermione's face. Once the song ended, he took the headphones off his ears and asked, "What was that? It was amazing!"

"That would be Lindsey Stirling. She hasn't made music yet." She blushed as she continued to explain when he gave her a questioning look. "Umm…in third year, I had a Time-Turner to get to all my classes. Anyway, I went home for Christmas break and decided I wanted to do something slightly against the rules. So I went forward about 18 years and bought a few CDs for me to try out, and this was one of them. I didn't want to find out the future or anything, because I knew I could potentially change it if I saw more than music."

It was Draco's turn to look at Hermione like she had two heads. "Let me get this straight, you had a Time-Turner in third year, to do extra classwork, and went on an adventure to get music from the future. Who are you?"

She giggled into her hand. "Yes, I wanted to do something a little on the edge of legal. And I also wanted music from the future. I really understand this album. Didn't you hear the words? It sums up being trapped and breaking free. It's what you are doing. The song was called Shatter Me."

"I loved it. I understood it. I have never listened to music so melodic and understandable as that song. It's like she understood the pressure I'm under," Draco answered honestly.

A moment later, as Hermione plated up the meal she had made, someone appeared in the living room with a pop.

Narcissa Malfoy stood looking regal, even though she was carrying a large satchel.

"Mother! Are you okay?"

"We are free, at least until the war is over. I came as soon as I could after getting the alert that you had used the Portkey. What happened, my Dragon, that you felt you needed to use the Portkey last night?" she asked him.

Draco looked at Hermione.

"I'll plate up some breakfast for you as well, and we can explain." Hermione jumped in at the look that Narcissa Malfoy gave her.

"Mother, I'm so glad you are okay. Was it hard to get away?" Draco asked quietly as he rushed to his mother's side and took the satchel from her shoulder and pulled her in a hug.

Narcissa nodded at her son, "They don't know you are gone yet, at least as far as I am aware. May I ask who the girl is, and how she came to be here with you?"

Draco led his mother to the table and pulled her chair out for her, "That is all a part of the story we are going to tell you."

As Narcissa sat down, she smiled up at her son, "My Dragon, we are free."