AN: My second Dramione story. This is an alternative universe, dark fantasy style version. A FAIR WARNING for BAD English grammar (seriously, this is here for a good reason), sorry it's not my language and this is the best I can do on my own. I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters, otherwise I will be filthy rich, which I assure you I'm not. LOL

Chapter One: The Punishment

"Okay, that's enough, you two. I'm aware that you two do not get along, but this is going too far. I cannot believe you really dared to duel within the grounds of this school no less. Explain yourselves, before I tell Dumbledore about this ... sudden madness." Minerva McGonagall said as she looked angrily at the two students who just had a dangerous duel in the middle of a hallway.

"He called me a mudblood. This is actually the second time he does it and I've just lost my patience. I will not allow him or anyone else to call me that again." Hermione started with rage still in her voice and MacGonagall gasped, looking at Draco Malfoy with surprise and disapproval.

"Well, she called me a coward, among other things I'd rather not repeat, before I told her that. She was the one who provoke me first." Malfoy said in his defense.

"Oh, that's just lovely... I provoked you? As if you need a reason to insult me! You were the one who started it all, just because I accidentally bumped into you." She said as her anger ignite inside her again.

"If you had looked where you walked instead of having your face almost buried inside a book, you could have noticed me coming." He said with disgust. Such a know-it-all. How dare she defy him like that and almost get him hurt. That girl was dangerous when she was serious, he was very aware of that when she punched him last year, but after his abrupt withdrawal that time, he could not let her think he was afraid of her. Of course, it was a lie, because deep down he feared her, but hell would freeze over before all Hogwarts knew it too.

"I was not burying my face in a book, it's called reading and the hallway was empty for a second before you appeared out of nowhere." She continues.

"I just turned in a corner, how does that turn into 'coming out of nowhere', Granger?" Draco asked.

"It was not a corner ..." She said though not so sure now.

"Yes, it was a corner. Crabbe and Goyle saw it too, right guys?" Malfoy asked his friends and they nodded vigorously.

"Well, even if it were so, there was no need to insult me for an accident in which you did not even fall, only the books you carried."

"And now they're dirty ..." He was going to add something else, but stopped when he saw her anger rise again.

"Why you wicked..."

"Enough of this! Professor MacGonagall, I will see that these two meet with the Headmaster immediately. No matter the reason, no student is allowed to duel inside the school without permission." Snape intervenes making his way over the crowd of students surrounding the two former duelers.

"Of course Professor Snape, one hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor and another hundred and fifty from Slythering." MacGonagall said raising protests from the rest of the students who had gathered to watch the duel.

"You're lucky that's all I'm going to discount from your houses, this is a serious offense, especially when the arrival of the other schools is so close." She added. The Triwizard tournament was only a week away, they were fortunate indeed.

"I hope your punishment will be severe this time." Snape said looking at Granger. "If none of you are seriously injured, then follow me, the rest of the student will return to their rooms. Now!" Hermione glared at Malfoy, but gathered all her remaining pride and walked behind Snape, followed closely by the now-scared Malfoy and ...

"Not so brave now are you?" She whispers to Malfoy once she calms down, halfway to their destination and this time it was he who looked at her with something close to hatred.

"Shut up Granger, this should be worse for you than for me, my father will not stand still if Dumbledore goes too far. What about you? Do you have someone who can help you, just in case you get expelled?" He said smiling, probably thinking that being a Malfoy was everything and even though she hated to admit it, he was right. She was in real trouble.

Minutes Later

"I see. Do not worry, Severus, I'll make sure they have an appropriate punishment for their childish actions. You can leave now, I'm sure you have an important job to do," said Dumbledore, dismissing him. It was obvious that the professor was not pleased with his dismissal, but in the end he left the office with a cold look aimed at Dumbledore and a mortal one directed at both of them." Malfoy even shudders at the intense glare, but Hermione holds hers defiantly.

"Well, it seems we have a big problem in our hands. In the past there have been many students who, like you two, were victims of anger and did exactly the same as you did. There have been some who have been seriously injured and others who were close to killing each other. That, among other reasons, is why duels of all kinds are prohibited, unless special circumstances like the next tournament, allow them under supervision. Prejudice and pride had always been part of human history and many times led to disaster and war. It would be wise to keep that in mind." Dumbledore began, with a serious tone and directed his gaze to Malfoy first.

"What you did Draco, was wrong. Inside this castle, the blood state does not matter. Every muggle child born with any kind of magic, strong or weak, has the right to come here to study it and be part of our magical community. No one, dear boy, has the right to insult them for things they had no control over and whoever said otherwise is fooling himself. Many Muggle-borns had become great wizards and witches who do wonderful work for our community. Miss Granger here is an example, as she has the title of the best student in her year. Perhaps she may even be the number one student currently studying at Hogwarts and she, as well as any other student regardless of blood status, deserve respect." A triumphant smile from Hermione irritated Malfoy more. However, her smile dies on her lips as soon as Dumbledore concentrates on her.

"However, Hermione, what you did, is of course wrong too. Even if someone calls you something you are not, you should exorcise good judgment. As the best student of your year, you should be an example to your fellow students. You have the tendency to get into trouble with your close friends, a duel is never an option within the school and is by no means allowed. Because the tournament is coming soon, I will postpone my final decision to allow the two of you to continue studying here or expel you both for your reckless actions, but that does not mean either of you will not be punished. You will help in preparing the castle for the tournament, starting now. It will be in your best interest if you work together, try to get along and help each other. It will not kill you to learn from your mistakes and start over. Your first task will be to help with the cleaning of the Astronomy Tower, where the Beauxbatons students will stay. Go now and tell Professor Trelawney that you will help her with whatever she needs. Be careful with what you do from now on and just to clarify, I will know if you are fulfilling your punishment according to the instructions. Now you're dismiss." Dumbledore said in a final tone that left no room for discussion.

Draco was hurrying upstairs in a bad mood, followed by Hermione who was not very happy with her current situation either. She could not blame Dumbledore for what he had told her, because she had to admit that he was right. She must have better control over her emotions and be above any cruel insult Malfoy could throw at her. It was not a secret that he hated her and to be honest she felt the same way. Although they barely had time to throw a few spells at each other and none of them dangerous enough to do real damage, it was still wrong and others might have been injured instead. If Harry had been there with her, he would have tried to stop her for committing the stupidity of her life, that could end in her expulsion, but at that moment she was alone as usual when she went to the library.

They walked in silence to their destination for a few minutes and Malfoy cursed himself internally for such a disaster. He was sure that if it was expulsion, his father would move heaven and earth to bring him back, but he was not stupid, despite what Granger believed. If his situation reached the worst, his father would be very angry with him, just for give him the trouble of pulling some strings and he would rather not bother him for now. He knew his father was upset about what happened the last time he came to Hogwarts, since Potter released Dobby from serving his family and an expulsion caused by Granger, who was a mudblood and one of Potter's best friends was even worse. He could already hear his father scolding him and it was not pleasant at all.

Draco gave Hermione a hard look as they started to climb the stairs, but she simply looked back at him with a serious expression on her face. Without fear ... he thought, she was so damn fearless at times, it almost made him shiver on the spot. If it were not for the reputation he needed to keep, he would have backed down the moment she pointed her wand at him. Oh, it was only his luck that she snapped at him for a few words. She should have expected not less of him, they were enemies after all, yet... Oh, what a mess. He told himself internally. However, as he walked in front of her, he came first to the door of the Professor's room and looked at the door as if it were cursed. Even if Granger was a few feet away from him, he could not help it. It was not a secret that hated astronomy the most and Trelawney simply annoyed him endlessly, but looking back to see if Granger would make fun of him, as he did before with her, apparently it was not just him who did not like it to be there, but also her too. Which pleased him in some strange way.

"I hope you enjoy this Granger, because I certainly will not." Malfoy whispered before opening the door and letting her in first. No way would he be the one who said anything to the old bat.

"You must remember that this is called punishment for good reason." Hermione whispers back as she passes him and for the first time, she heard him laugh, a laugh that was not to mock her, as was his custom with her, but a laugh with genuine humor she never thought she would ever hear from him. She turned in surprise and he simply looked at her a little less irritated now.

"What? It was fun and I think this is the first time we agree on something." He said ignoring her almost jaw dropping.

"Agree ... life is definitely full of surprises." She whispers again just before Professor Trelawney showed up from her office to the right of the room.

"Do we have to explain why we're here? I mean, she knows everything ..." Hermione mutters sarcastically, getting another genuine smile from Malfoy.

"It looks like you can do more than devour books and follow Potter and Weasley all day." He said, avoiding a trample from her. She was fearless, but sometimes predictable.

"I'm starting to think the expulsion does not sound so bad." She said as the woman walked towards them.

"Please, no, it will be boring if you're not around, besides, Potter and Wesley will be defenseless without you in more than one way." He said approaching her again.

"Wow, how touching, your concern for me must be enviable... you jerk." She said acidly.

"Oh, you're finally here, come, I've been waiting for you. I need you to move those boxes to the warehouse at the end of the stairs, it's the first door on the right." They both took a box each and headed for the door, however just before they reached it ... "Beware of the Imethis, if you touch it, your life will never be the same ..." The Professor said with a strange voice that made them look back at her.

"What?" Hermione asked the woman who blinked a few times behind her thick glasses as if she were coming out of a trance.

"What, what?" The Professor asked in confusion.

"What did you just say about not touching something ..." Draco repeated for Granger.

"I did not say anything. Go, go, there are more things waiting for the two of you." She pressed them and once they came out...

"What a loony..." Malfoy said, glad to be out of that classroom he hated.

"Well, look at that, we can also agree on something else". Hermione said with more sarcasm in her voice and almost rolling her eyes.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Let's end this assignment as soon as we can, this place gives me creeps."

"A coward as always ..."

"Whatever, please, just hurry up." He urges her and they go down to the mentioned door. Malfoy opens the door again, but it was completely dark inside.

"Lux." Hermione said holding up her wand and the room lit up with the light from one of the lamps on the wall.

"Just put them in a corner and lets come up again, I do not like this place either. Man, why is it so cold in here?" She asked, hugging herself in the hope of getting warm at least a little. Draco grabbed the boxes and was going to leave them on top of other things, but his foot hit something in his path and he almost fell.

"Damn it, why is this thing on the floor?" Malfoy asked as he bent down to take the broom that almost made him fall and throw the boxes he had in his hands seconds before. Annoyed by his near fall, he threw them into a corner where something else fell to the ground. "Just great, this is a cursed day ..." He lamented and moved to reach the fallen object. The instant he saw it, something inside him stirred. He could not explain how or why, but it felt unfamiliar and strange.

"Granger, what is that?" He pointed to what looked like a brass metal book. It had a writing on its cover that he had never seen before or if he had seen it, he did not remember it from where. However, the runes came alive as soon as his hand was near the surface.

"Hey, you should not touch things that have power ..." Hermione said urgently approaching him to keep him from touching it, but when she grabbed his shoulder, Draco reached the metal block at the same time and then, they felt a very strong pull to something dark, very dark and everything disappeared from their sight a moment later.

As if they had been swallowed up by a vast void, they felt the pull that made them believe they were falling from a considerable distance or so they thought. Hermione screamed as she held Malfoy's shoulders for her beloved life as they continued to fall into the dark void. They fell and fell to who knows where in the darkness that made it impossible to distinguish anything but themselves. She had had a somewhat similar experience before, when they traveled with portkeys, but the pull never felt so strong. Malfoy's heart raced in his chest as he screamed too, and soon the fall slowed a little before they hit something hard, making them moan in pain.

Malfoy opened his eyes and found himself covered with a kind of dark smoke coming from inside of him, like Granger, who had fallen over him. Once again, they experienced a wave of pain and Hermione moaned a little, as she tried to find out why she was burning up from the inside out, but a second later, the smoke cleared and the pain subsided. He turned to look around, only to try to find out where they ended up, but he did not recognize anything. It was dark, probably the night had fallen there as well and as far as he could see, there were only dead trees everywhere.

They were definitely inside what was once a forest, a big one, because even if the trees looked dead, there were miles of them. It was a good thing that there was some moonlight shining on them, so they could at least see a bit farther from where they were on the floor. There was some ice on the top of the trees and frost patches on the forest floor, and as Granger had done before, he hugged himself to be a little warmer in that cold environment, not realizing that something was quite different with him.

"Granger, are you okay? Do you know where we are?" He asked finally looking at her and as he watched her look back at him with her mouth half open in surprise, he also started to panic when he finally noticed the change in her. It was simply not possible, not with any kind of magic he knew. He was aware that there were some potions that could temporarily do so, but none of them drank anything or used any spell that would speed up their age. There was nothing in their past actions that could trigger such a change in both of them.

"Is that you Malfoy? Oh, my God ... What is this?" She said looking at herself and finding the change in her too, then looked at him again. The Malfoy she was currently contemplating was different in many ways than the one she knew, even with the poor light coming from the moon. He had a resemblance to his younger self, as she had last seen in the storage room, yet he appeared to be in his mid-twenties now. He was covered in a dark, worn-out coat that he not had before, and his blond-white hair was much longer than before and more scruffy as well. His voice even sounded deeper now and his body seemed taller, leaner and closer to a man than a boy. Undoubtedly, the mature version of Malfoy was definitely handsomer than in the past. It was like looking at the improved version of him. He seemed much more mysterious, but dangerous at the same time with his gray eyes, now a little more blue, that looked at her with penetrating eyes.

"Granger ..." Malfoy whispered as he helped lift the equally upgraded version of her from the wet ground while absently looking over her head. She could not imagine how strange she might seem to him now. From what she could see, she was taller now, with more curves and longer hair, but she could not see her own face at that moment.

"What kind of magic is this? This should be impossible, are we dreaming?" Hermione asked as she tried to get away from his grasp. She knew he hated her mudblood status the most, but he was not paying any special attention to her, since he was concentrating on something higher in the night sky.

"Well, let's pray this is all a dream, because if this is real, we'll be as good as dead." He said taking her hand as he pulled her forward. Strange, why did he take my hand? She wondered a bit confused as she stared at their entwined hands.

"Huh? What do you mean?" His hand was cold, but somehow the sensation seemed pleasant to her.

"Look up Granger and you'll see what I mean." He made her move faster and she did as she was told. She opened her eyes wide as she realized she saw multiple figures floating above them. She's seen those figures before, last year on the train just before Harry fainted. It was hard not to remember them and their presence would explain the icy atmosphere around them.

"Dementors..." She said with her heart beating hastily in fear.

"Yeah, a lot of them ... run, just run." He said as he kept pulling her before the Dementors began to move toward them. They were going to die there, Malfoy thought as the adrenaline kept them running for their lives at full speed. Oh yeah, they were actually in deep troubles. No one could escape so many Dementors together and even less with their level of magic. This is going to be our end. He told himself again, just before the ghostly figures went lower.

AN: Hope that someone like this. Slow updates. (Half edited for errors and working on the rest soon. 4/26/17)