It wasn't until they had paced the same corridor three times that Hermione suddenly realized where they were. She gasped and turned to face Draco. "But why are we…?"

Without waiting for her to finish, he abruptly grasped her arm and pulled her through the door that had appeared on the wall. Hermione tried to resist going into the room, but the suddenness with which this change had happened, combined with Draco's strength, were too much for her. When they were both over the threshold, Draco let go of her and whipped out his wand. Hermione had barely wrapped her fingers around her own wand when his cry of "Expelliarmus!" filled the room.

"No!" She screamed, fingers closing on nothing as her wand flew away from her and into his waiting grasp. Without giving him a chance to gloat, Hermione turned and ran for the door. As she reached it, it melted away into the stone wall. Hands desperately clawing at the unyielding stone, Hermione sank to her knees, and then the floor. Breathing heavy, she crouched, tense and waiting.

When nothing happened after several long minutes, Hermione lifted her head and slowly got to her feet. Whatever Malfoy had planned for her, she was going to meet it head on. She tried to force herself to be brave despite the helplessness that threatened to overcome her. "Please give me back my wand." Her voice sounded calmer than she felt. Malfoy had a strange expression on his face. Instead of the triumph she had been expecting, he seemed almost…sad.

"Not yet." His voice was soft.

"Then let me out of here!" This time her tone was more shrill, a note of the panic she was feeling sneaking in.

"Not yet." He repeated. When she turned and began pounding on the wall where the door had been, he added "It won't open. Not until we're done here."

"Done?" Hermione turned to face him again, the fear impossible to keep hidden. "What do you mean by "done? Why did you trick me into coming here?"

"I want to help you, Hermione." He smiled at her sadly. "I know…what you're going through. I was there too. This is the only way. You've been trapped inside of yourself since the war ended, trying to hide from your feelings."

Hermione felt her sense of horror mounting. "What are you going to do?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and it was all she could do to remain on her feet.

"You need to let it out now. Here, where it's safe. Where no one will see. I came her myself, many times. It's a big part of how I was able to heal."

Hermione shook her head. "I have a class soon. I'll be missed…Neville will find me…he can work this room better than anyone…"

Malfoy smiled and there was a trace of the old arrogance. "I'm afraid I must disagree with you on that point. Longbottom hasn't spent the time with this room that I have." There was an emphasis, slightly boastful, on the word "time," and Hermione waited for him to continue. The more he talked, the better the chance she could get her wand away from him somehow. "This spell is of my own invention….very complicated and dangerous. It took me many years to finally get it right. I don't really know how to explain it, since nothing like this has existed before now…I suppose you could call it a mixture of a Freeze Charm, the unique magic of the room, and the substance inside of a Time Turner…"

Hermione stared at him, wide eyed. "But there are no Time Turners…they were destroyed…"

Draco shook his head. "My family had one. Passed down through the generations, kept in a secret chamber. Not even the Dark Lord knew of its existence." In spite of her predicament, Hermione felt the familiar anger creeping in.

"Of course the Malfoys would have something like that! And you've been biding your time, waiting for your opportunity to use it against me! What are you going to do, Malfoy? Send me back in time? Finish me off in our third year, right after I slapped you? She bore down on him, brown eyes flashing. A couple of red sparks flew out of her wand, still held in Malfoy's fist.

Startled, he almost dropped her wand, but quickly recovered. "Protego!" He shouted, waving his own wand into a design in the air. Hermione jumped back, stumbling, as the force of his shield charm prevented her from approaching.

"What do you need that for? I don't even have my wand!" She shouted, hands clenched with rage.

He chuckled. "You need to listen and watch. Without any distractions. Now, as I was saying, I created a powerful spell. While we are in here, we are still moving forward, but Time has stopped for those on the outside. To put it simply, we could stay in this room for fifty years, and when we left, everything would be as it was. We would return to the very second, the exact moment, when we entered the room. Our bodies would return to their younger state, but our memories of the time spent here would remain. I have spent a lifetime here, dealing with what was lost in that war, coping with my role in what happened. Finding peace."

Hermione could only stare as she struggled to understand what he was saying. She was amazed in spite of herself. "Malfoy…that is…amazing. I never would have thought you capable of such incredible…" She caught herself, clapping a hand to her mouth.

He laughed heartily. "It's okay, Hermione. Maybe if I hadn't been such an arrogant little git in school, consumed with the beliefs of a madman, I would have done slightly better in my studies."

Hermione felt a smile creep across her face and quickly forced it away. She ran her hands through her brown hair in exasperation.

"Listen, Malfoy, I've dealt with my demons. I've got it under control. So thanks anyway, I appreciate the thought, but you can just give me back my wand and open the door. I have a class to teach."

"Your class isn't going anywhere." Draco said gently. "And neither are you. Now, have a seat…" He waved his wand and a comfortable looking armchair, similar to the ones in the Griffindor common room, appeared next to her. Hermione glared at him.

"I'll stand, thanks." She clenched and unclenched her fists, feeling her anger building to almost uncontrollable level. Draco flicked his wand and murmured something, and instantly she felt the same sense of peace she had felt the previous day flood over her. She sank down in the chair, tears in her eyes.

"Malfoy…why are you doing this to me?" He didn't answer her. He smiled at her, sadly, and then turned and began walking away. "Malfoy? Where are you going?" He didn't answer. Hermione wanted to call out to him again, but suddenly the room was changing around her. The stone walls expanded and lengthened, the ceiling flew upward, doors appeared, suits of armor, the shadowy images of people…and with a gasp of horror, Hermione knew where and when she was. The corridor, that corridor, the night of the battle, the night that she had not been able to save Ron Weasley from dying.