DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and events from one of my favourite authors, the great J.K. Rowling.
NOTE You can view my LJ for updates; the link is on my author page.
EDIT: This has been revised a few times over the years. For now, the newer version will only be on here, which is easier to submit to than the other sites that require excellent beta work. I'm operating without a beta for now.
Chapter 6: The Little Things Give You Away
When Hermione and Draco walked into the Room of Requirement, it looked very similar to Hermione's office. However, it contained another overstuffed chair, and this one was upholstered in a green Italian silk. They both took their seats and simply stared at one another with amused expressions.
Finally, Hermione spoke. "Did you see the look on Harry's face? I'm not going to be able to keep this from him for long. I'm afraid that I'll have to tell him something as soon as I see him tonight."
"Granger, that is just stupid; anyone could find out what's going on, if Potter finds out." Draco leaned back in his chair.
"Well, for now we just have to worry about Dumbledore, and he isn't even that good. He actually relies on the portraits to gather most of his information. I can just acknowledge to Harry that something is going on and encourage him to learn how to shield his mind so that he can be included on this whole secret. I'll also tell him to not look Dumbledore in the eye."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever… I don't imagine you'd even listen to me if I ordered you not to tell Potter."
Hermione was offended. "Why you insufferable little…"
"GRANGER!" Draco yelled before resuming a kinder tone of voice, "Look we need to learn to work together and I understand all of this sexual tension is difficult especially being that we are in such young bodies right now that it'll just lead to frustration."
Hermione let out a dry laugh. "Oh please, I still very much love Ronald and would never consider sleeping with you. That's just beneath me."
"Fine, whatever…" Draco gritted his teeth.
With a smug smile, Hermione teasingly said, "You've already said that".
"Mature… very mature Granger," Draco smirked. "I'd expect someone who's lived nearly fifty years to have the maturity of someone at least thirty. But no, you have to act like a spoiled five year old. I honestly don't know which I prefer; the insecure know it all or what I've got sitting in this room with me," Draco finished with a hand gesture indicating her presence.
Hermione straightened her posture, "Fine, I'll be myself. I simply thought it'd be easier to maintain a lighter tone. And, in case you forgot, I've had almost 12 years to perfect the art of acting the age of my body. I'm able to remember the instant I wake up because it is a shock to no longer feel the lasting effects of your dear Aunt Bella's caring touch."
Draco advanced on her so fast that she leaned as far back as the chair would allow her without realizing it and found herself gasping for air. Draco braced his hands on the arms of the chair and loomed over her, "You want to go there now, do you Granger?" Draco's eyes had become clouded with emotion, "I did everything I could that day to save you and your friends! Don't you know that I didn't even fight Potter when he tackled me to get the wands? You earned my respect back in third year, but I was unable to express it… That was the last thing I ever wanted to witness. I've struggled to live with myself after everything that happened in that year… This plan was only created after I found out not only was I unable to kill anyone else, but I couldn't even kill myself."
Realization dawned on Hermione and after a moment, she reached out to him and pulled him into a hug. She had no idea what to do but comfort him the way she would comfort one of her own children. Neither noticed the chair morphing into a love seat but soon they were sitting side by side, as they held onto one another. In that moment, they reached a level of understanding that would allow them to work together and build a friendship. After a few minutes, they separated and began to talk about the past; they shared some laughs about things that originally happened in school that now seemed impossible.
"I can't believe you began to respect me just because I punched you in the face," Hermione laughed. "I really am not a violent person; in all my fifty years, you are the only person that I've hit."
"Well, I'll consider myself honoured." Draco shifted to slip one arm around Hermione's shoulders and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "If anything, I consider it a turn on because no one else in my entire life has treated me like an equal. I was either looked down upon or held up to be a great Malfoy."
"Well, I'm sure Harry will treat you the same way when he gets to know you. But I know he doesn't swing that way, so I advise you to keep your hands off him… Draco," Hermione said in a light tone.
"Thank you, Hermione." Draco rested his cheek on her head.
She looked at him. "For what?"
"For calling me by my first name; it's the first time that you said it nicely while we were being ourselves."
"Does this mean that you'll stop calling me Granger?"
"I can't promise anything. I happen to like your name. I might take it myself when we get married." He acted as if he were commenting on the weather.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "That'll be the day…"
"You don't believe me do you? I'm serious." He turned to look her in the eyes, "Don't you think it's odd that you have yet to say one word to Weasley? You claim you love him but you didn't even glace at him in Charms class. I saw how he treated you and if there's one thing I know, it's that he has no idea how to properly treat a woman."
Hermione patted Draco on the knee as she stood up, "We'll talk about this later. I think you need some rest and I need to have a talk with Harry." Hermione grabbed their book bags and handed Draco his before leading the way out of the room and back to their common room. When they walked in, they found Harry sitting alone with a book. Hermione took a seat. "Where's Neville?"
Closing the book, Harry looked up at the two of them. "Oh, he decided to go hang out with the other guys in our dorm, so I decided to get an early start on my reading. Where have you two been?"
Hermione took Harry's book. "I'll show you." Then she turned to Draco. "Do you mind taking the book and my bag up to your dorm for now?" He accepted them and walked off. "Come on, Harry." She pulled on Harry's arm. "We don't have much time to waste before dinner."
Harry watched Hermione curiously as she paced back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement. Finally, the door appeared. "Allow me to welcome you to the Room of Requirement." They walked in and it now looked like her parents' living room. "What's so cool about this room is that it can be almost anything that you want it to be. As I was pacing I thought we needed a familiar environment in which to chat."
"Interesting," Harry said blandly. "Now, would you like to tell me what's going on?"
Hermione sat down. "Believe me Harry, I want to tell you everything. I know you are very perceptive, and I don't want you to feel left out."
"But," he continued in the same bland tone of voice.
"Well, we need you to take Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape first. This is something big and we can't risk having anyone find out by reading your mind. I know you probably think you could manage right now and that it can't be that serious but it is. If you want, I can probably demonstrate just how vulnerable you are."
"That sounds fair enough. Prove it to me." He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Hermione stood up, took out her wand, and said, "Legilimens!"
Harry was surprised to have so many past memories suddenly come to mind. Hermione ended the connection before she arrived at the memory of his parents deaths; she didn't think he was ready to delve into that yet. They both sat down and Harry was finally able to ask, "What was that?"
"That, Harry, was me breaking into your mind to view any memory I desired and you had no way to shut me out. Eventually, you'll learn to build a barrier and make only the memories you choose available to others. If you want I can reverse the connection and show you my barrier and then I'll let you see a few things that I keep from others." He nodded, so she turned toward Harry and folded her legs up so she could concentrate on the task at hand. When she felt prepared, she once again performed the spell.
This time, Harry saw a young Hermione playing with her blocks while her parents paid no attention to her, then he saw her at primary school as all the kids avoided her, and then he saw the two of them entering Diagon Alley. Harry was taken by surprise as he felt himself being pulled in deeper. Now he saw Hermione fixing his glasses on the train when she introduced herself, but this Hermione was not as nice and had frizzier hair. Then he saw Hermione punch Draco, who was with two heavy set Slytherins and even Draco was wearing Slytherin robes. Finally, he saw a scene that lasted longer; a man with dark hair and a woman with red hair were saying goodbye to their son James at the train station, then Hermione ended the connection.
"Do you know what the last three were?" Hermione asked.
"Well, the first one had us but it didn't make any sense, the second had you hitting Draco, who was in Slytherin robes, and I have no idea what the third was." Harry answered.
Hermione answered with a smile, "They were from an alternate reality. That's how I knew to meet you years ago and how I knew we couldn't allow Draco to become our enemy. The third was you and your wife sending your first born son to Hogwarts." Harry looked surprised so Hermione continued, "You see Harry, I know what's going to happen in the future and I need to let you in on the plans to change things but I can't do so until your mind is secure because so many lives depend on this." Hermione started to cry from the weight of the responsibility on her and due to her exhaustion.
Harry tried to comfort her and distract her. "Shush, it's all right Hermione, why don't you tell me what kept you and Draco from getting to class this morning."
Hermione laughed and sobbed at the same time. Finally, she said, "I punched him…twice… and then had to take him to the hospital wing because I dislocated his shoulder."
Harry shook his head. "And why would you punch him?"
After a sniffle, she said, "I thought all along it had been my fault that I knew these things but he admitted to me that he was partly responsible and that he knew about all of these things as well. And well, I just lost control because I was so angry with him. But after I calmed down and he explained his side of the story we came to an understanding."
"And that's why Snape lost his temper this morning? Draco told him about it?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, he actually seemed happy that I tried to, quote, 'smack some sense into him', end quote. By the way, how did he treat you during class, as I wasn't there to try to answer his questions? I regret missing his lecture about bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses."
"Oh, I got them all correct. Well… except for the last one but it wasn't covered in the textbook. He said there might still be hope for me yet, if I took after my mother instead of my father." Harry finished, sounding puzzled.
"Ah, that's because he loved your mum for years and was taunted by your father and his friends. He especially hated your father for rescuing him the one time he almost died. But he and your mum had an argument that they never got over and she ended up with your father. So, in a way you serve as a reminder to him of what he lost by speaking one wrong word," Hermione sleepily supplied as her eyes started to close.
In a soft voice, Harry asked, "And how do you know that?"
"Snape gave you his memories when he was dying; remember he wanted to look at your eyes because they're just like Lily's, before he died."
"When did this happen again?" He knew he was pressing his luck.
"Seventh year… you should remember… you're not even forty, you can't be going senile." Hermione mumbled as she fell asleep.
Harry thought over what she had said for a while before finally looking around for the time. A clock appeared on the wall and he saw it was ten minutes past dinner. Harry nudged Hermione and said, "Hermione, you need to wake up. We are late for…"
Hermione jumped up, "I'm up, I'm up… what are we late for?"
"Dinner," he started steering her out the door and walked with her to the Great Hall. Hermione took a seat next to Draco and Harry paused at Draco's side to say, "We need to talk after dinner," before he took his seat on Hermione's other side.
Draco leaned over to Hermione. "Why does Potter want to talk with me now?"
"I don't know. I fell asleep and I don't really know anything right now. I think I tried to do too much magic too soon," Hermione said with a sleepy half smile.
Draco looked Hermione in the eyes and soon saw all the confirmation that he needed. "That's it; you're not fit to be around anyone right now." He got up, went over to Harry's side, and said, "Do you know where to meet us?" Harry nodded, so Draco said, "I'm taking her there right now; meet us when you're done eating." He moved over to Hermione, "Ok, I need you to pull yourself together and stand up so we can walk out of here." Hermione slowly complied.
Draco got Hermione up to the Room of Requirement and helped her climb into a bed that appeared. He barked, "Elf," and a house elf appeared to whom Draco said, "Please bring me two dinners and desserts." He figured that he needed to get at least one full meal for the day and sat down to eat when the elf reappeared with food. Harry arrived a few minutes after Draco had finished his dinner.
"What's with the food?" Harry asked.
"Well, I actually needed to eat, and I'm sure Hermione will want to eat once she wakes up in a few hours. Now, what did you want to talk about?"
Harry looked Draco in the eye. "I want to know how you two managed to turn back time."
With a dramatic sigh, Draco said, "I can't believe she told you after I specifically told her not to."
"Well, she didn't, so relax. I guessed, and you just confirmed it for me," Harry was quite proud of himself. "I've noticed all these little things over the years and I just finally put them together."
"You don't know anything specific then?" Draco asked.
"Well, I know she's punched you at least three times, you probably still hate me like your Godfather, and I'm going to name my son James." Harry paused, "Oh yeah, you named your son Scorpius?"
"Yes, get over it. And I don't hate you. We grew to respect each other over the years." Pausing to look back at Hermione's sleeping body, he continued, "I guess while we are here I should start teaching you the exercises to shield your mind. I'm not able to do too much magic yet, but I think Hermione's proved it'll take us both some time to build up our strength.
Three hours later, Harry was asleep in his own bed, exhausted by the exercises, and Draco was sitting in his chair staring off into space when he heard Hermione start to shift around and then yawn. Draco went to sit on the edge of Hermione's bed and check on her. "How's my sleeping beauty?"
She let out a baffled chuckle while rubbing her eyes. "What time is it? And why are we back here?"
"Well you gave away our secret to Harry and fell asleep on him. So he said he wanted to have a chat with me after dinner, when you two arrived. After a minute, I realized you were completely oblivious and weren't even protecting your thoughts, so I brought you back up here. By the way, there's dinner on the table if you're hungry. And I started training Harry until he couldn't stay conscious anymore. And, it's late, probably after curfew," Draco said.
"Urgh," she moaned, "I just want more sleep." She grabbed his arm and rolled over, pulling Draco with her.
Draco remained in the awkward position he was in for a moment while looking around. "Hey, can I have my arm back just for a minute? Then it's all yours." She let him go. He kicked off his shoes, undid his tie, and took off his uniform shirt, leaving just his undershirt. Then he proceeded to lie next to Hermione and give her back his arm.
Harry was the first to wake up the next morning. He looked around after putting on his glasses and discovered Draco and Hermione sleeping together in the literal sense, not the figurative sense. Checking the time, he knew he had to wake them up and the three of them needed to sneak back into their dorms. He then noticed a door appear and decided to find what was on the other side. He was shocked to find the Ravenclaw common room on the other side. He quickly rushed over to Draco and Hermione to wake them up and get them into the common room.
Later that day, as Professor Snape wrapped up the final class of the first week, he announced, "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Mr. Malfoy, please see me after class." Once the rest of the class had left, he looked at Draco and Hermione and continued, "I have decided to teach Mr. Potter about the topic we discussed at the beginning of this week." Turning to Harry, he said, "Be here tonight at 8pm sharp for, shall we consider it, detention".
A look of fear crossed Harry's face as Draco and Hermione expressed their gratitude. After a quick lunch, the trio agreed to study in the Room of Requirement until it was time for dinner. However, studying was more a discussion between Draco and Hermione, who only required a quick review on the topics. They made sure that Harry comprehended everything well because they wanted to ensure that he'd be thoroughly prepared for anything that Voldemort would throw his way. All three also spent time practicing spells to build their magical strength. When Harry went to serve his 'detention,' Hermione and Draco went back to the Room of Requirement.
Draco was the first to speak when they entered the secure room. "Hermione, don't you think we're spending too much time in here? I'm sure people are starting to notice we are never around outside of classes and meals."
Hermione's frustration was evident, "Look, I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page, so to speak. I figure if we need to discuss something between just the two of us, we should do it here while Harry is in his Occlumency lessons because he won't feel left out."
"Okay, what do we need to discuss right now?" Draco asked.
"Well, I believe that we should continue to study in here because others might think our way of studying is not quite right. But, for right now, I wanted to touch on the plan I've had in my mind and see if there was anything in the near future we needed to make each other aware of. The major things that will happen this year are the troll in the bathroom on Halloween and Professor Quirrell trying to get the Philosopher's Stone later on. I also want to befriend Hagrid and the Weasleys because Hagrid is going to have a Dragon egg hatch and it will need to be taken to Romania by Charlie and his co-workers."
"All right, I'll be there to help with the troll and the stone when the time comes. You can have fun getting to know Hagrid on your own," he said, purposely avoiding mention of the Weasleys. "Although I have to ask, are you going to be able to prevent your slip ups? It didn't take Harry long to figure things out and we can't have anyone else figuring out what is going on between us."
Hermione gave Draco a scathing look, "Yes, it's just taking me some time to get accustomed to being back in the wizarding world. It was easy for years not having anything trigger my memory. And then when Harry started coming over we had non-magical things to talk about like current events and literature as well as our dissatisfaction with our families. So, I just have to get used to staying quiet when I am reminded of something or I realize something I never knew."
"Granger, let's just make sure you don't let anything else slip," Draco chided. "What else did you wish to discuss?"
Hermione looked up at Draco. "Could you please tell me what you have told your Godfather?"
After a pause, he said, "Well, I told him that, with your help, we went back in time to change a few things that went wrong in the fight against the Dark Lord. I proved it by mentioning something he told me after we fled the castle when he killed Dumbledore. He wasn't happy that we'd take a chance like that but I told him you had no idea beforehand and that I was only fairly sure that you came back this far as well."
"But I actually went back further," she interrupted.
"As I was saying," he continued, "he was just concerned about a number of things. However, I believe he will accept everything with time. I don't want him to find out too much because we need him to do the same things he did before. I believe he will be kinder to you this time around as you aren't going to annoy him as much, and you and Harry are now his Godson's closest friends."
"Oh, we are so blessed."
"You bet your ass," he quickly replied in a smug tone.
Hermione let out a little laugh before she slipped into a more serious mode. "I also want to make sure that your father gives Tom Riddle's diary to Ginny when we all buy our supplies next summer. It is imperative that she opens the Chamber because it will set a number of things in motion."
"I'll make sure she gets it one way or another, even if I have to steal it from him."
"Thank you." She nibbled on her lip. "How do you plan to deal with your father?"
"Well, he instructed me before we went shopping that I should make friends with Potter because I needed to make the 'right kind of friends'. So, I'll keep him happy as long as possible and give him deceptive reports on how Harry is developing. Eventually he'll demand something of me, which I will refuse to do; when that time comes, I will just need to get my mother into hiding."
"I'll help you find a place for her to stay, when the time comes." Hermione went to give Draco a hug. "Now what do you say we go wait for Harry in the dorms? I'm sure I can find a book I'd like to read from the common room bookshelves."
Draco was surprised when he figured out that Hermione actually wanted to wait in the boys' dorm instead of the common room. As soon as they picked books to read, she told him to take them up to his room while she went to change into her nightclothes. When she walked in, she simply took a seat on Draco's bed and read her book quietly, occasionally glancing at the time. Eventually the four other boys came in and commented on her presence, but she ignored them. Draco had to explain to them that they were waiting for Harry to get back from detention with Snape. It wasn't until nearly one in the morning when Harry stumbled into the dorm and found Draco to be the only one who was still awake.
"Why is Hermione sleeping in your bed?"
"She wanted to see how your evening went but I guess it got to be too late for her."
Harry started to undress. "It was all right; just took forever, and now I have a headache. All I want to do is sleep."
"Well, goodnight then." Draco sat both his and Hermione's books on the nightstand and snuggled up to Hermione to get some sleep.
Hermione was woken up by the sound of someone else in the dorm getting up and getting into the shower.
'It's the weekend; I can allow myself some time to wake up before I get out of bed. And the bed feels just perfect this morning; I wish I felt like this every morning.'
She stretched and rolled over. "I knew it was too fucking good to be true."
"Look who's finally awake," Draco said with a sleepy chuckle. "Good morning, beautiful. What do you plan to do today?"
"I don't know," she closed her eyes to think for a moment. "I think I'd like to try and visit Hagrid; I'll ask Harry to go with me and you're welcome to tag along if you'd like."
"Nah, I think I'll take the time to write my mother and visit with my Godfather. But thanks for the offer."
"Oh, how did Harry's night go? I fell asleep before he got back, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did and he was really out of it when he got back, at about one. We basically just said goodnight to each other."
"Ah, maybe I should let him sleep in for a while then. But, I'm anxious to find out how it went because I want him to master this as soon as possible."
"I'm pretty sure that he will have it done within a few months tops if he gets weekly lessons. We'll be able to help him as well once our magic strengthens."
"That's good." Hermione pulled the covers up further and unconsciously snuggled up closer to Draco.
"So, are you looking forward to flying lessons next week?" He flashed a wicked smile.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Please, I hate that class almost as much as Divination."
"Well, do you think we want Harry to get onto the Quidditch team this time?"
"I think it's best if he waits until next year to tryout."
"All right, I know what to buy him for his next birthday, but I am not quite sure what to buy you for yours."
"Oh, don't worry; no one ever buys me anything for it."
"That is just unacceptable in my book. And, now that we are friends, I'll be expecting something from you and Harry in June."
"You prat, you shouldn't expect anything."
"Well, I was just figuring that Harry should expect to leave his relative's house every year for his birthday. I'll even arrange for him to be picked up if you want."
"That is very kind of you and I'm sure he will appreciate it." She was becoming aware that there was an uneasy silence growing between them.
Finally, Draco said, "Hermione, you need to learn to just relax. It is a nice morning and we are cuddled up here in a nice warm bed after a good night of sleep." He rolled onto his back. "In fact, I'd like to get some more sleep because some of us have only had six hours. Now, why don't you be a good girl and get closer to keep me warm?" He pulled her arm across his torso and left her no option but to rest her head on his chest. "See, that's perfect," he mumbled as he started to fall back asleep.
She whispered to herself, "Perfect, just perfect… but I guess I have nothing better to do until Harry wakes up." She was unable to see the smile that crossed Draco's face.
Two hours later, Harry finally woke up and put on his glasses; he could see Draco and Hermione were the only ones left in the room. He laughed when he saw the look on Hermione's face.
"Don't you dare laugh, I'm not in this position by choice," she attempted to have an authoritative tone of voice.
Draco surprised her by saying, "Oh but baby, you seemed happy all night long." He then had to grab her arm and pin her underneath him before she could hurt him again.
"That's it, I can't stand watching this anymore, I'm getting a shower," Harry interjected.
Draco laughed and watched Harry walk out before returning his attention to Hermione. "Are you ever going to stop trying to abuse me?"
"I don't know. Are you ever going to stop being such a jerk?"
"I guess it all depends on how long you are going to try to ignore the chemistry that we have."
She struggled against Draco. "We don't have any chemistry! Would you just give it a freaking break?"
He lowered himself so there were only a few millimetres between their faces and looked deep into her eyes. "Are you so sure about that?" He pulled back enough to glance at her lips every few seconds in order to create tension. After a moment, she reached up and gave him a friendly kiss on the lips. Then, he let go of her and allowed her to get up, "See, that's all I want for now, for you to acknowledge there is something between us. I can wait a few years for anything serious to happen." She merely nodded and walked out of the room.
When Harry reappeared, he asked, "What happened?"
Draco had a smile on his face and a faraway look in his eyes, "We kissed and then she went to go get ready, I think."
"All right, what's the plan for today?"
"You two are going to visit with Hagrid and I'm going to visit with my Godfather." Draco said coming back to reality, "I should warn you that she might act odd today. It's going to be hard for her to overcome our history."
Hermione had been standing right outside the door and decided it was time that she finally got ready for the day. By the time she got out of the shower, she had worked herself into a right fit.
'The nerve of that guy, getting me to kiss him! I'm not even 12 yet and he's probably just thinking that it's been about six weeks since he last had sex. And what the hell does he mean by waiting a few years for anything serious? By second year I heard rumours that he was sleeping around so I know he can't possibly consider sex to be anything serious.'
When Hermione was finally ready for the day, she went down to the common room and found Harry reading yet another book. "Are you ready to go? I want to make a quick stop so we can discuss last night."
"Sure, let's go… Draco already left to see Professor Snape." He got up and they walked in silence to the ROR.
Once inside, she inquired, "How did your lesson go last night?"
"It was all right, he and I talked about a few issues to clear them out of the way and then we practiced for about four hours. Once I was able to throw him out of my mind he called it a night and told me to go back tonight."
"It sounds like you're making some good progress, I'm very happy to hear that. Did he say how long he thought it'd take?"
"One to three months most likely," Harry replied. "Do you want to tell me what exactly is happening with you and Draco? I've seen you two sleep together twice in one week and…"
Hermione blushed, "… and he told you we kissed this morning." She took a deep breath, "He and I might eventually become a couple. But it is very important that you know I love you very much, in a brotherly way," she said as she gave Harry a hug. "Now, I want us to go meet with Hagrid; he's the groundskeeper and was the person who originally told you that you were a wizard because your family refused to allow you to open your letter."