Harry and the others headed back to the school not long after Hermione had left. The feast was going to be later today than usual for some unknown reason which is probably best to give Hermione chance to get back. As they were heading into the castle they saw Ron coming towards them he had left them after going to the joke shop, Harry was currently feeling in the middle between him and Hermione but Ron knew that Harry was pissed at him.
Ron sighed at the group, not even giving a high before complaining "I am starving! Why can't we go straight for food" he whined. He didn't mean to moan and whine, but he was hungry, it'd be hours since he had last eaten because he had been hanging out with Lavender as soon as he left the others.
Sirius rolled his eyes "Ron, we don't know why we can't go eat yet. Have you ever thought there might be a reason for it?" he said "You know if we had the map we might have been able to work out what was wrong" he said to James and Remus.
Harry grinned "Hello? I have the map in this time" he said and pulled it out his cloak to show them then placed it away again "We'll look at it properly in the common room, don't want it getting confiscated" he added.
James grinned "You have the map! Get in there!" he said high fiving Sirius "How did you end up with it though" he said and rolled his eyes.
Harry laughed "Ron's twin brothers robbed it, and worked out how to use it. The twins we meet at the joke store?" he said and grinned, leading the way up to the Gryffindor common room heading straight to the deserted fire area.
James sat next to Harry while everyone else moved around so that they were blocking the map from sight in case anyone outside the group looked over.
Harry grinned as he pulled out the map "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" he whispered and watched as the dots appeared on the map "That's not good" he muttered as he looked at the dots in Dumbledore's office.
…..
Scolding herself silently for forgetting to pick up her book, Hermione didn't notice the shadow of someone following her. It was quite quickly getting dark and in recent times it wasn't the best of idea's to be wondering around the streets alone, witch or not.
Paying for her book, she tucked it carefully into her bag and left the shop. Leaving the store, she jumped as she bumped straight into someone.
"Hermione it's just me… Lucius!" He said with his hands up "I didn't mean to startle you" he added then backed away from her "I saw you alone and thought it unsafe and unwise for a young lady to be wondering around by herself… Especially if the times are as bad as we have been told" he said giving her a small bow.
Hermione put her hand on her chest above her heart "You gave me a scare Lucius! Sneaking up on people isn't the best thing to do" she said and shook her head "Although thank you for coming to see if I needed assistance, but I assure you once again, I am a big girl and can take care of myself" she said looking at him.
Lucius smiled "That I do know Miss Granger. However I do insist on walking you back to the castle, if I am correct the carriages will have stopped by now" he said trying to reason with the stubborn muggleborn. He didn't know why he was so infatuated by her but he was determined to get her to give him a chance.
Hermione nodded "You're right about the carriages, you sure you just don't want me to protect you walking back" she added with a small smirk.
Lucius gave a soft laugh "You are correct there Hermione" he said with a genuine smile as he started walking back towards the school "You and Draco seem to have a lot of tension between the two of you" he commented causally.
Hermione looked at him "You're right there, though it's not all his fault, he has been raised to see muggleborns as scum... Lower class which is amusing considering he got his beliefs from your older self and you clearly don't seem to share the same opinion" she said as they walked along.
Lucius nodded lightly "I'm not surprised, the Malfoy line has hated muggleborns throughout our whole history. It's something that has been driven into since birth. I, however have a slightly different approach. I do wonder what it was that changed my opinion on muggleborns" he replied looking towards her "I do hope you know that I do not think the same of your status as Draco does"
Hermione gave a small nod "I have realized through the lack of harsh remarks that you don't hold the same opinion as you're so… Draco" she said with a smirk "It's still really strange that you're here while Draco is, I am sure he feels the same"
Lucius smirked "The magical world presents different situations and opportunities, it's how we deal with them that matters. I do hope that Draco will change his opinion on muggleborns, though I cannot guarantee it"
James stared closer at the map and called out the names of the dots. "Dumbledore, Snape (present), Snape (past), Lucius (Present), and Draco", he said as he looked around the group. "That must mean that Lucius found out his past self is now in this time as well. Though I can't see him on the map anywhere… In fact I can't find Hermione either" he added as his eyes ran over the map, wondering if he'd missed them.
Remus nodded "I agree, it's not good if present Lucius knows that Lucius from our time is here, from what you've all said about him, he turned into quite a nasty piece of work once he left school. We'll all need to be careful around Snape and Lucius, even more then before" he cautioned the group.
Harry sighed "Great. Even more stuff to worry about, never mind the fact that Draco could becoming a death eater, we also have to worry about another Snape and Lucius. If Draco or Lucius are trying to convince them into spying for Voldemort we'll need to be on our toes. Being even more careful about what we say and when we say it."
Sirius was still staring at the map. "James is right, I can't see Hermione anywhere" he said, it sounded as though he'd not heard anything Harry or Lily had said. "She should be back by now, she was only going to get a book and where the hell is Peter, and I've only seen him a few hours since yesterday. I know he was supposed to see Professor Dumbledore today" he added.
Ron rolled his eyes "Your better off without him, he's a traitor!" he practically shouted looking at Harry for support. "I guess you didn't tell them" he added seeing Harry's uncomfortable look. "Sorry Harry" he muttered and looked down rubbing the back of his head.
Harry sighed "It's alright Ron. It was Peter who betrayed you to Voldemort" he said and looked at James "He then set Sirius up to take the blame" he added as he looked at Sirius. "Peter, present Peter I mean, he's sort of Voldemort's little sidekick, so if you do see him about anywhere, do not trust him one bit. I know your Peter will have been told about what he did, but it's not his fault, he didn't do it, his future self-did" he said.
Sirius slammed down his fist "That traitor!" he yelled angrily "I would have never thought it, Peter follows us around like a lost puppy! We let him in on all our secrets, plots, and tricks!" he ranted, only calming down when James placed a hand on his shoulder.
James sighed lightly "It's alright Sirius, Harry is right; we need to remember that it wasn't our Peter, it was his future self, and if we don't want it to happen again we'll need to make sure that we are careful what we say around him, but that we're still his friend. Pushing him out won't help, if anything it'll make it worse"
Remus looked at James, his deep concentration construed over his young face. "Your right James, if we discarded him then he will definitely go over to Voldemort. We can stop him from making the same mistake again, and at least that'll be one less person to worry about. Although I do agree with keeping certain things from him, at least then if he doesn't know anything, he can't say anything" Remus added a smile on the end.
Harry nodded, "Let's get back to the issue at hand, well one of the issues anyway… Where is Hermione?" he said and looked at Ron, a slightly worried expression washed over his features. "She can look after herself, but I'd feel better if we knew where exactly she was."
….
Hermione and Lucius were still walking back towards the castle. It was getting darker by minute, and there weren't that many lights on the way back so Hermione had her wand lit up to guide the way. "So what are you planning on going as to the Halloween ball?" she asked as they walked.
Lucius grinned "There's going to be a Halloween ball in this time as well?" he added a laugh "Some traditions do not change." He thought to himself for a few moments and smiled. "I'm currently undecided. Since no one actually goes as anything scary, it's more picking a costume. What about yourself? I'm sure as head girl you will have thought up something amazing to stun your fellow students" he said charmingly.
Hermione smiled "I have a few things in mind, though so it'll be a surprise, don't want anybody copying after all" she said mysteriously. "I can imagine you as count Dracula… He's a vampire" she added then continued "The vampire prince, according to muggle's that is", she said still smiling.
Lucius laughed "Count Dracula huh? Now wouldn't that be interesting, though we have vampires in the magical world, to go as a famous vampire from the muggle world would cause a bit of talk" he said as they came towards the castle. "Have you got a date for the ball yet Hermione?" he asked casually as they reached the gates.
Hermione smiled to herself "At the moment no, but I have someone in mind whom I'm tempted to ask" she said and walked through the gates. "Goodnight Lucius" she added a small wave before disappearing into the castle.
