A/N: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews, but to tell you the truth, I'm not going to stress myself out over this story. I really put a lot into it...and it seems that reviews are scant. But anyway, Italy was amazing! Absolutely ...just breath taking. I went everywhere in Rome and made a quick side trip to Florence. The only bad thing is the flight. Nice hours just sitting there...oh man. To tell you the truth, I'm 5' 10", most of my height is in my legs, they are just long...and Merlin...to be jammed up there for nine hours was just excruciating. Word to the wise, if you have a long flight like I did, spend the extra 100 and get first class. I apologize for the shortness of the chapters...I am not good at all at dividing chapters up...not good at all. So we meet Francis. He IS a real person, I didn't make him up. Well, enjoy!

The Earl of Bothwell would be later known in life he would become to be known as the Uncrowned King of Scotland, much to his cousin, King James' chagrin. What Francis was, Jemmie was not. He was a most bonnie man, with the mind to match. His mind, and knowledge of things beyond the realm of the church was to be Hepburn's downfall later in life. Some say it was jealousy, others say it was James's mortal fear of his cousin wanting to displace him and be the next King, that drove James to exile his once beloved cousin from Scotland, stripped of his land and title. But Francis knew the real meaning, Jemmie was terrified of all things unnatural, and his advisors planted the seed early in James' mind that Francis was a warlock. His brilliant skill for healing, the way the public was enamored with him, even James's own wife, Queen Anne, supported Francis.

In the present, before any of those events were to happen, the Young Earl of Bothwell's eyes followed Draco and Hermione. Francis always thought himself born in the past, that his soul was switched with another that was destined to live in such medieval times. His ideas were too modern that there were whispers already in the royal household of witchcraft and black magic. There was something about those two that he felt was greatly out of place, and he intended on finding out.

Draco and Hermione were escorted to the same room they arrived in the day before. They tanked Daisy, and asked her to bring breakfast as soon as possible.

"Before we do anything, lets get into our school robes, they should be around here..." he looked around, silver eyes gazing into the corner where he left his school uniform the day before. It was empty, the while room was void of anything personal, not a hairbrush or a bottle of perfume, "somewhere."

"I'll go in the other room to check if my things are there." Hermione told him, noticing the frown appearing on his handsome visage. "Maybe my things are there."

When she opened the connecting door, the room was just the same as it was the day before, except there was no uniform. She ran to the closet, which housed dresses similar to one she wore, but no black Hogwarts school robes. "Bloody hell..." she muttered, using the same swear that Ron was particularly fond of. Then she thought of them...Ron, Harry, Ginny, what if she never saw them again? Panic rose in her, but she willed herself to bury it. She and Draco were two of the most brilliant wizards at Hogwarts, they would figure something out.

She decided to borrow a dress from the closet, considering that this gown practically screamed robbery if they decided they had to leave the inn. She chose a warm wool skirt, and a white silk men's shirt. The skirt was a dull brown, but it went past her ankles to assure her legs would say warm. Under the skirt she wore thick stockings, opting to keep the silks ones on incase the wool chafed her skin. On her feet were sturdy leather boots that looked rather expensive, but shrugged when seeing the person had four pairs just like it. Across her shoulder, she affixed a plaid banner; she didn't know whose banner it was, remembering in her muggle studies that plaids and banners were like a family's last name. What she didn't notice during the shedding of her clothes was that the platinum ring that was given to her and Draco by the Professors now sported a second emerald in place of the Hufflepuff Amber stone. When she finally joined Draco in the other room, she saw her dressed similarly to her, but he looked warmer.

"You look very nice." He said when seeing her come back into the room to join him for breakfast, the 16th century garb fit her just perfect.

"You don't look to bad yourself, by the way, I'm keeping all the jewels I was wearing last night, if no one remembers us, then no one will certainly miss those diamonds. She told him, sitting at a small table that was situated in front of a rather large bay window. "We may need to pawn them to pay for our stay here."

"Gryffindor Granger, always thinking ahead." Draco teased her, and sat down to join her for breakfast. It was a simple oat stirabout with honey, several boiled eggs, and a hard sharp cheese with bread still warm from the ovens. They ate silently for some minutes when a knock on the door brought them both to their feet.

Draco walked to the door, and putting one hand on his wand, and the other on the door, he yelled out, "Who's there?"

"Lord Francis Stewart Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, cousin to King James." Came the rather bored sounding reply.

"What business do you have?" Draco asked, still suspicious, they didn't know anybody in this time period, why would someone seek them out.

"I would like to have a word with you." The voice traveled through the thick wood.

"Draco, if he were here to rob us, I don't think he would have knocked." Hermione said, getting annoyed. He rolled his eyes at her and opened the door to be greeted by a young and handsome friendly face.

"Hello my Lord and Lady, I was downstairs when you came in with your finery on claiming to have just come from the Queens Coronation," Francis said, smiling at both Draco and Hermione.

"Come in sir, sorry my...friend here is being rather boorish," she elbowed Draco out of the way to let the young man in. He still hadn't taken his hand off waist where his wand was.

"You friend, I thought he called you his wife!" Francis said surprised.

"Well...you see..." Hermione said, damming herself for slipping up, but Draco came to the rescue.

"She is my fiancée, we are to be married shortly, isn't that right poppin?" he said, throwing her a too sweet smile from behind the Earl's head.

Hermione smiled back at him in response, but stuck her tongue out at him when the Earl turned to look at Draco.

"You see, I find that rather peculiar, very peculiar indeed." Francis said, noting the playful hostility between the two.

"Why is that?" Draco asked, taking his gaze off Hermione's tongue to look into the serious green eyes of the Earl.

"Because the Coronation was over 45 years ago young man, the Queen is rather sick, and just named her predecessor King James VI." Francis told the dumbfounded couple, and waiting to see their reaction.

"What?" Hermione said, astounded.

"My dear, the event you are talking about happened November 17, 1558." The earl said, not at all alarmed that these two people didn't know what day it was.

"No..." Hermione said, falling into the seat nearest her.

"What...what date is it?" Draco asked, rather going into the Dark Forest singing vile songs about its inhabitant's than hearing the man's answer.

"Why, its February 1st, 1603." The Earl said, and with cat like reflexes, caught Hermione before she hit the floor in a dead faint.

***

mirandam (Sorry for the chappy shortness! I will try my absolute best to divvy the chapters up so that they are longer.) LifeNotsSoBad, ckrfan (You have NO idea...the plot takes the biggest twists and turns that even I was surprised where Draco and Hermione was leading me), Burnsybabe, angel- dolphin1, Spaced Out Space Cadet, OBXglider(), gReEneyEdRebELgurl (lol sniff a hog, ewwwww), Legessa (thanks for the support!), Orchid6297, Ruinsul (not really...I really don't want to work in a child into the story because then I would have to develop it...and I don't know how children are.), dracohermioneluver, NumberOneNightOwl