Disclaimer-I do not own.

Author's Notes-I guess I should have been a bit more clear in the last chapter, this fic is not over just yet! I really think you guys are going to love this chapter, so without further ado, R&R and thank you for all of your lovely reviews!

Chapter 14

MR. MALFOY-HOGWARTS

Draco strolled on his way to the dormitories alone. All he could think about was Hermione and he hoped that maybe when the potion took effect, his thoughts of her might be enough to help him remember. Stopping suddenly in the corridor, he kicked the wall angrily and turned to slide down it for a seat.

"It's no use, nothing is going to keep her in my head." Looking around the hall defeated, Draco spotted Professor Snape's potion room. Getting to his feet he entered the room and glanced at the time, according to Potter's instructions, he would only have about twenty minutes left for a miracle.

Draco ran past the cabinet of supplies and headed straight for Snape's potion books. Pulling one down from the wall he quickly looked up any kind of memory potion he could find. After about five minutes of skimming through memory loss potions, Draco threw the book to the floor angrily. No potion would help him now, not for this particular loss. His eyes glanced, once again, at the time. Tick, tick, tick.

Minutes were passing quickly, all of his memories, and thoughts of Hermione would be lost from his mind forever…Suddenly Draco's attention snapped to the supply cabinet. A row of vials sat at the front and Draco realized at once what he was going to do.

Taking one vial he grabbed his wand and took a deep breath. Focusing his mind on Hermione and the time they shared in the future, the wedding announcement, the library encounter, the kiss… He pulled each memory from his mind and bottled them all in one tube. Grabbing a stopper, he sealed his memories and stuffed the vial in his pocket. Looking at the time he realized he only had a couple more minutes at most.

Finding a piece of paper, Draco began to write; there was no way he would believe these memories without his own justification. As he wrote, his mind began to slip into a dream like state. Yawning, fell back against the floor with the note still clutched in his hand.

MR. WEALSEY-GRYFFINDOR DORMITORY

Ron stared at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep and he wondered when the effects of the potion would start. He listened to Harry sleep, while keeping track of the time they had left. He wondered if Pansy was asleep now too.

Opening the curtain that surrounded his bed, he saw the sun rising higher through his window. Looking back to the ceiling he felt his eyelids get heavy. Just as he closed them for the last time, he heard Harry lunge up from bed before falling back with a moan.

Ron looked to the time before opening the curtain to see his friend. Harry lay like a statue, eyes slightly open as if daydreaming. Ron watched him for a time until finally, after about ten minutes, Harry's eyes closed and he rolled over, sound asleep. Ron sighed, thankful he was all right. Lying back, he decided to take Dumbledore's advice and get some rest.

MR. MALFOY-MEDICAL WING

Draco moaned as he rolled away from the streaming sunlight.

"Draco? Are you awake?" Snape's voice filled his ears and he groaned. Looking around, he realized he was in the medical wing.

"What…happened?" Draco rolled back to face his Head of House.

"Draco, you were in the potions room…" Instantly Draco was angry.

"That stupid, meddling, witch! I hope they expelled her! When my father hears about what she did…"

"Calm down. Is that the last thing you remember?" Draco nodded angrily.

"Why? How long have I been out?" Draco asked perplexed.

"You've been missing for about two days. I found you unconscious in my classroom next to a potions book." Draco slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Any idea what you were trying to accomplish?" Draco shook his head and Snape nodded, standing and headed for the door.

"Wait, is that it?" Snape turned back to the young Malfoy and stared.

"What else were you expecting, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco frowned.

"Well, where's Granger? Is she going to be expelled?" Snape stared back at him unemotionally.

"Miss Granger has yet to be found." With that, he turned and left the hospital wing.

Draco was surprised. Was Granger dead? He tried to think about how he might react to such news. Not just him, but the school overall? They'd all be heartbroken to lose the Golden girl… Poor Weasley, it's not like he had a back up girlfriend. Draco smirked.

MR. WEASLEY-GRYFFINDOR DORMITORY

Ron awoke with a yawn. Stretching slightly, he opened his eyes and sat up. Pulling back the curtain to his bed, he found Harry sitting across from him, looking down at a photo.

"What's that?" Ron asked quietly. They were alone in the room, but he didn't want to startle his friend. Harry looked up at Ron sadly, before turning the photo to show him.

It was a picture of the Golden Trio last winter. Harry was on one side of the picture, decked in all of his winter clothes and Ron was on the other wearing a traditional Weasley sweater and his winter hat. Hermione was in between the two, grinning and jumping up so they would have to carry her.

Ron smiled at the memory. "That was a fun day." He commented. Harry nodded, looking back at the picture.

"We have to find her Ron." Harry commented, looking back at his puzzled friend.

"Find…Hermione?" He asked slowly. Harry nodded slowly, looking utterly perplexed.

"Yes, Hermione. You know, our friend that got blown up by Malfoy the other day? You do want to find her, don't you?" Ron smiled sheepishly.

"Of course I do, it's just, I forgot to tell you…uh, Hermione came back yesterday." Harry grinned.

"Really? You saw her?" Ron shrugged noncommittally.

"Not exactly, I did talk to Dumbledore though, I think she's in the medical wing." It wasn't a complete lie.

With that, Harry jumped up from his bunk, throwing the photo onto his bed and heading for the door. "You coming?" He asked. Ron quickly threw on some clothes and they left the dormitories.

Ron was in no hurry, he knew Hermione was fine, but after more than one concerned look from Harry, he decided to pick up his pace a bit. Harry was still the first person to arrive at the medical wing and as he disappeared into the room, Ron stopped. What was he going to do about Hermione? He hadn't considered the fact that she would be in love with him again, but he wasn't supposed to know that…was there a right way to tell a girl that you just don't feel the same way…anymore?

His mind flashed to Lavender Brown and how mortified and pathetic she became after their break-up. Bad example.

Before Ron could process a good example, he heard rapid footsteps coming from behind him. As he turned around to see what was happening, he was hit in the chest by a mass only described as Pansy Parkinson.

MISS PARKINSON- SLYTHERIN DORMITORY

Pansy awoke with a start. Draco. He was blown up and she was determined to find him before Dumbledore caught a clue that it was in fact she who had ruined Granger's potion. Pansy quickly looked at the time and screeched. Lunging up from her bed she quickly got dressed. She would barely have a few hours to recreate the potion and find Draco. Running through the common room, she bolted out the door and down the corridor. Rounding a few corners she reached the potion's room but it was too late. She saw Snape walking to his office and as he spotted her, he approached.

"Miss Parkinson." He greeted cooly. Pansy held back a fierce glare and nodded.

"Professor Snape." She cordially replied, out of breath.

"I expected you to be in the medical wing this morning, as well." Pansy raised an eyebrow at her Head of House.

"As well? What happened, have they found Draco?" She asked concernedly. Snape nodded.

"This morning." He answered as a grin flooded her face and without another word, she was off again, running to the infirmary.

Pansy ran as fast as she could, dodging students and professors alike. All she could think about was reaching Draco. Rounding the corner to the medical wing Pansy ran directly into Ron Weasley.

The force of the impact sent Ron flying back with Pansy landing directly on top of him. Instinctively he put his hands around her waist to catch her. They stared at one another completely surprised and taken off guard. Suddenly, Pansy grinned and Ron smiled back. She remembers me.

"Pansy you…"

Without so much as an insult or apology, Pansy looked away from Ron, crawling off of him and walking, grinning, to the door of the medical wing. Ron sat up and watched her as she fixed her hair and her dress before taking in a deep breath. She noticed he was watching her and for a moment he held his breath, hoping she remembered something good about him. Instead, her face scrunched into a scowl and her eyes narrowed.

"What are you looking at, Weasley?" She snapped before flipping her hair out of her eyes and turning back to the doorway. She took another deep breath before grinning once more and walking into the infirmary. Before the door shut behind her, Ron could hear her exclaim, "Oh Draco! I was so worried…"

Ron continued to sit on the floor, staring at the doors to the medical wing. "Welcome home, Weasley." He sighed. Getting to his feet, he brushed off some of the dirt from his robes and followed Pansy into the medical wing.

Upon entering, he found Harry talking with a nurse. Pansy's screech directed his attention to her, where she sat next to Draco, wiping his hair out of his face. Ron clenched his fists. This would be harder than he thought. Malfoy noticed his stare and smirked.

"Surprised to find me alive, Weasley? No thanks to your little girlfriend; but I can't imagine I'll have to deal with her much longer anyway..." Ron smiled back eagerly.

"Rough holiday Malfoy? Understandable, not many men can keep up with Hermione's…stamina." Malfoy's eyes widened at Ron's words and Pansy quickly looked to Draco, horrified, before turning back to Ron. Ron continued to smile, unfazed, he rather liked being in the know. He spotted Pansy staring at him angrily now but he swallowed the lump in his throat and turned back to Malfoy.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you, Weasley. Do you even know where Granger is, exactly?" Draco questioned haughtily. Ron shrugged.

"Not entirely sure, Malfoy, but I'll be sure to let her know you were wondering." He replied calmly. Draco was furious. Since when could he not get a rise out of Weasley? "Oh, and get well soon Malfoy." With another grin he turned to Pansy and bowed slightly, catching her eye and smiling lightly before turning to meet Harry once again.

Harry was waiting for Ron by the doors, watching his every move. Once they were out of earshot, Harry asked, "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Ron thought he was joking until he spotted Harry's concerned face.

"I've decided not to let Malfoy get to me anymore, that's all. He's a git and he isn't worth it." Harry watched Ron warily.

"It's not just that though." He said as they exited the room. "It's Hermione. The nurse said she hasn't been here, what if she didn't make it back? And why aren't you concerned about her at all?" Harry asked seriously. Ron stopped and turned to his friend.

"I am concerned about her, you and Hermione are my best friends, but I know that she's perfectly fine. I'm sure she's just in the library, or searching for us probably. When you see her, you'll understand that there is nothing to be worried about. She's safe." Harry nodded apprehensively but Ron ignored him and lead the way to the library.

MISS GRANGER-GIRL'S DORMITORIES

Hermione overslept. Lunging from her bed, she quickly ran to the sink and brushed her teeth. The entire dorm was empty and she knew she had an exam in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Running from the bathroom, she pulled back her hair and threw on her robes. Looking around her bed she couldn't find her books. Searching frantically, she crawled along the floor and searched every drawer of her dresser.

"Where could they be?" She panicked. Sitting back on her heels she decided to think of the last time she had them…potions.

Hermione arrived at Snape's classroom to find the door shut partially. Hermione sighed, of course there was a class. She was about to give up and head to the library, eager to study her exam material some other way, when she heard Professor Dumbledore.

"Can you assure me, Severus, that Draco did not succeed in his actions?" Hermione leaned closer to the door, pressing her ear against the small opening that led into the room.

"Not exactly. When I found Draco, he was unconscious with this memory potion book, just there." Hermione assumed Snape was pointing at where he found the book. But what would Malfoy need with a memory potion?

"These potions wouldn't help him…"

"I know, but upon further investigation, I found this." The room went completely silent and Hermione's curiosity got the better of her. Inching the door open, ever so slightly… "And a note." Hermione had opened the door just enough to find Professor Snape holding up a tiny vial full of blue liquid and a piece of parchment folded up. Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Did you read the letter?" Dumbledore asked seriously. Snape nodded.

"It's…peculiar." Snape looked as though he wanted to say more, but decided against it.

"Don't fret, Severus, the important thing is, Mr. Malfoy did not find either of these items. I will keep them locked in my office for safe keeping." Taking the vial and note from Snape, he nodded. "It's for the best."

Both Professor's suddenly turned to head for the door. Hermione ducked behind a wall and listened for their complete departure. Once the footsteps had faded away, Hermione emerged and looked to the time. It would seem classes would be put on the back burner for the day.

MR. MALFOY AND MISS PARKINSON-HOSPITAL WING

Once Ron and Harry had left the hospital wing, Pansy shoved Draco's arm and stood up from his bed. "What was that?" She asked angrily. Draco glared at her.

"How the hell should I know? I don't pretend to understand the inner delusions of Weasleys." Pansy stared at him intently as she replied.

"Still, you can't deny that was weird, isn't Granger dating one of those two? Why on earth would he suggest that you and the mudblood would have some romantic getaway…where have you been these last couple of days, Draco?" Pansy asked in all seriousness. Draco was losing his patience.

"Oh I didn't tell you Parkinson?" He began sarcastically. "I finally confessed my love to Granger and we've been making sweet, passionate love for two days now! God knows the girl needs a good lay after that twit, Weasley!" He shouted angrily. Everyone in the room turned to Malfoy at his sudden outburst. His face took on a red hue when he realized every eye in the room was on him. Growling to himself, he stood up from the bed and stormed out of the room.

MISS GRANGER-GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM

Hermione arrived at the common room only to find it empty. Harry and Ron must have gone to class without her. Taking the initiative, she headed up to the boy's dormitories and found Harry's trunk. She knew he wouldn't mind if she borrowed it…taking the cloak out of it's hiding place, the Marauder's map fell from it's hiding place. Hermione grinned, opening the map and looking at Professor Dumbledore's office. He was there, with Snape. She watched the dots for a time until Snape left the office and Dumbledore was the sole occupant of the room.

Hermione threw the cloak over her head and headed for the Headmaster's office. She checked the map frequently until she arrived and saw Dumbledore's dot instantly disappear. After another moment to be sure he was gone, she finally followed the staircase up to the study and opened the door. Stepping all the way inside she shut the door behind her.

"Now, he said he locked it up…" She mumbled, scanning the room for any kind of safe or something that would lock. Walking to the desk she found three drawers with key holes. Opening the first without a key, she moved on to the second and third. They were each locked. Trying a few unlocking spells she had discovered in the library, finally she heard a small click.

Opening the drawer she found the folded piece of paper and the vial. Upon closer inspection she realized the tube of blue liquid contained thoughts and memories. Ignoring the note, she stood and headed for Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. Pulling off the cloak, she uncorked the vial and poured the thick memories into the bowl. Slowly, she inched her face into the liquid and fell into Draco's memories.

MR. WEASLEY AND MR. POTTER-LIBRARY

Harry and Ron had searched the entire library but found no trace of Hermione. As they left Hermione's sanctuary, Harry spoke. "Still think she's fine?" He scoffed. Ron glared at his friend.

"Yes Harry, I still think she's fine. I saw her and she was fine, she's not in the infirmary, she's fine." He growled out through gritted teeth.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I'm just really worried about her. It's a rare occasion that Hermione goes off on her own without so much as a word to us, usually I'm the one to do that." Ron nodded in agreement. "What do you two usually do when I'm gone?"

Ron thought for a minute and shrugged. "Hermione usually worries about you, I reassure her that you're fine and you'll come around when you need us. Usually food helps calm her down…" Harry smiled and Ron joined him as well. "Hey, maybe we'll luck out and Hermione's in the Great Hall." Ron shrugged as they walked. Harry nodded and they continued down the corridor.

MR. MALFOY-GREAT HALL

Draco's stomach began to growl at him. He realized he couldn't remember the last time he ate anything. He arrived at the Great Hall and opened the large oak doors to find the room had gone silent. Looking over the crowd of classmates staring at him, he made his way to his seat, glancing at the frozen faces for a time until he sat down.

Chatter slowly trickled back into the room and Draco was thankful he could breathe again. Looking up at the Head Table he caught sight of Professor Snape eyeing him warily.

"What's going on?" He whispered to Blaise, who was sitting across from him. Blaise smirked as he glanced to the others at the table before leaning over to whisper back.

"Is it true, Draco?" He asked with a laugh. Draco furrowed his brow in irritation.

"Is what true?" He snapped while reaching for some food.

"Well, are you…really fucking Granger now?" At his words, the entire room once again became silent to listen for Draco's answer.

Draco stared at his friend while gritting his teeth. This was a complete nightmare; he had never been so embarrassed in his entire life. The heat of his anger rose up his neck and colored his face a soft pink. Draco didn't even get in a response before everyone began to whisper once more at the sight of his untimely 'blush.'

They thought it was true, they honestly believed that he was having some kind of affair with that frizzy haired know it all. How could one comment in the infirmary lead to such chaos? Glaring at Blaise, he stood up from the table without any food or another word, and left the Great Hall. Granger had better stay missing if she knows what's good for her…

MISS GRANGER-PENSIEVE

It was dark. Hermione turned slowly, reaching her arms out to steady herself from the plunge into the pensieve. Just as the blackness seemed overwhelming, she heard a voice.

"I thought you were asleep." Hermione turned towards the sound of her own voice.

"You seemed to be sleeping well, did I wake you?" Hermione was perplexed, the voice belonged to Malfoy and if this was his memory, then shouldn't it be hers as well?

"No, no. I was just suddenly awake I guess." Hermione squinted her eyes desperately trying to make out the shapes on the bed. This couldn't be real…

"I'm sorry." Hermione shut her eyes, forcing herself to adjust to the darkness.

"For what? You didn't do…" Draco began, but was interrupted by Hermione's voice again.

"No, I did. I…" She breathed. "I don't understand how I can mean so much to you in so little time…and I'm not saying that because you don't mean anything to me…" Hermione opened her eyes at her own words and scoffed. Malfoy? Of course he doesn't mean anything.

"But I don't." Hermione nodded, as she watched them in the dark. "I know that, believe me, I never expected you to fall in love with me after one night of consideration."

"Why not?"

Hermione was outraged. "Because it's absurd!" She yelled at the memory. "What the hell is this?" She asked, looking around the room for some sign of normalcy. She felt the walls and tried to make sense of the room but she was certain she had never been in here before. Wishing she could turn on a light or open a door to leave this dreadful nightmare, Hermione began to feel claustrophobic as she heard her own voice mingle with Malfoy's in the dark.

Suddenly, Hermione's voice became tense. "Oh my god, Malfoy, no." Hermione snapped her attention to the two when the light suddenly came on. Slapping a hand to her eyes she tried to adjust once again to light. "This isn't right. You're just remembering things differently because of this warped timeline, that's all."

"Or, this warped timeline is what made me realize that I have had a thing for you…for a while now." Hermione's eyes finally adjusted enough to see herself, in bed, with a shirtless Draco Malfoy.

"You have got to be kidding me…" She groaned.

"No way. You have got to be kidding me! How? This makes even less sense then your first theory!" The dream Hermione echoed.

"Come on Granger, why are you so upset? This doesn't change anything. Even if I am still in love with you tomorrow, you will never, ever, give me the time of day."

"That's for damn sure!" Hermione added, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for her own reply. She was surprised at how melancholy her dream self had become all of a sudden.

"Don't you understand? This world contradicts that very fact. Malfoy, if you were in love with me before we jumped into this time, then even with the memory potion there is a large chance that you will realize that you're in love with me again, and I know…"

Hermione's mind suddenly stopped. This wasn't happening. She had made a dyer mistake by watching these events unfold and she knew now, this wasn't a dream. The potion, that stupid, misguided, potion had somehow opened their eyes to each other and now, watching herself fall head over heals for the pureblood menace before her, there was no erasing him now.

"What, you know what?" Draco begged.

"I know, that if you really want me...I'm yours." Once again, Hermione Granger was right.

MR. POTTER AND MR. WEASLEY-GREAT HALL

Ron entered the Great Hall first, eager to get some food. Upon entering, the entire room went silent until the majority of the Gryffindor table packed up their things and began to leave. As each person passed Ron, some gave him a sympathetic look while others went so far as to put a hand to his shoulder and sigh. Some of his closest friends offered words of encouragement like, "Hang in there, Ron." Or "It'll never last, you have nothing to worry about." Ron looked to Harry for some kind of explanation but was only met with a shrug.

"Let's go ask someone." He suggested, as they made their way through the crowds and sat down at their table with Neville and Luna.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" Ron asked them quietly. The noise in the Great Hall had gone back to a normal pitch as everyone was talking now. Neville looked to Ron nervously.

"It's Hermione." He began. Harry instantly became worried.

"What happened to Hermione?" He asked. Neville couldn't say but he looked to Luna who never had a problem explaining anything.

"Rumor is, she's with Draco Malfoy. He practically confirmed it, just now." She gestured to Draco's empty seat across the hall. Ron's eyes became wide.

"What? That doesn't make any sense." Harry commented vaguely.

"Did everyone think I was in love with Hermione?" Ron asked quietly. Luna nodded energetically.

"Aren't you?" Harry looked to Ron but he shook his head.

"No, Hermione's…she's like a sister to me." He was surprised how strange the words were on his tongue.

"Whew, that's good news, we were worried you'd be upset that Hermione would choose a lowlife like Malfoy." Neville commented with a shake of his head.

"Well we're certainly not happy about it." Harry groaned. Ron kept quiet. "Come on, we need to find Hermione, now more than ever." With a couple of muffins for the road, the two stood, thanking Neville and Luna, and leaving the Great Hall.

Author's Notes-R&R please! I really hope you like where I'm taking this. Next update soon. Thank you all for reading!