A/N: Sorry for the long wait and the slightly shorter chapter. I had a very important trip to make across the country these last couple of weeks and as I suffer from really bad motion sickness, working from the plane and the train was a no for me. But I'm back with the latest chapter of Adrift in Time! Enjoy 3
September 1, 1995
She loved children. She really did. However, the eleven year olds were already driving her mental. Half of them were terribly scared. And those who weren't anxious were teasing the ones who were. Telling them all about the Hippogryph that supposedly lived in the common room. Hermione had restrained the urge to reprimand them and roll her eyes. Getting ready to ask them if they'd even bothered to read Hogwarts: A History before arriving. However, she didn't have to, as a seemingly timid boy had told them that exact same thing.
"Seriously, are you guys that daft? There's no creature living in the common room other than you trolls," the small boy said in a tone that reminded her so much of herself. "Honestly, have you ever read Hogwarts: A History?" He muttered under his breath. Ron was staring at Hermione; red in the face, trying to hold in his laughter. Hermione gaped at the boy before shaking her head and grinning to herself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Her train of thought was interrupted by a small yelp and a bout of laughter. Turning around, she saw a black haired little girl whose leg had fallen through the vanishing step and was struggling to get up. Just Maybe.
After guiding all the first years to bed and telling them that she'd be here in case they had any questions, she turned to Ron. Her best friend was clearly exhausted and ready for bed. He yawned and exaggeratedly stretched his arms above his head.
"Hey, I'm going to go check on Harry," he told her directing a worried glance at the fifth year boy dormitory. She nodded and gave a small yawn herself. She'd also heard the rumors traveling throughout the hallways as fast as wildfire. She knew that Harry hated being the center of attention. Especially when it concerned He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She also knew that he would take this all to heart. And Harry would not listen to her nor her advice on blocking people out.
"That might be for the best." She joined his gaze up the boy's dorm staircase. "Goodnight, Ron." He gave her a crooked grin and a small wave.
"'Night, 'Mione."
She couldn't sleep after that. In the end, she gave up and grabbed her yarn and needles from her trunk. She made her way down the stairs, a long sigh escaping through her lips. She sat upon her favorite armchair in the Gryffindor Common Room. A patched and worn crimson one that sat perfectly in front of the fire. Being a prefect wasn't terribly hard. The first years were the most difficult factor of her duties.
She was steadily working on her latest project, some hats for the house elves. No matter if the one she was currently working on looked like a deformed rubbish liner. She enjoyed the tranquility of knitting in front of the fireplace. The dying but still glowing embers were starting to help with her slight insomnia problem. Another stifled yawn escaped her and she put down the needles. Hermione held up the project. It wasn't good by any means but she had to admit it looked much better than the ones sitting at the very bottom of her trunk from earlier that summer. Anyways, it was the intention that counted. She just wanted to free the house elves.
She grabbed hold of the yarn and kept working on the hat; her thoughts drifting back to earlier that evening at the feast. The Sorting Hat's song would not depart from her mind. Who was the threat? Who was here to help? And most importantly, how does one unite the houses?
That last question was the one that plagued her the most. The four houses were rarely ever together. In fact, the most she'd seen of them interacting outside their own was during combined lessons. Either that or studying in the library. Not that they could study much anyways thanks to an always shushing Madame Pince, the Hogwarts librarian who loved the quiet of her library and would make sure to cease every noise. Because of this, many students avoided working together with other houses in the library and often opted to work in their own common rooms.
Hermione suddenly stopped working. Her eyes widened as an idea struck her. If they're only together in their common rooms, why not make a Hogwarts Common Room? The idea was perfect in her mind. There were plenty of empty classrooms in Hogwarts. Dumbledore could certainly part with one for her to use. The setting would allow for a place for students to mingle with other houses within a more relaxed atmosphere. There would be room for some to work together on their homework for different classes while others played exploding snap in the corner. The houses would be united and in communication, just like the Hat urged. A smile was growing on her face. She was itching to go tell Dumbledore right now.
However, she remembered that it was nearing midnight and she would definitely get detention if Filch caught her. And it wasn't as if she could go ask Harry for the cloak either. He was probably asleep, and after the day he had he deserved some uninterrupted rest. Her smile faltered a tad as she resolved on having to bring the idea up to the Headmaster tomorrow.
The last of the smile slid right off her face as she thought of a slight problem in her plan: Slytherins. It wouldn't be too hard to get the other three houses on board with her plan. Harry would get Cho Chang and all of her friends on board. So would Ginny with Michael and his group. And Luna would also be more than willing to help gather the rest. As for the Hufflepuffs, they would be more than glad to have an opportunity to make new friends and try and unite the houses. Of course, Gryffindors would have no problem showing up and helping out one third of the Golden Trio in her efforts. But the Slytherins needed a reason. A push. Hermione wasn't naive enough to think they'd show up to simply interact with others. Without a leader to follow, there would be no snakes present.
The Gryffindor yawned again. Her eyes were starting to drift close. She noticed her gaze was lingering upon the fireplace. The embers having died out long ago. A flash of blond hair came to mind. His grey eyes desperately pleading at her in the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. The same grey eyes that kept on finding hers—or did hers find his— all thought the day. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Merlin, she was starting to sound like a Slytherin. Hermione grabbed all of her things and made her way upstairs. Each step cementing the decision she'd just made. She would have to talk to Draco tomorrow. Alone.
"Very interesting, Mr. Malfoy." His lip curled down into a frown. Snape had immediately taken him to Dumbledore after Draco had tried to explain his sudden presence in this timeline to his godfather. He'd been dragged through the castle in search of the Headmaster for no less than 10 minutes. And once they finally found him and Draco recounted his journey back in time, all the old coot could say was: "Very interesting?"
Draco resisted the urge to scoff and walk straight out. Not that it would help much in this predicament. The Headmaster was inspecting the time turner. And Draco wouldn't part without it. He would move it from side to side watching as the periwinkle sand flowed within it. He tried spinning it. It wouldn't move. The time turner was locked in place.
Draco's brows furrowed. He'd never even thought of turning the time turner since he'd been here. Lest he be sent even further back in time. This was already a very dangerous mission. If anyone truly allied with Voldemort were to suspect he had knowledge of the future… A shiver wracked his body. He had been overjoyed that morning at the sight of a very blemish-free forearm. But if this went wrong, he'd have much more to worry about than a branding on his arm.
"Very curious indeed," said Dumbledore. The man gently placed the silver necklace back down upon his desk. Draco stared at the artifact. As if willing the necklace to tell him what to do to make this all worthwhile. Of course, nothing happened. His eyes glanced up to meet the Headmaster's. "And what exactly did Severus tell you before you left?" He asked for the third time. The small glare sent Severus' way didn't get past him. Snape's own black eyes were trained on Draco. He sighed. Draco didn't see any point in arguing further and just responded.
"Hermione Granger had just died. Potter's own death would only be a matter of time. I needed to come back and warn them. Try to get the upper hand. Befriend them," Draco said almost clinically. He'd been practicing what to say to the Headmaster since he'd tried to talk to the bushy haired Gryffindor on board the Hogwarts Express with no avail. What he hadn't rehearsed to explain was all of the doubt rushing in and out of his head. Most specifically: how the fuck would he earn Saint Potter's trust? Dumbledore must have sensed his apprehension to the task at hand because he pursed his lips. With his hands bracing himself on the desk, he stood up.
"And how do you suppose we do that, Severus?" He asked. The potion master walked forward from where he leaned against a pillar. He looked between the time turner and the boy in front of him.
"There is, of course, no way to be certain what I had in mind for Mr. Malfoy once he arrived in this timeline," started Snape with confidence. "But I do think that it would be easier to get into Potter's head by infiltrating first into his circle of trusted friends." Draco looked up at the professor with panic in his eyes. "Maybe it would be easier for Draco to start his friendship… elsewhere," Severus finished, pausing before deciding upon the last word. Dumbledore raised a single eyebrow a fraction of an inch.
"You're suggesting he starts by befriending young Miss Granger?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Severus nodded.
"I was planning of starting the year with a project to evaluate everyone's potential efforts in the O.W.L.s…" He didn't need to finish. The three wizards all knew what was expected. Draco swallowed his anxiety. Would he be able to deal with being so close to the girl he'd all but killed? He closed his eyes, trying to compartmentalize. Pages. Books. Shelves. He could do this. Draco's eyes snapped open.
"What you're doing is very admirable, Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore with a smile. "You might just be the savior of the Wizarding World." He didn't want to be a savior. Given the choice, he still wasn't sure if he'd actually have chosen to come back. He was a coward. But all he could do at the moment was nod before excusing himself and heading to his dormitory. He would have to finally face Hermione tomorrow. Alone.
September 2, 1995
Eager to get her patrol schedule and timetable, Hermione jumped out of bed early that morning. She was ready within the hour and she bounced downstairs. She saw a group of students crowding the wall off the landing. Curious, she made her way towards them. Stretching out her neck to try and see what the excitement was all about. Her eyes landed on a piece of parchment.
"Oh Merlin," she sighed as she caught a glimpse of the poster the twins had put up that morning listing a date. The first Hogsmeade trip in October. If they wanted to be out of school grounds when kids signed up to be test subjects, this couldn't be good. Ron and Harry were soon at the landing beside and she greeted her best friends. But not before turning to Ron. "We'll have to talk to them, Ron," she said, pointing at the poster.
"Why?" He asked, alarmed.
"Because we're prefects!" said Hermione, as they climbed out through the portrait hole. "It's up to us to stop this kind of thing!" She stopped her nagging. Hermione could see Harry's anger undulating off of him in waves. Biting her lip, she debated whether or not to say something.
"Anyways, what's up Harry? You look really angry about something."
"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who," said a defensive Ron, when Harry did not respond. Hermione felt a rush of anger but smothered it quickly. Deciding that at least one of them needed to have a level head at the moment.
"Yes, Lavender thinks so too," she said defeatedly.
"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry said accusingly.
"No," said Hermione calmly. "I told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, Harry, because in case you haven't noticed, Ron and I are on your side." There was a short pause.
"Sorry," said Harry in a low voice.
"It's alright, Harry," Hermione resolved with a sympathetic glance. He looked awful. His skin was sickly pale and the dark circles under his eyes were unavoidable. "Remember what Sirius told you. If you can't trust us, who can you trust?"
"Yeah, mate. We'll always be here for you," piped Ron as he came up between the two and slung his arms around their shoulders. "Now, let's go eat. I'm starving." With a laugh, Hermione agreed.
Once at the Great Hall, oatmeal and pumpkin juice in front of her, Hermione looked through the timetable McGonagall had just handed out. And according to it, it looked like Hermione would have to talk to Draco Malfoy earlier than expected.
"Double Potions with the Slytherins?" Ron whined through a mouthful of eggs. "What a lousy start to the year."
"But don't forget that before it we have History of Magic," Harry mumbled. Ron groaned and gulped down his juice.
"Great."
"It's not all that bad guys," Hermione tried to argue but was cut short by the disapproving stares of the boys in front of her. She shook her head and decided to look through her patrol schedule instead. This week she was paired with Ron every day. Including Friday. "Hey, Ron?"
"Yeah?" He asked. Hermione grimaced at the sight of half-chewed bacon in his mouth.
"Don't you have Quidditch tryouts on Friday?" She pointed to his own schedule.
"Yeah I do," said Ron, picking up the piece of parchment and examining it closer.
"I'll talk to Violetta to see what she can do."
"You're the best," replied Ron with an easy grin before shoveling another forkful of eggs into his mouth.
By the time the trio got to potions, the boys hadn't finished complaining about Professor Binns and his class. Granted, the ghost wasn't the most engaging professor, but the material was interesting enough. If they'd put in the effort to learn about the Giant Wars themselves, they'd find it to be quite a fascinating topic. The only break she'd had from their grumbling concerning History of Magic was a brief encounter with Cho which of course, ended with Harry as a muttering mess.
They trudged through the door and found their seats among their classmates. Harry and Ron took the table behind Neville. And Hermione sat herself beside him as she gave him a warm smile.
"Hullo, Neville. How was your summer?"
"It was good! So was yours, I hope?" Hermione nodded. "Oh, I'm glad! Listen, have I told you about the Mimbulus Mimbletonia my grandmother gave me?" He asked excitedly. Hermione shook her head. She was about to ask more about the plant when Snape walked in. The chattering in the classroom came to a sudden halt.
"Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your O.W.L., or suffer my… displeasure."
His gaze lingered this time on Neville, who gulped beside her.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye." His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Hermione turned behind her to see Harry glaring straight back. "But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly, "so, whether or not you are intending to attempt N.E.W.T.s, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students."
Snape paused and made eye contact with Hermione and nodded. "We will start this year off with a project. You and a partner will be assigned to work on a potion of your choosing to be done before Winter Holidays in December. The only requirement being that the potion you choose must call for the full moon during the brewing process."
Chattering then erupted throughout the classroom as partners were being picked among each other. Behind her, she could hear Harry asking Ron if he knew of such a potion. Hermione rolled her eyes. Sure that if Harry and Ron worked together she'd end up doing most of their work for them. Beside her, Neville was fumbling with his fingers. Hermione smiled and decided to work with the boy. At least to try and save him from himself. She loved Neville. She really did. But one couldn't overlook the fact that he was not gifted at potions. But before she could assure Neville that everything would be alright and she'd help him get through it, Snape cleared his throat.
"As I was saying before being rudely interrupted," he said with a pointed stare at them all. "You will work with partners of my choosing. Which will be from the opposite house." At this, chaos erupted within the classroom. The gripes of students refusing to work with the opposite house were heard all around her. "Quiet," Snape demanded and the room gradually fell silent. "You all were there when the Sorting Hat talked about house unity, am I wrong?" Neville shifted in his seat. Hermione stared at Snape.
He also paid attention to the Hat's warning? For some reason, Hermione believed that the staff would eventually stop astutely listening to the Sorting Hat's song after so many years of working at the castle. I guess I was wrong. And if Snape is bringing this up, it must be more important than I realized. The thought reinforced her idea about the Common Room. Her gaze flittered through the room in search of the head of blond hair she needed to talk to. Finally, she found him in the back of the room seated next to Blaise Zabini; staring at her. She quickly averted her gaze back towards Snape.
"Now listen up for your partner. As soon as I call them out I want you to sit by each other and start discussing possible potions.
"Harry Potter and Theodore Nott. Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini. Dean Thomas and Daphne Greengrass. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy…" Hermione paled. What were the chances of this day working exactly in her favor? She gave Neville an encouraging smile and grabbed her things. She stood up, letting a patiently awaiting Blaise take her spot, and made her way back towards Malfoy. "…Ronald Weasley and Pansy Parkinson. Seamus Finnegan and Vincent Crabbe…" But she couldn't forget who she was dealing with. She wouldn't forget.
"Don't you think for a moment that you'll get out of doing your share of the work, Malfoy. I will not be doing this entire project by myself," snapped Hermione before even sitting down. Malfoy looked up at her with raised brows.
"And what makes you think I'd let my marks in this class depend on you, Granger?" He retorted before taking out a roll of parchment and an ink well. Hermione stared at him. "Now," he dug through his knapsack, "I was thinking about making Auxilium Anguis," he said, fishing out his turkey quill and turning to a still dumbstruck Hermione. "What?" He asked.
"N-nothing," she stuttered, sitting and taking out her own supplies. "I just…" she trailed off.
"Just didn't think I knew what I was talking about?" He asked. "I do know how to open a textbook once in a while, you know. Don't act so surprised." Hermione flushed with embarrassment.
"Now that you all have partners," Professor Snape started, "I will need a three foot parchment about why you picked this specific potion and its properties from each group by no later than Saturday at lunch. I will also need you to take specific notes throughout your entire process and write a four foot parchment about the brewing process and its results to be handed in before Winter Break. Work." Snape dismissed their attention and the groups set off to work.
"So you want to make a basic anti-venom base?" Hermione asked curiously as she wrote the name of the potion and both of their names across the top of her parchment. Draco hummed his affirmation. She looked up at him, her eyes tearing away from what she was writing.
"Any reason in particular?" She asked. Draco shrugged.
"You can never be too careful, can you?" That was all he said for the rest of class. The two of them worked in agreeable silence with the rare exception of Draco pointing out mistakes to a quickly irritable Hermione. She would huff and reread what she'd written. After agreeing with Malfoy that there was indeed a mistake, she'd take out her wand and vanish the incorrect information.
Soon, the rest of the students began packing up. Hermione looked up just in time to see Snape stand to dismiss them. She quickly rolled up the parchment, praying that it was dry enough and wouldn't smudge. They were about halfway done with their written assignment for the week and she'd just assumed that she'd be the one to finish it before it was due. However, Draco surprised her.
"This is a fairly complicated potion, right?" He said, not expecting an answer. "I reckon I could get an empty classroom from Snape that we could use as a lab to work in. We'll need to spend quite some time brewing and controlling the potion." Hermione blinked up at him. He's actually willing to help with the potion? She asked herself. Astounded, she nodded.
"O-okay." She stuffed the parchment in her bag.
"If you can, we could work on finishing the report tonight so we don't have to worry about it," He suggested. The Gryffindor raised her eyebrows. How have I never seen this side of Malfoy? Has he always been so studious?
"Together?" She asked incredulously. A look of what appeared to be hurt flashed across Draco's face before giving away to his ever stoic expression.
"Unless you want me to finish what's left…" he uttered.
"No. No, today should work fine," she said quickly. She hadn't meant to sound so doubtful of him. She needed to work on her judgments. Although, she was apprehensive of working alone with him after a few years of intense bullying from the boy. But she had prefect's duties afterward. And if anything went wrong and she didn't show up to meet with Ron, Harry still had the Marauder's Map. She'd be fine. Hermione nodded and slung the strap over her shoulder. "Just let me know when and where." She started making her way out of the room when Malfoy's arm shot out and his hand grabbed a hold of her wrist. Her pulse quickened.
"And Granger?"
"Yeah?" She squeaked, looking down at his hands. Noticing her gaze, Malfoy quickly released his hold on her. "I still need to talk to you." He ran his hands through his messy hair.
"Me too," she said, turning around. An accomplished smile adorned her face as she left the classroom and made her way to her best friends, waiting right outside. This was all coming together.
A/N: Don't forget to review/comment and follow the story for upload notifications! Also, peep at the estimated number of chapters... You better strap in, because this will be a fun ride.