A/N: If you haven't read Timeless, don't read this! Not only does it have major Timeless spoilers, but it won't make any sense.
If you have read Timeless, but it's been awhile, this story picks up at Chapter 20 for past Draco, after he talks to his father and Chapter 45 for future Draco, when he time jumps - in case you want to scan those chapters and refresh your memory about what's going on. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
As the Earth began spinning faster and faster, we floated upwards, hands locked tightly together, eyes sad and bewildered. We watched as our faces grew younger and realized the Earth was spinning in reverse, moving us backwards in time.
Then we reached a point where I no longer knew who you were and I was grasping the hands of a stranger. But I didn't let go. And neither did you.
-Lang Leav
Present Time: November 2002 / Draco's Time: Same as present
"Diffindo!" Draco shouted, pointing his wand at the curtains in the room. They tore in half but had repaired themselves the next second. "Diffindo! Diffindo!" he repeated, slashing his wand through the air, mirroring the cuts being created by the spell.
The curtains mended themselves again, as they were meant to. Everything in the Practice Room at Malfoy Manor mended itself when damaged, that was the point. Draco swore in frustration and cried, "Incendio!" lighting the curtains on fire. He repeated the spell for the three other sets of curtains in the room.
He was slightly out of breath, but ignored it and scanned the room, looking for something else he could destroy. "Confringo!" A bookshelf ten feet away exploded and several scraps of paper rained from the sky. That was better, but still not enough.
Draco spotted a sculpture at the corner of the room. It was some old ancestor of his, he didn't recall his name right now, nor did he care. "Accio bust!"
Once the bust of his long dead ancestor was a few feet above his head, he cast, "Bombarda!" causing the bust to explode into a million tiny pieces. He ducked and was showered in chunks of stone and dust.
Draco stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. The curtains were still on fire and there was debris everywhere, but Draco could already see the pieces crawling back together, trying to reform and repair the damage he'd done. And still, the tightness in his chest he'd been trying to ignore was there, no better than before he'd started casting curses. He needed more.
Draco remembered the dummies stored in a cabinet at the end of the room and summoned one so it was standing a few feet in front of him. He gripped his wand tightly in his hand, then lifted it and muttered, "Crucio."
Predictably, nothing happened. This was a spell that required hate to cast, and Draco hadn't tapped into that part of his soul for years. But if there was ever a time to go there, now was it. He refocused on the dummy as he thought back to the war, remembering the feeling of seeing the Dark Lord stroll the halls he'd grown up in, the utter terror he felt at each and every Death Eater meeting, that awful snake, the punishments, many of which Draco had been forced to dole out.
"Crucio!"
The dummy shook slightly, though besides that, there was no other physical indication that the spell had been successful. But it hit Draco like a tearing feeling in his heart. It was working.
"Crucio!" he repeated. He could feel the Dark Magic filling him up, like a cold fog spreading out from the pit of his stomach to all his extremities.
"Crucio!"
That wonderful numbness was starting to settle in. This was a sensation Draco had tried to emulate with Fire Whiskey and Potions shortly after the war, but those didn't come close to the all-consuming feeling of nothingness Dark Magic provided. This was what he'd been looking for when he'd Apparated here from his flat, even though he hadn't let himself consider it. He'd promised himself long ago he'd never perform Dark Magic again, but that had been before. Before he knew.
"Crucio!"
Draco's wand arm was shaking and he could feel beads of sweat dripping into his eyes. The dummy was tearing, finally giving in to the power of the spell. If it were a person, it'd be in intense agony right now, screaming their throat raw. They would be writhing-
Draco dropped his arm. What was he doing? What would Hermione say if she saw him now?
Hermione.
As he finally let himself think her name, something he'd been putting off all night, he collapsed to the ground, his legs folding under him. Draco leaned forward, pressing his forehead against the cool marble floor, and sobbed.
Once the tears started to fall, he lost complete control of them. The next moment, he was crying so hard he could barely breathe. Each sob hit him painfully, like a wave crashing against a cliff. When he made it through one, there wasn't even a second of peace or recovery before another sob pummeled him.
Draco felt a hand on his back, then barely registered a muttered, "Finite Incantatem" and the sounds of the room repairing itself. He was sure he looked utterly pathetic, sitting here on the ground, wailing like a child, but he didn't care. None of that mattered anymore.
Whoever was with him just stayed sitting next to him on the floor, leaving the weight of their hand resting on the middle of his back as a small reminder that he wasn't alone while he continued to cry into the cold, stone floor.
When Draco was finally out of tears, he carefully pulled himself up to a sitting position. He was bone tired and felt sick as the aftereffects of the Dark Magic began to course through his body. He was drenched in sweat from the exertion of performing so many powerful curses in such a short amount of time and as the cold air in the room enveloped him, he started to shiver.
Draco wrapped his arms around himself tightly in an attempt to get the shaking under control, then turned slowly on his knees to face his companion. It was his father, who was sitting on the ground (something Draco had never seen him do), watching him with a pained expression.
"Father." Draco didn't have anything else to add. What else was there to say after what Lucius had revealed to Draco earlier that night? His father nodded understandingly and placed a firm hand on Draco's shoulder, as if trying to steady his shivering, which was uncontrollable now.
"Tippy." An elf appeared the next second, but Lucius kept his eyes on Draco. "Chocolate for Draco. And a Rejuvenation Potion. Once you've delivered those, draw him a warm bath."
Draco dipped his head down and rested it on his father's shoulder. Lucius wrapped his arms around him as Draco took long, deliberate breaths, taking in his father's familiar scent. Bergamot, ink, pipe smoke.
"It's not fair," Draco forced out.
It was all he could manage to say, but it perfectly summed up the multitude of his feelings right now. The irony was, it was fair. Wasn't this the perfect punishment for someone who'd been too cowardly to sacrifice anything in the war, even though he knew that what was going on around him was wrong?
Hermione and her friends had given up everything to fight for good, while Draco had stood on the side, too scared of losing his family, or being punished or killed, to do what he knew was right. So, wasn't it fair that now, in order to keep his life, he'd have to give up his father and Hermione - two of the most important people to him.
"Draco."
His father's voice was uncharacteristically gentle and Draco's chest clenched painfully. He'd assumed his father hated Hermione and that's why he'd been distant and cold and desperate to end this time loop. The truth was so much more complicated. Draco should have given Lucius more credit.
His father pushed him up by the shoulders and Draco saw the elf had delivered the Potion and chocolate. He wordlessly drank the Potion his father was holding out for him and immediately felt more energetic but not better. He didn't think he'd ever feel better.
"This is my fault, Draco, not yours."
His father moved his hand to the side of Draco's face and Draco could feel his ring against his cheek. It was the ring worn by the head of the Malfoy family. Would this be Draco's ring now? Tears stung his eyes, which was surprising, since he didn't think he had any tears left in him.
"I'm the one who let those artifacts into the house," Lucius said in a low voice, his eyes boring into Draco's. "I'm the one who got us wrapped up with the Dark Lord. I'm the one who insisted we dismantle those items ourselves to garner favor with the Aurors and I'm the one who should die for all those mistakes, not you. You need to live, Draco."
Draco looked down, no longer able to meet his father's fierce gaze.
"I won't force your hand, Son. I promised I'd never do that again. But please, I'm begging you, choose life."
Present Time: November 2005 / Draco's Time: November 2002
The next morning, Draco woke up in his old bedroom at Malfoy Manor. Even though his head was groggy from a fitful night of sleep and his body was still recovering from all the Dark Magic he'd performed, his heart was calm. He knew what he had to do. He had to go to Hermione.
It was the only thing about this situation that was clear to Draco. His thoughts were bounding around in circles as he wondered how the future he'd seen with Hermione was possible, given what he'd learned. She'd known. Every time he'd seen her in the future she'd known. The thought made him unbelievably angry. Because that meant she and her Draco had chosen to let this tragic timeline play out. Why?
Why would they subject themselves to all that sadness? Why would the other Draco let Hermione do that? She didn't deserve to be a widow in her twenties. After everything she'd been through, she deserved so much better than the life Draco could give her.
At least this explained all the crying he'd witnessed in their future. And the words she'd said during his first time jump, which she must have known was her husband's last: "It was worth it. All the tears, all the fights, the uncertainty. All of it. I'd do it all again."
She had been facing her husband's death - his death - and she said she'd go through it again. How was that possible? How was it possible that that moment had even happened? That meant his future self had gone to the past willingly, knowing it would kill him. That didn't feel like something Draco would ever do.
Draco's heart was pounding hard now, as if in agreement. Even his father, who would die if Draco didn't travel back, had begged him to end the time loop, so why had the other Draco chosen to let it play out?
He could have stopped it right at the end if he wanted to maximize his time with Hermione. Or he could choose to stop it right now and end this tragedy before it got any worse. There were a lot of options, all of them terrible, and Draco felt more lost than he ever had before.
He'd thought he'd had a handle on all this time travel by now, but this made no sense. The timeline didn't feel continuous anymore. He'd been looking forward to getting to the point his future self and Hermione were at, but there's no way he'd be able to ignore this truth to get there.
Draco's chest was tight again and he could feel magic crackling on the surface of his skin. He was beginning to spiral out of control. He took a deep, shaky breath. This was why he knew he needed Hermione. When he was feeling lost like this, she made sense. And she was logical, the most logical person he knew. She'd know what to do.
Draco took a long time to get ready. He knew he needed to talk to Hermione, that still felt right, but that didn't mean he was in a hurry to initiate what he knew was going to be a very painful conversation. Draco was about to Apparate to the hall outside her flat when the familiar feeling of vertigo overtook him. He swore loudly. It was like the time travel that was going to kill him was teasing him.
Draco almost blasted the bed but refrained at the last minute. This room didn't mend itself like the Practice Room and if he caused an explosion now, that would just mean hours of unnecessary work for the house elves. Since when did he care about house elves? Hermione really had changed him, and they'd only been together for less than six months. Tears stung his eyes at the thought. Fuck.
The next moment, Draco reappeared in the study of their house in London. He marched through the house, looking for Hermione, and found her reading on the sofa in the sitting room. "You know, don't you?" he snapped.
"Draco, sit down, we can talk about this."
He ignored her and started pacing the room. "I can't believe it. There's no way we chose this," he muttered to himself. "No…" Draco paused to check the date on his wand (November 2005), then looked back at Hermione in disbelief. "We don't choose to end it?"
Hermione looked confused, which was an expression Draco rarely saw on her face. She knew, didn't she? Yes, she must know. She seemed to be confused not by the truth he knew, but by his response to it, for some reason. But this was a perfectly reasonable reaction for someone who'd just found out they were going to time jump to their death in a few years.
Draco snorted and turned away from her. "Whatever. I can't talk to you right now." He stormed off and locked himself in the spare room, disappointed when she didn't try to follow him up there. He'd just learned of his death! She should be comforting him! What was wrong with her?
Hermione didn't knock on Draco's door until the next morning. By then, he'd finally had a chance to calm down and was less angry with her. She was about to lose her husband in a few months, he should try to be kind. But he was still on edge when she walked into the room and asked if he wanted to talk.
He nodded and took a seat on the bed. Once she joined him, he turned to her and said as evenly as possible, "So, if I keep on with this timeline, I'm going to die."
Hermione nodded and Draco's chest clenched painfully at the resigned look in her eyes. Where was the fight he was used to seeing there? What was wrong with this future Hermione? He took a deep breath and motioned toward the timeline written on the wall. It was in his handwriting and listed out the remaining jumps in the time loop.
"I guess you're planning to let this play out until just before the last jump. Then, I'll take the potion, but- it must have been so hard enjoying our time together with the knowledge that it will be forgotten. I can't believe we chose that."
Hermione was quiet. Draco could tell she was thinking hard and wanted to shake her, but tried to stay calm and patient. This is hard for her, too, he reminded himself. "Can you explain it to me?" he pressed when she hadn't said anything for several moments.
She seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "What did you say?"
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his rising anger. "Can you explain why we chose this path? Why did we choose to stay together until the end, instead of stopping it as soon as I get back to my time?"
"You want to end it?"
She looked confused again. What was wrong with her? Of course he wanted to end it! He leaned away from her. This Hermione was acting so oddly. This Hermione was confused and uncertain, not the confident, fiery Hermione he'd come to love. He longed for the hundredth time to be back in his time, with his Hermione, but again, he could get some useful information from this one if she'd just stop staring off in the distance and talk to him.
She was regarding him with a hurt expression now and he took another deep breath before scooting closer to her. He employed Occlumency to keep his temper in check before speaking again.
"I love you, I do, even though I haven't told you yet, but - I don't want to die. And the alternative, continuing on and pretending it's not going to end. And not just end, but be completely erased, I can't see myself choosing that. But I guess, when I go back you change my mind. I'm sure you know what happens, and why. Can you explain it to me?"
She was quiet for a long time, then said eventually, "We don't make this decision. Not this early on, at least. You need to forget, Draco. It's the only way for us to be happy together."
"Forget?" Now Draco was the one who was confused.
"I'm going to Obliviate you during this time jump, then when you go back to your Hermione, you won't remember what your father told you," she explained. Draco felt bile rush into his mouth and strengthened the Occlumency while Hermione paused to take a breath. "We're going to have a wonderful life and become closer than either of us ever imagined possible. But none of that will happen if you don't forget."
Draco looked away from her and focused on the tree outside the window. Well, that was how they'd gone along with it - they hadn't known. But what about his father, wouldn't he just tell him again? Draco recalled the nasty look Lucius had been giving Hermione in the back of their wedding photo. That explained that. Perhaps he knew she'd Obliviated him.
But putting that mess aside for a moment, there was still the question of what the Hermione and Draco in this time were doing. He glanced back at the timeline on the wall. They clearly knew about his impending death by now and still hadn't decided to end the time loop. "How?" His voice cracked and he paused before starting again.
"How could you stand to live this out, knowing it's all going to end? Knowing, one day, you'll wake up in another life with no memory of the time we shared together."
Hermione placed a hand on Draco's leg and pulled his cheek so he was facing her. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "That's not the choice we made, Draco."
It took a few moments for Draco to understand the meaning of Hermione's words, but once he did, the truth hit him like a blow, knocking the air out of him. He jumped up and started pacing the room. What the fuck?! They'd chosen to let the timeline play out?! They'd chosen to let him die?!
"No!" he exclaimed, glaring back at Hermione with his arms crossed. His heart was beating hard and Draco wanted to tell it not to worry, that there was no way he was going to accept his death so easily.
"No?" Hermione was confused again and Draco was getting sick of seeing her acting so out of it. This wasn't the witch he knew. The Hermione he knew would never Obliviate him, especially after what had happened with her parents. There was something seriously wrong with her. But Draco couldn't bring himself to yell at her or demand she prove her identity, since she looked so pathetic. He sighed before speaking again.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, but I'm not going to let you Obliviate me. I'm going back to my time and I'm going to talk about this with my Hermione. And we – we'll see what we decide." He looked away from her as he added in his head, We're definitely going to choose to break the time loop, the only question will be when.
Hermione stood and grabbed his hands. "No, listen to me, Draco. I know you're scared, but that's not what you decide. You decide to forget, I know you do, please, just listen-"
"No, Hermione!" Draco snapped back, pulling his hands out of her grasp. "I'm telling you what I've decided. I'm sorry it doesn't match what you thought but – maybe it's not a continuous timeline after all."
"No," Hermione whispered in disbelief. Draco's heart clenched when he finally looked back at her. She looked completely broken, like her whole world was crashing down around her. Well, if her future depended on him letting her Obliviate him right now, it sort of was.
Draco watched her turn around and scan the room. Her gaze settled on something behind him and before he figured out what was going on, she lunged for his wand. He jumped after her but she got there first and the next moment, was pointing his own wand at him.
"Don't do this, Hermione. I don't want this!" he shouted, imploring her with his eyes to listen to reason. "This isn't fair. Let me go back to my time and make this decision with your past self. That's the right thing to do. If you do this, you're taking away my free will and I'll never forgive you."
Tears sprang into Hermione's eyes and her wand arm started to shake. "You won't remember," she whispered.
"Hermione, no. Please listen to me." He couldn't believe she was doing this. Was this really going to be a part of their history? Hermione Obliviating him against his will? Would he ever know it had happened that way or would she try to cover somehow?
Draco watched her falter and lower her wand arm slightly, then dove for her legs. She cast a Shield Charm just before he made contact. Draco collided with the magical barrier painfully before losing consciousness.
When Draco awoke, he was lying in the bed of the spare bedroom while Hermione sat on the edge, eyeing him warily as tears silently streamed down her face. "Draco, I…"
Draco spotted his wand on the bedside table and snatched it before backing away from her. He began scanning his mind but there were no thoughts missing. She hadn't Obliviated him. He waved his wand and a few seconds later, her wand flew into the room and he grabbed it out of the air.
Hermione hadn't noticed. She'd pulled her legs up to her chest and was sobbing into her knees as she slowly rocked back and forth, reminding Draco of a small child. He watched her for a while, still horrified by what she'd been about to do, but he couldn't hold on to the anger he was feeling toward her for very long.
This may not be his exact Hermione, but she was close, and she was clearly devastated. Plus, if she were going to Obliviate him, she would have done it while he was unconscious. Draco secured both wands in his pocket, then crawled across the bed toward her, placing a gentle hand on the top of her back. "You're okay, Hermione. You're okay."
She shook her head and released several strangled cries. The sound felt like a knife in his gut. Draco was reminded forcibly of the other times he'd seen her break down like this. All that pain he hadn't known the cause of before was related to him dying. This was further proof that they needed to break this time loop quickly, before she grew more attached to him. He needed to save her from this agony.
"Oh, Hermione," he breathed, resting his head against her shoulder. "You don't deserve this."
"I couldn't do it," she said through her tears. "I was supposed to do it and I couldn't."
"I know, Hermione," Draco said as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. "You did the right thing." She shifted so she was crying into his shirt and shook her head, but didn't say anything else.
She stayed that way, crying against his chest, for what felt like forever. While Draco sat there holding her, his resolve to end this as soon as he was back hardened. Maybe he wouldn't even go to Hermione. Maybe he'd go straight to his father and take the potion. No. He owed her an explanation, and if he was being honest, he wanted to see her one last time. He wanted to tell her he loved her, even though she wouldn't remember it.
"It will be okay, Hermione. You'll have another life, one where you don't have to be a widow. One with a lot less tears."
"I want this life," she replied, her voice surprisingly strong.
When she looked up at Draco, he was frozen by the look of raw emotion in her eyes.
"I want you. I want us. I want every moment we've shared so far and every moment we have yet to share. This is what we both want, Draco and it all won't be for nothing. You have made me the best version of myself and when you're gone, I'll remember you every day. I'll keep you alive for as long as I can and we -"
"But, Hermione. Surely you-"
"I'm pregnant, Draco," she cut in, placing her hands on either side of his face. "And if you stop this, that baby - our baby - will never exist."
Present Time: November 2002 / Draco's Time: Same as present
Draco went to Hermione's flat as soon as he returned from the future. He pounded on her front door more forcefully than he'd intended and she opened it a moment later, eyes swimming with concern. "Draco? Are you okay?"
Draco scooped her into his arms as he entered her flat, kicking the door closed behind him. "Oh, Hermione," he murmured into her hair. He had refrained from crying the whole time he'd been in the future (as Hermione had been doing enough of that for the both of them), but now he could feel the tears threatening to fall again. He took several, shaky breaths as he held Hermione close, trying to regain his composure.
"Draco, you're scaring me," Hermione said, her voice muffled against his chest. "What's wrong?"
Draco realized he'd been gripping her too tightly and relaxed his muscles but didn't let go of her. He wasn't ready to let go. But if he wanted to stay alive, he'd have to. A few tears escaped his eyes and he buried his face into her hair. Damn, she smelled so good. This was so fucking unfair. Just when he'd finally found a bit of peace and happiness, it was being ripped away from him.
"Draco?" Hermione pushed him back by the shoulders. When she saw that he was crying, her eyes widened in alarm. "Come sit," she insisted, pulling him to the sofa. "Tell me what's wrong so we can fix this."
Draco just nodded as he took a seat next to her, trying to figure out where to start. He cycled through a number of different ways to word it, then decided it didn't make a difference. No matter how he put it, it wouldn't change the truth.
"At the end of the time loop, I die. That's why there are no jumps after 2006. The first time I went to the future, my past self came back and died while pulling my father out of the way of several flying shards of glass. So, if I don't end this time loop, I will die. And if I do end it…"
He couldn't say the rest, but he didn't need to. She finished the statement for him. "Your father dies."
Draco nodded. "Not just that."
Hermione closed her eyes and Draco watched a tear fall down her cheek. "And we won't be together anymore," she finished.
They sat in silence, staring at each other for what felt like hours, but was probably just five minutes. When Hermione lifted her hand to cup Draco's cheek, he uttered in a small voice, "I don't want to die, Hermione." She nodded sadly. "And my father, he wants me to do it."
Hermione nodded again and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. "You don't need to explain it to me, Draco. I understand what you need to do."
Draco let out a sigh of relief, then pressed his lips into hers. They were so soft, and warm, and perfectly fit with his. How was he supposed to let this go?
Hermione leaned back and gave him a sad smile, rubbing his cheek tenderly with the back of her hand. "I'm really sorry about this, Draco, but - uh - I have a thousand questions." Draco let out a snort and she winced. "I know, I'm the worst and-"
"No," he cut her off. "I understand, really, and I don't mind explaining."
Draco covered her hand with his, then pulled it down and kissed it before starting a long explanation of everything that had happened since he'd spoken with his father, only leaving out the parts about the Dark Magic he'd performed, the fact that the Hermione in the future was pregnant, and how she'd come close to Obliviating him against his will, but had lost her nerve at the last moment.
"She said you forgot?" Hermione asked once he was finished with his explanation.
"She said I would let her Obliviate me during that time jump and that when I came to you now, I'd have no memory of the conversation I had with my father. Then we'd continue on, blissfully unaware."
"That's how she remembered it?"
"Yeah."
Hermione frowned, then stood and began pacing the room. "I don't get it. That makes no sense. Since you didn't agree to let her Obliviate you, you've already broken the timeline. But in that case, the whole future should be broken too and we shouldn't be together right now. We should be in some other universe doing who knows what."
Draco's stomach turned at those words. He pushed the thought of other universes out of his head and focused back on Hermione. She had that determined look in her eyes he loved so much. The one that had been missing from the Hermione in the future. Well, until she'd been pointing his wand at him. She'd looked pretty determined then. He pushed that thought away too and turned to face this Hermione, who'd stopped in front of him.
Draco sighed as he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. "The other Hermione was devastated when I didn't agree to let her Obliviate me, since she was convinced it meant the end of the life she knew. But then, she made the same observation you just did. She said she thought the fact that we were still there meant we could recover and had this whole plan…" Draco trailed off as he remembered the arguments he'd had with that Hermione.
She'd been using every manipulation tactic she could, and hadn't even been subtle about it, which would have impressed Draco if he hadn't been so irritated. She'd argued that she wasn't asking him to die, just to wait until later to decide. Draco had argued back that he wasn't stupid.
He knew deferring this decision would put him back on a timeline that would lead to his death, the timeline she was currently on. "The timeline we're on Draco," she'd said insistently. "I know a part of you has doubts about ending this loop. That's why we're still here."
Then, she'd argued that her version of Draco had chosen this for himself and that he should honor that decision. Draco had argued that he had a right to choose, too. They'd gone back and forth for hours before finally coming to a truce.
They agreed that Draco wouldn't make any final decisions until he talked to this Hermione. Future Hermione had insisted he tell her everything, but he'd said he wouldn't tell her about the pregnancy. She'd faltered and Draco could tell she'd been counting on that.
They'd gone back to arguing for a long while, then finally made a deal. He could keep the pregnancy from her, but he had to tell her what she'd told him in his first jump.
"You know what you said?" he'd asked, confused. Had his future self told her? In what context? She'd shaken her head and said simply, "No, but I know you know. Tell her that, word for word, then make your decision together."
Draco had agreed, then told her she'd clearly been spending too much time with Slytherins. They laughed, which had felt good after all the fighting, then agreed not to talk about it anymore and spent the rest of his time there watching the telly. But the tension was hanging in the air between them. Of course it was.
Draco shook his head and focused back on the present. His Hermione was looking at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"
He nodded and tightened his grip on her waist. "I need to tell you something. It's something future Hermione made me promise to tell you."
"Oh. Okay. What is it?"
He pulled her down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "It's what you told me during my first time jump. I'm supposed to tell you what you said word for word."
"Do you remember?"
Draco nodded. "I've visited the memory since but even then, I'd never forget."
Hermione linked her hands behind his head and began playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. "Okay. Tell me."
"I love you, Draco," he began to recite. "I know you have no idea what's going on, but I love you, I love you, I love you." He paused to take a breath.
"It was worth it. All the tears, all the fights, the uncertainty. All of it. I'd do it all again. You asked me once who I love most." He stopped again and Hermione nodded for him to continue.
"All of them. I love you regardless of the time, or your memories, or whatever is going on around us. I love your soul, Draco. Even now. I know you hate me, and maybe you think this is a bit repulsive, but I still love you and I promise I'll never stop."
Tears were falling down Hermione's face now and Draco pulled her closer to him. "That's it. I left you there after that. I was confused and didn't know what was going on. But for the record, I didn't hate you or find you repulsive. I was just confused."
"That's understandable. And you said that was your first time jump?" Draco nodded. "So, I knew you were dying in the past when I said all that. Oh my God. I feel so sad for her, but she's me, and it's avoidable but she knew that and didn't care. I just - I don't understand."
"I know. Really, I know. I know exactly how you feel."
"What was her plan?" Hermione asked. "You said she had a plan to get this back on track but for that to work, we'd both need to forget and only one of us can Obliviate the other."
"Theo."
"Nott?"
"Yeah. According to her, he's the most trustworthy person in our lives. She said to find him, tell him everything, and that he would Obliviate us, no questions asked."
Hermione was shaking her head in disbelief. "I met Theo for the first time two days ago and he was rude to me. Did you remind her about that? Why not Harry?"
"Believe me, I asked the same thing. She insisted Theo was the person we should go to, even in this time. She said we could go to Harry as a last resort but was sure we wouldn't need to."
"Huh. Weird."
"I know. You should have seen the way she talked about him, the way her eyes softened. I thought maybe she'd had a little thing with Theo."
"I would never do that!" Hermione exclaimed, affronted.
"She said the same. Then she laughed and said you weren't his type and that he was dating a Hufflepuff in her time, something I can't picture. What would a Hufflepuff be doing with someone so sullen?"
Hermione shrugged and got up from his lap. "This Theo thing makes no sense, but that's a whole other mystery we can solve later. We need to figure out this time loop dilemma right now."
She began walking around the room again and Draco sat back on the sofa and studied her. He could see each new thought pop into her mind and watched as she examined it thoroughly, then ultimately threw it out. He figured she was going through the same pile of ideas he'd made his way through last night.
But unlike Draco, who'd grown increasingly frustrated with each subsequent dead end, Hermione seemed to become more and more determined. He was reminded as he watched her that this was the witch who had had the boldness (and skill) to make her parents completely forget about her so she could protect them during the war.
She'd broken into the Ministry, faced the Dark Lord's snake, lied to Bellatrix under torture, then, a few weeks later, impersonated Bellatrix while robbing Gringotts and escaping on a dragon. Harry Potter got all the credit for winning the war, but Draco knew if he hadn't had Hermione Granger at his side, he never would have managed it.
His heart swelled as he watched her now. This remarkable witch had chosen him - scared, pathetic Draco Malfoy. Could he get her to do it again? How would he know to try?
She was too far away. Draco needed her in his arms again so he walked to her and hugged her close. He felt her deflate slightly in his arms. "I don't know, Draco. No matter what you choose, you lose something big. And there are so many unknowns."
Draco nodded into her hair as she snaked her arms around his middle. "Is there another way for us?" he asked. "Do you think in some other timeline, we can find each other again?"
Hermione was quiet and when he finally leaned back to look at her, she had tears in her eyes. She shrugged back at him. "Statistically, yes, I think there's another way. Probably hundreds of ways, thousands, even."
"But there are also a hundred ways you end up with Weasley and...Theo...apparently."
She forced out a laugh. "Yeah. I guess." Hermione sighed and placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart. "This is your decision, Draco. It's your life. But - uh -" She paused and looked down at her hand which was still splayed across his chest. "If you want me to forget, if that's what you choose, I'd do that."
Draco tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes. "You would?"
She nodded as a few tears fell down her face. "I'm not saying you should do that. I'm just saying I support you, either way. I know we haven't been dating very long but I - I love you, Draco."
"What?" he breathed.
"I love you."
He could tell by the look in her eyes she was sincere but couldn't help himself from asking, "Are you sure? You're not just saying that because you feel sorry for me?"
"I wouldn't do that."
"Oh, fuck," he swore, then laid his forehead against hers. "I love you, too. I've been thinking about it for a long time, before all this drama."
"You have?" Her words tickled Draco's lips. He placed a hand behind her neck and decided to answer her question with a long, passionate kiss.
Draco slid his hand down to her backside and pulled her close, so she was flush against his body as he swirled his tongue around hers. But it wasn't enough. He needed to be closer to her. For the first time since he'd found out about his death, he felt grounded. He should have just done this from the start, the night of the Halloween Ball. He should have told her he loved her, then snogged her senseless. This was much more cathartic than casting curses around the Practice Room.
Draco pulled Hermione to the wall, then pushed her back against it as he continued to kiss her, pressing his body into hers. Now that he didn't need to hold her close, he began exploring her body with his hands. He left one of them buried in her curls and crawled up the inside of her jumper with the other one.
Her skin was warm and impossibly smooth. He made a slow path up her waist, then slunk his hand into her bra and cupped her breast. "Is this okay?" he rasped, pulling back to catch his breath. They'd done this sort of thing before but he still wasn't sure what Hermione was comfortable with.
"No," she said and Draco quickly pulled his hand out of her shirt. But when he stepped back, she didn't look upset. She was wearing a wicked smirk, then pulled her jumper off, followed by her bra. "That's better."
Draco stood there drinking her in. She was gorgeous with her round, perfect breasts, long curls billowing over her shoulders, and her eyes large and dark with desire. Her lips, which were red and swollen from kissing, curled up slightly. "You can put your hand back." Her voice was shaky and he could tell she was nervous, probably from being scrutinized so thoroughly, so he tore his eyes away from her and resumed kissing her.
He cupped her breast again and flicked his thumb over her nipple, relishing the few moans that escaped her lips as he did so. When he linked his fingers into the waistband of her jeans to pull her close to him she pulled back and whispered, "You can take those off, too."
"What?"
Hermione put a hand on his cheek and said in a mock serious tone, "We're going to have sex, Draco. You know, the thing you've been wanting to do since we got together?"
"Since before then," he replied quickly.
She smiled.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Or maybe you're just agreeing to this because you think it's all going to be erased."
"The fact this is happening means it's not the end for us. Not yet. Because as soon as you decide to end this, this timeline will cease to exist."
"Oh." Draco's face fell and he pulled his hands away from her. "I have a confession. I'm using Occlumency to postpone the decision. I started it when I was in the future, so I could be sure to see you before it all ended. As soon as I drop my Occlumency Shields and let myself truly consider what I'm going to do, this could all end in a second."
"Oh," she whispered. She was finally realizing how much of a coward he was. That when faced with hardships, he didn't confront them head on, like she did, but hid.
"Does that change your mind?" he asked tentatively.
Hermione linked her hands behind his neck, then pressed her hips into his. "No, it doesn't. I want to be with you for as long as I can."
Draco smiled down at her, marveling again at how beautiful she was, at how she'd chosen him out of all the impressive wizards in her life, and at how she loved him. She loved him, impossibly, and he wondered how he was supposed to let that go. He could figure that out later. Now, it was time for him to show her just how much he loved her.
"Good," he replied before capturing her mouth with his.
A/N: Don't worry smut-addicts, this scene will continue into the next chapter…
The part in Timeless where Hermione Obliviates Draco against his will was by far the most controversial one in the story. So as I was editing it I thought, what if she hadn't done that? This story is an answer to that question.