Here we go! One of my fave chaps after some great suggestions from bam2305.

January 1998

Draco

Somehow, Draco had forgotten. He wasn't sure how he'd blocked out just how awful Seventh Year was, but he had. They were constantly under threat of attack and he was always doing what he could to avoid being noticed.

Last time around, he was just trying to keep his mother safe, but after seeing how that turned out for him, he was more willing to help. It felt like they were constantly running from place to place in the building, trying to protect people to the best of their abilities. Merlin was Draco tired. In all reality tired wasn't a strong enough word. The bloody Carrows were constantly forcing him and Draco to Crucio other students. Thankfully, Granger, the Weasley Twin, and Theo had worked out a clever blocking spell that blocked the pain, but required a second person to cast.

Neville had been ecstatic to hear about the new development, and had gathered a few of his friends to learn the spell as well. Overall, the younger students were getting quite good at faking pain. Muggle Studies and Dark Arts were nightmares. Theo who knew, from his time with Hermione, what Muggles actually got up to. He'd heard that Lily Moon, a Gryffindor in their year, had started a Muggle book club with some of their classmates in order to circumvent some of the Carrows' obscene teachings. He'd begged Neville to get him a book list so he could follow along and forced Draco to join in on the readings and discussions.

They'd started with the Diary of a Young Girl, which was a girl named Anne Frank's diary. Frankly, the whole thing made Draco rather uncomfortable. Theo had provided a history text about the Muggle World Wars that got Draco's skin crawling. When he'd finished the book and found out that she'd died, he was appalled. What kind of Book Club was this? That book sent him into a spiral on hate crimes, which led him to America and its issues with race.

He'd cornered Theo who gave him the next book, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. This had sent Draco down another spiral about racism, cringing at the painful similarities.

"You mean to tell me that in the Muggle world they give a fig about skin colour?" Draco asked, appalled.

"Stupid, innit?" Theo drawled. "Almost as stupid as Blood Status."

Draco flushed and held out his hand for the next book. It was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. "What could the Gryffindor's possibly be getting from this?" Draco asked when he finished. "All of these paint Muggles in such a bad light."

"Do they?" Theo asked, "Or are they just uncomfortably close to the Death Eater agenda and you don't know how to handle it?"

Draco stomped his foot and demanded the next book. "At the rate you're going, mate," Theo said wryly, "you're going to be done with the whole list by the end of the month."

"Well maybe then you can find me some happier books," Draco grumbled as he carried Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury to his bed. Draco felt frustratingly connected to Guy Montag, groaning and throwing the book down multiple times in his read.

When he'd finished, he found that he didn't have the energy to read another book from this supposed Book Club. When he woke up one morning, he found three books stacked on the foot of his bed. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, a textbook on something called biology and another on something called chemistry.

When Draco finished Jurassic Park he greedily consumed both the biology and chemistry books, immediately comparing them to Potions. "Do you have any more like this one?" he asked Theo, flopping onto Theo's bed.

"Mate there are millions of books out there," he handed him The Hobbit by J.R, Tolkein with a grin. "There are three more after this one if you like it." Like it was an understatement. Draco found himself pestering Theo about who this J.R. Tolkein was and how did he know so much about the Magical World.

"He was a Muggle," Theo said with a shrug. "It's pretty wild to think of the imaginations that lot have."

Thankfully, the one thing they weren't worried about was their studies. They knew that the N.E.W.T.S would be cancelled regardless of who won, and depending on how quickly Hermione could vouch for Theo he'd be stuck for a few months on house arrest at minimum.

Draco didn't have much hope for himself. There was no way that the Golden Girl would vouch for him. He's spent the first six years they'd known each other bullying her mercilessly. He looked through his Book Club Journal, a collection of thoughts about each of the books and what he'd personally learned from each. He was frustrated, but unsurprised, to find that his father truly had no idea what he was on about when it came to Muggles and Muggleborns. He chose to keep his head down and perform the Cruciatus and infrequently as he possibly could.

Granger. Theo had started writing letters through the elves, but Draco could not understand the draw.

"I don't know when I got so sentimental, but I feel like I'm constantly worrying about her," Theo said with a groan. "I'm not used to caring about someone else with no strings, other than you, but you're my brother so it doesn't count."

It was bloody embarrassing just how much he thought about the witch. Honestly he acted like a worried mother. He peered over Theo's shoulder to read the latest missive.

Theodore Junius Nott!

I simply cannot believe that you're being such a whinger! We're here for a reason. You'd think you have a Horcrux around your neck or some other shite. Oh Wait. That's Me! Anyway, Harry and I are getting along fine. I don't think he's even noticed how much better our food has gotten, He is constantly watching fucking Ginny Weasley's name move back and forth across the Map.

I will believe that Draco Malfoy isn't an absolute ass the moment he proves it to me. Please don't forget how terrible he was to me for so long. I know he's your best friend, so I'm willing to give him a chance, but it's a two way street!

I do miss you terribly, and cannot wait to give you the longest hug you've ever had when my house is complete. I know we practised the Fidelius Charm for ages, but I'm not sure what we're going to say to Harry to convince him that you're on our side. Maybe bringing Neville in? Veritaserum?.

He felt a piece of paper hit him in the head. He looked up from her letter at a smirking Theo. "What do you want, you wanker?" he asked gruffly.

"Stop reading over my shoulder! This is private mail!" Theo said, mock annoyed, "I think we need to blow off some steam. Let's go for a fly."

Draco rolled his eyes, but gathered up his papers and books, shoving them into his bag. Draco wrapped his arm around Theo's neck and dragged him out of the library.

"Mate if I wasn't sure you were gay, I would think that you were in love with her with the way you obsess over her letters," he smirked.

"She's like the sister I never knew I wanted. I wish you'd give her a chance, Drake. When we finally get to meet up with her, please, please don't be a wanker."

Draco scoffed as they made their way onto the pitch. The next hours were thankfully spent not thinking about the Carrows or Death Eaters or any War related things. Draco almost felt like a normal teenager.

Tuesday, January 13, 1998

Hermione

Darcy and Bennett had managed to find land in short order and had already started the process of building the cabin. Whenever Hermione was on guard duty she'd work with the elves on what the houses would look like. There was to be a smaller cabin that would be used for this endeavour, that was being quickly put together. All the while, the elves would be putting together a larger estate hidden behind the trees. It served a dual purpose of giving the elves a task that would fill their time as well as creating a Manor for the Granger family.

The wards were a peculiar set that was created from a combination of a few of the differing Grimoires. It gave the Granger Estate the unique ability to move through time at a steady rate. The elves were being very conscientious to use recycled materials that would have been around before their hypothesised earliest jump.

If all went well, they'd only have to do this one and it would all be fixed, but Hermione was logical. She and Theo had agreed that they needed to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. The second possible jump was to the beginning of the First Wizarding War. Going back to that time had much more margin for error than this jump. Hermione tried not to think about the third jump to before Tom Riddle attended Hogwarts as that one was by far the least concrete.

Not only did Hermione have the strings of time on her brain, but she was also still attempting to keep Harry safe and figure out the final Horcrux. Needless to say, Hermione was exhausted. The Horcrux was insidious. She pulled out the book that Theo had sent her about the Fidelius Charm. She went over the Charm again as she wanted to be her own secret keeper. She would just have to convince Harry to let Theo, Polyjuiced as Andromeda, help her.

"Harry," she said looking over at him from her perch on the lumpy couch. He looked over at her tiredly. "Can you take the Horcrux off for a few minutes, I want to talk to you."

He lifted the Horcrux off and Hermione watched as his face lightened. "I want to find a cabin. I remember camping with my parents once and there was this cabin. Mum said something like 'That one is haunted and abandoned," and that we shouldn't go in. Dad of course wanted to, but Mum wouldn't let us. But even if it is haunted, hopefully they'd be friendly enough. And I've been reading up on the Fidelius Charm and I think that if we asked Andi for help we could do it. And I'd be the Secret Keeper so she wouldn't even know the location anyway, especially if we side alonged her in the first place."

Harry scratched his chin. "Seems like you've thought about this a lot. What if it's not abandoned?"

"Well then we'll stick with this tent, but wouldn't it be so nice to not be in here with these thin walls?" she asked, grinning cheekily. "Plus we wouldn't have to wear the Horcrux because we'd be under the Fidelius!" She could see that she'd won him over.

"It makes sense, Hermione. Maybe we should try meeting up with her first? See if we can schedule something? How would we even get in contact? It's been months since we've seen the Order. I wonder if they could bring us some supplies?"

"Hmmmm," she hedged, "I have this thing I've been working on. We can test it out together. I think I can get my Patronus to only go to the person if they're alone. Hopefully it won't deliver to you while we're together, then I'll step out and it should speak to you! Expecto Patronum!" her happy little, "Harry I hope this works!" she whispered as quietly as she could. Then she sent the Patronus off, it swam away then disappeared. She looked at him expectantly so he stepped out of the tent.

He was back seconds later. "HERMIONE!" he shouted, picking her up and spinning her around. "You're an absolute genius! I can't believe you got it!"

She was giggling, they both felt lighter than they had in ages, even if they only had one wand and no way to destroy the Horcrux. "Shall I ask her to meet us? To bring us supplies? Tell her she has to come alone?"

Harry nodded vigorously. "Hello! It's Hermione, when you helped me with my parents, you told me that if I wasn't already 17 you'd have adopted me. Anyway, I am hoping to meet up, but it has to just be you. We need some supplies and I need to ask a favour! I'll meet you on Friday at the place where Ted took you on your first date, tickets will be under the name Wilkins." Her otter swam away toward Theo.

"'mione, have I ever told you that you're brilliant?" He said grinning at her. She did feel a little bad about lying to him, but with his connection to Voldemort, they couldn't afford to risk any of this in Harry's head.

"I need to go alone, Harry. You have to stay here and meet me at the next location. Same protocol, if I don't show up at the appointed time, you move on to the next place."

Harry sat down and looked at her. "Hopefully Andromeda can get us a curry or something. Godric what I wouldn't do for one of Molly Weasley's stews…" she chuckled at him and went back to her Fidelius Charm book..

"I forgot to ask, where are you meeting her?"

"Oh!" she chuckled. "When we were coming up with security questions one day, she told me that she loved the Muggle cinema, but since she's a Pureblood, she never had gone until Ted took her on their first date! I was looking at the paper the other day and there's a movie that just came out called "The End of Violence," I thought it was quite fitting."

"Sometimes I wonder how you keep all that stuffed up in your brain, 'mione." She saw him slip on the Horcrux and sigh heavily.

Thursday, January 15, 1998

Theo

Theo was sitting on his bed preparing to sleep when Darcy popped in. "Oh Mister Theo! I'm to show you the house! We is finished!"

"That's brilliant, Darce! Let me tell Draco and I'll be ready to go."

He poked his head out of his bed and saw Draco playing with a practice Snitch on his bed. "I have to pop out for a bit, Drake, I'll be back before morning." Draco raised a single pale eyebrow to him and then nodded. Theo reached out his hand to the elf and felt himself pop out into what he knew was his bedroom.

It was decked out in vibrant blues, even if he did only have a single bed. He went into the bathroom and saw a bathtub that didn't look nearly as luxurious as he'd like, but would definitely do.

"Darcy this is perfect!" he said, flinging himself back onto his bed.

"Come Mister Theo, we must be showing you the rest of the house and we must be masking this wing so that Mister Potter not be seeing you when you is being here! And Benny and I be needing your help to makes the house looks abandoned."

Theo nodded and rose from his bed, following the elf around getting a lay of the house. It was homey in the way that Granger was. His and Draco's rooms were off to the side with a shared bathroom. Dracos was, of course, decked out in greys and blacks, the epitome of Draco Malfoy.

He stepped out into the open living area and chuckled. It wasn't quite Gryffindor chic, no it was a bit more muted and much more Hermione than that. The couch was soft and maroon with a light floral pattern. The pillows were vibrant yellows covered in Marigolds. The kitchen was a delightful cream with sage green appliances. He rolled his eyes at the large bookshelves that took up the majority of the wall.

He walked across the space into the Master bedroom. The colour theme continued in this room. He flounced on Hermione's bed, satisfied that even though his was smaller it was just as comfortable. As he sprawled on her bed he saw her bathroom. It was beautiful. The tub could fit at least three people and had a matching dual vanity.

He meanderd out onto the porch with a sigh. They were in the most delightful forest. They were in a beautiful clearing that had that sort of wild yet tamed look. He took a deep sniff in. He could get used to this.

Theo was pleased. He spent the next few hours helping Darcy and Bennett make the space look abandoned. They aged the furniture and put in dust and dirt. They cracked a few windows and scuffed the walls. After everything was done, he placed a masking spell on the pocket doors to his and Draco's "wing." When the doors were closed they would be invisible. When the cabinets were stocked with sufficiently old canned goods, Theo collapsed into his bed in his room.

"Bennett, wake me up in a few hours to get back to Hogwarts," he said as he drifted off.

Friday, January 16, 1998

Theo bounced on the balls of his feet waiting for Hermione to arrive. He'd transfigured his own features to be that of a very attractive Muggle he'd seen in a magazine once. The sandy hair and blue eyes looked back at him in the shop window he was standing in front of.

He stood in front of the theatre with his hands in his pockets. "Wilkins?" a woman with lighter skin, long braids and almost green eyes asked nonchalantly.

"Yes! I've always wanted to come to a mug- uh a cinema. It's dirtier than I expected." She laughed, a full head back laugh and threw her arms around Theo who kissed her cheek wetly.

"You look very nice," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I hate not looking like myself," she groaned. He just chuckled and she pulled him along, "Come on, you," she said with a grin. "I hope you brought more than a few quid, Harry's asked for a curry and we need to go grocery shopping."

"But, Mia, the film!" he said looking dejected.

"Theo, it's a 2 hour long movie and it's not very good according to the reviews. I promise I'll take you to a film when this is all over. A proper film. Now come on, we have loads to do."

She dragged him to the back alley and then apparated them to a grocery store in a town she'd visited when she was a kid. She chuckled as Theo looked around the grocery store with his eyes wide. "How much did you bring?" she asked, looking over her list, trying to decide what wasn't needed.

"2,500 pounds," he said and when he saw her face, "Is that not enough? I can go get more. Draco has more in his allowance. We didn't know how much you would need, but 500 Galleons seemed enough, but oh I knew we were going to bollocks this up!"

"Theo! Theo!" she said laughing. "I'm just shocked because I've never even seen 2,500 quid. Let alone be able to spend it. That is more than enough. We won't need nearly that much."

"Well whatever we don't spend you're to keep, Mia. You lot need it more than we do at the moment." She started to protest, "If it bothers you so much you can consider it Draco and I's rent for your cottage."

She nodded begrudgingly. "Have you been to it? Did you like it? Tell me everything." They spent the next hour going through the grocery store buying everything Hermione could think they might need. They left with more bags than she could count and they made their way to the Curry Shop.

She ordered food for herself and Theo and then sat and chatted with him about their plans. They'd asked Andromeda for a hair before they left so they had that covered and the Polyjuice Potion was from Draco's personal stores. She would leave Harry again at the tent and get Theo. They would go to the house and then do the Fidelius. She would go and get Harry then and have him chat with "Andromeda" for a bit and then Theo/Andromeda would leave Hermione and Harry to "clean up."

"Before I go, Draco had one of his elves bring a wand from Malfoy Manor. We knew that he was missing one, I don't know how well it will work, but at least you'll have two." With a grin she pecked him on the cheek. "Next week, then," he continued, hugging her firmly and apparating away leaving Hermione holding Harry's Curry and new wand in her hands.

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