For All Time
By Yassou
This story is based on characters, settings, and situations created and owned by the goddess, JK Rowling. The plot and everything else you don't recognize from the Harry Potter series belong to me, and using them without permission is punishable by death ;-) No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Happy reading, folks!
Chapter One
The sun shone brightly in the pale blue sky as Draco Malfoy swaggered down the busy streets of Diagon Alley. His father was buying his books and his mother was stocking up on potion supplies. There was nothing for him to do except wander around.
A bright yellow banner hung over the entrance of a small shop caught his eye. It announced, in red and orange letters that pretty much hurt to look at:
Wendy Wankman's World of Weird and Wonderful ThingsGrand Opening
Fifty percent off on selected items
Through the window, Draco could see a miniature neon green stage on display. Dancing on it were several incredibly lifelike snow-white mice that exploded into showers of silver and violet sparkles every few seconds, then resumed their original form. Childish, but at the same time intriguing.
Draco ran a slender hand through his slicked back platinum blond hair and went inside the shop. There were few customers, but lots of strange gadgets lined the wooden shelves. He stopped to inspect a porcelain teapot that would have been perfectly ordinary if it did not have an open mouth, from which erupted a song with a horrible tune and garbled lyrics.
"May I help you, young man?" inquired a kindly voice.
Draco turned to look at the middle-aged woman, dressed in robes of shocking pink, who had materialized out of nowhere. "This… thing," he said, gesturing to the teapot. "What's it singing?"
The woman beamed. "Horrible, isn't it? It's a Muggle song entitled Slave 4 U, sung by some girl who is rumored to have had her breasts enlarged."
At the sound of the word Muggle, Draco hastily backed away.
"Would you like to purchase it? It's half price," said the woman, eyeing him hopefully.
As if I would buy anything associated with Muggles. "No, thanks," he drawled. "I'm just looking."
"Oh, that's all right. If you see anything you like, I'll be right there!" With these words, she disappeared as quickly and unobtrusively as she had come. Draco suspected her to be none other than Wendy Wankman, the owner of the shop.
He retreated to the back of the shop, his haughty gaze skimming over the various objects. There was a mechanical purple-haired fairy with a star-tipped wand and vividly-colored butterfly wings… a large, blinking eyeball covered in green slime… a treasure chest full of glittering gems… Draco reached out for the largest sapphire, but as soon as his fingers touched it, all the jewels turned into a stinking pile of warm dung. He jumped back, utterly revolted.
That was when he saw Hermione Granger.
Hermione had been shopping with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and had somehow gotten separated from them while passing through the huge crowd of witches lined outside Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions--- apparently, Madame Malkin had a new kind of silk fabric that changed color whenever the wearer moved. Hermione wasn't too worried; they had planned to meet with the rest of the Weasley family at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, anyway.
Out of sheer curiosity, she had wandered into Wendy Wankman's World of Weird and Wonderful Things. A middle-aged lady had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, but when she learned Hermione wasn't planning to buy anything, she had lost all interest and vanished, leaving Hermione free to explore the shop.
She went to the back area of the room and her attention was immediately caught by a huge hourglass, the biggest she had ever seen. It towered over her by several inches.
A giant Time-Turner! Hermione realized, her brown eyes widening. She had used a similar, much smaller device in her third year. I've read about these! They're supposed to be highly sensitive and unpredictable, so one must be extra careful when dealing with them.
"Oh, my, look at what the cat dragged in," said a cold, drawling voice that Hermione unfortunately knew all too well. She turned around and was seized by the urge to wipe Draco's sneer off his pale, pointed face.
"That's a clichéd insult, Malfoy," she retorted, "and therefore exceedingly lame." She noticed that she had to lift her chin slightly to look him directly in the eye. So he had grown taller.
So what.
He snickered. "A filthy Mudblood like you doesn't deserve my best insults, Granger."
Hermione glanced at the crystal ball on a nearby shelf, wishing she had the guts to smash it over his big head. "It's a tragedy I have to share the same school with you for two more years," she told him archly.
"If Dumbledore was doing his job right, you wouldn't even be in the same school as I am," said Draco. "Why they let Muggle trash into Hogwarts, I'll never know."
"Stuff it, ferret. You don't want to run out of creative insults before we're even on the train, do you?"
He opened his mouth to retort, but he spotted the gadget behind her. "What is that?"
"A Time-Turner," Hermione replied automatically. "And I think you changed the subject because your tiny brain lacks the ability to conceive a decent comeback."
"Why don't you follow your own advice and stuff it, Granger," he suggested, stepping forward.
Her eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to--- hey, don't touch that!" she warned, because Draco was fingering the long gold chain attached to the hourglass.
He looked at her curiously. "What does this thingamajig do, anyway?"
"I won't tell you. You told me to stuff it, remember?"
She shouldn't have said that.
Draco rolled his eyes and gave the chain a sharp tug.
