Summary: Trapped as castle servants in the seemingly Middle Ages, Hermione and Draco's lives become unavoidably intertwined.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I just write for fun, all right?

A/N: Finally! Another story I can write! I suddenly got this idea after watching the movie about knights, kings and stuff like that. I don't know if there are other stories exactly like this, but if there are I can assure you that I didn't have any intention of copying them. =)

Everything is FICTIONAL. From the place of the prince's kingdom, the events, the enemies and the prince himself. So please, don't give me any historical lectures since I'm purely inventing most of the details you will encounter in the story. I will however, make this as real as possible. =)

I hope you like this fic as you enjoyed reading Abyss. Well, I'll now stop ranting so you can start reading this story. =)

Timeless: And The Reason Is You

* * ~ ~ * *

Quick hurried footsteps intermingled with sobs suddenly filled the deserted torch-lit hallway. The 6th year student tried vainly not to faint in spite of her immense despair and wounded heart. With a damaged spirit, she kept running to nowhere in particular with only one thought in her head: I hate him. Everything around her swam in her watery eyes and every breath she took drained her of energy. Left, right, right, left. She randomly took every turn with her red-brimmed eyes; her head bowed in shame and anguish. She wanted her life to end right then and there since she didn't matter to anyone anymore. If only I had been stronger, then no one could hurt me… No one…

* * ~ ~ * *

"Thank god that's over" said Draco Malfoy to himself after finishing his three-hour detention with Madame Pomfrey. If he had to clean one more loo from top to bottom, he'll swear off causing trouble in class for good. He laughed as he thought about that since he knew mischief wasn't just part of his nature, it was in his blood.

He was walking quite slowly, taking all the time in the world. After all, he had no one to go back to in the Slytherin dormitory. Pansy… Draco cringed as her face came in his deep thoughts. She was nothing but a foolish whore, deeply in love with what Draco was and not for who he really is. He became fully immersed in what he was thinking that he wasn't looking at where he was going anymore. Not that it mattered; it was now so late in the night that every hallway he passed was completely deserted. Except for this one.

"Damn it!" shouted Draco as someone suddenly crashed into him. He winced and took a step backward as his attacker fell to her knees, moaning in apparent pain.

"Watch it, you!" He looked down angrily at the shaking girl and was preparing to give her a piece of his now flared up mind when she slowly looked up.

"Granger!" He was surprised to see her, his anger now dissolving into complete confusion. What was she doing here in the middle of the night? And wait… Are those tears?

Hermione's eyes widened as the same exact shock entered her mind. Oh, no… Why did I have to meet him? Of all people to bump into… She suddenly turned away, remembering that she had been crying.

Draco stood still; taking all of Hermione's distressed features in. He suddenly felt himself smirking, his lips moving in sheer mock. "Well, well, Granger… It didn't take long for you to finally believe in those rumors linking Weasley to –"

Her faint cry interrupted him and he silently watched her stand up and run past him. His smirk deepened as his theory was confirmed. Draco quietly remained in that hallway for a couple of minutes, debating with himself before deciding to follow mudblood Granger.

* * ~ ~ * *

Hermione slowly walked amongst the thousands of books filling up the enormous and grand library. She had stopped crying now but her heart still throbbed with immeasurable pain. She was now standing in the Restricted Section but since Madame Pince had granted her full permission, no alarm came off.

She had always found solitude in books, much to the amusement of Harry, his girlfriend Ginny and… Ron. Tears sprung up again as she thought about him while her body suddenly felt weak and she fell down on her knees as a result. She silently rocked back and forth as tears spilled down her face and onto her robes.

"Why… I trusted you… I loved you…" She looked up to the ceiling, looking for answers but it just remained immobile, silently staring at her. Hermione hugged herself and bent her head down as she closed her eyes. Try to forget… Forget him… Forget them… Her long, brown and wavy hair voluntarily hid her face from the non-existent eyes that Hermione felt surrounding her, watching her, mocking her. Doing this, she now had no idea that Draco had so quietly crept into the library and was now nearing her hiding place.

* * ~ ~ * *

"Really, now. She's crying again? Weasley really got to her…" mused Draco as he took one small step after another. He came to the library on an impulse and once again, he was proven correct. And to do what? Did he come all this way here just to tease mudblood Granger? "It'll be worth it," he decidedly said with a bite of his lower lip.

He knew that she was in the Restricted Section but he didn't turn back; he already knew a thousand and one ways to get into that part without being caught. He was closer to her now for he could already hear her labored breaths. He wasn't planning on surprising her but it now seemed like a good idea. But he frowned as he thought that this act was very childish in every way so he voted against it. He'll just appear in front of her, plain and simple.

"Hello, Granger."

Hermione couldn't believe what she had just heard. She wanted to melt into an indescribable puddle or better yet, vanish into thin air. Why does Malfoy have to be so heartless? Can't he see that she was already suffering without his patented taunts? "Get the hell away from here, Malfoy…" She didn't know where she found the strength to say those hard words but she knew that her anger at Malfoy's stalking was steadily rising.

"And what if I don't want to?" Draco was smugly standing in front of Hermione, with folded arms and a matching sneer.

She looked up at him, letting him see the fire of pain and anger in her eyes. "Leave me alone! Why do you keep doing this to me?" Her last sentence was now more of a plea than a well-rounded question.

"You want to know why, mudblood? Well, it's because you –" Draco once again didn't get to finish his sentence but this time it was a huge earthquake that interrupted him. The whole library started to immensely shake and the floor he was standing on was no exception.

Hermione wildly looked around the dangerously teetering bookshelves while she plunged her hand in her robes. Her wand, she must get it. After a few seconds, she finally realized that she had irresponsibly left it at her dormitory in a fit of torment. "Oh no…"

The earthquake was now so intense that Draco couldn't keep his balance any longer. He reached towards the table Hermione was leaning on earlier. The books were already starting to fall and Hermione had now stood up beside him. He had finally grabbed a hold on the edge of the table when the floor suddenly gave a huge lurch. Hermione cried out and he instantly felt her tight grasp on his arm for support.

For some reason, he didn't push her away; he was too busy keeping his balance that he had no time to think about it anymore. They remained like this for a few minutes and when they felt that the earthquake was subsiding, Hermione finally let go.

Draco made a huge show on brushing the sleeve that Hermione had touched and she could only disgustedly sigh in response.

"I'm leaving Malfoy. You'd better not follow me again."

He was preparing to make a retort when an object on the floor caught his eye. "What's this?" he slowly asked while bending to pick it up.

Now, Hermione also became intrigued at his comment and thus, took a few steps towards Malfoy. She saw the thing that got Draco's attention: it was a small box of some sort. It looked old and very fragile; accumulated dust had already preyed on it. Hermione felt her forehead wrinkle in confusion; she was trying to connect the presence of the strange box with the library. Libraries are for books but… "That's a box."

Draco looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Well, aren't you just stating the obvious." He blew on it and frowned but nevertheless, picked it up. He turned to Hermione and commented, "There are strange markings…"

She reacted quite violently to this; she knew that if there were things that looked too extraordinary, they were best left alone. "Drop it, Malfoy! You don't know what –"

"Don't get so worked up, Granger. I know what I'm doing." Draco wiped the beads of sweat covering his forehead and licked his now dry lips. He was feeling excited and at the same time, quite scared. The box may hold something valuable inside but it may also be just some worthless piece of junk lying around in one of the bookshelf in the library. He lifted his hand to open it when Hermione's shrill voice startled him.

"No! It might be dangerous or…"

He teased her again by stepping closer to her. She shrank back in alarm and never took her eyes of the box. With one last smirk, Draco quickly grabbed Hermione's wrist and with the other hand, opened the lid of the box.

"Malfoy! I told you not to –"

Hermione's screams and Draco's surprised shout suddenly filled the vast and empty library. A blinding blue light surrounded them and as unexpectedly as it came, so was its exit. The box, now unsupported, fell to the floor with a soft thump; the only witness to the couple's bizarre disappearance.

* * ~ ~ * *

Madame Pince gave a startled scream when she discovered the box lying on the floor with its lid open. She knew that this was no ordinary situation; the Headmaster had warned her that this was a quite dangerous object. It was actually at his advice that the librarian hid it in some place secure like the Restricted Section. Only a few students went here, the responsible and trustworthy ones.

It was the earthquake's fault, blamed Madame Pince. It dislodged the box from its hiding place, which happens to be the very back of the bookcase she was standing in front of. She looked around the library and grimaced when she saw the scattered books, some fallen bookshelves and torn pieces of parchment. She eventually bent to pick the box up when her eye suddenly saw something lying not too far from where she was standing. A wand. Her hands trembled as she reached for it and her worst fear was confirmed. It was a student's wand; a student was the one who opened the forbidden box.

She immediately pocketed the wand, grabbed the open box and with one last look at the partially destroyed library, quickly ran outside and turned towards the direction of the Headmaster's office.

* * ~ ~ * *

Hermione felt sick; a thousand knives were poking through her body and her head felt as though it had been hammered again and again with a large mallet. She was lying face down, on something hard and soft at the same time. Well, at least it smelled good, mused Hermione and further buried herself in the dark robes. Robes? With a shout of alarm, she hastily rolled on her side and shakily stood up.

With an anguished moan, she looked down on her "bed", which happened to be an unconscious Draco Malfoy. Hermione spat out a curse and hastily decided to leave the git before he had a chance to wake up and make her life miserable again. She was about to walk away when a closer look at her surroundings made her immediately stop dead in her tracks.

"Oh. My. God." Hermione felt her eyes widen and her breath taken away as she saw for the first time where they really were. They were in a forest, a real forest. Colossal trees stretched as far as she can see, the ground she was standing on were covered with leaves of all shapes and sizes and when she looked up, the sun was barely visible; the sunlight was scarce in the forest floor.

Where was she? Obviously, she wasn't in the Restricted Section or anywhere in Hogwarts anymore. She knew for a fact that she wasn't standing in the Forbidden Forest; she had already been there last year and besides, this particular forest wasn't that foreboding and didn't seem quite dangerous at all; in fact, it was the total opposite. But nevertheless, panic and fear began to rise inside of her since she began to realize that she was in an unknown place – a forest, at that –

with no wand for means of protection.

Malfoy. Hermione knew that she had to wake him up, let him know that they were now in a dark forest without anyone in sight. She felt herself burning with anger; this was his fault, opening the box when she told him not to. She marched back to his lying form, knelt down and began to violently shake him by the shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up! Open your bloody eyes, goddamn it!" She was already feeling apprehensive and somewhat scared since different animal cries were now slowly filling the desolate forest. "Malfoy, wake up! Wake –"

When Draco finally opened his eyes, Hermione found herself staring at them for a few seconds before annoyingly turning away. "Well, its about time you woke up."

Draco felt disoriented and his head was somewhat throbbing with a small yet painful headache. "What the hell are you talking about, Granger?"

"Look around you."

And he did although he didn't feel any sense of alarm or bafflement like Hermione. "So?"

Her eyes narrowed in irritation and the sudden urge to slap him came suddenly into her mind. She however, restrained and through gritted teeth said, "Can't you see where in the middle of a forest? The box that you so graciously opened took us to god-knows-where!"

He threw his head back and gave a sarcastic laugh. Draco was enjoying every minute of this, seeing Hermione panic like hell and having the upper hand at the situation. He had his trusty wand and – his wand! Where was it? He frantically but quite inconspicuously looked in his pocket.

"Shit."

Hermione didn't like the sound of that, at all. "What is it?"

"Why would I tell you, Granger? Are we friends all of a sudden?" He smirked and stood up, taking a glimpse around the forest. He began to feel anxiety creeping inside of him but he quickly pushed the feeling aside. No need to let Hermione know that I'm not so sure about staying in this forest either… "Well, I don't want to stay here and chat with you, Mudblood so I'll just –"

"You're not leaving me here all alone, are you?"

"What if I am?"

She quickly stood up and in a shaking voice, shouted, "You wouldn't dare!"

Draco lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "Try me." He then frowned and walked around, searching for the trail; close at his heels was a torn Hermione. She didn't want to follow him wherever he went but she also didn't want to be left all alone in that deserted place.

After some time, he gave a triumphant shout when he finally found the quite hidden trail while she gave out a sigh of relief. Eager to get out of the humid forest and back to the crowded civilization, Draco began to walk quickly on the path as Hermione followed at a distance.

"Stop following me, Mudblood!" His smugness level was dangerously high with the knowledge of her unwilling dependence on him.

She felt defiant and somewhat guilty at the same time since his accusation was true in a way. But of course, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of realizing that. "I am not following you, Malfoy! And don't call me Mudblood!" She picked up a rock lying on the path and threw it at his back.

Draco turned around and rolled his eyes at the now steaming Hermione. "It really hurt, that did."

If only she had her wand, her only companion would be a very cross ferret but since she left it back at Hogwarts… She gave a long sigh and decided not to make matters worse than they already were by keeping her silence. But Mother Nature had a different idea…

"Damn it!"

Both of them had shouted this curse at the same time as a sudden burst of rain suddenly poured down at them. Draco broke into a run and Hermione, who became reasonably fit during the summer finally caught up to him. They didn't know where to go to but Draco, being the arrogant wizard that he was, relieved heavily on his instincts. He constantly kept to the trail, knowing that it would eventually lead to a road and hopefully, people. He was against seeking for shelter first since he didn't want, under any circumstance, to spend the rest of the day with her. The sooner they get off the road, the sooner she's out of his hair.

The rain was coming down in torrents now, and the couple, now wet to the bone, had already removed their robes and slung them over their shoulder. Mud splattered on their clothes and exposed body parts and their wet hair was a constant menace. Hermione shivered; the cold rain stung her skin repeatedly but she was still determined to get out of the forest as soon as possible.

Then, the rain suddenly stopped; Mother Nature was clearly mocking them. They slowly stopped, panting and still dripping with rainwater. Draco irritatingly ran a hand through his silky, wet hair and looked at Hermione in disdain. She did not look good at every angle; her long hair was now an indistinguishable pool of brown ringlets while her front and backside were almost completely covered with mud, leaves and twigs.

"You look like you've been through hell, Granger."

"I still am as long as we're together."

His sneer was wiped off his face but he still wanted to insult her. "Really? Now, how could you –"

"Stop. Don't speak..."

"What? What the hell is wrong with you, Granger?"

"Do you hear that?" She had an intense look of concentration in her eyes, her ears straining to hear the growing sound of voices.

He started since he finally heard it too; the sound was the chorus of different voices, seemingly coming from near the path they were standing on. It steadily grew and so did the students' elation. But Draco felt something that something was not right; he stole a glance at Hermione and saw that she too, had a look of doubt in her face.

Without any hesitation, he started running again, this time towards the voices. He had already gone far when she realized that she was the only one left in the trail.

"Wait! Malfoy!" She began to run in a fast pace; annoyance etched in her face and clenched fists. I'll catch him… and when I do I'll –

She had bumped into a stationary Draco Malfoy; he hadn't gotten very far and she only took a minute or two to catch up to him.

"What are you doing, just standing there? Is anything the matter?"

He replied with a point of his index finger and a gasp of shock erupted from Hermione's still wet lips. "Oh my god… What is this place?"

* * ~ ~ * *

"You called for me, Professor?"

Dumbledore looked tiredly at Harry Potter's confused face before giving a nod. "Yes, Mr. Potter. I have something to ask you."

Harry shrank back in his seat; he feared that one of nightly excursions had come to the Headmaster's knowledge and now, the proper punishment was to be given. He waited with crossed fingers for Professor Dumbledore's question and sharp reprimand.

"Do you happen to know where Miss Granger is?"

One couldn't possibly tell how relieved Harry felt. He eventually relaxed and found himself smiling for no apparent reason. "No, sir." But Harry found himself thinking. He remembered seeing Hermione shortly after dinner but after that… With the confusion after the earthquake, he didn't give a single thought about Hermione's presence since he believed that she would be with the other prefects, checking ang helping fix the damaged parts of Hogwarts.

A long sigh came out of Dumbledore's lips as he opened a drawer in his table. He brought out a small box and placed it on top of his table, clearly visible to Harry. "This, Mr. Potter is no ordinary box to be taken granted of. It's called Pandora's Box – No, not the one you are familiar with but it is just called such." He gave another deep sigh, took off his half-moon spectacles and rubbed his eyes with his wrinkled knuckles. "This is called Pandora's Box simply because it… well, it wasn't made to be foolishly opened by anyone interested."

Now, Harry couldn't see why all of these information had something to do with him or Hermione, for that matter. He tried to keep a blank, interested face but he knew that Dumbledore could always see his true emotions.

"You are wondering why I am telling you all this. Well, Mr. Potter, I have reason to believe that Miss Granger along with someone else… was taken to another place and time by this very box."

Harry felt his forehead wrinkling in sheer confusion. What again did Dumbledore say? This fragile looking box was a Portkey of some sort? If it was as dangerous as Dumbledore says it is, then why was it kept in the school? He bit his lip as he tried to process everything; questions kept pouring into his head but he didn't immediately voiced them out since he knew Dumbledore would eventually explain everything to him.

"I know. But always expect the unexpected in this world, Mister Potter." Dumbledore opened the box's lid and peered inside. "Nothing… Now, Professor McGonagall has reported to me that Miss Granger had been missing since late last night. As you might recall, each Head of House thoroughly checked their students after the earthquake. Out of all the Hogwarts students and even the staff, only two were missing."

"Two?" Harry was now interested and he had a sickening guess to one of them. "Hermione?"

"Yes, and…" Dumbledore broke off and opened his drawer once more. He took out a wand and showed it to Harry, who gave quite a reaction.

"That's Malfoy's wand!"

"It was found near the box, thus giving us the conclusion as to who the other missing student is."

Harry immediately felt sorry for Hermione, knowing that her companion the one she disliked the most. He could only imagine what was happening in the place wherever they may be, total pandemonium between the two. "Could they go back?"

Dumbledore traced the strange markings with a finger and shook his head. "If I recall correctly, then, no. I presume this is why Nicadimus had warned me about the box's unique power. This box was basically given to me for safekeeping. Nicadimus trusted me to ensure that no one will open it but alas, I have failed him."

"Is – Is she in any danger?"

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head once more. "No, I do not think so. Nicadimus is a dear friend of mine and I can only describe him as a man with a gifted imagination. Pandora's Box is a portkey to a world purely created from Nicadimus' mind. As to what it is, I have no knowledge. This is why I have never opened it."

Harry was now on his feet, terrified for Hermione's well being and sanity. "Professor! We must owl Nicadimus at once! You can't be sure if they're safe in that world of his; we don't even know where they are!"

"Nicadimus? Ah, well… he's not available at the moment, Mister Potter."

"What do you mean?"

Dumbledore looked sadly at the box before quietly saying, "He's in there with them."

* * ~ ~ * *

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this! If you did please say so in your REVIEWS and if you didn't (hope not!) well, you can do just the same. =) However, I do need at least 12 reviews before I post the next chapter. I'm cruel so sue me. Hehehe… =) I just hope you didn't get downright bored, constipated, sick, annoyed, displeased, angry, or disappointed after reading this fic. =)

This is just somewhat of a prologue to the story so expect more about Nicadimus' fantasy world in the following chapters. =)

The title of this story, "To Be Loved By You" is still under consideration. To be honest with you, I think it actually sucks so it would be great if someone out there could give me a better one. =)

I guess that's about it. I'll see you in a couple of weeks or so… =)