Chapter Two
Hermione had blacked out. But she was slowly coming around, she groggily opened her eyes. Almost immediately she had to close them again, but in the brief glimpse she got of her surroundings, she figured that she was not in the school Infirmary. Strange, all she could remember was Malfoy's taunting and then an explosion.
She opened her eyes again, and sat up with a shock. She was in a cottage bedroom that was definitely not in Hogwarts. It was raining outside and the rain was blurring the window. It was a prettily decorated room, with a vase of fresh flowers sitting on the armoire across from the bed.
Where the hell was she? And where was Ron?
"Oh mademoiselle! You are finally awake!" shrieked a female voice. A maid bustled into the room and rushed to Hermione's side.
"Uh...yeah...where am I?" said a bewildered Hermione. 'Did she just call me mademoiselle?!'
"At home of course! Ah I shall call Madame and inform her of your waking. Do you need anything? Water?" asked the maid kindly.
"No I'm fine...but where am I? Am I in France?!"
"Why yes of course mademoiselle. France is your home, remember? Oh you must have hit your head harder than we thought, cherie." answered the maid sympathetically.
"What?!"
"I'll be back in a moment." said the maid.
"What's your name?" asked Hermione.
"Eloise" And with that she left, leaving Hermione to process what she had just heard.
--
"Goddamnit who are you?!" yelled Draco Malfoy.
He had just woken up from what seemed like a very long sleep and found himself in a nice bed with an attractive woman.
"Julien...don't you remember last night?"
"Uh...no frankly I don't. But I wouldn't mind having my memory refreshed," Draco answered with a sly grin. Then his brain caught up with what the woman had said, "And who the hell is Julien?"
The woman giggled and put her head on his bare chest. 'My god, are we both naked?!' thought Draco, ducking under the covers to check. 'Wow...'
"You are Julien, Monsieur Malfoy!"
"WHAT?!"
---
Professor Snape had his head in his hands. He was in Dumbledore's office and they were discussing the accident in the dungeons.
"I don't know where they've gone...someone must've dropped the murkwood in too early. It could have disastrous effects on the potion, Headmaster. Murkwood has other properties apart from transportation - it is also used in time travel potions." said Snape worriedly.
"Don't worry, Severus. We'll get them home eventually." Dumbledore reassured the potions master.
"But they could be anywhere in Ireland or France! They might not even be in this century...for all we know they could be stuck in medieval France or something." Snape protested.
At that exact moment two students appeared in the doorway of the office.
"Ah what did I tell you Severus? Two of them are back already! Welcome back Mr. Weasley and Mr. Zabini." said Dumbledore cordially.
"Professor Snape! The potion did something strange...we didn't just get taken to Ireland, we were taken back in time as well!" exclaimed Blaise.
"What era were you taken back till?" asked Snape uneasily.
"Oh, only back to the 18th Century." answered Blaise.
"How did you get back here so fast then, Zabini?" asked Snape.
"I don't know...we stumbled across a leprechaun in Ireland and we made a deal with it. Then somehow they got us back here." he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Where's Hermione and Malfoy?" asked Ron anxiously.
"Ah...we're not too sure about their whereabouts Mr. Weasley. Did you not see them in Ireland?" replied Dumbledore. Ron shook his head.
"Well then I suppose that they're in France...the potion can only take you so far from England so it has to be either Ireland or France." said Snape.
"Wonderful. Severus, arrange for a search party to be sent to France immediately."
--
Hermione was still a little bit bewildered when the maid came back with her 'mother'. All she had worked out was that she was in France as a result of the potion exploding. Ron must've dropped the murkwood in before the belladonna essence.
"Darling, you're awake!" gushed the woman, leaning over to peck her on the cheek.
"She's seems to have lost her memory, Madame." whispered Eloise.
"Nonsense, Eloise! Now Marie darling, you seem perfectly fine to me." said the woman.
'Marie? Who's Marie?' wondered Hermione, still gazing at the woman.
"Marie?" The woman seemed to be expecting an answer from her.
"What? I'm Marie?!" exclaimed Hermione incredulously.
"Oh dear you're right, Eloise. Send for the doctor immediately." whispered the woman gravely.
"But I'm fine!" protested Marie-Hermione.
"No, you're not cherie. But you will be when Doctor Chavroir comes." cooed the woman reassuringly.
"Look, I'm perfectly fine! I just can't remember some things...you can just refresh my memory...mother." Marie-Hermione said tentatively. Her mother sighed and gave her a patronizing look.
"Well, if you say so, darling. Your name is Marie-Hermione Granger, you were born here in Paris but we are an English family. You are presently sixteen years old, and are betrothed to a very handsome and eligible young man by the name of Lord Xavier Malfoy."
"I'm betrothed?! But I'm only sixteen! What age is this?!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Why of course you are betrothed, my dear. All your friends are also engaged or about to be. Do not be afraid, by marrying Lord Xavier, your future is in safe hands. He is one of the most eligible young men in Paris - he is heir to the Malfoy fortune and -"
"Wait, wait a minute. Did you say Malfoy?" Hermione stuttered.
"Yes I did. Is there a problem, Marie?" asked her mother. Hermione was speechless - 'She can't be talking about Draco Malfoy can she? He was standing near them when the potion exploded...so maybe...oh my god I'm betrothed to Draco Malfoy!'
"Uh..." Hermione wanted to pass out again.
"Darling, you should be flattered that Lord Xavier chose you to be his bride. He seems genuinely interested in you. Why, he brought you that vase of flowers over there," she said, pointing to the flowers Hermione had seen before. She forced a smile.
"He is not only kind, but of the high society as well, the type of man that every young girl dreams of marrying. We are but a small unremarkable middle class family. This is our chance to shine." Her mother said with a smile.
Hermione tried to return the smile, but exhausted by the effort and the bombshell her mother had just dropped on her, she fell back limply onto her bed and was unconscious once more.
--
Draco had shooed the unknown woman out of his room and was looking through his wardrobe in disgust.
'What type of man has a closet full of antique suits? What age is this?!' he thought.
"Bonjour, Julien." boomed a deep voice. Julien Draco turned around and saw -
"Blaise?!"
"Ah, non je suis Xavier - ton frere! Qui est Blaise?" (Oh, no I'm Xavier - your brother! Who's Blaise?) answered the Blaise lookalike with a strange look on his face.
'Shit, why are we speaking French?!' thought Draco uneasily. Then he gratefully thanked his mother for making him learn French, it was finally going to come in handy.
"Eh...Blaise est mon ami. Ne t'en fais pas...alors, comment cava Xavier?" (Eh...Blaise is my friend. Don't worry...So how are you Xavier?) said Draco in a would-be casual tone.
"Tu es tres bizarre aujourd'hui, Julien. Peut-etre tu dois voir un medicin." (You're very strange today, Julien. Perhaps you should see a doctor.) answered Xavier with a worried expression.
"Oh, non, non. Je suis formidable! Mais Xavier, est-ce que tu parle anglais?" (Oh no, no I'm great! But Xavier, can you speak English?) asked Draco hopefully.
"Yes...of course I can speak English! All of us can. What is wrong with you, silly child?" snapped Xavier.
Draco was extremely lost about what was going on. He had no idea where he was (France, most likely), who he was or why the hell his closet was full of antique style clothes. He suspected that all this had to do with the explosion in the Potions dungeon.
"I knew that. I was just testing you...uh could you please tell me the date?" asked Draco nervously, hoping Xavier wouldn't notice his discomfort. He did, and shot him another strange look.
"It's the second of September, seventeen eighty-eight. Dear lord, have you lost your mind, Julien?"
"Uh...hahaha...no of course not. I'm just feeling a bit hung over from last night, you know." answered Draco feebly, attempting to give him a roguish smile. Inwardly he was shocked. '1788?! The potion was only support to take us to a country near England...not send us back in time! At least that explains the weird clothes...'
"I worry about you sometimes, little brother." Xavier suddenly said, "There have been cases of madness in our family, and at times you seem to be manifesting the symptoms of madness. Are you sure that you're quite alright?"
"Yes, yes I'm fine. I need to change. I'll see you around, Xavier." answered Draco quickly, shutting the door in his face.
Then he slumped to the floor, completely overwhelmed by this turn of events. He was stuck in 18th century France with no one and nothing to help him.
A/N: Second chapter done, hoped you all liked it...I'm not uploading anymore until I get more reviews, guys!
Thanks to my first reviewers: Madnutterfan, written, KuramaDramaLuv, Sam, Meg (btw, is this the Meg from my other story?), The Singing Hippo. You guys rock!