CHAPTER ONE: ORIENTATION
DRACO MALFOY
HOME OF SIR DRACO
I woke up in a huge, warm bed, confused with a killer headache. I didn't know where I was.
"Ah, monsieur Malfoy, you be awake, good sir!" someone shouted abruptly.
I looked over to see an old woman, beaming at me.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh, monsieur, you hit your head, you did. Took a nasty fall off'n that horse of yours, and you be out for three days full, sir. You isn't remembering me, sir?"
"No," I replied bluntly. "Sorry."
"No sorrys, monsieur. I be not deserving."
"So who are you?"
"Dora, sir. Your cook and maid. I be taking care of you whilst you was asleep. A long time it was, sir. The servants be gossiping that you not be waking at all, sir, but I tells them to hush. I tells them you be waking soon, sir, and wake you did!"
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dora," I said kindly. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember where I am, either."
"You be at your home, sir," she replied. "You not be naming it, sir, like some other knights be doing. You be saying it is a snobby thing to do. Lucky you be to wake now, sir, for the masquerade is in the night."
So I was a knight, I thought to myself. I was a knight, and in this time, I fell off my horse and hit my head, and was unconsious for three days. But—
"The masquerade?" I asked.
"The Masquerade Ball, monsieur. I be forgetting you not be remembering. King Charles, he be having a Masquerade ball for all his daughters be finding a man to marry, monsieur. The eldest princess, she be pretty, they say. They say she be so pretty as men fall in love with her at first meeting of her, sir."
"Is that so?" I said to myself. "And I was planning on going, Dora? Before I---fell off my horse, you know."
"Oui, monsieur. You be finding a costume nearly a fortnight ago, sir, and trying it on to be sure you be pretty in it."
I smiled. "Which princess am I after, then?"
"Oh, no one be knowing that, sir. No knight has been ever meeting them, sir."
"How many princesses are there?"
"Only three, sir. Princesses Mya, Elizabeth, and Annamaria."
"And this is tonight?"
"Oui. You had best be getting out of bed, monsieur, and getting ready for it. Louis will bring your horse around, monsieur---the castle is but down the street, but you be not wanting to get your pretty costume dirtied."
"Who's Louis?"
"The stable boy, sir. You be rich and having many servants. You is very good to us, monsieur. All are proud to be serving you, sir."
"Well, thank you," I replied. "Where's my costume, then?"
"Over yonder in your wardrobe, sir. You not be wanting it dirtied, sir, and you hide it from servants so as they be not finding it. I be leaving now, sir, so you be getting ready."
"Thank you, Dora," I replied as she left.
When she was gone, I sat up in bed. Dumbledore had sent us both back in time. So where was Granger? No matter how much I hated her, I needed her around as a touchstone to reality. I didn't want to get caught up in being a knight. In any case, I could hope she'd be at the Masquerade.
I got up and went to the wardrobe Dora had pointed to. Opening it, I saw outfits, tons of them, each for a different purpose. Fighting, sleeping, riding, dinner---I'd read all about knights, and what they did and how they lived their lives, so I recognized all the outfits---all, that is, but one.
One, on the far left, was black and blue. I pulled it out and laid it on the bed behind me.
The outfit consisted of the traditional black suit pants, a black button-down shirt, and a black mask; it also had a long billowing cape and a vest. The mask was rimmed around the edge and the eyeholes with a shimmering pale blue the color of the sky in summer; that same blue made up the inner lining of the cape, and the vest. All in all, it was simple---but very elegant. I put it on immediately, then crossed the room to a full-length mirror nearby.
I looked exactly the same, I noticed, in terms of appearance; other than the outfit I was wearing, I could have walked into Hogwarts again, and no one would have known the difference. I was glad---hopefully that meant Granger would look the same as well, which would mean I could find her easier.
I combed my hair, leaving it loose instead of slicking it back, and put the mask on. Then I turned and opened my bedroom door to see a long hallway stretching ahead of me. To my right was a staircase, so I went downstairs to find Dora waiting for me at the bottom of them, along with about six other women.
All of them oohed and aahed over my outfit.
"Dora?" I asked when she led me outside, to where a boy sat just ahead of a carriage, led by horses.
"Oui, monsieur?"
"Who were all those women?"
"Humble servants, sir. We has all been wondering and wondering about the costume you be wearing for the masquerade, and several be wanting to see it for themself. Well, you be having a good time, eh, monsieur?" she said, and went back into the house. I went to the carriage, and the young boy---he couldn't have been older than eight---opened the door for me.
"Thank you," I said, surprised, and got in. He closed the door and set the horses to a gallop.
I was on my way to King Charles' castle.
HERMIONE GRANGER
HOME OF KING CHARLES
When I woke, I was lying on the floor. On what floor, I couldn't say. But it was definitely a floor, and it wasn't all that comfortable.
"My lady?" I heard a soft knocking. It hurt my head, and I moaned softly. "My lady, are you all right?" A moment later I heard a door open and close, and someone gasp. "My lady!"
"My lady?" I asked dazedly.
"Here, my lady, allow me to help you," the voice---definitely a girl's---said. I felt arms go around my shoulders, and the girl helped me to a sitting position.
"Who are you?" I asked stupidly, opening my eyes. There was a girl sitting near me. She had pale blonde, curly, waist-length hair, and bright blue eyes, which at the moment held pure worry.
"It's me, my lady. Rosalie."
"Oh," I replied. Then I realized: Dumbledore had sent us back, but he hadn't told us what time he was sending us to. I needed to find Malfoy. First, however, I could get information from Rosalie. "Rosalie," I said out loud. "What a pretty name."
She flushed. "I thank you, my lady."
"Rosalie, I can't seem to remember anything. I fell and I think I hit my head."
"Oh, dear," she said, helping me to my feet. "Do you remember where you are?"
"No," I admitted. "I'm sure it will all come back to me eventually. Right now I'm a little confused. I must have hit my head rather badly, I'm afraid. But no, I haven't a clue where I am."
"You are in the castle of King Charles, my lady."
"Why?"
Rosalie eyed me, half-smiling. "It is your home, my lady."
"Hang on---I'm not a queen, am I? Please tell me I'm not a queen."
"No, no, my lady. You are a Princess. The Queen---your mother---died when you were a small child."
"Oh," I said. "Um...this will sound odd, but what is my name?"
Rosalie looked thoroughly worried. "My lady, you cannot remember? The masquerade is in one hour, my lady---the ball at which you are meant to look for a husband. We cannot have you dancing with people when you do not know your name."
"Wait," I said, trying to pretend as if I'd just remembered something. If there was a masquerade ball, I needed to go to it---Malfoy might be there, and I absolutely had to find him. "It's Hermione, isn't it?" I asked, praying my name hadn't changed.
Rosalie beamed. "Oh, I am so relieved. Yes, my lady, Hermione is your full name, but nought but the king himself calls you that. Everyone calls you Princess Mya."
"Yes, I remember," I lied. "And the Masquerade---I don't have to choose a husband, do I?"
"No, no," Rosalie answered. "It is only to meet, and not to choose, this time. You will have several balls---at this one, you carry a dance-book and write down the names of all the men you enjoyed dancing with, and they will be invited to the next one. It goes on and on until only one man is in your dance-book, and that will be the man you shall marry. The first ball is always a Masquerade, so that your opinions are not skewed by appearances."
"That's interesting. It isn't just men, is it?" I asked, curious.
"No, no, my lady. Many women have been invited as well. You see, until you are old enough to be engaged, no man ever sees a princess's face. You remember wearing your veil whenever you go out into the yard, yes? Many from the kingdom are attending with their wives; all wish to see your faces, as they have heard rumours of their beauty."
"I see," I said, blushing slightly. "And it begins in an hour, you say?" I asked.
"Yes, my lady. I will take care of your hair, and then I will leave whilst you change into your gown," she answered, gesturing to a stand on which a beautiful dress was hung. I didn't have time to examine it, however, because Rosalie led me into a huge bathroom and began brushing and styling my hair.
Half an hour later, Rosalie pronounced my hair and makeup "perfect," and spun me around in my chair to face the mirror. I gasped.
She hadn't tried to straighten my curls, which was the only way I knew of to calm them down; instead, she had worked with them, taming them into little ringlets about my face. I looked the same in this time as I had in my own---the only difference was my hair; it was far longer, and flowed just past my waist. Rosalie had swept the top half of my hair into a silver, dagger-shaped pin that laid flat on the back of my head; the rest hung down my back.
She had applied very little makeup, which I was grateful for; she had applied a thin black line around my dark eyes, making them look larger, and had applied a pale pink blush to my cheeks. And that was all.
"Wow," I said, looking at myself.
"My lady, you look wonderful," she declared. "Now, I will leave you to put on your underdress, then I shall help you with your corset."
"I have to wear a corset?" I asked.
"Indeed, my lady. It enhances your figure."
"Oh," I replied, feeling small. Rosalie left, and I put on the simple white dress that went beneath the corset and dress.
Soon after, Rosalie came back in and helped me with the corset. "Now," she said, turning me around to face the mirror once more. "Put on your dress. His Majesty the King will be making announcements soon. You had best meet him downstairs when you have your dress on. I am just outside if you need anything."
"All right," I agreed, and she left the room once again.
I crossed the room to the stand on which my dress was hung, and put it on, thankful that my corset wasn't too tight. The dress was beautiful; it was white, and the skirt of it touched the floor. There was a piece of silver cloth that was tied around my waist---which was very slender thanks to the corset---the ends of which hung down the left side of my dress, about halfway down the skirt. The dress had a wide neck, and the collar was of the same color and material of the dress, but was three inches worth of large folds. The bodice of the dress, perfectly smooth and tight-fitting because of the corset underneath---had silver swirls sewn into it.
Smiling, I left the room and went to meet the king---my father.