A Twist Of Time

by blackxhole21

When Dumbledore discovers that Hogwarts' only chance of uniting rests with the unlikely chance of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy falling in love, he realizes this may be his one chance to save his students. So he sends them back in time...together.

3. The Masquerade Ball

CHAPTER TWO: THE MASQUERADE BALL

SIR DRACO MALFOY

HOME OF KING CHARLES

The carriage stopped not long after we left. Looking out the small, dirty window of the carriage, I saw a castle---a real castle, not like Hogwarts. This was a real, guarded castle, with gardens and all. It didn't have a moat, but it was absolutely beautiful. It was massive; I believe if it had been day it would have blocked out the sun. Louis opened the door of the carriage, and I noticed many other stable boys doing the same for many other men and women; the men were in elaborate costumes and masks, the women in beautiful ball gowns.

I headed inside alone, and Louis left with the carriage. I wondered how I was supposed to get home when the ball was over, but I didn't say anything. If worst came to worst, I'd walk, I told myself. It wasn't far to my house.

How weird that sounded, I realized, smiling. I have my own house, and servants too. I'm a knight, for Christ's sake.

I was a knight, and I was going to a masquerade ball in order to try and marry a princess. Hell, this was really weird.

I thought suddenly of my father; my father and his gruesome death at the hands of Lord Voldemort. He'd deserved what he'd gotten, the bastard. Not only had he joined the ranks of the most evil wizard alive---a sort of wizard Hitler, I remembered---but he'd broken his own rules and opinions concerning "mudbloods." Voldemort was a half blood; so, according to my father's own disgusting rules, he wasn't worthy of life, of living. Yet my father had joined his ranks, killed for him even, without a second thought as to his pedigree. He'd killed people, raped people, shot the Dark Mark into the air, tortured Muggles, and laughed when Voldemort tortured others, all for what?

A prolonged, painful death at the hands of the creature he referred to as "master."

Pathetic set of rules, if you asked me.

I headed towards the entrance, where all the other townsfolk were assembled, and waited to get inside. There was a book on a stand, and everyone had to sign his or her name to it in order to get inside. Many of the men were trying to pass the book without signing; they all wanted to be at the front of the ballroom when the princesses appeared. But two guards were standing on either side of the doorway, and they wouldn't allow you in unless you wrote your name down.

When my turn came, I signed Draco Malfoy underneath the name of the man who had been in front of me. He was a knight, I'd learned from overhearing his conversation, and I noticed he'd signed Sir before his name, so I added the title in front of mine as well.

It looked very odd.

When I arrived in the ballroom, I looked around to see hundreds of people, pressed as close to the platform at the front of the room as they could.

A man walked out onto the platform, and everyone bowed or curtsied. I assumed he was the king, and bowed with all the rest.

"Welcome," he said, his voice booming over the heads of all the people, "to our first Masquerade ball. In just a moment, my daughters---the princesses, of course---will be coming through that door." He pointed to the door he'd come through, and everyone turned towards it. The king noticed this, and smiled. "Please, enjoy your ball," he said, then turned and left through the door he'd come through.

PRINCESS MYA GRANGER

HOME OF KING CHARLES

When the king---my father---came through the door, I had to keep myself from gasping.

It was my father. My real father, from my time. Of course, he had a beard now, and he was dressed in royal costume, but it was still him. It was still Charles Granger.

I didn't have any sisters in my time, but in this time I did. I was the oldest daughter; Elizabeth, who had blonde hair and green eyes, was the middle sister; and Annamaria, with blonde hair and brown eyes, was the youngest.

I had yet to figure out why I was the only one with dark hair, but it didn't matter. When King Charles came back into the room he'd left us in, my sisters both smiled at our father; I did the same.

Smiling, he said, "You should see the crowds, my daughters; they are all anxious to view your faces. All the men, even those with wives, wish to dance with you. You shall have to choose one, and then of course the ballroom dancing will require you to switch partners."

Both my sisters nodded slightly; again I imitated them. I felt like a hand puppet, just copying everything my younger sisters did, but I did it just the same.

Annamaria smiled. "It's nice to go out into a crowd without those veils on, Father."

The king turned his attention to me.

"Hermione, you look ill. Are you well?" he asked, and I remembered that he was the only one who called me Hermione.

"Yes, father," I replied. "I took a fall this morning and hit my head, but---"

"Oh, my goodness!" Annamaria said suddenly, interrupting me. She put a hand to my head. "Are you all right? How is your head? Do you need medicine?"

"Oh, I'm all right," I said, not wanting to worry her. "My memory was off for a bit, but I'm quite well now, thank you."

"What do you mean, your memory was off?" the king asked, looking worried.

I smiled, trying to look slightly ashamed. "I couldn't remember my name, or the masquerade," I admitted.

"Are you quite well, Mya?" Elizabeth asked.

I noticed all of them looking at me worriedly.

"Yes, I'm quite all right," I assured them.

"All right, then," the king said. "Get ready to go out there. I'm warning you---there are many, many men out there, waiting. Be quite cautious in who you choose to dance with."

All three of us nodded, and suddenly he boomed, "Presenting Princess Hermione Anne Granger, eldest daughter of King Charles Louis Granger!"

With an encouraging nod from Annamaria, I stepped out of the doorway onto the platform. Sensing what I was meant to do, I walked slowly to the end of the platform, turned to the crowd, and curtsied. Standing up as straight as I could, I heard the crowd give a collective gasp of appreciation. I tried to look charming, smiling a bit, as I allowed everyone to ooh and aah over me, over my dress, and listened as the king announced, "Presenting Elizabeth Genevieve Granger, second daughter of King Charles Louis Granger!"

Elizabeth came through the doorway, and those that weren't still staring at me gazed at her as she walked slowly to stand next to me and curtsied as I had. Everyone gasped again, and began examining her face and dress, for which I was grateful. Now that the attention had drifted from me somewhat, I looked around, trying to choose who I'd dance with, but it didn't matter---they were all masked. I looked for the nicest costume, smiling a little as I saw a few of them---
several were quite ridiculous---as the king presented Annamaria: "Presenting Annamaria Justice Granger, youngest daughter of King Charles Louis Granger!"

Annamaria came out and stood by us, and in perfect unison, we all curtsied as we were awarded a huge storm of applause. We smiled and nodded to a few people; I smiled brightly at a man in a goat costume, nearly laughing at his costume---he promptly looked like he was going to faint, and grinned stupidly at me. It was very amusing---anyone we smiled at, or even looked at, acted like total idiots: a few men flexed their muscles when they saw us looking; a few pretended that women near them were in danger and heroically "rescued" them; there was even a man who tried to climb onto the stage, but everyone in the crowd held him back.

The king came onto the stage just then, and Annamaria, Elizabeth inclined their heads, and I did the same; the rest of the crowd followed suit and went into full bows and curtsies. Evidently the princesses didn't have to curtsy; we just tilted our heads toward the floor. It made me wonder why; if there was some custom that required everyone except relations to bow or curtsy to the king. I knew that people bowed and curtsied to Queens, but that the Queen also curtsied to the King. It was an interesting concept.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts when the King started speaking again.

"Now, I'd like to mention to all the men here: the first man a Princess dances with gets no additional time to dance with her, and ballroom dancing will require them to switch partners every few minutes. Every single man in this room at this moment will dance with every single woman in this room, for the same amount of time. Now, Princess Hermione will choose her first dance partner, so if we could have silence for a moment..."

The room went absolutely dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Every single man was waving, jumping, or offering begging eyes and faces.

Every man but one.

He was standing towards the back, wearing a suit---much like an old-
fashioned business suit, with long coat tails---of purple. He wore a cummerbund, top hat, and bow tie in white, and a white rose was tucked into his coat button. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself; he looked lost and lonely. His stance reminded me of a friend of my father's---in my time---who was in the military; his back was straight, his feet together, his chin parallel to the floor and his hands folded behind his back.

"You there, in the violet suit over yonder," I said, pointing. He looked down at himself, then up at me. A surprised smile spread across his face when he realized I'd chosen him, and made his way through the crowd to the stage. He climbed the stairs and stood next to me.

Of course, this made close to half the men in the room become "lost and lonely" at the back of the room, hoping to be chosen by Elizabeth. She smiled and picked a man who stood close to the stage, wearing a suit of green and yellow. Many of the "lost and lonely" men came forward again to await Annamaria's decision.

Smiling, Annamaria chose a man in the center of the crowd who hadn't moved throughout the selections. Almost every other man had tried to move in order to be chosen, but this one---a well-dressed man in a robe of silver---had not.

When we each had our partners, the king instructed everyone in the crowd to choose a partner among themselves. Once everyone was paired up, my dance partner offered me his arm. I took it, and we descended the stairs to the dance floor. Each pair lined up with the next until the room was in three extraordinarily long rows.

As the music started, I was suddenly extremely glad I knew how to ballroom dance---and that I'd gotten good at it.

"Sir Devon Kinsley," my dance partner said, introducing himself and bowing, as was the custom in this time period.

"Princess Mya Granger," I replied, though it was hardly necessary, and curtsied.

The song went on for a long time. I danced with over a hundred people, I think; you started at the end of one row, and went down the line to the back of the room, switching partners whenever the man in the band instructed it; when you got to the end of the row, you were passed left to the end of the next row, and danced your way to the front; then you were passed left again and you danced to the back until you'd danced with everyone.

I was halfway down the second row, and I had about thirty names in my dance-book. I was pretty pleased with myself---I'd been worried I wouldn't like anyone, and I'd have to show up at the end of the ball with a blank book. But all the men were so pleasant, so eager to please, that they were all on their best, most charming behavior.

I got the biggest surprise of my life when, at the very end of the second row, I was passed into the arms of someone I knew.

"Hello, Hermione," I heard a familiar voice---a voice I couldn't quite place---say, and I looked at his face---covered by a black, blue-rimmed mask---curiously. No one else in the room had called me Hermione. It was always "Princess", "Princess Mya", or "my lady".

"Hello, good sir," I said, as I'd heard other women say. "And what would your name be?"

"You look beautiful," he replied, avoiding my question. "They call you 'Mya', right?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes," I said. "What is your name?"

"Sir Draco Malfoy," he replied, but before I could say another word I was passed to the next row.

I wrote his name down in my book, not knowing what else to do, and began dancing with the next man---Sir Michael Portius---but I wasn't really paying attention anymore.

Malfoy was here. Even more odd, that was a comforting thought. He and I were from the future, the only witch and wizard in this time. It was a slightly surreal experience. And he'd said I looked beautiful; I hadn't detected any sarcasm.

Very odd. Then again, he definitely wasn't turning out to be the person I'd always assumed he was, if he was now part of the Order. Dumbledore said it had been against the wishes of both his father---and Voldemort.

Refusing to follow the expectations of Lucius Malfoy was dangerous; refusing to follow the expectations of Voldemort was a death wish.

At the end of the ball, everyone was sent home by the king; no one wanted to leave. Annamaria, Elizabeth and I gathered in Annamaria's room to compare dance books. Anyone who had their name in any of our books was to be invited, of course, to the next one; but we wanted to see which men our sisters had picked out.

"What did you think of Sir Harold Messier?" Annamaria asked. "In that silly goat costume? I wrote him down." Annamaria had surprised me. Having had only a few seconds to form an opinion of my sisters before the ball, I hadn't expected that Annamaria would be very pleasant. But she, it turned out, was fast becoming my friend.

"I liked him," I offered, remembering, "But I didn't write his name down."

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked. I was discovering Elizabeth was a bit of a snob, and I wasn't taking very well to her. Still, I tried my best to be polite as she added, "He was quite nice---I believe I wrote him down as well." She began thumbing through the pages of her dance-book.

"He was trying to be nice," I replied. "I know everyone was, but it was clear he's not that nice all he time. I couldn't imagine marrying him."

"That's true," Elizabeth agreed. "What did you think of Sir Phillipe Douvent?"

"Was he that man in the shiny blue robe?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I didn't like him at all," Annamaria decided. "I didn't write him down."

"Nor did I," I agreed. "But I don't remember why. There were so many men there, it's hard to keep track. How many men did you each write down?"

"Oh, twenty-five or so," Annamaria replied.

"I have twenty-nine," Elizabeth added, counting.

"Twenty-five and twenty-nine? My," I said, astonished. "I have thirty-six."

"Well, of course you'll have more," Annamaria pointed out. "The men will be far nicer to you---whomever marries you will be King one day, so they will try their hardest to be nice to you. If they can't have you, then they try at Elizabeth, who would take over if you were to die. The youngest Princess is always more of a settlement. If you can't have the eldest, try for the second. If you can't have the second, the youngest will do, because at least she's a Princess. See? They only gain the Prince title if they are to marry Elizabeth or myself, but at least with Elizabeth there's a chance of being King."

"Annamaria," Elizabeth said. "I'm surprised at you. A settlement you are not!"

"No, no," Annamaria said. "But you must admit, these men all think in titles, and hope to gain the highest one they can. They're not happy with simple knighthood, they all want to be Prince---or better yet, King."

"This is true," Elizabeth admitted. "You must think of yourself in higher terms, however, Annamaria. 'Settlement' will never do," she added bossily.

"Yes, I know," Annamaria agreed, and she made the face Harry and Ron sometimes made when they were struggling not to roll their eyes. "Now---what did you think of Sir Luc Tessierre?"

We discussed several more of the men in our books, and even a few that weren't. We'd been talking for over an hour when a knock came on the door. We fell silent, and Annamaria asked, "Who be at my door?"

I'd discovered that when someone knocked on your door, that was the response Princesses were supposed to give. It didn't sound very refined, or royal, but that was how we were meant to answer our doors. It was very odd.

"King Charles Louis Granger," came the reply. That was another thing I'd learned. When you knocked on someone's door and they asked who it was, you had to give your full name, including titles---if you were royalty. If you weren't, you just said 'It is...' and gave your first name. I didn't understand this custom, as I was used to saying things like, "It's me," and "Who do you think?" to Harry and Ron, but that was how it was.

"Enter," Annamaria replied simply, and he opened the door. I noticed Annamaria and Elizabeth didn't incline their heads, so I didn't either. I supposed it was a custom in public, and not at home.

"We had a very good turnout tonight," the king said.

"We did," Elizabeth agreed. "I've never seen so many people in the castle at once."

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" the king asked.

"Yes, Father," we replied.

"Good, good. Now, I know you like to gossip and things, but I shall need to borrow your dance-books tomorrow, if that's all right. We must begin designing invitations for the next ball."

"Ooh," Annamaria said. "When is it?"

"In four days' time," the king replied, "It will be a simple ball, just formal wear this time and no masks, I think. The three of you have two choices in the meantime: you may design your dresses, or you may design the decorations and invitations and things for the ball."

"Ooh, I'd much rather help with the ball," I stated.

"And I," Annamaria decided.

"I'd like to help with my dress, father," Elizabeth decided.

"Well, I can tell you two are worried about how you will look, and not about the hall you dance in," the king teased Annamaria and I. "And now, I take my leave. I must retire before I collapse out of exhaustion." He stood and opened the door, then said, "Good-night, all," and left to a chorus of, "Good-night, Father."

We sat up talking about the men and the ball for a little while longer, until Elizabeth yawned and decided, "We really should retire for the night."

Annamaria and I agreed, and Elizabeth and I left Annamaria in her room and headed to our own.

I went to my room and looked in the mirror one last time. I loved the way this dress made me look---like I really was a Princess, who had an entire country full of men who wanted to marry me.

I saw the reflection of the moon in the mirror, and turned around to see the real thing. I went out on the balcony for awhile and just looked at the stars. They were all that was familiar in this time---the moon and stars.

Sighing, I went back inside and went to bed.

SIR DRACO MALFOY

OUTDOORS

There were two things I couldn't get over about the Masquerade ball: one, how beautiful Granger looked; and two, that I'd told her I thought so.

An entire ballroom full of men and women, all there for one reason: to view the faces of the Princesses. Many men were there to attempt to marry one of them, but none of them even knew what the Princesses were like. They could be total bitches, the lot of them, and every man in Europe would still be willing to marry them for the simple reason that it would give them fame.

Humans disgusted me sometimes.

I walked home from the ball that night, taking as long as I could because I wanted to be alone. I walked around through the castle's gardens for awhile, breathing in the scent of a hundred types of flowers. I saw a figure come out onto one of the balconies at the castle out of the corner of my eye and hid behind a bush. I soon smiled, however, as I realized it was Granger.

She still wore her Masquerade costume---as did I. A long, floor-length black dress fitted specifically for her body; it looked fantastic on her. I'd never realized Granger had such a nice body, I thought, grinning. She always wore huge shapeless sweatshirts and jeans, which hid her small frame.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I had a thought. Would I still be able to use my Animagus form in this time period? After all, Animagi didn't need wands to change forms, and owing to the fact that my wand had vanished when I'd gotten here, I assumed I should still be able to.

Concentrating, I felt my body morph into the body of a small silver dragon-
--about the size of a dog, though I had a ten-foot wingspan. Excited, I spread my wings and flew back to my home and hid behind some bushes as I changed back into a human. I went inside and wrote a note to Granger, then walked back to the center of the castle's garden and cut a single white rose from one of the many bushes. I changed back into the dragon and flew up to the row of windows and looked in until I saw Granger, asleep in her bed. I left the note on the balcony railing, laying the rose on top of it, and flew home.

I fell asleep hoping she'd agree to what I'd proposed.