Disclaimer: Not mine as you all know.
A/N: okay…please review or I'll start wondering if anyone is reading. Something hopefully unexpected happens in this chapter…but its all part of the plan…hehehehe…please let me know what you think.
Chapter 17
Nothing Matters
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on
But didn't even know
Wasted it all just to
Watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried
It all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
And lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
--Linkin Park
Hermione stood outside the DADA classroom. She felt each of her best friends squeeze a shoulder in encouragement. By now, Ron knew what had happened also. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the doors confident in knowing that Lucius would not be there yet. She led the way to their usual seats, Hermione sat at the end of their row, on the isle, and Harry sat next to her and Ron on the other side of Harry.
Her eyes scanned the classroom taking in everything and everyone. Whispers and giggles mingled with the sound of shuffling books and parchment. Bending down into her bag, Hermione fished around for her ink, quill, and parchment. Having that sat in there precise spots on her desk, she reached back into her bag for her textbook. After a couple of seconds of looking, she found it and pulled it out. She noticed four pictures float out from beneath the book and land on the floor. To her horror, she noticed they were the three pictures from the past plus the picture Collin took at the masquerade.
Hermione froze at first. Panic surged through her. Did anyone notice and if anyone did what then? Her eyes quickly looked in all directions and deciphered that everyone was in their own world, not noticing what the bookworm was doing. Sighing in relief, she leant over to retrieve the pictures. She was too late. Lucius had stepped into the classroom when the pictures fell to the floor and watched them land. As he swept up the isle, he bent down noticing what they were exactly. Hermione watched his pale hands pick the pictures up from the ground and quickly place them in a pocket on the inside of his robes.
"See me after class Miss Granger."
He didn't look at her when he said that. He looked straight ahead as if she was not worthy enough to acknowledge visually.
"Yes sir."
She sank into her seat, dreading what was to come. As soon as Lucius faced the class he motioned for attention.
"You will be partnered up for a Defense Against the Dark Arts project. This will not be due until March 15th. You will need to have a demonstration ready on this date along with a very lengthy report. You will need to demonstrate that you actually understand the theory behind whatever you choose for your project. Now, partners…"
Hermione sat in horror as she listened to Lucius, Professor Malfoy, call out the partners. His own son was in that class so surely he would place his son with someone his son actually wanted to work with right? As the names of the students in the class slowly ticked away Hermione began to doubt her chances of being partnered with anyone worthy.
"…Draco, you will partner with Miss Granger."
Hermione didn't think the day could get any worse.
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Hermione took her time packing her books up after class. Harry and Ron were already at the door looking back at her with a look of pity. No one had been told to stay after class by Lucius Malfoy before, not yet anyway. Hermione was the first and no one could figure out what exactly she had done to be detained. Harry and Ron had noticed the pictures fall, but like her, they felt a slight panic…especially when Lucius himself picked them up.
Looking back at her friends, she offered a small reassuring smile before they nodded and pointed down the corridor to indicate they would wait for her. She nodded and they left. She watched the door slowly shut behind them. At the clicking sound of the door shutting in place, the classroom was empty of everyone else. Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no getting out of this.
The sound of his shoes echoed as he took two steps toward her.
"We need to discuss these."
Slowly she turned around to find him standing across from her with only her desk separating them. He placed the pictures on the desk. Hermione kept her head held high as her eyes shifted slightly to look down at the pictures.
"Where did you find these?"
Hermione was silent for a moment.
"I am sure you know where the photo of the masquerade came from. As for the others…I found them in the cabin."
Silence followed. Hermione kept her head held high and Lucius looked down his nose at her surveying every inch of her for some sign of fault in her answer. He found none. When he next spoke, it was so abrupt and unexpected that at first Hermione felt she had nothing to say.
"Miss Granger I cannot give you whatever it is you want." He pointed at the pictures. "I am not that person anymore."
Hermione's eyes looked into Lucius' eyes and she laughed slightly.
"Actually, you are."
Lucius' eyes narrowed onto her as if waiting for any reason to strike out at her.
"You see Professor, even then you were still foul towards muggle-borns and held a certain standard as being above all others. You were still you, I think I just saw another side to you is all."
His lip curled up in a disgusting sneer.
"As I have already told one person…a life time separates us along with a few lies."
Hermione felt slightly confused.
"Lies sir?"
Lucius stood himself up straighter and looked down at her.
"Yes," he hissed. "I do not recall you telling me you were a Mudblood."
The word had always hurt. Anyone calling you names hurt, but this was something new. This time when Lucius Malfoy called her a Mudblood it seemed to cut to the core. He noticed the tears in her eyes and looked away from them. She kept her head held high even as the tears slid down her cheeks.
"And you see why I did not announce that being in Slytherin," Hermione said. "That is only one debatable lie…you have indicated others."
Lucius did not respond. He simply continued to sneer at her as he always did…as his son always did.
"Don't fret over it, Professor Malfoy. When I went back and we became friends I knew what I was returning to…I knew I would be returning not to a friend but to an enemy."
Hermione tossed her bag over her shoulder and turned, storming out the door. As the door shut after her, she leaned against it willing her heart to slow down and wishing the pain in her heart away. The words from his mouth still echoed "Mudblood" in her mind and her tears continued to fall as she leaned her head back against the door. In the classroom, Lucius reached the door as it shut. His hand reached out, placing his palm on the door and leaning his forehead against the door next to his hand. After a moment or two of slow deep breaths to calm himself he turned back toward the desk they had been standing at. The pictures sat on the desk as if abandoned and unwanted.
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They had been in the library for about an hour working on research for their DADA project. Draco sat across from Hermione watching her studious movements and reflecting on his earlier discoveries in a conversation with his father.
The girl in the pictures he had found hidden away in his father's desk was Hermione Granger. Draco's only clasp of reality was that his father was unaware that she was a Mudblood when they met in the past. As he watched her work, he could understand how a seventeen-year-old version of his father, ignorant of her inferior birth could fall for her. However, his father did not say he had fallen for her, only that they were friends, but Draco saw the pictures.
Hermione sighed, placing her quill down and stretching. It was a Saturday and everyone would be leaving the next day for holiday. She and Draco appeared to be the only ones left in the library. Her eyes wandered to the window and watched the light snowfall. Draco squirmed slightly in his chair when Hermione looked back to him with a strange mischievous gleam in her eyes.
"Why don't we continue this after holiday?"
Draco's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her as she packed up her books. Her bag was already over her shoulder and heading toward the door when Draco's voice followed behind her.
"What's this? The Hermione Granger is setting aside study for play?"
She stopped walking away and slowly turned around. Draco still sat at the table, with his feet propped up, leaning back in his chair, with his hands behind his head. The smirk was enough to make her want to slap him. She walked determinedly back to him. Slamming her hands on the table, she leaned over to stare Draco in the eyes.
"For your information, Malfoy I do enjoy a little play…especially in the snow."
Draco pulled his feet down and leaned over even closer to Hermione. A clear smirk upon his face.
"What are you saying, Granger."
He noted how well she could smirk also.
"I'm saying…come on out, Malfoy and join the games…" She stood back up and began to walk away calling over her shoulder, "unless you are too scared."
Hermione smiled victoriously to herself as she walked through the corridors knowing Draco was behind her. He never could resist a challenge. As she stepped out of the castle and onto the grounds, she could hear the shouts and the laughter. As they drew closer, it looked like an all out war going on between all the houses. Standing on a boulder, with his camera, was Collin. He didn't appear to be participating at all.
"Here comes Granger!"
Draco chuckled at that…it sounded like a Slytherin.
"Oh, yes, one rule Malfoy."
His attention was diverted to Hermione as she walked them right into the center of the war zone. She saw the snowball coming and ducked. The snow hit Draco square in the face.
"No magic," she finished and disappeared from his site as he wiped snow from his face and ducked from another snowball, diving toward a few fellow Slytherins he saw. He was determined to get Hermione back for her tactics—walking him right in the center like that. Every time he got a glimpse of her, she would disappear. He couldn't help but laugh to himself at her Slytherin tactics in snowball fights.
Her laughter floated toward him. Inching his way along a small boulder he looked around it and found Hermione crouched behind another similar sized boulder. She caught a couple Ravenclaws. With her wand pointed at them, she swirled it slightly creating a snowdrift to circle the Ravenclaws disrupting any visual they could possibly have around them.
"Now," Hermione yelled at someone on the other side. Gryffindors came out of nowhere it seemed and pummeled the Ravenclaws with snowballs.
"She said no magic."
Draco looked back at the couple Slytherins he was with. They simply stared at him as if he were mad. Then the sound of a familiar chuckled caught his attention. Blaise was easing his way toward Draco trying not to be detected.
"You actually believed Granger?"
Draco looked at his friend waiting for further explanation. Blaise eased up beside Draco and patted him on the back.
"She tells all the new players that. She is more Slytherin than I am willing to admit out loud in the common room."
Snowballs flew their way. They all ducked and scurried back behind a rock. Draco was getting a clear picture of what Granger was like doing this…she took no prisoners and everyone seemed to fear her. The smirk formed and Blaise knew what that meant.
"Do it, Draco," Blaise said reading Draco correctly, "it's about time someone takes the know-it-all down."
Draco smiled and looked at Blaise.
"That Mudblood is going down."
Meantime, Hermione was enjoying herself for the first time in what seemed like forever. It felt great to get out in the snow in an all out war and forget everything. It felt great to just let loose and be free. The cold air was chilling and the snow numbing. Snow clung to her hair from her various dives and near misses. She had just cast a charm to cause the little snow flurry once again and yelled out, "now," once again when she suddenly fell to the ground. Someone had tackled her from behind.
As Hermione twisted her body around to see who it was, they stood and lifted her off the ground. Draco Malfoy had her. He threw her over his shoulder as if she were nothing. Hermione kicked and screamed. Suddenly, it was all the houses against Gryffindor. Draco smiled at the irony of it all. The Gryffindors were the only ones to roar in outrage that Malfoy was currently toting their friend off over his shoulder.
"Put me down, Malfoy!"
Draco smirked as he came to a spot piled high in snow.
"No problem, Granger."
And Draco put her down…face first into the snow. There was a cry of outrage from the Gryffindors and everyone else burst forth in laughter and applause.
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Lucius stood at the window in his office watching the antics of the students below. They were in nothing short of war. He was about to turn away from the window when he noticed Hermione heading out to the battlefield…his son in tow. He watched curiously, as Hermione said something to Draco and then ducked and scurried away. As his son dived out of the way of incoming snowballs, Lucius began to wonder if Draco and Hermione were actually having a civil moment.
Time passed and Lucius could not pull himself away from the window. From his view he could see it all…including Hermione's sly tactics of disrupting the opponents' visual to allow for an easy attack. His eyes remained on Hermione. The chilly breeze would ruffle her snow-laden hair. Her cheeks and nose were both rosy from the freezing weather, but she seemed to glow with laughter. He watched not being able to remember her laughing like this at any point in this time. It had been so long and he found himself longing to see her laugh like that more.
She laughed like that in his past with him, but upon her return to the present…nothing. Her words replayed in his mind. I knew I would be returning not to a friend but to an enemy. No, she would not laugh like that with an enemy. She would only laugh like that with true friends…friends that could sit down with her when she felt down…friends that could help chase the demons away. In this place and time, Lucius knew he was one of those demons and Potter and Weasley were the friends.
He watched his son place her face first in the snow. When her body began to shake, he thought maybe she was crying. Her face turned up to look at Draco who seemed quite proud of himself. Her face was beaming as she laughed so hard with snow on her face, clutching her sides. The other participants' laughter reached his ears. Lucius turned away from the window and began to follow the corridors leading to the door out on the grounds. He didn't know where he was going, only that he needed a walk to clear his head.
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Hermione closed her trunk and looked around her room trying to decide if she were forgetting to pack anything. The next morning they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express to return to Grimmauld Place for Christmas. Taking in everything that had happened since she last saw Grimmauld Place, she felt a slow sinking feeling, as if something was lost. She heard Harry calling her and pushed all other thoughts aside. Grabbing her wand, she headed out her door and down the girls' staircase.
They were heading for the Room of Requirement. The plan was to enter the Room of Requirement, where they would destroy the locket, and get back to the common room before curfew. Hermione walked with the boys holding tight the book and her notes on destroying the horcrux. Silent anticipation hung in the air as they walked across the floor three times before the door appeared.
The room they stepped into was nothing more than stone with several candelabra along the wall. In the center of the room was what looked like a stone podium. It was round and the side was engraved in runes. Harry shrugged his shoulders and walked up to the podium placing the locket on it. He took a step back and looked at it. Hermione and Ron each stepped up on either side of him and simply stared at the innocent looking keepsake.
"Are we ready," Harry asked Hermione. She nodded her head and opened the book in her hand. Thumbing through a couple pages of notes, she turned back to the book.
"Okay…well acquiring the horcrux has already been established…obviously…so…" Hermione was mumbling to herself as keeping herself calm and organized. She pulled her wand out while holding the book open with one hand. She pointed her wand at the locket.
"Evertere," Hermione said in a strong demanding voice.
Harry and Ron's eyes widened in amazement and shock as a red light shot from the end of Hermione's wand. It hit the locket and suddenly a burst of light lit the whole room and with an unforeseen force, sent Hermione flying backward through the air. They ran toward her in alarm as her prone body hit the wall and slid down to the ground as still as death. When they reached her, they noticed the trickle of blood coming from behind her head and slowly making its way down her neck.
"We have to get her to Madame Pomfrey," Harry said in a quick authoritative tone. Ron nodded his head in agreement. Harry looked around him quickly as if searching for something. Quickly he ran up to the podium. The locket sat there…a crack running right through the locket. With a strange smile, Harry pocketed it and then ran back to Hermione.
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She felt funny…surreal even. The light in the room she was in was dim, but still it seemed so bright and out of focus at the same time.
"She's waking up, Madame Pomfrey!"
She winced at the sound of the loud voice laced with anxiety. As her eyesight slowly came into focus, she noticed the two boys standing by her bed watching her. They both looked so vexed. One with red hair looked at her with a nervous scrunching of his eyebrows. The other boy with black messy hair and striking green eyes looked simply worried and yet relieved to see her awake. Her eyes narrowed on the black haired boy before realization hit her like a brick wall.
"Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter."
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Lucius Malfoy had rounds to do that night before finishing packing. With his cane in hand, he made his way through the corridors searching for students out past curfew. His mind drifted to thoughts of what was to come…thoughts of Draco taking the Hogwarts Express home for the holiday…the Fidelius Charm being placed on the manor…the lies that have been told. He was in the midst of these thoughts as images of Hermione in the snow earlier that day invaded him. It was then that the Head Boy, his own son, ran up to him.
"What is it Draco?"
Lucius voice held that same bored tone as if it was typical for Draco to run up to him looking pale and panicked.
"Father, the Headmistress has asked me to bring you to the hospital wing immediately."
Lucius looked his son up and down trying to determine for what reason McGonagall would have the Head Boy in the hospital wing at this time and then send him out for his father. Draco's face melted from the typical unaffected appearance he held when talking to his father to that of concern. It was then that the words were whispered to his father.
"It's Granger. She destroyed the horcrux and now…"
Draco didn't get a chance to finish. Lucius immediately began to stride as quickly as possible toward his destination. The girl had destroyed the horcrux…and now what had become of her? He stepped into the hospital wing carrying an air of superiority and unconcern. He noticed McGonagall standing next to a bed with Madame Pomfrey still fussing over its occupant. McGonagall turned when she heard the door shut behind Lucius and watched him walk over. Concern was evident on her face as she looked back at Hermione. Lucius eyes glanced quickly over Hermione noticing that something just didn't seem right. It was her eyes…they seemed…empty and lost.
"There has been an accident, Professor Malfoy," McGonagall began.
As McGonagall spoke, Lucius heard Hermione whisper to his son who stood on the other side of the bed and Madame Pomfrey.
"Who is that man?"
Draco looked unsure as to what to say. McGonagall's attention turned toward the girl in the bed.
"This is one of your professors, Miss Granger. Now, if you will excuse us for a moment."
McGonagall walked a few beds over and beckoned Lucius to follow. He pulled his eyes away from Hermione and followed the Headmistress.
"She has lost her memory?"
McGonagall nodded her head.
"From what we can tell she still has knowledge of the academic kind—spells and such, but memories are gone."
Lucius' eyes wandered to Hermione again as he spoke to McGonagall.
"And how does this concern me?"
McGonagall gave Lucius her "not now" look in regards to his behavior.
"Madame Pomfrey says she will most likely regain her memories, but not immediately. I can't have her at Grimmauld Place at this time. She needs to be somewhere she is more easily looked after."
"And that cannot be done at Grimmauld Place? Home of the Order of the Phoenix."
McGonagall sighed in exasperation.
"No, she could be looked after, but not properly. Too much is going on Lucius. Too many people will be in and out and all the activity is likely to overwhelm her."
Lucius lifted an eyebrow at the Headmistress.
"Are you forgetting the Christmas ball I planned to hold?"
She shook her head no.
"That is one event, one night. Unless you plan on the place crawling with Death Eaters then I don't see the danger in the events of that one night. The Fidelius Charm is complete on Malfoy Manor now. You will all be safe."
Lucius sighed in defeat. All he wanted after the blasted girl went to the past was for her to suffer as he had and now…now, she doesn't even know who he is let alone any past they had.
"Very well. But I think it best if she travels by floo with me instead of the train. Fewer eyes to see her with myself."
McGonagall nodded in agreement and headed back to Hermione. Once again time ticked by and Lucius never told her how he felt. Now, it was like being at the beginning again…the beginning where he knew their past and she was ignorant of it.
"Miss Granger. Tomorrow is the start of the holiday and you will accompany Professor Malfoy to his home for the holidays. I must ask you not to leave the grounds of Malfoy Manor while you are there."
Hermione nodded her head in understanding. Hermione looked around at all the faces trying to remember at least one of them. She got a strange feeling when she looked at the Malfoys. It was as if she should know them or had in another life, but nothing more than that. It was as if her memories had become a black hole. Her eyes looked from Draco to Lucius.
"I understand, but why can I not go home to my own parents?"