THIRTEEN

Saturday, 6 September 1944

The first place they had gone was Gladrags Wizardwear. While she was surprised to find that it looked the same as it did from their current time, Malfoy was not. Hermione noted that wizarding fashion seemed to change very little over the years. The racks of robes that filled the interior looked as though they could be the same ones on the same racks she had perused in the future. The only small difference was that in 1944, there seemed to be less options for under the robes than she was used to.

"What are the chances Dumbledore will grant us a field trip to Muggle London?" she muttered under her breath as Malfoy stood next to her.

"Slim to none," he replied and looked around at the near empty shop. It was far less crowded than they were used to since it wasn't a scheduled outing.

She sighed. "We could always Apparate. No one would ever know if we're quick."

His brow quirked at her and his lips were tipped with his signature smirk. "Careful, Granger. I'm beginning to rethink your reputation as a good little school girl."

She rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the tingle in her gut his words created and pulled a skirt off the rack. She frowned at the length, but it was the longest one she had seen yet. "This is ridiculous."

He crossed his arms and shrugged. "I disagree."

"Of course, you do," she muttered and draped the garment over her arm with the other items. "Do you need anything from Scrivenshaft's or Dervish?" she asked, desperate to change the subject. It was bad enough she still had to shop for intimates yet.

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes."

A short laugh puffed past his lips and then his eyes widened as he realized she wasn't joking. "I was only kidding, Granger. Trust me, I'm not interested in how short-"

"Piss off, Malfoy," she interrupted and shifted uncomfortably. "I have other things to shop for. Things that I would prefer not to have an audience for."

She could feel the heat creep up her neck as she stared at him. When he realized what she was hinting at, his smirk widened. "You know, Granger, as your boyfriend, I should be entitled to see your knickers," he teased.

"Fake boyfriend or real; if anyone thinks they are entitled to see any bit of me will guarantee that they don't see a damn thing," she bristled, chin lifting into the air.

Something flashed in his eyes as his smirk faded into a genuine smile. He scrubbed at his face and gave a small nod. "Fair enough. I'll wait for you outside," he said and then took his items to the owner to cash out.

She watched him until he was out of sight and then blinked at the space he had vacated. She had almost sensed respect in his eyes when she had made her comment. It brought a small smile to her face as she turned towards the back of the store. In this time, the styles of undergarments weren't great, but she could always transfigure it once she had the basics.

It wasn't until she was cashing out a few moments later that she realized most of her choices had been green or black. She caught a glimpse of Malfoy from the store's front windows and huffed. If he had been around to see, she was certain he would have made some sort of comment about how House Slytherin was already rubbing off on her. She shrunk her bag and placed it in her pocket.

"Let me guess, you want to go to Zonko's?" she said once she came to a stop at his side.

He shrugged and shoved his hand in his trouser pockets. "Why not? We have a few hours to kill here and I'm not in any rush to get back to the castle, are you?"

"What about your meeting with Riddle?"

He turned to stare at her. "What about it?"

"Won't he be upset if you miss it?"

"Who the fuck cares, Granger?"

She sighed offered a small smile. "Sorry," she mumbled. "You're right, we should just hit up every shop and kill some time."

"What we need is a drink."

"Let's explore the shops first, then we can have dinner at the Hog's Head. We can drink there until we have to head back."

"I'm holding you to that," he said and then jerked his head towards the joke shop. She smiled a bit more and followed after him.

It was different going into Zonko's with Malfoy than it had been with any of her other friends. Especially any of the Weasley's. Where they were eager to buy anything and everything, Malfoy was more interested in browsing and just seeing what sort of things just simply existed. The extent of his appreciation for cheap pranks rested in curiosity rather than thrills. Then again, his style had always been for physical torture or a verbal lashing.

It caught her off guard and caused butterflies in her stomach.

Nearly an hour had passed before they moved on from the joke shop empty handed. The next place was Honeydukes. The shop seemed twice as big as it normally was with a handful of people inside versus a crowd. It was much quieter as well.

A petite middle-aged witch peered at them from the counter. "Is there a trip today?" she asked, looking out the window.

"No ma'am," Hermione replied. "Just special permission."

She nodded and went back to her conversation with a gentleman near the ancient looking register. When she looked back at Malfoy, she did a double take to find him no longer by her side. She turned and found him with a few items already in his hand.

"Go easy there, Malfoy," she said, keeping her voice low. "We shouldn't blow all of Dumbledore's money on sweets."

"Don't worry, Granger," he returned without looking at her. "I won't ruin my physique by eating my feelings."

He turned then and handed her a cauldron cake. She took it tentatively. "All that sugar's bad for your teeth."

"My teeth?"

She nodded and turned to the shelf that housed the sugar quills in her time. She was delighted to find them in the same place here. "Copious amounts of sugar can rot your teeth. My parents never let me have many sweets growing up."

"And you're going to waste your sugar intake on that rubbish?" he questioned, a brow quirked as he looked at the products before her.

"Not the regular ones," she replied, frowning at the empty spot on the shelf where her favorite flavor was marked.

"Spearmint," he muttered.

She paused wondering how on earth he would know that about her. As she turned her head to stare at him, their eyes connected and she went absolutely still as the realization hit her. She recalled the moment in potions at the beginning of Sixth Year when Slughorn had asked them to identify the potions in various cauldrons.

Amortentia.

Heat crept up her neck and his jaw clenched. He took a half step forward, getting close enough that she could feel the heat rolling off of his chest at her side. She let out a slow, shaky breath as her fingers curled so that her nails dug into the wood of the shelf.

"You remember that?"

He inclined his head slowly; deliberately. "Freshly mowed grass and parchment too if memory serves."

Hermione cleared her throat, set the cauldron cake he had handed to her on the shelf, and tore herself away from him. She left the shop and walked to the side of the building. When she was off the main path, she leaned against the rough wood exterior and closed her eyes. She took deep breaths to calm herself and squash the tsunami of desire that had flared to life in the pits of her stomach.

By the time Malfoy joined up with her, the desire had given way to anger. He found her pacing the space between the sweet shop and the building next to it.

"This needs to stop," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at him. She was glad that he decided not to play dumb, but she would have preferred he say something instead of maintaining silence. "I'm not sure where any of this is coming from, but it has to stop."

"Why?"

She shivered at the question and almost regretted her wish that he speak. "Because you're…" her words failed her as she gestured towards him. "And I'm…" She sighed in frustration and shook her head, her curls flowing over her shoulders.

"Well said," he deadpanned.

She bristled and let her hands ball into fists at her side. "The plan might be to forget whatever happens here, Malfoy, but there are some lines that just shouldn't be crossed. I'm fine with doing what's necessary to play my part, but," she gestured to the alley around them. "No one's here. There's no one to pretend for."

He nodded slowly and sneered at her. "Message received, Granger. Loud and clear."

He turned to walk away, leaving Hermione to stare after him. Confusion overrode her anger. He seemed a little deflated by her statement, but what confused her the most was her own feelings. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more at this point. When he disappeared, she shoved all thoughts of Malfoy aside and walked across the main road to the little bookshop she had always loved to visit.

With a few new books on time travel in her pocket and the sun already nearly set, Hermione stepped out of the bookshop and made her way to The Hog's Head. She was surprised to see Malfoy already there. He was sitting near the back wall opposite the door at a table far away from the small crowd of locals.

"You're not drunk already, are you?" she asked as she slid into the seat opposite him.

He snorted as he swirled the glass in his hand. "Just got here."

She nodded and studied him. His eyes flickered up to meet hers, holding steady as he brought the glass to his lips to take a drink. She looked away only to do a double take at the sight of Aberforth behind the bar. He looked a little younger, but for the most part, exactly how he had looked when she had seen him only a few days before.

"Is that the guy you and Dumbledore were talking about?" Malfoy asked. She nodded, drawing her eyes away from him when he looked up at her. "Care to share with the class?"

"Aberforth Dumbledore," she said, watching as Malfoy's eyes went wide and then slid to the man behind the counter.

"Seriously?" He took another sip from his glass and harrumphed before looking at Hermione again. "Didn't know he had a brother."

Not wanting to risk being overheard, Hermione said nothing of Ariana. Instead, she gave a brisk nod and got back to her feet. "Have you eaten yet?" she asked and he shook his head. "Any preferences?"

"No," he replied and she slid off her seat to approach Aberforth.

She placed her order and waited there for him to fill a mug with butterbeer. She thanked him and carried it back to the table. "Food will be up soon," she informed him and took a drink. As she pulled the mug away from her lips she could feel the bit of foam that clung to her cupid's bow. Her tongue darted out to wipe it away, but stopped halfway as she caught Malfoy's eyes glued to her lips. She withdrew her tongue and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

To distract herself, she pulled her shrunken books from her pockets and enlarged them. She spread them out and dove into them. Even when the food was delivered to the table, she used magic to keep a book hovering in the air so she could read and eat as she flipped through the pages.

It was Aberforth's presence that pulled her from her reading sometime later that evening. "Curfew's in an hour," he said to them.

"Oh, already?" Hermione asked, removing the spell on the book and casting one to tell the time. "How much do we owe you?" she asked.

"Already paid," he said and walked away.

Hermione stared after him before looking at Malfoy. "You?"

"Relax, Granger. It's all Dumbledore's money anyway," he said, watching as she waved her wand to shrink her books again. She shoved them back in her pockets and slid off the chair, only to sway a bit on her feet. "Lightweight," he mumbled.

Hermione cleared her throat. It was true. Ron had always made fun of her for that. Typically she had only ever managed to finish one before she really felt the effects. Tonight she had consumed two. She hadn't felt it until she stood and it had free reign to course through her system.

"Come on," he said, looping her arm through his. "Unlike you, I paced myself," he scolded.

"I'm fine," she said, pulling herself free from his grasp only to stumble in the process.

He put his arm through his again and tsked her. "Just keep telling yourself that, Granger." He tugged her forward and kept her from losing her footing. She was grateful for his proximity when they stepped outside. In the open air it was significantly colder than she remembered the Hogwarts grounds to ever be. She shivered and pulled his arm tighter against her. If he minded, he didn't let on.

As they approached the place where she had punched him in Third Year, they came to a stop and stared up at the castle. It was strange to see it now considering the last time she had set eyes on this part of the castle chunks of it had turned to rubble at their feet. She pulled away from Malfoy and wrapped her arms around herself. The violent shiver that consumed her was borne from both the cold and the fear of what they were missing.

He cleared his throat and Hermione turned towards him. He had a familiar box in hands that were stretched out to her. She reached out for them and lifted the box of sugar quills tentatively. She stared at the box that rested in her hands then slowly let her eyes raise to his.

She remained rooted to the spot as he smiled lightly and then turned to walk towards the castle. When he disappeared from sight, she shook her head and reached for her wand. She cast an unbreakable charm on the box and then shrunk it before running after him. She caught him just before he reached the entrance and stopped him by placing a hand on his arm.

He stilled for a moment and then turned towards her. The moment he did, she surged forward on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his. To keep from stumbling back into the wall, his hand rested on her hips as hers wrapped around his biceps. Unlike their first kiss, this one didn't have any sense of urgency and fire. There was still a heat that flushed through her as her mouth moved against his, but the need for more wasn't there.

With a smile, she pulled away and took a half step back. "Thank you," she whispered.

He raised a hand to his lips and pressed his thumb against them as he studied her. "I wonder what you would have done if I'd snagged you a cauldron cake too?"

She glowered at him for a moment before laughter tore from her throat. She shoved him playfully and opened the door to the castle. "Piss off, Malfoy."

The rest of the walk to the dungeons was done in comfortable silence. They bid each other goodnight and as Hermione drifted off to sleep, she debated if the warm fuzzy feeling in her stomach was from Malfoy or the butterbeer.