TWENTY-ONE
Saturday, 20 September 1944
Promptly at eleven-thirty, Dumbledore entered the courtyard where Hermione stood sat with Malfoy while they waited. He smiled at them and Hermione fell into step beside him while Malfoy trailed behind. Since she had never really had the chance to chat with Dumbledore so candidly, she took the opportunity to do so. Every so often she would catch herself looking over her shoulder, stealing glances at Malfoy.
Up until her scuffle with Riddle in the library, she had been unable to think of anything but waking up to find Malfoy in the Room of Requirement with her. She had been dreaming of the night Ron left and knew she had been calling out for him. As she was waking, Malfoy was getting ready to leave and she had called out for him instead.
But unlike Ron, he had stayed.
She remembered feeling safe in his arms as she drifted off to sleep again. It was strange, to know that one person, the same one that caused her so much pain and suffering over the years, was the same person that could make her feel so safe and secure. She hadn't slept that soundly in ages.
And then she remembered waking up to find their positions had shifted during the night. That he had laid out on his back and she had lain over him with her head on his chest. She had been careful not to wake him as she got up to relieve the sting in her bladder and then was equally as careful when she moved him so he could rest his head in her lap when she returned.
She had gotten a good look at his features. It was the only time she had been able to truly get a good look at him. She could see a hollowness to his face; one that had slowly been worsening since Sixth Year. Aside from that, this was the most relaxed she had ever seen him as well. Her heart had skipped a beat when his lips twitched as she carded a hand through his hair.
She drew herself through her thoughts as she realized they had stopped walking and Dumbledore had asked her a question. She shook her head and smiled, hoping the heat wouldn't remain on her cheeks for long. "Sorry, Professor. Did you ask me something?"
"Just if you were alright. Professor Merrythought told me what happened in class on Tuesday and then Professor Slughorn told me of your panic attack on Wednesday. Neither incident prompted you to seek help from Madam Perth."
She nodded meekly and tried not to shudder at the thought of Riddle. "I'm fine, Professor," she said. "If anyone should have sought medical attention, it was Riddle. He's the one that bled."
There was a twinkle to Dumbledore's eyes and he inclined his head. "I trust you are keeping an eye out for each other," he said, looking at both of them. Malfoy nodded immediately and she followed suit. "I'm sure you brought your notes?" he asked her.
She nodded and subconsciously reached to her back pocket to ensure she still felt the shrunken bundle in her denim. She saw Malfoy track the motion and watched as his gaze lingered on her rear as she pulled her hand away. She smirked and when his gaze lifted to hers, he turned and reached up to rub at his neck, but not quick enough to prevent her from seeing the pink tint to his cheeks.
Dumbledore nodded and began to lead the way to the Hog's Head. When they arrived, Hermione wasn't surprised by the lack of a crowd. As it was, he led them to the corner where she and Malfoy sat two weeks prior. This time, there was an older woman seated there, a glass of dark liquid already in hand. She smiled when she saw them approach and put her hand out for Dumbledore to take.
"Students, this is Gilletta Marigold," he said. "Gilletta, this is Harmony and Draco. They're the ones working on that project about time travel."
"Ah yes, I heard a few students were vying for the internship at the Department of Mysteries. I used to work there myself," she said, smiling at them. "But then I'm sure Albus here already went and told you all of that," she said, gently thumping his arm. "Will you be a dear and order us lunch? I'm starved."
He gestured for them to sit and was surprised when Malfoy held out her chair for her. When she caught his gaze she learned that he was just as surprised as she was. Clearly he had not meant to be so chivalrous. "Thank you, Draco," she said quietly as she took her seat, watching as he sat next to her.
"Well don't you two make a cute couple," Gilletta beamed at them, making them both blush and look away. She waved them off with a laugh and leaned her chin on her palm. "How can I help you secure your future with the Ministry?" she asked.
Hermione reached into her pocket for her notes, ink, and quill. Then she pulled out her wand and made everything its normal size again. "I've poured over every book I could get my hand on, but the only thing that's appeared more than once is the Single Continuum theory. Professor Dumbledore said you might have some insight to that?"
"Oh dears," she said with a sigh. "I wish I could tell you more about my time in the DoM, but once we leave, our duties are sworn to secrecy with an Unbreakable Vow."
Hermione deflated in her seat and kept her eyes glued to her notes.
"But lucky for you, I've had plenty experience with that theory after I left my station there," Gilletta added.
Hermione lifted her gaze and couldn't help but return the smile on the older witch's face. "From what I've gathered so far is that the documented accounts of travel have been from people who went back in time on purpose. That they knew where they were going and what they would see. And that they knew how and when to return. How would they know such a thing?"
"Both times I've gone back in time, my return was the same as my entrance."
Hermione exchanged a glace with Malfoy and frowned. They had scoured every inch of the Room of Requirement. The door they'd fallen through wasn't there. She trusted her instincts on that. Gilletta's eyes narrowed at them curiously.
"Say someone came back in unexpectedly?" she questioned. "That they have no idea why that particular time was chosen and what they were supposed to gain from going there in order to come back?" She swallowed thickly under the weight of her gaze. "How would they get back to their own timeline?"
"In theory," Gilletta started, pausing as Dumbledore handed them each their Butterbeers upon his return. They thanked him before she continued. "The only way back is the same way they came. It has been the case for every documented account as well as my personal experiences. If the way they came has not been found, there must be another sort of event linked."
"So in theory, they would need to keep searching and eventually they will find their link to the way back?" Malfoy chimed in.
Gilletta nodded. "In theory," she replied, taking a drink of her own drink.
Hermione made notes on her parchment and tapped her quill against her lips before nodding and looking back up at Gilletta. "And how much truth is there in the assumption that the past cannot be altered? Professor Dumbledore has said that only the paths one takes from point A to point B might change, but the end result will still be the same."
"He is correct. Both times I have travelled backwards in time, I have arrived back in my own time at precisely the moment I left it and nothing about my current timeline had changed."
Hermione swallowed hard and scribbled another note furiously. The idea of going home when they found that door again had been a relief, but she wasn't too keen on returning to the Fiendfyre. She thought about Riddle and their last encounter. He had seen her wearing the locket. The very same Horcrux he wouldn't make until after he graduated. "Say we run into someone from our past here and they discover that we found something of theirs. Something they meant to hide from the world forever. How would that affect it being found in the same spot in the future?"
Gilletta pondered that thought with another sip of her drink. Dumbledore was studying her, most likely thinking it was in relation to Riddle. She wondered if she was the one to give Dumbledore the idea of Riddle having created Horcruxes. She could also feel Malfoy's gaze on her, but she refused to look at him. Instead, she took a sip of her Butterbeer and licked the foam from her lips when she pulled the glass away.
"There has not been a lot of study on that particular scenario, but from what I have seen it wouldn't affect the eventual outcome. If the object in question was found in the future, then it will still be found. My theory on this is that it would be found at the same time, even if it was in a different spot. Say you found this object in a cave and when you came back in time, the person who hid it there found out you had discovered it. They might move it to the bottom of the sea, but then in the future, you would find it at the bottom of the sea instead of the cave."
She scribbled more notes on her parchment and cursed herself for not bringing a blank sheet. She was running out of room. "Professor Dumbledore gave me the example of knowing someone's death would not prevent them from dying; no matter what they did. Is that correct?"
She nodded. "Yes. You could tell me that you're from ten years from now and that I die tomorrow. You could tell me exactly how and when I die and no matter what I do to avoid it will prevent my death. The only factor to change would be if I were to originally slip and fall on ice which resulted in a broken neck. So after knowing that, I decided to Apparate instead of walking somewhere. The result might entail my death by Splinching or some other fate. But it would still happen around the same manner it was supposed to."
The tip of her quill had barely dipped into the ink to jot down more notes before Gilletta's next question caused her to spill the ink across her parchment and the table.
"What year did you two come from?"
Malfoy used his wand to clean up the ink, sending it straight back into the pot. Her jaw dropped as she looked at Gilletta and only when Dumbledore gave her a nod did she answer. "We're from 1998."
She smiled at the two of them. "Tell me, does Grindelwald get what he wants?" she asked.
Hermione couldn't help but let her gaze wander to Dumbledore. She couldn't answer aloud, but gave the slightest shake of her head. "Have you not traveled to the future?" she asked.
"Personally no. It is much safer to travel backwards than forwards. Since time is linear in motion, time travel is like Apparation. You must have a destination in mind to be successful. Without it, you're going in blind."
Hermione scribbled a few more notes and then made room for her plate as the House Elf brought their food to the table. "Has anyone gone to the future?"
"Not that I can think of at the moment, but I will look into it. Should I find something, I will send word to Albus," she promised. "I'm glad to know the political unrest will be put to bed soon."
"It won't last long," Malfoy said, reaching for his Butterbeer.
Both Gilletta and Dumbledore looked between the two of them and gave them matching sad smiles. "We came back in the middle of a civil war. The second one at that," she replied.
"War is no place for children," Gilletta said. "I do hope that when you return home it ends quickly and there is no third."
"Thank you," Hermione said, packing up her notes and returning her supplies to her pocket.
While they tucked into their lunches, Hermione and Malfoy listened to the two elders exchange stories and set the pace of the conversation. Hermione knew she had everything she needed and was glad to know that even though Riddle knew she had, at some point, discovered the locket, it wouldn't change anything. They would still be able to find and destroy the Horcruxes no matter what.
It was after their plates had been cleared that she realized Malfoy's disappearance to the loo was taking far longer than it should. As she was about to ask Dumbledore to check on him or go and do it herself, Gilletta announced that she was taking her leave.
"It was very nice to meet the two of you," she said, shaking Hermione's hand across the table. "Should you have any questions for me, just have Albus send me an owl. I shall do the same should I think of anything that might help. I wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you," Hermione said.
"I'll walk you to the Apparaition point," Albus said, standing with her. "Miss Granger, I believe you should wait here for Mister Malory's return. I trust the two of you can find your way back to the castle before dinner?" he asked, blue eyes sparkling with amusement.
She nodded earnestly. "Yes, Professor."
"Then I look forward to seeing you both in the Great Hall," he said and left with Gilletta in tow.
Hermione ordered another Butterbeer and sipped at it while she waited for Malfoy to come back. She was halfway done with it when he entered the Hog's Head through the front door. She did a double take at the sight of him and then tossed a questioning glance towards the bathrooms. "I didn't see you leave," she said as he slid back into his chair.
"Dumbledore kept you distracted so that you wouldn't see me," he told her with a shrug. It was then that she noticed he was keeping on hand behind his back.
"Is that where you disappeared to earlier? To scheme with Dumbledore?" she asked, trying to peek behind him. He moved out of her reach and smirked. "What did you do, Malfoy?"
He took a deep breath and waved at her with his free hand. "Close your eyes, Granger."
"Why?"
"Just do it," he huffed.
She stared at him for a moment and then let her eyes drift closed. She heard a bit of rustling and then felt his fingers brush over the back of her hand. Slowly, she opened her eyes and her gaze fell on the large Cauldron Cake on a plate, a single candle lit in the middle of it. Her gaze lifted to his and he shrugged.
"Had you told me about your birthday, I would have made sure you had this yesterday. Happy Birthday," he said.
She blinked and felt her jaw drop as he looked away in embarrassment. "Th-thank you."
"You better make a wish before the candle melts."
She turned her attention to the flame before her and took a deep breath. I wish I continue to see this side of Malfoy no matter what happens. Then she blew out the flame and set the candle on the table. "Eat this with me?" she asked.
He nodded and she used her wand to cut the treat in half. When they both consumed their portion, they shared the rest of her Butterbeer and then sat there in silence. After a few moments, she got to her feet and he followed her outside. As much as she wanted to linger around Hogsmeade, she wanted to get their meeting with Riddle out of the way.
"Where's Dumbledore?" he asked.
"He left. Said he trusted us to get back to the castle before dinner."
He nodded and continued walking by her side at a leisurely pace. "I'm assuming you understood what Marigold had to say?" he asked.
"I think so. I'm going to sleep on it and then reread my notes," she informed him.
"Well I'm still bloody lost with this whole thing."
She laughed and reached for his hand, pulling him to a stop. "Couldn't be that you were too distracted by checking me out?" she asked.
His eyes widened a bit and smirked as he flushed. She smiled and reached up to bring his face down to her level. She wasted no time in pressing her lips against his and parting her lips. Her tongue sought his and when they met in the middle, she caressed it, smiling at the taste of Butterbeer and her birthday treat.
She let her hand slide back into his hair, her fingers threading through it as it had earlier that morning. A low moan escaped the back of his throat and when he tried to pull away, Hermione pressed down on the back of his head, keeping him there, her other hand fisting his shirt.
He grabbed her hips and pulled her flush against him in return. A shiver coursed through her as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth. A whimper escaped her lips at the flash of pain followed by the pleasure of his tongue right after to soothe the bite. It was when she felt the brush of his thumbs under the hem of her jumper along her skin that she let go of him and stepped back.
She averted her gaze for a moment, knowing that if she looked at him again so soon, she would go in for more and wasn't sure if she would stop. She had never been intimate with anyone before; had never wanted to be. With Krum, she had been too young. With Cormac, she was pining after Ron, and with Ron, there was a war going on. They had only just kissed.
When she did look at Malfoy again, he was smirking. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "So that's what you do for a Cauldron Cake."
She smiled wide and smacked his arm. "Prat," she said, taking off towards the castle again. When she paused and turned around, she wasn't surprised to find his attention directed towards her lower half.
"Keep going, Granger," he teased. "I'll catch up."
She rolled her eyes. "Not a chance, Malfoy. Side-by-side or I make you blind until we get back to the castle."
"Spoil sport," he mumbled as he joined her at her side again.