TWENTY-SIX

Saturday, 4 October 1944

Hermione felt bad lying to Malfoy about her violent encounters with Riddle. Especially now that there had been multiples and she was sure it would happen again. Until he had all the information he could get from her, he wouldn't stop.

Wednesday morning she had slipped out of bed before Malfoy woke and hurried to the bathroom to charm and conceal any evidence of the previous night. When she had returned, she could feel the bruising along her windpipe; the only comfort was that no one could see it. And to keep the incident from her mind, she had booked it in her mind and shelved it somewhere deep.

If he suspected anything, he didn't mention it and they resumed their newfound closeness with one another.

That morning she had gone to the Great Hall with her roommates so that Malfoy could return to his dorm and get ready for the day. He joined them later where they fell into a discussion about their upcoming Hogsmeade trip, the first Quidditch match the following weekend, and the school sanctioned Halloween Bash.

All of which were reminders that it was now October and they had been in this timeline for a month.

Each class they had, with the exception of Transfiguration, Riddle seemed to find ways to be near them. Constantly reminding her that he was always watching. It was a relief on Thursday when Malfoy skipped class and stayed at her side when Riddle showed up for their study session. It hadn't lasted very long, though he had surprised them both by inviting Malfoy along with him and the others in Hogsmeade.

Both of them noticed the jealous flash in his dark grey eyes when Malfoy agreed, but would meet up after their date; driving the reminder of their relationship home by tucking her hair behind her ear and then lacing their fingers together atop to the table.

He had left shortly after that.

Hermione had debated on going to Astronomy, but decided to just get it over with. He was a little tense with her in the beginning, but by the end of class, it was easy to forget that those encounters had been real and weren't just a figment of her imagination.

Friday was a blur as well and while she knew they had been looking forward to more uninterrupted time in the Room of Requirement, Hermione had fallen asleep on his shoulder in the middle of conversation with their housemates after dinner. He had carried her to bed and presumably gone back to his own room as he wasn't there when she woke up on Saturday morning.

She had taken her shower and dressed in the outfit she had come to this time in. It was clean now and she was tired of wearing skirts. She stood in front of the mirror in the shared space of the room and wished that she had something other than her school uniforms and this outfit. This was her first proper date with her first real-

Her eyes went wide at the interrupted train of thought. Was it okay to call Malfoy her boyfriend? Had they really gotten to that stage? She supposed it was the natural order of things, but…

"A-are you really wearing that?" Kalista asked as she entered from the bathroom.

"I don't really have much else," she answered, the disappointment strong in her voice.

Her roommate smiled softly at her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Obviously the two of you have progressed pretty far, but there's a difference in holding hands around the castle and going on a real date." She studied Hermione with a tilt of her head. "Will you come back here with us after breakfast? Let us doll you up a bit?"

She had always shied away from these activities in her own time. Her own dormmates had stopped asking her early on in First Year if they could help with her hair. She had enough time taming it with her own magic, she didn't want to give them more reason to make fun of her.

"You didn't have many girl friends back home, did you?"

Hermione's eyes went wide as she refocused on Kalista. She shook her head. "Not really, no. I spent a lot of my time in the library," she replied, cheeks turning beat red.

Kalista smirked. "You in a library? No!" she exclaimed and then laughed at her own sarcasm. The way she said it wasn't meant to be rude and Hermione found herself smiling.

"Okay, I'll eat breakfast in this and then the three of you can do what you like. Fair warning, not even I can manage my hair."

Kalista grinned from ear-to-ear. "Wait until you see what Gertrude can do. She's quite good at hair charms," she promised and pulled Hermione from the room.

Malfoy had seated himself with Riddle and the others since she was late to breakfast. They had exchanged a quick nod before she took her place with her roommates further down the table. When breakfast was over, she sent them ahead to plan and then waited for Malfoy. She told him that her roommates had something in store for her and that she would meet him at Madam Puddifoot's a little later than they originally planned. That he should get a table and wait for her.

His eyes weren't the only ones to follow her as she took her leave of the Great Hall.

By the time her roommates had picked an outfit, helped her style her hair, and do her makeup, the main group had left for Hogsmeade half an hour ago. Which meant Malfoy truly wouldn't see her until she stepped foot inside the tea shop; which was the whole point of this operation.

Hermione had taken a full five minutes in front of the mirror wondering who the girl staring back at her really was. The month away from being on the run and the heat of battle had done wonders for her figure. She had put on weight; leaving her healthy looking instead of gaunt and malnourished. Her skin was no longer ashen, but contained a healthy glow. It was the same for her eyes and her hair, despite the charms on her otherwise unruly curls.

They had managed to twist most of her hair into a soft crown, pulling it away from her face and back into a messy, but stylized bun. There were still plenty of tendrils that escaped and instead of putting them back in place, she asked to let them stay. For her makeup, they had added just a hint of a soft brown to the crease of her lid to make her eyes pop even more along with mascara. To her cheeks they added the faintest amount of a rosy blush and just a touch of deep pink to her lips. It gave them a pouty look instead of appearing as though she were wearing lipstick.

And the charm to keep anything from smearing and her lips to remain soft was a nice addition.

Then there was the dress itself. The fashion was definitely different than what she was used to, but it was comfortable. And the shape it gave her was impressive. She hadn't really been one for girly attire, but in this, it was really hard to ignore the desire to twirl around. The dress had long sleeves that flowed, but were tapered at the wrist. The neckline was high, but low enough to not feel that it was choking her; she wouldn't have been comfortable exposing too much anyway. The waist was cinched with a little belt made of the same material and then stopped below her knees in a skirt fuller than she was used to, but surprisingly not heavy. The color was a deeper mustard color that had a pattern of navy swirls throughout; the pattern was barely there at the top, but it thickened as the eye traveled down to the bottom of the skirts.

When everyone had stated their approvals, they left the castle.

It was ridiculous, the sheer amount of butterflies in her stomach as Hogsmeade grew closer with each step. She had seen Malfoy every day, nearly all day for the past month. They had snogged several times, fallen asleep together twice, and even got off in front of the other once. Yet, as the girls bid her goodbye in front of the tea shop, Hermione felt as though she were about to meet Malfoy for the first time.

Summoning her Gryffindor bravery, she took a deep breath and let herself in to the tea shop.

Draco had been nervous too many times to count in his life. However, nearly all of those times had been because he knew something bad was coming. This was the first time he could recall that at the end of his nerves would be Granger sitting across from him. Even with all that had transpired between them, he was still surprised that she had said yes. They could remain stuck in the past for the rest of their lives, go on a thousand dates, and he would always be surprised if willingly said yes.

He was staring at the menu for the tenth time since he sat down and still hadn't read a single word when he felt it. Her presence would always make the hair on the back of neck stand at attention. Since the day they had met when they were eleven years old. Only now, it wasn't annoyance and false hatred that did it; it was something else. Something that made his heart race and his mouth run dry.

And when he lifted his head to see her walk into the tea shop, his heart stopped all together.

He stood up to greet her, his eyes sweeping up and down her in both awe and lust. She must have felt the intensity of his gaze because she blushed furiously. When she crossed the room to him, he drew her in and politely brushed his lips over hers. He wanted to deepen it, but if he didn't put a table between them, he was going to devour her right then and there.

Oh how things had changed.

They sat and they ordered; he memorized the amount of milk she put in her tea and that she sweetened it with honey instead of sugar. "So…" she started, her teaspoon clinking softly against her cup as she stirred in her additives.

"You look…" he started, licking his lips after having sipped his tea, but enjoying the effect of the double entendre regardless. "Amazing."

She looked down at her dress, mostly to hide another blush, and plucked at her skirt. "Thank you. You always look good."

"Is that so?" he asked, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes and sipped at her tea as well. "Are we going to the Quidditch match next weekend?"

"We don't have to. The castle will be rather empty I imagine."

She placed her elbow on the table and propped her chin on her palm. "It always is during the games, but I think it would be nice to focus on something trivial for a moment. And I know you like the sport."

He quirked a brow. "Are you calling my interests trivial, Granger?"

Her eyes went wide and she made a little noise that made him hard as a rock. "Oh, no. I didn't mean-"

He laughed and waved his hand dismissively at her. "We can go. I would hate to miss you cheer for Slytherin even if I'm not on the team." He stopped himself from adding that he would have loved to see Potter and Weasley's face.

"Bad news for you then," she said, returning his grin in equal measure. "The first game is Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I might even take inspiration from Luna and wear a roaring lion head." He frowned at the way her eyes glistened with mischief. "Perhaps if we're a couple now, I should make you wear one with me."

"In that case, we are definitely not a couple."

He had meant it as a joke, but he saw the way she deflated a little and tried to cover it up by taking a rather large sip of tea.

"Granger?"

She set her cup down and licked her lips. His eyes tracked the movement and his cock twitched as he imagined the pink muscle circling the tip.

"Malfoy?" she returned.

"If you promise I don't have to ever be caught dead in one of those ridiculous getups, I'll let you slap whatever label on us that you want."

She smirked and traced the rim of her teacup with the tip of her finger. "Is that your only condition?"

He couldn't think of anything worse, so he nodded.

She beamed brightly and he got the distinct impression he had made a mistake. Something that was confirmed when she spoke again.

"Then as a couple, I think we should plan our outfits for Halloween."

He groaned and she laughed, the sound like music to his ears. "You sure you're not cut out for Slytherin? That was quite cunning."

She ordered them another round and flashed him a dazzling smile. "I learn from the best."

He harrumphed around the rim of his cup as he finished his first tea before the second arrived. "I'm surprised you want to attend."

Her head tilted to the side as she studied him. "I'm surprised you don't. Halloween was never really my favorite. I really only like it at Hogwarts." She blushed and looked down. "I guess it was the magic and enchantments in the Great Hall. For Muggles it's all about scary things. I just like the magic and wonder."

"I was always more interested in Christmas myself," he admitted. "Not much tops Halloween at Hogwarts; I'll give you that. You should see what my mother does to the Manor at-"

He stopped and cleared his throat. He wished he could retract his words at the way she had stilled across the table. Slowly, she looked up to meet his gaze and gave him a barely there smile. "It's your home, Draco. You're allowed to talk about the happy times without worrying how I'll react. I'm sure your mother pulls out all the stops for the holidays."

She was right; Narcissa Malfoy held nothing back for the holidays. It was only the most recent years when all holiday spirit had been zapped from his family. With the Dark Lord living there, there was no reason to celebrate a damn thing. As it was, the only parties that were held at the Manor upon his arrival were Revels.

He shuddered and thanked his lucky stars that the Snatchers hadn't brought the Golden Trio to the Manor in the midst of one.

"Draco?"

He shook himself from his thoughts and focused on Granger across from him. Her right arm had reached out and her hand had closed over his, her thumb stroking his gently. He got his breathing under control and adjusted their hands so he could thread their fingers together.

"First name basis now?" he teased, desperate the change the subject.

"Don't get too used to it," she returned, giving his hand a light squeeze before letting go to accept her second cup of tea.

Conversation was easy after that. He found himself more curious about her Muggle side and she was eager to share it with him. He shared what he dared with her about his early life, keeping the topics light and stories short. By the time they took their leave, he felt delighted to see another side of her. He had even developed a stronger sense of respect for her.

Instead of going towards the main road to split off with their friends, Granger surprised him by leading him to the alley between the buildings. She wasted no time in pinning him between herself and the exterior wall of a shop before cradling his head in her hands and bringing it down to her level. He could taste the honey and milk from her tea on her tongue as it slipped over his in earnest.

And when she moaned and pressed herself against him, he knew that even if they went forward in time right now, he would never be able to forget their time here.

Hermione let one of her hands slide back into Malfoy's hair, her fingers tugging slightly until she found the spot she liked to rest her hand. He nipped at her lip in the process and pulled her closer when his hands slid up and down her sides. She gasped into his mouth as he flipped their position and lifting her up. When her back hit the wall, her feet were no longer on the ground. Instead, she wrapped her legs around his hips and they both groaned as his arousal hit her core.

He pulled his lips from hers and slid them along her jaw until he got to the spot beneath her ear. She keened against him as he teased the spot; a massive shiver taking hold of her spine, gooseflesh prickling her skin. She angled her neck to give him better access, wincing slightly as he nipped his way down the column of her throat. While the bruises never showed, the pain from Riddle's fingers still lingered beneath the surface.

"Draco…"

He cursed against the crook of her neck and her eyes fluttered open. Her breath hitched as her gaze fell upon Riddle. He was watching them from the main road. Even from the distance between them, she could see his eyes darkening with jealousy and lust. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, trying to focus on Malfoy.

But it was hard to get Riddle out of her mind as his presence slipped into hers. She concentrated on the way Malfoy was making her feel and projected that back to him. She wasn't sure what drove her to do that, but it worked, he disappeared from her mind a moment later and when she opened her eyes again, he was gone.

Not a moment later, Malfoy pulled his head back and she looked down at him with a dazed expression. Slowly, she lowered her lips back down to his and he helped ease her legs back down to the ground. "You should go find your roommates."

"I still have some time to kill before we're supposed to meet. Want to come with me to the bookstore?"

He leaned in and brushed another kiss across her lips and then stepped back. "In a minute."

She blushed again and nodded. "Right, sorry," she said, trying her best to look away so as not to stare directly at his lap.

When he was ready, he laced her fingers with his, kissed her again, and then led her back to the main road. As they walked towards the bookstore, she let herself enjoy the feel of his hand in hers. Even as her thoughts turned to more what-ifs, she tried to block them out. She was determined to enjoy whatever time they had together because they both knew this might not last forever.