Author's Note: This was ridiculously hard to write because it's just been so long since I wrote Dramione, but I think it came out the way I needed it to. Also, I must reiterate this is primarily a Themione story but has Dramione as a side pairing. Anyway, thank you loves for all the reviews and love for the last chapter! **Also I would like to note that I have used movie canon rather than book canon for this chapter. In the movie "Slytherin Boy" is seen with Draco and Crabbe during the scene described. I have switched Slytherin Boy to be Theo to work with the story. Please do not send me messaged that I got this part wrong. I altered it to work for me. Yay for Fanfiction! Thank you to starrnobella for beta reading and Squarepeg72 for helping me with song selection! Please leave feedback! It keeps me motivated! xxDustNight
Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to J.K. Rowling. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.
Current & Future Trigger Warnings: Infidelity, Character Death, PTSD, Depression, Sexual Tension, Sexual Content, Mildly Dubious Consent
Summary: When her partner gets lost in time, Hermione is forced to seek out the help of her estranged husband. With Draco by her side, she travels through time desperately searching for Theo. Along the way, Hermione finds herself having to accept that sometimes love truly is forever and that maybe you really can love more than one person at a time.
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Partners in Time
Pairing: Hermione/Theo and Hermione/Draco
Rated: M
Time Jump #19: June 6, 1994
Song Recommendations: "The Mess I Made" by Parachute, "Expo 86" by Death Cab for Cutie
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"Bloody hell, Granger," Draco groaned scrubbing at his face with a Quidditch-calloused hand. "Hogwarts. Why the hell would Theo be here?"
"I don't know," Hermione trailed off, glancing around the empty grounds. "He mentioned coming here before, so maybe he came back after we got separated."
Draco huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back to rest against the castle facade. "Alright then, where, or rather, when are we?"
Reaching into her robes, Hermione extracted a small leather-bound notebook. She flipped open the cover and then produced a quill from thin air. Turning to the page she needed, she sighed before peering up at Draco to respond. "Well, the last time Theo said he was here was to see our sorting ceremony."
"So, September 1991." Draco gestured out at the freshly bloomed flowers and bright green leaves of the trees. "I hate to disappoint you, Sweetheart, but we're in the middle of spring."
"I'm aware," she responded with pursed lips. Pacing now, Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she tried to figure out what to do next. "We came here because Theo, of some sort, was here so we'll just go find him."
Finally pushing away from the wall, Draco strode forward. "So you want to just aimlessly wander around Hogwarts where we could easily be recognized?" When she open her mouth, he threw his hands into the air and gushed, "That's it, you've lost it entirely."
Before he could go any further, Hermione shoved him backwards against the wall. She slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Shhhhh," she hissed with wide eyes.
About to push her aside, Draco suddenly realized why she shoved him the way she did. Voices could be heard on the pathway leading from the castle. Narrowing his eyes, Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and tugged her closer against his body before casting a disillusionment charm. Hopefully, those walking by wouldn't notice them huddled there.
Carefully, the pair turned their heads to watch as the group wandered by. Hermione gasped then, shock making her feel numb. "Dear Merlin…"
"What?!" Draco exclaimed after dislodging Hermione's hand. "Who are they?"
"I know when we've gone back to." She swallowed, and Draco was surprised by how pale she'd gone. When he quirked an eyebrow in question, she sighed and answered. "This is the day Sirius Black escaped with Buckbeak."
"You're kidding?" Draco breathed, letting his eyes wander over to where the students disappeared. "So that was…?"
"Yes, that was Harry, Ron, and me."
"Shit."
"That's not all," she whispered before biting her lip. Meeting Draco's silver eyes she shrugged. "I may have time traveled long before this whole thing started."
"Before," Draco deadpanned, the word tasting bitter and his mouth. "When?" He asked, although he suspected he already knew.
"Now. Today. June 6, 1994." Stepping backward Hermione turned and dug her hands into her hair. "Which means there are three of me wandering these grounds right now."
"Shit," Draco responded yet again, rubbing the lower half of his face. "We are so fucked."
"Will you watch your language?" Hermione scolded Draco, tempting fate to go have a look around the corner of the castle. "From what I remember, when Harry and I went back to stop both Buckbeak and Sirius from being murdered, we hid over that way." She indicated some stone pillars.
"Okay, so let's get out of view then," Draco said reasonably, grabbing her shirt sleeve to pull her into hiding. "And as for my language, I think the situation calls for a few expletives."
"Whatever," Hermione muttered, obviously distracted by the situation at hand. She looked back at the leather-bound journal she held, quickly scribbling down a few notes on an empty page. "So now that we know when we are, we just need to figure out where Theo might be."
"Well," Draco said scratching at the back of his neck, "that's easy enough to figure out."
Confusion clouding her face, Hermione finished writing in her journal and tucked it away before looking up at him again. "What do you mean that's easy enough to figure out?"
"Now that we know when we are, I can easily tell you what Theo was up to this date and time." There was a small smirk playing at his lips as he finished explaining.
"So are you planning to share this tidbit of information with me, or am I going to have to curse it out of you?" She asked withdrawing her wand from her robes. "You know I'm quite skilled in a few tickling charms, in case you might have forgotten."
"Oh," Draco exclaimed, holding up his hands in defense. "I haven't forgotten, Granger. But it is rather funny that you don't remember what Theo was doing on this day in 1994."
"Why the bloody hell would I know what Theo was doing when we were third years?" Hermione said with a chuckle, tapping her wand on her wrist as she watched the grin grow on Draco's face. She scowled then, hating that he knew something she didn't.
"I do suppose you were rather distracted and may not have realized it was him at the time," Draco began to explain, gently reaching for Hermione's wrist and pulling her to the edge of the castle so she could see more clearly.
Hermione tried to ignore the careful way Draco held onto her as he led her forward. She was still racking her brain in order to figure out what he was talking about too. She really had no clue what he was referring to, so she hoped he would clarify and quickly. When he stopped guiding her, he moved his hands to rest on her shoulders, turning her slightly so she could see down the pathway to another set of pillars that overlooked the garden outside Hagrid's hut.
"Okay," she whispered, knowing that they had to be extra careful now because they were further in the open than they ought to be. "What am I looking at?"
"There. Don't you see it? Or rather don't you see who?"
She could hear the smirk in Draco's voice, which made the situation far more annoying. He knew how she felt when he knew something before her, so he was clearly drawing the suspense out in order to torture her.
"Right there. Are you ready?" He asked her, his head coming down so he could rest his chin on her shoulder. He was watching the scene unfold along with her, and while he did so, he kept his hands on her shoulders, holding her close.
"Oh!" Hermione said breathlessly, realization finally dawning on her. "This is when I slapped you in the face," Hermione muttered, a smirk of her own now forming on her lips. "But what about Theo?"
"Look there, Hermione." Draco's lips brushed against her ear as he spoke, sending a shiver down her spine. "What do you see?"
"I see you torturing Ron, Harry, and me about Buckbeak's sentence along with your two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle." Hermione gestured at the scene before them, irritation now evident in her voice.
"No, no, no," Draco replied with irritation of his own. "Yes, Crabbe was there, but Goyle was in detention this night." Using the tip of his finger he turned Hermione's head ever so slightly so she would look to his other side. He knew the moment she realized what was wrong with her statement, the gasp leaving her lips so subtle most would not have even noticed had they not been listening for it like he was. His smirk turned to a grin as he waited for her response.
"Theo. It was Theo with you that night." Excitement filled Hermione to the brim, thrilled to figure out what she'd been missing all along. "How did I never notice it was Theo there with you?"
"I don't know," Draco said with amusement. "Perhaps, you were a bit preoccupied punching my face."
Hermione chuckled, turning in his arms and using the palms of her hands to push him backwards so they were hidden once more. "I suppose you're right, but you did deserve it, after all."
"I think that's one thing that you and I will always disagree on, Hermione." Draco swallowed roughly, canting his head as he observed his ex-wife. "I still think hitting me was going a bit far."
"Would you rather of had me curse you?" Hermione asked crossing her arms and glaring up into his face with defiance.
"Now that you mention it…"
"That's what I thought," Hermione mumbled before turning back and looking over her shoulder towards where thirteen year old Theo was now helping Crabbe escort Draco and his bloody nose back to the castle. It was strange to notice Theo now, especially since she never really noticed him back at Hogwarts. Turning to Draco, she asked, "Did you and Theo hang out a lot in your younger years at Hogwarts? I don't recall seeing you with him all that often."
Draco let out a long breath before meeting her eyes to answer, "Not so much, really. I mostly spent my time with Crabbe and Goyle because that's what father wanted. Theo's family wasn't associated with ours back then as it was after the war ended." He played with the cuff of his robes as he tried to decide what to say next. "I guess it wasn't until after the war ended and my alliances changed, along with my beliefs, that I got reacquainted with Theo."
"I never knew that about you two. I just assumed you two were always friends, along with Blaise and Goyle." Hermione didn't know what else to say, they didn't really ever talk too much about Draco's past before he changed his mind about his Pureblood, Half-Blood, and Muggle-Born views. It was always a sort of sore subject for the two of them, so they just left it alone.
"Yeah," Draco began with a sigh, "I guess he and I bonded during our training at the Ministry. We were the only two Slytherins there, and sort of stuck together in the sea of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws."
"That makes sense. And if it wasn't for your friendship with Theo, you would never have managed to become friends with Harry, Ron, and me either." Hermione wasn't sure how he would take her statement; because even though Theo helped to bring them together, he also was the main reason that they were no longer married.
If Draco felt uneasy about anything she said, he kept it to himself. Instead, he reached out and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, showing a bit of affection for her which was rare. "I suppose that is true," he acknowledged. "I definitely have him to thank for that, which is part of the reason that I've decided to follow through with this insane time travel adventure you have me on."
Hermione smiled gently at her ex-husband before reaching out and taking his hand in her own. She squeezed gently trying to come up with the right words to say. "You know, I really am thankful that you're here. You don't have to be, and each time we travel through time, I'm glad that I don't have to go alone."
"It hasn't been easy," Draco admitted, his hand still resting on her shoulder from when he set it there after tucking her hair behind her ear. "Each time you say you've got somewhere new to look, I ask myself whether or not I should just throw in the broom and make you go away."
"Why don't you then? I wouldn't be surprised if you did. I couldn't blame you." Hermione looked away, shame making her feel close to tears.
Without missing a beat, Draco carried on, "I don't make you go alone because I'm afraid of losing you again. I lost Theo to time, and I lost you once already too. If I lost you forever, that would be the end of me."
Not quite knowing what to say to that, Hermione slowly turned her head until she was looking into his silver eyes once more. She wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, buying more time to come up with some sort of response. She shook her head as she swallowed thickly. Finally, she managed a reply, "Draco there's no way you could lose me forever. You and I may not have stayed together…" She paused glancing skyward briefly as she tried to reformat what she wanted to say. "What I mean is, I know I screwed up, badly, but I don't want you to think that I ever stopped caring about you."
"Maybe after all this, we could..." Draco started, gently rubbing his thumb over her wrist while their hands were still clasped together. He trailed off, unable to finish what he was saying because they both knew what he wanted to say was the wrong thing to say.
He may not have finished his sentence, but his unspoken words had a great impact on Hermione. There was a lot a baggage between the two of them, that much was certain. Nevertheless, they still managed to work well together even after all this time. Reaching up with the hand he wasn't holding, she cupped his cheek and relished the way that he leaned into the caress. She wouldn't force him to speak the words that would make this entire situation unbearable for the both of them.
"Draco I think that if our Theo were here, we would have found him by now. Besides, with two other versions of myself running around, it's probably a good time for us to go." She frowned then, taking a glance around. "Actually, it's also a full moon, and if we're not careful to hurry back to the present, we could end up running into Lupin in his werewolf form."
Exhaling through his nose, Draco just had to take a second to stare down at the crazy, beautiful witch in front of him. She was utterly insane now and back then too, it appeared. "Always running off on wild adventures, you are," he joked, tugging her forward so he could wrap her in a hug. It also served to allow him to hook the Time-Turner back around the both of them. "Let's get back before you can get us into any more crazy situations tonight."
Still holding hands, Hermione and Draco returned to the present. And while they still hadn't found their Theo, they may just have found out a little bit more about themselves and the current status of their relationship. They would find Theo eventually, they were both certain of that. As long as they stuck together, everything would be fine.
