Author's Note: Started this last week and wasn't sure where it was going so I set it aside. Picked it back up today after finishing Part XVII of Empire and finished it quickly. It may not be the most eventful of chapters, but it's important. That's all I'll say for now. Thanks for the love and those of you still sticking with me on this one. I hope you're enjoying this tale!
I'd like to thank SquarePeg72 for alpha reading and helping pick songs. I also need to thank GaeilgeRua for alpha reading and allowing me to use her Grammarly account so my impatient arse could post this tonight! Much love, 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, Language
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Partners in Time
Pairing: Hermione/Theo and Hermione/Draco
Rated: M
Part VI: 14 November 2016
Song Recommendations: "Breathe Less" by Bruno Merz and "I'll Follow" by Fancy Cars and Svrcina
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Part VI: 14 November 2016
"Granger, don't you have work to do?"
Rolling her eyes, Hermione set aside the Muggle pen she was using and glared at her ex-husband. Draco was standing in the doorway to her office, arms crossed, and a single eyebrow quirked. Sighing, she pointed down at the notebook she'd been writing in before speaking to him.
"I was working," she started. "I was adding a few notes to our time-jump journal." She picked up the small notebook and held it out toward Draco so he could see.
Draco stepped fully into the office and accepted the notebook. He held it in his hands, flipping through some of the pages to see what was there. He was surprised by the amount of detail she seemed to take notice of each occasion they travelled through time. Even he hadn't been paying this much attention. His fingertips traced over the words from her and Theo's first time-jump.
A graveyard. Rain. People milling about wearing all black. A large building in the distance.
The details were very sparse compared to the other entries. Clearly, Hermione hadn't been paying as much attention to her surroundings that first time around. Since then, she'd made sure to write down everything she remembered she saw or what she was seeing. Page upon page, covered in things such as the date, weather, who was present, and which version of Theo they encountered. She even listed her feelings and his reaction to the time-jump. It was madness, and Draco could easily imagine her pouring over this day and night instead of taking care of herself or her real responsibilities.
"I think that maybe you're taking this a bit too far," Draco said carefully, easily remembering how Hermione used to get engrossed in her work back when they were married. They both did. Instead of handing the notebook back to her, he closed it and set it on the edge of her desk.
She glared at him and then snatched the notebook off the desk and tucked it into a drawer. "Really, Draco," she snapped. "I'm not taking this too far; I simply don't want to make any mistakes when we're jumping through time."
"Make any mistakes-" Draco started to say and then sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "The entire thing is a mistake. We're screwing with time, Granger. This is already a mess even without keeping track of all the bloody details."
"If we don't keep a record and manage to change something, then there's no fixing it later!" Hermione all but yelled, rising from her chair.
"Fix it later?"
"Will you stop repeating everything I say?" she asked, clearly getting agitated.
"Maybe I would if you stopped saying such ridiculous things about this entire ordeal," Draco explained. He sighed again but in a much calmer manner before dropping into a chair. Before Hermione could react to what he just said, he barreled onward. "Look, I didn't come here to argue. Merlin knows we do enough of that as it is."
Breathing heavily from trying not to get upset, Hermione sat back down as well. "I'm sorry. I'm just really stressed out about finding Theo and making sure no one suspects anything in the meantime."
"You told Blaise he was on an Unspeakable mission. It should be fine." Draco was trying to calm her down before she could cry. He could easily see the flush to her cheeks and neck, as well as the way she kept taking short breaths. Clear signs that a sob fest was coming…
"It should work for now, but what if the Minister comes calling or Blaise says something to someone else in the department?" Hermione shakily gestured at her open door, indicating that she and Theo were not the only ones who worked down here in the Department of Mysteries.
"Those things are true," Draco conceded. However, he was bound to calm his ex-wife down before she lost it entirely. "We're going to find Theo. Then this mess will be over, and you can destroy the Time-Turner, so this never happens again."
Hermione laughed at that and Draco saw she was relaxing, ever so slightly. Tucking a curl behind her ear, she smiled and said, "You're suddenly optimistic. What's changed?"
Draco shrugged with a smirk taking over his face. "You know me, always looking to finish a job quickly. How else can we do that then keep time-jumping until we find him."
"We still have to be careful," Hermione warned. "We can't risk travelling too often, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Time sickness and all that." Draco waved off Hermione's warning, simply, glad he'd distracted her from her earlier frustrations. "I'm not saying we go multiple times a day, but once a day couldn't hurt, right?"
Biting her lip, Hermione settled deep into thought. Draco merely sat there and waited for her to figure her shit out. He wanted this over just as much as she did, but probably for an entirely different reason. It was hard having to work with her again; seeing her smile and laugh and yearn for someone else. This needed to be over so he could go back to pretending he'd never been married to her. It hurt his heart too much to see her and know she cared for someone else instead. If anyone found out, they would insist he was mad, and he had to admit, they were probably right.
"Okay," Hermione finally said after clearing her throat. "We can search more often, but we have to be careful. I don't want either of us losing our lives over this."
"I'll let you do the planning," Draco said easily. "You're better at that anyway. Your little black book will keep track of all the details, and I'll come along, so you're not alone. Same as we planned, just more often."
Wetting her lips, Hermione still looked hesitant over his new suggestion. Nevertheless, she did ask, "Did you want to go later this evening?"
Flinching, Draco remembered he already had plans. "Sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be tonight. Tomorrow, sure. I can go then if you're available."
"That could work," Hermione said with a smile. "What are you doing tonight?" she asked out of habit.
"Well," Draco began trying to come up with some way to explain he had a date without actually telling her he was seeing someone. Luckily, he was saved by a sudden knock on the doorframe.
Both their heads snapped to attention only to find Harry standing there looking more than a little confused. Draco wondered how long he had been there. Damn Hermione and her open door policy.
"Malfoy?" Harry questioned as he stepped into the office. "What are you doing here?"
Sighing heavily, Draco stood from the chair and shrugged. "If I had a galleon for every time I was asked that…" Striding to the door, he turned back and nodded to Hermione. "We'll discuss this more tomorrow. See you later, Potter. I was just leaving."
"Sure," Hermione replied, nervously glancing between her best friend and ex-husband. "Tomorrow will work. Thanks for your help."
Instead of replying, he waved and disappeared down the hall to the lifts. That left Hermione and Harry alone, and the latter had questions. Questions Hermione was definitely not looking forward to answering. Swallowing, she smiled at her friend and gestured for him to shut her door and take a seat.
"Hey, Harry." She sat up straight in her chair and waited for her oldest friend to take a seat. When he was comfortable, she asked, "What brings you down here?"
Harry sighed heavily, leaning forward to place his face in his hands. When he sat back, he gave her a hard stare. "Hermione, you and I have been friends for a very long time. I didn't stop you that day you visited him in his office, but now I need to know. What the hell are you doing talking with Malfoy again?"
Refraining from rolling her eyes, Hermione placed her hands on her lap and prepared to lie to yet another person. Sort of. "He's helping me with a case. That's all I can share."
"You expect me to believe that?" Harry asked, looking every bit as sceptical as she expected.
"Yeah," Hermione snapped in defence. "Why shouldn't you?"
"Come on, Hermione," he said with a sigh. "The way things ended between you two… There's no way you're working together without wanting to tear each other's throats apart. Tell me what's really going on."
"I'm not lying, Harry," she said evenly. "Something came up here, and I required assistance. I knew Draco's particular skill set would be beneficial so I sucked it up and asked him for help." When Harry made to argue, she held up her hand. "I can't elaborate on the details because of the situation so I would appreciate it if you just took my words at face value."
"I worry about you," Harry said softly, remembering all too well the mess that was his best friend after she and Draco separated and divorced. "I don't want you to get hurt again."
"That won't happen. This is strictly business." Hermione bit the inside of her lip, worrying that Harry might be right. There was a risk in working with Draco. She knew this from the start. They may be divorced, but she still had feelings for him. It was just that her feelings for Theo were stronger. She felt too much guilt when it came to Draco.
"As long as you're certain it's just business," Harry said slowly, peering at her through his black frames. "It seems a bit odd to me that Draco would willingly agree to work with you again, as horrible as that sounds."
"It wasn't easy to convince him, actually," Hermione admitted. There, she was telling the truth. "It took some persuading, but in the end, he saw it could only be him to be my partner on this one."
"What about Theo?"
Hermione wanted to groan, but somehow she managed not to react to that. "He's on an Unspeakable Mission of his own."
"Huh." Harry scratched his head, taking her story in. "I guess that makes sense."
Letting out a long, quiet breath, Hermione tried to relax. Hopefully, she could steer this conversation back around now. "So what did you stop by for anyway?" She added a smile, trying to seem cheerful despite having just nearly been caught.
"I came to invite you to dinner tonight," Harry told her. "Ginny insists."
"Dinner sounds wonderful," Hermione said with a smile, the tension leaving her body as the topic changed. "The usual time?"
"Yup," Harry answered and then stood up from the chair. He walked around the desk and gave her a quick hug, lingering to say one last thing into her ear. "I wish you had come to me instead of Malfoy."
Releasing her hold, Hermione ran a hand through her hair. "It had to be him, Harry. I'm sorry. Next time, if I need the help, I'll come to you. I promise."
"Okay." Harry turned and made for the door. Opening it, he gave her a smile. "See you tonight."
"See you tonight."
Once alone, Hermione lowered her head to the desk and groaned. That was a close call, and she only imagined it was going to get harder and harder to keep this mission a bloody secret if people kept stopping by her office when she was trying to discuss finding Theo with her ex-husband. Deciding she better get some real work done, Hermione lifted her head and tried to put all thoughts of Draco and Theo out of her mind. They wouldn't be going out on their next time-jump until tomorrow, and her paperwork was starting to pile up. Theo would be proud.
