Happenstance

Chapter 27: When He's Good, He's Good

All day long at work, Draco had been a nervous wreck; and the previous night hadn't been much better. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink because he was so wound up over what he had planned. It seemed like the closer the day came the more and more jazzed up Blaise and Goyle got, while Draco found himself becoming more and more apprehensive about the entire idea of going back in time to retrieve Luna's research. In theory his plan was flawless, it was in practice that he was worried. There were so many variables that he had to contend with, none of which he could control. The only comfort he was able to find was his confidence in his calculations. Draco had always been a bit of an Arthimancy and numbers buff, so he wasn't at all worried that his calculations were inaccurate. Not even Hermione Granger, the last person known to have used a Time Turner,would be able to best him when it came to numbers. In fact, Draco was pretty sure that all the Mudblood was good for was memorizing texts; after all, he didn't recall her having one original thought the entire time he'd known her. Instead, she just recited what she'd read, and in Draco's opinion that wasn't intelligence, that was having a good memory.

Draco's confidence in his abilities to pinpoint the exact time they would arrive and leave the past didn't stop in him from going over his plan constantly throughout the day. Draco wasn't able to finally relax until he received a response to the owl he'd sent to Snape asking to meet with him that afternoon. If Snape didn't agree to meet with him then his plan was shot, as he wouldn't have had any reason to be on Hogwarts grounds. Luckily, Snape seemed eager to meet with him, so Draco didn't really have to worry.

Much to Draco's chagrin, the work day flew by, and before he knew it five o'clock had come around and it was time for him to head over to Hogwarts. Just before he was getting ready to apparate to Blaise's house, Draco heard someone knocking at his door. In a hurry to leave, Draco rushed over to answer.

"Hi, Mum," Draco said, kissing his mother on the cheek.

"Hello, Love," she said, shutting the door to his office behind her. "I just wanted to come by and see you off. How are you holding up?'

"I'm good," He replied, as he put his leather jacket on over his oxford after having removed his blazer and tie. "A little nervous but I guess that's to be expected."

"Severus owled me this morning and told me that you'd asked to meet with him?" she said, taking a seat in his chair. Draco's eyebrows rose when he saw her do this. Everyone knew that he was a tad too possessive over 'his chair' and he absolutely hated it when people sat in it. He knew his father had made his mother aware of this, and every time she had the chance, she'd sit in his chair.

"Mum, I had that nice settee put in here for when you came to visit," Draco said, ignoring her mentioning his meeting with Severus, due to his agitation of her making herself so comfortable in her chair. "It's really very cozy and from there you have a fantastic view of the pond. The ducks are gone cause its winter, but its still quite lovely."

"I'm quite comfortable right here," she said, smirking at how easy it was to bother him. "You're not going to mention this to Severus are you. He still doesn't approve of your relationship with Luna, so I don't think that would be very wise."

"No," Draco said, still trying to figure out a way to get his mother out of his chair. "I don't see why he has any reason not to approve of Luna and me being together. Its not like he's even seeing someone, so who's he to judge." Draco had know Severus Snape all of his life, and he knew that his former professor only had his best interest at heart; so why, if he was happy with Luna, Snape would object to their being together, Draco didn't know or understand.

"I don't know why he's got a problem with it," his mother said, ignoring her son's persistent attempts at luring her out of his chair. "I adore Luna and your father's become quite fond of her; especially since he was able to get her all flustered at supper the other night."

"I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to get her to fancy him," Draco laughed. "I don't particularly like it, but if it means he's not trying to make her cry every time he sees her, I'll live with it."

"So, if you're not going to talk to Severus about the portfolio then why are you meeting with him," Narcissa asked, standing and looking out of the large window. Draco was right, even though the pond was frozen over and the ducks were gone, it was still quite lovely out.

"He's just a decoy," Draco said, quickly sitting down in his chair so his mother couldn't sit in it again. "I needed an excuse to be on Hogwarts property, just in case someone asks."

"You really are a clever boy," his mother said, turning to look at him. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw that he was seated in his chair, so that she couldn't. "You think of everything don't you?"

"I try," Draco replied, trying to act cool. "I've really got to get going though. Blaise and Goyle are waiting for me."

"Do you really think it's wise to take those two with you?" Narcissa asked, recalling just how troublesome the three of them together can be when together. "Especially Greggory. I adore him, but he really does like to cause a ruckus."

"They're not fifteen years old anymore," Draco argued. "They've matured... some."

"I'm sure," she said skeptically. "Oh, whats this Luna tells me about Greggory being gay? I can't imagine his parents are too pleased."

"He's not gay, Mum," Draco laughed. "I told Luna that because she was asking questions about why I was gone so much. I panicked and said that Greg was having a crisis and he needed a friend. Naturally, she asked what sort of crisis, and that's what came out. When Goyle found out, I thought he was going to throttle me right then. If it wasn't for Blaise he probably would have."

"Well," his mother laughed. "You always did have an active imagination." Kissing him goodbye, his mother turned to leave. "Draco, promise me that you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you, Luna or Landon."

"I promise," Draco said, before apparating to Blaise's house.

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"Blaise," Draco shouted, as he entered the foyer of his best friends home. "Where the fuck are you idiots!"

"Ah, there's the old Draco we all know and love," Goyle joked, laughing at his friends way of greeting them.

"There you are," Draco huffed, sounding really annoyed. "We've got to go. Snape's expecting us."

"I thought you were the only one meeting with Snape," Blaise interjected, not exactly excited about seeing his former Head of House just yet. Snape was always partial to his Slytherins, but for some reason Blaise and he had never gotten on all that well.

"You're both coming with me and that's that," Draco replied, sounding very motherly.

"Why?" Goyle asked, just wanting to know for curiosities sake.

"Because I said so," Draco snapped.

"Well someone's got his knickers in a twist," Blaise laughed, ruffling Draco's usually perfect hair. Apparently, Draco was wound a bit tight that afternoon because within moments, Draco had Blaise in a headlock and the pair were rolling around on the floor trying to make each other submit. "Say Uncle!" Blaise shouted, having reversed the hold that Draco had him in. The only sounds coming from Draco were those of his wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. Goyle really hoped one of them gave up soon, especially since Draco's face was turning bright red.

"Uncle!" Draco wheezed, tapping his hand against Blaise's forearm to signal that he'd given up. Letting his friend up, Blaise smiled at him gloatingly. Without giving Blaise a chance to figure out what was happening, Draco withdrew his wand and muttered, ' serpensortia'. A huge snake came slithering towards Blaise, causing him to shriek loudly. It was a little, and I mean little, known fact that Blaise, a Slytherin mind you, was petrified of snakes. As the squiggling creature approached him, Blaise tried to back away. To impede his escape, Draco pointed his wand at his friend and said, 'tarantallegra', which caused Blaise's feet to start moving about rapidly and sent him crashing to the ground. "Say, I'm Draco's bitch," Draco laughed.

"I'm Draco's bitch, you bastard!" Blaise shrieked, just as the snake slithered up next to him. "I'm Draco's bitch!"

"Finite Incantatum," Draco said, hardly able to speak because he was laughing so hard. The snake disappeared and Blaise's legs stilled, allowing the wizard to return to his feet. "That my friend is why you don't fuck with the Master."

"You're evil, you know that," Goyle laughed, trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard. "Pure evil."

"What can I say, I get it from my Father," Draco countered, offering his friend the trademark Malfoy smirk. "Now can you douchbag's stop screwing around so we can get the hell out of here. In case you've forgotten we do have plans."

"Yes master," Goyle joked.

"I like the sound of that," Draco said, laughing. "It's got a nice ring to it."

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After leaving Blaise's house, the three boys apparated straight to Hogsmeade before heading up to Hogwarts. Several times before they reached Snape's office, both Goyle and Blaise tried to get out of actually going inside, but Draco stood his ground and insisted that they join him. Begrudgingly, they agreed.

The first half hour of their visit with their former Head of House was spent making idle chit-chat and catching up on how things had been going since the boys had graduated. It turns out that Snape had put in notice of his retirement from teaching at the beginning of the year, and would instead be taking a position as a freelance researcher. Draco was most surprised to note that Snape was wearing what looked like a wedding band on his left ring finger. When he questioned the Potions Master about it, Draco was told that Snape had in fact settled down with a witch who worked for the Ministry as an Unspeakable, and that they were planning on starting a family. Personally, the boys were interested to see what a witch that fell for Snape would look like but since the Potion's Master wasn't the sort to have photos lying around his office, they weren't able to. Whomever she was, no one could deny the fact that Snape seemed a bit more pleasant than usual; a fact that shocked Blaise to no end. Apparently, love had softened the callous wizard.

Once they'd caught up with one another's personal lives, Draco decided to broach the topic of Luna with the head of Slytherin. According to his Mum, Snape wasn't thrilled with Draco's choice in mates and he simply couldn't let the subject rest; he needed to know why.

"So, my Mum says that you don't like the fact that Luna and I are a couple," Draco said, stirring his tea. "Any particular reason why?"

"She's not good enough for you," Snape said simply. Draco scoffed loudly, while Blaise and Goyle sat there with their mouths wide open. Both knew that Snape was blunt and to the point but to say that Luna wasn't good enough for Draco was a bit cold, even for him.

"I'm quite sure its the other way around," Draco countered, trying to be as respectful as possible. Even though his father and Luna were on good terms at the moment, if Lucius were to hear about Draco being rude to someone he was close with, just because of her, it might change the way he behaved towards her. "Luna's more than I could have ever deserved."

"You say that now, but eventually you'll see her flaws," Snape assured the young wizard.

"And what exactly are her flaws?" Blaise asked, angrily. Quite frankly, he didn't give a damn about being respectful towards his former Head of House.

"Watch your tone, Mr. Zabini," Snape warned, before continuing. "Miss Lovegood's most notable flaw would be her bloodline."

"You're such a hypocrite," Blaise snapped. "Um, hello, Half Blood Prince. Remember that one?"

"I am well aware of the shortcomings of my ancestry," Snape said, nonchalantly. "And I suggest that Miss Lovegood figure out hers as well."

"So, does this mean that you won't be respectful towards her?" Draco asked, his voice tight.

"I won't go out of my way to be cruel, but I'm not about to baby the chit either," he answered.

"You won't go out of your way to be cruel?" Blaise asked, incredulously. "What do you call throwing her life's work in the fire?"

"She was sixteen years old, that's hardly a lifetime" Snape laughed. "She can start over if it means that much to her." Draco couldn't believe that Blaise, who was usually calm and collected, was letting Snape get under his skin like that. What's worse, was Blaise had brought up Luna's research which was a definite no-no. The last thing he needed was for Blaise and Goyle to start focusing their thoughts on getting her portfolio back, especially since Draco knew that Snape was a Legellimen.

"So long as you don't make her cry," Draco said, trying to put an end to the subject. He hadn't really wanted to even come see Snape, but he'd really needed a decoy, so the sooner they got out of there, the better.

"I'll do my best," Snape said.

"I'm sure you will," Blaise muttered, snidely. Draco scowled at him.

"I really must be getting back to grading papers," Snape said, signaling that their visit was over. "Draco, Gregory, do come visit me again sometime soon. Mr. Zabini... don't."

"Don't worry, I won't," Blaise assured him, before storming out of Snape's office.

"Bye Professor," Draco said, waving. "Mum says you should come by for supper soon. Maybe you could bring Mrs. Snape by too."

"I'll do that," Severus said, already back to grading his students papers.

Once the door was shut behind them, Draco let Blaise have it for coming so close to screwing things up. He couldn't believe that Blaise had been so disrespectful towards their former instructor. If Draco had done that and his father had found out about it, he'd need more than just a wand to get himself to safety. Respect towards your elders, so long as they were either Pureblood or friends of the family, was a big deal to his father. Unlike Draco, Blaise had been raised by his mother and all they really cared about was that they were better than everyone else, so they didn't really instill the same values that Draco had, in Blaise.

After reading Blaise the riot act, the three boys snuck down to the dungeons and entered one of the many hidden tunnels that led to the Shrieking Shack. Once safe inside of the shack, Draco and the boys went over their plan one last time.

"So have you given any thought on how you're going to make sure that no one finds the portfolio?" Blaise asked, as he used a spell to return the shrunken invisibility cloak to its original size. "You've got to keep in mind that its got to be somewhere that no one throughout the course of the past can find it, otherwise we're fucked."

"I know," Draco assured him. "Just leave that to me. You guys ready?"

"Yep," Blaise said, wrapping the cloak around himself so that only his head was showing.

"Me too," Goyle added, doing the same as Blaise.

"Good," Draco said, before aiming his wand at himself and muttering a spell. Instantly, his clothes changed and he appeared to be wearing his old Slytherin uniform. "This is just in case someone sees me. I won't look so out of place."

"Smart," Blaise said, looking impressed.

"Well, I wasn't chosen as Head Boy for my stunning good looks... though they probably were a factor," Draco joked. "Let's hug!" Draco said, loudly, holding his arms open in a mock invitation.

"I didn't know you felt that way for me," Blaise said, looking at Draco longingly before wrapping his arms tightly around his friend. In order for all of them to go back, he had to loop the Time Turner around all their of their necks. Thank Merlin the ruddy thing had a long chain. While Blaise was willing to make a joke of their having to be so close, Goyle was less thrilled. "Its not a threesome if there's only two of us," Blaise joked, looking over to Goyle. Begrudgingly, Greg joined Draco and Blaise. Once the Time Turner was in place, Draco made the required number of turns and they were off.

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"Damn it, Goyle!" Blaise grumbled,sounding like he was in pain. "Get your fat ass off of me." How the trio had managed to arrive in the past in a heap on the floor, Draco didn't know; but he did know that Goyle weighed a lot and he really wanted him to get up.

"Shit!," Draco grimaced. "How much do you weigh?"

"I'm all muscle, Goldie Locks, all muscle," Goyle laughed.

"I thought we agreed that you would never call me that again," Draco reminded his friend, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Must have slipped my mind," Goyle lied, standing and helping his friends up. As soon as they were righted, Blaise and Goyle hid beneath their invisibility cloaks, and one went to stand a few feet in front of Draco, while the other was a few feet behind him. This was done so that they could make sure that while on the way down to the dungeon no one snuck up on Draco. The plan was that if either of the lookouts saw someone heading his way, Draco would muttered an invisibility charm and would be able to hide from them; this was almost as reliable as an invisibility cloak but not quite.

The entire way down, Draco could hear his heart thudding loudly. He was so nervous he'd even started to sweat a bit. It wasn't until they'd reached Snape's office that he actually started think that things might work out okay. Based on the time, all of the students were busy at lunch, so their chances of being caught by a student were pretty slim. Draco knew that more often than not, Snape ate his lunch in his office, which was adjoined to his classroom; but whether or not the door was shut, Draco wasn't sure. So, he had Blaise, under the shield of his invisibility cloak peak inside the classroom.

Thankfully, the coast was clear; so Draco removed the shrunken decoy portfolio, that had random things about plants and potions jotted inside of it, and returned it to its original size. Doing his best to act like the cocky little punk he'd been while at Hogwarts , Draco sauntered inside of the classroom, making sure that he was as quiet as possible whilst remaining inconspicuous. Once inside, Draco glanced around the room trying to find the worn leather portfolio that he knew belonged to Luna. When he didn't locate it right away, panic began to set in, but a few moments later Draco saw it lying on the corner of the Potion's Master's desk. Looking around the room one last time, Draco make sure that no one had come in, before grabbing Luna's portfolio and putting in its place the fake one. Once satisfied that Snape's desk didn't appear to be disrupted, Draco shrunk Luna's research and put it in his pocket, before turning to leave the room.

"Is there something I can help you with Draco?" the all too familiar voice of Severus Snape asked, nearly causing Draco to piss his pants. Turning faster than he'd imagined possible, Draco came face to face with his former... err, current Head of House.

"Not really, Sir," Draco said, doing his best to come up with a believable excuse for being there. "I forgot that it was time for lunch. My brains a bit jumbled at the moment."

"Perhaps, you've been working a bit too hard these last few weeks, what with your O.W.L's right around the corner," Snape said, nodding contemplatively. "All of the Quidditch practice certainly isn't helping matters. Maybe you should consider easing of the extracurriculars until after exams. We wouldn't want you to exhaust yourself and screw up, would we? I know your father would be quite displeased."

"I won't screw up," Draco said, knowing that he did wonderfully on his O.W.L's; he'd even managed to do better than both his father and Snape had done on their own exams. "I just didn't sleep well last night, but it didn't have anything to do with studying or Quidditch. Pansy's being a bother, that's all." Draco knew that Snape hated talking about his students personal lives, so he figured this was the quickest way out of their conversation. In Snape's opinion, he was Potion's Master, not a therapist, therefore he shouldn't have to listen to them piss and moan about their teenage fumbling's. Just as he'd predicated, Snape did everything he could to end their conversation and ushered Draco towards the door.

Once outside of the classroom and sure that the door was shut behind him, Draco finally let out the breath that had caught in his throat. Patting his pocket to make sure that the portfolio was there, Draco whispered Blaise's name. Blaise tapped Draco on the shoulder to signal he was there and whispered, right next to his ear, that he was ready to go. Maintaining his usual swagger, Draco headed back down the way they'd came, making sure that they picked up Goyle on the way back. Draco had forgotten to find Greg, but luckily Blaise remembered. It would be pretty bad to forget one of his best friends in the past. He doubted that Goyle would be able to forgive him for that as easily as he'd forgiven him for telling Luna that he was gay.

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When the three of them returned to the safety of the Shrieking Shack, Draco thought he'd keel over and die. His heart had been hammering in his chest ever since they'd started this whole thing. Knowing that the end was near was such a relieving thought for all three boys. While they caught their breath and relished in their victory of sorts, Blaise once again asked how Draco was going to keep someone from the past from finding the portfolio.

"I've got it covered," Draco said, fishing around in one of his pockets and pulling out a tiny little box. Once enlarged, the box was about twelve inches by twelve inches and would easily be able to hold the portfolio. Aiming his wand at the retrieved portfolio, Draco placed at locating charm on it, before shrinking it to a much smaller size. Once the shrunken portfolio was placed inside of the box, Draco shut it and put numerous, very dangerous wards on it, before shrinking the box as well.

"Clever," Blaise said, nodding.

"I'm impressed," Goyle agreed. "You'd give your father a run for his money." Draco kind of felt proud of that comment. Granted his father had done some pretty messed up stuff, he still admired him for his ability to always come out on top.

Standing, Draco walked to one of the back rooms of the shack and knelled down on the floor next to the bed. Aiming his wand at the floor boards located under it, Draco blasted them away. Conjuring a hand held shovel, he began digging a hole. Satisfied that the hole was deep enough to hold the box he'd shrunken, Draco set his treasure inside and covered it with the dirt he'd dug up.

"Reparo," he said, instantly the floor boards fixed themselves. Taking out a switchblade from his pocket, Draco carved his initials and drew a heart beneath them before placing LL, for Luna Lovegood, underneath that. He did this so that when he returned to retrieve the portfolio, all he had to look for was the spot that he'd marked and dig it up.

"Aww," Blaise said, mockingly. "Draco Malfoy loves Luna Lovegood. How sweet."

"Shut up," Draco said, his cheeks blushing. "Let's get out of here." Pulling the Time Turner from his pocket, the three of them huddled together again and Draco used his previous calculations to speed up time so that they were at the point when Luna stormed out of Snape's office.

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From outside of the Potion's classroom door, Draco could here Luna shouting at Snape. Immediately, the three boys used the two invisibility cloaks to shield themselves from Luna's view when she came storming out. The only reason they even needed to be here at this point in time, was because it was the earliest, most accurate time, from which Draco was able to calculate their exact return point. All he needed was to see Luna storm out of the room, and then he just had to turn the time turner fourteen rotations and they'd be back in the present.

"I hope she hurries up," Goyle muttered, hating that he had to stay huddled up next to his two best friends all of this time. "Blaise, your breath stinks."

"Does not," Blaise argued.

"Shut up," Draco hissed, as he saw the door opening and a teary-eyed Luna come dashing out. Taking a deep breath and hoping that everything went as it was supposed to, Draco turned the Time Turner.

For several very long moments, Draco didn't open his eyes; afraid to find out whether or not his final attempt at time travel had been successful. It wasn't until he heard Blaise sigh in relief that he final opened his eyes wide enough to discern the shadow of his surroundings. It was then that he saw himself and Blaise on the floor wrestling with one another earlier that evening.

"We look like morons," Draco whispered to Blaise, as he watched his face turning bright red due to lack of oxygen. He'd always thought that he looked cool when he and his friends were fighting, Pansy always seemed to like it; but now that he'd seen what everyone else saw, Draco vowed to never do it again. As he watched himself take advantage of Blaise's not paying attention and unleash the snake on him, Draco felt relief wash over his body. He knew that within a few minutes time, when they crossed paths with their present selves, everything would be back to normal. Then all he had to do was sneak back up to Hogwarts, dig up the portfolio and put it in a safe place. 'Damn, when I'm good, I'm good,' Draco thought, as he lay in wait.

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I HAVE TO SEND OUT A BIG THANKS TO EMROLDMOON22 FOR MENTIONING THAT THE PORTFOLIO WOULD NEED TO BE HIDDEN IN THE PAST REALLY WELL, SO THAT IT COULDN'T BE FOUND. THAT HAD NEVER EVEN OCCURRED TO ME. SO THANKS A BUNCH FOR THAT ONE.

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