N.B. Any name that has a (H) next to it when it first appears means that they are a historical character.

Chapter 5

April 5th, 1912

Hermione woke to the sound of someone knocking at the door of the bedroom she was in. She heard the door open and sat up and watched as a maid brought in a tray of food.

'Good Morning, Milady. Did you have a good night's rest? I'm sure last night wore you out somewhat.' Said the maid, placing the tray of food on Hermione's bedside table and went to open the curtains. 'I'm sorry to inform you but you will need to hurry today, you do have to start your journey to Southampton.'

Hermione was nibbling on some toast, trying to find out what the last thing that happened to her was. All she could remember was seeing Malfoy and the necklace. Then all of a sudden everything from the previous day came rushing back to her. 'Oh no.' she thought. 'Did she just say Southampton? No it can't be. I can't be. I was going to go to Ancient Mesopotamia!'

'What happened?' Hermione was unaware that she voiced the question until the maid answered.

'Lord and Lady Sotheby held a party last night to say farewell to you. Don't you remember? Master Ross (H) had his eyes on you all night! If your dance card wasn't full up I'm sure he would have spent all night dancing with you. He's quite a catch, milady.' Hermione shook her head and the maid noticed. 'I'm sorry milady. I shouldn't have said anything. That was out of line. My sincere apologies, Milady.'

Hermione was jerked out of her thoughts at that comment. 'What, oh no, it's not that at all Miss…?' Hermione paused; she didn't know the maid's name.

'Louise, Milady. Is everything alright? You seem a bit out of sorts this morning.' Asked the maid as she approached the bed. Louise placed a hand on Hermione's forehead. 'You don't have the fever, so you're not ill.'

Hermione swatted her hand away. 'No, I'm not ill Louise. I just, never mind.' Hermione looked around the room. It was decorated in scarlet's and gold's. Gryffindor colours. A smiled graced Hermione's face. It was a secret smile, a smile one would share with someone who knew the inside joke. She took a sip of her juice to hide the smile.

'It's that young Malfoy isn't it? You fancy him.' sighed the maid. 'Miss De Selah, you must listen to me. I was told that he is bad news; you have to stay away from him. Please Milady; you don't want to be around his sort. Go on the Titanic as you planned and sail to America to do your business deal and forget about him, please for the good of us all. You need to forget about him.'

'Malfoy? Which Malfoy Louise?' asked Hermione placing down her half empty glass. She was shocked that the maid knew of the Malfoy's which meant that she was most definitely a witch. But she was even more shocked to find out that her worst fears were confirmed. She was going on Titanic. The maid had just said so. Louise looked at her funnily.

'Why, that horrid young Draco Malfoy of course! Then again his older brother, Zander Malfoy, isn't much better.' Exclaimed Louise. Hermione was curious as to why Louise didn't like the Malfoy's. There was no dark lord for them to follow, so what was wrong with them?

'Milady, please do hurry and finish your breakfast so we can get you dressed so you can leave. You can't dally around for much longer.' Hermione ate the last bit of her toast and handed them over to Louise.

'Here, Louise, take these to the kitchens. Leave me for the moment and let me go to the bathroom and do my thing before you come to dress me. I won't be long.' Louise gave a little curtsy before leaving the room taking the tray with her.

Hermione got out of bed and headed to where she thought the bathroom was and luckily for her the first door she opened lead to the bathroom. She spotted a vanity with a mirror. Curious as to what she looked like she faced herself in the mirror. Her face was exactly the same, she couldn't find any difference, but her hair was another story. Instead of her unruly brown locks, her hair was in flowing curls, although it looked like she just got out of bed, which was true. She looked at herself closer and didn't notice any other significant changes.

Hermione decided that she better hurry and stop gawking at herself in the mirror. She found a hand cloth and rinsed it in the warm water that was in the basin. She wiped her face and got rid of any sleep that was in the corner of her eyes. She then grabbed a brush and gave her hair a good brush so that it was smooth.

After she finished her morning ritual she exited the bathroom and was back in the bedroom where Louise was setting out Hermione's clothes for the day. Hermione blanched when she noticed that among the garments there was a corset.

'We must hurry Milady. The servant boys are already packing the car.' Hermione stood still, her face still pale while looking at the corset. Louise sighed. There was something definitely wrong with her mistress this morning. She grabbed her hand and dragged Hermione over to the four poster bed.

'Here, pull off your night wear milady and I'll get you ready for your day.' Hermione automatically nodded and started to take off her nightclothes. She was then standing in her undergarments as she turned around and placed her hands on the bed post in front of her. Louise wrapped the corset around Hermione and started to tighten the strings. She then handed a dress over to Hermione.

Hermione took the dress and slipped it on. It was a nice satin and chiffon dress of the palest yellow. Louise forced her to sit in front of and armoire and pulled her hair in an intricate knot.

'Thank you Louise.' Said Hermione once her hair was done. She stood up and looked at the maid.

'It's my job milady. Now hurry! Go down to the car and head off on your trip. Do enjoy yourself while you are away! There'll be no doubt in my mind that you will come back with a case full of books.' Smiled Louise. Hermione furrowed her brows.

'Aren't you coming with me Louise?' she asked the maid. She thought that wherever the lady or lord of the manor went that their key servants went with them. Louise shook her head.

'No milady. You told us that the White Star Line was going to provide you with personal maids and that when you were in America that you would hire some for the duration of your stay. Now go! I'll see you when you get back!' she laughed and pushed Hermione out of the bedroom.

Hermione wandered the hallways admiring the paintings. There were many classical paintings and Hermione could name a few. She passed the paintings Four Ages of Life by Pietro de Cortona (H), Arcas and Callisto by Jean-Francois Millet (H), Cephalus and Aurora by Fancois Boucher (H). She was able to recognise the myths behind each painting.

She continued walking until she reached the entrance hall. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a large painting. She turned to face the painting and what she saw unnerved her. The painting was of a beautiful woman with long brown hair and her blonde lover. The woman was on what looked like a large plank of wood floating on the ocean and holding the man's hand. There were icebergs and what looked like a fleet of row boats in the background. She looked at the name on one of the small boats and she could just make out RMS Ti before the boat curved away obscuring the other letters. But that was all the clues that she needed because she knew that somehow this was her and Draco in a few days time.

She shook her head and headed outside to the waiting car. The servants had all lined up and they bowed to her as she exited the manor. She waved her hand to them, indicating to them to not bother. The driver of the car opened the door for her and she sat down in the car. The door closed behind her and she looked out the window at the large manor house. It was a beautiful three story 1810's style manor with ivy growing up the sides of the house. She heard the car start and slowly pull away from the manor, making its way down the driveway. She stuck her hand out the window and waved to her servants, not sure if she would ever see them again.