Out of Hand II: A Matter of Time by relativelypositive

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related and I make no money from the use of the characters created by J. K. Rowling.

Chapter 15

Hermione ripped the necklace over Harry's head and sprinted into Madam Pomfrey's office where the woman wasn't sitting placidly monitoring her patients.

"Shit!" she yelled.

"Did you just swear?" Harry questioned from the other room with a little laugh.

Hermione ran to the closet and checked. She felt dumb doing it, but she couldn't take the chance that Madam Pomfrey was in there for some reason. She checked the medi-witch's bathroom as well, with no luck.

"Shit!" she yelled again as she slammed the door.

She was a little surprised Harry didn't call her out on it, but found out why when she exited the office again.

"Harry? What is it?"

He pointed to Greg's bed, so she turned in Greg's direction. Greg had one hand secured to the rail on his bed, but the other had pulled his blanket up over his nose, so only his eyes and hair were visible.

He was staring at Harry with an extreme amount of hate. As they watched, Greg slowly pulled the blanket down to his chin, bared his teeth in a ferocious grimace, hissed at Harry, then quickly pulled the blanket back up to his eyes.

"That's fucking weird."

"Professor Snape thinks Voldemort's attached himself to Greg to survive."

"That would explain it."

"We're wasting time. Where else could Madam Pomfrey be?"

"Let's head for Dumbledore. Hopefully we'll find her on the way."

"Or should we head for Professor Snape? Dealing with the Malfoys? Maybe he'd be better. He also might know about the spell."

"Call Kingsley? Get ahead of it? Make sure Malfoy can't leave Azkaban?"

"He's not been convicted yet. I don't see how we can keep him from the ceremony. I think we just have to let him come and deal with him here."

"Then Snape it is."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Draco was almost to the dungeons when he heard a whoop and turned just in time to catch an airborne Hermione. She attacked his mouth. He laughed into her mouth as they kissed as though they hadn't seen each other for weeks.

She was clearly not in pain, which worried Draco a bit. Was she going to be off the pain potion in time to marry him?

Draco mentally shrugged off his apprehension and enjoyed kissing his girl.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled in irritation from behind. They both ignored him.

Hermione tore herself away from Draco's mouth and he watched in amusement as she stomped and swore.

"That was supposed to work!" she hissed in frustration.

"What was supposed to work?" he questioned.

"Kissing you!"

"It was supposed to do something? I mean, other than the obvious," he said with a lascivious wink and a gesture at his trousers.

"I'm not me. I mean, I am me, but I used my time turner to come back to now. You died and the ring keeps slipping down my finger. I thought kissing you would fix it."

"Maybe we should try again."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Tempting. Maybe I should have more intention. I'm going to marry you, Draco Malfoy!" Draco smiled as she kept shoving his ring back on her finger. "Damn! Fine. I'll figure it out later."

"Let's make out some more. That should help."

"We can't take any more time! You don't know it but we're saving your life! You were dead!"

Draco watched in shock as Hermione and Harry ran down the hall. He died? How? Why?

He found them at the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories banging on the door, being their loud, brutish Gryffindor selves.

Draco slipped past them and opened the door with a whispered password.

"Where is Professor Snape?" Harry asked the first person he saw. The young girl, probably a first year, just stared up at him in awe.

"Harry Potter?" Her vacant, shell-shocked gaze locked on his face. "Harry…Potter."

"Yeah. Do you know where Snape is?"

"Why would you think he was here?" Draco asked, dismissing the flummoxed girl.

"Doesn't he live here?"

"Well, he sleeps in his chambers around the corner, but this time of day? He's probably in his classroom. Seriously, if you were looking for McGonagall, would you look in Gryffindor tower?"

He watched Harry and Hermione look at each other and have an entire conversation in shrugs and head movements. He felt a pang of jealousy that the two had such a history, such a bond. He set that aside and ran after the two as they raced back toward the potions classroom.

"Professor?" Hermione called as she burst through the door. She whirled on Draco when she got no results. "Where next?"

"Library? Great Hall?"

"I know where he is!" Harry yelled suddenly. "The chaperone bonding ceremony! He was there…getting a chaperone!"

"Getting a chaperone?" Draco asked. "That would mean…"

"That he's engaged! It's wild, right? Now, let's focus. Where is the ceremony?" Hermione started walking toward the staircase before she got her answer.

"Dumbledore's office. Mrs. Malfoy kicked them out of the Great Hall to decorate for your wedding."

"She got away with that?"

"My mother is a force to be reckoned with."

"Did she dress you, too?" Harry asked with a goofy smile.

Draco looked back at him in confusion. "Of course not."

"Huh. Then you chose that robe?"

"Of course. Why are you smiling?"

"You chose gold robes?"

"Gold?"

"It's really lovely, Draco. It brings out the undertones in your skin."

Draco looked down in horror. He had been interrupted in his quest to change his robes. "Fuck off, Potter. It was a spell. It will wear off."

"Sure it is."

"I think it's sexy when men wear an unexpected color," Hermione interjected.

Draco smirked at Harry. "Do you now?"

"No. But I thought I'd try to save you some face. Now you've ruined it by acting smug."

Harry laughed, and Draco couldn't help but smile.

"Bitch," he called lightly.

Her answering giggle made him feel a little better, like they were becoming friends, not just people that were thrown together.

"So…how did I die?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione led the charge up to Dumbledore's office. Draco had not taken the news of his death very well. He kept asking questions Hermione didn't know how to answer.

Yes, it was his parents. No, she didn't know whether his mother had anything to do with it. Yes, Madam Pomfrey knows the incantation to end the spell. No, she hadn't gotten there in time.

She started ignoring the boys in favor of thinking through the next few steps.

She had been up to Professor Dumbledore's office so often lately she knew the password and barely slowed to let the statues guarding the staircase get out of the way.

She barged in only thinking of getting to Professor Snape or Professor Dumbledore in time to stop the coming tragedy.

"I knew it! I knew you were mine!"

Hermione found herself forcibly pulled into Ron's arms. He was kissing her again!

She struggled against his arms and he let her go abruptly.

"That's the last time you kiss my wife!" Draco moved so fast Hermione didn't even see the spell that made Ron stagger back and keel over.

"Not…yours…" Ron wheezed.

"Most definitely mine." Hermione grabbed Draco as he tried to advance on Ron.

"Ron, you're engaged to Romilda Vane!" Hermione yelled, trying to break the tension between the two boys.

"He's…what?" Draco giggled. Seriously giggled. "Romilda Vane? How did that happen? And how is it possible that he doesn't know it?"

"I'll tell you later. For now…Professor Snape?" Hermione turned to the Professor, who was trying to blend into the woodwork. "Lucius Malfoy is about to kill Draco. We need you to help stop him."

"Are you sure?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Miss Granger, if you…"

"He comes to the wedding, pretends to be resigned, then kills him with a spell from the walls of the room. Do you know what it is or how to undo it?"

"He…that's quite interesting. He killed Draco? Not you? How odd. You're the one he wants dead!"

"Professor!"

"I apologize. Ahem," the professor looked back at the assembled group of engaged people, chaperones, and the Headmaster. "I'm afraid we have grave business and I'll have to postpone the bonding. Ever so sorry. Can't be helped."

Professor Snape left them all in the dust.

"Did you know he could run that fast?"

"No idea."

"We should catch up."

"We don't know where he went!"

"I'm right here!" Professor Snape called with irritation from the other side of the door. "You ruined my escape! Make haste! Or is Mr. Malfoy's life suddenly of no consequence?"

A/N:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!