"What the heck!?"
Dani's mouth fell open as she observed the room which they were standing in. The furniture was pristine and the colour green was almost everywhere.
"This is my Manor!" Draco burst out. "What did you do?"
"What did I do?" Dani asked angrily. "I didn't do anything except yell at you!"
"Well, get us back before someone finds us!" Draco said desperately. Dani folded her arms and raised her eyebrow again.
"Why?" she asked slowly, doing her best to annoy him. Footsteps were heard coming down a corridor and Draco suddenly grabbed Dani's arm, dragging her over to a broom cupboard.
"I don't want my father to find us here, alright?" he hissed in a quiet voice, shoving her into the cupboard first and then stepping in after her, shutting the door just as someone else entered the room.
They remained silent as they waited for the person to go through to a different room, but it wasn't long before they both realised the person was heading for their very hide-out. Dani bit her lip nervously and wondered what Mr Malfoy would do once he saw them, hoping it wouldn't be anything bad.
The door opened and Dani peered over Draco's shoulder to find herself staring at a very hot, older version of him.
Crap, did she just think of his father as hot?
"Well, that is unexpected." the man said, staring at them.
"We're so sorry, Mr Malfoy!" Dani exclaimed, gripping Draco's arm tightly without realising it. It was a few moments before she realised Draco was way more confused than he was afraid.
"Who the heck are you and what are you doing in my Manor?" Draco growled threateningly, stepping forward and out of the cupboard. Dani let go of his arm and watched in confusion as he advanced on who she had thought was his father.
She was just contemplating whether or not to step out of the cupboard as well when something hit her in the back and she screamed, falling out onto her face at the feet of Draco and the other blond.
Sometimes life completely sucked.
"Are you alright?" the man who looked like an older Draco asked, reaching down to help her up.
"Don't touch her!" Draco snapped, but Dani was already on her feet again.
"Relax, you'll get to do the exact same thing one day." the man chuckled.
"Why do I feel like I've met your older self?" Dani asked, slightly in a daze. Draco looked over at her, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, before he let out a small breath.
"You are me, aren't you?" he asked the man quietly.
"Yes, actually, I am." the man, who Dani was forced to believe was Draco as well, replied.
"How?" the young Draco asked.
"You've travelled through time. It's the necklace that does it." the older Draco explained. Dani looked over at the necklace which Draco was still holding in his hand and found it very difficult to believe that it was the reason behind their time travel.
"So, in the detention room with the blond girl we also time travelled? That would explain Snape's look of shock when he walked in and saw us there." Draco said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, you're right." the older Draco nodded in agreement.
"Draco?" called a voice and the older Draco turned just in time to see a woman walk into the room.
"Hey, Dani," he greeted. "Remember this?"
The older Dani paused when she saw the two strangers in her house and then smiled. "Of course, it was terrifying."
"I'm going to faint." Dani whispered, barely audible.
"What are you doing in my house?" the young Draco asked, looking confused but somehow excited at the same time.
"We um-"
"Don't tell them!" Dani scolded the older Draco quickly. "They need to find out for themselves."
"You're planning to murder him, right?" the young Dani asked, eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline. "I mean, that's why you're here... right?"
The older Dani laughed and folded her arms, refusing to answer. "You should go back now." she said.
"How?" the young Dani asked.
"Seriously, is asking questions the only thing you can do?" the young Draco asked in annoyance.
"Well I don't see you finding out how to get back to our time!" Dani said, folding her arms angrily. "But if you have a brainwave, let me know!"
"What is your problem? I was just saying-"
Draco clenched his teeth and fell silent, closing his eyes as the sick feeling which he was familiar with made itself known again. The world felt as if it was falling and then in the next instant he felt himself collide with Dani and they both tumbled backwards, crashing onto a solid floor.
"Draco!" Katie screamed.
"Get off me!" Dani groaned, shoving Draco off herself and then standing up. She dusted herself off before heading to the door, not watching as Draco stood up also and then moved over to Katie, who was shaking her head.
"I can't believe she never told me she liked you," she said to Draco. "No wonder she's always been trying to make me dump you!"
"She's been trying to make you dump me?" Draco asked with a frown, looking down at Katie. She nodded and folded her arms, letting out a quiet sigh.
"Oh well, at least we shouldn't have to worry about her since she seems to be in deep denial." Katie shrugged.
"That's true." Draco agreed in a murmur, staring down at Katie for a few more moments before he looked over at the door again. He then became aware of something in his hand and glanced down, smirking as he saw the necklace. "This is going to be fun."
In Arithmancy that afternoon Dani finally chose to breach the subject about her going through time with Draco. The Professor had set some work for the lesson so everyone was working and talking while they did so.
"Hey, guys?" Dani said as she wrote down some notes on her parchment.
"What's up?" Bri asked curiously, instantly being able to tell that Dani was in one of her serious moods.
"Well, you know how I went to return the necklace this morning?" Dani began cautiously.
"What necklace?" Jackie spoke up, looking up from where she had been doodling 'O.W' on her parchment.
"Oh, um, that's what I was returning this morning. Anyway, it really isn't relevant- actually it is. Okay, last night at detention Snape left the room and I was able to do a bit of sneaking around. I found a necklace in one of the drawers and was admiring it when Malfoy and I began arguing and we went through time. I know it sounds weird, but it's the truth. When I went to return it this morning Malfoy and Katie were there and Malfoy and I went through time again. But the difference was this time we ended up in Malfoy's Manor and met his future self. The thing is-"
Dani stopped and gave Bri a look of disbelief. She had turned to face the front of the room and raised her hand, waiting for the Professor to see her.
When Professor Vector looked up and walked over, Bri lowered her hand.
"Excuse me, Dani's not feeling very well at all. May I take her to the Hospital Wing?" Bri asked.
"I'm feeling fine!" Dani protested in horror.
"She's deluded, Professor." Bri said quietly.
"If you both finish the work I set for you, then you can go." Professor Vector said, eyeing them suspiciously before going back to her desk.
"Bri!" Dani said accusingly.
"What was I supposed to do? Keep listening to you talking about going through time? I honestly doubt that any Professor would leave an object like that lying in an unlocked drawer." Bri reasoned.
"But it's the truth!" Dani protested.
"Well, then you can tell us about it later tonight. For now, I really do want to finish this." Bri gestured at the parchment she had been writing on and Dani gave in.
"Fine, but promise me you'll listen tonight alright?" Dani asked.
"I promise." Bri agreed.
The rest of the lesson went smoothly and, before they knew it, dinner time had arrived and they were heading to the Great Hall with all the other students. Dani had forgotten about telling Bri and Jackie how she travelled through time for the moment and so they all sat down quietly.
A sudden commotion just inside the doors to the Great Hall made many students turn their heads to see what was going on, and Dani too turned around in her seat to get a better view.
"It's not true!" Katie was gasping in terror. Draco was standing further away from her than normal, a glare fixed to his face. The catalyst of their argument stood back from Katie, worry in his eyes. It was Dayn Masten.
"Then what exactly was going on?" Draco asked.
"I just- we- it was a misunderstanding!" Katie floundered desperately for an excuse. Most people had turned away again and carried on with their own business, but Dani kept watching – mostly because Katie was her twin sister and she felt as though she was partly responsible.
"You were snogging him! Where exactly was the misunderstanding?" Draco demanded.
"Look, drop it Malfoy," Dayn spoke up. "You can have her."
Dani winced, but kept her eyes on Katie, who was now staring up at Draco with hope in her eyes. It wasn't hard to see who she liked more out of the two of them.
Dayn began walking away from them and suddenly Draco grabbed Katie's arm, forcefully dragging her away and over to the Slytherin table.
The spectacle was over. The last few remaining heads turned back to their food and the noise died down.
"I wish she could see that Malfoy was bad for her." Dani sighed, resting her head on her hand.
Bri and Jackie nodded silently in agreement, just as Dayn sat down on the other side of Dani. He kept his eyes down, but when Dani kept staring at him and didn't look away he subconsciously looked up.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing." Dani said nonchalantly, turning away to face her friends.
"I thought you were Malfoy's girlfriend," Dayn began trying to explain. "You didn't tell me when I said Katie was my girlfriend that she was actually dating Malfoy. And then he came and told me to move so it was just all fitting together. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, and I'm not mad at you." Dani said, giving him a small smile. "The mistake was made by Katie."
Dayn was silent then and soon began eating, so the subject was dropped. They both knew they wouldn't bring it up again if they could help it.
"So, did you transfer here?" Bri asked Dayn innocently.
"Yeah." Dayn nodded. He glanced up at Bri but then blushed and looked down again, taking another mouthful of food to try and hide his reaction.
"I heard you two were talking for a while last night." Dani said with a grin, raising an eyebrow at Dayn.
"Uh, it wasn't for too long." Dayn said nervously.
Dani laughed and continued to tease Dayn and Bri subtly until Dumbledore stepped up and waited for silence.
Curious, Dani and her friends waited to hear what their Headmaster had to say.
"After much discussion and some difficult persuasion," Dumbledore started. "I have managed to organise for a Ball to be held in three weeks time. Now, I know this does not leave us with very much time to prepare, but I wanted it to be close to the start of the new year and I have also scheduled some extra Hogsmeade trips in order for everyone to buy robes and dresses."
Dani's mouth was hanging open, a tingling sensation rushing through her. Glancing sideways, she found herself staring at Harry and couldn't help but smile slightly. He smiled back and then they turned to face Dumbledore again.
"With that said, I am sure you will all be able to find a date within the time frame, but you'd better start early!" Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling, and then walked back to his seat.
The Great Hall erupted in chatter as everyone began speaking at once and Dani turned to face her two best friends, all three of them grinning excitedly.
"Can you believe it?" Jackie exclaimed. "A Ball!"