AN: Holla! Here I am, updating after one week to hopefully redeem my slow update the last time. Have to thank my SWOTVAC week for that since I could stay at home almost all week. Of course, I was and still am supposed to be studying for exams, but ehm I usually seek fandom-astic task to procrastinate studying ;)

7 First Kisses
by leopion

The Fourth

Hermione ran, her breath coming in short gasps. It had taken Ron a much longer time to perfect his Parseltongue today, and they were running late. Her heart was racing, but she knew there was another reason for it besides the running. She was about to meet him again. Although Hermione still couldn't figure out how the day had repeated once more, she knew for certain this time that it wasn't their kiss. Perhaps Malfoy's research would yield more success. But no matter what the cause, she was thankful that they had this other chance.

Hermione checked her watch and urged Ron to go faster. Even though she couldn't tell him that they needed to enter the Room of Hidden Things with Harry to look for the Horcrux, the fact that Voldemort had started the attack seemed to be a good enough incentive. She came to an abrupt halt at the sight of flowing red hair dashing down the stairs.

'Ginny!' exclaimed Hermione in shock. Wasn't Ginny supposed to be in the Room of Requirement? Something like this had never happened before.

Ron dropped the Basilisk's fangs and grabbed his sister by the arm to prevent her from getting away. 'Where are you going?'

'To the Great Hall. I can't stay in that room doing nothing while everyone is fighting,' said Ginny as she tried to shrug off Ron's hand.

'She's right!' came a voice from the top stair. It was Tonks; her hair turned mousy brown with worry.

'I thought you were at home with Teddy.'

'I can't stand not knowing,' said Tonks. 'Have you two seen Remus?'

Both Hermione and Ron shook their heads. 'We were not at the battle,' said Ron.

'I'm sure he's all right,' added Hermione. Despite the truthfulness of her statement at that moment, Hermione still felt as though she was lying. Lupin and Tonks were going to die. It had been that way thrice. She was relieved that Tonks had rushed off without seeing the guilt written on her face. Ginny, however, was still being held back by Ron.

'You are going to come back to the Room of Requirement,' he told her.

'I won't,' said Ginny fiercely. 'Don't use that big brother tone with me, Ron. You're only one year older.'

'But Mum has—'

'Ron, we don't have time to argue here,' Hermione cut in, despite her desire to see Ginny safe and avoid any more changes to the day's events. Ginny took the chance to break free from Ron's grasp and sent Hermione a wink before sprinting away.

Seeing the sour look on Ron's face, Hermione couldn't help but wonder at what she had just done. Although it wasn't entirely her doing, something major had just been changed. How would this affect the grand scheme of things?

'I know she'd still try to fight, one way or another,' said Ron as they climbed up to the seventh floor.

'I know,' answered Hermione absently. Her mind was preoccupied. Would they still meet Harry at their destination? Would Malfoy still be there?

Her worry didn't ease one bit when they found Harry pacing in front of the hidden entrance of the room. Something was wrong.

'I can't find Ginny,' he exclaimed as Hermione and Ron approached. 'I can't even get in there.'

'Ginny's gone down to the Great Hall,' said Hermione.

'What?'

'You can't just keep her locked up in there, mate,' said Ron gloomily.

'Harry, you were saying something about not being able to get in?' asked Hermione before her friends could dwell deeper on their concerns about Ginny. It was well past the time when they were supposed to confront Malfoy.

'Well, the door did not appear when I thought of the DA's hideout. It's like someone's in there but using the room for another purpose.'

Someone was in there. Butterflies danced in Hermione's stomach. Could it be Malfoy?

'Does it matter now that you know Ginny's outside?' asked Ron, drawing her back to the conversation.

'It does. One of the Horcruxes is in there, in the Room of Hidden Things,' began Harry. Hermione asked him to elaborate. Their exchange about Basilisk fangs and Horcruxes was brief and to the point, mostly thanks to her endeavour to bring their conversation back to the important topic every time any potential distraction came up.

'But we can't get in, anyway,' Ron concluded.

'Well, for the DA's hideout, we can't,' said Hermione. 'But we may still be able to enter the Room of Hidden Things.'

If Malfoy is the one who occupies the room, we must be able to, thought Hermione. She was relieved when, on their third try, the door appeared in front of them. Harry was the first to go in.

'What the—'

He tripped on something and fell over, causing a loud clattering noise. Just a quick peek through the door and Hermione understood why. Gone were the aisles in between piles of junk. The room now looked as if someone was half-way through bulldozing its contents. Despite the mostly even surface, there were still several dunes of objects rising up here and there. Among them was an off-hinged cabinet that Hermione guessed was the one Malfoy had mended last year. What have you done now, Malfoy?First Ginny leaving the room, and now this. What had caused such a dramatic change of events?

Harry had gotten back to his feet. Soon, the three of them were standing on the sea of objects inside the room.

'What are we gonna do, mate?'

'I dunno,' said Harry. 'Since I saw it when I hid my Potions book, I just figured we wouldn't need to dig things up.'

'Accio diadem,' cried Hermione even though she knew it was in vain. How were they going to find it now? Not to mention she still needed to find a secluded place to meet with Malfoy.

With the knowledge that someone else might be present, it was extremely difficult to convince Harry and Ron to split up. Due to the encounter yesterday, Hermione volunteered to go to the farthest corner behind a few junk dunes, counting on Malfoy being hidden there. It took some effort to persuade her friends to agree with this task delegation, but finally Hermione was on her way.

'Malfoy?' whispered Hermione once she'd gotten behind the first dune. 'You can come out now.'

Hermione waited, her heart pumping wildly in her chest. He didn't appear. Where are you, Malfoy?

She turned back and cast a quick Muffliatobefore going farther into the labyrinth. After a while, Hermione heard a clanking sound that she realised was not her own. Following its source into another alley between the dunes, she could see a sign of movement behind a large pile of bottles.

'Malfoy, is that you?'

'Over here, Granger.'

She had to round a corner to reach him. Malfoy was crouching with his back to her, apparently trying to use his hands as support to stand up. Under normal circumstances, the action would seem superfluous. Hermione felt her stomach flip. She rushed forward to help him.

'How—Oh god, are you okay?' She gasped as soon as his face came into view. Malfoy's left cheek was swollen with a big, purple bruise, and blood was trickling from his nose despite the bandage he'd stuck on it. He gingerly brought an already bloodied handkerchief up to wipe the blood, grunting as he did so.

'Should we sit down?' asked Hermione, noticing Malfoy's unsteady stance.

'Salazar's pants, Granger, I'm not going to faint on you. Just a bit shaken, is all.'

'Okay, okay,' said Hermione, attempting to hide the worry on her face. 'Tell me what's happened.'

'Travers happened,' Malfoy grumbled.

'How?'

'The Vanishing Cabinet. Never thought one day it'd come back and bite me in the arse.'

'But that's never happened before,' exclaimed Hermione. What was wrong with today?

'Well, I've got an explanation. But before that, can you mend this?' He pointed at his bloody nose. 'I'm not quite sure about casting the spell on myself.'

'Oh, sorry, I forgot,' said Hermione, pointing her wand at his nose. 'Here. Episkey!'

He gritted his teeth at the pain her spell caused but didn't complain. Hermione quickly cleaned the remaining blood off Malfoy's nose with a wet cloth (courtesy of the room) and cast a soothing charm on the bruise.

'So, where's Travers?'

'I sent him back and then broke the cabinet. As for the explanation, Travers might have tried it before but failed because the cabinet didn't exist in Weaselette's variation of the room.' Hermione raised an eyebrow, but Malfoy ignored it and continued. 'Shouldn't have gone in after she came out today. If I hadn't been inside, the entire Room of Hidden Things wouldn't have existed at that point in time. There'd have been no way that he could get in.'

'How can you be sure? What if he also knows? What if he's learnt from the past?'

Malfoy shook his head. 'It's only us. Here, read this.'

He shoved a crumpled piece of paper into Hermione's hand. She smoothed out the wrinkles. It was a page from a book, which had been highlighted in places.

'You did this to a library book?'

'Is this the time to worry about that?'

'Right,' replied Hermione as she began to read Malfoy's highlighted text.

Like the power of sacrifice, the plea of one's soul is very ancient magic ... There is no need for any incantation or conscious endeavour; the magic comes from deep within the soul itself ... The wish, uttered aloud with vehemence at one precise moment in a life-and-death situation, will be fulfilled.

Her eyes lingered on the page, swiftly skimming through the rest. 'Are you sure? Is this my wish or your wish, then?'

'Yours, of course,' answered Malfoy with an 'I'm-not-going-to-explain' expression. Sensing that it might be something personal, Hermione refrained from enquiring about his reasons.

'Then, how did you also come back with me?' she asked instead.

'I guess it's because we were ...' Malfoy ran a hand through his hair, 'well, sort of ... connected.'

Hermione felt her cheeks flush, but she told herself not to lose focus. 'I still don't get it,' she said. 'I wished for the Light to win, and that had already been fulfilled yesterday.'

'True, that was what you wanted, but what was actually said at that moment matters. What you said before the kiss, Granger.'

'That none of my loved ones were lost?'

'Exactly. I figure the day will repeat until you can save all of those people. We're still here today because Potter died yesterday.'

Hermione nodded. Although she knew his logic was sound, she was still too astounded to completely believe it. That meant everyone she loved would eventually be alive and well.

'So, who are the ones you want to save?'

The question brought back the sharp pain in her chest. Even with the magical wish, how could she possible save them all?

'Harry, Ron, Luna, Fred, Molly, Lupin, Tonks, Fleur—'

'Hang on. That was the first day, wasn't it? Just count the ones who died yesterday before Potter handed himself over. We can't expect things to stay the same after that.'

'Then, it's Fred, Lupin, and Tonks,' she replied, feeling as if an onerous burden had been lifted. They would also have Harry's sacrificial protection even though it wouldn't be able to last long as the first timeline had shown. Back then, they had all remained unscathed for a short period until the death rate skyrocketed.

'The thing is,' she continued, 'I don't know if someone else will be in danger if we change things tonight. And then there is Snape—'

'You categorise him as one of your loved ones?' asked Malfoy incredulously.

'No, but I can't very well let such a brave and loyal man die in vain at Voldemort's hand.'

'His death wasn't in vain,' he countered. 'Do you think Snape will still give his memory to Potter if he's not on his deathbed? Will Potter go to the Dark Lord? Will the Dark Lord believe that he's mastered the Elder Wand if Snape's still alive?'

'I don't know,' she answered truthfully.

'There's too much uncertainty about this. If you don't think he's your loved one, then leave him out.'

Hermione was going to accuse Malfoy of being cold-hearted, but she bit her tongue when a pained look crossed his face. Snape had been Malfoy's mentor for years, and perhaps he wanted to save the man even more than she did.

'What about the ones who might get killed because of the changes we make?' Hermione attempted to change the topic.

'We'll deal with that when it comes up. Now, we should make a plan to save the three you've mentioned first. I know Fred's one of the twins, but which one?'

'You don't need to worry about him. I suppose I can save him. Can you help save Lupin?'

'The werewolf?' asked Malfoy with apparent distaste in his voice.

'Don't speak about him in that tone,' she scolded. 'But yes, he's a werewolf. You should be able to recognise him from third-year. He was in the battle in the Great Hall. I wasn't there when he died, so I don't know what you can do.'

'What about Tonks?'

'You don't know you cousin, do you? I think her hair might be pink,' said Hermione, not missing the look of recognition crossing Malfoy's features. 'It can be very dark when she's depressed, but in battle, she's always been fierce and fearless.'

'I'll help her,' he said at once.

'Why?'

'She's my cousin.'

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Since when did someone like Malfoy become so concerned for a cousin he didn't even know? 'Anything else?'

'Merlin, Granger. Why must you make this so difficult? We don't have time.'

'That's why I want to make sure we don't screw up,' she retorted, not backing down.

'She was duelling Bellatrix.' It was the very answer Hermione feared.

'No! Are you insane?'

'If we can kill her beforehand, she won't be able to kill Potter in the end, will she?'

'We can only help them keep fighting until Voldemort calls his army back. We cannot kill those Death Eaters in this battle if they're not meant to die then,' said Hermione. 'I'll take care of Tonks.'

'But you're supposed to be with Potter and Weasley.'

'I can still come back. I'll figure something out.'

'But—'

'You cannot help Lupin and Tonks at once.'

'Found anything over there, Hermione?' came Ron's voice. It was time to end her discussion with Malfoy.

He looked defeated. 'I'll deal with Lupin.'

'Good.' Hermione sighed. 'We'll never find the diadem in this mess.'

'Actually, during the fight, I happened to stumble across something,' said Malfoy, smirking. He pulled a discoloured tiara from inside his robes and held it in front of her. Hermione immediately recognised the small inscription: 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'

'You've saved it?' she asked in surprise. Before Malfoy could answer, she reached forward and kissed him. It was a moment of utter madness.

'Hermione!'

How could she get caught kissing Malfoy by Ron of all people? Hermione instantly pulled away and slapped the former across the face. Casting a brief apologetic look at a completely stunned Malfoy, she snatched the diadem from his hand and ran back to her friends. Apparently, Harry had been there to witness the kiss as well.

'Distraction strategy,' she said quickly, grabbing them both by the arms and heading for the door.

'Well, that was effective,' commented Harry with mirth in his eyes. Hermione still hadn't dared look at Ron to see his reaction, but she braced herself.

'Oh Merlin, you should have seen the look on Malfoy's face.' He burst out laughing. 'Like he'd just been hit by a Bludger or something. Bloody priceless.'

'Harry, come on!' screamed Hermione, her lungs feeling as though they'd been frozen by the cold. The Dementors were closing in on the three of them. Hermione's silver otter faltered and threatened to fade, though it wasn't her trying to simulate the old event this time. Again and again, she could not find any opportunity to stay behind, and Hermione was beginning to wonder if she would ever be able to save Tonks like she did Fred. This would take much more than a simple Shield Charm.

The chill in the air gradually melted away as Luna, Ernie, and Seamus joined them with their Patronuses, yet the desperation in her heart still persisted. She knew that once they got into the Shrieking Shack, there would be no way for her to come back. If only Malfoy'd had time to tell her more details about the duel between Tonks and Bellatrix. She could only surmise that he'd encountered them on his way to their meeting place yesterday. Hermione wasn't sure when Malfoy'd started his journey, but by the looks of it, it couldn't have been that long before Voldemort's call to ceasefire.

The six Patronuses were still keeping the Dementors at bay, but Hermione knew she didn't have long before the next challenge came their way. Not a minute later, Ron's shaky thank-you was cut short by the giants' roar, and her group dispersed to escape their thundering feet. Out of habit, she attempted to follow Harry, but then inspiration sparked. If there was a time she could be left behind, it was now. It only took a moment's hesitation to make it impossible for Hermione to cross the giants without an extremely high risk of being smashed. She rushed back into the castle. Knowing that her best friends wouldn't go on unless they knew she was safe, she conjured her silver otter once more.

'Harry, Ron, I cannot pass the giants, but I'm still safe,' she said to it. 'I'll stay in the castle and fight. You two mustgo on to kill the snake. Please be careful.'

Hermione sent her Patronus after Ron and Harry then returned to the raging battle. Somewhere on the way to the abandoned classroom off the Great Hall, she chanted to herself. But it turned out Bellatrix wasn't that hard to spot. That maniacal laugh had been deeply imprinted on Hermione's mind since that fateful night at Malfoy Manor.

'You have one hour,' said Voldemort's magnified voice. Bellatrix looked at Tonks and Hermione as though her favourite toys had been taken away.

'I will come back,' she snarled before sprinting past them. Throughout the Great Hall, duels ceased, and the Death Eaters all followed Bellatrix's lead.

Tonks turned to Hermione. 'Let's go find the others.'

Despite Tonks' words, Hermione knew that her greatest concern was to find Lupin. She nodded apprehensively. Was Lupin still alive? Did Malfoy succeed?

They quickly gathered in the Great Hall, making sure that the ones they cared for were all right before dividing the task of laying aside the dead and helping the injured. The relief of seeing each other after the brutal fight was immense. Her heart warmed to see Fred helping George heal a gash on his arm. Dean, Seamus, Luna, and Ernie joined them soon after—all looked exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. Molly, slightly bruised and dishevelled, insisted on pulling each of them, from Arthur to Hermione, into her bone-crushing hug. Still, there was no sign of Ron, Harry, or Lupin.

'Where are Ron and Harry?' the older woman asked as she released Hermione.

'They went after ...' She trailed off, not knowing how to explain without giving away the Horcrux detail. 'I should have gone with them, but I let the giants deter me.' You deliberately separated from them, her conscience screamed. Granted, she did it to save Tonks, but if anything happened to Harry and Ron ... Hermione felt her eyes prickling. 'I'm so sorry, Molly,' she whispered.

'It's all right, dear,' said Molly, giving Hermione another hug. 'They'll be all right.'

'Remus!'

Hermione felt her heart seize. It wasn't a cry of joy. She wheeled around to see Bill and Neville carrying Lupin's body towards them. No, how could she let this happen? How could Malfoy let this happen? Her blood boiled as she remembered his antipathy at the mention of their former DADA professor. Did Malfoy even tryto save him? A tiny voice in the back of her mind berated her for jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts, but she couldn't help it.

Hermione debated with herself whether to withdraw from the group sooner to confront Malfoy or to wait for Ron and Harry. But then, she realised that if something had happened to Harry, it'd all be for nothing. It was the longest two minutes of her life, waiting for her two best friends.

She rushed towards them as soon as they appeared at the doorway. Ron hugged her, but Harry vanished without a word.

'Voldemort killed Snape to become the master of the Elder Wand,' he told her. 'Snape gave us his memory before he died.'

'Where's Harry?'

'He was here,' said Ron, aghast. 'Blimey, did he go to Voldemort? We need to go find him.'

'Don't, Ron,' she said. 'If he doesn't want to be found, then there's no way we can find him under that cloak. You'll only make everyone more worried than they already are.'

Together, they re-joined the group in the middle of the Great Hall. Hermione waited until Ron was being surrounded by the rest of the Weasley family before making her way to the classroom. Would Malfoy show up to meet her at all after what'd happened?

'I failed,' said Malfoy as a greeting, his eyes downcast.

'You've tried your best,' she found herself saying. All the questions and admonishments on the tip of her tongue evaporated.

'How can you know that?' he questioned.

'I just ... know,' she said lamely. Back in the Great Hall, there had been hundreds of reasons for her to believe the opposite, but she couldn't seem to find them now.

'It's still not good enough, though,' responded Malfoy. 'You've managed to save them both despite everything while I failed.'

'Then, who figured out why the day repeated? Who found the diadem?'

'It's just because I didn't have to run around with Potter and Weasley.'

'You know it's not true! Come on, Malfoy, stop wallowing in self-pity. We still have a mission to accomplish.'

'What mission?'

'Saving your mother. Saving Harry. Saving the Wizarding world from Voldemort.'

'What's the point? After my failure, the day will repeat anyway.'

'We still can't be a hundred percent sure about that, can we? I won't take that risk,' she said vehemently. 'Besides, if there is a tomorrow, then practising today will make us better for it.'

In the end, she had to drag Malfoy out of the classroom. Despite his pessimistic mood, their journey went more smoothly than the day before. Hermione had been extremely nervous letting Malfoy get closer to the clearing and perform the Imperius Curse on his own, but even that part hadn't been a problem.

Now, however, she was faced with the most challenging task of all. They were only minutes away from when Harry revealed himself to Voldemort and the rest of Hogwarts. If he did so, history would likely repeat itself. Hermione'd settled that she needed to keep Harry from appearing until Molly had taken down Bellatrix. The hardest part was that Molly didn't like anyone helping her, so Hermione could only hope to cast the Shield Charm before Harry did. If their Charms clashed, the results would be disastrous, but it was a risk she had to take. Since the caster of the Shield would be quite clear at that point, hopefully Harry wouldn't be forced to reveal himself too soon. He would be able to take advantage of that and bide his time before the final duel with Voldemort.

Hermione's heart was hammering in her chest as she watched the fight closely. Just one moment too late and she could ruin everything. Hermione cast the Shield Charm only seconds after the green light left Bellatrix's wand.

'Who?' growled Bellatrix.

'I did,' declared Hermione, but she wasn't the only one. Harry had stepped out from under the Invisibility Cloak. Hermione's eyes widened. He knew it was she who cast the charm and decided to save her from Bellatrix's wrath, it seemed.

No one paid any attention to Hermione at that moment. All eyes were focused on Harry. Soon the two duels commenced. With a heavy heart, Hermione watched the fights develop in very much the same way they'd unfolded yesterday. Telling herself that she would at least have another chance didn't help.

Hermione braced herself for the inevitable, but a Shield expanded in front of Harry just in time to prevent the deadly curse. It bounced back and hit Bellatrix squarely over the heart. The crowd's roar was deafening. Everyone seemed to have taken for granted that Harry had shielded himself against the attack, and Harry didn't even have time to disclaim it before he was surrounded by people cheering, thanking, and congratulating him.

In reality, there was no way someone, even Harry, could react that quickly unless he or she knew about the event beforehand. Hermione scanned the sea of people for the only person who could have possibly done it. Their eyes met across the hall for one fleeting moment, and Hermione hoped he could see her silent thanks before everything was replaced by the familiar blackness.

TBC

AN: What do you guys think? That was one of my favourite kisses. Well, I don't really have a favourite tbh, but still... :D

Thanks so much for reading, and reviews are love.

See you all soon,

Leo

References:

From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(Page numbers are from UK Hardcover edition):

Harry:I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?

Tonks:I couldn't stand not knowing - She'll look after him - have you seen Remus?

Harry:He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds -

~Pg 502, Chapter 31: The Battle of Hogwarts