A/n: So I'm sick today, but I wanted to get an update out to you amazing readers. Hope you enjoy. Regarding the last chapter, there is a reason things took that sudden turn. For you see, this story is drawing to an end. I guess there are less than ten chapters left, more than five. So somewhere between there. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks again to my beta Tessa Cresswell!
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to J. K Rowling.
Disclaimer: You've probably seen plots similar to this in multiple books. Hopefully this story will be just a tad different :)
Part 1: Games, 1642 (Life Three)
Omar Julian Malfoy (13) and Annalisa Coralie (12)
He offered her his arm, and she took it gratefully, smiling at him as he led her into his father's study nearby, where the doors could be left open but offer the children some privacy to talk. "How was meeting thou brother's bride?" he asked as they walked. To say that the boy was ecstatic that the girl had come to the boring party hosted for his sister was an understatement. Seeing the girl he secretly had a crush on was the best thing that had happened the entire night. Now so long as her brothers did not find them, he would be all right.
Annalisa frowned and rolled her eyes. "A bore. She is nothing but a stuck up girl," she replied, brushing a stray hair from her face.
Omar chuckled. "They all are darling."
Surprised by his comment, she looked up at him. "Yes, they are," she replied with a smile. She took a seat on the loveseat in the room, Omar sitting at her side. "I suppose thou understand where I comst from, since thou has but been a guest to another arranged marriage party all night."
He nodded grimly. "Yes. Mine sister receives such a party at nine but I dost not at thirteen? It is quite unusual."
"Indeed," the girl agreed, nodding. "Mine parents sought a long time to find a bride for mine brothers, all of who are ready to marry when the age is right. Briar is marrying first, in but a few months. Bela has his bride picked but I have yet to meet her, and I met Azrael's hours ago. She was kind I suppose." With three older brothers, Annalisa often found it to be quite a task to get away and see her friends who were not female- like Omar. The three were protective, all being several years older than her. Briar was but nineteen and marrying soon, with Bela just behind him at eighteen and Azrael the youngest of the three at sixteen, leaving a four year gap between him and Annalisa. It was no surprise that they watched her closely.
The blonde nodded to show that he understood. Emma was being sent off to marry this strange man that Omar himself disliked. Perhaps it was common brotherly instinct, but he was nearly certain that all men in that situation felt the same; you often seek to protect those you love.
"Emma is very young to have her marriage arranged," he says, looking around the room. "Too young for thy."
Annalisa nodded her agreement. "She is but too young. I wonder why they overlook thee when thou sister is so much younger. Dost not they expect thee to wed?"
"I dost not know," he replied, sighing. "I never understand mine parents anymore."
"We never do to begin with." At that he smiled, looking over to find that she shared the same facial expression. It was good to see.
"Anna," someone called, drawing them out of their quiet land. The girl looked up, knowing that voice anywhere.
"That is Briar," she said quietly, glancing at Omar who only gave her a sad smile. "I wish we could speak longer."
"As do I."
"Anna," Briar called again.
She smiled softly at Omar, before leaning over to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. Surprise was an understatement for how he suddenly felt. She pulled back, smiling once more. "I thank thee for the talk," she said, before getting off the sofa. She hurried out, not sparing him a backwards glance.
For his part, Omar collapsed back against the sofa himself. That was a very strange girl who really knew how to get to his young head.
Part 2: I Don't Understand, 1999 (Life Six)
Draco Abraxas Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger
Hermione was thankful that she had decided to use the library instead of Snape's classroom. There were many students around, which meant that Snape could do nothing to her. She left him at a table in order to pick a few miscellaneous books to bring back to the table.
How do I go about this?
Speaking with Snape was a fine idea if she knew what she wanted to say. Blatantly asking if he had cast a spell on Draco would make things tense and possibly dangerous, something she could not afford. But, she couldn't ignore the situation either.
Returning to the table she had left Snape at, she dropped the books carelessly onto the wood, nearly causing one to fall to the floor. Any other time she probably would've felt bad, but today she would not spend the time to.
"Now what is it you want Miss Granger," the Professor asked, taking the first book off the tall stack. When he realized that the book focused on remedial potions, his eyes slid back up to meet hers. "This has nothing to do with potions at all, does it?"
"Took you long enough to realize that," she replied, crossing her arms.
He sat back in his chair, studying her. "Well, considering your high IQ I assumed you would never need my help. You should aim to create better lies Miss Granger. Now, why did you really want to speak with me?"
She pursed her lips. Now she had to be careful where she treaded, for today she did not have Malfoy to confide in if something went wrong. In fact if she messed up then he could be stuck a complete bastard forever. She just needed to choose the right questions.
"Malfoy has been acting strange lately," she began, twisting her hands together beneath the table. "Quite strange actually. As his Head of House I thought you should be alerted."
"Strange how," Snape asked, and for a moment she thought she saw something pass over his eyes, but whatever underlying emotion he was withholding disappeared too quickly for her to be sure.
Hermione shrugged. "You mentioned the other day when you asked to speak with me in your classroom that I have been spending quite a lot of time with him, and how you have seen him leaving my room in the early morning."
"I never said I have personally seen him leaving in the morning with- or without- you, only that people have."
"But you are not one to follow school gossip Professor, and that would be the only way for you to know for sure unless you really have been watching us." She suppressed the urge to shudder at the thought.
He narrowed his eyes. "What exactly are you getting at Miss Granger? What answers do you seek from me?"
She leaned forward a bit, clutching her hands in her lap. He leaned in as well, as though they were friends sharing a secret instead of people with different intentions. "You asked me who I think you are the last time we spoke, yes."
"Perhaps I did."
"Well Professor, I think you are the reason Malfoy is acting so strange."
There it was again, that flash of unknown emotion glinting across his eyes. She wondered if she was perhaps overstepping herself, but she didn't care. He was now going to have to come up with some clever responses.
"Why do you think that Miss Granger?" He looked just as relaxed as before, and leaned away to fold his hands in front of him on the table. It was unnerving to see how little his composure changed, even at her accusation.
"Because you seem to be at the end of all of my unanswered questions."
"And what are those questions?"
She smiled. "If I told you, you would only seek to deny them. Draco's sudden change in behavior cannot be normal, so there has to be some sort of unnatural reason why he is suddenly very different. I only assume that you are the reason due to the odd behavior you have exhibited recently."
"I assure you Miss Granger; I would never do anything to harm one of my students."
But would Alabaster? "Perhaps," she said, moving her body away from the table. "Your mouth might say that you have nothing to do with this, but your body says otherwise. Innocent people don't shake out of fear."
"I am not shaking," he growled, pushing out of his chair to stand. Someone told him to be quiet, and Hermione assumed it was the librarian herself.
"Now you are not, because you are aware that I was watching your body language." She stood as well. "Thank you for your time Professor," she continued evenly, smiling as his face screwed up into an unpleasant frown, "It has been most helpful."
"I didn't tell you anything."
"You didn't have to; your reactions speak for themselves. I will see you tomorrow in class." Before he could reply, she had snatched up her bag and was hurrying out of the library, ignoring the librarian's instructions to not run. She heard no one following.
Well, if he didn't like me before he certainly doesn't now. I wish I could've gotten more out of him, but he was getting angrier and I couldn't afford letting anything get out of hand. Too many people around to witness it. Then again, that is why I chose the library in the first place.
She stopped jogging when she rounded the first corner outside of the library. Pausing to lean against the wall, she sighed. Now he knew she knew more than she let on, but to what extent would remain a mystery. He might be a bit more precautious now if he thought she was onto him, but one never knew. She could've just made him angrier.
But he was shaking- whether out of fear or anger I know not. Snape is famous for being emotionless, and he would not have reacted in such a way unless he is guilty. He did something to Malfoy, but what?
Hermione paused to think about that. If Snape had cast a spell on Draco, there was no telling what he would've done. It could be a mild spell that was taught to first years or as dangerous as the Imperius Curse. She shuddered to think what measures would need to be taken to break her blonde counterpart away from Snape's clutches if that Unforgivable spell had indeed been used.
You're never going to figure anything out by standing here. Go find Malfoy and see if you can get to the bottom of this. Better to deal with him than Snape anyways.
It didn't take long to locate Malfoy. She had decided to start looking by his room and spread out from there. On her way to her destination, she spotted the blonde heading in her direction. She checked to make sure her wand was easily reachable for the second time that day.
When he finally noticed her, they had started to draw quite close. Those calm green eyes immediately turned to steel and his relaxed composure gave way to a tightened body, braced for a duel.
Well that won't make things any easier.
"Draco," she said, when they stopped a few feet from each other. Although it was the second time in a row that she had used his true name, she was still blind to the mistake.
"What do you want," he hissed, drawing his wand. She was quick to do the same. "And don't ever use my name; it does not belong on your tongue."
She sighed. "Draco, what's wrong with you? You are acting so strange-"
"Maybe I have just come to my senses that associating myself with Mudblood's like you is bad for my health." Inwardly, the blonde was screaming. He did not wish to be saying those things to her, but was helpless to stop. The controlled part of his mind had the power, and was going to say the meanest things possible to her.
"If that was true you would never have kissed me! And you certainly would never have sought to make me remember our pasts together! If you must be cruel, at least say something I can believe."
"That was the truth," he snapped, steeling his grip on the wand. She watched his body language closely, how he was shifting back as though he planned to hex her in a moment. His green eyes-
Green? Malfoy's eyes are grey, never green. Studying him once more, she let her eyebrows shoot up. The green was just barely there, cloaked around his usual eyes instead of dominating them. Great, just as I feared… Snape used the Imperius Curse on him. Now what am I going to do- kill my Professor?
Hermione was well informed about each of the Unforgivables. The Imperius Curse could only be broken if the caster released the victim or was killed. She doubted Snape would let Draco go easily, and killing the man seemed like an incredibly severe step. The only other option was for the victim to break through the wall keeping them back and throw off the curse, something she had seen Harry practice before. It was possible, but it would take an incredible amount of willpower and strength.
And Malfoy would have to have more of a reason to break through. If the green hue has not developed throughout all of his eyes then that means he has to be fighting in. But if he has been unsuccessful to break the spell yet, then what will make him push through?
"I don't think it was," Hermione breathed, walking to the right. He did as well, and they began to circle each other. She just hoped no one came along and found the Head Boy/Girl dueling in the corridor. That would be hard to explain. "The truth is what you feel inside, not what you front to keep yourself safe from judgments. I think you are lying because someone wants you to, not because you hate me."
"You don't know if that's the truth," he growled, eyes watching her every move. For a moment she thought she saw a look of uncertainty.
"This isn't you Draco; you're not the bastard I've known for seven years- for six centuries. You're different in my eyes now that I know what has happened between us in the past, and I know that inside you can't hate me. You've been cursed," she said, holding up a hand gently as though to calm him, "And the curse is making you act so strange. You have to fight it."
Inwardly, the blonde wanted to scream at her. Yes, he already knew what had happened and what needed to be done, but he had never been successful at fighting off the Imperius Curse. All those trial runs with Voldemort during the war had done little to build his tolerance. Try as he may, fighting this spell was a difficult process, on which he was losing. He only hoped that he did nothing horrible to her during this encounter like the other day.
When he didn't respond, she took a few steps closer. If she could only understand the internal battle going on, perhaps she would mind her distance a bit more. She had never been placed under the Imperius Curse, so she did not fully understand the sheer amount of force and willpower it really took to break free from. She should be more mindful that the spell wasn't broken yet, but concern for the blonde trapped under the curse drove her to walk closer. She was certainly risking her own safety by getting so very near him in this state of mind.
"Draco-" She began, but was cut short a moment later. Those angry tinted eyes flashed, and she was thrown back onto the floor in seconds. She missed what spell he muttered, but it did kick her senses into overdrive.
She had her wand aimed at him in a moment, but it did nothing to protect her as his weight came crashing down on top of her. He gripped the arm holding her wand, before snatching the thin piece of wood from her hands and throwing it across the floor. Afraid of what his affected mind would do, she ripped his own out of his hand as well and threw it before he could retrieve it. Now they could only fight through sheer physical strength, which put her at a disadvantage. He had her arms pinned in a moment.
"See," she gasped when he stopped his fidgeting for a moment, "This isn't really you. Whatever Snape told you to do has twisted your mind into thinking you want to hurt me. But is that what you really desire? If you harm me I am not entirely sure what it will do to you mentally. Stop letting magic dictate what you think. It's just a spell that's making you do things you normally wouldn't."
I hope I'm right about this.
Draco watched through the mirror his eyes provided as Hermione spoke to him. He hated to see himself hurting her so, but the spell was strong. She wanted him to fight it, and to that he almost wanted to smile. She had figured out what was going on very quickly.
Now if he could only break away from it.
The next moment happened in a blur, with Draco having been preoccupied by other thoughts. His hand came up against his will and stuck her across the cheek once, twice, a third time before he pulled back, watching her gasp in shock. He couldn't believe he was letting this happen, letting his body hit hers in such a way. But mostly, he couldn't believe that he let it escalate so far.
She gasped. It didn't hurt as much as it could've, but the fact that he was hitting her put her in more shock than anything. He should be able to see what was happening at the very least, but now she had her doubts if this was happening. Maybe the spell was beating him, and she simply wanted to believe that he could fight it.
A strong hand locked around her jaw, forcing her to look back up at him. She closed her eyes, hoping to get the terrible image of Draco leering over her out of her mind.
"Look at me," he hissed, shaking her head once. When she refused, he raised her head up and slammed it back into the ground. "Look at me!" Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. "There's a good girl. Do you still think this really isn't me Granger? Do you still think I am incapable of harming you?" He leaned closer. "Do you?"
She only sighed. "It's still not you," she whispered, before bringing her free leg up to knee him between his own. Surprised, he groaned and rolled off of her, pain rocketing through his body because of her. She scrambled off the ground, snatching up her wand before hurrying over to fetch his as well. It was only then that she turned back to him.
He was glaring at her, those tinted eyes livid. He watched her every movement from his place on the floor, as though studying her. She came to pause beside his head, just far enough out of his reach that if he made to grab her she would have enough response time to jump out of the way.
"It's still not you Malfoy," she whispered, gripping his wand tightly. "Don't let a spell take over your mind. If you have fought for six centuries to get me don't let something as trivial as this stop you from succeeding. You just have to fight it." Before he could respond, she turned away and hurried down the corridor, putting space between them. She did not want him to have the upper hand again. At the end of the corridor she dropped his wand for him to pick up later, ignoring the burning in her cheeks.
I hope the message got through to you Malfoy; I hope you fight. Killing Snape without even understanding everything he is after is not something I want to do. You have to fight the spell now.
Back in the corridor, Draco remained on the ground, staring at the ceiling. His mind was having a battle with itself, the real side of him disturbed that the cursed half of him would dare hit her. He would've expected her to be angrier than she was, but all that had shown through those brown eyes of her was pain- but whether it was physical or emotional pain, he wasn't sure.
He just couldn't stand seeing that expression on her face, nor could he tolerate knowing he was the reason she looked upset. All the things she had been saying had gotten through to him, even if it didn't seem like it. All he had to do now was break the curse and get past it. The problem was, he wasn't sure he was strong enough to do that.
I'll have to break it somehow. I can't let this happen again.
Part 3: Life, 1749, (Life Four)
Damian P`ere Malfoy (16) and Rivkah Tabitha Clayworth (19)
The wedding was a beautiful affair if nothing else. Despite the anger he felt at her for marrying that man, he could not deny that both families had gone all out to make the wedding memorable. He just wished the bride had made the executive decision to leave early; this man would never be worthy of her.
He hated to think that she was wasting herself on the likes of him. She deserved someone who would treat her like a princess, not this man who only wanted someone to show off. Dennis Clayworth did not deserve her, but there was little Damian could do to stop the marriage. He did have his own wife and child on the way; stepping in and saying Rivkah could do better would sound strange indeed.
For Damian it was terrifying to think he would be a father at sixteen, and be expected to spawn more offspring in the coming years. So much pressure was being put on rich Pureblood families at this time that it was insane. Perhaps Rivkah would escape that pressure since she was a Halfblood marrying a Halfblood. The once Pure family lines on both sides of that marriage had been ruined by unions such as this. It made the blonde wonder how long that line would be considered Halfblood before they fell down into the ranks of Mudbloods. He hoped it did not happen for many moons, so that this woman was not subjected to the disrespect that came with having 'dirty' blood.
Once the wedding had ended his wife Gemma clung to his arm. He knew she worried about the affections he had for the bride, and couldn't blame her. He was after all in love with her. Gemma may not want to accept that- may not even want to think about it- but he feared that someday she would come to realize the truth and be heartbroken. And he truly did not want to hurt her.
Damian hugged his wife tightly as the newlyweds passed. He hoped he could learn to love his wife in the way that she deserved.
Part 4: Wake Up, 1999 (Life Six)
Draco Abraxas Malfoy and Hermione Jean Granger
Had someone asked him, Draco was unsure he could give someone an accurate amount of time as to how long he lay there in the corridor fighting with himself. Parts of him just couldn't accept letting something like that happen again, while the rest of him was angry that he had let her get away.
But none of that mattered. He simply needed to break away from the spell and go find her, talk to her before she changed her mind about him. And he had no idea how long it took, but at some point the demonic side of his mind caved and Draco found himself in control of his own mind again. When he finally struggled into a sitting position, he realized it was dark.
How long have I been here?
It didn't matter though how long he had been sitting there fighting with the curse, for he had finally broken through it. However Hermione had known that wasn't the real him went beyond his comprehension- for he had been a right arse to her in the past- but he was glad she had at least believed he was better than that. He was glad that she thought he had more morals than that. But it still didn't really excuse the fact that he had hit her, which was something that had been replaying in his head since he began fighting with himself.
Now though, there seemed to be only one thing left to do. He would need to speak to her immediately, no matter the exhaustion he now felt. For some reason he felt that the spell wasn't as strong as it could've been, and that had his mind on edge. If Snape had left the spell diluted so he could break free, then what was the motive? There was something else to speak to her about when he went to find her- if she chose to speak to her.
Standing, he started off in the direction she had gone. It was headed away from his dorm which led him to believe that she had been returning to his. Reaching the corner he nearly slipped on something, and looked down to discover his wand. A headache was forming as he bent to pick it up.
Leaving this here was dangerous. If I had decided to follow her before I got back complete control of my mind I could've hexed her, especially if she was still stuck on getting me to listen to her. She may have been right that it wasn't me, but she should've been more careful.
He continued on his way, head spinning. If nothing else he would tell her he was sorry before he passed out.
Several floors down, the potions master paced his classroom. Granger was prying at things, just as he had suspected. It was only a matter of time now before the curse was lifted.
I knew she heard us that night in the corridor.
Sitting at his desk, he twirled his wand lightly. The pieces were in place, and he felt comfortable now preparing his final attack. Oh yes, those two would understand the problems they had caused him. He would not let them get away with the misery they had caused him.
If they only knew.