Edited 4/23/23
Thanks to RabidCommentarian for beta work. And bam2305 for alpha-ing.
Hello... It's been a minute, but now that the holidays are over, I'm here to post again. Regular posts will be coming at you live for the foreseeable future!
Thank you as always to bam2305 for being the literal best. I could not do this without you!
Saturday, February 28, 1998
Hermione
To say she was nervous was an understatement. Hermione had barely seen Draco Malfoy since the Final Battle. And since then he'd died, come back to life, and had to relive part of probably the worst year of his life all over again. If she also hadn't been reliving the trauma of the War, she might have felt a bit bad for him. There had always been a sort of animosity between the two of them. In many ways, worse than between him and they boys. It was like no matter what was going on around them, they would find each other. There was no one better at picking up on her weaknesses, not that she let him get away with much. If she was really honest with herself, their back and forth was almost exciting. Fortunately, in this Hermione was not honest with herself. Draco Malfoy would be nice to her or he'd have another thing coming.
When she arrived at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat had lamented the fact that she was a Muggleborn. "You were born to be in Slytherin, Ms. Granger," it had said. Through her years at the school, she often found hersetlf watching the cunning and ambition that the Slytherin's displayed shamelessly with more jealousy than she'd ever admit to anyone. When she'd be sorted into Gryffindor, she was surprised. She'd assumed that her other option would be Raveclaw, but if she really stepped back, she felt like she could have been at home in any of the houses. She tried not to think about how different her life would have been if she hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor along with Harry and Ron?
She shook her head from her thoughts and focused on the task at hand. They were going to do the Unbreakable Vow today. She and Ron were going to Apparate to Shell Cottage to meet Remus. Harry, as usual, was going to have to stay at Granger Cottage, much to his frustration.
It had been another fight of epic proportions, for days they'd worked to convince Harry that they should Obliviate the name of the spy from his brain. He only agreed when they cited examples of when the connection - horcrux - had been used against them. When he'd allowed Hermione to do the spell, he'd spent much of the rest of the evening wallowing on the porch.
When it was finally time to go, Hermione and Ron stood outside, while Harry stood in the doorway watching them longingly. Ron gripped her hand and spun on his heel, apparating them away to Shell Cottage. Upon arrival, Hermione was delighted to see the Ocean, and even more delighted to see Fleur. She ran to the woman and wrapped her in a hug.
Unsurprisingly, Andromeda was there as well, she quickly pulled Hermione close to her. "In case anyone asks, you helped me with a Fidelius," she whispered into her pseudo-mother's hair. Like the true ally she was, Andromeda just nodded, but gave Hermione a raised brow, asking for details later.
She walked to the Cottage arm in arm with the two women grinning broadly and asking them how they were fairing. "So my nephew, hm?" Andi asked with a smirk that could have rivalled said nephew's.
She rolled her eyes and bumped her shoulder against the older woman's. "I'm sure it's just so he can rub his usefulness in my face. We've always had a bit of a…rivalry."
Ron snorted, "Don't give the ferret so much credit, he was an evil git to you for all of the years we've known him-"
"Just because you couldn't keep up, doesn't mean she couldn't. We both know she gave as good as she got, Weaselbee," Draco Malfoy sneered from next to the fireplace in the cosy living room.
Hermione ignored the shiver that went through her body at his defence of her. She cleared her throat "Didn't mean it still didn't hurt, Malfoy," she added with her nose in the air.
He rolled his eyes. "Let's get this over with. You know my conditions? Let me see the Vow you've crafted," he stuck his hand out waiting for her to hand it to him.
She handed him the Vow that was written on a spare piece of parchment for him to look over. While he was reading over it, Fleur pulled her aside. "Circe do we need 'im, but are you sure about zis, Hermione? He 'as never been zee nicest of boys."
"I'm sure, Fleur, but I appreciate you looking out for me. His information could be crucial to the Order. Like you said, we need him." Fleur just nodded stiffly and followed Bill, who had just dragged Ron into the small kitchen. She was left in the small living room with Malfoy, Remus, and Andromeda.
"This looks adequate. Can we move this along?" Malfoy asked, impatiently.
"Now now, nephew, I know Cissa raised you with better manners than that!" Andromeda tutted from her perch on one of the overstuffed chairs.
He sort of gaped at her, causing Hermione and Remus to bite back their chuckles.
"Oh I suppose I haven't introduced myself," Andromeda said, standing to her full height, hand outstretched in the most Pureblood Princess way Hermione had ever seen her. "Andromeda Ilse Black Tonks, welcome to the Blood Traitor side of the Black family."
"I'm not- well, I-" Malfoy sort of petered out, recognizing that this Unbreakable Vow did in fact make him a Blood Traitor. He flushed, but bowed, placing a kiss on his aunt's hand.
"Aunt Andromeda, I'm pleased to meet you."
"Oh goodness it's been years since I've had such a formal greeting!" she peeled out a laugh. "Let's get going, I'd like to have tea with my only nephew before he's forced to be on his way!"
Malfoy stood across from her and reached out his right hand. Hermione stood across from him grasping his hand firmly. She tried to ignore the tingles that ran up her arm at their touch. She refused to notice just how well her hand fit into his. She turned her focus to the task at hand, looking to Remus who stood between them.
"Do you, Draco Malfoy, promise to complete your Missions as dictated by Hermione Granger to the best of your ability?"
"I do." A cord wrapped around their hands.
"Do you, Hermione Granger, promise to do anything you can to protect and defend Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, and Theodore Nott in regards to their actions during the War?"
"I do." Another cord wrapped around their hands.
"Do you promise to do everything within your power to protect each other during this War?"
"We do."
A third cord wrapped around their hands and sunk into their skin. Three interlocked rings appeared on both of their hands, hers was the colour of Malfoy's skin and his the colour of hers. Hermione ran her fingers over the rings and stepped back.
Andromeda and Remus stepped away from the pair to speak in the far corner of the room, giving them as much privacy as they were able."I made this as a way to communicate," she handed him a charmed journal. "I have the twin with me. It should heat up when one of us writes in it, we can plan meeting times or pass along information quickly. You have to put a drop of blood on it and it will only be visible to you."
"Blood Magic, eh Granger? Never thought you'd have something so Dark in you."
She glanced over at Andromeda and Remus who had their heads bent together. "You have no idea what I have in me, Malfoy."
"Do tell, Granger. What do you have in you?" he said with a smirk. She tried her hardest not to blush, but could feel her cheeks heating at his innuendo.
"I'll message you later today," she said as she turned to Andromeda. "Is everything ready for the baby?"
She followed Andromeda to the kitchen as she gushed about her first grandchild.
The seven of them sat around the table drinking tea, Malfoy had never looked so stiff in his life as his aunt continuously tried to engage him in conversation while Ron glared at him every chance he got.
Draco
The following morning, Draco pulled the journal that Granger had made out. He hadn't wanted to add his blood to the book until he'd done his own diagnostics on the pages. He'd spent frankly an embarrassingly long time perusing her spellwork. He was hopelessly impressed. He'd known she was a genius, but he couldn't help accepting just how much he'd underestimated a sigh, he pricked his thumb, and watched as it glowed a light blue. He opened to the first page and saw that she'd already written to him.
Hello, Malfoy
I hope you've figured out how to use our journals. I want you to know that even though you came back from the future with us, doesn't mean I trust you. In fact you have a lot of work to do before that's the case. Theo talks very highly of you and insists that "You just don't know him yet, Mia!" I'm willing to be open minded, but my patience will only go so far. I will not tolerate you calling me "Mudblood." I still have nightmares from your dear Aunt and do not need a reminder.
I hope that you will get a chance to come out to the cabin again so we can go over the equations. Theo and I could use a third set of eyes. George used to help us out, but with him being Godric knows where that isn't the case.
Do you have anything helpful that I can pass along to the Order? I'd like to offer them something solid soon that I don't know already. I'm attempting to use my own memory to save different people, and I'm using your name as the reason, but I'd love to affect something that I didn't know about before.
Let me know when you read this
Hermione
Draco scoffed. Did she really think that he was still the prejudiced idiot he'd been before the war? Something about even seeing her put the thought in writing bothered him. He didn't want to have to prove himself again, but he supposed he would. He was tired of everything to do with the war, and he trusted Theo who said that the three of them were what it took to defeat the Dark Lord. He;d resigned himself to playing along, for now.
"Message Received." was all he wrote back before shoving the Journal under his pillow and throwing open his curtains. The rest of the Slytherins were slowly waking and moving themselves toward the bathroom to get ready for the day. Theo who was practically aching to see Granger again practically pounced on Draco.
"Did she write?" he whispered louder than Draco thought was appropriate.
"You have to be the least subtle Slytherin ever created," he said with an eye roll. "Yes, she wrote. I'll respond later after we go for a fly. She wanted to know when we could visit."
"Tuesday should be clear, we don't have any major assignments due and we can claim sickness and go to bed early. I've got a few Fever Fudges we can take in case someone asks."
Draco nodded and finished getting ready for the day and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Theo followed Draco chirping about Arithmancy equations and how Timelines worked. Draco tried desperately to see the positives and ignore the gnawing worry about how much potential they had to royally fuck up the the timeline.
Throughout his whole meal, he couldn't help thinking about all they didn't know. There were so many unknown quantities. People on all sides that they didn't have motivations for. He didn't want to think about the consequences for the people outside of their circle. What about the Death Eaters, like him, who had no choice? What about the other Slytherin's who'd been forced into a certain role by the preconceived notions of the Light?
He blinked a few times as he heard people beginning to leave their tables. He knew that staying in the Great Hall had consequences. He and Theo dragged Blaise away from the Weaselette and went out for a fly. It was one of the few places on campus that the Carrows did not come. It and the Library had become safe zones, and were always crowded with students. After a few hours of doing drills with his two friends, he finally relented and allowed them to return to the dorms. After he'd showered and changed, he collapsed into his bed.
He dragged out the notebook and flipped it open. Seeing a terse. "Good, now respond to my message," from Granger. He sighed and began to write back.
Granger,
After the shite I've seen I have absolutely no interest in Blood purity any longer. I would be a fool to continue to pretend like you aren't my equal in magic. Do refrain from disparaging my character, after all of the three of us, I'm the only one who had to die.
All I can tell you is that Hogsmeade is regularly patrolled by some of the lower-level Death Eaters and that it would be a good place to start. If you continue to get rid of those guards the Dark Lord will eventually have to send someone higher up and you could save more lives. Small skirmishes are where it's at at this point.
Theo showed me some of the overall equations you've completed. I bloody well hope that we accomplish our goals this time around, I don't fancy meeting my parents as young people and destroying the timeline. Theo wants me to tell you that we'll be coming by on Tuesday night to peruse the full board. I'm not a bloody owl, Make your own Notebook of Blood for him.
DM
March 3, 1998
Theo
Theo woke up on March 3rd practically vibrating with excitement. He would finally get to show Draco all of their plans and see Hermione. They were set to meet that evening after dinner. She would meet them on their side of the cabin so that they could make plans. The day passed so very slowly. At dinner, Theo slipped himself the Fever Fudge and after Blaise felt his forehead, begged off for the rest of the night, settling himself behind the curtains of the four poster.
"Darcy!" he called, grinning at the elf when she appeared. "Take me to my room?" She gripped his hand and brought him to his bed in the Cabin. He had about an hour before Draco and Hermione were set to show up,
He sat in front of their Arithmancy board, adding new variables that he was aware of. He continued to adjust the timeline to try to free Finn earlier. After half an hour of switching out the variables he couldn't find a solution that didn't end in Finn's death. With a sigh, he lay back on his bed and pulled out one of the books that Hermione had recommended, Pride and Prejudice. When he'd seen the character's names, he'd gotten a good laugh. Hermione was nothing if not on brand.
A few minutes before their scheduled time, he heard Draco pop into his room across the hall. "Once you're settled, I'm in my room," called Theo chuckling when he heard Draco's grunt in response. When the man in question sauntered into the room, Theo put his bookmark in the book and set it aside. Moments later, Hermione popped into the hallway.
"In here, Mia!" Theo chirped. When she stepped into the room, Theo scooped her up and spun her around, peppering her face with kisses. "I hate not seeing you every day. It's just not the same without you."
"I miss you too, Theo. I'd forgotten how non-academic Harry and Ron are," she responded with a grimace. "It's good to see you, Malfoy. I'm hoping that we can go over the plans and then start some of the steps to ending the War."
"Granger," Draco said with a nod. "What have you got for me?"
Theo pointed to the board with a dramatic flourish. "May I present our Master Timeline!" Draco stepped closer to the board, looking at the calculations. He adjusted a few variables and cleared a few things that led to fewer deaths at the Battle of Hogwarts.
He stopped at "The Manor," staring at it.
"We tried everything," Hermione murmured. "No matter what we adjust, if I don't get tortured at the Manor everything implodes. It's one of those fixed points."
Draco shot a sharp look at her, "We can make it less painful for you. Make it so that-"
"We can't Malfoy. Trust me I tried everything. I have to be tortured so that the events can follow how they're supposed to. Dobby has to die. It's the only way."
Draco slumped heavily against the wall, sinking down the floor. "I can't go through that again," he whispered. "I can't watch her do that to you."
"We can change some things. I think we can prevent the lasting effects, and I'll be back on my feet faster. I think we can get the Horcrux faster if you go to Bellatrix's vault and retrieve it. And you and Theo should be able to get the diadem as well. We have to figure out what the last Horcrux is though."
Draco blinked up at her. Theo was immensely glad that he'd already filled Draco in on the Horcrux hunt, "What have you got?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.
Hermione handed them a large pile of papers. "Here is what we have, feel free to stay as long as you want, I'm on the midnight shift and I'll pop over then. Do you have any intel for me?"
"This is the weekend that we get Thomas and the goblin, they're going to be outside of Bamburgh in Northumberland. I think you can get to them before it happens."
"We need Griphook and Dean at the Manor, but I wonder if we can protect the others? Is there any way you can be on that mission and stun your uncle and Dirk?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"M-My Uncle?" Draco looked up curiously.
"Oh, I'd love to meet good old Ted!" Theo said, clapping, "I've heard only good things about him!"
Hermione chuckled, "Yes, Ted Tonks, your Aunt Andromeda's husband. I think if we manage to make them look dead, it should be alright. We can get Dirk and Ted to a safehouse and get Griphook and Dean out when we arrive. I need Harry and Ron to hear how wild your Aunt goes about her vault so that we can have you fetch the cup." she looked down at her watch and sighed, "I have to be off. I'll be back later tonight!" She leaned over and pecked Theo on the cheek, apparating to the front of the cabin.
Draco
For hours Draco and Theo poured over all of the documents trying to make sense of the holes in their equations. It was frustrating. He found himself again staring at "The Manor" on the timeline, tracing his finger over the words. That single event had had a major effect on him the first time around. Both Granger's torture and watching Professor Burbage being eaten had solidified his unwillingness to participate in the regime. On top of that, watching the others rape and kill, he shuddered. In all his Father's discussions about the Dark Lord and Pureblood Supremacy, he'd never even hinted at this. This wasn't what it was supposed to be like.
From the moment he met her, Granger had thrown every Pureblood teaching back in his face. She was brilliant, and intuitive when she let loose. She was poised and elegant and sharp. In his less guarded moments, he could admit that she was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen. She didn't look like the majority of the Sacred 28. There was something wild about her. He groaned. He wasn't sure if he could watch her be tortured again. And while he felt bad about how awful he'd been to her all of those years, the unofficial Malfoy Motto: "Malfoys never apologise," had been so ingrained into him that he wasn't sure he knew how to ask for forgiveness.
A few minutes after midnight, Granger popped back into the room, coming to stand next to him. "I knew I'd have to endure it again before even coming back," she said softly. He didn't look at her, but turned to Theo instead who was sprawled across his bed, looking through an old tome.
"I think we need to talk about our ultimate goals here, lay everything on the table," he said, stepping fully into Theo's room and crossing his arms.
Granger followed behind and hopped up onto Theo's dresser, folding one leg underneath the other. "Alright, that makes a lot of sense. My personal goal is to save Fred and find the last Horcrux so that we don't keep fighting this blasted war."
She turned to Theo, who raised an eyebrow to Draco, "I want my Mother to get out alive, and I'd like to make it out as well if possible, I don't fancy being a Death Eater, so I'd love to be pardoned for my participation in the War."
Theo chuckled, and with flourish drew his wand, "I don't want to lose any more of these! Nexus Vincula!" The three of them watched in silence as the silver cords branched toward them from Theo.
He looked at the cord tying him and Granger together. "It's-it's golden…" she trailed off.
For a moment, no one said a thing, just staring at the glowing golden bond between them.
"I wish I could say this was unexpected," Theo started, "but I knew there was a reason you two had picked m-"
Before he could hear the end of Theo's sentence, Draco apparated out. He found himself in an abandoned shed on the outskirts of an old Malfoy property. Theo and he used to come here when they were younger. It was their playhouse for a long time. He picked up an old glass that was on the table, covered in dust and threw it at a wall.
This could not be happening. Not only did he have a Soulmate, but it was Hermione Fucking Granger. He yelled and slashed his wand at the couch watching it shred to pieces before him. He couldn't stop himself, the entirety of the shed was destroyed before he slumped against the wall, pulled his knees to his chest, and sobbed.
AND THEY'RE SOULMATES! Sorry for the cliffhanger! WHAT DID YOU THINK!? Is Draco still an asshole!?
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