! This chapter is written from Hermione's perspective !
- Diagon Alley, 31st of July 1991 -
Draco, Hermione, and Deandra landed right in the middle of a discussion between past-Hermione and her mother. Even in her memories, Flourish and Blotts looked the same as always. The only thing that seemed out of place was that that idiot Lockhart's books still were on sale back in 1991.
The brunette was rattling off a list of arguments as to why she and her mother should be buying the original copy of 'Hogwarts a History' before they left Diagon Alley.
Deandra chuckled at the scene. "I'll leave you two to it. One of you should call out for me in your mind if you need more of my magic. You need to take it slow, Draco."
Both of them thanked her for her help and said their goodbyes before Draco looked around the room and found himself a cosy armchair to sit in. It worried Hermione that he was still not well enough to be standing, not even mentally, but at least it was an improvement of his broken image she'd seen earlier this morning.
Hermione felt his eyes linger on her as she was observing her past self. "I was so small," she commented, moving towards him and sitting on the arm of the armchair. She still felt so cold and lonely. All she wanted right now was to be close to him. To remind herself he was still there… What an odd feeling. She'd missed Draco before, but never like this.
"You were adorably passionate about your books, as always," the blond chuckled, leaning his head back against the headrest. He let out a deep sigh, seemingly trying to find some comfort. "I didn't think I would run into you that day. I was so focused on finding a gift for Harry's birthday, that it didn't even cross my mind that you might be at Diagon Alley. I am glad we three met before school started though. That Harry was able to spend the rest of the summer with you instead of the Dursleys."
She leant into him and took note of his tired expression. Deandra had told her not to, but she honestly felt fine… Letting some of her magic seep into his, to help his core heal faster, seemed to be the right thing to do.
A grateful smile graced his lips.
Hermione almost blushed. Damn him. He was making her act like a silly schoolgirl. Well. She was a schoolgirl. But Hermione Dagworth-Granger was anything but silly. "Did you and Harry meet at Diagon Alley the first time around? Is that how you knew you'd find him in magical London on his birthday? Or did you meet at Hogwarts?"
Draco frowned and pulled his hand through his hair. "We met at Madam Malkin's, but Harry and me…" he was quiet for a second. He seemed lost in thought as he watched memory-Hermione and her mother walking around the bookstore behind them.
Hermione assumed he was thinking of the first time he'd met Harry, nearly ten years ago. In a timeline before she had met him.
Letting out a deep breath, Draco continued. "Potter and I, we were anything but friends. For good reason. It wasn't just petty schoolboy or inter-house rivalry either. I was a bigoted idiot. A carbon copy of my father. Back then, I didn't know what pureblood supremacy actually meant. I hadn't seen the horrors of war. I hadn't gotten to know you yet. I hadn't grown up."
Hermione shuddered. She didn't want to think about a mini Lucius Malfoy walking the halls of Hogwarts. That did not sound like Draco at all. If she ever would truly reunite with her other self, would that be how she'd remembered him? Merlin. She was in for a surprise.
"I-" Draco closed his eyes, clearly frustrated. His voice dripped with disgust and disdain at himself when he spoke next. "You don't know who I truly am, Mione. I believed in all of that pureblood idiocy. I used to call you-" He rubbed his brow with his right hand, struggling to say the words.
She slowly took his hand and put it on her cheek instead. He didn't need to say it. His father had called her a mudblood many times. And if what had happened behind that drawing room door had been real, then Bellatrix Lestrange had apparently even carved the foul word into her skin at some point.
"That is no longer you," she whispered, not wanting him to doubt himself. Not after all he'd done for her. "A pureblooded bigot would never take a curse for someone like me. You've changed. There is no way any incarnation of me would have magically bound herself to you if you hadn't. I'm certain of that."
He rubbed her cheek with his thumb and smiled softly. "I did change. Because of you. Both of you."
Before she could ask if he meant her and Gryffindor-Hermione, or her and Harry, the door opened and an eleven-year-old Draco Malfoy walked through, the bell at the entrance ringing through the whole store. Hermione had never noticed it the first time around, since she had her back turned to him, but she could see his occlumency fail him when he looked at her. She noticed how his breath had caught in his throat. How he suddenly stopped his confident waltzing and blinked at her.
She giggled at his lost and aloof expression. "Something was telling me to argue with my mum that day," she admitted, as past-Draco and past-Hermione greeted each other. "I kept trying to list arguments on exactly why it was so important for me to get that book, but it was nothing more than a ruse. It was almost as if something was telling me that I needed to stay in that bookstore for as long as possible. As if I was waiting for something. For someone."
She was rubbing soothing circles on his hand now, a bit of her magic strengthening him as she did so. His head turned, and he looked up at her, wonder and amazement apparent on his face. "You felt the pull even back then?" he asked.
All she had to do was nudge his shoulder and nod her head towards their younger selves. Memory-Hermione's face lit up as she was rattling on about herself and Hogwarts to Draco. When the two of them shook hands, her smile got even wider.
"I did," she admitted. "It was as if something clicked in the back of my mind. Perhaps it was then the first bit of your magic settled in me… I was unsure about what happened that day for a very long time. At one point I figured that it must have been the threads of fate, making us cross paths that day. After all, meeting you led me to my magical family."
Dobby popped up in the memory, and once he greeted Hermione as 'mistress', she waved her hand, freezing the memory in place.
"Did magic force Dobby to recognize me as his mistress because of the vow you'd made with my future self?" she wondered. She had noticed the frown on past-Draco's face and chuckled when she realised how much he must have been struggling to save that slip-up. "You must've been going mad when Dobby said that, knowing you," she said as she leaned into him again, seeping more magic into him.
He was finally looking less tired. Less gaunt. The colour was coming back to his hair, going from a duller grey to its usual vibrant pale blond. She let go of his hand and pulled her hand through his hair. Draco sighed and leaned into her touch gently. It reminded her a little of Crookshanks. She smiled and inspected the colour of his hair against her fingertips. Good. It was definitely getting back to normal. Soon he wouldn't need her help anymore.
"This is actually when Deandra and I came up with hiding the bond on the family tapestry," he admitted, his eyes closed peacefully. "I even went to Gringotts disguised as my seventeen-year-old self to ask Ragnok not to show the bond when we were planning to do a heritage test for you and Harry. I still can't believe you found out…"
He went quiet for a bit, Hermione still having the memory paused so he could take a breather and regain his strength. "I just need a minute, Mione," he whispered. "This conversation has been long overdue, even though a small part of me still wishes we wouldn't have it."
She frowned at that. "Why not?"
"Because I can't shake the feeling that it was that stupid vow that led you to me in the first place," he admitted sadly.
She could see the worry and doubt in his eyes and immediately wanted to firmly disagree, but she could tell he needed to get it off his chest. So instead, she kept silent and took his hand in hers again, trying to show her support.
"I did everything to make sure that vow was broken. I can't believe it took them more than two years to finally get around it," he grumbled. "I couldn't do that to you, to have you stuck in something you had never agreed to, even if I was, even if I am…" He paused. "Even if I've done some terrible things in my past. I've lied and cheated my way through life. I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't take away your choice. I-" his voice caught in his throat and he swallowed hard.
"It's alright," she soothed him. "You can tell me. I wouldn't think of you any differently."
Whatever she had expected him to say, the words that came out of his mouth with such fierce anger and disgust at himself, were not it. "I tortured first-years, Mione. When the death eaters took over Hogwarts, D.A.D.A. turned into Dark Arts and we needed… I didn't want to. Bloody Neville took more than a few Cruciatus curses to protect the youngest ones," he choked, hiding his tears with the back of his hand as he tilted his head away from her.
Hermione took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She had no clue what he'd been through. No clue what the war was like. No clue how any of them survived up until that day Draco came back. She said she wouldn't judge him, and she stood by that.
"Maybe you can tell me about the darkness you carry some other time. When you're not as overwhelmed and in need of healing," she whispered into his hair as she put her head on top of his. "I can't even start to imagine what the war was like, but I don't want you to relive the worst parts when you're still so out of it. Why don't you tell me about the other me? Gryffindor-Hermione I like to call her. What was she like?"
"You are more alike than you can even begin to imagine," he said after a while.
Hermione had tried to calm him down by enveloping him in a warm blanket of her magic, and it had seemingly worked. Merlin, it felt nice to feel the magical strands between them intertwining again, even if it was so very faint and took way more effort than usual.
"Even if you're a snake this time round, you're still as loyal and fierce as a lioness, standing up to anything and anyone that comes in your way. You've always supported your loved ones. You've always been brilliant and cunning. You kept Rita Skeeter in a jar for about a week after you figured out she was a beetle animagus," he laughed. "Even in the first timeline, that woman pissed you off."
Hermione laughed right along with him. Skeeter was indeed a piece of work. Part of her was sad she had no memory of capturing her in a jar. But seeing as the journalist wrote that Witch Weekly article that made someone send hate mail to Hermione, causing her to have boils all over her hands… Perhaps it was not too late to reenact the past. All she had to do was find a jar and a beetle.
"If we are so alike," she began tentatively, "then why did you want to break the vow?"
"I thought that was obvious, Mione." He clasped her hand in his with more strength than she'd expected from him in his sickly state. "Everything should have always been your choice. Not mine. All I could hope for was that you would be my friend and would stand by me like you had done when you were…"
He seemed to struggle for a moment.
"I know you don't have her memories," Draco finally whispered, his eyes downcast. "I know that you're not the same person, even if you are so very much alike. You haven't lived through any of these experiences. You don't remember what I used to be like. You don't remember us. You don't remember what it was like growing up as we did. My Mione became my wife because the war forced us to grow up fast. If Magical Britain wasn't such a lousy, bigoted, and dreadful place, we might have dated and gotten to know each other better. We were just teenagers. I'd barely turned seventeen when we vowed to protect each other. It was the only way to be there for one another when we were on different sides of the war, especially considering our magic was bound and we could sustain each other if needed, no matter if she obliviated me or not." Draco took a deep breath and stared at their younger selves again before he whispered: "That vow my wife and I made in front of magic, the vow that we would always protect each other, was not your burden to bear."
She thought about that for a second. It was strange to have him refer to her other future self as his wife, as an entirely different entity than herself. Was she truly? She supposed memories did influence a person's personality and actions. But when she thought more about it, imagined what it would be like to be in Draco's shoes, in her shoes, she decided that… She would've done the same thing.
"Yet, here you are," she whispered back to him. "Still protecting me."
"Always," he answered forcefully, looking up at her. His stormy grey eyes were full of determination. "It was the least I could do after everything your other self did to protect me."
"Even if I wouldn't remember? Even if me and her wouldn't end up being the same person?" she asked. Doubt had clouded her mind since she met Gryffindor-Hermione in the time-turner. Had Draco only been by her side because of a vow he'd wanted to fulfil to his dead wife?
"Yes, Mione. There was nothing else I could do. Coming back in time to save you, to change things for the better, is the scariest yet best thing I could've done," he answered her honestly.
"You could have just let me die that night at the Manor," she finally whispered. "You could have saved yourself when you used that time-turner. Could have moved away overseas and lived out your life away from all of this. You had enough magical skill to disguise yourself as an adult in both the muggle and the wizarding world. You could've not bothered with me or Harry."
He frowned up at her and took both of her hands in his, reassuring her. "Spending time with you and Harry, or any of our other friends for that matter, has never been a bother. If it had been her, if it had been you, who had the chance to go back and change things for the better, I know you would have done the same. Even if I am unsure if you would have succeeded from the beginning, considering my… Upbringing," he almost spat.
She could only imagine what it would be like to see him as nothing more but a copy of his father. Of having memories of him growing up to be her husband, only to have him hate her again because of her blood. Hermione had no clue how she would have dealt with that.
"But I have to admit," he said, breaking her train of thought, "I didn't do it only for you. You see, the first time round, I didn't have friends before fifth year when you and I…" He paused. "Before that, there was no you. No Harry. No Daphne and Blaise even. I wasn't just a snob. I was a bully, surrounded by other bullies. I was selfish." He sighed, dropping his head. "I still am selfish. Without me, you wouldn't have been a Slytherin. Neither would Harry. The Weasleys would have been your magical family. You'd have multiple boys claiming to be your protective older brother. The Blacks would not have been your family, and definitely not the Malfoys." He looked up at her again. "That is, and will always be, my biggest regret. That you and Harry didn't get to grow up with Ron and Ginny. That you and Harry didn't grow up in the Tower, but instead were raised in the Dungeons."
She frowned at him. Had he truly taken part of her magical family from her? Had she always been meant to be a lioness, rather than a snake? No. It didn't matter. She was still friends with Bill and Ginny. Even the twins were nice to her. She'd lost Ron, that was true. The memory of him wailing her name as she died in Malfoy Manor was burnt into her mind, however. He had clearly loved her, but the Ron she knew now seemed so different. True, the boy had slowly but surely started growing up, but Hermione didn't necessarily like him. Perhaps, in the next three years, she would try to get to know him so they could become friends once again.
"I would still have visited with Sirius, even if I spent more time with the Weasleys. And me and Daph-"
The pained expression on Draco's face made her stop in her tracks. What was it he'd said when they left that damned drawing room? That Harry had lived with the Dursleys until he was seventeen? That could only mean one thing. "Sirius?" she whispered, raising her hand in front of her mouth in fear, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
"In Azkaban for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter and killing a bunch of muggles until he escaped in our third year," he replied sadly. "He died at the end of our fifth year… Killed by Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Killed?" she whispered. "But Amelia-"
"Was killed by Voldemort in the Summer of 1996. He didn't want the Head of the D.M.L.E. opposing him and changing legislation to get more aurors," he answered, taking in the shock on her face.
"But what about the twins? And Susan? They-" Her eyes went wide. No. That couldn't be. If Sirius had been in Azkaban until third year, then… Then. No.
"There were no twins, Mione," he replied sadly.
Hermione felt herself starting to shake. Draco moved his body, making a little more space on the armchair so she could slip half onto the chair, half onto his lap. As soon as he invited her over to him, she started sobbing and clung to his shirt, his arms encircling her body. Even the soothing rubs on her back were not enough to stop her tears.
She and Ginny had been babysitting little Polarys and Castor just this Easter. She remembered holding Polarys' hand as they were slowly making their way through the streets of London, Castor sleeping in the stroller that Sirius had conjured for them.
She had no clue how long she sat there, sobbing in shock, clinging onto Draco for dear life. At some point, she calmed down enough so that only silent tears were running down her face. Her best friend was still holding onto her, while she hid her face in the crook of his neck, looking for comfort. "Who else?" she finally whispered. "Tell me. Tell me about all of them. What about Harry?"
"The last time I saw him was in that Drawing Room," he admitted. "The last time I saw you, when we spoke that vow, you were going to hide your parents overseas. We'd talked before about how Dumbledore had tasked Harry with finding the remaining Horcruxes. Considering my unfortunate position in living in a home with more than one madman, we decided it was best not to talk about them too much, in case one of those baboons would break into my mind. I can only assume that you three were on the run and looking for the Horcruxes. I have no clue if you succeeded or not, but you looked starved Mione. I have no clue how you survived during our entire seventh year." He sighed. "I could feel something was off that entire year, like my magic was slowly but surely leaving me. I'd even considered Voldemort's dark mark was sucking some of my magic out of me through the dark mark. I was so tired. So hungry. But it was the vow, doing its best to keep you alive by seeping the magic you needed out of me."
"So, Harry grew up with the Dursleys then? He didn't spend part of his summers with me?"
Draco shook his head sadly. "I know that the both of you spent some time at the Burrow, but… Dumbledore wanted to keep him tied to the blood wards at Privet Drive and sent him back to the Dursleys every summer… You often told me how you noticed he'd been starved, even beaten by his Uncle, but that he wouldn't allow you to tell anyone. Almost as if he was ashamed. As if he thought it was his fault for being a freak."
Hermione hissed at that. If she would ever see the Dursleys again, she would… Ugh. Perhaps she should join Dobby in his pranking once Draco was finally released from the Hospital Wing. She had more than a few creative ways of annoying them, especially that oaf of a man Vernon.
"It would never have been his fault," Hermione said fiercely. "If it was anyone's fault, it was the adults' who refused to do anything about it. It should have been plain as day to see that he was mistreated by his family members. My mum and yours immediately noticed it this time around. I am happy that you did what you could for him," she said gratefully. "I am sure my other self would be too."
Hermione had finally scooted beside him again and moved off his lap, the armchair way too tiny for the two of them. She was still holding his hand, sending small bouts of magic to his core to help him heal.
He smiled at her and let her continue her inquiries about their friends and family.
"You mentioned I obliviated my parents. I assume I sent them out of the country for their protection?"
Once Draco nodded, she decided to move on to her friends.
"What about Daphne?"
Draco frowned at the mention of her best friend. "As you were never sorted in Slytherin, you never became friends," he admitted. "I did see you work on a project for Ancient Runes together once, but you never interacted outside of the classroom, or unless assigned by a teacher to work together. Last I heard, Lord Greengrass had taken her and Tori to South Africa, keeping them away from the war."
That made sense. Daphne's father would never let anything happen to his daughters. "What about Blaise?"
He sighed at her. "All the Slytherins you are planning to list, Mione… You didn't exist to them. If you did, you were nothing more than the annoying, swotty mudblood that used to hang around with Harry freaking Potter. We hadn't thought of a heritage test until well into our sixth year and by then it was too late."
Even if it pained her to think she didn't have her Slytherin friends the last time round, she assumed that she would have instead made friends with the Gryffindors, seeing as Ron Weasley was clearly one of her best friends. "Well, then tell me about my friends in Gryffindor. I would have been dormmates with Lavender and-"
Draco interrupted her, shaking his head. "You were… Too much of a bookworm for the girls in your dorm to truly pay any attention to you. Sure, you studied with Neville and you were still best friends with Harry. Ron was also part of your little golden trio. But apart from the Weasley twins and Ginny… You and the rest of the Gryffindors were all quite indifferent toward each other."
She could barely believe it. The only other friend she had in that timeline was Ron Weasley? Not Lavender? Not Parvati? Not Dean and Seamus? No one? Had she been that much of an outcast?
Almost as if he could hear her thoughts and self-doubt, Draco decided to tell her about the friends she had now, and how they differed from their past incarnations.
"You helped Ginny a lot, with getting over Harry," he supplied.
Her eyes went wide at that. What did he mean by getting over Harry? They had basically been attached at the hip since the moment they met.
"Ginny was quite starstruck with the Boy Who Lived," he explained, seeing her confusion. "In the first timeline, she was possessed by the Diary Horcrux, yet again thanks to the meddling of my father. She was the only one who got dragged down to the Chamber. Harry didn't know he was the Lord Slytherin then, so when he, Ron, and that idiot Lockhart went down to save Ginny… Lockhart ended up obliviating himself instead of dying, but Harry had to kill Sirona. He'd never talked to her, didn't know who she was. Ginny's saviour complex concerning Harry became stronger after that, but she had you to help her learn to give Harry space and get over him. I remember when you ran into the Room of Requirement one evening, almost yelling my head off that Harry had been on a date with Cho Chang and how you had to console Ginny. She started dating Dean not long after, I think? I can't remember. I'm sorry to say I wasn't that interested in the love lives of the Gryffindorks," he admitted sheepishly.
"So she and Harry, they never…?" Hermione whispered in disbelief.
"Oh no," Draco laughed. "Don't worry. They found each other in the end. You were quite happily telling me about how he kissed her in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room after you lot just won a Quidditch Match." His eyes seemed to get lost in a memory and he chuckled, clearly remembering something.
"What?" she wondered, wanting him to tell her more, once more desperately wishing she'd actually remembered all he was saying now. Hopefully, it wouldn't take that long for her and Gryffindor-Hermione to be reunited.
"I just remembered that you remarked that was the only positive thing about Quidditch, that it had the ability to have people get their heads out of their arses so they would finally kiss," he admitted, still chuckling.
Hermione noted that there was a slight blush to his cheeks, and was relieved that he was getting healthier. Wait. Why was he blushing? She raised an eyebrow at him.
"The first time we kissed was on the Quidditch Pitch. Although, with no onlookers compared to Harry and Ginny," he admitted as Hermione's blush matched his own.
Trying to steer the conversation away from the two of them kissing she cleared her throat. "What about the other houses? Was I friends with Hannah and Susan?"
He seemed to think on this for a second. "You never told me about them, so I can only assume you weren't. I'm not sure. Hannah's mum was killed by death eaters in our sixth year, a little after Amelia," he said sadly.
Not wanting to contemplate how that event would affect her Hufflepuff friend, she kept going down her mental list of people she considered her friends and family. "What about Cedric? Was he the Champion last time round? You seemed to be-" She froze again, losing count of the number of shocks she'd gone through the past few hours. "When you were out of it yesterday, you asked if Ced was alive this time ."
Draco winced at that. "You caught that, did you?" She nodded, urging him to explain. "The champions were the exact same as the last time. What was different, was that Remus was no longer the D.A.D.A. teacher. There was no cure, and the curse on the position was still active. Our Professor was a former auror, Alastor Moody. I'm sure you've heard of him."
Hermione nodded again.
"In reality, it was Barty Crouch Jr., one of Voldemort's followers, who was using Polyjuice potion. I'm glad I got rid of him much earlier this time round by getting Sirius out of Azkaban," Draco said.
He was silent for a while, giving Hermione the time to process what he'd just said. He'd changed so many things so subtly, trying to make things better for both Harry and her. For the Wizarding World, really. He'd mentioned the Horcruxes but it sounded as if no one, except maybe Dumbledore, had had any clue about them in his past. For all intents and purposes, he had been fighting the war in the shadows, attempting to save as many as possible. She was in awe of what he'd achieved.
"As our dear friend Luna likes to remind us, some things are always meant to happen. It's why I was so pushy in getting Harry and Cedric to train. I knew if anything went wrong, that Voldemort might be resurrected again after the third task. But I wanted Cedric to come out alive this time. I wanted all of them to come out alive. Whatever happened to Harry in that graveyard the last time, he was entirely alone. Probably made it out of there by sheer dumb luck. I will never forget his face as he portkeyed back, Cedric's dead body with him. I'm happy that proved to be different this time. What I hadn't accounted for was death eaters attacking the crowd. Some of the changes I've made have consequences it seems…" he mused. "Did anyone else die? Yesterday?" he suddenly asked, worry etching his face as he realised the horrors they'd lived through.
Hermione shook her head. "No one in the crowd. A few death eaters, according to Amelia. Some spectators and aurors are in St. Mungo's, but everyone on our side survived, even if some have suffered greatly. Your Aunt Andromeda has been helping out in the Hospital Wing here at Hogwarts. She's been tending to you personally as well."
Draco seemed to have been holding his breath in anticipation. "Good, that's good. I wanted to save Cedric, but I wouldn't be able to bear it if anyone else…" Both of them drifted off in their thoughts for a while, thinking of everyone that could have been lost.
"Poor Daph," Hermione said. "Even if we weren't friends, it must have been hard for her to lose Cedric like that."
"They were never together," Draco said silently. "A lot of our friends spent their time alone… I know that Neville and Hannah had started dating by sixth year, but Susan and Theo? Daphne and Ced? Blaise and Luna? That would all have been unheard of."
Hermione tilted her head. How could a few changes shift events so much? "Luna and me, we were friends?" she whispered hopefully. All she needed from Draco was his smile, confirming they were. "She had you, Harry, Ginny, and Neville," he answered. "Everyone else thought she was weird. Even you did."
A laugh escaped her lips. "Well, she is Luna. But I love her for it."
Draco smiled. "Don't we all?"
Happy at finally hearing some good news, she wondered if Luna had survived the war. A darkness settled over Draco again, making her fear the worst.
"Luna had been trapped in the dungeons at the Manor for quite a while before Dobby came to save them that night you… She…" Hermione took her hand in his again, understanding it was difficult for him to continue. "I talked to her sometimes, when I had to guard her. At school everyone called her Looney Lovegood, but at the Manor… She was the sanest person there."
Hearing him use that moniker for her made her frown. Luna was strange. But that was exactly what made her so likeable. She was just waiting for the day that Luna would give them free rein to stop her bullies. The twins surely knew a prank or two they could play on Ravenclaw House. Speaking of the twins… "What about my relationship with the Weasleys? You mentioned they were my magical family. What about Bill?"
"You loved Molly Weasley's cooking," he admitted. "Spent quite a few of your summer holidays at the Burrow. You and Ginny were thick as thieves, and I one time caught you answering one of the twins' letters and advising them on some potion ingredients for one of their new inventions. When I caught you, you looked quite mischievous, I must say. Bill was attacked by Fenrir, not under a full moon though, so he never turned. Last I heard he was happily married to Fleur while most of his brothers were on the run. Ginny stayed at Hogwarts and protected the students together with Neville during what was supposed to be our seventh year."
He'd mentioned that a few times before now. How they'd been on the run during seventh year. How D.A.D.A. had turned into Dark Arts. That death eaters had been running the school. Such peculiar things to have happened.
"I don't understand why Dumbledore sent out a bunch of teenagers to look for Horcruxes while he could barely keep control of the school," she scoffed.
Draco went completely still beside her, and she immediately realised she'd said the wrong thing. Before she could ask him what was wrong, he spoke in a tired, monotone voice.
"During my sixth year, after my father had fallen from grace in the Dark Lord's eyes, I was branded a death eater and tasked with killing Dumbledore by letting death eaters into the castle," he said, making Hermione gasp. "Both you and my Godfather helped me in certain ways. You didn't want me to get killed, so you found ways of helping me fix a vanishing cabinet to let them in… You spent nights studying the Hogwarts Wards to keep the students in their dorms that night, making sure the death eaters wouldn't be able to harm anyone else. I had to keep it hidden from my Godfather, and I was dodging him until one night he cornered me. He had taken an unbreakable vow and promised my mother he would complete the task if I couldn't do it…" he sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "I couldn't do it. I could never do it. It was why the other death eaters often made fun of me. I didn't have the heart to take another's life. So, when the death eaters came, it was Severus who killed Dumbledore."
She was silent for a while, processing what he had said. Hermione would do anything in her power to protect her friends. But would she help death eaters get into the castle? Granted, she'd also found a way to keep the other students safe, but… Was this what it would be like now that Voldemort had returned? Were these the choices teenagers had to make during a war? No wonder Draco had taken so well to having a second chance, to finally be a teenager this time round.
True, he had admitted his memories made him about five years older than her. But his mischievous goofiness with Harry and Blaise, as well as his brotherly bickering with Daphne, made him seem like any other teenager walking the Hogwarts halls. If she hadn't figured out that he had gone back in time to save them, she would've considered his maturity and magical skill to be just that.
"What about Professor Lupin and Tonks? What happened to them?" she asked after a while.
"Tonks was pregnant, I believe. She and Remus were definitely high on the list of adversaries. Aunt Andromeda's husband was killed not long before you three showed up at the Manor…"
Hermione rubbed her temple. This was getting a bit too much. So many people had died. Were perhaps still about to die. But still, she had hope. "If Cedric survived, and the twins were born, then it means that not every life has to be lost, right?"
Draco smiled at her as he grabbed her hand. "That's what I've been trying to ensure. Less death and destruction. Ending the war before it can properly begin. Some things did get messed up along the way. Things might have changed too much for me to truly know what is coming anymore. But at least this time, you and Harry are more prepared."
The reminder of Harry and what his life might have been like made her eyes water. "You've saved more than just me," she whispered. "Even if you came back to save me, you did everything you could to make everyone's lives better. I don't even want to think about what it was like for him growing up with the Dursleys instead of Sirius and Amelia."
This time it was him rubbing soothing circles on her hand. "He had you and Ron. He had the Weasleys. You two took care of him as his brother and sister. I remember you were so angry after Sirius died and Dumbledore forbade you, or anyone for that matter, to contact Harry. You were about to defy the Headmaster. You told him that Harry should not be left alone to grieve and mourn." He seemed thoughtful for a second. "If one thing has changed about you, it is that your cunning shows more. That you've learnt to think for yourself sooner. You always looked up to authority figures like McGonagall and Dumbledore, but now people actually require your respect before you take their opinions into consideration. You've learnt to make your own decisions."
She smiled at him. "So I am still me?"
"No one is as stubborn as you, Hermione Granger," he chuckled. "Neither I nor magic itself could change you. You've always been passionate and determined. Extremely brilliant and courageous."
As his praising words lingered in the air, she unfroze the memory. When it was almost finished, they walked to the doorway to watch their younger selves say goodbye to each other. Even if Draco was looking healthier, she noticed he was still leaning against the doorframe for extra support. Both he and his younger self frowned when past-Hermione said: "It was very nice to meet someone before I actually start Hogwarts. I've never met someone like me before."
"Did you know?" she wondered as the memory came to a close. "That I was bullied before I came to Hogwarts?"
"I did," he admitted. He took her hand in his, squeezing it in support. "Your life might not have been as difficult or unfair as Harry's since you had your parents who loved you. But even you were called a freak in school. You told me you were bullied for being too smart." He sighed. "And then there was me and my dumb arse making it even worse when you joined the Wizarding World. A lot of us Slytherins were calling you filth, called you a-" He hesitated. "A mudblood. You weren't even friends with Harry and Ron until after Halloween. One time, you confessed that you spent most of your first months alone. I wanted to stop that from happening this time. I wanted to make you, and Harry, feel at home in the world where you've always belonged."
He smiled down at her, his eyes filled with unspoken sadness.
She looked up at him gratefully, whisking him away to a different memory than she'd originally planned.