- Flourish and Blotts, 19th of August 1992 –
For the past month, Draco had been attempting to convince his father slowly but surely that keeping the Dagworth-Granger and Potter heirs as his friends would be politically advantageous when they finally took up their seats at the Wizengamot in a few years.
His father had barked back that two votes would barely mean anything.
Draco had almost snarled back that he was sure he could count on the Black, Longbottom, Greengrass, Davis, Zabini, Nott, Bones, and Abott votes as well, and maybe more if Lucius would allow Draco to expand his circle of friends even further. Ten votes out of fifty would be a fifth of the Wizengamot. His father held about ten himself so that would make a total twenty.
Malfoy senior had finally started realising what his son was up to, and for the first time in his life exclaimed he was proud of his son's cunning.
Draco couldn't give a fuck about what that wanker thought. If his first lifetime was spent trying to get his father's approval, his second was definitely spent planning his demise instead.
Narcissa had joined the conversation stating that was exactly what she had been telling Lucius for the past year. She also added that she would be organising a Yule Ball to expand Draco's influence as the Malfoy heir.
Suddenly, all friend visits were approved of by his father. Terrific. If only it wasn't almost time to go back to Hogwarts. Well, it was a win anyway in his book, so he couldn't really complain. At least his father was off his back, for now.
Draco and his friends had been communicating through their diaries and a few days earlier Harry and Hermione had been over for dinner at the Manor. The blond had laughed at his best friend's glee at being able to visit the library again, and he and Harry almost had to physically hold her back so she would at least spend some time with them first.
"I just have to look up something, I couldn't find it in the Black library and-" she argued, Draco interrupting her.
"What do you mean you couldn't find it in the Black library? Mione, what were you looking for? Do you have any idea how much dark magic is in both of our libraries?" he questioned.
She raised her chin in the air, shaking her head. "Something me and my… friend have been working on." She answered cryptically.
"You have other friends than us?" Harry joked, earning him a punch in the shoulder from Hermione.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. If you'd have half of her brain capacity, Harry, then perhaps, you would finally be able to figure out how to get your head out of your arse." She teased back, running off and leaving the boys behind her.
"Love you too, Mione!" Harry yelled at her retreating form, and she waved at him with the back of her hand.
"What are you two up to?" Draco asked Deandra suspiciously.
"Something that's none of your concern." The spirit quipped back, retreating out of Draco's mind to spend time with Hermione in the library.
Dinner that evening had been a pleasant enough affair, his parents and godfather present with Severus praising both Harry and Hermione for being a testament to the house of Slytherin. One look at his mother, and Draco knew she'd put his godfather up to this, trying to convince Lucius that his son's friends were beneficial for him.
Deandra later mentioned that she'd noticed the eagerness in Lucius' eyes when he realised that the Potter-Black and the Dagworth-Granger line could bring him a lot of political clout. What a puffskein his father was. As if his best friends would ever support Lucius over Draco.
A day after, his silver diary was lighting up when Hermione excitedly told him that she'd received a wedding invitation from Amelia and Sirius for the next Summer. She'd been asked to be one of the bridesmaids, and Draco could only imagine how the witch had squealed at this news.
Hermione and Draco had taken another trip to Gringotts earlier this morning, Deandra joining them in the Dagworth-Granger vault with Hermione's permission.
Observing some of the research he'd looked at, Draco had to admit that her ancestors had indeed been true potioneering legends. In one of the books that Hermione had shown him, he found the beginnings of what looked like a wolfsbane potion. He could only imagine all the suffering that could've been prevented if the potion had been developed decades earlier. Hermione decided to tuck the book into her pocket, and spent some more time looking around as one of the goblins called Draco over, telling him the Director would like to speak to him concerning some investments.
Luckily, Hermione didn't seem to think this was strange, as she probably assumed that all the rich and snobby heirs had their own vault and money to spend.
Ragnok updated Draco on how far they'd come on trying to break the vow, as well as figuring out how to remove the Horcrux from Harry. The director mentioned he was also increasing his efforts to finally have Potter manor and its elves released to Harry, something which was definitely going to become easier if Lucius finally stopped opposing Harry.
Right now, the silver trio was standing in queue to get their books for their second-year classes. Draco kept trying to convince Hermione not to buy the D.A.D.A. books by Gilderoy Lockhart, but her sweet teenage crush had blinded her from the truth, and she just wouldn't listen. Perhaps some good old-fashioned logic would work?
"You know," Draco whispered to her as she kept stealing glances at the new Professor as he was posing with all of the witches that came up and asked for his autograph, "You should cross-reference some of the dates he mentions in his books. See if there's anything that doesn't add up."
She scowled at him, but curiosity getting the better of her as usual, she agreed to read the books before the school year began.
Harry snorted. "As if you weren't going to do that already, anyway, Hermione. We probably won't hear from you until we're on the Hogwarts Express if you're planning to get through all of that rubbish before school starts."
Standing too close to Lockhart by now, he had overheard them and suddenly he pointed straight at the Boy Who Lived. "My oh my, is that Harry Potter?"
"My oh my?" Harry questioned, starting to look left, right, and even lifting his arm to look if someone was hiding under his robes. "You mean Hermione?" He pushed the witch in front of them and she stumbled because she was holding about five books close to her chest already. "I understand her name can be a bit difficult, but her name is Her-my-oh-nee. She's a big fan of yours, Professor. Don't worry, you will see much more of her. She is the brightest witch of our age after all!"
Harry had never liked the fame that came with surviving the killing curse, and the two Slytherin boys chuckled as Hermione blushed when Lockhart pulled her closer to him and told her to smile for the cameras.
"I am definitely going to get a copy of that one and frame it before sticking it on the wall in the Slytherin Common Rooms with a sticking charm," Harry whispered conspiratorially to Draco. "She's being such a lovesick fool."
Sirius had silently observed their conversation and put his two arms over the boys' shoulders, leaning in between them to join in on their antics. "Isn't she cute, our little kitten?" He laughed.
Hermione, who was on her way back, still blushing, had overheard the last part and scowled at Lord Black and Harry. "Make sure Ginny doesn't hear you, Mr. Potter. I just saw her and her family enter the store, and I was surprised you as a love sick puppy yourself hadn't picked up on her scent yet, considering you've been raised by such a dog."
Harry's head whipped around immediately at the mention of Ginny and Sirius laughed heartily, winking at Hermione. "Quick as a whip, aren't you." He praised her.
When Draco heard the commotion behind him, both he and Hermione frowned as they saw Lucius arguing with Mr. Weasley who was sporting a cut to his lip. Suddenly, an Encyclopedia of Toadstools hit his father square in the face, and Deandra spoke up.
"Not again," the spirit sighed.
And indeed, once again, as the threads of fate unspun, a dark artefact landed in Ginny Weasley's cauldron, the little girl being whisked away by her parents before Draco could get closer to summon it. Bollocks.
- The Hogwarts Express, 1st of September 1992 –
Ever since they arrived at platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Draco had been keeping an eye on Ginny like a seeker desperately looking for the snitch.
At one point, Blaise had even jokingly asked if Harry would need to fight off any competition for the redhead's attention.
The blond had just rolled his eyes at that and tried to be more inconspicuous when it came to studying the girl. So far, there were no indications of her being influenced by any dark magic. Strange. From eavesdropping on his father, Draco and Deandra had figured out that the dark artefact had belonged to Voldemort at some point, even if it hadn't been him who created it. The Dark Wanker had apparently used it to drive people mad and obey his every will. Even if it wasn't a Horcrux, it would still bring out the worst in people.
After some research in the more questionable books housed at the Malfoy Library, as well as many conversations with Deandra, Draco had discovered that it was a very clever piece of dark magic. It could never be linked back to the Dark Lord if someone ever found it as it had been passed on through different families since the 1650s, bringing power to some, and demise to others. Well, mostly demise, which was what had Draco so worried.
He'd suggested to Harry to invite the youngest Weasley into their compartment and his best friend was happy to oblige. Seriously, his crush for the only Weasley daughter was so obvious. Draco wondered why this hadn't happened the last time around? Was it because Harry had been surrounded by Weasley who couldn't help but mention how annoying his little sister was? Was fate just being more kind to Harry this time around? Who the fuck knew. Maybe it was the so-called "butterfly effect" he had read about in one of Hermione's science fiction novels.
When Harry and Draco approached the compartment Ginny was sharing with her brother Ron and some of the other second year Gryffindors, Ron immediately started complaining that she was going to spend her time with the snakes instead of the rest of the lions.
Ginny, never one to back down from a fight with her brother, said she'd bring Luna with her to keep said snakes at bay.
"As if Loony is going to be much help," Ron muttered as his sister left, joining Harry and Draco instead.
As if by magic, Luna suddenly showed up in the hallway next to the compartment, wearing her signature Dirigible Plum-shaped earrings. "Ginny, Harry, you've found each other already. That's lovely." She said airily, a soft smile on her face.
Harry just blinked at the small blond girl, taking her in. Her hair went all the way to her waist and had a slight curl to it. It reminded him of the muggle fairytale of Rapunzel, to be honest. "Ehm, have we met?" the Boy Who Lived asked, unsure.
"We have," she answered. "You just don't remember. Besides, everyone knows who Harry Potter is." The tiny witch extended her hand to him and introduced herself as Luna Lovegood, one of his future coolest friends. Harry just nodded in amusement, as Ginny leaned over to them.
"Luna might seem strange," she whispered to both boys, "but she's honestly very fun to hang around with. My brother Charlie thinks she might have seer blood. Just take everything she says with a grain of salt, but don't necessarily doubt its truth."
Oh. That would definitely explain some of Luna's strangeness. At first Draco thought that she'd been abducted and put in the Malfoy Manor dungeons just because of her father's writings in the Quibbler. His support for the Light and Harry Potter had been damaging for the Dark Lord's media campaign, even if he would never admit it. Perhaps, there had been more at play? He would never know now.
Luna looked at Draco dreamily and tilted her head, studying him. "Good morning, Draco. I see that you haven't told them yet about your many adventures. Don't worry. Your wife will understand, all you need to do is give her some time. Or perhaps go for a run, end up at a sandy beach somewhere. Maybe both. Who knows!"
Draco did a double take on the inside, but as he was so used to keep his occlumency in place at all times, he didn't even flinch. No way Luna remembered. No way she knew Hermione was technically still his wife. Was this what Ginny meant? But then what was the truth in the strange things the blonde uttered? He couldn't imagine him and Hermione ending up at a beach any time soon.
"His wife?" Harry asked, perplexed, staring at Draco in shock. "Mate, did your dad get you into a secret betrothal I know nothing about? It's not Pansy is it? Because if he did, I swear Sirius and I will do everything-"
"Oh no, Draco and his wife were very willing to get married," Luna interrupted him. "Or they will be. They were?" the young witch frowned, shaking her head. "Honestly, sometimes it is very confusing keeping everything straight. There are too many nargles flying around. Anyway, let's go to the snake's den, shall we? I'm very excited to meet Blaise for the first time, even if we originally weren't meant to be."
"Are you sure she's alright?" Harry mouthed to Ginny and Draco, who honestly was still a bit in shock after what had just happened. Luna had obviously referred to Hermione as his wife.
"Luna seems to not have forgotten in the same way as everyone else did," Deandra mused. "I remember her mother Pandora died after one of her spells went wrong. I'll have to visit my old friend Chassipullus and see what happened there, maybe I can figure out what happened to the girl."
"Visit who now?" Draco asked as they led Ginny and Luna back to their compartment. The other three were happily chatting away, but he had more pressing issues to find answers to. What had Luna meant?
"Chassipullus. The spirit resides at Ottery St Catchpole . Why else do you think so many wizarding families have established their homes there?" Deandra asked.
"Yes, of course," Draco thought sarcastically. Perhaps he should take a page out of Hermione's book and start learning more about the spirits that dwelled under the leylines in magical Britain. Who knew how many of them there actually were.
When they arrived at their compartment, it had to magically enlarge itself for everyone to fit in properly. Harry introduced Ginny to Hermione, Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, and Theo, even though all of them already knew her, even if it was indirectly through Harry's praise of her flying skills since past Yule.
Harry then offered her the seat right next to Hermione who smiled in greeting at the youngest Weasley, looking up from the book she'd been reading. Matilda. Mhm, he didn't remember her ever reading that one.
Ginny and Hermione had met at the Burrow before and had exchanged letters back and forth during the previous school year, beginning their tentative friendship, just like last time. Draco was glad that Ginny wasn't Hermione's only female friend this time around, however. Daphne was steadily turning into her best girl friend, with Tracey, Hannah, and Susan joining her circle of friends.
Hermione exchanged pleasantries with her Gryffindor housemates in the previous timeline, but most of them were quite intimidated by her bossy and no-nonsense attitude. It also didn't help that she was a bit of a tomboy at times, whereas Lavender and Parvati were both very girly.
Draco remembered how Lavender had one time dropped her quill in front of Draco and Theo at the library, in what she thought was a flirtatious manner, giving the boys a peek at her assets in the tight shirt she was wearing under her robes. Instead of getting the response she was hoping for, Theo and Draco had mocked her for attempting to get close to Sacred Twenty-Eight. Hermione had smacked him with a very heavy tome in the restricted section a few days later, saying she had to listen to Lavender cry about that unfortunate encounter for two days straight.
Luna didn't need any introductions as she waved at everyone and greeted them all by name, even though she had never met any of the people in the compartment before. Totally unbothered, she eventually dropped herself down between Theo and Blaise, Theo having to scoot over in the last second so Luna wouldn't end up in his lap. "I'm Luna Lovegood," she said to no one and everyone at once. "But most people call me Loony."
"Don't say that about yourself, Luna," Ginny hissed, not wanting her friend to use that moniker.
"Xenophilius' daughter?" Blaise wondered out loud, catching Luna's attention. The whole compartment was now looking at him expectantly. How had the young wizard known Luna's father? His face heated up when everyone stared at him, his cheeks and ears getting a reddish tint as he said. "My mother thought Mr. Lovegood was an eligible bachelor at one point in time," he admitted. "She assumed he would make a fine seventh husband…"
"I told daddy it would not be wise to marry the mother of his future son-in-law," Luna casually shrugged as she took out the Quibbler and started reading it upside down, completely unperturbed.
"Excuse me, did you say 'his future son-in-law'?" Blaise coughed, choking on his own spit at the surprise of what Luna had just said.
Draco mused about the witch's comments. He remembered that Luna had always been very good at reading auras and magical connections. Perhaps she had simply followed the thread to Blaise, accepting that magic had deemed him her best fit?
Ginny was shaking her head at the Afro-Italian wizard, indicating that he shouldn't ask.
Harry nudged Draco's side and smirked. Luna would be fun to have around and stir things up, that was for sure. Especially if she would finally get Blaise out of his shell. Honestly, that boy should get out from under his mother's control. Dating the Lovegood girl in the future would certainly help with that.
"So, you guys planning on becoming fellow snakes?" Theo questioned, changing the subject. Draco was actually curious what would happen this time around. He'd already made Harry and Hermione switch to Slytherin. Would more be joining the snake's nest?
"Oh no, Ginny is very much a Gryffindor like Hermione and Harry," Luna quipped from behind the newspaper, the paper turning to the next page with just a tilt of her head. "Even though Harry could probably convince Ginny to join him, which he did a few times in the future. But if he wants to end up with a happy ending, I really recommend that he doesn't. Besides, they would never be able to beat each other in Quidditch if they were on the same team, which would be a shame considering he bought all those brooms for the Slytherin team."
"You did what?" Blaise, who had been practising all summer to become the team's new chaser, asked. Even though his mother was drowning in money, she had told Blaise to take his father's old Cleansweep, claiming he would first have to show his skill before she would be buying him a new broom.
"Don't get your hopes up," Draco sighed, crossing his arms as he leaned back. "Mr. Noble over here considered how unfair it would be to the other teams afterwards, and bought 28 new Nimbus 2001s, for all of the teams."
"Well… If I want to beat Ginny fair and square…" the spectacled boy answered, grinning like an absolute idiot when Ginny beamed at him and jumped up, hugging him tightly to express her thanks. Even the tips of Harry's ears had turned red at that.
"Ah, young love." Hermione and Daphne snickered, making the two jump apart.
"I'd be careful to antagonise them if I were you," Luna said as she finally lowered her newspaper. "Ginny can cast a nasty bat-bogey hex."
She looked over at Draco dreamily and winked.
Oh, that little witch definitely knew more than she was letting on.
- The Hogwarts Kitchens, 19th of September 1992 –
The first few weeks of school had passed relatively quietly. Deandra had notified Draco that Chassipullus had confirmed her suspicions. Not only had Pandora Lovegood come from a long line of seers, as well as some sort of creature blood, probably veela, she had also been a spellcrafter.
As a seer, and being ever interested in the future, Pandora wondered how to share her ability with others or how she could target her abilities more specifically. On one such afternoon experimenting, a spell had horribly backfired and settled onto the only living being in the house at that time, Luna.
The blonde witch's seer blood was activated at a much younger age than usual, and what Pandora had tried to accomplish with her spell, had seemingly worked after all. Luna could see all the possibilities, of all the choices people would make. Meaning, she could also see what would have happened if Draco had been an obnoxious git to Harry, just like he'd been the first time around. Deandra assured him that he had nothing to fear from Luna, and that she probably didn't know he had actually travelled through time. Perhaps, she was just impressed by the choices he had made so far, considering what the opposite would have led to.
Draco was also pleased to learn that Hermione had quickly become disillusioned with Lockhart and his supposed accolades. True to her word, she had read all of his books before the school year started and noted quite a lot of discrepancies, commenting a few times that the books seemed to be poorly written. When she mentioned these to the Professor, he laughed and waved it off, saying his editor wanted to 'spice things up a little'. What a load of rubbish. The idiot granted Hermione 10 points for Slytherin, however, as he was ever so pleased she had already learnt all of his books by heart. Fucking wanker.
During the same class, the incapable wizard had managed to set a bunch of Cornish pixies loose on the second years, some of them hoisting up Neville by the ears to hang him from the chandelier. Hermione was definitely not impressed by the Professor running away, leaving the students to fend for themselves. Luckily, Hermione and Draco rounded up the annoying pixies, locking them back up again as Harry, Daphne, and Blaise had done their best to get Neville down from the chandelier, Theo standing ready with a cushioning charm in case the boy would fall.
"I cannot believe that Professor Dumbledore would allow such an incompetent fool to come and teach the students D.A.D.A.," Hermione huffed as she was eating some of her red velvet birthday cake. She had turned 13 today, officially turning into a teenager. The usual study group, now expanded with Ginny and Luna, were all sitting around a large table in the Hogwarts Kitchens, celebrating together with her.
Susan and Hannah nodded in agreement. "Auntie says that he has no qualifications to teach." the redhead mentioned, sipping her tea. "She's even admitted that some of his so-called adventures don't add up, but she can't find any proof of it not being true either. He flunked out of the Auror Academy when she and Uncle Sirius joined over ten years ago."
Draco smiled at her, accepting Lord Black so easily into the family. After Amelia and Sirius had moved in together and gotten engaged, Susan had begun calling Sirius her uncle, much like Harry was now referring to Madam Bones as his aunt.
Harry was pushing his piece of cake around on his plate, and Draco nudged him in the side. The raven-haired boy had been antsy for a few days now, claiming he had heard the walls speak after his detention with Lockhart.
Draco and Hermione had met with Deandra in an empty classroom, the brunette becoming fast friends with the spirit of Malfoy Manor to Draco's surprise. Well, he really shouldn't have been surprised. He knew that Hermione loved to discuss magical theory and history, and none of her peers were actually interested in any of that, not even him.
The three of them had discussed what might be bothering Harry, finally agreeing it could neither be a ghost or a spirit residing in the castle.
What Deandra and Draco could not tell Hermione until her occlumency was firmly in place, was that their best friend was probably hearing a Basilisk crawling through the pipes in the walls. Someone had opened the Chamber of Secrets, but Draco was almost one hundred percent sure that it was not Ginny Weasley this time around. The Gryffindor looked extremely happy and did not show any signs of being cursed or possessed. Draco had even attempted doing some analytical spells on her from behind the bookshelves in the library when they were studying together and he acted as if he was getting a book, but nothing came up. Yet he'd seen that damned book falling into Ginny's cauldron. Where the bloody hell had it gone?
"I wonder why Dumbledore is unable to keep a single educated D.A.D.A. teacher on board. Auntie said they had a new teacher every year when she went to school in the seventies," Susan mused.
Luna, who had been talking to Harry suddenly exclaimed: "Why, the answer to that is very simple. The position is cursed of course. Every Professor teaching D.A.D.A. either dies or is forced to leave at the end of every school year. It's been like that since 1955."
Draco stared at the blond. Of bloody course! Why had he never thought of that? A curse on the position of D.A.D.A. would explain why their teachers ended up disappearing or quitting ever single year.
"Then why has Dumbledore not gotten rid of it?" Hermione asked, frustrated. "As Headmaster, he is perfectly tuned into the Hogwarts wards, and he would notice immediatelyif a position was cursed. I still can't believe he claimed to not know that Quirrell was possessed. I'm pretty sure if you'd ask any portrait in the castle if they felt something was up with him, they would agree."
The brunette had taken her interest in wards very seriously and had been conversing with Bill Weasley ever since they met during the previous Yule holiday. Draco had mused what lay in this Hermione's future. She could be a wonderful politician and lawmaker at the Ministry. She would also enjoy being a scholar and receive her masteries in Potions, Charms, and perhaps even Runes and Arithmancy if she kept going the studious route. Honestly, he couldn't wait to see what she'd do. All he hoped for was that she would not end up in the war again.
He'd also noticed that Hermione had become disillusioned by the Headmaster much faster this time around. Draco obviously had something to do with that as he always made Harry and Hermione question people's motives, urging them to think for themselves. He liked how she was not blindly following her Gryffindor determination anymore. This time, she was using it together with her cunning, figuring things out for herself. He was honestly so proud of her and he hoped that his Mione was too.
"The Headmaster knows?" Susan blinked at Hermione, her cake forgotten. "But why has he never contacted the D.M.L.E., the goblins, or any other curse breaker for that matter? He can't possibly think that not educating almost four generations of young witches and wizards in D.A.D.A. is a good thing? Auntie would have a fitif she realised Professor Dumbledore could solve her auror issues that easily."
Just like the first time around, the auror department was lacking new aurors. Not only because of Fudge and Draco's father making sure the D.M.L.E.'s budgeting was kept low, or thanks to Severus Snape only allowing Outstandings to take up potions N.E.W.T. classes. Even students who had perfect scores in potions often lacked the basics in D.A.D.A., making sure that they would either not get invited to the Auror Academy, or that they would fail during the first months because they simply could not keep up. If Voldemort was the one to curse the position, leading to less aurors in Wizarding Britain, then Dumbledore was the one who had allowed it to continue.
"I will write to Bill," Hermione stated boldly. "He's a curse breaker and works for the goblins. He also used to be Head Boy and is the future Lord Weasley after Mr. Weasley takes a step back. Madam Bones will listen to what he thinks about the matter, right Susan?"
The redhead nodded and said she would also write to her aunt to explain the issue.
"Uhm, girls, perhaps we shouldn't lift the curse just yet," Harry spoke up suddenly. "If he really is forced to leave after the school year is over, wouldn't it be best to just remove it after Lockhart has fallen victim to it? Not that I want him to die, but since he doesn't have bloody Voldemort living on the back of his head, it can't be that bad. And we'd be rid of him."
"Actually, that would be a great idea," Blaise chuckled. "I don't think I can answer one more question about his favourite colour or which robes make his eyes shine better in photographs," he said, making the others laugh.
As it was getting late, Ginny and Neville were mentioning they should be heading off soon since they had to make the trek up to the seventh floor.
"I'll go with you after we give Mione her presents.," Harry happily said, stuffing his face with the last piece of the cake.
Draco took Harry by his robes, leading him towards him to whisper: "If you are planning to sneak into the Gryffindor Common Room again, just to spend time with Ginny, people might think you will soon be walking around in red and gold instead of green and silver."
Harry laughed, and dreamily looked at Ginny across the table before he admitted quietly: "It's not just to see Ginny or hang out with the twins and Neville. I've always wondered what it was like for mum and dad to grow up in the Gryffindor Tower. I was just too curious not to see what it was like, sitting in their Common Room, helping Ginny and her friends with some of their homework. It's fun, spending time there. Even if that Colin guy keeps snapping random pictures of me. At least I got him to sell me one of me and Ginny," he sheepishly said.
Draco nudged his shoulder in a friendly manner, letting Harry know he understood why he wanted to see how his parents had grown up, before he took an apple from the table in front of them, slowly nibbling on it as he watched his friends having fun together.
Some of them were starting to hand their presents over to Hermione. He was glad to see not just his own, but Hermione's friend circle as well, had expanded so much.
Most of the others had gotten her books, Harry even giving her the original copy of Hogwarts a History which she had always wanted. Daphne had given Hermione some earrings which she thought would suit her friend well, and Blaise had gotten her a voucher to an expensive store in Milan, winking at her that she should go and buy a dress for the Yule Ball at Malfoy Manor.
Eventually it was Draco's turn, and he gave Hermione a small box wrapped in gold. Hermione gratefully accepted it and gasped when she opened it, looking at the small perfume bottle he'd found in a tiny boutique in the Place Cachée while being dragged along shopping with his mother during the summer. One of the other customers was trying out the scent when he'd walked past, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. Grapefruit and apple. The perfume his Hermione always wore. That couldn't have been a coincidence, could it?
"Oh Draco, thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she hugged him. "Did my mum help you get this gift?"
Draco looked at her in confusion and raised an eyebrow at the brunette. Why would he have involved Jean Granger? "No, I found it in a small boutique when mother and I went shopping in France," he answered. "I thought it would suit you."
"Oh, must be a coincidence then," Hermione smiled. "It's the same perfume my great-grandmother used to wear, and my grand-mère still has a bottle of it in her bedroom. I used to always go up and smell it when I was a small child. It smelled like magic to me," she giggled at her choice of words.
Hermione put some perfume on her wrists, letting the other girls smell.
"Oh," Ginny said, sniffing. "The apple fragrance is almost like the ones we grow in the orchard at the Burrow," she said. "Like the green ones Malfoy is nibbling on right now. They only grow on magical leylines, so I'm surprised muggles have managed to make a perfume out of it. Where did you buy it?"
"I didn't buy it at a muggle store," Draco slowly answered, his brain catching up to what the Weaslette had just said. "But if Hermione's great-grandmother had it, then…"
Hermione blinked. Her grand-mère had always said her own mother had been a bit strange, claiming she saw snippets of the future. Some of those often came true, even if it wasn't always in the way they expected it. Hermione and her mother had fondly smiled at her grand-mère's imaginative stories when she was younger, but now that she knew magic was real… Well.
"She was the last witch before me," Hermione whispered in awe at this revelation. They had always suspected both of her parents were squibs to some extent after the heritage test, but this… Knowing that it had been so close on her mother's side of the family, made Hermione regret that she'd never gotten to meet her great-grandmother before she died.
All of their friends eventually said their goodbyes, Blaise and Daphne deciding to walk Luna to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Draco and Hermione were the last ones to leave the kitchens, since Hermione insisted on helping the elves clean up even though they protested when she began waving her wand around. Draco, not wanting Hermione to wander the halls alone late at night, had stayed behind and amused her by joining the elves in their protests, waving his fist angrily and wailing at her to stop this torture as she swiped the leftovers of his apple away.
In order to shut him up, she'd flicked her wand and made his tie become awfully tight, making him swallow his words as he had trouble talking with his airways becoming more closed off. He got her back for that one by secretly conjuring more and more plates from the cupboards, making her frown when she turned back to the table to find it full again.
When they finally left and walked back to the Dungeons, Hermione took Draco's hand in hers as they walked down one of the moving staircases. "Thank you, Draco, '' she whispered. "Not just for the perfume, but for making it seem more real that I'm actually a witch. I know the heritage test claimed I had the ancestry, but I've always thought that, it wasn't…"
The staircase stopped moving, and they were stuck between two floors as Draco grabbed her hand more tightly, rubbing soothing circles over it. "What has brought this on, Mione? Who cares if there wouldn't have been even an ounce of magical blood in your family tree? Sure, your magical core might have been smaller, but you would still be you, the smartest witch of your age. Harry and I would still love you."
She looked up at him slightly surprised, Draco noticing for the first time that his growth spurt had finally hit him, even if it only was just a little.
Her eyes were watery as she stated: "I don't think your father would have approved of you associating with a mudblood. He barely approves of me now, considering my blood is not as pure as yours. I wouldn't even have been sorted in Slytherin if it wasn't for that heritage test. We wouldn't have been friends."
Oh, sweet Hermione. How right, yet wrong she was. He'd found her even when the whole world had considered her to be a muggle-born. Even when he'd grown up and was taught to hate her and others like her, she'd always shown him that none of that blood purity nonsense mattered in the end. Why was she doubting herself now?
"Don't everuse that foul word," Draco scolded her, not wanting to hear the word mudblood from her mouth ever again. "I don't want anyone ever using it on you. If my father would dare to say it, I would hex him."
She smiled brightly and nodded at him, satisfied with his answer.
"Oi, you," Draco yelled at the staircase which was still stuck. "You better start moving now before we call Lord Slytherin down here to give you a proper scolding for making two second-years get stuck in the halls right before curfew."
Hermione laughed as the stairs suddenly moved with a vigour, making both of them stumble. Draco held her hand the whole way down to the dungeons, happily talking to her and trying to distract her from her worries, neither one of them noticing the slithering snake following them through the castle walls.