Losing No More Time

~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~

Chapter X

~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~

Hermione walked up to the gargoyle in the second floor corridor, “Boomslang Skin.”

The gargoyle leaped aside, and Hermione walked up the revolving spiral staircase to the top.

“Come in,” a voice called before she knocked.

She walked in and shifted her shoulders down when she saw Mr. Malfoy and Malfoy Jr. She looked at them out the corner of her eye.

“Miss Granger, please sit down,” Severus said, gesturing to the seat between Lucius and Draco.

“Do I have to?” Hermione said, her nose wrinkling as she glared at Lucius. “It’s not like he was decent enough to bring the good Malfoy Jr. Why? Where is your other son? You took him away, didn’t you? It’s because I’m Muggleborn. I hate you. I hate you.”

Lucius stood and moved to her, taking out a handkerchief. He held it to her nose.

“Please don’t say that,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I don’t hate you.”

“Don’t touch me,” Hermione said, holding the handkerchief up and sniffling.

“I’m right here. Adonis is right here. He’s me. I tried to tell you a hundred times, my Love. You wouldn’t listen.”

“Who’s Adonis?” Draco asked.

“My pseudonym from my second period as a youth in this institution.”

Hermione sniffed a little, looking at Lucius.

“You’re a nasty liar. You’re just a slimy Slytherin.”

“Don’t cry,” Draco said. “Please.”

“You delight in being nasty to me. Why don’t you go away?”

“This from my Mother?” Draco said, “I love you. I’m your little dragon.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hermione said. “I’m not your mother. I would never birth such a creature as you.”

“You did! Show her Father! She’s being just hateful.”

“I told you it would be better for you to stay at home.”

“You said I could come. She’s my mother! I’m important to her!”

“I don’t believe you. You two are awful. What did you do to your other son? Take him and sacrifice him. That’s terrible. I loved him,” Hermione said, turning and slipping out the door.

Hermione raced toward her rooms, sniffling into her handkerchief. She slipped in and lay on her bed, drawing the curtains. She turned her head to the side, pressing her lips together and trembling.

“I thought you might come here, Love.”

Hermione jerked around, looking at the main entrance to the Headgirl’s suite.

“How did you get in here?” Hermione asked, staring at Lucius.

Lucius walked to her, “I entered through the entrance to my own suite with my password. You didn’t secure your door.”

“Is he okay? Adonis isn’t unwell, is he?”

“No,” Lucius said, approaching her with soft steps. “He is right here with you.”

“I don’t believe you. There is no way to travel forward in time,” Hermione said, turning her back to Lucius and crossing her arms.

“Had you asked me, I should have been happy to send you the text outlining the method,” Lucius said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached into his cloak and removed a thin blue book from his pocket. “I’m missing you very much right now, my Darling. You must decide soon as the window for being with me is shrinking. My parents are even now, in a since, planning my marriage to Narcissa Black.”

“Well, you married her, didn’t you?”

“I did not,” Lucius said.

“I still don’t believe you. I need to read the book first.”

“As you wish, Love,” Lucius said. “May I offer that we have not yet shared a kiss as proof of the validity of my claim? Our projects are…” Lucius listed them off.

Hermione stared at him, shifting back against the headboard.

“Your favorite tea is vanilla with sugar and just a touch of milk. Your favorite color is wine red. The first time you called me by my pseudonym was when you were trapped in the trick stair…” Lucius continued to tell her more.

Hermione shifted closer to him.

“Is it really you?”

“Every inch plus a few,” Lucius said. “I love you. Will you go back and be with me?”

“I don’t know.”

Lucius touched her ankle.

Hermione looked up at him.

“I understand. This is all a great deal to take in. That is why I tried to prepare you. I’ve maintained from the beginning that I was from the past though you would not believe it. I would like to offer these to you as well,” Lucius said. He enlarged a package from his pocket, and placed a white leather bound book on top. “It’s our wedding photos.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, reaching for the album.

“I’ll take my leave of you,” he said, bowing his head.

“Wait,” Hermione said. “Could you stay for a little while, please?”

“Of course,” Lucius said. “I would prefer us to move to your common room.”

Hermione stood, gathering the books and box.

“Allow me.”

Lucius took the parcels from her. He opened the door for her.

Hermione looked up at him and walked out of the room.

~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~

“A temporal potion?” Hermione asked. “Simply ingenious…” she marveled over the text.

“Yes,” Lucius said.

“How do I get back to the right time? By all accounts this sounds quite complicated, and as you said I am on borrowed time to return to you,” Hermione shifted close to him. “Why haven’t you kissed me?”

“We are not married,” Lucius said, blushing.

“But we are,” Hermione said. “I saw the photos.”

“But if you go to the past in the future, your future lies in the past. So the picture is of you in the future. So we are sort of not married.”

“But if I married you in the past and we are both still alive in the present day…then we are married.”

“You should wait to kiss me. I am sure I would prefer it.”

Hermione sighed.

“You should be able to go to the past soon. But we must wait till the proper moment. I want you to travel to the past at Malfoy Manor. I think it would be best if we send you back to the night of my engagement party.”

Hermione shifted closer.

“We need to wait just a little longer for that. There will be time for you to sit for your exams. I know how much that means to you.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, looking at the tall wizard and blinking softly.

“I would give you anything.”

Hermione blushed, “I have so many questions. Surely you knew I was your wife but younger. Why were you so harsh when you first met me?”

“I knew. I don’t know why I acted as I did to be honest. I was shocked. I never expected to see you there. I knew that you were the same age as our son at this time. But to see you so young in the flesh when I had just…enjoyed your company that morning, shall we say, was disturbing. Then to see Draco antagonizing you…well, our crafty son had already worked out that you were his mother. He was getting back at you in Slytherin fashion. But he never did anything too horrible. He more wanted to have your attention focused on him and not on having a boyfriend, I think.”

“It’s so weird that I already know my son, and I’ve not had him. Why?” Hermione stopped in her question.

“Go ahead. You may ask me anything of course,” Lucius said.

Hermione shifted closer to him.

“Why didn’t we have more children? You mentioned to me that you would like a little girl at one point,” she said.

“You’ll find out in due course the answers to questions such as these.”

Knock.

“Mother,” Draco called from the other side.

“Let him in, please,” Lucius said. “He was very upset.”

“Come in.”

Draco bolted through the door when it opened to admit him.

“Mother, I’m sorry. I’ll be good. Just please go back and marry Father.”

Hermione shot a look at Draco.

“I don’t know. Seeing how you’ve turned out…you’re slinky.”

“Love me for who I am…” Draco said. “Please, I’ll be a good little dragon.”

“I don’t really know you yet, Mal—Draco,” Hermione said.

“I’m your son, your good little boy.”

“I just don’t really know anything about you. Your favorite color, favorite food, if you have a girlfriend, if you’ve ever been in love…”

“My favorite color is dark blue-grey, my favorite food is Italian style stuffed chicken, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Can you make me a promise?” Hermione asked, as Draco held her hand to his cheek.

“If you make me one,” Draco said.

“Very well,” Hermione said.

“I want you to love me and never try to change my nature.”

“Of course,” Hermione said, reaching up. “You must promise me to always tell me what is going on in your life. I want my child to be close to me and trust me.”

“I promised you that for Mother’s Day when I was five, and I promise it again now,” Draco said, cradling her wrist. “I love you, Mother. Even if I am sometimes a brat.”

“How long do I have to wait?” Hermione asked, looking at her husband-to-be and son-to-be.

“Three weeks. Sit your exams now, and come to the Manor upon their completion.”

“But I should not see my older self,” Hermione said.

“You are planning a trip to our Italian villa in the next two weeks with Draco. So it will be just you and me at the Manor when you are ready to come.”

“Okay,” Hermione said.

~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~

Well, there was Chapter X. Please leave a review.

~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~*~-~-~