Time lost. ...EPILOGUE UP!

1977’

The first sensation that the girl felt was wetness. The scent of dirt and wet mossy ground pressed into her nostrils and she wanted to choke and roll over but her limbs wouldn’t move.

Everything she had read about the poison was true. She could feel and hear every sensation Voldemort did. Now, she felt nothing but bone-racking aches from the Crucio and the final kick in her ribs. At least three of her ribs were definitely broken.

After a while, every part of her body ceased to function. Hermione heard sobbing from far away. A young boys sobbing and she felt someone clutching her body tightly

Behind her blank eyes, Hermione existed. Although it was a dark place where he innermost fears seemed to take on a life of their own. Moments of terror in her life became a lifetime, intermingled with the events happening around her.

Now, she was face down in the wet grass just outside of the lakeshore near Hogwarts. A big golden man was arguing with a petite girl with familiar eyes. Their words faded and Hermione let go of trying. Too hard...

Shades licked at her thoughts, tugging her into the dark recesses of her mind. Voices whispering maliciously as they picked apart her thoughts of Severus.

Of the battle years ago. Of the stone cold fear that was twisting and turning in her belly. She could only hope that Severus lived.

Hopelessness washed anew as she saw Severus coming back for her and hex the girl across from him. The blond man hexed Severus back and he fell to his feet next to her.

They both were going to die here, or worse… Change history. The couple disappeared, leaving Hermione alone with the Stupefied young Severus.

Hermione wanted to react, to cry or to do something that indicated she was alive. The poison took hold of her again and she was lost in the whispers again, the blackness pulling her inside herself.

Hermione mentally curled up into a ball as she waited for the maelstrom to finally cease.

The smell of grass was back and then a sensation of being lifted. The blond man was back and he was picking her up. At closer range, Hermione could see his face. A scar ran jagged over his exquisitely beautiful face and his eyes registered something in her. Hermione gasped in fear.

Hermione’s body gasped.

Draco Malfoy dropped her body to the ground in shock. Hermione’s corpse had just moved. Draco backed away from her in horror.

Anise had requested that he take Hermione’s corpse back to 2002, it was the least he could do since she had saved his life. Hermione twitched again and slowly a weak gasp came from her.

“Draco… I… should….” Hermione rolled over with a great deal of effort, stared up at him, her hand was twitching.
“… have known….” Hermione garbled out.

Draco bent down and picked up Hermione. “Yes, you should have…” Draco watched Hermione struggling to get feeling back into her fingers.

“Damn, you’re too bloody clever to die as well.” Draco’s eyes glinted.

Hermione shuddered as her greatest enemy picked her up as easily as a rag doll. Her body was trembling from the shock of the poison wearing off. Hermione could feel strong muscle under the clothes that Draco wore.

She was utterly helpless right now and dependent on Draco for survival. Hermione stared down at the Stupefied Severus with tears in her eyes. This was the last she would see of him. It was killing her.

Hermione struggled not to choke on her sobs as she fought Draco’s hold on her.

“Hey now, Granger. I am trying to help you.” Draco frowned as she weakly pushed against him.

“Don’t you want to go back to your time? Play with Potter and the Weasel?” Draco’s sarcastic, biting tone infuriated her.

Draco carried her with him as he walked away, leaving Severus by the shoreline. Hermione stared at him until his visage was out of sight. Hermione felt disgusted with Draco and she bided her time until she could move on her own again.

Draco stopped at the edge of the forest clearing. He had some things to do in this time still. Hermione needed to go back though.

He removed the time turner from about his neck, he gave it the appropriate number of twists, and he grimaced.

“Hold on…Granger. It would be a shame to just drop you before your destination…”

Hermione gasped and pulled tighter around his neck. Draco let it loose and time flew. Both parties felt like they were going to be sick. The years flew past them and the houses curled, decayed, and rebuilt. Hermione closed her eyes and finally they stopped spinning.

Hermione finally landed with a thud on something both soft and hard, she realized she had fallen on Draco Malfoy.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes and tried to squirm, rolling off of him. Draco opened one eye slowly.

“Bloody hell.” Draco muttered with a pained groan.

Hermione looked anxiously at him. “Are you hurt?”

“I just never realized your breasts are so big Granger. No wonder Snape always ogled them. He must have known personally.”

Draco grinned unabashedly down at Granger, who was currently sprawled on him, squashing him with her breasts.

Draco pushed himself up on his elbows. His hair fell into his eyes and Hermione struggled to hit him in the face.

“Now Granger, we both know you’re not up to it…” Draco said easily pushing her off him.

Hermione rolled to lie besides him in the grass. “Where are we?”

Draco shrugged. “I think Hogwarts, at some point in 2002.”

Hermione felt something die inside her. “Then we are too late.” Hermione rolled over on her side, hiding her tears from Draco.

Draco felt something shift inside him from her expression. If anyone had told him that someday he, Draco Malfoy would be helping the Mudblood, simply because a Potter asked him to, he would have laughed in his or her face.

Draco tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hermione, Snape would have wanted peace after such a life of agony. You’re lucky you got time with him at all.”

Hermione suddenly hated Draco vehemently.

“This is your fault Draco. All of this. I never would have…done ANY of this.”

Draco laughed bitterly. “Oh yes, I am responsible for you sleeping with Snape.”

Hermione growled and flexed her hand slowly pumping feeling back into it. “You know what I mean!”

“We saved your life…” Hermione started in on him.

Draco swiftly cut her off mid-sentence. “So I could watch my family die, be branded an outcast and traitor to my friends.”

Draco took a deep breath. “You’re lucky I met someone who showed me the truth of things. I have no regrets about what I tried to do. Hell, I even tried to save your life, you ungrateful Mud…. Know-it-all.”

Hermione fell silent, staring at his blazing look. Slowly all of her limbs were prickling with sensation of being alive again. Hermione dragged a deep breath of the night air.

“Oh god. I cannot look everybody in the face. Snape must have known the whole time. He knew I messed with his past. I remember things. Small moments where he was almost kind, and before… before the wedding… I can feel something, a dream I had… where Snape and me…”
Hermione grabbed her head.

“God everything hurts. I do not want to see them. The Ministry.” Hermione groaned.

Draco sneered. “Well as pleasurable as this has been Granger, I have better things to do.”

Draco spun the time turner in his hand and his eyes gleamed at Hermione in the dark. “Good luck Granger, you’re going to need it.”

The moment it ticked she tried to grab Draco’s foot and he faded from her sight.

Bloody great, what month is it?

Hermione tried to tell based off the constellations in the night sky. It seemed impossible to tell. Fog had set in and it was starting to drizzle. Old faded robes were the only cover she had and somehow she felt battered. The events of last few days had been exhausting.

The school dance of 77’ was two days ago. Her violation and death at the hands of the Death Eaters was close to a day ago. She thinks. Everything begins to swim in front of her and she closes her eyes.

Water began to fall down on her, she could feel it filling up in the moss around her, and she tried to roll over so the water stopped choking her. Dragging herself to higher ground slowly but surely, she finally relaxed her sore body.

Damn Draco Malfoy to hell.


TBC.

That was unexpected. Read and Review..... Pretty please. =)