Borrowed Time (Part 1 of the Time Turner Trilogy)

On Borrowed Time by Emaleth

GENRE: AU, Darkfic, Unresolved Sexual Tension.
ADT\'L(This Chapter): Nothing much going on yet... so eh.
RATING: PG-13... for now.
SUMMARY: Seventh Year, post Harry-defeats-Voldemort: Harry and Hermione became a couple the summer before their 7th year. Their romance went along well... until they went back to Hogwarts. The first day of class, Hermione was given an ultimatum to go back in time in order to change something that had just happened... and of course, her actions had consequences. Some might consider it bad, but she doesn\'t.
PAIRINGS: Harry/Hermione... then transforms to Draco/Hermione
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
E-MAIL ME: manticorechimera@msn.com

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Chapter 6 - Running to the Wrong Guy (Tuesday - October 1, 1996)

It had been almost a month since school started, and Hermione spent most of the time staying away from Draco as much she could just as Harry had asked her to do. However, doing so proved to be a challenge.

It had been hard for her to stay away from Draco. He seemed to follow her everywhere, and it was even harder to shake. They did have most classes together, and the usual places she went were accessible to all houses. Ron and Harry did not help much with keeping her company since they were both busy looking for new recruits and with their Quidditch practices. Hermione was mostly on her own.

In the past she was known to stay in the library to study and read books for leisure, but now she was being forced to break the habit. Lately she took her books back to her dorm room or forced Harry or Ron to stay with her when she needed a book from the Restricted Section.

Draco never gave up trying to get her attention. He would casually walk up to her whenever she was alone. Even when she was with Harry, he would wave an awkward hello and goodbye when he saw her. This had her worried, both for her relationship with Harry and for Draco’s personal health.

Thankfully, as the weeks passed by, Draco seemed to have finally given up his little charade and started to hang out with some his old Slytherin friends. The usual stares became glances, and his friendly waving finally diminished. She finally felt free to do and go places without worrying about finding Draco. Finally, it seemed like everything was back to normal…or so Hermione thought.

One day, she grudgingly went down to the Great Hall when she realized that, probably out of hunger, Harry and Ron had forgotten to wait for her outside of Muggle Studies. So, besides the flock of Ravenclaws in front of her, she walked the hallways alone, or so she thought.

\"Hi there!\"

\"Draco! You gave me such a fright!\"

\"I did not mean to. I just wanted to say hi. I have not done that in a while. I thought I could talk to you, confide in you.\"

\"No one said you can‘t.\"

\"Then have I angered you in any way? Whenever I do try to approach you, you are either rushing away from me or trying to ignore my presence. If you won’t even let me talk to you, then tell me how I can be your friend.\"

Hermione took him aside and took a deep breath.

\"Harry and I are in a relationship, you know, and he does not feel comfortable about the two of us being friends.\"

\"That’s his opinion.\"

\"I just don’t want to spoil our relationship.\"

\"I know you‘d have it your way. You told him face-to-face that you can befriend anyone you please without his consent, did you not?\"

\"What I meant, Draco, is that I don’t want to jeopardize the relationship I have with Harry.\"

\"Don’t let him be selfish. You can be friends with anyone you please. You and Ron are friends, and Harry does not seem to care.\"

\"That case is different. Ron and Harry have been friends…\"

\"It’s because I am a Slytherin, isn’t it?\"

\"No. It’s because you are Draco Malfoy. The two of you have the reputation of being each other‘s mortal enemy.\"

\"I thought the Dark Lord was Harry’s mortal enemy.\"

Hermione was starting to get really irritated. \"He just does not want me to talk to you, period.\"

\"Don’t you think he is being a little selfish here?\"

\"Just stay away, will you?\"

\"I can’t. I can’t help thinking of you.\"

\"Then at least try!\"

\"I just can’t forget about you. Not to mention the fact you saved my life! I owe you everything. Who could just forget your face? You’re unforgettably beautiful, Hermione.\"

\"Draco, stop it\"

\"Just let me be friends with you.\"

\"Malfoy!\" she shrieked. \"I said, leave me alone! No more compliments, no more flattery, no more ‘thank you for saving my life’, and just…none of that. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!\"

Draco looked hurt as he glanced down before looking away.

\"Alright, I’ll stay away,\" he mumbled. \"I get the idea. I promise I’ll stay out of your way from now on.\"

As he slowly walked off, Hermione resisted the urge to follow him. Instead, she shouted her apology.

\"You have to understand! I am with…\"

\"Harry. I know,\" he answered. \"I understand completely.\"

*****

Hermione played with her food during lunch as Harry and Ron formulated plans for their upcoming Quidditch match against the Hufflepuffs. She lazily poked the pasta noodles as she pondered how bad Draco must be feeling after she blew up at him earlier.

She tried to glancing in Draco’s direction in hopes of meeting eye-to-eye with him. Eye contact between the two of them ceased to exist for he hid his greys behind his blonde fringe. Hermione was irritated by the whole situation, but hid her frustration on the inside. She had wanted to apologize to him while they were still in the hall, but her search for the proper words to explain seemed much more of a challenge than getting the perfect grade on an exam. People’s feelings were much more complicated and harder to deal with.

She thought that after class she could make herself feel better by asking for forgiveness. Even if she found the right words to say, she most definitely would not want Harry around when she cornered Draco. Of course, this proved impossible since the Slytherins and Gryffindors only shared two classes together. Hermione was left with two choices: Puncture her new and seemingly pointless friendship with Draco or jeopardize her newly formed love life with Harry.


She thought of using the Time-Turner since no one would know if she used it anyway. If only she had it still, she could go back in time to prevent herself from yelling at Draco and keep him from even seeing her at all. Then again, they were bound to come across each other anyway, and she would have to continue travel back in time just to stop him. She decided the whole idea was pointless anyway, so she decided not to apologize to Draco at all. She figured that she would lose the least with this decision. She would rather lose Draco than Harry, and probably Ron. Befriending Draco would risk the strong bond between her, Harry, and Ron and that was the last thing in the world she wanted to do. Harry and Ron had been with her from the very start. Draco had treated her like scum for years.

If she had only known that her decision would dissolve as fast as sugar in water, she would not have had wasted her lunch period pondering it.

As much as she loved her Charms Class with Professor Flitwick, she dreaded going into the room due to the anxiety of running into Draco. Much to Harry and Ron’s surprise, she decided to seat them in the back row corner. Once there, she sat close to Harry, hiding her eyes from Draco who was sitting at the front of the room.

Hermione thought that she could last the whole class without having to deal with Draco. She was downright mistaken.

Hermione felt Harry start to nod off on her shoulder. She nudged him, trying to wake him, before freeing herself. Harry sat up, but started to lean closer to the desk, the weight of his head directly on his hand and his elbow at the edge of the table. She noticed this and decided to poke him lightly on the shoulder. That was certainly a bad idea.

\"Harry,\" she whispered. \"Harry! HARRY!\"

Harry’s reflexes were a bit out of whack. Instead of waking up, he fell right out his seat and caused such a commotion by toppling some of his notebooks along with him.

\"Mr. Potter, are you alright?\" asked Flitwick. \"What are you doing back there?\"

\"I am sorry Professor. I just… I jus thought I saw a really huge bug.\"

\"Well then, Mr. Potter, if that is all, please come down to the front of the room and demonstrate to your classmates how Garrulitas is done.\"

\"Uh, the what?\"

\"The Babbling Curse I just taught you. Come on down, please. And is it okay if I use you as a test subject Mr. Malfoy.\"

\"Err…\" answered Draco. \"Only if you promise to stop as soon as Potter has proven he can do the spell, Professor.\"

\"I’ll make sure of that, Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Potter! No more lollygagging!\"

Harry’s face had turned beet-red on his way down to the front of class, his head hanging low and his eyes pointed down. He lifted his head, gave Hermione a smile, and then pulled out his wand from his cloak pocket.

\"You better do it correctly, Potter,\" said Draco smugly. \"Otherwise…\"

\"Gravitas!\"

\"Whoa!\"

Draco flew up about ten feet, almost hitting the classroom ceiling, before dropping on top of Harry. He pushed Draco off of him and pulled himself away from the other boy.

While the other students stood by their seats, Hermione ran towards them in a panicked frenzy, screaming and almost toppling poor Professor Flitwick.

\"Draco!\" As she reached him, she lifted his head and asked, \"Draco, are you alright?\"

\"Yeah,\" he answered as he started to sit up. \"I think.\"

\"Are you sure? Are you hurt? Did you hit your head? Did you…\"\'

Hermione looked up and saw Ron and Flitwick assisting Harry. She bit her lip and realized that running to Draco instead of to her boyfriend was the biggest mistake she had made in her life. She nervously helped Draco up, glancing around at the dozen other pairs glaring at her.

Hermione felt a sudden chill run down her spine as she saw Harry‘s face contorted grotesquely. His green eyes were clouded by tears and his lips were quivering. It was obvious that he was furious.

More quickly than anyone had anticipated, Harry rushed towards Draco, and in one sweeping motion, Harry grabbed Draco by his collar. Punches would have been thrown, but the students were quick in their response. Luckily, both boys were held back by their housemates while Hermione, stuck in the middle, cried like a newborn babe.

Flitwick screamed \"Class dismissed!\" at the top of his lungs.
**********END OF CHAPTER**********


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A/N: This fanfic was written for for the Contra Veritas : Dr/Hr Fanfic Challenge AKA Livejournal\'s \"The Enemy\'s Valentine - Dr/Hr Fic Gift Exchange.\" The rules were a bit restricted (I had to include Time-travel, Love triangles and a Happy ending... and NO Harry/Ginny romance) and so was my fanfic. The second part of the Trilogy would have a bit more freedom but I\'ll just play it by ear, k???

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this fanfic as much I as I enjoyed writing it!^_^

SPECIAL THANKS to Snapeaholic, for betaing my fanfic. Without you, I\'d be drowning in a sea of grammatical mistakes. LOL