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 9 - The Indecisive Heart (Saturday - October 19, 1996)

Hermione cried herself to sleep that night. When she awoke, her eyes were puffy and red. She headed for her bathroom sink and washed her face before looking in the mirror, contemplating everything. Her thoughts brought her to think of her, Harry‘s, and Draco’s mental well-being.

Harry was already unstable underneath his cool exterior, especially since he had lost someone very important to him at every other major event in his life. If he were to lose her, he would definitely be crushed. To make it worse, losing her to his archenemy might cause him to go on a Slytherin-killing rampage.

She thought she could just stay with Harry and not tell him of her real feelings for Draco, but she thought that it could be considered lying and infidelity. If Harry were to find out, how would he react? The incident in Charms ages ago showed just how violently Harry could violently when he was angry. At that moment, she started to fear that Harry might kill Draco with his bare hands. To save Draco from Harry, she had to hide her feelings for him.

Draco, on the other hand, was rather unstable as well. If what he said was true, the major thing that had brought him to the brink of suicide was her relationship with Harry, and he might decide to end his life again. Hermione certainly did not want that to happen either.

She wanted to hit her head on the sink. Whatever her choice might be, one of them was bound to go insane… right along with her. She just could not decide something like this, especially when lives were on the line. Her heart was torn, as was her brain from trying to predict every consequence of her decision. Her stomach was rumbling, but yet she feared dealing with both boys in the Great Hall. She had to eat since she had not eaten the night before. She changed into presentable clothes before hurriedly running to the Great Hall, watching every turn for any sign of Draco.

She looked down as she ran to the Gryffindor table. She panted as she started to sit beside Harry. As she was about to sit, he inched towards her direction, preventing her from sitting.

\"Harry?\"

\"Ron,\" stressed Harry, not even looking up her direction. \"Please tell Hermione that I am not talking to her.\"

Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged his shoulders, \"Apparently, he’s not talking to you.\"

\"Why is that, Harry?\"

\"Ron, please tell her to stay away from me from this moment on, and don‘t forget to mention that I hate her guts.\"

\"You heard him, Hermione.\"

\"Harry, why are you being mean?\"

\"Ron, tell her that...\"

\"Hey,\" whined Ron. \"I am not a lettyphone, you know.\"

\"TELEPHONE!\"

Harry finally looked up, glaring at her. \"Why am I being mean, you asked? Why are you being dishonest?\"

\"Dishonest about what? Move over and talk to me.\"

Hermione hit him lightly, trying to force him into moving over, but apparently she had hit him a bit too hard. He winced loudly.

\"Oh, I am sorry, Harry. \"

\"FOR WHAT?\" he half-shouted. \"For snogging Malfoy?\"

\"WHAT?\" exclaimed Ron, almost choking on his bacon. \"What?\"

Harry continued. \"People have eyes, Hermione. Some Gryffindors saw you two from the library.\"

\"I did not kiss him, Harry.\"

\"You kissed him.\"

\"No,\" she said innocently. \"I didn’t kiss him.\"

\"Are you sure?\"

\"I did NOT kiss him!\"

\"YOU KISSED HIM!\"

\"Whoever told you that is lying!\"

\"WHY WOULD I LIE TO MYSELF!\"

Hermione, flabbergasted, covered her mouth after his statement.

\"Holy crickets...\"

’He was there,’ she said to herself. ‘He did not go straight to the Common Room or to his dormitories! He followed us.’

\"That kiss meant nothing to me, Harry,\" she cried. \"I promise. It meant nothing!\"

\"Then why did you lie about not kissing him?\"

\"Because what you didn’t know wouldn’t hurt you, Harry.\"

\"So, you would rather I heard about this from someone else?\"

\"No!\"

\"Then what, Hermione? And, if that kiss meant nothing, why did you cry on his shoulders after you slapped him?\"

\"I didn’t… I did not. \"

\"I saw it all, Hermione! I caught you, so don‘t you even think of lying again!\"

\"I am so sorry, Harry,\" she pleaded as she touched his shoulder, but he pulled her hand away.

\"Leave me alone, Hermione.\"

\"No, Harry. Let me explain!\"

\"No! We are through.\"

\"Please!\"

Harry stood up and looked at her straight in her eyes.

\"WE ARE THROUGH!\" He pushed her away before turning to Ron. \"Be ready for the game. I will see you all in the locker room in an hour.\"

Hermione tried to catch him as he headed towards the exit, but once they were there, he turned around suddenly and pushed her away again. Hermione knew his intention was only to stop her from following him, but Draco did not interpret such a gesture the same way she did.

Hermione looked up at Harry in fear, holding her wrist. Draco headed straight for her, helped her to her feet, and then stood in a fighting stance.

\"How dare you hit a girl, you sissy?\" he shouted at Harry.

\"How dare you steal something that does not belong to you?\"

\"You’re the one to talk. How do you know her heart really even belongs to you? You call yourself her boyfriend and you treat her like a rag you can just throw away. You don’t even deserve to walk on the same ground she walks on.\"

\"What would you know?\"

\"At least I know how to treat a woman!\"

Harry held his hands out in defeat before turning away.

\"Harry!\"

Draco was holding her back, but she insisted on chasing after Harry.

\"If he really loves you,\" he said as she struggled away, \"he will let you go.\"

\"I have had enough from you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!\" she screamed at him. Only then did he let her go, following her anyway.

\"Harry!\" she shouted as Harry left the indoor broom shed. He was already holding his Firebolt. \"Harry, please! Let me explain!\"

\"Stop it, Hermione,\" he said coldly. \"I can‘t take this… this… whatever this is from you anymore!\"

\"Harry, I love you, not him!\" she exclaimed as she tugged his shirt. \"Please! Let me explain!\"

\"Shut up already!\" he snapped as he continued to pull away. \"Shut up and leave me alone!\"

When he had successfully pulled himself from her grasp, he took advantage of the chance and mounted his broom, flying as fast as he could away from her.

Hermione watched her now distant ex-lover lowering himself to the ground before running towards the Quidditch pitch. She crumpled on the main doorsteps of the castle, crying inconsolably. Draco appeared behind her, offering a hand to help her up. She slapped it away, kicking and screaming like a little child and struggling to get away from the help she did not want.

\"No, let me go! You caused all this! Stay away from me! Your kiss was a jinx! You‘re…you‘re a plague of death! Leave me! Leave me alone.\" She collapsed in his arms, holding the wrist that she had hit on the floor when she fell in the Great Hall.

\"It’s alright,\" he said weakly. \"Let’s get you inside. The infirmary is too far, let’s head to my room.\"

She did not hear him, but cried and sniffled as Draco led the way to the Slytherin commons and into his dormitory. Once inside, Draco made her sit on a small sofa before moving her hair out of her face.

\"Sit while I look for my first aid kit.\"

Hermione concentrated on getting her breathing back to normal as her eyes lazily scanned his room. Although Hermione knew that all Head Boys and Girls of the Houses had their own rooms, she expected them all to be simple. Hers had only a bed, her desk, a dresser, and a place for her trunk. She had also seen Ron’s, but his room was indescribable. It looked very much like a dump.

Her free hand touched the nice silky material of the couch she was sitting on as her eyes wandered around, looking at all the things that came with the title of the Slytherin Head Boy and the elegant necessities of the Wizarding elite. His bed was covered in fine sheets, probably the most expensive in the Wizarding World. Certain items he had were either made of pure silver or gold and crested with what she thought was the Malfoy seal.

\"I knew this first-aid kit would come in handy for some other purposes than Quidditch mishaps,\" Draco said weakly as he sat beside her.

Hermione pulled away as he reached for her hand.

\"Here. Take the bottle and do it yourself. A few drops should do.\"

Draco slowly placed the vial in her hand before heading towards the end of the room. She poured the lotion-like substance on her palm and massaged her hurting wrist. The scent of strawberries emanating from the potion filled the air, almost calming Hermione’s nerves.

As she capped the vial, she watched Draco open his dresser, pulling out something that resembled his Quidditch undershirt and started to undress.

\"Draco,\" she said weakly, making him turn around. \"I am sorry you are stuck in the middle of it all. I… It’s my...\"

She stopped talking at the sight of the numerous scars, aside from the one she saw him inflict on himself, that ran from his wrist to his Dark Mark. This made her stand up in surprise. Her motion made him take a few steps back as he hurriedly placed his shirt on.

\"Draco, what happened to you?\"

\"It’s nothing,\" he answered in a grating voice. \"It’s nothing.\"

\"Let me see.\"

\"I said it’s nothing.\"

\"If it’s nothing, you will sit here by the sofa and let me see it. Let me see it.\"

He slowly walked towards her and sat beside her on the sofa. He did not resist, nor did he help, as Hermione pulled his sleeve up.

\"Recently I have had the tendency to inflict pain on myself. The blade was there, and it always cut through the skin, but I didn’t have the courage to slash myself.\"

\"Why do you do this to yourself?\"

\"I do it because of my lack of self-worth. There is no point in me living. Why stay alive, you know?\"

\"Don’t you dare do this anymore, Malfoy. Promise me not to!\"

\"I can’t.\"

\"Yes, you can.\"

\"I can’t help myself, like how I can’t help myself loving you.\"

\"Stop it. Just stop it right now.\"

\"No! You love me, and you know it! I do not know why you refuse to acknowledge it all! Just admit it already.\"

\"I love Harry! Not you!\"

\"Admit it already!\"

\"NO!\"

Draco rushed towards his bedside and reached for something under his pillow. It was shiny, silver, and very familiar to Hermione. It was the same dagger that he had planned to take his life with. She gasped at the sight of the object, standing up as quick as she could, and walked towards him, trying not to agitate him further.

\"No, please...\"

\"Come any closer and I swear I will slash myself dead.\"

\"Don’t! Please don’t!\"

\"Then tell me what you really feel! If you hate me, you hate me. If you love me, tell me!\"

Hermione’s lips quivered, and as she tried to voice the truth, she thought she saw him make a sudden movement. She thought he had finally slashed himself, and she fell face first on Draco’s bed, shielding her eyes so she could not see him die for the second time.

\"NO!\" Her screams were muffled by her hands. \"I can’t let the one I love die again! I can’t Draco! You can’t die. I love you so much. NO! Please, tell me that you didn‘t, please! I am sorry. I am sorry!\"

Draco’s caressing arms pulled her up into the middle of his bed. He sat down, positioned her on his lap, and held her tight, rocking her as he kissed her head.

\"I am sorry, Hermione. I am sorry! I had to scare you! I needed to know. I just needed to know! I am sorry I scared you, love.\"

Hermione continued to cry in his arms, lightly hitting his chest with her palm.

\"You scared me! You scared me to death!\"

She hugged him tight, thinking that her gesture would reassure him of her true feelings for him. Draco pulled out a few pillows and rested her head on it before lying beside her and letting his arm rest on her waist

\"I love you, Hermione,\" he whispered in her ear. \"I love you.\"

She turned around, and looking into his grey eyes, she finally told him that she loved him.

~@~ PLEASE REVIEW!!! Or at least leave some lovin\'! VOTE!!! ~@~

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