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The Paths We Take	By : Luckycharms Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18436 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That right goes to the AMAZING JK Rowling. No profit is made off this story. Shout out to Scorpia11 for being my awesome Beta!!

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter 10- Riddle Me This
65-110 Million Years Ago
Draco slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pioneer outfit when he heard a loud blood curdling scream emit from behind him. Thinking one of the girls was in trouble, he quickly whipped his body around only to find Blaise shrieking like an adolescent as he stared up at a colossal long necked dinosaur trying to eat a few leaves off the top of a tall tree. Admittedly the blonde was thrown back and terrified as well, but he knew the animal was an herbivore and wouldn't eat Blaise like the dark-haired wizard was apparently thinking. However, Blaise's horrified screams continued, alerting the two Gryffindors who came running through a herd of Protoceratops grazing in the field, minding their own business.
Draco rushed to his friends' side and pulled him out of the way of the massive dinosaur stepping to the right to reach the leaves it so desperately wanted, before flicking its enormous tail, forcing the boys to duck as it whipped through the air while Hermione and Ginny abruptly stopped, just short of the Slytherins.
A group of five Saichania's, all of whom had no care for the humans staring at their spiked armored backs and large club tails, separated the girls from the guys while nonchalantly walking closer to the center of the grassy plain to eat with a herd of Prenocephale's and Avimimus's scattered around a five-mile radius. Dinosaurs, big and small, seemed to have surrounded them in all directions, and none of the four knew what the hell to do.
"What the fuck is that thing!" Blaise screeched as he moved to hide behind Draco and the remainder of their peers finally caught up to them.
"A Quaesitosaurus…maybe?" Draco replied while eyeing the massive extinct beast with his arms crossed. "Or it could be an Erketu…They all look very much the same."
"A Nemegtosaurus?" Hermione added while tilting her head as she too thought about the long neck dinosaur chewing away at greens before them.
"Oh, good one" the blonde ticked while pointing a finger in the air. "I forgot about those."
"I am not even going to ask how the fuck you know those names let alone how to pronounce them, but whatever the fuck that thing is, can we please get out of here before it eats us or something else much worse, does?" the dark-skinned wizard yelled before whimpering as he coward behind the Slytherin Prince in absolute terror.
"It's an herbivore, Blaise" the brunette chuckled before she went back to staring in awe of the magnificent creature. "It only eats vegetation."
"Why are we back here?" Ginny cut in with her eyes staring wide at the many living fossils surrounding them. "Why the hell are we back in the Cre-Cret-"
"Cretaceous period" her best friend finished for her. "I honestly have no clue, but-" she went on to claim before witnessing Blaise bolt towards a giant hill to get away from the beings that could squash him in an instant beneath their immense feet. "I guess we're following him?" she shrugged before the group raced to catch up to the traumatized Slytherin.
After dodging monumental tails, tall mounds of dinosaur excrement, and avoiding tiny little theropods running amuck, the four students made it to the top of the hill covered by a dense coniferous forest, completely out of breath. But as they rested for a few seconds, Ginny caught sight of an unmoving large bright red light suspended in the sky just off to her left. She raised a brow in confusion, because she knew for a fact it wasn't the sun, nor did it look like any star that normally shined in the daylight. Ignoring the strange light for now that appeared to be growing brighter, she looked to the ground when she felt something hard underneath her shoe.
Lifting her foot slightly, the redhead spotted a shiny green stone resting in the grass and she tilted her head with curiosity implanted in the lines of her forehead. Slowly bending down to pick up the bizarre item that didn't seem to belong, she admired its beauty before turning around to see her friends holding their wands out, and fear…embedded in their eyes.
Gripping the stone tightly in a fist, Ginny's eyes turned to what had her group in such a fright and she released a small whimper when she instantly recognized the feathered turkey-size animal belting out a sound that was very similar to a Stellar Sea Eagle. Rushing to Blaise's side, she unholstered her wand and pointed it at the bird-like beast before recalling what Hermione had said in the museum.
"Shite!" she stated while quickly rotating her body and pressing her back up against the dark-haired wizards' so that she was now facing away from the Velociraptor.
Though when Hermione caught sight of what her friend was doing, her eyes grew even wider, and she hastily turned to her left.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Blaise asked in a whisper, his eyes never wavering from the dinosaur in from of him.
"Oh, for the love of…!" Draco announced while throwing his head back when he understood what was happening, before rotating to his right. "She's a bloody distraction…Clever girl…"
But before Blaise could utter a word and question what the hell his friends where talking about, three more Velociraptors emerged from the trees and eerily growled as one stood before each of them.
"Son of fucking Unicorn!" he cursed aloud while pointing his wand steadily at the carnivore in front of him. "Can we apparate back?"
"If you want to apparate back into that herd below, be my guest" Draco stated through gritted teeth as he stared his enemy down. "But just a heads up, there are carnivores and omnivores down there as well."
"Merlin's left saggy tit!" Blaise exclaimed while sulking his shoulders and throwing his head back.
However, a large supersonic shock wave echoed through the air, causing the Velociraptors to quickly scamper away and the four to glance up at a six-mile-wide asteroid, or what scientist call Chicxulub, breaking through the Earths' atmosphere at forty-five thousand miles per minutes. Crashing into the surface, the energy it produced during its impact, was roughly seven billion times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in the 1940's, and it rocked the ground so violently beneath their feet, they all unwillingly fell to the forest soil.
But as the group watched in horror and shielded their faces with their arms, a molten debris filled cloud, hotter than the surface of the sun, rushed at them at an impressive speed, killing everything…in its path. However, the group unexpectedly was sucked through a green vortex with absolutely no prior warning like they were used; no piercing noise rang in their ears, not even a green glow could be seen. They were simply jumped through time while everything around them, plunged into eternal darkness.
Thursday, May 6th, 1999
"Oh, Godric! What have we done?" Professor McGonagall inquired with a hand over her mouth as she released a small whimper.
"Relax" Thorfinn stated as he picked up the thumbtacks from the desk and walked back up to the map. "Draco is a sharp lad, the Dark Lord made sure of that. If anyone is strong enough to survive the past, it's him" he claimed while juggling the tacks in his right hand before pinning two in the locations he knew the group had gone through. "Now Potter, I want you to try and remember everything you can about what you saw on your Spirit Walk. Every detail you can recall matters if we are going to try and pinpoint where and when your friends were. We can then document it all so in case this ever happens again, which Salazar, I hope it doesn't, then at least there will be a better understanding as to what to expect."
As the raven-haired wizard thought about what the former Death Eater was asking, Thorin summoned a quill and parchment before setting the objects on top of the white piano sitting just off to the side of the wall to wall map.
"Um…okay" Harry sighed as he leaned forward on the desk he was still sitting at and folded his hands on the wood. "I mean I just found out I could die if Draco does too, so what the heck do I have to lose, right?"
"He won't die…I hope…"
"That's comforting…" he rolled his eyes while resting his forehead against his fingertips and exhaled deeply. "Okay well, the first one is easy. There was a dinosaur."
"Not as easy as you may believe, Potter" Rowle claimed. "The Mesozoic era was a large era for dinosaurs, which stretched from 248 to sixty-five million years ago and it was divided into the three time periods. The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous" he declared as he turned around like he was teaching a class. "You need to be more specific in which dinosaur you saw, before I can correctly mark it."
"Alright, it was a T-Rex then."
"Ahh, the Tyrannosaurus. One of the largest land carnivores of all time and they lived…in the Cretaceous period. Good" the blonde stated while walking over to the parchment before scribbling a small note upon the paper and then suddenly ripping it. Marching back to map, he glanced around the wall before placing a pin in the western hemisphere of North America with the parchment firmly attached. "Okay, next one" he asserted without looking back.
"Uh, it was desert…Hot. Um, there was a bunch of dead bodies and animals scattered around outside the front gate of some city. I-it looked old."
"Narcissa?" Thorfinn began to question while rotating around. "Do you have any history books around? Preferably muggle history."
"Y-Yes" the witch answered as an archive recorder floated down to her the instant she knew she had to search for a large amount of books. "It will take a few moments to collect everything though."
"Alright, you do that while we go over the second era."
"I'll help you" McGonagall quickly added while summoning a cart.
It took about fifteen minutes before everyone in the room had a pile of tomes sitting in front of them and another ten before they all began to try and search for anything resembling the details Harry had given them.
"Wait!" the Golden Boy exclaimed as he paused with his hands hovering over an open book, causing everyone to freeze momentarily. "There was a flag. A-a red flag." He furrowed his brows as he thought hard about the writing that was written on it. "Luna, if I draw out what I saw on the fabric, can you identify it?"
"Sure, Harry! Do you think it was a language?" the Ravenclaw beamed as she walked over to Harry with a quill and parchment in her hands.
"Yeah, uh, Japanese o-or Chinese, maybe? It was definitely an Asian Dialect, that I'm sure of."
"Okay. Let's see it" she smiled warmly while handing the items over.
Harry began to draw, to the best of his ability, the writing he had seen on the crimson flag in the desert. It wasn't his best work, not that he could really draw, at least nothing like what Hermione could do, but when he felt satisfied with his efforts, he handed the parchment to Luna.
The blonde witch took a moment to study the drawing, turning it clockwise and counterclockwise before finally rotating the paper upside down as everyone watched in eager anticipation.
"Ah…You were looking at it the wrong way" she explained cheerfully. "It's Chinese; Mandarin to be specific…Han Wu…It's from the Han Dynasty" she chirped with a wide grin.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Thorfinn clapped his palms together before summoning a book into his hand and began skimming through it.
Six drawn out minutes had passed before Pansy suddenly jumped excitedly from her seat directly across from Harry, while biting her bottom lip; making the Boy-Who-Lived raise a brow in her direction and stare at her infectious smile. He had never really taken notice of the raven-haired girl before but as the candlelight illuminated her olive complexion, he couldn't help but think that she was rather pretty. The whispered rumors of her having a pug nose flitted through his mind as he took her in, however he strongly disagreed with the fabricated gossip. Though he quickly shook the thought from his mind and looked away as he realized who he was thinking about.
"What is it, Ms. Parkinson?" McGonagall inquired as she gazed over her spectacles resting neatly upon her nose. "What did you find?"
Pansy inhaled deeply as she looked to the Professor before glancing around the room at all the faces staring at her; waiting for an explanation about her abrupt excitement.
"Uh well, it-it was m-mentioned that P-Potter was in a des-desert" she began nervously. Pansy Parkinson was a very smart girl, but she was terrible when it came to public speaking, which is one of the reasons she never raised her hand in class. She was only a few points behind Draco and Hermione in their year, but because she never participated much or answered questions when asked, she appeared daft to most of the school. And now she stood in front of everyone, putting herself in the spotlight as she played restlessly with her fingers and small beads of sweat began to pelt her forehead. "Um…S-so I-I looked up all the m-major des-deserts…in Ch-China…"
Harry glanced up at the Slytherin Princess in confusion when he heard a soft whimper escape her throat and noticed how pale she had become. Leaning forward slightly, he looked down at the desk, so not to be obvious, and began to whisper.
"Are you alright?" he asked so that only she could hear him.
Flushing lightly, Pansy's bottom lip quivered as she glanced down at the book in front of her.
"I-I don't like talking in front of large crowds…" she muttered.
"Okay, then jus-"
"Get on with it, Pans, we don't have all day" Theo interrupted in irritation. He knew the girl had stage fright and any other time he would be patient with her, but in that moment, he didn't care. He was still annoyed about the argument they'd had that morning where she explicitly tried to hurt him and didn't want to hear her voice any more than he had to. "Just tell us what you found so we can move on to the next time period" he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
"You know what, Nott" Harry snarled as he stood up snapped his focus to Theo, "I think you have already caused enough problems for us, alright! How about you just shut it, unless you actually have something important to say, or do us all a favor and piss off! Your choice!"
"Geez, Harry" Ron cut in while scratching his cheek, "it's not that serious."
However, the raven-haired Gryffindor simply ignored his friend and turned his scowl to Pansy, who was looking at him in utter shock, before softening his features and taking a deep breath.
"You were saying, Parkinson?"
"I-I-I…" she stuttered, and everyone could hear Theo snort while trying to hold back a laugh, forcing the Slytherin girl to look at him with tears brewing in her eyes. Normally she wouldn't have cared about her house mate's antics and would fight back, but this time was different. She was embarrassed and ashamed about her lack of public speaking skills and hated that she was always looked upon as stupid when she wasn't. And Theo laughing at her weakness, made her want to bolt as she broke down.
"Pansy, what'd you find?" Harry prodded gently, pulling the raven-haired girls' focus back to him. "No, don't look at them" he stated as Pansy went to gaze at all the eyes still staring at her again, "just talk to me. Tell me what you found."
"Um…I-I found out the Go-Gobi Desert in Ch-China has had a-a lot of battles fought in it…" she anxiously claimed, all while keeping her piercing dark eyes on Harry. "D-during the Han Dynasty…there was a particular one t-that helped open the S-Silk Road called, The War of the Heavenly Horses…which would make the city you s-saw, Day-Dayuan."
"Okay" he nodded with an encouraging smile. Why he was being so nice to the girl who used to help Draco torment him, he had no idea, but no one should feel embarrassed because of a flaw they had, and for some strange reason, he wanted to help Pansy feel like she belonged. "Can you tell me what year that battle took place?"
"Autumn…102 BC" she answered with a small smile of her own playing at her lips.
"Alright, that's great" he beamed without even realizing he was still only looking at Pansy. "Thank you, Pansy." He turned to Thorfinn who had just finished pinning the location and date onto the map before inhaling sharply and sat back down as he recalled the next era. "So, the next place" he continued while trying to shake the odd encounter with the Slytherin, as Pansy kept a curious eye on him. "I was in a stone room with a lot of men in strange clothing…tunics I believe they're called. They were all talking when an older man walked in and I guess he was arguing with someone, I couldn't understand them, but the guy he was conversing with drew a knife and tried to stab the older man-"
"Julius Caesar" the Headmistress interrupted. "That part of history is very famous, even to magical folks like us. He is one of only a few muggles where we have adapted his work into our own systems. Like the first political news sheet he had publish. He even fixed the broken Roman calendar which was a rather confusing mess, that helped create the Gregorian Calendar or New Style as we called it back then, which we use today. His was mourned by thousands in our world after news of his death spread."
"How do we not know about him?" Ron questioned curiously.
"You would, if you had added Muggle Studies to your class schedule like Ms. Lovegood and Ms. Parkinson have, Mr. Weasley" the Professor smirked ever so softly, causing Ron's cheeks to flush in embarrassment.
"What year was that again?" Narcissa questioned as she tried to remember what she herself was taught when she attended Hogwarts.
"44 BC" Robert answered without looking up from the history book he had been studying while everyone else had carried on with their conversations, before glancing up to see all eyes on him. "What? I am a muggle, remember?" he claimed with a shake of his head before looking back to the tome.
"Okay then" Rowle announced before pinning a tack on Rome. "What's next, Potter?"
"Um…Oh, a cave and…it was really cold. There was a caveman of sorts too, carrying a wolf carcass, and some tools on his belt. Though I could have sworn it was a Dire Wolf…It's one of my favorite animals. Anyway, it seemed like he was going to attack me but when he got close, he ended up going through me. I-I think he might have attacked Draco or possibly someone else and Draco stopped it. I caught a glimpse of his blonde hair along with a few drawings on the cave walls."
"That sounds eerily like the Ice Age" Elizabeth stated proudly. "Though, I'm not too sure as to which one. There were about five major ones documented."
"Humans didn't really start to exist until five to seven million years ago" Luna proclaimed. "However, two and half million years ago is when flaking crude stone tools came into existence" she continued before looking to Harry. "Were there any spear points around? How modern looking was the man? Could you see the cave drawings?"
"Uhhhh, I don't know" he shrugged. "I guess modern enough to clothe himself and create a whole cave full of things to survive. And I didn't really have time to study anything."
"I think we should go with the Pleistocene Epoch" she nodded while staring unseeingly at the desk in front of her. "The late stages if he was that evolved. Can't really say an exact year but maybe ten to, I don't know, twenty thousand years ago; possibly fifty."
"I'll put that range" Thorfinn claimed, "but without a specific area…I guess I'll have to mark it somewhere in the North. I suppose the Antarctic will have to do for now. He rotated back to the Chosen One. "Now, Potter…I know this last era is-"
"The one I almost died in…" he cut in flatly as he crossed his arms. However, he caught a sorrow filled look from not only Elizabeth, who was sitting right next to him, but Pansy as well, and it befuddled him as to why she would care if he almost died. Shaking away the baffling concept that Slytherins' Princess would show any interest in his well-being, Harry licked his lips as he strongly juggled with the idea of telling the group everything he had seen. But he then decided the kiss he saw…was better left unsaid. At least for now. "I don't know where I was. I was too focused on the giant ash cloud hurtling towards me" he half lied. Though his focus was on the cloud, he had noticed other details as well; the kiss excluded.
"There were no clues? Nothing at all?" Molly worryingly inquired.
"Not really…but I did see them" he admitted somberly. "It was the first time I had since, well since the museum. The girls were in colored fabric and the guys…they-they looked like they had just been in some sort of fight and they didn't have any shirts on…though ash…i-it was everywhere. They were running for their lives away from a city, but…Hermione fell…" he paused for a moment while inhaling sharply as he thought about the last time, he had seen his best friend. "She couldn't keep going. Ginny turned back to help her and surprisingly so did Draco and Blaise. I-I watched as they tried to carry her, and I raced as fast as I could to help, but…the cloud was gaining too much speed. It was almost…it was almost like they knew it was over…like everything was over…"
Everyone's eyes began to water as most of the room had hands clasped against their chests. However, they knew the group was still alive. Not only because Harry was and the map showed they were still together, but because if they had died, he would have told them sooner. Though the story was still heartbreaking to hear.
"What happened, Harry?" Neville questioned in almost a whisper.
Harry licked his lips as he struggled to hold back tears at the image of his peers willing to accept death and remembered he still held on to the Malfoy family heirloom. Pulling the ring out of his pocket, he studied it for a moment before standing up, walking over to Narcissa, and handing her the antique.
"I can't really explain what happened because I have no idea where to even start" he spoke softly as he looked Narcissa in the eye, almost as if he was saying he was sorry. Sorry for not being able to pull her son back, sorry for not being able to speak to him and let him know how much they were all searching for a way to bring them home…sorry that her son had to experience the might of an indignant mountain. "But no one should have had to see what I did."
Narcissa bottom lip quivered as she held back the tears begging to be set free as Harry bowed his head and walked back to his seat. "I saw a green light develop around them and before I could even blink, they disappeared, and I was caught in the…in the cloud. It…burned…like…" he shook his head as he recalled the memory he wished to forget and choked on his words. "Like a never-ending inferno; like I was trapped in a literal hell. My skin peeled off my body and…I-I couldn't breathe, I c-couldn't think, at least not about anything but the pain. I just...I just wanted to go home. I prayed to go home…" tears of his own uncontrollably formed in his green eyes but he quickly wiped them away.
"Oh, Harry" Molly sighed as salted water began trickling down her cheeks and she rushed towards the Gryffindor Prince. Encasing him in a warm motherly hug while everyone in the Library silently wept for the Boy-Who-Live many times over. Even Thorfinn looked morose as he understood the most what the Chosen One had gone through, Molly hugged Harry as tightly as she could as the raven-haired wizard began to cry in her arms.
No one spoke over the next few minutes as Harry sobbed with no care as to who was around to witness his break down, but it was greatly implied that they had all felt his heartache. However, the person who seemed to feel it the most, was Theo. He knew it was his fault the four were sent back in time and because of it, one of his classmates had undergone the most brutal form of death…without actually dying. He couldn't imagine the pain Harry had to endure, but it made him sick to his stomach just thinking about it.
Unable to withstand the torment of hearing the Gryffindor cry into the mother Weasleys' arms, Theo ran out of the room with liquid streaming down his face. Narcissa and Pansy were both about to go after him when to their surprise, Arthur and Robert did instead. It seemed that even though they were all supposed to dislike each other in some form or other, the twisted current events had brought them together and a bond was inevitably formed. A bond that none of them knew…would last forever.
Lowering her head as she bit her bottom lip, Narcissa softly stated that she would check on dinner preparations, aware that an elf suddenly popping in didn't seem right, and wistfully walked out of the room. Elizabeth went to check on her as she knew the former Slytherin Queen was not okay, while Neville and Luna approached the map to study it with Thorfinn; all unknowing how to proceed while Harry continued to sob…and rightly so.
Madam Pomfrey whispered to Professor McGonagall that she was needed back at the school, but to let her know if her presence was required again, to floo call her immediately, all the while Bethany somberly took a seat in one of the empty chairs and played with her fingertips. Ron too had no idea what to do as he had never seen his best friend crumble to pieces… at least not since Sirius Black had passed and moved to stand next to the Headmistress while wrapping his arms around himself in sorrow.
Although to everyone's amazement, Pansy walked around to Harry's side of the desk and began rubbing his back with her hand while Molly rocked the boy in her embrace. The Slytherin Princess had no idea if she was doing it because Harry had helped her earlier, or if it was because she had actually cared about his feelings. Either way, she felt pity for the boy. Though that was just it…he was just a boy. And when she really thought about it, even though the Wizarding World considered them all adults…they were still so young. Too young to have sustained half of what they had gone through in their lifetime…and continued to still go through to this day.
XX
An hour had come and gone as the group of students and adults took a break to sit down for dinner in the Dining Hall. It was by far the most awkwardly silent meal any of them had ever had. No one spoke as they ate in a calm quiet and all that could be heard was the clinking of silverware against the ceramic pates with a few grunts here and there.
However, after supper had ended, Robert kissed his wife goodbye as he had to head back to the dentist office, they co-owned, in the morning. He wished he could stay longer, but both he and Elizabeth had rescheduled so many of their patients already that they couldn't risk postponing any more if they wanted to keep their practice up and running. Bethany and Arthur too had to return to work the following day as Professor McGonagall made her leave back to Hogwarts; all promising to return when they could.
Robert waited for Arthur in the fireplace as the redhead said his goodbyes and was nervous because he had never traveled via floo powder before. A few years ago, Hermione had told him about the magical way of moving about the country, but it still left him flabbergasted that he would ever need to use the methods of transportation. However, there was absolutely no way he would apparate again and without a car, he couldn't return home. Not that he knew where the heck he was anyway.
The elder Weasley was leaving to return to the Burrow and had offered to take Robert to his house since the muggle had no way of getting back; even promising to pick him up if he needed. Though, it took a lot of arguing on Molly's behalf to convince her husband that he didn't need to spend the night at the Granger's household simply because he wanted to study their way of life. But Robert had told Arthur he would allow the wizard to accompany him to work another day, once he had time to catch up on everything, causing immense joy to radiate from the redhead.
However, as the two men prepared to leave, Harry sat in the bedroom he was sharing with Ron, propped up by the many pillows resting against the headboard of the bed with his legs curled underneath him. As much as he wanted to say goodbye to the only two father figures left in his life, he couldn't face everyone just yet; not after his break down. He was too embarrassed that he couldn't hold his emotions back until he was at least alone, but he had to admit…if felt good to let it all out.
But as a light knock echoed at the large arched door, Harry sighed as he lowered his head, pulled his knees to his chest, and hugged his legs tightly. It didn't matter who was asking to come in, he didn't want to speak to anyone let alone see anybody. Most knew to leave him to his thoughts, especially after witnessing how broken he was when he had lost Sirius only a few short years ago, so he figured the person requesting entry was not a Weasley.
"Please go away…" he whispered, unfortunately not loud enough for anyone to hear.
The door slowly creaked open but Harry refused to look up, hoping his lack of speaking would deter the person, or people, from bothering him any further. However, he wasn't so lucky.
"Potter?" Pansy spoke gently as she took a small step into the bedroom, forcing Harry to quickly raise his eyes in surprise to the raven-haired girl entering the chamber. "I-I just wanted to see if you're alright…"
"I'm fine…" he claimed rather harshly before lowering his head back down to his knees.
"You don't seem fine" she stated adamantly while closing the door behind her. She was used to being pushed away by her male friends, although something about seeing Harry so upset helped her forget the animosity she was supposed to feel towards him.
"Well I am, so you can leave."
However, Pansy ignored his request and moved to sit on the edge of the plush mattress. Adjusting the robe wrapped around her as she was heading off to bed early to start reading more on muggle history on her own time, she slid back and got comfortable while resting two books on her lap.
"Lovegood and Longbottom said they figured out the last era you were in" she claimed while nervously toying with her pale pink nightgown. "Apparently, my mentioning of Mount Vesuvius earlier helped them pinpoint that you were in fact in Pompeii, Italy…79 A.D."
"So…?"
"So…I-I just thought I would let you know" she stated gingerly.
"Okay…" he shrugged, hoping she would now go away and leave him to wallow in his misery.
"Theo is really upset" she declared not really knowing what else to say.
"As he should be" Harry scoffed while raising his head and stretching out a single leg. "If he hadn't made that stupid bet then our friends wouldn't be lost in time and I wouldn't have had to Spirit Walk through death to find them!"
"Do you honestly believe that if he knew all of this would happen, he would have made the bet? I mean seriously Potter, cut the guy some slack. He made a mistake and now he's paying for it."
"He's paying for it?" the Golden boy snapped with narrowed brows, causing Pansy to shudder slightly. "Our friends are paying for it! I paid for it!"
"And if it wasn't for Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger talking him down, Theo very well may have done something stupid tonight!" she yelled with a scowl. "He is my friend! My housemate and I almost lost more than…than…"
Harry looked up at the Slytherin who had tears brewing in her dark brown irises and softened his shoulders while exhaling heavily.
"I'm sorry, Parkinson" he stated softly while lowering his head. "It's-it's just been a long day." Though she never said a word as she went back to fiddling with her fingertips again. "Is that why you came in here? To tell me about Pompeii and-and Nott?"
"No…I-I came to see how you were doing…and to thank you."
"Thank me?" he asked completely baffled. "For what?"
"For helping me" she affirmed as she met his eyes. "Draco a-and Blaise would have, but-"
"Why do you care for him so much?" he inquired before he even had a chance to think about what he was asking.
"Um, I-I-"
"Draco…why do you like Draco? He obviously treats you like dirt when you don't deserve it. Yeah, I mean you did horrible things too but nothing to extent that he had. Nothing that warrants being made fun of by the people who only seem to pretend to be your friend."
"They are my friends" she answered softly before really thinking over what Harry was trying to say to her. "You don't always see it, but they are kind to me when I need it most."
"Nott didn't seem too kind to you today."
"No, but he was upset. All friends fight, you know. But Theo has sheltered me in his home numerous times when I can't bear to hear my parents fight when I return from Hogwarts. Blaise has also dauntlessly comforted me, especially when everyone at school sent me horrid howlers at the beginning of term; all because I was scared when I tried to turn you over during the war. Those people never even bothered to hear my side…only listened to what they wanted to believe…And Draco; Draco has stood up for me plenty of times. He even went as far as to make a potion when someone sent charmed shears that…that cut off my hair while I was asleep in my dorm. He helped me regrow it over Christmas break so I wouldn't be ashamed to walk the halls. Just because we don't act like you, Granger, and Weasley all the time, doesn't mean we don't care for each other."
"So, you like him because he's only nice to you behind closed doors? And you still consider them friends when they don't show you very much loyalty?"
"There's so much more to it than that. Our relationships are…complicated."
"Pansy…" Harry spoke gently while leaning forward. "You don't deserve someone who is only your friend in secret. And you definitely don't deserve to have someone laugh at you in public because of a flaw, that many people have. Stop chasing after guys who obviously can't give you what you need and start loving yourself…first."
"I do love myself!" she proclaimed while clenching her hands into fists.
"No, you don't. You may love your beauty, yes, but you don't love what's on the inside. Because if you did, you wouldn't be in my room right now trying to find a friend to talk to."
"I'm not-"
"You are" he cut in softly with a small shrug, realizing he himself could use someone other than Ron to talk with, "and that's perfectly fine. We can be friends…because at least I know your worth. And you can count on me to never kick you when you're down, especially in public; plus I don't mind being nice to you when others are around either. I'm also a good listener according to Hermione" he chuckled slightly. "Anyway…I am offering to be your…person, I guess is what I'm trying to say."
"Why would you want to be my friend after everything I put you through?"
"You were scared, Pansy. We all make mistakes when we're afraid. And I know that you can be more than just a follower in Malfoy's gang. You're smart, even though you pretend you're not. Just think about it, okay? If you wake up tomorrow and decide that today was just an emotional roller-coaster and don't want to take my offer, then we can go our separate ways.
"But if not…you know where to find me." Nodding her head as she strongly considered what the Gryffindor was saying, Pansy stared unseeingly for a while before accepting Harry's proposal of friendship, moved to sit beside him, and handed him one of the books she had brought with her. Harry gently took the small tome from her delicate pale fingers and opened it with a small smile playing at his lips. "By the way, Pansy…thank you…for helping me today too" he smirked as he lightly nudged her arm with his elbow, causing the Slytherin Princess to smile before looking down at the book in her hands. The first genuine smile she had had…in a long time.
Autumn of 1717
Appearing almost out of thin air, the group of four sat in the middle of a cramped room with their arms still shielding their faces. It took a few seconds before they realized they had even jumped and slowly began to look around the wooden chamber that oddly felt like it was moving. Large barrels lined every wall around them, along with wooden crates full of mysterious items making the room feel small and congested. Standing up, Draco dusted himself off before helping Hermione stand as Blaise examined the timber containers and Ginny stared down at the stone still in her hand.
"So…does anyone want to explain to me what just happened?" Blaise questioned as he looked away from a barrel full to the brim with gun powder.
"Well, if it wasn't already obvious, I think we just witnessed the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs" Hermione began to explain as she brushed the dirt from her dress. They never really had a chance to alter their clothing from Jamestown and the brunette prayed they received the opportunity now. The outfit she wore was still hard to breathe in and it was beginning to hurt her back as well. "Are we moving?"
"I meant how the hell we appeared here, instantly, and with no warning?" he inquired while scratching his head in confusion.
"I feel like we're moving…"
"We didn't even see the green light!" the Italian claimed before falling backwards as the room tilted to the side. "What the hell?" he yelled while trying to stand once again.
"Well I guess that answers my question on if we are moving…" Hermione stated in annoyance as she removed herself from Draco, who had caught her before she fell face first into the floorboards. "I assume we're on a ship."
"Well isn't that bloody wonderful!" the dark-haired wizard complained. "If witnessing a volcano exploding, the plague taking over Europe, and the extinction of the dinosaurs, wasn't enough, now we are stuck in the middle of the ocean, on a foreign ship, Merlin knows where! Could things possibly get any worse?"
However, before anyone could answer, the sound of footsteps echoed from above causing the group to look up in a panic. Indistinct chatter could be heard moving closer to the angled ladder resting behind a few stacked barrels and before anyone could think about what was being said, Hermione quickly disillusioned her team just as two shadows loomed over the top of the steps.
Staying as silent as possible, they watched as two men descended the ladder speaking in a mere whisper, before picking up a barrel and ascending the wooden beams. Although, the duo stopped when Ginny accidentallly backed into a crate, causing a loud bang to echo around the chamber. The men set the barrel down and glanced at each other in confusion before they began to speak in a strange accent.
"Whaht wahs zat?" the man on the left questioned in a shaky voice.
"Eet wahs prahbahbly just ze wahves crahsheeng ahgainst ze sheep," his friend replied with a sigh, "you know how sings mahve ahround on ziss sheep, mahte."
"No eet wahs a ghahst, I tell you!"
"Bon Dieu, Adrien! Ze sheep ees naht haunted!"
"La vengeance de la Reine Anne! C'est certainement cela! Je vous jure que c'est! Barbe noire a tué beaucoup d'hommes ici, et leur présence persiste toujours!"
"You ahre lahseeng your mind, my friend. Cahme on now, ze Cahptain will naht be pleased eef we do naht breeng heem hees ahle ahnd soon."
"Ce bâtard peut lui enfoncer sa bière dans le cul pour autant que je m'en soucie" the first man mumbled under his breath, making his friend shake his head and chuckle.
"Je suis sûr que nous aimerions tous entendre cette histoire."
As the two shadows moved away from the ladder, the group began to remove the spell holding them invisible before snapping their eyes to Ginny who looked utterly ashamed.
"What? It was an accident! Sorry!" she whispered before rolling her eyes. However, her gaze landed on Draco who appeared to be thinking hard about something. "Uh, Blondie? You alright?"
"Huh?" he questioned as he quickly looked up to the redhead while lowering his hand away from his chin.
"Wait…" Hermione interrupted as she threw a silencing charm at the entrance to the cargo hold. "This is a French ship-Draco, you can speak French!"
The Slytherin's eyes snapped to the bookworm as he raised a brow in confusion and Ginny suddenly gasped in understanding.
"That's right! You said you could speak it back in Rome!"
"Uh…Ehem, you uh, you all heard me say that?" he inquired, completely baffled that anyone had paid attention to him in the brothel.
"Of course, we heard you say it, mate" Blaise added. "You think none of us were paying attention to you?"
"I-I don't know" the blonde stammered. "I-I didn't think anyone really cared about what I had to say."
"Are you kidding me?" Hermione stated warmly while taking a step closer to him, throwing the Prince off even more. "We care, Draco" she shrugged with addictive sweet smile. "Can you tell us the parts we couldn't understand?" she asked delicately.
Draco had to take a few moments to gather his thoughts as he was still in shock that not only did his friends hear him and remember what he had said, but that Hermione had knowingly this time, called him by his given name…twice.
"Um…yeah. They-uh-they said something about a revenge of Queen Anne and um, a bloke with a black beard…I think, and how he could shove the ale up his arse…"
"Oh…shite…" Hermione whispered with a slow exhale. "We're in 17…17? I believe that's when Blackbeard, a very uh, rambunctious pirate, who once served in the Royal Navy, captured this ship that was once names La Concorde before renaming it Queen Anne's Revenge-We're on a pirate ship!"
"A pirate ship…" Blaise began to chuckle in shock. "That's where we landed" he chortled while pinching his lips together. "In a cargo hold, in the middle of the ocean, on a ship…swarming with bloody pirates!" he began laughing hard. "Oh Merlin, I asked if this could get any worse…sure enough I was fucking right, you guys!"
"I think…I think you broke him, Mione" Ginny claimed with furrowed brows as the trio watched the dark-skinned wizard laugh his arse off. Though his hilarity ended up being extremely contagious, and the group soon found themselves chuckling as well.
"We are so screwed!" Blaise declared while throwing a hand up as he continued to belt out a loud laugh.
"What's even more funny!" Ginny added through her giggles. "W-we almost died! Twice!" she howled causing everyone to snort as their bellies began to hurt from laughing so hard.
"And I turned you both into sex slaves!" Draco roared as he fell to the ground in a fit.
"And Draco and I kissed!" Hermione admitted, causing everyone to suddenly go quiet and stare at her before Ginny spluttered as they all erupted into laughter once again. "Twice!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Blaise cut in with an outstretched hand. "So, did me and Red!"
More howls of laughter erupted from the four who couldn't contain their strange behavior.
"We saw actual dinosaurs!" Ginny cackled.
But as the group continued to chortle and snicker while laughing about the encounters, they all had experienced, Hermione's giggles slowed as she glanced to her red-headed friends' hand.
"What's-What's in your hand Ginny?"
Both Draco and Blaise stood from the floor as they wiped the tears staining their face as the redhead lifted her right fist.
"Oh, this? I found it before that asteroid hit the Earth" she shrugged. "It seemed out of place, so I picked it up."
"Salazar!" Draco expressed while running his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Is that-is that what I think it is?"
"Merlin's beard, Ginny!" the brunette witch exclaimed. "You found the missing stone! How the hell did you find the stone?"
"Wait…are you serious, I-I found it? I just stepped on it before I saw you guys pointing your wands at the raptor."
"Holy shite!" Blaise proclaimed. "That's why we were thrown back there!" he stated while glancing up at Hermione. "You said it was missing back when you outran the T-Rex. That forest must have been the same one as before but further forward in time!"
"I could kiss you right now!" Hermione claimed with a broad smile when she realized Blaise was right.
"Please don't" both Ginny and Draco said at the same time while there faces went stern.
"I-It was just an expression…" she replied with a raised brow before shaking away the confusion and reaching into her beaded bag. Pulling out the scarab, she paused as she looked down where the crack should have been…and noticed it was no longer there. "Ginny, quick give me the stone!" she demanded with her hand stretched out towards her friend while her eyes never wavered from the amulet.
Ginny hastily passed the green gem over and the group watched as the Gryffindor Princess placed the stone in the arms of the golden beetle. As soon as gem touched the metal a bright light flashed in their faces and lit up the entire room, causing everyone to shield their eyes momentarily. But as soon as the illumination subsided, they all looked around in utter bewilderment.
"I thought fixing the thing would send us home!" Draco exclaimed in frustration as he eyed the same crates and barrels in the cargo hold. "Why are we still here?"
"Uh, Draco…" Blaise announced, forcing the blonde to look at his friend who was pointing at Hermione.
Taking a closer look at the relic in her hands, he noticed the wings of the scarab were now open and a small piece of folded parchment laid neatly in its alcove. The brunette slowly reached inside and pulled out the centuries old paper as Ginny gently took the necklace from her.
"What is it?" the redhead questioned in curiosity.
"I-I think it's the parchment we couldn't get out back in China…" the Golden Girl replied as she began to unfold the edges.
"What's on it?" Draco inquired nervously.
"It…It looks like a poem or-or a riddle, maybe?"
"Great!" Blaise stated while throwing his hands in the air. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to get home with a poem?"
"Read it aloud, Mione" Ginny suggested; ignoring the dark-haired wizard and his aggravation. She had a strong feeling the poem was important and a strange sense that their journey was far from over.
Inhaling a deep breath, Hermione looked at her three friends waiting anxiously, before glancing back down to the open parchment in her hands and began reading the neat cursive.
"The past is not a bitter escape…"she quickly looked up to her peers who seemed as equally confused as her before continuing steadily.
~
"The past is not a bitter escape
For those deemed worthy, shall be reshaped.
Though don't be fooled by the hate you see,
To be the change is the key.
Heed these words or be left behind,
Stand in the frame that has four sides.
A clue will be given on the rear,
A tiny detail for all to hear.
Try your best to get the timing right,
Or risk being dragged into the night.
But if you alter a single thing,
A butterfly will flap a wing.
So, listen to the whispers of the past
To lead you on your rightful path.
Look for the one that's innocent yet bold
And the one of knowledge
Who does what they're told,
The one of bravery which will not stay down,
Before the kindness who doesn't mess around.
The wisdom you seek is in the close,
To show you the life that you once chose…"
~
Flipping the parchment over, Hermione glanced at the plain backing with a raised brow before flipping the paper over again.
"I don't understand" Ginny began in puzzlement. "Is it a riddle or a warning?"
"I think it's both" Draco answered as he gently took the parchment from Hermione to reread it.
"Well that's a load of rubbish!" Blaise protested, causing the trio to look to him bemused. "That thing never mentioned a Slytherin trait!"
"What?" they all said at once.
"It mentioned five traits but none of them were Slytherin. Well maybe knowledge, but that's still more Ravenclaw than anything."
"Blaise, what are you talking about?" Hermione inquired.
"The five peop-le…?"
"What five people?" Ginny asked completely perplexed.
"The one that's innocent yet bold…" Draco replied as he read one of the lines again "and the one of knowledge, who does what their told…Blaise's right…this is about people. The traits are even in bold."
"So, we are going to meet five people?" Ginny questioned with a shake of her head. "Where? When?"
"Oh, no…" the brunette sighed as she thought back to what Ginny had read on the label that was placed in front of the artifacts' display. "The advisor…The one who placed a spell on the amulet to protect his remaining family, it's his ancestry! We have to meet his ancestors, which means we either meet them all in one period or we still have five places left to go through. And unfortunately, I think it's the latter because the way that it's written, it seems like it's one per era."
"Come on! Seriously?" Ginny complained as she threw her hands in the air before taking a seat on a closed crate. "We're starving, we're on a bloody pirate ship, and now we have to go through five more time periods before we get to go home? Godric Gryffindor, this is insane! This is absolutely mental, Mione!"
"At least we'll have a warning now" Draco claimed as he continued to reread the riddle. But when everyone looked to him perplexed, he released a deep sigh before explaining. "It says it right here. 'Heed these words or be left behind, stand in the frame that has four sides. A clue will be given on the rear, a tiny detail for all to hear…' This parchment will give a clue when it's about to jump us and I'm assuming instead of just sucking us into a vortex, that we have to stand in a square that will possibly appear. If we don't, then we'll be left behind. And the butterfly part is obvious, because it's what Hermione has been saying since we started this mess. But the part where it says to be the change, is a little confusing. Are we supposed to change something…but not change something?"
"I-I guess we'll have to find out" Hermione stated as she stared at Draco, clearly impressed. "For now, let's just see if we can find something to eat before thinking about where we're about to be thrown to."
XX
Sitting propped up against a single barrel, after finishing a meal containing of oats and bread, as Ginny, Blaise, and Hermione discussed, Merlin knows what, not too far away, Draco stared at his left forearms sullenly. He had wished he could permanently hide the mark that tainted his pale flesh; but he had tried everything from spells to potions and nothing worked. His blemish covering charms only lasted a few hours and the Dark Mark always found a way to show through and remind him of the worst mistake he had ever made in his life. But as he stared at the defiling mark, and wandered aimlessly through his own mind, Hermione had walked over and sat down beside him.
"Hey…" she smiled tenderly before looking to Draco's arm that was propped up on his knee.
"Hi…" he replied while jerking his arm to his side, so it was out of view of the bookworm.
"I see you changed clothes as well" she stated warmly while glancing over the pajamas he once wore in Knockturn Alley. It was apparent she had also seen the evil branding but didn't comment on it, much to the blonde's relief…or so he thought.
"Yeah…more comfortable."
"I'm not afraid of it, you know…" she said softly while pointing to the arm he tried to keep hidden from her. "Not anymore." Draco slowly lifted his left arm and glanced at the Dark Mark with somber eyes. "You can glamour it, if it bothers you that much…"
"I already do" he answered gingerly, "but the charms don't last for more than a couple of hours."
"I can teach you how to make it last longer, if you like? I uh, I have become quite good at it…"
Looking down at her left forearm, Draco eyed the clear skin curiously as he recalled his Aunt carving into the Gryffindor's flesh with her twisted dagger; a memory he had begged his mind to forget. Though he was fully aware that the reason Bellatrix loved that knife so much, was because the scars it left behind, never went away and he remembered Hermione was cut on her neck as well. However, thinking back on all the times he had seen the bookworm's bare skin, he strongly wondered if he had ever seen the word he grew to hate so much.
Noticing, the Slytherin staring, Hermione brought her arm close to her chest and sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry…" He spoke so low she almost didn't hear him, but through his tone, she knew he was apologizing for more than just gaping at her scar.
"It's okay, Draco" she declared softly before pulling out her wand to show him how to make his glamour's last longer than a day. Hoping the change would distract them both from the past they shared. "Why do you separate yourself from the rest of the group?" she inquired while tucking her feet underneath her legs after they had finished charming his Dark Mark. "We don't bite" she chuckled softly.
"I like solitude every so often…" he lied while looking down with a shrug. Truth was he desperately wanted to join them, but he always felt out of place…like he didn't really belong in the group thanks to his former Death Eater status.
"I wish you would join us…" she stated, making Draco turn his soft gaze to her.
"You…or everyone?"
"Me…If I meant everyone, I would have said 'we' instead. Though I know Blaise and Ginny would like you to join us as well. We're all friends…at least, I hope we're friends."
"I meant what I said back in Jamestown, Hermione. I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be your friend."
"Am I just a convenience to you?" she hastily questioned before her mind had a chance to tell her mouth 'no'. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out the way it sounded" she explained when Draco's eyes went wide in bewilderment. "I just…I want to know that we can still, I don't know, grab a Butterbeer or-or go to dinner or something…once we're home."
"I can't tell if you're asking me to hang out or if you're asking me on a date…" he claimed with narrow brows.
"Not a date!" she quickly proclaimed with crimson cheeks. "I-I-"
"I was joking" he scoffed lightly, but internally cursed as he wished she did mean it as a date. "But to answer your many questions, no you're not just a 'convenience' to me, yes we can grab a Butterbeer or go to dinner sometime, and before you ask…yes, I would have been friends with you even if we weren't trapped in the past. Your mates just…make it hard. Potter's alright, but Weasley…He won't let you near me let alone talk to me."
"Really? You would talk to me at Hogwarts?"
"Why would you think I wouldn't?" he raised a brow as she looked down at her hands. "We might have had a rough start in the beginning, but as you have seen, I've changed…and so have you. Neither of us are the same people we once were before the war, Hermione."
The Gryffindor began to play with her fingers as Draco went back to resting his right arm on his propped knee. They sat in silence for a few seconds as they watched Ginny curl up and rest her head on Blaise's lap as they spoke about anything and everything, making a pang of jealously grow in the blonde Princes' heart. He wanted that with someone too, namely Hermione, but as far as he could tell, she only ever wanted to 'hang out' with him, and it hurt more than words could say.
"I-I like when you use my first name…" Hermione spoke softly while rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.
"Well it is your name, isn't it?"
"That's…" she paused as she thought about her next words carefully. She didn't want to tell him that she liked when he used her given name, not because they were friends and it showed their friendship developing, but because every time he said it, a horde of butterflies invaded her stomach and she felt like she couldn't breathe…in the best way possible. However, at the same time, she wanted him to know how much she was beginning to like him, but once again logic…interfered. "Yeah, it is…"
"I like when you call me Draco, if it makes you feel any better?" he claimed when he saw a frown creep across her petal soft lips.
Draco was a master of Occlumency, but he was also an extremely proficient Legilimens who wanted so desperately to break the walls around her thoughts and see what she was really thinking about when she made her statement. But he knew it was an invasion of privacy, even though he was good enough that she would never feel his presence if he entered. He would just have to find another way to understand the mind of Hermione Granger…which was easier said than done.
The brunette witch glanced to the Slytherin Prince as her frown turned into a small smile and she slowly began resting her head upon his right shoulder. Before either of them knew it, Hermione was fast asleep with her head nestled complacently in the Princes' lap as Draco was reading over the riddle for the twelfth time while unconsciously playing with a stand of hair that had escaped her messy bun. Though he was elated that she was comfortable enough to use him as a pillow, he didn't think twice about the action as he figured it was just something she did; even with Harry and Ron.
"Psst, Draco…" Blaise whispered from across the small room, causing Draco to reluctantly lift his eyes to the dark-haired wizard. "Did you tell her yet?"
"What?" he whispered back, careful not to wake either girl resting. "Tell her what?"
"How much you like her…" Blaise smirked, knowing full well how hard his best mate was falling for the Gryffindor Princess, even if Draco himself hadn't realized it yet.
"Piss off! I'm not getting into that with you!" the blonde sneered as he went back to studying.
"Draco" Blaise whispered again after a few minutes of silence.
"What?" he replied in annoyance.
"What…what if wherever we're going next…is worse than what we've already been through?" the Italian inquired with worry embedding voice. "What if everything we experienced already…was minuscule compared to what's to come?"
"I don't know, mate" Draco answered as he softened his shoulders. "But I promise we'll get through it…together."
XX
Three hours later, after everyone had received a diminutive amount of sleep, Hermione awoke to a faint glow stirring her from her slumber. Upon opening her eyes, she noticed she was sleeping on Draco's lap, who was drooling as he slept sitting up, making her chuckle slightly as she slowly removed herself from under his arm. Looking around as to what had caused the light that woke her, she spotted Blaise and Ginny cuddling close together under a wooden beam and she faintly smiled before looking down at Draco's left hand to see the parchment flipped over.
However, something was written on the back that wasn't there before.
Slowly removing the paper from the sleeping Slytherin, Hermione's eyes widened in shock and she abruptly stood in a panic.
"IT'S THE CLUE!" she yelled, causing everyone to suddenly jerk awake as Blaise hit his head on the beam above him, and Draco fell over before quickly righting himself.
"WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED?" Ginny yelled with sleep still in her eyes and her wand pointed out in front of her.
"We have the clue as to where we're going!" Hermione explained while waving the parchment in the air.
"What?" Draco asked as he quickly stood and looked down at the glowing cursive lettering while Blaise helped Ginny to her feet.
"Well someone say something!" Ginny demanded with a roll of her eyes as she gazed at the duo looking absolutely stunned.
"Sorry it uh…it…" the brunette began while shaking her head in disbelief. "Fuck…" she whispered when the first main era of five…was clear as day.
Raising a brow in confusion, both the Italian and redhead quickly walked over to the pair still in shock and glanced down at the words written upon the parchment. However, loud gasps escaped their lips when they read what was written.
'Witches come…and witches go…but where they hang…everyone knows.'
"I-it can't be right? T-this is a joke o-or some mistake!" Ginny proclaimed in fear as everyone's heart sank in terror.
"I-I don't think the amulet makes mistakes, Red" Draco replied as his eyes stared hard at a large square that appeared out of nowhere in front of them, illuminated by an emerald green glow on all four sides. "And I don't think we have much of a choice…We have to go o-or we'll be stuck here."
Hermione quickly shook the shock from her features and tucked the parchment into her bag before taking the hand of an unsuspecting Draco and exhaling a deep breath.
"What is that?" Ginny questioned as she gazed at a large 'V' hovering just above the glowing square directly in its center.
"I have no idea…" Hermione answered as she looked to where her friend was pointing. However, when the 'V' suddenly flipped like a digital clock to 'IV', the brunette instantly understood. "Wait a second. It's…it's a clock or a timer, I mean. Those are Roman numerals. I think it's a timer that tells us how long the portal or whatever this thing is, will be open for."
"So, we have four minutes now to step into this thing and hope it's not just a death trap?" Blaise inquired as Ginny took his hand.
"It's just a theory that I can't really prove until this happens again, but…yeah. I think we only have four minutes, well almost three now, to step in."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Draco ticked while unconsciously grazing his thumb across the side of Hermione's hand. "I don't know about all of you, but I would really rather not be trapped on a pirate ship in 1717 for the rest of my life."
Nodding in an unfortunate agreeance, the group slowly and reluctantly, strode forward and into the parallelogram, completely unaware of the dangers…that lie ahead. Although, as soon as they stepped over one of the green lines, the numbers instantly stopped counting down as an intense white light encompassed the foursome, blinding them as they were yet again whisked away into another era.
@Saxman66- The group will have 5 more jumps, but if one of them messes up it won't trap them all in the past, just the one who messes up. As for what Thorfinn had said about the era's he and Regulus went to, he mentioned that that riddle will change depending on the era and the ancestors the group will encounter. Each 'Big One' will not be the same as the ones he and Regulus went through. I have something much different planned out for the four in the past. :)
@1_Luv215- You are too sweet! Thank you! I didn't orignially plan to have to have the cliffhanger in the middle of the chapter as it was supposed to be at the end of chapter 9. But that chapter grew to be longer than expected lol. And I hope most of your questions were answered with this chapter :) Though I can't tell you the eras the group will be going to as they are a surprise.
- 9
- 10
- 11
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The Paths We Take