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Somewhere in Time	By : serpentinred Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 64471 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 8
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 46
- 47
- 48
Chapter 47

"Oomph," Hermione grunted when she fell down.

Strangely enough, the land was softer than she remembered. And it groaned, something she was sure normal grounds do not do.

"Who did we fall on this time?" Hermione asked, not bothering to open her eyes.

From her previous experience, she had expected all four of them to fall into a pile again.

"Only ferrets, Hermione," Ginny answered somewhere to her right.

Hermione cracked open an eye and found Harry lying on the ground a few feet away, and true to Ginny's words, Draco was right beneath her.

"Oops," Hermione sighed.

"Mind rolling off me, Granger?" Draco muttered.

"Just a second," Hermione replied and winced when she tried to move. "I can't move yet."

"Someone should make it illegal for Slytherin to make up traveling spells. All of them make people feel as if they've just been run over by a horde of manticores," Draco said.

"We wouldn't have made it back home without his spells," said Ginny.

"And we probably wouldn't have gone back to the past in the first place," Draco pointed out.

"Good point," Ginny murmured.

They remained on the ground for a few minutes before Hermione managed to flip herself off Draco.

"Are we actually back in the future?" Draco asked, not bothering to flip on his back.

"Don't know," Harry replied, staring at their surroundings.

Wherever and whenever they were, Hermione could be certain that it was not where they had traveled from. The temperature was much higher, and it was no longer nighttime. The grass they were lying on was a vivid shade of green, dotted with the white and yellow shades of unknown flowers. The branches of the trees surrounding them were heavy with leaves and swayed when an occasional breeze swept its fingers over them. The chorus of cicadas and birds added a sense of lethargy to the atmosphere, nearly making the four of them fall asleep on the spot, while they watched the white, fluffy clouds crawl over the cerulean sky.

They were still in a forest, but it looked distinctly different from the one they had traveled from. Nonetheless, Hermione could not be sure what country they were in, and her skin crawled at the thought of traveling again.

"I don't care if we're in Mongolia, I refuse to travel by magic for the next three months," Ginny said before Hermione could open her mouth to say nearly the same thing.

"Like we have a choice," Draco snorted with some difficulty. "If we're still in the forties, we'd probably have to go through this again."

"Stop jinxing us, Malloy," Harry murmured with his eyes shut and his eyebrows furrowed.

Too tired to continue the argument, Draco closed his eyes, too, allowing the afternoon sunlight to wash over him. It took them almost thirty minutes, but in the end, the soreness they felt finally faded enough so that they could sit up in their spots.

They immediately pulled off their cloaks. The thick layers of knitted material were much too warm for their current settings, and Hermione's shirt was already sticking to the sweat forming on her back.

"Where should we go now?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione for suggestions.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "I suppose we should find out where we are first before we can decide. If we're back in our time, we'd have to see our parents first—"

A gasp from Harry interrupted her words, and the three of them turned towards him.

"What's wrong?" Ginny looked at him with worry.

"I … no …" Harry frowned, too, and he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, as if he wanted to say something but had no idea how to voice it.

Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth when realization hit her.

"Harry …" she began, and he stared at her.

Amusement, confusion, and disbelief flashed through Harry's eyes as their memories rearranged themselves. The experience was frightening as it was incredible, and Harry and Hermione could only sit there and wait for the sensations to end.

"Merlin's pants, we're in for a ride," Draco muttered on the side, breaking the silence, as his face turned pale.

"Oh dear …" Ginny whispered as her eyes widened.

Hermione did not have to ask. She was positive that the two of them were going through the same exact thing that she and Harry were.

~-0-~

"Can someone please tell me why my brain feels as if someone randomly shoved memories in them?" Draco asked as they climbed over a fallen tree. "You would've thought that after we came back home, everything would be back to normal. But nooo, my life must be more complicated than feeding a Blast-Ended Skrewt!" When no one answered him, he frowned. "Well? Weaselette? Any 'smart' remarks about the situation?"

"It would be much appreciated if you'd just remain quiet for a while, Malloy," said Harry instead.

A noise of annoyance escaped Draco's mouth. "Evans, our memories are being rearranged. Surely that's not normal for time traveling or else that would have happened to us when we went back in time, and you're asking me to be quiet?" He looked at Hermione. "Any theories at all, Granger?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied after a short pause. "But I'm guessing that we've changed quite a bit of the past, which is why our memories need to be updated, so to speak."

"But why do we still have memories from our other past then?" Draco asked. "Shouldn't we forget them like the rest of the people in this alternate universe?"

"Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we're the one causing the changes," Hermione suggested. "Sort of like a stone being dropped into a pool of water. The ripples affect everything around it—"

"But the stone still gets wet and becomes part of the pool," Draco cut in.

"Precisely," Hermione answered. "Throwing it in water might get it wet, which is like adding new memories to us, but the water itself does not change the properties of the stone. The stone is still a stone, and what is inside it would not change because it is in water."

Silence draped over them as they took a moment to digest this theory. It was all they had, after all, and as far as they were concerned, they had no one to ask anyway.

Memories continued to seep into their minds as they made their way out of the forest. Some of them made their lips twitch out of amusement, while others caused them to furrow their eyebrows. Nonetheless, it was all bits and pieces, and they had yet to find ways to make a complete portrait out of the scraps.

"Oh, for Salazar's sake! I did not need to see that!" Draco suddenly yelled, alarming all of them, just as they reached the clearing.

It turned out that they had fallen into the Forbidden Forest, and right ahead of them was the familiar castle that had housed them during their school years—Hogwarts. The scene would have been welcoming if they had not been startled by Draco.

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny halted in their footsteps and stared at him. He was ogling at Hermione with a look of confusion and disgust. Then, he started shaking his head and slapping his palm against his forehead.

"Get it out, get it out. Someone Obliviate me now," Draco said.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"It doesn't matter. Just Obliviate me. Now," Draco groaned.

"Well, if you don't mind the negative side-effects …" Harry said with a nod, taking out his wand.

"Don't be silly, Harry," Hermione chided, placing a hand on his wand. She turned towards Draco. "What happened?"

"I knew you fancied the old fraud, but you don't need to … Argh! Get that image out, get that image away from me!"

"What?" Hermione asked, thoroughly confused now.

It was apparent to her now that they were "receiving" new memories at a different speed, and what they "remembered" was random, though she had no idea why—an interesting question which she must investigate at later times. However, right now, she had no idea what Draco saw that made him so shaken.

He couldn't be talking about Trelawney, could he? Then again, she never fancied that old fraud. Then, it must be …

"Who and what are you talking about?" Ginny asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"She was snogging Lockhart in a classroom," Draco groaned, covering his face with his hands.

Harry and Ginny stared at him before turning their attentions towards Hermione, who was gaping at Draco.

What in the world—

"Wait—Hermione's like … what? Thirteen at that time? Lockhart wouldn't … well … I know he's strange and everything, but he's not … he wouldn't fancy someone so young, would he?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione with uncertainty.

"I don't know! It … the image just appeared in my mind. Do you think I want to think about something like that?" Draco moaned. "I need a Cleansing Charm on my brain now."

This was impossible. Well, alright, so she fancied Lockhart all the way back in second year, but she wouldn't snog him in secret, would she?

Harry and Ginny eyed Hermione carefully.

"I didn't snog him in our timeline," Hermione announced loudly, recognizing that look in Harry's eyes.

"I didn't say you did," Harry replied defensively, his cheeks turning a suspicious shade of red.

But you were thinking about it, Hermione thought without saying it out loud.

"But then again … she doesn't look thirteen in that memory," Draco mumbled.

Harry and Ginny stared at him.

"She looks more like … well … this age," Draco answered, waving his hand up and down at Hermione.

"That can't be. Lockhart couldn't have possibly stayed after our second year. There's a curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position," Harry commented. "Besides, he lost his memories at the end of the year, unless we've done enough things in the past to change that, too."

A troubled expression appeared on Harry's face, as if he were contemplating on returning to the past make sure Lockhart lost his memories again.

"Ugh. If that's true, does it mean I have to go through seven years of Lockhart?" Ginny asked in disgust.

"Maybe Riddle didn't think about putting a curse on it this time around?" Draco suggested.

"And how would that make me feel any better?" Ginny rolled her eyes, the distaste becoming more and more prominent on her face.

"Riddle wanted that position because he'd wanted to search for potential Death Eaters, and I doubt Dumbledore would allow him to do that," Harry answered. "So most likely, the curse would still be on that position."

The three of them turned their eyes towards Hermione.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head and her eyes wide in panic.

Her memories were not updating fast enough, and she didn't get all the "newest" information yet. However, if Draco was certain that the Hermione from his "memory" was around her age, then she could say with confidence that her feelings for Lockhart had dwindled to nothing more than a soft spot for a childhood idol.

And Tom … she wasn't getting any memories about him. Was he still alive? Or was he …

She could not bring herself to think about it without feeling a sharp pain in her chest. What if he were dead in this timeline, too, which was why she wasn't getting any images of him? Even if he were alive, could she even hope for their relationship to be the same as it had been? And if he were alive, would that mean that she would have to choose between him and Harry?

The questions swimming through her head on top of the random memories popping in her mind made her scowl.

"Don't think too much about it," Ginny comforted her, misunderstanding the look on Hermione's face and placing a hand on her arm. "Perhaps it was just some kind of strange dream that he had. We wouldn't know until one of you gets all your memories."

Hesitantly, Hermione nodded, but as they continued to walk towards their former school again, she decided to push those depressing thoughts away for the time being. It was too early to form a conclusion right now anyway.

Nonetheless, the image Draco had placed in her head was enough to make uncomfortable feelings well up in the pit of her stomach. The walk towards Hogwarts was downright awkward with Harry and Ginny avoiding her eyes, and even more so with Draco mumbling something along the lines of "My eyes, my brain … burned forever …" and "Someone get it out before I get a permanent spot at St. Mungo's."

After walking through the front door, they were confronted with another problem: They had no idea who to look for. If they were indeed in the year 1998, then they could look for Professor McGonagall, but they had no idea if she lived in the castle during the summer.

"Are you sure we're in 1998? With these … messed up memories, I have no way of telling what year we're in," Draco pointed out.

"There's no way of telling," Hermione answered. "Perhaps … we could look around. If we can find a ghost, they could tell us what year we're in."

"Better not stumble across Peeves then," Draco muttered as they continued walking through the hallways.

Then, a thought crossed through Hermione's mind: What if Tom were still alive and Hogwarts was under his control? It was too reckless walking in here without finding out first.

"Harry—"

"May I help you?" a familiar voice sounded above them, cutting Hermione's words off.

They turned their heads towards the source and relief washed over Hermione.

"Oh," was all Professor McGonagall said when she realized who they were.

"Professor McGonagall, I … Oh …" For once, Hermione could not find the right words to say. How could she ask her questions without sounding like she had been hit over the head with a hammer?

"Do you have any idea how worried we have been about the four of you?" Professor McGonagall demanded before they could continue speaking. "It was terribly irresponsible of you. We thought you were captured by rogue individuals, and you—" She looked at Harry sternly, "—your parents nearly went mad searching for you."

"Oh … er … I'm sorry, Professor," Harry replied, scratching the back of his head.

It wasn't exactly his fault that he didn't know his parents were alive until around half an hour ago. Yet, her reminder of his parents brought an excited glow into Harry's eyes again. The moment he caught Hermione's gaze, a goofy grin appeared on his face.

"Come along then. I will have to contact your parents and tell … well …" Her eyes fell on Draco, and for a short moment, her gaze turned contemplative.

Without continuing what she was about to say, she turned around and headed towards her office.

And still, they did not have answers. Hermione nibbled on her lower lip, trying to think on the brighter side, to believe that they would get answers soon enough.

Hopefully, before they did or said something stupid.

The next hour went by like a blur. The four of them didn't have a chance to whisper to one another, let alone voice out questions that were bombarding their minds, as the Potters and the Weasleys landed in Head's office.

Perhaps McGonagall was still the Headmistress in this timeline then? However, the office did not look like the way Hermione remembered.

Nonetheless, some of their questions were still indirectly answered as the Potters reprimanded Harry and the Weasleys fussed over Ginny.

"Harry James Potter, you'd better have a good explanation about why you've gone missing for nearly two years," James Potter said the moment he and his wife stepped out of the fireplace.

Harry's silence was perceived by Lily and James as guilt, but Hermione knew otherwise. The shine in the young man's eyes told her precisely how overjoyed he was about seeing his parents alive and well.

Hermione, on the other hand, was more alarmed by the fact that they were gone for two years in this new future. If that was the case, then they would be in the year 2000 and not the year 1998.

"You are grounded until further notice, young man, and if you—" Lily's words were cut off when Harry launched himself into her arms.

"You could have died. We wouldn't have known if something happened to you!" Arthur was saying on the side to Ginny.

"Oh, Arthur. She's shaken already. And look at how skinny she is! Did you eat proper meals at all, Ginny?" Molly asked.

Hermione tuned out the rest of the conversation, and her eyes landed on Draco, who was looking at the fireplace with a frown. When he caught sight of her glancing at him, he recomposed his expression.

"They're … probably busy," he muttered.

A frown appeared on Hermione's face, too, since she recalled how worried Lucius and Narcissa were about their only son. Why hadn't they been contacted? And if they had, why hadn't they appeared yet?

"Harry—you're choking me—" Lily choked out as Harry clung on to her.

"Are you sure they don't need to get an examination from Madam Pomfrey, Minerva? The four of them—oh …" Molly's words came to a halt as she stared at Draco.

Hermione's gaze traveled between the parents of her friends and Draco. There seemed to be something … off about the atmosphere after Molly noticed him. She had always known that Mrs. Weasley was not exactly fond of the Malfoys, but she was surprised to see looks of contempt appear on James Potter's faces, too. Even Lily, whose face was half-covered by Harry's body, was looking at Draco introspectively.

"We're just a bit shaken from the traveling. There's nothing wrong with us," Hermione explained, trying to take the attention away from Draco.

Though she could not pinpoint the problem, she could almost sense trouble brewing.

"What are you doing with Draco Malfoy, Harry?" Lily asked, her green eyes narrowed slightly.

James did not say anything, but he continued observing Draco on the side. Hermione sincerely hoped that the hand he had in his pocket was not curled around his wand.

As if shocked, Harry released his mother and took a step back.

"Oh … he … was traveling with us," he said slowly, glancing between Draco and Lily.

His eyes landed on Hermione, questioning her with his eyes. However, she had no idea what happened.

"Traveling with you," James repeated. He huffed. "We've taught you better than that, Harry. You should know better than to travel with someone like him."

"James, what if someone saw them together?" Lily asked frantically, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"We'd have to do something about it," James said.

Without warning, he moved, but Hermione was one second before him. With her wand out, she stood in front of Draco protectively.

"James, no!" McGonagall cried, rushing forward to stop him.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" James asked instead, a frown marring his features. Then, a look of disbelief appeared. "You're protecting him? You're protecting a Malfoy?"

"He's different from his parents … Mr. Potter," Hermione said carefully. "We've been traveling with him for the past … two years, and I can assure you that he's nothing like Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."

"We should wait for instructions before acting on our own, James. You know he doesn't allow it, especially pertaining to the younger generations," McGonagall said sternly.

"I doubt Draco Malfoy is included in that group, Minerva. He's the perfect bait to lure out the Malfoys," James objected.

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all looked at Draco, whose face was paler than usual, and as she looked at him, Hermione wondered who the "he" they were talking about was. For a fleeting moment, Voldemort's face flashed through her mind's eye, but she quickly shook that thought away. With him and his biased "pure-blood are superior" ways, she doubted the people standing in front of her would follow him and do his bidding.

"We should have captured the Malfoys seven years ago. He wouldn't want to wait another seven years. It's a perfect chance, Minerva." With that said, James turned towards Hermione and Draco. "Move aside, Hermione."

"James," Lily said, moving forward and grabbing his arm which was now extended towards Draco, "Minerva's right. We should alert him. This is something he would want to know about."

Hermione's stomach flip-flopped. Their words triggered a faraway memory that did not belong to this new future they had arrived in—the night Harry, Ron, and she were trapped in Malfoy Manor.

"James—" McGonagall began to say, but she was interrupted by Molly.

"I'll alert him," Molly said, her hand moving over to her left arm.

All at once, the four time travelers inhaled sharply before they glanced at one another in confusion and anxiety. This could not be happening to them. It was definitely not what they were thinking. It was … impossible.

"It's not a problem, Molly. I got this," Lily replied.

"Wait," Molly called out, her forehead crinkling into a frown. "Well, you're always the one who alerts him. Since … we're going to be family soon …" She cast a look at Ginny and Harry meaningfully, causing the two of them to blush.

A frown appeared in Lily's face, too.

"That doesn't have anything to do with this," Lily pointed out.

"Of course it does," Molly answered, her face turning slightly red. "Maybe … well … you should let others get a chance at things every once in a while."

When Lily did not say anything, Molly moved a bit closer to her and continued speaking in a lower voice. Hermione had to strain her ears to hear what they were saying.

"You know that he's still displeased with our family because of what Percy did seven years ago. And Percy's still not getting a promotion at the Ministry," Molly whispered.

"The Dark Lord—"

The feelings of jubilation and fear welled up in Hermione at the same time.

Tom was still alive. He really, really was still alive. But ... why were they—the Potters, the Weasleys, and Professor McGonagall—on his side? Surely they did not support his biased ways, especially when Lily Potter was a Muggle-born witch herself.

Her thoughts were thrown into confusion, and she very nearly missed the next words Lily said.

"—had already given your family a pardon. He'd already said that the punishment for what Percy had done would not be extended to the immediate family members," Lily said in an equally low tone of voice.

"I know," Molly hissed frantically, "and I'm most grateful for that, but our family—Charlie and Ron—are also getting the blunt end of the stick. Thankfully, the goblins do not hesitate in using Bill because he's good at what he does, but still …" She inhaled. "The rest of the Wizarding World somehow found out that the Dark Lord hadn't even stayed for dinner for the past two years—"

Hermione nearly snorted upon hearing that. Imagining the Dark Lord in the Burrow was as funny as it was absurd. However, Molly mentioned "for the past two years," so apparently, he had been there before.

Surprisingly, without any death counts, judging from Molly's attitude towards it.

She was getting more confused by the second, and a part of her wanted to scream out of frustration. What had occurred in this new timeline that caused strong supporters of Dumbledore to go over to the Dark side?

She looked towards the others, and all three of them looked sick.

"What the hell happened?" Harry muttered, his face greener than both Ginny and Draco's.

"He did not stay at the Burrow for dinner. He did not sit with us at our table during Christmas," Ginny was chanting in a low voice to herself.

"Can we go back to forties, Hermione? Please?" Draco whimpered on the side. Suddenly, he drew in a sharp intake of breath. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Harry and Hermione asked together as Ginny stopped in her mantra.

"Oh no … no, no, no … get it out, get it out," Draco moaned, clutching to his head again.

"What memories did you get back this time?" Hermione asked, recognizing the symptoms.

"It doesn't matter. This is worse than seeing you snog Lockhart—"

"She did what?" McGonagall asked sharply, turning her head stiffly towards the group of four.

"I did not snog Lockhart!" Hermione declared.

"Who-whoever you snogged then! Just get this stupid memory out," Draco groaned.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Ginny asked.

"Easy for you to say, Weaselette. Your parents were—"

He caught himself just in time as his eyes landed on Molly and Arthur, who were still talking with Lily about their family problems. McGonagall had her eyes narrowed at him, and they were well aware that she was hanging on to each word they said, determined to find out if Hermione had been snogging a professor in between classes.

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny released a deep breath when she finally looked away towards James to protest his suggestion to keep Draco in the dungeons at the Potter residence.

A strangled noise escaped Draco's throat. "Evans, you have to help me. You're not going to let your parents put me in the dungeons, are you?"

It seemed like a difficult question for Harry to answer, since he remained quiet and scratched the back of his neck. "Er …"

"Of course we won't let them put you in the dungeons," Hermione spoke up, shooting Harry a glare.

Draco let out a relieved breath.

"So you were saying?" Ginny prompted.

He stared at her confused for a second before he recalled what they had been talking about, and then his face scrunched up into a tortured expression again. "Of course it's easy for you to say that—that—that memory isn't too bad. Your parents were in the Order of the Pigeons in where—when we are supposed to be."

"Your parents are in the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked, his face turning greener still.

"Yes! Can you believe this?" Draco asked, looking as if he had just eaten something particularly bitter.

"What have we done?" Harry turned towards Hermione in panic. "My parents … they can't be Death Eaters, can they?"

"Er—"

"And my parents, too," Ginny added quickly.

"Well—"

"Father hated Dumbledore. Why in the world would he join the pigeons?" Draco asked.

"I don't know," Hermione answered truthfully.

But that was apparently the wrong thing to say, since the next moment, all three of them started to talk simultaneously. Hermione had no idea whom to listen to and how to find the answers to the questions. She was positive that nothing in the library would help her.

Though shards of memories were slipping into her mind, eighteen years was not a very short period.

As if on cue, the room suddenly fell silent. The Potters, the Weasleys, and McGonagall dropped to their knees; and a cold voice resonated throughout the room.

"I left the country for only two days and return to find nothing but disorganization and nonstop babbling amongst my followers? How utterly disappointing."

The four time travelers swirled around. Upon realizing who had spoken, Draco immediately hid behind Hermione again while Harry stood protectively in front of Ginny.

And it took all of Hermione's self-control to not run over to the man leaning against the doorframe. There was no question who he was, though he no longer looked like the way he did back in the forties. The straight, prominent nose had been replaced by slits for nostrils, and those full lips she had been so accustomed to kissing were no longer present. However, what surprised Hermione the most was not how he looked, but the fact that her emotions towards him did not seem to waver because of his current snake-like look. Of course, the loss of his good looks made her want to sigh out of regret, but still ...

There must be something very wrong with her. Something very wrong indeed if she still felt attracted to him. She shouldn't be. There were too many reasons to stop the silly feelings she had for him. Not to mention the fact that there was now a huge age gap between them. Of course, wizards and witches did not view age the same way Muggles did, but fifty years was not a short period of time.

Lord Voldemort's red eyes landed on them, and for a split second, he appeared confused and shocked. However, it was quickly covered by a mask of cold indifference.

"What are the two of you doing here?" He turned towards Molly and Arthur as if he hadn't seen the four time travelers.

The Weasleys jolted on the spot but did not dare to look at him.

"I recall telling the two of you to keep a look on the old Lestrange residence," Voldemort said, gliding forward and stopping right in front of them.

"My Lord, we've been there for a few nights in a row, but there were no signs of the mansion—"

"Fools," Voldemort hissed. "The place is protected by a Fidelius Charm. Of course you're not going to see the house itself."

"Ye-yes, my Lord. We—"

"You were supposed to stay there and monitor if there were any Order members appearing in that area. Do you need to have your task spelled out even more than that?" Voldemort asked mockingly.

"No, my Lord."

"Then get to it," Voldemort snapped.

Not needing to be told twice, Arthur and Molly got up and headed towards the door, thankful that they did not get Cruciated for failing the Dark Lord. When Molly reached Ginny, however, she stopped.

"Ginny—"

"What are you doing?" Voldemort's head turned towards the Weasleys.

"My Lord, I—"

"Did I tell you to speak to your daughter?" he asked quietly.

"I—I'm sorry, My Lord. I—I'm wondering—if I can—"

"No, you may not," Voldemort snapped before Molly could finish her sentence. "You'll have plenty of time to speak with your daughter after we've taken down the Order. Now get to it."

After the Weasleys ran out of the room, he turned towards the Potters. For a second, Hermione was worried that he might be even nastier to them than towards the Weasleys. For all she knew, he was never quite fond of the Potters in the past or in the future she had known.

"Lily."

"My Lord, the lilac petals had been added this morning, and the potion itself should be ready within three days," Lily answered.

"Excellent," Voldemort said, his lipless mouth curving into a faint smile.

Their short interactions, however, made Hermione narrow her eyes. It was almost as if there was … some kind of mutual understanding between them, and a move or gesture or word was all it took for one to understand the other.

Next to Hermione, Harry's face had turned to a strange puce color, and he looked as if he had been hit by another rogue Bludger. Draco, on the other hand, had a very strange expression on his face, an expression that Hermione could not describe, while Ginny appeared plain horrified.

"Lupin's encountering some problems with the younger werewolves, James. You will need to be there for the next full moon," Voldemort instructed.

"Yes, my Lord," James answered.

When they were dismissed, Lily remained kneeling. "My Lord, may I take Harry with me?"

"I have some other errands for young Harry, Lily, and must keep him here for a few days," Voldemort replied.

"Oh," Lily replied, her eyes wide with curiosity as she glanced at Harry. "I see. Thank you, my Lord, for giving my family such an honor."

Harry nearly fell over, and he noticeably swayed on the spot.

Hermione's eyes became mere slits. It was obvious to her that there were differences—significant differences—between Molly and Lily's relationships with Lord Voldemort, and Hermione was not amused by it.

Her displeasure barely waned after the Potters left the room. She kept her eyes on Voldemort while he gave McGonagall a mission, though her mind did not register what he was saying.

What was the relationship between Voldemort and Lily? He seemed to be a lot more tolerant towards her. That was strange, considering the fact that Molly Weasley was a pure-blood, whom he should be favoring, and Lily Potter was a Muggle-born, whom he should despise.

Or was that precisely why he liked her more? Because she was a Muggle-born?

But she was Harry's mother and James's wife! She wouldn't do something like that, would she? Then again, Hermione didn't know too much about Lily Potter. What if she was something like the Bellatrix Lestrange of this timeline? Her eyes landed on Draco, and she made a note in her mind to ask him what, exactly, was the relationship between his crazy aunt and Lord Voldemort.

Hermione then shook her head. Perhaps she was overthinking things. But the way Lily and Voldemort interacted made her uncomfortable, and she knew she could not rest well again before she got to the bottom of things.

After McGonagall left the room, Voldemort turned towards the four time travelers.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected," he said, his lipless mouth curving into a mocking smile. "Then again, time traveling has never been precise."

He crossed the room and swirled into the chair behind the Head's desk.

"What year are we in?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Voldemort cast a look at him. "The year 2000. The four of you were gone since December of the year 1998, and while the lot of you were in the forties, your parents—" He pointed at Harry and Ginny consecutively. "—nearly tore the country apart looking for you, especially Lily and James." His expression turned contemplative. "This is apparently not the future you were expecting to return to, judging from your reactions and words towards me when you first landed in the past."

The four of them did not answer and merely shared looks with one another. Was this really the future? What if it was just a trap created by Tom and Slytherin to get answers out of them? But even if Tom did know that they were from the future, how did he know the names of Harry and Ginny's parents? That was something that no one was supposed to know.

"If you've made changes in the past, things in the future will change. Though the future that you've known is unknown to me, I believe that this is significantly different from that one," Voldemort continued as if he hadn't noticed their silence. "You should be experiencing different memories being inserted into your minds."

Momentarily, his eyes landed on Draco, and he looked distinctly amused.

"But didn't the Ministry speculate that altering things in the past would cause the future to shatter? And that we, as the time travelers, are supposed to disappear the moment we did something to change the future?" Hermione asked, unable to stop herself from holding back the questions any longer. When Voldemort looked at her, she quickly added, "That's what was written … um ..."

Voldemort placed his arm on the armrest and propped his chin on top of his hand, all the while keeping his eyes on her, a mocking smile at the corner of his lips.

Hermione flushed red, realizing that he was having fun at her expense and how utterly pointless it was trying to conceal things about a timeline that no longer existed.

"It was … written on the parchment Professor McGonagall handed to me … when she gave me the Time-Turner."

His eyes slid over her body once before they met with hers once more.

"That's because the Ministry doesn't know every single thing about time traveling."

The way he was eying her made Hermione turn even redder, and she was harshly reminded of the fact that she had been rolling in grass just around two hours ago. The winter cloak she was holding in her arms already had a bunch of grass and other debris clinging to it, so she could imagine how her hair and face looked like. Her shirt was also a victim of Slytherin's chaotic spell and was sticking uncomfortably to her back.

Abruptly, he looked away, and Hermione's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She had been so happy to see him alive that she hadn't even thought about things from his viewpoint.

Did he still remember her? It would probably be ridiculous, trying to attach the word "love" or "care" to Lord Voldemort. Nonetheless, did he still have the same feelings he had towards her? Would he care about the age difference between them? And what had he done in the past fifty years? Even if things between them were still the same, could she really pretend the evil acts he might have done had never happened?

It made her upset thinking about these things, especially when she came to the realization just hours ago that maybe, just maybe, Tom cared about her. Despite being afraid of what the truth would be, she wanted to know if that still held true.

"It will take around three days for your memories to be completely updated. Until then, I trust the four of you will be careful enough to avoid saying things that might make others suspicious," Voldemort said.

"But our parents—what are we going to tell them?" Harry asked.

"Make up something," Voldemort answered simply. The corner of his mouth curved upwards in a wicked manner. "Do remember to corroborate your stories down to the smallest details. It would be less amusing for you than for me if people find out where you've truly been for the past two years."

The five of them fell silent again, looking at one another. After a while, Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Do I need to help you make up a story, too?" He looked at Harry condescendingly. "Though considering how atrocious you are in creating stories and how abominable your acting skills are, I wouldn't be surprised."

The four time travelers shifted in their spots uncomfortably before Hermione shoved her discomfort away and spoke up.

"Um … we will need to know if their parents have been in other countries during these two years. If they've looked for us, they would know that we're lying. Immediately," she pointed out.

Voldemort heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Then make up a story first and we'll change the locations accordingly. Staring at me won't give you the solution." He paused, and a mysterious glint passed through his eyes. "For the time being, you are to stay in Hogwarts. That is your only option, unless you want your parents questioning you every single day about what happened."

"But we don't have a reason to stay here," Harry argued. Almost like an afterthought, he added, "And we don't want to stay here."

Voldemort looked at him mockingly. "Does it look like you have choice? And does it look like I need a reason to detain you from going home, Potter?" His face then became void of emotions. "One wrong move on your part and your parents will be the ones to pay."

"Why are they loyal to you?" Harry's hands were clenched into fists, and Hermione knew it took all his willpower not to attack his former nemesis.

Voldemort leaned forward, vicious glee written all over his face. "And why shouldn't they be loyal to me?"

"Because—Because—"

Harry's mouth snapped shut, and he looked furious and uncomfortable with the situation they were finding themselves in. Hermione couldn't blame him. The memories that were appearing in their minds and the things they saw with their own eyes were very disturbing in her opinion.

"The students will not be returning to Hogwarts for another month, so you may roam the school freely," Voldemort instructed. "However, you are not to leave the school grounds without informing me ahead of time."

"That's like keeping us prisoner," Hermione argued.

After the words left her mouth, she almost wished she hadn't said it, for Voldemort's face contorted into one of malicious joy.

"Incorrect, dear. However, if you prefer for things to be that way, I can always make adjustments."

Hermione gaped at him, and the expression of Harry's face was beyond furious. A couple of times, he opened his mouth but only ended up closing it again. That seemed to delight Voldemort—Hermione had no doubt that it did—and he leaned back in the armchair and looked at Harry sideways.

"Don't even try to sidestep my directions, Potter, or else the consequences may be quite … undesirable." Voldemort's voice was light, but the underlying message was clear and threatening.

Without answering, the furious Harry turned around and headed towards the door with Ginny and Draco closely behind him. Hermione took one last look at Voldemort and followed suit.

"Granger," the soft, cold voice suddenly called out the moment Harry pulled open the door.

The four of them halted and simultaneously turned around to look at him.

"I said 'Granger.' I had no idea the rest of you share the same surname with her," Voldemort snapped, and for the first time since he had arrived, he appeared annoyed and impatient.

"She's our friend," Harry blurted out before he could stop himself, and Hermione could tell how much he was trying to control his own temper.

Upon seeing Harry's reaction, Voldemort raised a non-existent eyebrow, a smirk lurking at the corner of his mouth. "I remember." He leaned back in the armchair. "In contrast to you, Potter, I do happen to have—" His eyes flashed over to Hermione. "—an excellent memory."

Hermione's cheeks burned on the highly suggestive tone of voice he was using, and she avoided meeting eyes with her friends, afraid that they might come to the same realization as she did.

The door behind them opened, and before they could turn around to see who it was, the person had already come to a stop beside Ginny, who was standing to the farthest right.

After casting a quick look of surprise over the time travelers, Severus Snape recomposed his face and knelt down.

"My Lord."

Voldemort's blood-red eyes flickered over to him. "Any news?"

"Lucius was—" Snape started to say but then stopped and glanced at Draco.

"Ah, my mistake," Voldemort said and then tapped his wand on a piece of parchment, changing it into a small cage.

Before the time travelers could comprehend what he was talking about, he lazily flicked his wand in Draco's direction. Somehow, though he was hiding behind Hermione, the spell still hit Draco instead. He flew through the air, yelling, and a scream of irritation escaped Hermione.

Words of protest froze in her throat the moment she realized what happened, and the three time travelers' mouths dropped open.

Seconds later, a loud snort came from Harry's direction, and the corner of Ginny's lips twitched. An all too familiar memory from their previous timeline appeared in their minds' eyes at the same time as Ron's famous words.

"Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret."

Trapped inside the cage was a pure white ferret, which was squealing at the top of its voice as it tried to get out. Its pleading eyes landed on Hermione.

"Keep them here," Voldemort instructed Snape, rising from the armchair.

"What—Why—You can't just turn him into a ferret!" Hermione sputtered.

In the blink of an eye, Voldemort was standing in front of her. His fingers curled around her arm, and he pulled her into his arms.

"I'll be back later, Severus," he said.

Amidst Harry and Ginny's shouts of objection—and Draco's squeals—Voldemort Apparated with Hermione out of the room.

~-0-~

A/N: Many thanks to my beta, MaraudersWolf from PI. Special thanks to Nerys for looking over the chapter to check the logic and flow of things. Huge, huge thanks to those of you who read, rated, and especially those of you who reviewed: SarahLuvsZombehs, Ms Velvela, Lady Miya, inuyashaluphsesshy26, iheartskittles, Fleur K., Nicky111,MrE-Quecky, TwistedBeauty, Rena, Tourniquette, and Aviendha!

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Somewhere in Time