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The Paths We Take	By : Luckycharms Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 18435 -:- 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
- 1
- 2
STRONG CONTENT WARNING: This story is for mature readers only! This warning is so you as readers, understand that this story will follow historical facts as best as possible including various concepts such as racism, classism, sexism, and strong language, but it is necessary for the time periods. Mature content will also be written including sex, attempted rape, violence, death, and more. I am not responsible if anyone not of age reads this story or is offended in any way. THIS IS THE ONLY WARNING THAT WILL BE GIVEN IN THIS STORY. It will also be a SLOW BURN historical love story, so bear with me please. I do not own anything related to Harry Potter in this story. That right stays strictly with JK Rowling.

“We as humans have come to define significance as thinking we are special. But if you look into the universe, we are nothing more than space dust. We all have the same ingredients made by an exploding red giant. We are special…because we are all the same.”
-Based off a saying by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Chapter 1- Bitter Escape
Wednesday May 5^th, 1999
“Alright everyone, listen up” Headmistress Minerva McGonagall began as she stood at the podium in the front of the Great Hall to address the seventh and returning eighth-years laughing throughout the room. “Today is a very rare occurrence but one that I feel will impact you greatly in life” she continued when the students finally quieted down. “I know you are all excited to get out of this school for the day, but this field trip is not an excuse for you to act like a bunch of baboons.
“This trip is to educate us all on a world of history that is not our own. Now, until the Portkey is ready, please talk among yourselves or do yourselves a favor, and study for your N.E.W.T.S coming up at the end of the month. I want to see every single one of you receive high marks when you get your results in August. Also don’t forget to leave your robes in your dorms, if you haven’t already, and make sure you are wearing your ties. Everyone needs to look presentable; that means no untucked shirts and no hitched-up skirts. Your school uniform shall be worn respectfully, as required and expected daily.”
Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes as his good friend Theodore Nott whispered a joke in his ear causing him to laugh and spit out the water he had been drinking.
“Mr. Malfoy” McGonagall sharply stated. “Please try to keep your drink in your mouth and not on the table…or you’ll be cleaning the Dining Hall next week in detention!”
“Yes, Professor” he replied, sinking down into his seat at the Slytherin table “won’t happen again.”
“Yes Professor” Blaise Zabini, Draco’s dark-skinned Italian best friend, mimicked jokingly from across the table. “Pussy.”
“Shut-it you git” Draco snapped as he kicked his friend under the table.
“Leave him alone” Pansy Parkinson pouted as she entangled her hands around Draco’s right bicep, desperately attempting to flirt with him…again.
But the raven-haired pug-nosed girl was not someone Draco ever wanted to be with. She wasn’t even good in bed, not that he shagged many girls, but he at least knew when they were being real and when they were just trying to put on a show because they were overly conceded…and Pansy was definitely more into watching herself than pleasing him.
“Hey Pans” Blaise cut in, knowing full well that Draco wanted nothing to do with the girl “is that a spider on your shoulder?”
“WHAT?” she screamed as she abruptly stood in alarm. “WHERE, WHERE IS IT?” she cried as she swatted furiously at her arms.
“Can you believe them?” Harry Potter asked softly to the group of Gryffindor’s surrounding him one table over from the Slytherin’s. “They always have to cause a scene and draw attention to themselves.”
“They’re raised like that Harry, you know this” Hermione Granger, one-third of the golden trio and best friend to Harry Potter, claimed as she continued to read a thick world history book in front of her. “Just ignore them.”
“We always ‘ignore them’ but they still continue to act like gits” Ron Weasley, Harry’s red-headed best friend, added as he shoved his face with a leftover pastry from breakfast.
“Well determination is one of their characteristics, Ronald” she continued, still not looking up from the book “the more you let them get to you the more determined they are to continue acting like they’re better.”
“She’s right” Ginny Weasley, youngest of the Weasley family and little sister to Ron, stated as she watched her brother disgustingly gorge upon the pastry across from her. “Don’t give them the satisfaction of letting them know they’re getting to you, Harry” she claimed, slowly peeling her eyes away from the mess on Ron’s face.
“Yeah…I’m trying” Harry replied to his ex-girlfriend with a sigh.
“Try harder” Neville Longbottom, longtime friend to Harry, chimed in softly. “If I can do it, so can you. I stopped paying attention to anything they do a lon-”
“Hey Longbottom” Blaise called out “heads up!”
The Gryffindor group watched as Theo pegged Neville in the back of the head with a balled-up piece of paper before the Slytherin’s broke out into rambunctious laughter. Neville tucked his head down in embarrassment as Hermione picked up the piece of paper and opened it to reveal a moving drawing of Neville dancing under the sorting hat engulfed in flames.
She quickly turned and scowled at the Slytherin’s as she crumpled the picture in her hands and threw it to the floor, causing Draco’s smile to slowly fade. His friends however kept on laughing and joking as something inside Draco told him they had gone too far.
“Alright…” he ordered firmly as his gaze remained fixed on the Gryffindor Princess in front of him. “Enough.”
“Enough?” Blaise questioned with a raised brow. “Since when did we stop messing with Longbottom?”
“Since it became boring” Draco snapped his sight to his Italian friend. “Move on to someone else; maybe a Ravenclaw or something” he suggested with a wave of his hand as he turned his mercurial gaze away.
“Now that’s a real challenge. I like it!” Theo claimed with a smirk as he began to look around the room for a new target.
However, Blaise noticed that Draco’s eyes had veered back to the Golden Girl who was now comforting Neville, and he strongly suspected she was the reason for the trade up. After all, Blaise was fully aware of Draco’s secret feelings for the brunette since first year, he just didn’t think those feelings would ever resurface. It’s not like Draco ever told anyone and he sure as hell made it very clear to everyone else in the world that he hated her, but a Slytherin is only as good as the information he could obtain and Blaise Zabini was determined to find answers.
“Forget them, Neville” Hermione urged as she turned back in her seat. “They are just having a laugh to deal with the shite we all experienced during the war. As you know, this month is the one-year anniversary and we are all a little on edge after the ceremony three days ago. Don’t fault them for being daft imbeciles.”
“Thanks, Mione” Neville claimed as he pinched in lips inward.
“Anytime” she replied before glancing back at the table behind her, fully aware that one Slytherin Prince was watching her.
She figured Draco was staring, wondering what he could say the next time they bantered to belittle her for standing up for her friend, however as soon as her eyes landed on him, he averted his gaze. He began talking to Theo sitting next to him, who was now pointing at random seventh-year Ravenclaws, as he pretended nothing had happened. She furrowed her brows in confusion before slowly turning back around to continue reading her book.
“Alright, students,” McGonagall announced tapping her wand on the glass goblet in her hand while talking over the noise of the room “the Portkey to take us to Liverpool is ready, and will be activated in twenty-five minutes! I suggest you all begin to pack up your things and start heading down to edge of the castle grounds just over the main bridge!”
The Great Hall erupted in indistinct chatter as the students began packing up their things and headed out of the school. Luna Lovegood, a quirky yet very intelligent Ravenclaw, began to skip her way up to the Gryffindor boys as they walked outside the main gates of Hogwarts. She took Neville’s right hand in hers as she smiled up at him and Hermione knew that only Luna could crack the gloomy expression on her boyfriend’s face.
“They’re cute together” Ginny stated as she leaned into Hermione’s left shoulder and watched the couple walk ahead of them. “Makes me miss having Harry as a boyfriend” she admitted while standing up straight and sulking slightly.
“Gin, you guys broke up for a reason. The war was just too much on all of us and we needed our space…Ron and I included. We both jumped into things too fast and it affected everything around us.”
“I know…you’re right, I was just feeling a little melancholy that’s all. Do you ever plan to get back with my brother, once school’s over that is?”
“I don’t know Gin, it’s complicated…Maybe?” she questioned raising her shoulders while adjusting her beaded bag on her wrist.
“Are you asking me or telling me?” Ginny giggled as she nudged Hermione with her elbow. “It’s fine if you don’t want to, I understand. I think you need a man who can complement your intelligence anyway. My brother is missing a few pages from his book and definitely does not know how to act in public” she joked.
“There isn’t any one person that can keep up with me” Hermione chuckled “unless they’re a government official or work for NASA.”
“Well I don’t know about working for the space program, but there is a certain blonde at this school who can keep up with you just fine.”
“Oh, God no” Hermione exclaimed with a smile while shaking her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you would even suggest Malfoy!”
“Oh, come on, Mione! He’s changed substantially since the war ended and if you haven’t noticed, he looks at you…a lot.”
“Yeah, as he plots to destroy me and everything I love” Hermione chortled as the pair continued walking, never noticing the group of Slytherin’s strolling behind them.
“So, when are you going to tell her?” Blaise asked Draco with the nudge of his arm.
“What? What are you talking about?” Draco responded quickly, not realizing what his best friend was actually referring to.
“That you’ve changed and that you’re not out to get Granger anymore. What did you think I was talking about?” he questioned curiously.
“Oh…” he chuckled in relief. “I don’t know. It’s not like she would believe me anyway o-or that it would mean we would be friends or something.”
“You don’t have to be friends with her, Draco. The Mind Healer at St. Mungo’s just said that you have to admit your wrong doings to her in order to move forward.”
“That Healer is a load of rubbish!”
“But he has helped you a lot this past year. Maybe after lunch you can say something to her?”
“Or maybe I could just keep my distance until graduation and never to speak to the girl again!”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, mate. That Healer is terrifying! I feel like he can see inside my soul” Blaise muttered with a shiver.
“Are you talking about Healer Marcum?” Theo asked as he quickly fell into step next to Draco. “Please save me” he whispered as his eyes lowered to the ground.
“Theo!” Pansy called out a little too gleefully as she quickly ran up to a groaning Theo and entwined her arm though his. “You left me all alone back there with those dimwitted seventh years” she pouted.
“Apparently, she is trying to make you jealous by clinging on to me!” Theo whispered to Draco through clenched teeth. “Take her! I will give you anything you want, just take her!”
Draco tried to hold back a laugh as he looked at his desperate friend pleading with him before leaning over to whisper back.
“I’m rich, mate. I already have everything I want. There is nothing you can give me that would be worth trading you for” he chuckled loudly as him and Blaise continued walking towards the end of the bridge, away from Theo and Pansy.
“DICK!” Theo shouted while Pansy released his arm and huffed with a stomp of her foot.
“Mr. Nott!” McGonagall reprimanded, causing the boy to turn around mortified.
“Sorry, Professor” he whimpered.
McGonagall shook her head before waving him off. Theo bolted into a run to catch up to his friends before he caused anymore unwanted trouble for himself.
As the students arrived at the end of the large concrete bridge, they paired off into groups and began talking among themselves as their Charms Professor, Flitwick, and Herbology Professor, Sprout, unraveled the long silver chain they would be using as a Portkey for the day.
“Two minutes everyone!” Professor Sprout announced as she waved her wand in the air to gather the students’ attention. “Please grab a hold of the chain anywhere you can and make sure your grip is tight! Do not, I repeat do not relinquish your grasp until we have arrived at our destination! Is everyone clear on that?”
“Yes, Professor” the students claimed in unison.
Hermione and Ginny grabbed a hold of the now floating chain with one hand and giggled as they began hip shoving into each other. Draco rolled his eyes as he too took hold of the silver chain and waited for the sharp jerking sensation of the Portkey spinning him uncontrollably across the country to a muggle museum he would give anything not to visit.
He didn’t have to wait long though because the next thing he knew, he was standing in a Wizarding Entrance Hall just off to the side of the museum; disillusioned to look like a conference room they could exit from without drawing unwanted attention.
XX
“Good Morning ladies and Gentlemen!” a cheerful petite blonde woman began at the top of the wide stairs leading up to the massive pillared entrance behind her. “My name is Bethany Woodrow and I am very pleased to welcome you all to the World Museum in Liverpool, England!”
The chaperoning Professors clapped their hands with wide smiles plastered on their faces forcing a few students to groan as everyone applauded together.
“Why am I here again?” Draco asked throwing his head back in annoyance, but as his gaze fell forward Professor Sprout gave him a sour look from the bottom of the stairs. Releasing an exacerbated sigh Draco crossed his arms and tried to pay attention as Blaise chuckled next to him.
“Now,” Ms. Woodrow continued merrily “I know of your background since I too was sorted into Hufflepuff, yay!” she shook her fists in the air making all of the Slytherin’s, look at her in disgusted confusion.
“Well that explains the smothering cheerfulness” Blaise chortled into his hand.
“Anyway, your Professors have strictly stated that I give you a list of rules to follow. I promise the list is sort but bear with me. Rule one: there will be no use of any magic in front of muggles while you are on museum grounds. You are already dressed as if you came from a muggle private school so you will not stand out, and there are plenty of security guards from both worlds to keep an eye out…so wands away at all times! Rule number two: there will be no eating or drinking unless it is kept in the compounds of the food court only! That includes gum and candies as well!”
Ron groaned loudly causing Hermione to smack his arm with the back of her hand before he got them all in trouble. It was a known fact since the beginning of first year that when one of them did something, it was automatically assumed the rest of the Golden Trio did as well, and Hermione was not about to go down because Ron was upset he couldn’t eat while walking around.
“And the last rule,” Woodrow stated with all seriousness “Do not, I repeat, do not touch any of the displays or cross the red roped boundaries unless the Centre allows it. Any student caught breaking a single one of these rules, will be sent home immediately, and disciplined accordingly. Does everyone understand?”
The students nodded their heads as they replied harmoniously.
“Very good. Oh, we are going to have so much fun! Please follow me and we will begin your journey into the wonderful world of world history!” The students began to make their way up the stairs and into the massive building. Most stayed with their friends while some separated, excited to view a few displays in the entryway. “Eighth year students, you may venture off on you own as long as you let a Professor know where you are going, seventh years if you could line up against the wall over there while we grab your tour guides for the day; we’ll be starting shortly!”
“I am not leaving your side” Ginny demanded in a whisper as she held tightly onto Hermione’s arm. “I can’t stand half that class and I fought in the war too! I deserve to be allowed to see what I want, when I want.”
“I’m sure you would be allowed to walk with us” Harry claimed as he put his hands into his pockets.
“Doubtful,” Ron chimed, crossing his arms with a sour expression. “They won’t even let us eat in here, how pathetic is that?”
“Ms. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall began as she walked up to the group.
“Shite” Ginny whispered under her breath. “Y-yes, Headmistress?” she questioned as innocently as possible.
“There is no need to suck up, Ms. Weasley. I was simply coming over to let you know that you are free to roam the museum with your friends. After all, you fought in the war too and should be allowed to see what you want…when you want.”
“Y-you heard that?” she asked frowning.
“I hear everything, dear. But I will let you in on a little secret…I was going to let you join them regardless. You are a bright student and have shown great maturity over the years. You and Ms. Lovegood are exempt from following your peers through a guided tour.”
“Oh, thank you, Professor! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Just please follow the rules and don’t make me regret this decision” McGonagall smiled as she tipped her chin down and peered over her spectacles.
“I promise you, I will not break a single rule! And Hermione and I will make sure these knuckleheads” she proclaimed, pointing to Ron and Harry “don’t get into any trouble either!”
“I am sure you will do your best” the professor chuckled before walking away to speak with Luna.
“Yay” Ginny exclaimed as she jumped up and down in excitement. “Okay, let’s go before she changes her mind!”
The Gryffindor clan, Luna included, explored the museum to their hearts content. Hermione was pleasantly surprised that she and Harry were not the only ones who seemed to enjoy the muggle history. Ron seemed absolutely fascinated by the aquarium on the first floor, yet he became utterly terrified of the bug exhibit located on the second. Draco however, had no problems teasing him with fake spiders he purposely bought from a gift shop for such occasions. Theo and Blaise tormented Pansy so much she refused to enter the room. She simply sat outside and waited until her friends appeared so she could move on to the Clore Natural History Centre where she could actually hold and examine objects that didn’t have a dozen legs.
As Hermione and her friends stopped for lunch, due to Ron’s incessant need to constantly feed, the Slytherin’s continued to the next floor. But once Theo heard about the Weaston Discovery Centre where he could handle objects from around the world, the gang found themselves stuck for an hour in the exhibit so Theo could touch every single thing he was allowed to get his hands on.
“Can we skip the third floor for now” Neville asked eagerly as him and his friends exited the café area. “I was wondering if we could go to the fourth floor and see the Natural World exhibit and the Dinosaur fossils. We can come back to World Cultures and Ancient Egypt later. If not, we can meet up afterwards.”
“Whoa!” Ron held up a hand in excitement. “They have Dino bones here? I am so there!”
“Yeah, let’s do it” Harry added. “Mione, Gin, did you wanna come?”
“Are you kidding?” Ginny questioned with a raise brow. “Of course, we’re coming! We can see the Planetarium on level five after before heading down to Egypt. Easier path to take than backtracking so much”
“Sounds, good to me” Hermione smiled.
As they made their way into the Dinosaur exhibit, Ron and Harry ventured off to see the Ice Age mammal bones as Neville and Luna went to see the plains of Africa and the canopies of the jungles; leaving Hermione and Ginny to explore the Dinosaurs together.
Hermione had never seen Ginny so excited to examine bones outside the realm of Dragons and Thestrals and it made her happy to see her friend so eager to learn something new.
“Holy crap” Ginny announced as she pointed to an information board in front of a propped-up skeleton. “Did you know Velociraptors were extremely cunning? Bet they would be sorted into Slytherin. This one sort of looks like Nott, don’t you think?”
“They’re fast too” Hermione chuckled, ignoring the question to begin listing another fun fact. “And they hunt in a pack, which is dangerous for their prey.”
“Huh, interesting” she ticked.
“If you want to see something really scary, Weaselette, all you have to do is look at your brother” Draco joked as he came up behind the girls and put his hands on Hermione’s shoulders while peaking around her head to see what they were looking at. His cheek lightly brushed up against hers but she didn’t flinch…she didn’t even seem to care that he was touching her.
“That, Malfoy, is something you are actually right about” Ginny announced while she continued to hunch over and read the board.
“I’m always right. What are you looking at anyway?” he leaned over more to see the sign. “The Velociraptor, huh…Aren’t they supposed to be bigger?” he questioned, standing up straight and removing his hands to cross his arms; fully expecting the bookworm go into teaching mode and explain it to him.
Hermione sighed as she pointed to the skeleton.
“They resembled birds more than reptiles, Malfoy. They actually had feathers rather than the tough scaled skin the world is used to seeing…See how they’re just slightly larger than a turkey; they weren’t huge like most people think.”
“Interesting”
“Anything else you would like to know?” she asked pressing her lips together in annoyance.
“Nope, that about covers it…Pay up” he stated as he held his right hand out to the side.
“Ugh, that was such an unfair bet” Blaise claimed as he and Theo removed themselves from their hiding place behind the island.
“You were betting on me?” Hermione questioned in shock.
“Yes and no” Draco explained as he took the two galleons from each of his friends. “We all knew you would tell me the facts, we basically were just betting on whether or not you would punch me for touching you. Turns out, I was right and I learned something new.”
“You didn’t need to bet on something so childish, Malfoy” Ginny chimed in while crossing her arms. “It would take a lot more than you touching her to cause Mione to punch you.”
“Oh, yeah…Like what?” Blaise asked hoping to get the girls in on a new bet.
“Oh, I know” Theo smirked mischievously. “You ready to make another bet?” he turned to Draco and winked, forcing Hermione to want to take on whatever challenge he had up his sleeve. She was dying to have some more fun in her life and it turned out the best way to do that, was to add some Slytherin’s into the mix. Not that she would do anything to break the rules of course and it wasn’t like they would become instant friends afterwards. If they were willing to put blood status and spiteful hate to the side for a day, she could too.
“Bring it on, Nott. There is nothing you can do to make her break and punch Malfoy. Though he damn well better be prepared if she accidentally slips and clips him the nose again.”
“Wait a minute here! Why am I being volunteered for this?” Draco asked while holding his hands up in defense. “I’m not trying to get punched again!”
“Don’t worry, mate!” Blaise stated as he wrapped his arm around his tall friends’ shoulders and started wiggling Draco’s nose back and forth. “We won’t let big bad Granger ruin that beautiful perfect nose of yours” he laughed before he patted Draco on the chest and began walking out of the exhibit with Theo.
Ginny quickly ran to catch up, leaving Hermione and Draco standing awkwardly in the room.
“Well uh…” Draco began as he rubbed his right hand on the back of his neck while trying to figure out if this was a good time or not to say what his therapist had been prompting him to say for months now.
“I’m not going to hit you” Hermione cut in when she saw the worried look plastered on his face. “Let’s…let’s just have some fun without breaking any listed rules, okay? I promise I won’t ruin your ‘beautiful perfect nose’” she chuckled nervously as she mocked Blaise’s description of Draco.
“Ha! So, you admit I have a perfect nose!” he joked, hoping the elephant in the room disappeared quickly.
“I admit you had a perfect nose once. Before I ruined it third year” she smiled as she found it easier to talk to the boy she no longer viewed as an enemy.
She now saw the blonde git as more of a person she could maybe see herself being friends with one day; if he ever stopped picking on her friends. However, since he had stopped calling her mudblood and they only bickered to try and find a sense of normal anymore, he no longer seemed like that horrible boy she once knew. He still had his flaws, but he had changed a lot since Voldemort’s downfall the year before, and she fully expected he was hurting inside…just as much as she was.
“So, where’s Parkinson?” Hermione questioned anxiously.
“The loo” he replied, putting his hands in his pockets. “Betting on things isn’t really her forte anyway. All she cares about is what she wants.”
“Oh…I’m sorry to hear that. But won’t she wonder where her friends went when she gets back?”
“Nah…She’ll most likely try and find some hot bloke to flirt with until I get back and then continue to torment me into the next century” he laughed softly.
“Are you two coming or are you just going to stare into each other’s eyes all day?” Blaise asked as he whipped his head around the corner. “We got shite to do and people to mess with! Let’s go!”
“I guess that’s our cue” Draco stated nervously as he pinched his lips together and held his brows up.
“After you.”
The group of teens, that seemed so normal to everyone else outside the wizarding world, ran through the museum as if it was their playground. The boys were challenged to slide sideways down the rails of the staircases while the girls where tested on how many people they could fool with fake crying. Ginny of course came out on top because she excelled at acting, while Theo argued his last place stance because he fell off the rail due to a security guard startling him.
Taking their fun elsewhere, they ended up in the exhibit of Ancient Egypt, which was fairly large and extremely impressive.
“Whoa!” Theo announced as he ran up to a glass encased sarcophagus lying in the center of the room. “Is there really a mummy in there?”
“No,” Hermione chortled as she walked up to the artifact “Those would most likely be held at the Smithsonian Museum, if they are still viable. This is just the sarcophagus.”
“That’s bullocks.”
“Hey, Granger” Blaise called out from the other side of the room. “Check this out! I think it would look good on a Halloween costume for you at my party this fall! You’re coming right?”
“I didn’t know I was invited” she stated, cracking a small smile as she and Theo walked over to the rest of their group, who was admiring a large gold insect with a textured body set between fanned scalloped wings encasing a single bezel set round cut emerald.
“Of course, you are!” he exclaimed in surprise. “You’re coming too, Red…But if you bring your friends, Weasley included, just make sure they don’t act up, alright?”
“Okay, Zabini…We’ll see” Hermione replied as she looked to Ginny with raised brows and a tentative grin.
“What is it?” Ginny asked looking away from her friend and back to the artifact; intrigued by its golden beauty.
“It’s a scarab beetle. Often used in ancient Egyptian jewelry as a symbol of protection” Draco answered, shocking the two Gryffindor girls. “Don’t look at me like that, I know things too.”
“I wonder who it belonged to?” Hermione questioned as she read the small handcrafted framed label in front of the amulet.
“It says an unnamed pharaoh’s advisor that was brutally murdered by the people of Egypt.” Ginny said, touching a left finger to her chin. “Archeologist were able to decipher a tablet of stone claiming the advisor cast a spell on the amulet in order to protect his remaining family from future harm” she finished softly before looking back up the beautiful pendant. “Well whoever he was, he must have had a strong neck, that thing looks heavy. It’s bigger than my hand.”
“I bet you ten Galleons you won’t touch it” Theo smirked.
“What?” Ginny stated in complete surprise. “That’s breaking the rules, Nott. I won’t do that.”
“Awe you’re boring…how about you, Granger? Brave enough to grab the thing?”
“Nott, it was fun while it lasted but that is going too far. We could get kicked out for doing that.”
“Oh, come on! Where’s that Gryffindor courage? You broke into Gringott’s for crying out loud! Picking up a stupid pendant isn’t going to harm anyone.”
“We don’t know that!” Hermione argued in disgust. “We don’t know what that amulet is or where it even came from! An anonymous donor gave it away for a reason and its spelled! For all we know it could have some ancient curse on it or something.”
“Granger, we are in a muggle museum” Theo announced as he threw his hands in the air to make his point. “Plenty of people have touched that thing. I am sure it is just fine.”
“Yeah, with gloves on so the acid in their skin didn’t destroy a relic!”
“You all are a bunch of sissies. Okay, I’ll make it interesting…twenty Galleons!”
“Nott, we aren’t doing it no matter how much you bet!” Ginny claimed in annoyance.
“Let it go, Theo” Blaise interjected, hoping his friend would back off and let them continue having fun. “We don’t need to get in trouble over a bet.”
“Since when did you become such a pussy?”
Draco looked back and forth at the four classmates as they continued to argue around him. He and Blaise both knew though, that Theo wouldn’t give up until his bet was locked in place or the girls walked away; which neither of them really wanted. It was the first time in his life that he’d been able to hang out with Gryffindor’s freely and it was the first time in a long time, he actually had fun doing it. He wasn’t about to let Theo ruin a good thing before it even started.
“Fine, I’ll do it!” Draco announced as he reached over the red rope and grabbed the amulet from the white display stand.
“Have you lost your damn mind, Malfoy?” Hermione whispered as she looked around to make sure no one was watching. “Put it back!”
“Why? It’s not like it did anything. See,” he held up the jeweled pendant to show it was okay while Blaise peered over his shoulder to get a better look. “You’re right though, Weaselette, it is heavy” he claimed as he bounced the scarab on his palm.
“Let me see!” Ginny quickly asked as she went to touch the amulet in Draco’s hand, but Hermione grabbed her wrist to stop her causing her to grip the pendent hard.
Draco pulled his hand back instinctively thinking Hermione was going to give them away, but the pull of Ginny’s grasp caused his grip loosen. The redhead released her hold so she wouldn’t break the pendant, thinking Draco still had a firm clutch on it; however, the amulet began to fall to the floor and the students watched in horror as it crashed to the ground with a loud clang.
Both Draco and Hermione bent down to pick up the jeweled relic when Draco noticed a bright green light emerging from the large crack that had formed on the shell of the insect. Hermione still tried to pick it up with Ginny worriedly gripping her shoulder, so Draco quickly clasped her wrist to stop her. Blaise gasped in fear as he began to tug Draco away, but as rapidly as the light appeared it vanished just as quickly, causing the four of them to pause in alarm.
“What the hell is that noise?” Theo asked covering his ears, now standing a good six feet away.
However, no one was able to answer as the piercing noise grew louder; rattling the display cases while the floor below them shook violently before suddenly…everything went quiet.
“Get away from it” Draco stated under his breath. “Get away from it!
He grabbed a hold of Hermione’s bicep just before a green light burst from the heart of the jewel, knocking all four of them backwards. As the wind was knocked from his chest, he felt his body sucked into a swirling vortex with no foreseeable end.
“Oh shit!” Theo began to chant as he watched his friends disappear before his eyes.” Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! FUCK!”
Landing hard on his back, Draco grasped at his chest as he gasped for air, unaware of Hermione lying next to him in the same condition. He rolled around as he tried to breathe in, but his lungs refused to work, and he felt like he was dying.
“MALFOY!” Hermione screamed as the sweet blessed air returned to her and she noticed Draco was still unable able to breathe.
She quickly sat up, ignoring the pain that engulfed her whole body, and crawled through the dirt covering the ground between them.
“Malfoy! Malfoy, breathe! Come on you git, breathe!” she begged as she loosened his tie around his neck and began rubbing his back to help restart his lungs.
Finally able to suck in a deep breath, Draco savored the fresh air as if he had just come up from drowning. He took a few more deep breaths before finally trying to sit up. Hermione grabbed his arm to help him and then began looking around at the dense foreign jungle they had landed in.
“Wh-where are we? Where’s Ginny a-and Zabini, o-or Nott?”
“I don’t know” Draco groaned as he rubbed his temples to rid the headache that formed in his skull.
“WHERE THE HELL ARE WE?” Hermione panicked as she took a few steps through the field of giant ferns.
“I don’t know! Salazar, I hit my head hard” he claimed while looking around.
Spotting the amulet on the ground, Draco carefully picked it up before looking up at Hermione, who was now in full panic mode as she searched through overly large leaves in her skirted uniform.
Rushing back, Hermione helped him stand before walking off through the trees without him.
“Where are you going?” he asked as he pocketed the amulet in his trousers before trailing after her.
“To find out where the hell we are!”
“Granger, we’re in a forest…or jungle…or something” he retorted as he eyed the trees around him curiously. However, he knew something was severely wrong when he spotted several plants that he was absolutely certain should have been extinct long ago.
“That much is obvious, you dolt!”
“How about you don’t start with the bloody name calling and try apparating us out of here!” he suggested, knowing he couldn’t do it thanks to the ear-splitting headache pulsing behind his eyes.
“When the hell did you become so stupid, Malfoy? We don’t know where the hell we are! For all we know, we try to apparate and we could splinch ourselves o-or worse! We are not apparating anywhere until we know what the fuck just happened!”
“Okay! Stop…yelling…” he trailed off as his stomach churned in terror.
“Merlin’s beard, I can’t believe this is happening!” Hermione freaked as she stared at the ground in front of her, but she quickly stopped walking, whipped her body around, and marched towards him in anger. “This is entirely your fault! If you hadn’t picked up that amulet in the first place, we wouldn’t be stuck in God knows where, without our friends!” she paused briefly when she noticed Draco wasn’t really listening. He stood frozen in front of her with fear radiating off his pale skin and his lips began to tremble as his eyes grew wide in horror. “Oh, now you wanna finally shut-up! Because you know I am right about this!”
“Stop talking…” Draco pleaded as his breath grew heavy.
“No! How dare you tell me what to do when you are the one who put us…Godric, wherever the hell we are? What, is my yelling not helping your headache at all? I DON-”
“Granger” he whispered, clasping his hand quickly over her mouth to shut her up. He stared off into the distance behind her as his lips quivered heavily, hoping…praying…she would remain quiet. “I-I don’t think where is our p-problem.”
“What? Why?” she asked as she smacked his hand away from her, thinking he was just trying to mess with her.
“Don’t…fucking…move” he demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders, stopping her from turning away from him.
Hermione confusingly rotated her head to follow his gaze and when she saw what he was so afraid of, her heart dropped into her stomach as her breath caught in her throat. Draco slowly pulled her behind him before gently backing away from the animal eating carefree at something he couldn’t identify.
“M-M-Malfoy…” she whispered as she grabbed the back of his white button up. “W-we need to run”
“I-it can’t see us if we move sl-slow” he uttered as his eyes stared hard at the large beast before them.
“Malfoy, that-that’s a myth.”
“No, it’s not” he snapped.
“Yes, it is. And even if it wasn’t-” Hermione began to argue, but the sound of a twig snapping under her foot as they backed away, stopped the pair dead in their tracks “it can still smell us” she finished in a whimper.
They both watched in horror as the Tyrannosaurus Rex lifted its head up from devouring the underbelly flesh of the armored Ankylosaur. It sniffed the air once before emitting a loud terrifying roar making their blood run cold and their hearts stop instantly.
“Run” Draco whispered while his eyes widened at the sight of the towering seventeen-foot reptile.
“What?”
“RUN!” he screamed as he quickly turned around and pushed her forward; trying his best to get them both out of harm’s way.
XX
“How do we even know Malfoy, Nott, and Hermione are around here? How do we know they even got sucked into that vortex too?” Ginny demanded while she and Blaise walked through a large open hay field.
“We don’t, okay?” Blaise answered in irritation. “All we know is that we have no idea where the hell we are or how the fuck to get back! Every time we try to apparate we end up back in the same spot we landed, so something is off!”
“Obviously something is off, Zabini! We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere and I’m getting mud all over my legs!”
“We wouldn’t be in the middle of nowhere, if you wouldn’t have touched that stupid amulet in the first place!”
“Oh, so this is my fault?”
“No! No, Merlin you are insufferable! I’m saying that it’s that stupid amulets fault! A-and Theo for being an intolerable gambler!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter how it happened, the fact of the matter is, we are fucking stuck, Godric, where ever the hell we are with no idea how to get back!”
“I GOT THAT!” he screamed as he stopped walking and turned to face the red-headed girl next to him.
Ginny was about to open her mouth to argue when they both suddenly heard faint yelling off in the distance.
“What is that?” she asked looking to the edge of the forest line while scrunching her eyes trying to see clearer.
“Better question; who is that?”
“Is that…Oh, my Godric” she exclaimed in surprise. “It’s Hermione and Malfoy!”
“Why are they running…and screaming?”
“Who cares?” she questioned confused before she began jumping up and down while waving her arms in air to let their friends know where they were.
But her jumps slowed as the ground below them began to rumble in an odd pattern. Their friends’ shouting was now closer and Blaise tried his best to understand what they were screaming. All he could tell was that Draco and Hermione looked like they’d seen the ghost of Voldemort, and whatever they were yelling, was completely incomprehensible.
“Are they saying run?” Ginny asked as she continued to watch the duo sprint like their lives depended on it.
“MUD!” Hermione screamed until her throat was raw and her legs felt weaker than ever, praying to anything and everything, that the pair would hear her. “MUD, GOD DAMMIT, MUD!”
“She’s saying mud” Blaise corrected. “But why is sh…OH, MY FUCKING-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” he shrieked as the two-story T-Rex barreled out of the tree line with an exploding roar expelling from its massive jaws. “WHAT- THE ACTUAL FUCK-IS THAT?” he yelled as he grabbed Ginny’s arm and began making a break for it.
“NO, stop!” Ginny shouted while tugging Blaise back to her. “Mud, we have to cover ourselves in mud!”
“Are you serious right now? Do you not see tha-”
“For once in your damn life Zabini, fucking listen to me! Hurry, we don’t have a lot of time!”
Ginny pulled out her wand from the holster on her thigh and expanded a mud puddle to her left as Hermione and Draco tried spell after spell to slow the monstrous dinosaur chasing them. But their efforts were lost in vain as nothing worked and the beast was closing in fast.
The T-Rex snapped its colossal teeth at them, forcing Hermione to grab Draco’s arm, and dodge to the right to avoid becoming a prehistoric meal. The duo stumbled but quickly regained their footing as they continued to run in terror. Draco sent a Bombarda at the ground, distracting the T-Rex long enough with a massive explosion, giving Hermione time to point her vine wood wand at the grass ahead of her, expanding a puddle. She then immediately grabbed the blonde Prince and dove into the shallow muddied water.
They quickly splashed the dirt liquid all over themselves to cover up their scent before gripping on to each other as the King of the Dinosaurs stopped its chase and sniffed at the air for its missing prey. Hermione accidentally released a small whimper when the dragon sized reptile roared again in anger, making Draco instinctively cover her mouth with his right hand.
They watched in horror as the Tyrannosaurus Rex took a few large steps while looking for them before giving up and turning away. When the coast was finally clear, Draco removed his hand slowly as Hermione began to weep into her palms in relief.
Blaise and Ginny rushed over to the pair as fast as their legs could carry them in fear that their friends were hurt. Ginny slid to the left side of Hermione and hugged her tightly as the brunette cried into her chest. Blaise began looking Draco over for any traumatizing wounds before deciding he was fine and helped him to his feet.
“What the fuck was that thing?” Blaise asked as Ginny continued to comfort her shocked friend.
“A dinosaur” Draco replied callously. “A fucking dinosaur, in the middle of the fucking jungle, trying to bloody fucking eat us!” he yelled as he shoved is dark-skinned friend in anger. “What the fuck kind of fucking question is that?”
“Malfoy, stop” Ginny pleaded while she rocked Hermione back and forth in her arms.
“NO! We are stuck fucking sixty-five million years IN THE FUCKING PAST!” he screamed as he threw his hands in the air.
“We got that…can you please stop yelling?” Ginny begged again.
“A-are you bloody kidding me right now? What part of, that was a fucking dinosaur, did you not understand?”
“She understood all of it, alright?” Blaise chimed in. “You’re in shock, I get that, but if you keep yelling you’ll bring that fucking monster right back here. Granger already saved our fucking lives once…I would rather she not be put through that again. So, do us all a favor, and shut-the fuck- up!”
“Put her through that again?” Draco asked in absolute shock. “That’s what the fuck you’re worried about right now-WE JUST GOT CHASED BY A FUCKING T-REX!”
Blaise momentarily stared at his blonde friend breathing heavily in front of him, before quickly raising a hand and smacking him hard across his right cheek.
“Ow! What the fuck, Blaise? Did you just fucking slap me?”
“Shut…Up!”
“You really just fucking slapped me! Who the hell slaps people?”
“Guys, please” Ginny declared defeated. “Please…just stop. We have no idea where Nott is, we are stuck in…well whatever time period this is, and you’re arguing is getting us nowhere. Hermione is inconsolable right now and I honestly don’t blame either one of you for freaking the hell out; but can we just…for one brief fucking moment stop and just catch our damn breath? Please?”
Draco looked down at the wavy-haired brunette crying into Ginny’s chest before looking up to Blaise as his body unconsciously shook in fear. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and quickly crouched down in front of Hermione.
“Granger?” he began while placing two fingers under her muddied chin. “Granger, look at me.” Hermione allowed him to turn her head gently as Ginny and Blaise curiously watched the bizarre situation before them. “Granger, you’re okay…You’re safe, alright? It’s not coming back a-and Theo isn’t here so you don’t have to worry about him…You saved us, you hear me? Y-you saved us and we are going to get the hell out of here, okay?” Hermione slowly nodded her head as she stared wistfully into Draco’s eyes. “I need to hear you say it.”
“I-I’m…o-okay” she stuttered before sitting up and wiping away at her tear stained cheeks, unconsciously smearing more mud over her skin.
“Yeah…Yeah, me too.”
Blaise and Ginny gawked in shock as Draco picked up Hermione’s wand from the mud and handed it to her to put back in her bag before he rose from his knelt position, rolled up his mud caked sleeves, and helped the Gryffindor Princess to her feet. He then reached out a hand to help Ginny up and turned around to start walking towards the sound of rushing water.
“What the hell was that?” Blaise asked while running to catch up to the blonde; still utterly confused on how Draco of all people, got Hermione to calm down. “Is there something you want to tell me, mate?” he demanded while grabbing Draco’s bicep, whipping him around. “What the hell was that? And why did you just assume Theo isn’t here too?”
“Nothing, alright” Draco claimed while shoving Blaise’s hand off him. “Now is not the time…”
“That wasn’t nothing! Is something going on between you two?”
“No! For the love of-no!” he threw his hands in the air as discontent filled his veins. “I just know what happened and what she was thinking!”
“You knew what she was thinking? What, did you read her mind?”
“Gods Blaise, no!” he snapped. “She had an episode, alright? I was helping her because I quite literally almost had one myself! You wouldn’t know about those since you didn’t actually fight in the damn war! You hid out in another country because you refused to pick a side while Granger, Weasley, and I battled through all the carnage a-and death, a-and fought bloody fucking Giants that aided in tearing apart our school!
“You don’t get to come at me demanding what the fuck I just did when you weren’t there! You go to that damn Healer to try and deal with your regret for hiding, but Granger and I go to try and get rid of the nightmares that torment the living shite out of us! So, do me a fucking favor and back the hell off!”
Blaise took a step back, speechless at his best friends’ sudden confession. He knew Draco was going through a lot, but he had no idea it was this bad. He figured the sessions with the Healer were helping his blonde friend, but never did he think his scars ran so much deeper.
“I-I’m sorry” was all he could say as he was at a loss for words.
“Sorry doesn’t fix you leaving!” Draco growled while running his fingers through his muddy disheveled hair, slicking it back, before turning away. “Sorry doesn’t change the fact that getting chased by a large carnivorous dinosaur, sixty-five million years in the past, brought up a terrifying memory for her!” he claimed sharply as he rotated back.
“Okay, mate” Blaise retorted, holding his hands up in defense. “I get it…I fucked up by asking. I’m sorry…I really didn’t know.”
“You’re damn right you fucked up!” Draco stated in a groan. “Look, I know Theo isn’t here because I saw him! He didn’t get hit by the invisible force like we did! And I don’t know how the hell we are getting home, or why some cursed amulet brought us back to whatever time this is-”
“The Cretaceous period” Hermione cut in softly as she and Ginny slowly caught up to the arguing Slytherin’s, who turned their heads to her in surprise.
“What?” Blaise inquired peculiarly.
“We are in the Cretaceous period” she repeated calmly while tightening her beaded bag around her right wrist. “And judging by the Pterodactyl or Pterosaur over there…it’s hard to tell from this distance,” she pointed off to the west at the sun beginning to set behind dark ominous clouds where a large flying bird-like creature flapped its massive wings against the strength of the wind that was starting to pick up. “I’d say we are in a later part of the era, and a massive storm is brewing so we should probably find some shelter quick because from what I’ve read, you don’t want to be caught dead or alive in a prehistoric monsoon.”
“Where are we going to find shelter out here?” Ginny questioned while throwing her hands in the air. “There is nothing but trees for miles!”
“But there’s a river” Draco cut in as he looked off to the left and studied the rushing waters flawless stream. “And where there’s a river…” he spoke aloud to himself before running towards the water’s edge and looked out to see if he could spot where the waterway ended “there’s an ocean” he finished as he turned back around with a large smile plastered on his face.
“An ocean?” Ginny asked while raising a perplexing brow. “Malfoy, a monsoon raises the water level, why would we go closer to a giant pool of liquid that would engulf us instantly?”
Hermione stared unseeingly as she thought hard about what Draco was trying to say. It wasn’t the best plan ever but it could work…if they got lucky.
“There would be less dinosaurs roaming around since the ocean is three and a half percent sodium” she grinned as she ran towards the river and stood next to Draco.
“Do you know what the hell they are talking about?” Blaise asked as he looked to Ginny completely confused.
“No idea” she claimed, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
“Which means no fresh water” Draco finished Hermione’s sentence before the pair turned to their baffled friends with wide smiles.
“Would someone mind explaining to Red and me, what the hell you two are talking about?”
“If there’s no fresh water, Zabini,” Hermione began to explain “then there will be fewer animals around…”
“And with fewer animals…” Draco continued “means the less meat-eating dinosaurs we’ll run into”
“Because there’s less food!” Hermione finished while touching Draco’s arm excitedly.
Draco looked down at her hand touching his left forearm, imprinted with the faded dark mark, before looking back up to her with a shameful tentative smile. Hermione’s face fell when she realized what she had done and quickly pulled her hand back before awkwardly looking up at their friends.
“If we’re lucky” she began, clearing her throat to rid the embarrassment she felt “we might find a cave in a cliff or something to hide out in. Then in the morning-”
“If we survive” Blaise interrupted while holding a finger in the air to help his point.
“Yes, Zabini…If we survive, then we can work out a way to get out of here. There is also plenty of fish in the sea so we won’t go hungry and since rivers contain fresh water, we’ll have plenty to drink if we collect some now and we can rinse this mud off. Plus, we can use the water charm in case of emergency. Once we get down to the beach, we just have to avoid the smaller scavenging carnivores that will roam the sands for dead animals.”
“You act like everything you just said is going to be easy Granger?” Blaise stated with an eye roll. “But it looks like we don’t really have a choice here so, if we are going then we better do it now before that storm is above us.”
“I agree” Hermione declared as she reopened her bag and brought out her wand. “But let’s not take any chances” she finished firmly while looking for a few large rocks to transfigure into water bottles.
“So, why didn’t they work?” Blaise questioned as the group began to fill the bottles with fresh river water.
“Why didn’t what work?” Ginny asked while rinsing the mud from her hands.
“The spells Draco and Granger threw at the T-Rex? They just bounced off the thing like they were a Bludger hitting a Beater’s bat.”
“Their skin” Draco replied as he finished filling his bottle and put the cap back on. “It’s as thick as a Dragons’ hide and would take almost half a dozen wizards just to stun it. Except for some reason, even the most powerful spells, which would normally take down a Dragon, wouldn’t penetrate the skin of the Rex. Its hide must be thicker…” Hermione stared at Draco in awe as he glanced to her and shrugged. “I told you…I know things too.”
Shaking her head at the shocking explanation that just came from the blonde Slytherin, Hermione finished closing the cap on her bottle and stood up to place everyone’s water into her charmed bag. At that moment, the sky began to open up and sprinkle small droplets of rain on their heads, forcing the four to continue their journey to find shelter. Completely unaware, that their quest to return home, would lead them on an adventure…for their lives.
**Special thanks to my wonderful, awesome, amazing beta, who not only helped me edit this story to the best of her ability, but helped give me inspiration for certain eras that will appear in this story. Thank you Scorpia11, you are a hero!
AN- I hope to not ruin the flow of this story with authors notes, like I sort of have in my repeat story, but I want to get this out because it’s important to me. So, funny story, a year ago in September, I began writing. My first fanfic ever, which still needs to be edited lol, was a time travel story…My one year anniversary and by total coincidence (wasn’t trying to) is a time travel story. I have grown as a writer over the year and I am truly grateful for the gift I never saw coming. I promise to give you all the best story I can because you guys, keep me going. So Special Thanks to my readers as well. You all are so amazing! And shout out to ‘E_br’ on adult fanfiction for your wonderful message! I will do my best to continue to post on the days I promised! XOXO
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The Paths We Take