Timeless

Chapter 17

Present Time: June 2002 / Draco's Time: February 2004

Hermione Granger

When Hermione heard a knock on her door that Saturday, she knew instantly who it was. She was a little surprised it had taken him so long to show up. When she cast a revealing charm on the door to confirm her suspicion, she could tell just by the way Draco was standing in the hall that he was from the future.

He held himself with an air of easiness and self-confidence that the current Draco had not yet mastered. She remembered that she was the likely culprit behind this change in him, then worked hard to silence that pesky voice in her head before she opened the door.

"How do you know where I live?" she snapped at him as soon as he turned to face her.

He cocked an eyebrow at her and smirked playfully. "Do you really want to know?"

She sighed and moved her hands to her hips. "Because we're madly in love," she replied sarcastically. "You probably come round here all the time. Maybe you even live here. Is that it?"

"No, you move into my place, then once we're married (which is happening soon), we plan to buy a house in London. We're looking for one now."

Hermione hit him on the arm. "You cannot tell me things like that!"

"You started it."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "I need time away from you. You're not supposed to be here. I'm sure you know I've been avoiding your owls in this time."

"Come on, Hermione, we both know you're dying to yell at me, so let me inside so you can unload all your frustrations, then maybe we can spend a nice afternoon together when you're done."

She glared back at him and moved so she was blocking the doorway. "This is exactly why I'm upset with you. You take what you know about me from our interactions in your time and use it to manipulate me in this one."

He sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "And how have I manipulated you, Hermione?"

"You tricked me into liking you! You read all my favorite books. You made me feel better when I was down. And Ron – you pushed me to split up with him!"

"Do you really want to have this conversation in the hall?" Draco looked pointedly into her flat and she sighed, then eventually moved out of the way and motioned for him to go inside. He walked straight into her kitchen and began making tea and she watched him, annoyed that he knew where everything was and had even selected her favorite mug.

They were silent as he made the tea and after he slid her mug across the counter, he sighed and started talking. "First, I'd like to point out that most of the Dracos you met in the café weren't me. Well, not yet. I've only met you there twice so far. Once, I tried to duplicate Muggle currency to prove you wrong, which, predictably, backfired. The second time, you asked me to leave because you incorrectly assumed I didn't want to spend time with you in public since you are a Muggleborn."

He took a sip of his tea and continued, "But, regardless, I can confidently say that I did not seek you out with the intent to manipulate you."

He put his mug down and leaned onto the counter, staring intently into her eyes. "I'm living this insane life where I'm lost in time. And even now, you'd think I'd be used to it, but I get a little scared whenever I time jump. But when I'm with you, everything makes sense and I don't feel lost anymore."

He raised his hand to her cheek and brushed his fingers against it. Hermione knew she should step out of his grasp but couldn't make herself do so. "That's why I find you anytime I'm thrown to the past, Hermione. I love you. And sure, I talk about the things you like and cheer you up, if you need it, but it's not to manipulate you. It's because I'm only truly happy when you are."