Draco wound his hair around the middle of the hourglass, and spun it three times. There was no need to say goodbye to his friends for he was certain he would see them again soon. The strand of his hair began to shine and there was a flash of light.
As if he had apparated, Draco instantly found himself in an idyllic countryside dreamscape, the likes of which he had never seen. Watercolor flowers and trees surrounded him and though the area looked drenched in sunlight, he felt no heat on his skin. Fluffy clouds stayed unsettlingly stationary in the sky. The trees were perfectly still, as not even a single leaf rustled. He looked down at his hands, which had visible brushstrokes. There were two women there, one of which was obviously a veela given her braided silver-gold hair and pale complexion. Her flowing white garments made her look more like a gentle unicorn than a dangerous veela. The other woman sat on the edge of a pond, combing her knee-length orange hair.
It was as if he were dead and living only in a painting.
"That's exactly what it's like. My, what a smart boy you are. If pieces of consciousness can be preserved in moving paintings to the point where people can converse with portraits of the dead, why can't souls live in a painted world? My darling here came up with that, brilliant mind she is." The veela spoke sternly, but looked lovingly down at her mate. "And what a lovely scene she painted for us to spend eternity in."
How can someone read my mind, when I'm such a perfect Occlumens not even the Dark Lord himself can do so? How could this possibly work? I had heard time turners make it so you can see and interact with your past self, but if there are two of my selves in the world how do I win my mate?
"Questions, questions. Ah, boy, this is no ordinary time turner, haven't you figured that out yet? This is a true reversal of time. Your current mind and soul going back into your old body. Time will forever be split. All the events of the timeline you were in will continue to occur, but from this moment on you have disappeared in your old world."
At least there was no one left to miss him, as his parents died. His ever-growing weakness and newly deranged personality had pushed away the pureblood friends that valued strength above all else. Former death eaters didn't want him for defecting, and those who fought in the war hated him for his involvement. Draco was truly alone.
"The river of the future is branching off, to a new path," The redhead mused quietly. She dipped her feet in the pond. "You can follow the same flow, you can divert it to new places, or you can make a splash!" She splashed the water lightly for emphasis, giggling.
"You said mind AND soul. Isn't my soul already fractured? I've felt so incredibly weak."
"We have a trick up our sleeve. Your current soul has already gotten the boost from your paired parents passing. It will get another boost when they pass in the new timeline, but you will have to go through the pain of losing them twice. Give and take."
"Ebb and flow," said the redhead, running her hands through her hair.
"Winning your mate will allow the pieces of your soul which has attached to hers to return to you. The veela within you wants you to protect them at all costs, so it realizes you must be strong. However, if you fail a second time to win your mate, the withering of your soul will take even longer as a result, and be thousands of times more painful. This is the price you pay to get a second chance."
"Now that you know the price," the redhead spoke gently, "you have a final chance to turn back, but you may never come back to our domain. We are not aware of exactly where the turner will drop you in the river of time." She smiled widely, showing painted teeth white as the clouds. "We live outside of time entirely."
"I would risk my soul coming apart a thousand times to find her. I know I need her. I've courted so many pureblood women my parents said were perfect matches for me and each of them left me feeling empty and disgusted, but I went along with their wishes anyway. Please, let me correct my past mistakes. I can't bear to feel so fractured a moment longer."
The redhead stood up and the veela smiled so wide she looked crazed. They spoke in unison, "Then away we go!"
They joined hands and began to dance, spinning all the while. They started singing in perfect harmony, "I preserve my sacred creatures who love to dance, for they would perish without a second chance, my use and power unto you, are gauged by who your mate will choose!" The ground beneath Draco's feet started slowly shifting. The veela's hair tumbled out of her braids and a red and silver blur surrounded them. The lovers laughed louder and louder, as if this were the most fun they had in all of the eons they had clung on to this undead state. He couldn't tell if the laughter sounded sweet or malevolent, and desperately hung on to one of the rocks at the edge of the pond as the world began to spin faster.
The veela started to shimmer, then glow, and wings burst from her shoulders as she and the human were lifted into the air. The bright sand from the time turner filtered in to the painting until a tornado made of moonlight surrounded the lovers, and Draco was swept up into it. He couldn't bring himself to scream as he could barely get enough air to breathe, his platinum hair whipping around his face and obscuring his eyes.