“What are you talking about?” He asked, confusion written all over his face.

“We have plenty of time to spend with each other.” She grinned.

“We have classes in an hour, or do you-” He stopped short as he looked down at his watch.

Thirteen minutes past seven?? He had just checked his watch a moment earlier.

“This is a Time Turner. This is how I get to all of my classes, a lot of them run at the same time so McGonagall gave me this in third year.”

“So does that mean we’re changing the past?” He asked.

“Yes and no. We’ve already done this and so the future you knew a few minutes ago when you came here is already set, unless you do something different this time around.” She spoke so nonchalantly and he was still trying to comprehend it all. “We’re doing exactly what we were doing last night, that won't change.”

“So you’re saying that while we’re in here, we’re also finishing dinner in the Hall?” She nodded and he thought he had a firm grasp on it, well, a loose grasp.

“It took me a while to get used to it too.”

“Well why haven’t we been doing this all year? We could turn it back for much longer than-”

“I try not to use it unless it’s for classes.” She said firmly.

“Why? You could get so much done.”

“Bad things happen to witches and wizards who play with time. If you just ran into yourself you’d think you were going mad because you wouldn’t know you’d turned back yet. There are wizards who try to turn back three or four times and it just causes chaos. You have to be very careful. You definitely don’t want something like this to get into the wrong hands.” She was right.

“So I get to spend all night here with you?” He gave her a small smile.

Her cheeks flushed and she nodded a little. “And no one will ever know, as far as they know, you ate dinner and went straight back to your common room.”

“This is remarkable. Can we see ourselves? It’s just so unbelievable, that’s all.”

Hermione thought about it, knowing it was a bad idea. She looked into his eyes, so full of something she rarely saw in them; wonder. She was nodding almost before she knew it.

“Later, I promise. For now can we just enjoy ourselves?” He grinned and pulled her into him, dipping his head and softly kissing her lips.

As she reached up on her toes and laced her arms around his neck he held her tighter and pulled his lips away to kiss her forehead.

“I knew you were a rule-breaker at heart.” He gave her a cocky grin and she pulled her face back to raise her eyebrows at him.

“How so?”

“You said you weren’t supposed to use it other than for classes, yet here you are, breaking more than one school rule in the process.” He growled a little and she laughed.

“Don’t expect me to do it whenever you please, this is most definitely a one off.” She turned up her nose a little and it was his turn to laugh.

“Maybe the Time Turner part but the rest of the rules you’ll break over and over again.” She shook her head at his arrogance and he placed another warm kiss on her lips.

She parted them to deepen their embrace and his hand reached around to rest on her lower back. He dragged his tongue along her top lip until it met with hers in a tangle. She felt his fingers tighten against her side and she pulled herself even tighter into him.

He let out a low groan and pulled them both backwards so that his back was pinned tightly to the wall. Hermione cupped his face in her hands as they let the passion take over. Draco spun them around quickly to press her against the wall. Their lips broke for a moment and Draco looked down into her rich brown eyes with a hunger building inside him that he wasn’t sure he wanted to let out.

As his breathing became heavy she pulled him down to her and roughly pressed her lips against his. She had never been kissed in a way quite like Draco kissed her.

She could taste the lust, feel it emanating from every pore in his body, and yet somehow it was a fragile kiss. The way he held her so tightly made her feel as though he was afraid to let her go, in case all of it was a dream. He made her feel it all, the passion, the tenderness, the… she couldn’t finish that thought. Had she really been about to think that?

As she pushed her body out and into him he pulled his face away, biting hard on his lower lip. His hands didn’t relinquish their stronghold on her, they remained firmly on her back and waist.

“Stop…” He panted.

“Why Draco?” She asked softly and he closed his eyes.

He didn’t want to have to explain it to her. She was different, she was special. He didn’t want to be with her like this, at least not the first time. She deserved more. She deserved it all.

He wanted to give everything to her but he didn’t know how. He had never been one for tenderness, or maybe he had, it had just been beaten out of him for years.

He forbade himself from indulging in his fantasies with her until he learned how to make it perfect. He owed her that. He owed everything to her.

So he couldn’t just let it go this way, he was going to do anything to make her happy, even if it drove him mad.

She is right here in your arms… the voice in his head told him.

“Draco… you know I… I want this too…” Her voice softly cooed in his head and he bit down painfully hard on his lip.

“I know… just not tonight.” He opened his eyes and released his throbbing lip, only for her to kiss it gently with a small smile.

She was almost too good to be real. There was no way he would treat her the way he treated the others. She was too pure.

He pulled himself away from her and walked over to the couch on one side of the room, collapsing in it with a thud.

Hermione took off her jacket, a little flustered, and rested it on the arm of the sofa before sitting next to him and snuggling into the space by his side. One of her arms slipped around his waist and she sighed. A little smile crept onto her lips as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her legs up over his lap.

As his hand gently caressed her arm she closed her eyes, just enjoying being held like that. She would never have guessed that there could be such a person inside Draco. He had always acted like someone else.

It was true that Draco had always pretended that he didn’t want this kind of thing; mostly he was just scared that no one would want him like this. So he pretended that he was someone different, he had everyone pretty well fooled too.

For a while it was almost like he had himself fooled, and he convinced himself that he would never have anything better but she had changed that.

All he wants is to give her what she deserves. He knows how lucky he is to have found her, because she let him discover things about himself that he had forgotten. She made him feel worth something like he always wanted to.

“Draco, can I ask you something?” She murmured into his chest.

“Of course.” His arms tightened around her.

“What exactly is going on with us?” They didn’t look at one another, Draco almost seemed to tense up a little.

“Well, I… I think… I mean…” He sighed. “I don’t do this kind of thing well.” He said finally.

“Have you ever done it before?”

“…No, I’ve never really wanted to, not like this.” He had wanted to have this kind of relationship with someone before.

The last time was back in fifth year, after that he never thought he could make a bond with anyone again. If he had retained any hope from before it all went wrong, it would be that he could find someone like her.

“Well, that’s something. I suppose I just wanted to know…” She trailed off, not wanting to ask the question in case the answer was something she didn’t want to hear.

“Know what?” He asked.

“Just… I just wanted to know if we… if we’re together…” Draco was silent for a while as he smiled a little.

“Are you asking?” He said, the smirk evident in his voice.

“Don’t be difficult Draco.” He laughed a little; the grin would be plastered on his face for weeks.

“Do you want to be together?” He asked.

“Of course I do, I can just never tell with you. I’m asking if you want us to be officially together or is this just some school fling?” She lifted her head up to look him in the eye.

“It’s not just a fling. I… I’ve never felt like this before… I...” She was clinging to his words, waiting for him to say those little words that seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. “I want us to be together, properly.”

She was trying not to show him how big her smile really was but she couldn’t hide it. She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He put his hand on the side of her face and looked down into her eyes. As she looked back at him she couldn’t help but notice how blue his eyes were tonight.

“I still can't really believe all that stuff about the time travel. It’s just… too weird.” He smiled.

“Come on then, let me show you.” She grinned back at him and he raised an eyebrow. “Let me show you just how wonderful tonight was.” She jumped up and took his hand.

“We’re going out there?”

“Of course, but we have to be careful, remember, this has already happened.” She opened the door slowly and peeked down the corridor.

“Right.” He said unsurely.

“Come on!” She pulled him out the door and they ran down the hall.

He heard her laugh and he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. She was giggling with the excitement and dragged him into a dark corner to hide from some students passing by. She looked up at him with her bright eyes beaming as she pressed a finger against his lips.

As she carefully looked around the corner to see the two students wandering back to their dormitories he never took his eyes off her. She was mesmerising, like every movement she made was in slow motion.

“Quickly!” She dashed out again, still dragging him along until they were at the stairs.

There were no other students near the stairwell so they hurried down to the ground floor and out of the front doors – it wasn’t quite past curfew yet.

They couldn’t see anyone else out the front of the castle so they slowed down and walked hand in hand under the moonlight.

“It’s a beautiful night isn’t it?” Hermione closed her eyes and sighed contently.

“Yes, it is.” He didn’t look around, he just looked her up and down and gave her hand a small squeeze.

They wandered towards the lake and Hermione looked over to the small orange glow through the trees.

“Do you want to know what I was doing tonight?” She asked slowly.

He saw her avoiding his eyes and he thought he already knew why. He could feel the anger growing inside him and he let go of her hand to shove them in his pockets. He took a deep breath and tried to put it aside.

“You don’t need to tell me.” He said through gritted teeth.

He took another breath and looked over at her. The smile was gone; she looked almost scared. It was strange how one look could change him completely. The anger started to dissipate as he calmed down, knowing that she wouldn’t have taken him back with her if she didn’t want to see him.

“I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I-”

“Don’t be! Really, it’s okay.” He took a hand out of his pocket and pressed it to her cheek.

“Come on, let’s go a little further.” She smiled and they walked away from the bonfire towards the lake.

The moon was almost full and it made everything around them almost glow. Hermione snuck glances at Draco as they walked, his face bathed in the moonlight. He was truly stunning. His high cheekbones and blonde hair were desirable by anyone’s standards and she almost felt a little proud to be holding his hand.

They walked down a small slope and sat down as they were out of sight from the castle. The lake looked just the same as it had the last time she stared out over it. Somewhere in the edge of the trees she was staring out at the same glorious sight.

Draco was looking out at the serene water with a pensive look on his face and Hermione scooted over to him and broke his gaze. As he looked down at her she gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

He put an arm around her and deepened their embrace. A cool breeze washed over them, loosening Draco’s thin blonde hair and flinging Hermione’s thick locks behind her back. He cupped the back of her head in his hands and dipped his tongue behind her teeth. Hermione mirrored his movements and ran her fingers through his hair.

As the breeze rolled in again she pulled away and grinned giddily at him, almost drunk off of his touch. She gave him a playful shove and he nudged her back. She smiled again and pushed him back onto the grass. He began to laugh, his voice sounding so lyrical and he pulled her down to meet him.

He tried again to kiss her but she rolled him over and pinned him to the ground with a wild grin set in stone on her face. He reached up to caress her cheek with his fingers.

“You are so…” He just finished his sentence with a light peck on the lips.

She lay down beside him and looked up at the stars. They were so bright tonight; they were always bright at Hogwarts. It was a part of what made this place so magical.

They lay by the lake, exchanging a few thoughts between them. Draco wished that the time would go on forever, that they could lay there forever just speaking to one another and trading the occasional kiss.

As she told him about an experience in her charms class, a bright silver light caught his eye from the centre of the lake. He sat up and looked over to see an otter dancing over the water.

“What is that?” He interrupted and she sat up beside him to look over as the patronus’ gathered in the darkness.

It was just as beautiful the second time seeing it and Hermione sighed. They watched the animals swirl around one another before disappearing into the trees.

“What was that?” Draco asked again, mesmerised by the beauty.

“We all cast a patronus onto the lake before we left.” They stared after the silver light as the creatures disappeared between the trees. “They’re quite breathtaking aren’t they?”

Draco felt a pang in his chest as they left the water. He wished that he could create something so pure, so alive with the magic that had enticed him as a child. It was like staring at magic in its raw form, like stripping everything else down and seeing only what is good about the world.

He would give almost anything to experience that kind of magic. If he could just feel it fill him, just once.

“We could try it now? If you like.” She said softly, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“I can't.” He said with a scoff.

“Draco, just take out your wand.” She said.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she gave an impatient huff. The corner of his lip twitched with a smile at her bossiness. He had never enjoyed someone telling him what to do… until this moment.

He rolled his eyes before he closed them and she nudged him a little. “Fine.” He pulled his wand out of his pocket and sighed with mock annoyance.

He felt her put her hands on his shoulders as she spoke. “What’s your happiest memory?” She whispered.

“I… I can't think of one.” His brow furrowed a little.

“Not even something from when you were a child?” She asked and he shook his head.

She felt a pang in her heart, was there really nothing joyous or wonderful in his memory?

“What about me?” She raised a hand to his cheek and he opened his eyes. “Keep them closed.” She smiled.

“I was just getting another look.” He said as he closed his eyes again.

She felt her cheeks flush and she was glad he couldn’t see it.

“Remember the first time we kissed.” He smiled a little. “Or those few weeks of the holidays when it was just us.”

His mind travelled back to then and he felt a familiar warmth fill his chest.

“…Or the night before Christmas, and waking up that morning.” He opened his eyes and looked down into hers.

He felt like he could do anything when he was with her, she made him feel worthy of something.

“So give it a try.” She whispered, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

He couldn’t, he would surely fail. He was afraid of failure and more than anything afraid of her seeing him fail. With one last look into her eyes he sighed and closed his eyes again, envisioning everything he could remember from that wonderful night.

He remembered the way her skin felt against his, how she put her hands on him in the morning and woke him so tenderly, nothing but warmth in her heart, and innocence. This had to be his best memory, it had to work.

He let his memory fill him up before he exhaled slowly, opened his eyes and said the words shakily.

“Expecto Patronum.” The tip of his wand flashed silver for a moment and then died down.

Before he had the chance to become disappointed Hermione butted in. “You almost had it, try again!”

So he uttered the incantation once more. “Expecto Patronum!” A small jet of silver light dashed out of his wand and faded as it made its way across the lake.

Before she could give him any more praise he spoke the words again, determined. “Expecto Patronum!”

This time the light from his wand spread out like a fan and remained bright on the tip of his wand. He couldn’t believe it. He looked over to Hermione who was just smiling at the silvery glow. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

After a few moments of basking in its beauty he lowered his wand and the darkness returned.

“That was beautiful.” She said, looping her arm through his. “Come on, we best be getting back.”

As they walked towards the castle she held him close. His mind seemed to be off wandering. He couldn’t stop thinking about how he had managed to create a patronus. He did it; he actually managed to do it. Granted it was hardly as magnificent as Hermione’s, but perhaps with more time spent with her it could be.

When they got to the castle entrance Hermione checked her watch and pulled him around the wall so that they were shrouded in darkness.

“What are we-” She shushed him with a sharp sound and three fingers to his lips.

“I think we’re coming this way.” She whispered.

Draco looked out into the distance, squinting in the darkness. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the figures began to emerge. He heard their excited voices and hushed laughter before he could really make them out.

They watched them pass by, Draco felt a little stunned to see Hermione with them considering she was standing right next to him. He also felt that pang of jealously when he saw the smile on her face.

Hermione looked up to see him holding his jaw tightly as he watched them pass. She knew that he was jealous, but she couldn’t decide whether it was because she was happy being with them or because he wished he could have exactly what she did.

When they couldn’t hear the group trying not so subtly to stay quiet they headed into the castle and back to the fifth floor.

Draco was deep in thought again, but this time not over his patronus. She had shared something with him that very few people knew. This time-turner was one of her best kept secrets, she would never had shown him if she didn’t trust him. So maybe he should share something with her, something he knew would be playing on her mind.

Most of him said that he shouldn’t tell her, that she could never understand. The rest of him was dying to give more of himself to her. She had shown him kindness that he could never have imagined, especially from someone like her.

She had seen all the bad things in him, he had never shown her anything good in all those years of school but still she looked past it. It was like she knew that everything he had shown her was not indicative of what was inside him.

They walked past the wall and turned around to see the door appear. Once they were inside they stripped off the outer layers of clothing, it was so much warmer by the heat of the fire than it was out in the grounds.

Hermione sat back on the bed and Draco’s mind took him back to Christmas night, falling asleep with his arms around her, her warmth surrounding him. He pulled off his shoes and over-shirt and sat next to her.

They lay beside one another and Hermione traced his jaw with her finger. He closed his eyes and sighed with content. He would have to tell her eventually, and now seemed like as good a time as any.

“Hermione…” He said softly.

“Yes?”

“I have to tell you something…” He could feel the nerves in his voice coming out but he couldn’t stop now.

“About what Draco?” She scoot a little closer to him and ran her hand down his arm.

“About me.”