Chapter Five: Unraveling the time

The world had fallen apart.

Draco Malfoy stood amidst the ruins, the once-beautiful halls of Hogwarts now a shadow of their former self. The castle, the one place that had always felt like home—though a home full of conflict and regret—was nothing but a broken structure now. The dark skies were lit only by the occasional flicker of distant fire, the last remnants of a world at war. A war he had fought on the wrong side, for the wrong reasons. The end had come, and Draco had lost everything.

Hermione Granger, the one person he had come to care about more than he could ever admit, was gone. The war had taken her life, and in its wake, he found himself alone—surviving a cataclysm that had claimed everything he had known. No family. No friends. The only thing that remained was the heavy burden of his guilt, the haunting memory of a future destroyed, a future in which Hermione never stood a chance.

But in that broken world, with nothing left to lose, Draco discovered something. *A way out.*

He had heard whispers of a spell, a magical incantation capable of turning back time. At first, he thought it was a fool's dream, something that belonged to the realm of legends. But when hope seemed entirely out of reach, and when he realized that there was no going forward, the possibility of undoing everything became his obsession. He couldn’t live with himself, knowing that the end of the world was inescapable. And most importantly, he couldn’t live with the loss of Hermione.

He was determined to rewrite history, to change the future, even if it meant bending time itself.

---

It took Draco months to gather the magical components necessary for the spell, each step more difficult than the last. He searched every corner of the wizarding world for the ancient texts that would guide him. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime of planning, he stood before the altar in the Forbidden Forest, the magic pulsing in his veins, his mind clear. His heart, however, was anything but.

To turn back time would be to erase everything—the pain, the loss, but also the moments of happiness, the moments of love. It was a trade-off, but for Draco, it felt like the only way forward. If he could save Hermione, if he could have a chance to fix things, it would be worth it.

With a deep breath, he spoke the incantation.

---

When Draco woke, he was back.

The world was the same—alive, whole, untouched by the devastation he had left behind. It was the year before the Philosopher's Stone, a time when everything seemed possible. The war had not yet begun. Hermione was here, walking the same halls as she always had, her voice still filled with that fiery determination, that brilliance that had so captivated him before.

But this time, Draco was determined to change things. He was determined to make it right.

The guilt that had plagued him in the future had not disappeared. It was still there, gnawing at him. He had been cruel to her, to everyone. His past actions weighed heavily on him, and the more he observed Hermione, the more he realized how wrong he had been. He had treated her as an enemy, as an obstacle, instead of seeing the person she truly was—someone who had never once given up on him, even when he had tried to push her away.

As he watched her move through the corridors, laughing with her friends, or pouring over her books with that ever-present dedication, he knew that he couldn’t make the same mistakes.

The change in him was immediate. Every insult he had thrown her way in the past—every slight—now felt like an unbearable stain on his soul. He had to make amends, even if it was just the smallest of steps. And so, Draco began to adjust his behavior. He stopped making the cruel remarks. He stopped the subtle jabs and cutting words. Instead, he started to offer her help. Whether it was something simple—helping her with her homework, or making small talk during meals—he started to be present in a way that he had never been before.

At first, Hermione was suspicious. She had no idea what had caused Draco’s sudden shift in behavior. The Draco she had known was a Slytherin through and through, someone who had never shown any interest in friendship, let alone kindness. And yet, here he was, acting like a different person entirely.

She didn’t trust it at first. She didn’t want to. She had always seen Draco as a rival, someone whose presence in her life had been nothing but a constant source of frustration. But there was something about the way he spoke to her now—more gently, more thoughtfully—that made her pause.

And it wasn’t just the words he spoke. It was the way he listened to her. When they were paired together in class or sat next to each other in the library, he didn’t interrupt her or belittle her as he once had. Instead, he asked questions. He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say.

At first, Hermione dismissed it as some strange attempt to gain favor, perhaps for some future plan he had. But as time passed, she began to wonder if maybe—just maybe—something had changed in him. There was no immediate conclusion. No sudden epiphany. But she found herself thinking about him more often than she should have. His presence, once a source of irritation, was now something she found herself seeking out—whether it was for a study session, a conversation in the corridors, or simply a chance to catch a glimpse of him when he wasn’t looking.

But Draco’s transformation wasn’t easy. Each time he spoke with her, his past actions haunted him. Every time he looked at her, he saw the ghosts of his previous cruelties. He wanted so desperately to be better, to *prove* he was different, but it was hard. He was fighting against the man he had been for so long.

Still, he persisted. He made it his mission to show her that he wasn’t the person she had once thought him to be. He offered to help her in class, shared notes, and even stood by her during a particularly grueling Herbology exam when the professor assigned them both difficult projects. They were still far from friends, but the tension between them had started to dissipate.

---

And it was during those moments—quiet, fleeting, and yet somehow significant—that Draco began to realize that his feelings for Hermione were no longer a passing infatuation. They had grown deeper, more complex. He had always been captivated by her, but now, he couldn’t deny it: he was *in love* with her.

But just as he thought he might begin to find happiness, the world around him began to feel more fragile. A gnawing sense of dread settled in his stomach, the realization creeping upon him that he had already altered the timeline. Every interaction with Hermione, every step closer to her, felt like a step toward undoing the future he had hoped to avoid.

By asking for her help, by speaking with her as a friend, he was changing the very fabric of time.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***