The flash of light was almost blinding, and they found themselves being thrown back by a force so powerful there was no way to ensure a stable landing. It was like taking a portkey for the first time.

She turned her unwitting travel partner with a look of sheer incredulity

"Seriously?!" she hissed "What is it with you Malfoy's and diaries?!"

Malfoy glared at her, as he got up from the floor, no intention of helping her to her feet.

"Do not even THINK of blaming me for this. It is not my fault you do not look where you are going when you have your nose so far into a book" he retorted looking around the room

"Where even are we?" he asked, trying to pick out something familiar about their new surroundings. There was something oddly familiar about their new location and yet disturbingly different.

He turned around to face Hermione who was now standing behind him, her arms folded, a deep furrow marring her brow.

"If you hadn't noticed, this is the Head Boy and Head Girls common room" she huffed, then her eyes narrowed as she looked around the room "although….." she began…"its strange… I don't recall it being quite like….." her gaze drifted around as she turned in a slow almost pirouette.

He found her demeanor oddly titillating in an unsettling way. Studying her features as she processed her surroundings was fascinating him and that unnerved him.

"It's almost like…"she whispered. "NO! It can't be!"

"SPIT IT OUT GRANGER!" he exclaimed, growing impatient with her half-expressed stream of conciousness.

"I was just thinking, Malfoy, that it looked remarkably like a picture I have seen in…"

"Let me guess, 'Hogwarts, a History" his sarcasm dripping from every word as he smirked at her "do you actually read anything else?" he drawled.

"Considering I was reading 'Potions: A Guide Beyond NEWT Studies' I would think so, git!" she spat, growling in frustration "however it just so happens that YES I was thinking of 'Hogwarts, a History' if you must know!

"Well that's not bloody likely is it" Malfoy continued, his face now inches from hers

"Given your families penchant for sending people back into the past with Dark Diaries" she stated, grabbing the open book from the floor and thrusting it into his hands

"I would say ANYTHING is possible"

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, the adrenaline from their bickering coursing through her veins as she glared at him, daring him to deny her challenge.

He had no retort. He just glared back at her, his smirk fixed on his face, determined to win this mental battle. The arousal he felt when they sparred like this was a familiar yet disconcerting feeling. He enjoyed it in an odd sort of way yet he hated his conscious awareness of it.

The silence between them had drawn out far too long he considered, as he watched her delicate hand brush a loose curl away from her eyes in frustration. They were sizing each other up, looking for a weakness in the other and he thought he had a momentary glimpse of hers fleeting across her warm hazel eyes.

A noise behind them broke their reverie and they turned to see a laughing young couple come through the portrait hole. Malfoy stared at the pair who were smiling and laughing at a shared joke, their hands intertwined, an apparent intimacy shared between them. He had no clue who this young woman with auburn locks and shining green eyes, nor her bespeckled beau. Something about the two was oddly familiar to him however. Malfoy turned to Hermione curious as to why the pair seemed completely unaware of their presence inside their common room. He was perplexed to see her mouth agape in startled look of recognition, his eyes widening as she gasped

"That's Lily and James Potter"