Title: Flashback

Summary: 20-something year old Hermione finds herself suddenly back at Hogwarts, able to relive her 7th year. Everything that she remembers happening that year is seen in a new, more mature perspective. How will making different choices affect her life after the experience is over?

Rating: PG-13 – for sexual themes and language

Disclaimer: I don't take credit for anything, except maybe the plot.

Author's Note: Um. Well. It's been awhile. For this chapter, the thanking will only be to the people who reviewed Chapter 8, because it's seriously hard to keep track of everyone who has reviewed since I last updated. I mean, it's been forever. For. Ev. Er.

Let's get on with it.

Chapter 9 – Flash Forward

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Hermione, however, was silent. The two girls gestured her to continue.

"You know, it's true what they say. Sex is much more exciting in a public place. The risk of getting caught and all." She took one more sip of her drink, got up from the table, and left for the library, leaving the two girls with wide eyes and open mouths.

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As she was walking towards the library, Hermione found herself becoming quite anxious and slightly nervous.. she wasn't sure if it was the idea of letting Malfoy in on her strange and certainly unbelievable secret, or if the prospect of being around him had an effect on her (which is really unlikely, she firmly told herself). Malfoy was only a boy after all.. surprisingly grown-up compared to what she remembered him to be, but still just a boy without much life-experience. She was very sure that the kiss they shared was in no way meaningful or enticing. Well.. grown-up Malfoy was a completely different story, she thought as a shiver went through her body.

Swinging the library door open, she immediately caught a flash of a platinum head of hair sitting in a desk across the room and began making her way towards it. He raised an eyebrow at her brisk pace as she got to the desk, but she made no verbal note of it and sat in the chair across from him.

"So, what's your story? You ran away and Dumbledore took you in? Orrrr.. you've been kicked out of your house, became a prostitute, and then Dumbledore took you in? I'm assuming whatever happened, it ends with Dumbledore taking you in," he began.

Confused and slightly disappointed at his sudden uncharacteristic level of immaturity, Hermione shot him a look of malevolence, "If you're going to act like an idiot, you won't find out." That caused him to immediately shut his mouth. "I guess.. well, I'll just lay it out for you. I'm actually a lot older than you are."

"So, you've been held back!" he interrupted with brightly, "That's why you already know everything.. you've been through it before!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "No," and after a long pause she continued dryly, "That's not even possible, Malfoy. I've attended the same classes as you for seven years. This is getting ridiculous.. if you're going to keep interrupting me with childish comments, then I have no interest in being here." He opened his mouth to retort, but she cut him off, "Just shut up."

"As I was saying, I am older than you are. I am somehow.. in my past.. but I'm still me from the future. I know this is hard to believe, but I don't really know how to explain it. Are you following?" Hermione looked at him unsurely.

"Uh," was his only reply.

"Ok. Um, well.. OH," at that, her brown eyes momentarily widened and she reached into her blouse for the necklace grazing her collar bone. "Do you see how this resembles a time turner?" Draco stared blankly at the object. "Do you know what a time.. never mind. Well, basically I am Hermione.. from the future. And I'm back in my past. And you're Draco from the past.." at this point she felt the necklace giving off a subtle warmth and looked down at the charm in her palm, which had begun glowing. Draco was completely silent, and now both parties were staring intensely at the object.

After what seemed like a very long minute she looked towards him, and their eyes slowly met, brown looking into gray. Draco seemed to sober immediately at the exchange and a more serious tone was taken on between the two. Very softly she said, "You know, Draco.. when we were outside the other night.. and my necklace was glowing.. something was happening in my mind.. like a dream, or a flashback. Or I guess, maybe it would be a flash forward, because you were older." His hand reached out for hers on the table, but he stopped himself before they touched.

"What do you mean?" he returned, genuinely interested. How one explains something like that was beyond her.. of course, words could always do the trick but then how exactly do you make someone understand the emotion involved? Hermione didn't see herself coming right out and saying, "We were in love," to Draco Malfoy. As much as she enjoyed putting things bluntly in conversation with others, this didn't seem to be the time nor the situation in which to do it.

"I.." she paused here, unsure of how to explain it and then with a brilliant idea and a growing determination said, "Kiss me." He looked at her quizzically. So much for not being blunt.

"I don't see how this will help. I know I'm so irresistible that you may have forgotten the point to this meeting, but.."

She cut him off, "Believe me, it wasn't that amazing the first time. This is for scientific purposes only." At that, Hermione leaned halfway across the table and closed her eyes. It took him a moment or two to register what exactly was happening and with a glance around the library to assure himself that they were alone, he leaned towards her, closed his eyes, and their lips met.

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This time he felt it entirely necessary to make it last a bit longer than before, as it was (some sort of) scientific research. He immediately deepened the kiss and found that her tongue was soft and warm and that she tasted a bit of cinnamon. Draco reached his hand to hold her head, fingering the soft waves of her chocolate hair. They stayed that way for a few minutes until he found that he needed air. Slowly (and begrudgingly), he pulled himself away from her lips and opened his eyes, only to find that he was no longer looking at a teenage girl.

He was now holding a beautiful, brown-eyed woman to his chest. Her coffee eyes looked up at him lovingly and comfortably, like it was her favorite place to be and he was her favorite thing to look at when she was there. One hand lingered on the soft curve of her hip and the other was lost in her thick, brown hair. It was clear to him that this woman was Hermione grown up.. probably the same woman he had been speaking with in the library, who was trying to explain why she wasn't the same eighteen year old know-it-all he once knew. Thinking about it for a bit, he realized that the personality matched the person he was holding perfectly, and he finally began to see the picture clearly.

He glanced around and sadly took note of the hazy bookshelves growing clearer with every passing second, and looked back to the woman he was holding, hoping to keep the feeling a little bit longer, only to find that she was now a teenage girl sitting two feet away from him, looking at him with bright eyes and flushed cheeks.

"I think I understand," he said slowly.

"I was hoping that would help," she returned quietly, without looking away. "Did you see anything? I didn't this time. Maybe it only works in the rain or something.."

"No, it worked. I had one of your flash.. forwards. It was you, only older. I'm guessing it was you, as in you if you understand what I mean." She nodded at this as he continued, "It didn't last very long." Quite unfortunate, he thought to himself.

There was a pause in conversation.

"So, do you have any idea of what I should do?"

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"You'll never believe what I saw in the library today!" Lavender Brown whispered to Parvati Patil during Divination later that day. "Do you promise not to tell anybody?"

"Yes! Tell me!" Parvati returned excitedly but just as quietly.

"Well, I think Hermione is over Ron.."

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PLEEEEAAASSEE REEVVIIIEEWW!

THANKS TO:

Destiny's Darkness – Thank you, I definitely appreciate the evil laughter. And yeah, so it took me awhile.. like 2 years. Hopefully you're still interested.. SPOTllama – Thank you very much for the compliments, I hope that this chapter was satisfying and I hope that you're satisfied with it because I like it when readers are satisfied (I say this because in your review you said you liked that I didn't use the same adjectives to describe the same things.. so this is like irony. I am very humorous.).. Geniveve – Thanks for the review, and I'm glad this could be somewhat different from a normal fic. I hope this chapter was alright!.. Miss Mills – Alright, alright, alright! So persistant! I love it.. Puppi-chan – Thanks for the review! No consequences yet, but I hope you liked what I gave you!.. Crystallized Snow – Thanks for the review! It's been almost 2 years since I've updated, and I have to tell you the truth – I also dislike the Hermione smoking thing. I'm thinking of revamping the story and changing it up (first I need to finish it, of course). And I agree that I don't have very long chapters.. I'm just not very good at it, I guess. But I hope that you liked this chapter alright!.. LadySaint – Yes, you seem insane. I hope that they have fixed you so that you can read this story and not be crazy at the same time. But I have to agree with you on things, I also like them.. lagmastermatt – Thank you so much for the review, I appreciate it!.. Maiden of ice – I appreciate your support, I hope this chapter satisfied you!.. storm079 – Yeah, it took a little while.. hope it's up to par!.. Fluff – This fic is fun to write (don't be fooled by the length of time it took for me to update)! Thank you for the review, they keep me going!.. Little Smiling Princess – Happy New Year! I guess I'm a bit late on that.. Banana Flavored Eskimo – Well, Christmas is long gone, but perhaps this story will be finished by the time next Christmas rolls around. Cheers to that hope.. lemonstealer – I appreciate your admittance, but don't worry about being hypocritical (though I loved your review MOS DEF). This chapter probably isn't the most exciting, but it's a bit more kissy and a bit more hmm so I hope it was alright for you!.. VanillaGorilla – I agree, Draco is hot. If only he were real.. Pamela – Thanks for the review! They really keep me going. I PROMISE I'll finish eventually!.. Autumn Darkness – Thank you for the honest review! I know, I know. I'm bad at coming up with points to a chapter. I'm hoping you'll forgive me, review this chapter anyway, and continue reading the story. Hopefully it will end. It may take 75 years. WHO KNOWS.. burgundyred – Thanks for the awesome review! I love 'em long. I'm so sorry that it's taken me so long to churn it out, and I really hope that this chapter gave you a bit of what you wanted! Once again, thanks for the review!.. beachLEMON – I'm glad you like it, thanks for the review! Like you, I'm also a bit tired of the Head Girl/Head Boy stuff (though they're hard to stop reading.. some can get verrry interesting), and I was hoping that this would prove that Hermione and Draco could happen a number of ways. And yeah, Young Draco is much too immature for Older Hermione. You're totally right.. mila2 – Thanks for the review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!.. Ankle – First of all, I like your name. Second of all, thank you, and you will, and sexy man Draco is definitely sexy I AGREE!.. yourgrandmother – Thanks for the review! I realize it took me forever, but I hope that you liked this chapter.. invisible2u – Thanks for the review! I guess you'll have to wait and see if there's any fluff ;).. Hota-chan – Thank you so much! Hope you liked this chapter just as much!.. starlover11 – Thanks for the review! Sorry it took so long!.. hermie4sev – I'm so glad that you like it, thank you for the review!.. Kou Shun'u – You have some very good ideas, but don't hurt yourself trying to sort it out. It all becomes clear in the end! Thank you so much for the review, they really keep me going!.. meamonkee – Haha, yeah it's a pretty weird idea, but I hope you like it anyway!.. marymaria – I'm REALLY glad you like it!.. Jaye – Thanks for the review, I'm glad that I could keep you happy!.. Mac – I'm glad that you like it, but please don't kick me in the shins. Hopefully you're still interested in the story!.. Avid reader – I am awful at updating, but I hope that the plot has you coming back anyway. Thank you so much for your review!.. Dark Angel – I WILL DEFINITELY WRITE MORE THANKS FOR THE REVIEW I REALLY LIKED IT!.. Ebony River – Thank you so much for the review, I'm really glad that you liked my story so much!

PHEW. Those are rough. PLEASE REVIEW! I really would like to know what you guys REALLY think!