What If (Drarry)

17. Time Tuner

A/n.: Well, I'm sorry for not updating in so long. I just had to deal with this mess called my life. I'm facing a few exams in a month and this online schooling thing isn't helping to prepare... Anyway, I'm back. Thank you for those who read my story, I really am grateful. It feels so good to have at least a few people who's interested in my work. I hope you enjoy it!

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Draco slowly started to flick through the pages again, though his mind was spinning so fast, he couldn't really focus on what he was doing. The other three surrounded him watched carefully the pages to spot another message from Harry. But they could see nothing.

Draco shut the book and sat on the huge mahagony table a careworn expression on his face.

"Are you sure there was nothing?" Ron asked what seemed like a hundredth time.

"No, there was nothing. You saw it, too."

"Okay, okay, I just asked."

"Yeah, and I just answered." Ginny shrugged a slight annoyance in her shaking voice.

"Calm down, you two! You bickering isn't going to help us in any way."

Ron looked sheepishly at his wife and stalked back to the book. He carefully opened it on the first page, then looked down at the inside of the cover. Then he clapped his hand on his mouth.

"Come here!"

The others gathered around him and stared unbelievingly at the book. "How did we not notice it before?" Hermione frowned and crouched down just in the same time as Draco to read the barely legible ink-written words.

"What does he say?" asked Ginny eagerly.

"Er... something like... 'What if... I never met you?'."

All eyes turned to Draco who stared at his shoes a slight pink blotch appearing on his cheeks. "What if I didn't kill you, git?" he murmured.

"And what if you wrote something we can use?!" Ron bellowed.

As the last words rolled out of his lips, Hermione looked back at the book and squealed. "Ron! Look! It definitely wasn't there a couple of minutes ago."

Ron and the others bent down to get a better look at the page that now didn't only had one handwritten line on it. Just right under the former, there was another short message of Harry's cramped letters.

"You're no fun... Page 394, then." Draco read aloud.

"What does this-"

"Did he just answered me?"

"It seems so. Now turn to page 394." said Ginny.

"She sounds just like Snape did." Ron muttered under his breth which caused a little smile to creep up on both Hermione and Draco's face.

Draco turned to the page. First it seemed a totally average page with words printed on it, and a nice drawing of a Time Tuner.

Wait-

"A Time Tuner! That's it!"

Draco stepped aside and let Hermione tap the drawing with her wand, constantly murmuring something under her breath.

Soon the black lines of the drawing started to move. Draco had a bad feeling, he clapped his hand on his marked forearm, which used to move when the Death Eaters were near him just like the ink lines moved now on the yellow book page. But soon enough the movement - and with that the inconvenient feeling - disappeared, and a familiar object with gleaming gold chain started to form.

They all gasped in shock when the drawing completly vanished leaving the Time Tuner instead, lying neatly on the opened book.

"We've done it! We've got the Time Tuner!" cheered Ron who woke from the daze first.

Slowly the others proceeded what had just happened, too, and they all had huge smiles on their faces, satisfaction gleaming in their eyes. Only Draco seemed a bit distant. He couldn't decide how to feel. He wanted Harry back. But he knew, when they would get him back, the boy wouldn't remember making up with him. Would he?

Well, Draco hoped he would. And when Harry answered Weasley through that book... let's say it didn't help get his hopes down. Maybe he's not dead! He's just trapped in... somewhere... and they only need to rescue him.

Hermione's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"No, wait!" she shouted at Ron who apparently tried to start the Time Tuner.

"What?"

"First we need to know what to do."

"We have to save Harry, so he won't be trapped and he won't die, don't we?"

"Yes. At least I thought we do, until... Look, what if Harry isn't dead?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well he answered you, didn't he? Maybe he's here-" Hermione's voice trailed off as all four of them looked around the office suspiciously.

Neither of them noticed as a new barely legible line appeared on the page where the book had been left open: 'You're so funny!'.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"We should ask him." Draco said quitely and gazed in the nothing as if he was hoping to get a glance of Harry's raven hair. "H-Harry... Can you hear us?"

They all looked at Draco first, then turned their heads to the book at the same time. Under the former line, slowly appeared some other words, more neat than before, as if Harry tried his best to write legibly. "Yes, Draco, I can hear you."

"Where are you?" the blond boy asked.

"Right beside you." came the answer. "I just gave you a peck on the cheek;)"

Draco felt his cheeks flush as Ron groand loudly. "Ew!"

"Oh, shut it, Ron!" Hermione snapped then turned to Draco. "Did you feel anything?"

Draco just shook his head, then spoke up again. "I meant... are you alive?"

"I always be alive in your heart, Draco."

"But... What does it mean? Please, Harry, answer me properly!"

"I don't know. Really. I'm here, I can see you, I can touch things, but I don't feel alive. As if I was still in that damned shield."