A Future Uncertain

Chapter 15: Watching

"Good morning, Granger," Draco greeted, hoping the cheer in his voice would make this greeting different from the last.

Hermione's shoulders slumped. Pulling her book bag closer, she gave a pitiful smile. "'Morning."

Draco couldn't stand how she had been the past week- absolutely and completely withdrawn. She'd ignored him completely during tutoring, and afterwards, if he'd ask her questions, she'd give the shortest answer and walk away.

Just because I'm not the guy she wants me to be doesn't mean she can shut me out.

What was so wrong with him that she was set on evading him? Was her loss of an older version of himself so great that he was no longer worth the common decency of a simple conversation?

"Granger!" he called, however she was already halfway down the hall and hadn't heard him. He refused to run after her. Sighing, he left for his bedroom to grab his broom. Flying always made him feel better.

In truth, Hermione had heard him, but the past week had been harder than she expected. She'd told him everything, sure, but his reaction had been less than spectacular. He'd thought that she confused him with his older version, something that was nearly impossible to do due to his pigheadedness.

She just wanted to give him time to absorb the information, and to know that she wasn't confusing him with his future self. If she stayed away from him, he would know that she wasn't delusional, right?

Well, that had been her tactic until he had followed her after a tutoring session almost a week after his last attempt to catch her alone.

A week after Draco's failed attempt, he decided to follow her wherever she went. He wanted to catch her alone, and the hallways proved inefficient. She'd always just make an excuse that she had to be somewhere.

Of course, he wasn't buying it, but what could he do? Tell her she was lying? She was the type of person who would lie, or die trying. And without any hard evidence that she really didn't have anywhere to be, he couldn't call her out on it.

Stalking up to the library, he heard a male talking and stopped before he entered the room. He could barely make out the voice, but the fact that she was talking to someone else angered him to no end. Draco hadn't talked to anyone besides her and his family since she'd been here. Granted, there was no one for him to talk to even if he wanted to. Pulling out his wand, he amplified the voices ever so slightly.

Draco Malfoy was not above eavesdropping.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Hermione asked.

"I think I saw her, Hermione."

"Saw who, Ron?" she asked, impatiently.

"The woman from the future. I think it was her. I mean, I can't be sure. She was a lot older then, but she looked like a younger version of her, I'd say," Ron answered.

This seemed to cheer Hermione up significantly. "Oh! That's wonderful! Did you say anything to her? What's her name?" asked Hermione. Perhaps she knew her.

"I don't exactly know her name-"

"Did she go to school with us?" Hermione pressed.

"That's just it- she was a Muggle. I was visiting a town, not far from where you are now. I only saw her in passing."

Hermione assumed the woman from his future had been a witch, considering she was touring with the Chudley Cannons, but she had never asked him about that. It wasn't typical for Muggles to be involved in the wizarding world, but perhaps his world was more different than she had imagined.