Rewritten || Scorpius x Hermione Time Travel AU

20 | Stupid Thoughts, Stupid Feelings

"I actually went here to get away from you, Granger."

Hermione craned her neck and sheepishly grinned. She then hastily stood up from the dusty floor. "I was bored, Malfoy, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to help you with your task today," she explained.

Scorpius shrugged and brandished out his wand. He then proceeded to remove the moth-eaten blanket and revealed the imposing Vanishing Cabinet. Hermione remembered him staring at it before on the day they destroyed Ravenclaw's diadem.

They just got back from Grimmauld Place and Scorpius already excused himself for the night. Hermione suspected he'd be back at fixing the Vanishing Cabinet and went ahead of him.

She then watched as he waved his wand and whispered, "Avis.". Three birds materialised from the tip of his wand and settled inside a birdcage. "I've successfully transported an apple before, so now I'm trying to experiment on sending living creatures to and fro."

He grabbed one bird and placed it inside the cabinet. "Harmonia Nectere Passus," he said. Hermione's eyes widened when the twittering inside the cabinet disappeared. She peered inside when Scorpius opened the cabinet door.

"You did it!" she exclaimed. "The bird's gone."

"Don't get too excited, Granger," he said. "The real challenge is returning the bird alive." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said, "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

Hermione heard a soft whoosh but failed to hear any twittering sound. She was highly disappointed to see that the bird was dead when Scorpius opened the cabinet door. The Slytherin, on the other hand, did not look surprised at all.

"You know, you're pronouncing 'Nectere' wrong," she finally pointed out. "It's not Nek-te-REE, it's Nek-te-REH. The last 'e' is a short e."

His eyes comically grew wide. "The brochure I got the spell from never said how to pronounce the spell so I just assumed... blimey, Granger, who knew that big brain of yours could actually help."

She proudly grinned and gestured at the cabinet. "Why don't you try it now?" she offered. To her surprise, he shook his head.

"That's enough progress for today," he said. "Dumbledore actually wants me to stall, so let's use that handy information next time, yeah?"

She knitted her eyebrow in confusion. "But, I thought you said Voldemort expects progress? Wouldn't it be better if you reported to him that you're able to successfully transport a live bird to and fro?"

Scorpius was shaking his head. "Which means the Vanishing Cabinet is already working," he pointed out. "We can't afford an infiltration yet, Granger. We need to get and destroy Hufflepuff's Cup first before I try fixing the cabinet again."

"But what if you get summoned?" she insisted. "I've never met him, but I'm sure he can detect if a person is lying to him."

"Which is why pleasant Professor Snape had been giving me Occlumency lessons," Scorpius said with a grin. "Don't worry, Granger. Besides, the holidays have not ended yet. Don't think about this too much."

"Okay," she finally said with a sigh, although still not convinced. "If you come back wounded beyond recognition after a meeting with Voldemort, don't say I didn't warn you."

Scorpius chuckled. "Noted with thanks, Granger."

__________

It was New Year's Eve and Scorpius didn't understand why Hermione Granger was barging into the Slytherin Common Room. Granted, he was the only Slytherin in Hogwarts right now, but it still unnerved him to see her, a bloody Gryffindor, nonchalantly strolling inside their common room.