11. Change

Author's Note: I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated this story. I've just been suffering from the worst writer's block. I finally realized that one of my problems is that I just had too many things planned for this particular chapter, so I decided to break it up into two different chapters. Otherwise, it would have been over ten thousand words. Yikes. I have a lot of Chapter 12 written, so hopefully it won't take as long for me to update again. Hopefully, my writer's block is not apparent in this chapter. If it sucks, at least I have an excuse, right? I hope some of you are still reading it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

There was no need for him to guess. He knew that voice anywhere – it sent chills down his spine whenever he heard it.

"Let go," he mumbled, reaching up to gently pry the hands away from his eyes. He turned around to face her. "You have to stop this."

She frowned slightly. "I was just having some fun. If I knew you were so averse to having your eyes covered, I never would have done it."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it." He took one step back from her. "You can't keep haunting my dreams like this."

She stared at him sadly. "You don't want to see me anymore." It was a statement more than a question. She lowered her eyes to the floor and said softly, "Is it because of her?"

"Who?"

"Her – the other one." She glanced back up at him with a frantic look in her eyes. "She's not me, Draco."

"Don't you think I realize that?" he said, practically shouting at her. "I know she's not you!"

"Well you need to remember that," she said urgently. "She is not who you think she is."

"Then who is she?"

She shook her head. "Just…don't forget about me."

"I could never forget about you," he said. "You know that. That's why you're here. That's why I see you every night the second I close my eyes. That's why my heart aches every time I walk past your bedroom - or every time a professor asks the class a particularly hard question, and you're not there to answer it. That's why I spend all day, every day, just struggling to get through it all. I spend so much of my time thinking about you, sometimes I forget to breathe."

She reached out a hand and rested it gently on the side of his face. She leaned in and pressed her lips lightly against his.

Draco quickly drew back away from her, as if the touch of her lips had burned him. "Don't," he said.

She stood there, looking crestfallen. "Draco, please -"

She did not get a chance to finish her plea. Before Draco knew what was happening, a sharp object – what appeared to be a sword – impaled Hermione from behind.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared down at the object protruding from her abdomen. She reached one arm behind her back and slowly pulled it out. She brought it around to the front and held it in the palm of both of her hands, looking at it curiously.

"Why?" she whispered, glancing over at him with a pained expression on her face. "Why did you kill me?"

As he stumbled out of bed, he wondered if he was late for class – judging from the bright sunlight that was trying to peak through the curtains. But then he remembered it was Sunday. He considered just going back to sleep, but when he suddenly remembered the girl that was occupying Hermione's bedroom, he figured it would be best to go check on her. It wasn't that he necessarily didn't trust her, but…well, actually, that was exactly what it was. If he didn't trust her before, he certainly didn't trust her after the dream he just had.

She is not who you think she is. He knew he shouldn't give much credence to what people said in his dreams, but it was Hermione who'd said it. It didn't matter to him if the words came directly from her, or from the figment his imagination had dreamed up while he was a sleep. He trusted her. He did not trust this carbon copy of her.

He stepped out of his room and headed for the common room, hoping to find the new Hermione there. He wouldn't put it past her to leave the premises, even though she had been asked not to. Draco could sense that this Hermione was not as much a stickler for rules in her world, as the Hermione was in his.

His breath caught in his throat the moment he saw her curled up on the couch. She was dressed in muggle clothes – jeans, a pale blue sweatshirt, and sneakers – Hermione's clothes. And her hair was not smooth and straight like it had been the day before. Today it was curly, frizzy and bushy. She was now a complete spitting image of Hermione, and it angered Draco.

"What the hell are you wearing?" he demanded.

Hermione jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, but smiled and said, "Good morning to you, too."

"What are you wearing?" he asked again.

She sat up straight on the couch and glanced down at herself. "I'm wearing clothes. I got them from Hermione's closet -"

"Take them off," Draco ordered.

Hermione blinked. "Excuse me?"

Draco shook her head. "You know what I mean, Granger. Go change."

"I don't exactly have anything to change into," Hermione said. "All I brought with me for clothes were the ones I was wearing."

"So put them back on," Draco said, beginning to lose his patience. "And while you're at it, change your hair back as well."

Hermione's hand shot up to her head where she caressed her hair and said, "This is changed back. This is how my hair is naturally. I use a spell to make it straight."

"Then use the damn spell!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you being so rude?"

"Look, Granger," Draco said, folding his arms across his chest, "if you want to stay here in this world, you're going to need to follow a few simple rules. The first rule is that you will not prance around looking like – like that. Nobody is really going to appreciate it, okay? You're not her, so don't even try to pretend to be."

"I wasn't -" Hermione shut her mouth, probably figuring she should not waste her breath trying to explain herself. Judging from the look on her face, she was quite hurt by Draco's words. "I don't have anything else to wear. I can't just wear my one school uniform for the rest of the time I'm here."

"Then we'll go shopping after you get done changing."

"I don't have any money."

Draco sighed. "Yeah, well I do, so let me worry about it. Just go get changed and we'll go."

"But Dumbledore said -"

"Do you honestly care what that old man said? Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Hermione hesitated for a moment, but said, "I'll just be a minute."

She got up from the couch to head to Hermione's room, but Draco stopped her. "Do you know any hair color changing spells?"

"Sure," she replied.

"Well then use one," he said. "Make yourself look as different as possible."

She nodded and disappeared into the bedroom.

Draco took this opportunity to take a quick shower. Usually, he was not the one to recommend a shopping trip to a girl – it was always the other way around. He hated shopping – especially clothes shopping with a female. Sometimes, Pansy would take hours to decide on everything she wanted, while making him stand around and give her his opinion on whether or not everything looked good on her. But this shopping trip would be worth it, if it meant this girl would not have to steal Hermione's entire identity.

After his shower, Draco performed a quick drying spell on his hair and headed into his room, where he retrieved two black hooded cloaks from his closet. When he re-entered the common room, he was pleased to find that he barely recognized the girl on the couch.

It was amazing how much hair color and style could change the look of someone. She had taken it upon herself to not only straighten her hair, but she had colored it a pale blonde, almost silver color – kind of like his.

"How did I do?" she asked.

Draco cleared his throat. "You did okay. Here, put this on." He tossed her one of the cloaks.

She caught it with one hand and glanced down at it curiously. "What's this for?"

"It's a cloak. I want you to put it on. The hood will go a long way in hiding your face."

Hermione shrugged and put on the cloak. She frowned. "It's way too big."

"That's the whole point, Granger. We need this cloak to hide as much of you as possible. I'll be wearing one as well. I don't want anyone I know to recognize me and come over and strike up a conversation."

Hermione nodded. "I understand." She flipped the hood up over her head and then grinned at Draco – or at least, he thought she grinned at him. It was hard to tell, due to the shadows cast over her face from the hood. Perfect.

"We'd better leave now," Draco said, heading toward the portrait hole. "It's early, so everyone should still be at breakfast. If we're lucky nobody will see us, this will be a quick trip, and we'll be back before anyone finds out we're gone."

"What happens if we get caught?"

"We'll worry about that if and when it happens." He stepped to the side and stopped. "After you," he said, motioning to the portrait hole.

Hermione nodded and walked past him.

The second they exited the portrait hole, the knight in the portrait gave them a cheerful greeting.

"Oh! Mr. Malfoy!" he exclaimed. "Good morning to you! Hey, who's you're friend?"

Draco ignored him and gently pushed Hermione along, silently urging her to ignore him as well. As they walked down the hallway, he could hear the knight grumbling something that wasn't very nice.

The trek to Hogsmeade was surprisingly trouble-free. Sundays were usually pretty quite around the school for most of the morning. Many of the students were busy sleeping in, having stayed up pretty late the night before, hanging out with their friends. There was a day when Draco would sleep in for a better part of a Sunday as well, usually due to the fact that he'd spend every Saturday night fooling around with his fellow Slytherins, causing mayhem well into the early hours of Sunday morning. Of course, those days were long gone. Now, he was getting up bright and early on a Sunday morning to take a strange girl he'd met just two nights ago on a shopping trip.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade, Hermione finally spoke. "Wow…okay, this place looks a little different."

Draco responded with a grunt. He really didn't care how similar the Hogsmeade in this world was to the one in hers. He just wanted to get this over with. "That's great, Granger. What do you say we go to Gladrags first?"

Hermione shrugged. "Sure. Wherever you want to go is fine with me."

They headed for the shop, which was located at the end of the street. On the way, they passed by quite a few people, but luckily nobody from Hogwarts. It was also fortunate for them that nobody seemed to even give them a second glance.

"In my world, Gladrags is right there," Hermione said, pointing to a small shop over to the left. She stopped suddenly, staring at the shop's sign. "Wait, what is that shop?"

Draco looked to where she was pointing and balked. "It's nothing that interesting," he said, grabbing her arm to make her start walking again. But she easily shrugged off his hand and headed in the shop's direction.

He followed closely on her heels. "Look, I said it's not a very interesting shop," he insisted. "They don't even sell clothing, which is why we're here. Remember?"

"Bagatelles," Hermione read the sign aloud. "Hmm. We don't have this shop in my world. Can we check it out? Please? I promise to be quick. I just want to have a look around."

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but she was already opening the door and entering the shop. It was a little too late for him to object now.

Reluctantly, he followed her inside. He would have let her go in by herself, but he couldn't risk letting her loose to roam around on her own. For all he knew, she could have been trying to use this as an opportunity to ditch him.

"Wow," she breathed the minute she stepped foot into the shop. "It's a trinket shop! How lovely!"

"Yeah," Draco mumbled. Quickly, he turned his head when he saw the shop owner glance curiously over at them. "Well, you've seen it now. Can we go?"

"Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco froze as the shop's owner walked over to him.

"Draco Malfoy, is that you?" the elderly man asked.

Groaning inwardly, Draco pushed back his hood and smiled an insincere smile. "Mr. Mortimer. Hello."

The old man grinned. "I just knew it was you! How have you been, young man? How is the lucky lady enjoying her gift?"

Draco's smile vanished.

The old man seemed to notice Draco's sudden change in expression. Glancing at him with a concerned look on his face, he said, "She did like the gift, didn't she?"

"Yes," Draco replied in a strained voice. "She liked it very much."

"Good! Good!" The old man beamed and glanced over at Hermione, who was making sure she was standing with her back facing them. "Now, who do we have here?"

"He-Henrietta. She's a friend," Draco said quickly. He moved closer to Hermione and grabbed her arm. "And we were just leaving."

"But you just got here!"

"Yes, well, we're on a tight schedule. She just wanted to come in and see what kind of things you sell. She's not much of a trinket person, are you Henrietta?"

Hermione shook her head.

Draco smiled at the old man. "I tried telling her this wasn't her type of shop, but she just had to see for herself. Well, I'll see you later."

"Okay then! Have a pleasant day, young Malfoy!" The old man waved as Draco and Hermione exited the shop.

"No more detours," Draco growled at her once they were outside. "Let's just do what we came here to do."

"What gift was he talking about?" Hermione asked.

"It doesn't concern you, Granger," Draco snapped as they neared Gladrags. "Now, once we're in there, just quickly pick out anything that you like, and hand it all to me."

"How much am I allowed to get?"

Draco sighed. "Honestly, Granger, I don't care. Pick out everything in the store if you want. I don't care how much you get, or what you get, just so long as you will stop wearing Hermione's clothes."

He couldn't really tell, but he was sure Hermione was giving him a curious look from within the shadows of the cloak's hood.

"Why are you so against me wearing her clothes?" she asked.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

Hermione fell silent. She followed him inside Gladrags, where they appeared to be the only two customers. Immediately, she headed over to the young witches section and began to browse.

Draco, meanwhile, stood in front of the shop's window, looking out at the people passing by. It was amazing how many of those people looked happy – as if they hadn't a care in the world. Couples walked by hand-in-hand looking very much in love, but most likely weren't even thinking about what it would be like if their significant other were to suddenly leave them forever. They most likely took for granted the fact that their lovers were with them right then and there. They most likely believed what they had would last forever –

"Okay, I'm ready."

Draco snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Hermione's voice behind him. He spun around to see her holding at least half a dozen articles of clothing. "You're done already?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean already? We've been here at least a half an hour."

"Oh, right," Draco said, feeling like an idiot. He had let his mind wander over by the window; to him, it had felt like they'd only been their a couple of minutes.

He grabbed the clothes out of her hands and brought them over to the counter, where a woman began to ring them up. "Did you pick out anything good?" he asked her.

Hermione shrugged. "I guess. I made sure to pick out anything that looked nothing like what I had seen in Hermione's closet. It wasn't too hard. She mostly had muggle clothing in there."

The woman behind the counter, who had been in the process of bagging up the clothes, stopped suddenly and said, "Hermione Granger?"

A wave of panic washed over Draco. Did the woman somehow manage to recognize her?

"Uh…excuse me?" Hermione said hesitantly. Draco heard a slight change in her voice, as if she was trying to disguise it.

The woman smiled. "I heard you mention the name Hermione. Were you talking about Hermione Granger?"

"Y-yes," Hermione stuttered.

"What a lovely girl she was," the woman said with a big grin. "She used to come in to the store with that Harry Potter boy and a couple of the Weasley children. She was always so pleasant. So full of life…" Slowly, the woman's smile faded. "What a terrible thing that happened. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. Did you know her?"

"No," Hermione and Draco said simultaneously.

Draco cleared his throat and set his money down on the counter. "That should cover everything. Keep the change." He grabbed the bags containing the clothing and headed out the door with Hermione following close behind him.

"That was close," Hermione muttered. "I thought maybe she had recognized me."

"Well maybe if you hadn't been talking -"

"You asked me a question!" she exclaimed.

"Shh," Draco hissed. "Keep your voice down."

He glanced around the street, which seemed a bit more crowded than it had when they'd gone into the store. He was starting to recognize some of the people as Hogwarts students. "We'd better get heading back."

Hermione nodded and began to walk off without him.

"Hey, slow down!" he called after her. He quickened his pace to catch up with her. "You should be more careful -"

He stopped when he saw a familiar-looking group of people heading in their direction: Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle. Instinctively, Draco bolted for the nearest alleyway between two shops. He reached over and grabbed the sleeve of Hermione's cloak, bringing her with him.

"Hey!" she protested as Draco quickly pushed her up against the side of the building and pressed his hand over her mouth. He brought a finger up to his lips to indicate that she remain quiet.

She stared up at him wide-eyed, but made no attempt to break free of his grasp. Instead, she remained perfectly quiet and still as they both heard voices approaching.

"I wonder where Draco was this morning?"

Draco recognized the voice as Crabbe's.

"Who cares?" This time, it was Blaise who spoke.

"Sod off, Zabini," Pansy said. "I care."

"Well, you shouldn't," Blaise said.

Draco glanced over to see that the group had stopped walking right outside of the alley. Draco prayed that the shadows were doing a good job of hiding them.

"Oh yeah? And why shouldn't I, Zabini?"

Blaise seemed to be hesitating. "You know what?" he said finally. "Never mind. If you want to care about him, go right ahead. I just think you're a fool if you believe he actually cares about you."

Draco could feel Hermione's eyes staring curiously up at him. He glanced down at her and shrugged slightly, as if to say he had no idea what Blaise Zabini was talking about.

"Fuck you, Zabini," Pansy spat. Draco glanced back over just in time to see her storm off.

"Sensitive bitch, isn't she?" Blaise said with a smirk.

Crabbe and Goyle both laughed and the three boys resumed their trek past the alleyway. Draco breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were out of sight. He released his hand from Hermione's mouth.

She wasted no time in asking, "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," Draco mumbled as he stepped away from Hermione, releasing the grip he'd still had on her arm. "Let's go."

He walked to the end of the alleyway and glanced both ways to make sure the coast was clear. Pansy was no longer anywhere in sight, and Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle were now making their way towards The Three Broomsticks. When Draco no longer saw anyone he recognized, he motioned for Hermione to follow him out of the dark alley.

When they were safely on their way back to Hogwarts, Hermione said, "Poor Pansy."

Draco glanced over at her. "Were you and Pansy friends in your world, or something?"

"No way," Hermione replied. "But still – Blaise was pretty rude to her just now. Is it true, what he said?"

"About Pansy being a sensitive bitch? Yes. Sometimes."

"No. I meant about…that you don't care about her?"

Draco groaned. "Granger, it's really none of your business."

"I know," Hermione said. "I know it's not, it's just…she's your girlfriend."

"How do you know she's my girlfriend?"

Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I read it - in Hermione's diary. She mentioned that you two were going out."

"Really?" Draco raised his eyebrows. Why would Hermione write about his relationship with Pansy in her diary? Of course, he was dying to ask what, exactly, Hermione had written, but he fought the urge to ask.

"Yes, really. So why don't you care about her, then?"

Draco sighed. "Granger, I really don't feel like talking about this right now, okay?"

"Fine," Hermione mumbled. She did not speak for the rest of the way back.

The halls of the school were fairly empty when they returned. Most of the students were now either down in Hogsmeade, or hanging out inside their common rooms. The occasional student they happened to pass by never even glanced over at them.

"See how easy this was, Granger?" Draco said as they neared their own common room.

"Welcome back, Mr. Malfoy and friend!" the knight in the portrait exclaimed. He grinned from ear to ear when he saw Draco approaching.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked the portrait.

"Just tell me the password, and you can see for yourself!" the knight replied.

Draco sighed and muttered the password. As the portrait swung open, he heard the knight snicker and say, "Good luck!"

He exchanged a glance with Hermione as they walked through the portrait hole. When they entered the common room, Draco immediately removed his cloak and threw it over the side of the armchair. He froze when he noticed somebody was sitting in that armchair.

Professor Dumbledore was staring up at them over his half-moon spectacles, not looking particularly happy.

"Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger," the old man said calmly, "We need to talk."