A/N: Bits and pieces (such as the pairing and anything that would compromise it) are AU. Oh, and a LOT of OOCness from Hermione, but it sort of goes along with the plot, so... yeah.

I'm not sure at all how I feel about it, overall. It's weird to write such a long story without getting feedback along the way. But good or bad, here it is!

Warning: A lot of fluff, and some weird time warping.

Summary: It was quite an unusual story; a story of deceit and surprise, of hate turned love and fantasies enacted. But most of all, it was a story about second chances.

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Undo!

"Mommy? Tell me a story about when you were a kid?"

Every night it was always the same question. Little Katie (not so little anymore…she was leaving for her second year at Hogwarts in three days) never seemed to tire of the same old stories. Hermione didn't mind telling them, but it was always the same ones, the stories of bravery and fighting Voldemort, that she liked to hear.

"Which one would you like, Honey?" Hermione asked. She prepared to relive for her daughter the time she helped Harry get through the chamber of secrets, or the time she fought the troll in the bathroom (okay, that one wasn't so much her bravery), or the time she camped out with Harry hunting Horcruxes instead of going to school for her seventh year.

But the girl surprised her this time. "Can you tell me about how you started to like Daddy?" Katie requested, shaking her white-blonde hair into her eyes to hide the pink in her cheeks. She knew, of course, that her parents hadn't been the best of friends for the better part of their school years. But she'd never expressed interest in romantic stories like this before.

Hermione smiled. Now this was a story she would really enjoy telling. For it was quite an unusual story; a story of deceit and surprise, of hate turned love and fantasies enacted. But most of all, it was a story about second chances.

The story started in a library. The Hogwarts library, to be exact.

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Almost anything can be found in the depths of a library. Facts that have been long forgotten, spells long obsolete… everything you could possibly ask for is in there. Buried in one tome or another, on some hidden shelf.

I found the charm—the charm that would change the entire structure of my life, the very meaning of time—in a volume of Partially Developed Charms of the 1930s. The poor book had slipped behind the rest of the set and sported a layer of dust thick enough to suggest that it had fallen there soon after its publication.

In other words, it had been over fifty years since anyone had laid eyes on it.

Don't ask what I was doing looking around behind the books on that shelf, I don't remember. As soon as I started looking through the book, what I had been doing before faded from my mind and became unimportant.

Magic had fascinated me since I got my Hogwarts letter. I was raised a muggle, as you know, with no idea that magic even existed. But the wonder at all the magic I'd ever learned paled in comparison to that of the charm I found in that dusty book.

It was a simple charm in structure, a simple charm that could snap the castor back in time one minute. That was my find.

Why no one had ever bothered to follow through with the development, I had no idea. But there it was, plainly outlined for anyone to see.

Well, for anyone who dug deep enough into the secrets of the Hogwarts library to see.

Okay, for me to see.

So I was a nerd, what's your point?

As I read through the primary research and basic known facts, I was in awe. This spell was virtually an undo button for life.

I wasn't entirely sure why it was in that particular book. The structure of the charm was fully developed. From what I gathered, the wizard who'd invented it had lost interest before he could finish testing it in various situations. It wasn't fine-tuned enough for public use, but it was pretty darn close.

Was it because wizards had no exposure to such things as undo that he'd lost interest? I didn't know. But the opportunity was just too good to pass up. This charm had to be perfected. And since no one else seemed to care, it would have to be me.

I was hooked.

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After a good five hours practicing the spell, perfecting the pronunciation and the wrist flick in the back corner of the library, I finally felt satisfied. However, as I walked back to the common room, I noticed that it was only three hours after I'd gone into the library.

It was a weird realization, let me tell you. It made me wonder all the more why no one had ever publicized the charm. Imagine what society could do with so much extra time!

I went up to the common room feeling invincible. I could do anything I wanted and, so long as I performed the charm within one minute, no one would know anything about it!

"Password?" I had arrived at the door.

Instead of giving her the password like usual, I said (in language that I'd wash your mouth out with soap if I ever heard you use) "Just let me through!" The Fat Lady turned red with fury and surprise. Hermione Granger never snapped at anyone, and she certainly never swore.

She held firm. "I will do no such thing! Not until you give me the password!"

I glared at her, acting skills hard at work. It was getting increasingly difficult not to burst out laughing. Imagine, me yelling at the poor Fat Lady! Swearing at her, even! "Stand aside, or I'll… turpentine you!" I threatened, disguising my grin as an evil grimace.

"You wouldn't dare!" she cried.

"Oh no? Accio turpentine!" I said with a wave of my wand. A pail of turpentine from god knows where flew to my feet.

Maybe I was getting carried away, but it sure was fun.

The Fat Lady let out a yelp. "Hermione, what's gotten into you?" she gasped.

"Open the door, or die a painful white death," I threatened.

She swung open. Pity; covering her with turpentine would have been fun. Then I realized that there was no reason I couldn't still. Without another word, I swung the bucket around, splashing the acrid solution straight at her head.

The yelp earlier was nothing compared with the scream she let out now. "HELP ME! I'm MELTING!" she cried. "Hermione, what's wrong with you? Has Voldemort tapped your brain? You're killing me, Hermione, how could you do that? After all these years, and you've always been the perfect angel. Well, not perfect. But never murderous! Hermione!"

I felt sick. Sure she'd be back the second I flicked my wand, but her screams still had their weight. I couldn't take this guilt, temporary as it was.

"Undoiouceous!" I cried, flicking my wand.

Nothing happened. Cold sweat broke out all over my body.

"Undoceouious! Undocious! Unduiouiusious!" Nothing was happening! I couldn't get the spell out.

Frantically scrambling for my book, I continued to flick and mumble, "undoocious, unduiouss, undociouso, undociousesis…" There was the book! Frantic page turns, hasty scanning, and then "UNDOIOCIOUS!" There it was.

"Password?"

The door was closed again, the book was gone from my hands, and the Fat Lady was as bright and cheery as ever. I breathed deeply and smiled. Never before had I been so glad to see the Fat Lady alive and well. "Grape juice!" It came out almost a song.

The portrait swung open, and I stepped inside.

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As I drifted off to sleep that night, a million thoughts ran through my head. The possibilities, the doors opened by this charm, were limitless. I could do anything—anything!—and no one would ever know.

When I awoke the next morning, my mind was filled with plans for the day. It started with breakfast.

"How come you're so happy?" asked Ron as I sat down next to him.

"Ron, have you showered lately? You smell atrocious," I warbled in reply. He didn't, of course, but it was intensely gratifying to see the expression on his face. It flashed through surprise, anger, hurt, and back to anger all within seconds. "Undoiocious!" I said quickly, before he could hurt me. Again, with the guilt. It was hard to be a terrible person, even when the effects weren't permanent.

A split second later, I was back in the doorway of the Great Hall.

The sensation of suddenly being mid-step without having stood up was disgruntling. And who would be walking by just as I was tripping over my own feet, but Draco Malfoy—bane of Harry's existence and thus, by extension, mine as well.

"Need to read about walking in a textbook before you can do it properly, Granger?" he sneered.

"Sod off, Malfoy," I replied. "Undoiocious."

Now I was walking down the hall. Ah, so double undoes were possible. Good to know. I tripped again, but luckily this time there was no one around to laugh. If there had been…at that rate I'd never have gotten down to breakfast.

The tripping was really something I needed to work on. I couldn't go around falling flat on my face every time I tried to go back in time, after all. Really!

But experiments would have to wait. I was starving. Any more delays, even one minute, and my stomach would surely implode. The lack of contents seemed to be creating a vacuum.

This time when I passed Malfoy, he barely glanced my way. Just as I hadn't noticed him the first time I walked into the Great Hall

Which of course was fine by me. Who wants to start their day talking to—or being laughed at by—Malfoy?

As I sat down next to Ron once again, I was decidedly less cheerful that I had been the first time. The time that, to him, had never happened.

The temptation to do something else outrageous was diluted considerably by my appetite. The food smelled absolutely delicious. A brief sampling told me that it was. I dug in.

-------------

The first class of the day was potions, but for once I wasn't dreading it. I had plans for this class. Oh yes, great plans.

We sat down, me next to Harry with Ron behind. I glanced across the room and noticed Malfoy sitting next to Blaise Zabini. Wonder how they'll react, I thought.

But there wasn't time to ponder for long before Snape entered the room, robes billowing as always.

I'd never seen Snape in anything other than long, billowing robes. For all I knew, he owned nothing else.

Actually, that was probably true. He was a wizard, after all, and lived in the wizarding world. He didn't have use for muggle clothes.

Anyway, Snape asked for our essays. Three feet on…something or other, I hardly remember now. When he reached my desk, I looked up at his towering form and fluttered my eyelashes innocently.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't have time to do your essay; I snuck out to a strip club last night and I didn't get home until oh, so late. I've barely gotten any sleep at all." How I managed to keep a straight face through all of that, I don't know. But the results were most excellent.

The entire classroom went quiet as a tomb.

Snape blinked, disbelieving. "What did you say?" he hissed.

"Do you think you could give me an extra day? I really did try to do it when I returned, but I was just so drunk I couldn't think straight. I passed out around 4am…I couldn't help it!" All this in the most innocent, angelic voice I could muster.

Snape blinked at me, speechless. Yes, that's right, I rendered our dear Snape speechless. Time seemed to stretch forever as I waited for his reaction.

I'd expected rage. Maybe even violence—that man was nasty. What I didn't expect was laughter. It was just a small chuckle and a hint of a smile, but it was unmistakably laughter.

Soon the entire class was howling. "This has got to be a historical moment," gasped Harry.

To this day, I have no doubt that he was right.

The laughter went on for a good five minutes before Snape snapped back into Dark-Angry-Potions-Master-mode and yelled at everyone to quiet down. I decided to leave the moment as it was and not undo it. It was a historical moment, after all, and it would be a pity if it never happened.

And nothing terrible had happened.

I pulled out the essay he was asking for (that I had done days earlier) and handed it in. Potions resumed.

But it was different than before, lighter. Snape had showed us all that he was actually human. That he actually had a sense of humor.

And it was weird, because we had never thought of him that way before. He was always... well, the Dark Angry Potions Master. Never... a real person under those dark, billowing robes.

I felt different myself. Looser, less uptight. I'd let go and gone with an instinct, and it had turned out all right. I had made Snape laugh. Me! Hermione Granger, resident bookworm. I was the person who had finally made Snape laugh.

I felt strength within, that even learning the Undoiocious charm hadn't given me.

It was surreal.

-------------

When class got out, I decided put my next plan into action. I fell back behind Ron and Harry, who were talking about Quidditch and didn't exactly miss me.

Ducking around a corner, I waited until Malfoy walked by. Then I hurried to catch up, and fell into step with him.

He glanced over at me. "What do you want, Granger?"

I gave him my most winning smile (although how winning that is is certainly debatable) and asked, "I don't have my library card with me, could I check you out anyway?"

He stopped walking and stared at me. "Did I just hear that?" he asked.

"Malfoy, you're like a dictionary. You add meaning to my life."

He cracked a smile and rolled his eyes. "What the hell's up with you today, Granger?"

"I discovered redemption." I shrugged. "Seriously though, you up for a date later?"

He looked hard at me. "You're serious?" he asked. Not that I blame him for being disbelieving.

I nodded.

"Alright then."

I nearly fell over with shock. Wait a minute. Did I just get a date with Draco Malfoy? I mean yeah, I asked and everything, but I certainly hadn't expected him to take me up on it.

All it took was a couple of crazy comments, and Malfoy suddenly didn't hate me anymore? Or was it because I was acting as if I didn't hate him?

I didn't want to deal with this right now. If I was that curious, I'd try again later, I decided. "Undoiocious," I said, and I was walking by Harry and Ron once again. The slight trip on reentry this time was hardly noticeable.

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As it turned out, I was that curious. What was it about how I'd asked him had made him accept? I approached the problem scientifically. And sneakily.

Just before dinner, I positioned myself behind a suit of armor near the Great Hall. There I waited until Malfoy walked by.

Like a snake, I darted out and pulled him behind the armor, hand over his mouth. I expected a struggle, but there was none. However, when he saw who I was, he let out a surprised "what the hell, Granger?"

"Go out with me, Malfoy," I breathed quietly.

He gave me a sneer. I didn't think it quite had the force of his usual sneer, but I couldn't be sure. "Me? Go out with you?" he asked.

I nodded. "I admit it; I'm just like all the other girls. I want you, Malfoy. I don't care what Harry and Ron think anymore." Another repressed giggle. I was getting quite good at keeping a straight face.

But all self-confidence left me when I felt his hand behind my head, pulling me closer. Before I even had time to think, his lips were pressed against mine, and oh, god.

Alarm and revulsion, which I surely should have been feeling, were pushed aside by the overwhelming sensations I was experiencing.

Then he pulled away. "Sure. Tonight at eight?" he asked.

"What?" My brain couldn't process what he was saying.

"Meet here at eight for our date?" he said slowly, as if I were dense.

Right. That. "Sure," I mumbled. "Eight."

He left, and I was left standing motionless for a moment, gaping.

And then things started to hit me, one by one, like a ton of bricks in fifty-pound increments.

Obviously I needed to go back a bit, since I didn't actually want to go out with Malfoy tonight. Especially not with that start... who knows what he might expect from me after what I'd said. I wasn't that kind of girl, you know.

"Undoiocious."

Malfoy's lips again. Well now, that wasn't what I was expecting. This time it was me who broke the kiss. "Excuse me? What do you think you're doing? Help! Assault!" My voice was loud.

Malfoy looked surprised, and was that disappointment I saw in his eyes? He clasped a hand over my mouth to shut me up, and his expression became a carefully schooled glare of ice.

Then he left, at a much faster pace than he had last time. Without saying anything.

I winced. Why on earth did I feel so guilty about that?

"Undoiocious."

This time, I made it far enough back.

Instead of going to dinner, I hurried up to my dorm. I had some serious thinking to do.

First off, wow. Just... wow. Who would've thought that my first kiss would have been with Draco Malfoy? Yes, it was my first kiss.

And then I realized that really, it had never happened. He wouldn't remember it. By the clock, it hadn't even happened yet. And wouldn't, now that I was locked up in my dorm panicking.

My first kiss, and to the rest of the world it had never even happened. I would never share that memory with anyone. It hadn't happened. For all practical purposes, it was merely a fantasy.

I guess there's something to be said for other people's thoughts. It's like when you wonder if maybe no one else is really alive, that it's all just your imagination. And then things don't seem real, like whether other people actually perceive events makes a difference to your own life's worth.

I made a mental note not to undo anything else monumental, or even anything that could lead to something monumental.

That decided, there was still the matter of Malfoy's apparent willingness to go on a date with me. That was twice that I'd asked him out, and twice that he'd accepted.

I needed to continue to ask him in different ways, always careful to get out of the situation before anything happened again.

Why it seemed so important to find out what made Malfoy tick, I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted to find out more, just like I did any mystery.

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That evening, I decided to have a bit of fun. Aside from getting dates with Malfoy, I hadn't done anything particularly interesting since potions and it was time for some excitement.

So I threw on some robes and left the common room shortly after curfew. I stayed quietly in the shadows until I reached the hallway outside the Hufflepuff common room.

Then I let out a scream.

I screamed as loud as I could, and started to run. I ran back and forth in front of their door a few times and then headed down to the dungeons, screaming all the way. Screams gave way to song, and I finished by serenading the entrance to the Slytherin common room with You Are My Sunshine.

Apparently somewhere along the way I had passed Dumbledore's door.

Within minutes, half of the school was out, wandering the halls in confusion or standing around watching me. Half the school included a very irate Snape in troll slippers, who had gone to bed early from the exhaustion of acting so human that morning.

Amidst the general confusion and gaping, a voice sounded from behind me. "Miss Granger, come with me to my office, will you?"

I stopped singing instantly and whirled around to face an unsmiling Dumbledore. "Yes sir," I mumbled.

Along the way, I decided to press my luck. "Albus... have I ever told you how sexy your beard is? It's so long... so white."

There are some things that you're really better off not knowing. Looking back on it, whether Dumbledore would respond to my advances is one of those things.

Luckily, his response was so look at me hard and say "I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that," followed by the question that everyone seemed to be asking me today: "Miss Granger, what's happened to you?"

"Nothing, Sir," I said. Now, how to pull out my wand and cast the spell without raising alarm... I decided to just go for it. "Undoiocious."

It took several jumps to make it back to my dorm room, but I got it done.

I flopped happily on my bed. Being bad was so much fun. Especially when it never really happened.

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I was in a silly mood the next morning. I ran into McGonagall as I entered the common room, and decided that the best possible thing to do in a situation like that was to tackle her in a big bear hug.

So that's what I did.

She pushed me away. "Hermione, what's gotten into you?" she asked with a frown. Not a truly angry frown. Rather, a concerned one. Like maybe she thought I was on drugs or something and needed to see Madam Pomfrey.

I bounced up and down. "Nothing, Professor. I'm just in a fantastically good mood today," I squealed, sounding more like Lavender or Parvati than myself.

The concern didn't leave her face. "Are you sure, dear?" she asked. I nodded vigorously, then proceeded to tickle her.

At this, she held her hands up in protest and tried to push me away. I would not be budged; the tickling continued.

"Detention!" she cried. "See me in my office at six!" And then she ran, robes fluttering behind her, to the portrait hole.

Still grinning, I flicked my wand. "Undoiocious."

I was back in my dorm. I was about to go back down to the common room and then to breakfast, but an idea struck me before I reached the door. I turned and walked to the window.

The windows this high in the Gryffindor tower didn't open. Something about the safety of students, I'm sure. What with all the truth or dare games that seemed to go on in the school, someone would have eventually ended up falling to their death someday. So they didn't open.

However, they were still glass. They could still be broken.

Lavender's jewelry box would be just the thing, and I grabbed it without further thought. Raising it above my head, I brought it down into the glass, hoping to smash through it.

Unfortunately, the glass was stronger than the jewelry box. Pity. It was a nice jewelry box, before. Now it was... nice jewelry box splinters, I suppose.

I would need something stronger. Like the crowbar I kept under my bed! Just... in case. You never know when a strong ax-like tool will come in handy. I should have thought of it earlier. I pulled it out from beneath my bed and applied it to the window. Excellent!

Then I got up on the windowsill, careful to avoid the broken glass. The door opened, and I realized that the breaking glass had really been quite loud. So I pulled out my wand quickly, and jumped. "Hermione, NO!" came a voice behind me as I fell.

As I plummeted towards the earth, I wondered vaguely how long I had before impact. But that thought was much less pressing than the feeling of sheer adrenaline. I was flying! Or rather, falling towards the ground very rapidly, about to be smashed like a melon on the rocks below. That's when I remembered that I don't really like flying.

Right then. About time to be undoing. "Undoiocious!" I yelled.

And I was still falling. The hand flick hadn't been right. I tried again. And again.

Ooh, there went the Transfiguration room!

Exhilaration changed rapidly to fear as I tried to get the spell right. Why had I jumped out the window? Just because I could undo my life didn't mean I was invincible! What if I dropped my wand! Or couldn't flick my wrist right!

As I was thinking about it, my wand started to slip from my fingers. I held on tightly and gave it a final flick. "Undoiocious!"

And finally, I was back in the safety of my dorm room, just about to climb up onto the windowsill.

I sank to my knees, exhausted from panic and breathing hard. Even through all the battles with Harry against Voldemort, I'd never been so close to death as I had been in that moment. Jumping out the window was certainly not one of my brighter ideas.

The door opened, and Lavender walked in. Right, the window breaking had been rather loud.

I began giggling hysterically, and Lavender rushed to my side, concerned. She saw the glass shattered around me, and screamed. Then she saw the jewelry mixed in, and the shards of jewelry box. And she screamed again, even louder. "What did you do?" she screeched.

I weakly lifted my wand and cast the charm again. "Undoiocious." And I was back to going out the door.

Breakfast didn't sound so appealing anymore, so I laid down on my bed and stared off into space like a vegetable. I stayed there for quite some time before I felt able to get up and go to class.

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After class, I approached Malfoy again. "Hi Malfoy," I said when I had fallen in step with him once again.

He nodded. "Granger."

I went for being myself. With the exception of actually being civil towards Malfoy, that is. That is to say, awkward. "So, uh, that was an interesting class, wasn't it?"

He gave me a confused look. "Yeah. Transfiguration is sure something. Though I personally prefer Astronomy."

I looked at him, surprised. I'd never pictured him having a favorite class before, actually. "Really? I like Charms," I offered.

"My father liked Charms," he said. Then he winced and looked as if he would have liked to clamp his hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry... I guess you probably don't want to be compared with my father."

"No, that's fine." I grinned. He was actually looking rather embarrassed. I was just making history left and right.

We walked a few more steps in silence. Then, "Why are you talking to me?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to get to know you a bit better. Know thy enemy, and all that." Maybe bringing up the enemy thing was a bad idea, but what the heck. By the end of the conversation, it wouldn't have happened anyway.

I thought I caught a look of disappointment in his eyes, but I wasn't sure.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked.

He shrugged as well. "Maybe I want to get to know you better." And then he said something that caught me completely by surprise. "You know, I used to fancy you..." His face was pink, another historical event, and he gave in to the urge to cover his mouth with his hand.

Of course, my face was pink too, but that's not so unusual. "Oh?" I said. "But not anymore?"

He didn't respond. I took his silence, along with the deeper blush now adorning his face, for a yes.

I felt dizzy. Malfoy fancied me? This was certainly something to ponder.

Before I could think, I'd pulled out my wand and cast the charm.

And I was back at the door of the Transfiguration classroom. I decided the Library would be an appropriate place to go and sort out my thoughts and emotions. It was lunch break; there was plenty of time.

Malfoy... the most sought-after boy at Hogwarts. And he fancied me, Hermione Granger. His worst enemy. Well, next to Harry and Ron, anyway.

It sure was weird.

Not altogether unpleasant though. Which was also weird, really. I would have expected to be repulsed by the idea. Yet I wasn't. That in itself was enough for me to examine my own feelings more closely.

I hated him. He had never been nice, as long as I'd known him. He was a first class jerk. He teased me, tormented me, made fun of me... looked down on my because of my blood. Yet here he was, telling me he fancied me.

It didn't make any sense. If he thought my muggle heritage was so terrible... why did he like me? It's not like I was attractive or anything. And sure I was studious, but what did Draco Malfoy care about studying?

And there I was, back on analyzing his feelings instead of my own. Did I like him?

He was certainly intelligent. His were the only grades that rivaled my own. But intelligence isn't everything. Personality counts for an awful lot, and Malfoy's personality counted a lot against him.

It was revolting to watch him pick on younger, helpless students. And then there was the amount of time and effort he'd put into making my own life and my friends' lives miserable. When Harry refused to be friends with him, he seemed to set out to become Harry's enemy instead. Why was it so important to him that he be a part of our lives?

Oh, right. Had he fancied me all this time? Certainly not. I wondered when it had started. And just like that, I was off topic again. I pulled myself back to the matter at hand.

He was certainly attractive. But looks count for less than intelligence, which counts less than personality. Looks count for much less, in fact. Practically nothing.

Okay, well maybe they count for something. But I'd like to pretend that they don't, so it equates to basically the same thing.

At any rate. Malfoy's combined score of intelligence, appearance, and personality was...not good, even with all the appearance points.

Besides, I was Hermione Granger! I couldn't just start going out with Malfoy; what would people think? I mean, I couldn't go out with anyone without people starting to see me differently than they did now.

I certainly didn't want that. Better for them to see me as the bookworm know-it-all that I've always been.

I'd have to stop this flirting with him, then. Only bad would come of it. When I'd started, I thought it would be funny! You know, flirt with Malfoy, see how he'd react... I didn't expect him to react favorably.

At least none of this had really happened, so he wouldn't be offended by my rejection. Because even though I hated him, I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Not like he would do to me.

Probably.

I needed food. Time for lunch.

-------------

After lunch was Charms, my last class of the day not counting Astronomy. I'd be walking to Astronomy that day, but the class wouldn't start until midnight which was technically the next day. All of which is irrelevant.

When I walked into the classroom, I suddenly noticed how short Flitwick really is. It was the sort of detail that I'd stopped noticing somewhere in the middle of second year and just sort of took for granted.

Maybe it was the way I was looking at the world differently, looking for naughty things to do since I could suddenly get away with it. Maybe I was subconsciously looking for things to make fun of.

At any rate, that's what I used my sudden revelation for. I waited for just the right moment before I made my move.

While the tiny man walked around the room collecting the essays he'd assigned the week before, I overheard Harry whispering frantically to Ron that his paper was a few inches less that the assigned three feet, and that he was just sure Flitwick would notice and give him detention. Would serve you right, I thought. They were never doing their homework as thoroughly as they should.

But when Flitwick reached Harry and tsked at his inadequate essay, and especially when he asked, in his kind but scolding voice, "Why is your essay so short, Harry?" the opportunity was just too good to pass up.

"Why are you so short?" I retorted, sticking up for my slacker friend.

Harry's eyes widened at the comment. "Burn..." he gasped under his breath. In fact, the entire class was looking at me in awe. Aside from that one time in Potions, the Snape's Human After All incident, I had never so boldly crossed a teacher before. Well, and all those times that hadn't actually happened, but they didn't know about those. Because they hadn't actually happened, and all.

Flitwick was flustered. "I... you... what?" was all that he could manage. He was used to people being polite about it, which is odd, now that I think about it. Kids that age are fairly cruel, even to their teachers. But I guess we all sort of respected the man. He was a nice teacher, and treated everyone fairly, which is more than I can say about a lot of those teachers.

His sad, pathetic response filled me with guilt. Who was I turning into, that I could say these things to the people I respected, just because in half a minute they would be unaware that it had ever happened? I quickly set it right, my face burning with shame even after I moved back in time.

"Why is your essay so short, Harry?" his kind but scolding voice asked.

Harry looked down, as ashamed as I was. "I'm sorry, Sir. I couldn't think of anything else to add."

Flitwick nodded. "Well, I'll have a look at it. If you've managed to say everything you needed to more concisely than three feet, I may still give you full credit," he said. I wished even more that I had never been so cruel, that I hadn't even thought such cruel thoughts. I was rapidly becoming a terrible person, filled with the security that I could control what really happened and what didn't.

-------------

I went to the library after charms, partially to try to sort things out and partially do get some homework done. At some point, I had begun to hate myself, at that didn't suit me very well.

As soon as I got there, I knew I was doomed again. I'd always wondered, every time I went in there, how people would react if I made a lot of noise. There's such a taboo on it... I would never have dreamed of actually doing it before, but I'd always wondered. And now I had the tool to fulfill my dreams without being a bad person.

Forgetting the whole reason for my trip down there, I sat down at a table to think over the best way to go about being a public nuisance. I wasn't content just to let out a scream, it had to be more exciting than that. Probably ridiculous Gryffindor pride or something.

Then I noticed Malfoy sitting across the library. Funny how he and I shared the same special spot of the castle, yet hated each other so passionately. Or, I reminded myself, had a strained relationship at any rate.

Suddenly, I had a fantastically hilarious idea that would go down in the Hogwarts history books as the strangest thing this library had ever seen, if I didn't undo it after. Obviously I would undo it after, since I didn't want to be in the history books for something like that, but if I didn't...

With purpose, I stood. I made my way over to Malfoy's table, nonchalantly as I could manage. I climbed atop it, making my way to the place on the table directly in front of him. Standing on top of the textbook he had been trying to read moments before, I began to sing at the top of my lungs, and dance.

I pulled the smuttiest song I knew out of the back of my head (and mind you I was a good girl and didn't know very many smutty songs of course, Katie) and danced slowly, sensuously. I drew stares, especially from Malfoy. Ms. Pince didn't come running, so I continued.

Uh...

I danced for a couple minutes before Ms. Pince finally noticed, which is impressive considering the racket I was making. It wasn't just me making noise by that point, it was everyone. Cheering me on, or voicing their shock, disapproval, everything.

"Hermione Granger, what on earth do you think you're doing?" she cried as she came around a row of books, raging. I can still hear the anger and shock in her voice now, as if it happened less than a minute ago. Even though, to her, it never did. Which is a really weird thought.

"Undoiocious," I said quickly, twice, and my hair was suddenly unrumpled, my robes firmly as they were, and I was almost to Malfoy's desk. My face still burned, though, as I thought about what I had been doing moments before. I hadn't meant to get so carried away. I only meant to make him squirm a bit, and cause a ruckus. But when nobody came...

Anyway, I changed my course and instead of climbing onto Malfoy's table I circled around it and went back to my own table. I pictured his face, his gaping mouth, his deep blush, the squirming I had hoped for. And his eyes, as they'd met mine when I leaned down close to his face for an instant. Those bright gray eyes...

I wished I could remember those eyes in a real memory. As soon as the thought went through my head, though, I shot it down with a vicious self-scolding. Malfoy was the meanest, rudest person I'd ever met. I hated his guts, for goodness sake! I did not want memories of his eyes close to mine and filled with something I couldn't quite identify.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I did. Only maybe not with the lap dancing part, because it would be kind of awkward for him to go around remembering that.

The essay I tried to write after that, in the hour before dinner, was the hardest essay of my entire life. The silly thing just didn't want to be written, even though it was just some busywork, usually easy to breeze through. I couldn't focus on it. So I gave up trying and resigned myself to staring at Malfoy through my eyelashes, careful to keep up the illusion of reading the book on the desk, and hating myself for being such a hormone-addled teen all of a sudden.

-------------

Dinner was awkward at first. My mind kept dwelling on Malfoy, instead of what Harry and Ron were trying to talk about. I wondered what they'd think if we got together, Malfoy and I. He'd admitted to fancying me, if I decided I felt like dealing with that sort of thing he'd probably go along with it.

One of many strange thoughts I'd had that week. It felt wrong, somehow, to know that Malfoy would go out with me. Especially because he had no idea that I knew, had no idea that he'd told me himself. Or really, he hadn't told me himself. I knew because of my magical powers, not from any sort of communication.

Another creepy thought. This spell was disturbing me more and more with every incident. Yet I was hopelessly addicted to it now. It was just so fascinating. But it also seemed like a violation of privacy. Even if it was only Malfoy.

But 'only Malfoy' didn't seem to mean the same thing it had a couple days before. At some point, he'd stopped being an enemy and started being... a person. I'd never really thought of him as a person before, who had a life and thoughts and feelings just like any other person. Before, he had just been that brat Malfoy. But now... now he was... well, Draco.

I cut that line of thought off quickly. Nothing had changed! It was really all in my head! Malfoy was still Malfoy and nothing was different, and if I wanted things to be different I was going to have to act on it honestly.

I took a bite of yams emphatically, to punctuate that thought. And then, because I was suddenly thinking about the food instead of just eating it subconsciously while my consciousness was focused elsewhere, I suddenly realized just how excellent it was.

The food at Hogwarts is nearly always good, but that day it was especially fantastic. My favorite vegetable in the world has always been yams, even back at Hogwarts. They very rarely served it, and now they had, and I hadn't even been enjoying it!

I pulled out my wand. "Undoiocious," I said quietly. This time around, I focused very hard on the explosion of joy happening in my mouth with every bite I took.

I was impressed with this new use for the spell, one I hadn't thought of before. I could eat and eat and eat, and never get full! It was like bulimia, only not bad. I laughed at the comparison.

On the other hand, it would be bad. Not unhealthy bad, but still only to be used on very special occasions when the food was very good or there was so many different things to try that I'd never get them all down in one go. Because it made following Ron and Harry's conversation even more confusing.

I tuned in in the middle of a conversation they'd already had once before. I couldn't remember how I'd participated the first time, having been more lost in my own thoughts than focused on their chatter, but it felt strange to unintentionally alter time like that by not being able to supply the same comments I had the first time. The conversation they'd had while I was deep in thought was lost forever, replaced with this new, slightly different one.

It made me wonder, not for the first time, about alternate universes. The concept was slightly similar, I supposed.

But I gave up mourning the lost conversation thread and decided to change the subject completely.

"I have good news and bad news," I said.

Harry was the one that responded. "…okay?" he said uncertainly, probably surprised at the sudden change in conversation.

I checked the Slytherin table quickly, to make sure my lie wouldn't be immediately obvious, then said "Malfoy's dead."

"That's not exactly good news," said Harry, shocked and horrified. He hated the boy, sure, but I knew he didn't wish him dead.

I smiled. "No. It's neither one, actually. The good news is that he's not actually dead. I lied." I wanted to know how they would react, although I wasn't planning to keep the confession. Especially since it wasn't technically true, in real time. Harry looked at me strangely, but I could tell he was relieved.

Although really, if he thought about it I'm sure he would have figured out that I was lying. I mean, if Malfoy was dead, I wouldn't bring it up halfway through dinner. There would be an announcement of some sort, probably, and if there wasn't and I knew about it, it would certainly be the first thing that got mentioned when we sat down to eat. I continued. "The bad news is…I'm going to Hogsmead with him this weekend."

Ron dropped his fork, and it clattered into the sudden silence. Well, the rest of the people in the Hall were all chattering away as loud as ever, but the sudden silence between the three of us.

Harry's mouth opened, and he didn't seem able to close it again. He tried a couple of times, but it always opened right back up again. Or maybe he was trying to speak. Either way, he was failing.

It was Ron who managed this time, although he didn't manage much. "You're... what?" he spluttered. It broke the silence, though, which helped Harry find his voice.

"That's... bad news," he said finally.

I was entertained at first that he thought me going out with Malfoy was worse than him being dead, but then I realized that that was actually fairly normal. No one really wants people to be dead, it's a terrible thing. Compared with that, undesired relationships are nothing.

"At least no one's dying?" I suggested.

"Not yet they're not," Ron said, in a thinly veiled threat.

"Ron!" Harry and I cried, and he looked down.

"Alright, I won't kill him," he said, "but I'd sure like to!"

Harry turned back to me. "Why?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I like him," I responded. "I realized it this afternoon, in the library. So I asked him out. He said yes." As if I would act on an impulse that way... Well, except that I would. But I wouldn't have kept the action in real time.

Harry shook his head in amazement. "I don't understand," he said, "but maybe I will eventually?"

I was chilled by his loyalty, his acceptance. Right then I knew that whatever I chose to do, he would back me on it. Even if he didn't understand, or didn't agree, or thought I was being stupid. Well, unless I wanted to go out and kill people or something, I didn't think he'd really be okay with that, but within reason. And apparently dating Malfoy fell into that category.

Ron nodded. "If you're sure it's what you want," he said reluctantly. He, too, valued our friendship more than he hated Malfoy, and I was touched. So touched, I wanted badly to keep the moment even though I knew that it had to go. After all, I hadn't asked Malfoy out yet. Well, I had, but... you know.

I would have to cherish the memory alone. "Undoiocious," I muttered, flicking my wrist just so.

And I was back to the mindless chatter that had been going on before I started that whole serious confession thing. I smiled, and focused on my delicious yams.

My goodness, Katie dear, I think we'd better have yams for dinner tomorrow.

-------------

The next few hours were shockingly uneventful compared with the rest of the day, and I didn't use my new spell again until Astronomy that night. However, I did talk to Malfoy on my way to the class.

Harry and Ron had Quidditch practice, which I didn't feel like watching, so I walked to class alone. They were coming from a different direction. It was nice to walk alone for a change.

Along the way, I ran into Malfoy. He was heading the same way I was, and I remembered what he'd said about Astronomy being his favorite class. Or, what he might have said, had I permitted that conversation to have happened.

"Hello, Malfoy," I said, falling into step next to him. He looked at me in surprise.

"Granger," he said in the same near courteous tone he'd used the last few times I'd been civil to him. Then I realized that this was getting bad if I was recognizing what his usual reaction was to my striking up conversation with him.

It was like reading a dozen different stories about the same event, told slightly differently each time but all essentially the same. They all sort of started to blend together, until I could barely tell one not-real conversation from another.

I realized that I wanted to have a real-life civil conversation with the boy, so I resolved not to do anything I would want to undo. I decided to play on what I knew, to get this conversation flowing.

"I sure do enjoy astronomy," I commented. Small talk was best. Especially because I happened to know that it was his favorite class and all. And if we could keep focused on classes, awkward confessions would be avoided.

He looked surprised. "Me too," he said. "Actually, it's my favorite class." I had to pretend like I didn't know that already, which was actually surprisingly hard considering all the acting practice I'd had the last few days. Maybe it was because I was trying to be myself, not some outlandish caricature of the anti-me.

"I like Charms best," I said, knowing that was the response he was expecting but feeling the conversation was a lot less interesting the second time around. "But astronomy is so lovely too. All those beautiful stars..."

Maybe this would get us off of the conversation I'd already had with him before, and onto uncharted—but still safe—ground.

It had the desired effect. "You know, they're really giant balls of gasses. Things like hydrogen and carbon," he said. "It's so magical, what happens inside of them. But without magic."

I was impressed with his knowledge. I had sort of gotten the impression that wizards were really only interested in the stars from either a fortune telling perspective or for the constellations and mythologies behind them. Certainly the class only really focused on the names and orbits of the stars and planets, not what they actually were.

"Where did you learn that?" I asked as we reached the stairs to the astronomy tower.

He shrugged and began to climb the long, winding staircase. "I read about it," he said.

In all my reading, I had never stumbled across such knowledge. But then, astronomy wasn't my favorite class. I liked it, but I like charms better and, though I hated the class, the subject of potions fascinated me more than the stars as well. And really, most of the books I read focused on magic, not science.

"I didn't realize you read anything that wasn't related to wizardry," I commented.

"Not everything in my life..." he began, but trailed off and looked at me. He had realized who he was talking to. "Alright, you caught me," he muttered, and increased his speed. Whether he was trying to get well ahead of me or just end the conversation as quickly as possible by getting to class, I couldn't tell. If it was the first, he failed, because I sped up too.

"There's nothing wrong with that!" I protested. "It's impressive, actually." Then I realized something, and before I could stop myself it was spilling out of my mouth. "I wish I'd kept up with learning about science and things. When I came to Hogwarts I was so excited about the magic, and this whole new world, that I forgot all about anything that was only important to the muggles."

I realized as soon as I'd said it that he was going to freak about the muggles thing. I had essentially suggested that his favorite subject was really more muggle than wizard. And that wasn't really something Malfoy was okay with.

I fought the urge to undo that last remark, fought to keep the conversation unedited and real. And surprisingly, it was okay. Malfoy didn't fly off the handle about muggles. Instead, he took my comment as it was intended: me admitting something about myself. "I'm sorry," he said, not apologizing, but expressing sympathy.

I don't know if he really realized how much I had bared my secrets to him. For all he knew, my regrets could be common knowledge to my friends, it wasn't like I told him everything. Or anything, really. But the truth was, I had never admitted, even to myself, that I wished things were different.

I wasn't sure I was okay with Malfoy knowing that about me. But it was out there, and I had made a resolution. I would just have to brave out the consequences like a Gryffindor instead of hiding behind my stupid spell.

"Thank you," I said. A chill ran through me, as I realized who I was talking to, and how civilly our conversation was turning out. It was almost more surreal than the whole undoing thing.

Moments later, we arrived at the top of the stairs and made our way into the classroom, separating to sit by our respective friends.

-------------

Astronomy was rather long and boring that night. It was cloudy, so instead of looking at the stars, we received a lecture. Even Malfoy's eyes were beginning to glaze over, and I was about ready to fall asleep. It was after midnight, after all, and I'd been up all day. Astronomy was a challenge to get through anyway, even when it was interesting.

I had to do something or else I'd pass out and be an embarrassment. Even if it would save no one else in the long run, at least it would wake me up to use the undo spell again. Goodness, I was so hopelessly addicted.

So I started cursing. Terrible language. Yes, I remember most of the words I used. No, I will not tell you what they were. But it was all quite creative, I assure you. I just started swearing, loudly, both muggle and wizarding cuss words. One word or phrase at a time, spaced about ten seconds apart or so. Boom... boom... boom. One after the other.

The class came to a complete standstill. Everyone stared at me. And then I realized that this wasn't a terribly exciting thing to do. All it really did was got me attention, and I didn't particularly desire attention. There was a little of the usual shock that it was me misbehaving, but I was starting to get used to that, too. It was losing its appeal.

So I sent myself back a minute, disappointed to realize that all I'd really managed to do was stretch the class out longer. To pass the time, I snuck a glance at Malfoy. He was looking back at me, and I was surprised. I wondered how long he'd been watching me. If he was embarrassed to be caught in the act, he didn't show it. Instead, he met my gaze until I smiled and rolled my eyes. "This is sooo dumb and boring," I tried to convey without words. I think he got that message, because he grinned and nodded.

Communicating this way, without words, was surprising thrilling. Far more thrilling than the swearing had been. This shared moment between us. I was sure it was just hormones, that I didn't have any particularly strong feelings for him, but I was beginning to care less and less.

No one's first relationship turns out well in the end, so why should it be with someone especially special? I clearly liked the guy, I was realizing, and I was starting to think maybe I should just go with it. Screw fantasies of waiting for Mr. Perfect. They were even less real than all those undone moments of time.

This thought needed a lot of serious mulling over, and I wasn't really willing to do that during a class even if it was boring me to pieces. So I pulled my eyes away from Malfoy and concentrated hard on listening to every word and taking detailed notes, until class ended.

-------------

"I noticed you were pretty friendly with Malfoy after astronomy last night," said Ron over breakfast the next morning.

I looked up from my waffles. "Yeah," I said. "He's actually a real person, did you know that?"

"Well of course he's a real person," said Harry.

I rolled my eyes. "Well yes," I said, "but I was talking to him yesterday and he actually has... interests. Thoughts. We had a civil conversation and everything."

They didn't understand, but they were willing to accept that I didn't hate him anymore. It was sort of an "okay, Hermione, whatever you say," response.

-------------

During potions, I got the urge again. There was something about Snape that just begged me to do bad things to him. He was such a mean man that he needed to be taken down a few pegs, I guess I thought.

We were all staring absently at him as he droned on about some dull potion. He wasn't even particularly scary at the moment, but I was thinking about how he was often terrifying. My mother always told me when I had to make a speech at school—back when I went to a muggle school and saw my mother more often than every few months—that to cure the nervous butterflies I should pretend like everyone in the audience was naked.

Obviously I had no desire to see Snape naked. Negative desire, in fact. I desired not to see him naked. But wouldn't it be funny to steal his robes? I was sure he would be wearing something underneath, considering he came from a muggle family. I wasn't sure what customary undergarments were for wizards, but I had a pretty good idea about muggles'.

Alright, really I didn't think it through very much. I just thought it would be funny to swipe Snape's robes. So in the middle of class, I shot a spell at him that was supposed to vanish the garment.

It was a bad, bad idea.

There are some things in the world that it's best not to know. I can only thank Merlin that he was wearing underwear, or I might have had to obliviate myself after I undid that fateful action. Obliviating yourself is not safe, you're constantly risking wiping more of your memory than you intended. Even so, I was about to take that risk.

It wasn't even that he was indecent. He was wearing plenty of underclothes. It was just that it was... unbelievably awkward. I realized the instant the spell was out of my mouth that it was something I didn't want to see.

Snape's face, already pale, turned a ghastly white. His mouth thinned to a tiny, angry line only slightly darker than the rest of his white skin. His eyes narrowed. He looked about ready to kill, which come to think of it, maybe he would have. Fearing for my life, I waved my wand again, and undid that terrible mistake.

Everything was back to normal, but my brain was a train wreck of trying desperately to forget what I had seen. I tried desperately to grasp onto some subject that would take my mind off it, knowing that no matter what, I could never again looks Snape in the face without being horrified at what I had done.

This spell was a terrible invasion of other people's privacy, especially the way I was using it! It was unacceptable behavior, and I knew it.

And then another thought crossed my mind. What if someone stole my wand before I could undo. What if Snape had acted quickly, disarming me, punishing me somehow, taking away my wand? Even if I was able to get it back later, as soon as I undid until a time when it was confiscated, I wouldn't be able to back up anymore!

This spell made me brave to the point of recklessness, something that I didn't usually have a problem controlling. But I could see that sooner or later, I was going to get stuck in a situation where the spell just wouldn't work anymore.

I knew I would have to stop using it. Never again. I'd gone too far, and I knew it, and I didn't ever want to accidentally put myself in that situation again. There was so much wrong with a spell like that, and made even worse because it was such a temptation.

I wanted to wash my brain out with soap. I wanted to go back to the way I had been, to undo my own memory just as I undid the event. But unfortunately, the spell just didn't work that way.

-------------

The moment class ended, I headed for the library, filled with the sudden urge to prevent anyone else from having to deal with this problem in the future. Plus, I was thinking about how terrible it would be if someone else found the charm and started using it on me. How violated I would feel. It had to be removed from the world.

I headed back to that dusty shelf with a purpose, and pulled the book out from where it still hid behind all the others. I was always one to put books back where I found them, even if I found them out of place, which was a habit I was grateful of at that moment. I knew exactly where to find it, and I knew no one else had got to it after I did.

I flipped through the pages, looking for the specific spell. I wasn't about to burn the whole book or something, just because it held one awkward spell, so when I found it I tore it out and shoved it into my pocket. Then I headed to the door.

I don't know what I was planning to do with it, probably take it up to my room to burn it. But before I even got out of the library, I had run headfirst into Malfoy.

"What's the rush, Granger?" he asked with his usual snarl.

"None of your business," I shot back, matching his hostility as best I could, given the new circumstances. Then, "I liked you better when you were actually being human," still harshly, an insult.

The change was instantaneous. One second he was the typical Slytherin bastard and the next it was impersonating an absolute gentleman. "I'm terribly sorry," he said, affecting a strange and unidentifiable accent. "May I walk you to wherever you were going?" He held the door open for me, and I about fell over from shock at the gesture even though I knew he was making fun of me.

"Thank you," I smiled politely, adopting my own snobbish accent and playing along with this random game. Flirting, some might call it, but since I was unaccustomed to that idea I didn't call it that. "I was heading to the kitchens to see about some matches."

That caught his attention, as I knew it would. "Matches?" he said, dropping the silly accent. "Why matches?"

I pulled the page of the book out of my pocket and showed it to him. "I need to burn this," I said. I knew it was risky, putting that where he could read it, but I stuffed it right back into my pocket a second later and he never could have read that fast, so it was almost okay, and I was going to burn it in a minute anyway. Or so I told myself, trying to ease the uncomfortable feeling that rose into my stomach when I realized how bad a plan that might have been.

I was tempted to undo the moment, to try again. But instead, I decided to see how it would play out. I was trying to go cold turkey, and dang it, I was going to succeed!

Anyway, while all that was going through my head, his eyes were widening. "Is that a page from a book?" he asked. "Why would Hermione Granger want to burn a page from a book?" That was it, his curiosity was piqued and I was going to have to deal with it.

I tried to ignore the flutter in my heart at hearing him say my first name. Well, my full name, but it was an improvement over only my surname so it had an effect on me.

Without thinking, I answered truthfully. "To prevent future generations of Hogwarts students from seeing Snape without his robes on," I said, quickening my pace in hopes of arriving at the kitchens and burning the thing before he got around to demanding to see it. Why was I telling him all this? This was only going to end in doom!

Well, that set him off completely. "To prevent..." he spluttered a bit before he could finish, "to prevent what?"

I stayed calm. "To prevent future students from seeing Snape without his ropes," I repeated. More spluttering.

"Let me see it," he said.

"No."

"Let me see it!"He made a grab towards my pocket, but I anticipated and scooted away.

"Malfoy, it'll only cause you trouble. It's a dangerous spell, and no one should be tempted with it," I tried to explain, wishing like crazy that I had made up some sort of half-truth or an outright lie instead of telling him what I was up to. But I had been so dishonest with him up until then, I guess I was just overwhelmed with guilt and trying to start fresh. It was really a bad time to try starting fresh, though.

I should have known he would start playing rough. But on the other hand, if I had anticipated assault I would have anticipated flying spells, not hands. Wait, no, that makes it sound like he started hitting me. He wasn't doing that.

No, it was more along the lines of a full body tackle. One moment we were walking along, and the next I was on the ground, and he was trying desperately to get into my pocket.

I squirmed, trying to protect both the spell and myself from him. He wasn't hurting me yet, but I wouldn't put it past him.

"I swear, I'll tell you everything after I burn it!" I cried, twisting this way and that, evading his hands as best I could.

"Just let me read it!" he nearly hollered.

"If you read it, it will be too late for you."

Yet he kept on persisting, starting to tickle me. The non-violent gesture nearly made me freeze in shock, which is maybe what he had in mind, but luckily my reflexes to escape the torture kept me moving away from his hands. Suddenly, the situation was much more intimate than it had been when he was simply fighting me, and I felt extremely uncomfortable. "Malfoy, get off!" I said.

He didn't listen. Why would he? I figured he must not have come to the same realization I had, about the situation. Without thinking, I moved to remedy that.

Raising my head and carefully taking aim at his constantly moving form, I moved my face closer to his, my mouth just inches away from his. The close proximity to my face had the desire affect. Sure enough, he stopped tickling me, becoming aware of exactly what he was doing, and to whom. He stared.

"Malfoy, get off me," I hissed into his gaping mouth, and then gave him a shove. He tumbled back in shock, his mind clearly whirring away at fifty miles an hour.

I pushed myself to my feet, and then helped him to his in spite of myself. He said nothing, but followed me as I made my way towards the kitchens.

-------------

Neither of us spoke as I got a match from one of the house elves, pulled out the page with the spell, and set it alight. I held it over the sink, watching in satisfaction as the flames consumed the words that had consumed me for the last few days and wishing I could burn the spell from my memory as well.

"Oh Malfoy, it was terrible," I said, finally turning to him and breaking the silence.

"What was?" he asked.

I looked for house elves, but they had all returned to getting lunch prepared and paid no attention. "Seeing Snape in his underwear."

"Well yes, it would be," he said. "When did this happen, anyway? And... why?"

I leaned back against the counter. "Well, it didn't but it did," I said. And then, for some reason, I explained everything to him. The spell, everything I did with it, even our shared moments. All the time I was talking, he stared at me, a range of emotions crossing his face throughout the story, ranging from amusement to horror and disgust to laughter to a wicked grin, and back to horror as I related my most recent use of the spell.

When I was finished, I stopped talking. Babbling one minute, silent the next. He stared at me for about a minute before he spoke. But when he did, it was to say exactly what I should have expected, "You gave me a lap dance?"

I buried my head in my hands in embarrassment. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned that one, but it had just come out with the rest of it.

I couldn't see him with my head buried in my hands, but I figured he was grinning. When I did look up, finally, I saw that I was right. The grin scared me. It was the most evil expression I'd ever seen on his face, and that's saying something.

"Malfoy...?" I questioned.

He walked up to me, slowly, deliberately. I regretted my location choice, backed up against the counter with nowhere to run if he started getting evil on me. But he didn't start beating me up or threatening me or anything like that. Instead, he took my face in his hands and leaned in close, as close as I'd been to him on the floor in the hallway earlier.

"You're not going to undo this, are you?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head, "No. I quit."

"Good." And then he closed the short distance between us and kissed me, not on the mouth like I was expecting, but on the cheek. "I'm rather fond of remembering things that have happened to me," he said, mouth close to my ear. Another kiss, and another, closer and closer to my mouth. "Especially things like this." My arms had wrapped around him while I wasn't paying attention to them, and I pulled him closer to me, moving my face so that his lips would finally meet mine.

It was beautiful. I didn't quite know what I was doing so it was a clumsy kiss, but he drew up the slack and took charge. When he finally pulled back, arms still wrapped around me, neither of us had any words. It was going to be weird, we both knew. But we were willing to take that challenge. I had the easy way out, with my special spell, but I had no desire to use it anymore. I was willing to face the consequences.

-------------

"Of course our relationship was terrible," Hermione said, refocusing on her daughter. "Neither of us ever expected it to last long. We broke up nearly every week, over one dispute or another. Stayed mad at each other for an hour or a day... Always got back together, though."

"And we called each other by our surnames for the first year we were dating," added Draco. Hermione looked to the doorway in surprise. She hadn't realized that he'd come in.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

Draco grinned and pulled his wife off the bed and into his arms. "Long enough to hear all the good parts," he said, kissing her gently on the nose.

"Daddy, eww!" Katie cried, but her complaints were met with laughter. "Get out of here and let me go to bed if you're gonna be all mushy!" she whined. Hermione and Draco complied, still laughing.

"Goodnight, Katie," Hermione said before she shut the door. "I love you, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Love you too, Mommy!"

THE END.

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Disclaimer (at the end to avoid spoilage...hehe, aren't I clever?): Found the nerdy pickup lines from the Facebook group 'Nerdy Pickup Lines'. Undo idea is inspired by one of the only episodes of the Fairly Odd Parents I've ever watched combined with my own random urges to do terrible things just to see how other people would react. Characters are from Harry Potter. (obviously)

A/N: I forget if she ever kissed Krum, but I'm gonna say she didn't even if she did, because I forgot about him until I'd already written the part about that having been her first kiss, and I didn't like it as much after I'd rewritten it so I changed it back. Sorry if I'm wrong and that offends you.

Also, please tell me if you find any horrible spelling mistakes. They're awfully embarrassing.