Chapter Text
Prologue
Typical Monday Morning
When Draco Malfoy woke up on Monday morning feeling groggy and slightly dead inside, he did not expect his typically boring work day to pan out to this.
This meaning fighting off neo-Death Eaters in the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries when he was supposed to be on lunch break.
”How did they even get in here?” Draco exclaims as he dodges a bolt of red.
Next to Draco, Luna Lovegood shrugs as she casually shoots a stunning charm at the neo-Death Eater in front of them, causing the man to fall to the floor with a loud smack. Luna then turns to Draco, “You’d think the Ministry would’ve increased the security after what happened during my fourth year!”
Draco frowns in response. He wasn’t there for that battle but his father was and was consequently arrested, resulting in the beginning of the fall of the Malfoy family. Ever since the war ended six years ago, the Malfoy House had lost all of its respect, wealth, and honor it once had. Draco was scared initially that he’d never get a job due to his last name. But due to his unique talents he—
“Don’t let the Wrackspurts distract you, Draco,” Luna says as she deflects a curse that was heading straight towards him. Draco shakes himself out of his reverie and focuses on the battle in front of him.
After stupefying a few neo-Death Eaters, Draco and Luna run towards the entrance of the Time Room, hoping to find their missing boss. “Trelawney!” Draco cries out as he and Luna duck, dodging a hex. “Trelawney! Where are you?”
A big boom sounded. “In here, loves!” Trelawney screams from deep inside the Time Room. The two blondes run towards the voice of their eccentric boss, knocking out a few cloaked figures on their way. When the two eventually find their way to the frizzy haired seer, they do not find her alone. Next to her is an Auror and former classmate of theirs, Ron Weasley.
”Ron!” Luna exclaims with a smile. Ron gives her an easy smile back. “You’re here!”
”Of course I’m here,” Ron says as he greets Draco with a look and a simple nod. “Couldn’t let the sane seers take on dark wizards by themselves,” Draco rolls his eyes at Ron’s mention of the ‘sane seers’. The nickname is one that many employees at the Ministry have gifted the resident seers in the Unspeakables workforce— him, Luna, and Trelawney; the nickname is always said sarcastically, implying that the seer trio are all mad when in reality, only Luna and Trelawney are mad. Draco just has a Wrackspurts problem… at least that’s what Luna always says.
”Where’s the rest of the Aurors?” Draco asks as he eyes the room for any leftover neo-Death Eaters that they hadn’t taken care of yet.
”Fighting off neo-Death Eaters in other departments,” Ron says as he too dissects the room for any movement. “Where are the other Unspeakables?”
”We aren’t sure,” Luna answers with a shrug. “Probably in their respective rooms for research. Us three were the only ones in prophecy room today.”
”Wait. Other departments?” Draco asks, bringing attention to the small detail Ron spoke of earlier. “You mean there’s a mass attack on the Ministry?”
“Aha!” Trelawney exclaims, causing the other three to look at her in confusion. “I saw this in a vision once—“
”No, you didn’t,” Luna deadpans. Ron guffaws while Trelawney shakes her head at the Ravenclaw.
”Trust, child,” Trelawney starts, “Trust is vital for us Unspeakables. Without trust, we end up like the timeline. Riddled with confusion and holes!”
”I really don’t want to talk about my holes right now,” Ron says with a laugh.
”Oh shut it,” Draco says, smacking Ron with his arm in an attempt to make the Gryffindor stop laughing. “What did you see in this so-called vision of yours?”
“Injustice. Destruction. Madness,” Trelawney says, her voice darkening as she continues. The other three share looks of unease before turning back to their former Divinations professor, “Paradoxes everywhere. Nothing is right and the current is not our truth!”
”Paradoxes? The bloody hell is that?” Ron asks with a frown.
”Temporal paradoxes, Weasel,” Draco answers with an eye roll. “You know? Big oopsies in the timeline?”
Ron shakes his head in confusion. “No, I do not know.”
”When did you have this vision?” Luna asks, seemingly beginning to believe Trelawney’s claims.
”Some time ago,” Trelawney whispers back as a boom goes off in the central chamber of the Department of Mysteries. “And by that, I mean this morning whilst getting my coffee!”
Another boom. Ron points his wand towards the doorway to the central chamber and gives the three seers a worried look. “Um… you guys—“
“And you didn’t think to tell us?” Draco questions Trelawney with an incredulous look. “Me and Luna sat around dusting prophecies all morning— absolutely bored out of our minds! We were more than free to help you with this!”
”There was a conflict of interest, dear.”
”Conflict of interest?” Draco eyebrows furrow. “What are you-“
Another boom. This time, it’s louder and it’s accompanied with a scream. Ron grips his wand tight.
”Draco… Luna… your names are on the prophecy,” Trelawney answers grimly.
”What!?” Draco and Luna both exclaim in shock.
A louder boom. “Danger incoming!” Ron hisses at the seers.
Suddenly, a hoard of cloaked figures wielding wands barge into the room, shooting out hexes at the quartet. The four quickly begin deflecting the hexes, but it’s not enough. The neo-Death Eaters close in on them, cornering them near the doorway leading to the Hall of Prophecies.
”We’re outnumbered!” Draco yells out with a grunt as he deflects a stunner.
”You three, go,” Ron says sternly as he casts a non-verbal disarming spell on one of the cloaked figures. “I’ll buy you some time.”
”What?” Luna cries out as she dodges a hex. “We can’t—“
”We must go!” Trelawney exclaims before casting a defensive shield around Ron, grabbing the arms of her underlings, and dragging them with her out of the Time Room and into the Hall of Prophecies.
”Ron!” Luna shouts as Trelawney drags her away. Ron doesn’t respond and continues to fight off the neo-Death Eaters alone while the seers escape into the depths of the prophecy room.
”Listen to me carefully,” Trelawney says as she continues to drag the two blondes into the labyrinth of the prophecy room. “You two must grab the prophecy record I made with the vision I had this morning. It’s in row 96 and next to it sits a tiny pink flamingo. It’s a portkey that I—“
Before Trelawney could finish her sentence, a loud voice from the Time Room is heard bellowing, “Avada Kedavra!”
The three seers stop running in shock as the loud thump of a dead body hitting the floor echos throughout the hall. Tears well up in Luna’s eyes as she lets out a sob, “No… Ron…”
Suddenly, sounds of quick footsteps erupt from the direction of the Time Room. Draco hastily breaks out of his stupor and grabs the two women’s hands and begins leading them all to row 96. “What’s this about a portkey?”
”Grab the prophecy and then both of you grab the portkey. Upon arrival you shall see that contradictions have led to today’s catastrophe,” Trelawney answers. With that, the trio continues to run to the prophecy. Once the group reaches it, they’re all heaving. Their breathes coming out as misty clouds due to the frigid temperatures of the prophecy room. ”This is where we part, my fellow sane seers,” Trelawney says with a sad smile, causing the blondes to look at their boss with looks of confusion.
”Why aren’t you coming with us?” Draco asks, furrowing his brows.
“Everything will make sense soon,” Trelawney answers before backing away from them. “I’ll see you in a past life.”
Suddenly, their former Divination professor and current boss evaporates into thin air, leaving two seers gaping at the sight.
“What the fuck!” Draco hisses.
“What an odd statement…” Luna quietly says, causing Draco to give her an incredulous look.
“Our boss just vanished in front of our eyes and that’s what steals your attention?!”
Before Luna could respond, the footsteps of the neo-Death Eaters got even louder. They are closing in on them.
The pair of seers turn towards the rows of shelves, desperately looking for the right prophecy. “There!” Luna exclaims as she hastily snatches the prophecy record; it’s a foggy globe with a yellow parchment attached to its side with the names ‘Draco Lucius Malfoy’ and ‘Luna Lovegood’ printed on top in blood red ink. “And look,” Luna starts, pointing towards the tiny pink bird toy sitting on the shelf, “There’s the pink flamingo!”
“Okay, on the count of three, we both touch the portkey,” Draco says as the footsteps gradually get louder and louder.
”One…” Luna says, clutching the misty globe with one arm. It’s strangely cold to the touch. Luna has never felt a prophecy record this cold before.
”Two…” Draco says, taking a deep breathe as he hears the sound of a person’s footsteps stopping abruptly and then them gasping in shock. The neo-Death Eaters have found them.
”THREE!”
Draco was too distracted by Luna’s limbs crushing him to pay attention to the familiar screams and exclamations invading his ears. “Luna! You’re going to give me a permanent spinal injury!”
Luna let out a pitiful groan before rolling off of Draco, “I’m going to be sick.”
”Be sick away from me,” Draco demanded as he struggled to sit up. Traveling by portkey was never a pleasant experience. But for some reason, this trip was much worse than anything either seer had ever experienced.
”Draco…?”
That voice was not Luna. Draco’s head shot up in the direction of the voice only to see Pansy Parkinson and the other Slytherins of his year sitting in a train compartment staring at him and Luna like they were creatures from out of this world. Not only that, but the Slytherins looked like they were 12 years old instead of their grown age of 24.
”Hullo,” Luna greeted them from her spot on the ground. “What are you lot doing here?”
”What are we doing here?” Pansy spat out with a grimace. Meanwhile, the other Slytherins continued to look at the seers in confusion. “What are you doing here, Looney Lovegood? This is the Slytherin compartment. No blue birds allowed!”
Draco blinked. “You’re on your way to Hogwarts?”
The looks he got from this question were so judgmental that Draco almost blushed out of embarrassment. “Obviously… Draco, are you okay?” Vincent Crabbe— an alive Vincent Crabbe— asked with a concerned frown adorning his face.
Draco and Luna turned to each other with identical looks of horror. That portkey didn’t send them to some safe house that Trelawney set up for them… it sent them back in time!
Merlin, Draco thought grimly, I better get a raise after this.