Narcissa's Time Turner

Chapter 10: The Sanguine Eclipse

Before Hermione knew it, her birthday came and went with little acknowledgment from the boys as usual, and Sept. 26th, 1996 was here. She found it funny Malfoy, of all people, was the only one to get her a gift this year. The total lunar eclipse, the Blood Moon, was finally upon her. Hermione began her journey through the forest prepared with all manner of pre-portioned defensive potions, some of Fred and George's Peruvian Darkness Powder, a dark purple autumn cloak over her school skirt and sweater, and her wand gripped tightly in her hand. This night seemed to be astrologically significant to the centaurs as well, as she frequently heard the pounding of their hooves back and forth across her path and hid in the bushes to avoid their detection. 

After plenty of searching and stumbling, Hermione finally found the spot she was looking for. The ominous black shadows of trees parted to show a beautiful yet haunting visage. The kind of scene Hermione would imagine the muggle's perception of witches danced around in their rituals. A massive, red-orange Sanguine Moon reflected on the small lake hidden deep within the forest. There was near total silence once she began to approach the glassy pool, a rarity in the forbidden forest and a warning. 

As she got closer it was broken by the light sound of breathing. What could it be, a unicorn, a centaur, a veela? The hair on her arms stood on end. She peered around a tree and found a figure with blond hair and a Hogwarts cloak by the lake's edge. Malfoy was gathering some kind of herb that grew in a bush by the side of the lake and placing it in a woven basket. Her breath hitched and he looked up at her, locking eyes. 

"What are you gathering?" She inquired innocently.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her question, a purple flower in his hand. "Wolfsbane. It's supposed to be especially powerful when picked on lunar eclipses..." He twirled the flower round in his hand, looking at the magenta-tinted blooms. "What did you come here for, Granger?"

"Nothing, I'll be going..."

"Nothing?" His gaze turned back to her, a skeptical gleam now in them. "Brightest witch of her age comes all the way out to the Forbidden Forest during a Blood Moon for 'nothing?'"

Hermione panicked. She would feel silly telling him she was hoping to see a veela, and this would out her that she had peeked at what book he was reading in the restricted section. The first thing that came to her mind was, "I...had heard there was magic that might happen here on the night of the Sanguine Moon."

This was...different. "What kind of magic?"

"Luck magic that only certain magical creatures can do, through a song and dance."

"Luck magic?! Isn't felix felicis incredibly rare? Even with all my galleons I haven't been able to get my hands on any. What luck Potter has, even without drinking any," Malfoy scoffed, "Well Granger, I might not be a magical creature, but I can certainly dance."

"What?" She stared at him, open mouthed. 

"Are you sure it has to be a magical creature? How do you know it isn't this special type of moon combined with the chant of the song and the movement of the dance?"

He had a point. "The book actually didn't say it was the magical creatures who cast the spell. I suppose all spells are just certain movements combined with certain words..."

"There's only one way to find out," Draco said while holding out his hand.

Hermione shook her head, "I've never danced except at the Yule Ball."

"I've been to a hundred balls, and let me tell you, it's all in the leading." Draco was straight faced and looked perfectly rational, but he was so beyond ecstatic his lips were twitching, threatening to ruin his facade of cold disinterest. Maybe he was even luckier than Potter for this encounter to occur! He had been here collecting wolfsbane in the past, but she had never showed. "Must it be a certain kind of song or dance?"