'Crucio', 'Stupefy', 'Imperio'. Spells, curses, blinding lights sored through the darkness of the final battle. Through open eyes, she could see people dying all around her while she ran. Ran for her life up the Hogwarts stairs, until she came face to face with the enormous snake, sliding towards her. She tried to back up but caught her foot on the edge of the stair and tumbled back in I heap on the floor as the snake advanced on her. Her arm was bleeding as was her head, but she cared not as she was further preoccupied by the unhinged jaws flying towards her.
Shooting up in bed, panting, Hermione tried to calm herself down. She pushed her hair from her face and tiptoed out of bed. The clock on her bedside table read, 5.00am, but she didn't care. Sweat was running down her brow and neck and all she really wanted was to have a long shower. The floorboards of the Head's dormitory creaked as she crept to the bathroom, and opened the door. Steam encased the bathroom, entirely causing her to lose track of time. Suddenly a banging came from the door, along with words, "Jesus, Granger it's 5 in the fucking morning. I know you're a geek and everything but that doesn't mean some of us don't need our beauty sleep." She turned the shower off and reached out for her towel, which she hastily wrapped herself in, before listening for movement outside the door. The last thing she wanted to do was run into her fellow Head Boy in the state she was in. Get it together Hermione it's over, why are you still reliving it?
Outside, the Head Boy had returned to his room, where he progress to slump back into his grand sized bed. He thought of Granger, how different she was- no! She's still the same mudblood who smashed your nose in third year. But she wasn't, she was different. Something had changed, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep anymore now that he was so awake. With this he jumped from the bed and swept through the door, straight into the wet towelled body of Granger herself.
'Watch where you're going ferret,' Hermione huffed when she collided with him. Her hands flew to her towel, to pull it tighter around her petit frame. Before he could get a good look, she was gone, dashing into her room and slamming the door behind her.
The shower was calling to him, so he discarded his pyjama bottoms to the side and threw his towel of the curtain pole, leaping under the cascading flow of water.
Hermione quickly cast a drying spell and dressed in her robes, readying herself for a long haul of a day.
Classes passed quickly, with few contributions from Hermione. Draco knew there was something untoward going on, and was raring to find out what. She had skipped breakfast, and lunch, and supper was fast approaching. As everyone filed out of their potions class, he could see Potter and Weasley walking with her to the great hall for supper. Well that's one way of knowing she's going to eat something, I suppose. He entered the hall unnoticed and parked himself next to Blaise to eat. As his friends talked and chatted around him, he couldn't help but observe the way Granger was eating. Every few seconds she would lift a napkin to her lips, as if she was wiping them clean but this was not the case. Unbeknown to her companions, each time she did this action she was spitting out the food which she had just consumed. Why? What is the matter with that girl? He was so preoccupied by the goings on, on the Gryffindor table that he didn't hear anything at all as Blaise asked him a question. 'Draco? Malfoy!'
Drawing him out of his trance, he replied, bewildered, 'huh? What?'
'I said, are you coming Slytherin common room tonight?'
'I- no , I have work to do, plus patrol. I'll see you lot later,' he said weaving himself out of the great hall and up to the Head's common room. Once saying the password, he decided to sit and read on the sofa in front of the fire.
The conversations were flying all around her, but she was too tired to join in. A yawn travelled up her spine as she covered her mouth with her hand, casually. 'Hey 'mione, you look tired, maybe you should call it a night?' She and Ron got together just after the battle but it hadn't lasted long because their friendship was just too strong, though they had agreed to stay friends. He offered her his hand to help her off of the bench. 'Night you guys,' she announced, and her three friends, Harry, Ron and Ginny, waved her goodnight. As she made her way up the flights of stairs she thought of how tired she was. She hadn't told any of her friends about the constant nightmares and lack of sleep that she'd been having for the past weeks since the battle. No one had ever seen Hermione Granger scared, not even her closest friends, but now, all she ever was, was scared. Scared of the darkness swallowing her, scared that someone would take Voldemort's place, scared that she'd never see her parents again, scared of anything and everything. She'd sent her parents away from London after erasing their memories, but she had no idea what had happened during the battle. She only assumed because she hadn't heard anything, that they were alive and fine so thinking nothing more about it.
'Opposita appropriate considering the Head Boy and Girl were from opposing houses. As she ducked through the painting she could see the fire flickering and Malfoy lounging on the sofa reading. 'Evening Granger.'
'Malfoy,' she acknowledged. Draco! My name is Draco! He hated being called Malfoy, it just reminded him of his father, and he wanted nothing more than to forget his sorry arse ever existed. He had put him and mother through hell and he never understood why she took him back. 'Love is a funny thing Draco. You can't run from it because it'll always be there to catch up with you… no matter how much you try' his mother had said to him when he questioned her about it.
He watched her place her books on the table and begin to ascend the stairs to her room. Not wanting to sit on the sofa any longer, he lifted himself onto the floor with his back against it instead. Hours he sat there, just watching the flames dance before him; that was, until he heard and door creak open and footsteps on the stairs. He glanced around to see Granger, with a blanket around her, perching on the sofa. 'You look tired,' he stated. 'Yes, well, I'm not, I just have a headache.' 'On that note, I think I'll go to bed. Night Granger.' 'Night Draco.'