Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters involved in this story, ! EXCEPT ! :Professor McKinley.

Authors Note: This is my first fanfiction. Please feel free to comment and question. Tell me how you like the story, and if it's worth updating! Thanks!

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Golden streaks of sun trickled through the girls' dormitory window as Hermione began to stir in her sleep. "Draco, we can't do this. Not here…not now…" She was having that same old nightmare she'd been having since the beginning of summer. She and Draco Malfoy of Slytherin were in one of the secluded passageways of Hogwarts castle. Draco was once again, trying to bribe her into doing things that she knew were wrong. She pushed his hand away from the pleats of her skirt. "Draco, if we're going to try to work things out between us, we have to go at a pace that suits us both," she said at last. She could tell he was getting frustrated. "Come on, Hermione, you can't go on being prude forever", he said with an annoyed look on his face. The word prude hit her like a ton of bricks. She had always considered herself a little more conservative that the rest of the girls at Hogwarts, but never prude. She had kissed him and even made out once or twice. What was so prude about that? "Listen Draco, if you can't handle taking this relationship at a comfortable level, I can't be with you, and that's final." she said. Suddenly, in a flash, his expression changed from annoyance, to anger and disbelief. "No one ever rejects me, because it will be the last thing they ever do!" He said, as he began to grab at her shirt in fury, while trying to tear it off of her. "NO DRACO! STOP! I BEG OF YOU!" she screamed, as she tried to pry his hands off her uniformed shirt.

Suddenly, Hermione bolted upright in her four-poster, her thoughts running all over. The girls of the Gryffindor common room were clustered at the edge of her bed, trying to calm her down. "What the heck was that all about?" said Parvati with a look of fright on her face. "Yeah Hermione, you had us scared to death!" said Ginny Weasley, her best friend Ron's little sister. "Wow… I really don't know…I think I was having a nightmare." said Hermione, knowing perfectly well what was really wrong. Even though she knew what was bothering her, and she and Ginny had become close friends over the summer, she still couldn't manage the truth. "Well as long as you're not having a seizure, I guess you're okay." Said Ginny, with a joking expression, "it's time for breakfast anyway." When Hermione hesitated to get up from her bed, Hannah Abbot gave her a puzzled look. "Are you coming or what, Hermione?" she asked. "Um, I'll be right down," she said, "I just have to get dressed and wash up a bit." She was still dazed from what she had just experienced. "Okay…"replied Hannah. "I guess we'll meet you down there."

After the other girls had gone down to the Great Hall for early breakfast, Hermione sat on her bed for a few more moments, still in a cold sweat. "It felt so real," she muttered to herself. She was always amazed at how nightmares felt like such realities, even when she knew they weren't. "Maybe I do still like him," she said. She always felt she did, ever since they went out for that short period of time. But he wasn't the only guy on her mind. She and Ron were always flirting, but nothing was definite there. Still, she was surprised she hadn't had any dreams about him. And her and Harry never really talked about love much, unless it involved Cho Chang. She quickly gathered her thoughts again. "It's the first week back to school," she seemed to say to no one. "Can't let some dumb old crush ruin it." So with that, she got up and began to rummage through her trunk, searching for her uniform and hair brush. She pulled out her white oxford shirt, gray vest with the Gryffindor emblem, plaid skirt, and mismatched socks. "These will have to do for now," she said as she looked at the socks with pity. She set her clothes on her bed and began to head to the window to close the curtains so she could have a bit of privacy….

-- End, Chapter One. The Nightmare