A/N: Hey! New story! Yay! Here I go!!
Hermione POV
Beta'd by TalaDentro"You have to make a decision. You have to choose between us!"
"Choose? Choose between who?"
"Choose between me and Weasley."
"What? Why?"
"Because, Hermione, I love you. I really, truly do. And with us on the brink of the final battle, I want -no NEED- to know if you love me too. I know you trust me. And I know we're friends. But I want more than that. I want to be able to call you mine. I need you. I love you."
"Draco. I don't know what to say."
"I know. And you don't need to decide now. Just tell me before we potentially die." He left me standing there in the corridor, alone and confused. Did I love Draco? I knew I loved Ron…but Draco? Could I love the boy that had been my best friend (secretly) for the past seven years? He'd helped me through so much. My problems with Ron and Harry. My family. Victor. Everything.
"What am I going to do?" I whispered to the old stone walls around me. The walls of the corridor I'd met Draco in to talk. A place just for us. I leaned against the cold wall and slid to the ground. I thought about every moment we had shared in this tiny hallway. It was unknown to most of the teachers here. But I'd spent so much time in the library reading books about the school that I'd stumbled across it.
I walked here to see if there was anything special about it and found Draco: leaning away from me, shaking. I didn't know what to do or say. But when he turned around and I saw the tear stains down his cheeks, I knew I had no choice but to help him. At first he sneered and pushed me away, but his strength was gone and he collapsed onto the floor. He told me a secret. His father was a death-eater. And that he was expected to follow in those footsteps.
Ever since that night, we'd meet in the same corridor and just talk to each other. We'd grown so close. I told him everything and he told me everything. It was the perfect arrangement. But to think, that all this time he had been falling in love with me... Maybe I had been doing the same and it was just masked by everything that had happened with Harry and Voldemort. And Ron.
I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, hoping the answer would be imprinted on the insides of my eyelids.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I woke up in a clearing surrounded by oak trees. The ground was covered in orange and yellow leaves and there were many fluttering down. I stood up and looked around, slightly afraid, not knowing where I was. I took a step forward and immediately stopped, looking down at myself. I was wearing a dark purple dress that fell just past my knees. It was covered with black irises and puffed out at the waist. It was beautiful but I wondered how I had gotten it. I decided it wasn't the weirdest thing happening at the moment and continued on. I walked through the trees and found a small path on the other side. I followed it, glancing around at the nature that surrounded me. It was the perfect picture of fall. The leaves were red, yellow, orange, and gold, falling lightly to the ground. Light shone through the trees and danced on the multi-colored ground in front of me. It really was a perfect world. The path brought me into another clearing; this one was dotted with flowers. A sound drew my eyes to the middle where a shovel appeared above the ground, threw dirt back, and disappeared again. I walked toward the hole slowly, reaching for my wand before remembering it was back in my dormitory. When I reached the hole, I leaned over and saw a man in old clothes from the 1920s. His hair was dark like Harry's, at least the small bit I could see beneath his hat was. "Excuse me. Could you tell me where we are? I seem to be quite lost." I said. The man stuck his shovel in the ground and looked up at me. I gasped. "Harry?" "At your service, Ma'm." He said, taking off his cap, placing it on his chest and bowing. "Though, I must ask. How do you know my name?" He asked, putting his hat back on. "Harry, it's me. Hermione. We've been best friends for seven years." I said, my confusion growing with my fear. He hopped out of the hole he was digging before answering. "I'm sorry, Miss. I think you have me confused. You did say you were lost, correct?" I nodded. "Maybe you've hit your head as well." I nodded again. It did make sense. I did wake up on the ground. "So, can you tell me where I am?" I asked, hoping for an answer. Any answer. "Well, this land doesn't really have a name, Miss. At least, not that I know of. I live in the village through those trees." He pointed at the trees behind him. "I have all my life. Never left. Village has a name though. Hollow. That's what all the Elders call it." "Alright. Well, can you help me find my way there? Maybe someone in the village can help me." He smiled and held out his arm for mine. I took it and he led me toward the trees. "What are you doing out here anyway?" "Digging a grave." He said. "Oh. I'm so sorry. Who died?" I asked, squeezing his arm in comfort "That's the thing. I don't think anyone did." I stopped and turned to look at him, confusion spreading across my face. "No one from our village has died, yet the Elder that oversees things that have to do with the land in and around our village told me to come out to this clearing and dig a grave. He wouldn't say why. And he said specifically that clearing. Not in the village cemetery, or anywhere close to the outer houses, for a pet. That clearing. Though I guess I can't complain." "Why is that?" I asked as we resumed walking. "I met a new friend." He replied, smiling at me. I wondered why he didn't know that our friendship was by no means new. I pushed it to the back of my mind and smiled back at walked for a few more minutes before we broke from the line of forest and came upon the village Harry called home. He led me through two rows of small cottages and past a street lined with shops. It was full of people both young and old. It reminded me of Diagon Alley. "I'm going to take you to see the Elders. They should know what to do. Here is their meeting house." He said, pausing. I looked forward and saw another small cottage with a sign out front. It read " Harry opened the door and led me inside. The Elder House was a one room cottage. The room had eight chairs in a semi-circle and a small table in the center. The table held a book resembling the old texts in the library at school. In the chairs were eight middle aged men and women dressed in muggle suits from the same time as Harry's clothes. The man in the middle stood when Harry closed the door. "Harry. What is the meaning of this?" He asked. This man had black hair slicked back into a tiny ponytail. His eyes were dark and his face was lined with age. "You know that it is frowned upon to interrupt a meeting of the Elder Council." "Yes, Elder Grommetz. I know. But this is important. You see, while I was digging the grave you asked me to make, this girl walked into the clearing. She is quite confused. She doesn't know where she is or how she got here. I thought maybe you could help." He stood to the side and I stepped forward so that Elder Grommetz could see smiled and walked towards me. "Hello Hermione. So glad you could finally join us." At the sound of my name, the rest of the council turned to look at me. They smiled as well and a chill raced up my spine. "How do you know my name? Where am I? How did I get here?" I asked, my voice weak. "Didn't you know? This is the dream world you created to make a decision. To make your final choice." I fainted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dream!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He bowed low and took my hand.
