Saved By a Dream
SUMMARY: This short story takes place at the beginning of the summer after 5th year. Hermione has a disturbing dream about Draco and of course takes it seriously enough to bring it to the Order's attention!
Hours after arriving back home; Hermione is fast asleep and dreaming. Here is what goes on.
"HOW DARE YOU LET THOSE FILTHY MUDBLOODS AND HALF-BLOODS TURN YOU INTO SLUGS! YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTER THAN THEM! CAN'T YOU EVER CATCH THE SNITCH, YOU'RE SUCH A DISGRACE!"
"T WASN'T MY FAULT; I WAS CAUGHT OFF-GUARD!"
"MY PATHETIC SON, YOU MUST BE PUNISHED!"
"I'VE TRIED TO CATCH THE SNITCH, BUT I CAN'T!"
"THAT'S NO EXCUSE, YOU ARE WEAK AND WORTHLESS!"
"AND ANOTHER THING, SINCE UMBRIDGE FAILED TO DOMINATE THE SCHOOL, SO DID YOU! THE DARK LORD NEVER TOLERATES FAILURE! YOU MUST BE TAUGHT A LESSON YOU'LL NEVER FORGET, CRUCIO!"
At that moment Draco was on the floor writhing violently in pain. He then came out of it still in pain, but said "Screw you father, and Voldemort. You both are cowards, not me! I don't go around taking orders from a pathetic half-blood!"
"Boy you must learn respect, and until you do, our session will last as long as it takes!"
By now Lucius was really pissed and was going to beat his son into submission until he caved. Draco was now chained up in the dungeons less than half-dressed, beginning to bleed. His father whipped him and stabbed him numerous times. Inside he was begging for it all to stop, but wouldn't give is father the satisfaction. He sat there and took it, followed by more Crucios and beatings!
As Hermione saw all this she screamed and was yelling for his father to stop beating him, but he couldn't hear. But despite the pain Draco was in he heard her. But before she could find out if she had been heard, she woke up and it faded.
At the moment Hermione awoke, she sprung up out of her bed in a cold sweat in a panic. Her parents came running into her room asking what was wrong and she told them this. "I had a very real nightmare about a classmate of mine that I don't get along with. In it he was being severely beaten by his father and I was powerless to stop it." Since she was convinced it might be real, she owled Dumbledore about what happened. An hour later he apparated into her home and confirmed that what she dreamed was real and had actually happened. He told her to come to the Order right away.
Dumbledore had left Hermione's and apparated into the dungeon. It was then that he checked for a pulse and breathed a sigh of relief that there was one. He appeared to be really weak and had lost a lot of blood considering the puddle of crimson on the floor came from him. Madam Pomfrey was at Grimmauld Place and was told the situation by Hermione, who had just gotten there by Floo. She was bustling around getting everything ready Madam Pomfrey confirmed to Hermione that she was in fact dreaming the event and by her telling her, Draco was on his way in the Headmaster's arms.
Meanwhile, less than a mile away, Dumbledore had conjured a stretcher and put over it an invisibility cloak so no muggles would see. Here and there Draco would groan in pain, and be in and out of consciousness. Once they walked up to the magically concealed entrance, everyone in the house came running, but stayed out of the way. Among them was Hermione and she saw him floating on the stretcher with the invisibility cloak now off she saw what she saw in her dream. He was really banged up and bloody beaten that she unknowingly, wept. She didn't think anyone deserved to live that way, especially him. She kept telling herself she should've known he had an awful home life.
They immediately rushed him to the healing room to be tended to. So as not to be in the way, she thought to wait outside, but was told to go in and sit on a nearby bed until he was comfortable and then sit by his bedside. It pained her to see him like that. He had a strong will, which she knew, but was afraid of how he would respond. As soon as he had been patched up and settled into bed, she sat on the bed and waited to talk to Dumbledore. Then Dumbledore came in and told her that Draco would be all right and thanks to her he wouldn't die. She expressed her fear of him rejecting her, but Dumbledore reassured her that it wouldn't be that bad at all. She was confused and skeptical about there being any dramatic or life-altering change in him.
Five hours later, she had fallen asleep and was roused by a raspy, yet deep mumbling coming from his bed, talking about a curly-haired, brunette angel. She sat in the comfy chair near his bed and nervously took his hand in hers. As soon as she did that, he came to and looked her in the eyes scared at first then shocked, and then happy. Then he asked, "Hermione, is that you, my angel!" "Yes D—D—Draco!" As soon as she said his name hesitantly she tried to run, but he gently, yet firmly grabbed her arm. "H- H- Hermione, don't go, please don't leave me!" "Why do you want me to stay, I thought I was only a filthy mudblood to you!" "You're not; you're my angel!" "What do you mean!" "I saw you; you were dressed all in white screaming for father to stop! "Draco, I'm sorry for trying to leave you, but I have been hurt by you and I didn't think you'd ever respect let alone like me in anyway. It goes against everything you were taught." "Screw my upbringing, I'm not joining the Dark Side, I've always loved you but could never show it. The whole 'filthy mudblood thing' was all an act on my part." "Well I like you too, and it's good that we're friends and might be something more." She happily wept and carefully embraced him. At the same time, he embraced her, wept too, and was latched onto her. He felt her letting go of him and only held her tighter. They finally let go and she stayed by his side the whole time. Hermione watched as he slept and noticed that he slept like he wasn't in much pain. It must've been the potions he had been given earlier. Upon watching him sleep, he looked like an angel himself but in the masculine sense. His hair was as bright as the sun and as soft as flower petals. She gently ran her fingers through his hair to find that out. Little did she know that he was only half-asleep and was enjoying every minute of her soothing touch.
An hour later, Draco's state of relaxation changed. He was no longer resting comfortably. It appeared that he was all alone in the room and panicked. The agitation had caused him to get hysterical and be in a lot of pain. He felt pain everywhere and was now thrashing around and screaming. At that, everyone dashed into the room to see what was wrong. Hermione, who had to gone to the bathroom rushed to his side. It pained her to see him covered once again in blood and drenched in sweat. She felt that it was her fault for going to the bathroom and leaving him alone. So she approached the shaken Draco and since he was crouched on the floor she too got on the floor and started to help him relax. She held onto him and he grabbed her tightly not wanting to let go. She didn't care that he was a mess; his state of mind was more at stake than anything. So since his back was healed, she didn't hesitate to give him a comfortingly relaxing massage. She did that until he was once again calm and composed. Once he was, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey cleaned up his bed. While they were doing that, Hermione gently wiped all the blood and sweat off of Draco so he could get some rest. As soon as that was done, she did everything she could think of to soothe him including holding him close until he fell asleep to holding his hand as though it was their only link to each other's sanity. As he began to drift off, Hermione let go and he began to once again panic. So he held onto her with a look in his eyes that said in desperation for her not to leave him. So she scooted the bed she had been laying in earlier close to Draco so she could watch over him. As soon as the bed was scooted close, she got settled in. He then reached for her and held her close. Then he said "thank you so much, Hermione. I don't know what I'd do without you." Then she compassionately said "I'm not going anywhere, I love you!" He wept after hearing that and was consoled by her. It felt like there was hope in his shattered world. Someone actually cared about him; he didn't think that it was possible. But here was Hermione resting comfortably by him holding him in a warm, intense, yet gentle embrace that would brighten up his soul like never before.
As Hermione was drifting off to sleep, she couldn't help but imagine all the torture he had been through and how any father could beat their own child. With those outraged thoughts in mind she wept. Draco awoke as he heard her sobbing. As he sat up, she reached for him in a compassionate and fiery embrace. He didn't ask but knew she wept for him. So he just held onto her with the same amount of passion and love she had for him. He too wept again b/c someone like her actually cared about him so much more than he ever felt in his life. So they were locked in a tight embrace that couldn't be broken until they lay down and drifted off to sleep accompanied by pleasant dreams full of love and happiness.
As they were cuddled up to one another, she would hear sobbing and sure enough he was upset. Tears ran down his cheeks and Hermione would keep wiping them away. She instinctively held him close as to calm a child that was having an extremely frightening nightmare. The longer she held him close, the more relaxed he became.
The next day, Madam Pomfrey came to check on him. She saw Draco and Hermione resting comfortably cuddling together. She was shocked. Hearing the matron gasp, Hermione awoke and sat up so as not to wake Draco just yet. Within seconds of not feeling her against him, he awoke in a panic. Hermione instantly climbed up onto his bed to get him to calm down. He began to at ease after a few minutes. It was clear that his emotional state and sense of self-worth were fragile. Madam Pomfrey then came forth to check on his injuries and look him over. He was hesitant at first to let anyone other than Hermione touch him. She made sure to hold his hand and kept reassuring him that he was safe. Just her being there was enough to keep him at ease. It felt great to know that someone other than his mother could bring him that much comfort and affection, not to mention love. Hermione was only too happy to be his support for more than just the time being.