Hermione's POV
I slowly opened my eyes. I was surrounded by darkness but…I could feel someone's breath on the back of my neck. I tried moving around but someone's arms were wrapped around me. I tried to open my mouth and say something but at that very moment I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear
''Shhhh, don't make a sound Granger. They'll find us…''
Draco…Draco and his calm, gentle voice. Suddenly I remembered everything. I was on my way to the library and I heard a loud noise. When I went to check what was going on I found Draco sitting on floor in the hallway. The window was broken and pieces of glass were scattered everywhere. His hand was bleeding. He was just sitting there watching the blood drip on the ground. That's when I saw it. Draco Malfoy was crying.
''Malfoy, what-''
Before I could say anything else he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dark corner. Teachers came and saw the mess he made. If they had found us we would have had huge problems. After a few minutes they went back to their rooms. It was just the two of us. He let go of my body and started walking to the Slytherin common room. I called his name a few times but he didn't respond.
That night I couldn't sleep at all… I kept thinking about this Draco Malfoy that I saw. I kept trying to figure out why he was like that. I will never forget that hopeless expression he had…never.
The night ended and the new day came sooner than I had expected. I wanted to talk to him but I didn't know how to approach him since he had always hated me. It was almost time for breakfast so I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a quick shower. After that I got dressed and headed down the Great Hall. There I sat next to Harry and Ron.
'' You overslept,huh?'' Ron laughed.
'' You could say that'' I replied with a smile.
''Which book was it this time?'' asked Harry.
I was about to answer when suddenly he came into the hall. There were no traces of last night's injury. For a moment I thought it had all been a dream. And then I saw his face. He was looking at me with fear in his eyes. Fear that I might tell anyone about what I saw yesterday. I couldn't stop looking at those gray eyes filled with pain. Without realising, I got up.
'' 'Mione, what's wrong? ''
Both Harry and Ron seemed worried and I realised how weird I looked at that moment. Everyone around us looked at me.
'' Oh, nothing. I'm just sleepy so I'm going out for a walk before I fall asleep here.'' I said laughing and went outside.
The day ended slowly and I didn't get the opportunity to talk to Draco. Whenever I looked at him, I saw pain and emptiness. What had happened to that boy? Why was he so different? I was desperate to find out.
It was almost midnight and I was reading a book in the library. Suddenly I started drifting away.
Draco's POV
Today was a difficult day. Granger stared at me all day long. She looked as if she wanted to say something but she never really did. I still can't believe she saw me yesterday. What is she thinking about right now, I wonder? Whatever she's up to, no one must know about the thing she saw. Recently there's been so much for me to think about. I can't really take it anymore. Ah, I wish I was different. I wish I wasn't a Malfoy. Life would have been much easier. But I am one. I am Draco Malfoy and this is my destiny. I must do what he tells me to do if I want both me and my family to live.
I decided to take a walk before going back to the common room. Now, where shall I go? It's late so a teacher might catch me if I'm not careful enough. In the end I decided to go to the library.
I was browsing through the books when I heard a soft moan. Do people really do things like that here? I picked up a book I liked and I went to the tables. And there I saw her. Granger – the bookworm. She was sleeping so peacefully… I leaned closer. Her sleeping face was quite beautiful. And then I heard it again. That soft moan. So it was her all along, huh? I touched her face. I'm not sure whether what happened next was real or just my imagination but,
''Dra…co…''
My name. My name came out of her lips. I was speechless. That mudblood was having a dream about me. Me, who was always insulting her in various ways. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. And the way she said it was so … sweet. As if she was talking about someone close to her. I laughed at myself. Why was I thinking so much about something so small? It was only because she saw me like that last evening. That's why she's having such a dream. That's the only possible reason. Okay, time to wake her up.
"Hey, Granger.''
No reaction. I tried even louder but she still was sleeping. And then I decided to do something out of the blue. Something she would never expect. Something incredibly fun. I laughed and leaned closer. I positioned my lips at her ear, bit it gently and whispered softly:
" Hermione, my love, it's time to wake up.''
She immediately woke up with her whole face red. I started laughing. Ah, she was so much fun to tease!
" Malfoy! What do you think you're doing? " I couldn't really understand whether she was actually angry or just embarassed. Maybe both.
" Oh, nothing much. Just teasing a bookworm. What did you think I was doing? Confessing my love to you? Haha!"
" I prefer the you from last night. "
And there it was. The thing I didn't want to talk about. She finally brought it up. Alright, I'll play along then. If that's what she wants. This was going to be fun.
" The me from last night? Do you perhaps mean the me who held you in his arms in that dark corner? If it's like that then you can meet that Draco again."
" Oh, Malfoy, you know exactly what I mean. Don't try your stupid tricks on me. I'm not that dumb."
Even though she said that, her face was red. She was an amusing little thing. She didn't look at me even once after I said it. As she was looking at the wooden floor, she opened her mouth and carried on talking.
'' So, will you tell me what was that yesterday? Why did you break the window? ''
'' No reason. I just felt like it, I guess.''
Hermione's POV
'' Don't lie to me, Draco. ''
'' What? Why do you think I'm lying?'' he laughed. That awkward laugh and the look in his eyes made it clear that he was lying for sure. He looked worried. Could it be that something horrible had happened to him?
'' Your eyes. They seem…different.''
''Different?''
'' Yeah... it's like there's no hope left in them anymore. And yesterday you were –''
'' Crying. The mighty Draco Malfoy was crying in the hallway like a little girl. '' He was laughing. Laughing at himself. And there it was. The same expression from yesterday. Without thinking twice, I wrapped my arms around his torso. I didn't need to look at him to know that he was surprised. He stood there, trying to figure out what to do as I whispered:
'' It's okay Draco. It's okay. Everything's going to be alright. ''
He hugged me as tight as he could and buried his face in my hair. We stayed like that for what half an hour but it felt longer. He kept saying ''I know'' while crying silently. That's when my life changed.