a/n: Brand new one-shot! The muse hit me hard with this one and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

The Dreaming

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real that you couldn't let it go?

Hermione Granger had. She'd had the most realistic dream that she'd ever had. It had spanned an immense amount of time. She was married. She had children. She had a job. She had graduated. She was in love. She was happy. And...

And she was married to Draco fucking Malfoy.

She couldn't let it go. It had been so real. She'd gone through the last eight hours trapped in a wonderful dream about how they'd gotten together, how they'd loved each other, how they'd started a family. There was no coming back from it. She couldn't drop it. Just like she couldn't drop her eyes when they'd met his across the Great Hall.

She couldn't help it. She'd been groggy when she'd woken up. And she'd been utterly confused, her sleepy brain urging her hands to reach across the bed for someone who had never occupied it. She had wanted him to be there. Fuck, she'd wanted it to be real. She had never felt so cherished in her life. And that was only a dream! She almost snorted. She had been so happy with Draco Malfoy in her dream world.

Thank Merlin she'd made it out of their joint common room before him. She didn't know what she would do when she had to talk to him next. Or even just see him in close quarters. She wanted to kiss him. Which was absurd. Sure, they were somewhat friends, but that was because they had to work together this year as Head Boy and Girl, thought. And sure, he'd maybe been a bit more than friendly with her, lately, but she'd chalked it up to the fact that their jobs were made much smoother when they had to cooperate with one another and had fun doing it.

So lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she had maintained eye contact with him for most of breakfast. As she came back to herself and realized, she flushed. She hadn't meant to draw attention to herself like that. She hadn't meant to make moon eyes at him over breakfast. She bit her lip and forced her eyes away.

Harry and Ron noticed nothing, however, as they shoveled food into their mouths, eager as they were to get to the quidditch pitch. She thanked Merlin for small favors. While they definitely drove her crazy for the inattention to anything that didn't involve quidditch, today she was grateful for it.

At the end of breakfast, they went there separate ways and Hermione did her best to conquer her obsessive thoughts about Draco- She caught herself. Since when did she call him Draco? They'd always been Granger and Malfoy. It was what they did. It would be weird... But then... She wanted to call him Draco because it's what she'd called him in the dream. And he'd called her Hermione amidst a string of love names.

She cleared her throat as if it would clear her thoughts and headed towards the library. It was her sanctuary. Surely she would be able to concentrate in there, right? She thought she could do it. She pulled down a book on Transfiguration and sat down, determined to find some information for the essay she just knew would be assigned next week.

But in the span of ten minutes, she'd read the same sentence over and over without even registering it. Her mind was still so lost in the dream. God, how could you go from being friends with someone to being obsessed with them overnight? She winced at the thought and conceded that she may have found herself thinking of him more and more lately. But she hadn't been obsessed for God's sake! Interested? Definitely. Noticing him more? Definitely. Enjoying his company? Definitely. But completely and utterly unable to think of anything or anyone except him? Definitely not.

She bit her lip and finally closed the book. She was not going to be able to get anything done. Not today. So with a long, suffering sigh, she stood up and headed towards their joint common room. She didn't think she'd run into him. It was Saturday. He usually found things to do with his fellow Slytherin's on Saturdays. So she felt relatively safe with her plan to hide in her room the rest of the day.

Except that Malfoy threw a complete wrench in her plans by being in the common room as soon as she walked in. What the fuck! she thought. He had never spent a Saturday in there. Never. And it was nearly June! Why, oh why, she wondered, would he break that streak now? Now when she wasn't sure she'd be able to sit in the same space as him and not jump him?

"Fuck's sake," she muttered as she walked in. She tried her best to ignore him. She shot him a smile and a quick wave before heading up to her room. She was so close. So close. Ten more steps and she'd be safe-

"Granger?"

Her feet stopped and her knees started to shake. "Yes?"

"I thought maybe we could go to Hogsmeade today to get the decoration for the graduation ceremony. I talked to McGonagall and she said it was fine."

Ugh, no wonder he wasn't hanging out with the Slytherin's. Head duties. If nothing else, he was extremely responsible and things always got done when they were working together. She just never thought that would be a bad thing. It wasn't fair! Any other bloody day would have been fine. But it just had to be today after she'd had that dream.

"Sure," answered after a long moment. "Just let me change."

Did I really just do that? Agree to spend the whole day with him when I can't even control my thoughts around him? Yeah. Yeah, she did. With a groan, she threw her bag on her chair and proceeded to talk out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

It was going to be a long day.

And she had been so terribly right. The trip had been both wonderful and torture. On one hand, it was nice to spend time with Draco without anyone else there to influence their actions. On the other hand, she'd had a hard time keeping her own hands off of him. And what was worse was the fact that she was starting to not care. It didn't help that he kept staring at her as if he was waiting for something.

She didn't know what he was waiting for. Surely it wasn't for her to make a move. Because that wasn't going to happen. Not any time soon, anyway. She just didn't have the confidence for that yet. Gryffindor, my ass, she thought, pulling her t-shirt off. Where's all that bravery you are so known for? Not here, was the answer she came up with. Definitely not where it concerned Draco.

Despite the fact that she was losing her give-a-fuck where he was concerned, she was still a girl. She'd never made the first move before. Ever. She'd never even initiated the past kisses she'd had. They had always come on to her. They had always set the pace. They had always set the tone. Not her. She scowled and shoved herself into some pajamas before heading down to the common room to get some homework done before she went to bed for the night.

She'd thought that Draco would have retired to his room by now. He didn't usually stick around the common room at night. But she thought wrong because as soon as she came down the staircase, there he was. She could have cried. She just wanted some time to process. Time to process what was happening to her all of a sudden. But she couldn't do that when he was so close to her. God, she'd managed to keep herself in check all afternoon.

But now? She was sure her mouth would get her into trouble. She might not be ready to make a move, but her mouth... Her mouth had gotten her into trouble before. She wasn't ready for a repeat performance. She was afraid she'd say something about how lovely he'd been this afternoon, carrying all of the decorations the muggle way. She was afraid she'd point out that he had been nothing but a friend to her this entire year. She was afraid she'd tell him something she wasn't ready to reveal yet.

She contemplated turning around and heading back to her room, but he'd already turned around and seen her. Fuck. So it was with a dry mouth and a heavy heart that she continued her trek into the common room and sat down in the chair that sat kitty corner to the couch. He was already seated on the couch and she knew she wouldn't last if she was sitting next to him.

It was bad enough that she could smell him from where she was sitting. God, he smelled divine. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and press her nose into his neck. She was sure it would be absolutely-

"Hermione?"

Had he just used her first name? She blinked up at him, but didn't say anything. She couldn't get passed the fact that he'd called her by her given name. I mean, occasionally he did, but not usually. She couldn't even remember the last time he'd called her Hermione. It was always Granger. And always that damnable smirk-

"Anybody in there?" He waved his hand in front of her face and she started.

"Yes, yes," she answered. "Just lost in thought."

"Looked like you were concentrating pretty hard. Anything good?" He would ask that when she had been thinking about him and smelling him like she was a fucking cat or something. She flushed, feeling like he had known precisely what she'd been thinking of.

And what, exactly, was she going to say to him after that? She wanted to tell him that she was thinking of him. She wanted to tell him that she was developing an attachment, that she was thinking about how much she wanted him. She wanted to tell him anything smart. Anything that wouldn't make it obvious that she was lying. Anything.

"Quidditch?" was what had come out instead. If the floor could have opened up and swallowed her, Hermione would have been so happy. As it was, it stayed covered with rugs and completely solid. Quidditch! Of all the fucking things... She hated quidditch! And he knew it!

He smirked and she almost forgot that she was mortified. "Okay, then. Most have been some game to have you that buried in your thoughts, Granger."

She mumbled something that sounded oddly like, "fuck," as he walked past her towards his room, but he didn't comment on it.

That floor could open up any time now, she thought miserably.

Draco had been patient. And he'd known that his plan had worked when he'd seen her the following day after he'd put it in play. She was flustered and flushed. Hermione Granger was never flustered and almost never flushed without reason. It had given him hope. But he'd seen the way she'd tried to avoid him. And that was what made him completely positive that it had worked. She never avoided him. Not even when things were uncomfortable between them in the beginning of the year. Never.

So he had smiled as he watched her try to disappear into her room before he opened his mouth. While they really did need to go pick out the decorations, it wasn't urgent. They could have gone another day. But he didn't want to wait that long to get her alone. As sure as he was, he wanted to push his luck and see if he could force her hand.

And he'd tried. He'd tried flirting with her, but it had only flustered her more and her cheeks seemed to be forever stained with that lovely red. He had tried being a gentleman, but it only made her bit her bottom lip more often. And that... That had been distracting. So he'd resorted to what he did best. He harrassed her in the common room. He had expected her to spit fire.

Instead she spat lies. Quidditch! He had seen the mortification on her face as soon as the word left her mouth. She wasn't stupid. She knew that he was aware of her distaste for the sport. She knew that he figured she was lying. And he knew then that she'd been thinking about him. There was no other reason for her to lie. The thought had brought a smirk to his face and he'd decided to give her a break and head to his room for the night.

But that meant it was time to ramp it up.

Last night's dream had been perfect. It had been time consuming and allowed her to sink into it like it was her own reality. Tonight would have to be a little different. He decided to show her how good they could be together now. If she had wanted to avoid him today, tomorrow would be worse. With that thought buzzing in his brain, he took the rest of the potion that was sitting beside his bed and concentrated his thoughts, working to link their thoughts.

In theory, dream sharing was a wonderful thing. In reality, it was still wonderful, but it was tricky, also. He'd been feeding her the serum for nearly a month. He had to be sure that she wanted him, too. Last night had been the first time he'd tested it out. He had concocted the dream, allowing his subconcious to create a world for them and them alone.

Tonight would be much the same. But tonight, he would show her that she wasn't the only one who wanted something more out of their working relationship and fragile friendship. Tonight, he would show her how much he wanted her.

The room was dark, he noticed. Perfect for his intentions. As he looked around, he expected to find her right away, but it took some searching on his part. She was already on the bed and staring into space. He licked his lips and headed over towards her. She lifted her head and cocked a brow at him. Almost as if she was daring him to make a move.

So he did.

He slipped into the bed with her, crawling up her body until he was hovering over her, his mouth brushing hers with every breath. She let out a low moan and reached up to grasp at his hair and he chuckled. Her dream self was so open. Probably because she thought it was a dream. Who was he to deny her anything, though? He couldn't. He let his lips fall down on hers gently. Gently at first until she began to kiss him back. Then he licked her bottom lip until she opened up for him. That first swipe of tongue against tongue almost undid him. God, but she tasted so sweet.

He savored her. He knew when they woke up, it wouldn't be like this. Hermione would be more confused than ever. And he would make his move, but for right now... Right now he was going to enjoy every minute that they had together here. Here she was so willing to do anything he asked of her.

He ravished her mouth as his hands slid down her body. One settled on her hip while the other pressed lightly against her breast. He heard her moan and she arched her back, pressing herself into his hand. He nipped at her bottom lip and then smiled at her, applying more pressure to her breast as he did so.

"Like that, do you?" He watched her nod and squirm, trying to get him to move his hand. He knew what she wanted. And he would give it to her. He stripped her off the soft pajama top she'd gone to bed in and dropped his mouth to her exposed nipples, starting with the left before moving to the right. She mewled and twisted against him again, her hands slipping down his body. Apparently she didn't want to leave him behind.

Again, who was he to deny her? He pulled away from her and yanked his shirt up and over his head, allowing her to take in his body. He heard her soft intake of breath and he dropped down and covered her with his body. They both sighed at the feeling of skin on skin. God, she felt even better than she tasted...

The hand that wasn't holding himself up (so he didn't crush her, that was the last thing he wanted...) crept down her body, caressing her waist and hip as he sought the ultimate prize. He felt her tense as his fingers playing along the edge of her knickers. He was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't wearing pants; she'd definitely had them on when he'd left the common room. Apparently she didn't sleep in them, thought.

She sucked in a breath as his fingers dipped below the elastic and just brushed her hip bone. Again, he knew what she wanted. And he would give it to her. He brought his lips back down to hers, engaging her tongue in a pleasurable dance as his hand pulled her knickers down her legs. She broke the kiss and glared at him, reaching between them to finish tugging her knickers off. And then her hands came back up and pulled at his boxers. And he forgot how to breath.

Her little hand had pushed his boxers aside with ease and was now palming his very obvious erection. He groaned when she swiped a finger across the tip, smearing the precum that had gathered there. So lost was he in the sensations that he almost forgot that his own hand been on a mission. And it was a mission that he was planning on following through with. So with a particularly heavy pant (he would have never guessed that her hands were so sinful), he pressed his hand onward, pushing through her folds easily and finding her clit.

She let out a mewl and her hand movements on his cock became erratic as he pleasured her. He only had one goal; make her come. And make her come so hard she forgot her own name. He wanted his name to the only one she remembered. So he redoubled his effort, sliding two of his fingers into her slit, the movement smooth and easy due to how wet she was. His thumb continued brushing over her clit, his fingers moving furiously to get her to her peak.

She was freely moaning and her hand had all but stopped it's motions on his cock. Occasionally she would remember and give him a good squeeze, but he was more focused on her. It was about her tonight. Her wants. Her needs. Not his. He was sure there was pleasure to be had for him, but only after her needs had been fufilled. And judging by the way she was riding his hand and keening loudly, she was almost her. He curled his fingers inside her and brushed against her g-spot. A few flicks of his hand later and she was falling apart, squeezing his fingers furiously.

He pushed his lips over hers, swallowing her cry of his name, wanting to taste it on her tongue. Wanting to savor the syllables of his name as they fell off of her tongue. And she didn't disappoint, practically begging him to kiss her harder.

She gave a huff and tried to catch her breath. "I want you, Draco. God, I want you so badly."

"I want you, too, Hermione. So bad. I've wanted you for so long..."

"So then don't wait. I'm yours. Only yours." She didn't know what those words did to him. Even if she thought it was just a dream, those words destroyed him. She didn't know how badly he wanted to have her for himself. She didn't know how long he'd waited to hear those words.

Lost in emotion, he swept a sweet kiss across her lips. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted her to feel his love through his actions. He wanted her to know that he was hers, too. That he only wanted her. She was going to feel endlessly loved by the time they both woke up from this dream.

He licked his lips and pulled back from her. "You're sure, baby?"

He watched her nod slowly. "Positive. Make love to me, Draco. I want you inside me."

He moaned and guided himself into her, the journey made easy with the slickness between her thighs. Once he was buried to the hilt, he paused, letting her get used to him. But he should have known better. His little lioness squirmed beneath him, trying to force him to move within her. He smirked a little at her actions, but ultimately gave in, pulling back and pushing back in.

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes drifted shut as he set a slow, steady rhythm. He had down she'd be even more beautiful in the throes of passion, but this was more than he could ask for. Her neck was extended as if begging for him to drop his mouth there and claimer her. Her chest was flushed with desire. Her arms were gripping his forearms, her nails forming small, crescent shaped indents in his skin. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist as her hips moved in time with his, forcing him deeper.

It was almost too much. He did drop his mouth to her neck, eager to taste the flesh there, wondering if it was as sweet as the rest of her. It was. He bit at it lightly; enough to leave a mark, but not enough to hurt her. He soothed it with his tongue and growled as he felt her flex her internal muscles around him.

"Her- ugh. Love, you can't do that. Not if you want this to last," he told her, panting heavily.

"Draco," she let out, lifting her head look him in the eye. Her pupils were wide with desire. "I-Can-Please! I need you. I need you so much..." Her mewling voice was almost his undoing.

He gripped her hips and snapped his own, increasing the pace. It seemed to be what she wanted, because she let her head fall back again and moaned out his name. So he continued that way, eventually dropping a hand down between them to flick at her clit. She liked that, it seemed because before he knew it, she was unraveling underneath him. He watched as her body shook and then stilled. And then...

"Draco!"

Yes, he thought. Yes. That's right. This is right. Her orgasm brought him to his and he came with her name rolling off his tongue. So right. It felt so right. He needed her in his life like this. And he wasn't going to wait for her to figure it out anymore. He needed her to know how invested he was in her. And he needed her to know now.

"Hermione," he started, sliding out of her, savoring the small whimper she gave at the loss.

"Draco," she answered, smiling and stretching as she watched him tug his boxers back on. He threw her her panties, but nothing else.

"I love you," he whispered without preamble, slipping into the bed beside her. "So much."

He tugged her well loved body into his and buried his face in her hair. It was still such a nest, but it was part of who she was. It made her beautiful to him.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, too, Draco Malfoy." She paused and tipped his face up to hers. "So. Much."

He smiled and kissed her one last time. Everything was perfect. He hoped it was this perfect when he woke up.

Hermione didn't know what to do anymore. Last night had been worse. Or rather, better. Definitely better. Draco and her had starred in her dreams. He'd made love to her. He'd told her he loved her. He'd cuddled with her after sex. For fuck's sake, he was perfect.

She was dwelling on the dream when she entered their shared bathroom. She made sure the door to Draco's side was most assuredly shut and locked before checking out her reflection. She was going through her morning ritual, figuring she could freak out about the dream after she was at least clean. But as she lifted her hair, she noticed something on her neck. Something that had no place being there.

No fucking way. It was a hickey. And it was in the exact same place that Draco had kissed her in the dream. Okay. Okay. That was... Maybe she'd slept on it weird and caused it to bruise? And it was just coincidence. Oh my God. What if it wasn't a dream? But! She had woken up alone. Of that she was certain, because her subconcious had wanted him to still be next to her. In fact, she'd woken up feeling cold and lonely.

OKAY. Calm down. Some weird shit is happening. You're obviously attracted to Malfoy. You obviously have some kind of feelings for him. But what the actual fuck is going on?

Her panic was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Yes?" she called out weakly, letting her hair fall back into place.

"Granger? You have a minute?"

"Erm. Well, I was about to get into the shower?" God! She hated the way she sounded. As if she was unsure of everything.

"It won't take long, I promise. Then I'll leave you alone."

"Sure," she said, yanking her jumper back on. "Just give me a second."

He acknowledged her request and told her he would wait for her in the common room. She took a deep breath. Fuck. She wasn't sure what he wanted. She wasn't sure why it couldn't wait until she'd showered and tamed her hair. Apparently it was important. So she swept her hair off to the side, trying to cover the hickey and put her hair in some semblance of order at the same time. Once she thought she was at least presentable, she headed down to the common room.

He was standing in front of the fire, his arms crossed. "Draco?"

He started and turned around to greet her. He sighed and ran a hand through his chair. "You might want to have a seat, Granger."

"I'll stand, thanks," she said, growing more confused by the minute. "You're scaring me. What's this about?"

"I..." he tried, but it wouldn't come out. He tried again. "I have a confession to make."

"Okay..." She had no idea where he was going with this.

He took a deep breath and pulled his stormy eyes up to meet hers. She felt a jolt run through her body. She wanted to go over there. She wanted to hold him. She wanted to tell him that it was fine, he didn't have to tell her. But before she could do any of those things, he was talking again.

"You know, last night was amazing. Perfect. And I know you remember it. And I know that you have a hickey on your neck." His eyes were sparkling now. "And I know you know what I'm talking about, even though you're starting to panic."

Oh, and how right he was. Last night? What did he mean? Did he know about her dream? And how did he know about the hickey. Her hand had flown to her neck the moment the words had left his mouth. She was so very confused.

"And the night before that... That was something. We could be all that, Granger. We could. We could make that a reality. But only if you're willing to take the risk."

She was forgetting how to breathe. The night before... Dear God. He really did know about the dreams. But how?

"I can see your brain spinning from here. I'll explain, I promise. But... This is more important. I want that with you. I want it now and I want it fifty years from now. I want us."

She definitely didn't know how to breathe anymore. He... wanted her? He wanted a them? She felt like she was going to throw up. So much relief was coursing through her too fast. Her body couldn't keep up. She leaned against the chair and watched a smirk bloom on his face.

"I told you that you were going to want to sit." Cocky as ever. She reached over and gave him a playful shove as if to tell him to shut it.

"Explain the dreams," she ordered, her patience running short on that front.

"I invented them," he confessed softly. "Dream sharing is difficult, but I didn't know how to tell you I was even attracted to you. I had no idea if you felt the same. So I sent you the dreams. After the first one, I could tell you were effected. I took it as a good sign and shared the second with you. That was all me, Granger, and that was real."

"You what! That's such a violation of privacy, Draco, I can't believe you did that." He flinched at her beratement, know she was right, but not caring.

"I know. But I was hoping the ends would justify the means. I hope you can forgive me. Because I'm in love with you, Granger. And I'm hoping you feel the same. I know you said so in the dream, but for you it was just-"

"I do love you, Draco. I wouldn't have participated in that dream if I didn't. Even if it was just a dream as far as I knew. I..." She bit her lip and watched as he turned his head, a flush forming on his pale cheeks. "I guess I can forgive you if you promise to never do it again."

"Never?" That smirk was back.

"Unless I've consented," she amended with a flick of her hand.

"Come here. I've been waiting to actually kiss you forever," he told her, reached his hand out to her. She took it and let him pull her into him.

"Hermione. I love you. So much," he said, repeating his words from the dream.

She smiled. "I love you, Draco Malfoy. So. Much."

a/n: Wellll? What are our thoughts? Be sure to share in a review! I love getting feedback from my readers; it's helps me grow as a writer!