"Please continue." the therapist replyed to her silence.
"And then my, err, friends wake me up. Everytime. I never reach the end. Something tells me it happened before."
"Well, Miss Granger, I'm afraid our time is up for today. You might tell your 'friends' to let you sleep through the night tonight and maybe finish your dream. Take care, dear." Hermione's therapist said as she walked out of her office. A beautiful Texas glow greeted her as she walked to her car.
She sighed and sat into her new '05 Mustang and searched for a cigarette. As she puffed out a smoke ring, she thought, "Wonder what Harry and Ron are up to." She drove a long distance to her apartment on the middle-class side of Austin. Walking up four flights of stairs, down a long hallway, and taking an elevader to the top floor, she wound up outside her apartment.
She gasped at the sight of a snowy owl sitting on her dining room table. "Hedwig!" she shouted, making Hedwig jump slightly but seemed to smile at her. Then Hermione thought, 'I don't hear from Ron or Harry in three years but I think about them three seconds and Hedwig shows up!'
Hermione pulled the letter off, got Hedwig some water, and began to read:
"Hey Hermione!
Gosh, sorry for not being in touch, been really busy at the ministry. If you haven't been in touch with Ron, then I guess you don't know that he got married to Luna. I just found out a few days ago. That jerk! Atleast he could have told us. I'm guessing he wanted to keep it low profile.Ever since he won the world cup, he's been in the paper so many times. More than me even! Oh, before I get lost in thought, I wanted to write and tell you that I proposed to Ginny last night. We haven't worked out the date yet, but we'll keep you updated! Are you still with that Josh fellow? If yes, I hope you two are doing great. Maybe you've popped out a kid or two (wink wink). If not, thank Merlin! I never liked him much anyway. So, have you gotten a letter from Hogwarts resently? If not, then i's surely on its way! Well, I best be going, Ginny is yelling that dinner is ready and if I skip again, then I'll be in big trouble. Ginny sends her love too. From, hopefully, you'll best friend still,
Harry"
Hermione smiled. Her friends were all doing fine. Just perfectly fine. Without her. Her smile quickly faded as she looked out her window. She walked to it and stared at the street below. Broken windows on other houses, yelling and screaming. In the distance, a gunshot followed by more screaming then followed by sirens. The cars down there were dirty, covered in filth. Her car was hidden behind her aparment where Muggles couldn't get to.
She turned to look at her small apartment. The floor was cluttered by chip bags, beer bottles, and torn things like pillows, blankest, and cushions from the couch. 'Josh went on a rampage, again.' She whipped out her wand, did some simple spells and the room was cleaner anyway. Suddenly she realized. She counld't take it anymore. She was going to leave this small apartment and live somewhere else. 'I could always move back to England.' She looked down her hallway to the only bedroom. Josh was snoring loudly and she walked slowly down the short hallway. She peered into the room and saw the tear-staind pillows and the ripped curtains. She had had enough. Then, from the living room, a soft tapping. Hermione walked slowly back into the living room and saw a large tawny owl tapping at her window. Around its leg, a letter. It had the Hogwarts seal...
Draco lazily brushed his platnium blonde hair out of his eyes as he looked toward the already busy New York streets. He loved this city. He loved the people. He loved his penthouse suite. Being in the very heart of the city made it really busy in the early hours of the morning and very noicy at night. He didn't mind. In fact, he helped make much of that noice at night. He usually didn't sleep til late morning anyway. He just lived off of the fat inherintence he got after his mother left. She was the only one who cared about him.
He sighed. The only thing he hated about living in the city was he had no one to share it with. Oh sure, he dated the occasional skinny, blonde, big-boobs and barely dressed girls who threw themselves at him and the rich, redheaded, looks-younger-than-she-is girls, but never anyone smart. The only smart girl he wanted was her. He sighed and shook his head. He had no idea where she was.
He lowered his eyes and muttered "Why can't life be easy?" He started walking slowly back to his room when it hit him. He had to see her, even if it was only in a picture. He searched every room in his penthouse when he remembered he hid everything about Hogwarts in a box in his closet. He started to riffle through it and he found a picture of the Head Boy and Girl with the prefects in the middle. He stared at her face longingly. This photo wasn't enough.
He looked for the photo of their graduation. He nicked this photo from Pansy years ago, right from under her large nose. He never went to his own graduation. He scanned the photo for her but...she wasn't there. 'Oh right', he murmured, 'that was the day she went with Potter and Weasel to "Save the day". That was the day I almost died. The day she almost killed me. The day I fell in love all over again.'
He put the photo back, fell onto his bed, and fell into a deep, dream filled dreams. He kept thinking what it would have been like if they could have been together then. Several hours later, he heard a tapping echo through his living room. He stumbled out of bed, walked across the large living room where a small grey owl was. The letter had the Hogwarts crest on it. Slowly, with trembling hands...
The doorbell rang. He dropped his letter and went to answer it. He peered throught the hole and unlocked it when he saw it was his best (and only) Muggle friend in the states. After his "encounter" years ago, he desided that not all Muggles are bad. Just the ones on the "Vision-telly" or something like that. His friend, Stefany, was a head shorter than Draco but had an attitude that might actually be bigger than his. At the moment, she was wearing white pajamas (the two usually stayed up late watching the "Vision-telly" and would sit around his penthouse suite in pajamas so he wasn't offeneded by her aperence.) Her long black hair fell elegetly down her back and her dark brown eyes glittered.
"Hey Draco!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "That show we watched last week on tv is on tonite so i thought we could watch it together." she smiled so beautifully. If Draco wasn't already deeply in love with anouther girl, he would have swept Stefany off her feet ages ago.
"Hey Stef. Listen, I just got a letter from my old school I told you about." he said unenthusiastically.
"Really! Read it to me! What's it about?" she asked.
"Dunno. I literally just got it. The owl hasn't left yet." he said, nodding the small bird sitting on his piano.
They walked into the breakfast nook and Draco read his ltter to Stefany as she poked the owl with her finger. The letter read:
"Dear Mr. Malfoy:
As you know, you did not attend your graduation from Hogwarts. You are, however, invited back for a class reunion. All you need to do is to come back to the castle the 31 of August to take a quiz to be sure you would be aloud to graduate. The Hogwarts Expresses will leave Platform Nine and Three-Quarters from Kings Cross Station in London at two p.m. the 28 of August. You will need to be there the 28. If you pass, your class reunion will be the 31 of december in the Great Hall. If you wish to attend, please reply soon.
Signed,
Professor McGonagall
Headmistress"
Draco stared at the paper for a good five minutes until Stefany took the paper from him and read it. He told her he never graduated and the thing he wanted most was to go back and fix that. He finnally got his chance. Somehow, this reminded Stefany she left her straightening iron on and had to leave right away. Draco sent a letter saying he would be there, packed a bag full of clothes, and Apparated to London.
Hermione couldn't belive her luck. 'This must be what Harry was talking about!' She was so happy she could have a chance to graduate! She remembered what happened the day of her graduation.
-flashback-
She ran thought the Forbidden Forest at top speed. She saw Malfoy fun in here and she was gonna catch him.
-end-
No...Hermione, don't think about that...that night was terrible...
-flashback-
He ran his hand from her hair down her back as she deepened the kiss...
-end-
NO! STOP IT RIGHT NOW, HERMIONE!
-flashback-
She cried softly into his strong shoulder...
-end-
Hermione...stop it...be strong...
-flashback-
"Draco..I-I have to k-kill you...p-please stop...join us...I-I don't want to k-kill you..."
"Hermione, I love you...run away with me...We could get married, have children...be together..." Draco's steel grey eyes were full of tears...
-end-
Hermione broke down crying in her cheap apartment. She fell to her knees. That night still seemed new. His face, his smell, his touch, even his taste. She couldn't forget. That was the night she fell in love with her enemy.
