Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.

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Chapter 2: Sleepover

"It's the 7th of October, right?" Draco asked as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. He and Ron had decided to stay in front of Ginny and Harry who were still holding hands, shooting what Ron referred to as "googly eyes" at one another.

"Wow, Malfoy—you know what today is!" replied Ron, his voice full of good-mannered sarcasm.

"Yeah, I do—it's the day Hermione comes back, isn't it?" It took all of Draco's self control to hide the smirk fighting to spread across his face. He continued walking, knowing Ron, Harry and Ginny had stopped at his words. After a couple steps, he turned around, eyebrow quirked. "Something wrong?"

Ron could hardly believe it—how could he have forgotten Hermione would be back today! And worse: Malfoy remembered! He mentally slapped his palm to his forehead. 'Well, at least I'm not the only one' he thought to himself, seeing the looks of surprise on Harry and Ginny's faces. Yep—Malfoy would never let them forget it; he, the ferret boy, had remembered Hermione before they did. Would wonders never cease?

"Let's hurry! Maybe she's in the Great Hall!" Ginny broke the silence, finally pulling her hand free from Harry's gentle grasp and beginning to run to the Great Hall.

"Oi! Stop running in the halls or I'll dock points!" Malfoy called out, but she kept on going. She was used to his empty threats of taking house points and assigning detentions—it was just his way of reminding everyone that he was Head Boy.

Seeing his threat proved ineffectual, he glanced at Harry and Ron who shrugged and followed Ginny's lead, jogging lightly towards the Great Hall. Instead of running after them, he sighed, walking almost nonchalantly in their direction. When he finally got to the Great Hall, he was surprised to see McGonagall at the front of the room trying to get everyone's attention.

"Everybody! Please! Settle down!"

Grey eyes scanned the Gryffindor table, meeting emerald green and icy blue. Harry and Ron once again could do nothing but shrug as they sat down. Slowly, Draco walked over to his own house's table, taking his usual seat between Crabbe and Goyle. Scanning the Gryffindor's table once more, he was able to confirm: Hermione wasn't there.

Once the hall was quiet, the Professor continued. "Due to…unforeseen circumstances, I must ask you all to retire to your houses tonight. Dinner will be served there. And please—no wandering the halls tonight."

Murmurs spread throughout the huge room as the children stood up to follow orders. Out of the corner of his eye, Malfoy saw Harry, Ron and Ginny get up and walk towards the teachers' table. Draco hurried to catch up to the three Gryffindors.

"Professor, where's Hermione? She was supposed to come back today, wasn't she?" Harry asked, getting right to the point.

"Yeah, might this have anything to do with her?" Ron added. McGonagall's second of hesitation told Draco what he needed to know: it had everything to do with Hermione.

"It's alright, Minerva." Dumbledore assured, joining them. "Mr. Malfoy, kindly escort Mr. Potter and Mr. and Miss Weasley to the Head's Common Room. We will continue this there."

With a curt nod, Draco turned around, Harry, Ron and Ginny right behind. Tension seemed to grow with every step.

"Why do we need to go to the Head's Dorm? Wouldn't she be in the Gryffindor dorm? What's all this security about!" Ron asked frantically.

"Shut up, Weasley" Draco commanded firmly. For once, Ron complied, knowing Draco was just as worried as any of them. Well maybe not him of course.

Harry's arms were covered in goose flesh, chills running up his spine towards his fingers as he quickened his pace to keep up with their Slytherin companion. He hadn't even realized Ginny had once again entwined her hand in his until he felt her squeeze it in response to his speeding up. He allowed himself to take comfort in the small gesture, glad that he had come to his senses and asked her to be his girlfriend once again. They were in this fight together—all of them.

It wasn't long before the four stopped in front of a painting of the Hogwarts crest. Draco spoke the password and the portrait swung open slowly. It felt like the longest two seconds of Ron's life. In a matter of two seconds, millions of thoughts and ideas flew through his head; 'Is she in there?', 'Is she alright?', 'What happened?', 'Where did she go?', 'Does this have to do with You-Know-Who?', 'Has our dinner arrived? Or will we have to the Gryffindor Common Room to get it?', 'Why is it taking so long for this bloody portrait to open?', 'Where's Hermione?'. They all had formed an image in their mind of what scene would greet them: Hermione covered in blood that was mostly someone else's; Hermione covered in blood that was mostly her own; Hermione so full of bruises and cuts she didn't even look like Hermione anymore; Hermione on her death bed. Their imaginations were running wild, making their hearts beat faster. They were unprepared for the reality they met one those two seconds passed and the portrait was fully open.

The fire in the Head's Common Room was blazing, making the room nice and toasty compared to the cold hall they stood in. Draco walked in first, the only sign of his consternation his furrowed brow. Harry, Ron and Ginny followed, their expressions mirroring the Malfoy's.

It was empty. Well, save for a roaring fire that is. To Harry, this almost seemed worse than finding a bloody Hermione. After all, any Hermione was better than no Hermione.

"Maybe she's in her room," Ginny suggested quietly as the quartet made their way into the common room.

"I highly doubt that, Miss Weasley, though you're welcome to take a peek. It would put all our minds at ease if your assumptions are correct." Dumbledore's voice came from behind them.

"Where is she then, Professor?" Harry asked, worry spreading like fire throughout his body. Dumbledore always knew what was going on…hearing the Headmaster confess unease at Hermione's absence unsettled him. Something was wrong…

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you—not because I wish to withhold information from you Mr. Potter," the Headmaster added, seeing a look of indignation cross the young boy's face, "but because I simply do not know."

"There never was any vacation, was there?" Draco asked, his voice eerily calm.

A chill ran down Ginny's spine and she gripped Harry's hand tighter. She had her suspicions when her owls returned with unanswered letters during the summer, but Ginny put it off as a result of Hermione enjoying herself too much to find time to respond. She should have known better. Hermione always wrote back.

"No, I'm sorry, there was no vacation." Albus answered.

"Then what…where…" Ron stuttered, unable to speak. He didn't know what to say. How could Hermione be missing?

"I assure you, we are doing everything we can to ensure Miss Granger's safe return. In the meantime, I suggest you all get some rest—it has been a trying evening." With that, the Headmaster left, leaving too many questioned unanswered.

"But how? I thought now that V…Voldemort was gone, it was all over." Ginny questioned, her voice small as they walked towards the couches by the fireplace. Harry couldn't help but agree. Voldemort's defeat and the demise of the Death Eaters were supposed to be the end…whatever happened to 'happily ever after'? Sitting on the couch, he pulled Ginny to his chest, offering comfort as she struggled to fight tears. He looked over at Draco, who sat silently in the red loveseat across from him. The blonde's brow was furrowed in deep thought once again; the only indication of emotion was the slight frown on his face. Turning to look at Ron, Harry felt his heart clench even more; he knew how Ron felt about Hermione…they all did—except for Ron and Hermione, of course. Harry's throat constricted at the thought of how he would feel if it were Ginny in Hermione's place and his arms tightened around her.

"It's late," Draco announced, what seemed like years later. The fire that had welcomed them when they first stepped inside was now reduced to a few smoldering bits of wood—the only sign of the passing of time. "Prefects or not, you aren't to be out this late. You were meant to be in your dormitories long ago," he reminded them, his sense of duty as Head Boy kicking in.

"Could we stay, Draco? Please? What if she comes back...I want to be here when she comes back…" The hard look in the young Malfoy's eyes softened slightly at Ginny's quiet words, heavy with emotion. Once again, he was reminded of what it meant to love a friend, and while didn't have much experience in that particular field, he knew enough to respect it when he saw it. Head Boy duties be damned…

"Alright," he agreed, "Do you and Potter want to take my room? Or hers…Weasley, you're welcome to whichever room they don't take…"

Draco's tired voice drew Ron back to reality, his mind blissfully numb beforehand. The Malfoy's apparent concern shocked him, allowing him to focus on something other than his distress. That is, until he remembered why Malfoy was concerned in the first place. A bubble rose within the Weasley's throat and all he could do was nod at Draco's words. He hadn't even heard what he said.

"I doubt Hermione would appreciate coming back to find us in her bed," Harry replied, attempting half-heartedly to lighten the mood. "We'll all sleep here in the common room, if that's all right with you. That way, we'll be right here when she gets back."

The meaning behind Harry's response was not lost on Draco. 'He's right,' the Slytherin thought to himself as he nodded. 'She will be back'.

"Right. Well—I'll go get some blankets and whatnot. Care to help, Weasley?"

Ron's eyes shot up to meet his former enemy's, surprised at the offer, which he had heard.

"Yeah, alright," he agreed, following Draco up a set of stairs to what he saw was a linen closet. 'A linen closet? Damn Heads…'

"Hey listen," Draco began in a whisper, not entirely sure what he was saying, but letting his mouth run anyway. "I know you're worried…but if Dumbledore can convince a Malfoy to join the Light side, then the old coot can do anything. After fighting the Dark Lord, finding Granger'll be a piece of Pumpkin Pasty, all right?" Inwardly, Draco winced. Where the hell did that come from? He certainly didn't know. His words had sounded cheesy and cliché—and they had been directed to Weasley, of all people! Yet somehow, Draco knew the red-head had needed those words…had needed to hear them from someone other than the Boy Wonder and the Headmaster…had needed to hear them from someone who didn't make it a habit to comfort anyone on a day to day basis. He needed to hear Hermione would be ok. Draco knew, after all, how the Weasel felt about their friendly, neighborhood bookworm. In fact, they all did—except Ron and Hermione, of course.

Ron let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, visibly relaxing as Malfoy placed one last blanket in his arms.

"Thanks," he nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. The fact that Malfoy has just offered him words of comfort was something he couldn't quite wrap his head around. It was Malfoy! Then again, said by any other person—especially Harry or Dumbledore—and the words would have been meaningless. Maybe the Ferret wasn't so bad after all.

Draco nodded once, then the two made their way downstairs, an awkward yet comfortable silence between them.

"Four blankets?" Harry questioned when the two arrived, distributing why they collected. He had seen Malfoy say something to Ron upstairs, and would have brought it up but it seemed to have calmed his fiery friend, so decided against it. Besides, if Malfoy thought it was best to pull Ron aside for whatever it was he had to say, then he would keep it between them.

"You didn't expect me to sit out while you three had a sleepover in my common room, did you?" Draco answered, raising an eyebrow, which Harry knew to mean, 'I'm worried too…' "Now," Draco continued, pulling out his wand to dim the lights. "All of you—Dumbledore said to get some rest, and damn it, we're getting rest. She'll be back by morning" he confidently assured before resting his head on his pillow. They offered each other 'good-night's and silence filled the room. It was a long while before anyone fell asleep.