Draco walked through the long corridors of Hogwarts castle, hoping that at least some of the happiness he once felt here would return. The drafty, stone, walls sent chills down Draco's spine and he could feel the cold seep into his bones, but he was used to it.
After his mother left, and his father was arrested and sent to Azkaban; he spent most of his days walking around the deserted manor. The cold, emotionless Mansion didn't help his mood, but he felt that he deserved this empty feeling, this isolation. Sometimes he wondered whether it would be better to actually get out of the house more, but he always shot down the thought. He didn't want a repeat of what happened after his hearing at the ministry.
He could hear the click of his shoes against the stone floor. He had wanted to do it. End it right then, but as he had watched the water of the black lake, his heartbeat started to pulse rapidly. He couldn't do it. He was too much of a coward. His hands in his robes pocket started to shake, as he hung his head to look at the floor in shame. No wonder he was sorted into Slytherin. He took a deep breath and started walking down to the dungeons, ready for whatever beating his fellow housemates would throw at him.
DH
Draco turned the corner and whispered the password to get into the common room. "Profugus" (Latin word for banished) the wall slowly opened and Draco stepped through, into the dimly, green lit common area. The wall shut with a loud thud and everything in the common room was silent. The only people still up at this hour were Nott and Harper.
The two boys looked over at Draco and stood up from the black, leather couch that they had sat on.
"Malfoy" Harper spat in Draco's direction. "Come back to set more shame to your washed up family name?"
Nott snickered in the background as Harper neared Draco. Inside, he felt a need to yell and hex Harper into oblivion. He took a deep breath to settle his temper, as Nott and Harper stopped in front of him, blocking his way to get to his dormitory. He glared at the pair and his hands clenched into fists, as they both wore smirks.
"Move." he said in a steady voice, trying to keep his cool. Nott just cocked his eyebrow in retaliation.
"No, I don't think I will." he said pulling out his wand and waving it in front of Draco, baiting him to start something. Draco just rolled his eyes, turned around and walked back out of the Common room. On his way out, he heard the distinct cackling laughter of the two gits that he used to call friends.
DH
He was tired. His eyes kept drooping, but he never wanted to sleep. To be trapped in his nightmares that haunted him every night. So there he sat, on the windowsill of one of the many windows in Hogwarts. He felt terrible. His back ached, his head was pounding, and he was just plain exhausted. Draco didn't know why he came back this year. Maybe it was because the manor just seemed so empty, or it was just another way to torture himself with more self-loathing, but he didn't care for the reason. He just wanted to get out, for it to end.
His drowsiness over took him the more he thought about his troubles and soon his head fell back against the window, as he fell fast asleep.
'You are a disappointment. You are no son of mine. How dare you call yourself a Malfoy.'
DH
A jolt woke her from her reoccurring nightmare. The sunlight cast a glare right into Hermione's eyes. She shut her eyes, enveloping her vision back into darkness. A groan escaped from her throat as she got out of bed. She had only had about 4 hours of sleep, having sat awake in her bed for who knows how long. She grabbed her robes and headed for the bathroom to take a nice long shower, before her roommates awoke.
When she was walking down towards the great hall, for breakfast, she decided to take the long route to explore some more of Hogwarts' many corridors. Her robes billowed out behind her as she traipsed down an older part of the castle. Her eyes scanned the grounds through the windows lining the walls, and she was puzzled when her eyes caught on a green, Slytherin robe hanging off one of the window seats. She curiously walked closer to the person who was sitting there. When she reached the window, Hermione saw, to her surprise, Malfoy. He was leaning up against the window, with his head hung, obviously asleep. Hermione giggled softly as she observed him. His face seemed relaxed, but she could still see large bags forming under his eyes from lack of sleep. Nightmares, she thought.
Malfoy only took up half of the window seat with his sleeping form, so Hermione sat herself down across from him. She stayed like that for what seemed like an hour or so, when she heard a moan come from Malfoy's direction. She turned and saw his head moving back and forth, as if in pain. She saw his clenched fists start to shake and his skin had paled a sickly color.
She panicked, shooting up from her current position; she grabbed hold of the boy's broad shoulders, trying to wake him from his night terrors.
He hunched over and his eyes shot open. Hermione's heart was racing. Her hand still on his shoulder she knelt down
"Malfoy? Are you alright?" She asked soothingly as the boy next to her shook with fear and was breathing at rapid rate. He froze. His blonde head turned slowly until his stunning silver eyes met her brown ones.
"Granger?" He whispered so quietly that Hermione barely caught the word.
