Chapter Three:
It was like nothing she had ever felt before. His mind was far more complex than the rats and sang of something far darker. She could barely focus to see but she could see Draco standing stock still in the middle of the crowd. There were several nervous looking Slytherins prodding his back. She quickly told him to keep going as normal. She had to push far harder to get him to comply, his mind was far more complex than that of the rats. Still he kept going. She felt what was going on around both him and herself and her brilliant mind felt so confused. She could feel Harry beside her and started walking. In order to avoid having to talk to anyone she went straight to her dormitory. She climbed into her bed, not even bothering to change out of her day robes, and closed her eyes.
She put herself in Malfoys head.
It was like nothing she had ever felt before. The tingling in her brain had become a wall of emotions and thoughts. Seeing as rats don't really feel much Hermione had had no reason to know that so it was an utter surprise. First she had Draco follow suit of her decision and under her command he shut his door, took off his shoes and outer cloak and got into the neatly made bed. He closed his eyes.
She began to explore. She looked at how he had enjoyed yelling at a first year who had cut in front of him this morning. How his steak during lunch had been far overcooked for his tastes.
She went in deeper, slicing through his mind like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Then, to her surprise, she found herself. It was a shock to see herself as other people saw her, bushy haired and back arched in an effort to hold all of her books. She saw how he felt about her. Memories of him calling her mudblood repeatedly, his sneer as he tripped her in the corridor, all of his memories of his being cruel to her. But under all that, deeper still was . . . something else. Some kind of respect for her. And awe, he was impressed with her magical ability and intelligence. Too bad her blood status overrode all that as far as he was concerned.
She certainly was not going to let any of Draco the-pompous-git Malfoys feelings change her mind about her plans though. She had far too much riding on this revenge to turn back now.
Enjoying yourself, are you?
Hermione near lost control, she was so startled, Malfoy? She thought tentatively. No answer. She decided to try digging deeper. Draco Malfoys deepest thoughts and most personal memories flashed before her, hers for the taking. Draco's first wand, Draco's first owl, Draco's first broom. Then darker, the first time Lucius beat Draco. The first time his mother slapped him. The first time -
Stop! Again Draco Malfoys voice rang in her head, though this time in anguish. As if that he relieved those memories each time she viewed them. But that was impossible, wasn't it. Everything she had managed to look up on the Imperius Curse, which wasn't much given that Harry and Ron might have found it a teensy bit suspicious if there goody-goody best friend, near sister of the Boy Who Lived, looking up side effects of one of the Unforgivable Curses. Still, in what she had read, the bodies mind was supposed to be completely dormant for as long as the spell was in effect. "As empty as a puppet," one book had chillingly stated. And yet, it appeared as though Draco Malfoy was talking to her form inside his head. They were both inside his head.