Chapter 3: Nightmare

Draco was running though Hogwarts and the Dark Lord was chasing him, calling to him, begging him to be a Death Eater.

The scene changed: he was back at Malfoy Manor and his father was sitting at the kitchen table. "Father," Draco said with the voice he had when he was five.

"What is it now?" He asked irritably.

"I made you a drawing—" Before he could finish, the drawing started melting into blood, dripping all over him and the floor. He looked up at his father for help but the man waved his wand and shot a curse at him. "WHY DADDY?" The younger Draco screamed as he writhed in pain.

Draco jolted himself awake in a cold sweat. His heavy breathing echoed off the stone walls and floors, making him more paranoid. He threw off his blankets and ran into the corridor, needing to get away from the chill and darkness of the dungeons. Draco padded around for a while until he came to the library. One of the doors was wide open; he stepped inside and shuddered. Illuminated only by the light of the moon, the shelves looked like horrifying demons. "What are you doing here?" A voice snapped.

Draco practically jumped out of his skin as he turned to face Hermione. "I could ask you the same question!" He tried to say with venom, but it came out more as a terrified squeak.

"Are you alright?" She asked with genuine concern. He may be a total prick, but he looks like he's about to piss himself.

"I'm fine," he said bitterly and glared at her. "I just wasn't expecting to run into the likes of—" Draco cut himself off. He really was a little frightened and the thought of staying by someone, even Granger, made him feel slightly safer. Before going on, he took a deep breath. "I wasn't planning on running into anyone," he replied softly.

Hermione was confused by the sudden kindness, kind for Malfoy, that is, she added. "You frightened me a bit as well. I thought one of the professors had caught me," she whispered.

Draco studied her in the moonlight. Her hair fell messily, as it usually did. She was clutching five new books as though her life depended on them, typical Granger. But concern fluttered in his chest when he gaze fell on her eyes. They held a deep sadness and she looked more exhausted than he had ever seen her, even around exam times—not that he was looking. "It doesn't seem like they care what we do over break," he said smoothly, trying as hard as he could to keep the usual coldness from his voice.

"Yeah, not even professor Snape," she replied shyly and set her books on a table.

He smirked at her use of 'professor'. "What books have you?"

"Oh um," Hermione started as she splayed the books so all the titles showed. "This one is a sequel to "Flying with Dragons," I read that one last night," she said as she pointed to a leather-bound book. Her hand shifted to a red cover. "Healing." A green cover. "Potions." A dark black leather cover, "Potions and spells." And the last one, "Poetry."

"Hmm," Draco replied as he tried to figure out how the five went together.

"I… I like poetry quite a bit. Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favourites. He was just a muggle, but I really enjoy his work." Hermione didn't know why she was telling him all of this. Perhaps it was the late hour, the way his face softened as she spoke, how attentive he seemed, or maybe how his hair was messily sticking up around his face. "Are you sure you're okay?" She knew she should detest him, or at least regard him with her usual coolness, but she found it hard to resist the Slytherin standing before her in gray sweats and a black t-shirt.

"Yes. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare," he whispered. "Tell me more about this Poe guy."

"Right, well, he was very depressing. One of his works, The Raven…"

He tried to listen attentively as she went on and on. But his eyes wandered to her lips, watching as they formed words that he no longer heard. Her voice had become a blur of soothing sounds all running together. Had he been sitting, he would have fallen asleep. Comfort pushed the fear and panic from his nightmare far out of his mind. Her lips stopped moving and he smiled in response. Oh god, what should I say? "Sounds intriguing."

"Yeah," she replied and bounced nervously on her toes.

"Why are you here over break?" he asked shyly.

A look of pain crossed her face and guilt immediately shot through his chest. "My parents… something came up." Her voice cracked as she spoke. She cleared her throat. "What about you."

"The same," he said bitterly and sat in a chair. Comfort her! A voice in his head screamed, but he ignored it.

Hermione took the one across from him. "I'm sorry," she whispered and picked at a loose thread on her pants. Staying awake for days on end was starting to take its toll. Her eyelids started drooping, but she fought to stay awake.

"Don't worry about it," he replied nonchalantly as his own sleepiness took over.

"Care to enlighten me as to what this is?" A cool voice said.

Hermione's eyes shot open. No no no. "Sir," she began in a gravelly voice, "I… we were just sleeping. I—"

"It won't happen again, sir," Draco interrupted and stood.

"See to it," Severus snapped and glared at each of them.

She picked up her books and sprinted from the library, afraid of pissing off Snape further. The dormitory seemed father than normal as she took the steps two by two, listening carefully for any other footsteps. Her heart hammered as she stood with her back to the closed portrait. A smile crossed her face when she looked down at the books in her arms and remembered speaking to Draco. Hermione sighed, I wouldn't change a thing. Her brows furrowed slightly when she thought about how nice he had been, but found she didn't really care. She glanced over to the window at the still black skies. Hail tapped the frost-covered glass as Hermione curled up in a chair with her poetry.

Draco stared into his Head of House's onyx eyes. He hadn't been intimidated by the man since he was five. Though, this moment came close. Granger's voice fluttered weakly and he found it imperative to interject. "It won't happen again, sir." He stood, trying to take the attention off of the frightened girl. She saw the opportunity and ran. Smart girl, he thought with an internal smirk.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to Snape.

"What. Was. That?" He demanded.

"We fell asleep, talking. I had another nightmare," he admitted, ashamed.

"That's... unfortunate. But no excuse to be found with a female student in a currently restricted area," he chided.

"It won't happen again," he said icily.

Severus raised his eyebrow before he spun on his heel and stalked away.

Draco watched as he left and smiled, a true genuine smile. His heart raced as he thought about seeing her again. What the hell is happening to me? He ran a hand through his hair as he made his way back to the Slytherin dormitory, trying to figure out why he couldn't get Granger off his mind.