Draco strode into the Great Hall and sat at his table. He sat next to Blaise who was already well into dinner. He let out of a sigh and ran his hand through his hair before reaching out for a roll.
"What's wrong, mate?" Blaise asked between bites.
"It has just been a hellish first day, that's all." Draco answered as he took a bite of his roll. "Granger is in all my bloody classes and if that's not enough, they're taking this stupid inter-house unity nonsense to a new level and I'm partnered with her in almost everything!" He answered exasperatedly.
Blaise chuckled. "Sorry to hear that but I know what you mean. The professors really are on an inter-house unity kick. I've got Abbott in Potions, Brown in Divination and one of the Patil twins for Tranfiguration. I don't even know which one." He lamented. "Look on the bright side, though. You're guaranteed straight Os with Granger as a partner."
Draco rolled his eyes. "No O is worth having to put up with that bushy haired beaver. It's bad enough I have to live with her."
"Are you talking about the mudblood?" Pansy's nasally voice said from Draco's other side.
"Do you know any other bushy haired beavers?" Draco answered coolly, looking to his left where Pansy was sitting down. He was definitely not in the mood to deal with her but at the same time, he wasn't in the mood to listen to her whine and complain either. He winced, knowing that if he didn't fix his response, she'd get even clingier.
Pansy looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if he had just been sarcastic with her when he flashed her a smile and the thought flew out of her head.
"Oh Drakey, I don't know how you can stand to live with her." She demurred. "But after this year, you won't ever have to see her again and we'll be living together." She said excitedly.
"Living together?" Blaise asked, his eyebrow quirked.
"Oh yes, didn't you hear? Draco and I are getting married next summer!" She practically squealed.
Blaise shot Draco a sympathetic look before answering. "Well, congratulations are in order then."
Draco resisted the urge to shudder and looked at Pansy. "Look, I really don't want everyone to know about this. I want to be able to enjoy our last year here without everyone talking about a wedding. Could we please keep it to ourselves?"
Pansy frowned. "But our parents are going to announce it at Christmas anyway. What does it matter?"
Draco put on his prize winning pout and looked at her deploringly. "Please Pans, do it for me? It'll make our wedding that much more special."
Pansy melted under Draco's silver eyes. "Sure Drakey, anything for you." She consented unable to resist.
Draco smiled broadly. "Thanks Pansy." He said before turning his attention back to Blaise and rolling his eyes.
Blaise nodded his head in appreciation of the manipulation that had just occurred in front of him and smiled. Draco shrugged and stood up from the table. "Well, I must be going. I have a lot of things to do tonight so I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good night." He said as he walked off and out of the hall, well aware that Pansy's eyes were trained on him the entire way.
He walked through the mostly deserted halls and made his way back to the Head's common room. Unsurprisingly, Hermione was sitting at her desk, writing on a piece of parchment. He threw his satchel onto the couch and sat down next to it, putting his feet up on the table in front of it. The fireplace was lit and it crackled with enthusiasm.
Hermione turned to Draco at the sound of his bag hitting the couch. "Do you mind, Malfoy? I'm trying to get some writing done." She said annoyed.
"Well, let's get our prefect list done and then you can go back to your homework." He said rolling his eyes. "It's our first day of school but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a know-it-all like you would be doing homework."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "For your information, I'm writing a letter, thank you very much." She snapped.
"Oh, to your red headed weasel of a boyfriend, then?" He mocked. "Dear Weasel, I miss you so much. School without your idiocy isn't the same. Please come back and I'll do all your homework for you." He said in falsetto.
"Oh shut it, Malfoy. You probably write letters to your dear old mum like the mama's boy you are." She shot back.
Draco's eyes turned to slits. "You mention my mother again Granger and you'll regret it." He threatened, his eyes glowering with anger.
Hermione was taken back momentarily with the seriousness in his voice. She quickly decided that this game had gone on long enough and she preferred to not be thrown out of her Head Girl position for dueling with the Head Boy. "What were you saying about prefect schedules?" She asked, changing the subject.
Draco glared at her a moment longer before shaking his head quickly. The anger dissipated as quickly as it came and he thought about her question. "We need to come up with one." He answered. "Shall we just pair them with their housemate?"
"No, remember inter-house unity? We should stick with that." She answered; glad to be on a safer topic.
"Fine. Well, let's have a prefect's meeting on Wednesday nights and we can patrol after the meeting." He suggested, taking out a piece of parchment.
Hermione nodded. "That's fine. Let's see, how about Parkinson and Macmillan on Mondays?"
Draco wrote down the names. "Alright, how about Lovegood and Longbottom on Tuesdays?" He suggested.
"Corner and Abbott on Thursdays." Hermione supplied.
"That leaves Zabini and Weasley on Friday." Draco said finishing his writing. Hermione winced at the last pairing, cursing herself for letting Ginny be paired up with a Slytherin. "Hogsmeade weekend in 2 weekends?"
Hermione nodded. "That sounds about right." She answered, somewhat surprised at how smoothly it all went.
Draco stood up and grabbed his satchel off the couch. He walked over to her desk and put the piece of parchment down on it and strode away. He walked up the stairs and entered the room, closing the door behind him. He threw his satchel on the floor and took off his school robes, throwing them on his bed.
He sat on his windowsill, looking out on the Forbidden Forrest. He leaned his head against the cool stone wall and sighed. He closed his eyes and for a moment he thought he could hear the screams of his past. His eyes snapped open and he shook his head violently, trying to get the noise out of his head.
He stood back up and opened the door to the bathroom, deciding that a bath might be called for.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Hermione sat up in bed and reached for her wand on her nightstand. The sound of screaming had jolted her out of her sleep but perhaps she had dreamt it. Silence surrounded her and she listened for a moment longer. Satisfied that it was from a dream she no longer remembered, she put her wand down and laid back down. As she closed her eyes, another tortured scream tore through the air and she was on her feet, wand in hand.
She knew immediately that the scream was from the room across from hers and she quickly crossed her room and paused at her door. The screaming had not stopped and it sounded as if he was being crucio'd. She threw open her door and strode across the landing to his door.
With a hard shove, she opened the door with her wand out and pointed. She looked around but saw no one other than the blonde boy, tangled in blankets, screaming at the top of his lungs. She realized quickly that he was dreaming and she walked over to his bed cautiously.
"Malfoy." She said loudly, trying to wake him. "Malfoy!"
The boy stopped screaming then, but didn't wake. His expression looked pained and he whimpered audibly.
"Malfoy!" She yelled, putting her hand on his shoulder to wake him.
As soon as her hand made contact, his hand shot out and captured her wrist. She squeaked in surprise and his eyes opened.
"What the bloody hell are you doing in my room, Granger?" He sneered at her.
Hermione glared at him. "For your information, you woke me up with all your screaming."
Draco dropped her hand and paled. "I was screaming?"
"Yes, and loud enough to wake the dead." She answered, taking a step back from the bed. "Nightmares?" She asked.
His eyes hardened. "That's none of your business. Now get out of my room."
Hermione harumphed. "Fine Malfoy. Just try not to wake me up." She said as she walked out of his room. As she closed his door behind her, she could hear him mutter a silencing charm. She sighed as she thought of the nightmares that were obviously torturing him. She wondered if they were anything like the nightmares she had time from time. She hurriedly entered her room and got back into bed. As she closed her eyes, she fell back into a dreamless sleep.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Hermione left the prefect's meeting with Draco following behind her. They hadn't talked since the nightmare incident unless it was absolutely necessary like during classes or at the meeting. He seemed to be avoiding her and that suited her just fine. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned around, facing the blonde behind her.
"Which way would you like to go?" She asked while looking down the corridor.
"Why don't you go that way?" He said pointing to his right. "I'll go down that way." He said pointing to his left. "We'll meet by the stairs and go up to the next floor together. It'll make our rounds go faster."
"Do you really think we should split up?" Hermione asked, uneasy about the idea. After all, there was a reason prefects patrolled in pairs.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Are you scared? Or would you just rather be in my amazing company? I supposed I could understand that." He smirked.
Hermione's lips thinned to a straight line. "Fine, Malfoy. We'll meet at the stupid stairs."
Draco turned on his heel and started to stride down the hallway, his robes swishing behind him. She promptly turned in the other direction and walked away as well. She held her wand at her side although she wasn't sure why. It wasn't like she would hex a student or anything, even if they were out after curfew.
Half an hour went by quietly and she found herself finally approaching the stairs. Draco was there already, leaning against the wall inspecting his nails.
"It's about time, Granger. Did you take a nap?" He snapped as she came closer.
Hermione glared at him. "Let's just go up the stairs, Malfoy." She said as she walked past him and started up the stairs.
They got to the top of the stairs and once again broke apart. Hermione found herself walking down a long quiet corridor when she recognized where she was. If she went a little farther down, she'd come upon the Room of Requirement. She hadn't been down here since the War.
Memories began to flood her as she remembered coming out of the room after sneaking in from the Hog's Head. She closed her eyes as she leaned against the cold stone wall, while memories continued to assault her. A flash of white light pulled her out of her memories and her eyes snapped open with her wand pointed in front of her. As her eyes focused, she saw a small ghost standing in front of her, a camera in his hands.
"Colin?" She whispered, recognizing the boy after a moment. A single tear fell as she saw the young boy in front of her nod his head.
Colin gave her a lop sided grin before floating up and through the ceiling. Hermione stood there for a moment, shocked. He had looked almost exactly the way she remembered him, save for the transparent part.
Slowly, a sob made its way up her throat and then wracked her body. She slid against the wall and down to the floor, tears streaming down her face as she thought about all the people she lost. She wrapped her arms around her bent legs and lowered her head to her knees as the sobs kept coming.
She didn't know how long she sat there, freely crying for the first time since the war. She heard angry footsteps approach her and then stop suddenly. She looked up to see an apprehensive Draco surveying the scene.
"Granger?" He asked, annoyance seeping into his voice. "What is wrong with you?"
"I saw Colin Creevey." She said softly, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.
"Who the hell is Colin Creevey and why is that making you ball your eyes out?" He asked, crossing his arms in front of himself. "Merlin Granger, can't take care of some student out after curfew?" He shook his head.
"He's...he's dead." She whispered and Draco's eyes widened. "He died at the battle, somewhere around here. And I saw his ghost. He took a picture." She said haltingly.
Draco's face lost the little color it had. "A picture? You mean the little kid who constantly followed Potter around with the camera?" He asked, vaguely recalling the person.
Hermione nodded her head solemnly. "So many people died...right here."
Draco raked his hand through his hair. "Look Granger, let's get you back to our room." He said after a moment.
"I'm not going alone." She said, still visibly shaken by the ghost of her house mate.
Draco nodded. "We won't split up prefect duties anymore." He conceded.
Hermione nodded as she attempted to stand up, her knees weak from the emotional drain. She saw a pale hand in front of her and looked up with surprised eyes.
"I don't have all bloody night, Granger." Draco said, though not nearly as annoyed as before.
Hermione grabbed his hand and he pulled her up to her feet. They walked back in silence, both trying not to think of all that was lost within the castle walls.
A/N: Ah, the effects of trauma. Let's see how this plays out shall we? :-) Thanks for the reviews! PLEASE continue! I love reading them and they keep me motivated. And I always love suggestions! ~Chrissy
