Disclaimer: obviously, all characters belong to J.K Rowling, I own nothing but the plot. Also, I don't make money with this story, it is for fun. So please enjoy.


Chapter 4: Nightmares

Deep in thought Hermione doesn't notice it when Draco finishes his meal and turns around. He wants to speak up but decides against it when he sees her sitting in front of the window staring out of it. She has her legs pulled up to her chest and has both her arms around them. Her chin rests lightly on her knees. She is wearing a soft brown knee length dress with a round collar made out of a flowy and seemingly soft fabric. Her long brown curls, which she has learned to tame a little over the course of the last couple of years but were just too hopeless to tame entirely, were mostly on her back with a few loose curls hanging over her shoulders. For a split second, Draco considers her to look angelic with the evening light shining through the window on face. Draco blames the thought on her being a ghost but a voice in the back of his head tells him that her ghostly state has nothing to do with him thinking she looks angelic. She actually looks beautiful, however hard to admit to him. She has a troubled look on her face that Draco would very much like to understand but he doesn't dare to ask. Guilt rushes through him as he sees her sitting there, looking sad, and decides he has had enough. He clears his throat which makes Hermione snap out of the little bubble of thoughts that surrounded her.

"You're finished?" she asks him dreamily.

"Yes." He almost snaps.

"Good." She smiles at Draco briefly but it makes him feel uncomfortable. "Tell me, how does Draco Malfoy spend his evenings?" She aks him.

"I was thinking about going back to work. I'm almost done. After that I'll play quiddich with Blaise." Draco drags his hand through his hair but it is an unconscious manifestation of his uneasiness.

"But he was already here this afternoon. Why didn't you play then?" Hermione asks him and turns to face him, dangling her feet off the settee in the window. Her feet do not reach the ground, which Draco finds cute. Another thought he pushes to the back of his mind quickly.

"He had to visit others, for the gambling thing."

Hermione nods and asks him "Does he gamble a lot?"

"Yes" He answers.

"And he loses a lot?" Hermione continues.

Draco smiles. "Usually."

"Huh". She says. "Must be nice" Hermione tells him.

Draco raises an eyebrow. "What must be nice?"

"Having so much money you just don't care what you do with it or if you lose it." She responds lightly

"Not always." Draco answers vaguely.

"He could always put the money to good use you know" Hermione tells Draco matter-of-factly. "There are many charities that could really benefit from some generous donations".

"His money is already being put to good use. It goes to me." Draco smiles and crosses his arms over his chest.

Hermione snorts. "You are no charity Malfoy. And from the looks of it, you don't need the money either. Perhaps you could invest in S.P.E.W!" she exclaims. "Now that I am dead I will need someone to take over." She explains.

"What is spew?" Draco asks her.

"S.P.E.W" She repeats. "Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare." She smiles brightly at him.

"Forget it Granger. I will not join something so stupid."

"It is not stupid!" She almost shouts.

"Whatever Granger, I like my house-elves where they are. Working for me."

"Fine." She tells him and lets go of the matter. For the time being at least. "When you're done with your own work I have some work for you too." Hermione tells him. "Research actually."

"I'm not joining that stupid club of yours Granger, forget it!"

"It is not about S.P.E.W. It is about me, being a ghost, and finding out what happened to me." She looks at him with big puppy dog eyes.

"Can't you just let it go? I won't help you." He tells her.

She gets really angry and walks over to him. "No Malfoy I can't just let it go. I am a bloody ghost and I don't know anything about how I died, or what I'm supposed to be doing here. Do you want to know what I think?"

"Why do I feel like you would tell me even if I didn't?" he asks her but she ignores it.

"You like me."

"Come again?"

"I said, you like me." Hermione repeated.

"I heard you the first time. Why would you say that?" he asks, his face clearly showing how disgusting he finds the idea.

"You know the only way to get rid of me is you helping me and you're doing everything you can to keep that from happening. Ergo, you like me. There is no other explanation for trying to keep me around." She tells him matter-of-factly.

"You've gone mental Granger." He tells her, his voice suddenly very high. He clears his throat and shifts his weight to his other leg.

She crosses her arms over her chest and walks over to him. She is standing close enough to feel him breathing but neither will take a step back. It's funny how she cannot touch or feel anything but she can feel his breath on her face. She'll worry about it later. She mimics his smirk and looks up at him. "You're awfully touchy about this. It must be true then." She challenges.

"Let it go Granger, I'm never helping you" He states and walks away. Hermione follows him singing to in a childish way. "You like me, you like me, you can't deny it, you like me."

"Shut up Granger you're wrong." He grunts and starts taking bigger steps.

She giggles. "No I'm not."

"Yes you are, I don't like you."

"You don't dislike me anymore either. Just admit it. You don't mind having me around as much as you initially thought you would."

He remains silent for a second and then answers, "Maybe."

She laughs. "That means yes, Malfoy."

"If you shut up I have to finish these reports now." He tells her. By now they arrived in his study and he immediately wants to start working if only to get Hermione to stop making such outrageous accusations.

"Will we start research tomorrow then?" She asks him hopefully.

"I haven't agreed to helping you Granger"

"Yet."

He stops rifling through his papers and faces her. He smirks at her with a devilish twinkling in his eyes.

"You're a foul git you know that Malfoy. Besides, manipulating me this way, torturing me with all of that delicious food you know I can't eat, is pretty pathetic, you can do better. But I am going to sit there quietly, stay out of your way." She tells him and to prove her point jumps unto his desk chair with her arms crossed.

"Why would you do that?"

"Figure it out yourself. If you won't help me I won't help you. I'm sure one day you'll need my help and then you can just kiss my ghostly buttocks!"

He smiles. "I don't need your help Granger; I don't need you at all."

"Then you needn't worry." This statement bothers Draco. She's up to something but he doesn't know what. He studies her but she isn't looking at him. Instead, she is reading the papers in front of her on his desk. It's a good thing that most of his papers were in an envelope or a map of some sorts so she couldn't read much.

"Get out of my chair Granger."

"What are all of these papers for?" She asks him ignoring his order. Everything on his desk is in an envelope but they don't all have his name on it.

"None of your business. Now, get out." He doesn't shout. He sounds very calm but she knows he isn't. His voice trembles slightly.

"Who is Peter Harrison?" she asks innocently and looks him straight in the eyes.

He cannot push her away from his desk but he can pull away the chair she is sitting in.

She gets up and walks through his desk. "Now that was just rude!" she exclaims. "Is it too much to ask to say please? I would have gotten up if you would have just asked nicely."

He just ignores her and opens the envelopes in front of him.

"Who is this Peter guy? Is he a friend of yours?"

Draco doesn't answer so she walks over to him to look over his shoulder. He holds the papers to his chest to prevent her from reading them.

"This does not concern you Granger. Leave it be."

"Why? I'm just curious what harm could it do me knowing it anyway? I'm dead, remember. Of course I still don't know how because someone in this room won't help me." She looks at him accusingly.

"And that someone won't either so stop whining and let me work."

Hermione starts to pace back and forth through his desk. She might be a ghost but Draco cannot see through her. She is now keeping him from seeing anything that was on his desk. Hermione notices how she can walk through this desk but sit on the dining table earlier. It must have something to do with her intentions she figures. She really ought to spend some time figuring out what she can and cannot do as a ghost. Who knows, she might have some handy tricks up her sleeve.

"You know, you really should make more of an effort to get to know me." Hermione tells Draco.

"Why would I want to do that?" He asks her and tries to grab some things from his desk. His hand goes right through her legs to do so.

"Stop it Malfoy!" She walks over to his side. "I might be a ghost but it is just rude to do that."

"Then don't get in my way!" he protests.

"I'm bound to get in your way Malfoy! I can't bloody well go anywhere else!"

"Watch your language Granger; someone might think you're not as perfect as you want people to believe."

"You are the only one who can hear me and I don't care what you think of me!"

He rolls his eyes. "Why should I make more of an effort to get to know the likes of you?" He asks her.

"Because I am not going anywhere and you are really boring company."

"If you leave me alone tonight, I might want to help you tomorrow."

"Really?" She asks with the biggest smile on her face.

He doesn't respond but she doesn't want to upset him so he can change his mind so she quickly gets out of his way. Even if he is just playing her to get her to leave him alone, she cannot take the risk of losing an opportunity to get him to help her. She walks over to the big window at the back of his office. This windowsill has been converted into a settee as well. Hermione makes a mental note to install these in her own apartment when she gets her life back. She is getting rather used to them already. If she ever gets her life back.

Hours fly by and outside it is starting to get darker and darker. The Slytherin prince and Gryffindor princess have not spoken a word to each other. Hermione almost forgets that Blaise is still coming by until she is reminded by the same house-elf she has seen earlier, announce the presence of Blaise Zabini once again. Draco nods and stacks his papers neatly and tucks them all away in folders making it impossible for Hermione to sneak a peek at them when she passes his desk on her way out of his office. Draco meets Blaise in the main hall where he is waiting for Draco with a broomstick in his hand. By the door is another broomstick that one of the house-elves probably left for Draco. Together the boys go outside into the fresh evening air. It is not fully dark yet but almost. Hermione wonders how they are going to play quiddich this way. The blonde and black haired boy walk for a bit followed closely by Hermione, wearing only her brown knee length dress. She does not exactly feel the cold air but she imagines it must be a bit pesky and hugs herself nonetheless. After what feels like a very long walk, the boys near a quiddich field. Hermione would be amazed by the fact that Draco actually has his very own quiddich field if it wasn't for all the lights to grab her attention. The entire field is lit by small lights that floated in the air making the entire field visible. Catching the snitch must still be pretty difficult, Hermione imagines, but Draco and Blaise don't practice catching the snitch this evening. They take turns at the goalposts while the other tries to score. Hermione watches them for a while. They are throwing the quaffle with such strength she is starting to think that they are not playing for the practice, but perhaps to simply blow off some steam. They really seem to put a lot of aggression in their attempts to score and defend the goal posts. 'It is strange seeing him like this' Hermione is thinking. 'He is putting so much force in his game, yet he seems more relaxed than I have ever seen him. Even this afternoon having tea with Blaise he did not seem this at ease. Perhaps it was because I was trying to bug him the entire time. I must have gotten to him after all. It is weird to see him this way. To see him so... Happy? Not just Draco but Blaise too. They are in their own little world. Perhaps this is why Harry and Ron practice as well, even when there are much more important things to do. Maybe they use it to let off some steam and recharge their battery, so to speak. I always get energy when I am dancing, perhaps this is just how guys do it.' Hermione studies the two guys for two hours playing quiddich under all of those flickering lights. There is something magical about the scene in front of her, and it isn't the flying on broomsticks that makes it so. At some point, Draco wipes the sweat of his face with the hem of his t-shirt. If Hermione was not so busy staring at his toned abs, she would have realized how unlike him it was to wipe his sweat off with his clothing, messing up the perfect preppy look he usually has going on. His hair is ruffled, sweat is dripping from his body, and his clothes are wrinkled. 'When he isn't trying so hard to be this perfectly dressed rich kid, he actually looks kind of hot' Hermione decides as she notices her heartbeat quicken. Her train of thought is interrupted when Draco and Blaise land and make their way towards her and back to the manor. Quickly she shakes the idea of Draco being hot and follows them back to the estate. Soon after they arrive, Blaise heads home and Draco heads to his room. He seems to have forgotten about her and Hermione doesn't feel like bugging him at the moment. It would have been a nice idea to keep him up and force him to help her if he wants some sleep but she doesn't feel up to arguing at the moment. Instead she follows him upstairs and remains silent. When Draco goes to bed Hermione tries to make herself comfortable at the sofa on the other side of the room and tries to sleep too. It takes her a while to fall asleep and she doesn't sleep well when she finally manages to. Her dream is weird. It's like she doesn't really dream. It's more like flashes in front of her.

She is in a dark, large room, maybe a bunker or a basement or something. She can't say for sure as she is facing the ground though still standing. She tries to look around but she can't control her body. It's not like a real dream, it's more like a memory. She feels a lot of pain. The same kind of pain she felt that morning when she parted from Draco. It's horrible. She is scared too. Really scared. She has no idea what is happening but it's not good at all. Hermione knows she is dreaming but she can't wake up. She feels trapped somehow. In the next flash she looks up and sees two Death Eaters standing in front of her and she concludes that it must be Death Eaters keeping her from running as well. She doesn't have a wand on her and feels defenceless. She sees their mouths move but she can't hear them speak. Then the flash is gone again. In the next flash she is laying on the ground. One of the death eaters is gone. Only one of them is left and he is cursing her. Her entire body is shaking like all of her nerves are sending signals at once making her body move every way at once and hereby breaking bones and ripping muscles. Then it stops. She looks up at the Death Eater in front of her. All she can see is how his mouth is shut but tense like he is fighting some urge. And his eyes. His eye are cold as stone. Then the flash is gone again.

There is no next flash because Draco is shouting at her to wake up. She does and feels sweaty and very uncomfortable. He would have shaken her if he could have.

"What was that all about?" He asks her. He is very annoyed that she woke him.

"What was what all about?" She asks him slightly out of breath.

"You were screaming"

"I... I think I've had a nightmare."

"Is that all? Did you have to wake me for that? Go back to sleep Granger, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it was just a dream and that you'll be fine." He turns around and walks back to his bed. He freezes when she tells him: "I think there was an attack. I think I was about to find out how I died." He doesn't turn around. He does not want her to see the scared look on his face. He does stop walking.

"What did you see?" he asks quietly.

Without thinking whether or not she can trust him or if it's a good idea, she tells him everything she saw.

"Did you recognize them?"

"No."

"Good. Go back to sleep." He walks away leaving her to catch her breath all by herself. She stares blankly in front of her. What happened to her?


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