Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Harry Potter series. They belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: So, I thought I was going to like this chapter a whole lot more than I actually do. I thought it would turn out a lot different. There's just some parts that I hate, but I don't know how to fix it. And, obviously, if you haven't figured it out, the italics means she's dreaming. (Except at the end.)
Chapter 4 – "Get Out Of My Head."
Once she got to her room, Hermione didn't even bother changing out of her clothes before she turned off the light, hopped into bed, and drifted off to sleep.
She walked down a long hallway, unsure of where she really was. She saw a door at the end of the corridor and ran towards it. Hesitating, she grabbed a hold of the doorknob and twisted it until the door swung open revealing a blank white room. When she glided into the room, the door slammed and disappeared into the wall. That's when she started to panic. She couldn't tell if the walls were actually closing in on her or if it was just her imagination. She let out a whimper of fear that was soon followed by a voice that didn't belong to her.
"You need to calm down." The voice said mockingly.
The voice seemed to echo throughout the empty room. Hermione looked around her, but the only thing she could see was the white of the walls, floor, and ceiling. "Who's there?" She called out.
There was no answer.
She frantically whipped her head in all directions trying to find the source of the voice. Before she knew it, she connected the voice to the person standing in front of her. "Malfoy?" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Hermione desperately searched for her wand, wanting so badly to hex him.
Practically reading her mind, he replied to her failed search, "Are you looking for this?" She expected him to have her wand in his hand, but instead, the white wall in front of them, turned into a stilled moment of earlier that night, right before she blew up the door, with her wand in her hand.
She had never experienced anything like this. She turned to Malfoy for answers, "What's going on?"
He scoffed at her question, "Are you serious, Granger? Are you that dumb? You're dreaming."
"I know that!" Her blood was boiling at how he belittled her. "But what are you doing here? And what's with that?" She said, pointing to the wall with the image.
Malfoy thought for a little before answering. "I thought I drop by for a visit, seeing as our little encounter was cut short. Why don't we go back to that?" The wall changed. Hermione was now watching as Malfoy replayed the moment that Bellatrix had cursed her. She tried to look away from watching her own writhing body, but she could still hear the cries of pain. A single tear feel from her eye as the scene repeated. She bent over holding her head as hard as she could, trying to block out everything that was going on around her. "Get out of my head!"
He couldn't help but notice the pain this scene was causing her. He wasn't sure what to do. If he kept it playing, Hermione would be in agony, but if he stopped, he might be viewed as weak. Taking another glance at the distressed Hermione, he knew he had to stop. So, he switched the scene to when Aria entered the room.
Hermione was relieved that the display was over. She straightened up and wiped the tears away from her eyes. As she watched Aria enter the kitchen for the second time tonight, the witch couldn't help but glare at the beautiful girl.
Malfoy looked over and noticed the anger in Hermione's eyes. "You can't trust her."
Hermione snapped her head toward him. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me." He said calmly.
As much as she wanted to take his word for it, she needed proof. "How do you know that?"
"She knows where your parents are."
That last one shocked her to the point that she couldn't even speak. If Malfoy was telling the truth, and Aria really did know where her parents were, then it might give her the answers to her questions. When she looked at Malfoy, he seemed so content and relaxed that her suspicions grew. "Do you know where they are?"
Malfoy avoided the question with a question of his own. "Why are you so stupid?"
"Excuse me!"
"How can you act so calmly around me? I'm a Death Eater!"
She stepped closer to him, showing him how unafraid she was, "You don't scare me, Malfoy!"
He closed the space between them, "Well, I should."
Hermione's eyes burned into Malfoy's as they locked eyes for minutes at a time. She couldn't keep track of how long they'd been staring at each other until Malfoy finally spoke up. "You better watch your back, Granger. Because I have a feeling that my aunt isn't finished with you." A sudden bright light blinded her before everything went black.
Hermione's eyes shot open as the shock of the dream settled in. She laid in her bed wondering if everything that went on in the dream was true, or if it was just a dream. But a dim light against the wall caught her eye, and she sat up. Three simple words singed into the wall gave her the answer.
Watch your back.