Chapter Seven; Hermione
Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, Hermione attempted to ease the pounding in her head. After Harry had left things seemed to go downhill; some of the more out going students had come up to her asking if that was really Harry Potter. A few of the girls even asked if he was actually dating Ginny. She had ignored all of them, finally taking away house points when students continued to pester her. Unable to hide the wince when a group of rambunctious students strolled in laughing, Hermione considered going to her rooms to get a headache potion.
Deciding that it would be for the best she slipped out of her chair in the Great Hall and exited through the professors' hall to get back to her rooms. She shut her door quietly, finding that even the barely audible click made her head pound even harder and she picked up the strongest headache potion she had. Going to measure a dose she was surprised to find that there was hardly any of the potion left. Hermione new that she had been having headaches more often and had been taking more of the cure because of, however she hadn't realized that she had been used in a few weeks what normally lasted her a few months.
With a sigh she measured out a dose of the headache potion that was meant for mild headaches due to stress. She figured that stress could be the source for her headaches but she had never gotten headaches from stress in the past. Swallowing the potion in two gulps Hermione returned to the Great Hall, finding that it was louder than before and that all the seats were taken except for the one next to Malfoy. No matter how she might want to run, much the way she would have if she was five rather than 18, she forced herself to take the remaining spot at the table.
Stubbornly ignoring the man seated next to her, Hermione nursed her cup of black coffee, her stomach churning at the thought of indulging in anything else. Harry had encouraged her to eat more but every time she tried to she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was still over full from the lunch that she had eaten with him that day, no matter that her friends claimed it wasn't nearly enough to sustain a grown woman.
"I hope you intend to eat more than that Granger, I fail to see how it will do anyone any good to have their professor ill from malnutrition. I had once thought that you were above the muggle trend of being the size of a wand." Draco's voice lacked it's normal cruelty and seemed to ring with a scathing edge in Hermione's ears. It was enough to make her set her warm cup down on the wooden table and actually look at him for the first time since the war had ended.
"Didn't your mother tell you that it was rude to comment on a ladies figure? And since when have you paid attention to muggle trends or muggleborns?" Taking a deeper breath she got ready to continue her rant, rather tired from the stressful day, and irritated that he looked so much better than she did in that moment without a hair out of place. "I have had quiet enough already today. I have a pounding headache and the only reason I'm here is because it would draw more notice if I was not. So for once in your bloody life would you leave me the hell alone?" Instead of getting louder like she had intended to Hermione ended in a hushed whisper, one hand on her forehead and the other resting listlessly on the table in front of her. Brow furrowed she glared at Draco; his pale blonde hair, cold steel eyes, and admittedly handsome features never more interesting- or stirring- than in that minute.
It was rather odd how their eyes had locked, how neither of them seemed willing to look away, almost as curious as it was that she had forgotten how beautiful he was through the taunts and glares and hard feelings between them… Jerking herself back into reality Hermione got to her feet, only slightly unsteady on her feet. She would not think that way about mudblood hating Draco Malfoy. He who had done nothing while his aunt tortured her. He who had nearly gotten them all killed countless times. He who never hid his unadulterated hatred for her, and all she loved.
Leaving the Great Hall in a flurry of dark robes and quickly moving feet, she failed to notice the following steel grey orbs or the Headmistresses curious gaze darting between the two young professors.
()()()()()
Her head seemed to have scarcely touched her pillow before she had fallen into a deep sleep, the kind that she could never wake herself from without the help of another. Instead of opening her eyes in the garden, and swinging smoothly thanks to the steady push from her mystery man Hermione opened her eyes to the dank, dark, and frightenly familiar dining hall in the Malfoy manor. She was back to the nightmares it seemed, nothing could keep the crazy Bellatrix away forever, how silly of her to think so.
No matter how she tried to change the events of her nightmare she never could manage to fight back, to use the wandless magic that she was now so proficient at. Rather she felt a cold stone floor under her aching body, unable to stop the jerking flinch her body made at Lestrange's manic cackle.
"Mudblood, mudblood, lying on the floor… I have to wonder is your blood dirty in color too?" The crazed woman skipped over to the prone girl on the floor, running the tip of her wand across the limp the arm that was trying to cover a bushy head. "Let's find out shall we?" Without waiting for a reaction Bellatrix mumbled a spell before scratching out letters on Hermione's arm with a knife.
Even though she knew that the pain was only a memory the dream Hermione cowered, crying silently wishing that she would wake. It didn't work, instead the death eater pinched her skin forcing her blood to well up and spill onto the floor.
"Awww, I'm rather disappointed mudblood. Your blood is the same color as my insolent brother in law… no matter; we still know that you are beneath even house elves." Bellatrix's maniacal laugh echo through the room again and Hermione braced herself for what was to come next. Eyes clenched shut she curled tighter into herself as Bellatrix yelled out the first syllable of the curse that always came next; crucio.
Before the intense heat could burn her Hermione felt solid arms come around her and a broad warm chest pressed against her back. Shaking as though the curse had reached her anyway she clenched her shut even tighter, scared of the new development in her reoccurring nightmare.
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay now. You can open your eyes, she isn't going to hurt you." The soft insistent murmurs slowly soothed her, that and the steady rubbing movement the man was using to assure her that all was well. "It's gone, we are in the garden now, just relax. Take as long as you need."
Hesitantly Hermione opened her eyes, never more relieved to see grass than she was then. Sucking in shallow breaths she glanced at her arm, the one that dream Bellatrix had cut, seeing pale smooth skin where she had expected to see only blood.
"You got me out." Despite her arm healing, Hermione's voice held a rasp that could only come from yelling. That and shock. "I never get away before she crucio's me. I've never not gone through the entire memory when I'm in a nightmare… How did you do it?"
Sometime during her stuttering, hoarse speech Draco had repositioned them so that she faced forward while leaning back against his chest. Had he thought she could have handled it he would have moved them onto the swing. Had he thought he could have handled it he would have let her go. "I thought that you had decided that I was a defense mechanism against your nightmares? We need to work on the warning system a little bit more though, you shouldn't have had to deal with that."
Hermione tucked her head under his chin, not quite sure if she had told the man who seemed to show up in her dreams every night what she thought of him. Nodding her head in agreement she looked around them, "It's night again. We need to find other day light settings for this. It looks the same as the first night."
Ignoring the man's chuckle, she studied the night sky. Some of the constellations had been fixed but she was finding that it didn't bother her the way it used too. Putting more effort than necessary into looking at the stars Hermione decided against saying anything. She was still trying to come to terms with the nightmare, and how she had been pulled out of it. Had she not been so busy with her new job as a professor she would have went to books to find out all the answers to her questions, instead she was content to let things be; for now. Nodding firmly to herself she vowed that if things got any more unlikely or less than normal, for wizarding world standards, she would take the time to find her answers.
Until then she would be content to simply enjoy the company of the man her subconscious had created. Relaxing more fully into who was really Draco she let her eyes close again, this time into a slumber that would go uninterrupted.
()()()()()
Waking to the annoying buzz of her rigged alarm clock Hermione rolled from her stomach to her back with a groan. Her night's sleep had simply not been as good as the last few nights, and though she was loath to admit it there were some lingering side effects from her nightmare. After a fortifying breath she tottered to her feet, still unsteady with sleep, and rubbed her eyes in the most dignified manner she could before making her way to the bathroom.
The hot shower helped to relax the tense muscles that Hermione hadn't even realized were tense. It was as though the pounding beads of water did more than wash away the previous days sweat; it also rinsed away whatever stress she might have had. Even with washing her slightly tamed hair, shaving what had to be shaved and using a generous portion of her favorite body soap she was in and out in less than half an hour.
Drying herself off the witch also dropped her dirtied pajamas into the clothes hamper, not noticing that things had been moved from where she had positioned them the previous morning. With a practiced drying charm Hermione moved out of the bathroom and over to her closet to pick out which robes she would wear that day. Though she didn't feel confident or sure of herself she pulled on one of her newer sets of robes, ones that Ginny had picked out.
It was only as she walked back into her suite that she realized there was a book sitting on her bedside table. Curious she sat it on her lap, reading the cover A Wizards Guide to Dreamscape Wanderings. Staring at the book before her Hermione pursed her lips.
()()()()()
I know I am horrible. I'm very late for this chapter and it hasn't been beta'd. All I can say is that the holiday rush caught up with me rather quickly. Also I'm rather concerned about the lack of response to my last authors note. No one voted on the poll on my profile and only two people even mentioned it in a review. So I will say it one more time; I am considering using tasteful, short and relevant poetry in I Will Have You. It would be original, written by me, and could play a huge role latter on in this story. Please make your opinions known by voting and I hope that you have enjoyed this installment.
