Author's note: This is it, folks. The chapter that you've been waiting for. Are you ready? Are you on the edge of your seat? Well, then, read, dammit!
Disclaimer: My name is Helga, I have 9 children and I live in a shoe. So, sorry, I'm not J.K. Rowling.
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As Hermione started, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop.
"The dreams started after the final battle, after you'd switched sides," she began, talking to Draco. "That night, after everything had been finished and everyone had left Hogwarts, I just stood there, looking at all the damage. I saw the beautiful architecture destroyed, saw all of the paintings ripped and slashed, saw the staircases turned to rubble. Ron and Harry had been off talking to the Weasleys, and they'd left. I was utterly alone.
"I walked through the debris, and I went to Gryffindor Tower. The whole thing had desintegrated, was ashes. I stopped as I realized that- that it wasn't the only thing left without a trace. I knew that everything would be changed. That, though the ultimate evil had been defeated, our lives had been damaged beyond repair. I knew I was already completely broken, that I was left in ashes, too. And this is where my nightmares began."
Hermione willed Draco not to say anything, though she could see that he wanted to make a comment. Rude or compassionate, she couldn't tell with him anymore.
"As I went to the Weasley's, it was put into a greater perspective. I no longer had a family to go home to. I'd taken their memories away, for their safety, and I knew it was unlikely I'd ever see them again. This fact was the worst of all.
"I was welcomed with hugs and food, and I just couln't take it. After I finally got to bed, I realized I was exhausted. It took me forever to fall asleep, though. It seemed that, though the war had ended, my instincts were engraved into my brain, and I was alert. After sitting awake for hours, I finally got to sleep.
"I dreamed. I was at hogwarts, but it wasn't the same. It was eerie, disturbingly so. I ran through the halls, and when I finally looked behind me, I saw that everything I had gone through had turned to ash. I turned back around, and that had turned to ash, too. And then, someone I never expected to show up appeared. I saw a hand with a wand, exceptionally pale, and it started moving. The person stepped forward some, out of the shadows cast by walls no longer standing. And it was you."
Draco drew in a panicked breath at that, sucking in his cheeks.
"You looked kind, a look I'd never seen on your face before, but I wasn't trusting it. I started screaming, though I have no idea why. You tried to placate me, tried everything, but I kept screaming, and I could feel my mind collapsing in on itself." Hermione's voice got thick. "When I woke up, I knew my mind had become ashes."
As Hermione finished her story, tears filled her eyes, but she continued.
"After that, Harry and Ron could tell what was wrong, but they simply grew more distant. I denied it, but they didn't seem like they cared. Then, we got close again, but there was always that doubt. My world is like my dream. My world is ashes."
Draco didn't know what to do. He'd asked for it, he knew, but that wasn't what he was expecting. She tried so hard to keep her tears in, it was obvious, but one slipped unbid through her barriers. Without thinking, he wiped it away.
"You have some strange dreams, Hermione. I'm afraid to ask what happens after a good day," he tried to make her smile, and it worked. She laughed a little.
"I don't know how, but sometimes...you seem to be able to make me laugh even when I don't want to," She turned thoughtful. "I honestly...feel like...I can talk to you." Ever the brave one, she went on. "I get this fuzzy, warm feeling, and I know that's not at all elegant, but still, I just...I don't know."
Then, Draco did something he promised himself he would never do.
His father, as a child, taught him to hate everything, to loathe everyone who was not of benefit to him. He adored his father, he loved him even, until recently, when he had seen how vile he really was. He had vowed never to follow him again, but now what he was about to do would go against his basic beliefs, the very foundation of his being.
His mother had been slightly more caring, but was spiteful and arrogant. She was kinder to house elves, but just as depracating to them. She took every chance she got to point out the flaws in their work. She had spoiled him all through his life, believing her offspring deserved the best.
At this point, he didn't care anymore. He had realized all the things that were his rock were actually made of sand. His whole world crashed down with one thing remaining. So, after all his thinking. After everything he'd done, after everything he said, still, Hermione was here. After years of prejudice, after eons of hate and torture and spite, she was still here, telling him something he never thought he would hear.
So, he did the only thing he wanted to do, the only thing that really mattered right now was to show her he felt the same way.
So, with no warning, he pulled her into a tight embrace, then he kissed her. He really kissed her.
