Disclaimer: I do not own anything. If I did this for a living I'd be broke!
Sleep Talking and Nose Jobs
The door opened a crack.
"What did you say?" Hermione asked.
"I'm sorry!" I made a big stupid mistake! I was a bloody git to call you that despicable word," Draco rushed, barely pausing to catch a breath. "I will say in my defense that I was feeling under the weather, but that doesn't excuse the fact that I didn't apologize right away. When I found your house deserted, all these thoughts started running through my head. Did something happen to her? Is she alright?"
The door opened wider.
"You must have been really desperate to come here." Hermione remarked drily. "You'd be a fool to expect a warm welcome."
"I was and I didn't. Am I forgiven?" Draco stepped up hopefully.
"Oh, come in," she sighed and swung the door open to admit him. He breathed a sigh of relief but hesitated before he stepped in.
"I know I'm really pushing my luck here, but I must ask this. Am I supposed to be nice all the time? Meaning no more sarcastic comebacks?"
She laughed, "I guess that would be unfair of me to ask from you considering I can hardly refrain from insulting you myself. So the answer is no, just don't be cruel, okay?"
"Sounds fair," he smiled and finally entered only to stiffen when he saw who waited behind Hermione.
"Potter, Weasley," he said, nodding curtly to each. When they didn't stop glaring at him, he threw a look to Hermione as if to say 'do I have to be nice to them too?'
Hermione stepped on Harry's foot and elbowed Ron, hard, producing a yelp of pain from both of them. "Play nicely children," she demanded. Her brow furrowed in concentration. "I think we need to inform Draco of our latest 'deadline'. Come sit down and we'll talk. I'll put up a pot of tea and if the little boys are done being immature, they can join us. If not, they can go off to bed; it's way past their wittle bedtime." She led the way into the kitchen with Draco following closely.
Ron turned to Harry and muttered, "I really do resent that. Coming?"
Harry sighed, "Lead the way."
"So…" Draco began once seated in a kitchen chair, "what's this about a deadline?"
Hermione, just turning on the fire beneath the kettle, momentarily froze while Harry and Ron clenched their fists in unison. "Why don't we wait until the water is ready to begin that talk? I think we all need some chamomile," she joked trying to lighten the mood unsuccessfully, "Let's all sit down in the meantime."
The tension in the room was palpable as they waited. At the kettle's shrill whistle, Hermione nearly knocked over her chair jumping to get it. They each were settled with a cup of tea when she once again recounted her dreadful appointment with the doctor.
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Draco did not take to the deadline too well. "Four bloody months! That's it?" he asked incredulously. "But that's not enough time to- I mean it's an awfully short amount of time to find both the cause and the cure!" He paused. "You are continuing with treatment, right? You can't give up!"
Ron stood up, "Of course she isn't giving up! She knows her real friends will find a cure. But a Death Eater like you wouldn't understand things like bravery or loyalty." Draco turned white. "Why are you even here, ferret? Hermione didn't seem to be happy to see your ugly face when you arrived. I don't know what slimy evil plot you've got up your sleeve by pretending to care, but I'm not falling for it. Get out of my flat before I find some way to make a father son reunion at Azkaban.
Several things then happened at once: Draco shot up to face Ron, wand pointing into his chest, Harry quickly uttered a shield charm, and Hermione yelled "Ronald Weasley!". Suddenly Draco dropped his wand and turned to Hermione instead.
"He's right about a couple things. I was a death eater and that was a result of my cowardice," he raised his hand to halt Hermione's defense. "Don't, it's true. I've also never felt real loyalty to anyone before. However Hermione, I can promise, no swear that this isn't a trick and that I really do care." He looked earnestly at her.
She smiled at him and then turned to Ron. "Ron that was completely uncalled for and exceptionally rude."
He continued to glare murderously and spat back, "Don't you remember who this is? It's the bouncing ferret who called you mudblood, made our lives miserable. For Merlin's sake he's the son of Lucius Malfoy; one of Voldemort's most loyal servants! There's a reason he was Snape's lapdog; like goes with like. They're both dark, slimy, cowardly gits who-" He was suddenly cut off by the wand directly under his nose.
"Say whatever you want about me and insult my father to your heart's content, he's not someone I look up to; although I doubt you could've stood up to the amount of pressure he was under, but do not, I repeat do not ever insult Severus Snape in my presence!" He lowered his voice dangerously, "He was a far better man than you'll ever be."
With that curses should have started flying. Instead only one hex was successfully sent. "Very cleverly placed shield charm, Harry, and great quick thinking to throw that Full Body Bind jinx," Hermione calmly said. He nodded absently focusing most of his energy on making sure neither captive escaped. Normally it would have taken minimum concentration but in his exhausted state, keeping his eyes focused was difficult. "Now boys, Harry will let you up in approximately thirty seconds when I expect you both to sit down in your seats and finish your tea."
When in control of their limbs again, the two men quickly jumped off the floor and sat down by the table as far from each other as possible. "Good," she continued, "now I have a question on your comment about your father. I understood what you said about Professor Snape, his sacrifices and acts of bravery for the good of all mankind are awe-inspiring," she surreptitiously wiped away a tear in her eye, "but what did you mean about the 'pressure' your father was under? Why on him more than any other pureblooded wizard such as, for instance, Arthur Weasley?"
"It's a bit complicated. It might take a while to explain," Draco claimed nervously, slightly apprehensive to get into this topic in front of Voldemort's defeater.
"We're not getting too much sleep tonight anyway," remarked Harry drily, speaking to him for the first time that night. "And I'm very curious what you meant by that comment." No matter how much Harry tried, he just couldn't fathom the motive behind joining the dark side and he was desperate to understand as to prevent another war.
"Alright then."
The night wore on as Draco attempted to explain, though not excuse, his father's actions. His grandfather had been a close acquaintance with Tom Riddle in school and was a firm believer that the world should be rid of muggles. Lucius was expected to help shape the movement. Draco spoke of the struggle between what was expected and what was right and how eventually what was right lost.
Held spellbound, Harry had and endless amount of questions and they would've continued for a long time but the sound of Ron's sleep talking shook them out of their trance and finally made them aware of the lateness of the hour.
"I get the feeling that we've long passed the extent of Weasley's attention span. What time is it anyway?" Draco asked over the mumbling about prophecies.
"I believe it is…" Hermione glanced at the clock and did a double take. "Oh my, I did not realize how late it was. It's 5 o'clock!" She exclaimed. "all right , let's go to bed, there will be time to talk tomorrow but now my brain just processed what time it is and I can barely keep my," here she stifled a yawn, "keep my eyes open."
Draco stood up to leave and muttered awkwardly, "I guess, er, maybe I- yah I'm gonna go now."
"Oh don't be ridiculous, you'll splinch yourself!" she cried. "I'm sure there's a place for you here, right Harry?"
"Er… Not really, I mean," Harry hastily amended his statement after a death glare from his best friend, "I'm sure there's a couch somewhere or something."
"Perfect," Hermione beamed. "Now, although leaving Ron like this is quite appealing after his appalling behavior tonight, or should I say last night, I think we should get him into bed if only for the sake of all the kindness his mother has done for us. Oh, and speaking of the Weasley family you really should go and clear things up with Ginny tomorrow. I hate making her upset."
"Me too," Harry remarked glumly. "It's just so ridiculous! I'll go over to the Burrow tomorrow. Alright let's try to get his oaf to bed." He went to shake him, "Ron, Ron let's go!"
Ron groaned and shrugged his shoulders trying to rid himself of the nuisance. Harry tried another time, speaking louder.
The sleeping man shook him off again but this time started muttering. "Let go, let go."
"Ron wake up or I'll leave you here."
"Let me go!" He shoved back ruthlessly. "I have to go to her, I have to save her. Don't you see he's going to hurt her?" He began to convulse and cry. "I've got to help, she thinks she got him but she didn't."
Harry and Hermione were desperately trying to awaken him.
"He's going to–" he screamed, "Hermione!"
Finally Hermione's voice broke through and Ron's eyes flew open. When he registered who was standing in front of him, he flung his arms around her in a panic, dry sobbing uncontrollably. "There was purple fire, and then you fell and I couldn't stop him..."
Hermione lowered her head to look directly into his eyes and said gently but firmly, "I'm fine. I'm right here and I'm okay. It was a dream. That's all it was, just a dream."
"But…" Ron started. Then he flushed a shade of red to rival a tomato that reached the tips of his ears as the realization of where he was and what he was doing dawned on him. "Oh." He quickly dropped his arms from their incriminating hold on Hermione.
"Are you alright?" she gently inquired. "That seemed like a horrid nightmare."
"Yeah mate," Harry added, "it sounded like something bad was happening to Hermione. What was that all about?"
"I don't know," exclaimed Ron. "It just seemed so, arg!" he put his head in his hands. "It was so familiar. I've been having strange dreams for the past two weeks and they seem to fit together in some way. It's like someone is trying to tell me something important."
Momentarily forgotten, Draco had been smirking at Ron's emotional display. Now he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your dream? Hmm, you think your dream is sending you a message." Ron shot him a glare that he chose to ignore. "Never pegged you as the Trelawney type before."
"Look here Malfoy," Ron growled, "Unless you want a free nose job I would advise-"
The others in the room never got to hear that sage piece of wisdom because instead they had the privilege of viewing a very rare occurrence. Ronald Weasley was having an epiphany.
He jumped up and began pacing and muttering excitedly, "The doors, the x's, the prophecies, the Death Eaters, and of course the purple fire. It's all coming together!"
"What's coming together?" Harry ventured but Ron acted like he didn't hear him and went on pacing.
"That should account for- I was in the right place all along, I just never thought to look…"
"Look for precisely what?" tried Hermione.
"But of course that would be the exact thing to do it."
"Weasel!" Draco prodded.
"The whole time, my dreams had been pointing directly at our answer," he marveled in wonder.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" bellowed the three simultaneously.
Ron shook his head as if he had just been awakened form a deep trance and turned to face them. "The Department of Mysteries," he enunciated slowly. "That's what I've been dreaming about because that is where this all began." He paused to look Hermione directly in the eyes. "The night we went there to find Sirius," he continued oblivious to Harry's shudder, "I was attacked by brains and you were cursed. I think that spell is what opened you up to cancer."
Harry shouted, "What?"
Hermione gasped and sat down.
And Draco asked for information, what was this curse, and how could they overcome it.
Sleep was once again forgotten for the night.
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Author's Note: I owe you guys such an apology! It's an extra long chapter because I feel really guilty. I said three weeks and it turned into a year! I really hope all my loyal readers haven't abandoned me but I wouldn't blame anyone if he or she had. The one good thing is that I think my writing style has improved, I was looking at the first chapter and I decided it needs major revision but I'm not doing that until I finish this story. I had really amazing plans for Hermione's Condition but to implement them I would need to write quite a few more chapters and I'm not going to put you through such a long wait again so I guess there will only be about two or three chapters more :(. I'll try to write the next one as soon as possible but I've learned my lesson about making promises!
P.S. I'm so excited! I hit one hundred reviews!