A/N: Thank you for being so patient with my irregular updates. Please let me know if you are interested in more solo chapters or if you prefer the normal way.

Song recs:

Edith Paif - La Vie En Rose

Somi - What You Waiting For

Leon Thomas - 365 Days

"You're cutting it close," Draco said as he inspected his nails. He had been waiting in the prefects meeting room waiting for Granger for almost ten minutes now.

"Malfoy!" she jumped, she was rather easy to startle. "What are you doing here? I'm supposed to be doing rounds with Alexander."

"I know," his eyes never left his nails, "he came down with something, so I took his shift."

"Oh, is he alright?" she asked, moving to the other side of the room to get things ready for rounds.

"From what I saw, he has a pretty nasty case of the flu, but other than that, he seemed fine."

"That's good then, but we better be off now," Granger gathered her things into a small bag then headed out the door first, he followed soon after. "This is our first round duty together." It sounded like a statement more than anything else.

"I suppose it is," he never really noticed they had never done rounds together, he did see her nearly everyday after all.

They carried on walking around the castle, and other than catching a couple fifth years leaving the library late, nothing eventful happened. They were almost done with their rounds, just a few corridors away from the prefects meeting room, when Hermione slowed her steps and spoke.

"I told Ginny and Luna." Draco stopped walking and turned to face her, she just stared straight ahead. It took him a few seconds for him to fully comprehend what she had said, but when he had finally registered what she was talking about and his eyes widened.

"Are you mad? Did you not think that it would be dangerous for them? The two of us being targeted is bad enough, we don't need more people getting hurt because of… whatever this is!" He flung his hands around for emphasis, he tended to speak very quickly when he was caught off-guard.

"No, I am quite sane, thank you very much," she huffed, finally meeting his eyes, her hands folding in front of her. He could tell that she was going to argue, her eyes were on fire. "And I did consider the danger, but I also know that there's safety in numbers. And those girls are strong and smart, more than most people give them credit for."

"We are strong and smart too, but look where we are!" he pinched the bridge of his nose, the frustration he felt was starting to show in his voice.

"Yes, but we are the targets, if whoever is doing this to us wanted to attack them as well, they would have done it by now. Think about it Malfoy, it's been weeks and no one else has been sent to the hospital wing more than I have, so I'm pretty sure that we are their main targets," she seemed to be reasoning with him.

He knew that she had a point, and with more people knowing about their predicament, the higher the chances of finding out what was happening to them. He sighed, "I understand where you're coming from, I just wished that you would have discussed it with me before you told them. I am involved in this after all."

He saw Granger's face redden, and the raging fire that was in her eyes dimmed slightly. "I know, and I am sorry. I was not planning on telling them either, it's just been a really stressful few weeks, and I just needed to talk to someone about it. But if it makes it any better, I know that I trust those girls with my life, and they would never tell a soul unless I asked them too."

He nodded, he knew that both witches were fierce friends, and more loyal than anything. He took a couple of breaths before continuing, "so, why not Potter and the Weasel? Aren't they supposed to be your best friends?"

She just looked down and shook her head, "I don't want them to get distracted, they've got Auror training and exams to get through. They're both doing so well this year, I've never seen them so focused on something. And after all that they've been through, they deserve a break."

"And we don't?" he raised his eyebrow at her.

"We don't have a choice. But they do, and I can control that. So I will." She said those words with such finality, he didn't doubt that she would fight him if he attempted to tell dumb and dumber.

"So bloody Gryffindor," was all he said, she just smiled up at him, and he could almost say that they were friends. Releasing a breath, he said "well, if you're going to let other people know, then I probably should too."

"The more people that can help, the better. But they have to be trusted, we don't want word of this getting out and causing unnecessary panic." She was just reading his mind at this point.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It'll probably just be Blaise and Theo anyway," he shrugged. "There's no one else they would talk to, not about this anyway."

She looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded her head. "If you say you trust them, then that's good enough for me."

He smiled, "are you saying you trust me, Granger?"

"Oh, definitely not," he could tell that her voice was full of jest. "I'm not about to sign my soul to the devil. Call it… a necessary evil." That just made him chuckle.

They finally made it back to their dorm and went straight to their rooms.

It was after Muggle studies the next day that Draco decided that he was going to tell the boys, the sooner he told them, the faster it'd go by. Or at least that was what he hoped for. They were lounging on the couches in the dorm, it seemed to be their new favourite hangout.

"So, when do you think it started?" Theo asked no one in particular. Draco knew what he was talking about, the Neville and Pansy fiasco.

"Do you think it's even real?" He asked back. He really hadn't been keeping up with any of his Slytherin friends, save for Blaise and Theo.

"Seems real, but then again, it's Panse. She's always got something up her sleeve," Theo sounded amused. "I just wonder, why Longbottom? I mean, if it's not real, and she's just playing around, why not use someone else? Isn't Longbottom a certified hero? I can't imagine the backlash she'd get if she was found to be playing him."

"Maybe that's why."

"I, for one, think it's real," Blaise piped up. He was playing with a piece of parchment, folding it around, his eyes never leaving the paper.

"Why's that?" Theo raised his eyebrows.

"I talked to Panse last night, she told me. Probably not everything, and I don't want to know everything, but she told me enough that I believe her."

Draco knew that Blaise wanted to tell them something else, but then decided against it. And if Blaise didn't think it was a good idea to share, he was not going to press him. Privacy was hard to come by, especially in a castle full of people who still think that you're the enemy. Theo didn't seem to pick this up, and just shrugged at Blaise's reasoning.

Like a band-aid, just get it done quickly.

"I've actually got something I need to tell you two," Draco started. The two boys turned to look at him, Blaise's eyes finally leaving the paper. 'Quickly,' he reminded himself. "It's probably dangerous that I'm telling you this, but I think it'd be better if you two knew. But I want to make sure that you're going to be okay with any potential danger that this might put you in." Even he knew that he was rambling and trying to buy time, the other two boys caught on immediately.

"Just spit it out, mate," an annoyed Theo snapped at him.

"I think that someone's out to get Granger and me," he said in a speed that could only be described as 'breakneck'. He looked between the other two boys, trying to make out if they had understood what he said.

"What's brought this thought on?" Blaise asked as he leaned forward until his elbows were on his knees and his brows were furrowed, he had abandoned the piece of parchment.

"Dreams. We've been having… intense dreams," he tried to explain, but this just garnered confused looks from both boys. "Basically, we've been having dreams that connect us, and whatever that is done to us in those dreams, comes true in real life."

"What do you mean 'whatever is done'?" Blaise's eyebrows seemed to merge into a line.

"As in, anything, like injuries or curses, that is done to us in these dreams, we get them in real life too. That's why Granger had gone to the hospital wing that night on the first week back, she was hit with the cruciatus curse in real life while I had dreamt the same thing at the same time. I also got this," he pulled his sleeve up and showed them the healing mess of flesh that was once the Dark Mark.

"Bloody hell," Theo said under his breath, Blaise seemed too shocked to say anything in those seconds. The wound had healed rather well, no infection and it had scarred over by now, magic really was wonderful sometimes. All that was left on his left forearm was a bunch of scars and hints of black here and there.

"How long has this been happening for?" Blaise looked up at him.

"Since the first week, so a few weeks now."

"And you're just telling us now? What the fuck mate?" Theo was starting to get angry, but he could tell that his anger was not entirely aimed at him, but more so at the situation he was in. Theo had an unhealthy way of dealing with his emotions.

"Trust me, if it were up to me, I wouldn't be in this situation either," Draco pulled his sleeve back down and leaned into the sofa. "But Granger said that I should tell someone about this, so here we are."

At that Theo just rolled his eyes and scoffed, "of course she did."

"Mate, you're going to have to get over whatever grudge you have against her. We're going to help them both," Blaise scolded the other boy, but Draco could tell that Theo was ignoring him.

"Blaise is right, Theo," Draco started, and he knew that the other boy was just getting more irritated. And the more irritated Theo got, the less he listened. So he changed the subject to telling them about the dreams they've had so far, which seemed to bring both boys' attention back to him and the issue at hand.

"Atone," Blaise rubbed his chin, "you're sure that's what was written?"

"Assuming I can still read and remember things, I'd say I'm positive."

Blaise just ignored his snark, "so do you have any ideas so far? Is it a potion or a spell?"

"We haven't had any luck so far, but we've just started looking into the potions books in other languages," then Draco continued to tell them about what they've been doing, which was essentially reading and more reading.

"So, what you're telling me is, you know nothing?" Theo said bluntly. "And that you think that the answer is in a book that might be in another language?" Draco just nodded, he hated not knowing things.

"I can get started on the Italian and Korean books, I'll have my mom send me some books from our library too," Blaise pulled out a piece of parchment and started to pen a letter to his mother. "I'm going to need to borrow your owl, what's its name again?"

"Leo," Theo answered instead, "I'm gonna have to borrow it too."

"So you'll help?" Draco asked the brown haired boy.

"Obviously I'll help. But no promises on becoming best friends with Granger," Theo warned. "I'll start with Spanish." And that was the best Draco could ask for from Theo.

He knew that the boy still had a lot of prejudices against Muggleborns, hell, he did too until very recently. And he had a feeling that if he and Granger weren't in this mess, he might still have those prejudices. But he had known that his fathers teachings were flawed since the day he met her. There was something in the way she was so sure of herself and her knowledge that had intimidated him in the beginning. That, and that she had beat him and all the other Purebloods in every single class, then proved her ability mor even more by fighting in and winning a godsdamned war.

He still had to apologize to her, something he knew he was not good at, or very enthusiastic about. But he knew it needed to be done. She might be working with him because of Head duties and whatever curse they are under, but he needed her to know that he was sorry for all those years he and his friends had tormented her. He was less sorry about Potter and Weasel, he might have been a git to them, but they were gits right back.

They eventually made their way to dinner, then decided to hang out in the Slytherin common room that night. Theo had promised a couple other eighth years a few rounds of Exploding Snap, Draco and Blaise decided to tag along for old times sake. A few hours later, and many rounds of Exploding Snap, Draco finally made his way out of the Slytherin common room and back up to his dorm.

When he entered the living room, he noticed a head of messy brown hair laying on the red couch, Granger had fallen asleep with a book on her chest. He had just decided on making himself a cup of tea before bed when he heard the book thump onto the plush carpet, and he turned around to see Granger tossing in her sleep.

"No… no…." He guessed she was having a nightmare, and from what he could tell, it was a normal nightmare, not a cursed one. "Please… we didn't… we didn't… steal it…"

He froze. Instantly, he knew what she was dreaming about, and a shock of ice went through him

That day.

The spot where the Dark Mark once was tingled with phantom pricks, making him have gooseflesh. He placed his mug down and walked over to her, intending to gently wake her up.

"Granger," he raised his hand to place on her shoulder, but before he could make contact, she sprang up and screamed. Her eyes flew open, but he could tell that she was still in the dream. He grabbed onto her shoulders, trying to make her realise that she was awake and safe, but she just kept screaming and crying.

Then he did the one thing he could think of, the same thing that she had done for him not too long ago; sing. He sucked a breath in and sang the first song that came to his head, a song his mother used to sing to him when he was a boy. He started off softly, he hadn't sang in many years. He slowly hugged her and started:

"Quand il me prend dans ses bras. Il me parle tout bas." She was still screaming, her mind still not letting her get out of that memory.

"Je vois la vie en rose." Her screaming slowly started to turn into crying.

"Il me dit des mots d'amour. Des mont de tous les jours." Now she was just crying and sobbing. He just held her and patted her back softly.

"Et ça me fait quelque chose." Her crying had started to quiet down.

"Il est entré dans mon cœur. Une part de bonheur." The crying became soft sobs now.

"Dont je connais la cause." He could feel her head starting to loll to the side and her breaths evening out, she must be falling back to sleep.

"C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie." He adjusted himself to lay her back down on the couch.

"Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie." He placed her head back on the pillow she was laying on, her eyes were closed once again, breathing more evenly now, a sob breaking through every now and then.

"Et dès que je l'aperçois. Alors je sens en moi." He gently removed his hand from her head, making sure that her head was not in a funny angle.

"Mon cœur qui bat." He finished off the chorus of the song by conjuring a blanket to place over her. She snuggled into the blanket in her sleep, and watching her do so made something in Draco's stomach flip. She looked so vulnerable, she still had tears running down her cheeks, which he gently thumbed away.

After a few moments, he finally shook himself out of wherever his mind went and returned to his tea. He proceeded to sit on the other couch facing Granger instead of going straight to his room like he had originally planned, he just wanted to make sure that she was sleeping soundly.

He had thought about moving her to her bed, where she would definitely be more comfortable, but decided against it. He didn't want to intrude into her personal space, he might be an arsehole, but he was raised with manners. He had ensured that she was sound asleep then stoked the fire a little before retiring to his room.

Merlin knew he needed his sleep.

And surely the fates were laughing at him.

His dream tonight started off normal. It was one he had had many times before; a dream from when he was younger, not a nightmare, but an actual dream. He was sitting at the main table in the dining hall in the Manor, his father sat at the head of the table and his mother sat opposite him. It was Christmas morning, he could tell from the decorations that littered the walls, ceilings, and basically every empty spot that could be decorated, his mother loved the holidays. It was a simple dream, it was just a meal with his parents, before he went to Hogwarts, before Voldemort, before everything. A simple time.

But just as he thought it was going to be a nice night, the dream shifted, and he was once again in the same mansion from all the other nightmares.

Tonight, the mansion was full of people, all dressed to the nines and donning a mask, a masquerade ball. He too was wearing a mask, he could not tell what his mask looked like, but it covered only the area around his eyes, leaving the lower part of his face bare. He stood there for a few moments, not wanting to do anything in fear of what might happen. Then everyone started to move towards the ballroom, the one where he and Granger had almost been squashed to death. He hesitantly followed the crowd, if they were moving somewhere, that meant that he was to follow them.

At first, the ballroom looked like any other ballroom, full of people milling about, a small group of people playing instruments towards one corner of the room, and servers moving around serving drinks. He knew that Granger would be somewhere in the room, but he had yet to spot her, there were just too many people!

He slowly spun on the spot to try to locate her messy brown hair, but try as he might, she was nowhere to be found.

"Malfoy?" he heard someone say his name from behind him, he spun and saw who he thought was Granger standing a few meters away. Of course, when he looked far, she was near. He moved towards her and met near the main doors, making sure to stay away from the walls. "It is you right?"

"Obviously, Granger," he reached to pull his mask off, but when his hand made contact with the mask, he found that he could not remove it. It was stuck on his face. "I can't take this thing off."

Granger grabbed her dark mask, hers covered her entire face, leaving only her eyes visible. She pulled on it a couple times, "I can't take mine off either, so I will assume this is part of the game."

Game. Is this what it was to whichever bastard who cursed them? "I would think so."

"Well, what are we supposed to be doing here?" A good question. He didn't have the answer.

"I don't know."

"Wait, Malfoy…" Granger paused and turned her head to either side slowly, "can you understand what they're saying?"

He tried to listen in on the discussion the couple nearest to them was having, it was loud enough that he could make out the sounds, but he did not understand a single word. "What language are they speaking?"

"I can't tell… doesn't sound like anything I've heard before," Granger paused and tilted her head to her left, trying to catch whatever the group next to her was saying. "I still can't make it out. It sounds…"

"Ancient," he finished for her. It was like a lost language, not Latin or Sanskrit, maybe something even older. Granger nodded, he could tell she was slightly alarmed. If this was the language that the spell or potion was in, they are going to have a much harder time trying to figure this out.

She lowered her head and whispered to him, "what in the bloody hell are we supposed to do now?"

In an equally low voice, he replied "just remember that whatever's doing this to us, they want us to atone for something."

As soon as he said those words, the entire hall became silent, the music had stopped as did the shuffling of people walking about. He glanced up and peered around them. Every single person in that room stood facing them. They just stood there, unmoving, like mannequins.

"Oh, what fresh hell is this now?" He said under his breath, subconsciously moving slightly closer to Granger.

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