Lord Voldemort's cruel laugh sounded in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Hermione stood, frozen by the Body-Bind Curse, at one end of the room. Lord Voldemort himself stood in the middle of the room, while Ron and Draco were separately bound and gagged at the other end. Each boy sat whimpering in their respective corners, and Hermione was helpless to free either one of them.
"You must choose!" the Dark Lord said in his high, cold voice. "Neither can live, while the other survives. Choose! Before they are both lost."
Hermione wailed, a sound of pure anguish. "Let them go! I love them both!"
"Last chance!" called Voldemort's clear voice, piercing as icicles. "You can either save one or lose both. But I warn you, if your next reply is not a name, they both die."
Hermione choked a sob. "Take me… instead." she whispered, summoning every last bit of courage her Gryffindor heart held.
Voldemort's red eyes widened maliciously. "How brave! How noble! Just what I would expect from a worthless Gryffindor Mudblood. Very well then, AVADA KEDAVRA!"
In a burst of green light, Hermione woke up screaming. In a flash, Draco had run through the connecting bathroom, his wand lit, his eyes wide.
"Hermione!" he called anxiously, running to her side. "Stop screaming! Stop! Shhh. I'm here. Don't worry, it was just a nightmare."
Thick, hot tears flooded down Hermione's face, onto her shaking form. She couldn't move, couldn't hear Draco's soothing murmurs. Without another word, Draco crawled onto her bed as Crookshanks sprang off, unable to bear the wetness of Hermione's giant pearls.
He pulled her up into his arms, hugging her tightly, and she finally responded by clutching at his strong, muscular arms, trembling. Draco used one hair to stroke her sweaty hair, and the other to massage one of her arms. "Hush, darling, hush. Nothing can hurt you. I'll take care of you." Hermione just cried harder, terrified of how real that nightmare was, how close she had been to losing two of her most beloved.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Draco murmured softly, now massaging her back instead. Hermione just buried her face into his neck, choking out a muffled "Not really."
"That's all right, sweetheart. Just go back to sleep. I'll stay right here with you until you're asleep. Heck, I'll stay here all night just to protect you. If you want me to."
"Stay." Hermione ordered, momentarily resurfacing from Draco's sweet, peppermint-scented neck. "I need you." She snuggled back into his chest as he slid them both down onto the pillows. "Do I make you feel safe?" he asked softly, pulling her close and resting his chin onto her forehead.
"Safer than Gringotts." Hermione mumbled, as she finally calmed down, hearing the steady beat of Draco's heart.
"That's not saying much, seeing as how you managed to successfully break in and get out a few months ago." Draco chuckled, relieved that Hermione could speak more than three syllables at a time again.
"Hmm." she replied, as she drifted off to sleep, in the arms of her one, true love.
It was morning again as Hermione's eyes fluttered open. She felt warm and cozy, her head steadily rising up and down. Then she remembered she was in bed… with Draco.
But this time, unlike yesterday morning, she didn't freak out. She didn't even lift her head, just kept it there, wanting to memorize this blissful feeling. I'm home. she thought contentedly. She was deliberating about whether to sleep in a little more when Draco's stomach suddenly rumbled.
I guess that's his cue to wake up and start the day. she thought disappointedly. Sure enough, Draco yawned, and said amusedly, "Good morning, Hermione."
Hermione rolled out of his embrace, but continued facing him. "Hello, Drake. How did you know I was already awake?"
"Gut feeling." he replied, grinning. "I just know things." he added matter-of-factly. Then his expression changed to one of concern. "I should check just to make sure: Have you recovered from last night's fright?"
Hermione scooted close to him again and hugged his neck. "I'm fine." she whispered into his ear. "Thank you for last night. You're always there for me. I don't know how to thank you."
"No need, it's always a nice feeling to know you're needed." Draco whispered back, nuzzling the crown of her head. "You can thank me by just letting me hold you a little while longer."
"You come at an awfully low price." Hermione teased, and they both laughed, before lapsing into silence, each lover trying to memorize the rate of their significant other's breathing.
It seemed as if only a few moments had passed before Draco's stomach growled again, but in reality, another thirty minutes had snoozed by. "I guess we really do have to get up." Hermione sighed, getting up and stretching.
Draco, still sprawled on the pillows, watched her as if she was the goddess of beauty herself. As she opened her wardrobe, he propped himself up on one elbow and asked, "What was it about?"
"What was what about?" asked Hermione, purposely trying to buy herself some time to avoid a surely awkward conversation.
"Your nightmare." he replied simply. Crookshanks resurfaced from underneath Hermione's bed and hopped onto the covers again, rubbing himself against Draco's legs and then settling on top of his ankles.
"Oh." Hermione bit her lip, purposely making a show of browsing through her robes, although they all looked exactly the same. "Umm… a certain someone I never thought would come back from the dead somehow managed it?"
She heard him sigh. "Are you thinking about…?"
"Let's get to breakfast." Hermione said, turning to face him at last. The look on her face might have convinced him to drop it, or maybe it was because her face might've been swollen from crying.
"Okey-doke." said Draco. He got up from her bed and stepped in front of her. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes. I shouldn't be keeping things from him. she thought miserably. However, he leaned towards her, his cheek a hairsbreadth from hers. "Tell me when you want, if you ever want to. I understand." With that, she felt his lips brush against her temple, and in a flash, he was gone, closing his bathroom door.
Hermione felt in shock again. She stood very still for another eternity, feeling the greatest rush of feelings she had ever felt in her life. Nothing could compare to what had just happened.