Emma lunged forward and grabbed Hermione by her hair.

"Get up bitch we have a little score to settle!"

"What? Ow! Emma!?"

In a moment the other girls in the room were awake. Parvati was crying in a corner.

"Hermione?" Came Lavenders voice.

"Lavender! Help!" cried Hermione.

Lavender got out of bed and headed towards Hermione.

"I don't think so!" Emma yelled as she lifted her wand, "Impedimenta!"

Lavender slowed down to a stop, "Shit!"

Emma lead Hermione out of the dorm, threw the Gryffindor common room and out the portrait, the fat lady was sleeping, and didn't seem to notice the two girls leave.

"Where are you taking me to? What's going on?"

"You just shut up!"

Hermione's mind was racing. What did Emma want? How did she get into the Gryffindor tower? How was she supposed to get out off this?

Emma lead her into an empty classroom, Hermione wasn't sure which one. Inside was Ron and Harry bound to chairs.

"Harry! Ron!"

"Hermione!" they called in unison.

"Well, well, well, nice of you to join us!" Draco stepped out of the shadows.

"What do you want?" Hermione hissed.

Draco made his way over to Hermione. He caressed her cheek and leaned over, lightly brushing his lips with hers. "My dear mudblood, I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Leave her alone Malfoy!" Harry demanded.

"Jealous Potter? Don't worry, I would never dream of taking your precious mudblood. Unless of course it was to kill her," Draco taunted.

Harry glared at Draco, completely helpless and unable to help Hermione. Ron had gone a dark red and looked like he may pop a vein in his forehead.

"What's wrong Weasel? Oh wait; you love her too don't you? What a shame. But then again you two would be perfect for each other, the mudblood and the muggle lover." Draco teased.

Draco looked at the two boys, "Pathetic! Two wizards in love with the same witch. Which one of you will get her? Or perhaps we should let the mudblood decide?"

Draco nodded at Emma. She let go of Hermione's hair and pushed her towards him. Hermione let out a whimper.

"So which one?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked at her two best friends, tears trickling down her face.

"Which one will you kill?"

Hermione turned to look at Draco, her eyes now glazed over with tears. She shakes her head.

"I can't choose." she choked.

"Perhaps I should just kill them both." Draco said as he lifted his wand.

"NO!" Hermione screamed.

"So you'll choose?"

"I can't!"

"I'm being very generous! I would rather kill both, but I'm giving you the opportunity to save one. Is that not generous?"

Hermione gathered all the courage she could to look Draco in the eye, and stated firmly, "I will not choose, and I will not let you kill anyone."

"Really?" Draco said amused.

He turned and pointed his wand at Ron, "Avada Kedavra"

A flash of green lit the room.

"NO! RON!" Hermione ran to Ron's lifeless body.

"Ron!" Harry called out as he tried desperately to free himself from the binds.

"You try my patience mudblood!" Draco said.

"You bastard!" Harry called out.

"You're next Potter!" Draco said with pleasure.

"No!" Hermione said.

"Too lateyou should have made your choice when you had the chance!"

Hermione's eyes widened as she saw Draco raise his wand once more.

"HERMIONE NO!" Harry yelled, but not soon enough, Hermione had thrown herself into the green light.

********

Hermione awoke with a jolt. The room around her was still dark, and to her right Parvati had just turned over. At her feet Crookshanks was stretching after beining awoken.

"It was a dream?" Hermione whispered to herself.

It had felt so real that she was kind of surprised that she was still alive. Hermione turned to lie on her side; she stared straight ahead not really looking at anything. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the dream was real.

"Would I have courage to do what was right? What would have been right? Would I have chosen? Who would I have saved?"

Hermione resolved to talk to Professor Winthrop again tomorrow. Perhaps she would have some idea what the dream meant.

It was hard to fall back asleep again but when she finally did it was a dreamless one, for which she was glad.

********

"Yikes you look horrible."

"Thanks Lavender." Hermione replied.

She had just walked out into the common room, Harry and Ron were waiting for her to head towards the great hall for breakfast. Harry tried to make conversation, but Ron was unusually quiet.

"Have unpleasant dreams?" asked Harry innocently.

"Ya, you can say that." she said.

"Come on, some breakfast will help you cheer up!" Harry put his hand on her back and guided her out of the common room with Ron trailing not to far behind.

Harry was right Hermione started to feel better as she ate her breakfast, it looked like everything may be back to normal. There was still some tension between Ron and Hermione, but it was quickly fading away, as conversations went on their way. Dean was talking about his application to the Ministry for an opening in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"Sure we still have about six months to go, but I don't see why I can't send my application now?" Dean explained.

Hermione began chatting with Dean about the Ministry, and her plans about sending her application. The dream from last night was still in her mind, but that's all it was: a dream.

"HEY WEASEL!" came a voice from across the great hall, Ron immediately tensed up

"Malfoy." muttered Harry under his breath.

"I HEARD THE MUDBLOOD TURNED YOU DOWN!" Draco's voice carried across the room. A roar of laughter emitted from the Sytherin table while everyone else in the hall fell sighlent. Ron turned red.

"POOR LITTLE WEASEL CAN'T GET HIMSELF THE GIRL HE WANT'S! YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT LONGBORNE WEASEL, BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOU PREFER MUGGLE TRASH!"

Ron's eyes flashed with anger.

"Ron, No!" Hermione said sternly, predicting his next move, but not even Hermione's words could stop what happened next.

Ron leapt from his spot at the table, jumped over the Gryffindor table and then the Hufflepuff table, making his way to the Sytherin table where Draco was sitting, knocking over breakfast plates and goblets in the process.

Within seconds Ron was on Draco punching him with all his might.

The students all crowded around to get a better view of the fight, or rather of the slaughter of Draco. It's unsure why, perhaps because of the shock of Ron's attack, Draco was not fighting back, and all Crabbe and Goyle could so was watch.

It was not long before the Professors were at the Sytherin table prying the two students apart. It took the efforts of Professor Vector and Professor Snape to pull Ron from Draco, and as soon as they did Professor McGonagall had a word or two to say.

"Mr. Weasley! What is the meaning of this?"

"It's not his fault." Harry began.

McGonagall turned to Harry, "Is your name Weasley?"

"No madam."

"Then I advise that you keep your comments to yourself." McGonagall turned back to Ron who was looking at the floor. "You will make your way to my office where you will wait for your punishment, understood?"

"Yes Professor." Ron didn't look up once as he made his way out the great hall. Draco gave a small smile of triumph, but it was short lived.

"And you, you are to go to the hospital wing and see Madam Promfey to attend those wounds. After which you will join your classmate in my office. The rest of you, what are you still doing here?"

The students started to dissipate, but one caught Hermione's eye. "Emma."

"Huh?"

Hermione gestured Harry towards Emma. Emma was standing on her own staring at the spot where Draco and Ron had just been as students passed her by taking no notice of her.

"Harry, I don't think she knew." Hermione said.

Hermione made her way towards a very different Emma from the one that she had previously known. As she got closer Hermione noticed her glassy eyes, and her tear streaked face. It was a sharp contrast from the violent Emma she met in her dream last night.

"Emma?" Hermione said.

Emma turned towards Hermione and quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"What?"

Hermione didn't know what to say. What could she say?

"Emma I'm sorry things happened this way." Hermione pushed out.

"What do you care? You got what you want!"

"It's not like that, I didn't want this?" Hermione said.

"Really? Could have fooled me!" Emma said with sarcasm, "Just leave me alone"

Hermione didn't know what else to say.

"Hermione, come on, we should go." Harry softly said.