A/N: Well, the next chapter. The longest so far. Hope you'll like this one.

  Thanks to those who reviewed. Your comments mean a lot to me.

  To Cygnus Crux: Don't worry about it. It's just my impression as I read your story.

  Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The name Tel'anran'rhiod belong to Robert Jorden and the 'Wheel of Time'

Dreaming of You

Chapter 7

The duel

  "One thing first, Malfoy." Harry said, pulling out his own ward. "No unforgivable."

  "Of course not!" Malfoy replied, sounding a little shocked, and more than a little surprised. "You think I would use those? Who do you think I am?"

  "A death eater's son." Harry answered calmly, tapping his wand against his hand. "I don't trust that you wouldn't use them."

  "My father was under the Imperius…" Malfoy fairly growled.

  "As if anyone would believe that." Harry interrupted. His wand met his hand with a loud 'Crack'. "We're wasting time, Malfoy. Hurry up."

  "That's it. You're so dead, Potter!" Malfoy yelled, brandishing his wand about.

  "Do you plan to fight with empty words, Malfoy?" Harry said, straightening himself, trying to ignore the pain in his stomach, where Malfoy had kicked him. "Or have you forgotten how to duel?"

  Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he forced himself to calm down. "Right. We're supposed to bow, isn't it?"

  "Yes. That's right." Harry replied. He bowed slowly, his eyes not leaving Malfoy's.

  Malfoy hid a smirk as he watched Harry bow, even as his own head came down in a shallow nod. He who strikes first has the advantage, and Malfoy intended to get that advantage. Before Harry had straightened himself, Malfoy had already snapped his wand forward, yelling "Petrificus Totalus!" Unknown to Malfoy, Harry had expected Malfoy to do something like that, and he had been watching him even as he was bowing. Therefore, when Malfoy began his attack, Harry was already aware of it.

  "Hey, you don't play fair!" Harry exclaimed as he leaped to one side to avoid the spell brushing by him. Mid-leap, he began his couter-attack. "Expelliarmus!"

  "You think I care?" Malfoy replied as he dodged the spell. "Stupefy!"

  "Why are you trying to get Ginny anyway?" Harry dropped to the ground as the spell shaved past his unruly hair. "Locomotor Mortis!"

  "It's certainly not because I like her or anything like that." Malfoy said as he leaped over the spell. "I was ordered to." He fired off the jelly-legged curse at Harry, who quickly scrambled to his feet. He was too late, however, and the curse hit him squarely on the chest.

  "Ordered? By whom? Voldemort?" Harry asked in a taunting tone as he tried to keep his balance on suddenly wobbly feet. "Incendio!"

  "That's none of your business." Malfoy answered shortly. He seemed to have realized that he had spoken too much and had decided not to give anything else away. That and the fact that he was currently busy trying to beat out the flames that had appeared on his robes, courtesy of Harry's spell. It proved to be his undoing.

  As Malfoy was engaged in firefighting, Harry made good use of the opportunity to send a disarm charm towards Malfoy. Malfoy had just finished extinguishing the flames and was about to return to the duel when the charm hit him, knocking him off his feet and sending his wand flying towards a corner.

  "Well?" Harry walked carefully towards Malfoy, his wand trained on him. The last thing he wanted was to fall on his face, as he didn't have time to counter the jelly-legged curse. "Do you give up?"

  Malfoy glared up at Harry and laboriously began to climb to his feet, Harry's wand following him up. "My wand's gone. I can't continue. I've no choice but to give up." Malfoy said reluctantly once he's on his feet.

  "Well. Now you know who's better." Harry said as he relaxed his tense muscles. He lowered his wand to take off the jelly-legged curse.

  Malfoy's eyes narrowed as he watched Harry's wand leave his chest. Once the wand wasn't pointed at him, Malfoy murmured "Not!" under his breath and promptly pushed Harry over. Caught by surprise, Harry raised his wand too late. He went head-over-heels, his wand flying out of his hand, clattering down the corridor to land near Ginny.

  "Now who's better?" Malfoy laughed as he picked his own wand up and pointed it at Harry.

  "That's cheating!" Harry yelled out, trying to get to his feet in vain, his legs being too wobbly to take his weight. "You gave up!"

  "I said 'not' under my breath, Potter." Malfoy smirked.

  "That's still cheating!" Harry exclaimed, feeling a little angry with himself. He should have known that Malfoy would try something like that.

  "It doesn't matter in the slightest, Potter." Malfoy said calmly, buffing his fingernails on his robes. "The fact is I'm still standing, and you… are not."

  "Damn you, Malfoy!" Harry raged helplessly. His wand out of reach, his legs not cooperating, there's no way he can overcome Malfoy this way.

  Malfoy simply laughed evilly and walked over to Ginny. "I'll be taking Weasley then."

  Meanwhile, Ginny, having a perfect view of the battle and the outcome, saw Harry's wand falling near her. After much wiggling, she managed to moved herself over the wand. Though her arms were bound together, her fingers were not. With great difficulty, she picked up Harry's wand while Malfoy's back was turned, taunting Harry.

  Malfoy picked Ginny up, slinging her over his shoulders like a sack. "Any last words to your lover, Weasley?" He had seen them just now as they were coming out of the astronomy room, and had heard Harry calling Ginny his girlfriend. He now knew why his father had asked him the change target.

  Ginny couldn't say anything due to the rope in her mouth, and she made that fact known to Malfoy with muffed cries.

  "Oh, yeah. That's right." Malfoy said with a laugh. "You can't talk with that in your mouth, can't you." He twisted Ginny around his shoulders so that her head was hanging down his front and pulled off the gag in her mouth. "There, it's it better?"

  Ginny hung panting for a moment, trying to catch her breath and to relax the tensed muscles in her mouth. Ginny's eyes narrowed as she realized that she had a perfect opportunity to stun Malfoy. He had not noticed the wand in Ginny's hands when he was manhandling her, being too busy looking at Harry to see his reaction to him pulling his hands on his girlfriend, and their current position placed the wand in her hand just beside Malfoy's head. Now all she needed was one good spell to knock him off his feet…

  "Much better now, thanks." Ginny smiled at Malfoy with fake sincerity. Her mother had always told her that boys were suckers for a girls' smile. Apparently it's true, as Malfoy seemed mildly surprised. Capitalising on his surprise, Ginny suddenly yelled "Stupefy!" Taken off guard, and with the spell at such close range, there was almost nothing Malfoy could do to avoid it. He was sent crashing against the wall, Ginny rolling off him to land on the ground with a loud "Ouch!"

  "Are you alright, Ginny?" Harry called out as he pulled himself over to her, his legs were still unable to hold his weight.

  "Yeah. I'm fine" Ginny replied. She had somehow managed to retain her grip on Harry's wand, which she dropped within Harry's reach. Harry was finally able to undo the jelly-legged curse and release Ginny. He helped Ginny to her feet.

  "Well? What are we going to do about him?" Ginny asked, jerking her head towards Malfoy, knocked out cold from both the spell and his close encounter with the wall.

  "I think Dumbledore has to know about this." Harry answered, using the same charm that Malfoy used on Ginny to tie him up. "Voldemort is up to something."

~~~~~~~~~~

  Ron stormed through the endless corridors of Hogwarts, silently fuming. He really shouldn't be so angry, a small part of his mind told him. It's just that he had been waiting to confess his feelings to Hermione for so long, and had anticipated a favorable response for the whole of the two weeks that Harry and Ginny had been together that the disappointment was magnified that much. Ron wasn't someone who would help his feelings, and now he was feeling rather spurned. Added the fact that he had been walking for a very long time without seeing either hide or sight of his best friend or his little sister just increased his frustration.

  "… is up to something." Harry's voice came floated round the corner. Ron heaved a sigh of relive.

  "At last!" Ron murmured as he walked round the corner. He was greeted with a rather surprising sight. Harry was kneeing beside an unconscious Draco Malfoy, all tied up, Ginny standing behind him, a savage look on her face as she glared at Malfoy. "What happened?" Ron asked.

  "Oh, Ron. Mind giving me a hand?" Harry said, glancing back at him.

  "What happened? What's Malfoy doing here?" Ron asked again, walking up to them.

  "Malfoy tried to kidnap me for some reason." Ginny answered, still staring at Malfoy. "Harry had to duel with him."

  "Ginny's the one that knocked him out though." Harry said with a chuckle. "Took him by surprise."

  "So you're tying him up for…? Ron asked, bending over to get a good grip on Malfoy.

  "I think he's acting on Voldemort's orders." Harry replied, lifting Malfoy's legs. "I'm going to the headmaster now."

  "Really? And here I thought that he was interested in Ginny." Ron teased. Seeing Malfoy all trussed up and helpless had vastly improved his temper, enough to joke about it.

  "That's not funny!" Ginny said in a disgusted tone. "Eeww! Malfoy and me? You must be out of your mind!"

  Ron, chucking at the look on Ginny's face, did not answer to that.

~~~~~~~~~~

  Dumbledore was getting ready for bed when his door alarm sounded, breaking him out of his thoughts. He had been thinking on how to implement the new curriculum of Star Lore. That, coupled with the recent troubles with Voldemort, had left him with little time to sleep. He glanced at his magical mirror, enchanted to reflect the corridor outside his room. Harry was there, carrying Malfoy's unconscious body with his best friend Ron. His sister Ginny hung somewhat behind them.

  "Are you sure it's okay to call on the headmaster at this hour?" Dumbledore heard her ask, somewhat nervously.

  "It'll be alright. This is important." Harry replied, trying to reassure her.

  Dumbledore briefly considered the idea of pretending to be away. He was really very tired, and he still had plenty of work to do the next day. But he knew that whenever Harry came to look for him, it's bound to be important. Besides, he had his reputation to consider.

  "Come in." Dumbledore called out as he settled into his chair, wondering what news did Harry bring this time, and why on earth would Malfoy be tied up like a chicken.

~~~~~~~~~~

  "See, told you it's alright." Harry said as he pulled open the door to Dumbledore's office and stepped inside it, heedless of Malfoy's arms banging against the doorframe.

  "I'm really sorry, Headmaster." Ginny said as she followed in.

  "It's alright." Dumbledore replied. "Please, take a seat. And why's Mr. Malfoy all tied up?"

  "He tried to kidnap Ginny, Sir." Harry replied. "I think Voldemort's behind it."

  "Really? Why did you say that?" Dumbledore asked curiously. "It is a rather serious accusation, you know?"

  "I know that, sir. But when we fought with each other, he said that he was under orders to do so. Whose order would he follow but Voldemort's?" Harry explained.

  "I see." Dumbledore said musingly. He got to his feet and walked to the fireplace, picking up a pot as he went. When he reached the fireplace, he took a pinch of power from the pot and tossed it into the fire, calling out "Severus Snape!" as he did. The fire roared and turned a bright green color, and Snape's face appeared in the fire.

  "What is it, Headmaster?" Snape asked harshly. "You know what time it is?"

  "Sorry to disturb you, Severus." Dumbledore said mildly. "But there's something I want to ask you." He gestured behind him at Harry and the tied up Malfoy. "Harry here just told me that Malfoy had tried to kidnap Miss Weasley under the orders of Voldemort. Have you heard anything about this?"

  "Voldemort still hasn't contacted me, Headmaster." Snape replied thoughtfully. " I don't think he really trust me yet. But it don't seem like him to do things in such a roundabout way." He fixed his eyes on Harry. "Could it be Potter's idea to put the blame on the Dark Lord? Draco and Potter weren't exactly best friends, you know."

  "How could you say that?" Ginny busted out. "I was there too. I head him say that he's under orders to kidnap me!"

  "It's not your place to speak, Girl!" Snape replied with a scaling glare at Ginny. "Besides, you're Potter's girlfriend. Of course you'll side with him."

  "What!?" Ginny cried out, unbelieving.

  "That's enough." Dumbledore said, his tone booking no argument. "Severus, I don't think Harry's lying. Can you check into that?"

  Snape seemed to consider it. "Very well, headmaster. I'll look into it. I don't think there's anything to find though." With that parting shot and a last look of contempt at Harry, Snape's head disappeared from the fire. 

  Dumbledore turned from the fireplace and returned to his chair, sitting down heavily. "Well, with that over, you should get some sleep."

  "But what about Malfoy?" Ron spoke up, pointing to Malfoy

  "I'll deal with him." Dumbledore replied. "Don't you worry."

  "But…" Ron started to say, but Harry place a hand on his shoulders to stop him.

  "Thanks for your time, Headmaster." Harry said, standing up, Ginny just beside him.

  "Anytime, Harry." Dumbledore smiled as they made their way out of his office, Ron casting a few looks back at Malfoy. When they had all left, Dumbledore stood up again and walked over to Malfoy. "Well, no rest for the weary."

~~~~~~~~~~

   Hermione sat before the fire, her mind a complete blank. Harry's rejection of her, gentle as he had been, coupled with Ron's confession, had left her utterly confused. While Ron had liked her, she did not return the feeling. How could she, when her own feelings were for Harry? But Harry was with Ginny, not her. And her own confession just now had made them awkward with each other. And Ron seemed to be angry with her for some reason. Just thinking about it made her head ache. Hermione pressed her hand against her head, wishing that her feelings would just vanish. Feelings seemed only to complicate things.

  The sound of the door to the common room opening reached Hermione's ears. She curled up in her seat and shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She was too confused to face them now. Especially Ginny. She really didn't want to see Ginny at this particular moment.

  "Where's Hermione?" Harry asked. "You said she was waiting up for us?"

  "How would I know?" Ron answered in a somewhat louder tone. "She could have gone to bed already."

  "Shh!" Ginny hushed them. "Look. She's asleep on the chair."

  Silence followed, but Hermione could hear their footsteps on the floor, coming closer to her.

  "Well, how are we going to get her up to the dorm?" Ginny asked in a whisper.

  "We can wake her up." Harry suggested.

  "No." Ginny disagree. "Let her sleep. She must be tired from waiting for us."

  "Why not just carry her up?" Ron asked, not brothering to lower his voice.

  "That's an idea." Harry said. "Why don't you do it?"

  "Me?" Ron gave a short laugh. "I couldn't care less. I'm going to bed." With that, Hermione could hear a pair of feet walking away.

  "What's up with him?" Harry sounded puzzled. "Did they have another augment?"

  "I'm not sure, Harry." Ginny replied slowly. "But I think I know why. I'll have to ask Hermione something though."

  "Well, that still leave us with the problem of getting Hermione up to bed." Harry said.

  "You can carry her, can't you?" Ginny said in a teasing tone.

  "Well… yeah, but…" Harry replied hesitantly.

  "But what?" Ginny asked

  "You know she… liked me and all…"

  "And?"

  "I just don't feel very comfortable carrying her to bed."

  Ginny laughed. "You? Afraid to carry your best friend to bed?"

  "Yeah, something like that." Harry said, sounding a little sheepish. "She is a girl after all."

  "Don't worry. She wouldn't mind." Ginny said. "Besides, she's too heavy for me to carry."

  "Well… If it's alright with you…?"

  "Go ahead. She can't spend the night here."

  For a moment, Hermione debated with herself if she should allow Harry to carry her. Normally she would be overjoyed at the chance to be close to Harry, but now that she knew Harry didn't return her feelings, and with Ginny nearby, she felt really awkward. Still, any chance to be close to Harry would be appreciated. Before she could continue her self-debate, she felt Harry's hands slipping under her head and her knees, and she was lifted up to press against Harry's chest.

  "Lead the way, Ginny." Harry said, grunting slightly under Hermione's weight.

  Her choice taken for her, Hermione decided to enjoy this ride while she could. Trying to be inconspicuous, Hermione cuddled a little closer to Harry. All too soon the ride ended, and she felt herself gently placed on a bed.

  "Don't tell her about this, Ginny." Harry whispered.

  "Why not?" Ginny whispered back.

  "She'll have my head if she knew I carried her."

  Ginny gave a short laugh. "Whatever. You better return to your dorm, Harry."

  "Right. Goodnight." Harry said. Hermione heard the door to her dorm open, and the sound of footsteps walking away. When the door closed, Hermione curled up into a ball and silently started to cry.