Disclaimer: *sigh* So sad... JKR owns it, not me. I can deal with that.
A/N: AARRRGGGHHH!!! I'm so sorry! I finally got this chapter out, just be thankful for that. I'm sorry it wasn't out sooner, but here it is, at long last.
Chapter 21- Late Night Visits and Remembering
Hermione's POV
I lay there on my bed, staring at the ceiling, the same thing I had been doing most of the day, stopping only to eat and to do some Transfiguration work. I glanced at the clock for the thousandth time, just as it clicked to 10:07. 'That's good enough for me,' I thought, swinging my feet to the ground.
I tip-toed quietly down the stairs to the common room, thankful that Terry and Hannah were already in their rooms. I went to my couch and pulled the invisibility cloak I had "borrowed" from Harry earlier from under the cushion. I swept it over me as I swung open the portal, and stepped out into the dark corridor. I crept quickly and silently down the winding hallways and staircases toward the hospital wing.
When I reached the entrance, I almost ran into Madam Pomfrey as she was exiting the room. I waited until she had left, then silently slipped in. It was empty except for Draco, who was in the farthest bed. As I approached, I noticed that he was awake and half sitting up, simply staring at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought. I pulled off the cloak, and he gasped, jumping about a foot in the air.
"Mione!" he exclaimed softly. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," I mumbled to my feet. It was silent for a moment, then I slowly looked up into his eyes, and he was smiling at me. I returned his warm smile, and went over to the side of his bed. He scooted over a bit, wincing as he did, and I noticed his arm was in a sling. He patted the space on the bed beside him, and I took a seat and swung my feet up so I was half-laying next to him, snuggling up against his good shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I broke my arm in two places, but Madam Pomfrey said she could heal it pretty well, except for a little soreness in the muscles." He turned his face to look into my eyes. "What about you? Are you okay?" I nodded, but he went on. "It was my father, Hermione. He jinxed my broom, I saw him. Did anything happen after we fell?"
"I know it was Lucius. I saw him too. And no, he disappeared right after you collided with Harry and started plummeting," I gulped, and he wrapped his free arm around me. "God, Draco," I whispered to him. "Don't ever do that again, okay?"
He laughed softly. "Don't worry, I certainly don't plan on repeating the experience anytime soon." I forced myself to laugh with him, though I was still remembering how terrible it was to see him falling. He grew serious again. "You're sure you're okay?"
I nodded. "You sure you're okay?"
He smiled warmly me. "Well," he whispered, looking at me. "I wasn't so sure before, but I'll be fine as long as you're here."
I grinned at him and looked into his icy gray eyes before he leaned in to kiss me. I tipped my head up slightly to meet his lips, and felt them gently brush mine then pull away. He came back quickly, over and over, teasingly, until eventually the kiss deepened.
When we pulled away for the last time, I took in a deep breath, refilling my lungs with oxygen, and noticed Draco doing the same. Suddenly, I heard a clunk out in the hallway. My eyes widened and I looked at Draco as he stiffened. Thinking quickly, I leapt off the bed and scrambled to the chair I left the cloak on. I slipped it around me just as Madam Pomfrey entered the room.
"Draco!" she cried shrilly. "I can't believer you're still awake! You need your rest!" She walked over to the bed, passing two inches in front of me, and I held my breath. She went to his bedside table and poured him a glass of a purple-ish colored liquid. "Here, drink this." Draco complied, but almost gagged as he tasted the concoction. "It'll help with the soreness," she told him, and he finished off the cup, wincing. "Now, I'm going to go to bed, and I strongly suggest you do the same!" And with that she swept past me once more, and exited the wing.
I let out my breath as I swept the cloak off once more, walking over to Draco's bed again and sitting down. "She's right you know," I added. "You need rest, and so do I, so I'm gonna go back to bed. I'm really glad you're okay, and I hope you feel better, okay?" I smiled at him.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, see you tomorrow." He leaned in for a last kiss, but I pulled back grinning.
"No way! I saw you choke down that potion, I don't want to taste it!" I laughed with him. I got up and grabbed my cloak, and started to throw it over me, but paused as a sudden thought crossed my mind and my heart sunk. "Are you leaving for Christmas?"
"No. I have absolutely no desire for seeing my father, and my mother is away with friends, so I'm staying here. You?"
I smiled in relief. I didn't want to spend the whole holiday with no one to keep me company, since Harry and Ron were both leaving to visit Charlie in Romania. "I'm staying too. Come back as soon as possible tomorrow, alright? Wake me up if I'm asleep." With that, I pulled the cloak over myself, and made my way back to the prefect room.
When I got there, I used my portal in my room to silently return Harry's cloak, then went back downstairs to the common room. I wrapped my blanket around me and curled up on my couch in front of the fire to think, but before I could I was fast asleep.
--'Take out your wand, Miss Granger,' she told me in my head. Keeping my eyes open, I looked at her and saw that her lips weren't moving. She never told anyone what to do aloud, just her voice in her head. Concentrating as hard as I could, I tried to keep my hands clamped into fists at my side, but slowly, painfully, my right arm came up to draw my wand from my robes.
'Point it at Mr. Malfoy, Hermione.' WHAT?! No way! I would NOT point my wand at Draco! I closed my eyes, concentrating very hard. 'Give Mr. Malfoy the Cruciatus curse, Hermione.' No. I couldn't do that to Draco. Never. I bit my lip until it bled, but would not open my mouth to say the words. Would not. Could not. I would not give Draco the Cruciatus curse. No.
No matter how hard I tried to prevent it, I felt my mouth opening and forming a word. Crucio. No! Not thinking about anything but stopping myself from using the Cruciatus curse on Draco, I did the only thing I could do at that point. I wrenched my arm, so instead of my wand pointing at Draco, I was pointing it at myself. "Cr-u-ci-o!"-
"No!" I screamed, and sat bolt upright, cold with sweat, gasping for air. For a moment I didn't know where I was, but as my vision cleared, I could tell I was in the prefect common room, and I remembered falling asleep there last night after visiting Draco.
Draco. When I awoke, he had been trying to wake me up as I'd told him to. When I sat up he pulled back quickly to avoid being hit, and had almost crashed over the top of the coffee table in the middle of the room.
"Hermione!" he cried then, coming over to me. "What happened, what's wrong?" he yelled anxiously. I hadn't been aware until that moment that I was crying, and he tenderly reached up and gently brushed the tears away.
"The dream," I sobbed. "I remembered, oh, God, Draco, I remember now!"
He took me in his arms and I buried my face in his shoulder, unable to control the sobbing. "Sssshhhh, it's okay, Mione. It's okay, it was a dream. What do you remember?"
I got myself more under control and sat up, sniffling and swiping at my eyes with the back of my hand.
"That day in Defense Against the Dark Arts," I whispered. "I remember what happened to make me perform the Cruciatus on myself." Draco's eyes widened and he gripped my shoulders a little tighter. "It was because of you, Draco," I went on, horrified, tears falling silently once again. "She wanted me to do it to you, but I couldn't. She wanted me to perform an Unforgivable on you, so I turned it on myself instead." My voice was barely higher than a breath, but I knew he heard every word I said loud and clear.
A/N: Ok, so I know that was a pretty lame ending, but I HAVE to get this up! I'll start working on the next chap ASAP and it'll be up soon, k? Thanks to my reviewers, please review again to keep me in good spirits in spite of my stupid writer's block.
A/N: AARRRGGGHHH!!! I'm so sorry! I finally got this chapter out, just be thankful for that. I'm sorry it wasn't out sooner, but here it is, at long last.
Chapter 21- Late Night Visits and Remembering
Hermione's POV
I lay there on my bed, staring at the ceiling, the same thing I had been doing most of the day, stopping only to eat and to do some Transfiguration work. I glanced at the clock for the thousandth time, just as it clicked to 10:07. 'That's good enough for me,' I thought, swinging my feet to the ground.
I tip-toed quietly down the stairs to the common room, thankful that Terry and Hannah were already in their rooms. I went to my couch and pulled the invisibility cloak I had "borrowed" from Harry earlier from under the cushion. I swept it over me as I swung open the portal, and stepped out into the dark corridor. I crept quickly and silently down the winding hallways and staircases toward the hospital wing.
When I reached the entrance, I almost ran into Madam Pomfrey as she was exiting the room. I waited until she had left, then silently slipped in. It was empty except for Draco, who was in the farthest bed. As I approached, I noticed that he was awake and half sitting up, simply staring at the ceiling, obviously deep in thought. I pulled off the cloak, and he gasped, jumping about a foot in the air.
"Mione!" he exclaimed softly. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," I mumbled to my feet. It was silent for a moment, then I slowly looked up into his eyes, and he was smiling at me. I returned his warm smile, and went over to the side of his bed. He scooted over a bit, wincing as he did, and I noticed his arm was in a sling. He patted the space on the bed beside him, and I took a seat and swung my feet up so I was half-laying next to him, snuggling up against his good shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I broke my arm in two places, but Madam Pomfrey said she could heal it pretty well, except for a little soreness in the muscles." He turned his face to look into my eyes. "What about you? Are you okay?" I nodded, but he went on. "It was my father, Hermione. He jinxed my broom, I saw him. Did anything happen after we fell?"
"I know it was Lucius. I saw him too. And no, he disappeared right after you collided with Harry and started plummeting," I gulped, and he wrapped his free arm around me. "God, Draco," I whispered to him. "Don't ever do that again, okay?"
He laughed softly. "Don't worry, I certainly don't plan on repeating the experience anytime soon." I forced myself to laugh with him, though I was still remembering how terrible it was to see him falling. He grew serious again. "You're sure you're okay?"
I nodded. "You sure you're okay?"
He smiled warmly me. "Well," he whispered, looking at me. "I wasn't so sure before, but I'll be fine as long as you're here."
I grinned at him and looked into his icy gray eyes before he leaned in to kiss me. I tipped my head up slightly to meet his lips, and felt them gently brush mine then pull away. He came back quickly, over and over, teasingly, until eventually the kiss deepened.
When we pulled away for the last time, I took in a deep breath, refilling my lungs with oxygen, and noticed Draco doing the same. Suddenly, I heard a clunk out in the hallway. My eyes widened and I looked at Draco as he stiffened. Thinking quickly, I leapt off the bed and scrambled to the chair I left the cloak on. I slipped it around me just as Madam Pomfrey entered the room.
"Draco!" she cried shrilly. "I can't believer you're still awake! You need your rest!" She walked over to the bed, passing two inches in front of me, and I held my breath. She went to his bedside table and poured him a glass of a purple-ish colored liquid. "Here, drink this." Draco complied, but almost gagged as he tasted the concoction. "It'll help with the soreness," she told him, and he finished off the cup, wincing. "Now, I'm going to go to bed, and I strongly suggest you do the same!" And with that she swept past me once more, and exited the wing.
I let out my breath as I swept the cloak off once more, walking over to Draco's bed again and sitting down. "She's right you know," I added. "You need rest, and so do I, so I'm gonna go back to bed. I'm really glad you're okay, and I hope you feel better, okay?" I smiled at him.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, see you tomorrow." He leaned in for a last kiss, but I pulled back grinning.
"No way! I saw you choke down that potion, I don't want to taste it!" I laughed with him. I got up and grabbed my cloak, and started to throw it over me, but paused as a sudden thought crossed my mind and my heart sunk. "Are you leaving for Christmas?"
"No. I have absolutely no desire for seeing my father, and my mother is away with friends, so I'm staying here. You?"
I smiled in relief. I didn't want to spend the whole holiday with no one to keep me company, since Harry and Ron were both leaving to visit Charlie in Romania. "I'm staying too. Come back as soon as possible tomorrow, alright? Wake me up if I'm asleep." With that, I pulled the cloak over myself, and made my way back to the prefect room.
When I got there, I used my portal in my room to silently return Harry's cloak, then went back downstairs to the common room. I wrapped my blanket around me and curled up on my couch in front of the fire to think, but before I could I was fast asleep.
--'Take out your wand, Miss Granger,' she told me in my head. Keeping my eyes open, I looked at her and saw that her lips weren't moving. She never told anyone what to do aloud, just her voice in her head. Concentrating as hard as I could, I tried to keep my hands clamped into fists at my side, but slowly, painfully, my right arm came up to draw my wand from my robes.
'Point it at Mr. Malfoy, Hermione.' WHAT?! No way! I would NOT point my wand at Draco! I closed my eyes, concentrating very hard. 'Give Mr. Malfoy the Cruciatus curse, Hermione.' No. I couldn't do that to Draco. Never. I bit my lip until it bled, but would not open my mouth to say the words. Would not. Could not. I would not give Draco the Cruciatus curse. No.
No matter how hard I tried to prevent it, I felt my mouth opening and forming a word. Crucio. No! Not thinking about anything but stopping myself from using the Cruciatus curse on Draco, I did the only thing I could do at that point. I wrenched my arm, so instead of my wand pointing at Draco, I was pointing it at myself. "Cr-u-ci-o!"-
"No!" I screamed, and sat bolt upright, cold with sweat, gasping for air. For a moment I didn't know where I was, but as my vision cleared, I could tell I was in the prefect common room, and I remembered falling asleep there last night after visiting Draco.
Draco. When I awoke, he had been trying to wake me up as I'd told him to. When I sat up he pulled back quickly to avoid being hit, and had almost crashed over the top of the coffee table in the middle of the room.
"Hermione!" he cried then, coming over to me. "What happened, what's wrong?" he yelled anxiously. I hadn't been aware until that moment that I was crying, and he tenderly reached up and gently brushed the tears away.
"The dream," I sobbed. "I remembered, oh, God, Draco, I remember now!"
He took me in his arms and I buried my face in his shoulder, unable to control the sobbing. "Sssshhhh, it's okay, Mione. It's okay, it was a dream. What do you remember?"
I got myself more under control and sat up, sniffling and swiping at my eyes with the back of my hand.
"That day in Defense Against the Dark Arts," I whispered. "I remember what happened to make me perform the Cruciatus on myself." Draco's eyes widened and he gripped my shoulders a little tighter. "It was because of you, Draco," I went on, horrified, tears falling silently once again. "She wanted me to do it to you, but I couldn't. She wanted me to perform an Unforgivable on you, so I turned it on myself instead." My voice was barely higher than a breath, but I knew he heard every word I said loud and clear.
A/N: Ok, so I know that was a pretty lame ending, but I HAVE to get this up! I'll start working on the next chap ASAP and it'll be up soon, k? Thanks to my reviewers, please review again to keep me in good spirits in spite of my stupid writer's block.