A/N: Chapter 20 is here! So y'all know in advanced, there will be eight more chapters following this until the end, YAY! But trust me on this: this story is far from over. I'm working hard on the sequel, and I'm already mapping out the sequel to the sequel. Much thanks goes out to Sneezy Mouse, who's helped me with some plot for the sequel. If any of y'all would like to contribute some ideas or suggestions for the sequel, just drop me an e- mail. I will try to put your ideas into consideration.

I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 20: Was It All a Dream?

Alina leaned against the doors to the hospital wing. She stayed there over night, not matter how much Madam Pomfrey had scolded her, or how many detentions Filch had given her. She wasn't going to leave Draco. She couldn't. She lost him once, then lost him again, and she wasn't willing to lose him completely.

When Professor Dumbledore had left the hospital wing earlier that night, he had informed her of Draco's condition, and it wasn't good. He was in a coma. Alina heard of it before, but she's never found herself in a case where someone she cared about so much was in a coma. She knew that the coma wouldn't be good. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she almost had a feeling Draco was going to die. She wasn't exactly the best in Divination, so maybe there was a possibility her presumptions were wrong.

Professor Dumbledore told her that someone had put him under the Cruciatus Curse. Alina cringed. Draco had told her of how his father would put his mother under the Curse. She thought it was horrible. Someone you love, someone you trust, causing you unbearable pain.

The headmaster asked her what she had seen, and she told him the whole story. She told him about the red light, and how he seemed to be in major pain. She told him about the big fall, and her accusations on Vincent Crabbe. Professor Dumbledore frowned, as if not believing her, but then nodded. He asked her to go back to her dormitory, but she refused. He offered to walk her down to the kitchens so she could get food from the house elves. Of course he had noticed her absence from the Great Hall at all meals. She had turned down that offer, too.

So now she found herself sitting there, head against the doors, and the sound of nothing. Nothing. It was pure silence. She would've been in darkness if the stars outside weren't shining so brightly. Her eyes drooped, and she banged her head against the door at least five times to keep herself from falling asleep.

She heard footsteps approaching her, and she tried to peer through the darkness.

"Who's there?" she asked. She thought it was Mrs. Norris, but she had just left a couple moments ago.

"It's us." Alina heard Megan's voice, but she couldn't see her anywhere. Yes, it was dark, but she could've seen someone if they walked in front of her. She wasn't blind, and the darkness wasn't pitch black.

"Where are you? Who's 'us'?" Then, out of nowhere, Megan appeared, with Harry and Ron standing behind her. Alina tried looking behind them, to see what they were hiding behind before. "How'd you get here without getting caught?" Alina felt something hit her in the face and fall in her lap. She felt it, and knew it had to be a cloak. She looked down into her lap, and saw the bottom half of her body wasn't there. She blinked her eyes. "Is it dark in here, or is my body really gone?" Alina asked.

"Invisibility cloak." She heard Ron say simply.

"What're you doing here?"

"We came to check if you were okay." Megan said, and she took a seat next to Alina against the door.

"I'm fine, I guess." Alina said, her eyes beginning to droop again.

"How's Mal-Draco?" Harry asked. He took the spot on her other side.

"He's...he's in a coma." Harry slowly took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. Alina rested her head on his shoulder, and he guessed he had done something right.

"What's a coma?" Ron plopped down beside Megan.

"Shh!" Megan nudged Ron in the stomach.

"What's a coma?" he asked quietly that time.

"Deep unconsciousness. It's almost like being dead, but he's breathing, and he kind of isn't." Alina explained. She felt as if she'd fall asleep with her head on Harry's shoulder any minute now. "I hope he gets out of that coma." She whispered.

"He'll make it through. With someone like you waiting for him he's sure got a lot to live for." Harry said as he lifted her head with his free hand. His thumb stroked the back of her hand gently. Their eyes locked, and she brought her head back down to his shoulder.

"He doesn't even know how much I care about him. God, the last thing I said to him was that my life is more important than him. I totally blew him off. He didn't deserve to hear it. It's not his fault his father hates people like me." Alina said, referring to her werewolf roots. But Harry assumed it was about her being a Gryffindor.

"I know he knows you didn't mean it. He knows that you're just melodramatic sometimes." Megan said, patting Alina's knee. "If he didn't, he wouldn't've stuck around you for so long."

"Meg, I don't know why you came. I've treated you so horribly. You shouldn't be here. I don't deserve this." Alina said, lifting her head off of Harry's shoulder, and untwining their hands. "Draco and I were just loners. Nobody cared about us. I don't get why-"

"We care about you. Alina, we want you to trust us, and we want you to know that we're here for you, through the good times, and the times like this. We care about you, and I can tell you that I personally hated seeing you have to experience that Howler from Mr. Malfoy. It was uncalled for." Alina sniffled. She had found herself crying.

"You're too good to me." Alina said, resting her head on Megan's shoulder. She rested her head atop of hers.

"What are best friends for?" Megan asked. Alina snorted.

"What you said earlier... Meg, that was so corny." Alina said between giggles and tears.

"Oh Merlin, this moment is really getting to me." Ron joked as he pretended to wipe tears from his eyes.

"You're such a dork!" Alina reached over and poked Ron in the stomach.

"Oi! Watch it!" Ron reached over and tried to poke Alina. Alina slapped his hand.

"Don't touch me!" Alina hissed in mock anger. Ron went on his knees and climbed over Megan.

"Nobody's stopping me." Ron started tickling Alina, and somehow Alina fell into Harry's lap. After that had happened, Ron sat back down, obviously satisfied with himself. "Hey, it got them closer." Ron smirked to himself, and Megan nudged him again, almost as if she had just read his mind.

"Well, isn't this just comfy." Alina said quietly to Harry, to keep Megan and Ron from listening.

"Yeah, if you weren't so heavy." Harry said, squirming under her.

"Hey!" Alina slapped Harry's arm.

"I'm only joking. Relax. Rest your eyes." Harry urged. Alina eyed him suspiciously.

"Resting my eyes is the same as sleeping. I refuse to sleep. I need to be awake when Draco gets out of that coma." Alina said, trying to get off of his lap.

"No, I'm not letting you go. You're going to stay on me and sleep. No complaining about it." Harry pushed her back down on his lap. She pouted. "Don't give me that Alina, unless you're ready for the outcome." Harry's mind was lecturing his hormones to keep them under control.

"You're very pushy tonight, Mr. Potter." Alina finally relaxed on his lap. He held her protectively in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Harry tried to keep himself together every time her breath tickled the flesh on his neck. "Could you do me a favor?" Alina asked.

"Hmm?" Harry looked down at her. For a moment, he had thought she drifted off to sleep.

"Wake me up when Draco does." Alina's arms snaked around Harry, and before he could answer, her breathing had grown steady, signaling to Harry that she had fallen asleep.

"Goodnight." He whispered before resting his head atop of hers.

Megan and Ron shared a smile. Alina and Harry could possibly be getting somewhere.

******

"Lina, Li, wake up." The dark corridor came back into view. Alina didn't want to lift her head. She felt fine the way she was. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Or am I just refusing to move because I'm sitting on Harry?" she questioned herself.

"Whassamatter?" Alina asked groggily. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. "If you want me to, I can get off of your lap." Alina suggested. Harry shook his head.

"It's not that I'm feeling uncomfortable, it's just that I heard Malfoy-"

"Draco." Alina corrected.

"I heard Draco stirring in his sleep. I swear." Harry explained. Alina quickly pushed herself off of his lap, and between Megan and Ron.

"What's-"

"Shut up and move! Harry said he heard Draco! He could be waking up!" Alina exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"But why do we-"

"You two are blocking the doorknob!" Alina had pulled her wand out of her Quidditch robes, which she was still wearing since yesterday's match.

"Be quiet or you'll wake Madam Pomfrey." Megan said through gritted teeth.

"What time is it?" Ron asked as he ran a hand through his red hair.

"Merlin! I can't remember the charm that opens locked doors!" Alina cursed as she banged her hands against the cold stone floor.

"Oi, move outta the way. I can handle this." Ron said, pushing Alina into Harry again. "Alohomora." With a simple swish and flick following the charm, the door unlocked and swung open. Alina flinched when the door creaked. Harry put a hand on Alina's shoulder.

"You want to go check on him? Make it quick, before Madam Pomfrey shows up." Harry advised. Alina nodded, and then she crawled into the room. She looked over to see that the light in Madam Pomfrey's office was off. "Good, she's asleep...or maybe she could see in the dark." Alina inhaled heavily and started crawling towards Draco's bed. She heard him mumbling incoherent things under his breath. She didn't catch much. Although, she did catch, "Hermione." "Why's he saying Hermione's name in his sleep?" Alina advanced to the bed.

"No...don't...don't kill Hermione... Don't call her 'Mudblood'... You don't even know her... I don't care... Shut up! ...NO! ...NEVER! ...You can't do that to your own son... No, you... NO!!!" Draco let out an earsplitting cry. Alina got to her feet and began shaking Draco awake.

"Draco! Wake up! You're having a nightmare! Wake up! Nobody is going to kill Hermione! Nobody is going to kill you! Not your father! I won't-" Draco shot up in bed. Cold sweat was dripping from his face. "Draco," Alina whispered, "are you okay?"

"What's going on her!? Visiting hours ended a long time ago!" Madam Pomfrey appeared at the door to her office. Her hair stuck out at all ends, and she was tying a knot on her robe. "How did you get in here? Get out!" Madam Pomfrey barked. She pinched Alina, and began dragging her out by the ear. "You're breaking the rules. I will inform the headmaster of this." Madam Pomfrey rambled on.

"STOP!" Draco yelled. Madam Pomfrey stopped dragging Alina, and they both looked at him.

"Dear, don't do this. You need your rest." Madam Pomfrey let go of Alina and rushed to Draco's side.

"Madam, she woke me from a nightmare. But...it seemed so real. My father was trying to kill-"

"Nobody is going to kill you, Draco. You're safe here-"

"But Madam, I swear. My father was in my dream, and he told me I couldn't escape the dream. He said if he couldn't get his hands on me in real life, he'd get me in my dreams. He started hurting me, trying to choke me to death. Then he stopped and decided he was going to kill me the wizarding way, and-"

"That's enough for one night, dear. You sit tight while I go a fetch a potion for you to drink before you sleep. You really need to take it easy, you just got out of a coma." Madam Pomfrey informed Draco. He looked at her, thunderstruck.

"A coma? I was in a coma all this time? I thought I was sleeping, or just dreaming-"

"You fell from your broom at yesterday's Quidditch match. You must've taken a nasty fall for you to not even remember how you got here." Madam Pomfrey fluffed Draco's pillow and began heading back to her office.

"I know how I got here, but I didn't realize it was that serious."

"Draco, you were put under the Cruciatus Curse." Alina spoke up.

"What!?" Draco didn't believe what he was hearing. But then again, at the time he was hit, he didn't know what being hit with the Cruciatus Curse felt like, so it was understandable for him to not realize it until he was told. "Who-"

"It was Crabbe." Alina said with disgust.

"Vincent Crabbe?"

"Yup."

"The Slytherin fifth year? Best friends with Gregory Goyle?"

"Yes, and yes."

"That can't be possible." Draco brought a hand to his forehead. For a moment, he was sure he had gone mad. Crabbe, his confidant, or at least he believed to be his confidant, had put him under an Unforgivable Curse. He thought you'd have to be bloody nutters to believe that codswallop. "No." Draco stated.

"'No' what?" Alina asked, "I saw what I saw, and I believe that I caught Crabbe red-handed. He was at the scene of the crime, looking mighty guilty."

"He can't. Our fathers are friends. We're friends..." Draco trailed off as he watched Alina shake her head.

"Did you forget already? You know, the lone part of the Slytherin table? The people from your house disowned you because you were supposedly having an affair with a Gryffindor? Your father wished you were never born, and that-"

"It changed what the Crabbe family had thought of me. I know it now. My father can't get into this school because he obviously won't be let in. Everybody knows what he's capable of doing. So, my father gets an accomplice. Someone within the castle walls, and someone he knows he can trust. My father and Vincent's father are good mates, you know? It's almost like Crabbe and I are brothers. But he's just like my father. No wonder it was so easy to get him to turn on me." Draco said bitterly. He turned to look at Alina, right in the eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I was the one that-"

"OUT!" Madam Pomfrey yelled. She came walking back into the room with a goblet full of steaming hot lime green liquid. In her other hand was another goblet, but it wasn't as full as the other, and the liquid was simply green. "Out, Miss Halliwell, now. I do not wish to drag you by the ear once more." Madame Pomfrey said firmly. Alina nodded quickly. She looked back at Draco before slipping out the door.

******

"What's he doing dreaming about Hermione?" Ron whispered to Harry. It's been a couple hours since Draco had awaken out of the coma, and now Harry and Ron were sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast, and discussing what had occurred earlier.

"I don't know." Harry whispered back.

"What are you two whispering about?" Megan asked nosily.

"Don't be so nosey, Meg." Ron said, rolling his eyes. He chuckled when she gave him a pout, "You take me too seriously sometimes. We were just asking each other as to why Malfoy-"

"Draco." Harry and Megan said at the same time.

"Look, I don't care about his first name, and I don't plan on addressing him by his first name. But to what I was saying, we were asking each other as to why he was dreaming about Hermione."

"I didn't hear much. He said something about Mudbloods-"

"I heard my name earlier. Who's dreaming about me? Spill it." Hermione butted into the conversation.

"It's nothing. Your name just popped out of nowhere." Megan said.

"No, I heard it clearly. You said he was dreaming about me. Who's 'he'?" Hermione questioned.

"I can't say." Megan sat there, looking guilty. Hermione tried speaking.

"Hermione, you don't want to hear what we heard." Harry interrupted.

"Just tell me, I won't get upset." Hermione assured.

"Don't do this, Herm." Harry said.

"I just-"

"Hermione, Draco Malfoy has been dreaming about you. We don't know what it's all about. We just thought you ought to know." Ron said. Hermione stared at him dumbly. Ron had said Draco Malfoy was dreaming of her. What was she doing in the dream? Why was it her in the dream? Was it a good thing he's dreaming of her, or a bad thing?

A/N: La, la, la, la, la, la-oh, hello. Not much to say. Yippee, the dance is in about eight hours. God, I'm getting restless. I just wanna get out of this house and party. Hmm, maybe I should start getting ready. It doesn't hurt being a little prepared. -Gryffindor Heiress.