Plagued Thoughts

First Chapter

Hermione

I suspected Harry was up in his bed asleep when Ron and I stepped into the deserted common room.
I couldn't believe I had been so narrow-minded as to not think of Harry, especially after what he had said earlier that day: "If you two hate each other enough to argue so much, then why are you friends?" His voice rang in my head, and I felt like a divorced parent with Harry as the kid.
As if he could read my mind, Ron turned to me, put his hands on my waist and said, "Look, Hermione, about what Harry said earlier.... Well, I don't hate you." As if just realizing where his hands were, he quickly dropped them, blushed, and looked away embarrassedly.
"Ron?"
"Yes?" He looked back at me, the redness in his cheeks slowly dying down.
"I don't hate you, either." I slipped my arms around him and hugged him tightly, burying my face in his robes so he wouldn't see my silent tears.
He hesitated, as if surprised, but then awkwardly pat my back.

I lay in my bed, thinking about Harry and Ron. It was so easy to talk to Harry, though now it was steadily becoming more difficult to agree with him. Ron had always been hard to talk to: for some reason I felt I had to prove myself to him.
I thought of how my stomach squirmed whenever I saw him. I thought of his flaming red hair, clear blue eyes and dotted freckles.... I thought of how cute he was when he turned red, and how much I longed to hug him when he got frustrated....
My stomach suddenly sank as I jerked myself back to reality. Ron was one of my best friends! I didn't have fantasies of hugging Harry! That couldn't mean....

Harry

Ron and Hermione's recent argument quickly faded from my mind as a more disturbing one entered. Malfoy had slipped into my dreams again, yet he wasn't threatening me like he did outside of dreams....
Malfoy was advancing, a nervous smile on his face.
"What do you want?" Harry asked coldly.
"You know what I want," Malfoy responded, wrapping his arms around Harry's waist and letting them wander under Harry's shirt and up his bare back.
"W-what?" Harry backed away slowly, but he could feel himself getting hot.
"You can't deny the fact you fancy me, Potter. It shows in your eyes. You want me." Malfoy's voice was not like the usual cold drawl, but firm and passionate.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about," Harry stammered.
Malfoy advanced again, and caressed Harry's cheek lightly. His thumb moved down Harry's cheekbone, by his left ear, as he cupped his fingers beneath Harry's chin. He hesitated slightly, then slowly moved forward, closer, closer, until... their lips met.

I woke with a start, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. My temples were pounding painfully with each fast heartbeat, and there was a tingling sensation in my lower abdomen.
"What the bloody hell...?" I whispered to myself. I brought my hand up to my forehead and groaned, wondering what the recurring dreams of Malfoy could mean. Surely it didn't mean....
Across the school, down in the depths of the Slytherin dungeons, another sixth year with blonde hair and steel gray eyes awoke from the same dream....

A/N: This was a really hard chapter for me to write since I really hate Malfoy… but I don't like Cho Chang anymore (ever since the fifth book… she's just been… bleh), and Harry needs a lurver! I'm the type of person who loves to imagine that good guys can make bad guys go soft. And well, Hermione/Ron is my favorite couple, so they cancel out the Harry/Malfoy. At least it isn't as bad as Ginny/Malfoy or Hermione/Malfoy (Hermione goes with RON! ROOON!) Lol. I know some of you are anxious to get to Sirius/Remus (my two favorite people!), and I will try to get it into the next chapter! (For those who are confused, this takes place in the sixth year, so it's after the Order of the Phoenix…)

And a special thanks to Gypsy Lupin-Black and The.max.black for reviewing! I love you guys! *sob*

Yeah, so review, and I'll love you too! ^_^

~Britt