Draco wiped his eye clean and shook the heavy feeling out of his head. What a strange, strange dream. Maybe he was breaking down. He stretched and began to write his essay. Suddenly he didn't feel so downtrodden. He didn't feel so lonely anymore, but at the same time, he felt lonelier than he ever had before, as if he was missing something. He wasn't sure, how he felt right now, he was a little confused. After he had finished his essay he would go to bed, take a sleeping potion. He couldn't sleep any other way these days. He sighed, and began to concentrate on his essay. It was finished within the next couple of hours, and Draco was glad. It was depressing to see the names Malfoy, Black, and Lestrange. All the names he had grown up with as family friends, all the Christmas parties where so many horrible people had been in one room. Then again, he hadn't thought of them as horrible then, but now he knew what they were. It made him feel so angry that it had taken him so long to realize how full of shit they all were. Nevertheless, he had changed now and that was what was important. Maybe Hermione had noticed, maybe in time he could make some kind of amends, if he could only start some kind of conversation. Living in dreams was so lonely.

Hermione opened her eyes, and sighed. She couldn't believe what she had seen, and she wasn't quite sure why she had been crying. It was probably that horrible empty feeling that Draco had. And it never stopped; it was as if he had turned every feeling he had off. Except during the dream and then he was happy. Hermione wondered if the tears were hers or if they were his. After that length of time in his mind, he would figure it out or he would go to Professor Snape who would be able to tell instantly. Then she might be in trouble. She climbed fully clothed under the covers and pondered her options. She had never thought him capable of anything remotely like love and even if it wasn't, he thought it was. He felt guilty; he had regrets and a soul. A real, human soul. And he, well, he thought he loved her. As he hadn't actually spent the time talking with her, he didn't know her, but there was a good foundation for some kind of relationship. She smiled. A relationship. With Draco Malfoy. It was really rather funny in a cosmic kind of way. But she had to get some advice from someone, and do it quick. She decided that she had to go and tell Professor Snape before he found out from Draco. After all, fifteen years ago he had gone through the same transformation, he was sure to understand and advice her accordingly. In the morning, she would go to Severus and see what she could do. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. She tried to remember the dream so she would have it when she fell asleep.

            Both Hermione and Draco woke well rested. It turned out that Draco hadn't had to take any sleeping draught that night, and he had managed to have that dream anyway. He looked over at the clock, which read eleven. Of course, it was Saturday today. That essay was due Monday and he hadn't really needed to get it done, but he felt better for it. He supposed that he had better get ready for the quidditch match. He wasn't playing today, luckily, but it was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw and he wanted to see how the teams were playing. Harry was a much better seeker than he was which is why he had given up that position and was keeper now. He did a much better job as keeper than he did as seeker. He was never a small detail guy and did much better with an obvious defense strategy. He was about as good as Ron, who had much-improved going into his sixth year. He smiled, knowing that he could at least look at Hermione through his binoculars. The dream always reminded him how lonely he really was. He had tried so many times these past few months to talk to her. She had walked ahead of him without even knowing, she had brushed past him in the hall and he had smelt her scent so many times the past few months. He stole glances when he thought he could, but after this long, she must have noticed. She was too smart not to have noticed but he had tried so hard to be careful. With Harry and Ron playing today he could make some kind of contact, strike up a conversation. This cheered him slightly. Maybe today would be the day.

            Hermione awoke to the last of the dream, warm and happy. Her bed suddenly felt so empty although it had never felt that way before. Before, however things were very different. Maybe the feeling in the dream had leaked into her mind, or she was beginning to feel the same way about Draco. After all, who wouldn't fall in love with those soft blue eyes if they really knew the person behind them? He had changed so much in the past few months and admittedly, she hadn't taken the time to investigate. It was only recently when she had felt those eyes on her back, or felt him brush hurriedly past her and she wondered if it was just her imagination. But clearly it was not. And perhaps neither were these new feelings.