CHAPTER 5: HELP AND FIGHTS
Hermione tried to comprehend what Draco had just said. "What?" she said weakly.
Draco glared at her, though he couldn't help feeling very embarrassed. "I told you I'm not going to repeat it again," he said angrily.
Hermione couldn't believe how Draco Malfoy could ask her, a mudblood, for help. Yet here he was. Well, if it isn't true, might as well take advantage of it she thought. She smiled sweetly at him. "Well, too bad because I really didn't get to catch what you said," she lied.
Draco shot a pure venom at her. "I-need-your-help-Granger," he said through gritted teeth.
Hermione smiled to herself. Indeed, this is a very rare event and she was lucky she didn't miss it. "What's the magic word?" she sang.
If looks could kill, Hermione should've been dead by now. "Can you please help me Granger?"
"Sorry, didn't hear you," Hermione lied, delighted at the look on his face.
"CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME GRANGER?!" Draco shouted.
Hermione pretended to think about it. "I don't know...I have 20 more letters to read..." she lied.
"You made me grovel and practically kiss your feet and you're just not gonna help me?! Why didn't you say so? Who do you think you are, huh? I can't believe-"
"Malfoy!" Hermione said, laughing. "Stop babbling! I will help you."
"One of these days Granger you might just find yourself inside your coffin," Draco told her.
"Whatever. So, what's your problem?" Hermione asked.
Draco hesitated for a while but then finally spoke. "Well, I...you have to promise not to tell this to anyone," he said.
"Why would I bother?" Hermione said, grinning.
"Granger!"
"Fine, fine, I, Hermione Granger, promise that I will not tell anyone about Draco Malfoy's embarrassing situation," Hermione promised, raising her right hand.
"Yeah, fine. Well...it's like this...I am..."
"Yes..?" Hermione looked eagerly at him.
"I'm...having nightmares, Granger," Draco confessed.
Hermione's eyes widened. "What?! The Prince of Slytherin is having nightmares?" she said, surprised.
"Yes, I admit it!" Draco said, feeling himself getting hotter by the second. "Now would you quit the shocked face and get on with it?"
Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry, I've just never thought you as the type. Well, that explains why you always look like crap," she told him.
Draco looked affronted. "I do NOT look like crap!" he defended himself.
"Oh, yes you do!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Oh, just tell me the cure and shut up!" Draco finally said.
"Ok...Well, have you tried talking to Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked.
Draco sighed. "Yes, her Dreamless Sleep Potion doesn't work for me," he told her.
"Oh. Have you searched about it in the library?" Hermione tried again.
"Look, Granger, I've done every single thing I can think of, no potion works for me. Hell, I've even asked Snape!" Draco said.
Hermione thought for a while. "Well, that means we'll just have to resolve to Muggle ways," she said.
"Ok, what is it?" Draco asked.
Hermione was surprised. Was he really that desperate? He didn't even made any criticisms, she thought.
"Let's see...I have a Muggle device that's like a radio, only it's not. The music are like, crashing waves, raindrops, you get the picture. It always works for me when I have a hard time to sleep. Just listen to it," Hermione said.
Draco didn't look doubtful, which creeped Hermione out. Instead, he looked somewhat hopeful. "Really? Do you think it'll work?" he asked.
"Yes, but..."
"But?"
"But, I left it at home and so...I will have to how my parents to send it here and it'll probably arrive here...tomorrow," Hermione told him.
"Oh," Draco said, disappointed.
Silence passed as the two continued to gaze at the fire. At long last, Draco spoke.
"Aren't you going to sleep, Granger? It's almost midnight," he said.
Hermione stared at him. "I figured out you'd need some company since you can't sleep and well...I'm not really sleepy," she said, but couldn't help but yawn.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "You don't have to do this," he said.
"But I want to," Hermione said.
Draco chuckled. "You're friends were right about you, you know. You really are stubborn, Granger," he said.
Hermione smiled. "I sure am when I want to be," she muttered.
For a while, they just sat there, talking about anything under the sun. Hermione forgot that it was Malfoy, evil jerk she's talking to and Draco thought no more that his current companion was a Gryffindor, best friends with The-Boy-That-He-Hate.
Just then, the impossible happened. Draco's eyelids started to feel heavy and the last thing he remembered before slumber enveloped him was Hermione wrapping a blanket around him, kissing him on the forehead and whispering those sweet words that Draco will soon be wanting to hear, "Good night, Draco." Right then, he knew he would never forget the feeling of her soft, sweet lips and her warm touch on his skin, and he knew it, now, his problem had been solved because forever he would be plagued by dreams of her and the nightmares would be gone. Truly, the situation is very ironic.
Hermione yawned. She had just woken up after hitting the snooze button of her alarm clock exactly three times. Getting out of bed, she headed to the bathroom, did her usual morning routine (brush, wash, shower, change) and was about to go downstairs for breakfast when she spotted Draco sitting on the couch, his head bent over a thin book about Thestrals, sipping hot cocoa.
Draco, who had slept so well last night for the first time in weeks, was starting to look like his normal self again. "Want some?" he said, looking up from the book he was reading and lifting his mug.
Hermione blinked. "Uh, sure," she said as she sat down beside him and watched Draco conjure a cup of steaming, hot cocoa.
"Would you like sugar with it? Or more chocolate?" Draco asked, almost normally.
"Uh...yes, thanks," Hermione replied, very confused.
"You know, I've found Thestrals quite fascinating, I don't know why. Have you ever seen one?" Draco said.
"Yes..." Hermione replied. She glanced at him. "You...you look like you had just...well, slept tight last night," she observed.
"Oh, in fact I did," Draco told her.
Hermione frowned. "You-you did?"
"Granger, you have absolutely no idea how much I owe you. I never really want to say this, but thanks," Draco said.
This is crazy, Hermione thought. "For what?" she asked.
"For all your help. Now I can sleep without being woken up because of my nightmares,' Draco said, smiling his first genuine smile Hermione had ever seen.
Hermione was looking more puzzled. Did Draco Malfoy just smile at me? She wondered. "I don't get it. I mean...what do I have to do with you sleeping better now/ You haven't even tested my advice yet! Then you say thank you and smile, which you never, ever do unless your under the Imperius! What has the world gone to?!" she said in disbelief.
Draco's smile broadened. "Let's just say things have changed for the better," he said.
"O...K...So does that mean you won't be using the Muggle thing I suggested?" Hermione asked.
"If it's ok with you, I would still love to try it," Draco said.
"Uh, Ok...I'll just, uh, go to...the hospital wing. I think I'm having a headache..." Hermione muttered.
"Ok, see you later," Draco called after her. Wonder what's her problem?
"Hermione, you've been pacing the room since you got here. It's already afternoon and you hadn't visited the library yet, like you usually do. You weren't even listening to our lessons this morning, which is very unusual of you, the teachers almost had a heart attack! Then you go lounging in the Prefects' bathroom again, bubble bathing. Are you sure you're Hermione?" Ron said worriedly.
"Of course I am!" Hermione replied as she continued pacing.
"Ok. Then, who did we help escape during 3rd year?" Harry asked.
"Sirius, duh!" Hermione said then gazed at the ceiling as if all the solutions to her problems were written there.
"Um, do you know the Order?" Harry tried again.
"Of course! Order of the Phoenix, Harry! Do you really think it's not me?!" Hermione asked exasperatedly.
"Um, of course not!" Harry lied. "Just asking..."
Ron scowled. "If you're really Hermione, then what's wrong with you? Why are you acting so...so strange all of a sudden?" he asked.
Hermione finally looked at them. "Because," she started, "the world had gone bloody crazy! First, Malfoy...Look at you Harry. Since when had Ron lost to you?"
"Hey!" Harry said, feeling offended. "I do have some luck sometimes!"
"And you," Hermione looked at Ron, "Since when have you actually studied for Potions?"
Both boys glared at her.
"You know what, Hermione," Ron said angrily, "It's not the world that's gone mad. It's you."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at them then spun on her heel and marched out of the portrait hole.
"She must be really egotistical to always underestimate us. She thinks she's the bloody Queen of England and the only one who get things right. And when she does get wrong, she never admits it! It's not your fault you beat me at Chess for the first time and it's not my fault I need to study harder in order to pass Potions," Ron told Harry furiously.
Harry couldn't agree more.
Draco, who was feeling a little better, had just finished practicing Quidditch with the rest of the Slytherin team when Hermione stormed inside the common room, practically breathing fire.
He raised her eyebrows at her. "Anything the matter?" he asked.
Hermione huffed and sat down on the arm chair muttering words along the lines of, "Bloody Harry and Ron", "I'll kill them" and "Always siding with each other".
"Oh, I see you've gotten into another fight with your friends. What did they do this time?" Draco said, somewhat amused at how inseparable yet hot-tempered the Golden Trio are. He was kind of used of these fights, since living with Hermione meant suffering with her wrath. And when she is angry or depressed, hell break loose.
"They were telling me I went nuts when it's really them!" Hermione burst out, crossing her arms over her chest and her eyes flickering dangerously.
Draco laughed. "Really? I couldn't agree more," he said.
Hermione started muttering incoherent things to herself yet again. She looked extremely pissed.
"Want me to pull a trick on them?" Draco offered, hoping to lighten her mood, but...
"SHUT UP!" Hermione yelled and like an angry lion, marched up to her room.
Draco sighed. So much for trying...
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Hermione tried to comprehend what Draco had just said. "What?" she said weakly.
Draco glared at her, though he couldn't help feeling very embarrassed. "I told you I'm not going to repeat it again," he said angrily.
Hermione couldn't believe how Draco Malfoy could ask her, a mudblood, for help. Yet here he was. Well, if it isn't true, might as well take advantage of it she thought. She smiled sweetly at him. "Well, too bad because I really didn't get to catch what you said," she lied.
Draco shot a pure venom at her. "I-need-your-help-Granger," he said through gritted teeth.
Hermione smiled to herself. Indeed, this is a very rare event and she was lucky she didn't miss it. "What's the magic word?" she sang.
If looks could kill, Hermione should've been dead by now. "Can you please help me Granger?"
"Sorry, didn't hear you," Hermione lied, delighted at the look on his face.
"CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME GRANGER?!" Draco shouted.
Hermione pretended to think about it. "I don't know...I have 20 more letters to read..." she lied.
"You made me grovel and practically kiss your feet and you're just not gonna help me?! Why didn't you say so? Who do you think you are, huh? I can't believe-"
"Malfoy!" Hermione said, laughing. "Stop babbling! I will help you."
"One of these days Granger you might just find yourself inside your coffin," Draco told her.
"Whatever. So, what's your problem?" Hermione asked.
Draco hesitated for a while but then finally spoke. "Well, I...you have to promise not to tell this to anyone," he said.
"Why would I bother?" Hermione said, grinning.
"Granger!"
"Fine, fine, I, Hermione Granger, promise that I will not tell anyone about Draco Malfoy's embarrassing situation," Hermione promised, raising her right hand.
"Yeah, fine. Well...it's like this...I am..."
"Yes..?" Hermione looked eagerly at him.
"I'm...having nightmares, Granger," Draco confessed.
Hermione's eyes widened. "What?! The Prince of Slytherin is having nightmares?" she said, surprised.
"Yes, I admit it!" Draco said, feeling himself getting hotter by the second. "Now would you quit the shocked face and get on with it?"
Hermione took a deep breath to calm herself. "Sorry, I've just never thought you as the type. Well, that explains why you always look like crap," she told him.
Draco looked affronted. "I do NOT look like crap!" he defended himself.
"Oh, yes you do!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Oh, just tell me the cure and shut up!" Draco finally said.
"Ok...Well, have you tried talking to Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked.
Draco sighed. "Yes, her Dreamless Sleep Potion doesn't work for me," he told her.
"Oh. Have you searched about it in the library?" Hermione tried again.
"Look, Granger, I've done every single thing I can think of, no potion works for me. Hell, I've even asked Snape!" Draco said.
Hermione thought for a while. "Well, that means we'll just have to resolve to Muggle ways," she said.
"Ok, what is it?" Draco asked.
Hermione was surprised. Was he really that desperate? He didn't even made any criticisms, she thought.
"Let's see...I have a Muggle device that's like a radio, only it's not. The music are like, crashing waves, raindrops, you get the picture. It always works for me when I have a hard time to sleep. Just listen to it," Hermione said.
Draco didn't look doubtful, which creeped Hermione out. Instead, he looked somewhat hopeful. "Really? Do you think it'll work?" he asked.
"Yes, but..."
"But?"
"But, I left it at home and so...I will have to how my parents to send it here and it'll probably arrive here...tomorrow," Hermione told him.
"Oh," Draco said, disappointed.
Silence passed as the two continued to gaze at the fire. At long last, Draco spoke.
"Aren't you going to sleep, Granger? It's almost midnight," he said.
Hermione stared at him. "I figured out you'd need some company since you can't sleep and well...I'm not really sleepy," she said, but couldn't help but yawn.
Draco raised his eyebrows. "You don't have to do this," he said.
"But I want to," Hermione said.
Draco chuckled. "You're friends were right about you, you know. You really are stubborn, Granger," he said.
Hermione smiled. "I sure am when I want to be," she muttered.
For a while, they just sat there, talking about anything under the sun. Hermione forgot that it was Malfoy, evil jerk she's talking to and Draco thought no more that his current companion was a Gryffindor, best friends with The-Boy-That-He-Hate.
Just then, the impossible happened. Draco's eyelids started to feel heavy and the last thing he remembered before slumber enveloped him was Hermione wrapping a blanket around him, kissing him on the forehead and whispering those sweet words that Draco will soon be wanting to hear, "Good night, Draco." Right then, he knew he would never forget the feeling of her soft, sweet lips and her warm touch on his skin, and he knew it, now, his problem had been solved because forever he would be plagued by dreams of her and the nightmares would be gone. Truly, the situation is very ironic.
Hermione yawned. She had just woken up after hitting the snooze button of her alarm clock exactly three times. Getting out of bed, she headed to the bathroom, did her usual morning routine (brush, wash, shower, change) and was about to go downstairs for breakfast when she spotted Draco sitting on the couch, his head bent over a thin book about Thestrals, sipping hot cocoa.
Draco, who had slept so well last night for the first time in weeks, was starting to look like his normal self again. "Want some?" he said, looking up from the book he was reading and lifting his mug.
Hermione blinked. "Uh, sure," she said as she sat down beside him and watched Draco conjure a cup of steaming, hot cocoa.
"Would you like sugar with it? Or more chocolate?" Draco asked, almost normally.
"Uh...yes, thanks," Hermione replied, very confused.
"You know, I've found Thestrals quite fascinating, I don't know why. Have you ever seen one?" Draco said.
"Yes..." Hermione replied. She glanced at him. "You...you look like you had just...well, slept tight last night," she observed.
"Oh, in fact I did," Draco told her.
Hermione frowned. "You-you did?"
"Granger, you have absolutely no idea how much I owe you. I never really want to say this, but thanks," Draco said.
This is crazy, Hermione thought. "For what?" she asked.
"For all your help. Now I can sleep without being woken up because of my nightmares,' Draco said, smiling his first genuine smile Hermione had ever seen.
Hermione was looking more puzzled. Did Draco Malfoy just smile at me? She wondered. "I don't get it. I mean...what do I have to do with you sleeping better now/ You haven't even tested my advice yet! Then you say thank you and smile, which you never, ever do unless your under the Imperius! What has the world gone to?!" she said in disbelief.
Draco's smile broadened. "Let's just say things have changed for the better," he said.
"O...K...So does that mean you won't be using the Muggle thing I suggested?" Hermione asked.
"If it's ok with you, I would still love to try it," Draco said.
"Uh, Ok...I'll just, uh, go to...the hospital wing. I think I'm having a headache..." Hermione muttered.
"Ok, see you later," Draco called after her. Wonder what's her problem?
"Hermione, you've been pacing the room since you got here. It's already afternoon and you hadn't visited the library yet, like you usually do. You weren't even listening to our lessons this morning, which is very unusual of you, the teachers almost had a heart attack! Then you go lounging in the Prefects' bathroom again, bubble bathing. Are you sure you're Hermione?" Ron said worriedly.
"Of course I am!" Hermione replied as she continued pacing.
"Ok. Then, who did we help escape during 3rd year?" Harry asked.
"Sirius, duh!" Hermione said then gazed at the ceiling as if all the solutions to her problems were written there.
"Um, do you know the Order?" Harry tried again.
"Of course! Order of the Phoenix, Harry! Do you really think it's not me?!" Hermione asked exasperatedly.
"Um, of course not!" Harry lied. "Just asking..."
Ron scowled. "If you're really Hermione, then what's wrong with you? Why are you acting so...so strange all of a sudden?" he asked.
Hermione finally looked at them. "Because," she started, "the world had gone bloody crazy! First, Malfoy...Look at you Harry. Since when had Ron lost to you?"
"Hey!" Harry said, feeling offended. "I do have some luck sometimes!"
"And you," Hermione looked at Ron, "Since when have you actually studied for Potions?"
Both boys glared at her.
"You know what, Hermione," Ron said angrily, "It's not the world that's gone mad. It's you."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at them then spun on her heel and marched out of the portrait hole.
"She must be really egotistical to always underestimate us. She thinks she's the bloody Queen of England and the only one who get things right. And when she does get wrong, she never admits it! It's not your fault you beat me at Chess for the first time and it's not my fault I need to study harder in order to pass Potions," Ron told Harry furiously.
Harry couldn't agree more.
Draco, who was feeling a little better, had just finished practicing Quidditch with the rest of the Slytherin team when Hermione stormed inside the common room, practically breathing fire.
He raised her eyebrows at her. "Anything the matter?" he asked.
Hermione huffed and sat down on the arm chair muttering words along the lines of, "Bloody Harry and Ron", "I'll kill them" and "Always siding with each other".
"Oh, I see you've gotten into another fight with your friends. What did they do this time?" Draco said, somewhat amused at how inseparable yet hot-tempered the Golden Trio are. He was kind of used of these fights, since living with Hermione meant suffering with her wrath. And when she is angry or depressed, hell break loose.
"They were telling me I went nuts when it's really them!" Hermione burst out, crossing her arms over her chest and her eyes flickering dangerously.
Draco laughed. "Really? I couldn't agree more," he said.
Hermione started muttering incoherent things to herself yet again. She looked extremely pissed.
"Want me to pull a trick on them?" Draco offered, hoping to lighten her mood, but...
"SHUT UP!" Hermione yelled and like an angry lion, marched up to her room.
Draco sighed. So much for trying...
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