Authors Notes:
This was my first serious attempt at fanfiction of any kind, therefore it is a little shaky. Mucho love to my wonderful beta, Chrissy. Much angsty inspiration from Linkin Park of all bands.
Enjoy!
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A different dream, a different place. The air was crisp still, when Draco awoke, lying on the floor of a field, the same field, but yes, it was different now. It was dawn, he knew it deep down inside. He knew down in his stomach that the sun was going to come up, hell, he knew, he was going to make it come up. It was time for his graduation.
The world around him was so real but everything was twisted, a parallel of the real world that existed outside of his dreams. Draco sat up, his bare back scratching on the rough ground. He looked around and stood up, bare foot but dressed in his black silk pajama bottoms.
It was a quiet, cold world. Draco knew he was dreaming and that this new world was his. He had given birth to it by thought. He could stay here forever if he wanted, if he forgot about the outside. No one would know, a voice was speaking in the back of his mind; no one would know what you are...
The sun was coming, it was painful, and he could feel its giant form rising as if he was pulling it up with a rope. It was choking him with the strength it required. He didn't even know if he wanted that awful sun, that hateful star that was killing him, making him strain, making him sweat...Draco felt a swirl in his head, a buzzing pain that was pushing him down, gravity pounding on his head and shoulders. His knees buckled and the sounds of the world around him, the very air, pressed down...
...and then she came. Like her own painful planet, she came along, appearing like a mirage on the horizon. No! She wasn't there, he didn't want her to see him, knee deep in pain, but he needed her, wanted her there with him. She came before him now, her face obscured by the bright sun, now rising like a blinding light. The pain was just so hard, it was so real, someone was choking him, he couldn't breathe, and she just stood there, like she was lost. She knelt down next to him, leaning forward. He tried to push her away but the pain of his surroundings kept him basically immobile. She stretched her hand out to his face and though he tried to pull away, she found him. Her small, warm hand traced his face, running along his cheeks, closing his eyes with a stroke. She was much closer now; he could feel the heat of her. He felt a ripple of pain from the sun and opened his eyes. She was so close to him, he could see nothing but the vacant stare deep within her eyes. No, he didn't want it like this, no, not like this...so, with all his will he bent his mind towards her face and she blinked, opened her eyes, and clutched her stomach in shock. She turned around and stared at the world, stared at the sky and then, she turned back to him. "Draco?" Her voice was scared, confused, she didn't know where she was...then, like a bird taking flight, suddenly, Draco realized what he had done. The sun swirled, the ground shook, the pain intensified and Draco finally let the scream inside him out of its cage. He screamed; his soul alight with shock, pain and fear. She was awake too, Hermione was there with him. Draco awoke to a dark room. Sweating and panting, his head still spinning, he looked around to try and figure out if he actually was in the real world. Slouching back into his double bed, he tried to catch his breath. He slipped out of bed and walked to his bathroom. A pale ghost welcomed him at the mirror; his face was white as a sheet. His eyes were wide. Sweat dotted his brow but more evident was the pain his body had felt. His lungs were sore, how long had he screamed? None of this really mattered, he knew. Pouring cold water over his face, Draco was thinking only one thing; she had been awake. He had, somehow, forced her to wake up. Maybe this was why Alucinors had been feared, had been as illegal as unregistered Animagi. If they could bring people into their dreams, they could torture them; maybe they could even keep them there, held by their will.
A shiver ran up Draco's spine as he thought about Hermione waking in her own bed somewhere, shaking all over as she thought of him. Would she know she had been awake? She would consider it a nightmare, to be there with him. She hated him, more than anything, more than anyone. Draco slumped to the bathroom floor and sat there, wallowing in self pity. She would have to know. She would have to remember it all. By now she would have looked it all up and figured him out. She knows what you are, the little voice whispered, she knows your little secret. Your dirty, little secret.
Draco stood up eventually and wandered back to bed in the dark of the night. He sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. He was alone in the house except for Mador; he was home alone for once. No one would know for many days, even if the Ministry came to get him, it wouldn't get back to his father before he was in custody. He would be safe, in a way of speaking.
Crawling back into bed, he had thought it all through and he had accepted it in his own way, but nothing could have prepared him for what greeted him next. Stretching his long limbs out under his dark covers he felt something, he felt a body. Gasping in shock, he grabbed his wand.
"Lumos!" he said in what sounded to him as a much more frightened voice than he would have wanted. His wand lit up, a gentle light flickering above his head. He shakily held it out, letting it light the other side of his bed. With a quiet cry he dropped his wand as it illuminated the last thing he expected to see; the sleeping body of Hermione Granger.
This was my first serious attempt at fanfiction of any kind, therefore it is a little shaky. Mucho love to my wonderful beta, Chrissy. Much angsty inspiration from Linkin Park of all bands.
Enjoy!
----------------
A different dream, a different place. The air was crisp still, when Draco awoke, lying on the floor of a field, the same field, but yes, it was different now. It was dawn, he knew it deep down inside. He knew down in his stomach that the sun was going to come up, hell, he knew, he was going to make it come up. It was time for his graduation.
The world around him was so real but everything was twisted, a parallel of the real world that existed outside of his dreams. Draco sat up, his bare back scratching on the rough ground. He looked around and stood up, bare foot but dressed in his black silk pajama bottoms.
It was a quiet, cold world. Draco knew he was dreaming and that this new world was his. He had given birth to it by thought. He could stay here forever if he wanted, if he forgot about the outside. No one would know, a voice was speaking in the back of his mind; no one would know what you are...
The sun was coming, it was painful, and he could feel its giant form rising as if he was pulling it up with a rope. It was choking him with the strength it required. He didn't even know if he wanted that awful sun, that hateful star that was killing him, making him strain, making him sweat...Draco felt a swirl in his head, a buzzing pain that was pushing him down, gravity pounding on his head and shoulders. His knees buckled and the sounds of the world around him, the very air, pressed down...
...and then she came. Like her own painful planet, she came along, appearing like a mirage on the horizon. No! She wasn't there, he didn't want her to see him, knee deep in pain, but he needed her, wanted her there with him. She came before him now, her face obscured by the bright sun, now rising like a blinding light. The pain was just so hard, it was so real, someone was choking him, he couldn't breathe, and she just stood there, like she was lost. She knelt down next to him, leaning forward. He tried to push her away but the pain of his surroundings kept him basically immobile. She stretched her hand out to his face and though he tried to pull away, she found him. Her small, warm hand traced his face, running along his cheeks, closing his eyes with a stroke. She was much closer now; he could feel the heat of her. He felt a ripple of pain from the sun and opened his eyes. She was so close to him, he could see nothing but the vacant stare deep within her eyes. No, he didn't want it like this, no, not like this...so, with all his will he bent his mind towards her face and she blinked, opened her eyes, and clutched her stomach in shock. She turned around and stared at the world, stared at the sky and then, she turned back to him. "Draco?" Her voice was scared, confused, she didn't know where she was...then, like a bird taking flight, suddenly, Draco realized what he had done. The sun swirled, the ground shook, the pain intensified and Draco finally let the scream inside him out of its cage. He screamed; his soul alight with shock, pain and fear. She was awake too, Hermione was there with him. Draco awoke to a dark room. Sweating and panting, his head still spinning, he looked around to try and figure out if he actually was in the real world. Slouching back into his double bed, he tried to catch his breath. He slipped out of bed and walked to his bathroom. A pale ghost welcomed him at the mirror; his face was white as a sheet. His eyes were wide. Sweat dotted his brow but more evident was the pain his body had felt. His lungs were sore, how long had he screamed? None of this really mattered, he knew. Pouring cold water over his face, Draco was thinking only one thing; she had been awake. He had, somehow, forced her to wake up. Maybe this was why Alucinors had been feared, had been as illegal as unregistered Animagi. If they could bring people into their dreams, they could torture them; maybe they could even keep them there, held by their will.
A shiver ran up Draco's spine as he thought about Hermione waking in her own bed somewhere, shaking all over as she thought of him. Would she know she had been awake? She would consider it a nightmare, to be there with him. She hated him, more than anything, more than anyone. Draco slumped to the bathroom floor and sat there, wallowing in self pity. She would have to know. She would have to remember it all. By now she would have looked it all up and figured him out. She knows what you are, the little voice whispered, she knows your little secret. Your dirty, little secret.
Draco stood up eventually and wandered back to bed in the dark of the night. He sat on the edge of the bed, thinking. He was alone in the house except for Mador; he was home alone for once. No one would know for many days, even if the Ministry came to get him, it wouldn't get back to his father before he was in custody. He would be safe, in a way of speaking.
Crawling back into bed, he had thought it all through and he had accepted it in his own way, but nothing could have prepared him for what greeted him next. Stretching his long limbs out under his dark covers he felt something, he felt a body. Gasping in shock, he grabbed his wand.
"Lumos!" he said in what sounded to him as a much more frightened voice than he would have wanted. His wand lit up, a gentle light flickering above his head. He shakily held it out, letting it light the other side of his bed. With a quiet cry he dropped his wand as it illuminated the last thing he expected to see; the sleeping body of Hermione Granger.