Thunder rumbled in the dark distance. Cold wind blew against the window panes and rattled them. Rain fell on the compartment like hail. It was one of the worst storms ever encountered by the Hogwarts students as they made their way back to the castle after the summer.

Harry woke up with a start. Lightning had flashed just outside the window, followed by a loud bang from the thunder. The semi-dark compartment was illuminated brightly for a few seconds.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eye and sat up. His joints creaked as he rotated his head.

"Harry?"

He turned towards Hermione's sleeping form by the window. She had her arm over her eyes and her soft brown hair was spilling down the plush surface of the sofa.

"Yes?"

She did not answer, just grunted. Harry stood up and walked towards his best friend.

"Hermione?" He kneeled on the floor next to her sleeping being and stared at her. She did call out his name but when he responded, she seemed to be asleep. Harry was quizzical. Was she awake? Was she pulling his leg?

Harry leaned closer towards Hermione and listened to her steady breathing. He could smell the shampoo the three of them shared from her hair. Apple-scented. Once more, he murmured her name. Nothing happened, only a twitch because she was ticklish around the earlobe. He concluded that she was dreaming, and in the midst of it called out his name in her sleep.

Called out his name in her sleep.

Harry chided himself. Sleep was meddling with his mind. First this, then what? He got up from the floor and walked away from her, very slowly.

But as he approached the table, reaching for a bottle, she did it again.

"Harry?" This time it was whisper-soft. Barely audible.

He looked at her. She was asleep. Her chest rising and falling in tune with her breathing. Her big brown eyes, framed with lush lashes were shut. As he went closer, he saw that she was in an REM state. Was her dream that intense?

"Harry!" She whispered sharply, suddenly shivering and flailing her arms, "Merlin's light, no! Harry!"

As he watched her trash about, he got scared. He grabbed her by the shoulders and she woke up all of a sudden, as if nothing had happened. Her eyes were wide with fright and surprise.

"What happened, Hermione?" he said as he pushed her hair away from her face, "You were shaking and you were calling my name. What happened?"

Hermione sat up on the sofa and rubbed her arms where she felt bruises starting to form. Harry sat next to her on the sofa, circling her shoulder with a comforting arm.

"I think I was dreaming." In the faint light, he thought he could see her blush.

"About what?" he asked.

"I think it was about you. I can't really remember, you know. I don't usually hang on to whatever I dream," she replied haltingly.

"It figures. You kept saying my name over and over."

"I did?" she turned her head in his direction, "What else did I say?"

"You were trying to make me stop doing something," the boy replied.

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a few moments, each thinking about what the other had said. At last, Harry withdrew his arm from her shoulder and went over to his sofa.

The famous boy said: "I think I'm going to get some more rest here. Be a dear and wake me up when we get to the castle, alright?"

Hermione Granger nodded distractedly, gazing off into the inky darkness outside the window.

"Just what in the world did she dream about?" the voices in Harry's head whispered, "Something that had to do with the dark forces, perhaps? Nah, it couldn't be. Maybe it was just a normal dream. Yes, a normal dream. She was dreaming about me doing nothing out of the ordinary. She would have told me if she felt the darkness. So, she was dreaming about me. Hermione dreamt about me. I was walking in Hermione's head when she was sleeping. Dreams are thoughts of the unconscious head. Dreams are wishes. Dreams are thoughts of the heart. She thinks about me in her sleep. What does she think about me? No, no, no! Hermione was dreaming about me up and about my normal business. I just happened to be the lucky candidate for today in Hermione's dream world. Hermione is my best friend. She probably thinks about me, in a friendly way, most of the time. She's been through a lot with me. Hermione Granger is my BEST FRIEND. Cho Chang, Cho Chang, Cho Chang. Hermione."

She dreams about me.

He fell asleep.

Hermione watched the rain and counted to one hundred. She turned towards Harry, who was already asleep on the bed and sighed.

"How embarrassing," she thought to herself, "Of all days to start talking in your sleep."

She ran her fingers through her hair and then stopped.

Actually, there was no need for her to fret so much about all this. He was her best friend of 7 years and best friends occasionally dream about each other. And, talking in your sleep was not a big deal at all. Maybe it's all due to her fatigue. She was tired and hence she talked in her sleep. Case closed.

But, it was pretty shocking yet pleasant to find herself shaken awake by Harry Potter. Of all the times he did that, why ponder so much over this time?

Hermione blinked her eyes and a more memorable portion of her dream came floating back to her.

Harry raced her up a grassy hill. She could feel her feet rush forward as she craned her neck to look at the raven-haired boy by her side. He was grinning from ear-to-ear. She felt herself do the same.

They reached the top of the hill and collapsed onto the ground, laughing. Hermione reached over and playfully ruffled his hair, still breathless. He tried to dodge away from her but failed. He ducked her outstretched hand but lost his balance. He fell gracefully and his head slid onto her lap. They both stopped laughing but smiles still lingered over their mouths.

He raised his hand and stroked her cheek. She could feel the warmth from his slightly-calloused fingers lingering over her skin. His piercing emerald eyes looked straight into hers, washing her with waves of emotion. She touched his hand on her face, linking their fingers together, savoring the connection she felt between them.

Very slowly, he sat up, not breaking the fragile eye-contact he had with her. No words were spoken but they both knew.

Dropping his hand from her cheek to the side of her face, he drew her closer to him as he too leaned forward. She put one hand over his broad shoulder as they came nearer to each other. She felt warmth. She could smell the comforting woody scent that was him. She closed her eyes and prepared to surrender her all to Harry Potter.

Before her lips could unite with his, it became a blur…

Hermione felt her face light up in flames. It was a pleasant dream, but too embarrassing to recall with the same boy she almost and wanted kissed in her dream sleeping a few feet away from her. She was starting to confuse herself over Harry again, like she did at the Burrow.

"Romance nonsense. Romance nonsense. Do not get confused, Hermione. It's just a whole lot of fluffy shmuck that you get when you are lacking sleep," she chanted softly, "Romance nonsense. Fluff, fluff, fluff! Do not get confused! Harry is best friend. Harry is best friend. You got over this before, girl. It's this dream! Gah, I hate this dream!"

She buried her face in her hands. Then she remembered herself waking up shaking. Something had happened after the scene on the hill, but she could not remember what. She started pacing around the room, boots clomping softly on the carpet.

"I called out his name, he says. And then I tell him to stop doing something," she mused aloud to herself, in whispers. She shot a glance at Harry but he was in deep sleep. "Stop doing what?"

Every time she came close to something, it slipped away. After minutes of pacing, she decided to dismiss the dream as a regular figment of her imagination. She also scolded herself for thinking about it too much. She sat down on her sofa, took a sip of water, glanced at Harry and the weather and decided to take a walk around the train to clear her mind.

Hermione smoothed her hair into place and opened the door. She stole a peek at Harry before she shut the door behind her. He was still fast asleep.

She decided to head up front to find the food trolley.

Passing by an open door on her way to the front of the train, Hermione peered in and saw an unexpected somebody lounging at the wrong side of the train.

She stuck her head in.

"Malfoy?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long hiatus! School, exams, holidays! Haha! This is the longest chapter I have ever written for this FanFic. Reviews, please. Next chapter should be up soon. Cross your fingers.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anyone except unnamed girl and man.