I did not sleep well that night.
Not because I was having any nightmares, or anything like that. Just because, for the first time in my life, I was dreading returning to classes.
My conversation with Lavender had given me some idea as to the kind of stories that were going around and, on the one hand, I should be thankful that it seemed people hadn't caught on to ... whatever it was between Malfoy and I.
On the other hand, they certainly knew all about the weird things I'd been doing lately, and seemed to have come to their own conclusions.
This was confirmed when I arrived at breakfast that morning.
It wasn't as though the whole hall went silent and everybody stared at me, or anything, but I certainly got more than a few funny looks.
I sat down opposite Harry, and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes.
"Did Dumbledore talk to you?" I asked, in a low voice.
He nodded, but didn't say anything. He continued picking at his food, and avoided eye-contact with everybody.
I felt a wave of pity for him. If we had caught Pettigrew just months before, Sirius could probably have been saved.
We were too late.
Ron entered the hall, hand in hand with Lavender, and took a seat next to Harry.
"Quidditch match in two weeks, mate" he said, clapping him on the back. "Against Slytherin, of all people."
Harry went, if possible, even paler than he had been before.
"But don't worry. You're a million times better seeker than Malf-"
He stopped himself, and quickly glanced at me. I rolled my eyes.
"For God's sake Ron, everybody knows Harry's a better seeker than Malfoy will ever be."
Harry looked up for the first time, and met my eye. I smiled weakly at him, and the corners of his mouth lifted, just a little.
---
By the time my last class, Care of Magical Creatures, finally finished, I had nearly reached breaking point.
It appeared that, somehow, the story of my dreams had leaked out. The whole school was buzzing with talk of how I was dreaming about things that actually happened, but only when Malfoy was concerned.
I had been told by eight people that it was a sign, and that I should make friends with Malfoy.
I had been yelled at by another thirteen people, who insisted that I was 'fraternizing with the enemy' and that I had to just learn to block my dreams out.
None of them seemed too interested in the information that I hadn't had any dreams, save for one, for many weeks.
To top it all off, Ron still didn't know about Pettigrew. For some reason, Dumbledore hadn't got around to telling him yet, and he remained blissfully ignorant.
Harry looked as frustrated as I felt by the end of the day. Due to the constant presence of Lavender, we hadn't had the opportunity to break the news to Ron, and he was nauseatingly cheery for the entire day.
As soon as class let out, I practically fled up to the castle.
I felt bad about leaving Harry behind, but I couldn't stand being in a class full of Slytherins and Gryffindors, both giving me dirty looks (the Slytherins even more than usual), for a minute longer.
I wasn't even paying attention to where my feet were taking me until I was almost at the hospital wing. One look told me that, thankfully, there were no other patients and Malfoy had no other visitors.
I stormed in and sat heavily on a chair next to Malfoy's bed. I tilted my head back to rest on the wall, and closed my eyes.
"Get my owl?" I heard him ask, his voice tinted with amusement.
"Yes" I said, and didn't open my eyes.
"Well, don't look so happy to see me. You might burst something."
I opened one eye, and regarded him with interest.
"You always say that. Am I supposed to come running in giggling like a moron or something every time I see you?"
Malfoy grinned, and I felt my heart skip a beat.
"Sure. That'd work."
I lifted my head up, and looked him in the eye.
"So ... Dumbledore told you about Scabbers?"
"Scabbers?"
"Um. You know. The rat."
I had forgotten that Malfoy wouldn't remember Scabbers as Ron's pet rat.
"Oh. Yeah, he did. Don't know why he didn't tell me the other night though, I was-"
He stopped. I had a feeling he was about to say he was scared, but didn't push him.
"Maybe he wasn't sure yet. Probably didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Well he could have told me, anyway."
There was a pause, during which we just looked at each other. He wasn't anywhere near as banged up as he had been last time, and I was just wondering why it was he had to stay so long when he spoke, interrupting my thoughts.
"He said you already knew what they were going to do."
I winced.
"Yeah ... I tried to tell you in potions but Snape told me off."
"Oh. Right."
"And then you wrote me a note ... saying you needed to talk to me" I paused. "Uh ... do you still need to talk to me?"
"I am talking to you" said Malfoy, with a trademark smirk.
I rolled my eyes, and his smirk melted into a grin.
"But, you know, there are plenty of much more ... USEFUL things we could be doing ..." he said, and quirked an eyebrow.
"Such as?" I asked, and moved a little closer to his bed.
"Oh, I'm sure I could think of a thing or two."
Our faces grew closer, and closer, until ...
"Miss Granger!"
I jumped about a foot in the air, and spun around to see Madame Pomfrey glaring at me. I opened my mouth to give some sort of explanation, but she interrupted.
"This is the second time I've come in here to find you two-"
"It's okay, I was just leaving" I muttered, irritably.
Not because I was having any nightmares, or anything like that. Just because, for the first time in my life, I was dreading returning to classes.
My conversation with Lavender had given me some idea as to the kind of stories that were going around and, on the one hand, I should be thankful that it seemed people hadn't caught on to ... whatever it was between Malfoy and I.
On the other hand, they certainly knew all about the weird things I'd been doing lately, and seemed to have come to their own conclusions.
This was confirmed when I arrived at breakfast that morning.
It wasn't as though the whole hall went silent and everybody stared at me, or anything, but I certainly got more than a few funny looks.
I sat down opposite Harry, and noticed that he had dark circles under his eyes.
"Did Dumbledore talk to you?" I asked, in a low voice.
He nodded, but didn't say anything. He continued picking at his food, and avoided eye-contact with everybody.
I felt a wave of pity for him. If we had caught Pettigrew just months before, Sirius could probably have been saved.
We were too late.
Ron entered the hall, hand in hand with Lavender, and took a seat next to Harry.
"Quidditch match in two weeks, mate" he said, clapping him on the back. "Against Slytherin, of all people."
Harry went, if possible, even paler than he had been before.
"But don't worry. You're a million times better seeker than Malf-"
He stopped himself, and quickly glanced at me. I rolled my eyes.
"For God's sake Ron, everybody knows Harry's a better seeker than Malfoy will ever be."
Harry looked up for the first time, and met my eye. I smiled weakly at him, and the corners of his mouth lifted, just a little.
---
By the time my last class, Care of Magical Creatures, finally finished, I had nearly reached breaking point.
It appeared that, somehow, the story of my dreams had leaked out. The whole school was buzzing with talk of how I was dreaming about things that actually happened, but only when Malfoy was concerned.
I had been told by eight people that it was a sign, and that I should make friends with Malfoy.
I had been yelled at by another thirteen people, who insisted that I was 'fraternizing with the enemy' and that I had to just learn to block my dreams out.
None of them seemed too interested in the information that I hadn't had any dreams, save for one, for many weeks.
To top it all off, Ron still didn't know about Pettigrew. For some reason, Dumbledore hadn't got around to telling him yet, and he remained blissfully ignorant.
Harry looked as frustrated as I felt by the end of the day. Due to the constant presence of Lavender, we hadn't had the opportunity to break the news to Ron, and he was nauseatingly cheery for the entire day.
As soon as class let out, I practically fled up to the castle.
I felt bad about leaving Harry behind, but I couldn't stand being in a class full of Slytherins and Gryffindors, both giving me dirty looks (the Slytherins even more than usual), for a minute longer.
I wasn't even paying attention to where my feet were taking me until I was almost at the hospital wing. One look told me that, thankfully, there were no other patients and Malfoy had no other visitors.
I stormed in and sat heavily on a chair next to Malfoy's bed. I tilted my head back to rest on the wall, and closed my eyes.
"Get my owl?" I heard him ask, his voice tinted with amusement.
"Yes" I said, and didn't open my eyes.
"Well, don't look so happy to see me. You might burst something."
I opened one eye, and regarded him with interest.
"You always say that. Am I supposed to come running in giggling like a moron or something every time I see you?"
Malfoy grinned, and I felt my heart skip a beat.
"Sure. That'd work."
I lifted my head up, and looked him in the eye.
"So ... Dumbledore told you about Scabbers?"
"Scabbers?"
"Um. You know. The rat."
I had forgotten that Malfoy wouldn't remember Scabbers as Ron's pet rat.
"Oh. Yeah, he did. Don't know why he didn't tell me the other night though, I was-"
He stopped. I had a feeling he was about to say he was scared, but didn't push him.
"Maybe he wasn't sure yet. Probably didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Well he could have told me, anyway."
There was a pause, during which we just looked at each other. He wasn't anywhere near as banged up as he had been last time, and I was just wondering why it was he had to stay so long when he spoke, interrupting my thoughts.
"He said you already knew what they were going to do."
I winced.
"Yeah ... I tried to tell you in potions but Snape told me off."
"Oh. Right."
"And then you wrote me a note ... saying you needed to talk to me" I paused. "Uh ... do you still need to talk to me?"
"I am talking to you" said Malfoy, with a trademark smirk.
I rolled my eyes, and his smirk melted into a grin.
"But, you know, there are plenty of much more ... USEFUL things we could be doing ..." he said, and quirked an eyebrow.
"Such as?" I asked, and moved a little closer to his bed.
"Oh, I'm sure I could think of a thing or two."
Our faces grew closer, and closer, until ...
"Miss Granger!"
I jumped about a foot in the air, and spun around to see Madame Pomfrey glaring at me. I opened my mouth to give some sort of explanation, but she interrupted.
"This is the second time I've come in here to find you two-"
"It's okay, I was just leaving" I muttered, irritably.