AN: Hey, all! I'm sorry it has taken 21 days, to update! I hit a major writer's block and I was sitting on it longer than I would like. Try, 20 days longer! I ground out some sentences every once in a while, though. So, don't kill me if this is a horrid chapter! I will be responding to reviews at the end. I'm sorry I didn't do that sooner. Read on! Quick Edit is not letting me put anything in bold letters. It won't even let me save a change! So, it might be difficult to read!
Chapter Fifteen: More to a Dream
Draco woke up with a start. A piercing scream echoed in his room through the wall.
It had been nearly four weeks since the ball, and Hermione's dreams had become so intense that a potion was no longer able to keep them away.
With a tired sigh, he stood up and started his near nightly errand of checking in on her. It hadn't been long until her realized he could jump from his landing to hers for a quicker check-up. A fall would land him on the large pile of pillows and cushions below.
He leapt across and landed with a rough grace, which he didn't manage often. It was worse on his more sleep-deprived nights. Occasionally, Hermione would come out at the racket he made, to find him in a heap at her door.
Draco opened her unlocked door and hurried to her bedside.The sight before him made his chest clench. Hermione lay curled in a fetal position in the middle of her large bed. Her wide eyes stared wildly into the empty air before her bed, unseeing.
Draco rushed to the bed and pulled the trembling girl onto his lap. She started at his touch, but soon she rested her head on his bare chest and wept, releasing her pent up emotions.
He didn't know what this one was about, but it seemed to be the worst so far. All he could do was rub her back until she fell asleep or calmed down.
A small hiccup caught in her throat. She looked up into his silver eyes, reached up with a small hand, and touched his cheek as if making sure he was real.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly. He received a slow nod, but before he could react, her head was buried in the nape of his neck once more.
"Oh, Draco, it was awful," was her muffled words.
"Shh…everything is alright," he said stroking her hair gently, "It was just a dream." The lie caught in his throat. He knew good and well that that wasn't what they were.
She looked up at him unbelievingly.
Nelly22 glory12783 devilserpent mystified by nature EndlessDeviltry vikesgirl
Hermione was standing in front of a window. Moonlight flowed through its open doors, bathing her in the surreal light. Dark drapes flapped roughly in the cool breeze. Gooseflesh pricked the skin on her arms.
"Hello, there," a silky voice said behind her. She spun around to face the hooded figure emerging from the shadows. His steady hand pointed its dark wand at her chest.
Hermione stood absolutely still. Her heart started to pound in her ears.
"Where's your friend?" the man hissed coldly, "You are in his room, you know. We weren't expecting to catch you too, just the sniveling little traitor, tonight. The Lord will be so pleased to have another guest."
This was her ticket. 'The evil man seems to like his own voice. Just keep him talking,' she thought fast. 'No matter how venomous he sounds,' she added as an after thought.
"What makes you think he'll come?" she asked carefully, praying he would.
"Now, my dear girl, why would you be in here? And they said you were so smart…you're nothing but a little whore."
His words stung, but she kept up her unmoved façade.
Suddenly, the door swung open, followed by a flood of light, making the two occupants blink to adjust. A boy was standing in it; a broom rested over one broad shoulder. He paused only for a second, before pulling out his wand and hurling a curse at the man.
The deatheater was flung through the air, his cloak billowing around him. He hit the wall with a sickening crack; the man remained conscious but breathing heavily on the floor.
The boy ran to Hermione in a blur and grabbed her around the middle. "Trust me!" he yelled, before he chucked her out the window.
She let out a terrified shriek as the ground came up to meet her. Immediately behind her, the boy dove out the window. Hermione watched in awe through horror as he positioned the broom under him.
Seconds ticked by sluggishly.
The broom fell in the spiraling dive carrying the boy with it. His face showed sheer determination mingled with panic. Catching up, he snatched her out of the air expertly. He clutched her to him with one arm, continuing their frenzied escape.
Hermione clung to him. Even though she was scared out of her wits, the annoyingly calm part of her told her it was the fastest escape route. She had no clue how the man was in the room, but she did know they were after her savior.
A bright blue light whirled by. The heat off it was scorching. The deatheater had taken mere seconds to revive.
The boy pulled out of the dive and shot through the air like a bullet. He weaved serpentine through the night air with an uncommon ease. The man would be presented with a much tougher moving target.
Hermione saw the dark forest looming increasingly closer. Its trees stood with an eerie, menacing silence.
Almost directly over the tree line, the broom lurched sideways and started losing altitude. Someone was jinxing the broom!
He strove for control, but it still rushed at the treetops. They crashed through the foliage with a crunch. They fell at a breakneck speed.
The broom hit a large, lower branch and tipped forward, flinging them off.
The students hit the ground hard. Hermione was winded and bruised, but the boy wasn't about to stop. He yanked her up by her arms and started running, her hand in his.
"We can't stop!" he shouted over his shoulder, "They never come alone!"
He drug her on deeper into the trees. Her sore muscles protested futilely.
Goddess-Hope Ireland's Child chocl8chps DeMiGoD714 TheElven1
The dream had continued on, like all her others, all the way to her capture.
She still didn't know who the boy was, but she did know he was very important to her.
The thing that had scared her the most was the flying; Hermione wasn't a flier at all. The ground was definitely her friend. What got her more was all of it could and probably would happen.
Calming down, she settled against Draco's hard chest. She felt him sight in relief and settle back against the headboard relaxing. The gentle tattoo of his heart lulled her.
Something pressed sharply into her hair. She fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to move her head away. Draco grunted through his light doze, for her to sit still. She was driving the object into his skin.
Hermione sat up and twisted around to examine the disturber of the peace. Draco's eyes fluttered open lazily to watch her.
The object caused her heart to skip a beat. It was a small white diamond pendant in the shape of a fang. She touched it with questioning fingers.
"Where did you get this?" she asked, his necklace still in hand.
"It's an heirloom, through my father's side," Draco answered drowsily, surprised by her interest. He looked at her inquiringly.
She nodded, her eyes large. Slowly, she pulled on a silver chain at her throat. A small black jewel hung at its center. Her thin and nimble fingers sought for the pendant blindly. When she found it, Hermione sat up and turned around to face him. Knees resting on either side of his ribcage, she put them together.
Draco watched her with mild interest. His head and shoulders were propped up on the headboard.
A held breath escaped Hermione's pink lips when nothing happened. But she rocked back in surprise when a thin line of light twisted between the jewels. She sat on Draco's lower abdomen still shocked.
Draco's flesh jumped at the unexpected contact. 'Okay, this is the most comfortable, yet uncomfortable position in the world,' echoed through both through both their minds.
Hermione jumped off him quickly. "What did you say?" she gasped form the floor, where she fell. He gaped at her wide-eyed.
"I didn't say anything," he said slowly. Draco was unsure of how to act with her in this state.
She eyed him warily. Picking herself off the floor with an aristocratic air, she settled herself on the edge of the bed.
Hermione thought fast, 'Nothing happened, so everything is alright.' 'Wrong!' came the annoyed voice of her conscience, 'Since when do you hear things unsaid?' 'Since just a moment ago?' 'Right! Now, you can solve the rest.'
Draco watched emotions playing across her expressive face; it looked as if she were waging an inner war.
Suddenly, she looked up at him with calculating eyes. She crawled carefully across him, to sit in the center of the bed. Hermione paid Draco's steady, silvery gray gaze, no heed. By his side, she slowly reached and touched his pale cheek. Her soft touch was nearly a caress.
'…is she up to? Officially, Granger has lost it…'
Hermione yanked her hand back. A small frown flitted across her face at the use of her surname.
"What the bloody hell are you doing, Granger?" Draco snapped irritably. He was loosing precious sleep.
"Do you not hear it, 'Draco'?" she spat in annoyance. 'So it's going to be Granger when you're perturbed, eh? Well, you can be bouncing ferret, once more!'
"Touch me," she commanded impatiently. He looked at her as is she'd said something off the wall.
Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration and grabbed his hand. She dropped it on her leg in a huff.
'Merlin, he can be so dense sometimes!' she thought furiously, with the twisted satisfaction that he would hear.
"Hey! I resent tha…" he began before fading out as the obvious became even more so. "Your mouth didn't move…"
"Way to state the obvious, Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed amusedly (she didn't have the heart to call him ferret), "We so need to call up the Daily Prophet! I can hear it now…Draco Malfoy, son of the infamous Lucius Malfoy, is not blind! He has claimed to be able to see what's there. Observant chap, that boy."
The stern scowl wilted on his unusually expressive face. "Now, that's not nice. And everyone has been so keen to protect you from the big, bad Slytherin. Merlin, Mione, your tongue alone is sharp enough to mortally wound a fellow."
Hermione beamed at him. "We are hearing one another's thoughts through physical contact. I believe it is because of the necklaces' enchantment. Did your father tell you anything, when he gave it to you?"
"To the point as always," he commended with a smile, before continuing, "No, not really. He said that it had an enchantment on it that would only surface if its match were found. He didn't seem to thrilled about passing it on; never was one on letting any type of power slip through his fingers."
Hermione shuddered at the thought of the man.
"Do you think we have the pair?"
She answered with a slow nod.
"Okay?" Draco said loudly. He got up and clapped his hands together as if trying to ward off the usual silence.
"It would be interesting to know why the necklaces were made," Hermione said aloud, more musing to herself than Draco.
He flopped down on the bed again, stretching out across it. "Is information and knowledge all you think about?" Draco asked teasing, trying to lighten to mood. His attempt stumbled and nearly fell flat, until the corners of her mouth twitched in a smile.
"No. And, now, I really do not like the idea of you being able to hear them."
"Aw…does ickle Hermione have something to hide?" Draco taunted with a humorous smirk. 'You do,' his mind chided him nastily. He turned on his side to watch her squirm. To his disappointment, she wasn't.
She looked at her clock, which read 5:48am, with a blank stare. Hermione turned towards him with a calculating, glassy stare. No, she wasn't looking at him but past him.
Draco turned his head, as if in slow motion. When he caught sight of the bathroom door, his eyes widened in realization. Hermione leaped lithely over him and darted to the door at full speed. Draco struggled to get up and fell to the floor, feet tangled in Hermione's comforter.
The door slammed triumphantly behind her.
"Hermione!!! That's not fair! I always take the first shower, lately," Draco whined from the floor. He stood up carefully, wind milling his arms to keep balance on the slippery comforter.
Draco kicked the cumbersome blanket off his feet and made his way towards her door (%AN: Only the person who occupies the opposite room's door disappears%). His knuckles pounded the woodwork without a tune, loudly. Receiving no response, Draco pressed his hear to the door.
"…
And if I try to save him
My whole world could cave in
It just ain't right
It just ain't right
Oh, when I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster?
His magical myth
As strong as with I believe
A tragedy with
More damage than a soul should see
And I do try to change him
So hard not to blame him
Hold on tight
Hold on tight
Oh, when I don't know
Oh, when I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster?
I'm longing for love and the logical
But he's only happy hysterical
I'm waiting for some kind of miracle
Waited so long
So long
He's soft to the touch
But frayed at the end, he breaks
He's never enough
And still leaves more than I can take
Oh, cuz I don't know
I don't know what he's after
But he's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster?
He's so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster."
Hermione was singing loudly over the gushing shower. Pulling back, Draco shook his head with a smile.
"Hermione singing in the shower? What's going to happen next?" he thought aloud.
AN: Okay, for those who might be interested: The song was by Kelly Clarkson, "Beautiful Disaster". Now, to my responding…(Responses will only be from the last two chapters.)
Nelly22: Thank you! You are an awesome reviewer! What, 12 review, so far!! I love making my characters whatever I want them to be. That's such a great feeling, the I have peeples like you telling me ya like it. (Smiles cheekily) You forget that I can be evil if I wanna!! Whahahaha! Draco left her confused, well-as you probably already know- because he was confused himself. But shame on him, anyway! Oh, and this cliffy was on purpose. See…I have to have something to write on next chapter (Smiles annoyingly), and what better to write about the day? Ta, Ta for now!
Devilserpent: Word won't let me type your name in lowercase! You are second runner up in most reviews with 9! Congrats! I need to put you on my alerts list…Remind me next review if I still haven't! Thank you for you remarks on chapter 13. Made me feel good, those did. Sensitive guys are the best! I'm glad you like long review…LoL…I do too, plus, I tend to give them. I hope you enjoyed Tennessee!! I live here after all! Writers' block sucks, don't it? Erm…I'm not sure if I can do a Hermione/Draco 'getting it on scene'. I'm not the best at that sort of stuff, and it is my first fic. But, LoL, I just may squeeze it in! I change my mind too often! I'll check your story in a minute to see if you've updated! Bye!
Glory12783: Like devilserpent's name, Word won't let me type it correctly (lowercase anyway.) I'm glad you enjoy my fic! And you are third runner up with 8 reviews! Yay! I feel loved! I loved writing chapter 13 and 14 was just as fun! I'm so glad I actually did 'okay' on chapter 13! I don't want to kill my reviewers!! That wouldn't be cool at all. Then I'd get none, and you'd be dead. JK…I get a bit overdramatic sometimes. And Hermione biting Draco was great fun writing! I think he deserved it, don't you? LoL… B'bye!
Vikesgirl: Argh…stupid Word! I'm having name difficulties… I'm glad you liked chappie 13 and all. Sorry I didn't give anymore party though. I couldn't think of much that could have gone on, but if you read chapter 14 (LoL) you'd see that one thing did! I could picture that scene all to well. I'm glad you liked the outside scene, too! Whew…takes a load off me, knowing it was liked! I so intend to keep it up!
TheElven1: Hey, girl! I'm so lucky to have a great friend like you! Yeah, I try not to change it too much, but if it doesn't fit with the new flow out it goes, ya know? I don't know if I'll see you on MSN or not before, you see this, but I've read and revised your excerpt. And you think, 'finally!' JK Just get on and all when you want it! It's not anything big; your writing is good enough without my obsessive detailing! LoL. Talk to you sometime!
Goddess-Hope: Thanks a bunch! So glad you liked my orbs! Don't they sound so 'Halloweeny' to you? I hope that you saw in my author's not in chapter 14 that told those you want to 'see' the dress could go to a certain site. If not, tell me in your next review! B'bye!
Heartbreaker4life: I will! LoL! As long as you keep reviewing! JK… It's not a requirement, but it does keep me happy. Thanks for your support and remark! REVIEW again so you can be on my list! Tootles!
EverlastingxLight: Thanks! I'm sorry that you did have to wait… Stupid writers' block should be blown up! Keep up your reviewing!
Rupertsgirlie: Yet another name Word wants to change! Oops, I'm sorry that you had to wait so long, again! Yeesh, I know it annoys me sometimes, so I'm sorry. I'm glad you have taken an interest, though. I hope I can keep you interested. Chapter a coming out slow right now… Hope to see you review again!
Bella: Another name… Anyway, nah…you didn't lose me! I'm still fiddling around somewhere! I try to grind out chapters, but it ain't going too well right now. As you've probably noticed! Search option rules! Toodle-loo!
Ireland's Child: Thank heavens it's captivating! LoL… Wow! Could it possibly be boring? Nah, I'm teasing! I hope you continue to find it of interest! B'bye!
Snakeyes: Whoa! Thanks! I get that happy dance feeling in me every time I get that extreme compliment! I love to read and write, and having someone say I'm good at the latter makes my day. I'm so glad you enjoy my fic. Hope to see you review this chap!
Lady Selene Li: Thanks for reading what I have managed to get up! I apologize, but I might be going a bit slow from this chapter on, I don't anything prewritten any more! I'm trying on the fluff… It being my first fic, I'm still a bit nervous about everything I write. In that constant nervous state, you could say. I hate failing! Hope you continue to enjoy… I will get more, fluffy soon, but then edgy once more when everything starts getting wild! Bye!
And to all of you I never responded to, I apologize. I didn't ever think about forming responses. And now, I know I enjoy doing so. So look forward if you can, to me responding! Until next time!