Chapter Two: Dreaming

The next morning, Hermione awoke to brilliant sunshine streaming through her window. It seemed like a good omen. She gave a smile and stretched her arms. She looked over to Lavender and Parvati's beds. They were empty. She raised an eyebrow. That was strange...

She looked down at her watch which was sitting on her bedside table and screeched. It was already noon! She'd missed two classes!

Hermione rushed around her dorm room, getting dressed as fast as possible. Grabbing her bag, she ran down the spiral stairs, out the portrait hole, and toward the Great Hall. She burst through the giant doors and ran through the grass toward the Greenhouses, where the fifth year Herbology class had just now begun to congregate.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled, and waved to her. "You missed Care of Magical Creatures and Transfiguration!"

"I...know..." she panted as she reached them.

"Don't worry though," Harry said. "Ron told McGonagall you were in the Hospital Wing."

"What about Hagrid?"

"All we had to tell him was that you had to tutor Malfoy last night and he understood," Harry grinned. "Where were you anyways?"

"I slept in. I'm really sorry." Hermione sighed. "Where's Parvati? She was supposed to wake me up when she got out of the shower..."

"Over there," Ron siad, pointing toward some Hufflepuff boys. "And Mione? You think you could help us with our essays tonight?"

Hermione sighed. It figured. "Sure, Ron. After my lesson with Malfoy, I'll help you guys."

They grinned. "Thanks, Mione."

Hermione walked over to Parvati, who was talking with Lavender and two Hufflepuff boys. She taped her on the shoulder. Parvati sent her a glare and ignored her. Lavender gave her a small smile and whispered to her, "Why are you late, Hermione?"

Hermione had no intention of whispering. "Because your friend decided not to wake me up for the shower this morning!" she yelled, loud enough so that Parvati and the two boys could hear her. Parvati turned slowly around and glared at Hermione.

"I was in a hurry," she said, simply. "Maybe you should get an alarm clock and not put the burden on everyone else to do things for you."

"For one thing, alarm clocks are electronic, so they wouldn't work on the grounds," Hermione said. One of the boys, probably a Muggle born, snickered. "For another thing, you were the one who agreed to waking me up. And how much effort could it possibly take for you to walk over to my bed and say, 'Oh, by the way, Hermione, class is starting in five minutes. Might want to wake up now!'"

"Well, I, uh, but you..."

"Oh, shut up, Parvati," Hermione said, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter anyways."

She walked back over to where Harry and Ron were standing. Harry patted her back. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

"It's not your fault," Hermione grumbled. The students began to file into the Greenhouse, and Hermione, unlike usual, was the last one in. She was in no mood to learn anything today.

"You're late, Granger," Malfoy sneered from his usual seat in the library. Normally, Hermione was waiting for him, but today she had been held back in Double Charms because someone had poked her in the ribs when she had been about to say the Edible Spell. This resulted in a loud screech and a giant, rampant buffalo running about the Charms room. Professor Flitwick managed to subdue the animal, but Hermione was, of course, left to clean up after it, and, to tell the truth, she was in no mood for Draco Malfoy. Not that she ever really was.

"I was just about to leave," Malfoy continued, "because I'd rather be anywhere else at the moment, but I really do need to get my grade up."

"Thanks for the appreciation, Malfoy," Hermione muttered. "I'm taking time out of my busy schedule..."

"Busy schedule of what?" he scoffed. "Getting pushed around by your so-called friends?"

Hermione's head snapped up from where she had been rummaging in her bag for a quill. "What do you mean?"

"It's obvious, Granger, that they only hang out with you because of how, um, smart you are," Malfoy said, with some difficulty."Why else would they?"

"Because I'm a good friend, maybe? Because they like me, maybe?" Hermione said, flustered.

"Sure, whatever you say, Granger," he replied. "Now, let's get on with this studying thing."

Hermione began asking him questions about Potions, but her mind was elsewhere. Was Malfoy right for a change? Did Harry and Ron, not to mention Ginny, Parvati, and Lavender, only want to be her friends because it was convienient for them? Or was Malfoy just trying to mess with her head?

It's working, Hermione thought.

"Are we done then?" Draco asked, boredly as she began to pack up her things. Hermione nodded. "Good. Wouldn't want to spend too much time with you. I might catch something."

Hermione stared at him, and suddenly, began laughing. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"What is so funny, Granger?" he demanded, a regal tone in his voice.

"It's just, haha, the fact that, HA! you are the only person I know, hehehe, who doesn't ask things of me, HAHEHE, and I HATE YOU!" This had not been the answer Malfoy was expecting. Hermione was doubled over clutching her stomach, flushed full of giggles. Malfoy just raised an eyebrow.

"You're weird," was all he could bring himself to say, and to his dismay, this just made Hermione laugh harder. He shook his head and grabbed his bag, walking out of the library, leaving Hermione practically rolling on the floor.

Hermione couldn't sleep. She just lay in her bed, staring at the drawn curtain on her four poster bed. She was lying on her back, with her head turned to the left, and she knew she was going to get a crick in the morning for lying that way. She had been like that for hours. It was almost midnight.

Her watch beeped. She had bewitched it to do so every hour on the hour. She had tried to get it to say the time, and not just beep it, but for some reason it didn't work. She had been meaning to ask Professor Flitwick about it, but never found the time. How ironic.

She swung her legs over the bed and heaved a great, pathectic sigh, hoping to wake up one of her dorm partners. They were fast asleep. Hermione stood up after a few moments of waiting in silence and looked out the window at the pale full moon. Full moons scared her. They reminded her of the night in third year when she, Ron, and Harry had gone into the Shreeking Shack and found Peter Pettigrew. When they had come out, Lupin had changed into a horrible werewolf. Hermione had been so scared. But Harry... he'd protected her and Ron had been there for her... He'd even held her hand when she screamed, though no one else had noticed. Those had been good days. Yes, they had been chased by a rabid werewolf, but Ron and Harry had been there for her. Where had they gone?

Hermione sniffed and grabbed her robe from the corner of her four poster bed. As she put it on, she looked around the dorm room, and cracked a smile. Everyone thought she was so organized, but when it came to actual cleaning, she was lazy. Clothes, robes, quills, magical instruments... they all lay strewn across the floor in a haphazard way. The only thing that was completely organized was her bookcase. All the books were in alphabetical order by last name of author, as they always should be. She took great pride in those books. They were her friends.

They weren't all class books, either, but they all had magic in them. Hermione walked over to examine the binds, touching each one delicately. Alice in Wonderland. The Lost Years of Merlin. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Lord of the Rings. When she was little, Hermione had read these, and she would swear the characters were real people and the places real places, and the magic... well, she knew the magic was real now. She was a witch, after all.

Ah, Peter Pan. She pulled the hard back book off of the shelf and opened it, smelling the pages. They had a woody smell, all books did. She had tried to get Ron to read it, but he said he wasn't into stuff like that. He prefered fantasy. Hermione had laughed at that, because to him, fantasy was a book without magic. Harry had found it funny also. They had laughed together, and after a while, so had Ron. Why didn't they do that anymore? What had happened to her friends?

She sighed again and put the book back, exactly where it had been. As quietly as possible, she tiptoed out of the dorm and down the stairs. The stone floor was cold on her bare feet, but she hardly noticed. She had someone to see.

At exactly midnight every night, Dobby the House Elf cleaned the common room. She had met him, talked to him many times. As she crept downstairs, she found him, cleaning under one of the chairs. He looked so cute, scrambling to get at candy wrappers and broken quills and putting them all in a pile in the middle of the floor. Hermione stifled a giggle, but it was too late. He had heard her.

"Miss Hermione?" he called in his squeaky voice. She stepped out from the stairwell and gave him a warm smile.

"Hello, Dobby."

"What is wrong with Miss Hermione, I wonders," Dobby said. "She is out of bed very late, she is."

"I know, Dobby," Hermione replied, sitting down in one of the chairs. He jumped up to sit on the arm rest and talk with her, like he always did. "I couldn't sleep."

Dobby gave a shy, impish grin. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Dobby?"

"It is nothing, Miss Hermione," Dobby said. "Just that... well, when House Elves can't sleep, it is said, Miss Hermione, that someone is dreaming about them."

Hermione tilted her head and thought about that for a moment. "But who would dream about me?"

"It is said, Miss Hermione, that it must be someone who secretly cares about you, but could never, ever tell you." Dobby jumped off the arm rest. "Of course, it is only a superstition."

Hermione nodded, but silently wished that it wasn't just a supersition.

A/N: Just guess who's dreaming about her. Go on, just guess. Right, well, next chapter up soon.