Disclaimer: Only the plot belongs to me. All the characters belong to our favorite author, J. K. Rowling.
Message in a Bottle
Chapter 8
The day to go back to school came and Draco jumped for joy. He couldn't wait to get away from his father. As he walked through Kings Cross, he noticed a man lying unconscious on the floor. Taking him as nothing more than a drunk homeless man, he ran through the platform and got on the train.
Days before, he had received his Hogwarts letter saying that he was to be the Head Boy. He would have thought his father would be proud but that was not the case. It appeared as though the prestigious title had been expected and there was no pat on the back for him.
He roamed through the train in search of his supposed friends, Crabbe and Goyle, but couldn't find them anywhere and so instead went to the Head Boy Head Girl compartment. On his way there, he peered in to a compartment and found the three people that always made his life hell while at school. Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger. The weird thing was that Granger was asleep in Potter's arms.
"Well, well, well..." he said with a smirk. "If it isn't the Boy-Who-Lived and his two sidekicks."
"Shh..." Potter said. "Can't you see that she's sleeping?" he whispered to Draco.
Malfoy scowled and left their compartment with the urge to hit someone. He may not have been evil, and he may not have hated muggle born witches and wizards, but he DID hate Harry Potter and his friends.
The moment he got to the Head Compartment, he wrote a letter to Stranded, getting all his feelings of anger and hate off of his mind.
Dearest Stranded,
I left for school today. As I got on the train, I suddenly realized that I hate and yet love going away to school at the same time. I love it because it allows me to get away from my dad but I also hate it because of some people who shall remain nameless. Gods why do people always have to be such arses.
Did HE let you come to school? I hope so. I'd love to meet sometime. Maybe not yet but sometime soon, I think we should meet. You seem like you'd make a great friend. If only I had someone like you in my life, I'd never let any harm come to you.
Don't ever forget that you are precious, maybe not to anyone else but at least to me, you are precious. If we never meet I want you to know that you have changed my world. I look around at everyone and they look so happy and when I see their happiness immediately, I grow angry and resentful. But then I think, well maybe they're just like me and stranded and everything looks great on the outside but inside, their world is hell. That's like you too, right? You put on a facade and so people think that everything's okay. Well at least that's what I always thought about you but maybe I'm wrong.
Oh well, until you write back,
Dragon
(In a compartment close by...)
Harry held her close as she trembled in her sleep. It was obvious that she was having a night mare but he couldn't seem to wake her up and so he decided on letting her sleep. He laid her down on the bench and put her head on his lap. This seemed to calm her and she soon began to look peaceful. Maybe the nightmare had subsided.
"What happened?" Ron asked Harry as soon as he noticed Hermione's assuaged appearance.
The two boys looked at each other, both wide eyed and curious as to who this evil man was and what exactly he wanted from her. Only when their female friend woke up would they know the answer.
(Hermione's Nightmare)
She was running through a tunnel. It was dark and misty, she could hardly see a thing. Running her hands along the wall, she began running faster, moving towards a light. Just a little further. She was almost there.
As soon as she got close to the light, she felt a cold hand wrap around her waist and his alcohol stenched breath breezing in her ear. "You're mine, you little whore!" He brought a knife out from behind his back and was about to stab her with it but then someone grabbed his arm and flipped him around to look in his face.
"No one hurts Hermione while I'm around," he said while sticking her stepfather with his own knife.
And so she slept sounly knowing that when she woke up, her dreamland would be gone and she'd have to face the music.
A/N... Guys I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I was 3/4 of the way done writing this chapter when my dad called and said he had tickets for the Friday night Mets game and I couldn't resist. I love going to the games. We tailgated and met some really cool firefighters from NY! They were really funny.
Anyway, I hope that you can forgive me and just enjoy the chapter. Have fun and please review.
BTW... thanks everyone for your lovely comments and I hope you're enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
