Author's note: Hey everyone. I've got another story out. It'll be another fairly long one, maybe longer, maybe shorter than the last. I'm not sure, but I hope you enjoy it. I'll try to make chapters longer, if that will make all of you happy. However, I can't promise quick updates. I'm not that motivated and I have tons of homework this year, but I swear that it will be worth your wait. (HBP SPOILERS Coming up!) Oh, and I hope you don't mind that I am going to treat this as if Draco Malfoy is actually aloud to come back to Hogwarts in the 7th book so…I'm sorry if you don't like that. Hope you don't mind. I don't see how I can rearrange my plot without him being there. I started this story in my head before HBP came out, so I don't want to throw the plot away.
Disclaimer: Plot is mine and nothing more. Harry Potter and anything else about the series belongs to JKR.
Hermione blinked at the indistinguishable darkness that surrounded her. In the innermost depths of her mind she vaguely wondered what exactly was going on and why was she there. Before possible answers seeped into thoughts, the environment around her began to change into a swirl of colors. The blackness turned into the 7th year girls' dorm room. Turning to her right, Hermione saw Lavender sitting on her bed, crossed legged, with her left elbow resting on her knee. Magazines were spread out all around her on her covers.
'Odd,' Hermione thought to herself. Not about how Lavender was awake, reading magazines, but why Hermione was thinking about her. Suddenly, Lavender looked up, and took notice of Hermione.
"Why are you getting in so late?" She grinned slyly. "Snogging with a boy perhaps?"
Before Lavender's questions registered in her mind, Hermione heard her own voice reply.
"I fell asleep in the common room." In her mind, she didn't understand what was going on.
Lavender gave Hermione a half smile. After a moment, she looked back at her magazines.
"Okay, Hermione. I believe you. You need to take it easy, Love. You are going to overdo it one day."
Hermione's eyes suddenly went into sharp focus. There she was, lying sprawled out on one of the Gryffindor couches. She was alone. Had she been asleep? Hermione was unsure. By the looks of it, it was very early in the morning. Maybe 2:00 AM or so. She groaned, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes while the dream came swiftly back to her.
"Strange," she thought. "Very strange."
Not giving it a second thought after that, Hermione stood up. She noticed Harry's invisibility cloak at her feet, shimmering from the light of the weak fire in the hearth. She quickly stuffed it into her bag. That was when she noticed the big purple stain on her school uniform. Her hair, too, was wet with whatever that liquid was and her face sticky as well. With a flick of her wrist, all of was taken care of. No need for anyone to ask questions of what she had been up to that night. Gently rubbing the bump on her sore head, Hermione walked up the stairs to her dorm. As she opened the door, there was a shock waiting for her. Lavender was sitting on her bed in the same position that she was in during Hermione's dream.
"Why are you getting in so late?" Lavender grinned with the identical sly look Hermione had seen before. "Snogging with a boy perhaps?"
Hermione's eyes got big. What in the world was going on? Lavender gave her a strange look.
"You okay?"
Hermione blinked and quickly covered her confusion.
"Yeah, I'm okay." She quickly remembered what she said in her dream. "I fell asleep in the common room."
Hermione had earlier been waiting for everyone to go to bed, using homework as a cover for staying awake so long. She held her breath, hoping not to be caught in her own lie. Could she get out of this as easily as she did in her dream? She waited only briefly to hear what to seemed to be an familiar echo.
"Okay, Hermione. I believe you. You need to take it easy, Love. You are going to overdo it one day."
Hermione silently let out her breath, gave a tight smile, and nodded. She went through a door to her own room, got ready for bed, and lied down. The peculiarity of what was going on all of that night was threatening to overwhelm her, but she would not allow it to.
"It was just Déja Vu," Hermione whispered quietly to herself. "Just Déja Vu."
Hermione woke up peacefully the next day, uncharacteristically late for her. The late September daybreak had passed, although the sun was still fairly low in the sky. She rolled over lazily while blinking softly at the sharp light that streamed through her window. As she reached the side she wished to lay on, her head fell off the pillow and bounced lightly onto the mattress. The sharp pain in her head reminded Hermione of the previous night's events. She groaned and pushed it out of her mind. Instead, she looked around. She was alone in her very own Head Girl room, connected to the end of the 7th year girls' dorm. Glad for this privacy, Hermione got up and hid her newly acquired potion ingredients well in her room. She would use those on a later date.
Hermione got dressed into her tradition school robes, not even bothering to try to do something with her long, slightly frizzy, yet curly hair. Some things would never change, and one of those was that Hermione would never be vain about her appearance. Although, with a little work, she could turn a few heads of teenage guys who weren't completely dense. Still, that was nothing that Hermione was interested in.
She quietly opened her door and tip toed through the girls' dorm room. Everyone was still asleep. Cautiously, she continued on her way through the common room and out the door. Walking down the corridor connected to the Gryffindor Tower, Hermione was thinking about upcoming assignments due, life after Hogwarts, and things of a similar nature, when the scenery began to change. She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide, seeing the Great Hall as clearly as if she were in it.
'That can't be right,' Hermione wildly thought. 'That's three floors down!'
She saw herself staying in the doorway, apparently ready to walk towards the Gryffindor table. The Slytherins, who were not her most favorite people in the world, were in her direct line of vision. She saw Draco Malfoy, her worst enemy at the school. He was sitting sideways on the table bench at the Slytherin table, one leg on each side, obviously entertaining his evil friends by degrading someone or another. Along came a timid, first year Ravenclaw with pale brown hair. He wasn't in anyone's way, just trying to get to his table, when Malfoy 'innocently' stretched out his roughly 6 foot frame---and purposely tripped the poor, mousy haired boy.
Malfoy threw his head back and laughed. Harshly he jested to his friends.
"What a clumsy little first year. I could squash him like a bug, if I wanted to."
Before, anymore was to be seen, the original corridor came back into focus. Hermione blinked rapidly. Her eyes had gone dry. Had they been open that whole time? She looked around. The place was as empty as it was when she had started walking. It still must be fairly earlier then.
Hermione was unsure as to what was going on. Was something…wrong with her?
"No," she said quietly to herself. Her imagination was just getting the better of her. The things she had imagined about weren't uncommon events. She was just scaring herself by letting her mind wander without her noticing. Hermione continued on, but decided to stop at the library, and go to breakfast later. There was just something about the library that calmed Hermione. The smell of old books was so intoxicating to someone who loved to read as much as she. All her problems went away.
A half of an hour later, Hermione made her way to the Great Hall. It was late enough now that a fair amount of people would be there. Subconsciously, Hermione wondered if she had went to the library, just to kill time, wondering if this dream, or vision, or whatever it was, she didn't know, would come to be just as the one last night had. She sighed, clutching a newly checked out book to her chest. She didn't want to think about. Slowly, Hermione relaxed an arm a let it fall to her side. Making a face at how childishly 'afraid' she was acting, she opened the door.
Immediately, she stepped inside and looked at Malfoy. Mildly surprised, Hermione saw that he was sitting in the exact position she had imagined. She took a step in his direction, pondering whether or not to do something. The next instant, she spotted the mousy haired 1st year. Making up her mind, Hermione calmly walked towards the Slytherin table.
As she drew nearer, Malfoy drew out his leg and tripped the young boy. By this time, Hermione was close and as Malfoy opened his mouth, Hermione beat him to it.
"He's not some bug for you to step on!" Hermione half growled as she helped the small boy up. "So why don't you shove off, and leave the younger years alone, Mr. I'm-A-Prat-Who-Thinks-I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-Else!"
Hermione glared at Malfoy for a second longer. He coolly stared back, with only a flash of hatred seen in his light blue eyes. Turning on her heels, Hermione walked off to the Gryffindor table, not looking back once. Draco continued looking at her retreating back for a few seconds longer. The thought occurred to him that she had just said what was in his mind. This thought intrigued him. However, moments later, it was forgotten, although stored into the back of his mind.
