Chapter 4 – A Lesson to Learn

A tall dark figure with a wide hood towered over Hermione. Once again, she didn't know where she was. Was this a dream? Her eyes drifted left and right, not seeing anything but darkness. The only way she had been able to notice the figure in front of her was from the peculiar orange light shining from the robes' borders. Could it be possible that she was…?

"Look at me." A cold dangerous voice commanded, and Hermione instantly jumped at the voice.

"Am I dead?" Hermione asked timidly, afraid to know the answer.

"Not yet." Chills ran up Hermione's chest and her ears rang when he opened his mouth. The voice was deep and it must have echoed at least a mile. Hermione shivered, folding her arms in shielding and wondering where the chill was coming from. Where was she?

"You won't be if you answer my questions correctly."

Hermione gulped, "Okay…"

"First of all, are you happy?"

"What…what do you mean?" Hermione frowned. She was getting quite tired of standing up.

"In general, are you currently happy with your life?"

"Erm…yes, I think so." Why did he want to know rubbish like that?

"You think so?" The hood lifted in curiosity.

"I meant yes. I am happy."

"Next question: Who do you love the most?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. Who made her heart jump the most? "Uh…my husband, Harry."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye-yes." Why was he asking her that after every answer?

"Very well then. The last question: Do you have anything to confess? Do you believe you have committed a sin in your life?"

"No, of course not." Hermione answered automatically. What could she have possibly done to be considered as a sin? This was her, after all.

"Your test is over and you abysmally failed. You stay as long as you're able to, and then…" One of his hands lifted and wiggled, resembling a wave goodbye. Everything faded from her vision suddenly, and it wasn't long before she returned to her unfortunate reality, back to the white room. She moved her hand with great difficulty.

Words couldn't even begin to describe how she felt. Her hand shook as she lifted it and her arm felt as if it was about to fall off. She patted her hair, feeling new dandruff present in it, and moved to brush it all out with her hand. That was a difficult mission though, considering how much hair she had, but that was the least of her problems right now. What had that vision been all about? She had been asked three irrelevant questions, and for the first time in her life, she failed a test. Now that Hermione thought of it, she had answered one of those questions incorrectly.

Hermione wasn't happy. She would describe happiness as having a great career, a loving husband, and adorable children, but all she had right now was a husband she never saw. How could she fail with one question, though?

No, wait, a voice echoed in her head. You were wrong about another question too. That was Ron's voice, and that only meant that Hermione had committed a sin. She placed her head on the floor, realizing what she had done. What bigger sin was there than cheating on you husband? Is this why she was trapped? Was this a punishment for her actions? But if Malfoy was here, then he must have done something wrong as well. Hermione was intimidated by him. She didn't want him to touch her again.

So she laid there like a raggedy ann doll, with a dirty pink short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, clothes that she was incredibly uncomfortable in. She peered at her hands. They were shriveled like an old lady's, the bone sticking out with barely any skin covering them. All desire of hunger had left her because she had grown accustomed to an empty stomach for the three days she had been in there. How long could she survive? From what she'd read, a person could go on without food for weeks, but without water only five to six days. She knew she might die, but the idea hadn't exactly rounded in to make her panic and hyperventilate. So far, she wasn't afraid of dying. It was only another part after life. The only problem was that she didn't want to die so soon and in a room with Draco Malfoy.

Her next mission was to find out what sin Malfoy had committed. Hermione concentrated all her attention on figuring out what he was thinking, but the only things she could pick up were that he was hungry, thirsty, tired, weak, but once he thought of Pansy and if she was worried about him. Pansy? Were they dating or something? Had he hurt her and then ended up in here? She didn't give up, though.

After an hour or so passed, she quit and decided to just ask him.

"Malfoy?" She croaked, because she had forgotten how to speak.

"What?" A groggy voice replied.

"I need to know what you were doing before you ended up here. No, I know you know, so just spill. I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours."

"Then you go ahead first."

"No, I asked you first."

Draco silently cursed and sat up straight despite every aching bone in his body. He promised himself he would kill the person who had put him here and even if he died before it, he would come back to haunt them. He would have given up all his money to be in here alone if he could, but instead he had to answer this woman's questions every second. It wasn't as if she was getting any closer to solving the dilemma.

Draco sighed and said, "Well, if you must know, I was out at dinner with Rosario, a girl I had met about a month ago. We went to her apartment and she began kissing me, and then I don't remember." He said truthfully.

"Are you telling the truth?" Granger asked, but her tone wasn't accusing so Draco didn't get angry.

"Yeah. What were you doing?"

"I was with someone too, and we were kissing, but I can't remember anything past that."

"Someone?" Draco clicked his lips.

"I'd rather not say. One more question. Are you married, Malfoy?"

"No." Draco answered instantly. He didn't need Granger to know his secrets.

"From what I can gather from your mind, you're lying."

"Why did you ask me if you already knew?"

"I didn't."

"Then tell me. Are you married?" Draco said smartly.

"Yes."

"Aha! So you were with someone else that night."

"Yes, I'm afraid so, but you were too."

"That's such a coincidence."

"Actually, I don't think so. I just had the strangest dream, and someone in a dark hood was asking me whether I was happy, who I loved most, and if I had sinned. Do you think it's possible that that's why we are here? Because we've both committed adultery?"

Draco laughed. That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, "Yeah right. That's crazy. All kinds of people cheat on their spouses but do they end up in places like this?"

"Maybe this is our way of learning our lesson. Maybe it's all in our heads and this is just a dream or vision. What if someone created it to mess with our heads?"

"Who would have that much power? Dumbledore and the Dark Lord are dead."

"What about your wife? Does she know about your affair?"

"No. Yours."

"Nope."

"Just out of curiosity, who is your wife?"

"Pansy." Draco answered shortly, not seeing any reason to hide it from her, "And you?"

"Harry."

Draco gaped at her, "Potter? For real? Damn! No wait, let me guess, Weasel is your lover. Am I right?"

Granger shot a dangerous glare at him but he ignored it and clapped loudly, "Oh damn! A love triangle between the Mudblood, Potty, and the Weasel! You just made my day!"

"You shouldn't possess any enthusiasm right now Malfoy. How can you even move? I feel so weak and limp."

"I told you already. It's because I'm a man."

"You didn't think that when I was reading your mind. From what I picked up, you were going, 'Oh, I'm so hungry and weak!'"

Draco's smile faltered, "Shut up."

Granger grinned, "Oh, don't feel so ashamed. I know what you're going through. Anyone would be in this condition by now."

"I am going to kill the one who put me in here." Draco voiced his thoughts strongly, punching a fist in his other hand.

"You know what. I think we've created this room for ourselves. I think this is a result of our guilty consciences."

"I don't have a guilty conscience. It's not my fault if Pansy's about as smart as a troll."

"That's what I thought at first, but after I had that terrible dream, I realized I was wrong. It is our faults for cheating on them, not the other way around."

"Why did you cheat on Potter?" Draco asked curiously. Since when had Granger been a bad girl? From what he remembered from school, she would never wrong anyone. He had to admit that he liked this new side of her. It made her seem human.

"Nonexistence." Granger said simply, "You?"

"A new flavor."

"Ugh. That's sick."

"And like your reason isn't?" Draco raised an eye.

"It is, but yours is worse. At least Pansy is there for you. Harry is never home. I barely see him."

"That's still a horrible reason."

"Let's face it. We're both at fault. If only I had listened to Ron that day…"

"Huh?" What was she talking about?

"Ron told me constantly that what we were dong was wrong but I never listened to him. Oh, I should have, because then I wouldn't be here."

"No one told me that. I was with the most gorgeous woman, though. You should have seen her, the goddess, looking so sexy in red-"

"Malfoy."

"What?"

"Do you think I want to listen to that?"

"You should because she was much better looking than you."

"Looks isn't everything."

"Said by an ugly woman." Draco smirked as Granger rolled her eyes.

They sat in silence for another few minutes, both staring out at the bright walls, now knowing what else to say. Draco closed his eyes and counted backwards from a hundred to calm his head, and surprisingly, it worked. His stomach still grumbled, however, and his feet throbbed with never ending pain. He would have walked around to loosen them but that would have only made him wearier.

"Hey." Granger interrupted him as he was on fifty-seven in his count. His eyes flung open in annoyance.

"What?"

"You're bleeding. Your nose." She pointed and came over to him, taking out a tissue instantaneously as Draco gathered up his fingers to stop the blood. Granger dabbed the tips of his nostrils with her tissue, which turned blood red in a second, and cleared it up in no time. He found himself smiling at her generosity after she was finished and gazed at her positively for the first time.

"Um…thanks." Draco said awkwardly.

"No problem. It's probably because of the heat."

"Yeah." He looked down at his hands, which were stained with blood. Granger noticed and tossed him another clean tissue. He looked at her thankfully and she smiled back at him.

"I may not carry a first aid kit but I do have the basics."

Draco nodded, thinking that maybe being trapped with Granger wasn't such a bad thing after all.