Disclaimer; I own nothing. But if you like the story, feel free to send money.

A/N The last chapter I used a quote from a movie. I was unaware that I also used a quote from Star Wars, which I have never seen. Not once, not even the old ones. Shocking but true. So the quote I was looking for was not "Ron, you are breaking my heart." that was pure coincidence. The one I was looking for is something Ron says to Hermione. The quote is broken in two by another word or two. I didnt realize that until I reread it. Well Happy reading...another short chapter but i will post another one tomorrow. R&R!

Nightmares or Prophecy…

Draco didn't speak to her all the way home. He had just lost control, and for a brief moment he didn't know what had happened. It was just like his dream back in school, when Snape had given him and Hermione the nightmare potion. Only this was real. Too real. All he knew is that he walked into the hall and saw the weasel slumped over her, and she looked frightened. He had lost all sense of right and wrong, and pounded him into the floor. He wanted him to hurt. And it felt good hitting him. And yet, he didn't want to be that type of person. He was still shaking when they were walking up the front porch. She was pale and quivering, still sobbing every minute or so. He didn't know what to say to her. He knew what he did was in essence wrong, but at the time he thought he was protecting her, like he should have done when the weasel attacked her in their own home. He should have been there to stop it, but instead he was laughing and having a good time in the garden with his guests.

Terrible guilt came over him and it was not something he was used to feeling. Guilt for not coming to her rescue, and guilt for making her cry again tonight. He remembered her face, scared and trembling over and over in his mind. They went into the house and she sat on the couch, staring into space. He went and sat next to her.

Draco came over and sat next to me, staring at me with those cloudy gray eyes. He was clearly in some sort of mental struggle. He looked at me and grabbed my hand, but said nothing. He was the love of my life, but tonight, for the first time I was scared of what I saw in him. It was his father's face, full of hate and rage. I know Ron was wrong for what he did to me, but tonight, he was just so lonely, I felt for him. And Draco just walked in at the wrong time. I knew Ron would be okay, and I was sad that he would not be coming to my wedding. Tears were silently falling from my eyes. He just sat there waiting for me to break the silence. And I did.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ron cornering me here."

"I'm sorry you didn't think you could trust me." he replied.

"I did think I could trust you, I was just afraid that what happened tonight would have happened that night too."

"But you thought Harry would understand better than me?" he asked.

"Well yes, and no. I thought he could talk to Ron about it and make him understand that I loved you, not him. But on the other hand, I wanted to tell you, to have you hold me and tell me everything would be alright." I laid my head on his shoulder, and felt his soft hand stroking my neck and hair.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened tonight. I lost control and didn't think about the consequences. I didn't mean to hurt him. I just wanted him to take his hands off of you."

"He's not coming to our wedding. He told me tonight. It's too painful for him. I feel awful. I never led him on, but he feels our friendship was a stepping stone for love. He is hurting, and I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, he's lonely, and he needs someone to love. I know that feeling. It was how I felt before I had you. It's a horrible feeling." he said soothingly, and with such love it made my heart hurt with emptiness. And emptiness that I knew Ron was feeling at this very moment.

"I saw myself tonight Hermione, as someone I don't want to be. I am not that person. I need to tell you something sweetheart. Do you remember that dream potion Snape gave us?"
"Yes" I said nervously not wanting to relive that dream I had.

"Well tonight it came true; I lied to you when I told you I was being chased by a dragon in that dream. I actually dreamed that I caught you and the weas…Ron kissing, and you told me that you loved him. I lost it and beat him to death." he looked down at the floor, embarrassed by his own admission.

"Oh Draco, why didn't you tell me?" I asked, mind racing over my own dream.

"I didn't want to think I was that person any more. I hoped I wasn't." he said in a cracking voice.

"So do you think that potion was a nightmare potion? Or a prophetic potion?" I asked alarmed.

"I think it was prophetic, to a point. I didn't kill Ron."

"I need to talk to you then." 'Time to come clean' I thought.

"That night, I didn't dream of failing my N.E.W.T.s. I actually dreamt of Ron and Harry yelling at me, calling me names and Harry slapping me across the face. It was because I told them I loved you. Then you were in my dream, and you were with Pansy, and you called me Mudblood again, said you just wanted to screw the Gryffindor virgin, and you could only love a pureblood. I cried and ran out of the castle." my face was red. I didn't want him to know that was one of my greatest fears, being alone again.

"Oh honey, you have nothing to worry about. That will never happen. I am not that person any more. I am the man you love, and I could never love another, especially Pansy." he soothingly stroked my hair.

"But if they were prophetic dreams, some of it must be true. Right?" I looked at him alarmingly.

"Well, maybe my dream and tonight were just a coincidence. Because I would never call you that again. I feel bad enough that I did that all those years. And as mad as they could get, Ron and Harry would never hit you. At least I don't think they would."

"I'm just so scared," I cried into his arms again "I don't want to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." he murmured, "Not ever."

We sat there on the sofa for the next few hours, silently comforting each other. This was one of the things Ron didn't understand. Silent love. A time when no words are necessary, and your heart speaks for you. You only find that love once in a lifetime. As I lay against his chest, just listening to his heart beat. I heard Ron's words over and over in my mind. 'why cant you just love me?' and the answer to that still hasn't come to me.