Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters used by JK Rowling. I take no credit :)
--------------
No Father, stop!" the boy pleaded the man.
"Is this a sign of weakness, Son? Men don't show weakness. CRUCIO!" shouted the figure.
The young boy screamed in pain, a scream that could break windows.. The father laughing menacingly, standing over the shaken figure, with no regret, no pain from seeing his son hurt, no pity.
Hermione Granger awoke in fear. Sitting straight up, Hermione looked around the room. 'This is foolish, it was just a dream, no reason to be scared.' Hermione thought, trying to calm her shaking self.
She tried to remember the dream. It was slipping away in her mind like sand in a hand. 'Think hard.'
'An unforgiveable curse, a boy screaming, laughing.. no faces.' she recalled, shuddering involuntary.
She had this sudden urge to go find the helpless, screaming boy against the menacing father, but she didn't know where to go. She felt so bad for the kid, not defending himself, if only she could protect him. She knew it was impossible, she couldn't get into her dreams, plus the figures didn't have faces, no names were ever given, just alot of pain that she felt the boy go through. It was like she was the one being cursed. She felt everything the boy felt.
Looking at her watch on her table, she saw it was nearly time to wake and get ready. There was noway she could go back to bed anyway, she didn't want to have another nightmare. So she got up, and went into the bathroom that she shared with the Head Boy. He wasn't awake yet, thankfully, so she took a hot shower. When she was done, she got dressed and did the usual morning things, before descending her stairs that lead to the common room.
When she got down the stairs, she was suprised to see none other but Draco Malfoy sitting in the chair. It wasn't a shock that he wasn't supposed to be in there, because he was the Head Boy, but it was the shock that he was waiting for the bathroom, and not forcing her out.
"Malfoy." Hermione said.
"Granger." Draco replied.
He got up from the couch, and walked up the stairs to his bedroom, then 2 seconds later, she heard the shower running. Hermione walked out of the common room and walked to the Great Hall.
Slowly she walked, thinking of her restless night. The stairway leading from the Head Rooms was dark and twisted. You had to pay attention to where you were going because the path was hard to follow.
'Stop dwelling on it. It was just a dream.' Hermione tried to convince herself. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like it was real. It was so life like, she felt as though she were there the whole time, watching the poor kid being tortured but not helping him. She felt stressed, as if this were a hard essay that she couldn't get right.
'What was up with Malfoy this morning? He didn't harass me, it was as if he was just empty. Nothing there. His eyes were emotionless, usually full of hatred when he looked at her, but not today. And he wore no smirk. Nothing.' Hermione was deep in thought while walking to corridors.
"You have dishonored the family name. You have put shame on me. How will people look at me now? I am one of the most feared wizards and youa coward, a disgrace to be my heir." Roared the man. He has a look of hatred in his gray eyes. They bore into his sons eyes, looking with disgust. He held his mouth in a smirk, a smirk of hatred, a smirk of disgust, a smirk of pleasure. For he lived to see his son in pain. Pain made him strong, pain made him who he is. His son could deal with pain.
The boy was frozen with fear. He knew what his father was capable of, he knew his father loved pain. He was lectured time and time again about pain.
The father, sensing fear, threw his favorite spell, an Unforgivable, the one he used over and over on his son.
"Crucio!"
The pain was excruciating. He screamed out in pain, out in anger, out in frustration. He never showed weakness, especially to his father, his father loved seeing him hurt. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction, but he did. The pain was terrible, worse then he's had it in a while. Somewhere in the back on his mind he could hear someone else screaming, not his fatherhe was laughing, but a girl. A girl was screaming in pain.
"Hermione! Wake up!"
"Hermione, please!"
When she opened her eyes, there were her two best friends, looking on with a worried expression. She realized she was on the floor, on the cold ground. Her throat was aching, as thought she screamed for her life. Then she remembered it, the dream, the nightmare, the cold voice, the ear piercing scream. It all came flooding back.
"What happened, Hermione?" asked Ron.
"I-I feel. I must have had a bad dream, I just remember screaming." She didn't feel like explaining that she's been having nightmares sporadically about a boy being tortured by his own father. She didn't think they'd understand.
"Are you okay now 'Mione?" asked Harry Potter.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." she said as she got off the ground. "Lets go to breakfast."
With that, Hermione continued her walk to the Great Hall accompanied with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.
Back in the Head Common room, Draco Malfoy wakes up on the shower floor. The water was scorching his skin, and he had a terrible headache.
'What happened?' he asked himself as he picked himself off the ground.
With a flash in his mind, he remembered what happened. He has these dreams, well, not necessarily dreams, they're really happening, only when his defenses are down. When he's tired or peaceful, his father gets into his mind. He can feel the aftermath of his dreams. He remembered the curse, the worse curse his fathers used on him yet. Of course his father has used this curse before, loads of times, but it's never been that powerful. He had forgotten all about screaming in front of his father, but when he did, he also remembered the sound of a girl screaming. Her voice was there. It was as if she was going through everything he was. But it was impossible. He was being punished, he was the only one besides his father. But he felt uneasy, he didn't quite believe himself.
He allowed himself to think. He remembered an odd presence, but he didn't see anybody, and how could somebody get into his dreams? His own personal affairs. He didn't understand it, and with the headache he had, he wasn't likely to figure it out now.
He stopped thinking about the dreams and focused on his shower. He finished his shower and dressed for classes.
Breakfast was boring for Draco and Hermione. Hermione was out of it. She was shocked over how much pain she feels after she has those dreams about that boy getting hurt. She ached all over, as if she was the one being cursed. Draco was in painhe was the one the curses were aimed at.
He's had these occurrences since he started Hogwarts, always his father torturing him at their Manor. But this year, he got them more often. He got them in the shower, during naps, eating, whenever his defenses were down. When they happened, it was just as if it were a dream, he would walk around, talk, feel, everything, but be in two places at once. He often passed out from them.
He was thinking of the girl screaming when he was being tortured. Nobody had ever tapped into his dreams before, besides his Father. he wanted to know who the girl was, who was witnessing him being mistreated, witnessing him being weak. This plagues his mind, keeping all his attention on that. The thought of breakfast made him feel sick, so he decided to go.
"I'm going to class early." he said to no one in particular. Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle were used to him zoning out. They didn't pay attention to him much anymore.
"Hermione, are you sure you're okay? You're mighty pale." a very concerned Harry asked.
"Um. Yeah, just tired. I'm going to class early guys, I'm not hungry and I'm not feeling well."
"Okay 'Mione. Feel better soon." wished Ron.
The boys quickly turned their attention to Neville, who was telling them about the letter he received from his Uncle that was visiting America.
Hermione and Draco left the Great Hall the same time. Walking quietly to Double Potions together, not talking.
'Boy, she looks pale.' thought Draco.
Hermione was pale. All her color had drained from her face, her eyes were blank and unreadable.
A voice interrupted her thoughts. "Granger, are you alright?"
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" replied Hermione, still lost in thought.
Just as she answered, Draco fell over. He was moving and shaking. Hermione became alert of the situation and bent down to Malfoy, trying to stop the seizure-like activity. She was scared, she didn't know what to do or how to get it to stop. She tried soothing him "It'll be alright. You'll pull though it.", but it wasn't working.
She, herself, started to get tired, exhausted. She was weak but she still tried to stay conscious. Eventually, she too, lost sense of herself.
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, two of the biggest enemies in Hogwarts, were passed out next to each other in the Hallway. Both were having fits that would look like seizures to anyone who saw.
She was in a dark, long hallway but she didn't recognize it. It wasn't Hogwarts. She saw something move in front of her, but she was so scared. She didn't even want to move.
She managed a whisper, "Hello?"
"Hello? Anybody here?" she whispered a little louder.
She saw the figure move. It was the boy from her dreams earlier. She knew it was him, she could sense his presence.
"Hello?" she said to the boy.
He whipped around, curious of whose womanly voice was filling the hallway. It wasn't his mother, her voice was cold, and shrill. This voice was soothing, comforting. He spotted the girl. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was dreadful.
"Granger?" drawled the voice of the boy.
Hermione's heart stopped. She had thought the boy to be peaceful, a real gentleman. But this boy was far from it. He deserved everything he had been put through, or so she thought.
"Malfoy? You're the boy I've been dreaming about?... This can't be happening." she said.
"You've been having fantasies about me, Granger? Impressive, and here I thought you had no taste." teased Draco.
"You wish. What am I doing here?" she said, trying her best to sound calm.
"I don't know, but you're not safe here. Follow me." he said as he lead her down the hall and up three flights of stairs.
They reached a landing followed by a long hall. He brought her to the fourth door and opened it. She supposed it was his bedroom, the walls were painted in Green and Silver and Black, with a bed and room furniture. 'Typical.' she thought.
"This is my room. Stay here. Don't go wondering off, as I know you would do. As much as I hate you, I wouldn't want you killed by my father. Nobody deserves that. Stay here until I come back for you. Promise me." he said.
She saw no emotion in his eyes except fear. That scared her even, because she knew Malfoys' never showed fear. She guessed since he knew she'd heard him scream in pain, that hiding fear wouldn't get by her.
"Okay, I promise." she said, surprised she was calm, but curious of why he was truly protecting her.
He walked away without another word. Once he disappeared behind the door, she ran and locked it. She was scared, she had never been more scared in her life. She feared that she wouldn't get out of this alive. She feared that she'd be tortured. She feared the fear she saw in Malfoy's eyes. It frightened her. All she could do was wait. Wait to see what fate brought her. Wait to see if she was going to be put through pain.
Waiting. That was the easy part, but the hardest too