"Her-mi-o-nee!" Ron waved half a piece of toast in front of Hermione's vacant face, snapping her out of her trance,

"Oh…what?" she asked, distractedly, not looking at them,

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry said, "You've been in a trance ever since yesterday."

"And you've been staring at the Slytherin table." Ron added, his tone somewhat accusing, "Are you feeling okay?" She frowned,

"Yes. It's just…do you think Malfoy's acting a bit, well, odd?" Ron snorted,

"If you mean, 'Is he being a slimey git as usual' then yes."

"But that's it! He hasn't done anything yet. And, he ran out of the hall yesterday before it was over." Harry shrugged,

"Maybe he just needed to pee." Hermione shot him a scathing look,

"I hardly think so, he looked…upset. And Malfoy never looks upset."

"Since when did you care if Malfoy was upset or not?" Ron asked suspiciously,

"Since yesterday! And I'm going to find out what's going on, with your help or not!" And with one last glare at the pair of them, Hermione stormed out. Ron turned to Harry and shook his head,

"I swear that girl's got something wrong with her head."

Draco poked at his bacon miserably. His dreams had been disturbed by memories and nightmares, causing him to be constantly woken up during the night. And on top of that, he had a blistering migraine and little white lines were dancing in front of his eyes. Maybe if he asked nicely, they'd change colour…

"Draco!" Pansy poked him, "You're talking to your self." Draco blinked and the little white lights skipped away,

"Oh…was I? What have we got today, anyway?" Blaise rummaged through his bag and pulled out his timetable,

"Divination, Potions and…Defence." Draco shrugged nonchalantly, as though he didn't care, although his heart was beating rapidly,

"That's groovy," Pansy and Blaise exchanged glances, Draco never said 'groovy'. "Do you think we'll still have to hand in that essay on pixies now that we've changed teachers?"

"Draco, stop pretending you're okay when it's evident you're not." Pansy said softly, "We're not going to judge you."

"I know. I just…don't want anyone else to know. That's all."

"Well, if you start talking to yourself, people are bound to get suspicious."

"I wasn't talking to myself!" Draco replied indignantly, "I was asking the little white lines to change colour!" Blaise patted his hand sympathetically,

"Course you were, Drake, course you were." Draco brushed Blaise's hand away,

"Don't patronise me. I'm not in the mood." He muttered, stabbing a treacherous tomato mutinously with his fork.

"Sorry, mate. But for Merlin's sake, don't take it out on the tomato!" Draco raised an eyebrow, then laughed,

"Shut up! Come on, let's head down to Potions."

Draco waited until everyone had left the dungeon, before going up to Snape's desk,

"You wanted to see me Professor." The dark haired man surveyed him,

"Yes. Sit down Draco." The boy sat opposite him, hands in lap, eyes down, "First I would like to say, that I had absolutely no idea that this was going to happen, or else I would've done my best to stop it. Draco, look at me. You do believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do! It's just…I thought this was where I could get away and now…he's here." Draco gulped, "I'm frightened, Uncle Sev." Snape moved around desk and pulled him into a hug. Draco clung to him, sobbing into his robes,

"He can't beat you here. He wouldn't dare."

"That's what Blaise said, but he would. I know he would."

"Then tell someone. Tell Dumbledore." Draco looked alarmed,

"No! He can't know! No one can! It's private…a secret! It's no one else's business!"

"It's wrong to be so scared here. Hogwarts is supposed to be safe."

"It's a private matter." Draco repeated, stubbornly, "Anyway, I've got to go or I'll be late for class." He rose and headed for the door,

"Which class?" Snape asked,

"Defence against the Dark arts." Draco replied without turning around.

A/N: Thankyou very much to my single reviewer! I know this isn't the best chapter, but they will get better! I promise! If you wouldn't mind being my Beta or Muse, email me at- . PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! It means so much to me! And if you have any ideas or questions about future chappie, please don't hesitate to contact me. I WILL REPLY!