A/N & Disclaimer: I recently discovered that not only do I dream in color, but that my dreams are also narrated. What does that have to do with the fact I don't own Harry Potter? Nothing, really. I just felt like sharing, I guess. ;)

I decided I should try to be more careful during my nighttime excursions outside, at least for awhile anyway. Having Draco Malfoy find out I wandered the grounds was definitely not something I needed or wanted to deal with. I already had to contend with him enough on a daily basis, but then again having to deal with him at all was far too much for my liking.

No, I rather preferred to keep to myself. I spent time in my quarters, grading various pieces of my students' homework. I would spend time in my classroom, just staring at the empty seats; the room just always looked so much bigger from my perspective behind the teacher's desk. And of course I spent time pouring through volumes in the library; surprisingly there were still hundreds I'd not yet had the opportunity to peruse.

I knew that by keeping myself busy it became easier to forget the past; easier not to get lost in old memories of a life that no longer was, a life that I had trouble even imagining had ever existed. Only I knew it had existed -- and within these very walls no less.

The only flaw in my keeping-myself-busy plan was when I stopped to marvel at how well it was working, because then I would remember little snippets from the past. They always snuck up on me.

And one particular moment in the library hadn't been an exception. The past fully overtook my mind, and whisked me off to a place that had existed nearly a lifetime ago... yet really hadn't been that long ago

Harry and Ron were playing chess. Ron, of course, had been beating Harry horribly. Enter me. Harry glanced up and grinned, despite the fact he was losing… again.

He gave me his full attention as he questioned, "Hey, Hermione. How was the library?"

I caught Ron taking advantage of the moment, taking his turn without Harry noticing.

I walked over to their table and gave Ron a look that said, "You really should be ashamed of yourself." Ron, of course, turned a light shade of red. I smiled at this and then returned my attention to Harry.

"The library was fine. Malfoy was there though and I had to leave earlier than intended. He was being a usual prat and wouldn't give me a moment's peace."

I saw Harry take a deep breath, obviously riled at the mere mention of Malfoy.

I tried to backtrack, "Harry, its fine really…I'm fine. It really was time for me to be going anyway. After all, who else is going to be able to help you get out of this fine mess you've gotten yourself into concerning this chess match?"

Harry smiled and relaxed, beckoning me to sit down, "C'mere, it's been far too long since I last won a game against Ron," he gave me his best smile and feigned dramatics as he commented, "I just can't do it without you."

I laughed as I pulled out a chair next to him, wasting no time in pointing out Ron's last move.

I snapped back into reality, realizing I'd gone and done it again. Maybe another walk on the grounds would be just what I needed.

I grabbed Harry's cloak as I made my way out the door of my chambers. I crept through the long corridors, and successfully maneuvered my way down the changing staircases. As I pushed open the heavy doors a blast of cool, fresh air hit my face. Freedom. Freedom from the castle, from my memories, and maybe even from myself.

I was so caught up with making my way away from the castle I was quite unaware that I was still clutching Harry's cloak, not thinking to put it on yet.

I, of course, caught my mistake once I'd nearly reached the Whomping Willow. Once I had secured the cloak around myself, I stole a quick glance over my shoulder, just to make sure no one else was wandering the grounds.

Unfortunately someone else had been outside that night too. And he was quite aware he wasn't alone. I instantly froze as I realized Malfoy's eyes were locked right on me, or at least where I had last appeared to be.

This was not going to be good.

o o o

It was like one moment she was there and the next, had completely vanished.

Draco sighed. It had certainly been a grueling, to say the least, three years. And after those three years, he had somehow managed to end up back here at Hogwarts. Here at Hogwarts with one of the most insufferable people he had ever had the misfortune of being stuck in the same room with. And that was saying a lot, considering the company he used to keep, in the form of Death Eaters and other dark wizards.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be at Hogwarts. It was just that it held so many memories —horrible memories— from the past. He shook his head, it wouldn't do to go delving into the past. Nothing could be gained from it. He once again focused his attention on the spot, twenty feet or so from the Whomping Willow, where he could've sworn he saw Granger disappear into thin air.

"Disappear into thin air," he repeated out loud to himself. Of course, that had to be it. After all these years, through everything... she still had that bloody cloak. Potter must've given it to her. For God's sake, she probably slept with it at night. He snorted at the thought. After all, Draco Malfoy was still Draco Malfoy; if three years of war pulling everything he knew apart hadn't changed him, it was quite possible that nothing would.

Well, that wasn't entirely true though. After witnessing Dumbledore's death on that night so long ago, he'd been changed. Up to that point he'd known what the Dark Lord had expected of him. He had fully intended to do his bidding as well. But Snape... well, Snape had saved him. Not of his own free will, of course. There was no denying that Snape's loyalties truly laid with the Dark Lord, but as Draco later found out he'd made a vow to his mother Narcissa to keep him safe. Draco had to admit Snape had done just that. However he couldn't recall much else from that fateful night, not that he was overly eager to do so.

...He'd done it after all. He'd gotten caught up in memories of the past. He shook his head and thought, "Well, I suppose there are worse things I could be thinking about." His thoughts drifted to the dreams he used to have about Potter; now those were definitely not something worth thinking about. He was only pleased he had been able to stifle the dreams. Well, he hadn't done it entirely on his own; he was truly indebted to Trelawney for her help.

He realized with a start he was still staring at the place where Granger had disappeared. He growled under his breath, turning his back to the willow and quickly made his way back to the castle.

o o o

I breathed a slow sigh of relief as I safely retreated back inside castle. It had been foolish, to say the least, to think I would be able to get away with vanishing in the middle of Hogwarts' grounds without anyone noticing.

Though, my luck proved to be worse than I would've liked.

It was just typical that Malfoy had caught me using the cloak. He wouldn't be the sort to forget it either. Knowing him, he'd be right pissed. He'd rationalize it, saying it simply wasn't ethical for a teacher to use an invisibility cloak, after all, whom would a teacher be hiding from? But I knew, no matter what reasons he came up with, the true one would be simply because he was upset he didn't have one. Now, I know that sounds childish; especially for someone like me, who's been through so much. People would think I'd be wise beyond my years or something ridiculous like that, but I knew Malfoy.

He was standing outside the Great Hall before dinner the next night, waiting for me. I cringed inwardly and decided the best tactic to take would be not acknowledging his presence at all. I held my head high and walked with more of a purpose than usual. I almost got away with it too. I could tell he was shocked that I had decided on ignoring him, rather than saying something snide or starting an argument.

After all, that's what we seemed to do best. Throughout everything that had changed in the past three years, a few things stayed the same. And our mutual disdain for each other was certainly one of them. McGonagall, of course, looked down upon our verbal sparring, especially in front of the students. So we tried our best to keep our loathing of each other private. But sometimes we couldn't help ourselves. For example, when he intruded into my Advanced Arithmancy class earlier that week:

I had been in the middle of going over intermediate level problem with one of my students who seemed to be struggling a bit more than the rest when the door to my classroom suddenly burst open. Still not having entirely rewired my reflexes from the war, my first instinct was to grab for my wand, which I did; only to find myself armed and ready for the "harmless" ferret boy himself. I quickly lowered my wand. He seemed rather amused.

"Professor Malfoy, what ARE you doing in my classroom?" I questioned, not bothering to leave the scorn out of my voice.

He smirked broadly in my general direction, though not meeting my gaze. He gave an ironic wave to one of the students in the back of the room, who, in turn, waved back quite enthusiastically. I was on the verge of being more than a bit mortified by his actions and for a moment I wondered if he might've been under the Imperious curse, but I didn't let it show.

I cleared my throat and tried again, this time a bit less politely, "Hey, Malfoy!"

He started, then locked his eyes on to mine and drawled, "Oh, Professor Mud- uh, Granger. I didn't see you standing there under all of that hair."

With that remark he, of course, received an uproar of laughter from the students -- my students. I glared at him, giving up on trying to hide the general feelings of contempt and distaste I held for him. What was it any of his business if it had ended up being more difficult growing my hair out than I would've ever imagined?

In a very even voice I questioned, "Was there something you needed, Professor?"

He gazed nonchalantly around the room before shrugging, "Oh, I was just looking for Peeves. He's been causing more trouble than usual lately and I figured it was time to put him in his place."

I stared at him incredulously for a moment, then caught myself and responded coolly, "Well, Professor, I'm quite sure I would've noticed if he were here."

He smirked, "Quite right. I'll be on my way." And with that he pivoted toward the door and had exited in a flourish of billowing of robes, leaving me stewing about everything that was him.

But back to my most recent encounter:

I could tell he was shocked that I had decided on ignoring him, rather than arguing. I should've known he wouldn't put up with such nonsense from me. After all, he was looking for a fight. He was always looking for a fight, and it was starting to wear me out.

He swiftly threw out his arm, somehow managing to find my wrist under all the material of my robes and latched on, hard.

"Ow! You-" I began, only to be cut off by his free hand covering my mouth, all while bodily forcing me up against the nearest wall.

"No, Granger," he hissed through his perfect teeth, "not this time. You are going to listen to what I have to say for one god damned time in your life."

There was nothing I could do but glare at him. He had my full attention and he knew it. I had known he would be bent out of shape about the invisibility cloak, but this? This was borderline insanity, really. And for once, I was actually kind of interested to hear what he had to say. It must've been awfully good for him to exert this much effort to get my undivided attention.

However, I never got to hear exactly what he wanted to say. To put it simply, Peeves had the uncanny ability to interrupt people at exactly the wrong moment. Or perhaps the right moment. I hadn't decided which of the two I had been caught in.

Malfoy had spun around to see what mischief Peeves thought he was getting into as Peeves began to sing, "The traitor and the Mudblood caught alone in the hall. Oh, the possibilities... who's Peevesies to call?" He cackled as he spun around in circles in front of us, repeating his droll little tune.

Despite the fact that Peeves had gotten hold of Malfoy's attention, he still hadn't let go of my wrist, which he still had pinned against the stone wall. I briefly contemplated asking him to let go, but I opted for staying silent, hoping he might forget I was there and inadvertently let me go.

I guess Peeves wouldn't have any of that though. He must've known me well enough to know my silence meant I was up to something. He looped through the air a few times before getting right up in Malfoy's face and blowing a raspberry before calling attention back to me, "Traitor, traitor, traitor... your captive is planning an escape. D'you think it'll have something to do with that invisibility cape?" And with that he zoomed off down the hall laughing manically, leaving a fair amount of destruction in his wake in the form of turned over portraits to the odd broken chandelier.

I winced as Malfoy somehow managed to tighten his grip on my wrist even further. He turned back to me, placing his other hand right beside the left side of my head, successfully capturing a good chunk of my hair as well.

"What's with the manhandling, hm?" I questioned, trying to sound more confidant than I felt.

He moved his face closer to mine, leaving mere inches between us. I had begun to wonder just what he was up to this time. I continued glaring at him and had just opened my mouth to ask him what his problem truly was when he hissed,

"Just shut up."

A/N: Oh my... I wonder what'll happen next? Next chapter I hope to bring in some of that mysterious red head. Okay, so I'm definitely going to bring in some stuff about him. It's already written and everything. ;)

And on another note, this is my longest chapter yet! Yay!

So until next time...

Huge thanks to my reviewers:

screwtheperfectlife: Why thank you. And yeah, it was flashbacks. This chapter's got some of that jazz too... I rely on the flashbacks to help explain the current storyline, even though I probably shouldn't.

andrettamaiebodi: Mystery redhead shall resurface ...and soon! Like before you can say alohamora ...well almost anyway. I'm glad you got the upload thing to work. Thanks for reading!

Astriana Glaze: Hey, thanks! Yeah, Fred knew he was lucky; too bad the whole war with Voldemort thing interrupted everything. Those evil forces will get you every time. ;) Erm... yeah. Malfoy is just almost beyond me, so I hope he doesn't become too out of character. That'd just be sad. I'll not comment on the D/Hr bit... I'm horrible. I know. ;) But I really do try to be good... in an angsty way... I'm not too sure how that works itself out.

Review?