Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, they are the brilliant works of the marvelous J.K.Rowling. I also do not own Coldplay or To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

CHAPTER 23

It was 3am when Hermione heard whispering at her door. She had taken to being a light sleeper and she woke up with the soft noises coming from outside her bedroom. It was Draco. He was trying to unlock her bedroom door. She did not freeze with fear like she would have only weeks before, but she did lay there and hope for him to go away. She just listened. When he couldn't open the door he got frustrated and began yelling,

"Hermione! Hermione! Oi, Granger, wake up! Open the door!" and banging on the door. She rolled her eyes and got out of bed. Since when did I go back to being Granger? she thought as she crossed her room to the door. She muttered the unlocking spell and opened the door. Draco was standing on the landing wearing a pair of grey tracksuit pants and a blue shirt buttoned less than half way up. He was fidgeting on the top step and looked stressed and restless. His arms were folded in a half crossed, half hugging fashion.

"Hey. What's up?" Hermione yawned casually. He paused for a moment before he grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs behind him. He walked briskly over to the couch ad threw her down on it as it you would a sweater. She looked offended but he had already forgotten her and was pacing in front of the mantelpiece. He was biting at one of the nails on his right hand, left arm still folded, and he was muttering to himself as he walked briskly from side to side. All Hermione could do was sit and watch. She had never seen him this hyped-up before, but she was sure it would all blow over soon. He continued to pace for about 10 minutes and while Hermione didn't want to agitate him but she was cold and tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. Gingerly she asked,

"Can I get you something? A drink or something to help you slee-" She was cut off when he raced over to her and got right into her face.

"You don't speak until I tell you to speak, you got that?" He did not wait around for an answer like he usually did, but went back to pacing. So she waited.

Suddenly he started looking around the room in panic, his eyes darting around and a look of terror on his face. Hermione wondered what he was looking at, but the room seemed the same to her. Without warning he grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. He dragged her towards the common room door and opened it.

"Draco? Where are we going?" She asked as calmly as she could. He turned sharply to look at her and there was real urgency in his eyes. His eyes darted this way and that and then he looked squarely at her and whispered,

"We can't stay in there. We have to leave." With that he turned away again and continued to drag Hermione along behind him. She tried not to put up too much of a fight but he was walking very fast and she was finding it hard to keep up with him. He continued to pull harder but didn't get annoyed at her slow pace. Hermione got the feeling he was a million miles away. They continued on for about 10 minutes, and while they often passed the same place twice, Draco seemed to have a certain place in mind of where he wanted to go. Finally they reached the Room of Requirement. Hermione thought it was normally locked at night, but to her surprise the door opened when Draco turned the handle. They entered the room and Draco shut the door quietly behind him, never letting go of her or loosening his tight grip for a second.

Hermione turned to study the room, but to her surprise, it was bear. The walls were made of stone, but a grey stone, not like the brown-creamy ones of the castle. The floor was laid with flat, smooth cobblestones, and there was no furniture to be seen. The only defining features on the room were the empty fireplace and mantle. She looked up a little higher and found a portrait of Lucius Malfoy hanging above it all. She stared at it for second. It was certainly not something she had expected to find. She and Draco crossed the room he ordered her to sit in the middle of the cold stone floor. Her feet were bare and she wished he had put on her dressing gown and slippers on her way out the door. Just as before, Draco began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, muttering to himself once again. Looking around the room, Hermione guessed it was replicated from a room in Draco's house at Malfoy Manor. She sat with both of her legs out to one side with one arm out for support. She looked quite relaxed but truth be told, she was starting to get nervous. She decided to address the situation calmly, and evenly asked,

"Draco, can we please just go back to- " upon hearing her speak, Draco swivelled around and pointed a stern finger at her, as if reminding her she was not to speak. He turned towards the fireplace and leant on it for a moment. Then he reached behind him and pulled out something that was tucked into the back of his pants. He places it ever so slowly on the mantelpiece and stared at it for a while. Upon seeing the object Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

It was the gun from their Muggle Studies class.

Draco continued to stare at the gun. He seemed to be arguing with himself, but Hermione couldn't make any of it out; it was too quiet and muffled. Now she was freaking out. She could see Draco was getting more and more worked-up and she had no idea what to do. She figured the best solution was to sit quietly and try to remain unnoticed. As if he had heard her thoughts, Draco turned his head and looked right at her. His eyes narrowed and the look he was giving her was anything but one of love and adoration. He picked up the gun and walked in circles around Hermione sitting on the floor. He swung the gun around as he walked and Hermione couldn't take her eyes off it. He'd stop every now and then and look at her, then start with his walking again. He was not fooling around. Draco was obviously deeply disturbed. Once he even placed the barrel of the gun on the top of Hermione's head and held it there while walked around her. Hermione closed her eyes and thought to herself It's ok, there aren't any bullets in it. He doesn't know how they work and probably doesn't realise it needs bullets to work. Then he leaned down to crouch beside her.

"You screwed me up, you know that? You fucked me up." He shoved the gun roughly into her temple and stood again. He then began walking aimlessly around the room yet deep in thought.

"You know what you are? You're a filthy, stinking Muggle. A low-life. A nobody." Had Draco said this to her in any other year, Hermione wouldn't have been so affected. It was just that this year they had had such good times, his words really did cut her. When he had had his other 'episodes', he had never called her names. He usually just hit her and left. But this was different. This time, he meant what he said. He brandished the gun now as though it were a toy, waving it around to emphasise his point. He pointed the gun at her and to her surprise, started to laugh. It was a small giggle at first, but soon he was laughing hysterically. This only terrified her more. Between laughs he said,

"I hate you!" Quietly at first, but as he repeated it he got louder and louder.

"I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU!" This last time he yelled it. His laughing automatically stopped and he was dead serious again.

He raced over to her, his shirt catching air with his sudden speed, and clutched her face in his spare hand, just as he had done the first night he'd hit her.

"I – Hate – You." To emphasise his point, when he mentioned her, he pointed the gun at her, and when he mentioned himself he pointed the gun at his temple. The way he was handling it so freely made her feel sick. She wanted to throw up but breathed deeply to try to calm her nerves and the bile rising in her throat. He walked to the mantelpiece but turned swiftly back, his face red and blotchy and screamed

"I HATE YOU!" As he said it he pointed the gun at the ceiling directly above where Hermione sat and squeezed the trigger. There was an ear-splitting bang. Hermione could not comprehend what had happened until she was showered in plaster from the roof overhead.

The gun was loaded.