At this time, I would like to remind readers that due to the nature of drabbles, some scenes will be split across multiple chapters. So, if there's not an answer given or an obvious question asked in a chapter's content, just be patient. ;)
NINE
It had begun the autumn Hermione turned sixteen. She couldn't remember precisely when, but she'd started having nightmares at school. Dark, shapeless things stalking her, watching her as she slept.
At first, she was too terrified to think around the strange and frightening images. In her waking hours, she attributed them to how every school year had gone thus far—how it seemed some unknown thing or another was always ready to leap out at them, proving monsters were very real.
Then, one night, an odd thing happened. Previously unable to move—because she believed herself unable—Hermione sat up on her bed to get a better look at the thing standing at the foot of her bed. She'd not been able to do that before. She was aware, actively reacting to her surroundings.
"Back," she whispered to the thing. And back it stepped.
Her brows shot up as she realized she'd somehow stumbled into a lucid dream. She was in control of … everything.
Being a curious teenager, perhaps a bit mature amongst her peers in respects her close male friends refused to think about in regard to her, Hermione started … toying with her surroundings. Specifically, the thing watching her.
She'd molded and sculpted and crafted until the dark figure was something heart-stopping in a completely different manner. She would later consider that she'd deliberately left the facial features vague and indistinct, so there would be no resemblance to anyone she might have cause to feel guilty over later. And then ….
Well, she'd awoken with a smile on her face for the first time in a very long while.
Now, as she opened her eyes to see the dark shape at the foot of her bed, she considered how she must've done so again without realizing. She couldn't deny the similarity. The height, the build. The only thing different was that in the towering stature of this dark being, a pair of crimson eyes glowed, prompting her to wonder aloud what it was. Why was this one different?
Not that it mattered. Being blissfully tipsy in a strange land seemed the perfect time to let some dark, mysterious figure you'd dreamed up have their way with you.
The being, still cloaked in shadow no matter how near he drew, clasped her hand, fingers strong but shaking. Uncertain, she thought. How very odd and sort of ... sweet.
Always surprised by the routes her imagination took when she didn't try to control things, she closed her eyes and murmured, "It's all right. Do what you wish."
A shock of warmth coursed through Antonin at her compliance. He couldn't think to question how bizarrely perfect this all seemed to be working out. He was far too distracted with allowing his gaze to wander over her.
With the way his attention fell to the edge of that cotton shift, edged up higher on her thighs as she wiggled about just a tiny bit.
He moved closer, still, dropping to his knees before her.
