Part II
Isn't it?
-11 October 1998, Sunday-
The castle was buzzing with what people were going to dress up as for Halloween, for McGonagall had decided that in addition to the feast they could also have a costume party for fourth years and up. None of it mattered to Draco, though; he had other things on his mind.
He and Hermione had continued to meet up in the middle of the night, or rather early morning . They didn't always talk, sometimes they would just sit next to each other in silence, unsure how to navigate the unique situation they were in, until one of them would eventually decide to try to attempt sleep again. One morning Hermione had brought out her assignments that had yet to be completed, and when Draco raised an eyebrow at her she simply stated, "If I'm going to be up I might as well get some work done." The next morning he did the same, and suddenly their restless nights became productive study sessions.
Little by little they also began to share their dream experiences, bringing to light some intriguing coincidences: Hermione's dreams had also started on Draco's birthday, and it appeared that their dreams always occurred and concluded at the same exact time. Everything was identical, save the points of view.
"Have you ever tried staying up?" Hermione asked him as they were in the middle of completing an assignment for Professor Binns. "Not falling asleep to dream?"
"No, that idea never came to me."
"I did a few times, but it never worked. I'd always fall asleep."
"So what you're saying is... we have to have these dreams?"
"Not only that. We always have them in tandem, we're never dreaming alone."
Draco's eyebrows raised. "That's... really diabolical."
There was a pause in the conversation, which tended to happen often. It seemed each of them was hesitant to be the first to speak up, but luckily for Draco the silence seemed worse for Hermione, since she was more likely to end it.
"I've been doing some research," she said, still concentrating on the parchment in front of her. "But it's proven more difficult than I thought it would be doing it myself. I could use your help."
"What do you need me to do?" Draco tried not to sound too eager.
"For starters we should probably compile all of our dreams into some sort of narrative where we can pick apart the details. We can then use them to try and match to historical data, and for that we'd need the library."
"The library's closed this early I'm afraid Granger," Draco pointed out. "But I guess if I know what I'm looking for I could go about it on my own."
"No, I think it'd be better if we were working together."
"And how do you suppose we're going to get away with that? You don't think our friends will find it unusual that we're suddenly spending time together?"
"We'll need some sort of excuse of course," Hermione rolled her eyes. "I just haven't thought of one yet that Ron and Harry will accept."
"I might have something," Draco said. "I don't know if you're aware, but I am taking Muggle Studies this year as my elective. We have a project due in a couple weeks about muggle occupations. I was going to do mine on astronauts, but I can change it to whatever your parents do for a living."
He watched as Hermione's face broke into a wide smile. "That'll be perfect! My parents are dentists, they work on people's teeth. That will only give us two weeks to work, though."
"No one else we know is taking this class with me, so they don't have to know when the project is actually finished."
Hermione did a tiny jump at the suggestion. "Hopefully they'll stay none the wiser for a while then."
-12 October 1998, Monday-
They met in the library that evening after dinner, a time they had decided would work best for them. When his fellow Slytherins had questioned where he was going, he had told them outright that it was "For help on a project with Granger," but he had left the table quickly enough to only catch their stunned reactions and avoid their inquiries.
Hermione was already waiting at a table that was hidden away from prying eyes, a stack of parchment in front of her.
"We're going to start with dream series one and go from there," she said as he sat down cross from her. At the top of the first parchment she wrote Dream Series 1: Cassian and Aelia, followed underneath with 79 AD- Mount Vesuvius Eruption- Pompeii, Italy.
"I see you already found some information on that one," Draco commented.
"That one wasn't very hard, considering it's one of the more popular historical natural disasters people like to research. Also someone next to me in the dream said the volcano's name once it started erupting, so that helped. I suppose this isn't an event you hear about in wizard history?"
Draco shook his head. "So where are you when it happens?"
"I'm in the marketplace buying us food. You said you were out at sea right?"
"Yeah...I tried to swim to shore to find you, but my shipmates stopped me."
"That's stupidly romantic," Hermione said with a soft chuckle.
"So since we know the historical context of that set of dreams are we going to move on to the others?"
"No, let's just write it all down; like I said, we'll create a narrative and maybe there will be details that'll help us figure out why we're having these in the first place."
"Alright then," Draco agreed.
They spent the next couple of hours working out the story of Cassian and Aelia, starting from when they first met at a feast celebrating Cassian's birthday, all the way to the day of the fateful eruption. They both tried not to act uncomfortable when they had to talk about the dreams where they got married and made love for the first time. When they finished Hermione counted fourteen dreams to the series, covering an equal amount of parchment.
"Well, that's one down, and five more to go," she sighed as she used her wand to roll the parchment into a tightly bound scroll. They both quietly began to pack up their things, and Draco wasn't sure what to do from there. Were they going to walk back together to the common room? Or should he say that he had something else to do and stay behind?
"I guess we'll just head back together, unless there's something else you have to do," Hermione answered his worries for him, as if she had read his thoughts. "Or if it'd be too uncomfortable for you to be seen walking with me."
"No, we can do that," he said, picking up his book bag and following her out of the library. As expected, there was some staring at the sight of them next to each other, but Draco did his best to ignore it.
"Are you planning on going to the Halloween party?" Hermione asked after they had been walking in silence for the majority of their walk. They were already almost to their destination.
"I'll probably go to the feast, but I think I'll be doing my best to keep Blaise from dragging me to that nonsense. I take it you're going?"
"Yes, believe it or not I do enjoy having fun from time to time."
"Will Weasley be your date?" Draco asked on impulse, the words leaving his mouth before he could think better of it. Why should he care who she's going with?
"Of course, he's my boyfriend," Hermione answered matter-of-factly.
They had made it to the entrance of their common room, and after Hermione said the password she quickly slipped away to her quarters, while Draco tried to ignore the pang of jealousy that had settled in his chest.
13 October 1998, Tuesday
"Don't stop," she said with a gasp.
"Never," he answered with a wolfish grin.
He had already finished her just a few minutes before, the beautiful moan that had escaped her lips still lingering in his ears, and being added to with each second. Now, with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, his hips bucking into her forcefully, it was his turn.
The night air was cool around them, a soft breeze coming in through the open carriage they had decided to make the most of; but a trickle of sweat was going down between her breast nonetheless, and he wasted no time in using his tongue to lap it up.
The sounds she made were getting louder, egging him on, and before he could stop himself he succumbed, biting down into her bare shoulder with a groan.
Draco opened his eyes, his breath ragged.
Damn it, he thought as he pulled his sheets off of him, knowing that along with the boxers he was wearing they'd be ruined. He quietly cast a scourgify charm on both items, cleaning them just well enough for when the house elves would come and take them to wherever they did to be properly washed, and then headed to his shower.
This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, or one like it, but it was the first time since he'd come back to Hogwarts. Now the girl he made love to in his fantasies was merely a common room away.
Tristan and Sabine. Those were the lives he and Hermione had played out tonight. Out of all the couples, they were the most passionate, perhaps because they were French. This particular dream was actually the first night they met, catching each other's eyes from across the room at Tristan's birthday party. They had barely said a word to each other before they snuck out to an unoccupied carriage and had their way in it. They fell in love with each other, just like all of the others, but their insatiable lust was far ahead in comparison.
Sabine would meet her end in a mountain landslide, and Tristan would of course make it out alive.
Draco sighed as he dried himself off, debating whether or not to go to the common room. Deciding he really needed his nightly cup of tea, he ventured out there.
Hermione's cheeks reddened the moment she caught sight of him.
They didn't speak that morning.
"So, I'm assuming you know nothing about William and Caroline yet," Draco said as he joined Hermione at their table. She had parchment in front of her again, but this time it only said the names of their dream counter parts, nothing else.
"Well judging by the accents I'm going to say they're from somewhere in Scotland, though I'd want to find out for sure," Hermione answered.
"You didn't write down how you die," Draco noted, and Hermione gave a small chuckle.
"I actually don't know," she said. "It happens so quickly. All I know is I'm inside the ship when the battle breaks out, and I make it to the ladder to the upper deck, but then it just goes black. Where are you?"
"I'm on the deck running to that same ladder," Draco said before looking down with a darkened expression. "I get there just in time to see you taken out by a cannon."
"Oh," she grimaced. She grabbed her quill and added cannon blast under William and Caroline's names. "I can't say it's a terrible way to go. Quick and painless compared to the others."
Draco's lips curved at her humor, and then he leaned back in his chair to get comfortable, ready to unfurl their second set of dreams.
-14 October 1998, Wednesday-
He was going to be late. Blaise had kept him to discuss the Slytherin Quidditch team, which, even though they were eighth years, they had still been permitted to join. Draco had declined the invitation to tryout back in September, not wanting to be in the spotlight every time there was a game. He knew people would question whether he should be allowed to be on the team considering the things he'd done. Nevertheless, Blaise wasn't impressed with their lineup as of late and he was hoping Draco would be able to once again take his place as Seeker. The answer was a firm no.
Now he was hurrying to the library, hoping Hermione wouldn't be put out that he was fifteen minutes passed the agreed upon time.
"Sorry," he apologized once he reached her. "Blaise wouldn't shut up about Quidditch."
"Did you just say the word 'sorry'?" She said, her face bemused. "I didn't know you knew that word."
"Funny, Granger."
A part of him wanted to indignantly leave her due to the remark, a reminder that things about him had changed, but he thought better of it. "I am capable of manners when it suits me."
She must've seen that she struck a slight nerve for her next words were, "I'm sorry. We can continue tomorrow if you prefer."
"No, it's fine," he said, but he could tell she was still unsure. "Really Granger, don't get your panties in a twist."
Apparently satisfied, she picked up her quill and laid out a fresh piece of parchment in front of her. "We're actually doing really well getting things down. At the rate we're going we'll be done by the time your project is due, and we can research on our own and just tell what we've found out when we meet at four in the morning. We won't have to come up with excuses as to why we're together."
"You have all these logistics figured out don't you,"
"I try to be prepared," she grinned. "Er... why didn't you join the Quidditch team?"
"You really think people will want to see a former Death Eater on the Quidditch pitch?" He said, pointing out the obvious.
"I think you need to give people more credit," she countered. Draco turned away having nothing else to say on the matter at the moment, and getting the hint Hermione moved on. "Okay, we're on dream series three, Tristan and Sabine."
Draco felt warm as he remembered the carriage tryst they had engaged in only a few nights before, albeit in dreamland, and he didn't miss the flush on Hermione's face either.
"I already wrote down about the time they met," she continued, her face getting redder as she showed Draco the foot and a half of parchment she had already filled. "So we can skip that and go on to their other... dreams."
Draco knew exactly what Hermione had realized as she had trailed off. Nearly every one of Tristan and Sabine's dreams had a sexual component, and there were thirteen of them they'd have to go through.
This is going to be fun, Draco groaned.
It wasn't nearly as bad as he had thought it was going to be. Whenever they got to a part where Tristan and Sabine had sex, Hermione would quickly just say in a hushed tone, "And then they made love in the corner," or wherever they happened to be, while simultaneously writing it down. Glossing over it didn't keep Draco's temperature from rising every time though, nor did it keep the memory from entering his mind. He hoped Hermione didn't notice how often he uncomfortably fidgeted in his seat.
By the time they were done Draco knew he was in dire need of a cold shower.
-15 October 1998, Thursday-
"You know, every time someone comes into the shop they address me as "Young Mr. Dent," Draco said, sharing a piece of information he hadn't yet thought to divulge.
They were now on dream series four, Henry and Lydia, the ill-fated lovers on the wrong end of a shower of bullets. Henry was a shopkeepers assistant, and sometimes the dreams would be of him working for a bit before joining Lydia.
"That is actually very helpful," Hermione said, jotting the surname Draco had provided under where she had written Henry. "Oh crap."
Draco was confused as she quickly grabbed a textbook she had on the table next to her and opened it to a page covered in pictures of peoples teeth with some weird wiry things on them.
"So the braces are adjusted every four weeks in order to get the teeth slowly placed where they should be," she said, ignoring the bewildered look on his face.
"Getting Malfoy to understand orthodontics?"
Draco turned to see Harry and Ron nearing their table, the latter visibly trying not to scowl at the situation.
"Yes, Harry," Hermione said nonchalantly. "We've already covered the basics of dentistry and I thought he might be interested in other related fields."
"How much longer will this need to go on?" Ron asked, not caring about being rude.
"My presentation is on Tuesday," Draco answered cooly. It was a lie, his presentation was on Monday, but they'd need that day to complete the final dream.
"Is there a reason you came to find me?" Hermione asked.
"We needed some books for our potions essay and thought we'd stop by. We figured you'd be almost done and we'd walk back to the common room together," Harry answered.
"It's going to be at least another half hour, and I'm fine walking with Draco."
Draco couldn't help but feel a little smug as Harry nodded and Ron looked like he was going to pop a vein. He swore he could hear Ron grumbling about her use of draco's first name instead of his last as they walked away.
"Aren't we done?" He said, pointing out that they had finished writing Henry and Lydia's last moments together.
"Yeah," Hermione said, her cheeks faintly going rosy. "But if I walk back with them, who's going to go with you?"
-16 October 1998, Friday-
They were five down with only one more to go. Hermione sighed as she put down her quill, having concluded the history of Ilia and Katerina, the Russian paramours.
"Now we just have James and Clara left," Hermione said as she stretched her hands.
"Where will we go from there?" Draco asked.
"We'll have to see if we can pinpoint the exact dates and locations for the couples where we don't have that information. More importantly, we need to find out if any of these people truly existed."
"And if they did?"
"Then we tackle the central question of all of this: why are we dreaming of them?"
-17 October 1998, Saturday-
It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and while Draco would've rather spent it alone in the common room, he knew he should attempt to spend some time with his friends. So it was with slight reluctance that he was currently walking next to Blaise to the wizarding village, with Pansy and the Greengrass sisters in front of them.
They were jabbering away about what costumes they were going to get for the Halloween party; apparently there was a man who had set up a shop just for the occasion. The girls were going to have to wait however, for due to the demand of nearly every upper class-men Hogwarts student needing an outfit, the place was packed.
"Let's try again in an hour," Daphne said with a slight grumble.
"But then all the good ones might be gone!" Pansy whined.
"It says here that he has selection of over a million costumes that he can customize on the spot, I'm sure you'll find something no one else has Pans," Astoria assured her.
With that they journeyed instead to Honeydukes to stock up on treats before heading to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers and snacks.
"Looking for someone Draco?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow, and Draco shook his head as he tried to keep himself from reddening at being caught in his actions. As soon as they had entered the pub he had scoped the place out, and once they sat down he kept stealing glances at the door, hoping that every time it opened it would be her.
He couldn't help it, as much as he wanted to. All of his wandering thoughts were of Hermione and wondering what she was up to. Ever since he first saw her on the train at the beginning of term, whenever he wasn't near her he felt a bit of emptiness, and it just kept growing as the days wore on. Her presence was like a drug, where just seeing her for a few moments, even without any interaction was enough to make him feel like he wasn't going to be ill. He thought their nightly meetings would be sufficient, but now they only got him through half the day. It frustrated him to no end that this was the state of his life at the moment, and he had a feeling that unless the two of them figured out what was going on it would be like this for the rest of his life.
I wonder if she's feeling the same way, he thought as he rubbed his temples, a headache slowly forming.
"Are you alright, Draco?" Astoria asked, a worried look on her face.
"It's just a little too warm in here," he answered, getting up. "I'll wait for you all outside."
Ignoring their stares of concern, he left the pub, taking a deep breath of fresh air once he stepped out. He hurriedly looked around, hoping he would see Hermione somewhere, but she was nowhere in sight.
This is getting ridiculous, he groaned as he leaned against the wall.
His friends exited five minutes later, and the girls practically skipped to the costume shop, while he and Blaise hurried to keep up. The place wasn't as crowded as before, though there was still quite a bit of people.
Surprisingly, there weren't actually any costumes out on the floor; instead, each wall of the shop was lined with books for patrons to look through and choose what they want.
"According to these instructions we just have to tap on the number of the costume we want and it will be brought out to us to try on," Pansy explained.
"I think I'm going to find a place to sit," Draco said, having no interest in standing while they all perused the thick booklets.
In the middle of the room were four dressing stalls with a large mirror in between them and a couch in front. Unfortunately all the seats were occupied, so he made his way around to the back where there were another four stalls and a couch. This one only had a couple of people seated on it, so he took the empty spot next to the arm rest. He hoped his friends wouldn't be too long, but knowing Pansy the chances were slim.
One of the curtains to the stalls slid open and Ginny Weasley emerged wearing some sort of green medieval dress. Draco sat up straight, knowing that if Ginny was here then that probably meant...
"Hermione, do you have yours on yet?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I'm just getting the bolero on," Draco heard Hermione answer from the stall directly in front of him, and it was probably the most beautiful sound he had heard all day.
Her curtain pulled back, and as she walked out Draco gulped. Her midriff was bare, her top a pink bralette with a red short-sleeve jacket over it; these were matched by pink harem pants with a red band at the top. He wasn't sure what this particular costume was supposed to be, but he liked it very much.
"You don't think it's too revealing?" Hermione asked, pulling the ends of the jacket inward.
"Are you kidding me?" Ginny said. "I think you look fabulous in it, and Ron is going to flip. Wouldn't you agree Malfoy?"
Draco stiffened at the sound of his name, and when Hermione turned to where he was sitting her face was the color of a strawberry. "Oh, hi, Draco," she stammered. "I didn't see you there."
He didn't say anything as they stared at each other. He had been wanting, needing to see her all day, and now that he was he wanted nothing more than for the couch to swallow him up and take him away from the awkward situation. He couldn't deny that he felt much better the moment he saw her though.
"Well?" Ginny tutted, wanting a response.
"Uh, yes, you look great," Draco said before retreating back to his friends on the other side. He could've sworn he saw Hermione mouth What the fuck Gin, as he walked away.
The couch at the front was now free, so he sat down again and buried his head in his hands. Images of them together in compromising positions were playing through his mind, all of them with her in that blasted costume, and he was finding it hard to get them stop.
Thankfully Blaise plopped down in the seat next to him, offering a much needed distraction. "Are you sure you don't want to get a costume, mate?" Blaise asked.
"I'm not going to the party remember," Draco said. "I'm going to go the feast and that's it."
"Oh, come on, you need to do something fun for once."
At that moment Hermione and Ginny appeared at the shop counter to pay, and Draco tried to keep his attention from them. Maybe it could be fun, he thought, as once again he saw her in his mind.
"Fine," he said. "But I'm not wearing a bloody costume."
"Awesome!" Blaise said, giving his friend a slap on the back.
He watched out of the corner of his eye as Hermione and Ginny finished purchasing their costumes, along with ones for Harry and Ron, and headed toward the door.
"You're not feeling woozy anymore are you?" He heard Ginny ask.
"No, I'm actually feeling much better thank you," Hermione responded, and Draco felt his mouth lift.
-19 October 1998, Monday-
It was going to be the last time he and Hermione would be working together during daylight hours, and Draco was wishing he had some other project they could use as an excuse to be seen with each other, if only to keep himself from going to the infirmary.
Pansy had almost sent him there the day before because he had looked much paler than usual. It was of course due to not seeing Hermione nearly all day. Luckily, she showed up in the common room and it didn't take long for him to feel like himself again. She also didn't look too well, and Harry was escorting her down their hallway to rest.
"Must've been something in the food today," Draco had said when Blaise gave him an intriguing look.
Now that their daily "study" sessions were coming to an end, he was unsure of what he was going to do. He couldn't just lurk around the castle hoping to catch sight of her like some sort of stalker.
He'd just have to bring it up today and see what she thought; after all, he knew she would feel just as miserable as him without any contact during the day.
She was of course already at their table, and before he could even sit she opened her mouth. "We need to talk. I know we've never discussed this aspect of our 'connection' before, but its becoming unbearable and I can only avoid the questions from my friends for so long."
"So what do you propose we do?" Draco asked. "Find another reason to spend two hours a day with each other?"
"No, that'd be... too suspicious, and Ron would have a conniption."
Who the fuck cares what Weasley thinks, Draco groused, but he let Hermione continue.
"I've been keeping a sort of tracker of when I start to feel like we've been apart too long, and it appears that six hours is our limit. So as long we have some sort of contact within that time, we should be okay. It doesn't even need to be a significant amount of time, probably just a minute or so of being in each other's presence, maybe some eye contact- it should do the trick."
"Do we need to come up with some kind of schedule then?" Draco joked, but Hermione had already pulled out a parchment she had divided into the days of the week and time slots. It was even already filled out with her daily agenda.
"That's precisely what we need to do," she said. "Tell me everything about your days."
They spent the next few minutes adding Draco's schedule in, and then Hermione pulled out some writing implement she called a highlighter and began to mark over the times they happened to be in the same place.
"Let's start with the school days. We see each other every morning at four, and then again around eight for breakfast. That means we need to see each other by two. You need to stop skipping lunch," she said, pointing the high lighter at him.
"Fine," he answered. "Even on the days we have charms?"
"I suppose that's up to you. We have charms on Tuesdays, and Thursdays, which means we wouldn't need to see each other till ten at night, so we won't have to coordinate dinner time, just be sure to be in the common room around then. But on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays if we see each other at one o'clock for lunch then the next time we'd need to meet would be seven, so we need to be in the Great Hall."
"And what if we see each other in between then?"
"That does change when we'd need to meet up next, but it's still a good idea to have these set places and times in case that doesn't happen."
Draco nodded in accord, knowing she was right. "What about the weekends?"
"We honestly can only rely on meal times those days," she said. "And it seems that you prefer to skip breakfast in order to sleep in..."
"I can start having three meals a day Granger," he sighed.
"Perfect! We'll never be ill again," Hermione trilled. "Now, let's get on to James and Clara shall we?"
As they finished their final dream series, Draco came to the conclusion that Clara definitely had the worst death out all the other girls, and he hoped he never had to dream of her demise again.
"That's it then," Hermione said, rolling the parchment into a scroll like she had all the others, and adding it to her book bag. "And now onto finding out who they are."
They began their walk back to the common room, though they were slower this time.
"So what exactly is your costume supposed to be?" Draco asked her sheepishly. He couldn't deny that it'd been on the forefront of his mind all weekend.
"Er, a genie- There's a muggle show about an astronaut that finds a bottle on a beach and there's a female genie in it. It's what she wears most of the time."
"That's... cool." Draco mentally flinched at his word choice, but he knew anything else he said would've been inappropriate.
"What about you? Were you just in the shop for fun, or did you decide you are going to the party?"
"Blaise managed to convince me to attend, and now I'm going with Astoria Greengrass," Draco said, recalling how he ended up in that predicament.
"Guess who decided they're going to go the party?" Blaise had announced to the group on their way back to the castle from Hogsmeade.
"Really, Draco?" Pansy said excitedly. "Well then that's perfect! You can be Astoria's date!"
Feeling like he couldn't say no, he had reluctantly agreed.
"I'm still not wearing a costume though," he added.
"It's not mandatory so I think you'll be fine," Hermione laughed. "It'll be nice to see you doing something outside of schoolwork and compulsory inter-house activities." They were now outside the entrance to the common room and she said the password to let them in. "You don't have to hide all the time you know. We're all moving on, so should you. I'll see you later, Draco."
Her words stayed with him as he settled down for the night. He had noticed that no one seemed to stare at him as much anymore like they had at the beginning of the year; in fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd had students scurry away when he entered a room, or overheard any whispers of his surname.
Maybe Granger's right, he thought. Maybe it's time to stop secluding myself. Maybe... it's time to move on.
-20 October 1998, Tuesday-
"Alright, I'll join the Quidditch team," Draco said when he saw Blaise.
"I knew you'd come to your senses eventually," his friend cheered. "Practice is at five on the north side of the pitch."
-30 October 1998, Friday-
They could no longer meet during the day, but they continued to see each other at night. Surprisingly, no one else had ever woken up during this time to find them together- not that they were doing anything untoward, but it would still be an unusual sight if they were to be caught.
Hermione had taken charge of going to the library and finding any books that might be helpful in their cause, and they'd scour through them for any useful information. So far they had come up empty, though; everything the Hogwarts library had to offer seemed to be about wizard history, with very little about the passing times of muggles. Nonetheless they kept up their efforts.
"I have a theory," Hermione said when they met that early morning. "Though I don't know if it will get us anywhere. We don't know yet if these were actual living people at some time, but if they were and we look like them, then maybe we're dealing with some sort of reincarnation."
"So we just keep being born again as the same people in different eras?" Draco said with a furrowed brow.
"Something like that. I got all of these books on it at the library today to see if it would even make sense, but it's the only theory I've got right now."
Draco nodded and went back to his book on the history of Scotland, while Hermione proceeded to open the first book off of her stack.
-31 October 1998, Saturday-
It was the night of the Halloween party, and Draco was dreading it. He used to love gatherings and attempting to be the center of attention, but now the idea of mingling made him want to puke.
"You don't have to hide..." Hermione's words echoed in his mind. No matter how much he would rather be a recluse, he would try, at least for her.
He and Blaise met up with their dates in the common room, everyone dressed for the festivities except for him: Blaise was a gladiator, while both Pansy and Daphne were grecian goddesses; Astoria was a mermaid, a seashell bra covering her chest, and her "fin" a skirt covered with glittering scales.
They made their way to the great hall, passing some sad third years who had no choice but to return to their quarters since they wouldn't be admitted to the party. As they neared the hall Draco began to feel nervous, anticipating seeing Hermione in her genie costume again.
Stop thinking about her that way, he thought, though he knew it was futile.
"Thank you for deciding to come with me," Astoria spoke up with a blush, bringing Draco's attention to her.
"Don't mention it," he replied. Her arm was wrapped around his, and he hoped she didn't cling to him all night.
The music was loud as they entered, and there was already groups of students dancing wildly in the middle of the room. His friends quickly joined the throng, creating their own little group.
"I'm going to get a drink," he quickly said to Astoria, not quite ready to show off his nonexistent dance skills. He found the refreshments table where there was a large glass bowl of punch and filled himself a goblet. He wondered how long he could stand to the side sipping on it before he'd have to rejoin his date.
"You came."
He nearly choked on the swig he had just taken as Hermione appeared in front of him, wearing the costume that had been occupying his mind since the first time he saw her in it. She had obviously done something to control her hair, for it was up in a high ponytail and the strands were sleek and straight.
"I said I was going to didn't I?" Draco answered her, trying to focus on her face and not her bosom or bare midriff.
"Yes, but I wouldn't put it past you to come up with some excuse to get out of it," Hermione smiled. "Astoria looks nice in her costume."
"Er, yeah she does," Draco said, though he honestly hadn't given how Astoria looked much thought. "I should probably get back to her."
"Probably. I should get back to Ron, too, he just asked for a drink." She proceeded to fill a goblet with punch before turning to head back to the dance floor. "Don't be a wallflower Draco," she said before walking away.
It seems like the perfect thing to be right now, though, he groaned as he followed her advice and found Astoria and his friends again.
It felt like they had been dancing for hours, but it had only probably been two at this point, and there were still two more to go. Draco wasn't sure if he would make it that long, but everyone else was still having a grand time with no signs of stopping.
There had been three slow songs so far he had to awkwardly dance through with Astoria, and he hoped there wouldn't be anymore. He had tried to keep space between their bodies each time, but she seemed to slowly move closer to him as the songs progressed, and he didn't have the will to put her back in her place.
The latest song playing ended, and Ernie Macmillan got onto the stage that had been set up, preparing to make an announcement.
"My lovely ladies and gentleman, we are not quite at the end of our Halloween night yet, and we wanted to do a special dance for everyone to participate in. As you may have noticed, the prefects are going around handing out coins to everyone. In about a minute those coins are going to activate and lead you to your partner for the next dance."
A prefect that Draco didn't know the name of suddenly shoved a golden pirate coin into his hand and the hands of those around him. He hoped he wasn't visibly cringing. He had already not wanted to be there and now he was going to have to dance with somebody he hadn't planned on. He could only hope that whoever it was would just refuse to touch him.
"Okay, only three more seconds..." Ernie said, and a few moments later Draco felt the coin turn warm and start to glow. There were excited gasps as beams of light shone from them, each one a different color from the rest, and they didn't seem to have an end. They simply weaved around anything that might be in their way, and even when Draco pointed the coin at the floor, the light just bounced off and up to wherever it was going.
"If you would please follow your light to your partners, and we'll start the song!" Ernie finished, getting down from the stage to follow his beam, and everyone else followed suit.
Draco hesitantly began to trail his beam, and he watched as those around him found their partners. Blaise met up with Ginny Weasley, while Pansy had ended up with some Ravenclaw boy; he noticed Astoria join up with a nervous Neville Longbottom and had to keep himself from sniggering.
His coin started to vibrate, which probably meant he was getting close to his partner, but he still couldn't see who it was because it turned sharply around another couple. He rounded the "corner", promptly bumping into someone.
His breath hitched and he gulped as he realized he had collided into Hermione. His coin had stopped vibrating, and its beam shone out only a few inches before disappearing into hers. Someone said a charm aloud and the coins vanished completely, and then the music began to play.
"It looks like we're partners then," Hermione said shyly, offering her hands out to him.
"Do you think it was random, or that someone somewhere knows something about us?" Draco jokingly asked as he placed one of her hands on his shoulder and took her other in his, while he wrapped his remaining one around her waist.
"Random," she replied with a smile as she allowed him to lead.
Draco wasn't sure what was happening with his feet, but they seemed to have a mind of their own in that moment. They were moving in a pattern he didn't know they could, but it seemed oddly natural. Hermione was matching his steps, and though he had planned on just staying in one spot, they were now in a completely different part of the dance floor.
"I love this song," Hermione commented, and Draco stopped thinking about what was happening to listen. It wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast, and the voice of the man singing was unlike any he'd heard before.
"I've never heard it," he admitted.
"It's called 'As the World Falls Down'. I'd thought it was a muggle song, but since they're playing it here I'm guessing the singer is secretly a wizard- though I'm honestly not surprised," Hermione laughed.
They continued to dance, though Draco hadn't the slightest idea of how he knew what to do. His hands and arms were moving in various directions, and he might've even spun a couples times. It was as if he was in a trance, and as long as the music was playing and Hermione was next to him, he was going to keep going.
The final chords of the song came, and as if on instinct he dipped Hermione, one of her legs propped in his arm and sticking straight out. Their faces were close, and he could hear the sounds of their breath, which they were both nearly out of. Her eyes were twinkling, and he knew he could take the opportunity to lean down and kiss her right then, and she'd probably let him.
The song had concluded, an uptempo beat taking its place. Draco lifted Hermione up and removed his hands from where they'd been holding her, and as he tried to look anywhere but her, he noticed that nearly every eye in the vicinity was concentrated on them, nobody moving. Without any parting words, Draco turned and left as fast as he could, leaving a flushed Hermione behind.
-2 November 1998, Monday-
There was a rumor going around: The "golden couple" of the "golden trio" had called it quits.
And it was because of him.
-3 November 1998, Tuesday-
"I heard you broke up with Weasley," Draco tried to mention as casually as he could the next morning he saw her. He left out the other part of the gossip.
"Yes," she answered, though she kept her eyes on the book she had in front of her. "He was uncomfortable with our dance at the Halloween party-"
"But everyone was dancing with someone they probably didn't care to. What made ours any different?"
Draco knew he was playing dumb, and Hermione's raised eyebrows showed she saw right through him.
"Besides the fact that you held me about a centimeter from your face, we performed a lovely and intimate tango for everyone to enjoy, so I could understand where he was coming from."
"And you didn't fight for him?"
Hermione sighed. "Ever since these dreams began my feelings for Ron haven't been the same, and I'm not sure how strong they were to begin with. But every time I'm with him all I see is you, and even trying to kiss him gradually became repulsive to me. He gets close to me and...I want to cry. I didn't think it would be fair to him to keep up the charade that I'm committed to him when I'm not."
"We're not together Granger," he clarified, surprising himself with the sharpness in which he said the words. Hermione didn't seem to notice, or care, for she let out a little laugh.
"We're something," she said. "These dreams... the way I feel when I'm around you... it isn't nothing Draco, even though we may not want it to be."
-18 November 1998, Wednesday-
"Is there something going on between you and Granger?" Pansy asked him, her arms crossed over her chest, and he felt his heart rate speed up at the query.
"No, why would you think that?"
"Oh come on Draco, you've heard the rumors going around, especially after that little spectacle at the dance. And her and Weasley broke up, and everyone thought they'd eventually get married."
"I don't really see how anyone could think they're together when they're never together," Blaise cut in, and Draco was thankful for someone to lie for him, though Blaise didn't know that's what he was doing. "The only times they're really even near each other is during Charms."
"What about the library?"
"I'm at quidditch practice the time she goes to the library," Draco pointed out.
"So you're saying there's definitely nothing going on?"
"Definitely."
"Well that's good, because your father and mother would lose their minds if they found out, and they already have enough going on. Their son dating a mudblood," she finished with a sneer and a shake of her head.
Draco tried not to show any derision to the slur, but his fist had clenched at his side.
"How would it even work Pans?" Blaise sniggered. "Potter and Weasley would never accept him- well, maybe Potter, but Weasley definitely not. And it'd probably be social suicide for her to be in a relationship with him. Add to that that she was tortured in his home and most likely would not want to set foot there in this lifetime. There's probably more I could add to the list, but I'll stop there."
Pansy seemed satisfied with Blaise's lecture, and walked away with a humph.
Draco felt nauseous and his mind was reeling, and not because he hadn't seen Hermione in a while.
Everything Blaise had said was right; how could the two of them possibly have a relationship? Not that that's what they were in, he had said as much to Hermione just the other day.
And yet... in their multiple dreams they were in a relationship, and the feelings they shared in them had bled into real life, blinding them from everything they had previously felt for each other before.
Was any of it even real? Did he genuinely care for her outside of these dream worlds, or was it all just a farce?
The confusion was making Draco woozy and as soon as he had made it his bed he passed out.
-19 November 1998, Thursday-
"You're more quiet than usual," Hermione noted that night. She was right in her observation of course, for other than curtly answering some questions she had posed at him he had remained silent. "What's on your mind, Draco?"
You. Always you.
"Pansy asked if there was anything between us today."
"And you said...?"
"That there was nothing."
Hermione looked at him curiously, as if trying to read his mind. "But that's not what's bothering you."
Draco sighed. "Blaise pretty much said that the idea was preposterous because of our past history and it got me thinking, and probably a little too much. You know, we've never discussed anything that happened last year, or any time before that. Not once have we brought up my becoming a death eater, or my part in Dumbledore's death, the fact that you were tortured in front of me in my home. We haven't talked about any of it. We just accepted what was going on and left the past behind as if it didn't matter, and it's terrifying me that we let that happen. There is something that made us forget who we were and is making us believe that we belong together when we both know that we don't."
"But we don't know that," Hermione interjected.
"Granger, we hated each other before this summer and all of sudden we didn't. I antagonized you and your friends for years. If it weren't for these dreams would we really be here right now, talking to each other as if we're friends? "
"What are you trying to say?" She said, though it was almost a whisper.
"I'm saying that right now I feel as if I can't live without you, and I don't know if that feeling is coming from me, or if it's all just some joke the universe is playing on us."
It was quiet as Draco took a breath, and Hermione stared off into the fireplace.
"You're right," she finally said. "We jumped right into this and didn't look back because it was overridden by emotions. You're not the only one who's conflicted, Draco, and I'm trying to make sense of it all, you know that. Maybe... maybe we should take a break from each other."
She had already gathered up her things and was carrying them in her arms as she stood up from her seat.
"Granger..." Draco sighed, his arm involuntarily reach out to stop her, but it missed.
"Good night, Draco."
AN: Thanks for reading :) If you recall I said one of the inspiration's for this story came from Red Velvet's song Automatic. As I wrote I kept imagining that if this story had opening credits it would be the first chorus of the song followed by the final instrumental. I wish I could edit the track so you could hear what I do, but I'm not that tech savvy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed Part II.