Chapter 5

Hermione closed the bedroom door and put a silencing charm on the walls. She took a potion for dreamless sleep potion and climbed onto the king-sized bed. Turning to her side, she took a shuddering breath and drifted off to sleep, hoping that she will get a good night's sleep.

"Where did you get this, huh?" screeched Bellatrix Lestrange as she straddled Hermione's stomach on the floor of the Malfoy Manor. Hermione whimpered under her weight, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"W-we found it. Please, please." she pleaded.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted and watched Hermione writhe under her as she felt tremendous pain as if a thousand knives were being plunged into her flesh. She screamed till she was out of breath and her lungs burnt. She opened her eyes and found her staring at Draco Malfoy's feet. She looked up at him pleadingly, as she sobbed hysterically.

"You filthy Mudblood! I know you're lying. This sword is supposed to be in my vault at Gringotts. How did you break in?"

"No! We didn't break-in. It's a copy, its not real!" Hermione cried.

Ignoring her begging, Bellatrix leaped onto Hermione's withering body and carved the word 'Mudblood' into her forearm. Hermione let out a last piercing scream of agony as everything went blurry and she slipped into darkness. The last thing she remembered was Harry and Ron's shouts as they called her.

Draco woke up with a start, covered in a cold sweat from the nightmare. He stood up on shaky legs and walked to the kitchenette to grab a glass of water.

For someone who had been seeing the same horrible nightmare for the past year, he had yet to get used to it. He drained his glass in one go and silently walked past the bedroom door. Upon reaching the couch, he sat down and stared at the rug, not wanting to fall asleep and go through the ordeal again.

Little did he know, he wasn't the only one with recurring nightmares.

Hermione walked out of the bedroom in the morning to find Draco asleep on the couch. She stopped and wondered if she should wake him up, in case he overslept and ran late. She cleared her throats a few times but to no avail. She frowned and called out to him. He stirred in his sleep and looked up at her sleepily.

"What are you doing in my bedroom Granger?" he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. She scoffed at him. "Really Malfoy? Me, in your room? Of all people?" she asked him. He cocked his head at her and then remembered last night's events. He opened his mouth in realization and then asked her, "Are you done using the shower?"

"Yeah," she said, "I'm going down to breakfast." She turned around and walked out into their new common room. She stopped dead when she saw Dean and Hannah snogging on the couch. She tried to silently creep out of the common room without being noticed but came to a halt when Dean called her.

"Hermione! Hey!"

She turned around and blushed uncomfortably. "Hey Dean, Hannah." Dean grinned widely at her. "So, you to hit it off, eh?" she asked them, smiling slightly. "Yeah. I like him for a long time, so..." Hannah trailed off as she smiled brightly at her. "Well, glad to see the Goblet did something right," she said bitterly. "Oh, right! How did it go with Ferret? Did he do anything?" Dean asked her. "Oh, no, he didn't do anything, but thanks for asking," she said and then walked out to go down to the Great Hall.

When she reached the Great Hall, Hermione walked straight to the Gryffindor table, not stopping to entertain the stares that she was attracting. She sat between Harry and Ginny and was immediately pelted with questions. She decided not to tell them about her breakdown and told them she was perfectly fine, thank you very much.

She had buttered her toast and was just about to eat it when Ron ran into the Great Hall and sat right opposite her and stared at her, making her uncomfortable. She put down her toast and looked at him. "What is it Ronald?" she asked.

"This is all your fault!" he shouted at her, grabbing everyone's attention. Her eyes widened in shock, while Ginny looked ready to hex him into the next millennium. "What is MY fault?" she asked him, trying not to yell. "You're so stuck up and stubborn and you! If you wouldn't have refused to take me back, I wouldn't be stuck with that - that tosser, and you wouldn't be with that prejudiced ferret!" he huffed ar her. "That's my fault? The fact that you cheated on me, and when you asked me to take you back I refused is my fault?" Hermione shouted at her, not caring the least bit that practically everyone, including the professors, was staring at them.

"Yes! You're so pig-headed and headstrong! If we wouldn't have shown you pity and befriended you, you would've been a nobody! Just a Mudblood who would've been killed in the war!" he bellowed.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" Ginny roared before firing a Bat-Bogey hex at him and punching him in the face. Harry grabbed her before she could do any more harm and glared furiously at Ron, looking ready to kill him. Hermione jumped up from the table and ran as fast as she could to her only safe place on the entire campus; the library.

Vision173: Thank you so much for the support!

I kinda had writer's block while writing this, so if I get a bad response, I'll take it down and redo it.

Plus, I have mid-terms, so if my updates are a little late, please bear with me...

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Until Next Time,

Cheerio!