Chapter 6 – Hogwarts

We walk.

Side by side.

The sand is never-ending, as vast as the ocean beside us.

And I realize how illogical all of this truly is. None of this should be able to happen.

Scenes melting into new ones, memories relived as reality, walls, people, fading to mist, the ability to change the world by simply thinking of it.

This isn't real.

It can't be.

So, what is it then?

"Is this all in my head?" I ask.

"Most of it," he slowly replies. "Not all though." His eyes meet mine. "Not me."

I smile. "You seem the least real of it all."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Malfoy questions.

"Well, you're supposed to hate me. You're supposed to be mean and selfish and cruel. And now," I explain. "Now you seem different. You seem like a made up version of yourself." I pause. "Are you sure you aren't my imagination, some type of hallucination?"

"Am I in your imagination?" he raise a brow suggestively.

"Stop it!" I give a short laugh and lightly slap him on the arm. "I'm being serious. Am I hallucinating? Am I talking to myself?"

"No," he tells me. "I assure you, you aren't."

"I'm not. . . insane?" I'm genuinely worried. It's the only answer my mind can come up with. I have gone mad and I am wandering around in a daze, seeing things that are only in my head.

"You're not insane," he says seriously.

"But nothing's real. All in my head," I clarify skeptically.

"Except me," he adds.

"And I'm not insane," I continue.

"Correct."

"So . . . I still have no idea what's going on," I admit.

Malfoy chuckles. "Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Of course I'm going to worry about it!" I tell him.

"I told you, you'll understand. And you will. It'll just take some time," he informs me.

"Why you? I still don't understand that part either. As I said before, you're supposed to hate me," I question. "Please answer me this time. Why you?"

"You said it yourself," he says, "we're connected."

"That doesn't answer anything." I stop walking.

Malfoy turns to face me.

"Do you trust me?" he asks.

"I don't know yet," I respond truthfully. "Would you show me something else? Truth, or whatever?"

He takes a deep breath.

"Do you believe that things might have been different than what Potter told you?" he inquires.

I think back to the scene at Malfoy Manor. That wasn't a demonstration of evil, of pride in his Death Eater status, but of fear, lack of choice, pain.

"I believe there are two sides to every story," I tell him. And maybe no one as ever heard his.

Malfoy shakes his head. "They haven't. Not really. No one's ever asked."

Wait.

"Now, I know I didn't say that out loud," I state.

"Granger, we're in your mind. Whatever you say to yourself, you say to me," he informs me.

I stare at him. "And, you aren't my imagination."

He rolls his eyes. "We talked about this. No. I'm not."

If he can hear my thoughts, why can't I hear his?

Malfoy shrugs. "I don't really know. Not exactly sure how this whole thing works."

"So, why did you show me what you did, at Malfoy Manor?" I ask, curious.

"To be honest, I didn't mean to. It came to my mind and just appeared. Didn't even know that could happen," he says.

And for a moment, I wonder. Was that what was going on that year at school? That year when Harry was set on finding out his supposedly evil deeds? I remember how he started to look, it would explain a lot.

Suddenly, things start to change around me.

I look at Malfoy. Is he showing me something else?

The scene becomes Hogwarts; the Slytherin common room to be exact. There are anonymous people sitting on the sofas, walking around the room. But they aren't who I am supposed to be seeing.

I've never been here before, but somehow, I know where to go. In front of me, a door appears.

I hear crashing noises.

Something breaking.

Slowly, cautiously, I open the door.

Malfoy. He throws something – I can't quite see what it is – but it smashes on the door frame above my head.

He is out of breath. He's crying. He has given up.

Malfoy slumps down onto the bed holding his head in his hands, grasping his hair between his fingers, shoulders shaking with sobs.

I feel a pull. I'm not wanted here. But I can't leave.

He's hurting. He's afraid of what he has to do. He's overwhelmed by the pressure placed upon him. I can feel it.

The pulling sensation grows. Anger, fear, shame. I can't tell whether it is coming from the Malfoy in the scene before me, or from somewhere else.

The sobs suddenly stop. The boy in front of me takes a deep breath and his hands slide away from his shiny, tear-stained face.

Determination.

It is the look in his eyes.

And it frightens me.

It frightens him.

But he'll do it, whatever it is he has to do, because he must.

I am pulled out of the memory, the scene once more fading to the beach.

Malfoy is furious.

He turns and marches away, sand licking up at his heels.

I run after him, desperately trying to understand.

"Why did you show me that?" I yell.

He whips around. "I didn't! I would never want you to see that! You chose it!"

I stay still, watching him walk away.

What have I done?

"I'm sorry," I whisper, wondering if he can still hear me, desperately hoping he can, as I wipe away a tear of my own.


Author's Note

Hello beautiful souls!

Thanks for checking out this chapter!

Just to let you guys know if you are following along and only opened up to this most recent chapter, I updated a small section of Chapter 5 thanks to a suggestion made by lun27. Hopefully it makes that part a bit more realistic and more . . . I don't know how to describe it lol. But I'd love to hear some thoughts on it if you feel like checking that out!

This chapter. Do either of them really know what is going on or how to control it? sshanoltzer44 suggested that maybe Hermione can't hear what Malfoy is thinking because he is great at hiding his thoughts and emotions. I think that may very well be part of it (he is an occlumens after all), but they are also in Hermione's mind, so that could also play a role. Let me know what you think!

Also, I know many of you have a bit better idea of what is going on than Hermione herself now, but I think it would be difficult to understand in the situation, because it feels real. Her concern with insanity also comes from the level of significance and importance intelligence plays in her life.

Where did Malfoy go? Will he come back? Is Hermione trapped in this strange world all alone? What are your thoughts?

Thank-you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. This past week was complete hell with everything possible going wrong. But looking back on your comments made things just a little bit better. Also, 'Good to You' finally made it past 130 reviews after being at 129 for months (which bugged me so much lol) so, that was good as well. That's just to say that your words mean so much to me and when I'm having a rough time with school and life, I read them over to know that someone appreciates what I do.

Wow this author's note got long. Sorry about that.

For those of you who made it this far lol, I hope you all have a lovely week and I will update again next Sunday!