(a/n) So I guess you were confused by the last chapter? I dropped hints the first half about how Draco was the one who did something to Hermione. I even said in my second a/n that the next chapter would give answers. But I guess I was too subtle? Sorry / Like I said, this chapter will get some answers and explanations. But to my reviewers who did understand, thanks!! But, thanks to those that didn't too, I appreciate all reviews. So, I hope you enjoy… Chapter Five:
Meetings and Dreams
Draco paced back and forth in the dormitory; he hated fighting with Blaise. He hated that he hated what he had called his best friend. He hated himself at that moment. He cracked all ten of his knuckles before thinking of some plan to regain Blaise's friendship. He tightened his tie back to its normal place and smoothed his hair down.
He then went down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room. As he exited the dorm, he made sure to scope the room for Ana or Blaise; neither was there. If I were Blaise, where would I be? Draco asked himself. Then he realized the only place Blaise would go to be alone: the Quidditch Pitch. He quickened his stride and headed out of the common room and into the dungeons. Just as he was about to exit the dungeons, however, Ana came into view from a side hall, she was heading in his direction. Draco began running to try and avoid the brunette.
Draco ran frantically through the halls of the school. He turned quickly around the corner into the entrance hall when he lost his footing and came crashing to the floor. His head hit the floor hard, his books skid across the floor. Darkness.
A flicker of light and a wave of chatter brought Draco back into consciousness. His eyes flickered opened one at a time. Although his vision was still blurry, he saw two figures outlined by the light above them. The Slytherin squinted and tried to get the figures to come into focus but nothing seemed to help.
He closed his eyes and tried to lift his arm to rub them but his arm didn't respond. "What the hell," he said under his breath. His entire body felt so heavy and exhausted. Finally he heard a familiar voice.
"Madame Pomfrey, he's awake!" came Ana's girly voice. Draco sighed and cursed silently.
A pair of footsteps came closer to the place he was laying. He felt a slight application of pressure to his forearm, and then everything in his body began to lighten. He moved his arm, bringing his hand to his eyes and rubbing them. Once his eyes were opened he saw Ana and Caleb standing over him.
"Hey, man, you okay? That was a pretty bad spill," Caleb said as he clapped Draco on the leg. Draco grinned and nodded in response.
"Oh, Draco, I was so worried about you," Ana cooed as she sat on the edge of the hospital bed.
Draco sat up in bed and scooted away from the girl. "Um, Ana…" He tried to think of a nice was to put this. "I'm pretty sure that I fell… I was running from you, Ana." Draco closed his eyes; he really didn't want to hurt the young girl.
Draco could feel her smile behind his eyelids. "Draco, it's okay, you don't have to lie anymore. Blaise, he's… messed up, but now he knows; you don't have to pretend." She laid her head on the pillow by his elbow. Draco growled angrily then stood abruptly from the bed.
The blonde made his way quickly, and dizzily, toward the door leading out of the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey called after him but didn't make to come toward him. He cracked his knuckles and pushed the door. But, as he pushed the door open, he heard a gasp; the door had nearly missed hitting someone. Draco looked back into the room to see if Ana was following him; she wasn't. He held the door open for the approaching person but that only caused an awkward situation.
Hermione walked through the door to the infirmary to get her medicine. She took the step around the door and saw none other than Draco Malfoy. She closed her eyes and fought back tears.
"Get away from me, Malfoy, please," she pleaded.
"Granger, I didn't fucking do anything, not on purpose, anyway! It's not my fault that Ana DeGarche is a fucking lunatic!" He raised his eyebrows as he waited for a response.
"I think my response to your letter said it all, Malfoy." She huffed and pushed through the boy and into the infirmary.
Draco sighed and walked away, letting the door shut behind him.
It's not that he minded people hating him; he actually quite loved it. It's just that he hated when people despised him for a reason he couldn't control. If the hatred between him and Hermione had been purely blood and name calling, he would be fine with it. But that wasn't the case. Hermione hated him because of what he did to her. What he accidentally did to her.
Draco sat down just outside the door and waited; he needed to clear this up.
Twenty minutes later the door creaked open and out came Hermione.
Draco stood up and right in front of her. "Listen, Granger, just let me talk." He put his hands in front of his chest is if he were surrendering. "I hate you," Hermione scoffed and began to walk away," Draco sighed. "Let me finished before you leave!" He said to her back. The girl paused so he walked toward her so that he was in front of her. "You hate me. We both know that and so does the entire school. I have no problem hating you because you're a mudblood fucking no it all. You have no problem hating me because you're intimidated by my beauty and I'm a tad bit arrogant," Hermione scoffed. "But that should be the only reason." Draco continued as if he hadn't heard the Gryffindors interruption.
"I have things to do…" She tried to walk away but Draco grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall.
"NO! Listen to me!" She widened her eyes in shock "Ana wanted Blaise and me to 'seek revenge on you,' as I'm sure you know." He shifted on his feet and released the Head Girl's arm. "But what happened wasn't supposed to. We didn't know that was going to happen. Granger, we're fucking enemies, how the hell are we supposed to know that you're deathly claustrophobic?" He leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his silver-blonde locks. "I want you to hate me, it's a balance. Just don't hate me for something I had no clue about."
Hermione exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes. "You're a fucking idiot, Malfoy!" She got off the wall and turned to face him. "You don't know shit about anything! You say you didn't know I was claustrophobic, and, like, I guess that's understandable. But the reason I hated you before… still something you had no clue about." She looked up and down the hall. She could feel her throat tightening and her tear ducts beginning to go into cry-mode. Her mind wanted her to leave so badly, but her body had other plans; so did her mouth. "You have no clue about blood, weakness, strength. All you know is money and women. No, money and sluts." Draco gave a look of confusion. "You might dislike me because you're a pureblood and I'm less important to you than the dirt on your shoe, but that's not why you hate me. You hate me because you're rich father told you to. You hate me because I don't act like one of the whores that hang all over you. You hate me because I'm smarter than you. You can't outsmart me, Malfoy, you just can't." The girl was crying now, crying hard. She shook her head once, wiped the tears from her eyes, tucked her hair behind her ear, and walked away.
Draco stood silent in complete and utter shock.
Hermione walked through the halls as quickly as she could without looking suspicious. Tears were streaming down her face as she remembered the incident with Draco and Blaise.
Once the staircases came into view, Hermione ran toward the one that would take her to the seventh floor the quickest. Once she got to the hallway with the portrait of the fat lady she slowed her pace.
As she entered the common room she was greeted by a bear hug from behind.
"'Mione, are you okay? Are you tired?" Ron turned her around so that they were facing each other. He smiled at her and gently squeezed her shoulders.
"I'm fine, baby, thanks," she smiled back at him, forcing the tears to stay in her eyes. Ron turned so they were next to each other and put his arm around her shoulder. "Harry, you okay?" Hermione asked the raven haired boy. He was slumped over the arm of the chair not moving.
Ron laughed and said, "He's just sleeping 'Mione." Hermione felt herself flush. "I think I'm going to hit the sack too, I'm really exhausted." He pecked the honey-haired girl on the cheek and began heading toward his dormitory.
"Wait, Ron!" Hermione ran after him. "Can I… can I sleep with you tonight?" A look of shock swept over Ron's face. "Sleep, Ronald." He chuckled and took her hand. The two Gryffindors made their way up the stairs and into sleep.
Hermione was walking from the Great Hall to the library. She walked slowly, taking in the history of the stone walls. She turned a corner when she heard footsteps walking behind her. She paid no attention and kept walking. The footsteps were getting closer and louder. Hermione quickened her step. She heard the bass of two boys whispering behind her; her walk turned into a sprint. Before she could even turn the next corner she heard a spell and saw a flash of yellow light. Darkness.
Hermione sat bolt-right in bed. A cold sweat covered her body, causing her hair to stick to her face. In bed next to her Ron opened his eyes.
"What is it, honey?" He asked, rubbing her back and furrowing his brow.
"Um…. Bad dream…" She lied. It wasn't just a dream.
The girl laid back down and shut her eyes. A few minutes later she drifted back into sleep.
Her head was groggy and her extremities were heavy. She fought to open her eyes and once she did she saw complete blackness; her breath caught in her throat. She picked up her weighted arms and felt around her body. There were walls on all four sides, walls that were close to her and cold from moisture. Her breathing was becoming heavier now with smaller, rapid breaths. She could feel her throat closing. "HELP!! Help, I can't breathe!" She yelled banging her fists on the cold brick wall.
She heard something from the other side. It was very faint, but she heard talking. It was muffled but she recognized the voices. "How long has she been in there?" A girl's voice asked. "Long enough, I'd say." Another voice, a male's voice, answered. "No, not long enough," The girls voice said back. "Really?" asked a third voice. There were three: one was a little girl, two were teenage boys. She knew who they were right away. She pounded her fists harder against the wall, her breathe becoming more ragged and short with every passing minute.
She felt dizzy with lack of oxygen. She mustered all her strength to yell one last thing: "SOMEONE GET MADAME POMFREY!" She fell to the floor and once again there was nothing but darkness.
Hermione opened her eyes with a start. Her body was covered in sweat once more. Her clothes and her hair all stuck to her skin. She rolled over but saw no one there. The sheets from the bed were tangled and tossed off the bed. She sat up and looked at the alarm clock. One o'clock in the afternoon. She stood from her place and went down to the common room.
The common room was deserted except a few random first years and one third year. Hermione went up to her dormitory and changed her pajamas into a pair of black wide-leg trousers and a red tank. She looked in the mirror and pointed her wand at her hair. Her once frizzy and unruly hair made itself into a neat and clean ponytail. She sighed and left toward the Great Hall.
She entered the hall and made her way toward the Gryffindor table. Lunch had already been served, so the hall wasn't completely full. She looked down the table until she spotted Ron and Harry. They were deep in conversation until she plopped down in between them.
"Hey, sleepyhead," Ron said, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
Hermione sighed and grabbed a little spoonful of salad. "Why didn't you wake me?" Hermione asked.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks. Ron sighed. "Because you yelled at me when I tried to…" He rubbed her back. "You yelled and punched me…" He rubbed his shoulder in remembrance.
"Oh, Ronald, I'm sorry," she gave his shoulder a kiss. "I was having a horrible… dream."
She quickly ate her salad without saying another word. Once she finished she said goodbye and left.
Draco lay in bed trying to fall asleep. He kept tossing and turning but he couldn't seem to get comfortable. He rolled onto his back and sat up. He looked around the dormitory but all the other occupants were sleeping, including Blaise.
The blonde stood from his bed and headed toward Blaise's. Draco kneeled next to the bed and gently shook Blaise's shoulder.
"I'm not asleep, Malfoy." The Italian said without opened his eyes.
"Blaise I want to apologize to you."
"You just did, now go to sleep," he rolled over so his back was to the apologizing Draco.
The head boy sighed and stood up. He went back to his bed and pulled the hangings shut around him. As hard as he tried he still couldn't sleep. Two faces kept floating on his shut eyelids: hurt and tearful Blaise, and crying and scared Hermione.
After an hour he fell into an uneasy sleep.
"You might dislike me because you're a pureblood and I'm less important to you than the dirt on your shoe, but that's not why you hate me. You hate me because you're rich father told you to." "Fuck you for not trusting me, fuck you for being a fag, and fuck our friendship!" "You have no clue about blood, weakness, strength. All you know is money and women" "You're delusional" "No, money and sluts" "That's why I have to be with you all the time, to stop you from fucking my ELEVEN YEAR OLD sister?" "You hate me because I'm smarter than you. You can't outsmart me, Malfoy, you just can't."
Draco woke up with a start. He looked at his alarm clock but it was only three in the morning. He rolled over on his side but couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't get the picture of his best friend close to tears out of his mind. And what was even weirder, we couldn't get the picture of his enemy crying out of his mind either.
(a/n) Okay so, just so you don't think this is going to be stupid, don't worry; he isn't falling for her yet! Annnnnnnd review if you liked it ;)