Well guys, it's official. I'm back! Hold the applause, (or screams of frustration, depending on how impatient you are,) but let me just say, it's not totally my fault. I swear, writers block and procrastination decided to take a year-long vacation inside my brain.
Anyway, enough excuses. Onward, fellow devotees, to chapter 3!
The winding halls seemed endless in the dim lighting, reminding hermione of one of the hallways from the twilight zone. Softly she hummed the theme song out loud, filling the stifling silence in the castle.
It was interesting how silent the halls were, normally, even in sea steams, she could still hear the snorers of the paintings, or of the distant footsteps of a teacher,prefect, or-of course- filch. Even the ghosts, with their silent footsteps and haunting manor could be heard in the night. But that obviously wasn't the case tonight.
She glanced around at the hallways and paintings, once again amazed by her subconscious' ability to create the castle as it was before the war. Realizing that she had become lost in thought and had missed her turn, she went back, determined not to miss it again. She quickly found it (just as she knew she would) and turned right to walk through the stone entranceway that led to the stairs of the astronomy tower.
Draco Malfoy was never a heavy sleeper. that didn't mean he was an insomniac either- in actuality he treasured sleep- but his mind had obviously missed that memo tonight.
The third year slytherin groaned and rose from his bed, determining that a quick walk around the castle couldn't hurt anybody. He slipped on his bathrobe (not his school robe, he made sure of that- father would have heard of it one way or another and smacked the day lights out of him for being inappropriately dressed for such an outing)
He slowly slinked from the male sleeping area and made his way into the slytherin common room. The room was dimmed when he entered, lit only by the small green fire burning on the fireplace. A couple of the more studious kids slept on their varius learning books, while the less inclined students were passed out with empty cups of butterbeer or abandoned card games laying around them.
Draco shook his head. Infidels. He continued on his way out of the dungeons and into the castle above. Maybe some fresh air would help him relax enough to crash for the night. He stopped near the front hall, confronted with the decision of where to go next.
To head directly outside would be suicide. Someone would catch him out in the open for sure. Not that he cared or anything, but it would still be a pain in the arse to have to deal with a teacher's lecture at this point and time.
Where else could be go? It would have to be secluded, and it would have to be up higher, where he would be less likely to be disturbed. That narrowed it down to... The astronomy tower.
His mind made up, he turned in the right direction and made a beeline for his destination.
Hermione finally reached the top of the stairs and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since she had been able to climb so many flights of steps without becoming winded. This dream was getting better and better. She walked to the end of the viewing deck and looked upward at the brilliantly lit sky.
"The stars are out in full force tonight, aren't they?" A strange voice replied. The frizzy haired woman did a double take. Lial was standing next to her, his arms crossed over his chest as he examined the sky. His arms were muscular, shown through a tight t-shirt.
For the first time since she had met him, hermione actually noticed what he was wearing- a deep blue Abercrombie t-shirt that stretched across his muscular frame, a pair of loose-fitting jeans with various holes, and a pair of slightly used looking converse. Definitely not what she would imagine a "guardian angel" would wear.
Lial glanced at her. "Let me know when your done admiring my impeccable taste in fashion so we can get down to work." She ignored him, practically ignoring his existence. He's not real. This is a dream. He's not real. He's not- is he wearing hair gel?
"Yes, curls, I am." She decided to play along.
"I thought it was curly."
He grinned. "So you were listening... Good. I decided to change it because frankly, saying curly makes me think of those curly fries from Arby's or checkers, and it makes me really hungry."
She kept looking at the stars, trying to formulate the question banging around inside her head. "When will I wake up? Why does this feel so real? Did I really die in that crash? Does this mean I'll never see my kids again?"
"In that order?"he began ticking them off on his fingers as he spoke,"you already did, because it is, yes, you did, and yes and no. You will probably see your kids again, depending on your future decisions, but they won't be as they were. Can I talk now?"
She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave what Ron fondly referred to as the "Stink eye." Lial looked back at her, apparently unfazed by her glare. He, in turn, recrossed his arms.
"You can't look at people like that here." He said, breaking the silence.
"Why not? It's my dream. I can do what I want."
He looked at her with an expression that said 'are you stupid or something?' It was a look Hugo had given her a million times before.
Hugo. If what he had said before was true, then she would never see him again. Oh her beautiful son. Rose. Her beautiful baby girl. Oh how she would miss them.
And Ron. Her husband of so many years, and her friend for so many more.
If this were all true, how would she survive?
Lial wrapped his arms arms around hermione, murmuring soft comfort words as tears rolled down her face and her body wracked with sobs.
Finally, her tears began to subside, leaving only the occasional hiccup. The silence between the angel and human stretched out before the woman-now-girl whispered,"I don't like this dream anymore."
Lial pulled her away to arms length. "What's it going to take to convince you that it's not a dream?"
She shook her head, for once not knowing the answer.
"Would some knowledge of what is occurring help?"
Lial asked softly, as if he already knew all about her addiction to learning.
She nodded silently. Knowledge was the one thing that had never failed her.
He tapped his chin in thought. I suppose the best place to start would be the beginning, don't you think?" He continued without waiting for a response. "We'll then. Lets get started. This is your third year. Welcome back. Do you recall your big adventure from that year?"
She but her lip as she thought back. Hey, in her defense, she did go on a LOT of adventures during her time at hogwarts. "Isn't that the whole timeturner/Sirius/buckbeak thing?"
Lial practically beamed at her. "Precisely! Do you recall what happened that day?"
"Dumbledore instructed us to break rules?! I don't have a damn clue!" She threw her hands up in a combination of frustration and surrender.
"Today is the day morgarath began screwing up your life."
She looked at him with indignation. "And I was supposed to know that?"
He clucked his tounge. "Of course not, silly girl, but I had thought for sure you would have remembered punching a certain bully in the kisser!"
Hermione blinked as what he said dawned on her. Memories flew her mind as she recalled that moment. The feel of her tightly clenched hand connecting solidly with his (surprisingly) soft cheek. The satisfaction she had felt then. The guilt she'd felt later. Sure, the git had deserved it, but still. It wasn't like she just walked around punching people willy nilly. It wasn't in her nature. She never did apologize for it...
"Ah ha! That's it precisely! I knew you'd figure it out!" Jarred from her thoughts, she looked up to a comical sight before her. Lial was pointing at her practically hopping from foot to foot. His eyes sparkled with more excitement than Rose's (Hugo hadn't been born yet) the first time they had traveled to the United States and visited Disney World. She shook her head slightly, chasing away the memory of her sons face as Lial continued speaking. "... All you have to do, and then we can leave!"
She shook her head again, with more vigor. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" He must not have been listening to her thoughts, and had taken her response as disbelief. "That's right! All you gotta do is apologize to Draco, and then we can speed off again! See how easy this is?!"
She blinked. Then again. The silence between them drew out. Finally: "you want me-" she paused and pointed to herself," to apologize to Malfoy for hitting him over thirty years ago?"
He nodded, obviously refusing to be dissuaded by her lack of enthusiasm. "Yep!"
She sighed and turned away to lean on the safety railing surrounding the edge of the ledge. A small wind blew her hair in her face, and she longed for a ponytail to pull it back with. She did manage, however, to shove the majority of her wild curls behind her ears.
A voice spoke behind her, uttering a name she hadn't heard in years, "granger?"
Duh duh duhhhnnnn! Lol. Frankly, I myself hate cliffhangers, but I always wanted to try one out, just so other people could suffer the way I suffer. Cruel, I know. Feel free to review, favorite, follow, whatever your heart desires. I adore them all. Till next year!
~*Nala*~