A/N: Harry and Ron is not dead. I might mention them later on but not really sure…any ideas? Its mainly about Hermione and Draco.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters, if you ever read dreadful sorry I'm going to combine the two so I don't own the plot either…

Fall to Pieces

Chapter 4

On Saturday morning when Hermione woke up and went to breakfast, the breeze through the open kitchen windows was already heavily scented with the rosemary from their little garden. The day would be hot.

Jenny was standing by the stove flipping pancakes. "Muggy, isn't it?" She greeted Hermione, sitting a glass of orange juice next to Molly's plate. "How did you sleep, sweetheart?"

Hermione groaned. Her night had been broken again by the dream. She had struggled awake at four-thirty, then forced herself to lie awake till dawn. She didn't trust sleep.

Jenny frowned, spatula in hand. "Poor baby."

Poor impractical, fanciful baby. That's what she means. Hermione hastened to change the subject. "How was your date-I mean, your business meeting-last night?" She had gone to bed long before her mother returned.

Jenny brightened. "Imagine two lawyers at a business dinner actually having fun! His name is jerry. It's going to be nice to have somebody working with me who isn't one of the old guard."

"Jenny and Jerry. Pretty cute." teased Hermione. "Sounds like you were made for each other."

" Like father, like daughter." moaned Jenny, sitting down across the table from Hermione. "Just try to keep such goopy thoughts to yourself. I'm trying to eat."

Hermione dribbled syrup over her pancakes, then picked up her fork. well, she decided, its nice that one of us is happy. Her head was aching from lack of sleep. The dream this time had been even worse then the others. Same house, same long hall, same sense that something awful waited in the room at the end-but this time the awful humming became clearer. It was as if someone hidden out of sight were turning up to sing that old folk song about the miner, forty-niner, and his daughter. No words, just humming , but Hermione couldn't get the tune out of her mind all night. And even now, at the breakfast table, the words were running through her head.

"Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin'. Clementine.--"

The telephone rang. Jenny answered it, then handed the receiver across the table to Hermione. It was Michael, calling to see if Hermione could come to a party at his house tonight. She cover the receiver and raised her brows at Jenny. "Mom? Michael's having a party at his house tonight and--"

"Go ahead," nodded Jenny. "I'm going to be gone myself tonight, as it turns out."

Hermione hesitated a moment to push down her unease before stepping into the pounding shower and pulling the curtain shut. She had always avoided baths, but lately showers brought on the same sense of danger. Being forced to take swimming lessons was making her water phobia worse. Now even the thought of raindrops on her head made her nervous. She lathered her hear and scrubbed the fragrant suds into thick white foam, then rinsed quickly and turned the shower in great relief. She hesitated before inspecting her face in the mirror over the sink. Was her hair getting lighter? And her eyes? She blinked and the reflection seemed to correct itself.

She rubbed some moisturizer into her skin, then toweled her hair dry and combed it out. She carefully pulled it back into a sensible braid down her back.

But as she turned away, it happened again: the mirror flickered-glimmered-like the surface of water. For a second the other face looked back, and Hermione ran, gasping down the hall to her room.

She threw open the closet, pulling her favorite blue sundress off the hanger.

Calm down. Don't be silly. It was nothing.

She drove Jenny's little red sports car to Michael's house and parked on the street. He met her at the door and led her into the living room to say hello to his parents, then out to the back garden, were the party was in full swing.

The patio was illuminated by the flickering lanterns strung above the grass on a clothesline. Music thumped loudly from Michael's sound system. Some people were dancing on the brick patio, some were clustered by the picnic table, and others were lingering in pockets of darkness by the bushes. The overall swimming pool was lit softly from beneath the water, glowed in the dusk like a topaz.

Hermione spied some peopled she knew and crossed through the chattering flock of teenagers to get to them. "Hi, you guys!"

"Are you coming to the play?" Ginny was playing Nancy in West River's Production of Oliver! Next weekend.

"I wouldn't miss it for anything." Hermione answered. "It's my vicarious thrill, you know, listening to you sing. I wish I could."

Lavender, who was stage manger, shook her head. "Must be the only thing you can't do, then, in that case. You're brilliant."

Ron chuckled. He had a naturally unpleasant laugh, which Hermione felt made him perfectly suited for the part of Bill Sykes in the musical. "Singing's not the only thing Hermione cant do, or so I hear." He leaned towards her and put a hand on her bare arm. "How're the swim lessons going with old Hawthrone, Hermione?"

"Oh shut up, Ron." Said Harry easily. "I've seen you in swim class struggling to keep your own head above water."

"Yeah, but at least I haven't resorted to forgery to cover it up," he retorted.

There was a moment of silence, broken by laughter from the other side of the patio.

People started dancing fast. She danced with Harry, Michael, Dean, Neville-even with Ron.

"Hey, Hermione, I didn't mean anything, really," Ron said during a slow song. "It's just novelty of seeing a top student in trouble that fascinates me. Makes you more human."

"They don't come any more human then me." Hermione bantered, but she moved slightly away from his close embrace and scanned the crowd for Harry.

Instead, she saw Amanda waving from the double doors of the house. "Hey, Hermione!"

Amanda? Here? What happen to Lake Pymatuning?

Hermione's heart beat faster as Draco stepped in front of Amanda. She felt her face flush and lowered her head into Ron's shoulder.

"I like that." He breathed into her hear. He hummed along with the music until the song ended and she broke away. "Hey, Hermione! Let me get you something to drink."

Ron followed her over to the tubs full of ice and soft drinks. They stood together at the edge of the patio, sipping cokes. She watched as Amanda was introducing her cousin to all of her friends.

She saw Draco turn from a group of kids by the pool, laughing, and she felt horribly hollow. But what did she ever done to Draco Malfoy?

Hermione moved closer to Ron and finished her soda. She breathed deeply. But suddenly Draco was in front of her, "want to dance." His gray eyes were level with her own, smiling at her.

"Nah." Ron answered for her. "Hermione hates to dance, she rather go swimming, right Hermione?"

"Wrong," she said frowning at him.

Hermione felt like she needed to be with Draco right now. But why? Hermione and Draco left Ron and moved into the patio for a slow dance.

"I thought you were going to be away this weekend." Said Hermione as they pushed through the dancers to clear a space.

He explained that Amanda's father had unexpected work. Inexplicably, a wave of sadness assailed her again.

"I'm sorry!" she murmured.

"What for?" he said. "You didn't step on my feet or anything."

"Oh, I thought I had." She covered up her slip quickly.

He tightened his arms around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, which felt solid and strong beneath the fabric of his shirt. She raised her head when the song ended .

An another slow song came on and they danced together again. She turned her head and rested her ear against his chest. She could hear his heart thudding steadily and felt relieved and comforted by the sound. Draco began humming against her hair. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scented evening air, feeling more peaceful then she felt all week. But then, after a moment, she realized he was humming a different tune. Huskily, he gave it words, his breath puffing gently against her ear: "Oh my darlin', Oh my darlin,' oh my darlin', Clementine-"

She pulled away from him. "Don't sing that!" She cried and backed into another couple dancing.

A/n: please review!

Here's a sneak peak of what to happen next:

"How am I going to teach you anything if you wont even get into the water?" Draco said.

"I admit it's a problem." She smiled through her heart was pounding. She tried for a joke, "Thousand before you have tried and failed."

He stripped off his shirt and jumped into the pool in his shorts. The water slapped out into the tiles. Hermione shuddered.

"Jump in. You can do it."

"No." Why didn't she just walk away? There was a change in the air that had only partly to do with her fear. Something about Draco drew her, but something equally strong now warned her away.

He splashed some water onto her feet. "Last chance." When she didn't respond, he began the song again. He sang softly, gently, splashing water onto her feet in time to the tune. "Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin'. Clementine. You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementne!"

She leapt back out and screamed at him. "You shut up!"

He vaulted out of the pool in a single motion and towered over her. "Get in the pool," he said in a low voice…