And if we dream - Draco Malfoy/ OC

Chapter 20- The aftermath

Summary: Like some magnetic force, like some unbreakable bond she was drawn back to him again and again. And now, staying away was an inconceivable notion. "Always." she murmured, one hand finding his, the other tangling into his platinum hair, "Always."

-….-

SO I dedicated this fic to Saskia- and in return I got what was possibly the best review ever! It contained numerous Sherlock BBC references (if you don't watch it then you're missing out-A LOT) Best thing ever! So Saskia- here's an idea- I'll take Benedict for those three days and swap you Rupert Graves for that time? =P

ANYWAYS! I'm sorry its been so late I haven't given up at all as you can see below! Ive been swamped with work and coursework to the point where I have no time to sleep let alone update! However, the 4th of may , (may the fourth be with you) is my deadline. Oh and did I mention I've finally finished my coursework? No! Well I have, then like a five month holiday so ill be able to update a lot more!

-….-

It took hardly any time at all to find Hermione, so loud were her sobs, Avery closed her eyes against the sound, wishing she could block it out the last time she had heard Hermione cry this way was first year, after Ron had mocked her and Avery had found herself comforting the poor girl before receiving a rather nasty headache courtesy of a troll she hadn't even known about until the moment she'd found herself hitting the ground.

Hermione hadn't cried this hard when Ron had hurt her at the ball either, or subsequently after Cedric's death. In fact it seemed that looking back it was almost always Ron who made Hermione cry and now was no different. In fact it seemed worse.

"Hermione?" Harry questioned softly as they rounded the corner to find the girl huddled in her robes on the concrete stairwell. Harry took the seat on the stair beside her. Avery's eyes found the tweeting dust birds spinning around above them controlled by Hermione's wand. "You okay?" Harry asked.

Hermione wiped the tears from her face, as Avery ducked away from one of the birds, "Are these safe?" she asked.

"Charms spell." Hermione stated with a nod, "I'm practicing."

Harry complimented her and the tears seemed to fall even harder, "How does it feel? When you see Dean with Ginny?" Hermione asked the be speckled boy.

Harry's face registers surprise and Avery cant help but smile despite the situation, "I know Harry." Hermione says.

"Me too." Avery adds.

"I see the way you look at her." Hermione speaks, "You're my best friend." Avery feels a tiny stab of pain as her bushy haired friend says those words, eyes firmly fixed on Harry. Sometimes she wishes Hermione would say something like that to her. But this isn't about her right now and she returns her attention to the matter at hand.

Harry opens his mouth to speak but is interrupted by loud, unfortunately familiar voices.

Before she can even blink Ron and Lavender are before her, "Oops!" Lavender cries in a voice that tells Avery she knows exactly what is going on and makes Avery want to rip the stupid pink ribbon from her hair. "I think this room is taken."

Ron's face however shows nothing but confusion as Lavender runs off, "What's with the birds?" he asks, not expecting Hermione to rise from her position and shout a charm, causing the birds to fly at him with such force that they turn into nothing but the dirt and dust they were before when they hit the door.

The betrayal on Ron's face matches that of Hermione exactly.

He leaves the room and Hermione hugs into Harry again as she begins crying. Avery stands awkwardly in the middle of the space. Her friends are both hurting over unrequited loves. Avery herself has never even liked anyone, let alone cared so much. She wonders if that is something she has learned from her mother from a young age, maybe she will never feel such feelings.

"We should go to bed." She says after a while, "Its getting late."

Hermione nods, clears her face of residual tears and stands, strong and proud. "You're right."

The three slowly make their way back to the common room, Hermione and Harry both deep in thought, Avery wonders whether or not things will be better in the morning. She doubts it, there is no one more stubborn than Hermione and no one more oblivious than Ron. Harry meets her eyes over Hermione's head and grimaces, he is obviously thinking the same thing.

Hermione is composed as they reach the common room and Harry mutters the password. The party inside is still raging without the man of the hour or his friends, the Gryffindor students don't seem to mind very much though. Most still drunk on the sheer happiness of belonging to a winning house.

"Come on 'Mione. The party sucks anyway, lets go upstairs." Avery says, taking Hermione's arm. They wish Harry good night and move to the girls dormitory. Hermione still quiet.

Once they are ready for bed, and snuggled into their sheets, the only girls up to be this early Avery speaks, "Mione?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think Ron knows. If he did he wouldn't-"

"You don't have to stick up for him Avery." Hermione says in reply.

"I'm not. Ron's not a bad guy Hermione, he's just a bit of an idiot."

"Good night Avery." And that is that.

-….-

The next day they don't speak of it until after potions when Hermione and Avery first find themselves alone. Away from Harry and Ron who was studiously avoiding Hermione and by extension Avery.

"You know I still have to go to the Weasleys for Christmas this year don't you?" Avery asked, deciding to go straight into it rather than hedging around the situation.

"Of course I do." Hermione replied.

"It's just I promised Matilda. I'm not taking sides or anything."

"I know Avery. Its okay."

-….-

Avery and Ron barely speak until lunch time two days later when the boy finds himself late and the only empty seat beside Avery.

"Hi." he grunted, pulling his robes in as he say.

"Hi Ron, how have you been?" Avery asked kindly, eating the food before her.

"Fine."

"How's Lavender?" Avery asked, spotting the blonde staring at them a few seats down.

"She's alright."

"Good."

"Yeah."

Ron stuffed meat into his mouth for a few minutes before Avery spoke again, "Look, Ron, this is awkward. It shouldn't be, I have no problem with you honestly."

"I know Ave." he smiled, "It's okay, besides you are still coming for Christmas in a few days right?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. It'll be good to get away, I just don't know what's up with Hermione you know?"

"I know you don't Ron. It'll get sorted." Avery promised gently, "Just give her time."

"Yeah you're right."

"Of course I am." Avery laughed.

Ron threw his arm around Avery shoulder and hugged her close.

"I missed you."

"You too Ron, you too."

-….-

Malfoy appeared in the astronomy tower every night the week before the students were to leave before Christmas.

"Why do you come here Malfoy?" Avery asked on the Wednesday night, "I know why I come here but why do you?"

"Why do you come here?" Malfoy replied, avoiding the question as per his usual way.

Avery rolled her eyes, "I come here when I'm stressed or sad, or when I want to be alone." The last word said pointedly. "What about you?"

"Are you looking forward to the Christmas holidays?" he asked instead of replying.

Avery sighed and stalked from the tower.

-….-

"Are you finished sulking now?" Malfoy asked before Avery had even stepped through the door the next night.

"Do you just come here to annoy me?" Avery cried, leaning heavily over the towers rails, "I'm going to have to find somewhere else aren't I? You've been following me here for weeks now."

"I'm hardly following you Greenwood." Malfoy stated, "I was here first tonight."

"You know what I mean."

She is met with silence and studied the blonde beside her, "It is strange though, as much as you annoy me, I don't actually want to strangle you when we're up here."

"Good to know." Came the mandatory witty remark.

Malfoy looks tired, she realises more drawn than usual, like he hasn't been sleeping as much as he needs to. She idly wonders why but doesn't ask.

"It is peaceful here." Malfoy says softly, as if to himself, "You can just get away from everything."

"It's that bad in the Slytherin common room then?" Avery asks gently crossing her arms over the rails and feeling herself relax.

"The usual. Gryffindor?"

"You can imagine." Avery laughs, "I was very thankful when we learned the muffling charm in forth year."

"We were taught that?" Malfoy asks, sounding rather surprised.

"Yes. You don't remember?"

"No. I was rather focused on the Wizards cup." Malfoy replies.

"Oh yeah, the Potter stinks badges. Lovely of you."

Avery is slightly taken aback when Malfoy smiles, unguarded, she notices with shock that it makes him look younger, his teeth are straight , white and his smile is bright, something Avery hasn't seen before. Usually its just that infuriating smirk.

"They were rather good weren't they?"

"I guess it wasn't the worst thing that happened that year." Avery stated sadly.

"No." Malfoy agrees for once, "It wasn't."

-….-

"It's Friday." Avery says as Malfoy comes through the door to the Astronomy tower, later than usual, she wonders when this became a usual thing. "We leave for Christmas Sunday morning."

He doesn't reply, obviously in one of his quieter moods again.

Over time Avery has found herself able to read Malfoy, able to understand when to be serious, when to make a joke.

"How do you never get caught?" She asks.

"I'm a Slytherin" is the wry response.

"I almost got caught once, fifth year. It was just after the minis.." she pauses, they speak the truth to no one, "that night and I was in a lot of pain and I had just found out about my mum and I wasn't exactly paying attention. Snape almost caught me."

"How did you get away?"

"I ran. Fast."

Malfoy smiles again and she finds herself smiling with him.

-….-

Saturday night comes quicker than Avery thought it would, she often finds that the weekends drag on when the holidays are coming up, however before she knows it she is in the astronomy tower, Malfoy at his usual place by her side, staring out at the grounds.

"You know," Avery speaks, "When I was younger, before Hogwarts, my mother used to talk about you and your family, she always thought we would be the best of friends."

"Did she?" Malfoy asks, turning his angled face towards her.

"Yeah, but I suppose nothing she expected for me actually happened did it?"

"Suppose not."

"I think," Avery says feeling a little low, "that if I had been sorted into Slytherin like she'd expected, things might have been easier." Avery doesn't know why she is telling him these things, she just finds it easy to talk to him, "I might have even been an invisible face in the crowd."

"Well you are melancholy tonight." Malfoy laughs, Avery refrains from replying, the blonde shakes his head, "No Greenwood, things wouldn't have been easier. Not with your name. Besides, whichever house you were sorted into you would have still be you and you would have still been friends with Weasley, Granger and the Golden boy. You would have still been an annoying Gryffindor at heart."

Avery frowned, "I don't think so. If I were sorted into Slytherin they wouldn't have wanted to know. I'm not important, not like Harry. Hermione she's the smart one, more than smart actually she's a genius. Ron, believe it or not but he is the most important, he spurs everyone on, he's the most loyal and brave. But me, I'm just the tag along, sure I help sometimes but I don't really have a place."

"I don't believe that."

"It took them so long to trust me, after they found out about my mum, they wouldn't tell me things, sometimes they still don't."

Malfoy gives an exasperated sigh, "Greenwood. You are important to them, any imbecile or-"

"Heartless Slytherin?" Avery interrupts.

"Or Hufflepuff can see that. It was clear from first year. You're more stupid than you look if you cant see that."

Avery laughed, "You pay that much attention do you?"

"I observe Greenwood."

A comfortable silence settles upon them until Malfoy breaks it again, "My mother used to talk about you too."

Avery starts, "She did?"

"Yes. She used to talk about Mary Greenwood and her daughter the same age as myself. The girl who had skin the colour of snow and hair brighter than any flame, eyes as blue as the sky."

"That seems a little nice for your mother to say. Are you making this up?" Avery asked.

"I may be embellishing it a little to what I see now." Avery opens her mouth to question him, but he carries on, "She used to say that one day we would marry."

Avery chokes on a shocked laugh , "Like an arranged marriage?"

"I don't know Greenwood, its not really something you ask when you are nine years old and your mother is talking about your future wife."

"Do you think we would have been friends?" Avery wonders aloud, "If I were a Slytherin?"

"It wouldn't have mattered if we were." Malfoy's voice lowers, "We would have still been on different sides."

"Probably. I don't understand your views on names and money and power."

"And that's how we know you would never have been a Slytherin."

"Weirdly enough Malfoy, as much as I'm certain you have an ulterior motive you've made me feel a lot better." She pauses and turns to leave, "Thank you. Have a good Christmas Malfoy."

-….-

The halls are practically empty by the time Avery drags her trunk out of the Gryffindor common room, everyone so eager to leave the school, there were very few students staying behind this year. Hermione had left earlier than the others, sighting some excuse, though Avery knew it was simply another measure to avoid Ron, it was grating at her nerves now and she knew it was effecting Harry too. Hermione, apart from in lesson, was never in the same room with Ron, which meant Harry and herself had to equally divide their time between the two. When Ron wasn't with Lavender anyway.

She huffed as she dragged her large trunk behind her, wishing she had taken Harry up on his offer to help her, instead, like the idiot she was she had told him to go on whilst she packed, having slept later than usual due to her Astronomy tower visit last night.

She yawned, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck, it was freezing in the castle and she could only imagine how cold it would be outside, she vaguely wished that she hadn't already packed her robe.

"Come on Dragon." She called to the cat that prowled slowly behind her, "Come here, you should be on the train already silly boy!"

The cat jumped into her free arm gracefully and snuggled into the warmth of her jacket. "Wish I had fur." she mumbled.

"Well fur isn't very attractive on a human." She heard Malfoys familiar drawl behind her.

" I don't know." She laughed, "I think I could rock it. Shouldn't you be on the train already?"

"I forgot something in the dorms."

"You're dorms are in the other direction Malfoy."

"So they are." The blonde said as he sidled closer.

"If you wanted to say goodbye Malfoy you-" she began only for her voice to cut out when his hand found her wrist again, "What are you doing?" she asked as he pulled her towards him. "Malfoy-"

She felt his breath against her jaw line, warm against her ear, "Merry Christmas Greenwood." he whispered lowly, lips trailing feather light across her jawbone towards her mouth.

He's going to kiss me, Avery thought manically.

Soft lips, softer than she would have ever imagined, pressed gently to the corner of her mouth, and she found herself turning into it slightly.

"Mistletoe." The Slytherin whispered against her lips before he pulled away and strolled casually down the hall. "See you later, Red." he called behind him.

Avery blinked, wondered if she had imagined the entire thing and moved to step forward, only for something to catch her eye at the Gryffindor common room entrance. She turned slowly. "Ginny?" She asked, cursing her luck.

"How could you Avery?" Ginny asked loudly, clutching what looked like a spare jacket to her chest.

"Ginny wait!" She called after the younger girl who promptly ran past her in the same direction Malfoy had gone.

"Ginny!"

Oooh what happens now?

Thanks for reading! More up soon!