No, I do not own Harry Potter. But I do own the plot, so you can't have it.
She was so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. The weight of her weariness pressed upon her until she surrendered herself to it, collapsing into Draco's arms.
"Hermione?!" she heard vaguely. His voice sounded so worried, so frantic, that she wanted to fight the weariness merely to answer. "Hermione, are you alright?"
"Can I sleep for a bit Draco?" she mumbled "Just a little bit?"
Draco released a sigh of relief. This wasn't another attack and she wasn't in pain. He smiled helplessly.
"Yeah," he said, picking her up effortlessly and carrying her inside. Realization hit him with stunning accuracy as he remembered that he didn't know her password, and he had to laugh as he turned to his room instead. Here he was, allowing himself to be displaced out of his own room already, and placed on the couch instead. He would never hear the end of it.
He spoke his password and his portrait swung open. He stepped inside and placed Hermione gently on his bed, pulling the covers over her. He brushed his fingers from her temple to her jaw ever so lightly and placed a soft kiss in her forehead before he left the room, closing the door soundlessly behind him.
"Sweet dreams," he murmured quietly to no one in particular.
A constant, very loud, very annoying banging woke Draco from his slumber. He groaned and called out a cranky 'what.' Hearing Ginny on the other side of the door, he let her in. her eyes took a sweep of the common room and returned to Draco.
"Hold on," he said, replying to the unasked demand. "I'll go get her." He went to his room, spoke the password and entered. He was about to wake Hermione when he heard Ginny from behind.
"Oh, what's this?" she asked. He could hear the grin in her voice and he turned to face her. "Already taking my 'Mione to bed, are you?" Draco sighed and rolled his eyes.
"She fell asleep and I didn't know how to get into her room, and I wasn't going to have her sleep on the couch, so I let her sleep in my room," he explained.
"I like it," decided Ginny. "The colours look nice together. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to tackle Hermione now. Don't worry, I wont break any of your stuff…I can't say the same for her though." She indicated to Hermione, who was surprisingly still asleep. "She's really ticklish." That said, Ginny brushed by Draco, jumped onto his bed and began to tickle his girlfriend.
Hermione quickly woke and began to flail. Actually, flail was an understatement. Hermione was violent, screaming and kicking, narrowly missing ginny's head.
"Gin, stop," she pleaded. "Stop, I'm awake. I swear it, you can stop now!" Ginny, satisfied, ceased tickling and instead threw herself onto Hermione in what appeared to be a hug.
"Mione, you're the best!" she exclaimed. "Harry never would've asked me to the dance if you hadn't assured him that I would accept. The bloke's as dense as a rock when it comes to how others feel about him. He asked if I would go out with him, and we even kissed!" She gave a content sigh. "Now we're official!"
"Wow Gin, that's great!" exclaimed Hermione, a radiant smile upon her lips. "I'm so happy for you." Ginny thanked her and eyed her suspiciously.
"And why haven't you told me your good news yet? I told you mine." Hermione glanced at Draco and blushed. Ginny, catching her friend's embarrassment pushed Draco out of his room rather unceremoniously and closed the door.
"I'm trying to keep my love life a secret from you Gin; you'll never know what happens between the two of us!" replied Hermione sarcastically. "Because you haven't given me the chance to do so yet,"
"Spill it. I want details."
"We kissed," said Hermione, a blush creeping into her cheeks.
"And?"
"He told me that he loves me."
"What did you say?"
"That I love him too," replied Hermione, her blush darkening. Not only was this a conversation that she was unaccustomed to, but she had just realized that she was in Draco's bed.
"Oh, that's so adorable! You two make the perfect couple. Not so unattainable now, are you?"
"You know about that?"
"Of course."
"But, it's guys' poll!"
"Mione," said Ginny rather severely. "Are you attempting to insult me? To think that my best friend would insult my gossiping skills. I know everything that goes on in this school!" Hermione had to sigh at her foolishness. Of course Ginny would know. She was one of the school's biggest gossips.
"Mi, is that clock right?" She indicated to the one on the wall beside them.
"Well, since Draco always winds up waking me up in the morning for classes and I'm always on time," replied Hermione, "I would assume so."
"I've gotta get going then," said Ginny, who was already near the door. "I promised Harry we'd go to breakfast together. Good luck with your man!"
Hermione, who was now undoubtedly awake, walked to the bathroom and took out the pill bottle that she had grown so accustomed to, and twisted the lid open. However, before she was able to take her medicine, a searing pain seized her senses. Her vision blurred and her grip on the pill bottle loosened until it fell to the floor, white pills scattering everywhere.
She braced herself against the sink with one hand and placed the other on her throbbing head, clutching tensely. She called out to Draco for help. It was another attack.
Draco heard Hermione's frantic cry for help and ran to the bathroom, where it had come from. He threw the bathroom door open and fear seized his heart when he took in the scene before him. Pills were scattered about the room, and Hermione was braced against the sink, hand clutching her head in agony.
"Hermione," he breathed in terror, rushing to her side. "Hermione, are you alright?" Stupid question, he thought as he picked her up and ran to the hospital wing. Of course she wasn't all right. If she were all right, she wouldn't be in pain.
"Madame Pomfrey," he shouted, "it happened again!" The plump nurse hurried over and instructed Draco to place her on the bed and draw the curtain. They weren't alone this time.
Madame Pomfrey entered the curtained area and gave Hermione a potion, though the nurse had to tilt Hermione's head back in order for Hermione to swallow it. She began to whimper in more pain, and Draco cast a silencing charm around the curtained area.
Madame Pomfrey then proceeded to place her wand on Hermione's forehead and whisper a few words, causing Hermione's whimpering to considerably decrease until it ceased altogether. An exhausted, but now peaceful Hermione lay on the bed.
"Draco," she whispered before fading into a dreamless sleep, "don't let anything happen to me. Don't let me die."
"Don't worry, I'm here," he said, his voice barely audible. He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he brought his head to her hand, which was still clasped firmly in his. "I'll never leave you."
Hermione woke up and tilted her head to where she knew that Draco was. He slept peacefully, his head rested on his arm, his hand still in hers. She smiled softly and slid out from under the covers, making her way silently to the nurse's office.
"Oh dear, you shouldn't be walking around just yet," she exclaimed once she saw Hermione's form in the doorway to her office.
"Madame Pomfrey?" asked Hermione shyly.
"Yes dear?"
"Is there a reason-" she paused, considering how to phrase her next words. "Um, this past month I've been able to do something really…strange."
"What is it dear?"
"Well, sometimes I can-I mean, is it possible that the tumor can cause wandless magic?" she blurted out. Madame Pomfrey considered the question for a short while before giving her answer.
"Well, I suppose it would be possible, but the chances of that happening are so incredibly slim that I wouldn't count on it. It does happen on occasion, once or twice every few centuries that an individual is gifted with the power to perform wandless magic. It is quite possible that you are one of those with that gift.
"Wow," said Hermione in shock.
"You should go talk to the Headmaster about this matter though. It is a rather serious matter, and I'm certain that he will know something about it."
Hermione nodded her thanks and went back to where Draco was. She was allowed to leave now. When she didn't see Draco where she had left him though, she glanced around the room in confusion.
"Gotch'ya!"
Hermione, being the calm and composed person that she normally was, screamed loudly at the unexpected noise and the feeling of Draco's grasp around her shoulders. Draco, of course, was laughing at her.
"What was that for?!" she exclaimed. Draco was still laughing…at her.
You'd think, she thought, that he would've learned his lesson by now. Did he really think that she wouldn't hex his hair pink for a month? Because she most definitely would.
"Fair trade," came his reply. "You scare me, I scare you." He crossed his arms and nodded at what he believed must be perfect logic.
Hermione, who still did not see his 'logic', very nearly dragged him back to their common room, threatening him all along the way. The smile on her lips concealing the questions that were clashing in her mind.
Hermione arrived at the gargoyle statue that marked the entrance to the Headmaster's office and stared at it, wondering what to do. How was she supposed to know that password? Recalling the words that Harry had once spoken to her in regards to this particular subject, Hermione wet her lips and took in a long breath.
"Gumdrops?" Nothing. She sighed and took another deep breath.
"Chocolate frogs, blood pops, lemon twists, canary crèmes, ice mice, lemon drops, chocolate covered peppermint wants!" Apparently, one of these was the correct password because the gargoyle statue sprang to life, revealing the winding staircase that Hermione knew would make her nauseous. Hermione smiled and inwardly thanked Harry, making a mental note to never doubt his words when it came to the strange quirks of this school and its headmaster as she stepped onto the winding staircase.
'If you ever need to get into Dumbledore's office and you don't know the password, name every single candy that you can possibly think of.'
When she reached the top of the staircase, she knocked on the door and was told to enter. Dumbledore, who was seated behind his desk, stood and greeted her.
"Ah, Miss Granger, I thought it might be you. Please, have a seat." Hermione glanced around the room and, upon noticing that every single chair was filled with some trinket, opted to stand instead.
"Professor, I have a question." Dumbledore motioned for her to continue. "Why is it that I can perform wandless magic?"
"Yes, I though that might be it. Poppy came to me earlier about this." He looked to her and smiled. "It is not because of your tumor that you are able to perform wandless magic. You are in fact, much more gifted."
"Professor?"
"Miss Granger," he said quite seriously. "How much do you know about the beings known in legend as elementals?"
"Well, they appear once every 500 years, always in sets of four. They are able to manipulate the four elements, fire, water, earth and air. There have been stories about them since it is rumored that a set of four once used their powers to make themselves into gods in Ancient Greece. They were modeled as Poseidon, Zeus, Hephaestus, and Artemis. There are no accounts of elementals ever having existed for over 5,000 years except for rumors."
"Yes, most of them, fearing their own powers, hid from society. Their powers are dangerous, and most elementals never used their powers over the elements excapt for on rare occassions. There are however…other gifts that are bestowed upon them. For example, telepathy, flight, in dangerous cases, mind control, and in extremely rare cases, wandless magic might be gifts that an elemental might acquire."
"Professor, what are you getting at here? You can't possible mean that-"
"You are an elemental? That, Miss Granger, is precisely what I am 'getting at'. And you have the extra ability of wandless magic. Do you know your element?"
"I don't have one!"
"But you do. You have the ability to control air, do you not?"
Hermione was about to protest until it dawned on her that when it was windy, she had always been upset. When there was nothing but a peaceful breeze, she had always been calm. She began to realize that, despite how completely insane it sounded, it was possible that she could be an elemental.
"I see you believe me."
"But what about the others? I haven't heard anything about others."
"They have concealed themselves, honing their abilities. You will meet them very soon.
"But how am I supposed to learn how to use my powers?"
"The other two will teach you how they learned. It is nearly a lost art, and it will be difficult. Lessons begin on Tuesday at seven O' clock. Are you prepared Miss Granger?"
"What for?"
"War."
A brief silence followed.
"I am."
Hermione headed to her common room distracted, questions buzzing in her mind. How could she possible be an elemental? They weren't supposed to actually exist!
As though she didn't have enough to think about, she heard Ron call out to her from behind. A sigh escaped her lips as the turned to her friend of seven years. She could tell that he wanted to talk, which was precisely what she feared.
"Hey Ron, what's up?"
"Well umm…you see, I was thinking," he said, suddenly finding the floor rather interesting, "that Harry has Gin, and they're so happy together, that maybe now would be the perfect time to ask you. Hermione, would you go out with me?"
Hermione inwardly winced and hoped that Ron wouldn't take this badly.
"Listen Ron, you're a great guy, and any girl would be lucky to have you, but-"
"-not you," he said sourly. Great, thought Hermione, this would end badly, she could tell.
"Ron, you're like a brother to me!" she exclaimed. "You're one of my best friends, and I can't think of you like that, and I won't lie to you. And you saw me at the Halloween ball, didn't you? I love him Ron. He makes me happy."
"And I guess that I make you miserable. I'm just not good enough for you am I? I've never been good enough for you. You've just been leading me on! Well, was playing me fun?"
"Ron, stop it! Please, just listen to me for once," she said, anger clear in her voice. How could he accuse her of that? Didn't he know her at all? "I can't help who I fall in love with, or who I don't fall in love with. And if you actually cared about me, you never would've said that, and you'd be happy for me!"
"Yeah? And who is this mystery guy? Who could possibly be so important to you that you would desert your friends?"
"Who's deserting whom?" she challenged, a small quaver in her voice. "Leave me alone Ron, you are not yourself, and I will not explain myself to a raving lunatic."
"That's what I thought. You can't tell me," he said as though Hermione had made up some imaginary person for the sole purpose of crushing him. "You know what 'Mione? Screw you," he spat. He then turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Hermione standing there, alone. She slowly and silently walked to her common room, laid on the couch, and cried until darkness took her.
A/N: See? I told you there was a twist. Leave me a review letting me know what you thought? Also, I am eternally sorry that I haven't updated in months. I have been so busy that I haven't had time to do much of anything. I will post as much as I can tonight, tough and take solace in the fact that I have already completed the story and I have it typed up. At least I won't abandon you guys completely D=