DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. This fiction is purely for my own enjoyment and yours. No money is being made by me or anyone else from this fiction.

Author Note: Still getting lots of positive feedback so far! Thank you to all who reviewed, favorited, and added this story to your alert list!

Chapter 3

When Hermione reached the Gryffindor common room, she threw herself into one of the cushy chairs by the fire with a huff. What's wrong with me? I can't even handle seeing Draco at breakfast! She stared moodily at her Ancient Runes book, as if it were its fault she lost her cool in the Great Hall. More like that wretchedly wonderful dream I had last night. Hermione sighed, and her hand went up to spot on her cheek where the dream-Draco had placed a kiss. It's pointless to dwell on this, she tried to tell herself, but she couldn't help it. Not when I have to spend the day with him!

"Are you alright, Hermione?" She jumped as Harry appeared beside her, still dressed in his pajamas, his hair as untidy as ever. Mutely, she nodded. Once she had gotten over his sudden appearance, Hermione couldn't help but smile a bit at the sight of him. The shock of learning he had died in her dream world still lingered in the back of her mind, so the sight of him alive and well filled her with happiness.

"I'm fine," she said, ignoring the fact that her voice came out a bit strained. Even the small bit of happiness upon seeing Harry couldn't dispel her anxiety about Draco.

Harry frowned. "You don't look fine, and you don't sound fine either," he stated plainly. "What were you thinking about just now?"

Draco Malfoy's soft lips on my cheek. His bright smile as he hugged our girls… Hermione's lips twitched for a moment, and she sighed. He's my best friend. I should be able to tell him anything. She took a breath. "My dream," she said honestly.

Harry's frown deepened. "This it must have been pretty bad," he said. "Because you were grimacing like someone told you you'd be stuck with extra classes with Umbridge for the rest of the year."

Hermione really did grimace then. "Oh please, it wasn't that bad, was it?"

Harry grinned. "Maybe not, but you still looked pretty upset. Was your dream really that bad?"

"No, of course not!" Hermione said, maybe a bit too quickly. She blushed. I really need to get better at this. Harry looked confused, so Hermione continued. "Well, some parts were bad," she said softly.

Harry reached over and touched her arm reassuringly. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he said. Hermione gave him a grateful smile. He's being so understanding this morning. Maybe I can tell him the truth…

"I dreamt about the future," she said. "I dreamt the war was over and we had moved on. But there was a memorial dinner for those lost in the war and I…" Hermione stopped for a moment. Should I really tell him he died in my dream? She looked into Harry's bright green eyes, uncertain of how to continue.

"Who died, Hermione?" Harry said inquisitively. Hermione just stared at him. "Oh," said Harry, picking up on what she left unsaid. Impulsively, even though it was Hermione who normally started the hugging, Harry slipped his arms around her.

"I'm not going anywhere any time soon," Harry assured her. Then he frowned. "Unless Umbridge kills me before the year is out. I wasn't killed by her, right?" he said mock anxiously.

"Harry, that's not even funny," Hermione said, but she laughed a little. "And no. It was You-Know-Who that…" she trailed off. This wasn't what she had been thinking about, but the thought of it made her just as anxious if not more than her mixed up feelings about Draco.

"Right. But I took him down with me, right?" Harry said brightly. "I mean, don't tell me everyone became a Death Eater in the future and you were married off to Malfoy or something. I mean, that would be a nightmare, wouldn't it?" Hermione blanched. Harry frowned. "That's not what happened, right?" he said quickly.

"Don't be ridiculous," said Hermione. "I would never become a Death Eater. I would die first."

Harry relaxed. "Yeah, and no way would you marry the ferret," he said.

"Malfoy isn't a Death Eater," Hermione said with a frown. Harry stared at her incredulously. Uh-oh. I didn't really give anything away there, did I?

"He's as good as," Harry said darkly.

"Now that's not fair," Hermione admonished. "Just because his whole family has been in Slytherin and his dad worked for You-Know-Who, doesn't mean that-"

"WHAT? Are you mental? Hermione, what's wrong with you?" Harry cried.

"Oi, what's going on here?" came a third voice. Both Hermione and Harry looked up to see Ron yawning widely as he walked down the steps.

Harry jumped up and ran over to him. "Hermione's gone mental," he said. "She's defending Malfoy!"

Ron's eyes widened. "Hermione, what are you thinking? It's Malfoy. He's a Slytherin!"

I've really done it now, Hermione thought. "Ron, you don't even know what we're talking about!"

"Don't need to. Harry says you're defending Malfoy. That's all I need to know," Ron said matter-of-factly. "That ferret has hated us from the moment we first came to Hogwarts and done everything he can to make our lives hell. Not to mention he's a no-good, stuck up prick who thinks everyone who isn't pureblood and rich is scum and that he can walk all over them because his Death Eater father has connections at the Ministry. The only thing I don't know is why you're defending this little ferret."

Hermione bristled. "That kind of close-minded thinking is exactly why we're in the midst of a war," she snapped. "It's exactly why the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts, and it's exactly why so many people join You-Know-Who!"

Both Harry and Ron gaped at Hermione. "What are you talking about?" said Harry a bit angrily. Gone was the understanding boy of this morning. Oh well. It was good while it lasted.

"Just think about it," said Hermione huffily. "If we actually tried to extend our hand and understanding to more Slytherins like Dra-Malfoy, maybe they would join our side instead of going to the side we automatically push them towards! Being in Slytherin doesn't automatically make you a Death Eater, you know, just like being in Gryffindor doesn't make you brave. Just look at Peter Pettigrew, Harry!" She knew it was a cheap shot, but she had to make them understand if she had any hope of ever being friends with Draco. That is, if he even wants to be friends. She frowned as she remembered his sneer at breakfast.

Harry looked thunderous. "That's not the same. The Sorting Hat made a mistake," he bit out.

"Then don't you think it could have made other mistakes?" Hermione said a bit tiredly. Already she felt like she was fighting a losing battle.

"So now you're saying Malfoy should be in Gryffindor? What's wrong with you Hermione?" Harry cried.

Hermione glanced around the common room and was relieved to see it was still empty. That was all she needed: for Lavender and Parvati to walk in while she was defending Malfoy. After her slip up last night…the rumors would be flying if they heard this. "Of course not, Harry. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't immediately write him off as a Death Eater," she said. "We're just kids, Harry. A lot could change before the future gets here." It already has.

"Hermione," Harry started, but Ron cut him off by slapping a hand to his forehead.

"Oh no, you've gone and made Malfoy your next house-elf crusade, haven't you?" he groaned. "Hermione, Malfoy isn't a house-elf in need of saving. He's a conniving git, plain and simple. Just stick to house-elf rights, okay?"

Hermione was furious. "He's not a new crusade Ron. It's just…"

"Whatever you say, Hermione. Me and Harry are going down to breakfast now, before I waste away from starvation. You coming?" Ron said, completely ignoring that she had been about to say something.

Ugh! He is so infuriating sometimes! "I already went to breakfast," she said snippily.

"Right, well see you later then?" he said, steering Harry back towards their dorm to get dressed.

"No," said Hermione. "You're going to Hogsmeade, remember? And I'm doing my homework. I have loads."

"Oh. Right. Well, good luck with that. Come on Harry!" Ron said, and pulled his stormy roommate out of the common room.

Meanwhile, Hermione seethed silently to herself. A new crusade indeed. I'll show them! She marched up to her dorm, stuffed all her books into her bag until it was full to bursting, and strode out of the common room towards the library. She had work to do.

Draco sat sullenly at the Slytherin table, munching slowly on his apple and staring at the doors Hermione had left from some minutes ago. He was angry with himself, wondering why he couldn't make things go back to the way they were; insulting Granger and the Wonder Duo without feeling the slightest trace of guilt. Stupid dream.

Suddenly Draco was hit with a flashback from the last moments of the dream. He and Noami had been whispering at the table and suddenly Naomi said, "Daddy was talking about you!" to Hermione. That little minx; she was so crafty! She might have looked like Hermione, but that little girl was a Slytherin through and through! He snorted. Hermione wouldn't like that.

In his mind's eye, little Naomi appeared again. This time she was looking at Draco reproachfully.

"You were talking about Mummy again," she said.

Draco shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe," he said to the dream-girl.

Naomi frowned. "Daddy said some very mean things about Mummy," she said.

"But I didn't mean them," Draco said. "It was just for a laugh."

"Being mean isn't funny," Naomi told him. "Being mean hurts. Why would you be mean to Mummy? Don't you love her?"

Draco faltered. "I…" he started, but he never got to finish because suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder and a loud voice in his ear.

"Oi! Draco! Earth to Draco!"

"What?" snapped Draco, turning towards the owner of the voice. It was Blaise. Not him again. "What do you want?"

Blaise grinned. "Only to know why you are so out of it this morning. You've been staring off into space with a blank expression on your face for the past ten minutes."

Draco scowled at his dark-skinned house mate. "No reason at all. I just didn't sleep much last night."

Blaise only grinned wider. "Oh? Thinking about your dream-girl late into the night, were you?"

Yes. "Hardly," Draco drawled. "I was merely trying to get a jump on the massive amount of homework I have to finish this weekend."

Blaise snorted, but then said, "Good idea. The less time you have to spend with that mudblood the better. But I still don't see why you don't just get one of the fourth years or fifth year Ravenclaws to do your work for you. I'm sure there are plenty of willing ladies…" He trailed off, leaving his suggestive comment in the air.

Draco shrugged. "I like to do my own work. Granger isn't the only intelligent student in our year, you know."

"Of course," Blaise said smoothly. "Well, have fun today, studying with mudbloods and all."

"Shut up Blaise. I've heard enough," Draco said sharply. Blaise merely raised an eyebrow at Draco's odd behavior and left the table. Prat, Draco thought, rolling his eyes as he left. He stared at his half-eaten apple and threw it aside. He didn't have an appetite anymore. "Daddy said some very mean things about Mummy." Naomi's words echoed in his head. But she didn't hear them, he tried to reason with himself. It wasn't working.

I've had enough of this, Draco thought angrily. He got up from the table and started making his way towards the entrance doors. Might as well head to the library now. No doubt Hermione is already there, wondering where I am.

As he reached the doors, Draco came face to face with Harry and Ron. Upon seeing him, both boys immediately scowled and glared fiercely at him. Great, just who I wanted to see. "Morning, Potter, Weasley," he spat, not really sure why he chose to greet them at all.

Harry and Ron seemed even more upset than usual to see him, Draco noticed. "Malfoy," they spat back, pouring as much venom into his name as possible. For a second, dread filled him. Hermione didn't tell them about her dream, did she? They pushed roughly past him into the Great Hall and Draco turned to watch them go. When they didn't turn back, he allowed himself to relax. If Hermione had told them anything, they would have confronted him, he was sure of it. So whatever it was that was bugging them, it wasn't the dream. He made a mental note to ask Hermione about it later. Maybe he could use against them.

Then he remembered that Hermione probably wouldn't just hand him weapons to use against her best friends. I'll just have to phrase it differently, he thought. He glanced back in the Hall and noticed Harry and Ron were still glaring at him. He sneered and rolled his eyes. Yeah, I'm going to find out what I did…or didn't do today. See if I don't.

With that determined, Draco set off towards the Slytherin common room to get his books. No use wasting any more time. He had a date in the library.