Hey, sorry this chapter took more time than the others, thank you for your patience and once again thanks to all those that followed, favourited and reviewed. Hope you enjoy it. As you may have noticed, some bits are from Draco's POV while others are from Hermione.


Draco Malfoy generally didn't sleep much, so he wasn't surprised when he woke up in the middle of the night. He was, however, surprised when he heard moans coming from Hermione's bed. He was immediately alert, knowing full well that if those moans were of sexual nature, the prude Gryffindor Princess would have surrounded herself in Silencing and Notice-me-not charms. The moaning became louder and some whimpers joined the mix, finally persuading Draco to get out of bed and see to her, sighing. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way to his sleeping room mate, who he noticed was twitching, almost in spasms. Her eyes were shut tightly and she shook her head, as if to protest something. His blood froze when he heard her mumbling.

"Please... please, no... no I don't know, I don't know, please... I don't..." she begged.

Memories flooded over Draco. He was suddenly in Malfoy Manor, in the drawing room, watching Hermione writhe under his aunt's painful interrogation, begging her to stop, saying she didn't know how they had gotten the sword, promising they hadn't been anywhere near Gringotts. He stood and watched, while his schoolmates were imprisoned, while one of them was being tortured under his eye. He stood and watched...

Hermione's moans turning into shouts and screams managed to rip Draco away from his memories, and he bent over her, grabbing her arms and blocking her legs with his knees.

"Wake up! Granger! Granger, wake up!" he called, but she kept thrashing, protesting against his hold. "Wake up dammit! Granger! HERMIONE!"

She jolted awake and stared, frightened and confused at a half naked Draco Malfoy over her, pinning her down. He saw as her eyes cleared up, and he released her slowly before awkwardly going back to bed. He heard her whisper a thanks before he buried his face in his pillow.

"You're definitely going to those meetings, Granger." He responded groggily, but he couldn't get those images out of his head. What was it like for her, when all he had to do was watch, yet he was still riddled with flashbacks and painful, bitter regret?


Hermione took Draco's advice. After a long day of classes, she found herself in the Great Hall, sat in a circle of other students, from second years to seventh, and Dr Worr, who was talking about PTSD and how they handled it in the Muggle world.

"... have wars all the time, the fighters often quite young, never having seen death before, much less having caused that death. It's very important to them to care for their soldiers, who sacrificed their well-being for that of their nation and beliefs..."

It was about ten minutes until he got to the students in front of him.

"If you're here it means that you're having a hard time adjusting. Why don't we talk about that? The best way to handle this is to share your experiences and what they do to now. Any volunteers?" the room stayed quiet. "Miss Granger?"

Of course. Heroine of the war and all, she had to go first. Set the example. She fidgeted in her seat before speaking.

"My... my year before the battle was alright, a bit lonely, quite scary, but we handled it. There was just one moment when... when it was more difficult." Dr Worr nodded, egging her on. She sighed. " We were captured. By snatchers. I had cast a spell on Harry so that his face was hardly recognisable, but they recognised Ron and me, and guessed about Harry. We were brought to... Malfoy Manor, where they asked Draco to identify him. He said he wasn't sure but... Bellatrix saw the sword of Gryffindor that we had with us and went crazy. Harry and Ron were imprisoned and... she... she set to work on me. The sword was supposed to be in her vault at Gringotts, she didn't know the one she had was fake, and she... questioned me on what else we took. She used... curses... and a cursed knife..." Hermione showed the forearm with Mudblood written on it, and gasps sounded across the room. "We managed to escape, but I still dream about it. Almost every night. That and the snake. I had one last night but Ma-y room mate noticed and woke me up."

She hung her head, blushing, waiting for someone to speak. It was a second year who spoke first. One of the two Ravenclaws that attacked Draco a few days earlier.

"This happened at Malfoy Manor? And he was there? He just watched?"

"What else could he have done? He already said he wasn't sure about Harry, even though he knew! Helping me would only have gotten him killed and I still would have been tortured!"

"Fine, but why did you stop us the other day? After he just stood there!"

"I won't speak on his behalf but I know his reasons for doing what he did, and if I can forgive, so can you! We've already told you want we think about your little chivalry the other day, so stop or you'll just get punished again. Trust me, he feels as bad about himself as you do. He has his own shit to deal with, his own nightmares, so lay off him!"

The second year didn't comment after that, but still looked affronted. After that, Dr Worr commented on Hermione's experiences and the discussion she and the Ravenclaw had had, and two other students shared. She listened politely, not commenting, but after that, she dragged herself up to her dorm, and barely managed to get undressed, not caring that Draco was sat reading on his own bed, before collapsing under her covers.