Choice

Draco woke up early, blinking in the darkness. He assumed it must be near dawn, he never woke up earlier. He reached for the alarm clock by his side. "Sssiks" he murmured softly to the silver snake shaped clock.

It'ss four o' ssix, Draco, the clock said into his mind.

Hmmph. thought Draco. It's bloody early. He knew from past experiences that he wasn't likely to get back to sleep, so he sat up. Running his hands through silvery hair, he looked around the dungeon dormitory. As always, it was pitch black. The lamps beside the beds were all enchanted to turn on at seven o'clock in the morning, until that time a student had to make do with Lumos.

Draco finally stood up, reaching for the chair that was beside his bed. After pulling on the fitted black pants that lay there, he slipped his feet into a pair of shoes. Shrugging into a pale green sweater, he headed out the door, stopping long enough to grab his guitar on the way.

I can go down to the lake for awhile. I'll be alone there. Slytherins craved solitude, after all. I wonder if Hermione is an early riser...

***

Hermione was, in fact, an early riser. And she was, in fact, awake at the moment.

Okay, deep breath. It was just a dream. It wasn't just a dream though. It was, in fact, a nightmare. As Hermione lay in bed, she couldn't help but think back to her... well, nightmare.

~~~
She was down in the common room, staring at the fire. Everyone else was in bed; she had only meant to stay up a few more minutes to study. Instead, she had ended up staying downstairs for hours. Ron came stumbling down the stairs. "'Mione!" he called out, frightened. And well he should be. There were spiders all across the common room floor, dividing him and her. He held out his hand to her. "Help me!"

She knew, of course, that the only way to save him would be if she crossed the room and took his hand. As she looked into those big blue eyes, she stood up to take the five steps over to him. After she had taken two, she heard her name again.

"Hermione!" The voice who called her name was deeper than Ron's, but no less desperate. As she turned around, the boy before her had silver coloring, all the way from the top of his head to the tips of the fingers on the hand that were stretched out to her.

Of course, her subconscious had no idea of what Draco was afraid of, so instead it substituted what she most feared. Or maybe it did that on purpose. She didn't know. She did know, however, that between her and Draco, dead bodies littered the floor. Harry's, and Ron's, Parvati's and Lavenders. Almost all of the Gryffindors were on the ground between the two of them. And standing behind Draco, ready to strike, was a shadowy figure that she couldn't see, but that she knew was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

She knew that if she reached out, and crossed that floor, she could save Draco's life. Her head swiveled back to Ron. Spiders were crawling up his pants legs now, and his face was crumpled with fear. The hand he had stretched out to her was trembling. She stood looking at him, and then she picked up her robes and ran towards Draco.
~~~

Hermione stood, stretching. That was an awful dream. And confusing.

After she had reached Draco, she had looked back at Ron. He had such a hurt and confused look on his face; she didn't know what to do. Just before she woke up, she could have sworn she had seen Harry come down the stairs behind Ron, and slip his arms around his waist. How odd.

Hermione walked quietly over to the window. Outside, it was just starting to lighten up a bit. She looked down at her watch, one of the few muggle items she had with her, and saw that it was a little after five. She looked over the Hogwarts school grounds. The sixth year girl's rooms looked out over the lake. Hermione started to turn away, before she saw a flash of green and white. Draco.

Turning, she hurried to the chest at the foot of her bed. Digging through it, she pulled out a pair of jeans and a light red shirt. After running a brush through her hair, she slipped on some shoes and hurried out the door.

***

Draco was sitting under the willow tree; his slender fingers bringing soft music from the guitar on his lap. A gift from his mother, the acoustic guitar was painted a deep green, and was enchanted to always stay in tune. Draco couldn't have produced bad sounds from it if he wanted too, but thankfully, he didn't want too.

Hermione walked up behind him, her feet quiet in the thick, damp grass. "Draco."

He turned around, startled. "Granger. What are you doing here?"

She sat down beside him, and picked up a pebble. Turning it over in her fingers, she answered him. "I saw you from my window. I thought I'd come say hi."

Draco looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"I don't know. I had a dream about you last night."

Draco raised a questioning eyebrow. "Are you going to tell me, or are you just going to leave that sentence hanging?"

Hermione flushed. "Well, if your going to be that way, then I'll just leave it hanging." She started to push out from the ground, but stopped when Draco stretched out a hand.

"Don't go. I don't want to be alone."

Hermione plunked back down on the ground, surprised. Draco just asked me not to leave him. Wow.

"What was the dream about?" he asked, looking at her solemnly.

She was surprised to see that his eyes weren't silver, as they looked. They weren't even gray, as she had thought. Instead they were a charcoal blue, the color of the clouds on a stormy day. The emotions rolling in there reminded her of a storm, too.

She caught her breath and looked away, hesitating.

"Hermione. Tell me, please?" Her name from his lips, combined with the word please. I've lost it, she thought to herself ruefully.

She found herself telling him about her dream, and her confusion. The Slytherin was actually a good listener, asking intelligent questions. She found herself spilling a lot of her personal fears to him.

"Hermione, I'm afraid you and you're friends will die too." he said, quietly, as they stood to go back into the castle.

Hermione realized that she still had a rock in her hand. As they turned from the willow, Hermione threw the rock into the water. It skimmed across the glassy surface, leaving ripples in the lake.

***

Harry was sitting on the window seat of the sixth year boys' dormitory, listening to the snoring of his mates. Seamus and Dean were particularly loud, as both of the boys were in Dean's bed, right next to the window. Harry rolled his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cold glass window. As he looked out at Hogwarts grounds, he saw Hermione and Draco walking back into the school.

Are they holding hands?

***

Draco walked Hermione to the Gryffindor towers. When they got there, Hermione quickly let go of his hands, and headed to the painting.

"Hermione," came the soft voice behind him. "wait."

"What do you want from me, Draco?" she asked, turning to look into his eyes. Her stomach was fluttering, and she wanted to leap into the Slytherins arms. He's a Slytherin, Hermione, get a grip.

"I... Jus.. Can't... I mean.. Will you..." Draco stuttered. What do I want? I want you. I want to make you happy; I want to be with you. I want you to love me. Will you? But he had no idea how to tell that to the hazel eyed fool in front of him.

Hermione laughed softly. "Well, when you figure it out, you know where I'll be." She turned and headed up the stairs to the tower. Draco watched her go, his eyes following the slender girl in front of him, before he turned to head to the dungeons and his own dormitory. She's much better looking than Blaise. Nicer too.

***

Hermione hesitated after telling the portrait the password, turning back to apologize to Draco, to tell him that she was sorry for being rude; to ask him if he wanted her, if he wanted to be hers. The words faded in her mouth as she watched Draco walk away. The sight hit her hard in the gut, while at the same time filling her with admiration for Draco's grace. How does he walk like that? And how do I really feel about him, anways? she wondered. I know that he's sexy, but is attraction all this is? Somehow, she didn't think so. And she was sure that this was not over.

***

Harry smiled from the top of the stairs. Mmmhmm. He hurried down, into the common room. "So, 'Mione, have a good, early start to your morning?"

Hermione blushed. "Yes, it was nice. I went down to the lake and skipped a rock... or two."

"Was Draco serenading you?"

"Erm...."

"Relax, 'Mione. I won't tell."

Hermione sighed in relief. She had no idea what Ron would say, but she knew it wouldn't be pretty. She flung her arms around Harry and gave him a big hug. "Thank you."

Ron came downstairs, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Here now, what's going on?" he asked, looking at his two best friends.

Hermione and Harry burst out laughing. Harry asked, "Ron, can't you at least brush your hair before gracing us with your presence?" Ron's bright red hair was sticking out all over the place.

Ron grimaced. "Erm, right-o..." He turned and hurried up the stairs, presumably to find a brush.

Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes, and settled down in the armchairs near the fire to wait. Eventually, Ron would be ready, and they could all go down and get some breakfast.

Outside, the lake water still rippled from Hermione's pebble.