From Dreams to Reality

Chapter 4_______________________________________________________________

Lucius Malfoy dragged Narcissa by the arm, through the trees of the forest until they reached a large clearing, the same of which Lucius had punished Draco in. He threw Narcissa so she staggered backwards and landed with a painful 'thud' on the hard ground.

A thick piece of black cloth was covering her mouth, causing all her attempts of words to become muffled. She stood, only to have Lucius raise his wand at her.

"Locomotor Mortis," he hissed, pointing it at Narcissa's legs. They immediately sprung together and, unable to keep her balance, fell to the ground again, letting out an indistinguishable squeal of pain. "My dear, it is time. You knew this day would come the moment you started to feed information to Fudge."

Narcissa gave a struggle, trying to defend herself with words, but it was hopeless. She wanted to just reach up and untie the piece of cloth, but she knew that her attempt wouldn't be rewarded, as it was there by magic. She closed her eyes, waiting with fear for what was to come:

"Avada Kedavra!" Lucius shouted. A flash of green light exited his wand and spread through the surrounding trees. Lucius gave a cruel, icy cold laugh at the sight of Narcissa's limp, lifeless body, sprawled on the dusty ground.

Hermione let out a gasp and opened her eyes abruptly. She stared up at the ceiling of her dark room, aware of the cold sweat that was running down her brow. She was shaking slightly as images from her nightmare came back into view. She sat up, her breathing coming out irregularly and shut her eyes, trying to force the images to go away.

The images stayed where they were, however. Lucius, standing there with his wand pointing at Narcissa's heart, Narcissa's dead figure, the green light of the Killing Curse... All of it was fixed in Hermione's mind. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself, only to find her throat dry. She waited a few moments before climbing out of bed and heading to her door. She slowly and quietly opened it, before heading out and tiptoeing down the passage to the kitchen. Unable to see much, she flicked on the light, hoping not to wake Draco. She poured herself a drink of water from the fridge and sat down at the table to drink it.

The dream was still on her mind and she gave a light shiver, despite the warm summer air surrounding her. Why would Lucius want to kill Narcissa? Had she done something to betray him? A few of Lucius' words floated back into her mind. "...You knew this day would come the moment you started to feed information to Fudge." Cornelius Fudge? Had she really been feeding information to the Minister for Magic?

Hermione shook her head. She was getting worked up over something she didn't even know was real. It all could've been nothing more than a dream, not another "vision" like the one she'd seen with Draco. Her subconscious was telling her differently, though. That it was another vision, that Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother was really dead, or was going to die, that Lucius had, or was, going to kill her.

Hermione's lower lip trembled and she buried her face in her arms. She couldn't understand how she had this sort of power: to see the reality in her dreams.

> * <

Draco woke with a groan, as he became aware of the pounding in his head. He re-closed his eyes, wanting some relief, but it didn't help much. He sat up and looked around the room, only to notice Hermione sitting at the table in the dining room, her head resting in her arms as she slept, a half-glass of water sitting in front of her.

He looked up at the clock: it was seven o'clock a.m. Giving a yawn and a stretch, he stood up and headed over to the table.

"Granger, wake up," he said, giving her a rather rough shake, causing her to wake up abruptly. She looked at him, a dark expression on her pale face.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she asked severely.

Draco took the seat at the end of a table. "Note to self: Granger isn't a morning person," he said sarcastically to himself. Hermione gave him a cold expression, which he didn't hesitate in returning. "What are you doing out here?" he asked roughly, taking in her light summer nightgown.

Hermione frowned, trying to remember and went even paler when she did remember. "I -" she started, her throat going dry again. "I came out here during the night. I had a -" She stopped, unsure whether she should continue or not.

Draco looked impatient. "Spit it out, Granger," he sneered.

Hermione looked down at her hands, curled up in her lap. "I had a nightmare," she said.

"About...?" Draco pushed her to continue.

"I can't tell you," Hermione said. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione stopped him. "I just can't tell you."

She stood up and headed out of the room to go and get a bit more sleep in her bed, leaving Draco sitting there with a confused expression on his face.

*

Hermione re-woke to the sound of many voices coming from outside. She dressed quickly, a frown printed on her face the whole time and headed back out of her room to go and investigate.

Reaching the front door, she looked over at Draco, who was sleeping on the couch, before heading out the door. The moment she re-closed her door, she found that her street was crowded with about fifty people, all standing around chatting. An oddly dressed man, accompanied by two other men, was taking photos of the forest with an old ornate camera.

Hermione, curious, approached a small group of people close by. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Oh, a woman was killed in these trees last night, dear," said a woman Hermione recognised as the nosy woman that lived across from her. "What was her name found to be again, Geoffrey?"

"Narcissa Malfoy, Edna. Narcissa Malfoy," said a man, obviously Geoffrey.

Hermione's veins went suddenly cold and her heart did a sickly plummet into her stomach. Muttering a quick "Thanks" to the group, she turned and headed back into the house, only to find Draco awake on the couch.

"What's with all the racket out there?" he asked. "Doesn't your neighbourhood care about people sleeping?"

Hermione headed around and took a seat on the other couch. "Someone was killed in the forest last night," Hermione said. "I saw it all in my dream, too."

Draco looked up at her abruptly, as he fiddled with the TV remote. "Who was killed?" he asked.

Hermione looked at him in the eye for a long moment before hesitantly replying. "Your mother. Your father killed her."

Of the seventeen years Draco had been alive, his mother had always meant a great deal to him. She had always helped him after his father's punishments; she let him have his own choices in life, where Lucius would never allow that; she did nearly everything to make sure Draco was well. Now, however, with her dead, she wouldn't be there for him at all and that was what hit him the worst and he felt his anger and hatred towards his father build up inside of him.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said, trying to get his attention. "Draco?" Her use of his first name caused his thoughts to pause for a moment as he looked at her, slightly surprised. "I'm really sorry. I probably should've told you about my dream earlier."

Draco just looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Tell me, how did he kill her?" he asked.

Hermione, caught off guard by the question, took a moment before replying. "He used the leg-locker curse on her first and then..." She swallowed thickly. "... Avada Kedavra." The words exited her mouth quietly and she let out a small whimper, trying to push back her building tears.

Draco was staring at her numbly. "Avada Kedavra?" he repeated. Hermione nodded. "What the hell did she do to deserve that?"

Hermione ran her fingers through her messy hair. "From what your father said, she had been feeding confidential information to Cornelius Fudge," Hermione replied. "That's all I know."

"My mother would never..."

"Well your father thought she was, Malfoy," Hermione said. "She had a piece of cloth wrapped around her mouth. She couldn't verbally defend herself against that. Maybe your father was wrong, maybe someone else was, or is, giving Fudge information."

Draco frowned. "I don't see who would, though. My father has a lot of power you may not be aware of, Granger. Only a person with a great amount of guts and courage would go and betray him like that."

"I'm aware of your father's power. Malfoy," Hermione said, her expression serious. "It doesn't really matter who is behind it at the moment, anyway. What does matter is that you're safe. Your father couldn't possibly find you here."

Draco stared at her blankly for a moment. "I'm really glad that you care, Granger," he said stiffly, "but my mother is dead and she was killed because my bloody father suspected her of doing something she most likely didn't do!"

Hermione gave him a small, false smile. "There's nothing you can do now, Draco." She paused for a moment, not caring that she had just called him by his first name. Her voice softened as she continued, a look of great thought on her face. "It must really be hard losing someone so close to you. That's one thing I have never experienced. I can only judge on how I would feel if I lost Harry or Ron..."

Draco wasn't really listening to her. He was taking more note of how she was looking at him, as though she actually felt sympathy for him. No one like her had ever really shown anything like that towards him. In fact, the only person he ever knew who had, had been his mother. The fact that Hermione was now, though, both confused and chilled him slightly, because she was one of his worst enemies, but it also, oddly, warmed him at the same time.

Hermione suddenly became aware of his stare and stopped both her talking and her trail of thought. His eyes had an odd glimmer in them, unlike anything she had ever seen in them. It wasn't scheming, or malicious, but something entirely different that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Hermione slowly came back to her original senses as her eyes started tracing the line of his smooth, pale cheekbones and mentally slapped herself. She was not allowed to look at Draco Malfoy like that!

"Draco?" she said, trying to get his attention.

Draco suddenly snapped out of his daze. "What?" he asked roughly.

"You had this weird expression on your face, that's all," Hermione said, not looking at him.

"Yeah, well it was nothing compared to the one on yours," he said defensively. Hermione's cheeks went slightly pink and she turned to look at him again, a glare fixed on her face. Draco sighed. "I was just thinking about how truly amazing you are, Granger." He paused for a moment before continuing, ignoring the frown that had crept up on Hermione's features. "We've hated each other for six - seven years. I suddenly end up on your doorstep, looking close to death. You take me in, help me and care for me when all I've ever done to you has made your life miserable and now you're even showing that you feel sorry for me. It strikes me as ironic that you've also actually, quite suddenly, started using my first name rather than my last when addressing me."

Hermione looked down at her lap, not knowing what to say. "I guess that's just the way I am," she said quietly. "You've also been showing a different side too, Draco."

Draco shrugged. "Yeah, it's a bit hard to insult you as much with you doing all this for me," Draco admitted in a disgusted tone, as if he despised the idea.

Hermione looked up from her hands, a curious expression shown clearly on her face. "Why is it that you hate me?" she asked. Draco raised an eyebrow, caught off guard.

"I have my reasons," he answered after a moment with a light shrug.

Hermione sighed heavily. Had she really expected a straight answer...?