Insomnia

Chapter 11 - Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of

I'm not afraid
Of anything in this world
There's nothing you can throw at me
That I haven't already heard
I'm just trying to find
A decent melody
A song that I can sing
In my own company
I never thought you were a fool
But darling look at you
You gotta stand up straight
Carry your own weight
These tears are going nowhere baby
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
I will not forsake
The colors that you bring
The nights you filled with fireworks
They left you with nothing
I am still enchanted
By the light you brought to me
I listen through your ears
Through your eyes I can see
And you are such a fool
To worry like you do
I know it's tough
And you can never get enough
Of what you don't really need now
My, oh my
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Oh love, look at you now
You've got yourself stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
I was unconscious, half asleep
The water is warm 'til you discover how deep
I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall
It's a long way down to nothing at all
You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it
And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if our way should falter
Along the stony pass
And if the night runs over
And if the day won't last
And if your way should falter
Along this stony pass
It's just a moment
This time will pass

As the door closed, separating her from Draco, Hermione leant against it with a smile on her face, musing over the events of the past night. Who would have thought that insomnia and heavy drinking could have lead to a D&M with her old Auror partner in the witching hours?

She walked through the house, feeling more full of energy than she had in a long time. Usually, mornings were either a bleary mess of headaches, nausea and feelings of self-loathing, or the wakened somnambulism that only insomniacs know. Either way, she was never like this, jittery, itching to do something, talk to someone. Her writer's lifestyle usually worked perfectly with her little trips to the Leaky Cauldron, but today, for the first time in years, she wished she had something else to do apart from stay in her flat.

Something bumped her leg, and she looked down to see Sylvia staring up at her, looking affronted. She bent down to gather the cat up in her arms, and was rewarded by a low rumbling purr.

"So, Miss Sylvia, have you forgiven me for bringing Draco over?" Hermione crooned, rubbing her face on Sylvia's soft fur. Great, she thought with a smile. The mark of the single woman. Talking to one's cat.

She looked at the clock on the wall. Only seven thirty. Too early to call Ginny. Too late to go to bed. Not that she'd any sleep anyway. She felt just about ready to jump out of her skin. Harry would be awake, though - he liked to run every morning. Hermione sat herself in front of the fire and was about to open a link with Harry's fireplace, when she realised that she didn't really have anything to say. In fact, Hermione could only think of one person who would be happy to hear about her run-in with Draco.

She picked up the telephone and called her mother. The phone rang three times, and then a woman answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mum."

"Hermione!" The tone of surprise in her mother's voice quickly changed to one of concern, "Is something wrong?"

Hermione laughed. "No, I'm fine. I just felt like having a chat."

There was a pause, in which Hermione could picture the look of disbelief on Kate Granger's face, which would have reasserted itself immediately.

"Well, it's lovely to hear from you. How's the book coming along?"

"It's going well. I've only got a few more chapters to write." Hermione took a deep breath, and bit the bullet. "Guess who I ran into last night? Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, that polite boy you worked with during the..." There was an uncomfortable pause.

Hermione smiled ironically. Don't mention the war. "Yes, I saw him at..." No need to tell mum about the drinking. "The library," she finished lamely. "He came over for a coffee. We had a great chat."

"Ah." Her mother's interest was definitely piqued now. "What's he doing now?"

"He trains Aurors."

"Oh, that must be interesting. I suppose it was lovely catching up with him again."

"Mm." The question hung in the air, and Hermione gave up and answered it. "I'm having dinner with him on Friday."

There. That was what her mother wanted to hear. Kate immediately went into Matchmaker mode.

"Oh! How wonderful. It's about time you went out again. I worry about you, you know. Always cooped up in that tiny flat. It'll be good for you to get out more."

"I know, mum. But we're only having dinner. He's an old friend."

"A mother can dream, can't she?" Her voice was forcedly light.

This was dangerous territory. Every so often, Hermione would go to her mother's house for dinner, and there would be an extra guest, usually the son of a friend. This always led to an uncomfortable meal, and a fight afterwards. Hermione Granger did not like being set up.

"Mum, please. He's a friend. It's good talking to him. He knows what I'm going through. We're not interested in each other romantically." There. Plain and simple.

"All right. Sorry." Kate sounded almost sulky. Hermione sighed.

"Look, I know you're worried about me. But I'm not ready for a relationship. It's too soon."

"It's been two and a half years..."

"Mum!"

A silent decision was reached to not go there. Her mother, her voice unusually bright, began to regale Hermione with stories and gossip about family friends. Hermione listened, thankful the subject had changed. Eventually, her mother sighed regretfully.

"Darling, I have to go. I'm on at the surgery soon."

"That's okay. Thanks for the chat. Give my love to Dad."

"I will. Look after yourself, all right? And please have a good time with Draco."

"Yes, mum."

Mentally kicking herself for calling her mother, Hermione wandered into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. It had been a stupid move, she reflected. Her excited need to talk to someone had overshadowed her common sense. Hermione frowned to herself. Of course, the person she really wanted to talk to was Draco. She hadn't seen him in nigh on two years, and last night she'd been talking to him like he was her oldest friend. It had been...comforting.

She wished her mother hadn't seen it as a matchmaking opportunity. A look around Hermione's house would have told anyone that she wasn't ready to move on. Photos of Ron smiled at her from every table, and on top of the fireplace was a picture of the two of them at Harry and Ginny's wedding, beaming and waving. It was the closest thing she had to a wedding photo of her own.

A crackle from the fireplace caught her attention, and she looked down to see the friendly face of Albus Dumbledore grinning at her out of the flames.

"Good morning, Miss Granger."

Hermione beamed at him. "Professor! How are you?"

"Perfectly well, as always. And it's not "Professor" any more." He smiled. "I'm very busy, of course. Young Percy Weasley keeps owling me this and that. The question is, how are you?"

Hermione was taken slightly aback. "I - I'm fine."

"Ah, yes. I hear you met Mister Malfoy last night."

Hermione rolled her eyes. The man knew everything, always had. The perfect choice for Minister of Magic, really. Far better than his incompetent predecessor.

"Yes, we had a nice long chat. I've just been on the phone to my mother, and she seems to think we're about to get married."

Dumbledore's face took on the expression of jovial severity that only he could do.

"Well, I'm not here to suggest any such thing."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. "Very well. Then to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm merely here to ask you to do a little favour for me."

"And that would be..."

"Keep an eye on Draco. He needs friends. He's spent the last two years feeling terribly guilty."

Hermione frowned, perplexed. "Guilty? What for?" It dawned on her. "Oh...that? But he didn't have a choice! And besides, Lucius..."

"Yes. We both know this. But killing one's own father isn't the sort of thing people can get over quickly."

Hermione nodded. "Of course." She smiled to herself. "It was nice, seeing him. He understands."

Dumbledore smiled sagely. "Yes, I would imagine he does." He twinkled apologetically at her. "It's been wonderful talking to you, my dear. But a Minister's life is never one of peace."

"Of course. Thank you for dropping in." She leant into the cool flames and kissed her old Headmaster on the cheek.

"And you'll keep an eye on young Draco for me?" Dumbledore regarded her with a severe look, and she laughed.

"Yes, of course I will. Have a nice day."

"Goodbye, Hermione." His kindly face disappeared from the fireplace, leaving Hermione to ponder his motives at length.