In Vino Veritas

He sat in the common room, alone. The flames from the fireplace threw dreary shadows every which way, matching his mood. He sat there, staring down at the letter he held in his hands. He had read it three times over, not really believing what it said. He read it again, and this time, he believed.

Dear Draco,

I'm sorry, but it's best I tell you before you read about it in the Daily Prophet. Your father attempted to escape Azkaban last night. As you know, the Dementors don't guard the prison anymore, but Aurors do. Your father managed to take down two of them on his own, but the rest ambushed him. I'm sorry, Draco. He didn't make it.

I need you to stay at Hogwarts this winter. There are some things that need to be taken care of here, and it's best if you're away.

The only consolation to this tragedy is this: At least Lucius was able to take two of the bastards with him.

Love always,

Narcissa Malfoy

The letter was written in his mother's shaky handwriting. She had been near tears when she had written it, Draco could tell.

He crumbled the letter into a ball and tossed it into the fire. As he watched it burn, a single tear rolled over his cheek. Lucius was a rather cold man, not a very hands-on sort of parent, and always seemed to be disappointed in Draco, but Draco had loved him just the same. He was his father, and he idolized him. And now he was dead.

Draco slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes.

* * *

"I still don't understand! Why wouldn't the House-elves want to be free?" Hermione groaned, setting down her quill and closing her books. She just couldn't concentrate on her homework with that question lurking about her mind.

"They're happy the way they are, Hermione, that's why," Ron said, dipping his own quill in his bottle of ink.

"If they like what they do now, why try to change it?" Harry agreed. He was staring at a Potions essay he was trying to make a little longer.

Hermione shook her head. "It doesn't make sense. No one wants to be a slave."

"Well, obviously, they do." Ron finished the last sentence to his own essay, and set down his quill proudly. "There."

Hermione sighed, stood, and picked up her books.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked.

"To the library. I need to find more information for Ancient Runes." She left through the portrait-hole and headed for the library.

She hadn't been completely honest with Ron and Harry. It was true that she was going to the library, and she did need more information for her Runes essay, but she was mostly going because she couldn't stand the looks Ron was giving her; looks she was thankfully free of thus far this morning. He pretended he didn't stare at her often, and she tried not to notice, but that didn't stop it from being true. Ron Weasley had a crush on her.

Hermione entered the library and found an empty table. She spread out her books, opening them to the right places, and got her quill and parchment ready to work. Just as she turned to go search for more books, Parvati Patil approached her.

"Hi, Hermione." Parvati smiled at her, tossing her long black hair she wore in a plait back behind her shoulders. "Did you see the message board this morning?"

"No, I hadn't looked," Hermione said and walked into a row of books with Parvati following her. "Was something important put up?"

"Yes." Parvati sounded excited. "Professor Dumbledore decided to throw a New Years party for all the students who are staying here for the holidays. Didn't you notice how many people were signing up to stay this year?"

"I thought it was because Hogwarts is the safest place to be now that You-Know-Who is back," Hermione said, taking a book down from the shelf and thumbing through it.

Parvati stared at her for a moment before continuing. "The party's on New Years Eve, and anyone who stays can go. You don't have to be a certain year or have a date to go, like the Yule Ball, remember? But you can have a date, if you can get one, that is."

Hermione looked at her and smiled. "You look as if you already have a date, Parvati."

"I do! Well, I don't, but I know who's going to ask me already," Parvati said. She was so excited she giggled.

"Who?"

"Dean Thomas!" Parvati squealed, earning her a stern 'Shh!' from Mrs. Pince. She continued in a hushed voice. "I just know he's going to ask me! You know, he's always said that Padma and I were the two best-looking girls in our year, and he has been hanging around me a lot more since we got back from break...I really think he fancies me."

Hermione didn't reply, but walked back to her table. Parvati's remark about Dean fancying her brought up thoughts about Ron's apparent crush.

"Who would you like to ask you to the party?" Parvati asked, joining her at the table. "There's going to be dancing at the party. Who would you like to slow dance with?"

Now, that was a toughie. She immediately thought of Viktor Krum, but he was from Durmstrang, graduated, and she had somehow managed to get over him the past summer. She then thought of Ron, who was likely to ask her out, but she didn't like Ron that way. She went through the list of all the Gryffindor boys (even Harry, though she turned away from that idea quicker than she had Ron), and thought up all the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff boys she knew, but none of them caught her attention in that department. Sure, many of them were very good-looking and also very smart, but she couldn't see herself with them at a party. So, maybe, she really didn't know whom she would like to go with. Maybe she just wasn't interested in a relationship right now. But then again, there were those dreams...

"I don't know," she said.

"You don't know? C'mon, Hermione, everyone would like to go with someone. Are you afraid to tell me? I won't laugh at you, and I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. C'mon, who is it?" Parvati leaned forward. "I can keep a secret, you know that."

"I said I don't know, and I don't." Hermione gave her what she hoped was a serious look. "I mean it."

Parvati stood there, staring at her for a long time. Finally, she said, "What are you not telling me?"

Hermione looked down at the book she had gotten from the shelf, pretending to read the text on the front cover. Parvati didn't say anymore. She walked out of the library, leaving Hermione alone again.

Hermione sat down, still looking at the Runes book. Parvati had reminded her of something she had nearly forgotten. The dreams...

Her dreams had changed. Once, long ago, they had been pleasant and of good things. Then they had changed to horrible nightmares of what happened in the Department of Mysteries. And then, a couple months ago, they had changed again, to something...weird. She dreamt of a boy, a boy she had never thought she would allow to enter her nighttime slumber. At first, the dreams were just repeating memories. They soon turned into images of the boy's face, of him smirking at her. His drawling voice soon made an appearance, and by now the dreams were more elaborate. This one featured him by the lake, and her sitting with him. That one had him in the corridors, saying things to her she couldn't remember later if her life depended on it.

She could only remember vague details of the dreams when she woke up, but she always remembered the feeling she had. The feeling of happiness, of contentment. She didn't feel that way when she was awake anymore. Those feelings had started to slip away back in fourth year, after Harry had reported that You-Know-Who had returned, and they all but vanished in the Department of Mysteries. Sure, she could find some pleasure in studying, and in being with Harry and Ron when the latter wasn't giving her those stares. But nothing compared to what she felt in those dreams.

What she couldn't figure out now was why. Why this boy? Why this snarky, slimy, drawling boy? Why this- this Draco Malfoy?

She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, and came to a decision. She decided not to think about it, to forget. She had forgotten about the dreams before, she'd do it again.

Hermione turned back to her books, and continued on with her learning.