A Dragon's Heart

A Dragon´s Heart

By: Lilie Blaze

Chapter 3: Someday Soon

The next morning, Hermione woke up early and made her way toward the bathroom, noticing that Draco was still fast asleep.

Half an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom, quite satisfied with her appearance. The color-enchanting spell she´d placed on her hair the night before had not worn off completely, so Hermione decided to try out yet another charm on her hair to add to her new look. Now her long hair fell in straight, sun-kissed wisps down her back, reaching her waist. She chose not to fuss with too many beauty charms and cast her usual make-up spell. Since it was Saturday and there was no need to wear the school uniform, she wore a pair of light denim hip-huggers and a low-cut white halter-top. Pulling on her new baby blue robes, she made her way to the Great Hall for the last bit of breakfast.

~*~*~*~

As she walked into the Great Hall, she could feel many heads turn and watch as she made her way to her usual seat. Noticing the time, she made a mental note to grab something for Draco on her way back. Hermione was so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn´t noticed the sour expressions on her best friends´ faces until she was comfortably seated.

"What´s wrong? Something wrong with the food?" she asked, looking concerned.

"No," they answered together, glaring in her direction.

"Did you forget to hand in your Potions essay?"

"No."

"Did you get detention?" she asked, the worry in her voice growing.

"No," they answered for the third time.

"Then what is it? What´s wrong?" she asked, the anger in her voice becoming more noticeable.

"Why don´t you tell us what the bloody hell is going on with you and Malfoy?!" Ron asked, an accusing tone in his voice.

"Ron-"

"No! Tell us the bloody truth, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table.

"Harry, I-" she tried again, looking helplessly at her two best friends.

"Hermione, please just tell us what is going on. We are your best friends and we just want to see you happy," Harry said, stressing the last bit as he looked directly at Ron who mumbled something under his breath.

"Ok, you´re right; I should tell you," she began, slowly. "Draco and I- we´re- um, we- I like him," she finally whispered, just loud enough for only her friends to hear.

"You like him?" Harry asked, obviously trying to hide his shock. "`Like´ how? `Like´ a friend or `like´ a boyfriend?"

"Like a...boyfriend," she answered after a moment of silence.

"Are you bloody serious?!" Ron yelled, getting up quickly and knocking over his chair in the process.

"Yes, Ron, I´m serious," she said, her voice barely above a whisper as she noticed the silence covering the hall and all eyes focusing on them. "Please, Ron...sit down."

"I can´t believe you!" he continued, not listening to the pleading tone in her voice. "Are you screwing him, too?! Tell me, Hermione, are you the bloody Slytherin Whore now?!" he demanded.

Hearing this, Hermione´s honey eyes filled with pain as the tears slipped down her cheeks. She had known he would be upset, but she had never pictured him like this; so full of hate. She never expected him to say something as cruel to her; never expected him to hurt her so terribly. Looking up, her eyes met his for a brief moment.

"I hate you, Ronald Weasley," she whispered, before getting up and running out of the hall. However, before she could make it out the doors she felt herself collide with another body, as two strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. `Draco,´ she thought, allowing her body to relax slightly.

~*~*~*~

Hearing the front door close, Draco scrambled out of bed and made a dash for the bathroom. Jumping in and out of the shower in record time, he charmed his hair to fall softly around his eyes as he finished drying off. He pulled on a pair of black jeans and a dark gray muscle shirt, grabbed his silver robes and rushed down to breakfast, hoping to catch up with Hermione.

Stepping into the Great Hall, he noticed the silence surrounding him as all eyes focused in on Ron Weasley and a girl in light blue robes. Looking closer, he realized the girl was Hermione.

"I can´t believe you!" he heard Ron yell, "Are you screwing him, too?! Tell me, Hermione, are you the bloody Slytherin Whore now?!" Hearing this, Draco saw Hermione´s face take on a pained expression, as tears fell down her soft cheeks. Suddenly, he heard her express the one emotion he´d never thought she was truly capable of feeling.

"I hate you, Ronald Weasley," she said, before standing up and running toward the doors. Not looking where she was going, her body crashed into his as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

He felt her body shake slightly as she cried. As angry as he felt right now, he knew this wasn´t the time to deal with Ron. Now was the time to deal with the crying girl in his arms. Supporting her small body, he led her out of the Great Hall.

~*~*~*~

Once inside their common room, Draco tried to calm Hermione down enough for her to tell him the password to her room. After a few minutes, he gave up and led her into his room. Upon entering, he picked up her small body and lay her down on the bed.

Walking over to the dresser, he quickly grabbed a small vile of light blue liquid and walked back to the bed. Sliding one hand under her neck, he pulled her head up a little and placed the vile near her pink lips.

"Drink this, Hermione; it´ll help you get some sleep," he whispered, stroking her hair lightly. "When you wake up, everything will be better."

Nodding, she opened her lips and swallowed the potion. As her eyes closed, Draco sat down beside the bed and watched as she slept.

~*~*~*~

*Walking along the dark corridor, she felt the fear inside her rising slightly. She wasn´t sure where she was headed but something inside her made her head in this particular direction.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" she asked, as she noticed light escaping from beneath a door. Hesitating for a moment, she pushed the door open to reveal a teenage boy about 18 years old sitting by the window. His golden-blond hair fell in soft curls around his eyes and reached just below his cheekbones. He was probably about six feet tall with a lean build and a tanned complexion.

Hearing the door open, he turned to face her. Suddenly, his handsome face broke into a warm and loving smile that reached all the way to his beautiful emerald eyes. He stood up and walked over to where she had been standing. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her into a warm embrace.

"I´ve missed you so much," he whispered, his voice full of love.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Don´t you know? It´s me, Nicholas. Angelique, don´t you recognize me?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"Angelique? I´m not Angelique!" she shrieked, pulling away and running down the dark corridor. She could hear his footsteps behind her, catching up quickly.

"Stop!" he yelled, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the ground.

"No!" she cried. "I´m not Angelique!" *

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and found herself sitting straight up in a room identical to her own with the exception that it was decorated in silver and emerald green. `Draco´s room,´ she thought, `but how did I get here?´

"Hermione?" she heard Draco´s concerned voice ask. "Are you ok? You screamed in your dream..."

"Yes, I´m fine," she said, catching her breath as Draco´s arms found their way around her shoulders and pulled her into a safe embrace. "Draco?"

"Hmm?"

"Who´s Nicholas?" she asked.

"Angelique Saige´s older brother," he answered after a moment of silence.

~*~*~*~

Stepping into the Gryffindor common room, they saw him. He was sitting by the fire, occupied by his thoughts.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Ron?" Harry´s angry voice asked. "How could you even think of saying something so cruel to Hermione?"

"Yeah, what the hell did you do that for?" Seamus asked, as he and Dean walked closer to where Harry stood, waiting for Ron to answer.

"She deserved it!" Ron answered, getting to his feet and facing the three angry faces of his fiends.

"No, she didn´t, Ron. She didn´t deserve it at all," Harry answered, disappointed in his best friend´s reaction. The three young men threw him one last look of pity before walking away and heading to where they hoped to find Hermione.

~*~*~*~

Miles away in London, the youngest occupant of Saige Manor woke up with a start as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. Catching his breath, he remembered what had scared him in the first place. It was the dream. He´d dreamt of her before, but it had never been like this; never so real. Closing his eyes, he could still see her standing before him.

Her nearly black hair falling in flawless curls down her back; her brilliant emerald eyes matching his in color. She was about a head shorter than him; about his mother´s height, with a slim figure.

Although her appearance had caught him off guard, he still managed to notice the `Head Girl´ badge pinned to her black robes. `So she´s Hogwarts´ newest Head Girl,´ he thought, an amused smile spreading across his lips.

Lying back down, he allowed his body to drift back to sleep as his mind filled with thoughts of the pretty girl in his dreams. `Someday we´ll meet,´ he mused. `Someday soon...'