All The Pretty Little Horses

Author: Rhapsody

Chapter Summery: Hermione and Ron break up. Hermione dreams some more. Lots of crying. Ginny makes a new friend, and Harry does Hermione a few favors.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The song that Hermione sings is a lullaby, source unknown.

Note: This story was written before the release of Order of the Pheonix. It does not reflect OotP canon and any characters appearing from OotP may not be in character.

Hermione sat up straight in her bed. She quickly opened her bedside drawer and pulled out the purple bound dairy that Ginny had given her, and transcribed the dream onto the cream colored paper with growing concern. She assured herself it was just a dream and nothing could come of it. What does it matter if the Neville in my dream is a total dolt? But the little voice in the back of her head kept telling her it wasn't a dream...

Chapter 3

Lifeless Wet Figure

Hermione got up groggily and looked at the silver watch strung across her wrist. It read, "You should be sleeping, you need your rest, darling!" But she couldn't sleep. Hermione got up and peered through the curtains surrounding her bed, pulling on the cloak that was sitting on the chair next to her. What is wrong with me? she thought as she opened the door quietly and walked down the stairs. First the whole thing with Malfoy, then that thing with Moon, and now I'm dreaming about love potions! She sighed and plopped into an armchair in the common room. She pulled open the nearest window and looked at the moon. An eerie light cast onto her hair. She looked at her watch again, and this time it said, "Fine! If you are going to get up, you should know it's midnight!" Hermione leaned back in the chair and tried to clear her mind and relax. What she really wanted right now was to pop in a CD of classical music and lull off to sleep. Knowing such things weren't possible as CD players were not in a large supply at Hogwarts she supplemented by humming a lullaby that her mother had always sung to her when she was little:

Hush a bye

Don't you cry

Go to sleep little baby

When you wake

You shall take

All the pretty little horses

Blacks and Bays

Dapples and Grays

Hermione suddenly recalled and laughed at the encounter of Ripped Leg and Squony the Pony. She stared off into space, her mind blank again. Tiredness swept over her swiftly like a tidal wave. She fell asleep on the armchair in the common room…

~*~*~*~*~*~

Cypris awoke in shock. What had just happened? Had she just slept with… Draco? She smiled wickedly, I had my first time with the most attractive guy in school. She looked over at the figure that had fallen asleep in her bed. He looked like an angel sleeping there. Granted, a very evil and very sexy angel. She got up and approached the window.

She had managed to involve herself in Draco's business once again. She remembered when they were seven and Draco broke up with his first girlfriend and he was blowing things up. He was so angry that when her family visited him, he had blown up her stuffed cat. Not that she had really cared. I never liked cats anyways! she thought. That time she had sat in his room while he hit things with his toy broomstick. She kept telling him how pretty he was and that there would be other girls. Then he had kissed her.

She always ended up getting involved in his love life and it always seemed to end up with them snogging each other. Like the previous year when Pansy decided she needed a religion so she converted to Christianity and gave up Draco for lent. Cypris had ended up assuring him that shagging Pansy daily wasn't a good thing, anyways, and she gave him a list of "100 Reasons Why Not to Shag Pansy".

She smiled at the memory and approached her bedside desk. Laughing, she dug out a copy of that very same list; she had saved it to look at every time she felt jealous of Pansy.

She read aloud, "#13 She dresses like a canary on crack. #35 She shaves her entire body and she must have stubble in the weirdest places." She laughed, "#28 I think she's related to Snape, which I guess could be a plus or a minus depending on how much lubrication you like. #29 I take back #28, I think she slept with Snape, do you really want that much lubrication!!!!" After that, as usual, Draco had snogged her and left her. It was almost like payment for her help. But it wasn't enough.

She felt obligated to help him with Hermione, though not because she really wanted to help him, but because she wanted to keep him. She knew that the second she stepped away he would return to Pansy and she would have to cope by reading a list. The funny part of the matter was that Pansy didn't have to do anything to get Draco. She just had to be there. The unfairness of the matter burned at Cypris. Yet, when she got Draco, she got more of him than Pansy got. She got Draco's sincere thanks. Pansy got his sincere lust - if lust could be referred to as sincere. She wanted to help him sort out the Hermione business, she had to. But she was at a loss as to what to do.

She pulled back the curtain and looked at the moon. It always brought her inspiration. The glowing round orb in the sky, the one she was named for. She needed to do something or she would lose Draco again. Then a thought struck her like a bolt of lightning. Why not write Draco's mother? Narcissa Malfoy had always been a very intelligent lady. She would have a perfectly logical reason for Draco to do such a rash thing.

Cypris grabbed a quill and a bottle of ink and sat down at her chessboard. She swept away the pieces with her hand. It was not a wizard chess set. They didn't work well for chess puzzles as you couldn't take back a move and they always tried to tell you what to do.

She smiled inwardly as she removed a piece of parchment from the shelf below the table. She began to write in her long, smooth handwriting:

Dear Narcissa,

I have always been a friend of your son, Draco, and I am writing to you without his knowledge to inquire about your instructions. He informed me that he was to entice a Gryffindor girl into… things. I have run a blood test on her and she is a pureblood. But I still do not understand why he was given these instructions. Draco and I have some mutual ties now and I was hoping I could gain some knowledge that I could pass to him about her.

Sincerely,

Cypris Moon

Yes, she thought, that sounds just fine. Once Mrs. Malfoy answers, I will give Draco the information and then maybe he will stay with me. She sealed the letter with her family seal and stuck her head out the window. After clicking her tongue a few times, a raven flew into the window. She handed it the letter and watched it fly away to deliver her message.

~*~*~*~*~*~

***Hermione, Harry, and Ron walked down the familiar corridors of Hogwarts on their way to breakfast. They were talking avidly about how Ginny and Colin had become an item. Ron was obviously very opposed to Colin dating his sister. Hermione, who was best friends with Ginny, thought they were cute together. Harry had wisely decided not to comment on the issue. They walked down the staircase and into the entrance hall. Ginny and Colin were talking quietly in the corner. Neville was searching for his wand which he had dropped somewhere. Lavender was waiting for Parvati outside the girl's bathroom.

They were about to enter the Great Hall when the all-too-familiar voice of Draco Malfoy was heard drawling behind them.

"Ooh look, it's Potty, Weasel, and Mudblood!"

"Where are your little bodyguards, Malfoy? Did they ditch you for someone better looking?" Hermione shot at him.

"Ouch, that really hurt my pride," Draco said sarcastically, "Especially coming from a mudblood."

"Can't you come up with any new names to call us, Ferret?" Harry had gone rigid and was giving Malfoy a death glare. "Or is that all you can come up with?"

"You really don't intimidate me, Potter." Draco said simply.

Ron and Harry simultaneously pulled out their wands and were ready to hex Malfoy the second he opened his mouth. Malfoy took out his wand as well and disarmed them both with one sweeping motion. Ginny left Colin and walked up behind Malfoy, disarming him as well. Now all three boys stood wand-less and glared at each other. Draco came to realization that he was outnumbered so he punched Ron in the stomach and turned to leave.

Ron fell backwards into Hermione. A small vial full of pink liquid fell out of her pocket and smashed upon the floor. There was a sound of shattering glass and pink light streaked through the room.

Hermione felt herself being pulled as if through a portkey and a small room appeared before her.

It was dark so she pulled out her wand and muttered some well-chosen words and a dim light appeared at the end of her wand. She looked around at the room. It was relatively dusty and there were a few old chairs sitting around a table. Upon the table was a load of Zonko's joke stuff and a candle. She lacarnum inflamore-ed the tip of the candle and the room was fully illuminated. She immediately noticed a hook upon the wall with an inscription.

"Here and only here you find,

What young girls dreams have created,

All you need to do is take the time,

And you will find the one you needed."

She peered at it for a few moments, rereading the inscription over and over in her mind. Then her gaze traveled to the hook and down the chain hanging on it. There at the end was something she recognized immediately. This was not an ordinary necklace. She knew that to find her soul mate she had to "take the time".

She reached out and touched the time-turner that was hung upon the hook…***

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione awoke from her dream with an ache in her neck and then she noticed that she had fallen asleep in an armchair in the common room. She suddenly forgot her pain as she remembered the dream. It had been so vivid. More so than any other dream she had ever had. She got up quickly but her cloak caught on the leg of the chair and she heard a tearing noise.

"Ugh!" she groaned as she pulled it out from under the leg of the chair and raced upstairs, past the window, where the sun could be seen peeking over the distant hilltops.

She slowly pulled open the door to her dorm and crept in silently, as so not to disturb the other sleeping girls. She walked over to her bed and pulled out the dairy and began rewriting the dream as she remembered it. As she got to the part with the time-turner her mind wandered back to memories of her 3rd year.

She and Harry had saved 2 lives, Sirius and Buckbeak. Harry had saved theirs as well, with his Patronus. She remembered scolding him for it, but she had been wrong. Her mind continued to dabble in her memories and it stopped on their first year, down the trap door in the room with the potions. She had told him he was a great wizard right before leaving him to face You-Know-Who all alone. It had been the most sincere thing she had ever remembered saying. It was true. He was a great wizard. She remembered how desperately she had wanted to go with him. She wanted so badly to help him, to be by his side. But she couldn't. She had told him he was a great wizard and left him there. She felt almost guilty. Like she had abandoned him for Ron. To pick up Ron off the giant chessboard.

Ever since then she never really liked chess. She hadn't really liked it in the first place, but after that event it seemed like the horrible memories of abandoning Harry came flooding back to her every time she looked at a chessboard.

She cared about both Ron and Harry. She just showed her affection for Ron more openly. She suddenly felt twice as bad about abandoning him. Harry was the one who she could go to. She never told Ron about her problems. She told Harry or Ginny. Ron was just there. And it wasn't that she didn't care about him. It was just different.

She got frustrated with herself and lied back down in her bed, her neck still aching. She didn't want to go back to sleep because with sleep came dreams. She didn't think she could handle another dream right now.

She tried to keep her mind blank as she stared up at the curtains above her. But to no avail, her mind began to wander again and it landed on what seemed to be its favorite subject lately, Draco.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry couldn't sleep. The sun was beginning to rise and the sky was turning pink. The clouds were laced with orange and the hilltops had a red tinge to them. He decided he would get up. He knew no matter how hard he tried he'd never be able to go back to sleep again. Harry got up out of bed and dug through his trunk in search of some clean clothes. He pulled out a sweater and some cords. He dressed quickly and ran his fingers through his permanently messy hair and stuffed his cloak and his Quidditch robes under the duvet on his bed and plumped them to make them look like a sleeping Harry.

He left the 7th years boy's dorm as quietly as possible and walked lazily down the staircase towards the common room. He heard a distant voice groan impatiently. He rounded the corner of the staircase just as a figure in a grey cloak passed him in a blur. He looked back after the figure as it entered the girls dorm adjacent to his own.

Hermione. He wasn't sure why she would be up this early. But she knew she was under a lot of stress. He wanted to do something to help her. He left the common room through the portrait hole and left to go talk to Professor McGonagall.

He was walking down the corridor absentmindedly thinking of exactly what to say when he ran into Professor Lupin.

"Hello, Harry, you're up early, where are you headed?"

"Oh, sorry for running into you Professor, I was just going to talk to Professor McGonagall."

Lupin eyed him mildly, "I see…"

"I needed to talk to her about Hermione."

Lupin got a very strange look, "Harry, can I talk to you in my office a minute?"

Harry followed Professor Lupin to his office and sat down in a chair next to his desk. Lupin muttered something and called Professor Mcgonagall into his office as well. After a few minutes of waiting while the teachers conversed in the hallway both entered.

"What is it you needed to tell me, Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Well, you see, Hermione really seems to be under a lot of stress lately. She won't really admit it but I think her being crowded by Lavender and Parvati isn't helping much. When I woke up this morning I saw her leaving to common room, and I think that's where she had been sleeping. And I'm really concerned about her."

"Ah," McGonagall said, glancing at Lupin. "Well, Potter, I don't exactly see why you are telling me this. If she wants to apply for a dormitory change she can take it up with me."

"That's the problem," Harry replied. "I don't think she wants to admit that she's so stressed out. You remember in - " Harry stopped abruptly. He momentarily forgot that Professors Lupin and Dumbledore were the only 2 teachers who knew he knew about the time-turner and Harry didn't want to ruin Hermione's reputation with McGonagall.

"I think what Harry is trying to say," Lupin put in smoothly, "is that Hermione isn't the kind of person to admit that she's under a lot of pressure."

"Well, it is very caring of you to be so concerned about your friend, Potter. I believe Miss Weasley has no roommates. We will move Ms. Granger's belongings in with Miss Weasley this afternoon. They can share a dormitory." McGonagall said.

"Thank you, I hope that'll help her. She and Ginny are very close friends."

McGonagall nodded. "I am aware of that."

"You are excused." Lupin said and Harry stood up and left.

He walked down the empty corridor and headed back to Gryffindor tower to tell Hermione the good news. He really hoped that it would lift her spirits.

Hermione, meanwhile, was sitting in bed thinking about Draco. She was attracted to him. That much was clear. When he kissed her, it was new and exciting and wonderful! With Ron it was like a little tiny fire had been lit and she felt like liquid. But with Draco it was like a huge blaze had been set and she felt like she was on fire. She wanted him, she wanted him badly.

The little voice in her head replayed what he had said like a broken record. You know you want me, 'Mione, you know Weasel could never give you what I could. Just remember, a deal is a deal, anything you want. I may appear to be... evil, but I always keep my promises.

But what did she want? Last night she told Harry she didn't want Ron anymore. It was true. She was sick of his sickening little snuggling, icky, puppy love. It was crap. It was nothing compared to what Draco gave her. She knew it, Draco was right. She didn't just want him, she needed him.

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. What was she going to do? She was stuck in time. She wanted to escape to run away to another place and time where she could start over. Granted, new usually was confusing, but she didn't care. Nothing could be as confusing as her life was now…

"Hello? Hermione are you up?" A gentle voice whispered outside of her bed curtains. She cracked open the curtains to see Harry standing there looking around anxiously, obviously afraid that someone else would wake up and scream. She laughed inwardly. Ginny had told her about what had happened after Lavender and Parvati's hissy fit. About what Harry had said. Harry obviously hadn't forgotten about the ruckus he had caused.

She slipped out of her bed lightly and they left together and descended the stairs to the common room. She sat once again in the chair she had fallen asleep in. It was her favorite chair, it was especially squishy and comfortable.

"I have a little surprise for you." Harry said brightly.

"What's that?" she asked, not looking at him. She didn't want him to know she had been crying.

"I had McGonagall agree to give you a dorm change. Your stuff will be moved this afternoon to Ginny's dormitory." He smiled.

She looked up, almost not believing what she had heard. "Oh, Harry, that's wonderful! Thank you so much! You're the best friend in the whole world!" She smiled and he noticed the splotches on her face from when she had been crying.

"You were crying." Harry commented, cocking his head to the side. She looked down at her lap and nodded as if ashamed of it. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Have you ever been attracted to someone you can't trust?" Her good mood seemed to die like a snuffed candle.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know what to do to help you there."

"It's okay, I didn't expect you to be able to, Harry. It was more hypothetical anyways. I shouldn't dump my problems on you."

"You aren't dumping, it's fine Hermione. You can tell me anything."

"Harry," she said, "I want to break up with Ron."

"It's okay, I think he'll understand if you explain why."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and Hermione said, "That's the problem, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Explain why, there has to be a reason."

"You have to promise never to tell him, never."

"I won't, I promise. Is it really that bad?"

"Harry," she looked desperately at him like he was the only thing keeping her alive. "I'm in love with Draco Malfoy."

Harry's jaw dropped. Then he repeated, "You're in love, with Malfoy. Well, that's not what I expected you to say, but I know you, Hermione, and I know you think before you act. It's all going to be okay. I'll go up right now and talk to Ron. I won't tell him about 'him' I'll just tell him what you said last night."

Hermione was crying freely now, "Oh, Harry, don't. You can't! It'll crush him! I can't do that to Ron!"

Harry looked at her seriously. "Think of what will happen if you don't!"

"I know it's just…"

"Oh Hermione, it's okay." Harry said, hugging her tightly, "I'll talk to him, I'll make it okay, I promise."

Harry got up and began to ascend the stairs to his dorm to confront Ron. As Hermione watched him go, she whispered, "You're a great wizard Harry" and broke down crying.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry entered the dorm room apprehensively. He looked around. It was still very early and everyone in the room was asleep. Harry went over to Ron's bed and shook Ron's shoulder. Ron groaned and rolled over. He blinked a few times and then shook his head.

"Too early, sleepy, talk later Harry."

"Ron, I need to talk to you."

"Later…"

"It's important."

"Hold on then!" Ron said grumpily. He sat up and stretched. He yawned a couple of times and blinked again.

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

"Yeah, sorry, I'm not a morning person."

"It's okay."

He sat up and looked at his friend, "What's up, Harry?"

"It's Hermione, she not doing too well."

"Oh. Where is she? I'll go talk to her, she probably needs me to comfort her, you know how girls are." He smiled proudly.

"No, Ron, I don't think that would help." Harry sat down and he explained what Hermione had said the previous night. Ron looked crushed, he knew in his heart Hermione didn't want to hurt him but he was still mad.

"Why? Why is she breaking up with me?"

"She says it's complicated and she doesn't know." Harry lied.

Hermione hadn't dumped him for no reason, Ron knew something was up. He got up abruptly and stormed out of the dorm slamming the door and waking Seamus, Dean and Neville. He was headed for entrance, he needed to take a walk. A nice long walk. He stormed through the common room and he didn't even notice the crying Hermione lying on her favorite armchair by the window.

Hermione didn't even know why she was crying anymore, she just was. She saw Ron storm out of his dorm and then she knew, he would never forgive her. Ron didn't understand and he didn't even know about Draco yet. She lied there and cried and cried and she didn't notice Lizzie and Ginny entering the common room on their way to breakfast. She had stopped crying and was just sitting face in her arms looking like she had passed out.

"What the heck is that?" Lizzie looked at the lifeless wet figure in the chair.

"Hermione… what happened to her? She looks… dead."

"Hermione, wake up!" Lizzie said, shaking her gently. Hermione didn't move, she wanted to just die, right there.

"Lizzie, let me talk to her" Ginny said quietly, sitting next to Hermione. "She already told me yesterday some of why she was upset. I'll see you at breakfast, later."

Lizzie nodded, showing she got the picture and headed out the portrait hole.

Hermione began to cry again, "I told Harry that Ron, and then he was, and Draco, and then, then, they were and, I hate myself, I'm horrible!"

"Hermione, calm down, it's okay. I…I think you need to talk to Draco."

"No, I can't, no, no, Ginny- "

"I'll come with you."

"Ginny, what'll I say?"

"What do you feel?"

"I feel like I want to die! I just literally crushed your brothers heart with a 1000 pound truck!"

Ginny pretended to be shocked. "You ran my brother over with a truck! I didn't know it was that serious!"

Hermione smiled weakly, "Well, not exactly."

"There's the smile I'm used to!" Ginny patted her shoulder.

"Ginny, I dumped him and I could tell he feels horrible! Oh, he'll never forgive me."

"It's just the Weasley temper, he'll get over it."

"I hope so."

"It doesn't matter now, what matters right now is you have to talk to Draco."

"I told you, Ginny, I can't!"

"I told you, you have to or I'll hex you. How does that sound?"

"I know the block to every hex you know."

"I have a wand and you happen to have left yours in your dormitory. You're going to talk to him."

"I don't want to!" Hermione whined.

"It'll make you feel better."

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I hate doing this…" Ginny said to herself as she walked down the stairs near the entrance hall. She was scowling and looked like she would hit anyone who came too close. Ginny loathed playing little messenger girl, but she had to do it for Hermione. Ginny checked her pocket to ensure that she still had the note. She pulled it out of her pocket and read it to herself. Hermione had written it while Ginny was standing over her shoulder so she figured no harm would come from reading it again.

Draco,

I need to talk to you. Meet me in the entrance hall ½ an hour after dinner. Don't bring Crabbe or Goyle. Ginny has been sent to deliver this note to you. I'll be waiting with her for you.

With love,

'Mione

Ginny refolded the letter and continued her search for Draco. She decided that being as the Slytherin dormitories were in the dungeons, she should head that way. She finally ran into Malfoy along with some other Slytherins near the dungeons.

"Looks like the Weaslette has lost her way," one Slytherin sneered at her.

"This is for you." Ginny said bravely, thrusting the note into Malfoy's hand. She turned and left quickly. She had to get back to Hermione and tell her she'd delivered the message. If Malfoy were to keep his word, he'd meet Hermione and Ginny after dinner near the entrance hall.

She had reached the stairway that would bring her to the first floor when there was a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a tall, very slim blond girl looking at her.

"Hello, I don't believe I know your name. Most of my comrades just refer to you as Weasley or Weaslette."

"Why would you care what my name is?" Ginny narrowed her gaze.

"I'm Cypris Moon. I'm a 7th year Slytherin. I'm friends with Draco and you just gave him a letter so I was wondering who you were." Cypris said innocently.

"I'm Ginny." Ginny said reluctantly.

"You're Hermione's friend, are you not?"

"Yes, I happen to be, why do you ask?"

"Because Draco seems very interested in her lately."

"I see…" Ginny still looked suspicious.

"I like you, Ginny, I think we would make good friends." Cypris said honestly.

"Why would I want to be your friend? How do I know I can trust you?"

"Why wouldn't you be able to?"

"Because you're a Slytherin, because our families hate each other, because you're friends with Malfoy, must I go on?"

"You're just as cunning as Hermione."

"Thanks, I think…" Ginny narrowed her gaze further.

"Well, I guess I have no reason to trust you either, then. I just thought… oh never mind, you probably have better things to do than stand here and talk to me. I guess I could always just leave you alone." Cypris sighed.

"If you really want to talk to me, we could talk, I guess." Ginny said unenthusiastically, "I have to go back to Gryffindor tower, anyways, you could walk with."

"Sounds great!" Cypris smiled.

They walked a while in silence. Ginny was trying to judge whether or not to trust Cypris. She figured no harm could come from just talking to her. It's not like Ginny was stupid enough to give her any information that could be used against any of her friends.

"So, do you play Quidditch?" Cypris asked as they climbed the staircase to the third floor.

"Yes, I'm on the house team."

"What position?"

"Chaser. You ever play?"

"No, girls don't usually play Quidditch in Slytherin. It's unladylike. I think that's bull, personally, but my opinions won't get me a spot on the team."

"That's sad, you have the right build for a keeper, you'd be good."

"Thanks for the insight, not that it'll help much. Do any of your other friends play?"

"Well, let's see… our keeper is Lizzie Wood, the other chasers are Megan and April, Colin and Leo are beaters… I'm not really friends with those two, I did go out with Colin for a while, but I'd rather not relive those memories. And, oh yeah, there's Harry, everyone is friends with him."

Cypris laughed, "Except Slytherins."

Ginny laughed too. "Exactly."

Cypris and Ginny continued walking and talking until they reached the corridor that housed the Gryffindors. Ginny bade Cypris farewell and told her that she was going with Hermione to talk to Malfoy that night after dinner (she figured that Cypris would know about it by dinner) and they could talk more then.

"Yeah, I believe Draco and Hermione will want some alone time." Cypris laughed.

"See you, then." And with that Ginny turned down the corridor and left to go tell Hermione that she had delivered the message, and ask Hermione what she knew about Cypris Moon.

~*~*~*~*~*~