Fan Fiction ❯ Post-Vampiracy Shock ❯ Dreams and Reality ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: erirose 
Hermione's "dream" -- which is of course Draco's current reality.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.31.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 190 | Status: Completed
Hermione's "dream" -- which is of course Draco's current reality.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Horror | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.31.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.6K | Visits: 190 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, etc, belongs to J.K. Rowling and her publishers. I claim no ownership to any of her characters.
Chapter Four: Dreams and Reality
---------------------------------------------------------- -
She walked on, ignorant of her surroundings. It was all very strange. The Granger he knew and hated was paranoid and cautious - and never, it seemed, without her damned bodyguards. Though, he recalled, they hadn’t been as clingy lately.
And he was sure she was never so graceful. Maybe it was just that she was free of that monstrous book bag she was forever carting around.
She had to be possessed. Or imperio’d. Or stunned and moblicorpse’d - there was a long list of possibilities. Normally he would stay far, far away from a possibly possessed Granger - hell, she took enough swings at him when she was conscious and aware.
He shook his head. Honestly, she spent far too much time around that hulking Weasley.
"At least she used to," he mused.
She was nearing the entrance hall now, and he wondered just where she was headed.
-------
Draco was freezing. He hadn't thought she would be going outside -- and hence hadn't thought of bringing his cloak to keep warm while he followed her. Which really wasn't such a bright idea, in retrospect. He really was bloody freezing.
Shivering and trying futilely not to show it, he glared at Hermione's floating form in front of him. It was entirely her fault he was out here. If she hadn't been crazy and out of bed at all hours of the morning, he would be in his warm - okay, not warm, but warmer than this - room and sleeping peacefully!
Draco huffed, a sudden cloud of icy steam escaping his mouth. Stupid, bucktoothed, frizzy-haired, know-it-all, bookworm annoying chit of a ---
...girl?
She had stopped. "About time, too," his mind supplied.
On the other hand...he wasn't sure if he quite liked her destination.
Hermione was standing (or rather, floating) at the very edge of the Forbidden Forest - the dark expanse of trees that marked the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.
Draco stopped as well, eyeing the forest warily and rubbing his arms vigourously. He didn't have very many good memories of the thing. Actually, he probably didn't have a single pleasant experience associated with it.
Honestly, Granger was insane - nobody in their right mind would go in there willingly! Then again, she didn't appear to actually be in her right mind. In fact, he was positive Granger's "right mind" (or left mind, depending on how you looked at it) would even let her take one step within ten feet of that forest.
No, certainly not. As he contemplated this, however, the very same bushy-haired female that occupied his current thoughts was entering the forest as calmly as she had exited the castle.
"Well, this is my cue to turn around," he thought. "I don't care what she's up to, I'm not going in there!"
But he stood transfixed, unable to tear his eyes away from her advancing form. He didn't really want to move, did he?
No, he was perfectly comfortable here, standing two feet deep in the snow, yes, perfectly warm --
Draco shook his head. What the hell? He had just decided upon going inside!
No, he should really stay here, and just watch her. It was really too intriguing. Besides, she wasn't going to enter the forest completely anyway...
Now how did he know that? He certainly didn't know what was going on in Granger's large head. He resolutely turned around and took a step in the opposite direction --
-- only to be turned back around again, facing Hermione once more.
Oh, bugger. He really should have stayed in the castle.
---------
Hermione was having a very strange dream. At least it felt like a dream. She didn't really dream all that much. When she did, it was usually about exams or books -- not this strange nighttime trip through Hogwarts.
What was even more peculiar, and which convinced her that her dream was, in fact, a dream, was the fact that Draco Malfoy was in her dream. And apparently walking beside her, deep in thought. Without trying to hex her, or looking suspiciously around for the boys of the Golden Trio -- just walking.
And the fact that she couldn't move, talk, or even see all that well was also a point in favor of her experience indeed being a dream.
Yes, definitely a dream.
She was moving forward rather slowly - she itched to resume the normal hallway-rush pace she usually assumed - but instead just kept on...gliding.
This dream was getting rather odd. She wouldn't mind if she would please wake up about now...
While she was trying (and failing) to walk at her own pace, (her feet seemed glued together) a flickering lantern-light appeared around the corner. Faintly the sound of adoring whispers reached her dream-sensitive ears and she started violently. (Somehow, she accomplished this without really moving. She suspected her body was having quite the fit back in her bed of the physical world.)
"Filch!" her mind screamed, as her mouth tried vainly to move.
She had to run, hide, something, anything but be caught out of bed after hours!
However, there was just one problem. Her legs still refused to obey her brain. Along with her arms, neck, feet, and hands as well.
Well. She could wake up now, she decided. Yes, she could most definitely wake up NOW!
...It wasn't working. She swore quietly to herself. Malfoy, still walking beside her and staring at the floor, didn't seem to notice.
Stupid dream.
Hermione stared at Malfoy for a little while, trying to wave her hands in front of his face to alert him to Filch. He would see them at any moment now!
Amazingly, while her arms stayed resolutely still at her side, he looked up.
She watched him grin as he spotted the cat Filch was speaking to earlier. His gaze traveled from Filch back to her, and the grin turned into a nasty smirk. Oho, he knew she was going to get in trouble, did he? Well, if she could be seen, so could he!
He seemed to have realized this, as his jaw dropped in shock. Hermione frowned. Why was he shocked? Filch was always out and about during the night, trying to catch potential rule-breaking students...
A second later, he was over whatever shock he had experienced, and was looking frantically about for a spot to hide.
She watched, amused, as he tried (vainly) to sneak behind a tapestry.
Then stopped being amused, because she was still standing in the middle of the hallway, in plain sight! But Filch didn't seem to have seen her, and was instead heading straight for the tapestry underneath which Malfoy was currently hiding.
Hah. She laughed at her own rare bout of stupidity. It was her dream, why should she get caught? Clearly, she had some extreme pent-up hatred for Malfoy and was just expressing it in this odd dream as she imagined him getting caught - the very thing she was terrified of.
Well...
Perhaps it was just rather hilarious, watching the Head Boy get caught sneaking out-of-bed.
...Or so she thought. Filch didn't seem to be seeing Malfoy, either.
Huh. Strange dream.
Malfoy seemed to be surprised as well. But seeing as he could actually move (she really didn't think it was fair - this was her dream!) he impulsively ran up to Filch and waved a hand in front of Filch's face. Filch was completely oblivious. This time it was Hermione's jaw that dropped. Mentally, of course, because she couldn't seem to move. She watched in forced silence as Malfoy quit waving his hand in front of Filch and moved over to her, waving the same hand in front of her face. She flinched. He didn't notice.
And then she was moving again. It seemed she was walking -- running -- gliding -- towards the entrance hall...where in the world was this dream taking her? It seemed awfully clear and long to be classified as a dream...
--------------------------------------
Short update for a month's wait, I know. Terribly sorry about that. I'm going to plead the cliche'd excuse of STRESS and no time to write. It's the truth. I've been insane, trying to make my grades into a 3.9 at least and I've been researching possible colleges like crazy. So, very sorry. This fic was and kind-of still is an experiment. So I can't promise I'll ever get it finished, or that it will have a wonderful plot with wonderful prose writing. I'll do my best, however.
Good News: I've already got the plan for the fifth chapter (which hopefully will be longer) ready to go and I'm hoping it should be up by next week sometime.
Chapter Four: Dreams and Reality
---------------------------------------------------------- -
She walked on, ignorant of her surroundings. It was all very strange. The Granger he knew and hated was paranoid and cautious - and never, it seemed, without her damned bodyguards. Though, he recalled, they hadn’t been as clingy lately.
And he was sure she was never so graceful. Maybe it was just that she was free of that monstrous book bag she was forever carting around.
She had to be possessed. Or imperio’d. Or stunned and moblicorpse’d - there was a long list of possibilities. Normally he would stay far, far away from a possibly possessed Granger - hell, she took enough swings at him when she was conscious and aware.
He shook his head. Honestly, she spent far too much time around that hulking Weasley.
"At least she used to," he mused.
She was nearing the entrance hall now, and he wondered just where she was headed.
-------
Draco was freezing. He hadn't thought she would be going outside -- and hence hadn't thought of bringing his cloak to keep warm while he followed her. Which really wasn't such a bright idea, in retrospect. He really was bloody freezing.
Shivering and trying futilely not to show it, he glared at Hermione's floating form in front of him. It was entirely her fault he was out here. If she hadn't been crazy and out of bed at all hours of the morning, he would be in his warm - okay, not warm, but warmer than this - room and sleeping peacefully!
Draco huffed, a sudden cloud of icy steam escaping his mouth. Stupid, bucktoothed, frizzy-haired, know-it-all, bookworm annoying chit of a ---
...girl?
She had stopped. "About time, too," his mind supplied.
On the other hand...he wasn't sure if he quite liked her destination.
Hermione was standing (or rather, floating) at the very edge of the Forbidden Forest - the dark expanse of trees that marked the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.
Draco stopped as well, eyeing the forest warily and rubbing his arms vigourously. He didn't have very many good memories of the thing. Actually, he probably didn't have a single pleasant experience associated with it.
Honestly, Granger was insane - nobody in their right mind would go in there willingly! Then again, she didn't appear to actually be in her right mind. In fact, he was positive Granger's "right mind" (or left mind, depending on how you looked at it) would even let her take one step within ten feet of that forest.
No, certainly not. As he contemplated this, however, the very same bushy-haired female that occupied his current thoughts was entering the forest as calmly as she had exited the castle.
"Well, this is my cue to turn around," he thought. "I don't care what she's up to, I'm not going in there!"
But he stood transfixed, unable to tear his eyes away from her advancing form. He didn't really want to move, did he?
No, he was perfectly comfortable here, standing two feet deep in the snow, yes, perfectly warm --
Draco shook his head. What the hell? He had just decided upon going inside!
No, he should really stay here, and just watch her. It was really too intriguing. Besides, she wasn't going to enter the forest completely anyway...
Now how did he know that? He certainly didn't know what was going on in Granger's large head. He resolutely turned around and took a step in the opposite direction --
-- only to be turned back around again, facing Hermione once more.
Oh, bugger. He really should have stayed in the castle.
---------
Hermione was having a very strange dream. At least it felt like a dream. She didn't really dream all that much. When she did, it was usually about exams or books -- not this strange nighttime trip through Hogwarts.
What was even more peculiar, and which convinced her that her dream was, in fact, a dream, was the fact that Draco Malfoy was in her dream. And apparently walking beside her, deep in thought. Without trying to hex her, or looking suspiciously around for the boys of the Golden Trio -- just walking.
And the fact that she couldn't move, talk, or even see all that well was also a point in favor of her experience indeed being a dream.
Yes, definitely a dream.
She was moving forward rather slowly - she itched to resume the normal hallway-rush pace she usually assumed - but instead just kept on...gliding.
This dream was getting rather odd. She wouldn't mind if she would please wake up about now...
While she was trying (and failing) to walk at her own pace, (her feet seemed glued together) a flickering lantern-light appeared around the corner. Faintly the sound of adoring whispers reached her dream-sensitive ears and she started violently. (Somehow, she accomplished this without really moving. She suspected her body was having quite the fit back in her bed of the physical world.)
"Filch!" her mind screamed, as her mouth tried vainly to move.
She had to run, hide, something, anything but be caught out of bed after hours!
However, there was just one problem. Her legs still refused to obey her brain. Along with her arms, neck, feet, and hands as well.
Well. She could wake up now, she decided. Yes, she could most definitely wake up NOW!
...It wasn't working. She swore quietly to herself. Malfoy, still walking beside her and staring at the floor, didn't seem to notice.
Stupid dream.
Hermione stared at Malfoy for a little while, trying to wave her hands in front of his face to alert him to Filch. He would see them at any moment now!
Amazingly, while her arms stayed resolutely still at her side, he looked up.
She watched him grin as he spotted the cat Filch was speaking to earlier. His gaze traveled from Filch back to her, and the grin turned into a nasty smirk. Oho, he knew she was going to get in trouble, did he? Well, if she could be seen, so could he!
He seemed to have realized this, as his jaw dropped in shock. Hermione frowned. Why was he shocked? Filch was always out and about during the night, trying to catch potential rule-breaking students...
A second later, he was over whatever shock he had experienced, and was looking frantically about for a spot to hide.
She watched, amused, as he tried (vainly) to sneak behind a tapestry.
Then stopped being amused, because she was still standing in the middle of the hallway, in plain sight! But Filch didn't seem to have seen her, and was instead heading straight for the tapestry underneath which Malfoy was currently hiding.
Hah. She laughed at her own rare bout of stupidity. It was her dream, why should she get caught? Clearly, she had some extreme pent-up hatred for Malfoy and was just expressing it in this odd dream as she imagined him getting caught - the very thing she was terrified of.
Well...
Perhaps it was just rather hilarious, watching the Head Boy get caught sneaking out-of-bed.
...Or so she thought. Filch didn't seem to be seeing Malfoy, either.
Huh. Strange dream.
Malfoy seemed to be surprised as well. But seeing as he could actually move (she really didn't think it was fair - this was her dream!) he impulsively ran up to Filch and waved a hand in front of Filch's face. Filch was completely oblivious. This time it was Hermione's jaw that dropped. Mentally, of course, because she couldn't seem to move. She watched in forced silence as Malfoy quit waving his hand in front of Filch and moved over to her, waving the same hand in front of her face. She flinched. He didn't notice.
And then she was moving again. It seemed she was walking -- running -- gliding -- towards the entrance hall...where in the world was this dream taking her? It seemed awfully clear and long to be classified as a dream...
--------------------------------------
Short update for a month's wait, I know. Terribly sorry about that. I'm going to plead the cliche'd excuse of STRESS and no time to write. It's the truth. I've been insane, trying to make my grades into a 3.9 at least and I've been researching possible colleges like crazy. So, very sorry. This fic was and kind-of still is an experiment. So I can't promise I'll ever get it finished, or that it will have a wonderful plot with wonderful prose writing. I'll do my best, however.
Good News: I've already got the plan for the fifth chapter (which hopefully will be longer) ready to go and I'm hoping it should be up by next week sometime.