three little words ; 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞

1. Dreams

Hermione's POV

Draco kissed Hermione and she sighed. She would give anything to stay this way, in the empty classroom, in the middle of the night. She felt so safe in his arms. It felt good, right.

"Draco?" Hermione whispered.

He looked at her with love. Playing with her fingers, he breathed, "Yeah?"

Hermione took a deep breath. This was it. "I...uh..."

Draco kissed her forehead gently. "It's okay, I won't judge. Say it."

"I love you." Hermione said tentatively, dropping her gaze to the floor. She didn't know what he would say.

He cupped her chin in his palm and brought it up to his face, forcing her to meet his bright blue eyes. And what came out of his mouth was the best thing ever.

"I love you too."

Hermione woke with a start. The sheets were tangled at the end of her bed, and her hair was in knots on her face. The girls' dormitory was empty, and seemed to have been for a long time, by the looks of it. Everything was cleaned up, like the elves had already come through.

She brushed her bushy brown curls out of her face and groaned. What had gotten into her? Last time she checked, Draco--Malfoy--was best friends with Voldemort, killing and hexing any muggleborn or halfblood that got in his way. Now she was having dreams about him? Not only did it worry her, but she knew that her friends would start to worry about her too.

Pulling on a pair of jeans and a shirt, Hermione tugged a brush through her thick hair and hastily put it out of her face into a ponytail. It would have to do. When she walked down to the common room, there were a few stragglers that mumbled, "Morning," to her when she passed.

She took a deep breath and shook her head to clear it a little of the last night's dream that threatened to take over her mind. Walking in to the Great Hall, it looked like breakfast was close to being over. Hermione's eyes lingered on the Slytherin table, hunting for Malfoy, but she was interrupted when Ginny Weasley called her over.

"Hey! There you are, Hermione! We've been waiting forever for you!" Ginny greeted her with a hug and gestured to the open seat next to her, and Hermione took it, glad to think of something else for awhile.

"Hermione? Are you alright?" Harry looked at her worriedly. He could read her so well, like she was an open book.

Steadying her shaking hands, she sighed and met his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a hard time sleeping last night."

"Nightmare?" Ron joined in on the conversation, taking a breath after stuffing his face full of sausages.

"Something like that," Hermione mumbled, filling her plate with food. It wasn't far from the truth; any dream like the last could easily be counted as a nightmare. She nudged Ginny in the elbow and gave her a look that said, I need to talk to you later. Ginny gave her a confused look at first, but then gave her a small grin and nodded slightly. Hermione turned back to her breakfast, letting out a sigh of relief. She knew that she could trust Ginny, out of all people.

Breakfast went as normal as it could, given the circumstances. When Hermione and the others retreated back to the Gryffindor common room, Ginny pulled her aside to a table in the corner to talk. "What's going on? I've never seen you so nervous."

"I don't know. I mean, there's something wrong going on. It started just last night, and I don't know what to do. Ginny, what's wrong with me?!" Hermione said in a panic, struggling to get every detail out.

"Slow down, you're gonna get a headache," Ginny comforts her. "What started? What is it?"

Hermione took a deep breath and continued. "I had this dream...it was in Hogwarts, but it was...with someone." She looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say.

"Who was it?" Her friend gently pressed.

"...Malfoy." She said, not meeting her eyes.

Ginny seemed to look surprised, but masked it well. "Malfoy? Why? Are you...I mean...seeing each other?"

"No!" Hermione's sudden outburst made a few Gryffindors look over at them. "No," she said quieter. "I never even talk to him. He never talks to me, well, unless you count the times he calls me a mudbood. But I don't get it. Why am I all of a sudden getting feelings for Malfoy? The enemy?" Hermione put her face in her hands.

"He's not exactly the enemy, Hermione, I mean--"

"Ginny, he joined them. He joined the Death Eaters! You saw--"

"I saw the pain and embarassment in his eyes. I saw past his label and blood status, right to his eyes. He didn't want to join them. He had to, though, to keep his parents happy. Did you ever realize how hard it must be for him? Living in a family of Death Eaters, where he has to learn the deadliest spells not even a grown wizard would even think of using!" Ginny contradicted.

"So what are you saying? Go right up to him and give him a kiss?" Hermione sneered.

Ginny sighed, exasperated. "I'm just saying, give him a shot. I don't mean start dating him. You can at least become friends. And if not that, then acquaintances. Just don't keep pitying yourself when he's the one that's probably gone through more than us combined. That including Harry and Ron, as well."

Hermione got up. "Okay. I...just...have to think. I'll be in--"

"The library." Ginny smirked playfully.

When she reached the library, Hermione immediately looked for the first book that came to mind: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. She'd read it about a thousand times, but she needed to think. And not about the book.

Settling into a chair at a table in the corner of the library, she tugged out her ponytail and let her curly hair hide her face as she sat in deep thought. Maybe Ginny was right. Maybe it was hard for Malfoy to live after so many years of obeying the Dark Lord.

After about an hour of thought, Hermione looked up at the time and sighed. It would be lunch soon, and she didn't feel in the mood to skip it. Packing up and saying goodbye to Madam Pince, Hermione returned the book to its shelf and checked out another few, just for light reading. Then, starting to yawn, she left the library, heading for the common room.

Her mind was somewhere else as she walked, and she didn't see him when she bumped into his broad frame, her books falling to the floor. His usually slicked-back blond hair was tousled and curly, and she blushed lightly. He didn't notice though; he wasn't paying full attention.

"Sorry, Granger," he said vaguely and grabbed her arms to steady her. He picked up her books, still looking past her a bit, not focused, and added, "My fault," in a gruff voice.

Malfoy's voice sent chills down her back, and Hermione mumbled a goodbye before heading briskly up the stone steps towards the Gryffindor common room, her arms flooding with a warmth where he'd held her, and a sudden cold soon after, where he'd taken his hands off.