'Guilt is a funny thing; always strange the way it chose to manifest itself. I had now decided guilt was responsible for the sudden attraction, unfounded as it first seemed, I knew it was because I had judged him so harshly for the beliefs that were- literally -beaten into him.'

The words fell from the pen into the crisp white pages of that leather-bound book Hermione had been hiding under her bed for some time. She stared down at the page her eyes wide, and her hand trembling.

It was an… epiphany, if you will. She ripped the page from the little diary swiftly and began tearing it up into as many pieces as she possibly could.

"What on Earth are you doing?" came the silky voice behind her.

"Oh." she gasped scrambling to shut the journal, "Well, I was just…Why do you have to sneak up on me like that?" she finally managed. She held her book bag to the edge of the desk in their common room and pushed her things in it before his eyes could see that she had taken up journaling.

He gave her a maybe-she-is-crazy kind of look and finally said, "Oookay then." he plopped into the armchair next to the desk she was at, "Uhm." she gave in response, eyeing him cautiously, he ignored it and began; "Well, it's a Saturday, and I haven't any Quidditch practice and we don't have duties until later this afternoon, what do you say we work on the journals?"

Hermione shook her head, "I do not feel like trying to work out that new code she is using, I just got rid of my last Eris headache." she said rubbing her temple absentmindedly as she recalled the other night working on the journals.

"Oh yeah, " he began casually, sounding a little smug, "I got that all sorted out." he stood up and pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from his pocket, and handed it to her. He was always prepared to show off.

She looked up at him and took the parchment carefully, avoiding touching his hands, she looked over it, a new light coming to her face, "This is brilliant." she said a smile falling across her face, "How did you manage it?" She remembered his offer from the night before but she hadn't imagined he could actually cough up the code the next day like he had said.

His smirk smile came back and said, "Oh well it was actually amazingly easy." Hermione offered him a harsh look and he cleared his throat, "Well I was staring at myself adoringly in the mirror because I'm that dead sexy-" This brought a snort from Hermione "-and I had decided that I had embraced enough sexy for the hour and I brought the journal over to look over-I look even sexier when I am working hard- I got frustrated and threw it down on the dresser, and when I looked in the mirror again-to make sure I hadn't acquired any wrinkles, you see. I saw the reflection of the journal and lo and behold, I could read it! It's all backwards." He set a smug smile on his face again.

Hermione's look of awe faded, and the urge to slap the smug smile off his face crept into her, causing her hand a little twitch. She bit the inside of her cheek, "Amazing." She said sharper then she had intended. However, he ignored her tone and took the compliment, his smiling now bearing perfect white teeth.

"That is odd." Hermione let fall from her mouth before she had thought about it.

"What?" he said looking down at her again, "That it was so easy or that she would be stupid enough to make it so easy?"

"Oh well, I mean, there's that, but I was talking about…" She bit her lip, "Never mind." His behaviour the past couple days was odd, and un-Malfoy like as it were and she didn't feel the need to point out that this was the first time she had ever seen him smile that didn't have some kind of agenda behind it. It wasn't smug, it wasn't a smirk- of which he was so fond- it didn't touch his eyes but there was something genuine about it. It brought a light to his face, and for an instant Hermione could actually call him attractive.

"Oh, come on." he said, a little put out, "What were you going to say?"

Shoot. "Well, I'm not so sure about this whole journal thing. If it's just her poetry and ramblings about this guy she is in love with…It doesn't make sense why she would use all these codes and stuff… for nothing." She offered to him, he took it-sceptically-but he took it.

"One of the many things we'll never know." he sighed, "Anyways, I translated a bit last night, I thought it was a little odd, it's a lot different from some of the other poems, hold on a second." He went back to his room and emerged with their journal in his hand and handed it to her, he opened it and flipped through the pages before handing it to her.

She looked down at the words in his neat writing, that made hers look ugly, she would have to convince him to do all the writing from now on, "As the winds meets the water and the earth meets the fire, I ask to be brought higher, higher above them all see beyond these things, to now see everything. Grant me the Sight and come to see me when the stars meet my eyes, enter my dreams and give me the Sight."

She looked up from the page, "Are you sure this is right?" she asked as a tingle went down her spine, he scoffed at being doubted, "Of course it is." She frowned, "This doesn't make any sense. I have to go to the Gryffindor tower for awhile, but I'll be back before duties, so maybe we can work on it then?"

The light on his face dimmed a little and he glared at her, his excitement was clearly drained at the mention of Gryffindor.

"I'm sure the Weasel and Potty miss their Little Homework Machine." He said scathingly as he turned to go to his room, Hermione shot a glare at his back, he always seemed to make up for any kind of niceness he caught her off guard with. She pulled her yellow hoodie from the back of the chair and pulled it over her head and black tee, muttering under her breath at his sheer idioticness- if that was even a word. She had to note his mood had steadily improved since that day on the lawns, he seemed to drop Mudblood completely from his arsenal- at least when he had spoken to her- and had moved on to just referring to her as 'Granger' and on occasion 'Book Worm'.

The lengths of their decent conversations increased, and were semi enjoyable- if not a little awkward- though he reverted back to his old ways rather quickly, usually when he hadn't gotten his own way. Though she really couldn't complain, too much, any amount of civility from Malfoy, no matter how awkward and uncharacteristic it may be, she would take it with a smile- sort of.

Her train of thought had brought her through the hallways to the Common Room she loved, she smiled at the Fat Lady and offered her the password, which she took noiselessly as she swung open to permit Hermione to the lazy room, where lounged few students for a Saturday.

"Wow, Mione. Glad to see you somewhere besides class and meals, you haven't been here in ages." Said Ron as he enveloped her in a crushing hug.

"Cant breath." she gasped, before he let her go, the tips of his ears turning red.

Harry offered her a small smile, they still hadn't made amends for their spat, and she wondered if they would in the foreseeable future.

"Nice to see you. Ron was just about to curse this book 40 ways from China because he couldn't-" Hermione interceded before he made it to the actual point of asking her for help. "I had actually come up to see Gin." she looked away a little ashamed she had abandoned the boys but, she had promised to see Gin.

Guilt overtook her, and quickly, "I should only need a half-hour at the latest, after that I could help no problem." She amended with a smile.

Ron look relived, while Harry looked sour. "Thanks Mione you are a lifesaver." he brought her back into a gentler hug. "So, Gin is upstairs right?" He nodded before relaxing on the couch, a content look on his face, while Harry returned to his paper with a vengeance.

"Ginny?" she questioned as she pushed the door open a little, "Come in."

Hermione smiled at the red head, "How are you?" she asked her as she made her way to the bed, Ginny smiled. A smart, little knowing smile that slightly bothered Hermione, with the way her eyes danced with excitement, and questions. Hermione swear she could see the girl fidget a little, Hermione gave her an odd look though the red heads smile stayed.

It was Hermione's turn to fidget, the intensity and scrutiny of Ginny's gaze began to get to her, like she was in on some private joke. She pushed past the discomfort, and got to the reason she was even there.

"I think..." she began as she sat down in front of Ginny, "I think I might be kind of, acutely, marginally, just a little bit attracted to him." She looked away from Ginny; not wanting to see the horror filled reaction she was sure that would contort the girl's features.

However, a small chuckle made Hermione look at her, and found that stupid smile came back for an encore. Come to think of it, she decided it was not a smile, more like a smirk.

Knowing, smug, annoying, pieces of crap smirk. Maybe that was taking it a little too far but she was that displeased by that stupid smile.

"Oh really." was Ginny's response.

That was it, Hermione had it. "What do you know?" Hermione asked with narrowed eyes.

"What should I know?"

"Are you trying to be facetious?"

Ginny knitted her brows, "What the hell?" Hermione shook her head, "Oh bugger just tell me what's going on…."

"Well only you really know what's going on." she said with implication in her voice. "Oh stop being such a child." Hermione replied sharper then she had originally intended for it to be. Gin let a reproachful look fall on her face, but apparently she had enough of the taunting and wanted to get on with the good part.

"Well… I might have tailed you and Malfoy all last week… Possibly." she began hesitantly, Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, but didn't stop Ginny. After a moment of silence she let out a sigh and said, "And where you satisfied with you findings?"

"Inconceivably." She said with a giddy tone, she looked about to burst, "I was very frustrated in the beginning, you two were so…nothing. I couldn't… 'Grr', is all I can think of that would describe it. You didn't talk, nothing, it was like the other wasn't even there…. And then…" A grin spread her face, "Then, that Friday night it was like, the Fates knew, or something…" Hermione wondered if the teen had any idea how ridiculous she sounded- "Hermioneee. Are you even listening? Didn't you hear me? He said your name." Hermione looked up at her puzzled, Ginny shook her head, "Your name." she repeated; talking very slow, like she was talking to someone mentally incapacitated.

"I think you are looking for something in nothing." Hermione said decidedly; as if the words even mattered to the red head, indeed they didn't and she just gave a sigh. "Or you don't want to admit to something being there." Hermione scoffed, "He is…" She couldn't find something to say though. She realized that it was obvious she hadn't really know who he was, and he made more and more clear each time they spoke that she only knew his father.

"Attractive?" Ginny finished for her, "You said it yourself already. You can't deny it now, no take backs!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "'No take backs'? Are we in kindergarten?" She looked at the teen with a bit of incredulity in her eyes, she decided she really didn't feel like dealing with Ginny and her insane theories, "Well, look at the time…" she began "I agreed to help the boys and they would be upset if I didn't get to them."

She stood up swiftly as Ginny pouted, "You deny it all you want, but I know-"

"Bye Gin." Hermione cut her off and closed the door behind her hurrying down the stairs to find the boys playing chess. "Hello." she offered cheerfully, they grunted in response and kept their eyes on the game, even as Hermione sat.

Her patience was worn by Ginny already so she let out a sharp sigh and turned on Ron, "Do you or do you not need help with your homework?" She asked through almost gritted teeth. "Oh, oh yeah. Uhm, well maybe you could come by later…" He turned towards her, noting her irritated expression, "Uhm, yeah I did. I was losing anyways." He said nodding to the board.

"Mate, come on you were clearly-"

"Losing." Ron finished for Harry, as he tossed Hermione his book and pulled out his essay. Harry had his face set in an expression that was oddly familiar to a pout, but he returned to his essay after loudly putting the chess set away, he ignored Hermione and Ron as they argued over proper tenses, spelling and that Shakespeare's had not been pink, how exactly that was relevant to how Shakespeare used his magic to create such a re large following in Early England and still be so famous today was beyond her. She wasn't sure if Ron was actually paying attention in his Wizards in Contemporary and Archaic Muggle Society class, it wasn't rocket science.

Hermione straightened Ron out, who proceeded to rewrite his parchment that was almost completely covered in red ink from Hermione's stringent editing, and turned on Harry, "Do you need any help?" This would be the true test of how mad she was, and she knew it, as a general rule of thumb if he refused it meant she was in serious trouble, and there was no reconciliation in the near future, and if he agreed quickly she was fine, but a hesitation meant he was very mad, but he knew he wouldn't be for a long time. She was insured a long wait if he hesitated or if he refused.

"Uhm, yeah sure." She smiled, only a slight hesitation on his part suggested she would receive the cold shoulder for only a little while longer.

After she finished his paper it had been evident he was paying more attention to her and Ron then she had thought, his pare suffered only a few red slashes, she offered him a smile, "Good job." He accepted it with a small nod, before she gave a yawn and leaned back against the couch.

The lack of sleep was catching up to her, the familiarity of the common room and the soft cushions of the couch lulled her to sleep, the scratching of Ron and Harry's quills making an odd but calming lullaby in her frazzled mind.

The fact she was dreaming unsettled her, even through her sleep, the atmosphere of the dream toyed with her mind. She imagined when one had dreams they were nice and bright and sunny, and were of a place you wanted to be, but this was not the case. The Heads Quarters stood in front of her, the familiar warmth gone from it; it was bathed in the pale moonlight falling in from the window on the far wall opposite the fire place. The carpet she stood on was not plush, the warmth it held was an unusual feeling, and gave an uncomfortable wet squish beneath her feet.

She jumped back off the patch of carpet where she stood taking a few steps back on her tip toes, the blood followed her, the smell swirling up around her body, and she gagged. Whatever she had eaten threatening to join the putrid mess of blood on the floor. A crash made her jump again, goose bumps prickling on her arm, a soft whimpering made her freeze, an unnatural flash of yellow light flashed into the common room from one of the bedrooms.

Her eyes fell to Malfoy's dorm, where the door crashed open and a blonde teen crashed out onto the floor, she let out a strangled gasp, a looming shadow stood in the doorway and she suddenly felt like she was in a cheap Muggle horror film. A whimper still fell from her lips, and her eyes began to sting with tears, and the rational side wondered why. The shadow turned toward, surprised to find an intruder, it hesitate but turned quickly into the room, a flash of silver was all she could make out before the shadow was gone.

Hermione was rooted, but no further sound came from the room, except for the groans the crumpled body made, unthinkingly, Hermione rushed over, running through the blood on the carpet, slipping a little when she hit tile, before she fell to her knees. She lifted the pale, blonde head into her lap, a slight trickle of warm liquid soaking through the white night dress she was wearing and onto her legs, the aroma of blood strong in her nose again. But as she turned the face towards her, she refused to be weak, she was shocked at the state Malfoy was in, and shocked she could figure out it was him. His grey eyes opened and pierced her own, and softly he said, "Hermione." and he repeated it, his voice become less and less his own.

"Hermione!" He finally shouted, and she took a step back, the blood on her white dress gone, the white dress gone period, the dorm melted away and was replaced by the Gryffindor common room gone, grey eyes replaced with emerald ones, "Are you alright? What's wrong?" Unthinkingly she reached up and threw her arms around Harry's neck, her body shaking with small sobs; he pulled her slower and let his hand trail over her hair, repeating that everything was okay.

"Is she okay?" a feminine voice kept urging, fear and curiosity burning it up.

"She fell asleep, a while ago, it's already three thirty." a male voice said.

It brought her fully out of the dream, and she tried to pull away, "I have to go." Harry let her go, but held on to the upper part of her arms, "You shouldn't." His emerald eyes burned into her own, searching for what she was hiding, "You were screaming, Mione." He tried to pull her into a hug again, but she slipped though his arms and onto her feet, "Just a bad dream." she said, "I-I was falling, no big deal." she stammered. "I have Head Duties, and I need to change."

She had gathered a larger audience then just the Boys & Gin, and she looked at all the eyes staring her and flushed, "I'm fine, I just ate too much sweets or something, sugar can give you bad dreams." They weren't satisfied but her pleading and the fact she would be late for her Head Duties finally let the Boys release her.

As soon as the portrait closed behind her she rushed to her dorm, she halted at the tapestry trying to catch her breath, and noticed Julie pacing back and forth, sighing and biting her lip.

"Faerie lights." she panted, and Julie looked up, "Hermione, are you alright?" she asked as she swung open, but Hermione ignored her. She ducked into the room silently a few papers were strewn across the desk and on to the floor, but a breeze could have caught those right? Her heart pounded in her ears, but she was sure that was the only thing she heard, "Malfoy?" she asked her voice shaky, threatening to crack.

She heard a shuffled from his dorm, and his door swung open, he walked out with a slight limp, one she might have missed if she wasn't assessing his health, "What?" He asked, his voice a little horse. She looked him over, her brown eyes scrutinizing him, "What do you want?" She looked over at the desk, and his eyes followed her gaze, and he looked back to her, "What? I dropped that retched Potions book on my foot." He said as he limped over to the desk heaving the giant book up onto the desk dropping it with a loud thud, and gathering the papers up off the floor.

She was still wary and stared at him, waiting for him to keel over, to figure out she was still in her dream. He turned toward her, he was a little uncomfortable under her gaze, "What is your problem? It's no big deal; it's just a little sore." His face twisted into shock, "What are you doing? Are you crying?"

The shock was her turn and she raised her hand up to her eyes, she looked down at the glistening fingertips glaring at them for betraying her, she didn't really expect to find any tears, she wasn't sure why she would be crying. "I'm… I had… I don't know." Her thoughts were disjointed and her head became a jumble again, and it was his turn to stare, he must think she was crazy now, and her embarrassment threatened her with more tears.

"I have to change for duties." She said as she quickly rushed to her room.

This was insane, there was nothing rational to explain her dream, or the fact she had been dreaming. She wasn't programmed for dreaming, her nights lay before her dark and uneventful, so how exactly could she explain this dream. She imagined that if she dreamt it might be about an Italian vacation or something that held her heart, but this. This was creepy. It felt too real, the wetness of blood soaked into the plush area rug of the common room, the scent of it swirling up around her head, the way her stomach contracted threatening to empty out. The warmth of his blood spreading over her lap.

It seemed impossible to her to be feel so real. What had changed from last night? Why hadn't she dreamt before this afternoon? Why weren't Eris' too descriptive poetry not planting the images in her head and dancing across her head at night? Why hadn't she been haunted by the Basilisk, the Dark Lord, every horrible moment of her short 17 years?

Yay, another chapter finally up! Isn't everyone like super excited? There is a little more meat in this chapter, well it's longer then normal, I had more ideas, and I wanted to put a lot more in, but I didn't want it to be too long. As usual reviews are always appreciated. D

ELiZABETHH.