Ch. 6

The rest of the day flew by, along with the next couple of days. Thankfully for Hermione, she only had one other class with Draco and Blaise. Ginny was only in one of those classes, and she noticed that the one class that Ginny wasn't in, Blaise seemed incredibly fidgety and nervous.

She practically collapsed onto her bed that Thursday evening when she got back to her dorm, sighing heavily into the large comforter and kicking off her shoes.

"You alright there?"

Sitting up quickly, she looked over at her door that she just now realized she had forgotten to close. Draco was standing in her doorway, leaning against the frame. He had a small smile on his face, but it was laced with concern. Concern for her?

"Yeah, just exhausted," She answered.

He knew that she wasn't going to tell him why, but he also knew that she didn't  always sleep through the nights. He was woken up on more than one occasion from her anxiety and from nightmares she seemed to be having. So instead of pushing it, he frowned at her and said, "Why don't you go take a bath in the Prefects' bathroom?"

It didn't sound too bad of an idea to her. Of course, she could just use her own bathroom; the bathtub was plenty large enough. But it didn't have any of the amazing soaps and lotions that she enjoyed in the Prefects' bathroom.

Groaning, she sat up and looked at him. "Nah, I think I'll just stay here."

"Are you sure?" He asked, concern clear in his eyes. He could feel her stress and it ruffled his Veela, but he knew there was only so much he could do.

She gave him a small smile and nodded. "I'll be alright. Just don't go running into my bathroom for anything."

He laughed and she felt a warmth spread through her. She tried to not let it startle her but she couldn't help but feel unnerved at the odd reaction.

After he left the doorway, she grabbed a change of clothes and her wand, going into her bathroom and locking the door behind her. She was very happy when she found out she would have her own private bathroom, with a large sink and a bathtub that almost rivaled the Prefect's bathtub. Of course, this one wasn't the size of a small pool, but it was nearly three times the size of a normal tub, and it even had a little nook for her to sit in that prevented her from sliding down too far into the water.

She used one of the four taps off to the side of the regular taps to add some bubble bath into the warm water, watching as the bubbles began to cover the entire surface of the bath.

Sinking down into the warm water, she sighed and quickly wrangled her hair up into a bun again. She normally didn't like wearing it up just because the sheer amount of hair she had would break any hair tie she would try to wrap around it. Even though she resized them to fit her hair, she still found that she liked her hair down better.

She waved her wand at the small gramophone that she had brought from home, it being her mother's gift to her a few years ago. Soft classical music began playing, echoing throughout the bathroom. She smiled to herself and leaned back against the edge of the tub, closing her eyes as she relaxed.

Draco sat on the couch studying, one ear kept out listening to his mate. He froze slightly when he heard music begin, but then relaxed again as he felt her happiness radiating from her bedroom door. Good. She needed a relaxing night.

He continued on with his notes, pausing every so often so make sure his mate was still content. Maybe he should have offered to get her more wine? He shook his head at himself. No, she wouldn't allow it on a school night. Especially since it was their night for rounds.

The sudden realization that he couldn't feel her as strong as before hit him and he looked up, staring at the bedroom door. She was still there, and still relaxed. She must have fallen asleep.

His panic died down and he sat back into the couch, leaning his head against the back and taking a deep breath. The classical music from her bathroom played through his ears, and while he was mildly curious as to how she managed to get it playing, he wasn't going to try and find out any time soon.

He finished his notes and began taking his books to his room when he felt it. Fear. It gripped his chest and for a moment he thought it was his, it was so intense. He bristled as he threw his notes on his bed and ran back out to the common room. She had to have been having a nightmare, he knew that much. Something about this one felt different though. 

The fear slowly grew stronger, but he wasn't sure what to do. He knew she most likely locked the door considering she nearly always locked her bedroom door, and who knew what other charms she set on it. He ran a hand through his hair and groaned in frustration as his Veela side slowly came to the surface. Energy flowed through his body and he could no longer control what he was doing.

He raced through her bedroom and stopped just outside the bathroom door, yelling, "Hermione!"

A small whimper was his answer after a few moments of silence, and he growled, banging loudly on the door. "Hermione, wake up!"

He heard water hitting the edge of the tub, but the fear was only increasing. There was pain too. It was distant but he knew that pain anywhere. Hermione was having a nightmare, and in it was being subjected to the Crucio curse. The scream she let out shortly afterward confirmed his suspicion.

He couldn't wait any longer. He ran back to her bed, then raced to her bathroom door, trying to break down the door. It held firmly in place after a few tries, and he panicked. Then he cursed himself, pulling out his wand and yelling, "

The door exploded and he ran through the wreckage to find Hermione waking up in a panic from the explosion and breathing heavily, holding her wand at him. Before the dust settled she only saw his shape and sent a at him, but he was able to block it.

He finally revealed himself and she yelled at him, lowering her wand only slightly. "Malfoy! What the bloody hell are you doing?!"

"You were screaming!" He yelled back. Then he took a few deep breaths. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She stared at him, finally taking in his appearance. His eyes were nearly all black, but his irises were still their steely-grey color. His features were much more angular than previously, and he looked ready to kill something. He looked like a demon. A devilishly attractive demon.

Shaking away that sudden thought she raised her wand and quickly covered herself even though the bubbles were still very much hiding everything. "Get out, Malfoy!"

"What?" His shoulders dropped slightly and he took a step towards her, a confused look on his face. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay!"

"I'm fine!" She yelled. "Just get out!"

He whined slightly and turned away, knowing that he messed up bad. He silently repaired her bathroom door and retreated to the couch, putting his head in his hands and groaning to himself.

Hermione emerged from her bedroom not long after, dressed in a rush with her small beaded bag on her shoulder. She had put a few days' worth of clothes in there, along with any books she thought she would need.

Draco was still sitting on the couch, a large glass of firewhiskey in his hand. He immediately set it down though as soon as he saw her and he stood up. "Hermione, please..."

"I don't know what the hell that was, Malfoy," She started, whirling around to face him. "But I am not staying here tonight. Don't bother doing rounds; I'll handle them on my way out but just...don't follow me!"

He looked crestfallen and took a step. "Please, just let me explain."

"Explain what? Why you literally blasted my bathroom door to pieces?" She glared at him as her voice wavered from fear. "I don't want to hear your explanation right now. I honestly don't even feel safe around you! I'll let you know when I'm ready to talk to you."

She turned around and stormed out of the dorm, leaving him standing there, unsure of what to do.

He wanted so desperately to follow her, to explain everything. But at the same time, she told him specifically to leave her alone. And that was what would have made her happy at that moment.

Letting out a frustrated yell, he grabbed a small piece of parchment and wrote a quick missive to his friend.

After reading over it, he quickly folding it up and sent it flying out the door, knowing that Blaise would be getting it soon and would come quickly. As he waited, he finished the rest of his firewhiskey and poured himself another glass.

Blaise soon was sitting on the couch opposite Draco, sharing a firewhiskey with him as Draco told him everything that happened. When Draco had finished, his friend sighed and rubbed his hand over his head. "Draco, mate, I don't know what to tell you."

"I just...lost control," Draco mumbled, looking into his firewhiskey. "I can only assume that she ran off to her house's tower. You should have seen the look she gave me."

He shook his head and finished off his glass, setting it down harder on the table than he intended. "I was going to tell her."

Blaise raised his eyebrows at him. "You were?"

Draco nodded gravely. "I thought maybe if I explained, she would understand. But she didn't want to hear it at all."

"At least she said she would let you know when she was ready to talk," Blaise reminded him. "That's something."

Draco snorted. "That could be years, for all I know."

"Still, it's something. Don't give up, mate."

"So both of his eyes were black?" Ginny asked, trying to understand.

Hermione nodded. She had easily gotten Ginny to run rounds with her, mainly wanting to tell her what had happened without their housemates listening in. She peered around a corner before they turned it, sighing. "His whole eye. Except for his irises. They were still his normal eye color."

"That had to have been terrifying," Ginny said.

They were walking slowly down the corridor, talking in hushed voices. Hermione had since calmed down from the experience, but now she was focused on the fact that that Draco Malfoy definitely wasn't human. 

She was also confused because they had been on good terms since the Friday before when they talked. She was even starting to enjoy being around him, and they had multiple quiet study sessions in the dorm common room. But this, this had terrified her. 

"Gin, I don't know what to do," She groaned. "Do I go to the Headmistress? Do I confront him about it?"

"You did say he tried explaining, right?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, but I wasn't sure if he was going to...change again." Hermione sighed. "I told him I would let him explain when I was ready."

"I would say give it a night; spend the night in my dorm and then talk to him about it tomorrow," Ginny stated. "If he's changing into a potentially dangerous form, the other students might not be safe. Especially if we don't know what sets him off."

"You're right." Hermione groaned again. "I'll try to talk to him tomorrow."