You’re My New Dream

“Nope, not doing it. I don’t do backstory. However, I am growing increasingly interested in yours.” 

Draco scoffed.

“Now, I know I’m not supposed to mention the tower,”

“Nope.”

“Or the weirdly overbearing aunt.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Frankly, I’m too scared to ask about the dinosaur.”

“Dragon.” Draco corrected. 

“Semantics. Anyway, here’s my question, if you’ve really wanted to see the lanterns for so long, why haven’t you gone already?” 

“Uh..” Draco started but immediately his attention got drawn elsewhere, as the Weasley twins were closing in on them both. “Hermione, who’s that?” 

They approached a clearing filled with cliffs. “They don’t like me,” Hermione laughed. 

Draco’s eyes snapped to the aurors who also exited the tunnel. “Who is that!?”

“They also don’t like me.” 

Buckbeak exited last, huffing his nose and dragging his hoof. “What is that!” Draco screamed. 

“Let’s just assume that everyone here just.. doesn’t like me.” 

The imperiused aurors closed in on Hermione, Buckbeak slowly following and the Weasley twins bringing up the rear, and without her wand, Hermione was panicking. Draco noticed the panic, and threw her his pan. “Hermione, here!” 

Hermione caught it and swung it around her finger, liking the way it felt in her hands. Kingsley Shacklebolt moved closer to her, his wand poised. “I’ve waited a long time for this,” he grinned, his eyes burning red.

Hermione whacked him across the head with the pan, grinning when Kingsley fell to the floor with a thump. “Oh, merlin, I have got to get me one of these!” Shortly after Kingsley fell, he was replaced by Buckbeak, who was trying to peck Hermione to injure her, but she kept blocking it with the pan. “If you must know,” she panted, “this has got to be one of the strangest things I have ever done.” 

Buckbeak knocked the pan out of her hand, and Hermione’s mouth fell open. “How about two out of three?” She bargained. 

“Hermione!” Draco called, throwing her a rope from the bottom of the cavern. “Catch!” 

Hermione jumped on the rope just as Fred and George almost grabbed her. “Ha! You’ve got to see your faces, because you guys look-” she slammed into a piece of wood that was jutting out of the side. “Ridiculous.” She wheezed. 

She and Draco ran to the end of the sandy clearing, only to be met with a large waterfall. She looked at Draco, fear evident. “Come on, Granger, jump!” He urged, taking her hand and pulling her with him as he jumped. 

They were pulled by the current and they ended up in a cave, that was slowly starting to fill up with water. They both looked for a way out, but it was too dark, they couldn’t see. “It’s no use,” Hermione sighed. “It’s too dark.” 

Draco held his breath and swam to the bottom, trying to find an out, coming back up for breath every few seconds. “Hey, hey, it’s pitch black down there. There’s no point.” Hermione said.

“This is all my fault,” Draco sighed. “Bella was right. I never should have left, I’m so sorry, Hermione.” 

“Nothing wrong with a little adventure before we die, right?”

“What was in your bag, anyway? Why was it so important?” 

Hermione sighed, “I may as well tell you, it’s a horcrux, a piece of magic that is dark, a bad man cursed it and I was sent to destroy it.” 

“I have magic, too. I thought you were a muggle, you don’t have a wand, like my aunt.” 

“It’s in my bag.” 

“Ah. I don't need a wand, I have powerful magic.” 

“Powerful magic?” The water was up to Hermione’s chin at this point. 

“Yeah, I can make an actual ball of light and hold it in my hands.” Draco grinned, and Hermione just stared at him. “I can make a ball of light and hold it in my hands!!! Lumos Maxima!” 

The water reached the top and submerged them, and Hermione thought it was over, just when Draco produced the brightest ball of light she had ever seen. She puffed out air in shock, and they both saw that the water was trickling out through some small rocks right at the bottom. They both pulled at the rocks, and Draco’s hand escaped first, and he pushed at the biggest rock, sending the rest of them tumbling along with himself and Hermione, pushed out by the current of water. 

They found their way to a small grassy bank, pulling themselves out of the river, both of them spluttering. 

“We made it!” Draco grinned. 

“That was.. insane magic.” Hermione mumbled. 

“We’re alive! We’re alive!” 

“How is he so powerful? He didn’t go to school!” 

“Hermione,” 

“How are you so powerful?”

“Hermione.”

“How did you conjure a lumos like that?” 

“Hermione!”

“What!?” She snapped. 

“It’s not just the lumos, that I can do.” 

Pierre grinned at Hermione. 

“Why is he smiling at me? Draco, stop him smiling at me.” 

“I’ll kill Granger when I next see her,” George mumbled, crawling out of the tunnel soaking wet. 

“She’s trying her hardest, George, we all want our siblings and friends back.” 

“She doesn’t want it as much as we do, otherwise she wouldn’t have run.” George growled. 

“She’s going to the kingdom, we’ll get the Diadem.” Fred promised. 

“Oh, boys?” Bellatrix called, catching their attention. “Perhaps you want to stop acting like wild dogs chasing their tails and think for a moment?” 

Both twins glared at her, ready to turn away. 

“Oh, please. There’s no need for that. Well, if the diadem is all you require, then I’ll allow you to go about your business, but, I was going to offer you something much more.. valuable, that may help you get your friends back. Ah well, c’est la vie, enjoy your tiara.” 

“I’m intrigued.” Fred said. 

“There’s more,” Bellatrix grinned. 

“Indulge us,” George smiled. 

“It starts with getting revenge on Hermione Granger.” Bellatrix smirked, and the twins moved closer. 

“So, you’re being insanely cryptic as you make me pile wood on the floor with no way to light a fire.” 

Draco grinned, and cast a wandless, wordless stream of fiendfyre, coming out of his fingertips like little snakes. 

“You’re.. you’re casting fiendfyre.” She stated, and he nodded, snuffing out the flames with a click of his fingers. 

“No one but my old professor, who was the most powerful wizard in the world, could control fiendfyre, yet here you are. Barely 18, and you’re controlling it.” 

“Well, yeah. Please don’t freak out.” 

“I’m not freaking out! I’m just very interested in your magic and the qualities it possesses. How long have you been this powerful, exactly?” Hermione wheezed. 

“Uh, forever, I guess? Aunt Bella said that when I was a baby, people tried to steal my blood,” he pointed to a scar on his left forearm, “they wanted it for themselves, to make them more powerful, but once they cut me, the same cut would appear on them, only mirrored on the other side of their body, and theirs would never heal properly. Magic like mine, it has to be protected, which is why Aunt Bella never let me.. it’s why I..”

“It’s why you never left the tower.” Hermione finished for him, her hand on his forearm. “And you’re still going to go back? After everything you’ve experienced?” 

“No. Yes! Ugh, it’s complicated.” Draco put his head in his hands. “So.. the bad man with the cursed magical items?” 

Hermione barked out a laugh. “Yeah, it’s a long story. I won’t bore you with the details.” 

Draco moved forward, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing tightly, eagerly awaiting the story. 

“Alright, alright.” Hermione laughed. She took in a deep breath. “Nineteen years ago, my best friends parents were brutally murdered, by this evil wizard named Tom, all because of something he heard from a unverified seer. He believed that my best friend was to become the next most powerful wizard in the world, and he chose to try and kill him, so that no one succeeded him or his powers. 

“Unfortunately, the curse rebounded, and Harry survived, and ever since, he has been after Harry. All the way through school, and even after. He seems to think that killing Harry is the key to his survival, and his immortality. Harry went missing last year, only to be found under the imperious curse and working for the Kingdom’s ministry, trying to catch me, because I have been trailing Tom for the last two years, Harry and Ron joined me for the first year, and we were destroying these Horcurxes.” 

“Horcruxes?” 

“They’re items that Tom has put pieces of his soul into, to make sure he lives forever. As long as no horcrux is destroyed, his soul is ‘intact’ - I have made it my mission to find and destroy each and every one of them. The diadem, the tiara in my bag, that’s the final one, as far as I’m aware. As soon as I destroy it, Tom becomes mortal again, and I can kill him. The second I kill him, then the imperius curse that has been placed on the Kingdom and it’s ministry alike, will be broken, and life will go back to normal. No more fighting, no more running, no more pain. I’ll have my best friends back.” 

A stray tear broke free from Hermione’s eye, and Draco lifted a hand to wipe it away with his thumb. “I’ll help you.” He whispered. 

Hermione smiled at him, noticing that the firewood was dwindling down. “I’ll go get some more wood, stay here.” 

As Hermione walked away, Draco went to pull Pierre out of his pocket, but got distracted as Bellatrix walked out of the trees. “Well, I thought she’d never leave.” 

“Aunt Bella?” 

“Hello, Draco.” 

“How- how did you find me?” Draco stuttered. 

“Oh, it was easy, really. I just followed the sound of utter betrayal.” 

“Bella..” 

“We’re going home, Draco. Now.” 

“But, Bella, you don’t understand. I’ve been on the most incredible journey! I’ve seen and learned so much! I’ve even met someone..” 

“Yes, the wanted criminal? I’m so proud. Come on.” Bellatrix grabbed Draco’s arm and started pulling him towards the trees. 

“Bella, wait. I think.. I think she likes me.” Draco pulled back. 

“Likes you?” Bellatrix cackled. “Draco, that’s demented. This is why you never should have left. Look at you, do you really think that she would be impressed? Come on, I know best.” 

“No.” Draco stated, folding his arms. 

“No?” Bellatrix cocked her head to the side, and smirked. “Oh. I see how it is.” 

She stalked towards Draco, and he stumbled backwards, tripping over the log that he and Hermione previously sat on. “Draco knows best, Draco is so mature now, such a clever grown up priss.” 

“Bella,” Draco groaned, rubbing his elbow. 

“Draco knows best, fine! If you’re so sure now, go ahead and give her this!” She produced the beaded bag from her pocket and Draco’s eyes widened. “This is why she’s here! Don’t let her deceive you, give it to her! Watch! You’ll see!”

“I will!” Draco grabbed the bag from Bellatrix who just cackled. 

“Trust me, my dear,” she clicked her fingers, “that’s how fast she’ll leave you. I won’t say ‘I told you so’, no, because Draco knows best! So if she’s such a keeper, go and put her to the test!” 

“Oh, I will.” He stuck his chin in the air, stepping back from Bellatrix, seemingly to have grown four inches. 

“If she’s lying, Draco, don’t come crying.” Bellatrix spat before disapperating on the spot. 

“Hey, can I ask you something? You being super powerful, that doesn’t include your brain, right? Because like, I’ve never been super pretty or whatever but I’ve got a good brain and it would be a shame to cut you off so that I still remain the smartest person in the world.” Hermione said as she walked back with her arms full of firewood. “Hey, you okay?” She asked Draco, placing a hand on his shoulder after dropping the wood on the floor. 

Draco startled and looked up at her concerned face, melting at the sight of her big brown eyes. “Yeah, yeah! Sorry, I was just lost in thought.” 

Hermione hesitated before saying “Okay.. anyway, I wouldn’t actually kill you, that would be unreasonable..” 

The twins wanted to move forward to grab Hermione, but Bellatrix stopped them. “Patience, boys. Good things come to those who wait.” 

Hermione was awoken by hot breath on her face, and she grinned, thinking it was Draco’s as she curled further into him, until she got dripped on by something wet. One eye opened, and then the other followed instantly, as she came face to face with Buckbeak, who was dripping wet and furious. Hermione smirked and rolled back over. “Well, I hope you’re here to apologise.” She said to Buckbeak sarcastically. 

Buckbeak gripped her foot and started dragging her away, causing her to scream. “Wait! No! No! Put me down! Let me go!” 

Draco’s eyes opened in panic as he saw Hermione being dragged away by this huge beast, and he jumped up immediately, catching hold of Hermione’s hands. “Release her!” He commanded the hippogriff. 

They played tug of war for a moment, Draco heaving at Hermione’s arms and Buckbeak pulling on Hermione’s shoe, before her shoe came loose and she was let go, and flung over the top of Draco’s head. “Ow.” She rubbed her head as she sat up. 

Buckbeak went wild, and Draco stood between him and Hermione, with his hand out. “Woah, woah woah, easy boy, easy.” He tried to calm the creature, but nothing was working. “Calm down, there we go, that’s it!” 

The creature calmed down, but not because Draco told him to, but because of the tiny dragon on Draco’s head giving Buckbeak a dirty look. 

“That’s it. Sit. Sit, good boy!” Draco commanded Buckbeak to sit, and he did so. “Now.. drop the shoe. Drop it.” Buckbeak dropped the shoe and Draco’s eyes twinkled. “Oh you are such a good boy!” 

At the praise, Buckbeak’s tail started to wag, and Draco laughed. “No one appreciates you, do they?” Buckbeak huffed, and Draco repeated “Do they?” as Buckbeak nuzzled into his shoulder. 

“Come on, he’s a bad hippogriff!” Hermione scoffed. 

“Aw, he’s nothing but a big sweetheart, aren’t you..” he inspected the medallion on his chest “Buckbeak.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hermione rolled her eyes and Buckbeak glared at her. 

Draco stood between them both, “look, today is a really big day for me, kind of the biggest day of my life, and I’m going to need you to not get her arrested.” 

Buckbeak looked affronted at the fact that Draco had even asked him to break his rules and Draco held his hands up. “Just for twenty four hours, and then you chase each other to your hearts content, okay?” 

Hermione scoffed again, and nodded her head, looking at Buckbeak, who looked back at Draco. “Did I mention that today is also my birthday?” Buckbeak huffed, nuzzling into him again. “Thank you!” 

Buckbeak and Hermione held out a hand and a hoof, intending to shake hands and Draco walked through them, seeing the entrance of the Kingdom. Buckbeak kicked Hermione in the ribs and then laughed. 

They walked towards the bridge and Draco grinned, jumping up and down with excitement. There was another wanted posted of Hermione and she ripped it off, shoving it in Buckbeak’s mouth who spat it back on her face. They started shoving each other around but got caught by Draco’s dragon, who blew a small amount of smoke at them to make them stop. 

Draco was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people who were shoving past him, but he gasped at the little flags with constellations on them. Green and silver, and he was mesmerised. Aurors walked past Hermione and she ducked behind Buckbeak, and Draco walked up to her, smiling. 

Hermione felt something shift, she noticed how tall he suddenly was, how broad his shoulders were and how his jaw had was chiselled. She noticed how beautiful his eyes were, the contrast of her golden brown against his grey. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked at him, a small grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as she drank in his beauty, and she wondered how she’d never seen it before. The openness of his smile, the twinkle in his eye as he took in his new surroundings, how even though she was realistically protecting him, she felt so safe under his gaze. She thought back to the previous night, when he had laced his fingers in hers, and how she felt a spark but ignored it, she thought about how she’d never felt seen until Draco had his gaze upon her. 

She was rudely broken from her musings as Buckbeak nudged her, seeming like he was grinning at her, and Hermione shoved him away with a smirk. 

Draco took Hermione’s hand and they walked through the market place of the Kingdom, stopping at different stalls to look at the fruits and vegetables that they were selling. They were in line to buy some apples, and Draco’s attention was caught on the tile mural of the King, Queen and their lost little boy. A small boy with golden hair, and greyish blue eyes stared back at him, as he heard a young girl tell her even smaller brother that they were leaving flowers for the Lost Prince in the hopes that he would one day return. 

Market music players had just set up to play a song, and Draco felt the urge to just.. dance, so he did, and when Hermione turned around, she saw Draco just dancing in the middle of the floor, surrounded by people who were currently just watching, until Draco danced towards a small girl, taking her hands and pulling her to the centre of the floor, swinging her around in a circle. He did this multiple times with different women, pulling them into his dancing area with a grin as they flushed, accepting begrudgingly. They all danced around, and Draco smiled, beckoning Hermione forward. She laughed, but declined, and Buckbeak pushed her into the circle. As they danced, Hermione slipped from the group and paid a few sickles for a small rectangular green flag with a constellation on to give to Draco when the dance was over. 

They reached towards each other, but were swung away by different dance partners, causing them both to sigh as they were whisked away, and Hermione thought about earlier that morning when Draco had gotten his hands on some chalk, and drew an amazing art piece of the same constellation that was on the flags on the floor, surrounded by children. The image made Hermione smile, showing all of her teeth as she laughed as she was swung around in circle after circle, making her a little bit dizzy. 

The violin got louder as Draco danced and he thought about when the two of them hid from aurors in different doorways after buying two cupcakes, and he giggled, thinking about how Hermione had frosting on her nose for the better part of an hour, but he didn’t tell her because he liked the fact that she looked cute, and he didn’t want to break the spell that he was under when he looked at her. 

The dance was coming to an end, and they both felt the anticipation building up in their chests as they were suddenly flung towards each other, Draco’s hand in Hermione’s as their chests heaved up and down, staring into each other’s eyes. They were broken from their gazes by a man yelling “To the boats!” and Hermione smiled, pulling him along. 

He gave Buckbeak a small bag of ferrets as they clambered onto the boat and Buckbeak looked at them apprehensively. “What?” Hermione laughed. “I bought them!” 

This seemed to please Buckbeak, who delved into the bag, and Hermione laughed harder. “Some of them.” She grinned as the boat moved further away from the docks. 

“Where are we going?” Draco asked as Hermione rowed the boat. 

“Well, since it’s the best day of your life, I figured that you should get a pretty good seat.” She smiled, and Draco looked lost in thought. “You okay?” 

Draco huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, yeah. I’m terrified.”

“Why?” 

“I’ve been looking out of that window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when I see the lights for the first time. What if it’s not everything I thought it would be?” He looked down at his feet, and Hermione reached forward to put her finger under his chin, making him look at her. 

“It will be.” She promised. 

“What if it is? What do I do then?” Draco’s lower lip trembled, and Hermione felt a tug in her chest. 

“Well.. then that’s the good part, I suppose, you find a new dream.” She smiled. 

“Oh, Hermione? There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you.” Draco nervously said. 

“Oh?” Hermione raised an eyebrow. 

“I’ve had it with me this whole time, your bag. I felt it was time for me to return it to you.” He held out the bag, and Hermione pushed his hands down. 

“Thank you, but I don’t need it right now.” She smiled, and Draco smiled back. 

Draco sighed. “All those days, watching from the window. All those years, outside looking in. All that time, never even knowing just how blind I’d been,” 

“Now you’re here, blinking in the starlight, now you’re here, and suddenly I see. Sitting here, it’s ever so clear, that you’re where you’re meant to be.” 

Draco saw a reflection of a lantern in the lake, and stopped still, and then lunged towards the end of the boat, hanging on the tall piece of wood at the front, staring back at the Kingdom as it was suddenly illuminated by stationary lanterns. He looked around and saw that the other boats on the lake had started setting off their lanterns, lighting up the entire waterside with a golden glow. 

“At last, I see the light, and it’s like.. the mist has lifted. At last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new.” 

“It’s warm, and real, and bright,” Hermione smiled softly. 

“The world has somehow.. shifted.” He turned around to see Hermione holding two lanterns in her hands. “All at once, everything is different, Hermione, now that I see you.” 

They both set them off together in silence, looking at each other the entire time, before Hermione spoke up. “All those days, I’ve been chasing down a daydream. Those two years, just.. living in a blur. All that time just.. never truly seeing, things the way they were.” She looked at Draco, who was looking at the lanterns in the sky, stopping one that almost landed in the water and sending it back up into the sky. 

“Now you’re here, shining in the starlight. Now you’re here, and suddenly I know, that if you’re here, it’s crystal clear, you’re where I’m meant to go, Draco.” 

Draco looked at her, a newfound gaze on his face as he leaned towards her. “And at last, I see the light,” he grinned, leaning in to kiss her. 

“You’re warm, and real, and bright, and the world has somehow shifted,” Hermione whispered, closing her eyes. 

“Now that I see you.” Draco almost closed the gap, before Hermione’s eyes sprung open and saw a hint of green on the other side of the lake, and she moved back. 

“Is.. everything okay?” Draco hesitantly asked. 

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s fine, there’s just something I need to deal with.” Hermione narrowed her eyes, and rowed the boat towards the green glow.