The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

A Perfect Dream

Draco looked up and checked the time, Hermione had been gone for over thirty minutes already. He frowned, maybe she had gone to see Harry rather than return? "Longbottom, do you know where Harry might be?"

"You should really just call me Neville, and he's likely at Quidditch practice. I heard him, Ron, and Ginny discussing it before dinner."

Draco nodded and finished packing up his bag. Then he headed out of the library and down the hall with Long- Neville.

Hermione? Almost done? Patrol time is starting.

When she gave no response after a minute he asked again.

Hermione, what's going on?"

Nothing.

Hello! Prefect Black!

Fear began to settle inside his chest. He knew they had promised never to follow the chain without permission, but he'd never had her not answer before. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his gut.

"Long- Neville, wait. Something's wrong with Hermione. Watch my body, I need to go find her."

Neville looked around, then grabbed Draco's arm and pulled him over behind a suit of armor.

"I've got you covered."

Draco flashed him a grateful smile, "Thanks."

Draco closed his eyes and then looked around his mind, seeing the ever-thickening chain between himself and Hermione. He grabbed onto it and followed the links, the closer he got to the end the harder it was to move. He frowned and pressed onward, fighting an invisible, almost sticky force. He found her at the end of it; trapped inside a full cage made of the chain. It was no longer beautiful, well, not as it had been before. It was currently a fortress, complete with tall towers and gaps so small he could barely see Hermione. It was doing a marvelous job of keeping the strange, syrupy fog away from her, but he could still see small threads of the viscous stuff seeping in. She saw him then, and her eyes widened, she shouted, but no sound emerged. As he watched she gripped the chains forming the fortress, rattling them, an expression of deep shame and fear on her face. He looked around the rest of her mind at the cloyingly thick fog. He pushed through it, slowly, fighting for each step, until he was close enough he could see out of her eyes.

What he saw made him panic.

Hermione was sitting across a large desk from Umbridge, a cup of tea in her hand, and what had to be half a pot of tea spilled all over herself as she rambled on about-

He froze, all breath leaving his body.

How could Hermione be so BLOODY stupid?!? Actually TRUSTING Umbridge!!! What was she thinking!?!

"-my cousin, but do you see how gorgeous he is? He's also a lot more intelligent than I ever thought. When he's working on a problem his eyes get this sparkle, it's distracting. In fact-"

"Yes, thank you Miss Black. Now, you were telling me about him needing a new wardrobe? Because his bedroom was destroyed?"

"Oh! Yes, you see, when I blew up the ceiling his room happened to be in the way and-"

Draco pulled back and stopped listening. He waved to the trapped and silenced Hermione and shouted," Neville and I are coming for you!"

She nodded, tears appearing in her eyes as she held up five fingers and pointed up.

He nodded, even as his breath caught, but then, that might have just been because he was moving as quickly as he could, fighting the fog for each single step. He had to hurry, after all.