Unfortunate Events

Event Twelve: The Penultimate Peril, Part Two

Hermione stared down at the parchment in front of her. The words kept blurring out of focus, and she blinked, trying to clear her vision. Her eyes, along with the rest of her, were exhausted. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since she was in Capri, and it was now Wednesday.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked down at her letter to the head of the Lycanthrope Pack and wrote the closing sentences of her draft. That being done, she laid her head on the back of her chair, trying to keep her mind off a certain blond-haired wizard.

It wasn't working.

She was going through some kind of Draco withdrawal, and it had only been five days since she had seen him last. And Pansy's wedding was still three days away. Hermione wasn't sure she'd make it that long. Every time her door opened, she looked up, expecting to see Draco and was disappointed when it was never him. It was irrational, she knew. She had no reason to believe he'd show up, but that didn't stop her from hoping. Maybe he would miss her too much to let another day pass without coming to see her. Merlin knew she missed him that much. Speaking with Lucius no longer seemed a frightening option. More like a growing necessity.

But she had been holding off on that for as long as possible. Part of it was fear (most of it, actually), but her stubborn pride was a contributing factor. So was her lack of sleep. Even if she wanted to match wits against Lucius, she didn't think she had the energy to do it. It wasn't that she couldn't fall asleep. No, the problem was staying asleep. She had never been subject to nightmares, not even during the worst of the war, but now they came every time she closed her eyes. Draco would visit her, like he did in the dreams she used to have before this whole mess. But when she revealed her feelings to him, he rejected her. Sometimes it was gently; other times it was accompanied with laughter, scorn, and insults. But the result was always the same: he did not love her back. She woke up every time, disappointed and with little desire to follow through on her promise to Ginny. Unfortunately, Hermione had the feeling the nightmares wouldn't stop until she did.

There was a loud knock on the door, distracting her from her thoughts. "Miss Granger?" a muffled voice came from the other side.

"Come in, Sheldon."

Groaning, Hermione lifted her head from the back of her chair, meeting the concerned eyes of her secretary. Sheldon Hightower was a recent graduate of Hogwarts. Hermione didn't remember much about him during her time there, even though he was only three years behind her. He was in Hufflepuff and had come with recommendations from Professor Sprout and her assistant and soon to be replacement, Neville Longbottom. Draco had hand-picked him to be her personal assistant, and she was happy with his choice. Sheldon was hard-working and kind. A model employee, albeit a rather shy one.

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"Sorry to wake you, Miss Granger, but I had some papers that needed to be signed."

Hermione took the papers and began signing on the dotted lines. "Not a problem. I wasn't sleeping anyway."

"I hate to pry, but are you doing alright? You've looked a bit...tired these past few days."

Hermione rubbed her eyes, trying to bring Sheldon into clearer focus. "I suppose you could say that."

She could tell Sheldon wanted to ask more, but they rarely talked about their personal lives. Although she'd often catch Draco chatting with him when she left her office. Hermione looked at Sheldon suspiciously. What if he was reporting her behavior back to Draco? No, Sheldon would never do that. Her overactive mind was making her paranoid, that was all.

"Well, Miss Granger, it's a very slow day. I'm sure no one would notice if you left early. If you don't mind me saying so, you really should take care of what's bothering you before it gets worse."