,,You both have failed me" Voldemort was saying in his soft, ice cold voice.

Voldemort looked even more terrifying than ever and Draco found himself cowering at his feet, trembling, dreading what was coming. He knew the Dark Lord was not going to show them mercy and, sure enough, seconds later Draco felt an excruciating pain, as if every molecule in his body caught fire instantaneously.

He was writhing in pain, crouching on the floor. Letting go of all pretense, Draco heard himself scream, louder than he ever had before. At the edge of his vision he saw his father on the floor as well, contorting and looking up at Voldemort, a look of pure terror in his eyes. Between gasps of air Lucius was imploring the Dark Lord to spare them, to spare Draco. Then Lucius let out a horrifying scream. It pierced Draco's ears and made his own pain double in intensity.

Then the pain lessened. Voldemort lowered his wand, talking to them, but Draco couldn't hear him. His father's screams were still resounding in his ears. But there was something very strange about those sounds. They seemed too high pitched, almost inhuman, not at all what his father's voice sounded like.

Draco tried to turn around, fighting the wave of pain that washed over his body as Voldemort raised his wand again.

,,You shall pay for your mistakes" Draco could now hear the Dark Lord saying, his voice cold and devoid of all emotion.

Draco knew what was coming now. Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. He was about to die. At that point it almost seemed like a blessing. If only his father would stop screaming, he could let go in piece.

Draco woke with a start. He bolted upward and looked around, eyes still widened with the terror of the pain he felt in his nightmare. As he slowly brushed a hand through his hair and across his forehead, both drenched in cold sweat, he could feel every muscle in his body hurt.

He hadn't planned on it, but he somehow fell asleep while thinking about his interaction with Hermione earlier than evening. Since sleep came over him unexpectedly, he hadn't had a chance to take his Dreamless Potion that night.

I definitely haven't missed those nightmares. I feel like a wreck.

Then, just as he was rubbing his temples, trying to steady his breathing, a scream pierced his ears, the same high-pitched scream he heard in his nightmare.

Draco jolted out of bed and was at the door in an instant.

Father? But how can it be...

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the fog that still lingered, as scenes from his nightmare came rushing over his thoughts, blurring his vision. Voldemort was there and he was torturing his father and him. Draco stumbled on his feet, leaning against the door for support. His mind was fighting, trying to reason with the absurdity of such a thing.

Voldemort is dead. Gone. He couldn't possibly be torturing anyone.

Another scream washed over his ears, this time louder and clearer than before. Draco slowly woke from his daze, his eyes starting to focus again.

No, someone is definitely screaming in pain, but who...

,,Granger" he gasped in horror as another scream, coming from the other side of the flat, pierced his ears sharply. That blew away any fog or blurry image that might have lurked in his mind.

Draco's body twitched. Hermione was in danger and he needed to help her. He blew the door opened and rushed towards Hermione's room, while casting a spell to reveal just how many enemies he would have to deal with.

What the...

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. Something was not right. The spell told him there were only two people in the flat: Hermione and himself.

What the hell is going on? If nobody is here, hurting her, why is she screaming like she's in so much pain?

Realization jolted Draco into action, just as another scream came, clear enough, from Hermione's room. He broke into a run and was immediately in front of Hermione's door. As he attempted to bang at it, he was pushed back by a repelling spell. Apparently, Hermione had cast protective charms around her room.

,,Fuck" Draco cursed under his breath. ,,Trust Granger to make things even more complicated. She could have placed a silencing charm as well".

Hermione let out another scream, followed by a loud sob, making Draco's blood run cold. Had he not trusted his magic he would have bet his soul someone was downright torturing the life out of her.

Bracing himself, Draco tried to push against the door, but the wards were still in place, strong enough to almost knock him down. It seemed the harder he pushed against them, the harder the wards were fighting him.

,,Granger! Granger wake up!" Draco shouted, hoping against hope she would hear him.

As a response, Hermione let out another sob.

,,Fuck! Draco cursed again. ,, I have to do something", he said through gritted teeth.

In a desperate attempt to break through the wards, Draco raised his wand and started casting spell after spell at Hermione's door. Some of them rebounded and Draco had to duck, but eventually some of the spells started hitting their target, as the protective charms were starting to weaken. Draco could feel the magic around the room wavering, until it finally broke, disappearing completely.

Draco didn't know if it had been due to Hermione unconsciously loosing grip on the wards or if his curses managed to break it, and at that moment he didn't care. As soon as he felt the magic dissipating, he pushed the door open so brutally that it hit the wall with a loud bang, leaving a mark on the wall where the doorknob hit it.

Crookshanks hissed, as Draco ran inside and stopped in front of Hermione's bed. He looked terrified at her writhing form. She was whimpering and crying, letting out a sharp scream every now and then. The bedsheets were entangled around her waist and arms and sweat filled her forehead. Her hair was spread all over the pillow, giving her an eerie look. Crookshanks was sitting on her chest, pawing at her, trying in his own way to wake Hermione up.

Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped closer and bent over her convulsing body.

,,Granger, wake up!" he shouted again, his voice hoarse.

At his voice, Hermione whimpered louder. Draco was sweating profusely now and felt panic rising in his chest. His breathing started to be just as erratic as Hermione's. Pressing a hand against his chest, he tried to steady himself.

Now is not the time to have a bloody panic attack.

Another one of Hermione's screams made him jump. With fresh determination, Draco bent more over Hermione's body and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her vigorously.

,,Granger, I said wake up" he raised his voice, ,,It's just a nightmare, it's not real. Snap out of it! Granger... ouch!"

Draco looked down and saw Crookshanks clawing at his hands.

,,Get off!" Draco yelled at the cat, pushing him rather brutally to the side.

But Crookshanks wasn't having it. He jumped and bit Draco by the hand, making him send a string of profanities into the air.

,,I said get off, you stupid hairball!" Draco shouted angrily, sending a stunning spell in Crookshanks direction.

The cat froze. His yellow eyes were starring murderously at Draco, but otherwise he was perfectly still.

With the cat out of the way, Draco turned around to Hermione again, shaking her more violently than before. She screamed and fought against his hands, squirming and pushing him away.

,,No! Let me go! I don't know... just let me go... I don't know where it is..." she was saying between sobs.

,,Granger wake up, dammit!" Draco shouted, desperation dripping in his voice. ,,Granger, I said wake up! Fuck... HERMIONE!" he bellowed, giving her small body a violent jerk.

That seemed to have done the trick. Hermione stopped moving and with a sharp gasp she opened her eyes and jumped upward on the bed. She was starring fixedly ahead, not seeing Draco at all.

Draco thought she looked on the verge of fainting and, therefore, decided it wasn't a good idea to let go of her shoulders just yet. He loosened his grip slightly and tried speaking as softly as his hoarse voice was allowing him to.

,,Granger, are you..." he started but was interrupted when Hermione turned her eyes towards him. They still looked slightly unfocused, but Draco noticed a small light reappearing in them.

She's coming through, he thought, with a sigh of relief.

,,Stop yelling at me, Malfoy" she breathed out, exhaustion clear in her voice.

Draco's eyes widened. He stared dumbly at her, suddenly feeling stupid.

Not only is she coming through, but her attitude returned as well.

,,Yes, well, that's what you get for not listening the first time" he spat, letting her go and pushing a hand through his sweaty hair.

Due to the panic he felt earlier, his adrenaline levels went up and he now felt a bit lightheaded and dizzy. He didn't think he could trust his body enough to move from the spot, therefore he remained there, bent over Hermione's bed.

,,What..." Hermione started but got brutally interrupted by Draco grabbing her shoulders again, pressing his fingers into her skin.

,,It's a dark and ugly place you're heading to, Granger" he said, his voice trembling slightly. ,,The world of nightmares and torture... You don't belong there; you belong to the light. You... You've always belonged to the light."

The last words seemed to shock him out of the trance he seemed to have fallen into. His eyes widened and he let go of her quickly, as if touching her gave him physical pain. His thoughts overwhelmed him, swirling around, making him dizzy.

She doesn't deserve to whimper in her sleep, be tortured by nightmares and most definitely, she doesn't deserve to be stuck here, helping me. She deserves so much better.

It shocked him to realize how true and right those thoughts felt to him.

,,And here I thought I was the counselor, not you" Hermione said, pulling Draco out of his thoughts.

,,You can't always be the only smart person in the room, Granger. I'm not Potter or the Weasel. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an awful night to get back to" Draco said, straightening himself up.

And with that, he walked out of her room, leaving a dumbstruck Hermione behind.