Stolen Innocence

A/N: Just so youu all know, I've finished chapter 22, but I'm waiting to post it when I get some more reviews. So far I only got 3 for this chapter, so, if youu want another update, review && I'll post it!

Chapter Twenty-One

Throughout the week Hermione's nightly screaming continued. Draco heard her loud screams each night, unable to wake her due to the charm on her staircase. He spent many nights sleepless, wishing he could do something to stop this nightly occurance.

The only way Hermione even knew of what she had called 'night terrors' was a sore throat she had each morning. She never remembered any of her dreams, often causing Draco to become frustrated when he questioned her in the mornings.

"I'm sorry Draco, but I can't remember a thing." She told him on the fourth morning while trying to brush her teeth.

"You must remember something!" He half shouted at her. "You cannot tell me you scream bloody murder for hours each night and then have no clue why!" Hermione tried to hold in the flinch as he raised his voice.

"Well it seems like I am," Hermione replied, washing off her tooth brush. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like some privacy." She tried to push the door shut, but Draco put his foot in front of it.

"Why do you pretend like this is nothing? Look at you, you look like you haven't slept in a week, this is affecting you whether you want to believe it or not." Draco told her firmly.

"And why, exactly, do you care so much?" Hermione ask, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Because your screaming is keeping me up all bloody night." He told her, thanking his quick mind.

"Of course, God forbid you don't get your beauty sleep!" She rolling her eyes and pushing past him.

"Everyone needs a few hours of decent sleep!" Draco shouted Hermione's retreating back as she walked up her staircase. He was about to call after her again but then decided to take advantage of the vacant bathroom.

Hermione brushed through her thin, limp hair. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking note of her sad, tired eyes and the darker bags under them.

She supposed Draco was right about the night terrors, they were doing a number on her. She tried as hard as she could to remember the dreams, but nothing but black ever came up. There had to be a reason for them, but she could only draw a blank.

It didn't even feel like she was sleeping anymore, she felt as if she ran each night, causing her to be both physically and emotionally drained each day.

Not having Harry there made things even worse. He moved his seat away from her in every class, sitting beside anyone but her. She tried to get his attention whenever she could, but he simply acted as if she wasn't there, causing her to feel that much less about herself.

She supposed she couldn't really blame Harry for his reaction, she was telling him that his best friend was a twisted rapist. He had every right to be angry with her, there was no way he would believe her. Ron was just that different around her. But still, everytime she tried to catch Harry's eye in class and he glanced at her as if she were transparent, tears would well up in her eyes, causing her to bite her lip and continue on with the work.

Hermione took her hair, wrapping it into a messy bun and grabbed her wand. She quickly performed the glamour charm on herself then headed out with her school robe in hand.

Draco was waiting for her in the common room, her bookbag in his hand like always. She took it from him without a word as the two walked out the door.

Hermione said a quick good-bye to Draco as she headed off for Arithmacy, and him, Divination. She took her usual seat beside Hannah Abbott, the only other girl in the class. The two didn't really talk to each other during class, just exchanged polite smiles.

It's not like they weren't on good terms, Hermione had always found Hannah nice, but they didn't feel the need to exchange words in this, their most difficult class.

Hermione found that her concentration wasn't as sharp as it usually was, and often had to ask Professor Vector to repeat herself, which she hated doing. By the end of class, the professor was so convinced that Hermione had been trying to get on her last nerve that she instructed her to write a two foot long essay on why you must always pay attention. Hanging her head low, Hermione headed off to Potions.

Hermione took her seat alone at the back of the class while she watched Draco seat himself beside Blaise. He looked back and gave her a small smile, which she returned, before opening up his books and becoming wrapped up in a conversation with his best friend.

Harry then came into the class, taking his seat beside Dean, not even glancing at Hermione, making her feel lonely. She bit back the tears as she took out her books, her mind wishing she hadn't ruined everything with Harry.

Professor Slughorn cleared his throat, a signal for the class to get quiet so he can begin the lesson. That's when Hermione's mind drifted away, her hands automatically writing what the professor was saying.

Hermione's thoughts went right to her night terrors. She'd never really been prone to nightmares before, so it was odd that she was now getting then every night. She really wished she could remember them, maybe then she could figure out how to stop them. She had to admit, they did drain her quite a lot. She had looked through every dream book she could find in the library, but always came up with nothing. The closest thing she found to helping her was a simple definition;

'a sudden awakening in dazed terror that occurs in children during slow-wave sleep, is often preceded by a sudden shrill cry uttered in sleep, and is not remembered when the child awakes called also pavor nocturnus'

But that didn't help her with what causes them. So now she had to figure it out herself. Around Draco she acted as if she wasn't worried about the dreams, but really, they troubled her more then anything. Of course, she would never let this on, because she hated being seen as weak. She needed to excel in everything and make it look easy, she just had to.

Next thing she knew, the class was being dismissed as she silently thank which ever god was listening that Slughorn had decided to have a lecture all class. She quickly checked her notes before packing up, being sure she'd taken them in good detail, despite her wandering mind. She then put all her things in her bag and walked to the door where Draco was waiting for her.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked as they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch. "You look all spaced out all class."

"No, I'm fine. I was just thinking." She told him. Draco gave her a questioning look, but didn't pry further because they were now right infront of the Great Hall.

"Are you going to the library again after classes today?" He asked her, stopping right infront of the entrance to the hall.

"No, I couldn't find what I was looking for in there so I've given up," She told him. "Why?"

Draco opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it. "Just wondering." He answered in a casual voice then turned towards the Slytherin table.

"See you in Defense Against the Dark Arts." Draco said over his shoulder as Hermione turned towards her own table.

She gave out a small sigh when she saw Harry, Ron and Ginny all sitting together. She walked right passed them, their conversation stopping as Ron glared at the back of her head. Again, she bit back the tears and sat down at the end of the table by herself.

Being used to missing meals, Hermione decided she didn't feel like eating. Instead, she opened up her DADA text book and began reading until lunch was finished. Once people began to make their way to classes, she stood up and searched the hall for Draco, but he was nowhere to be seen.

'That's odd,' Hermione thought to herself. 'We always walk to classes together.' Shrugging it off as Draco probably having someone better to walk with, she grabbed her bookbag, holding it close to her chest, and made her way to class.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger." Growled Professor Moody as she entered the class.

"Good afternoon, Professor." She replied in a small voice, still not feeling very comfortable around the ex aurour. She took her seat at the back of the class and watched as the students filed in.

Harry and Ron walked into the class, deep in conversation, probably about Quidditch. Ron glared at her again as he and Harry took their seats, but Harry full out ignored her. She bowed her head in shame, missing the closeness she had with her two best friends.

'I guess I best get used to being alone.' She told herself while taking out her books.

Once everyone was seated, Professor Moody began the lesson how he always did, with a story about a time he caught a Death Eater. His stories always had a purpose, normally to tell the students the raw truth about war, and also to tell students which spells should be used in certain situations. Hermione found his stories very interesting and informative, so she tried her hardest to keep her waning concentration sharp, writing down every little thing Moody said. Today, the story took up practically the whole class, so Moody had the class spend the last fifteen minutes of the class reading the effects of the Unforgivables.

Hermione looked around the reading students, noticing that Draco was missing from them. She thought it was odd that he was missing class when she was there, but shrugged it off, knowing full well that he could take care of himself.

After class was finished, Hermione was packing up her things when Moody called out to her.

"Miss Granger." Moody addressed her, his fake eye swirling around to look directly at her, giving her an uncomfortable feeling.

"Yes, Professor?" She asked, keeping her voice strong. He was her professor, she had no reason to be afriad of him, and she would be damned if she would show it.

"You wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of Mr. Malfoy today, now would you?" He asked as he hobbled over to her, his wooden leg making a clinking noise on the floor.

"No, Professor, I wouldn't." She told him honestly.

"It seems the two of you have been missing an awful lot of class," He stated as he leaned against a desk for support.

"I know and I'm sorry, it's just-" She began, but Moody held up a hand to stop her.

"As Heads the two of you are permitted to have to occasional absense from lessons without a reason, but if it continues, I am going to need a note from your heads of house," He told her. "This is your final year here at Hogwarts and you'd do best to attend all your classes. N.E.W.T.s are coming up and every class is an important part of those tests."

"Yes, Professor, I'll try not to let it happen again." Hermione said.

"I know you'll do great things, Miss Granger." Moody replied with a smile, revealing many missing teeth.

"Thank you, sir." She said, returning his smile. She then finished packing up her things and made her way to the Heads Quaters, her confidence boosted slightly.

When Hermione walked into the common room, she found Draco sitting on the couch, reading from a book.

"There you are," Hermione said as she threw her bag onto the floor. "Moody was asking about you today."

"So?" He asked, not really paying attention.

"So, you better stop missing class. N.E.W.T.s are coming up so you can't afford to be missing class so much." Hermione scolded him.

"I really don't think I have anything to worry about." Draco told her, closing his book to look at her as she rolled her eyes.

"How are you so confident? I'm completely stressed out about N.E.W.T.s!" She exclaimed as she sat down beside him on the couch.

"I just am." He said with a cocky smile.

"And since when do you read?" Hermione asked, glancing at the cover of the book.

"I read when something catches my interest." Draco answered.

"Then what, may I ask, caught your interest so much that you missed an important Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

"Oh, just something that explained how to rid you of your terrible nightly screaming." Draco said casually.

"Really? Let me see it!" Hermione grabbed the book and opened to the page he'd been on. She read for a minute then look up at him, discouraged.

"All it says is that I have to fall asleep in a comfortable environment. How am I supposed to feel comfortable here?" She asked him.

"Do you remember the first night you had a night terror?" He asked. Hermione nodded. "Do you remember afterwards when I got into bed with you and you slept peacefully the whole night?" Hermione's eyes went wide, knowing what he was suggesting.

"I'm not going to sleep with you, Draco." She said firmly, crossing her arms.

"Why not? You've slept in the same bed with me before and we both know you only feel safe with me." He argued, a slight tone of hurt in his voice.

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing. I'm not going to try anything so don't flatter yourself." Draco said with a smirk to show his sarcasm. Hermione sat there for a while, considering her options. It did feel nice sleeping in Draco's bed, having his strong arms wrapped around her, and she definately could not keep living with such terrible sleep.

"Alright, fine," She finally said, causing Draco to try to hide his smile. "But, we need to set some ground rules." Draco groaned.

"You and your rules." He pouted but gave her his full attention.

"You have to be wearing both pants and underwear-"

"Ok."

"-And I will be fully clothed."

"You're no fun." Hermione playfully swatted Draco on the arm at that comment.

"And no trying anything sexual." Draco nodded.

"Alright, I guess I can live with those rules." He said.

"Ok, but if this doesn't work, don't expect me to keep trying it." She told him.

"Don't worry, it will work. I know you only feel safe with me." Hermione nodded slightly, knowing it was the truth.

"Now come on, fill me in on Moody's lesson." Draco said, changing the subject on purpose. Hermione eagerly took out her notes, loving that she got to play teacher.

After an hour of helping Drco get caught up on DADA, the two made their way down to dinner, Hermione suddenly feeling as if she hadn't ate in weeks. The two parted to go to their respected tables, but throughout dinner kept glancing and smiling at one another, thinking no one would notice.

*

"That's disgusting!" Lavender Brown exclaimed, causing Romilda Vane and Ginny Weasley to look at her questioningly.

"What is? Did you find a hair in your soup?" Ginny asked sarcastically, having never really liked Lavender.

"No, look." She answered, not catching Ginny's tone. She pointed towards Hermione who was smiling at someone from the Slytherin table. The three girls followed Hermione's line of sight to Draco Malfoy, causing them all to gasp.

"Oh my, Hermione's sleeping with a Death Eater!" Romilda exclaimed.

"She's such a tart!" Lavender added.

"Hermione's not a tart!" Ginny said, defending her friend.

"Didn't she dump your brother after spending a few weeks living with Malfoy in the Heads' Quarters?" Romilda asked the red headed girl.

"Yeah, but-"

"Did he say why?" Lavender questioned.

"Yeah, he said Malfoy had brainwashed her or something." Ginny replied in a small voice.

"Well there you go, that proves it!" Lavender stated, completely convinced.

"But Hermione's not like that!" Ginny told them.

"Yeah, but Malfoy's just that good." Romilda said, staring at the blonde haired boy. The other two girls stared at her in disbelief.

'Could it be?' Ginny thought to herself. 'Could Hermione Granger, little miss goody-two-shoes really be Malfoy's latest tart...?"

To Be Continued...

Well, there you all go. This is my way of making up for not updating for two months, a quick update && a really long chapter. I've finally found a solutions to writer's block, so I will be updating a lot quicker now. Anyways, thnxx goes out to:

-Ms.Nomdeplume, yeahh, life does get in the way of writing. Love your story by the wayy, thnxx for reviewing mine !

-catysmom, there youu go, a nice quick update !

-Karen, well thank youu, I'm happy to hear youu like my story so much.

-pickles87, your welcome, that was find of an emotional chapter, hopefully this one isn't as bad.

-princesspeach, well that's okay, I love your story so I'll review it even if youu completely forgot about my story. I'm glad you're liking my characterization, you're so kind. Thnxx for understanding that I can't always update quickly as well.

-luvhp, here youu go, a quick update. Hope youu like it.

I hope youu all liked this chapter. I should be able to update again within the next two weeks as it is summer && after Tuesday I'm all done with my exams. So please, read && review, it makes me feel happy when I get a lot of reviews and motivates me to update sooner.

Much Love...
XXX
Xx-.k.a.y.y.-xX