26. Euphoria

Author's Note: Sorry it has taken me a whole week to update. This chapter was so hard to write, because it's what I like to call "a filler chapter". This, of course, means that this chapter is short, and there is nothing in this chapter of great significance - but I did need it in order to write the next chapter. It's apparently more hard to write a chapter full of nothing, than to write a chapter full of something. Go figure.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I'm sad to see some of you are going away for a while, but it is summer, so that makes a whole lot of sense. I hope I got this chapter up before bluemaui49 left for camp, although I fear I am a bit too late. If that is the case, then I am really sorry!

Disclaimer: My sister-in-law just asked me the other day when the new Harry Potter book is coming out, and I was all, "I dunno." I wonder if she would like to read my fan fics? Hmm...probably not. She'd probably think I'm a freak for shipping Draco and Hermione. But I can't help it!

Draco smirked. For the last half hour or so, he'd been sitting in a chair across the room from Hermione, watching Madam Pomfrey making a fuss over her. She checked her heart, her reflexes, her eyes, ears, nose and throat – all appeared to be perfectly fine. The nurse even performed the "how many fingers am I holding up?" test, which Hermione had passed with flying colors.

In other words, she appeared to be perfectly healthy.

She smiled at Madam Pomfrey. "It really is," she said. "I must have someone looking out for me."

She glanced over at Draco as she spoke the words and they shared a small smile.

But Madame Pomfrey did not even notice. "A guardian angel," she said, beaming.

"Yes. Something like that," Hermione said.

Madam Pomfrey turned to Dumbledore. "Well, everything seems to be just fine. I'd say she's as healthy as she was before…well... you know."

"Great!" Hermione exclaimed. "So I can leave then?"

Madam Pomfrey exchanged a glance with Dumbledore, who took a step forward and said, "I'm afraid not. I would like you to stay at least overnight. I have notified your parents that you are awake, and I have arranged for them to come and see you. They should be here within the next hour. In the meantime, you should stay here and rest."

Draco snorted. "Sir, she just had two months of rest."

Hermione nodded emphatically. "He's right. I'm not all that tired right now."

"I understand your urgency to see your friends, but it is very late in the evening, and they are all sleeping right now. You might as well wait until tomorrow. After two months, I don't think a few more hours should be too hard to handle." He gave her a smile and a wink as he said it, to indicate that he was only teasing. But Draco thought he actually had a very good point.

Apparently, so did Hermione. With a defeated sigh, she said, "I suppose you are right."

"Good girl," Madam Pomfrey said, nodding. Turning to Dumbledore, she said, "I think I will go back to getting some sleep myself, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, Poppy," Dumbledore replied. "Be my guest. Thank you for coming in."

"Oh, it was no problem," she said. She glanced back over at Hermione with a tearful smile. "I'm just so glad to see that you are okay, Miss Granger. We've been waiting for this day to come for so long."

"Thank you," Hermione said with a smile.

"I'll be heading off now as well," Dumbledore said. He looked over at Draco and said, "Mr. Malfoy, let's give Miss Granger here some time by herself."

Draco opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione beat him to it.

"No!" she cried. Realizing she had raised her voice, she blushed and cleared her throat. "Can Malfoy stay? I mean, if he wants to."

All eyes were now on Draco. Of course he wanted to stay. She didn't even have to ask.

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I suppose if he would like to -"

"I would," Draco said, leaning back in his chair.

"Very well, then," The Headmaster said. He smiled at Hermione and turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Shall we?"

Draco watched as the old man ushered the nurse out of the room and let out a long breath as soon as they were gone.

"I thought they would never leave," he muttered.

Hermione giggled. "Thank you for staying. But please don't feel as though you have to."

"Don't be daft, Granger. I just went through all the trouble of saving you from a dream world. I'm at least going to stick around until you thank me."

Hermione grinned. "I would thank you and all, but…well, I'm getting this feeling like I should be hating you right now."

Draco smirked. He hadtold her she could feel free to hate him for making her jump off the Astronomy Tower. "How much do you remember? From the dreams?"

"Not a whole lot," she admitted. Her smile faltered a bit as she stared down at her hands. "Unfortunately, I've always been quite terrible at remembering my dreams. I do remember you were there quite often, though."

Draco nodded. He had figured it was possible she would not remember most of what she had dreamed about the past two months, and in a way he was glad she didn't. At least, he was glad she probably did not remember getting killed every single night.

"So how long exactly have I been like this?" she asked.

Draco cleared his throat. He pretended to think for a moment, as if trying to figure out the math in his head. But he already knew exactly how long – he'd been counting every single day.

"Two months and ten days," he replied.

Hermione groaned. "I missed that much schoolwork?"

Draco chuckled. Leave it to Hermione Granger to think about schoolwork first. "I'm sure you'll have no problem catching up, Granger. Although, you may have some problem with making Veritaserum for Potions class, since you'll have to work alone."

She gasped. "Snape had you guys make Veritaserum?"

"Indeed, he did," Draco said with a nod. "And you'll never guess who he partnered me up with – Potter."

"You're kidding!" Hermione said. She giggled slightly, but it quickly faded away. Staring back down at her hands, she said, "So…how is Harry?"

He shouldn't have let her question bother him. Of course she would wonder how her friends were doing. So what if Potter was the first one she had asked about? He was her best friend. It made perfect sense.

But yet, it did bother Draco nevertheless.

"He's fine," he replied shortly.

She didn't seem to notice his annoyance. She just nodded and said, "And everyone else?"

"They're all fine as well, Granger. That is to say, as fine as they all can be, thinking their friend is dead."

Hermione nodded; a slight smirk played at her lips. "I can't wait to see their faces when they see me."

"Actually, I can already describe their reactions to you," Draco said, "because I've already witnessed them once before."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh yeah? And how is that possible?"

"Well, I saw how they reacted to the other you," he replied.

Hermione glanced at him curiously. "I'm sorry - the other who?"

He had debated whether he should tell her right off about the other Hermione, and in the end he had decided there would be no harm in it. "It's a long story," he warned.

"That's fine. I don't exactly have anything better to do right now," Hermione joked.

So Draco told her everything. He told her how another girl so much like her, yet so different, had entered their lives from another dimension. He told her how Ginny, Ron and Luna had warmed up to her, while Harry had been suspicious of her. He told her how Harry Potter had turned evil in her world, and how she had killed him. He told her about how he had gone back to her world with her to make sure everything went okay.

What he didn't tell her about was Blaise. Or about the speech he had given to the other Draco. Or about the fact that the other Hermione had read her entire diary.

By the time he had finished his story, Hermione had a look on her face that was a mixture between shock, awe, horror and, of course, skepticism.

"You're not serious," she said.

Draco shrugged. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Dumbledore to confirm it."

Hermione stared at him wide-eyed. "Another me? From another dimension?" She paused a moment, as if she were trying to imagine it. "Was she nicer than me? Was she cuter?" She gasped. "Was she smarter?"

Draco chuckled. "Let's see…yes, another you. Yes, from another dimension. No, she wasn't nicer. No, she wasn't cuter. And as for your last question, let's just say she isn't Head Girl in her world. Pansy is."

"Now that I refuse to believe," Hermione said with a giggle. She sighed. "Wow. So…I guess I missed a lot, then?"

"You did," Draco said.

"I wish I could have met her," Hermione said softly.

"Well, maybe someday you can." Draco reached in his pocket and pulled out the medallion the other Hermione had given him. "This charm links to her world. I can go back and visit anytime I want to. Maybe if you're nice to me, I'll consider taking you along."

Hermione scrunched up her face in mock disgust. "I guess I don't want to meet her that bad."

"You're killing me, Granger."

"I'm trying," Hermione teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

He had never understood the significance of the saying, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" until this very moment. Or, perhaps, the better saying in his case would have been, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone and then given back to you." He had missed moments like this with her, and he realized now how much he had taken them for granted before she had been taken away from him.

The room was suddenly filled with an awkward silence. Despite the fact that Draco had so much he wanted to say to her, he couldn't seem to find his voice – probably because he figured that now was not the right time to say those things to her. After all, she had only been awake for a little less than an hour, and already he had overwhelmed her with his 'other-Hermione' story – he really didn't need to get into the complications of how he felt about her too.

"Thank you," she said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Draco glanced up at her. "For what?"

She rolled her eyes. "For saving me, you dolt."

"You don't have to thank me, Granger," he said with a shrug. "I really didn't do anything too special to save you."

"But you did," she said. "I mean, just the fact that you were even willing to try. It means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it, Granger. I'd like to think you would have done the same for me."

"You know I would have," she said softly, glancing away.

Draco's breath hitched in his throat. Yes, he did know that Hermione would have done the same for him. She would have done it for anyone, because that was just the type person she was. But there was something in the tone of her voice…something in the way she was now blushing slightly that indicated perhaps she would have been more willing to do it for him than for someone else...

He was probably reading too much into it. However, he felt the sudden urge to tell her everything – everything – that he was feeling…everything he had been feeling for the past two months. Suddenly, he wanted her to know exactly how much he had missed her, how much he cared about her, how much he…well, how much he loved her.

Mustering up every ounce of courage he had in him, Draco cleared his throat, and said, "Listen, Granger, there's something I -"

But he was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

He glanced up, along with Hermione, to see who was intruding. Draco recognized the first figure through the door: Dumbledore. But he had never seen the man and woman who were following him in, though it was quite easy to guess who they were. Especially since the woman bore a slight resemblance to Hermione.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione exclaimed. She immediately jumped off the bed and threw herself at her parents, who both caught her in their arms simultaneously. As they fell into a group hug, Draco sighed and stood up from the chair.

Saved by the parents. He was actually glad they had walked in when they had. Otherwise, who knew how much information he would have ended up spilling to her? And who knew how she might have reacted to it all? He assured himself that it was too soon, anyway.

He felt awkward watching Hermione's reunion with her parents. They were fussing and fawning over her, holding onto her so tightly Draco was surprised she could still manage to breathe. It was a heartwarming sight, but Draco couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by it. He wasn't used to parents expressing that much love for their children.

Finally, they all broke apart and Hermione said, "How did you guys get here so quickly?"

"I had arranged to meet your parents at the train station," Dumbledore replied. "So I apparated to meet them, and brought them back here via a portkey."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You guys traveled by portkey?"

"Yes," replied Mr. Granger. "Which is probably why I'm still feeling a bit dizzy. I think I'll take a seat over there -"

Hermione's father took one step forward and then stopped when he saw Draco standing there. "Oh," he said. "Hello."

Draco nodded in response, not exactly sure how to speak to the parents of Hermione Granger. He was ashamed to admit that he felt a bit intimidated by them.

Mrs. Granger, letting go of Hermione, glanced over at Draco and gave him a pleasant smile. "You must be Draco Malfoy."

"Yes, ma'am," Draco said.

He watched as the woman walked over to him, but he expected her to stop just a few feet away from him. Instead, to his complete surprise, she walked right up to him and pulled him into a light embrace.

"My daughter has told me so much about you."

Draco went rigid in the woman's arms and glanced at Hermione over her shoulder. "Uh…everything she has told you about me is a lie."

Hermione made a face at him and rolled her eyes.

"Relax," Mrs. Granger said, releasing Draco from the embrace. "She's had nothing but glowing things to say about you."

"They weren't glowing, Mother," Hermione insisted.

Draco smirked. "What, exactly, did she say about me?"

Mrs. Granger opened her mouth to respond, but Hermione quickly grabbed her arm and said, "I told her a lot of things – one being that you are an arrogant prat."

"That doesn't sound very glowing to me," Draco said. "I think you're lying, Granger."

"And I think you're a -"

"Children! That's enough," Mrs. Granger interjected with a chuckle.

Mr. Granger, who had been watching with a mildly amused expression on his face, walked over to Draco with an outstretched hand.

"I am Hermione's father," the man said. "And that," he pointed to Mrs. Granger, "is Hermione's mother, of course."

"Pleased to meet you both," Draco mumbled, shaking the man's hand.

"Professor Dumbledore here informed us that you were the one who was able to wake up our daughter?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Thank you," Mr. Granger said in a strained voice. And, to Draco's surprise yet again, he pulled Draco into a hug.

Hermione smiled at them. When her gaze caught Draco's, she gave him a sympathetic look, as if to silently apologize for her parents mauling him.

But deep down, Draco didn't really mind. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone, though.

"Well," he said after Mr. Granger pulled away. "I think I'll…leave…now." He turned to Hermione. "You'll probably be seeing me again later."

Hermione shrugged. "If I must," she said coolly. But she couldn't keep up the nonchalant façade for more than a few seconds; just as he turned to go, she, herself, threw her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For everything."

It was strange how her hug had caught him off guard the most. But he quickly warmed up to the embrace, wrapping his arms around her as tightly as he could without suffocating her.

"You're welcome," he whispered back.

Neither one of them made an immediate move to break apart. In fact, it wasn't until someone else had cleared their throat that Draco even remembered there was anyone else in the room. They both quickly let go of one another.

"See you later," Hermione said softly.

Draco nodded. He glanced over at the Grangers. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise, Draco," Mrs. Granger said with a warm smile.

"You should probably go get some rest," Dumbledore suggested. "I'm sure you are still feeling some effects of those potions. It would be best if you slept them off."

The old man was right. Draco was suddenly feeling worn down and slightly comatose himself.

"That's a good idea," he said.

He turned to leave, but Dumbledore stopped him. "Remember, Draco, do not tell anyone about this."

"Don't worry. I don't exactly have anyone to tell," Draco reminded him. He waved over to Hermione, who waved back, and then left the Room of Requirement.

He felt an overwhelming sense of euphoria as he made his way back to the Head's tower. It all seemed so surreal – even more so than having the other Hermione around. His Hermione Granger was back. She was alive. And in many ways, Draco could say he was no alive as well.

As he approached the tower, he grinned at the knight in the portrait, who glanced curiously back at him.

"Why are you all smiles?" the knight grunted.

Draco did not respond. He just said the password, "Sugarplum," and walked through the portrait hole as soon as it opened up.

He made his way to his bedroom in a daze. He felt as though he were sleepwalking, or walking on air. Or both. He couldn't tell - he was too tired to make sense of anything. He didn't bother to change his clothes, or even to take off his shoes. He immediately fell onto his bed, and no sooner did his head hit the pillow than he was asleep.

Later, he wouldn't remember if he had dreamt at all. He would only know that it was the first good night of sleep he'd had in over two months.