Somnium Perditum - A Dream Lost

Chapter 2: Trio Inopinatum

TW: Self-harm and Domestic Violence

Note: in the books, it is not explicitly mentioned that Hermione has the "mudblood" scar or Draco has the "mark". This fic will be following this from the book.

Hermione

She reached the dungeons and slid into a seat at an empty table near the back of the room. Her movements were deliberate, purposeful. She didn't want to sit with her friends, didn't want to meet anyone's gaze, and she purposefully ignored the enthusiastic wave Dean Thomas sent her way. All she wanted was to fade into the background for just one moment. To sit quietly without the world pressing in on her, glorifying her as some kind of war hero.

Last night had been unbearable. Everywhere she turned, someone was trailing behind her, first years staring at her with wide eyes, asking for her autograph as though she were a Quidditch star instead of someone who had barely survived. The older students weren't any better. They badgered her with questions, begging for tales of her so-called heroism, asking about her months on the run like it had been some thrilling adventure instead of the harrowing nightmare it truly was.

She wanted to escape. Just for a little while.

And so, here she was. Alone, tucked away in the shadows of the Potions classroom, trying to find solace in the silence. That is, until the table wasn't empty anymore.

Two figures sat down across from her, and she froze. Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott.

"Do you mind, Granger? Everywhere else is full," The dark-haired boy's deep voice cut through the tension, casual yet firm.

Her chest tightened at the sound of her surname. Granger. It was like a slap, a name that didn't feel like hers anymore. Not really. Her parents weren't even Grangers anymore, not since she had wiped their memories and sent them away. The name was a cruel reminder, a wound she couldn't seem to close.

She had thought she could handle it. At the start of summer, she had written to McGonagall, begging her professors to call her by her given name. She had pleaded for the change, desperate to avoid the constant, piercing reminder of her terrors every time someone said "Ms. Granger." McGonagall had agreed. But it hadn't stopped her classmates, and the pain still clung to her like a shadow.

Her hands began to tremble. She tried to steady them, gripping the quill in her fingers, but the ink began to blot the parchment, betraying her unease. The blur of tears forming in her eyes only made it worse. She blinked furiously, desperate to hold herself together.

"We can go," The blond murmured, his voice softer than she remembered, edged with discomfort. He leaned closer to Theo, his words almost inaudible. "Maybe someone can switch. Let's ask the Ravenclaws over there."

"No!" The word burst from her lips before she could stop it. Her voice cracked, and she immediately felt the heat of shame creeping up her neck. She swallowed hard, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "Stay. Just... don't call me Granger. Please. Anything but that. Call me Hermione."

She forced herself to look up at them, her lips curving into the faintest, most fragile smile she could manage.

Theo's grin came quickly, wide and disarming. "Cool! Hermione it is, then." He extended a hand across the table, his movements easy and confident. "Call me Theo."

Hermione stared at his hand, hesitation flickering in her eyes. Should she take it? She didn't know what to make of him. Theodore Nott Jr. had been absent for most of the war, missing during their so-called seventh year. He wasn't a Death Eater, at least not officially, but his father had been. That much she knew.