Signum Vitalis (a dramione story)

Hermione and Draco discuss many things

"Well I'm going to see how those two are doing," John said and got up to wander over to Shandra and Draco. He started chatting and Hermione turned and looked back at Daryn.

"I guess it's my turn?" she asked, falsely cheery.

"Harry!" she called his name desperately when he finally picked up. Once class got out, she had burst out onto the muggle streets and had quickly dialed him on the nearest payphone.

"Hermione? What's the matter?"

"It's not working, my plan isn't working. This is the second episode I've had in a week!"

"Calm down. Tell me what happened."

"He pointed a wand at me."

"Who?"

"Williams, he's a classmate."

"Why?"

"We were practicing a spell for class."

"And you panicked?" Harry asked patiently.

"Yes, it wasn't that bad but I'm going to have a wand pointed at me at least once a week, maybe more. I can't freak out like this every time!"

"It's okay, you'll get used to it," Harry soothed.

"Things aren't getting better, though, Harry. I thought things would change!"

"Well, you've researched it, haven't you. What do the books say?"

"Pills and therapy."

"Then why don't you do that?"

"But why didn't you do that Harry, you went through worse than I did."

"Hermione, you were tortured." She winced. "You need to talk about this with someone and since you refuse to talk to Ron or your parents about it, you need to talk about this with someone else."

"I-I can't," Hermione begged into the phone. "I can't talk about it. Especially not on the phone or in front of Luna. Harry-"

"Then go to a therapist, but you can't avoid this forever. It's just going to keep haunting you until you confront it."

"I can't talk to a muggle about this, Harry. They'll try to get information about my attackers and- and-"

"Then find a wizard therapist. There's got to be at least one in all of the Americas and probably one within apparating range, too."

"I'm not crazy, Harry. I don't want to talk to a shrink who will try to practice some pseudo-magic on me like horoscopes or crystal balls or force me to take several pills a day. I'm fine! Not crazy!" A passer by gave her a funny look and Hermione muttered quieter, "I'm not crazy."

"Hermione, I know you don't like this idea and you'll be able to find a thousand reasons not to, but you can just say no if you don't like them. Just give it a chance, please."

Hermione hesitated.

"Look, if nothing else, just do it for my peace of mind. You don't have to do anything other than make an appointment and go into the office. That's it. Please," Harry was begging and Hermione felt awful now for piling all her problems on him.

"Yeah, sorry Harry. I can do that. I'll do it tonight."

"Good girl," Harry's voice was considerably less tense.

"Um... anyway," Hermione wiped her eyes. "How are things with you and Ginny?"

Silence reigned on the other side of the phone.

"Er, Harry? Did I say something wrong?"

"Uh... no, nothing's wrong. It's just... I'm a little worried about something. Oh, that's Ginny at the floo. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

"Sure, Harry. Whenever you need to, just let me know. I'll talk to you guys on Sunday."

"Okay, sure that's good. Thanks. And Hermione? Find a therapist, okay?"

"Yes, Harry," Hermione made a face at the phone. They said their goodbyes and after she hung up Hermione mentally calculated how much she had just spent on the phone call. She winced. "That is where having mental breakdowns gets you," she muttered to herself.

...

Hermione still felt out of sorts even though Harry had helped her calm down quite a bit. She rummaged up her things from the payphone and decided to go for a nice walk first. It ended up being a rather long walk because the sky was beautiful and she got caught up in the bustle of the city, but by the end of it she was feeling refreshed and ready to hit the books for the rest of the day. She returned to the school to use their library as it was the most useful and comfortable spot. She had just gotten into the swing of studying when a voice drawled behind her.

"There's the Granger I know: nose always stuck in her book."

Hermione didn't bothering looking up, "Sod off, Malfoy."

"What happened earlier?" he continued as if she hadn't said anything, "Weaselbee and Pothead have a crisis?"

Hermione debated casting a 'silencio' but assumed that it would quickly escalate into a full scale wand duel and she would lose her dear studying oasis. She compromised with a 'muffliato' directed at herself and happily settled back into reading. It didn't take long before he was waving his hands in front of her. Irritated she cast a 'finite' and turned on him.

"What do you want?" she bit out.

"Did you cast that muffliato at yourself?"

"Yes, Malfoy, congratulations! Now say whatever it is you are so desperate to tell me and then leave. Me. Alone. Some people actually use the library to study," she hissed.

"You wound me, Granger," he mockingly put his hand against his chest.

She rolled her eyes and waited.

He paused and stared into her eyes with what seemed like a sincere expression. "Granger, being a muggleborn, you know what these muggle professions like doctor, dentist, and uh... therapist mean?"

Hermione sighed irritably. "They all have definitions in the back of our Wizarding and Muggle Professions book. They're for this exact purpose and all are written out clearly so your kind can understand it," she didn't bother controlling her sarcasm.

"What's stuck up your-"

"Shut it, Malfoy."

"I thought the little know-it-all liked helping people study?"

"Go read your book, Malfoy." She turned back to her own reading and recast the 'muffliato' spell. She finished her study session without any further interruptions except the librarian when he shook her shoulder to tell her the school was closing.

A/N: I had a rough time with this and the next chapter. Many thanks to my beta who patiently stuck with me through it and gave me lots of advice. We finally made it! (Sorry for posting this late I really picked a bad week to start :/ )