Draco was rooming with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. And he wasn't sure if this should have been the end of his world or not. Of course, Neville was also rooming with him, which was great for Draco. But really? Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

It was almost as if McGonagall hated him. Making the Gryffindors and Slytherins room together while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were lucky enough to room together. She did this on purpose, he was sure of it.

But that meant not only himself, but Hermione Granger was also out of luck. She would be forced to room with the two Slytherin females that came back to the school. Of course Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis weren't bad, maybe Granger wasn't too unlucky in this situation.

Draco turned down a short corridor that went no more than a few yards long. And off to the left side, about halfway down this lonesome seventh floor passageway, was a staircase. Now taking the ladderwell up would mean a short journey to the rooftop, where a beautiful view of the school yard could be seen. Draco however, placed his hand on a worn looking stone somewhere in the middle of the wall just to the right of the staircase. A second after his hand made contact with the stone, the staircase shifted up, revealing a passageway down. It was only a few steps down before his eyes caught sight of his new common room.

A few people were already inside, milling around, exploring the common room. Draco however, headed straight for his room.

There was only one staircase, leading to a hallway one floor above the common room. To the right was a door decorated in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colors and to the left was a door with Slytherin and Gryffindor colors. He took the door to the left, entering another small common room.

This room was soft and calming whereas the main common room was bright and open. There was an area for school pets in one corner (a bag of cat food already on the floor and a small owl hooted happily at the sight of Draco), next to a large window in which he assumed owls would be able to enter and exit; a small sitting area, stuffed with couches and chairs and a table; another fireplace with a piece of muggle art work hanging over it; and a small kitchen area, which was really no kitchen, but just a counter with a sink, a fridge, an island and a few muggle appliances like a coffee maker and some more he would be sure to learn about later.

Continuing on, Draco went up another staircase. Two doors also taking up this small corridor two floors above the main common room. Names were written on a small name plate, signifying which was the male dorm and which the female dorm. Draco entered the door to the right.

His bed was easy to pick out. Weasley was standing at one bed in the corner, Potter's belongings were scattered across another bed, and there was a weird looking plant on the beside table of what Draco assumed to be Neville's bed.

Ron had looked up when Draco entered, offering a nod to him and what looked like a forced smile. Draco returned the forced smile. Harry must have heard the door open, because he peaked his head out from the bathroom greeting Draco.

Draco placed his things on his bed and was just about to start the beginnings of an awkward conversation when Neville saved his life by entering the room.

The other three boys talked while Draco simply listened and unpacked. And soon after, they all got ready for bed.

Draco laid in his bed thinking that maybe this wouldn't be too bad. It actually seemed sort of easy. He just had to survive the school year. And then maybe he wouldn't ever have to see the boy who lived and his golden friends ever again.

-

Draco sat bolt upright, sweat dripping from his skin and sheets tangled with his feet.

He took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm his breathing as much as he could. And his hand darted to his hair, raking his fingers through it multiple times. His fingers came out covered in sweat and his breathing hardly slowed. He climbed from his bed on unsteady feet and stumbled out of the room.

He collapsed on one of the couches in the private common room, not even noticing that someone else was downstairs. It only came to his attention when a steaming cup was in front of his face.

He looked up, wide eyes and heavy breathing. Ron Weasley stood in front of him. He took the cup, hesitantly but gratefully.

"Want to talk about it? Hermione tells me it helps loads more than keeping it in."

Draco could tell Weasley wanted to talk just about as much as he did. So he simply took a large gulp of the hot liquid, allowing it to burn down his throat. It helped him breath slower.

Ron looked at him sideways, taking another drink of his own cup. "It's one in the morning, mate, there's got to be a reason you only made it through three hours of sleep."

Draco sighed softly. "I reckon it's the same reason you had less sleep than me."

"You got me there."

They sat silently for another thirty minutes until the door creaked open and another body joined them. Hermione Granger fell into Ron Weasley's arms, and Draco wasn't sure if she was crying or not, but she was shaking.

Draco figured that since Weasley was comforting her, he should be the one to get her a cup of coffee, just as Ron did for him. He returned to the pair, steaming cup in hand, just in time to hear Hermione's voice crack as she spoke, "I dreamt it again, she was torturing me."

"It's alright 'Mione, you survived," Weasley comforted, petting her untamable curls.

Draco didn't need to ask, he knew what they were referring to. He was there. He saw it happen.

He handed over the coffee, which she took with shaky hands and a watery smile, "thanks Draco," she managed to mumble. He gave a small nod, sitting back down.

Hermione now as a buffer, the common room wasn't so quiet. Small talk ensued, until another joined them, minutes later. Daphne Greengrass came in, hair a mess and tear streaks down her face. She sat in an armchair, legs pulled up to her chest.

Hermione offered her a cup, softly rubbing her back before taking her seat at Ron's side again. Once more, they fell into quiet small talk, avoiding the reasons they couldn't sleep.

It was almost as hour later when the door creaked open again and Neville and Harry joined the group. Hermione pulled Harry down beside her, giving him a quick hug while Neville sat by Draco. Ron got up to get more coffee. And while all of this was going on, the door opened again, Tracey Davis moving into the room, going to Daphne's side.

All seven of them sat in the common room, each having experienced a different part of the war, but each being affected nevertheless. Each teenager was a mess and dark color filled under their eyes and you could tell that this was not the first night they had not been able to sleep. And it was almost comforting to know that they were not alone, someone else was going through the same things as them; and not just one, at least six other people.

They talked all night, until slowly but surely they each dozed off again.

Draco's last thoughts being that maybe this wasn't so bad after all, rooming with the Gryffindors.