Disclaimer: I do not anything excluding some characters and the plot.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Summary: After a night out, Hermione comes to a shocking realization…Read and Review!

A/n: New story in the making, people, and so updates will be fast since I am into this one. Read and Review!

"Thank you," She whispered as she took the drink from the man that was sitting beside her, she could not see him properly. Probably from the lack of lights in the club or from the amount of alcohol, she had already consumed.

"No problem," The man replied to her

She took another sip before set the drink down.

"How about I escort you back to the castle?" The man suggested, touching her arm lightly

"'m okay" She slurred swaying back and forth in her seat. Her vision blurred as she stood up. She groaned as a wave of dizziness overtook her and forced her to sit back down.

"Obviously, you're not" The man said before he stood up and helped her out of her seat and wrapped an arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall.

She shivered as they exited the club and entered the cold night. The man wrapped an arm around her as he felt her shiver against him. She asked weakly as her eyes closed, "Where are you taking me?"

The man shushed her as he said, "Shh, you're in good hands…"

17-year-old Hermione Granger woke up with a start. She sighed as she rolled over and looked at the clock on her bedside. 6:46 it read. She groaned as her head pounded. She tried to remember what had happened last night to have caused her a hangover but the only thing that she came up with was a blur.

Vaguely, she remembered that she had hangover potion in the bathroom. With that in mind, she forced herself to throw off the warm duvet that was around her and get up. She gasped as she got up on her feet and pain seared through her body, which forced her to fall back on the bed.

She was confused. Why was she in so much pain? She frowned before she, this time, gingerly arose from the bed and, slowly, made her way into the bathroom. As soon as she arrived in the bathroom, she stripped of her clothes and gasped as she looked at herself.

It was horrible sight. Bruises, some of them resembling handprints, lined her inner thighs and hips. There was a bite mark on her shoulder. And in the back --

"Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh--" A whimper of frustration and fear broke loose, and Hermione crammed her fist into her mouth to silence it before it had a chance to explode into uncontrollable sobbing.

She stood like that for what felt like hours, trying to control herself. If she let herself crumble to the floor and allowed the tears of agony that were prickling her eyes to come, she did not think she would ever get up again.

Finally, she took a step back, turned away from the mirror, and sat down gingerly on the edge of the bathtub.

She had to think.

She held her head, which still ached dully, and thought harder than she had in all her years at Hogwarts.

She could not tell anyone; that was the first thing she thought of.

She could not let anyone know what had happened. She had to get rid of the evidence.

It helped, just a little, to settle on a course of action. Therefore, with that in mind, she stood up and healed all of the bruises she could. Some disappeared but some were still visible. 'Clothes could hide those' she thought as she sat back down.

Even as she healed most of the bruises, she could not help but feel that there was pain inside her, where she could not reach…

She bathed.

What she was trying to wash away could not be removed with soap and water, and she knew that in her rational mind, but she still turned the water on as hot as it would go, and scrubbed her skin almost raw.

After the shower, she returned to the girl's dormitory carrying the clothes she had taken off.

She could not burn everything. Those were her best robes, and she had worn them only once, to the club the previous night.

She folded them, crammed them into a paper bag, and stowed the bag out of sight in her trunk. Maybe later she could have them washed. Just then, she did not even want to look at them.

She dressed, choosing a long-sleeved turtleneck to hide the still lightly visible bite mark on her neck. She did not even want to go down to breakfast. She felt sick so she crawled into her bed and closed the curtains and cried herself to sleep.

End of Chapter

A/n: Did they have magical clubs for wizards/witches near Hogwarts? Because in my story they do. Just wanted you to know that I have not decided who the culprit is so do not assume anything yet.

The pairings are as follow: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Draco/Hermione, and Hermione/ OC. The OC will be introduced soon enough. No, it is not an exchange student or a new student. He is just a quiet, observant boy who befriends Hermione and fall in love with her, also. Cannot say anything more than that.

Anyways, not much action but give me a break it's only the prologue. Promise it will get tenser in next chapter.

Till then Read and Review!

Ashley