Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, unfortunately. If I did, I'd be rich, and living in a castle somewhere in Venice.

The world's got a funny way of turning 'round on you
When a friend tries to stab you right in the face
Losing faith in everything I thought I hoped I knew
Don't sweat it, it was set on false pretense

-

It's sacrifice
False pretense you'll hurt again
Stop pretending to deny
False pretense you'll hurt again

-


I can't seem to understand it how you turned out to be so cold
You tried but were caught red handed, are you happy with your role?
It's funny to me how you've turned into such a joke

-x-x-x-x-x-

She ran.

She didn't know what else to do; there WAS nothing else to do. So she simply ran, feeling only one thing. Not the aching of her eyes from crying, not the soreness of her bruised, beaten body, or the cold of the rain against her skin, not even the pain of the sharp rocks and twigs against her bare, tender feet.

The only thing Hermione Granger felt was her heart breaking in her chest, shattering into a thousand pieces, all at the hands of one man.

Ronald Weasley.

Had she known what an arse he was before befriending him, she never would have done so. Harry and Ginny, her supposed best friends, were completely oblivious to the fact that the behavior their friend Ronald was displaying was completely uncalled for, not to mention illegal. They thought he had good reason to do the things he did to her.

They were supposed to be engaged. He'd proposed to her the last day of their sixth year, and it had been the most romantic moment of her life. But now, as she looked back, it had been the first push, dropping her into the fiery pit of hell.

She could hear his footsteps thudding behind her as he chased her into the town nearby, into an alley. A light rain was falling, and her white shirt was plastered to her skin, revealing a black bra. Her skirt, which had been long before now (She had a feeling Ginny had something to do with that, the little fashion minx), only reached mid-thigh, and didn't do much to keep her warm. It was black and green plaid, which only angered Ron more. Slytherin colors.

She didn't know exactly when he had changed, just that he had, drastically. She didn't know what she did to make him change, only that it had to be her fault, somehow. He'd told her that, as had Harry and Ginny.

But she couldn't think about that now. What she had to think about right now was getting away, anywhere besides with Ron. Her attention turned to the wall in front of her as she stopped herself just before hitting it. "Damnit!" She exclaimed, then froze as she heard wet footfalls against the ground. He'd stopped running. He knew he had her trapped.

"Oh come on, 'Mione, don't run away from me," He said, his voice deceptively sweet as he reached for her. She took a step back, and found herself against the wall.

"Leave me alone, Ronald!" She said with much more courage than she felt. This was pathetic. Here stood Hermione Jane Granger, princess of the Golden Trio, brightest witch of her age, the one who stood face to face with Voldemort without even flinching, and she couldn't stand up to Ronald Weasley, her fiancé.

"Don't speak to me like that!" He exclaimed angrily, bringing his hand, out of habit, across her face roughly in a resounding slap. She immediately turned her face with the hit to lessen the pain, but it hurt all the same.

"Who do you think you are, running away like that!" He exclaimed, pushing her harder against the wall, putting his hands on either side of her head to block any chance of another escape. "Hermione, have you gone mental? Am I not giving you everything you've ever wanted? You've got your own bloody bookshop, for heaven's sake!" With each word, his face grew redder and redder in anger.

"I'm sorry," Was all she could say. "But I can't do this anymore...It was fun while it lasted."
More like hell while it lasted.

"While it lasted?" Ron asked, grinning maliciously. "So you think you're breaking up with me, do you?"

"Well...Yes," She said, shaking at the thought of what she knew was about to happen.

"That's funny, Hermione, I thought we were at least going to get to the words 'Til Death do Us Part' before I had to kill you," He said, shaking his head. "But I see now that it's got to be done. Goodbye," He pulled out his wand, and pointed it at her, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Ron, please, no," She pleaded, tears running down her face.

"Crucio!" He muttered, and took a step back as Hermione fell to the ground, writhing in pain. His smirk became more pronounced as the first wave of pain ended, "C'mon, Mione, just accept the fact that you've got no choice in what you do anymore. Why would you even want a choice? Hasn't everything been so much better since I started making them for you?" He asked.

"N-No," She stammered, rolling over onto her back to glare at him.

"Hermione, you shouldn't make this any harder on yourself than it has to be," Ron said threateningly.

"Get the hell away from me," She said, and finally pulled her wand out, pointing it at him.

Before she could even think of a hex to use on him, he had slapped the wand from her weak hand, angrier than he had ever been. "You would resort to using curses on your fiancé?" He growled, moving to straddle her to keep her from standing.

"I told you, it's over," She said, struggling. Neither of them noticed a tall, platinum-blond haired man walking down the alley silently, wondering what the bloody hell was going on.

"Of course it's not over, you just think it is," Ron said, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips forcefully. She bit his lip in response, causing him to jerk away from her, lip bleeding.

"Ah, ever the feisty one, Hermione...I've always liked them feisty."

Hermione? That can't be...Granger? Who the bloody hell is on top of her then? Oh, this doesn't look good. Looks like I get to play Hero.

"Sod off, Ronald," She said, her voice slightly weaker than it had previously been.

Weasley? Oh, this is just too interesting...Who would've thought?

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Hermione," He said. "I can't leave my fiancé out in the rain to get sick. I must return you to our home at once...Or I could just take you right here and now..It's very tempting..Lavender and I did it in the rain just last week, you know. It was quite fun."

"You- Lavender..You cheated on me?" She asked, hurt in her voice. She completely disregarded what he had said before that.

"Of course I did..You have that annoying need to remain virgin until our wedding night, what did you expect me to do? A man has his needs, you know."

"Get off me Ronald. I don't ever want to see you again."

"Ah, that's too bad Hermione...You know, I think I WILL just take you right here. I don't feel like waiting much longer," He said, and began unbuttoning her blouse. At this point she began struggling furiously, pushing his hands away, so he instead put one hand on her exposed thigh, and began moving it upwards.

They were both surprised to hear a voice call out from the shadows.

"Weasley, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" The spectator stepped out from the shadow, an angry look set on his handsome face.

"What does it look like I'm doing, you git?" Ron asked, obviously not recognizing the man. "Sod off, it's none of your business."

"Weasley, it is my advice that you get up right now, and leave, before I hex you into oblivion."

Hermione watched silently, wishing she would just go unconscious already. She couldn't tell who the man was, but she was thankful for his arrival.

"Try it, M-" Ron began, but was cut off by a flashing blue light. He was thrown off Hermione, and her rescuer knelt down next to

"Alright there, Granger?" He asked, and Hermione looked into the face of-

"Draco Malfoy?" She asked, her voice weak. "Oh, bloody hell."

At this, she passed out, and Draco sighed. "Wonderful."