"Obliviate." Malfoy said.
Hermione whimpered. "What's going on?" She asked. She looked around. Confused. She didn't know where she was and how she got here. She did have a damn headache. And she felt… hurt and empty. She didn't know where those feelings suddenly came from.
She looked up. And two grey eyes stared back at her. Worried. She slowly backed away.
"What did you do to me?" She spoke. Her voice was trembling. Why did she feel so… gross?
Malfoy laughed. A laugh that sounded forced. And unlike Malfoy at all.
"Always so fast with the conclusions, Granger." He shook his head. "I did nothing. I saw a girl passed out on the floor. And I tried to help." He pointed at her. "Then you woke up."
He neared her and laid his hand on her back. "Let's get you up." Hermione flinched at his touch. And she scrambled back immediately.
An emotion, like anger, flashed before his eyes. As quickly as it came, it disappeared. Malfoy's face was as composed as ever. "Hermione, I am not going to hurt you. I promise."
Hermione didn't understand. Why was she so… flinchy? And scared?
"What did you do to me?" She asked, again. Her big brown eyes were getting teary.
He shook his head. This was a tough case. But he already knew that, before he offered his help.
He sighed, "I did not hurt you. And I will not hurt you. I just want to help you." He neared her again and offered her his hand.
"Let's get you home, okay? I don't think you want to stay in this dark alley, right?" She nodded and looked around, not taking his hand. "How did I end up here?" She asked. Draco shook his head. "I don't know. My home is here nearby. Let's go there and then you can floo home."
"I can apparate back home."
"No, I will not let you go home on your own. Not at this moment."
"Who are you to tell me what to do?"
"I am…" Draco brisked. He breathed in, deeply. In his head, he counted to ten. I will not lose myself, he thought.
"Hermione, you are, at the moment, not in a stable position. Please let me take you home. I am just afraid that something will happen. To you."
He looked at her. His eyes were pleading.
"Fine," she said and she slowly got up. Her body wobbled. And Draco swept in like a true gentleman, stabilizing her.
"I'm fine," she said, icily. He let her go immediately. Draco shook his head. This was going to be hard.
"Let's go," he said and he walked in front of her. He knew she didn't trust him. He knew how it was better for her to see him. To have him in her sight So she could always run, when feeling threatened.
Another sigh left his lips. How did he get into this mess, he wondered. With every step, he turned around. Checking if she was still there. He was so afraid for her. So worried. She looked like a little white dove. So vulnerable. So breakable. Like glass.
In front of him, he saw his house appearing. He pointed at it. "It's there." She nodded. They slowly walked toward his house.
He turned toward Hermione. "Granger, I need to key you in the wards. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to get in." He offered his hand, again. This time, she took it. She laid her fingers in his hand, trying to touch as little as possible. She never was one to flinch from human contact. Why now?
Is it really because he was Draco Malfoy? She looked at his face. He was concentrated, speaking the warding spell, keying her in. And she knew immediately, that no, it was not because he was Malfoy that she was scared. It was because something else. But what?
"It is done. Let's get you home," Draco said, breaking her train of thoughts. She nodded.
Draco opened his door and let her in. He led her to the floo immediately. He knew she was not comfortable here. She was in a former Death Eater's house. Last time she was in his home, unpleasant things happened.
"Wait," he said. He quickly removed his ring. With a quick enchantment, he spelled it. "Please take this. If you ever feel unsafe or if something is not right, say 'help' and I will be there. Immediately."
She stood there, flabbergasted. "Why?" she asked him. "Why?"
"I just want to help you. Please just trust me." His eyes were earnest. And despite her fear, she did trust him. She did think that he really wanted to help her. She didn't know why, but somehow, Draco Malfoy really wanted to keep her safe.
"Okay," she said softly and she took the ring. Hermione put it on her ring finger without thinking.
He offered her the floo powder. Taking a handful, she stepped into the floo.
"Home" she said. And she was gone.
Draco pulled out his necklace. The necklace contained the twin ring of the ring he gave Hermione. He turned it three times. And the necklace lit up white. She is safe, he thought.
It was a long day. He went to the next chamber. Pulling out the firewhiskey, he thought back.
Draco had a long day. It was very busy at the ministry today. A raid just happened and many aurors had fallen. Luckily nobody was fatally hurt.
In a long train of thoughts, he suddenly heard muffled sounds. And then a scream. He quickly turned around and ran toward the place the sound came from.
Rounding around the corner, he saw three men and a girl. His auror reflexes kicked in. Fire first, ask later.
With three stunners, three times bulls eye, he hit these awful men down. He neared the girl with his hands up. He didn't want to scare her.
"Hi, my name is Draco Malfoy. I am an auror. Who are you? Are you okay?" The closer he got, the more he noticed. How her clothes were torn. How her skirt was ripped. How he saw her vulnerable parts. He looked at the men. No, not men they were. They were beasts. He knew immediately what happened.
The poor girl. She was shaken. She was crying. And then she looked up.
Two brown eyes were looking at him. Eyes he could recognize every where.
Hermione Granger.
And she looked so broken. It made him want to break these men's bones. All of their 206 bones. Every single one of them.
"Draco," she whimpered. He quickly enveloped her in his arms.
"Don't worry, I will not let anyone hurt you again." She cried on his shoulder. And she bawled her eyes out.
They sat there for a long time. He didn't dare to move.
Slowly, after time, she stilled. She sat there. Still like a statue.
Draco looking at her, quickly pulled out his wand. And he transfigured her clothes, covering everything up.
"Let's get you out of here."
She shook her head. "No," she murmured.
"What?" He asked.
"No," she said. Her voice steadier. He looked at her. And the former Hermione came to her.
"Draco Malfoy," she said, slowly. "I can't do this." She pointed at some thing, that ought to be obvious. "I can't. I won't be able to handle this." She shook her head. "No, I wouldn't."
She looked into his eyes, pleading. "Please obliviate me. Obliviate this… thing. Off my mind."
"I can't, Hermione," he said. "That is…"
"Unethically," she said. Her voice broken and empty. "Immoral?" She asked.
"I can't do this," she said again, her voice becoming louder. "I won't be able to handle this. Did you know what they did to me?"
Her eyes became teary again, whilst her voice became cold.
"They attacked me. They bound me with a spell and I couldn't move. They ripped my clothes apart. They silenced me. And then every one of them broke in to me. Again and again. And I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't."
Hermione was losing it. And the sky became darker and more tense. He could feel the temperature drop. And he knew it was her magic.
He enveloped her into his. And he whispered, "it will be fine," over and over again. Till she calmed down again.
"Please," She asked him again.
And he nodded.
"Obliviate."
- Fin.