A/N: This is our first attempt at writing a Draco/Hermione fic, so we apologise if you find any problems with the characterisation ;) We hope you'll enjoy reading this!
The mahogany door of Malfoy Manor slammed shut with a resounding bang. Hermione Malfoy nee Granger flinched, dropping the book she had been engrossed in onto the richly carpeted floor.
"Dra..Draco?" Hermione stuttered, raising her head to meet her husband's cold gaze.
"I heard you had a wonderful evening with your lover. Why, you're practically glowing!" Draco sneered as he closed in on her, looking as menacing as ever under the amberish glow of the fireplace.
Despite the warmth the flames emitted, the chilly atmosphere sent shivers down Hermione's spine. What now?
It had been a tiring day for her. Hermione had been dragged along for shopping with her mother-in-law right after she had finished running the errands in the household. All that she had been looking forward to today was her dinner with Ginny and Harry. It had been two whole weeks since she had last seen her best friends who were busy with wedding preparations. Ginny had been late for dinner due to an emergency at work. It then dawned on Hermione what Draco could have been referring to.
"Oh, you mean my dinner appointment with Harry and Ginny! I-" Hermione tried to explain, only to be cut off by her infuriated husband.
"Potter and the Weaslette? Well, I clearly saw you and Potter having a romantic dinner. How smart of you to drag the Weaslette into the picture. Trying to cover up your affair? You lying bitch!" Draco snapped as he reached out to grab Hermione's wrists roughly.
"Let go of me! You're hurting me, Draco!" Hermione protested as she tried to wrench her arms out of her husband's grasp. However, her weak efforts to struggle free from Draco's clawing fingers were futile. "It's not what you think! Ginny was late for dinner, that's why you only saw me with Harry."
"Do you take me for a fool, sweetheart?" Draco questioned, glaring at Hermione dangerously and tightening his grip on her arms.
"No, I'm telling the truth! You can believe whatever you want, since it seems like you won't believe whatever I say," Hermione answered as she took in a deep breath and forced herself to look straight into her husband's eyes.
She couldn't recognise him. His eyes were a dark stormy grey, contorted by blind anger and jealousy. It was worlds apart from the amused, if not snide expression they used to project. Why had he changed so much?
"I'm glad you know that, dear," The man hissed into her ear, his breath tinged with the pungent smell of firewhiskey. "You're just a conniving little minx conspiring with Potter and Weasley. Oh wait, maybe it's not just the three of you. I bet the Weaslette is involved too, since she seems so comfortable with you and Potter dating-"
"I-" Hermione started. Why was he twisting her every word to fit into his imagination?
Draco laughed humourlessly as he interrupted, "Well, what's your plan? Absconding away with my fortune and making a joke out of me?" The man further tightened his grip on Hermione, causing her to draw in a sharp breath.
"How could you say such a thing? I would never betray you! Do you think I married you for you money? Am I just a materialistic whore in your eyes?"
"Shut up!" He shouted, his nails dug into Hermione's wrists, causing blood to trickle down her arms.
"And don't you dare insult my friends! Why would Harry want to be involved with me when he's marrying Ginny! I've told you multiple times that I only treat him like a brother!" Hermione continued indignantly, despite the pain that was exponentially increasing with each word she spoke.
"You claimto," Draco sneered, "how would I know if you're lying?"
"How would you know if I wasn't? Draco, I don't want to have another pointless quarrel with you!" Hermione winced involuntarily as the trickles of blood dripped down onto the carpet. "C-can you just calm down? We're both tired, and obviously, snappish. Why don't we just call it a night, and-"
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down when mywitch is unfaithful?" Draco cut in before his wife could finish her words.
"I'm not your witch; I'm not a piece of property!" Hermione shouted with indignation as she finally managed to yank her arms from her husband.
"You won't get rid of me that easily." He punctuated every word with a step forward as he forced Hermione to back into a wall. His words were spoken softly and calmly - that was what scared Hermione.
Closing her eyes, Hermione braced herself for whatever would happen next.
Hermione awoke the next morning to find herself lying in the comfort of her bed. She blinked blearily for a few moments, as she tried to remove the somnolence from her dreary eyes. Stretching her hand across the bed, her heart sank to find it unoccupied. Well, what had she expected? He never stayed; not anymore.
Sighing heavily, Hermione shifted to her right and gasped as a dull throbbing pain suddenly overcame her ribs. She lifted the hem of her shirt, only to find a line of garishly purple bruises. She fingered them gingerly, flinching at the pain. Hermione frowned - where had these come from? She blinked a few more times, trying to remember. One glimpse of the crescent shaped cuts on her wrist caused all of last night's events to replay themselves before her horror-filled eyes.
Him roughly pulling her toward him.
His hands on her bare chest.
His body crashing down on hers...
He had hurt her. Again. Hermione had always prided herself on being strong, but in the solitude of this empty room filled with such a variety of memories, she could not help but let her eyes well with tears. They were tears of anger, sadness and disbelief. Thiswasn't what she had thought her life would be like after the war. Everything had been going so smoothly at first... It wasn't her fault that things had gone this way, was it? A steady stream of tears started to flow down her cheeks.
"Stop being so weak!" Hermione chastised herself, wiping away the dampness on her cheeks with the back of her hand. "You don't need to depend on a man for your happiness; make your own happiness!" But even as she made that cryptic remark to comfort herself, she knew she would never make the decision to leave him. She just couldn't. It would be giving up on a person she loved. Somewhere inside the over possessive man that had been here for the past few months, was the Draco she knew and loved.
She missed the Draco Malfoy who smelled of peppermint and cologne; not the one who reeked of firewhiskey and haunted her dreams and memories. She missed the way he would burst through the door with his 'Sweetheart, I'm home' smirk; how he would make her laugh with his sarcastic remarks, and then taunt her for chuckling like a ragamuffin... She even missed the way he would turn everything other thing she said into a dirty joke!
But all that was gone in the new and deproved Draco Malfoy. He was just a sliver of the man he had been. I don't want to miss you this way, she thought desperately. In fact, she didn't want to need him at all.
Draco loosened his tie, tugging at it with one hand, while using the other to turn the knob of the front door to enter his home. Well, calling Malfoy Manor home was an overstatement. Malfoy Manor was just a house to him; an empty shell he felt close to nothing for. Sighing, he braced himself to face the pathetic wretch he called his wife as he stepped into the main hall. Scanning the room, he heaved a sigh of relief to find Hermione fast asleep on the couch.
Her dishevelled brown curls were spread over the cushion her head rested on. Her chest rose and fell in time with her rhythmic breaths. Her features seemed so calm and serene compared to the taut, apprehensive expression she wore on her face whenever she was in his presence.
He had become so accustomed to that expression, he almost forgot what she looked like relaxed and happy. When was the last time he had made her smile? He couldn't remember - ages ago, probably. He loved that smile. Hell, not just her smile, everything about her allured him.
Finding himself irresistibly drawn to the sleeping brunette, he inched toward her. He dared not make the slightest of sounds, afraid of rousing the girl. He could not bear the thought of her hatred-filled eyes boring into him once again. He knew she would never forgive him for what he had done the previous night. Why do I keep pushing her away from me?
xHe could see her up close now, now that he stood a mere foot away. The sight he absorbed before him made him want to punch his fist into a wall. What had he done?Hermione's wrists sported blue-black bruises. The bites he had left on her collar were still raw and inflamed. Traces of dried blood lingered on her wounded and swollen bottom lip. He eyed the results of his fervour from the night before, disbelief flooding his steel grey eyes. Had he done all of this? He had never been so violent with her before; never had he hurt her to such an extent...
He reached out to touch her, to feel her delicate skin under his palm. Apprehensively, he placed his hand against her cheek. It was cool and tear-streaked. She'd been crying... most likely because of him. What was wrong with him? How could he hurt the girl he loved so much? He leaned down toward Hermione, until his head was almost directly on top of hers. She was captivating.
A few taps on the glass window snapped Draco out of his reverie as he turned his head sharply to look at the source of the noise. What was Potter's owl doing here?! One glimpse of the snowy owl sent flames of fury surging through him. Of course, he was always second to Potter, wasn't he? His features hardened as irrational anger consumed him. He withdrew his hand instantaneously as if he had been burnt by hot coals. Now staring daggers at Hermione, he turned away, retreating to the depths of the manor.
As the sound of his footsteps faded, Hermione slowly opened her eyes. They filled with tears again as she watched what was left of her husband's silhouette disappear into the darkness. The tears gathered in her eyes started to escape; just like the way the man she loved was slowly slipping away from her... All he had left behind in his place was the cold, empty silence.
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
Your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
In the privacy of her own mind where no one would judge her, she wished she could feel his touch again.
A/N: The song lyrics are from My Immortal, by Evanescence, which we found quite suitable for the scene. So... did you like this, or hate it? Please leave a review to tell us!