1Chapter 1- A Not-So-Happy Return

Harry stumbled out of bed toward the bathroom, clad only in his boxers and an old t-shirt. Still groggy, he made his way to the kitchen to get something to eat when he looked at the clock. 3:07.

"Shit," Harry mumbled as he grabbed two slices of bread from the breadbox. He opened the fridge and pulled out some turkey and cheese. He made his sandwich when he heard a loud crack came out from behind him and a delicate voice call out to him. A voice he hadn't heard since he graduated from Hogwarts three years ago.

"Harry," the voice whispered. "Harry, help me." Harry slowly turned around only to come face to face with someone that he thought he'd never see again.

Hermione Granger.

Harry went out and hugged her when she whimpered in pain. He took a step back and took a good look at Hermione. She looked terrible, to be brutally honest. Her clothes were worn and torn, revealing a wide array of bruises ranging from deep purple to green to dark red in color. She was bleeding from various cuts and scraped on her arms and legs, and she looked as though she hadn't eaten in weeks. Her face wasn't any better though, with the black eye, busted lip, and large red mark on her cheek which Harry immediately recognized as a handprint. To top that off, she was shaking in tears.

"Sit down and eat this," Harry said, putting the sandwich into Hermione's hands before running out to the bookcase in the living room. He quickly found what he was looking for and gingerly pulled the hefty old book away from the others. Harry blew the dust off of the cover, revealing it to be St. Mungo's At Home Healing Guide, 82nd Revised Edition. Harry opened the cover and read the small handwritten note scribbled inside.

You'll need this one day. Trust me.

With love,

Hermione

Harry closed the volume and rushed back to the kitchen. Before he sat down, he cast two spells at a closed door.

"I don't wanna be overheard," Harry said.

"You've got a girlfriend?" Hermione asked, noticeably saddened, as he sat.

"Kinda. It's complicated."

"What about your life isn't complicated?"

"Touché. You couldn't honestly think that I'd stay single forever, could you?"

"I guess not," she said. After a minute, she continued. "Are you gonna help heal me or what?"

"Can you help? I'm no good at healing spells; you know that. Better yet, I'm taking you to St. Mungo's."

"NO! That's where he...I mean, I trust you. You can do it."

"Hermione, please-" Harry pleaded.

"No, I believe in you," she said.

"That's not what I was gonna ask," he said. "I was going to ask who did this to you."

"No one did. I, er, fell down the stairs," Hermione stammered.

"That's bullshit and you know it. I see the handprint on your cheek and I can see right through that lie. So tell me: who did this to you? He won't get away with it."

"I can't. He said he'd hurt me if I told anybody."

"He'll never hurt you again, not if I have any say in the matter. I can take care of him, I willtake care of him, but I can only do that if you tell me what happened. Who did this to you? Tell me the truth."

"You won't..." she cried. "Can't you just patch me up first?" Harry nodded and did his best at fixing up Hermione. In silence.

"All done, " Harry said several minutes- or was it hours?- later, slamming the book closed and breaking the deafening silence.

"No, not all done. Can I look up a spell? I'm so stupid, I should have it memorized. I've had to use it before."

"You're not stupid," Harry said vehemently. "Stop beating yourself up over it. Sorry, bad choice of words. Here, I'll look it up. Tell me what you need."

"An E.C. spell," Hermione mumbled. Harry looked confused; he obviously had not a clue what she was talking about. "How do you not know what an E.C. spell is?" she asked while he look in the index. Harry found the E's quickly and began to scan the list as Hermione kept talking. "I mean, don't you and your girlfriend ever need, er, 'backup'?"

"I said that we were kinda together, and-" Harry stopped as another lightbulb lit over his head. "Oh, Hermione. Please, please tell me that he didn't..." he dropped off, unable to trust his voice.

"You said that you wanted the truth." At that, Harry got up out of his seat so fast that it fell over. Then he punched a hole in the wall and swore loudly, whether in pain or in rage Hermione couldn't tell. "Harry, I didn't ask for this to happen! When I left, I had no idea that it would come to this!" Reading between the lines, another lightbulb lit over Harry's head.

"What the fuck! RON! Ron! It was him?!" Harry screamed. Hermione nodded, crying, and Harry punched another hole in the wall before he, too, succumbed to tears. "Why? Why would-" he couldn't even say the name anymore. "Why would he do that?!"

"Don't you think that I want that answer as well! Don't you think I want to know why he's been beating me!? Why he's been treating me like a slave or acting like I was a common whore!? Why he snapped!? If anyone wants that answer, then it's me! Now just give me the fucking spell, Harry! The longer I wait-" Hermione shuddered at the thought, and so did Harry. He opened the heavy book, surprisingly, to the correct page on the first try.

"Bathroom's the second door on the right. Figured that you'd want some privacy. I'll go see if I can find some clothes for you to wear. I doubt that Ginny'd mind." Hermione was silent for a minute, wondering if she heard Harry mind.

"Did you say that you were dating Ginny?" Hermione questioned, and judging by Harry's silence, she got her answer. "Ginny? You're with Ginny?! How could you do this?!"

"Do your spell, 'Mione. I said we'd talk later" Hermione's eyes widened. "What?" Hermione sprinted for the bathroom, and Harry grabbed her some fresh clothes. Harry decided not to disturb Ginny, and so grabbed some of his clothes instead. He made a mental note to buy Hermione some new clothes when he went into town before heading to the bathroom. He heard running water, so he knocked.

"Come in, Harry," Hermione called over the patter of the shower she was in, trying to cleanse her body, hoping that that would help. 'No, it won't,' she thought.

"I just grabbed you an old t-shirt of mine. It'll be kinda big, but I'm bigger than you...and now I sound like an idiot." Hermione laughed. "And with how tiny you look-"

"It'll be fine. Thank you. I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"You're sleeping on my bed. Ginny and I don't share rooms. Like I said, it's complicated. My room's right across the hall when you're done." Hermione sounded ready to object. "I won't take 'no' for an answer." Hermione huffed.

"Okay. I'll see you later, Harry."

"See you later," Harry said as he left to catch a few z's on the sofa. "I love you," he whispered before he fell into his slumber.

A.N.: I've had up to chapter 5 written out for some time now. I only just got around to typing it up because my dad gave me and my sister his old laptop as a birthday present/hand-me-down.

I'm not going to pester you for reviews or say that I want so many reviews before the next chapter. That bugs me when they hold a chapter hostage. But if you do review, then please no flames. Flames are mean.

Also note that this isn't a Ron-bashfest. This fanfic is AU and OOC. So if that's not your thing, then walk away now, or you'll be in for approximately 9 more chapters of this. I'm planning on about having ten chapters, but I'm not promising anything.

Au revoir!

SexyWaffles

A.K.A.

Patty