A/N: The title of this chapter is taken from the song Lexington by Chiodos. Go listen to the song/read the lyrics and it will make sense. Promise. :)
Run.
That was her first instinct, and by God, she wasn't going to ignore it. Hermione finally moved her limbs. She pushed Draco, who was still hovering over her. She heard the thud as he fell back onto the floor heavily, surprised as he was. She heard shattering glass (the tumbler must have flew out of his hand) as she scrambled wildly to her feet.
She staggered from the shooting pain in her head, but ignored it. She had to get away. She just had to.
Draco straightened up soon enough to see Hermione dash out of the door he had purposely left ajar. He knew she would flee as soon as her eyes opened. He waited a few short seconds, taking his time to stand up and right himself. His wet cloak was already off, thrown over the high back of a chair. He took a deep, energizing breath, turned his neck from side to side to crack the bones, and strode towards the door, loosening his tie as he went. He loved the chase.
Panic was surging through Hermione's veins. Pure, sheer, panic. In the faint recesses of her mind she knew she wasnt going to get out of here. Even if her feet took her to the door, the wards would keep her in here. But she didn't stop, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she knew that every step she took, the more angry he would get, and she didn't want to face that anger. So she ran. The vicious cycle would continue until-
Until he catches me.
Simoultaneous with this thought came the sound of another set of fast approaching footsteps. He was getting close. Another burst of terror shot through her, and her feet barely touched the ground as she picked up speed, turing left.
Wow, he couldn't help thinking, she has gotten a lot faster..... but not fast enough. Truth was, Draco could have stopped her easily. But he was enjoying this too much. He could almost taste the fear she left in her wake. And she should have been scared. She had picked the losing side in a fight that neither of them didn't even have to be involved in. She had left Draco, left Draco for him, and now, Draco was what he was. It was all her fault.
These words brought on a surge of anger and he ran full out, quickly closing the distance between them.
Hermione felt his arms wrap around her body, pinning her arms to her side. She struggled wildy, feet kicking in the air as he lifted her off the ground. She kicked so hard that he was forced back into a wall. She felt his grunt against her chest. He squeezed her particularly hard and pain englufed her as she felt the pressure on her ribs increase.
She stopped kicking, struggling for breath. Just like before, all those years ago, he was always forcing the life out of her.
He was panting, and with his grip still tight, back against the wall he whispered, almost playfully in her ear, "Going somewhere?" The words were forced between heavy breaths. "We both see how that worked out in the end". He laughed at his own joke and Hermione took this oppurtunity to wrench her left arm free from his embrace. She bent it at the crook and jabbed back, sharply. His cry of pain echoed in the empty hallway, as he dropped her to cradle his bleeding nose.
She started to run again. Why, Hermione. Just stop. You'll never get out this way, just give up-
No.
That thought was rammed abruptly from her mind by this one word.
She would never give up, show weakness around this man. This monster. Her hair whipped back as she ran, not sure where she was going, but knowing that she could never really leave.
Draco let out a yell of fury as Hermione got loose again and took off running. Through his tears of pain he saw her long auburn hair whip out of sight as she turned right. Fucking bitch. He was done playing. He ignored the throbbing of his, most likely broken, nose and took off. She wanted to play rough, well, he could most certainly do that. He would have been happy to have sat down with her, maybe over a glass of brandy, wine for her because he knew it was the only alcohol she would drink, and talk calmly about the whereabouts of a certain man. They could have handled this in a civilized manner, but no. She insited on fighting back. Just like before, she was forcing him to hurt her.
He caught up to her quickly, his hand reaching out and grabbing onto her hair, quickly twisting his fist so the air wrapped around part of his arm. He heard her cry out in pain. He slammed her into the wall and watched the tears stream down her face as she took in his bloodied, angry appearance. The fear was apparent in her eyes. His heart thumped unpleasantly for a moment; he didn't want her to be afraid of him. If only she would just fucking listen. He placed the arm that wasn't wrapped in her hair horizontally against her throat and pressed. He heard a gurgle. He took a few deep breaths, to calm himself. Draco knew that if he let his anger overwhelm him, he would kill her, gathering information be damned. He would keep pressing until her body went limp permanently.
And then she would never disobey you again. And she could never go back to him again.
He blinked hard, dispelling these words. No. He could convince her to stay. He could help her live up to her potential. He wouldn't kill her. Not just yet.
His arm eased up and Hermione took a gulp of air. She watched as whatever he was thinking flit across his face; anger, sadness, guilt, confliction, resignation of some kind. His blood was bright red on his face, a stark contrast of his pale skin. "Now," he said carefully, as if trying to control himself, "are we going to talk, like civilized human beings or", the arm in her hair twisted painfully and Hermione resited the urge to cry out, "am I going to have to...force you?"
She said nothing, just stared into those slightly crazy eyes. Where had the man she was once in love with gone? That man, who had looked at her with nothing but warmth and affection. That man who would cup her face and tell her a million times over that he loved her and would never hurt her. Looking up into those eyes, the ones in front of her now, showed that that man was long gone. Replaced with a monster that was barely kept in check.
His arm pressed down hard on her neck again. "Answer me!", he yelled.
She gasped, and tried to swallow. "T-talk", she manged to choke out.
Draco looked at her a few moments before slowly easing the pressure against her throat. "Good.....good girl". Maybe she was learning.
A/N: I know I said I wasn't gonna have many of these Author's Notes, but it occurred to me that I like talking to you guys :) I just want to thank those of you who have taken the time to review and set alerts. 803 hits in less than two days! I am beyond grateful! I know that this chapter is kind of short, but I promise the next one will be longer (I've already got it started). Anyhoodles, please continue to rate and review loves.
