Disclaimer: er...yeah...you know what goes here. i don't own HP and if i did it would be called "Draco Malfoy" so yeah...er...don't sue me...im broke. And I don't own the song..Easier to Run belongs to Linkin Park.
Thanks you to all the people that actually reviewed. I have 4 reviews and now I know how hard it is to actually get people to review stories…geez…oh well. On with the story!
PS. Im not crazy...Im Selectivelysane
Ch 4
Slowly regaining consciousness, Hermione listened to find out if it was safe to open her eyes. She heard no sounds that would suggest her father was in the house. She gently opened her eyes, trying to let them adjust to the light. Once her eyes were focused, she looked around the room. Everything was turned over and it looked as if a tornado hit. She tried to sit up but abandoned that plan as pain coursed through her body. The memories of last night rushed back as she looked at her beaten and abused body. A pool of her own blood was surrounding her, staining a new spot on the carpet. The clothes she was wear lay in a bloody, torn mess balled up and thrown carelessly into the corner.
Hermione glanced at the clock and found it was 9:45am. 'Crap. Father isn't at work. He may still be around somewhere. I should be careful.' Using every ounce of strength, she got up, ignoring the pain. Hermione almost collapsed as the pain was fighting to take control of her body once again. She swayed slightly, gaining her balance before moving as quickly as possible to find clothes. Once she found a robe, she threw it on and headed out of her room. As Hermione thought, her father was still home. His snores could be heard clearly through out the hall. She snuck further down the hall and glanced into his room as she passed. Ken was passed out across the bed, laying on all sort of junk from the messy room.
Closing her eyes for a sec, Hermione leaned against the wall for support. She silently prayed that he wouldn't wake up for a while and give her enough time to send a letter. Hermione moved toward the stairs, passing several bloody hand prints on the wall. It was her blood that decorated the walls and various spots on the carpet. Hermione made it down the first stair. Pain shot up her legs as she tried to support her weight going down the stairs. Her knees buckled, causing her to lose her balance. Hermione managed to catch herself before she fell and prayed that her father didn't wake up. She listened for any sound of movement, but the house was silent except for the continuous snores floating from her parents room. Hermione kept moving as quietly and quickly as she could.
After a great amount of effort, she finally made it down the stairs. The living room looked like a nuke went off. Papers and books littered the floor and most of the furniture was turned upside down. Hermione pocketed a sheet of paper and a pen. The chairs that were supposed to be in the kitchen were scattered across the house. A few were in pieces. On the shards, the residue from duct tape could still be seen from when Hermione was strapped down by her father. Her mother's flower pots were smashed and her prized flowers were destroyed, leaving a dirty mess on the carpet. The carpet was as bad as it was upstairs. There were blood stains littering the carpet and her father's vomit could be smelled from last night. He would always come home pukingly drunk. Hermione was expected to clean up after him but she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get out.
She moved into the kitchen to survey the damage. It was wrecked almost as badly as the living room was. The cabinets were open with bloody hand prints on the doors. Pots and pans were everywhere. The table cloth was on the floor and stained with blood and vomit. The sink overflowed with dirty dishes, a few were broken. The chairs that were still in the kitchen were either in pieces or dirty. Sighing, Hermione made her way over to the refrigerator. There wasn't really anything in it except old milk, yogurt, beer, and fruit. Opting to grab an apple, she washed it and walked back into the living room. Hermione wasn't able to eat much over break and it was showing. Her skin stretched over her ribs, which stuck out at odd angles. Eating as fast as she could, she threw away the core as a loud grunt was heard from upstairs. 'Shit' she thought. She ran to the nearest closet, hoping to hide from his wrath. In the back of her mind, she knew it was pointless. Ken would find her. She'd never get out of here. Hermione heard heavy stomps down the stairs. She could see Ken walking past the closet. Once he passed, she ran and quickly and quietly as she could to get back to her room. As she made her way up the stairs, Ken groaned and yelled, "HERMIONE! GET YOUR LAZY ASS DOWN HERE! I WANT THE SHIT CLEANED UP BY THE TIME I GET BACK!" He walked out the house, slamming the door behind him.
Hermione thanked God that she would have time to rest. Walking slowly, she entered her room and grabbed some clean clothes. She headed toward the shower, peeling off her robe and adjusting the water. She let the water rinse away the dry blood that caked her skin. Once she finished the shower, she did the thing she hated most; she looked in the mirror. She hated the thing that looked back at her in the glass. It was such an awful, nasty creature. Its bones were outlined by pale skin and littered with bruises and cuts. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror, she dressed in baggy black pants, a black t shirt that said "Someone should stab you in the eye with a really hot French fry", and a pair of combat boots. She pulled her hair up in a sloppy bun and walked out her room. She was cleaning up when her mind started to wander. She thought of Harry and Ron. They were so clueless. They were normally to busy sleeping around to pay any attention to her. She was only good for homework. Hermione decided this year that she wouldn't take it anymore. Its her final year at Hogwarts and she's not going to be walked on. Draco floated through her mind. He was perfect. Everything about him was flawless. Hermione couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to wrapped in his arms. 'Wait a sec! What am I thinking! Malfoy? Flawless? I must've lost more blood than I thought' Hermione continued cleaning, turning on the radio. Linkin Park was playing. Hoping to Drown out thoughts of Draco, she turned it up and started singing:
"Something has been taken
From deep inside of me
A secret I've kept locked away
No one can ever see
Wounds so deep they never show
They never go away
Like moving pictures in my head
For years and years they've played
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could
Stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
Sometimes I remember
The darkness of my past
Bringing back these memories
I wish I didn't have
Sometimes I think of letting go
And never looking back
And never moving forward so
There would never be a past
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could
Stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
Just washing it aside
All of the helplessness inside
Pretending I don't feel misplaced
Is so much simpler than change
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
It's easier to run
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made
It's easier to go
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could
Stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all the shame to the grave"
Hermione was in tears by the end of the song. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head and kept cleaning. It was almost 3 and she wasn't near finished. As long as she's there, she should try to avoid pissing Ken off and giving him a reason to beat her. Hermione glanced up at her calendar. It was June 28. Still 2 months until Hermione was able to go home and never come back to this place again. Sighing, she finished cleaning the living room, the radio still blaring from the corner.
When she finished the room, she looked back at the clock. It was already 530 and she hadn't started on the kitchen yet. There was no way she was going to finish before 6. She would definitely going to catch a good pounding for this one.
A/N: whoo…that was a good one. Sorry that took so long. Ive been like busy and had writers block. Track season is just starting and practice has been killin me. but yeah...anyone got any CONSTRUCTIVE critisism then ok...let me know but keep in mind..this hasnt been proof read. so sorry for grammatical errors