The boys and Lavender sat in the common room with Ron laying on the floor. Harry had performed the counter curse to Sectumsempre, but Ron was still unconcious. Lavender was sure that Ron was innocent, saying that he could never hurt a woman. Harry, Draco, Neville, and Blaise on the other hand were ready to fight first and ask questions later.
"Lavender, you have no idea what you're talking about. I know Ron, I know how strange he's been acting lately. I also know Hermione and I know she would never use such a dark curse unless she felt she had to." Harry snapped.
Draco was silently fuming. Of all the vile things to do, taking a woman against her will was at the top of the list. He had every intention of beating the Weasel to a pulp as soon as he woke up. And it looked like he wouldn't have to wait long. The redhead ws stirring on the floor, looking around to see where he was.
"Did you owl for the Headmistress yet?" He mumbled
Harry shook his head. "No, I haven't. I think it's up to Hermione to tell her or not."
Ron looked appalled. "Up to Hermione? The bloody witch used dark magic and almost killed me!"
Harry grabbed him by his robes, pulling him from the ground. "Don't play the victim you piece of filth. I know what I walked into and if you think for one bloody second I would ever take your side, well, you're poorly mistaken."
"Woah mate, calm down. We were just having fun! Ya know, role pay. We we're just getting greally into…"
Draco was seething. "Role play? You really expect us to believe that? We heard her screams. Those were real screams of terror. You're lucky you're even alive. If it were up to me, you'd be bleeding out right now."
"Is that a threat?" Ron pressed. "How surprising the death eater wants to kill me. And I thought death eaters were all about taking what they want?"
Before anyone could see what was happening, Draco was on top of Ron. He threw punch after punch until he couldn't feel his knuckles anymore. Finally Harry and Neville pulled him off of the bloodied and bruised Weasel.
"You're all fucking crazy! The whole lot of ya!" He screamed. "We've been friends since we were 11 and you're just gonna take their side? Is that how it's gonna be Harry?"
Harry shook his head. "The only persons side I'm on is Hermiones. She's like a sister to me. You're lucky Ron, If it wasn't for all the death and loss I've seen in my life, I probably would have let you bleed out too."
Ron turned to leave, when Neville stepped up and stopped him. "Ron, I'm not as kind as Harry. I was on board with letting you lie here and die. So just know, if you ever hurt her again I will kill you and I wont think twice about it. Just like I did with Bellatrix."
"You're all crazy, psychotic, animals!" Lavender hissed. "Come Ron, I'll take you to the hospital wing."
Draco turned to Neville. "Wait, you're the one who killed Aunt Bella? You're joking…"
Neville nodded. "I did it for my parents. And I'd do it again if I had to"
Draco nodded, somewhat pleased. "Someone had to do it. She was a psychotic bitch."
"So what do we do now? Do we get McGonagall? Should we check on the girls?" Blaise asked.
They all looked around at each other. Getting McGonagall needed to wait. It needed to be Hermiones decision to persue that route. They all wanted to check on the girls but they were unsure if it was the best idea.
"Lets go check on them." Neville decided."
They made their way up the steps and knocked lightly on the door. They really weren't expecting an answer, but the door opened and Ginny motioned to be quiet. They looked behind her to see Pansy, Hermione, and Luna all sleeping. Ginny stepped out and the boys followed her downstairs.
"So is he dead?" She asked nonchalantly
"No, Harry did the counter curse." Neville said quietly.
She nodded. "I really wouldn't care if he was dead. I love him, but he lost the title of being my brother."
They all sat without talking for a while, just watching the fire and sending the occasional glance to Hermiones room.
Draco broke the silence first. "How is she? I know that's probably a stupid question, but…"
Ginny sighed "She said Ron betraying her hurt more than actually being assaulted, so that's going to take some time to heal. But she's strong, She'll get passed it. Just remember, this is Hermione Granger. She's going to wake up tomorrow and pretend it didn't happen. She isn't going to want everyone crowding her and suffocating her, the best thing you guys can do is treat her like you usually would and be there when she needs a shoulder to cry on. But for tonight, I think it's best we all get some sleep. First day of classes tomorrow and such."
They all nodded in agreement. Harry went to wake Luna and Pansy, then they all headed their separate ways. Before Draco went to bed though, he checked on Hermione. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. He tucked her in and put a glass of water on her night stand before finally crawling into his own bed and falling asleep.
The next morning arrived too soon. Hermione stretched out in bed and left out a long sigh. As the events of the previous night flooded her memory, she shuddered. She gathered clean clothes and headed for the bathroom, before noticing a glass of water on her night stand. She greedily drank it all and went to set the empty glass down. There was a note under the glass. She didn't quite recognize the handwriting, but it read "Im here if you need, Initium Novum."
She smilled slightly. Initium Novum. Draco.
She continued to the bathroom and took a hot bath, only getting out when her fingers started pruning. She dressed quickly in faded skinny jeans and plain black jumper before throwing her hair in a ponytail. She threw her books into her school bag and headed for breakfast in the Great Hall. She was sure Ron would be there, but so would Harry and Ginny and Neville.
When she arrived at her usual seat, Ginny greated her with a smile and Harry with a strong hug. They sat and ate, talking about classes and their schedule. She was grateful they didn't bring up Ron or what happened. She needed things to be normal and for the most part they were, she didn't even see Ron. She went to class, she went to the Heads meeting with McGonagall, and she finally went to the library. She stayed there until it was closing time, doing her homework and wandering the familiar isles of books. It wasn't until she was laying in bed that night that she felt the darkness coming back. It wasn't just Ron and the attack. It was the war, the death, the screams she could still hear. Everything came back to her at night.
Draco heard her sobs as he entered the common room. He had been out patrolling, hoping to catch Weasel and throw a couple curses at him so he was out later than he intended to be. But now that he was back he was unsure of what to do. He had every intention of checking on Hermione before he went to bed, but would she want him to see her this vulnarable? Fuck it. He jogged upstairs and knocked quietly on her door before going in.
"Hey, do you need anyhting? A glass of water or something?" He asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.
The sight of her crying made his heart hurt. He wanted nothing more than to hold her all night and tell it would all be okay…but only as a friend….
She shook her head. "No thank you."
'Do you wanna talk? Or I can go?"
She sat up in bed and wiped her tears. "You can stay."
He nodded. "What do you wanna talk about?"
"Do you have nightmares? I do. It's always hard at night. That's when the war comes back. The torture and the death. And now Ron…."
Draco took her hands in his. "We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to. I didn't come in here to try and make you talk. I just wanna make sure you're okay. But yes, I do have nightmares. I haven't gotten a decent nights sleep since 6th year."
"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" She asked in a small voice.
He nodded without hesitation."Of course."
She settled back into bed, he sat on the edge of the bed, and they talked. They talked about their summer and what classes they were most excited for. They even discussed their plans after school. Hermione was hoping to become the new transfiguration professor, if the position stayed open that long. Draco, to her surprise, actually wanted to become the postions master. They continued to talk about for about an hour before Hermione drifted off to sleep. Draco tucked her in as he did the previous night and reluctantly went to his room. That night as he lay in bed his nightmares were interupted by golden eyes and long chocolate brown hair.