Twists & Turns

Chapter 11: Fear, Anger, and Regret

A/N: I AM SO SORRY I HAVENT UPDATED! IVE BEEN REALLY BUSY WITH SCHOOL-I GRADUATED 8TH GRADE LOVE YOU CLASS OF 06-AND BEEN BUSY WITH OTHER MATTERS. THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE CONTINUALLY REVIEWED THIS STORY, WITHOUT YOU I'D BE NOTHING! No matter how long it takes for me to update, I will not give up on this story. For any of you who are wondering about my other fanfictions, I am currently working on my Ron/Hermione fanfiction Finally! and after that I'll probably work on my other fanfiction Behind Those Eyes. Check them out if you haven't already!

This chapter isn't one of my favorites. I don't think it's written too well. (Sorry for any spelling mistakes, but I just wanted to get this chapter out there; I've been writing it for a long time.) I think the things that happen in this chapter to Hermione and Draco are kind of pointless, and you might think what happens is too, but I needed this to happen so Draco and Hermione's relationship could have a stronger foundation to prepare them for what's to come. PLEASE REVIEW!

Hermione Granger was having a bad day. She had been late to class again, had not gotten top marks on an essay, had almost FAILED one of her tests(which was unacceptable, of course, and nearly brought Hermione to tears), and had constantly been bugged by Parvati and Lavender, asking her if she knew any gossip for their gossip column. Which she didn't. Besides the fact that I'm dating Draco Malfoy, my supposed enemy. She sighed. Thank God it's Friday. I can relax, get away from everyone.

It was now after dinner, and Hermione was at the library waiting for Draco to arrive. They had to continue their potions project and work on an essay that had been assigned to them by Snape. It was due Monday. We need to do it today because Draco's got Quidditch practice all weekend...Where is he? She picked a random book and took it off the shelf, opening it and beginning to read. Her watch's ticking echoed in her head. 10 minutes...30 minutes...1 hour...Hermione looked up. It's an hour and a half late. Where is he?

She felt her anger eat at her inside. Suddenly, a new feeling replaced the anger. Worry. Is he ok? What if he's hurt? She got up, taking the books they would need. Maybe he's at our dormitories? He's probably waiting for me there.

Her heart swelled at the thought of seeing him. As she entered the dormitory, she pictured him sitting on a couch. "I've been waiting for you," he would say. He would kiss her softly. Hermione was harshly brought back to reality as the painting swung shut.

She looked around. "Draco?" No sign of him in the bathroom. She went into the living room and shivered. The fire was out. She put it back on with a flick of her wand. Hermione turned to the window, looking out. She couldn't see him on the grounds. She looked up at the sky, which was dark.

"Draco?" She gently opened his bedroom door. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness in his room. He's not here... She went back out, an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She went back out, an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She put her books down on the table, and went to look for him.

Two hours later, Hermione re-entered the dormitories. She looked everywhere short of the Slytherin common rooms. She sat down on the couch, stifling a yawn. It was almost 11 o'clock. She got up and put more wood in the fireplace to replenish the fire, which was almost out. The fire roared and went back to its usual height. Hermione began to pace back and forth, unpleasant thoughts haunting her.

With a creak, the painting swung open and Draco entered, looking...FINE? HE BETTER HAVE AN EXPLANATION! She flung herself on him, kissing him. "Where have you been? I've been so worried." He smiled as they pulled back. "I've been...out." He had something in his hand, which he hid behind his back. "I'll be right back."

He came back out wearing black sweatpants and a short-sleeve black shirt. The object he had been holding was gone. He closed his bedroom door and sat down on the couch next to Hermione.

"How was your day?" he asked. "Horrid," she replied. She stood up, her temper flaring. The anger that she had been holding in all day spilled out, her temper directed at Draco.

"Where have you been? You don't trust me enough to tell me? Is it serious? Are you doing something bad and that's why you don't want to tell me? Maybe some Slytherin thing? Why won't you tell me?"

"I forgot we were supposed to meet up in the library. I'm sorry," Draco said, standing up and taking a step toward her. Hermione took a few steps back, her back nearly touching Draco's door.

"I waited an hour and a half for you, but you didn't show up! I looked everywhere for you! Then, I came up here, and I've been waiting ever since. Why can't you tell me?" She began to rant, her face getting red.

"You'll know in time," he said, sighing. She groaned in frustration, her temper latching on to a new topic: how her day had gone.

"And you ask how my day was. It was horrible! I was late AGAIN because me and you were up late last night talking! This is the fifth time I've been late. Ever since I've been with you!A-" Draco cut her off, getting angry.

"So you're blaming your lateness on me? Fine! If you don't want to be with me, then don't. Step away from our relationship," he said in a low voice. Hermione sighed.

"Of course I want to be with you! I'm just saying it's unusual for me to be late, and teachers are suspicious! Especially my friends; they've been suspecting that something's going on with me. I've been distanced with them...I almost failed one of my tests today! I got the lowest grade in the class, and the teacher kept me after class to talk to me! Everyone's worried about me! And STUPID Parvati and Lavenderkept bugging me for gossip for their ridiculous gossip column! Of course I have no gossip, except for you. They'd have a field day if they found out about you! YOU! Back to the start! You won't tell me where you went! Why is it such a big deal? Why can't you tell me? And now since you supposedly "forgot", the whole day was a waste! We'll have to spend all NIGHT doing Snape's essay, if not all weekend since he assigned such a long one! We've already spent have this week staying up all night!" Draco shrugged.

"What does that mean? Don't you care if you get bad grades? Or is money going to get you through that? Money isn't everything, you know. You're more like your father than I thought. Bribing and buying things to get to the top!" Draco's face contorted with anger. The softness in his eyes was replaced with a malicious glint that she'd never seen before. She knew what she had said had been complete nonsense, but, fueled by her anger, she couldn't stop.

Draco took a step toward her. "You bitch!" He slapped her. Her head sprung back and she stumbled, her feet faltering. Her cheek stung, a red mark remaining. She couldn't believe Draco had hit her. "You ARE like your father," she said accusingly. "Are you going to beat me like your father beat your mother?" Draco scowled, his eyes hard and cold.

For a moment, there was a deadly silence. Then-"How could you?" His hand clenched around her throat and Hermione gasped. He held her a few inches above the ground, smacking her against his door. She winced. "How could you say that?" he roared. He smacked her against his door again. "You KNOW how I feel about my father You, out of ALL PEOPLE! I thought you knew me better than that! I HATE HIM! He's a DISGRACE of a father! I don't want to be anything like him! I'm not like him! Money ISN'T everything to me! If you think that's what I'm like, then you DON'T know me!" She was smacked against the door yet again. He roared again in rage.

Tears spilled over Hermione's face from loss of air. "Draco-let me go-had-bad day-temper-didn't mean to-take out-on-you," Hermione choked out, her breath coming in short gasps.

"I HATE MY FATHER! I HATE-YOU!" With a yell, he took the fire poker and shove it into her arm. "So you remember!" An unearthly shriek rose from Hermione's lips as she squirmed in pain.

Draco dropped the poker and Hermione simultaneously, horrified at what he'd done. Hermione fell back against his bedroom door. She gasped in deep breaths and tears rapidly spilled down her face. She looked up at Draco weakly. Draco felt his heart break at the look in her eyes: not of anger, not of pain, but of fear.

What have I become? She's right. I AM my father. "I'm sorry," he whispered over and over. "I didn't meant to." He wanted to comfort her, but he was scared of causing her more pain that he already had. He opened his bedroom door and entered it, stepping over her.

Draco closed the door and sat down on his bed. He couldn't believe what he had just done. A torrent of thoughts ran through his head. I'm a monster. How could I do this? I didn't mean to. My temper got hold of me. I know she didn't mean what she said; she was just angry. Why didn't I tell her where I was? It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted it to be a surprise. He sighed. What have I done?

He heard Hermione sobbing softly against his door. Draco sorely wanted to comfort her, but he was scared he would lose control of himself and hurt her again. He closed his eyes to calm his racing heartbeat. Even with his eyes closed, all he could see was Hermione's face looking up at him.

What should I do? Another thought came to him. If Dumbledore finds out, I could get expelled. And Dumbledore has a way of finding things out...He didn't care about being expelled, though. He just wanted Hermione to be ok.

Draco got up from his bed and sat down in front of his desk, picking up a pencil. He did the one thing that was natural to him and, reaching for his sketch book, he began to draw.

Hermione's eyes were empty of tears. She couldn't cry anymore. She put her hand up and took hold of Draco's doorknob, struggling to stand. She heard an intake of breath. He's still awake!

Her legs gave way the first time she tried to stand up and she collapsed on the floor. She took a deep breath. She tried again and stood on shaky legs. Her entire body ached and her eyes blurred as she threatened to black out. She got herself a glass of water, drinking it greedily and refilling the glass repeatedly.

Hermione walked into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror to inspect the damage. She winced. Her eyes were red and swollen. Traces of her tears lingered on her face. There was a mark around her throat where Draco had grabbed her. She lifted up her shirt with trembling fingers, and her eyes widened at what she saw. There were marks all over her back. When he smacked me against the door...She gently put her shirt down. The slightest movement made her muscles protest. She lifted up her left sleeve to see what damage the fire poker had done. Hermione let out a whimper. Her upper arm was red with tinges of pink. There were droplets of dried blood. She let the sleeve down slowly.

Hermione trudged to her room, stopping at the door. Catching her breath, she opened the door and collapsed on her bed. The moment she sat down, the gears in her head began to turn as she digested what had happened. I shouldn't have provoked him. I don't think he meant to do it, but...the fact is he did do it. I can't believe it. He...hurt me.

She whimpered softly as she remembered the look in his eyes. She felt herself shake with fear and began to cry, her entire body shaking back and forth. After a while, she felt her tears cease and let the rational side of her take over.

Can I fix any of these injuries? She retrieved her wand and stood in front of her bedroom mirror. She was too tired to perform any magic. Maybe I can fix some of these when I regain my...energy, she thought, gesturing to her throat. She felt her eyes shut, and crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Draco sat up, rubbing his eyes. He realized he had fallen asleep while drawing as he pulled a paper off his sweaty face. Looking at the time, he saw it was six AM. He groaned and went over to the window.

The sky sparkled with various colors: yellow, pink, and orange. He changed his clothes, putting on jeans and a blue jersey. Draco sighed. It's going to be a crazy day...

He opened his door and went to the bathroom to freshen up. He took a long shower, thinking about everything that was going on in his life, particularly Hermione. I feel really bad about hurting her...His stomach gave a pang. I never let my temper take hold of me like that with any other girl I've been with. Then again, Hermione is like no other girl I've ever met. I've gone to different lengths to get her to like me. She's more complex than the average girl. And our relationship is like no relationship I've ever had-and I've had many.

After he took a shower, he went back to his room. He began to pace back and forth, wondering about what would happen when Hermione woke up. Afte a great deal of time had passed, Draco decided to go to the Great Hall and have breakfast. He went down the stairs, encountering only a few students, talking to only one or two as he passed by. Just as he was about to enter the Great Hall, he changed his mind. I'll go down to the ground, sit down by the lake, clear my mind, try to relax...I heard Quidditch practice was cancelled, anyways...Which is exactly what he did.

Hermione opened her eyes and groaned. Every inch of her hurt. She put a hand on her bed and stood up slowly. She felt like she was about to falter and was going to collapse again.

She decided to go down to breakfast; she didn't wanted to stay here any longer. She changed into jeans and a dark blue hoodie, taking her clothes off slowly so as not to hurt herself and doing the same when putting her clothes on.

Hermione sighed, exhausted just by changing clothes. She put her hood up to cover her face. Good thing this is big and baggy. She checked herself in the mirror. Good, you can barely see my face. I'll eat quickly and go down to the grounds. Hopefully, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the rest aren't down there. If I stay for too long around them, they'll notice something's off. She left the room quickly and quietly, listening for any signs of movement coming from Draco's room.

She was about to enter the Great Hall when she spotted her friends at the end of thr Gryffindor table, laughing and talking. She contemplated going out to the grounds, but it was too late; they had spotted her. "Hermione," they called out. Damn.

Hermione trudged to the table and sat down next to Ginny, Harry and Ron sitting across her. "Hi, Hermione," Ginny said, smiling. "Hey guys," Hermione said weakly. "You ok?" Harry asked, his eyes full of concern. "Yeah," she replied slowly. Each word was a challenge in itself; speaking hurt her ribs. "Here, have some food. You'll be fine," Ginny said, putting various things on her plate. "Thanks," Hermione said, taking a big bite out of every thing, polishing off her plate in a matter of minutes. Harry, Ginny, and Ron looked at her, amazed. "Are you SURE you're ok?" Ron asked. Hermione smiled weakly. "Yes," she said firmly. "Relax guys." "And what's with the hood?" Ginny asked. "Nothing. Just...cold," Hermione replied, hugging her arms. She persuaded her friends that she was fine, and they turned back to their food.

Glad that they hadn't pursued the topic any further, she decided to eat another pancake and leave while she was lucky. She cut the pancake into pieces slowly with her knife and fork. Steady...steady...

"HEY HERMIONE!" Neville yelled, sliding in next to her. Hermione screamed, dropping her knife and fork. Their table turned to look at her as she bent down to retrieve her silverware. She came back up and looked at Neville. "Oh hey Neville, you scared me!" she said shakily.

Neville looked at her worriedly. "Hermione...what happened to you?" She looked around the table. Neville, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were looking at her with worry, several expressions on their faces. "What are you talking about?" she replied cooly.

"Hermione, what happened to your face?" Ron asked. Hermione felt around for her hood and realized it had fallen off when she had bent down to retrieve the knife and fork. "Nothing!" she replied slowly. "Hermione," Ginny said softly. "Tell us the truth." Hermione scowled. "Nothing happened to me. I...I just smacked into my door. I took out a lot of books from the library, and I wasn't looking where I was going, so I smacked into my door, thinking it was open." She looked around the table, and it was obvious nobody believed her.

"Hermione...was it Malfoy? Did he do this to you?" Harry asked quietly. Ron growled. "No!" she said indignantly, but her voice came out as a squeak. In the same quiet voice Harry said, "Ginny, take Hermione to the nearest bathroom. Check on her sleeves, on her back, check to see if there are marks anywhere else on her." Hermione winced. "No, guys, no. Ginny, come on guys, this is ridiculous!" Ginny stood up solemnly and began to pull Hermione away from the table. "Guys!" Hermione yelled. Ginny and Hermione came back a few minutes later, a look of shock on Ginny's face as they sat back down.

"Well?" Ron asked. "There's a bunch of blue marks all over her back. And guys...look at this," Ginny said, lifting up Hermione's left sleeve. There was a big gasp around the table as they saw the burn. Hermione slapped Ginny's hand away, pulling her sleeve down. "Hermione, you should go to Madam Pomfrey," Neville said. "Guys, nothing happened. I burned myself trying to use the toaster in my common room," Hermione lied. "Oh, yeah? Then what about the marks on your back, Hermione? Explain that," Ron said angrily. Hermione hung her head, at a loss for words.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to go give that damn ferret a beating," Ron said, standing up. Harry, Neville, and Ginny stood up as well. "Us too," Harry said. "Guys, no!" Hermione yelled. "It's not his fault. I made him do it. Guys, stop. You can't! It's not his fault!" Hermione felt her eyes sparkle with tears.

"Hermione, are you crazy? He. hurt. you. It doesn't matter what happened. He. hurt. you. How could you defend him?" Harry asked. "Before we confront Malfoy, we're going to take you to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey can help you," Ginny said. "NO!" Hermione stood up quickly and felt her world spin. Nonetheless, she ran shakily out of the Great Hall out to the lake, her legs faltering on every step. Her friends called after her. From far away, Dumbledore watched the scene unfold, wondering what decision the teenagers would make next.

Hermione ran to the bank of the lake and fell, her feet almost touching the water. She tried to catch her breath. Tears spilled down her face from pain and her current situation. "Wasn't his fault. Or mine. I think. I'm so confused. In pain..." She grimaced.

"Hermione?" Hermione froze, hearing a familiar voice. She stood up slowly and turned around. She came face to face with Draco. She took a step back and her eyes widened in fear. He sighed and put his hand to her cheek, stroking it gently. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." She took another step back, one of her feet plopping into shallow water. She took deep breaths. "Stay away," she whispered. "Stay...away..."

She noted the look in his eyes, however, noticing they were nothing like the previous nights. They were soft and vulnerable. For once, she could completely read his face and tell what he was thinking. She could tell he was sorry. But she still had a feeling he was going to hurt her somehow in the future. Hermione Granger was scared.

"If I could, I would take back what I did. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain. I'm sorry I lost control. What you said...made me go crazy," he said. "I didn't mean anything I said," Hermione said softly. "I was just angry and worried, wondering why you wouldn't tell me where you were." They stared at each other silently for a few moments.

Suddenly, Draco's head flew to the side as Ron and Harry appeared. "Get your hands off her, Malfoy!" Ron yelled, punching him. "How could you hurt her?" Harry growled, hexing him. "Guys! Stop it!" Hermione yelled. They paid no attention to her. She backed away slowly from the scene. I need to spend some time alone to think...She went into her bedroom, locking both doors and laying down on her bed.

I'm so confused...

Despite the fact that she had woken up not too long ago, Hermione fell asleep. About half an hour later (although it felt like minutes to her) Hermione woke up to the sound of her doorknobs shaking. Someone was trying to come in. Her eyes widened as she grabbed her wand. She heard a voice say, "Alohomora," and the door connecting Draco's room and hers opened.

Draco stepped in, closing the door. "Hi," he said slowly. "Oh...hi," she replied. "Did I wake you?" he said, noticing from the look on her face. "Actually, yes," she grimaced. "Sorry," he said apologetically. "It's ok..I..guess. How'd you get away from Harry and Ron?"

He shrugged. "They got tired after a while. I guess I deserved those punches, though," he said, touching his jaw. "Yes...yes you did." After a pause she added, "What do you want?"

He sat down on the edge of her bed and she flinched. "I want to apologize. I'm very sorry about hurting you, I just...lost control. What you said made me lose my nerve. I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was. I'm sorry for everything. If you want to...if you don't want to be with me anymore, I understand completely." Draco took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for provoking you. I was having a tough day yesterday and took my anger out on you, saying things I didn't mean. What you did hurt me greatly though, in more ways than one. I forgive you, though. As for our relationship"-she paused, seeing Draco straighten-"I want to be with you." He smiled. "Really?" "Yes. Even though there's so many reasons why we shouldn't be together. Even after what you did. After all, every relationship has its problems and struggles. What kind of a relationship doesn't? And after every fight, the couples that are meant to be get stronger and help each other get through everything that happens to them." She kissed him slowly on the cheek, and he hugged her as she leaned against him for comfort.

Hermione didn't know how right she was. They would truly need each other to face what was to come.

Next Chapter: Hermione and Draco decorate their common room together, mistletoe affects everyone, pre-Christmas cheer (even Snape), and love is in the air!

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!