AUTHOR'S NOTES: To the Hermione fans reading this story, I apologize for the later part of this chapter. It actually did start writing itself. I wasn't intending to make it such a graphic scene but…

Chapter 14

Returning to Hogwarts late the following evening, Harry could feel everyone watching him as he headed into the Great Hall. But once he entered the room and saw the Weasleys, Cedric, and Hermione waiting up for him, he headed over, trying to look more cheery than he felt. He was happy to be back at Hogwarts but Harry was also unsure of what to say to his friends and boyfriend as he wheeled up to the table.

"How're you feeling, Harry?" Ginny asked as she slid a plate of chicken towards him.

"Hungry," Harry replied, as he dug into the chicken. After he'd finished eating—not really engaging in conversation—he looked at the others and said, "I think I'll just turn in, if you lot don't mind."

"No problem," Ron replied giving his best friend a nod of understanding. "We'll see you in the morning."

Harry nodded and headed out of the Great Hall without another word. Once he was up in the Gryffindor Common Room, he went over to a corner where several portraits of Hermione were either hanging up or propped against the wall or in the armchairs. All of the portraits were signed by the same person—Draco Malfoy, Harry assumed—and Harry felt an uncomfortable churning in his stomach. More than anything he wanted to have a life with Cedric but for some reason it always felt like life was keeping them from being together.

But the more Harry thought about it, the more he started to realize that he was the obstacle. Cedric cared about Harry and wanted to be with him. And no matter what Harry threw between them, Cedric always seemed to push it aside. Rubbing his face with one hand, Harry sighed and headed for the dormitory. Heading over to his bed, he didn't even bother changing out of the track pants and t-shirt he was wearing but he did take off his shoes and socks before turning down the blankets on the bed. Harry had just set his glasses on the nightstand and lifted himself into bed when Ron came in.

"You okay, Harry?" Ron asked as he changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed.

"Fine," Harry replied as he got settled in bed and pulled the blankets up.

Ron could tell that Harry didn't want to talk and after a few minutes, he also got into bed.

When Harry got up in the morning he saw that Ron was already dressed and had just grabbed his books for class.

"Coming, Harry?" Ron asked, pausing near the door to look back at his friend.

Harry shook his head as he sat up and moved his legs over the side of the bed. "Dr. Candlewood thought it'd be best if I just focus on the physical therapy for a little bit."

Ron nodded wordlessly as he watched Harry move into the wheelchair. As Harry headed for the bathroom, Ron couldn't help cursing all the evil powers that had been responsible for Harry's injury. Being a wizard was occasionally challenging enough and even after all these years Ron still got lost on the moving staircases once in a while. Heading downstairs to the Common Room, Ron's eye was drawn to Malfoy's drawings of Hermione.

What really and truly bothered Ron about Hermione's betrothal wasn't that it was Draco Malfoy. It was very simply that someone had managed to sweep Hermione off her feet—and it hadn't been Ron. He'd had a crush on Hermione ever since he'd first laid eyes on her on the Hogwarts Express but he had never managed to do the right thing about it. He kept screwing up and saying the wrong thing which just seemed to aggravate Hermione even more.

At first, Ron had thought he could watch Malfoy, learn a few tricks to charm Hermione but once she had announced that she and Malfoy were in an arranged marriage he knew that it was over.

Not to say that the fact it was Malfoy wasn't a factor in Ron's current rift with Hermione. Draco Malfoy had never passed up an opportunity to call Hermione a mudblood or remind the Weasleys that they had very little money.

There were a few pureblood families who didn't have qualms against pairing with muggles, muggleborn witches and wizards, or half-bloods but the Malfoys were not one of them and the very thought of Hermione being with Draco Malfoy set Ron's teeth on edge. And no matter what Malfoy did or said, Ron knew deep down that leopards never changed their spots. And when Malfoy went back to his old self, Ron would be there either to help Hermione pick up the pieces or watch as she proved to Malfoy why no one messed with Hermione Jean Granger and walked away unscathed.

As Harry had learned over the past 11 months, physical therapy after a spinal cord injury wasn't just about upper body exercises. While at the Healing Wands Rehab Center, therapists had made sure to exercise Harry's legs as well to help prevent blood circulation problems.

In the physical therapy room Dumbledore had arranged, Harry had immediately begun working with Celeste Michaels, a healer who specialized in spinal injuries and after testing his upper body strength, she had started working on leg exercises.

"How's the back pain?" Celeste asked as she worked on Harry's leg stretching exercises.

Harry shrugged. "Muscle ache. No problem." But when Celeste stopped and gave him a look, Harry sighed. "My back was cramping up a bit yesterday and this morning."

"Lie down on your stomach," Celeste instructed and watched as Harry scooted back further on the mats and lay down, rolling over so he was face down. Celeste slid Harry's shirt up exposing the very faint surgical scar on his back. With practiced hands, she slowly massaged the muscles, feeling for any problems down Harry's spine. There was a serious knot where the bone fragment had been removed and after a moment she said to Harry, "Tell me to stop if this hurts." Digging the heels of her hands into the spot, she heard Harry give a muffled groan but when he didn't say anything, she dug a bit deeper.

As Celeste worked on Harry's back, Harry tried to breathe through the pain. It did hurt, but ever since the Dursleys had first started abusing him, he'd very quickly become used to aches and pains of varying degrees.

The pain from his spinal injury, however, was different. There were times when Harry could barely move because the back pain seemed to almost radiate through his whole body so that even the simple action of lifting himself with his arms caused some of the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life—even including the pain in his scar from Voldemort or having the bones in his arm regrown.

When Celeste finally let Harry sit up, she eyed him as he did a few light stretches to help loosen his back up. "Alright. I want you to take it easy for the rest of the day, Harry. And if you can get into a hot tub that would be a very good idea."

"Right," Harry replied as he moved back into the wheelchair. Heading out of the room, he made his way up to the Room of Requirement and thankfully found it unoccupied. Once settled in the hot tub the Room supplied, Harry let the water jets relax away the last bit of tightness in his back and soothe the deep muscle aches Celeste hadn't been able to completely eliminate.

When the door opened suddenly, Harry nearly jumped, but when he saw that it was only Ginny he relaxed again. "What are you doing here?" Harry asked as he noticed the harried look on the youngest Weasley's face. "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Ron?" Ginny asked, hopefully.

Harry sat up straighter as he replied, "No. Why? Ginny, what is it?"

"Ron's missing," Ginny said, quickly. "And I tried to find Hermione to see if she'd seen him but I can't find her, either."

With that news, Harry slowly got out of the hot tub and after changing into the dry clothes the Room of Requirement magically provided, he got settled in his chair and followed Ginny out of the room and down the hall. "Did you check the library?"

"Library, Great Hall, Hagrid's…" Ginny said, following Harry up to Gryffindor Tower. "Fred and George are checking Hogsmeade."

Harry went to his trunk and dug out the Marauder's Map, unfolding it and looking over every room of the castle for the names 'Ron Weasley' and 'Hermione Granger'. "They're not in the castle," he finally said after he and Ginny spent close to 10 minutes pouring over the map.

"Then where could they be?" Ginny asked, worry in her voice.

"I don't know," Harry admitted.

Hermione blinked as she slowly came back to consciousness. Looking around as she tried to get her bearings, she was surprised to find herself lying on a couch in a well-furnished sitting room. Sitting up, she didn't see any clue as to who had abducted her and she seemed to be alone. After checking her pockets and finding her wand missing, she stood up and checked the doors of the room but they were both locked.

"Leaving already, Granger?"

Hermione whirled around and gasped slightly when she saw who was standing behind her. "Cormac?"

Cormac McClaggen beamed at Hermione as he took a few steps towards her. "You know, it's funny, really. When I heard that you were betrothed to Draco Malfoy I wondered why he'd choose you."

When Cormac came closer, Hermione backed up but she could only go a few feet before she was pinned against the locked door. "What are you doing?" Hermione asked, fear in her voice. She let out an involuntary cry when Cormac grabbed her and pulled her away from the door, pushing her towards the couch she'd woken up on. "What the hell are you doing?" Hermione asked, backing away again. But in an instant, Cormac was on her again and had shoved her roughly onto the couch. "Stop it!" She screamed as he came towards her.

As if he hadn't heard anything Hermione had said, Cormac stood over Hermione, tossing his school robes over a nearby chair and loosening his house tie. "It didn't surprise me that you'd bind yourself to a pureblood. I know you've taken Muggle Studies and you know about furthering magic by diluting bloodlines. But the Malfoys are Death Eaters." Sitting down next to Hermione, he grabbed her arm roughly when she tried to make a run for it. Pulling her back down onto the couch, he ignored her as she cried, fear in her eyes as stared at him.

"Cormac, please. Let me go," Hermione begged, tears falling down her cheeks. But when Cormac kissed her roughly, she shoved him away as hard as she could and again tried to get to the door. When he came towards her, she grabbed a lamp from a nearby table and threw it at Cormac who dodged it easily.

Grabbing Hermione again, Cormac had a wolfish grin on his face as he dragged her to the couch, throwing her down onto it before pinning her down. After ripping her robes off, Cormac slowly licked Hermione's neck before crushing his lips against hers in a savage kiss. "You should be thanking me, Granger."

"For what?" Hermione spat, angrily as she tried to squirm or of Cormac's grasp.

"You see, wizarding betrothals are binding magical contracts," Cormac began as he pulled out his wand and—with a swift flick—removed Hermione's sweater and house tie. "They can't be broken by the parties in question. Only by the parents of the binding party." Setting the wand aside—and well out of Hermione's reach—he slowly undid her blouse before reaching his hands around her waist to undo her skirt. "Which the Malfoys may be inclined to do if they discover you've had a physical relationship with someone other than your betrothed."

"No!" Hermione screamed, fighting as hard as she could as Cormac went to pull her tights down.

Cormac backhanded Hermione and in surprise she stopped struggling. "You think I want this, Hermione? I don't relish this. But the Weasleys refused and Harry Potter isn't capable of sexual relations at the moment." When Hermione started struggling again, Cormac hit her again. "Trust me, Granger. This will be far less painful for you if you just stop fighting me."

But when Cormac undid his own shirt and pants, Hermione tried to push him off again but he'd straddled her, not allowing her the slightest bit of room to escape. She dug her nails into his face, trying to hurt him any way she could, but he was too strong. When he hit her once more, she tried to hit back, but Cormac grabbed her wrists with one hand before undoing her bra with the other.

"Please," Hermione sobbed as Cormac started to touch her bare breast. "I won't say anything. Stop. Please." But Cormac didn't respond and Hermione started screaming as he viciously started in on her.

Even after searching Hogsmeade Village high and low, Fred and George had found nothing to tell them where Hermione and Ron were.

"Maybe we should head back to Hogwarts," George suggested as they came out of the Shrieking Shack. "Maybe Ginny and Harry have found something."

But Fred didn't get a chance to answer before they both heard screams coming from the village itself. "Come on, George!" Fred shouted, grabbing his brother. When the two apparated onto Hogsmeade's main street, they stopped dead when they saw Ron lying on the ground, unconscious and about 10 feet away from another prone figure. "Ron!" Fred ran over to his brother, George right behind him.

Ron groaned before slowly opening his eyes, rubbing his head as he did so. "It was McClaggen," he said as soon as he saw his twin brothers. "He grabbed me and—Hermione!" Ron was awake and alert now and when he looked around, he saw a crowd of witches and wizards gathered around someone. Getting to his feet, Ron hurried over and after fighting his way through the crowd his heart plummeted when he saw Hermione lying on the ground covered in bruises and wrapped in nothing more than her ripped school robes.

After clearing the Hospital Wing of all non-emergencies, Madame Pomfrey's first task had been to give Hermione a dose of sleeping potion before assessing her injuries. Drawing the curtains around Hermione's bed, Pomfrey felt her stomach twist as she examined the young Gryffindor student.

Outside the hospital wing, Harry, the Weasleys, Cedric, and Draco waited to hear word about Hermione's condition.

Fred and George were quiet and Ron looked like he desperately wanted to find Cormac McClaggen and rip him limb from limb.

Harry started when Cedric put a hand on his shoulder but gave his boyfriend a quiet smile.

Draco was just staring at the doors to the hospital wing, not sure of what to say. He knew the wizarding laws regarding betrothals and knew that this might change his parents' minds about his being joined with Hermione. But far more troubling was the dark, fiery rage that was burning deep inside his soul. Draco wanted to find the person who attacked Hermione, point his wand at their heart and use the Cruciatus curse until they begged for mercy or death.

But Madame Pomfrey wasn't letting anyone in the room yet so the group of six simply waited in silence outside the doors.

xxxxxx

It was nearly an hour before Madame Pomfrey opened the door and looked at the assembled group. "Miss Granger is asleep," Pomfrey said, quietly as she stood aside to let them into the room. "She'll probably wake up in the morning."

"How is she?" Harry asked as he wheeled up to Hermione's bed. Her hair was a mess and there were fading bruises on her face. "Was she…?"

Pomfrey looked regretfully at the collection of students and nodded. "Please don't disturb her," she warned before leaving the students alone with their friend.

Once Pomfrey was out of earshot, Fred piped up. "One of us should have been with her," he said, quietly, looking at Hermione.

"She didn't want anyone protecting her," Ginny replied, defending Hermione. "She thought she could defend herself."

"Well, screw what Hermione wants," Ron said, angrily. "From now on we don't let her out of our sight, agreed?"

"Agreed," Fred, George, Cedric, Harry, and Draco replied in unison.

"Hermione's not going to like it," Ginny repeated, knowing that the others wouldn't listen.

"What, and you think she liked getting raped?" Ron shouted, angrily.

No one said anything, Ron's words hanging thickly in the air. None of the others liked to think of it that way but there was no sugarcoating it.

"I'll take first watch," Harry said, quietly.

When the Weasleys and Cedric left the room, Draco looked down at Hermione and said, "I still love her."

Harry didn't say anything at first but finally he said, "Malfoy, get out of here."

"What?" Draco said, surprised at the calm tone in Harry's voice.

Harry wheeled around so he was facing Malfoy and withdrew his wand. "This is your family's fault," Harry said, quietly. "Get out. Now."

Draco didn't reply but he just nodded shortly and backed away, giving Hermione one last look as he did so. He did still love Hermione.

But it was unknown how Hermione would feel about him when she woke up.

A/N: Next chapter-The aftermath of Hermione's assault and Harry and Cedric deal with yet another wrinkle in their relationship.