Chapter Fourteen: Power
The next day, Draco avoided Hermione like the plague. He feigned a headache and went to his room after Potions. To kill time until dinner, Draco caught up on homework, wrote a letter to his mother, and tried to write his Muggle Studies essay, but that just ended up giving him a real headache. Draco cursed at the Muggle typewriter he was using. For what seemed like the tenth time, he was starting over because he spelt something wrong. Draco angrily ripped the paper from the typewriter and threw it amongst the others littering his floor.
"No magic," he scoffed. "How the hell are you supposed to even hand it in on time if you can't use magic to correct this thing?"
"Draco?" Hermione muffled voice called through the door. She knocked again, "Draco, are you awake?"
"Just a sec," he called back, vanishing all the papers strewn about on the floor.
"I made you a potion to get rid of your headache," Hermione said.
"Thanks, but I think it's getting better," he lied.
"Draco, please open up," Hermione slid down the door on the other side, pulling her knees up to her chest. "You've been avoiding me all day." She flicked the small spoon in the cup of potion, making the shimmering blue contents whirl and change colour.
"Not avoiding you," Draco groaned. "I just don't want you to…smell me."
Hermione burst into giggles on the other side of the door. "Excuse me?"
"I...uh…haven't showered yet and I've been puking all day so I reek," Draco smacked his forehead, realizing how horrible a liar he was. "I'm making myself gag in here."
"Well, it's probably not helping with your headache," Hermione giggled, playing along.
"It's true!" Draco said, getting into his bed and pulling the covers up around his neck.
"You're a terrible liar, Draco," Hermione sighed. "I'm coming in."
"Don't!" Draco exclaimed.
"Alohomora!" Hermione unlocked his door.
"I'm naked!" Draco made a feeble attempt to make her turn around and hightail it out of there.
"Haha," Hermione said half-heartedly. "Very funny. Now grow a pair and tell me why you've been avoiding me all day. You're not hung-over are you?" Hermione wrinkled her nose.
Draco stared at her blankly. "Maybe."
"This potion will only make it worse then," Hermione put the cup on his bedside table, and sat beside him, smoothing his covers.
"Thanks, Hermione," Draco said sarcastically.
"Something's bothering you," Hermione mused, changing the subject.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Draco mumbled, turning over.
"You're being a bit…moody, Draco," Hermione said hesitantly. "Are you sure everything's all right?"
"I'm fine," he mumbled into his pillow.
Hermione sighed. "Look Draco, you're acting like a girl, and lucky for you, I am one,"- Draco's mouth twitched slightly-"and in girl language, 'I'm fine' usually means something's bothering you. You can tell me anything, Draco. Now, is everything all right?"
"No, everything isn't all right!" Draco said louder than he meant to. Hermione jumped in surprise at his tone.
"Is it something to do with me?" She asked, tears in her eyes.
Draco was silent. He pretended to be particularly interested by a stray thread in his bedspread.
"Draco, if there's something you'd like to tell me about his pole up your arse, you can say it right out to me," she crossed her arms. "If it's something I've done, I'd like to know what it is before I apologize for it. Or, you can continue acting like a child, and I'll just go to bed frustrated and wake up in a foul mood, like you obviously did this morning," Hermione said hotly, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door. "Draco?"
A single tear ran down his cheek as he turned over. He ignored it, and looked Hermione square in the eye. "In the wizarding world, when someone does something bad, they go to Azkaban. Depending on the crime, it could be months or years before they get out."
"What has that got to do with me?"
"Hermione, the man who raped you was a close friend of mine," Draco said steadily. "Turning someone in to Azkaban is hard, and the thought of losing him is something I really don't want to think about. He's been my friend though thick and thin. We've known each other literally from the time we were babies."
Hermione, for once, was at a loss for words. She stood dumbfounded as Draco continued.
"My aunt, Bellatrix, was in Azkaban, and look what it's turned her into," Draco made circles around his ear. "She wasn't always a murderer. My friend wasn't always a criminal either, but I'm so afraid that if he goes into Azkaban, he won't come out the same. I know he won't come out the same."
"He's a victim too, I suppose," Hermione said sadly. For the first time, she felt pity for her attacker. "Only, he had a chance I never had."
"And what's that, love?"
"He had the chance to choose between right and wrong," Hermione said. "He could have chosen to not rape me, to turn away from evil and to do something else with his life."
"But how is he a victim?" Draco asked, confused.
"He was a victim of himself," Hermione answered. "He let his need to have power overwhelm his ability to think rationally. He didn't realize that power isn't overpowering others and owning them. Power is the ability to possess greatness and control it."
Author's Note: Ok, I lied…maybe this will be more than 15 chapters! Read and review! As always, the number of reviews is directly proportional to the speed at which I update!