A Woman Scorned

Hermione was thankful that Draco's robes offered her some shelter from Harry's and Ron's horrified stares. Buttoning up her creased blouse quickly, Hermione felt hot tears burning at the back of her eyes. She refused to shed them; if she cried now it would be impossible to stop and she would not give Vila the twisted satisfaction.

'You vicious little bitch,' Draco hissed through his clenched teeth, his voice dripping with venom.

For a brief moment, Vila flinched and her eyes betrayed her by showing the pain Draco's words had inflicted on her. Though it was soon replaced with a triumphant smirk.

'I may be a bitch, Draco.' Vila's eyes moved sharply to Hermione. 'But at least I'm not a Mudblood bitch!'

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but it was Harry who got first say.

'That is enough Vila.' Harry shot the Slytherin girl a cold look. 'I think you have done more than enough, today.'

Checking her composure, Hermione stepped out from behind Draco, her gaze falling instantly to Ron. His head was hung low and his eyes were locked firmly on the stone floor.

He can't bare to look at me, she thought miserably, I have just lost one of my best friends. Not knowing what to say, she looked up toward Draco realising that his hair and clothes were still ruffled from their wild encounter. It was evidence of what had just taken place and Hermione wished that she could just crawl into a hole and vanish. After this day she would lose her friends; the very thing she had feared would happen had, and it was all because she couldn't say no to an arrogant and proud Slytherin.

'Once the school finds out about this Draco you will be completely destroyed; you too, Mudblood.' Laughing, Vila folded her arms. 'You shouldn't have treated me like one of your cheap little whores, Draco; I am a Lethorne. My family has nearly as much status as yours, yet you treated this Mudblood better than you ever did me. For that I'm going to make sure you pay.'

Unfolding her arms, Vila turned to Hermione. 'All you needed was a little push to show you for the filthy Mudblood you are.'

Seeing the confusion in Hermione's face, Vila reached into the pocket of her robes and produced a small green bottle.

'A lust potion; it cost a small fortune but it was truly worth it. Instead of consuming it like many others all you have to do is apply it to the bloodstream for an almost immediate effect. Your body to your lover or the one who you desire. It's often used as an aphrodisiac for old men, but I found another use for it today.'

Gasping at the revelation, Hermione reached to the back of her neck, remembering the sharp pain when Vila had pushed past her. Flames of anger bubbled up from the darkest pits inside of her. She was half-tempted to reach for her wand and hex the girl back to the hole she had crawled out of. Feeling Draco tense up at her side, Hermione guessed that he, too was having the same idea that she was.

Clenching her hands, Hermione fought back the overwhelming desire to strike Vila. As Head Girl she was supposed to set an example, not go around battering every girl that tried to intimidate her. She felt violated at the thought of Vila injecting a aphrodisiac into her body and making her perform like a stud. Hermione tried to find a small comfort in the fact that she had never stooped to Vila's level in her life. Though at that moment, it really didn't offer any comfort.

'You mean you gave Hermione a lust potion?' Harry asked a frown now forming on his face.

'I gave her a lust potion, yes. I told you before that the two of them have been like this for weeks now. I simply couldn't stand by and watch the Pureblood name be destroyed because of some Mudblood whore.'

Ron was still quiet, his face set like stone, while Harry seemed to be contemplating what Vila had just said.

'So you deliberately set this whole thing up so we would do what, exactly? Go and tell the school about what has just happened here? Isn't it enough that we had to witness this, never mind bring shame on our House as well?'

Turning away, Harry shook his head and then looked over at Ron. Concern swept over Harry's face as he took in the pale and haunted features of his friend's face.

'Enough damage has been done,' he murmured. 'It would cause too much conflict at Hogwarts if people were to find out the truth.'

Vila's expression started to turn from one of triumph to one of shock. Unfolding her arms, she looked at Harry, her eyes dark and stormy with rage.

'But you. . .you can't do this! It's not right; a Slytherin and a Gryffindor is practically forbidden. I won't be known as the person who was left for a Mudbloood bitch, either!' Vila's shrill voice filled the echoing halls, making Hermione cringe and praying that no one overheard the Slytherin's manic rant.

It was then that silence filled the air among the five of them. There were so many things to be said, so many questions to be asked, but no one could seem to form the words. Hermione could feel the discomfort of the situation beginning to settle and all she wanted to do was be as far away from that moment as possible. Raising her head, Hermione realised that Ron's gaze had now moved from the floor to her eyes and his lips had started to form the first of many questions that she was to be asked.

'Do you love him?'

It was the question.

The only one out of thousands that truly mattered.

A question that until a few moments ago she hadn't known the honest answer to.

Do you love him?

. . . . . . . .

'No.'

It was at that moment that she realised what she had done.

It was over.

A/N – Well I had an overwhelming amount of reviews on my last update which made me so happy. Anyway, a huge thank you to everyone who left their opinions!