I was three days on a drunken sin…And I was burnin' up a fever, I didn't care much how long I lived…Heaven and hell were words to me…When my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold dark earth. No grave can hold my body down. I'll crawl home to her…

Hozier

.

The last time Hermione had seen the Great Hall looking as majestic as it did, it was Yule Ball. Witches and Wizards from all over the community were sauntering around, drinking champagne, enjoying the live band, and placing bets on the silent auction; the proceeds of which would go to families of the fallen victims, as they did every year.

Hermione had declined to get a table this year, so she and Draco showed up after the dinner had already been served.

"You look gorgeous Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny as she approached the couple.

"Ginny, look at you! You look amazing! This dress is grand!" compliment Hermione as she urged Ginny to take a spin so that she could appreciate the full effect of her dress. Ginny's evening dress started gold and transitioned into a sparkling teal finish.

"Thank you! Oh Merlin, Hermione, can you tell how nervous I am? I haven't hosted in years! Do you think that everyone is enjoying themselves?"

Hermione scanned the Hall over. "Everything looks perfect! It's been decades since I've seen the Great Hall looking as amazing as this. You did a perfect job setting everything up and the band sounds great as well."

Ginny beamed radiantly. "Thanks for that. I've been second guessing myself all night."

"Don't be. You've done a wonderful job and I'm sure everything will run flawlessly tonight," assured Hermione."

"If you do spot any problems, just let me know alright? I'm going to go check in on the auction tables. Hi Draco," she added in quickly, as not to be rude, before setting off to peek at the current bids.

"Your friends hate me," expressed Draco half-heartedly.

"Only some of them," admitted Hermione. "But Ginny doesn't mind you in the slightest."

"I guess," he shrugged. He didn't actually care what anyone thought of him. The opinion of others had never changed who he was. The only opinions he cared about were his daughter's and Hermione's.

Hermione gasped as she spotted Sophia from across the room. "Oh Draco, look at our little girl. She's breathtaking!"

Sophia was laughing with Landen and a few other students from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, wearing a ruffled crimson dress.

She looked up and noticed her parents staring over at her and gave them a friendly wave, which they promptly returned. Things had calmed down between them since the night she decided to flee the castle. Everything wasn't perfect, but they were all trying their best to be understanding of one another.

"She's lovely," commented Draco in awe. "It's amazing to think we created someone so lovely and exquisite."

"We did a pretty good job, didn't we?" laughed Hermione.

Draco headed over to the bar to grab them a couple of drinks, which allowed Hermione a moment to go say hi to the Weasley family without the strain of having Draco directly by herself, which she knew would make some of them uneasy.

Staying to the side of the hall, Draco watched from a distance as Hermione hugged Molly and Arthur then moved on to greet George, Bill and Fleur. With a protective watch he observed as Ron greeted Hermione with a polite handshake and nothing more. Ron appeared as sullen and gloomy as he deserved to be.

Draco wondered why he seemed to be in such a foul mood until he noticed Janessa sitting at Percy's table a few rows down, sulking in a similar fashion while wearing an ugly, pale, yellow dress. All the while, she had her arms and legs crossed tightly as she stared daggers towards the girl of his dreams.

Hermione walked eagerly back over to Draco and took a drink from his hand. "Thanks babe."

Draco tipped his drink in Janessa's direction. "Janessa has been staring you down like you're the devil," he observed. He thought that Janessa had every right to be jealous; Hermione had everything, and she had been reduced to nothing more than a resentful, bitter, hag of a woman.

"Of course she is," said Hermione as she sipped at her drink. "She thinks I was sleeping with her husband. Apparently they're separated now, and she blames me for ruining her marriage."

"You didn't do anything wrong," defended Draco.

"We know that to be true. Doesn't matter though," she shrugged it off and tipped her drink back a little further.

"It matters, Hermione. You have a right to let people know what kind of monster he truly is, to let people know what he did to you."

"I don't want to."

"Why not?" he asked, trying to mask his frustration. His woman didn't deserve condemnation. She was a saint and Ron Weasley was a villain who was defiling her reputation and making her out to be some kind of home wrecker.

"It doesn't matter. It wouldn't help anything anyways. I'm already healing and it's enough for me to see Ron lose everything. He has nothing and I have the entire world."

"But Hermione-,"

"No buts," she cut him off. "It really doesn't matter."

"Ladies and Gents, grab your date or the cutest stranger you see and make your way onto the dance floor!" announced the lead singer of the band. The main floor began to glisten as the casual Great Hall floor was transformed into a glistening dance arena.

Taking his glass out of his hand, Hermione set their drinks aside and attempted to pull Draco out onto the floor where a congregation of people were beginning to dance.

"I don't dance, Hermione."

"Of course you do," she insisted as she dragged him out further until she had her way.

Due to the nature of the event, the music was generally slow and perfectly paced for slow dancing. A festive ball would have definitely lifted spirits but wouldn't be deemed necessarily appropriate for the mood of the night.

"How is it you always get your way with me?" asked Draco, perplexed as he took hold of Hermione's hip and rested his hand on the small of her back to unsure a close stance with the gorgeous specimen in his grasp.

"That's what you get for being in love with me. You have to dance with me from time to time."

"I guess," he agreed with a fake pout before a coy smile emerged across his lips.

Hermione sighed contently and rested her head on his shoulder as he pulled her in closer and swayed them along with the music.

They stayed embraced, lost in the flow of one another for two songs in a row. As the music faded out and transitioned into a new song they finished their dance with a soft kiss, hardly noticing as Harry made his way over to the couple.

"Mind if I interject, Malfoy?" as Harry as they separated.

Draco looked Harry over suspiciously but eventually gave him a small smile and nod of approval. Despite the sadness, he was in a good mood that night. "I suppose Potter. Just make sure you take good care of my woman."

"I always do," he remarked as he took hold of his old friend's hand.

Draco excused himself over to the bar and let the two friends have their time together.

"You look radiant Hermione. I don't know if I've ever seen you look as stunning as you do tonight."

"Thanks Harry. I saw Ginny already. She did a superb job putting tonight together."

"I know. I'm really proud of her," he agreed.

"You should be."

"So…" Harry got to the point of why he came over. "You and Draco..."

"What about us?" Hermione rolled her eyes playfully.

"It's the real thing huh?"

"Meaning…?"

"This is it. The two of you aren't going to let up any time soon, huh?"

"Not planning on it. Are you going to have a problem with that?"

"Oh, I have plenty of problems with that," he playfully admitted, "but it's not my life now is it?"

"I suppose it isn't."

"I just want you to be happy Hermione. You're one of my best friends. I care about you a great deal. I don't have to tell you that I don't have the best history with Malfoys, and I would never say that I approve of the two of you being together, but he is Sophia's father and there's no changing that. Plus, if he's making you happy then I suppose I can abide it."

"Can you now?" She smiled in amusement.

"Yes, I suppose I can. Just know that if he ever hurts you…I'll be the first person lined up and ready to drag his sorry ass back to Azkaban."

She laughed aloud. "I appreciate the concern Harry. I really do, and you know that I love you dearly, but I promise you that I know that I'm doing. Thank you, though, for finally accepting this…in your own way."

"Life is about adapting to the changes isn't it? If you really think he's changed then it must be true."

"It's only taken nearly twenty years to convince you of that."

"What can I say? I'm a hard case to break!" Harry flashed her a jesting smile. "As long as he keeps you happy and treats you right, then I guess I'm happy for you. If you really love him, that is."

"I really do."

"Well…good. I'll still be keeping my eye on him for safe measure, though."

"You go ahead and do that," she welcomed confidently. "He won't disappoint you. He's right for me. We're right for each other."

Halfway through their dance Hermione was interrupted by a slightly rough tapping on her bare shoulder. She turned around to find Ron staggered behind her.

"Mind if I cut in?" he asked with a slight slur, and a sway in his stance that showed he was drunk.

Harry backed off to allow his best friend a dance with her but hesitated to leave when Hermione firmly declined.

"Absolutely not," she refused.

"C'mon Mione. It's just one harmless dance!" pleaded Ron.

"I don't want to dance with you. You know that."

"Fine, whatever. Be like that, but you owe me answers. Can we at least talk?"

Hermione was about to say no when she noticed a few people watching them. She feared that Ron was going to make a scene. He'd clearly been drinking the entire night and the last thing she needed was for Draco to see him talking to her and for him to come over and escalate the situation.

"Fine. I'll give you five minute, but not here. In my office."

"Of course, Headmistress," he mocked.

Hermione shot him a glare to show she was not amused with his jest.

"Sorry," he muttered "Let's go."

"Excuse us Harry," apologized Hermione. She gave Harry a quick hug and set off with Ron to her office. "If Draco asks, let him know that I'll be right back."

Draco was too occupied to notice them leave. He had made his way over to where Sophia was dancing with Landen.

"Any chance I could steal her away for a little bit?" Draco asked gently.

"Uh, sure thing, Professor," Landen obliged.

Sophia gave Landen a quick kiss on the cheek and allowed Draco to lead her to a new spot on the dance floor.

"Look at you," compliment Draco. "I'm never going to believe any guy could deserve you, you know."

"You're not supposed to. You're my Dad." Sophia was trying to give Draco a chance. It wasn't his fault he had been absent. Having a Father who wanted to be in your life was something she had wanted her entire life. Once she calmed down, she stopped fighting the change and tried to adjust to his place in her life. It was better to have a late father than no father at all

"Exactly. Don't be so angry with me for being critical of your boyfriend. It's my job," he justified with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," she waved him off.

"It's not that bad is it? Me being your Father?"

"It's not terrible," she teased, smiling at him with an identical smirk.

"Before you found out I was your Dad, we seemed to get along great. That doesn't have to change, you know."

"I don't dislike you," she gently clarified. "I just need to get to know you better."

"Good thing we have plenty of time for that, don't we?" he lifted his arm up and twirled her under it.

"Did you get along with your Father when you were my age?" asked Sophia as she spun.

Draco couldn't help but laugh. "I've never gotten along with my Father."

"No?" Sophia was surprised to hear this.

"Absolutely not, not really. My mother is the only parent I ever loved and respected."

"Why not? What's my grandfather like?" she wondered, curiously.

"I sincerely hope you never find out. He's the reason I was raised to be a death eater."

"But your mom never wanted that for you?"

"Your grandmother does hold the same ideals, unfortunately," he answered truthfully. "You have to understand that it's hard for people to change. It's not impossible though. Despite all that, she's always loved me. She's always stood by me and protected me, no matter what."

"Even with mom?"

Draco hesitated to answer her. "Honestly…not exactly."

"Why not? Don't you think she'd be understanding if she truly loved you?" asked Sophia, subtly hinting at her current circumstance with Landen.

"It can be complicated. My parents aren't ever going to change their ideals and I've accepted that. They don't want to be different and you can't force people to be understanding if they don't want to be."

"Do you still talk to them then?"

"I haven't in a while, but I still owl my mother from time to time."

"Do you think they'd want to meet me?" Sophia offered. The Weasleys would always be her tried and true family, but she was curious to know her blood family too.

Draco's heart broke at the idea of his mother refusing her own grandchild over her hatred of Hermione and outdated ideas about blood purity.

"It would be difficult," he honestly admitted with a heavy sigh. He didn't like letting down his little girl.

"I think we should try. You're the one who told me I have this great family background I should be proud of. If that family doesn't want to be associated with me then why should I care? Am I not technically a Malfoy?"

"You are a Malfoy," he affirmed, proudly. "You're my daughter, of course you're a Malfoy and you should be proud of that fact."

"Then I want to understand what that means. I'd like to meet my grandparents."

"I'll do my best. I promise." Draco leaned in as the song ended and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "You keep having fun tonight and don't worry yourself. You look beautiful and you deserve to have a fun night with your friends. Graduation is just around the corner, you know."

"That's not the only thing around the corner," teased Sophia, hinting at the wedding she was still insisting on having with Landen.

"We'll see…" Draco brushed off the topic with a disarming smile and set off to reclaim Hermione from Harry.

It took him a few minutes to find him through the sea of people. Almost everyone in attendance was crowding the dance floor.

Finally he spotted Harry with his arms fastened around his beautiful wife.

Draco approached them with a perplexed look on his face. "Where did Hermione go off to?" he interrupted.

Ginny lifted her head from her husband's shoulders and smiled at Draco. "Oh hi Draco…" she lulled and snuggled her head back into the crook of Harry's neck.

"Hi Ginny," he quickly flashed back, then looked at Harry expectantly.

"Ron cut in and said he needed to talk to her. I think she said they were going to her office to talk."

"What?!" exclaimed Draco angrily.

"Hey, chill, Malfoy…"

"Don't tell me to chill, Potter! It's not okay that he's alone with her. I don't trust him. You never should have allowed him to leave the Hall with her!"

"That's my best friend you're talking about-," Harry threw his shoulders back defensively.

"I don't care," interjected Draco. Your best friend is a dirty, filthy rapist and he shouldn't be alone with Hermione!" He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but there it was. It had been said, and the truth couldn't be retracted.

Ginny raised her head up and turned to him with glossed eyes, hazed in a squinted confusion. She'd had quite a bit to drink that night, but was growing increasingly coherent in response to the accusation Draco had just made against her kin. "What the fuck did you just say about my brother?"

"Nothing, Ginny," Harry calmed her down. "He's clearly mistaken. Come sit down. I'll get you another drink while I handle this."

Harry led her over to their table and called over one of the servers to bring her another flute of champagne to distract her.

"He didn't say 'nothing'" argued Ginny as she glared at her husband.

"I know that Ginny but you still have an event to host. You can't get into a row with Malfoy in the midst of your guests. Just stay here and let me handle this." He pressed a tender kiss against her forehead.

As soon as he saw that his wife was settled in and chatting, he rounded back on Draco, leading him hurriedly out of the Great Hall.

"That's quite an accusation, Malfoy," he sneered once they were out of earshot. "You're not going to get away with talking about Ron like that. Especially in front of his sister, my wife!"

"It's not an accusation, Potter! It's the truth! Why else do you think Hermione was confused about Sophia's paternity? Do you really think that she would have slept with a married man, even if he was her ex?"

The whole idea of it had never sat right with Harry, but never would he have suspected Ron of rape. Ron was one of the best men he knew.

"You're full of shit," he spat in denial. "You're just trying to get a rise out of me."

"I don't care a flying fuck what you think of it, Potter." Draco blew him off as he started to walk towards Hermione's office. He knew the password and he was going to let himself in. He wasn't about to let Ron have a private audience with the woman he loved, not after the way he'd traumatized her and threw a wrench into their lives.

"Hermione can take care of herself. She doesn't need you babysitting her," argued Harry as he tailed Draco on the way to her office.

Draco ignored him and walked faster.

/

Fifteen minutes earlier, Hermione led the way to her office as they walked away from Harry in the Great Hall.

"I want to know why you lead me on all that time?" Ron started to inquire as he trailed at her heels.

"Shhh! I don't want to talk about this here!" Hermione insisted as they walked out of the Hall and into the corridor. "Just wait until we get to my office, please? Once we get there, I mean it, five minutes is all I'll give you, Ron. I don't want to talk about this at all, but I don't want you making a scene either."

"I'm a little entitled to make a scene, don't you think? After what you put me through?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and rounded onto him. "What I put you though? You've got to be kidding me!"

They looked just as they had when they used to quarrel during their Hogwarts days, caught in the midst of furious stares in a heated, stubborn standoff.

"Yeah, did I stutter? You're ruining my life. My marriage is falling apart because of you!"

Hermione scoffed. "You're ridiculous. Again, I'm not conversing with you out here." She turned back around and walked faster towards her office. The faster this conversation was over with, the better.

She let Ron go in first and followed a step behind him. She didn't bother sitting, as she wasn't going to be staying long. Instead, she opted to stand beside her desk, while Ron welcomed himself to her usual seat.

"Your marriage is falling apart because you're a liar," she fiercely corrected him.

"My marriage is falling apart because you allowed me to think that Sophia was mine all of this time!" he argued.

"I never told you she was yours. You always assumed that she was. That was your self-righteous mistake!"

"And you never bothered to correct me!" he shouted. His ears and nose were blushed red from a mix of alcohol and humiliation.

"I never led you on. You wanted to believe that she was yours, despite having no proof to support that claim."

"No support?" he laughed. "You let me help you for years. I can't even recall how much money I gave you to help raise her. You accepted it, and I believed she was mine because of it."

"I never asked for your help! You gave me that as hush money because you didn't want me talking to your wife! You never cared about me or Sophia! I tried to give it back to you time and time again. You always thought me modest, but I was rejecting your offers. Obviously you don't understand what rejection is, now do you?"

"I loved Sophia as my own! You deceived me and let me love her as my own daughter."

"If that were true you, then you would have claimed her as your own publically, or asked me bluntly whether or not she was even yours to begin with! You're just looking for a scapegoat to blame the ruins of your pathetic life on."

"I didn't claim her because I thought we had an understanding."

"We didn't. You were, and have always been, delusional."

"Delusional? Well maybe if I had realized you were fucking a death eater then I might have suspected otherwise."

"It wasn't any of your business."

"It was entirely my business! How long did you know that she wasn't mine?"

"I didn't know for sure until this year!" she confessed in frustration.

"What?" he looked at her in amazement. "Why the fuck didn't you find out whether she was mine or not then? All that time you could have known."

"I didn't want to know!" she snapped. "All this time, until recently, I didn't want to believe it was Draco, but I've always known I didn't want Sophia's father to be you!"

"No, you just didn't give a fuck! You were enjoying having a meal ticket too much!" he boasted in disgust. "There's a word for people like you, you know."

"Is there, now? What's that?" irked Hermione.

"Most right-minded people would call you a whore! A worthless and deceitful whore!"

Hermione's jaw dropped. She was mildly appalled that he was acting like this. She hadn't cared much for Ron for quite some time now, but she'd never seen him unhinged like this.

"You're drunk," she accused as she moved away from him so that she was standing on the other side of the desk, closer to the door.

"And you're a selfish bitch!" he shouted. He had a wild look on his face and she could see that he was truly hurt and growing increasingly angry.

It didn't excuse his behavior though. She wasn't going to accept being called a whore or a bitch. Especially not by Ron, fucking, Weasley.

She was sick of keeping secrets. She had taken too many steps tonight towards leaving the weight of the past behind her. She was determined to shed the pain that had held her down for so long. It was time for her to confront this once and for all.

"I'm a selfish bitch because I didn't want to believe that I might have had a baby by my rapist?" she finally called him out.

"I never raped you," denied Ron. He looked truly appalled, as though he couldn't believe she would accuse him of something so terrible. He shot up from his sitting position and slammed his hands on the desk as he stared her down with insistent intensity. "I never did that to you!"

"Call it whatever you want, Ron, but I didn't want to be with you that night. Last I checked, that's called rape," she sneered.

"The way I remember it, you wanted it more than I did," he pressed, in an attempt to provoke her, a sloppy grin plastered across his face.

It had worked. She felt suddenly furious. It took everything within her to not pull her wand out and do serious harm to him.

"I was grieving, and I wasn't thinking clearly. I was also so drunk that I could hardly walk!" she began to raise her voice. "I could barely lift my head without getting sick. I wasn't able to form coherent words and yet you thought for some reason that I was lucid enough to consent to having sex with you!?"

"You started to take your dress off for me," pressed Ron.

"I loosened my top before you even got there so that I could slip the flask of booze out of my dress, you fucking moron!" she lashed out.

"You let me on top of you."

"I couldn't get you off of me!" she corrected. "Were you not listening? I couldn't control my own body because I was so wasted. How in Merlin's name was I supposed to get your fat ass off of me? Tell me that? No answer? Because you don't care now and you didn't care then!" She was unapologetically shouting now as the intensity in the room grew hotter.

"You're just trying to convince yourself that I'm a worse alternative to the death eater you accidently made a baby with, you stupid bitch," seethed Ron. "This accusation is a pathetic attempt to justify your mistakes, and you're desperate. I can tell how much you regret that you never got to have a baby by me, but it's not my fault that you're a whore with no respect for yourself."

"I'm beyond glad that Sophia isn't yours!" she laughed in his face, which only served to make him angrier, but she was growing bolder and could care less about his ill-managed temper.

"What kind of self-hating muggle born woman gets knocked up by a death eater?" chastised Ron.

"I'd rather have a baby with any death eater in this world than have a child with you! You're a selfish pig and a fucking coward who can't admit that he's a rapist! Why can't you just admit that you raped me, Ron Weasley, you did!" she poked him square in the chest as she yelled and glared him down with fire in her eyes. She was done tip-toeing around the truth.

Ron grabbed her hand and pushed it roughly away from his chest, so hard that he nearly knocked Hermione down onto the floor. It was difficult for her to maintain her balance in the heels she was wearing, but she managed to regain her balance.

"Take that back," he seethed.

"I won't. You raped me," she persisted.

"No, I didn't!" he brashly shouted as he pushed her until she collapsed onto the floor.

"Ron!" she shouted in protest. She was about to pull herself back up using the corner of the desk but Ron rounded it too fast and knocked her back down again.

"Get a hold of yourself!" she pleaded as she started to realize how angry he really was as her shoulders crashed flatly onto the hard ground.

"Take it back then," he growled as he straddled her, gripped her wrist tightly and pinned her firmly down.

"Stop it! Get off of me, right now!"

"Do you still think I raped you Hermione? Because I'd be happy to show you what real rape actually looks like," he threatened as he squeezed her wrist to the point of pain.

Hermione struggled to buck him off of her as she thrashed between the grip of his thighs.

Ron squeezed her wrists even harder and raised them roughly above her head so he could hold her down with one of his hands and remove her wand with the other. He quickly found it slipped under the front of her dress and threw it across the room.

"Get the fuck off of me!" she demanded.

"Take back what you said," he pressed.

She spit in his face. "No! Look at you! You're a pathetic rapist and I hope you rot in hell! Now get the fuck off of me!"

Ron picked her up by her shoulders and then slammed her back down so that the back of her head slammed down with a loud resounding crack as it hit the hard floor. "I'm not a rapist!" he insisted as he screamed into her face.

"Then get off of me!" she begged as her head started to pound and spin.

"Not until you take it back."

"I'm not afraid of you," she spat defiantly through the taste of blood, realizing she'd bit her tongue when he bounced her head up against the floor.

Ron stared at her intensely, through a haze of madness. "Then you will be," he promised. "You want me to be the bad guy Hermione? You want me to be the rapist who ruined your life, do you?"

"I want you to get off of me," she repeated.

He ignored her cries and pleads. "If that's who you want me to be 'Mione, then that's who I'll have to be, I guess."

"Stop it Ron! Get off of me, right now!" Hermione thrashed about violently as he reached back and struggled to get her dress off. He barely managed to grasp the back zipper when her office door opened and Draco barged in trailed closely by Harry.

Draco didn't waste a moment as he lifted Ron off of Hermione, slammed him up against the wall, and violently threw his fist through his jaw.

"Take him now before I kill him," demanded Draco venomously as he held his shaking fist back from flying through Ron's face again. If he let himself strike Ron again, he wasn't ever going to stop. He just knew it.

Harry scrambled over to take hold of Ron. To Harry's surprise, Ron tried to pull away from his grasp, so he was forced to pull out his wand and bind his hands behind his back. "Stop it Ron. If you fight this, things will be worse for you," warned Harry.

While Harry restrained Ron, Draco abandoned his need to put an end to Ron's life and rushed over to Hermione's aid.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he frantically checked her over. Part of her dress was torn, her wrists were bruising, and her hair was all over the place; but other than that, she looked reasonably okay.

"He slammed my head back a few times, but I'm okay. He didn't seriously hurt me," she confirmed.

"No, you're bleeding," he noticed as a drabble of blood slowly ran down her lip as she spoke.

Hermione felt it run down and wiped away the blood on the back of her hand. "So I am."

"Where's your wand?"

"He threw it somewhere when he was on top of me."

"If you don't get him out of my sight, Potter. I will bloody murder him," he warned through strained breath as he held tightly onto Hermione and tried to control his raging temper. The idea of turning around and looking at Ron was too much to bear. He was going to lash out violently if he looked at him again, he just knew it.

Harry understood perfectly and started to lead Ron out of the room. "I don't know who you are anymore, mate." He remarked as he directed Ron towards the door.

"No, wait!" called out Hermione. "Help me up, please?" she asked Draco.

Draco stood up at her request and gently helped her up off the floor.

Hermione walked over to Ron and stopped directly in front of his face, confidant that Harry had a firm hold of him.

"You are a worthless pig and you raped me," she enunciated clearly.

Ron opened his mouth like he was about to argue with her again, but she slapped him sharply across the face. "No. You don't get to speak."

Ron adjusted his jaw and glared searing daggers at her.

She started over again. "You are a worthless pig, who raped me. You're going to die alone and that's exactly what you deserve. Out of respect for my daughter, because she loves your son dearly, and out of respect for your family and all they have done for me…I'm not going to out you for the disgusting rapist you are. But know this, if you ever try to speak to me again…if you even try to say hello to me, I will have you locked up in Azkaban for the rest of your life. I swear to you."

Ron bit his lip aggressively and refrained from speaking back to her.

"Do you understand me?"

Ron silently nodded.

Draco wasn't satisfied with that. He allowed Hermione to finish, but the moment she walked away, he took her place in front of the piece of trash. He wrapped his hand tightly around Ron's throat and Harry didn't bother to stop him.

Harry couldn't deny that he had seen Ron, who he thought was his best friend and a good man, straddling Hermione in an attempt to hurt and rape her. Whatever violence came Ron's way was more than deserved.

Draco took deep satisfaction in hearing and feeling Ron struggle to breathe as he kept a firm, tight grasp on his throat. "If you ever try to contact Hermione, or Sophia for that matter…" the thought of Ron interacting with his daughter in anyway pissed him off so severely he tightened his grasp to the point that Ron began to gag, but he didn't care.

He began again. "If you ever contact them, you'll never make it to a prison cell, because I will murder you horrifically. I promise you Weasel. You're lucky you're going to leave this room alive. You won't get a second chance."

Draco pushed hard against his throat one final time before he walked away from him. "Get him out of my sight," he spat in disgust.

"Gladly," complied Harry as he dragged Ron out of the room.

The moment they were gone, Draco enveloped Hermione in his arms and, once again, made sure she was going to be alright.

"Why on earth were you alone with him, baby?" he clutched her close to his chest and kissed her forehead long and hard, grateful that she was okay.

"He wanted to know why I didn't tell him that Sophia wasn't his all of this time. He was drunk and he was going to make a scene. I told him I'd give him five minutes to talk but then things got out of hand and I refused to back down. I needed to confront him for what he did to me," she was trembling from a mix of shock and adrenaline.

"I'm just relieved that I got here when I did," he expressed as he fretted over her.

"I am too. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you where we were going. I shouldn't have gone off alone with him."

"It's okay. It's not your fault that he tried to attack you."

Hermione clung onto Draco. "Can we just go home?"

Draco checked over her head again. "You said he slammed your head onto the floor?"

"Yeah"

"Does it hurt?"

"Quite a bit," she admitted.

"Where's your wand?" he asked.

"He threw is somewhere." She pointed to the area she thought Ron had tossed it.

Using a summoning charm, Draco retrieved it and brought it back to her. "Do you want me to fix it?"

"No," she started to shake her head but stopped as he felt the pain of her ebbing head. Cringing, she insisted on doing it herself. "I've got it."

Draco watched as she healed herself with a couple simple charms. Hermione was disheveled and still she looked undeniably beautiful to him. "I'm proud of you, though."

"For putting myself in a dangerous situation again?" she tried to laugh it off, but in truth, she was incredibly shaken by what had just occurred.

"No," he grasped her hand in his. "For standing up for yourself. What he did to you, all those years ago, it wasn't right and he deserved to be held accountable."

"You're not mad that I'm not going to press charges?" she asked, nervously.

"What you need to do to have closure is entirely up to you. I'll support you in whatever you need, love. Of course I'm not mad. I meant what I said though, if he ever tries to approach you or Sophia, I'll put him in the ground."

"I know that you will," she clutched on him again, and let her head rest tiredly on his shoulder. "Let's just go to bed and put all of this behind us."

"Gladly," Draco scooped her up into his strong arms and carried his beautiful prize all the way down to his room where he put her to sleep in his bed, grateful that he could watch over her through the rest of the night and keep her safe.

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A.N: I have this fic finished, just been struggling to find time to edit. A lot has been happening lately in my career, family life, and friend life. Sorry that real life trumps fanfic life sometimes. Thanks for being understanding.

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