p class="MsoNormal""Draco!" Hermione cried, louder than either of them had expected. Draco hurriedly pushed his glasses up his nose, covering his injury once more./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
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p class="MsoNormal""Shh." He muttered, stuffing the bearclaw in his mouth as if to swallow back the rest of his words. Hermione felt lightheaded. She thought of her own parents, tried to imagine them hitting her. The idea seemed completely foreign. "Draco!" She repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. Draco shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I've had worse." He muttered. Hermione bit her lip, her mind felt fractured. "I-I don't know how to handle this." She admitted. To her surprise, he recoiled in his chair. "No one asked you to." He said fiercely. Hermione gazed at him, stunned, her eyes wide with shock. A buzzing seemed to be growing inside her head, drowning out every sensible thought. "I-I don't know." She said, confused. Hermione rose from her seat, feeling out of control of her own body. "I'm-I'm sorry." She cast her words behind her as she stumbled towards the sidewalk./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
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p class="MsoNormal"In that moment she wasn't sure what she wanted more, for Draco to drag her back, or to get away from him. Her decision was made for her as she made it to the crosswalk and hurried across as the light changed. As she stepped onto the curb on the opposite, she almost turned back, but then the turmoil of Draco's life seemed to permeate every atom of her being and, terrified, she ran. Hermione ran and ran. Past the University, past the college's married housing, even past her own home. She ran until her heart felt as though as it would burst. Only then did she collapse on a nearby park bench. Tears pricked her eyes and she let them flow. Every emotion seemed to pour through her. She was angry at Draco for dumping all of this on her. She was distraught, broken, at his circumstances. Everything was so terribly overwhelming. Sniffling, she tried to dry her tears with the backs of her hands. Suddenly realizing what a picture she must look, she dug in her bag for a napkin, but came up with the shortbreads instead. She smiled at the little package, clutching them like a lifeline. Hermione ripped the plastic open and bit into a cookie, a warm spot of happiness growing within her. Maybe not everything was hopeless. By the time she had finished the package, she felt more like her old self. Perhaps things were not hopeless. Sure, she was out of her depth, but acknowledging that fact was the first step. She had a sudden vision of Draco sitting at the coffee shop and she felt a pang within herself. Why had she run away? She knew she had only been overwhelmed, afraid, but what must Draco think?/p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
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p class="MsoNormal""Shh." He muttered, stuffing the bearclaw in his mouth as if to swallow back the rest of his words. Hermione felt lightheaded. She thought of her own parents, tried to imagine them hitting her. The idea seemed completely foreign. "Draco!" She repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. Draco shook his head. "Don't worry about it, I've had worse." He muttered. Hermione bit her lip, her mind felt fractured. "I-I don't know how to handle this." She admitted. To her surprise, he recoiled in his chair. "No one asked you to." He said fiercely. Hermione gazed at him, stunned, her eyes wide with shock. A buzzing seemed to be growing inside her head, drowning out every sensible thought. "I-I don't know." She said, confused. Hermione rose from her seat, feeling out of control of her own body. "I'm-I'm sorry." She cast her words behind her as she stumbled towards the sidewalk./p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal" /p
p class="MsoNormal"In that moment she wasn't sure what she wanted more, for Draco to drag her back, or to get away from him. Her decision was made for her as she made it to the crosswalk and hurried across as the light changed. As she stepped onto the curb on the opposite, she almost turned back, but then the turmoil of Draco's life seemed to permeate every atom of her being and, terrified, she ran. Hermione ran and ran. Past the University, past the college's married housing, even past her own home. She ran until her heart felt as though as it would burst. Only then did she collapse on a nearby park bench. Tears pricked her eyes and she let them flow. Every emotion seemed to pour through her. She was angry at Draco for dumping all of this on her. She was distraught, broken, at his circumstances. Everything was so terribly overwhelming. Sniffling, she tried to dry her tears with the backs of her hands. Suddenly realizing what a picture she must look, she dug in her bag for a napkin, but came up with the shortbreads instead. She smiled at the little package, clutching them like a lifeline. Hermione ripped the plastic open and bit into a cookie, a warm spot of happiness growing within her. Maybe not everything was hopeless. By the time she had finished the package, she felt more like her old self. Perhaps things were not hopeless. Sure, she was out of her depth, but acknowledging that fact was the first step. She had a sudden vision of Draco sitting at the coffee shop and she felt a pang within herself. Why had she run away? She knew she had only been overwhelmed, afraid, but what must Draco think?/p