After their first meeting Hermione didn't think she would get the opportunity to see Draco again, what with her anxiety fuelled by the constant fear of being caught by Ron and the horrendous things he would do to her if he did catch her in the presence of Draco. But then she couldn't resist herself as she saw him in the library the next day, seated in the exact spot she had found him the day before.

Then her meetings with him became more and more frequent, and when she missed them she felt herself decline into a state of withdrawal, where she felt if she didn't see him she would die by the hands of boredom. They were her escape; the literal highlight of her weeks and an escape from her grim reality of her relationship with Ron.

Draco was such a fun person to be around that whenever she was around him he exuded an energy so striking that it sunk into her and revived her from the clutches of melancholy.

On this particular day they were still seated on their usual seats in the library, except there were no books in front of them and they had managed to sneak in some snacks, even though they were strictly prohibited.

"Okay what do you think about pineapple on pizza?" Draco asked, as he dipped his hand into the bag of chips that they had concealed under the desk.

"Ah the age old debate… well personally I enjoy it." She chuckled as Draco made a sound of indignantion as he chewed. "What, it tastes great! I swear it's delicious, we'll get some someday."

"Hermione… Do you really deserve to keep your tongue after the harsh treatment you seem to be subjecting it to? I mean really, pineapple on pizza, it's bloody aweful!" He said, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

"But it is good!" She argued. "Nope, Nope, I don't even want to look at you now!" Draco said, turning away from her. Her chuckles permeated the otherwise quiet atmosphere. The two of them were on thin ice with Mrs Pince.

"So Granger," He asked, as her chuckles died down. "You hardly speak about your boyfriend. Why's that?" The smile on Hermione's face dropped. "W-why should I talk about him?"

"Well since I figured that we're now friends we should share some personal aspects of our lives with each other. Or do you not speak about him because you're ashamed?" His face looked bored, but Hermione could make out the ire burning hot in his eyes, waiting to be unleashed. Hermione felt her stomach drop to her feet. Did he know that something was up? Did he know that Ron was beating her?

"We've only been speaking for a few weeks, I highly doubt that that suddenly grants you a permit into my personal life ." She snapped. Draco smirked at her. That damned smirk. If she wasn't anxious and enraged it would've flustered her. "Oh, I shouldn't be concerned when I spot what looks like a fading bruise on your arm? What excuse are you going to use, 'I fell' or perhaps the classic 'he didn't mean it'" He said bitterly. Hermione looked away, her eyes burning with tears. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Draco bit the inside of his cheek. "Oh what makes you think I don't? Granger, I know the signs far too well, and if you don't do something the end results will be detrimental." He said.

Anger flared within Hermione, coursing through every bone in her body. Before she could restrain herself, she swung at him, her palm connecting with the side of his face, the sound of flesh on flesh echoing loudly throughout the room catching everyone, including Mrs Pince's attention.

Draco stared at her, his face stoic as he clutched his cheek. Hermione's palm began to sting. "I don't ever want to see you again!" She growled, and with a rough yank, she pulled her bag onto her shoulder, in the process spilling the open packet of chips onto the carpet.

Hermione felt tears trickle down her face, horror clawing through her insides as she realised what she had done. Why, just why had she done that? It wasn't her intention to lash out like that, but his accusations genuinely scared her. What if went to the police, what would happen to her if Ron was taken away? And many times before, he had threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone, and now Draco knew.

People stared at her weirdly, like she was some mental case, which only made the tears fall harder.

She roughly opened the door, and entered, dropping her bag by the threshold. "Hermione?" Ron called, as Hermione walked into the kitchen. At the sound of her boyfriend's footsteps she wiped her tears and put on her best façade.

"Love, you're back early!" He reached for her, pulling her into an amorous embrace. His lips pressed against hers, heavy and dry, his large form hovering over her making her feel overwhelmed. The smell of his cologne sickened her. Before she could restrain herself she found herself shoving him off of her.

Her heartbeats where quick palpitations that she was sure were audible to even Ron. He stared at her, eyes suspicious.

"How was your day?" He asked slowly.

"Fine." She said, before walking away from the kitchen. Ron followed. "Was it? Because I've been having a shitty day without you, come snuggle with me." He urged. Hermione was in no mood to entertain Ron or his bullshit moods. "Ron, I'm tired. Please leave me alone I've had a stressful day." She said, as she got herself a drink to cool her parched throat.

"Oh is it? Because I fail to see why you would even be tired when you didn't attend any of your classes today. Oh my mistake, you must be tired from all that fucking you did today with your new platinum blonde beau, eh?" Ron spat. Hermione froze, an icy feeling running though her body. She felt her heart stop. Hermione turned, and faced Ron whose caring demeanour from a few minutes ago had disappeared. It was then and there that she knew that the retribution he had to dish out would be three times more painful than the ones he usually gave.

"What are you talking about, I—"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB YOU STUPID WHORE!" He yelled, causing Hermione to give a startled squeal and shrink back into herself. "And don't you dare fucking lie to me, who the hell was that bloke?"

Play oblivious, was the only thing that resonated in her head. "W-who are you talking about, I literally go to the library alone." She lied, although her shaky voice must've given her away. He chuckled, the sound harsh and menacing. "Oh so we're going to play like this huh?"

She felt his large hands wrap around her neck and drag her forward, cutting off her air circulation. Hermione croaked as he squeezed her neck, her fingers attempting to claw his hand from her neck but they wouldn't budge. "Stop acting stupid, I know you were with that stupid blonde prick that you were eye fucking at that party a few weeks back!" He growled, slamming her head against the wall. His eyes were dark with ire and jealousy.

He released her, his large hand leaving a purple imprint on her ethereal neck. Hermione took the deep gulps of air that she was previously deprived of.

She opened her mouth to speak, the words barely leaving her mouth before she felt her head snap to the side with the force of a smack, her mouth filling with the coppery taste of blood. She looked up at him with terrified eyes and in his eyes she saw a man who was capable of murder, who had no inhibitions when it came to hurting her.

Sometimes she didn't know whether she was looking at a man or a monster.

Her body pained after what felt like hours of his violence. She carefully picked herself up, her body aching in protest with every movement she made. She carefully shuffled to the bedroom, breathing heavily after every fifth step, until she got to their bedroom. There she threw herself onto the bed (wincing), and buried her head in one of the pillows. Then she began to cry, weeping for the past her that was a stranger to abuse. The past her that was carefree and fun.

Hours later she heard the click of the TV switching off and the house filling with absolute silence. She heard the shuffling of his feet as he approached the bedroom. Her heart froze as she felt his side of the bed sink and smelt the offensive scent of his cologne. Her skin burnt hotter than hell as she felt his calloused hands on her body. His I love you drove knives into her heart.

And deep into the night, when his loud snores filled the air and her own sleep couldn't locate her, she decided that that wasn't the life she wanted.