I'm going to rate this chapter M for some of the content, so I apologise in advance if you are offended in any way.
Disclaimer: I own NUFFINK.
Chapter 5
Hermione watched happily as Blaise took Olivia by the hand and took her to lunch; he was such a gentleman. She yawned and sat on a comfy stool behind the cash register and waited for a customer to enter the shop. Her short nap that morning hadn't given her enough energy to be focused on anything for more than two minutes. It was unusually quiet that day and Hermione was bored. She grabbed a sandwich from her bag and was about to eat it when a man in a long, black trench coat entered the store. He had lank brown hair and his eyes were hard, grey and unfeeling. He had a plastic bag with him with what looked like leaves poking out of the top. He placed it down at his feet when he arrived at the desk and Hermione hastily put away her ham sandwich and smiled tiredly at the man.
"Hermione Granger?" The man had a nasal voice which Hermione immediately disliked. "Do you remember me?"
"Er, can't say I do, to be honest. Sorry." She added, sounding quite bored.
"I'm Theodore Nott; I went to Hogwarts, remember?" He raised a brow.
"Oh right, part of Malfoy's minions, right?" She questioned, placing her hands on her hips, preparing herself for an onslaught of insults.
Something flashed in Theo's eyes, but she couldn't place it. Was it anger, guilt even hurt? "I wouldn't quite say that," He replied slowly. "I never really tended to stick around with him."
"Oh." Was all Hermione could say. She felt bad about jumping to conclusions, but what else was she supposed to do?
"Yeah." An awkward silence fell on the pair.
"So, do you want some books?" Hermione asked feebly.
"Actually, I came to give you something." He flashed a smile, but it was fake; it certainly did not reach his eyes and Hermione was immediately put on guard. Her hand rested on her wand in her back pocket, ready to whip it out.
"But before I give it to you," He began, bending to pick up the bag. Hermione took her chance to take her wand and hold it under the desk. "I need to tell you something."
Hermione was extremely wary. Yes, she had befriended a Slytherin and almost another, but still. Some could not be trusted. "Yes?"
"Hermione, you're beautiful. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met." Theodore blurted out much to Hermione's surprise. This was certainly unexpected. "Ever since the Yule Ball…" he trailed off and she saw his mask had been dropped. His eyes were pleading with her and his hands clenched at the bag he held tightly in his grasp. "When you defeated the Dark Lord, I was amazed at your strength and courage; when I heard you were dating that stupid man Barnabus Gaul – especially after Weasley -," his face twisted into a look of outrage. "I was so angry. He wasn't good enough for you. He would never be. I found out the way he had treated you and I was incensed. It took me four years to track him down, and when I did…"
Hermione gasped and tightly held her wand. He killed Barnabus!
"He had no idea who I was, obviously, and I cursed and tortured him and then finished him off. It was fairly amusing; I left a plant next to him with a sweet little note."
"Did you attack Ron?" Hermione whispered as she backed away from the desk slightly.
Theodore threw back his head and let out a maniacal laugh. "Of course I did! And I would have killed him if it weren't for his stupid sister."
"But why? What has he done to you?"
"He dated you, Hermione! He almost forced you to have sex with him! And then he went and cheated on you after you repeatedly said no!"
"Don't be daft! Ron never cheated on me." Hermione scoffed. What was this guy getting at?
"Are you sure?" Theodore asked coldly. "It was a well-known fact that you two were together and when Weasley came into the Leaky Cauldron where I was having a drink, followed by that Brown girl demanding a room, I just knew what was going on."
"So, inevitably, you would attack him sometime. But why?" Hermione said angrily. "How come you didn't do it sooner? Why has it taken you about four or five years to finally come round to doing it?"
Theo seemed puzzled. "I wasn't sure. Maybe because I was waiting to kill Gaul first."
"So, what are you doing here then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Theodore stepped swiftly round the desk and grabbed Hermione's wrists, dropping the plastic bag. Hermione saw a twisting Fanged Geranium roll on the floor and she tried to scream, but Theodore clamped his mouth on hers in rough kiss. "Don't want to alert anyone do we?" He licked his lips feverishly and smiled. "You're gorgeous and you're mine."
Hermione was pushed up against the wall and her wand was ripped from her grasp. Theodore flicked his own and the shop door locked as well as the curtains closing over the windows.
Hermione was helpless. She tried kicking and punching, even biting, but he was too strong. His tongue licked the side of her face; she almost retched.
"I can taste your fear…" He sounded crazy. Hell, he was crazy. Hermione let out a whimper as he vanished her shirt and bra, leaving her topless. "I've imagined this day for years." He hissed in her ear. A hand roughly kneaded her breast and she cried out in pain. "You're more beautiful than I thought." He lowered his face to her neck and began to lick and suck up and down her smooth skin. His finger felt her breast and then her nipple which he flicked and rubbed gently. Much to her displeasure, but not to his, her nipple hardened and his mouth moved down to kiss and suck the swollen mound.
She realised that one hand was free and she chopped it down on his shoulder. He drew in a sharp breath and then snarled "Incacerous." Thick ropes bound Hermione's wrists and ankles together, preventing her from moving or attacking him further.
He pushed the cash register and all the contents from on top of the desk onto the floor. Hermione was pushed onto the table and forced to lie down where Theodore then vanished her skirt. She was left in only her knickers; her shoes and tights had been ripped off her body. Tears began to pour from her eyes and down her cheeks. This was not how she imagined her first time. She wanted it to be on her wedding night, with the man she would spend the rest of her life with. Why was life so unfair to her?
She felt his hands roam her body before resting above the elastic of her underwear. He started to pull them down her legs when a loud crack filled the air.
"Granger. Potter wanted…shit. What the fuck?"
Red light filled the room and Hermione screamed through her tears in relief. She was saved.
"Shit, Granger!" Malfoy's worried face appeared blurry through her eyes as she opened them. "What the hell happened?" He waved his wand and the ropes vanished. Hermione rubbed her wrists and sat up, aware that she was naked. Strangely, she didn't give a damn whether Malfoy could plainly see. She was so relieved that she had escaped, no, rescued. Hermione threw her arms around Malfoy's neck and hugged him, collapsing in more tears. He rubbed her back hesitantly and when she didn't object, Malfoy held her closer. "Where are your clothes?" He whispered softly in her ear.
"G-gone." She swallowed and pulled back from the embrace suddenly embarrassed.
Determined not to look below her neckline, Malfoy transfigured the broken cash register into a thick, warm blanket which he wrapped around Hermione's shaking figure. He suddenly remembered the person he stupefied and knelt down next to the motionless body. His brows rose so high they almost touched his hairline.
"Theo? Theodore Nott?" He asked Hermione who nodded dumbly. "Shit." He ran a hand through his hair and ruffled it, thinking. "Right, let's get you to Pansy's. Is this yours?" He picked up her wand from the floor and she mumbled a thank you.
"Are you going to contact Harry?" Hermione whispered, clutching the blanket around her body tighter.
"Yeah," Malfoy waved his wand and a ferret bounced around the room once before shooting off through a wall.
Hermione managed to crack a small smile. "A ferret, huh?"
Malfoy scowled. "I'm very sensitive about that. Please don't mention it again."
She let out a small laugh but then fell silent as Malfoy took her hand. "It's to Apparate. Or would you rather me take your arm?"
Hermione shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
He almost smiled but then turned on the spot and Apparated with Hermione glued to his side.
Pansy screamed and dropped her coffee when they arrived in her living room. "Bloody hell, what's all this about?"
"Nott attacked her. I arrived to give her a message from Potter just as he was about to…" he stole a glance at Hermione before continuing. "…rape her."
Pansy grabbed Hermione and hugged her tightly. "Oh, Hermione. Sit down; let me make you some tea."
She ran off to the kitchen and Malfoy stood awkwardly in the room. "Uh, well, I'll get back to Potter…"
"No!" Hermione cried, almost getting out of the seat Pansy had her forced into.
"Sit down, Granger." Malfoy pushed her gently back down onto the sofa. "And why don't you want me to go?" He smirked.
Hermione blushed. "J-just stay. Please."
"I'll stay until Potter calls me over." Malfoy sat next to her on the sofa and fiddled with his wand.
The fireplace burst into green flames and Ron stepped out, holding a bunch of flowers. He spotted Malfoy on the sofa and glared at him. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?"
"Hello to you too. I don't know if you realised, but Pansy is my friend. And shouldn't you be in St. Mungo's?" Malfoy drawled, raising an eyebrow.
"They released me an hour ago after fixing all my cuts." He suddenly realised Hermione was on the sofa next to Malfoy. "Hermione! What are you doing here? Why aren't you working? What's happened to you? Where are your clothes?"
"What's with all the questions, Weasel?" Malfoy answered before Hermione could open her mouth.
"I wasn't talking to you dick of a ferret." Ron snarled throwing the flowers on a table.
"Ron, please. He saved my life." Hermione said quietly.
Ron's furious expression dropped. "What do you mean he saved your life?"
"She was almost raped, Ronald." Pansy handed a steaming mug to Hermione who sipped the contents gratefully.
Malfoy rolled his eyes; Pansy was so blunt.
Ron paled and his blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Hermione, who did this? I'll make sure they pay."
"Ron, Harry's dealing with it now. Anyway, you've just got out of St. Mungo's. You need to rest." There was a thought nagging at the back of Hermione's mind as she spoke. "Ron, can you answer this question truthfully, please?"
"Of course."
Hermione took a deep breath and frowned. "Did you ever cheat on me with Lavender?"
Malfoy tried to keep a straight face when he saw Ron swallow nervously, and his ears turn red. He was going to receive a bollocking.
"Yes," he whispered in a strangled voice. "But only once. And it was four years ago, Hermione! Why are you bringing this up now?" His voice grew steadily louder.
"Don't shout at her." Draco growled, unaware that he had spoken and defended Hermione Granger. Three pairs of eyes watched him in amazement.
Hermione shook her head and then turned back to Ron. "Please, Ron. Why?"
"Because you didn't want to have sex and I could tell that we weren't going to stay together for much longer."
"Then why didn't you break it off?" Hermione asked, hurt. "Instead of waiting for me to finally finish it, you could have done it yourself, gone and shagged Lavender and we wouldn't be having this conversation because it wouldn't matter!"
"Hermione, I'm sorry!" Ron shrank under her glare.
"Who told you?" Pansy asked, frowning.
Hermione blushed. "Theodore Nott."
Malfoy snarled, Pansy huffed and Ron just looked confused. "When did you see him?"
"See him, Ronald? He didn't see me! He almost raped me!" Hermione screamed wildly, tears beginning to spill from her eyes again.
Ron's eyes widened. "Shit, Hermione. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for what I did to you? I'm so sorry." He repeated, kneeling down and taking her hands.
Malfoy almost rubbed her back again to soothe her, but decided against it with Weasel here.
"You better not cheat on me, Ron Weasley!" Pansy hissed dangerously, slapping Ron on the back of his head.
"Ow! No, of course not! I was young and stupid, then!
"You still are," muttered Malfoy, receiving a glare from Ron and Pansy.
Suddenly, through the wall, Harry's patronus jumped over their heads and spoke, "Malfoy, take Hermione with you to my office."
As soon as the Stag disappeared, Ron began to argue, "Why does he have to take her? Why can't Pans', me or Ginny take her?"
"Because I'm an Auror, Weasley; it's my job." Malfoy explained slowly.
"Why can't Harry do it then?" Ron demanded.
Malfoy stood up and gently pulled Hermione to her feet. "I cannot be bothered to argue, about something so simple to understand, with you, Weasel. Are you ready, Granger?" He added to Hermione in a softer voice.
"Can we go to my flat first please, so I can grab some clothes?" Hermione asked quietly, placing her hand on Malfoy's arm for side along Apparition.
Before Ron could protest, Malfoy had nodded and Apparated them both to her apartment.
*
Hermione dried her hair and body with her wand as she stepped out of the shower. She grabbed her clothes from the chair in her bathroom, slipped them on and met Malfoy out in her living room.
"Nice place you got here, Granger." He remarked, gesturing to the modern paintings on the wall, and the comfy furniture. "Got your mini library sorted then."
Hermione followed his gaze to a part of her room which was overflowing with books. "Yeah, I need get more room for them. Can we go? I want to get Harry's questioning over and done with, to be honest. I don't want to have to think about what happened for longer than I need to." Hermione averted her gaze from Malfoy as he watched her with an unreadable expression.
"Sure," he said quietly. "We'll go by floo though."
Hermione watched as Malfoy quickly disappeared, and then she stepped up to her fireplace with the green powder and flooed to Harry's office. She coughed slightly as she tripped over a raised stone and Malfoy's arm grabbed her waist before she could fall over.
"Thank you." She mumbled, embarrassed.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, once her had seen her arrive. "Crap, are you alright? I can't believe that happened; Theodore Nott? Who would have believed it?"
"Neither can I, to be honest, Harry. I guess you want to question me about it, right?"
Before answering Hermione, Harry shifted slightly and glanced in Malfoy's direction. "Well, seeing as Malfoy saved you…I was thinking that he should."
Hermione sighed. She was too tired to argue. "Right, whatever. Ferret, let's begin."
I hope that was fairly realistic. Please leave comments; I'd love to hear them. Seriously. Thanks!!