Back with another update! This chapter is basically a filler chapter but it's necessary. Besides, it's nothing but Dramione interaction so I know you'll love it. Also, this chapter is kind of depressing but that's expected.
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING
"You brought him here, make him leave! Make him go away!"
Draco finally caught her hands in his as he stared at her as if he'd just been electrocuted. Hermione yanked her hands trying to get them free.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said as she collapsed in his arms, bringing them both to their knees.
"Make him leave, please," she sobbed into his neck.
Malfoy tightened his arms around her as he stared into the darkness with eyes as cold as ice.
"Granger…we can't stay here," Malfoy whispered as he lifted her to her feet.
Hermione registered his words as she gently lifted her head and looked around, finally realizing where they were. She could hear faint footsteps coming up the corridor and her eyes widened.
"They can't see me…not like this. No one can see me like this," she cried hysterically.
"I know, that's why we have to go. Can you…," Malfoy trailed off as he looked down with a frown.
Hermione shakily stood on her own but immediately collapsed in his arms again.
"Oh God, oh God," she quietly chanted, panicked.
"Granger…Granger," he repeated, getting her attention.
She looked up at him.
"I'm going to have to carry you. Is that alright? Can I do that," he asked.
She reluctantly nodded.
"Okay, here we go," he said as he leaned down and swooped her up into his arms.
He briskly walked away from the direction of the footsteps and glanced behind them as he turned the corner. Draco's mind was buzzing with so many thoughts as he carried the distraught Gryffindor towards the Prefect's bathroom. He wasn't even aware of the fact that her tears were soaking his custom made shirt; it wasn't important. Draco knew who had done this. That much was obvious by her reaction towards him but…he just had a hard time wrapping his head around it. He exhaled as he stepped into the room and sat her down beside the pool sized tub.
As he turned on the taps he glanced at the silent girl out of the corner of his eye. Her expression was vacant, giving no indication as to what was going on inside of her head. Although it wasn't hard to guess. He took this time to examine her, assess the damage and move on from there. Her face was still wet with oncoming tears and her hair was much more unruly than normal. He noticed that her tie was missing as well as her socks. The revealed skin showcased hand shaped bruises. Her shirt was torn, revealing the frightening amount of love bites scattered across her chest and…she was still bleeding. He averted his eyes, a little more than uncomfortable that someone he knew very well had done this.
He should have said something. He should have said something that day in class when his father had given her detention. He had known that something wasn't right, he could tell and he had tried to convey that with his eyes but her focus had been solely on his father. Draco had stared her down, looking between the two as his father taunted her, but she didn't look his way, not once. He mentally scoffed. What were his eyes going to do? He should have said something with his mouth not his eyes. Draco was a coward…and he knew it.
He clenched his jaw in anger as he turned the taps off, anger at his father and anger at himself. The amount of fury simmering inside of him took him by surprise. As of late he had practically been indifferent towards the know-it-all. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had kissed her and he wasn't even sure why. Ever since they had gotten back to school he had found himself staring at her more and more. Then there they had been, in the library. He had been more than frustrated about the cabinet and she was so close and she smelled so good…. So he kissed her and she had kissed him back. Now, that didn't mean that he liked her. She was fun to tease and he definitely enjoyed getting a rise out of her but that was about it. Still…, he thought as he turned to look at her. He would never wish this upon his worst enemy.
"Granger."
She looked up, startled, seemingly forgetting where she was. She gazed up at him as he stood. He gestured to the water.
"Um," he trailed off, not really knowing what to say.
I ran you a bath so that you could scrub off my father's filth. He shook his head with a frown.
"I'll be-"
"Don't-"
She cut herself off as she stared at him with an unreadable expression. Draco didn't need her to finish. He nodded, signaling that he understood.
"I'll be right outside," he said before turning and exiting the bathroom.
He leaned his head against the corridor wall and stared up at the ceiling as he heard the splash of water inside. What was he going to do? They were going to Dumbledore; that much was obvious. There was no way that Granger would want to see his father anywhere else aside from Azkaban. Draco didn't even want to think about what that would bring upon him. It didn't matter. All summer he had done nothing but complain to Nott about how he had to get out, how he couldn't bring himself to be like the rest of them. He was definitely no saint, but Draco didn't think himself completely...malevolent. This was his chance to do the right thing. He would be damned if he wound up just like his father.
His hands rolled into fists against the wall as he thought about him. All his life his father had spewed nothing but 'blood purity' this and 'filthy mudbloods' that. Why would he go out of his way and…? Draco shook his head, refusing to dwell on what had happened tonight. His eyes traveled towards the bathroom with a worried frown. He had grown up with Lucius, so he knew without a doubt that he was a sadistic son of a bitch. What had Granger endured? His stomach churned and his vision swam at the thought of Granger pinned beneath his father, uselessly screaming for help. He rested his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths. Why was this affecting him so?
He righted himself as his vision began to clear and took note of the silence. Why was there no water splashing? He ran into the bathroom and stilled at the scene before him. Granger was gritting her teeth as she was literally scrubbing herself raw. He noticed that the water around her was lightly tinged pink with her blood, fresh blood.
"Granger," he panicked as he ran over to the tub.
He leaned down to snatch her hands but she threw herself away from him. Without thinking he jumped into the water and reached for her. He shouldn't have been surprised when she lashed out at him before backing away, eyes hardened as she stared him down. He raised his hands in caution as he gazed at her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but Granger, I think that's enough," he gestured to her arms, red and peeling from her harsh scrubbing.
She slowly looked down at her skin before looking at him. Draco felt an unfamiliar emotion bubbling inside of him as she stared at him, tears threatening to spill over.
"I…I can still feel him. I can smell him and it won't-it won't go away," she sobbed.
Draco swallowed as he pulled himself out of the water before conjuring a robe. He reached down and helped her out, looking away as she wrapped the robe around herself.
"I'll walk you to your common room."
He wanted to take her straight to Dumbledore but he wouldn't press the issue just yet.
"No," she protested as she frantically shook her head.
"No? Where am I supposed to take you," he incredulously asked.
"I don't care! You just…you can't take me there. They can't see me like this, they can't know."
Draco stared at her as if she had grown a second head. She didn't want anyone to know? He stopped himself from saying something that would upset her and nodded instead.
"Okay. Let's go then."
The walk to the seventh floor was quiet. Draco found himself glancing at Granger several times, making sure she hadn't completely cracked yet. It was very unnerving to see someone he knew to be strong and fiery reduced to…this. Of course he would never tell her this in a million years but Granger had way more guts than he. She was a force to be reckoned with and now because of his father she was…broken.
She watched him walk past the wall a few times before a door appeared. He opened it and ushered her inside, looking down the corridors before following her in. She jumped a bit as the door closed behind him. Draco took in the room as Hermione stepped forward. It was a simple place to sleep. There was a queen sized bed in front of them with a nightstand on the left and a chair on the right. He watched as Granger crawled onto the bed before sinking into the plush covers. Draco opened his mouth to bid her goodnight when she said something that startled him.
"Don't leave me alone…," she whispered.
Draco stared at her still form, unsure of what to do. They practically hated each other most of the time and now she wanted him to stay with her because of something his father had done. She should be throwing him out.
"Please…"
He said nothing but sat in the chair beside the bed regardless.
"I'll be right here."
Her face was wet with tears as she turned her head away from his demanding lips, but his strong hand reached up and turned her head towards his. She screamed into his mouth as it covered her own…
Her fingers gripped the sheets as her head tossed to the side.
"Stop! Please, stop," she begged as nothing but pain flooded her senses…
She could feel the heat in the room rising.
Her hair flew as her head was sharply turned to the side from the force of the slap…
She panted as her head tossed to the other side as if she could shake the memories out of her mind.
He rolled off of her and she threw herself away from him, feet anticipated in escape but he was not through with her yet. She shrieked as she was yanked back and thrown onto her stomach…
She let out a panicked whimper.
She closed her eyes, waiting for it to be over as he nipped and sucked at the skin on her neck…
Someone was with her. Someone was touching her
Hermione's scalp burned from the harsh tugs on her hair and her throat was raw from her screams. She stared past his shoulders and was only mildly aware of his fingers brushing against her ankles as he slipped her shoes onto her feet. He stood from his kneeling position, bringing her with him. She shrunk away as his fingers ran across her cheek before gripping her jaw, bringing her forward into a bruising kiss.
"No!"
She sat up and struck out, connecting with someone as she screamed.
"Granger, it's me!"
"Get off of me," she shrieked as she shoved against his hands.
"Stop! It's me, Malfoy!"
"No, no," she cried as she kicked out.
"No, it's Malfoy. Draco. It's Draco," he screamed.
Hermione paused as her vision cleared. Her heart was like a jackhammer in her chest and it sounded like water was rushing into her ears. Her hair was beginning to stick to her face with sweat and the robe around her was too suffocating. She focused on the fair skin and short fair hair before her eyes finally landed on his. She immediately looked away as they reminded her of another pair.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"You don't-"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she chanted.
"Granger it's-"
"I'm so sorry," she began to sob.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Granger," he quietly responded.
She gasped out a sob as tears spilled down her face and she leaned her head forward. How long would it be before she'd finally be able to sleep without reliving it? Malfoy awkwardly rested his hand on her upper back as she cried into his shoulder. The only sound in the room was her harsh weeps.
"You should go," she whispered at last.
"I'm not leaving you here by yourself," he responded.
"I shouldn't have asked you to stay," she said.
"Deal with it."
"Why are you helping me," she demanded, suddenly angry as she sat up to face him.
She watched as he evenly stared at her as if he had been expecting her anger.
"Do you feel guilty," she fired at him.
"I don't know. Maybe…," he shrugged as he stared at her.
She looked away at the intensity of his gaze.
"Is he here because of you," she asked.
"Granger-"
"Is he," she demanded as she turned to face him.
Malfoy looked away.
"Yes. He's keeping an eye on me," he finally said.
She looked away again. It was extremely hard for her to not blame Malfoy for what had happened. Blaming him was completely irrational. If anything, she only had herself to blame. She knew that he had it out for her and her friends. He was dangerous yet she still had lost focus during his class, she had let her guard down. She still hadn't told Harry and Ron about what had happened that first day in class. Maybe if she had said something to them then they would have gone to Dumbledore and he would have been fired, or at the very least punished to the point where he would have been too scared to even approach her. Better yet, she should have refused to clean his quarters. It wasn't a proper task for detention and she had known that. She had just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible with little to no conflict.
"This wasn't your fault."
Her head snapped to the side to stare at Malfoy. He looked different, less…intimidating somehow as he stared at her.
"It was written all over your face," he answered her silent question.
She looked down, unsure of how to respond.
"I'm sorry, Granger. I know that we're at each other's throat ninety percent of the time but despite what you and your friends may think, I am not heartless. I would have never wished this upon you. You didn't deserve this," he said.
"I don't need your pity nor do I want it. I appreciate your help but tomorrow morning you are still a Death Eater's son and I am still Hermione Granger. This changes nothing," she snapped.
Her mind disagreed with her mouth. This changes everything and you know it. She looked up, startled, as he suddenly rose to his feet.
"This changes everything!"
"Why are you so adamant on helping me? You hate my kind," she hissed as she too stood.
"Is it really so hard to believe that I would willingly help someone who is in dire need of it," he asked.
"Yes, it is," she coldly responded, fighting the urge to look away from his eyes.
He frowned. She could see that her words had hurt him and she honestly didn't know why. Draco Malfoy knew exactly who he was. She looked away, she couldn't be bothered about his feelings right now.
"Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but it doesn't change the fact that I am not leaving you here alone. I…I'm going to help you. I'll even go to Professor Dumbledore with you. I'll tell him everything if you don't want to," she heard him say.
She turned around to face him with a horrified expression on her face.
"I-I can't go to Dumbledore. I can't tell anyone," she frantically whispered, eyes watering.
Hermione sharply inhaled as his words replayed through her head. I'd hate for your friends to get hurt because you opened your big mouth. She shook her head as he stepped towards her.
"What are you talking about? What are you going to do then, just let this go," he demanded.
Hermione felt the tears spill over as she slowly sat down on the bed. She looked up in surprise as Malfoy knelt down before her.
"You can't let him get away with this. What did he say to you? What did he say to keep your mouth shut," he asked.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered.
"Yes it-"
"Malfoy, this is my decision, not yours. I don't want anyone to know and if you are really so serious about doing the right thing then you will respect my feelings and keep your mouth shut," she snapped.
His jaw clenched as he stared at her for a painful amount of time before giving a jerky nod and moving back to the chair beside the bed. She sank back into the covers and pulled them over her before staring at the ceiling. Hermione didn't want to think about what tomorrow would bring. She didn't want to think about anything past the next hour at all. She kept fighting the urge to close her eyes, afraid she would see his face again.
She finally decided to turn over on her side and stare at Malfoy's still form. She couldn't understand why he was helping her. Maybe he felt mildly responsible, she didn't know, but she had to admit that she was glad that he had stayed. As much as she'd liked to believe that she could, she didn't think that she could go through this alone. As she listened to the sound of his even breathing, it wasn't long before sleep finally claimed her.
She awoke with a start the next morning. Her entire body felt as if she had flung herself off of a cliff. She reached up, wincing as she did so, to feel her hair; it was a mess. She slowly and painfully sat up to take in her surroundings. Her eyes may have been swollen but she could still see and she didn't recognize this room. As a matter of fact, this didn't look like a Hogwarts dormitory at all. She reached up to run her hand down her face when something caught her attention.
The sleeve of the robe she was wearing had risen up some, revealing dark marks on her wrist. She slowly reached over with her other hand and pushed the sleeve higher up on her arm. She let out a horrified gasp as she took in the hand shaped bruises along her skin. Her eyebrows pulled together in a frown before they finally rose and her eyes widened as everything that had happened forcefully came back. Her eyes began to water again and she dropped her hand as if it stung before pulling the robe tighter around her as she looked around.
Where was Malfoy? She frantically shook her head with a frown. Every time she acknowledged him by his last name, his father immediately invaded her thoughts. Draco was a tosser, but…he wasn't him, not by a longshot. She rested her head in her hand. Maybe he did leave. She wouldn't blame him. A pang of guilt flowed through her as she remembered her harsh words and thoughts from yesterday. This wasn't Draco's fault. She didn't know why but he was just trying to do the right thing. With a sigh she slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and managed to at least stand, with one hand on the bed though.
Her knees began to buckle and before she could even take a step, she began to fall. However, a strong pair of arms managed to catch her before she hit the floor. She didn't even hear him come in. Her fingers tightened on his arm as he sat her on the edge of the bed.
"Just what were you trying to do?"
"I was trying to get up. I thought you had left," she answered as he came to stand in front of her.
"I did, but I just went to get something to eat," he said as he gestured to the bed.
She turned her head to see a plate food on the end of the bed.
"Thank you," she said, surprised.
She stared at him in a mixture of amazement and skepticism as he grabbed the plate and set it down on the nightstand. She narrowed her eyes as he took out his wand. He rolled his eyes at her expression before sitting beside her.
"You said that you don't want anyone to know so I figured it was safe to assume that you won't be going to Madam Pomfrey," he said.
She stared at him before it finally clicked.
"Oh! Are you…are you good," she asked.
"Good enough," he answered with a small smirk.
She nodded as she clutched the robe to her before easing her arms out of it, keeping the rest plastered to her body. She closed her eyes as she felt the tingling sensation of her skin healing.
"I'm sorry," she finally whispered, breaking the silence.
"For what?"
"For what I said yesterday and…how I acted. It's not that hard to believe that you would actually help someone. I was angry, very angry and…," she trailed off.
"…and I'm his son who has given you no reason to trust me until last night," he finished.
"I shouldn't have taken it out on you. It wasn't your fault," she said as her shoulders relaxed.
"It wasn't yours either," he whispered.
She kept her mouth shut as he went to work on her neck. A part of her knew that this wasn't her fault, but the other part kept condemning her for being so stupid. She found that the silence wasn't uncomfortable at all, as if they weren't enemies who had been snarking at each other for the past five years.
"Can I ask you something and you give me an honest answer," she suddenly said.
"…Maybe."
"Why were you crying," she quietly asked.
The last time she had asked him this he had given her an extremely rude response.
"It…it really isn't any of your business, Granger," he said, leaving no room for argument.
She reluctantly nodded. That was pretty much what she had expected. She exhaled as her body finally began to feel much better. At least her upper body was fully functional, now she would be able to heal the rest herself.
"Thank you," she said as he stood.
He nodded before handing her the food he brought. She dug in and repressed a sigh of appreciation. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been.
"I told Professor Dumbledore that you were sick. He will be informing your instructors," he suddenly said.
She stopped mid chew to look at him with wide eyes. What did he just say? She couldn't miss class. She swallowed, wincing as she did so.
"Why would you do that," she almost yelled.
He frowned.
"Granger, you can't go to class today," he said as if he were speaking to a four year old.
"Says who," she demanded.
"Says me," he snapped.
"Why?"
He looked at her as if she were drunk.
"Granger, you're…you are not well. Not just physically, but…," he awkwardly motioned to her head "…you need to rest for a few days."
"I'm fine! I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this," she said as she stood.
"Because it's a big deal!"
"Just because I was…assaulted, that doesn't mean that the world has stopped. Nobody has paused, school is still going on," she said as she glared up at him.
She felt herself shrink as he too stood, towering over her with eyes as hard as rock. His jaw was clenched and the air was thick with tension.
"Raped is the word you're looking for."
She shook her head as her breathing sped up. She didn't want to hear this.
"Malfoy…," she warned as she forced herself past him.
"You can't even say it, can you? You're in denial about everything-"
"Shut up."
"You were raped by my father. You can't just go back to class! What are you going to do when you see him-"
"Malfoy!"
"This changes everything! Nothing will ever be the same!"
"I said shut up," she shrieked as she spun and hurled the plate of food at him.
She let out shaky breaths as it smashed against the wall. She laid her hand on her chest and collapsed to her knees as she began to cry. Draco was right. No matter how much she had wished it, nothing would ever be the same. She was mildly aware of the fact that Draco had kneeled down in front of her.
"Granger, you either take a few days off or…I'm going straight to Dumbledore," he whispered.
She looked up at him through tear filled eyes.
"Why are you doing this to me," she cried.
Draco frowned in thought.
"Because…I think that it is the right thing to do," he slowly answered.
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