Chapter 2
Welcome to another chapter, just a note for those who failed to read my previous authors notes. There will be, I repeat, NO INTENTIONAL FLUFFY stuff. You want fluff, go to a pet store and buy yourself a bunny rabbit.
This story deals with rape and the resultant consequences and other stuff of it. You don't like it, stop here right now. This story will get to its full R rating again though it's not for this chapter just so you know. Anyway, if you are continuing, enjoy what you read and any flames shot my way will get sling shot back at the sender cause they make good ammunition.
Thank you all for your infinite patience. It's been a hellish term. For those who do not know, I am in University and my time is very limited at the moment. I am actually putting up the next two chapters while I should be studying for finals and for the record, I have chapter 4 halfway finished. I hope to have it up within a week but no promises.
Disclaimer: All characters, cool words, and sets belong to the lovely Mrs. Rowling and her publishers, and Warner Brothers. I am only borrowing them to twist and contort in my own way. I am not in any shape or form that goddess and make no financial claims to the above mentioned characters and sets.
~Midnight Elf ________________________________________________________________________
Hermione woke up slowly, her entire body sore. For a moment she put the previous night's events down to a horrible nightmare but realized she was only deluding herself since her body told of more than just a dream.
She got up slowly, wincing as she stood and looked around to see if anyone else was awake or even in the room. The curtains on three of the beds were closed tightly and the forth was rumpled and unmade which told her that someone was in the shower. She quickly gathered up her clothing for the day, for once glad that the school robes covered everything from neck down.
She carefully took off whatever she had pulled on to sleep in and quickly got dressed so as to minimize the chance of someone seeing what her body looked like. Last night made her feel dirty and used, and no amount of water would wash away its stain. She pulled on the robes over the blouse and skirt she wore and clasped them closed. She brushed her hair and pulled it up off her face into a simple knot. Then she gathered her things and went to the bathroom and checked the mirror to make sure she looked normal and that no one would ever guess what she truly felt.
She looked into the mirror and gasped, her face was as pale as death and the lightest blush of a bruise coloured her cheek. It was too late to use her small amount of healing magic to fix it. She looked around for some inspiration as to how to cover it up and spotted what appeared to be Lavenders make up bag sitting on the counter a little way down from her.
She reached in and found the small bottle of concealer potion and used her fingers to blend some on her face. She was lucky Lavender was so pale that the colour just about matched her own pallor. She heard the shower switch off and she quickly recapped the bottle and shoved it back into the bag. Then she collected herself and left the room as fast as possible.
She walked down to the common room, keeping her head slightly down and then left through the portrait hole to go to the Great Hall. She hoped to get there and eat before the majority of the students, including him. Until she had some time to gather herself, she had no desire to see him. As it was, she was gonna have to spend classes with him but she could avoid being near him easily.
She entered the Great Hall to find it almost empty of people and she sat down and ate as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. She was almost finished when she felt a hand on her shoulder and someone call her name. She jumped and spun around to look into the smiling green eyes of Harry Potter and then relaxed.
He sat down next to her and she flinched a bit after trying not to. Harry appeared to notice and something flickered in his eyes but it passed quickly and he spoke.
"You were out of the common room so fast, there was no time to even say anything. Is anything wrong this morning Hermione?" He looked at her with such concern that she cringed inwardly at the thought of lying to him but what would he think of her if he knew.
"Its nothing Harry, I was hungry. That's all. Besides, all Lavender speaks about lately is that seventh year in Hufflepuff and I wanted out of there before she started up." Hermione said with a shaky smile, trying to convey happiness and the slight impatience she always felt with the other girls in her room and their habit of gossiping none stop about all the boys in Hogwarts.
Harry laughed at her mention of Lavender's obsession with the Hufflepuff and then turned to his plate, seemingly satisfied with her story. Hermione turned back to her own plate to finish the last of her breakfast when she heard a large group of people enter the Great Hall. His voice was in the mix; she would never forget it as long as she lived.
She kept her head down, trembling slightly even though she attempted to control it. Harry noticed because he reached over and touched her arm causing her to jolt. He frowned slightly at her reaction when she looked at him with wide eyes that betrayed fear before she could mask it.
Suddenly someone came out of the group and launched himself into the empty space next to Hermione. Ron grinned at them and then leaned over to give Hermione a kiss on the cheek like he did every morning since someone made a joke about them being a couple in fifth year but Hermione could only cringe away before she could stop herself. She watched Ron's smile drop a little bit but he bounced back and proceeded to fill his plate and greet Harry good morning. Finally she could no longer take being surround by the two males and pushed herself away from the table and scooped up her bag with a frantic motion, only wishing to get away from everyone at that moment.
Harry reached out and grabbed her arm gently so she would stop and look at him. Then he spoke.
"Where are you off to this morning Hermione? We still have 45 minutes before class begins."
"Library." Was her single word reply and she pulled her arm from his grasp and fled from the Great Hall, Ron's voice following her out.
"What's with her?"
~ * ~
He watched her flee the Great Hall; his pleasure in seeing her fear hidden from his classmates. He dug into his breakfast with relish, anticipating seeing her in classes later.
~ * ~
Hermione stood alone outside her first class, attempting to calm to racing heart. She simply could not handle hearing his voice in the Great Hall; it had simply been too much. She felt bad at how she had reacted with Harry even though he was only concerned and trying to be a friend but she couldn't let him ever guess. He would only hate her.
She finally calmed herself down enough and sank to the floor outside the classroom when she heard someone call her name. She looked up to see the kindly eyes of Professor Dumbledore looking down at her. She wondered for a brief second what he was doing here and if he would guess what had happened but she pushed that all aside. She had hidden all the marks and had tried to keep her feelings masked. There was no way he could guess.
"Hello Miss Granger. May I ask why you are sitting alone in the Hallway when you could be enjoying breakfast in the Great Hall with your house- mates."
"I ate early and was waiting for Professor McGonagall to get here so I could talk to her about my extra credit project Professor." She lied smoothly; it was getting easier as the day wore on.
"I see. Well since Professor McGonagall is currently in the Great Hall eating, I suppose I could let you into the class room so you do not have to sit on the cold stone." He regarded her shrewdly and waved his hand over the doorknob, causing the door to swing open. "Good day Miss Granger." He said with smile and then walked off down the corridor.
She entered the classroom, glad to be out of the open corridor and sank into her seat. She took out her Transfiguration text and read it until people began to trickle in for the lesson. She wondered briefly about all the books and things she had dropped after she had been attacked and what had happened to them. Then Professor McGonagall came into the room, a large bag in her hand. She walked silently to Hermiones table and deposited it in front of her before remarking kindly:
"Madam Pince found these on a table in the Library this morning and knew you were the only one allowed in there at night so she gave them to me to give to you."
"Thank you Professor." Was all Hermione could say with a controlled voice. These books would always remind her of what happened but she wondered how they had come to be in the Library.
She half listened to the lesson and was relieved when they were dismissed and she could go to Arithmancy, her favorite class. She arrived and sat down near the front and took out her books. Then she spent an enjoyable time with her favorite professor and completely forgot all about what had happened the night before.
She spent lunch in the Library far from everyone else, her nose buried in books. She had decided right after Arithmancy that she would rather forget what had happened to her and her books helped do that. She was finally starting to relax when the bells rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of the afternoon classes.
She went to Charms; her nose still in her Arithmancy text, finding it had worked the best so far to push all else from her mind. She sat at her usual table near the front and settled in to wait for class to begin. Harry and Ron entered the class and took seats on either side of Hermione. She still cringed a little but was getting better at not doing it as the day wore on. These were her friends after all; they would never hurt her.
Then a group of three or four people entered talking and her entire body froze. His voice floated to her ears and she went back to the previous night headfirst in her mind. He walked past the table she sat at without a glance her way and took a seat somewhere behind her. She couldn't see Him but she could feel His presence there near her and it chilled her to the core.
She spent the class terrified He would do something to bring her attention to Him or that Harry and Ron would figure out why she was so stiff all of a sudden. Finally, after what seemed like hours later, the class was over and Hermione couldn't remember a single thing Professor Flitwick had taught them.
She fled the class as soon as they were dismissed and made her way, tears threatening to escape her eyes, back to the Gryffindor dorms. Both Harry and Ron called to her as she fled but she ignored them both. Finally she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and was about to say the password and hide inside when His voice invaded her ears.
"So my little Gryffindor. Have you had a good day?" He asked in a smooth voice as she stopped before uttering the password. She remained silent, refusing to turn to face him. "Remember what I told you, my little Gryffindor, last night." He reached out and took a strand of hair between his fingers and toyed with it for a moment before dropping it.
Then she heard him walk away and the tears she had been holding back began to fall and sobs racked her body. She said the password and tore through the opening after the Fat Lady moved, her concerned voice following Hermione as she took the stairs two at a time until reaching the safety of her bed. She pulled the curtains closed tight, sealing herself in darkness and fell to the bed as sobs continued to shake her body until finally she cried herself to sleep.
~ * ~
He walked down the hallway, away from the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room where he had waited for her. He knew she would flee here after he had seen her in Charms. He relished in the power that still coursed through his veins from his conquest of her. And it seemed that her fear fed the power and that making that fear of him worse would give him more power until finally he would have total control.
He arrived at his final class for the day, the thought of what he could do to feed her fear making him smile with anticipation.
Welcome to another chapter, just a note for those who failed to read my previous authors notes. There will be, I repeat, NO INTENTIONAL FLUFFY stuff. You want fluff, go to a pet store and buy yourself a bunny rabbit.
This story deals with rape and the resultant consequences and other stuff of it. You don't like it, stop here right now. This story will get to its full R rating again though it's not for this chapter just so you know. Anyway, if you are continuing, enjoy what you read and any flames shot my way will get sling shot back at the sender cause they make good ammunition.
Thank you all for your infinite patience. It's been a hellish term. For those who do not know, I am in University and my time is very limited at the moment. I am actually putting up the next two chapters while I should be studying for finals and for the record, I have chapter 4 halfway finished. I hope to have it up within a week but no promises.
Disclaimer: All characters, cool words, and sets belong to the lovely Mrs. Rowling and her publishers, and Warner Brothers. I am only borrowing them to twist and contort in my own way. I am not in any shape or form that goddess and make no financial claims to the above mentioned characters and sets.
~Midnight Elf ________________________________________________________________________
Hermione woke up slowly, her entire body sore. For a moment she put the previous night's events down to a horrible nightmare but realized she was only deluding herself since her body told of more than just a dream.
She got up slowly, wincing as she stood and looked around to see if anyone else was awake or even in the room. The curtains on three of the beds were closed tightly and the forth was rumpled and unmade which told her that someone was in the shower. She quickly gathered up her clothing for the day, for once glad that the school robes covered everything from neck down.
She carefully took off whatever she had pulled on to sleep in and quickly got dressed so as to minimize the chance of someone seeing what her body looked like. Last night made her feel dirty and used, and no amount of water would wash away its stain. She pulled on the robes over the blouse and skirt she wore and clasped them closed. She brushed her hair and pulled it up off her face into a simple knot. Then she gathered her things and went to the bathroom and checked the mirror to make sure she looked normal and that no one would ever guess what she truly felt.
She looked into the mirror and gasped, her face was as pale as death and the lightest blush of a bruise coloured her cheek. It was too late to use her small amount of healing magic to fix it. She looked around for some inspiration as to how to cover it up and spotted what appeared to be Lavenders make up bag sitting on the counter a little way down from her.
She reached in and found the small bottle of concealer potion and used her fingers to blend some on her face. She was lucky Lavender was so pale that the colour just about matched her own pallor. She heard the shower switch off and she quickly recapped the bottle and shoved it back into the bag. Then she collected herself and left the room as fast as possible.
She walked down to the common room, keeping her head slightly down and then left through the portrait hole to go to the Great Hall. She hoped to get there and eat before the majority of the students, including him. Until she had some time to gather herself, she had no desire to see him. As it was, she was gonna have to spend classes with him but she could avoid being near him easily.
She entered the Great Hall to find it almost empty of people and she sat down and ate as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. She was almost finished when she felt a hand on her shoulder and someone call her name. She jumped and spun around to look into the smiling green eyes of Harry Potter and then relaxed.
He sat down next to her and she flinched a bit after trying not to. Harry appeared to notice and something flickered in his eyes but it passed quickly and he spoke.
"You were out of the common room so fast, there was no time to even say anything. Is anything wrong this morning Hermione?" He looked at her with such concern that she cringed inwardly at the thought of lying to him but what would he think of her if he knew.
"Its nothing Harry, I was hungry. That's all. Besides, all Lavender speaks about lately is that seventh year in Hufflepuff and I wanted out of there before she started up." Hermione said with a shaky smile, trying to convey happiness and the slight impatience she always felt with the other girls in her room and their habit of gossiping none stop about all the boys in Hogwarts.
Harry laughed at her mention of Lavender's obsession with the Hufflepuff and then turned to his plate, seemingly satisfied with her story. Hermione turned back to her own plate to finish the last of her breakfast when she heard a large group of people enter the Great Hall. His voice was in the mix; she would never forget it as long as she lived.
She kept her head down, trembling slightly even though she attempted to control it. Harry noticed because he reached over and touched her arm causing her to jolt. He frowned slightly at her reaction when she looked at him with wide eyes that betrayed fear before she could mask it.
Suddenly someone came out of the group and launched himself into the empty space next to Hermione. Ron grinned at them and then leaned over to give Hermione a kiss on the cheek like he did every morning since someone made a joke about them being a couple in fifth year but Hermione could only cringe away before she could stop herself. She watched Ron's smile drop a little bit but he bounced back and proceeded to fill his plate and greet Harry good morning. Finally she could no longer take being surround by the two males and pushed herself away from the table and scooped up her bag with a frantic motion, only wishing to get away from everyone at that moment.
Harry reached out and grabbed her arm gently so she would stop and look at him. Then he spoke.
"Where are you off to this morning Hermione? We still have 45 minutes before class begins."
"Library." Was her single word reply and she pulled her arm from his grasp and fled from the Great Hall, Ron's voice following her out.
"What's with her?"
~ * ~
He watched her flee the Great Hall; his pleasure in seeing her fear hidden from his classmates. He dug into his breakfast with relish, anticipating seeing her in classes later.
~ * ~
Hermione stood alone outside her first class, attempting to calm to racing heart. She simply could not handle hearing his voice in the Great Hall; it had simply been too much. She felt bad at how she had reacted with Harry even though he was only concerned and trying to be a friend but she couldn't let him ever guess. He would only hate her.
She finally calmed herself down enough and sank to the floor outside the classroom when she heard someone call her name. She looked up to see the kindly eyes of Professor Dumbledore looking down at her. She wondered for a brief second what he was doing here and if he would guess what had happened but she pushed that all aside. She had hidden all the marks and had tried to keep her feelings masked. There was no way he could guess.
"Hello Miss Granger. May I ask why you are sitting alone in the Hallway when you could be enjoying breakfast in the Great Hall with your house- mates."
"I ate early and was waiting for Professor McGonagall to get here so I could talk to her about my extra credit project Professor." She lied smoothly; it was getting easier as the day wore on.
"I see. Well since Professor McGonagall is currently in the Great Hall eating, I suppose I could let you into the class room so you do not have to sit on the cold stone." He regarded her shrewdly and waved his hand over the doorknob, causing the door to swing open. "Good day Miss Granger." He said with smile and then walked off down the corridor.
She entered the classroom, glad to be out of the open corridor and sank into her seat. She took out her Transfiguration text and read it until people began to trickle in for the lesson. She wondered briefly about all the books and things she had dropped after she had been attacked and what had happened to them. Then Professor McGonagall came into the room, a large bag in her hand. She walked silently to Hermiones table and deposited it in front of her before remarking kindly:
"Madam Pince found these on a table in the Library this morning and knew you were the only one allowed in there at night so she gave them to me to give to you."
"Thank you Professor." Was all Hermione could say with a controlled voice. These books would always remind her of what happened but she wondered how they had come to be in the Library.
She half listened to the lesson and was relieved when they were dismissed and she could go to Arithmancy, her favorite class. She arrived and sat down near the front and took out her books. Then she spent an enjoyable time with her favorite professor and completely forgot all about what had happened the night before.
She spent lunch in the Library far from everyone else, her nose buried in books. She had decided right after Arithmancy that she would rather forget what had happened to her and her books helped do that. She was finally starting to relax when the bells rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of the afternoon classes.
She went to Charms; her nose still in her Arithmancy text, finding it had worked the best so far to push all else from her mind. She sat at her usual table near the front and settled in to wait for class to begin. Harry and Ron entered the class and took seats on either side of Hermione. She still cringed a little but was getting better at not doing it as the day wore on. These were her friends after all; they would never hurt her.
Then a group of three or four people entered talking and her entire body froze. His voice floated to her ears and she went back to the previous night headfirst in her mind. He walked past the table she sat at without a glance her way and took a seat somewhere behind her. She couldn't see Him but she could feel His presence there near her and it chilled her to the core.
She spent the class terrified He would do something to bring her attention to Him or that Harry and Ron would figure out why she was so stiff all of a sudden. Finally, after what seemed like hours later, the class was over and Hermione couldn't remember a single thing Professor Flitwick had taught them.
She fled the class as soon as they were dismissed and made her way, tears threatening to escape her eyes, back to the Gryffindor dorms. Both Harry and Ron called to her as she fled but she ignored them both. Finally she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and was about to say the password and hide inside when His voice invaded her ears.
"So my little Gryffindor. Have you had a good day?" He asked in a smooth voice as she stopped before uttering the password. She remained silent, refusing to turn to face him. "Remember what I told you, my little Gryffindor, last night." He reached out and took a strand of hair between his fingers and toyed with it for a moment before dropping it.
Then she heard him walk away and the tears she had been holding back began to fall and sobs racked her body. She said the password and tore through the opening after the Fat Lady moved, her concerned voice following Hermione as she took the stairs two at a time until reaching the safety of her bed. She pulled the curtains closed tight, sealing herself in darkness and fell to the bed as sobs continued to shake her body until finally she cried herself to sleep.
~ * ~
He walked down the hallway, away from the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room where he had waited for her. He knew she would flee here after he had seen her in Charms. He relished in the power that still coursed through his veins from his conquest of her. And it seemed that her fear fed the power and that making that fear of him worse would give him more power until finally he would have total control.
He arrived at his final class for the day, the thought of what he could do to feed her fear making him smile with anticipation.