CHAPTER 1- The Hate Within
HERMIONE'S POV~
I sat on my bed and pulled the shining dagger out from under my pillow. It was and still is an amazingly beautiful dagger. A silver blade and a shining green handle. I didn't take much time to admire it as I started dragging it over my already scarred left wrist. As you can tell, I had done this numerous times before. I watch as the blood comes oozing out of my arm. I love the way it looks, like a flowing waterfall. Waterfalls are so pretty. The way the water runs off the rocks and you can see the beginnings of a rainbow at the bottom. I wiped the blood off my arm and wrapped the gash in medical tape that I stole from the hospital the last time I was there. No one ever asks why I have the tape on my arm because I refuse to tell them.
Anyway, my name is Hermione Athena Granger. Not the best name in the world, but my parents chose it and I got stuck with it. I'm not an "ordinary" girl. In fact not one person on my street talks or even looks at me. I'm a witch, and in three short weeks I'll be returning to my real home, Hogwarts, for my sixth year. Of course I'll be returning as a prefect, I am the smartest witch in the school, but I'm not conceded.
At least my two best friends in the whole world are there, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. They at least talk to me; my parents don't even give me the time of day. Unfortunately, my worst enemy also goes there. His name is Draco Malfoy. He's been tormenting me since I started there just because I'm muggle-born. He thinks he's better than everyone, but he's only the second smartest in the school. Second to me of course.
"Bitch, get down here now!" my father yelled.
"I'm coming! Don't get your panties all in a bunch!" I yelled back. I hate him more than I hate Malfoy. He makes my life a living hell. And at least I don't receive death threats from Malfoy. "What do you want?" I asked coldly when I got down the stairs.
"Make me dinner. Your mother isn't here yet, and I'm fucking starving. Get in the goddamn kitchen where you belong."
"Make it yourself you lazy asshole. I'm tired of you and Mom always bossing me around like I'm your fucking goddamn slave. Anyway, I have things to do." I started to head back to my room, but I found myself confined to that spot on the floor. My asshole of a father had grabbed my arm.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again, you fucking whore!" He slapped me across the face, but I hardly felt it. I just glared at him.
"I'm going to my friend's house. And I don't think I'll ever be back," I stated calmly and headed up to my room.
"I wouldn't want you back anyway! You're a no good son of a bitch! You were a mistake. We never meant to have you in the first place!" he called after me. But I ignored him. After a while of his bullshit, I learned to block out the voice of that raving maniac.
In my room, I threw everything in my trunk. I put my dagger in a pillowcase and tucked that safely in my trunk also, so that no one could find it. I dragged my stuff to the nearest fireplace (my house was connected to the Floo Network because the Ministry knew about my family problems), threw some floo powder in and shouted, "The Burrow!" Everything started whirling by, and soon my feet and trunk had landed in the Weasley's fireplace.
Ginny was in the living room just then. "Hermione, what are you doing here?" she asked giving me a big hug.
"Just family problems, Gin, don't worry about it," I answered returning Ginny's hug.
"Do you need to talk about it? I'm willing to listen," Ginny offered.
"Thanks, but I can take care of it. It's no big deal, really. Will your mom and dad mind if I stay for the rest of the summer?"
"No, I doubt it. They've just gone to pick up Harry. Dad just bought a new car, so he's showing it off with Mom and Ron. I couldn't bring myself to go after the way he treated me last year. And now he's gunna come here and act as if I'm not even alive."
"Gin, don't worry about it. All guys are assholes at one point or another. It's a fact of life. You'll find the perfect guy, trust me," I told her.
She nodded and looked me over. "You've changed," she said. "Your hair is short and straight, and your clothes are all baggy. You're not at all like you looked last time I saw you. That's not like I know you,"
"Babe, this is the real me. That girl I play in school, she's just an act. When I first started there, that's who I really was and that's who everyone knows me as, so I just please them," I told her and shrugged it off as if it were nothing. When I shrugged, the sleeves of my shirt came up a little and revealed some of the tape.
"'Mione, what's that?" Ginny asked as she rolled up my left sleeve.
"It's nothing. Like I said before, don't worry about it. I can take care of myself."
"Please tell me what happened?" she begged. "I promise, I won't tell a soul."
"Okay, fine. Me and my dad got into a big fight, and my arm went through a window. It's really not bad. Worse has happened."
"Hermione, that's child abuse. And don't deny it. I can see that he hits you. You've also got a black eye. I didn't wanna mention it before."
"Gin, I hate my parents and they hate me. This is an every day occurrence at my house. I just really needed to get out. Don't tell anyone what happened. I'm just gunna tell Harry and Ron that I got into a car accident."
She nodded and helped me bring my stuff up to my room. I didn't let her know the truth, if I had told her, she would have told Ron and Ron would've told Harry and someone else would find out and then I would've been in deep shit.
~
DRACO'S POV~
My mother died. Father just killed her. That drunken bastard killed her. She was the only person in the world that ever loved me. And now I have no one. I looked down at the limp, lifeless body that was lying in my arms. Her once beautiful, blonde hair was now streaked red with blood. There were bruises around her once happy, pale blue eyes, and blood was streaming from her abdomen. Well the blood had stopped flowing, but her clothes were still soaked. I could hardly make out the features of her once beautiful face. Before the Dark Lord had risen again, she was always so happy and lively, but when Father returned to him, everything changed for the worse. I hate him. I hate him for going back. I hate him for never being a real father. I hate him for loving only power, prestige and money. And most of all I hate him for killing my mother. I can't even cry because of him. I was taught never to cry and don't ever remember doing so. I'm just as cold hearted as he is. In sixteen years of my existence, I have never shed a tear.
I laid my mother's body on the floor. I know that he'll have the house elves come and clean up the "mess". He won't even give her the honor of a funeral. I ripped open one of my drawers and pull out a dagger from under my clothes. My beautiful silver bladed, green handled dagger. The man at the muggle shop that I bought it in said that there was only one other dagger in the world that looked like it, and he had just sold it to a girl about my age no less than fifteen minutes before he sold me mine. That was last summer. This dagger had been my best friend since. I brought the blade to my left arm and started dragging it slowly down. I watched as the blood poured out over my arm. It poured over the scars from my previous cuts. It made me think of a gentle, flowing river. All the blood just pours out and heads downward. I found myself at peace at that moment, just watching my blood drip off my arm. When I felt myself getting dizzy and faint, I dried up most of the blood and wrapped my arm in tape to make it stop all together.
I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts. At least I'll get away from my father. But there, I'll meet up with the Dream Team, The Golden Trio, consisting of a Potthead, a Weasel, and a Mudblood. They're almost as bad as my father, but they won't beat me or kill my mother. I can even handle looking at them, even Mudblood. Just then, Father came busting into my room. "What the fuck do you want?" I asked. He smacked me across the face.
"Don't talk to me like that you son of a bitch!" Then he punched me in the stomach.
"Fuck you, you goddamn murderer. How could you fucking do that? She was your fucking wife! You are a cold-hearted bastard. That should have been you, not her," I spat. That was a pretty stupid thing to say because he started punching me harder and more repetitively. I put my arm up to block a blow to my head. He grabbed it and twisted it behind my back. I heard a crack and cried out in pain. He had obviously broken it. I saw a malicious grin cross his face as he left my room.
There were definitely advantages to being the son of a Death Eater. I could apparate, for one. I have been able to since I was seven. I grabbed my wand, and even though I'm not exactly supposed to do magic, I apparated my self to the emergency at the hospital.
"What happened?" asked a nurse.
"My fucking arm is broken! Can't you see that? And it fucking hurts!" I screamed at her.
"Okay, calm down, sir. Why are you so bloody? How did you break your arm?" she asked. She was still very calm.
"I got into a goddamn car accident!" I lied quickly.
"Okay, follow me."
I followed her into a large room, and the last thing I remembered was being put under a very strong sleeping charm.
When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly, and my arm no longer hurt. I looked down at my other arm, the arm I had previously cut numerous times. The tape was gone, but the scars weren't. The same nurse came bustling over to me.
"Oh good, you're up. There are some questions I need to ask you," she stated.
"Um okay," I agreed. It's not like I had much of a choice in the matter.
"First of all, what is your name? Where are you from? How old are you?"
"That's more than one question," I said sarcastically. "My name is Draco Malfoy. I live in the Malfoy Manor in England, and I'm sixteen."
"How did you get here, then? You're not old enough to apparate."
"Yeah well I did. I've been able to since I was seven. I know that answers your next question, so go on," I said rudely.
"Yes, that does answer my next question. So how long have you been cutting yourself?"
"I told you yesterday. I got in a car accident, and I had tape on me so I wrapped up my arm to make it stop bleeding."
"I know you're lying to me. Those cuts were from a dagger, and some of your scars are newer that others. I ask you again, how long have you been cutting yourself?"
"Since last summer. It eases some of the pain in my horrible, no-good life. My father broke my arm last night so don't even bother asking. I refuse to go to a psychiatrist; so don't even think about suggesting it. Now I'm leaving. Nice to meet you, bye. Oh and this should cover everything." I shoved fifty galleons into her hand and apparated back to my room in the Malfoy Manor.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
"'Mione!" Harry and Ron yelled embracing me in a hug.
"Hey guys," I answered.
"What happened to you?" Harry asked. "It looks like you got into a really bad fight."
"It's nothing," I reassured him. "I got into a bad car accident last night and I decided to come here for the rest of the summer."
"You sure you're okay?" Ron interrogated.
"I'm positive. Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself. You guys are way too over-protective, like you're my big brothers or something," I laughed lightening the mood a little. The boys laughed too and finally stopped asking me what happened. No offense to them, but I really hate that they're so over-protective of me and think that I can't take care of myself. They think I'm a little kid or something. I'd never tell them this of course. They think I don't mind, but I really do. Well, at least I know that I'll be safe for the rest of the summer.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also seemed to believe my story and they let me stay for the remainder of vacation. I just hope that my parents don't know how to get here.
HERMIONE'S POV~
I sat on my bed and pulled the shining dagger out from under my pillow. It was and still is an amazingly beautiful dagger. A silver blade and a shining green handle. I didn't take much time to admire it as I started dragging it over my already scarred left wrist. As you can tell, I had done this numerous times before. I watch as the blood comes oozing out of my arm. I love the way it looks, like a flowing waterfall. Waterfalls are so pretty. The way the water runs off the rocks and you can see the beginnings of a rainbow at the bottom. I wiped the blood off my arm and wrapped the gash in medical tape that I stole from the hospital the last time I was there. No one ever asks why I have the tape on my arm because I refuse to tell them.
Anyway, my name is Hermione Athena Granger. Not the best name in the world, but my parents chose it and I got stuck with it. I'm not an "ordinary" girl. In fact not one person on my street talks or even looks at me. I'm a witch, and in three short weeks I'll be returning to my real home, Hogwarts, for my sixth year. Of course I'll be returning as a prefect, I am the smartest witch in the school, but I'm not conceded.
At least my two best friends in the whole world are there, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. They at least talk to me; my parents don't even give me the time of day. Unfortunately, my worst enemy also goes there. His name is Draco Malfoy. He's been tormenting me since I started there just because I'm muggle-born. He thinks he's better than everyone, but he's only the second smartest in the school. Second to me of course.
"Bitch, get down here now!" my father yelled.
"I'm coming! Don't get your panties all in a bunch!" I yelled back. I hate him more than I hate Malfoy. He makes my life a living hell. And at least I don't receive death threats from Malfoy. "What do you want?" I asked coldly when I got down the stairs.
"Make me dinner. Your mother isn't here yet, and I'm fucking starving. Get in the goddamn kitchen where you belong."
"Make it yourself you lazy asshole. I'm tired of you and Mom always bossing me around like I'm your fucking goddamn slave. Anyway, I have things to do." I started to head back to my room, but I found myself confined to that spot on the floor. My asshole of a father had grabbed my arm.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again, you fucking whore!" He slapped me across the face, but I hardly felt it. I just glared at him.
"I'm going to my friend's house. And I don't think I'll ever be back," I stated calmly and headed up to my room.
"I wouldn't want you back anyway! You're a no good son of a bitch! You were a mistake. We never meant to have you in the first place!" he called after me. But I ignored him. After a while of his bullshit, I learned to block out the voice of that raving maniac.
In my room, I threw everything in my trunk. I put my dagger in a pillowcase and tucked that safely in my trunk also, so that no one could find it. I dragged my stuff to the nearest fireplace (my house was connected to the Floo Network because the Ministry knew about my family problems), threw some floo powder in and shouted, "The Burrow!" Everything started whirling by, and soon my feet and trunk had landed in the Weasley's fireplace.
Ginny was in the living room just then. "Hermione, what are you doing here?" she asked giving me a big hug.
"Just family problems, Gin, don't worry about it," I answered returning Ginny's hug.
"Do you need to talk about it? I'm willing to listen," Ginny offered.
"Thanks, but I can take care of it. It's no big deal, really. Will your mom and dad mind if I stay for the rest of the summer?"
"No, I doubt it. They've just gone to pick up Harry. Dad just bought a new car, so he's showing it off with Mom and Ron. I couldn't bring myself to go after the way he treated me last year. And now he's gunna come here and act as if I'm not even alive."
"Gin, don't worry about it. All guys are assholes at one point or another. It's a fact of life. You'll find the perfect guy, trust me," I told her.
She nodded and looked me over. "You've changed," she said. "Your hair is short and straight, and your clothes are all baggy. You're not at all like you looked last time I saw you. That's not like I know you,"
"Babe, this is the real me. That girl I play in school, she's just an act. When I first started there, that's who I really was and that's who everyone knows me as, so I just please them," I told her and shrugged it off as if it were nothing. When I shrugged, the sleeves of my shirt came up a little and revealed some of the tape.
"'Mione, what's that?" Ginny asked as she rolled up my left sleeve.
"It's nothing. Like I said before, don't worry about it. I can take care of myself."
"Please tell me what happened?" she begged. "I promise, I won't tell a soul."
"Okay, fine. Me and my dad got into a big fight, and my arm went through a window. It's really not bad. Worse has happened."
"Hermione, that's child abuse. And don't deny it. I can see that he hits you. You've also got a black eye. I didn't wanna mention it before."
"Gin, I hate my parents and they hate me. This is an every day occurrence at my house. I just really needed to get out. Don't tell anyone what happened. I'm just gunna tell Harry and Ron that I got into a car accident."
She nodded and helped me bring my stuff up to my room. I didn't let her know the truth, if I had told her, she would have told Ron and Ron would've told Harry and someone else would find out and then I would've been in deep shit.
~
DRACO'S POV~
My mother died. Father just killed her. That drunken bastard killed her. She was the only person in the world that ever loved me. And now I have no one. I looked down at the limp, lifeless body that was lying in my arms. Her once beautiful, blonde hair was now streaked red with blood. There were bruises around her once happy, pale blue eyes, and blood was streaming from her abdomen. Well the blood had stopped flowing, but her clothes were still soaked. I could hardly make out the features of her once beautiful face. Before the Dark Lord had risen again, she was always so happy and lively, but when Father returned to him, everything changed for the worse. I hate him. I hate him for going back. I hate him for never being a real father. I hate him for loving only power, prestige and money. And most of all I hate him for killing my mother. I can't even cry because of him. I was taught never to cry and don't ever remember doing so. I'm just as cold hearted as he is. In sixteen years of my existence, I have never shed a tear.
I laid my mother's body on the floor. I know that he'll have the house elves come and clean up the "mess". He won't even give her the honor of a funeral. I ripped open one of my drawers and pull out a dagger from under my clothes. My beautiful silver bladed, green handled dagger. The man at the muggle shop that I bought it in said that there was only one other dagger in the world that looked like it, and he had just sold it to a girl about my age no less than fifteen minutes before he sold me mine. That was last summer. This dagger had been my best friend since. I brought the blade to my left arm and started dragging it slowly down. I watched as the blood poured out over my arm. It poured over the scars from my previous cuts. It made me think of a gentle, flowing river. All the blood just pours out and heads downward. I found myself at peace at that moment, just watching my blood drip off my arm. When I felt myself getting dizzy and faint, I dried up most of the blood and wrapped my arm in tape to make it stop all together.
I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts. At least I'll get away from my father. But there, I'll meet up with the Dream Team, The Golden Trio, consisting of a Potthead, a Weasel, and a Mudblood. They're almost as bad as my father, but they won't beat me or kill my mother. I can even handle looking at them, even Mudblood. Just then, Father came busting into my room. "What the fuck do you want?" I asked. He smacked me across the face.
"Don't talk to me like that you son of a bitch!" Then he punched me in the stomach.
"Fuck you, you goddamn murderer. How could you fucking do that? She was your fucking wife! You are a cold-hearted bastard. That should have been you, not her," I spat. That was a pretty stupid thing to say because he started punching me harder and more repetitively. I put my arm up to block a blow to my head. He grabbed it and twisted it behind my back. I heard a crack and cried out in pain. He had obviously broken it. I saw a malicious grin cross his face as he left my room.
There were definitely advantages to being the son of a Death Eater. I could apparate, for one. I have been able to since I was seven. I grabbed my wand, and even though I'm not exactly supposed to do magic, I apparated my self to the emergency at the hospital.
"What happened?" asked a nurse.
"My fucking arm is broken! Can't you see that? And it fucking hurts!" I screamed at her.
"Okay, calm down, sir. Why are you so bloody? How did you break your arm?" she asked. She was still very calm.
"I got into a goddamn car accident!" I lied quickly.
"Okay, follow me."
I followed her into a large room, and the last thing I remembered was being put under a very strong sleeping charm.
When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly, and my arm no longer hurt. I looked down at my other arm, the arm I had previously cut numerous times. The tape was gone, but the scars weren't. The same nurse came bustling over to me.
"Oh good, you're up. There are some questions I need to ask you," she stated.
"Um okay," I agreed. It's not like I had much of a choice in the matter.
"First of all, what is your name? Where are you from? How old are you?"
"That's more than one question," I said sarcastically. "My name is Draco Malfoy. I live in the Malfoy Manor in England, and I'm sixteen."
"How did you get here, then? You're not old enough to apparate."
"Yeah well I did. I've been able to since I was seven. I know that answers your next question, so go on," I said rudely.
"Yes, that does answer my next question. So how long have you been cutting yourself?"
"I told you yesterday. I got in a car accident, and I had tape on me so I wrapped up my arm to make it stop bleeding."
"I know you're lying to me. Those cuts were from a dagger, and some of your scars are newer that others. I ask you again, how long have you been cutting yourself?"
"Since last summer. It eases some of the pain in my horrible, no-good life. My father broke my arm last night so don't even bother asking. I refuse to go to a psychiatrist; so don't even think about suggesting it. Now I'm leaving. Nice to meet you, bye. Oh and this should cover everything." I shoved fifty galleons into her hand and apparated back to my room in the Malfoy Manor.
~
HERMIONE'S POV~
"'Mione!" Harry and Ron yelled embracing me in a hug.
"Hey guys," I answered.
"What happened to you?" Harry asked. "It looks like you got into a really bad fight."
"It's nothing," I reassured him. "I got into a bad car accident last night and I decided to come here for the rest of the summer."
"You sure you're okay?" Ron interrogated.
"I'm positive. Don't worry about it. I can take care of myself. You guys are way too over-protective, like you're my big brothers or something," I laughed lightening the mood a little. The boys laughed too and finally stopped asking me what happened. No offense to them, but I really hate that they're so over-protective of me and think that I can't take care of myself. They think I'm a little kid or something. I'd never tell them this of course. They think I don't mind, but I really do. Well, at least I know that I'll be safe for the rest of the summer.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley also seemed to believe my story and they let me stay for the remainder of vacation. I just hope that my parents don't know how to get here.