Authors' Note: Thank you for all of your reviews! It's really nice getting
them and reading them! We're glad that you liked the whole Quidditch game.
We really hate the times when Draco never ever gets the snitch, and so,
we're giving him a break. We think he deserves it, right? You can all
probably guess the content of this chapter just by noticing the chapter
title. All the information about the curse was created by us. Hopefully,
you all like it! Read on!
Chapter 7: Piecing It Together
After the Quidditch game, Hermione quickly went to the Prefect's room and got all the things she would be needing for the research session with Malfoy today. He had sent her a note during breakfast that they would start their research work for Defense Against the Dark Arts after the game. And so, being the studious girl that she is, she had to go.
She headed to the library after getting her school bag from her room. Ignoring all inklings and horrid thoughts of what had happened here when she was alone, she walked on. Ron and Harry were probably whining over how Malfoy happened to catch the snitch this time.
She paused in her steps before opening the doors to the library.
The memories were coming back and she couldn't help but feel scared that there might be a repeat of that happening today. Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, trying to summon her courage that had sunken deep inside her ever since the incident. Taking a deep breath, she gingerly eased the door and peered inside. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw a number of students poring over books and Madame Pince, the librarian was at her desk, dutifully filing papers. Opening the door slowly, she stepped inside and carefully walked over to a desk by a window. It was near the other students so she didn't have to be afraid of being alone with Malfoy; but far enough to have the peace and quiet of studying.
Setting her bag down on the floor, she gently massaged her aching shoulder from the weight of her school bag. Then she got out her parchments, quills and her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and laid them all on the desk before going over to a book section where she knew some books would contain information about the Rape Curse.
The thought of her oh-so-unlucky research topic made her blood run cold. But shaking it all off, she got all the books needed (she had gotten four books: Unknown Curses Created in the 1500 - 1600's; Creators of Curses: Volume 3; Unknown Counter Curses and their origins; and More Information about Curses.) and placed them all on top of the desk. After sitting on a chair, she laid everything out in neat piles for easy cross- referencing and writing. When everything was settled, she waited for Malfoy to get there.
He was taking an awful lot of time not getting there because fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't shown up. Hermione was getting restless... and so, in an effort to keep herself busy, she took a piece of parchment and her quill (still charmed to never need an inkpot) and thought about what to write. She seemed to have forgotten the implications of her writing or scribbling on parchment when she had nothing to do because she thought nothing of it. She once said that no harm can be done in scribbling her thoughts down when Lavender once asked before why she had about a gazillion parchment papers with almost unreadable writings on them lying around in their room before.
While thinking about what to write, her thoughts drifted ultimately to Draco Malfoy.
Why do I have to be partnered with him anyway!? She thought angrily as she subconsciously wrote on her parchment. Little did she know or realize that she was writing the exact same thing she wrote in Transfiguration class yesterday.
'RON... HATE... I HATE HIM..."
But back to her thoughts, she was having a battle with her mind about why she had to be partnered with him for the rest of the year in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
With the other Slytherin guys, I can handle... I mean, at least I can still work with them fine... She continued her tirade in her head. But Malfoy?!?! Why him??
Because he's the best student in Defense Against the Dark Arts... She reasoned with herself.
So what?! She angrily thought back at her alter-ego who was fighting with her in her head. I'm just as good as him... if not better than him!
Not in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you're not! Her alter-ego was saying.
I guess... She conceded. Wait a minute...! 'I guess'? I don't think so! She snapped back at her alter-ego who chose that appropriate moment to leave her be.
Why do I have to be stuck with him on this project anyway?! And with this darn research topic?! I swear, the gods have something against me...! She thought.
I mean, it's bad enough that he crashed into me in the Prefects' common room and I almost blew my secret... and he's always looking at me as if I'm crazy or something... but why does he have to meddle in my life?!
Hermione fought the urge to scream right then and there.
Why does he have to be so damn observant anyway?! No wait, I take that back... why does he have to be damn smart anyway?! And while we're at it, why does he have to be so damn late?"
"Granger." Came Draco's smooth voice from a few feet beyond her. Hermione looked behind her and sure enough, Draco was walking towards her in his measured strides. He was wearing a dark green turtleneck sweater and black pants. His school robes were left open in the front and his hair was still wet from the shower he just took. Draco regarded her with cool interest, his eyes quickly scanning the paper in front of her.
Suddenly, it clicked. But he made no expression of surprise or shock cross his features.
Hermione, however, looked at him and found that her mind went blank and her mouth was suddenly dry. For a moment, she simply looked up at his blue eyes.
"I see you're already starting research." He said, gesturing to the paper she'd been writing on. He was about to grab it from her unresisting fingers when she snapped out of her thoughts (about what exact shade of blue his eyes were) and grabbed the parchment and held it close to her body, looking at him as she would as if he was about to take something very precious away from her.
Draco's right eyebrow raised as he walked over to the chair opposite her and sat down. He leaned forward and propped his chin on his hands. "What have you got written on the paper, Granger?" He asked coolly.
"That's none of your business, Malfoy." She replied, still holding on to the parchment for dear life.
"Why? A love letter, perhaps?" He asked.
"No!" Hermione quickly shot back, her cheeks beginning to warm. "Of course not! Why would I be writing a love letter to anyone?"
"Oh, there are plenty of reasons..." Draco replied, smirking. "But, I think I was mistaken when I assumed you were writing a love letter to anyone-"
"Yes, you were! There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that I would write a love-"
"I think you were writing a short and detailed article of your fantasies about me." He interrupted.
"W-wh-what?" She sputtered as her cheeks became redder than a tomato. "I would never in my life do such a thing!"
"Really?" He feigned surprise. "Then why won't you let me read what you've written there?"
"Because it's none of your business!" She snapped, her voice rising. He leant back into his chair and raised an eyebrow. "And why do you-" She was forced to stop in mid-sentence when he calmly placed a finger on his lips. Hermione's eyes blazed with anger as she got the piece of parchment and started ripping it into shreds. When she all had confetti in place of the once whole parchment, she threw the pieces inside her bag exasperatedly. "Happy?" She asked as she turned back to him.
Draco looked at her with an innocent expression on his face. "No need to be embarrassed about your... little admirations towards me, Granger. I get them all the time."
Hermione was about to scream and holler and yell at him, complete with scratching that smirk off his face when she desperately controlled herself. It took her a few deep breaths and about ten counts before she calmly looked into his face and said, "Let's just get started on this project... please." She grabbed the book on top of the pile she'd placed there and opened it to the page where the curse was written. When she reached the page, she grabbed a piece of parchment and started taking notes.
Draco watched her for a moment, noticing the way her eyes widened over the said curse and her hands beginning to shake as she took down notes. Then, he spoke up. "What do you want me to do?"
Hermione looked up at him and for a split second, Draco saw the fear in her eyes. She snapped out of it and answered his question. "You could do the counter curse and part of the biography of the creator of the curse." She suggested.
He shrugged and carefully took out his quill and grabbed a few parchment papers before getting a book. They worked in silence for about an hour.
But Draco's eyes sometimes never even rested on the page of the book. He was busy looking at Hermione and her current state. He peered over what she had written and it read:
'The Rapere Curse or the Rape Curse was one of the most powerful curses to be created in the wizarding world. Created in Germany by Fraenkel Klaudius, it was used to render a woman unable to fend for herself during an assault and make her relive the experience for the rest of her life. The Rape Curse is known to have been used on only thirty women before the counter curse was created and the law that abolished the Rape Curse altogether.
The actual incantation of the curse has only been written once. It is by law that it is not to be written or said ever again, but the counter curse is still being taught for precautionary measures. The 400 year old parchment containing the said incantation of the Rape Curse is secretly kept in one of the top Wizard Museums in the world...'
"Granger?" Draco said softly. Hermione looked at him expectantly.
"Yes?"
"Have you found anything about this Klaudius guy?" He asked her, knowing the answer already. No book in the extensive Hogwarts library held the information about Frankael Klaudius other than his date of birth and the day he died.
Hermione shook her head forlornly. "Do you know anything about him? Other than his name, what he created, when he was born and when he died?"
Draco nodded. Hermione's eyes widened. "You do?"
"Yes."
"How?" Hermione asked, interested very much on how he managed to get such information about Klaudius.
"My family and I went to Germany a few years back. I found out all about him there... even though the people there treat him like You-Know-You or something." He replied.
"Oh..." Hermione said, then looked at him hopefully. "Would you tell me about him?"
"I was planning to anyway, Granger." Draco replied, giving her a half- smile. Hermione's face brightened as she smiled.
"Thank you..." She said. He shrugged but deep inside, Draco was reeling at the impact of her smile on him. "So, what do you know about Klaudius?"
"Okay... Let's start at the beginning..." Draco paused, gathering his thoughts. "Fraenkel Klaudius was born on October 19, 1657 in Erzgebirge, Germany. He was the youngest of eight children and the only son of the Count of Erzgebirge."
"So he was rich? And powerful?" Hermione interrupted.
"Yes. But, he was also exploited from the wizarding world because of the curse he created." Draco said.
"Oh... continue then." Hermione prodded, leaning forward expectantly.
"Well, it was said that he fell in love with this young and beautiful muggle girl when she worked in his family's castle after the girl's father had died..."
"What was the girl's name?" Hermione asked.
"There is no record of it anywhere." Draco answered.
"Huh? Why?"
"If you were the inspiration, so to speak, for creating this curse and being the first victim of it, would you want to be written in the Wizard history books forever?" He asked.
"I guess not..." Hermione said sheepishly.
"Anyway, it was said that Klaudius loved this girl with all his heart. And with her working in his family's castle, he did everything to have her. Now, the girl did not love him back. But, she realized that the only way she would get away from him if she pretended to love him and make him trust her." Draco said, pausing.
"After a year of working under the Klaudius' household and having Fraenkel secretly falling head over heels in love with her, she devised a plan to get away from him... forever. She told him one night, after he had proposed to her to marry him, that she would marry him, only if he gave her one last chance to visit her family and say goodbye. Fraenkel was planning to elope with her to France... He agreed, but then she never came back."
"Where did she go?" Hermione asked.
"Sweden."
"Oh... what happened next?"
"Well, that's where the story all began. Klaudius went against his father's wishes and set out a troop to track her down and find her. While waiting for word on her location, Fraenkel locked himself for days on end in his room where he devised a special curse to have her back."
"The Rape Curse." Hermione offered in a small voice.
"It was not actually supposed to be a Rape Curse." Draco explained. "It was ultimately called that because of Fraenkel's mistake."
"What mistake?"
"You see, what Fraenkel initially wanted to do was have her body, her mind and her heart to succumb to his will. Unfortunately, a person's heart will never give in to any such curse of an evil nature. Therefore, instead of a person's heart, it became her memory."
"What do you mean?"
"The Rape Curse causes a person to be rendered unable to fight off an aggressor purposely assaulting her because of a carnal want, right?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, along with that, is the most painful effect of the curse on the victim. When it is cast on someone, the curse will also make her relive the experience everyday for the rest of her life. Every hour, every minute and every second of the day, the victim will only see, hear and feel what happened to her because of the curse." Draco said.
Hermione placed a hand over her mouth in fear and shock. She looked absolutely terrified.
"You okay, Granger? I can stop if you want to..." Draco said, taking note of her state.
"I'm fine. Please continue." Hermione said, in an effort to know more about the curse and to cover up her fear as well. Draco shrugged and continued.
"To suffice the story, when Fraenkel finally found the girl, he wasted no time in placing her under the curse and having his way with her." Draco stopped when Hermione gasped. "Are you sure I should continue."
"Continue..." She said meekly, smiling.
"Well, it was only after raping her that he realized his mistake. The girl was now broken and crazy. She was dead, in a way. And because of this, Fraenkel killed himself."
"How?"
"In front of the girl, right after he raped her, he conjured up a chamber in his hate for himself and his want to die. It was a death chamber, taken from one of the books he had been reading. The original death chamber only placed a suicidal person in it and poisonous fumes would engulf him. After the wizard had died, the chamber itself would crumble and disintegrate, leaving no trace." Draco said. "But, with Klaudius' death chamber, he created it so that the fumes would not really kill him, but just enough to make him weak. Then, water filled up the chamber. But this was no ordinary water because it burned his skin before he would drown in it. When he died, the chamber disintegrated."
"That's horrible!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm getting to the good part of the tale, Granger. Don't worry." Draco said, half-smiling. Hermione nodded and Draco told her the rest.
"The girl's friend, who was a wizard somehow managed to grab hold of the parchment Klaudius used to make the Rape Curse. He wanted to create a counter curse for it after what happened to the girl and what happened when other lust-filled men tried to use it on other women as well. And he did, using the same formula Fraenkel used; he managed to use the will of a person's heart to fight off the Rape Curse."
"How does the counter curse work?" Hermione asked.
"It's like a patronus... but it does not need much thinking to conjure up the counter curse... only the heart." Draco explained. "The will of the victim, plus the revised incantation, would be powerful enough to stop the aggressor. The pain the aggressor would feel was like the Crutacius Curse."
"A counter curse would be too late in my situation. Even if he did not use the Rape Curse in the first place." Hermione mumbled.
"Pardon?" Draco asked. But he had heard it.
"Oh...!" Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. "Can the counter curse be used without the Rape curse being used on the victim?"
"Unfortunately, no. The counter curse can only be used when the Rape Curse is used." Draco answered. He saw the brief flash of pain cross her features. His suspicions began to escalate... and a plan began to form itself in his head.
"Oh..." Hermione said.
"I didn't disturb you too much, Granger?" He asked.
"No... I'm fine." She said shakily.
"Then why are you shaking?"
"Um... because I'm starving!" Hermione answered. Draco raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Hermione then quickly stood up and began gathering her things. "I guess I'll just go to the kitchens and eat..." She muttered as she picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder and walked out of the library.
Draco looked on after her before standing up and walking out of the library, fully intending to once and for all, prove or disprove his theories.
* * *
A week after their study session in the library, Hermione was roaming the halls of Hogwarts. It was almost eleven o'clock on a Saturday night, which meant that curfew was almost an hour ago. Being a prefect, Hermione had to do rounds of the school after curfew of the other students. Her own curfew was almost up. She only had one more place to go before she could return to her room and get a good night's sleep.
The last place was the Slytherin dungeons.
Hermione braced herself. She hated doing rounds in the Slytherin part of the castle. It just gave her the creeps... almost like someone was watching her every move. There was also one prefect up and that was Joanna who was also doing rounds in another part of the castle.
Hermione walked briskly but carefully. She had to be alert of any sounds or movements of the students. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was done with the hall and was making her way from the dungeons, passing through the Potions classrooms.
Then she heard a noise. And she stopped dead in her tracks.
A table or chair being scraped on the surface, she realized. She turned towards the source of the sound and saw that the door to a Potions classroom was slightly ajar. A student was out...
She silently walked over to the door, her wand in her hand as she eased it open and looked inside. Nothing. Everything was pitch-black. She walked into the room and was about to say the Lumos charm when someone grabbed her arm and shut the door.
Her wand dropped from her hand.
Hermione tried to scream but a hand quickly clamped itself over her mouth. Her back was to her captor and an arm held her to him. Hermione started to try and break free but he was too strong. He held her, seemingly doing nothing wrong except mold her body to his... but she'd been through enough not to realize that.
The hand left her mouth, and her captor placed a silencing charm so that no one in the school would hear what would go on in this room...
But Hermione never realized this. Instead, she resisted and tried to fight, whimpering the words:
"Ron... please... don't... please... don't hurt me again."
Chapter 7: Piecing It Together
After the Quidditch game, Hermione quickly went to the Prefect's room and got all the things she would be needing for the research session with Malfoy today. He had sent her a note during breakfast that they would start their research work for Defense Against the Dark Arts after the game. And so, being the studious girl that she is, she had to go.
She headed to the library after getting her school bag from her room. Ignoring all inklings and horrid thoughts of what had happened here when she was alone, she walked on. Ron and Harry were probably whining over how Malfoy happened to catch the snitch this time.
She paused in her steps before opening the doors to the library.
The memories were coming back and she couldn't help but feel scared that there might be a repeat of that happening today. Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, trying to summon her courage that had sunken deep inside her ever since the incident. Taking a deep breath, she gingerly eased the door and peered inside. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw a number of students poring over books and Madame Pince, the librarian was at her desk, dutifully filing papers. Opening the door slowly, she stepped inside and carefully walked over to a desk by a window. It was near the other students so she didn't have to be afraid of being alone with Malfoy; but far enough to have the peace and quiet of studying.
Setting her bag down on the floor, she gently massaged her aching shoulder from the weight of her school bag. Then she got out her parchments, quills and her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and laid them all on the desk before going over to a book section where she knew some books would contain information about the Rape Curse.
The thought of her oh-so-unlucky research topic made her blood run cold. But shaking it all off, she got all the books needed (she had gotten four books: Unknown Curses Created in the 1500 - 1600's; Creators of Curses: Volume 3; Unknown Counter Curses and their origins; and More Information about Curses.) and placed them all on top of the desk. After sitting on a chair, she laid everything out in neat piles for easy cross- referencing and writing. When everything was settled, she waited for Malfoy to get there.
He was taking an awful lot of time not getting there because fifteen minutes later, he still hadn't shown up. Hermione was getting restless... and so, in an effort to keep herself busy, she took a piece of parchment and her quill (still charmed to never need an inkpot) and thought about what to write. She seemed to have forgotten the implications of her writing or scribbling on parchment when she had nothing to do because she thought nothing of it. She once said that no harm can be done in scribbling her thoughts down when Lavender once asked before why she had about a gazillion parchment papers with almost unreadable writings on them lying around in their room before.
While thinking about what to write, her thoughts drifted ultimately to Draco Malfoy.
Why do I have to be partnered with him anyway!? She thought angrily as she subconsciously wrote on her parchment. Little did she know or realize that she was writing the exact same thing she wrote in Transfiguration class yesterday.
'RON... HATE... I HATE HIM..."
But back to her thoughts, she was having a battle with her mind about why she had to be partnered with him for the rest of the year in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
With the other Slytherin guys, I can handle... I mean, at least I can still work with them fine... She continued her tirade in her head. But Malfoy?!?! Why him??
Because he's the best student in Defense Against the Dark Arts... She reasoned with herself.
So what?! She angrily thought back at her alter-ego who was fighting with her in her head. I'm just as good as him... if not better than him!
Not in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you're not! Her alter-ego was saying.
I guess... She conceded. Wait a minute...! 'I guess'? I don't think so! She snapped back at her alter-ego who chose that appropriate moment to leave her be.
Why do I have to be stuck with him on this project anyway?! And with this darn research topic?! I swear, the gods have something against me...! She thought.
I mean, it's bad enough that he crashed into me in the Prefects' common room and I almost blew my secret... and he's always looking at me as if I'm crazy or something... but why does he have to meddle in my life?!
Hermione fought the urge to scream right then and there.
Why does he have to be so damn observant anyway?! No wait, I take that back... why does he have to be damn smart anyway?! And while we're at it, why does he have to be so damn late?"
"Granger." Came Draco's smooth voice from a few feet beyond her. Hermione looked behind her and sure enough, Draco was walking towards her in his measured strides. He was wearing a dark green turtleneck sweater and black pants. His school robes were left open in the front and his hair was still wet from the shower he just took. Draco regarded her with cool interest, his eyes quickly scanning the paper in front of her.
Suddenly, it clicked. But he made no expression of surprise or shock cross his features.
Hermione, however, looked at him and found that her mind went blank and her mouth was suddenly dry. For a moment, she simply looked up at his blue eyes.
"I see you're already starting research." He said, gesturing to the paper she'd been writing on. He was about to grab it from her unresisting fingers when she snapped out of her thoughts (about what exact shade of blue his eyes were) and grabbed the parchment and held it close to her body, looking at him as she would as if he was about to take something very precious away from her.
Draco's right eyebrow raised as he walked over to the chair opposite her and sat down. He leaned forward and propped his chin on his hands. "What have you got written on the paper, Granger?" He asked coolly.
"That's none of your business, Malfoy." She replied, still holding on to the parchment for dear life.
"Why? A love letter, perhaps?" He asked.
"No!" Hermione quickly shot back, her cheeks beginning to warm. "Of course not! Why would I be writing a love letter to anyone?"
"Oh, there are plenty of reasons..." Draco replied, smirking. "But, I think I was mistaken when I assumed you were writing a love letter to anyone-"
"Yes, you were! There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that I would write a love-"
"I think you were writing a short and detailed article of your fantasies about me." He interrupted.
"W-wh-what?" She sputtered as her cheeks became redder than a tomato. "I would never in my life do such a thing!"
"Really?" He feigned surprise. "Then why won't you let me read what you've written there?"
"Because it's none of your business!" She snapped, her voice rising. He leant back into his chair and raised an eyebrow. "And why do you-" She was forced to stop in mid-sentence when he calmly placed a finger on his lips. Hermione's eyes blazed with anger as she got the piece of parchment and started ripping it into shreds. When she all had confetti in place of the once whole parchment, she threw the pieces inside her bag exasperatedly. "Happy?" She asked as she turned back to him.
Draco looked at her with an innocent expression on his face. "No need to be embarrassed about your... little admirations towards me, Granger. I get them all the time."
Hermione was about to scream and holler and yell at him, complete with scratching that smirk off his face when she desperately controlled herself. It took her a few deep breaths and about ten counts before she calmly looked into his face and said, "Let's just get started on this project... please." She grabbed the book on top of the pile she'd placed there and opened it to the page where the curse was written. When she reached the page, she grabbed a piece of parchment and started taking notes.
Draco watched her for a moment, noticing the way her eyes widened over the said curse and her hands beginning to shake as she took down notes. Then, he spoke up. "What do you want me to do?"
Hermione looked up at him and for a split second, Draco saw the fear in her eyes. She snapped out of it and answered his question. "You could do the counter curse and part of the biography of the creator of the curse." She suggested.
He shrugged and carefully took out his quill and grabbed a few parchment papers before getting a book. They worked in silence for about an hour.
But Draco's eyes sometimes never even rested on the page of the book. He was busy looking at Hermione and her current state. He peered over what she had written and it read:
'The Rapere Curse or the Rape Curse was one of the most powerful curses to be created in the wizarding world. Created in Germany by Fraenkel Klaudius, it was used to render a woman unable to fend for herself during an assault and make her relive the experience for the rest of her life. The Rape Curse is known to have been used on only thirty women before the counter curse was created and the law that abolished the Rape Curse altogether.
The actual incantation of the curse has only been written once. It is by law that it is not to be written or said ever again, but the counter curse is still being taught for precautionary measures. The 400 year old parchment containing the said incantation of the Rape Curse is secretly kept in one of the top Wizard Museums in the world...'
"Granger?" Draco said softly. Hermione looked at him expectantly.
"Yes?"
"Have you found anything about this Klaudius guy?" He asked her, knowing the answer already. No book in the extensive Hogwarts library held the information about Frankael Klaudius other than his date of birth and the day he died.
Hermione shook her head forlornly. "Do you know anything about him? Other than his name, what he created, when he was born and when he died?"
Draco nodded. Hermione's eyes widened. "You do?"
"Yes."
"How?" Hermione asked, interested very much on how he managed to get such information about Klaudius.
"My family and I went to Germany a few years back. I found out all about him there... even though the people there treat him like You-Know-You or something." He replied.
"Oh..." Hermione said, then looked at him hopefully. "Would you tell me about him?"
"I was planning to anyway, Granger." Draco replied, giving her a half- smile. Hermione's face brightened as she smiled.
"Thank you..." She said. He shrugged but deep inside, Draco was reeling at the impact of her smile on him. "So, what do you know about Klaudius?"
"Okay... Let's start at the beginning..." Draco paused, gathering his thoughts. "Fraenkel Klaudius was born on October 19, 1657 in Erzgebirge, Germany. He was the youngest of eight children and the only son of the Count of Erzgebirge."
"So he was rich? And powerful?" Hermione interrupted.
"Yes. But, he was also exploited from the wizarding world because of the curse he created." Draco said.
"Oh... continue then." Hermione prodded, leaning forward expectantly.
"Well, it was said that he fell in love with this young and beautiful muggle girl when she worked in his family's castle after the girl's father had died..."
"What was the girl's name?" Hermione asked.
"There is no record of it anywhere." Draco answered.
"Huh? Why?"
"If you were the inspiration, so to speak, for creating this curse and being the first victim of it, would you want to be written in the Wizard history books forever?" He asked.
"I guess not..." Hermione said sheepishly.
"Anyway, it was said that Klaudius loved this girl with all his heart. And with her working in his family's castle, he did everything to have her. Now, the girl did not love him back. But, she realized that the only way she would get away from him if she pretended to love him and make him trust her." Draco said, pausing.
"After a year of working under the Klaudius' household and having Fraenkel secretly falling head over heels in love with her, she devised a plan to get away from him... forever. She told him one night, after he had proposed to her to marry him, that she would marry him, only if he gave her one last chance to visit her family and say goodbye. Fraenkel was planning to elope with her to France... He agreed, but then she never came back."
"Where did she go?" Hermione asked.
"Sweden."
"Oh... what happened next?"
"Well, that's where the story all began. Klaudius went against his father's wishes and set out a troop to track her down and find her. While waiting for word on her location, Fraenkel locked himself for days on end in his room where he devised a special curse to have her back."
"The Rape Curse." Hermione offered in a small voice.
"It was not actually supposed to be a Rape Curse." Draco explained. "It was ultimately called that because of Fraenkel's mistake."
"What mistake?"
"You see, what Fraenkel initially wanted to do was have her body, her mind and her heart to succumb to his will. Unfortunately, a person's heart will never give in to any such curse of an evil nature. Therefore, instead of a person's heart, it became her memory."
"What do you mean?"
"The Rape Curse causes a person to be rendered unable to fight off an aggressor purposely assaulting her because of a carnal want, right?"
Hermione nodded.
"Well, along with that, is the most painful effect of the curse on the victim. When it is cast on someone, the curse will also make her relive the experience everyday for the rest of her life. Every hour, every minute and every second of the day, the victim will only see, hear and feel what happened to her because of the curse." Draco said.
Hermione placed a hand over her mouth in fear and shock. She looked absolutely terrified.
"You okay, Granger? I can stop if you want to..." Draco said, taking note of her state.
"I'm fine. Please continue." Hermione said, in an effort to know more about the curse and to cover up her fear as well. Draco shrugged and continued.
"To suffice the story, when Fraenkel finally found the girl, he wasted no time in placing her under the curse and having his way with her." Draco stopped when Hermione gasped. "Are you sure I should continue."
"Continue..." She said meekly, smiling.
"Well, it was only after raping her that he realized his mistake. The girl was now broken and crazy. She was dead, in a way. And because of this, Fraenkel killed himself."
"How?"
"In front of the girl, right after he raped her, he conjured up a chamber in his hate for himself and his want to die. It was a death chamber, taken from one of the books he had been reading. The original death chamber only placed a suicidal person in it and poisonous fumes would engulf him. After the wizard had died, the chamber itself would crumble and disintegrate, leaving no trace." Draco said. "But, with Klaudius' death chamber, he created it so that the fumes would not really kill him, but just enough to make him weak. Then, water filled up the chamber. But this was no ordinary water because it burned his skin before he would drown in it. When he died, the chamber disintegrated."
"That's horrible!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I'm getting to the good part of the tale, Granger. Don't worry." Draco said, half-smiling. Hermione nodded and Draco told her the rest.
"The girl's friend, who was a wizard somehow managed to grab hold of the parchment Klaudius used to make the Rape Curse. He wanted to create a counter curse for it after what happened to the girl and what happened when other lust-filled men tried to use it on other women as well. And he did, using the same formula Fraenkel used; he managed to use the will of a person's heart to fight off the Rape Curse."
"How does the counter curse work?" Hermione asked.
"It's like a patronus... but it does not need much thinking to conjure up the counter curse... only the heart." Draco explained. "The will of the victim, plus the revised incantation, would be powerful enough to stop the aggressor. The pain the aggressor would feel was like the Crutacius Curse."
"A counter curse would be too late in my situation. Even if he did not use the Rape Curse in the first place." Hermione mumbled.
"Pardon?" Draco asked. But he had heard it.
"Oh...!" Hermione snapped out of her thoughts. "Can the counter curse be used without the Rape curse being used on the victim?"
"Unfortunately, no. The counter curse can only be used when the Rape Curse is used." Draco answered. He saw the brief flash of pain cross her features. His suspicions began to escalate... and a plan began to form itself in his head.
"Oh..." Hermione said.
"I didn't disturb you too much, Granger?" He asked.
"No... I'm fine." She said shakily.
"Then why are you shaking?"
"Um... because I'm starving!" Hermione answered. Draco raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Hermione then quickly stood up and began gathering her things. "I guess I'll just go to the kitchens and eat..." She muttered as she picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder and walked out of the library.
Draco looked on after her before standing up and walking out of the library, fully intending to once and for all, prove or disprove his theories.
* * *
A week after their study session in the library, Hermione was roaming the halls of Hogwarts. It was almost eleven o'clock on a Saturday night, which meant that curfew was almost an hour ago. Being a prefect, Hermione had to do rounds of the school after curfew of the other students. Her own curfew was almost up. She only had one more place to go before she could return to her room and get a good night's sleep.
The last place was the Slytherin dungeons.
Hermione braced herself. She hated doing rounds in the Slytherin part of the castle. It just gave her the creeps... almost like someone was watching her every move. There was also one prefect up and that was Joanna who was also doing rounds in another part of the castle.
Hermione walked briskly but carefully. She had to be alert of any sounds or movements of the students. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was done with the hall and was making her way from the dungeons, passing through the Potions classrooms.
Then she heard a noise. And she stopped dead in her tracks.
A table or chair being scraped on the surface, she realized. She turned towards the source of the sound and saw that the door to a Potions classroom was slightly ajar. A student was out...
She silently walked over to the door, her wand in her hand as she eased it open and looked inside. Nothing. Everything was pitch-black. She walked into the room and was about to say the Lumos charm when someone grabbed her arm and shut the door.
Her wand dropped from her hand.
Hermione tried to scream but a hand quickly clamped itself over her mouth. Her back was to her captor and an arm held her to him. Hermione started to try and break free but he was too strong. He held her, seemingly doing nothing wrong except mold her body to his... but she'd been through enough not to realize that.
The hand left her mouth, and her captor placed a silencing charm so that no one in the school would hear what would go on in this room...
But Hermione never realized this. Instead, she resisted and tried to fight, whimpering the words:
"Ron... please... don't... please... don't hurt me again."
