Hermione finally reached the common room, and looked around. Harry was in an armchair, staring into the fire. She made her way over quietly, and sat in a chair next to him. After a few moments, he looked up. He noticed there was something amiss.
"Are you alright?" Hermione realized she still looked pale.
"I have to tell you something. And you have to promise not to tell Ron. He'll go mental." Harry thought for a moment. If Hermione didn't want Ron to know, it must be something serious. Ron was especially protective of Hermione. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, but he didn't think she felt the same way as he did."I promise I won't tell him." Hermione was going to tell him something painful, he could tell. He waited quietly.
"It's Draco. I was walking down the hallway, alone. He said...some things to me."
Harry frowned immediately. "What did he do Hermione? What did he say?" Hermione sighed. She had expected him to react like this. "Well, among other things, he threatened to use....""Tell me…What did he threaten you with?" Harry growled. He was suddenly looking angry; hanging on Hermione's every word." He said he'd use the Imperious curse on me. He said he'd make me do... things, and that he'd make me tell you that no one was controlling me. He said I'd lose you and Ron forever..."
Hermione looked at Harry with angry eyes. At the sight of Hermione like this, Harry's expression softened. He could guess what he would make Hermione do. //That utter bastard!!// he thought furiously. He reached over and hugged her tightly. How could he and Ron take care of her so that she didn't feel they were demeaning her? It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself, but wandering the corridors alone...
"Don't worry. Ron and I will make sure that you aren't alone anymore. He won't have any chance to get near you again." As expected, Hermione began to argue.
"Harry, I'm not *completely* inept, I-"
"But something happened tonight, didn't it? I'm not saying we'll follow you everywhere, just when there isn't anyone else around. I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself."
Hermione opened her mouth to argue again, but decided not to. He looked into her eyes, frowning slightly.
"You *have* to promise me that you won't go anywhere alone. I don't want Draco getting hold of you again. I don't know if we could help you if he did."
"I promise, Harry. But how are you going to explain it to Ron?"
"I won't. You just get me whenever you need to go to the somewhere where there won't be any people. But, I don't know how you would get me to walk you back."
Harry puzzled over this for a few moments. He looked into the fire, and back to Hermione. And quite suddenly, she smiled. "I read about this spell that you can put on 2 pieces of paper, kind of like Tom's diary. The two pieces are linked, and whatever one person writes on their sheet, the other one sees on theirs. We could use that." Harry smiled. Of course. She always had a spell tucked away in her mind, ready for use. "I'll work on it tonight, and give you a sheet tomorrow morning." Harry smiled for the first time in hours."Great."
"Well, that's sorted. I'm going to talk to Ron."
Harry nodded. He turned back to the fire, and began to think. He pondered what Draco was thinking, and what kinds of legal curses he might be able to use on him to get back at him for what he had done to Hermione. She clearly hadn't told him everything, but, as he knew from personal experience, sometimes you don't want to relive moments.