Chapter Three
The day flew by quickly. Before Hermione knew it, classes for the day were over. Dinner had just finished and she was on her way to the Gryffindor common room to talk to her friends.
She sighed as she entered the common room. She saw Harry and Ron playing Wizard Chess.
"Don't you guys do anything else besides play chess?" she asked.
"What? Yes Hermione. I mean no. I mean--- what did you ask again?" Harry looked up at her for a while.
"Never mind! I'll go talk to Ginny."
"Uhuh..."
Hermione walked across the common room to the couch where Ginny and Lavender were seated and talking. She felt awful. Harry and Ron didn't need her.
"Hey Ginny!" Hermione said as cheerful as she could.
"Hey Mione! How are you?" Ginny asked.
"I'm fine I guess." Hermione replied. She had just sat down when Ginny and Lavender stood up.
"We have to go Hermione. Lavender is supposed to teach me Arithmancy." Ginny said as she waved and left with Lavender.
Hermione suddenly felt the urge to cut herself again. First her father asked her to stay for Christmas and now her friends don't even need her. She was alone.
She got up and ran towards her common room. Her eyes were blurry and she was running so fast that she didn't notice Malfoy and Pansy talking near by. She bumped into Pansy.
"Dammit Mudblood! Watch where you're going!" Pansy snarled.
"I'm s-s-orry P-P-ansy" Hermione managed to say through her tears.
"Move it then Mudblood!" snapped Pansy. Hermione ran and ran and vaguely heard Draco scream at Pansy.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!" Draco said practically screaming at Pansy. It was strange but it took all of his self-control not to strangle Pansy at that very moment.
"Why do you care anyway? She hit me. Stupid bitch was crying anyway, so why not make her cry some more?"
Draco felt disgusted. He remembered what Pansy said about Hermione crying.
"Dammit!" he cursed and ran after Hermione.
***
Hermione stumbled into her common room barely seeing a thing, tears were flowing down her cheeks. No one wanted her. Her friends had made it clear a while ago. They were too caught up with their lives to notice anything. Pansy had called her a Mudblood and Draco just stood there and did nothing. "Of course he wouldn't" her brain screamed. "He doesn't even care about you!" That statement made her cry even harder. She needed her blade. She noticed that it wasn't where she left it yesterday.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY BLADE?!" she screamed to no one in particular.
"And just what the hell do you think your going to do with the damn blade?" someone sneered. He silently thanked the Gods that he remembered to hide the blade. She turned around. It was Draco Malfoy.
"Why do you care anyway Malfoy? I'm not going to kill myself! I just need it to block all the pain… just give it to me!" she said firmly.
"No" was his reply.
Hermione broke down.
"I-I just c-can't stand i-it!" she sobbed. "No one gives a damn about me!" she cried and sank to the floor.
Draco couldn't stand it. He walked over to her and sat next to her. All of a sudden he was hugging her. He understood her pain. He too felt like no one cared about him. His father was too consumed by the dark arts to notice his depression. And his mother… he didn't even want to think about her. Her father's beatings somehow clogged her brain. She was trapped in her fantasyland. Over the past few years he channeled all his depression to anger and hatred. He sighed at his realization. He felt good just by hugging Hermione and protecting her. Right now, it was all that he could offer.
After a while Hermione looked up at him.
"Why are you here anyway Draco?" she asked
He looked down and looked at her face. "You called me Draco." He smirked.
"No shit. Really, why are you here?" She blushed, hiding her head.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't know."
"Oh."
Silence.
"I have to go now. I guess I'll see you at potions tomorrow?"
"Ugh. Potions. Sure." Hermione said. She watched his back as he left and slumped back down, hugging herself.
"What's wrong with me?" Hermione asked herself. "You didn't actually believe that he would care about you? Her mind asked. She sighed and headed for her room. She was too sleepy to eat, besides, no one would mind anyway.
***
A/N: that's it for now. Please review!
