Internal Wounds .. x

Impaired Heart .. x

. . x . .

Chapter Four .. x Blends of Betrayal

(" . . x . . "refers to changing of POV )

There was a shuffle in Hermione's no-longer-proud stride that morning. She felt terrible, and sick to her stomach. She had gotten the least bit of sleep last night but was more than grateful that it was a Saturday and she wouldn't have to put up with classes. The one thing that lightened her mood as she slumped through the corridors early that morning was the sun light spilling through the windows and the cloudless blue sky awaiting her outside.

What she needed after breakfast, she decided, was some fresh air to clear her mind of guilt and everything else that was weighing her down. Whatever it was was making her feel like 300 pounds.

There was no one at the Gryffindor table when she sat down for breakfast, it was way to early. Hermione felt socially disoriented, eating alone like this, it was unusual, but luckily breakfast went by fast, seeing as she didn't eat much.

Yesterday she had been an innocent 16 year old girl worrying about nothing but homework completion and now she had her head inflated with all this Potter nonsense! She thought this bitterly to herself before heading back to the Gryffindor tower. She was hoping she could have grabbed better shoes for it had rained last night, before anyone was up and about. Unfortunately the halls were beginning to flood with hungry students heading for breakfast. Hermione swept her way passed each student headed in the opposite direction in annoyance.

It wasn't long before she spotted Harry and Ron slowly making their progress down the corridors. Every nerve in her body was telling her to turn around, or hide, or do whatever! She had no intention what so ever of seeing Harry that morning. But nothing in her body seemed to reply when her brain screamed to avoid them, she was glued to the spot.

"Hey Mione!" Ron greeted cheerfully as he and Harry drew nearer. To late, there was nothing she could do now. "Ate breakfast already have you? Boy, you've been on a tight schedule lately haven't you?"

Hermione glanced over to Harry then at the ground. It seemed Ron had no clue what had gone on the night before, then again, Hermione hadn't expected him to have known either. "Lo Ron." she replied hoarsely, still concentrating on the floor.

"Ron, go ahead to breakfast will you? I'll catch up." Harry finally murmured to Hermione's horror. She glanced up to see Ron flash her and Harry a queer look before shaking his head and continuing down the buzzing hall.

Hermione looked into Harry's face and managed an "I'm-not-ready-to-talk" face but Harry ignored and it asked, "Look, can I please just tell you something?" He dragged the hesitant brunette behind a corner and away from a group of chattering Slytherins. Hermione refused to look into Harry's emerald eyes, feeling a jolt of pain sting her in the back of the head when she did so, it was guilt. She was sorry for using him last night, she truly was. She just wished she could go back and undo what she did. Harry continued talking...

. . x . .

"Wake up dumbass!"

The most pleasant awakening he had received in months. Draco Malfoy moaned and rolled over in his twisted bed sheets, attempting to ignore the annoyed roommate standing over his bed.

"You lazy ass little-" Blaise was cut short by something completely alarming, and rude, that Draco had suggested he do. He couldn't entirely understand him for his face was in his pillow, but he knew quite well it wasn't pretty.

Draco felt his pillow get yanked out from under him and his head landed smack into the mattress face first. Slowly, Draco lifted himself up, rubbing his forehead. Why was it that Hogwarts had such hard mattresses? He squinted through the stinging bright light flooding the room and saw Blaise Zabini clutching his pillow looking angered.

"It's Ten!" Blaise shouted at his blinded friend.

"And?" Draco groaned rolling onto his back, attempting to untwist his sheets. It wasn't unusual for Draco and Blaise to fight like this, it was just simply how it was. Then again Draco couldn't have had a better friend if he tried, he was no good at treating people like an equal and Zabini was just the same, that's why they could stand each other.

"Merlin, Quidditch practice!" Zabini hollered, throwing his pillow back at him.

It collided with Draco's chest rather roughly but he ignored it. "Shit!" he cursed, scrambling out of bed. This had to be the fourth practice he was late for, they just started to damn early. Every member of the Slytherin house team was expected to arrive at the Quidditch pitch, 10:00 sharp and not a minute later. "You should have woke me up earlier!" Draco complained, ripping off his night shirt and tossing it to the floor.

Blaise rolled his eyes at the messy haired 16 year old as he darted around the room frantically and shirtless. "The drapes ARE open. People CAN see you dress Malfoy." Zabini pointed out with a laugh, Draco knew he was just loving this.

"Where the fuck are my Quidditch robes?" he spat, ignoring what Blaise had said.

"Right where you left them, shoved under your bed." his friend told him, pointing to the green colored bundle poking out from under his bed hangings. Draco dived for them, throwing on his Quidditch shirt. "Where else would they be?" Blaise asked, rolling his dark eyes.

"It's not my fault those bloody elves don't do their job!" Draco shot as he finished getting dressed.

Again, Blaise rolled his eyes at Draco. "Not since you scared the last one out of here because you woke up in the middle of the night because he was fluffing your pillows!"

"It's not very efficient for them to be going around waking people up like that!" Draco argued in his defense as he heading for the bathroom and began to fix his bed head hair. It was true, that had been months ago and ever since his roommates had to suffer an untidy room because every house elf in Hogwarts refused to return there. "Anyways, I gotta split." Draco told him, ending the pointless argument they were having before dashing out into the common room.

"You forgot your gear!" Blaise cried after him referring to Draco's Quidditch padding. Screw it, Draco thought as he rushed out into the busy corridor, there was no time for that. If he didn't make it to the pitch in less than a minute, he would be fifteen minutes late and therefore would have to pay the price dearly, being the fourth time and all. His captain pretty much hated him for it now and if he kept it up he'd be kicked off the team for sure.

Draco hadn't been much of a seeker, more of a slacker was all. But this year they had a new captain and he was really hardcore and whipped Draco right into shape, he had become the best in all of Slytherin and no one could take his place if he got kicked off. That was one thing he had to hand to his captain. On top of that, he had probably crammed more physical exercise into Draco's system than he would ever need.

He swept passed students as they hurried to breakfast left to right. He couldn't be late, he wasn't looking forward to another work out this practice like the last punishment for his tardiness.

He approached a group of chattering Slytherin fifth years as he hurried down the hall. He had seen most of them around but had never had a complete conversation with them before his in life. "Hey Malfoy." one of them greeted to his disappointment. "Off to Quidditch practice I'm guessing." the boy said to him, judging by his robe, yes, obviously he was. He nodded in response, wanting to leave without making any rude gestures that were aching to escape his lips. "Man, Chect hates it when your late doesn't he?" That was the name of his captain...everyone called him by his last name, EVERYONE.

"Yeah. So I better get going..." Draco told the group feeling really impatient. They nodded him off and with that he turned to begin down the hall again.

"Again, I'm sorry for feeling for you this way...or thinking of you this way, Hermione...But--"

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. "What the fuck...?" It had been Potter's voice from around a near by corner. What had he just said? Feelings? For Hermione, HIS girl?

Then Hermione's shaken voice emerged from behind the corner also. "....Harry, what I did last night - what WE did last night - it was foolish and I'm sorry if it meant something to you, but it didn't to me and --"

Draco felt something boil in the pit of his stomach, it was rage. If they were talking about what he THOUGHT they were talking about...He had every intention in his body to break up their little conversation and confront to Hermione that he had heard what she said, she was cheating on him. His heart ached when he thought it. Why? Why would she do something like this to him? AND POTTER? How thick could she be to mess something like what they had up? Why couldn't it have been him to have? A lump began to form in Draco's throat, making it hard for him to swallow. He was curious and continued to listen in.

"Uuh...weren't you heading off to Quidditch practice?" the annoying Slytherin boy asked.

Draco was contentrating on Hermione and Potters voices from near the stone brick wall. The voices became muffled as they lowered themselves. Draco fought to make out what they were saying but only caught it when Hermione began to shout at Harry about how it had taken two people to have done what they did last night.

"Malfoy!?" The fifth year shouted again.

Draco jumped up, oh no practice... Draco would rather do 50 push ups with his left arm then stand here and listen to anymore of this anyways, it was shredding his heart listening to them talk about it.

Shaking his head vigorously, Draco continued down the hall, breaking into a run. But why did she betray him like this? Why? What had he done? How was Potter better than him? He hated him with a passion...he would never forgive Hermione for this.

end chapter four . . x

I was in a very hyper mood when I wrote the part where Draco was getting ready for Quidditch practice....I think it shows to ...somehow I managed to get them to talk about house elves O.o The beginning of the next chapter was definitely supposed to be part of this one but I'm confused to as whether my chapters are to long for you guys

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