Chapter 6: Ancient Curse

Hermione looked down at the scene playing before her eyes. Draco hovered in a corner, crying, but trying to pretend that he didn't care. Madame Pomfrey stood pouring potion after potion into Hermione's mouth trying to wake her. Hermione became excited as she saw herself begin to breath.

Hermione felt her spirit self being pulled back into her body. I don't want to die but then again I don't want to go back to feeling numb. Her spirit self sighed deeply as she reconnected and opened her eyes.

Hermione glanced around and saw a look of relief spread over Draco's face.

"Hermione? Do you know where you are?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"Yes! Hogwarts! Head's dorm." She answered.

"Who did this to you?" Draco asked.

"Don't know really. At first I thought it was a shadow but then it became more pronounced. I mean when I realized that it was a man I tried to run but it threw me up against the wall. That's all I remember!" she finished lamely. She stared up at the ceiling. Tears threatened to pour down her face but she held them back. All she wanted was for Draco to hold her. To tell her that everything was going to be okay. And that he would protect her.

"Can we keep this a secret?" Hermione asked the nurse.

"Sure!" she replied giving Hermione a suspicious look. Hermione shrugged it off. She really didn't care anymore. Within the next five minutes Hermione was lying in her bed waiting for Madame Pomfrey to leave. She wanted to lay beside Draco tonight and for the rest of her life.

Quietly she listened for the slam of the portrait hole, a shuffle of footsteps, and the slick of a door. She heard these sounds in quick succession and jumped out of bed. She knocked quietly on Draco's door and walked in. Draco sat with his head in his hands sobbing quietly.

Hermione climbed in and hugged him to her chest. He jumped at her touch but relaxed when he realized it was her. Hermione laid in his arms for an hour in silence before he spoke.

"Hermione?"

"Um...." She replied to show that she was listening.

"I love you!"

She looked up into his gray eyes and smiled. She knew he was serious.

"I love you, too Draco!" she whispered and fell asleep in his arms.

Saturday morning dawned bright. When the first ray of sunshine hit his face Draco awoke. He smiled as he heard Hermione breathing deeply beside him.

He sat in complete silence and listened to the natural sounds floating in from his window. The chirp of the birds, the rustle of trees, Hagrid's morning whistling, his father yelling-.

Draco sat up quickly, jumped out of bed and raced to his window. Draco could barely hear him but when he did Lucius sounded mad.

"Fcuk!" Draco murmured. Lucius looked up and saw Draco. His evil grin widened. Panic spread throughout every bone in his body. "Fcuk!" he yelled. Draco ran to his bed and shook Hermione.

"Hermione! Hermione, my father's coming you have to go!"

Hermione opened her eyes and looked at Draco.

"You have to go! My father is coming!" he yelled at her.

Comprehension clouded her eyes and she hopped out of his bed as Draco ran around getting dressed.

"Come to me later?" she asked and he nodded as somebody knocked on his door.

"Go!" he whispered urgently.

Hermione paced in her dorm room listening to the fight in progress. She tapped her water goblet and it turned into a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade. She picked it up and took a long gulp. She heard Draco yelp in pain. Furious, she threw the bottle against the wall. Crying because she knew that there was nothing that she could do to stop Lucius.

Hermione flung herself onto her bed. For the second time since Vince left her she cried. She sobbed louder and harder as she remembered how it happened.

-Flashback-

Laughing Hermione picked up Vince's phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Is Vince home?" asked a sweet voice.

"Who the fcuk is this?" Hermione asked taking a swig of beer.

"Tammie! Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Hermione!"

"Oh! Oh my! He said that it would be done by now!" Hermione heard a soft click as fury built up inside her.

Hermione smiled dangerously as she talked to Vince.

"We never have sex!" he defended himself.

"Then wait for me!"

"I don't wait for people!"

She stood up. Fury shook every bone in her body.

"Fine! Let's go!" she yelled

"No Hermione! It's over!"

She screamed and began to walk away. Vince pulled her back to him. Ignoring her pleas of no he raped her. Took her virginity and when he was done pushed her away. She walked back to her car crying, shaking, and bleeding.

-End Flashback-

Hermione shook violently on her bed. She hated Vince for what he did to her. She ran from her room, past the fight, out the portrait hole, down the entrance hall, out the front door, and skidded to a halt on the edge of the lake.

She ripped the engagement ring from her finger and threw it into the lake.

"Your promises mean nothing to me!" she yelled watching the ring sink to the bottom of the lake.

As she walked back to the castle she felt a heavy weight lifted from her shoulders. She ducked behind a bush as Lucius ran from the castle. She noticed the blood on his hands and ran flat out to Draco's dorm.

She kicked the door open and screamed at the sight on the floor. She dropped to her knees and held Draco's bleeding head in her lap. Without warning tears poured down her face. Draco smiled at her crookedly and fell asleep.

Hermione stared around his room and noticed a crumpled piece of paper near Draco's foot. Hermione stretched her foot to try and drag the letter to her but it was out of her reach. Careful not to wake Draco she took off his belt. She tossed the buckle five times and was about to give up when it hit the paper. She slowly dragged the paper top her and picked it up with the tips of her fingers.

Breathing out in relief Hermione read the note.

Lucius,

I am terribly sorry but I can no longer see you. I have a husband and a daughter to think about. I am ashamed of myself for being so selfish. You should think about your wife and son. Continue giving the best life possible. I will miss you. You will always be the man of my dreams!

Love, Sam.

A tear fell down her cheek onto the piece of parchment as she finished reading. So my mother does care. She thought to herself. She crumpled the piece of paper and threw it. She stared down at the man she loved when she heard a knock at the door.

"Mr. Malfoy this is Professor McGonagall." She pushed the door open. "I'm coming to see if- Oh!" she exclaimed staring at Hermione and Draco.

"Ms. Granger! What is the meaning of this?" she asked still staring at the odd couple.

"We're in love!" Hermione answered as if this explained the situation.

"No, no no! If you two are in love and don't get married! Oh my! This could mean trouble!" exclaimed Professor McGonagall.

"I don't understand!" Hermione told her.

"As a young girl in Hogwarts I fell in love with a Slytherin boy. His name was...was...(she sighed) Tom Riddle." Hermione gasped. "He was the only one for me. Thinking that nothing could go wrong I cast a permanent binding spell. The point of the spell was to bless the two being united. The one downfall was that 'if said couple never married the following couples of the two houses would be doomed to fail.' Do you see Hermione if you and Draco tell each other your feelings it is the end of the world as we know it. Draco will become the next Dark Lord if you say you love each other and never get married." She closed her eyes looking extremely tired.

"Please tell me that neither of you said I love you to the other!" she looked down at Hermione pleading with her eyes that Hermione would laugh and say that she could never love Draco but...

A/N sorry bout that. Next chapter is in full progress. It should be up by October 2, 2004. Please hang in there.

This is who I am now (cont.)

I sing Pop Rock

And I flirt with all the guys

I'm a little bit dippy

But that's no surprise.