Hey guys! Sorry about not posting lately. I've been working through some things, but here is a story that I am writing. I hope you like it.
Please Review!
Saturday Evening…
"This is going to be such a blast." Ginny said eagerly as the group of friends made with their way through the crowd in the Mansion.
It was packed. Hermione wasn't even sure who's home they were at, but she knew that whoever they were, they were rich and well-revered.
The large group of them had decided to go to the bash together and have some fun since only a few of them were in relationships and the others needed to break from work.
Neville and Pansy wondered off, in search of refreshments along with Blaise and Ginny.
Harry, Ron, and Theo went to find any girls they could that would be willing to dance with them.
Luna stayed by Hermione's side while Draco continued to look around the bash in search of familiar faces.
"Ladies, I'll see you two later." Draco grinned, having spotted a woman that caught his eye.
Hermione watched as Draco made his way to the opposite side of the room, where Astoria Greengrass was…in all her glory.
Luna noticed Hermione's grimace and sighed, "Come on, Hermione. Let's see if we can find someone to distract you."
"Distract me? Distract me from what?" Hermione asked, confused.
Luna looked at her knowingly, "Hermione, why haven't you told Draco that you care for him?"
Hermione immediately blushed and shook her head, "I don't. I mean…I do…as a friend, but that's all."
Luna nodded, "Okay."
Hermione knew the blonde witch didn't believe her. She also knew the blonde witch was right.
Hermione sighed, "It's not a big deal, Luna."
With a sigh, Luna shook her head, "Hermione, it's okay to have feelings for a friend."
"Listen, Draco and I are friends but that's it. He and I only care about one another as friends." She said, looking over at where Draco had just begun snogging with Astoria. "See, he fancies Astoria."
"Who do you fancy, then?"
"I don't really fancy anyone at the moment."
"Hermione." Luna said, clearly not believing her.
Hermione blushed and swallowed, about to speak when she heard someone say her name behind her.
The Next Morning (Sunday)…
Draco floo'd into Hermione's flat with a bag of fresh scones and a couple 'on-the-go' cuppas.
"Granger!" He hollered through the flat but didn't hear a response.
He set the scones and cuppas on the kitchen counter before making his way towards her bedroom which was all the way down the hallway. He knocked on the bedroom door and listened. He heard a quiet groan and barely opened the door, to see if she was still in bed.
When he looked inside, he saw her lying in the bed.
"Granger?" He said, opening the door a bit more.
She groaned and sat up, "Draco?"
"Hey, I brought you breakfast." He said, "May I come in?"
"Sure." She groaned, attempting to sit up but seemed unable to.
He furrowed his brow, "Granger, are you all right?"
She nodded, "I'm fine."
He looked closer and noticed a dark bruise under her jaw on the right side. He furrowed his brow, about to speak, but then he noticed the bruises on her arms. As she moved her hair to the side, trying to stretch, he saw the black eye.
"What the bloody hell happened to you?!" He asked, in shock and anger.
Hermione swallowed and shook her head, "Draco, I'm fine."
"You are not!" He said, sitting on her bed and lifting her chin gently with his finger, "What happened? Tell me now."
Hermione shook her head, "Will you please just drop it?"
"Absolutely fucking not!" He exclaimed, pulling out his wand and gently pressing the tip of it to her black eye to heal it. "Tell me now." He said again as the black eye slowly faded.
Hermione swallowed and opened her mouth to speak but there was a sudden knock on the flat's door, making her jump nervously.
He furrowed his brow, confused by her nervousness.
"Granger, tell me what happened." He said, not bothering to move to answer the door.
"Draco, the door." She insisted.
Draco shook his head, "I don't give a bloody fuck. Tell me what happened." He said, lowering his wand.
Hermione sighed and looked down at her fumbling fingers.
The Previous Night (Saturday)…
Hermione turned and saw Cormac McLaggen smiling at her.
"Hey Hermione!" He grinned.
"Hey Cormac." She smiled.
"Would you care to dance?" He asked with a small smirk.
Luna nudged Hermione and winked before strolling away. Hemione laughed lightly and nodded, "Sure."
They danced for a while until Cormac asked if she'd like to go for a fly.
"Come on. We won't go far." He grinned.
Hermione nervously agreed and the two of them headed out of the mansion. When he grabbed his broom, they flew for a bit above the grounds, admiring the view.
He landed them on a cliff, overlooking the grounds and smiled, "What do you think?"
"It's beautiful." She said, in awe of the sight.
He nodded, "Yes, you are." He said as they sat down in the grass.
She held back from rolling her eyes at the clichéd remark and smiled, "Thank you."
He leaned in and kissed her lips. She was taken by surprise but kissed back for a moment before slowly pulling back, not ready to go further with him.
Cormac's hand came to rest on her thigh as he attempted to push further.
She hummed, "Cormac…Cormac, I think we ought to slow things down a bit."
"Come now, Hermione. You wore this dress with the high slit and danced rather closely with me. You can't tell me you weren't playing along. Come on." He said, leaning in as he kissed her again.
She immediately pushed him away, "No, Cormac. I'm sorry. I just don't want to go any further than I already have."
"Okay…okay." He said, "We'll just snog." Cormac said, leaning in to kiss her again.
She let him kiss her for a moment before shaking her head and pulling away, "I'd appreciate it you'd take me back to the bash. I don't want to be out here anymore." She said, about to stand up.
Cormac huffed and looked at her, "Why is it that I am just never good enough for the bloody Gryffindor Princess? She can just change her mind whenever she wants!"
Hermione swallowed, "Cormac, it's not that at all." She said, "You are a wonderful bloke. I just don't see…"
The next think she felt was a sharp sting across her face. The shock was overwhelming, and it took a few moments to fully understand that he had hit her. By the time she realized that he had smacked her, he was going for a second smack, and she had no time for self-defense, only enough time for acknowledgment of what was coming.
Each hit was different. One was to her jaw, then to her ribs, another to her eye and then one to her stomach. When her entire body collapsed on the ground, she felt him kick her a couple time in the ribs before she heard the sound of a zipper.
It didn't occur to her at that time what was happening but when she felt the familiar warmth spreading through her abdomen, she knew what he was planning.
The warmth of the contraceptive charm was meant to be comforting to a woman however Hermione found it to be anything but comforting in that moment.
The Next Morning (Sunday)…
"Granger…please tell me who did this to you." Draco pleaded.
Hermione swallowed and met his eyes, "You said you brought breakfast?"
He clenched his jaw but nodded, "It's in your kitchen."
"I'll be right there." She said. "Please see who is at the door as well."
He knew that was a dismissal and sighed before getting up and leaving, gently shutting the door behind him as he left.
Hermione went into her ensuite and looked in the mirror. Draco's magic had already worked wonders on her eye. Of course, he hadn't seen her abdomen.
She looked over at the shower and sighed.
The Previous Night (Saturday)…
Cormac just left her in the dirt, dress torn and hitched up around her waist, knickers torn and hanging on her ankle. He flew back down to the bash, not bothering to clean her up or even speak a word to her before leaving.
Hermione whimpered as she tried to stand. She knew she had to push through the pain. She looked around and spotted her wand, hating herself for not having the prowess to grab her wand and stun him despite the vicious physical attack she had been undertaking.
She finally got to her feet and made her way over to a boulder. She leaned against it and sighed, fighting back tears at the reality of her situation.
She inhaled deeply and attempted to calm herself before deciding to go home. Swallowing, she looked around, gathering her bearings before Apparating to her flat.
It was horribly painful, and she was screaming in agony when she landed in her lounge, falling, face first, onto her rug.
She laid there for a while until she gathered herself. Once she felt she could move, Hermione stood up and hobbled to her bedroom. She went to her ensuite and turned the shower on hot before stripping off her dress and bra. She kicked off her heels and stepped into the shower, letting her tears mix with the water.
She scrubbed and scrubbed harder, trying to make sure that she got every last bit of him off of her skin. She rinsed off and washed again. Repeatedly. It was the longest, hottest shower she had ever taken and still, it wasn't enough.
The Next Morning (Sunday)…
Hermione shook her head and looked away from the shower. She grabbed the lotion and spread some over her painful flesh. She fixed her hair before going out to her kitchen where Draco was waiting impatiently.
He looked over at her and she could see the concern in his eyes.
"Here, sit down. I'll get you a scone. You want jam and cream on it?" He asked.
She swallowed and nodded, sitting at the table, trying to ignore to horrible pain that shot through her just from sitting down.
Draco put her breakfast in front of her before joining her at the table. They remained silent and she knew he was watching her most of the time.
"Who was at the door?" She asked.
"It was just a guy leaving advertisements." He said. "Please tell me what happened." He quickly added, not letting her change the topic for long.
Hermione sighed and looked over, meeting Draco grey eyes. She hated that she loved him so much and couldn't even tell him. "Draco, listen…yesterday, at the bash…" She began, swallowing nervously. "I was attacked."
Draco swallowed, nodding, having figured that much, "Do you have more bruises?"
She nodded and stood, lifting her pajama tee up so that he could see her abdomen. Draco's eyes went wide at the sight of the deep, dark purple marks all over her stomach, sides, and back.
"Hermione." He breathed and her heart broke, hearing her first name come from his lips. He stepped closer and took her hands in his, "Who?" He asked, "Who did this to you?"
Hermione swallowed, "Draco, it's not important."
"Granger, it is important. It's the most important thing in the world. Who did this to you? Please tell me." He said, "Please. I need to know."
"Draco."
"Hermione." He said, his voice breaking as he stepped closer to her, "I can't see you like this. I need to know who hurt you."
She swallowed, looking into his eyes and quietly said, "It was Cormac."
Draco's face transformed from velvet softness to granite stone. "McLaggen did this?"
Hermione swallowed, unsure if she should tell him everything or not.
He could see that she was holding back and quietly said, "What is it?"
Hermione inhaled deeply and said, "I need you to please sit down."
He furrowed his brow but did as she asked.
Hermione walked over and carefully took his wand. He reacted, reaching for it, but stopped, seeing her expression.
Hermione pulled her wand out, quickly, and surprisingly binding Draco to the chair he had been sitting in.
"What the hell, Granger?!" He asked, confused, but trying not to be mad.
"I have to tell you something, but I need you disarmed and bound first." She said.
He looked even more confused, "What are you going on about, Granger?"
Hermione swallowed and inhaled deeply, "Draco…erm…last night…Cormac, he erm…he raped me."
Hermione had never seen Draco's eyes change to such a molten silver color as he looked at her an expression of pained anger and said, "What did you just say?"
"Please don't make me say it again." She said.
He swallowed, staring at her in shock, "He…he…" Draco paused before saying, "Untie me."
"No." She replied.
"Untie me, Granger!"
"No!"
"Untie me, now! Granger!" Draco shouted, struggling against the bondages.
Hermione shook her head, "Draco, no!"
"Why? Why do you care so much about what happens to some piece of shite, smells of rubbish, waste of space like Cormac bloody McLaggen?" He huffed angrily.
"I don't!" She exclaimed, "I care about you!"
"And I care about you! So let me murder that bastard for hurting you!" He shouted back.
Hermione was breathing heavily as she attempted to comprehend what he had just said.
"Granger, untie me, now!" He shouted.
"What are you going to do?" She asked, choosing to confront his remark later. "If I let you go, what will you do?"
He swallowed, looking up at her, "What do you want me to do, Granger?"
She sighed and looked down, fiddling with her wand before shrugging, "I'm not sure. It's the strangest thing you know…to hate, I mean to absolutely despise someone for what they did to you, but still, you don't want to see any harm come to them."
He huffed, "Granger, I say, lose that feeling and let the bastard die a slow and painful death; I'll even personally guarantee the slow and painful part."
Hermione shook her head, "I thought you'd understand or at least try to."
He sighed, shaking his head, admonishing himself silently for hurting her feelings, "Granger, I apologize. I just…to see you like this…I want to hurt him so bloody bad."
She smiled a sad smile and nodded, "Thank you."
He huffed, "Look, we need to report it to the Aurors. I know he's an Auror as well, so we'll speak with a different Auror. Untie me and we can go talk to Potter or Weasley. We could even talk to Blaise or Theo. Whoever you're most comfortable with but untie me now, so that…"'
"Absolutely not." She said quickly, cutting in, "Draco, I'm not telling anyone."
"Hermione." He said, surprising her with her first name yet again, "You can't be serious. What about him paying for his crime? If you won't allow me to murder the bastard, then why can't we report him?"
"Report what, Draco?" She asked. "That I've got some bruises?" She paused before saying, "I took a shower last night when I got home. All the evidence is gone. All that's left is my word and who the hell is going to believe that against a decorated Auror."
Draco clenched his jaw, and knew she was right, "Then we're back to me killing him."
"No. We're back to the fact that I now have to live on this earth with the same man who raped me." She said, shaking her head, "Promise me right now, Draco Lucius Malfoy, that you will not go after him. You will not send anyone after him. You won't do anything that could potentially hurt him in any way…unless I ask."
He clenched his jaw, hating that he had to agree to it but nodded, "Fine…I promise."
She exhaled, relieved, though also not. She vanquished the binds. As he stood up and looked down at her, Draco gently asked, "What can I do for you?"
It amazed her that someone so tall and muscular could be so gentle and caring.
"Nothing. I'm going to take a long, soothing bath and read a book."
He nodded, looking into her eyes. She was confused by the lengthy silence until he quietly asked, "May I hug you?"
"Is it just a pity hug? Do you simply pity me and bruised flesh?" She asked, feeling incredibly insecure.
He shook his head, looking down before meeting her eyes and saying, "I just…I want to hold you, but I wanted to ask your permission first."
She swallowed, "Oh erm…ye…yeah. Let's go to the lounge."
He nodded, grabbing his wand before they went and sat on the sofa. Draco opened his arms and said, "I swear to you Granger, I'm only going to hold you. Anytime you want me to let go; you say so and I'll let go."
She nodded and scooted closer to him, eventually sitting on his lap as he held her much small body in a cocoon of warmth. She couldn't explain it, but his embrace felt like the safest place in the entire world.
They sat in silence for nearly half an hour until the fireplace burned green. He gripped his wand, prepared to protect her at any cost when Viktor Krum entered the lounge.
"Viktor?" Hermione said, "What are you doing here?" She asked, standing up and walking over to the burly, handsome seeker.
"I sent you a letter last night, Hermione. I wanted to come by and speak with you, but I see that you are already entertaining a man." He said, the end of his statement coming out with a disgust as he looked at Draco.
Draco stood up, clenching his jaw.
"Stop." Hermione said, "Now, Viktor, what did you need to speak to me about?" she asked.
"I erm…I just need the rest of my clothing from here." He said awkwardly.
She nodded, "Of course. Everything is in a box in the guest room." She said.
He nodded and made his way through the flat. When he came back, box in hand, he thanked her and was about to leave before he noticed the bruise under her jaw.
"What happened?" He asked, setting the box down.
"Nothing." Hermione said. "I fell."
Viktor looked at Draco and in the blink of eye, he drew his wand, "Did you hurt her?"
"Viktor, no!" Hermione shouted, standing front of Draco, even though her small body did little to protect him. "Draco didn't hurt me. He would never hurt me. He's trying to help me!"
Viktor's eyes bounced from her to the blond wizard who had remained still, not reacting to the drawn wand.
He lowered his wand and said, "What happened?"
"Nothing. I fell." Hermione said. "Honestly. Now, please go."
Krum inhaled slowly; it was clear that he didn't believe her, but he nodded and left, using the floo anyhow.
"He's…interesting." Draco muttered.
"Viktor is a wonderful man. He's caring and respectful, but we just weren't meant to be together. I know I lied to him, but I couldn't tell him the truth."
Draco nodded, "Okay. It's okay."
"I erm…I really need to soak my body in the tub." She said.
Draco nodded and said, "I've got my potions kit with me, and I believe I've got somethings that may help." He said, pulling out a small leather case from his pocket and enlarging it. He opened it and inside were several vials of different colored liquids. "Yeah. I've got some 'Bruise Dimmer' and some…" He said looking through the vials. "Ah yes, this is my own creation of 'Dolor Occisor' otherwise known as 'Pain Killer' and it should relieve all your aches. Just soak in both of them for an hour and you should feel much better."
She smiled and thanked him as she took the purple and orange vials.
"You being the Auror medic is rather useful." She remarked.
He nodded. "I find that I like it better than working as a Healer at St. Mungo's." he replied, "Well, I'll go ahead and head home, but would you like me to bring dinner over later?" He asked.
She smiled and nodded, "That sounds perfect." She said, glancing around nervously but trying to remain calm.
He nodded and turned to leave before noticing an expression her face. He furrowed his brow and said, "Hey Granger?"
"Yeah?" She aside quickly.
"Is it all right with you if I stay here for a while?" He asked. "Honestly, I truly don't want to do anything today and your place is rather…cozy."
She smiled a smile he knew was full of relief and nodded, "Of course you can stay. I'll be in my loo, taking a bath."
He nodded, "Take your time."
It had been about thirty minutes; Draco had found a good book from Hermione's overfilled bookshelves and was reading in the armchair when he heard her shout for him. He ran down the hallway, "Hermione?" He said, running into the ensuite, wand at the ready.
Hermione was in the tub, covered only by a thin layer of light blue foam that gave off a smell of citrus.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She nodded, "I am so very sorry. I think I fell asleep and had a nightmare and shouted out for help."
He nodded, "Okay." He said, lowering his wand, "What erm…where would you like me to go?"
She swallowed and glanced at the chair against the wall before looking back at Draco nervously. He shut the loo door and sat in the chair, not looking at her.
The room was steaming, Draco slipped off his navy-blue hooded jumper, leaving him in a short-sleeved grey tee and a pair of black jean trousers.
"I'm so sorry about all of this." She muttered, the only sound in the room being the occasional drip of water from the tap, the soft sizzling of the foam in the tub and the steady breathing coming from the inhabitants.
Draco shook his head, "Granger, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for. What happened to you last night…it should have never happened. If there is anything I can do, please tell me."
She nodded, grimacing in pain.
"Would you like me to add more pain potion?" He asked.
She shook her head, "No. Give it more time to work."
He nodded, sighing. A thought, a horrible thought at that, suddenly came to Draco though he knew he needed to ask, he had no clue how.
"Granger…" He said.
"Yeah?"
"When that happened last night…" He began.
"Yeah?" She said again, listening as she looked at him oddly.
"Was any form of…prevention for…" He paused, seeing the recognition in her eyes.
She nodded, "He used a contraceptive charm on me first."
Draco clenched his jaw; grateful Hermione didn't have one more thing to worry about, but also hating Cormac even more.
"Hermione!" They both heard and Draco stood up but not fast enough before Ginny and Luna came bursting into the ensuite, looking for their friend.
The two newcomers looked at Draco then their naked friend in the tub then back to Draco.
"I'm just going to step out." Draco said, looking at Hermione before weaving past the two other witches.
Ginny shut the door and set up a silencing charm before looking at Hermione with a wide grin, "You're shagging Malfoy!"
Hermione sighed, "No, I'm not. He brought over breakfast and found me in a rather poor state." She considered telling them but there was no point. There was no proof and no way of arresting Cormac. Instead, she looked over at Ginny and Luna and said, "See, I drank far too much late night so now I'm soaking to cleanse my body. He helped me out and stayed because I was really struggling."
Ginny huffed and rolled her eyes, "Really? I could have sworn you and Malfoy were shagging."
"No, we're not." Hermione replied.
Ginny and Luna only stayed for a little while, letting Hermione rest, due to her 'Hangover'.
Draco sighed and sat back down in the chair in the ensuite and looked over, meeting Hermione's brown eyes. "Granger, maybe you ought to tell them."
"Draco, there's no proof. It's simply going to be he said-she said and that never ends well so let's just drop it."
Draco looked at Hermione and thought of something before shaking his head.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing." He said.
"No. What?" She asked.
"Nothing." He replied.
"Draco! What?!" she said, irritated before apologizing, "I'm sorry. I just…"
"It's okay, Granger." He said. "I was…I was only thinking that you could use a time-turner and tell yourself to alert me rather than shower but then I realized how bloody stupid that is because then you'll just have to relive it all."
Hermione furrowed her brow and looked over at him.
"I wish I could just go back and not go to the bash at all, but I know that altering lifechanging events is a massive nonstarter in the time-turning world." She sighed.
He nodded and she continued.
"If I did that…if I went back in time and told that time's me to not shower but to get you then I'd just come back to this time, and everything would be different…"
"Wait…" he said, "I have a different kind of time-turner. It's been in my family for centuries. If you use it, you will go back but remain you. As in, you won't have to tell the other you anything, you'll be that you but with this you's knowledge as well. The only problem is that no one else will have this knowledge. I won't either. Just turn it…" he looked thoughtful, not wanting her to go back far enough to relive the rape. "four turns and then you should be just arriving home. When you get home, send me a Patronus and I'll come straight over. I know I will."
"But didn't you meet up with Astoria last night?" She asked, "Draco, I don't want to interrupt anything."
"Granger, you had better send me a bloody Patronus." He said. "I'll come straight over, trust me." He said, clearing his throat before adding, "Oh…but the pain and everything will clearly be back."
She nodded and sighed, "Okay, let's do this." She said, "Let me get dressed. I know it doesn't matter but it matters to me."
He nodded and left the room.
After a few minutes Hermione came into the lounge in pajama trousers and large tee, "Okay, four turns and I'm back in hell?"
He swallowed and nodded, "Yes but you'll be aware of all of this so that should help." He explained "Oh. When you arrive, you won't have the time-turner anymore because there's no reversing unless you find the time-turner in that time." He explained.
She nodded, "That's fine."
"I'll be there as soon as you call me." He said.
She nodded and walked over hugging him, "Thank you."
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "You're welcome, Granger. I'll see you soon." He said, handing her the silver time-turner her had taken from the secret compartment of his potions kit.
She nodded and looked at him one last time before turning the silver time-turner four times. The world spun around moving so fast she could barely make out that it was her past rewinding. She inhaled deeply and then landed heavily in her lounge, face first on the rug and in horrible agony.
It was all far too familiar.