Hermione cracked her eyes open, wincing as a sharp pain seared through her head and eyelid. She groaned groggily. Feebly, she lifted her hand to her face, her eyes widening greatly in shock as she felt the swollen bumps, stinging scratches and an unfamiliar dried patch on her face that was cracking in flakes. She brought her hand in front of her eyes to see and gasped in horror when she saw that those dried flakes were blood. Hers probably.
Hermione shifted slightly, the muscles in her body aching painfully as she did so. Then she realized that she was on the floor. She looked down at the wooden grains on the polished floorboards, her mind panicking furiously, causing her head to throb terrifically.
What was she doing sprawled on the floor? Hadn't she been in bed last night? Where was she?
Thoughts of a similar note running madly in her head. She racked her brains, thinking hard, trying to recall what had happened. A sudden cold draught blew in from an unknown opening and she shivered, large goose bumps forming rapidly on her body, on her stomach, legs, arms, everywhere.
Everywhere?
She glanced down at herself sharply, letting out a weak cry of shock and horror. She wasn't wearing any clothes! There she was stark bare, sprawled upon some floor, and, her cry filling with more terror and fear, covered with large purplish bruises everywhere. She stood up abruptly, not feeling the piercing wave of pain rippling throughout her body, noticing more and more such bruises along with long ugly scratches as her eyes traveled down. There were tiny odd lumps on her neck; her chest was covered with large splotches of purplish green colors, round indentations along her torso and waist that resembled finger imprints; as though someone had pressed their hands firmly on her. The same horrendous sores and bruises trailed on the insides of her thigh, down her leg and more on her arms. She didn't even want to look in the mirror to see how she looked like with everything put together, forgetting about the extremely visible ones on her face.
Bit by bit, as she stared rendered speechless in her helplessness and loss, snippets of what took place last night popped into her memory.
"It's no use Granger, you're not getting away."
Mad laughter. Angry prods on her body. Rough painful squeezes on her flesh.
"Qusilieum."
Darkness. Helplessness. Fear.
" No one is going to save you. You are at his mercy, whether you like it or not."
Nasty grabbing of her hair. The ripping sound of cloth. Frightened squeals. Shouts for help.
"Stop it!" "Don't do this!"
The soft click of her bra clasp. Cold, hard eyes. Wolves, vultures. Hunger.
"Malfoy…Malfoy…Stop it!"
Draco Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy had raped her.
Draco Malfoy raped her last night.
In her room, she realized as she looked wildly around.
Malfoy, the Slytherin.
Malfoy, her enemy.
Malfoy, the one person she hated, the one person she couldn't stand, the one person who made her life miserable.
The person who called her Mudblood.
The person who was Head Boy.
The one very person whom she shared a dorm with, whom she would see everyday, for the rest of the year.
These horrific realizations exploded inside her head and hit her with such force it was as though her head had split open. Telling her that it was all true. It wasn't a nightmare. The Head Boy had raped her in her own school, on the first day.
Hermione collapsed onto the floor, taking in the sight of her bra, undergarments, robe and pajamas strewn across her bedroom floor.
An unholy shriek of despair and disbelief escaped from her throat. Sobs soon racked her lungs, monsoons of hot raging tears pouring down her face. She was bent over, her face in her hands, drawing in long rattling breaths of air. The salty tears washed away the dried cakes of blood, leaving pale red lines down her face.
She sobbed and sobbed. Her heart felt like it was pierced with a sharp knife. Her life, her future was shattered within a day. Her dignity and self-respect had vanished without a trace. There was nothing left.
Only pain, scars and memories.