Acceptance
Draco stood there horrified. He wouldn't hurt her would he? The truth was yes, he could. He didn't really care about her that much not to hurt her. He had only just started to call her Hermione. Draco thought he was passed the stage of hurting people . . . but obviously not. He then realised that this was why he didn't want friends: he would just hurt them in the end. So to stop it from happening any more he turned his heart to stone again. Whether he thought it was right or not did not matter. He let his head lead him, not his heart. But he didn't remember anything, just his dream! All the rest was a blur.
He had come out into the common room and he stood by the fire place and he could of sworn his nightmare stalker had tapped him on the arm . . . it must have been Hermione. In his fearful and angered state he must of imaged Hermione to be him and attacked her.
He thought about what Professor Snape had said in 5th year about not wearing your heart on your sleeve. He trusted his opinion in this case. He would have to lie he just didn't want to hurt her. Maybe his true feelings about her were coming out. He ignored them though. His change of heart showed on his face, he frowned and had a sneer on his lips, he then spoke.
"Yes, I remember what I done and I don't care that I did it." Draco knew what he had to do: push people away, even if it was a friend because that was what she was to him. "You probably deserved it, I am now going to bed, and don't try to hex me you two . . ." He looked at Harry and Ron ."I can deduct points and get you expelled for it." He turned away because she was crying again and he couldn't watch.
He turned smartly on his heel and stomped away to his room, where he slammed the door. Nothing was seen of him that night. Hermione was crying she still couldn't speak. She saw her wand on the table and picked it up. She wrote in the air: 'Harry, Ron go back now. I will be ok, I just need to sleep, don't worry I will lock my door. Now goodnight. Sleep well!' Hermione then got up and gave them both a hug and ushered them out of the door.
Once they had gone she then walked to her room and put a powerful charm on the door to only recognise her touch. Then she got into bed and fell to sleep. But she did not go to him in her dreams she just slept in a deep sleep not knowing what tomorrow would bring.
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Hermione woke up in the morning feeling fresh. She had almost forgotten about last night. But when she tried to speak she couldn't. Her throat still really hurt. She went to a mirror to examine it and it looked worse than ever and it made her want to cry. She got up and went in the shower, coming out fresh and clean. She quickly got dressed and dried her hair. She couldn't cover her bruise because for some reason any sort of cosmetics didn't agree with her. She would just have let it show.
Her polo neck jumper was lost and she didn't have any others. Plus she wanted everyone to see what Malfoy had done to her. Hermione felt a change come over her, she would usually try to cover it up, but now she wanted the world to know. She held her wand tightly and touched the door. Immediately it opened. On the other side of it there was a note. She didn't recognise the handwriting, but she read the note anyway. It read: Hermione come and meet me in the room of requirement at 5:00. Please I need to talk to you. Please come. You'll find out who I am when you come.
She stuffed it into her jeans pocket and then walked out into the corridor. She walked at her own pace to get to the dinner hall, trying to get ready to face the world. When she got there she stopped and took a few deep breaths before throwing the doors open. As she entered everyone looked her way then a hush fell across the hall.
She ignored everyone and sat down at the Gryffindor table. She sat next to Harry and Ron who gave her a hug. She pointed at her throat to show that she still couldn't speak. They understood, so they spoke in a way that she would be able to answer her questions with a nod or a shake of her head. She was really thankful of this. The conversation was good and everything was going smoothly until Ron suggested that she should eat something. She smiled at him and took a slice of toast.
She bit into it and started chewing which was fine. But when it came to the swallowing that was a different matter. She tried but it got stuck. It got stuck right about where her bruises were. She started to choke. Harry and Ron clapped her on the back which brought it up. It fell down onto the plate. She gave Harry and Ron an apologetic look, they shrugged and looked away. Hermione felt like she couldn't eat so she got out her wand again and wrote in the air: 'Right I am going to the infirmary to see Madam Pomfrey, I am not hungry anymore, and I will be in my common room. See you.'
Hermione got up and then walked out of the dinner hall, she walked around the corridors still feeling confused with Draco's change of mood. Finally she was at the doors of the hospital wing. She walked through the doors and knocked on them as she walked past. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and walked over to Hermione.
"What's the problem dear?" She asked in a nice way.
Hermione again lifted up her wand and wrote in the air. This is what she wrote: 'I have a sore throat and I can't talk. Could you check it out please?'
"Certainly just sit on the bed over there, after I have finished would you tell me how you've got those bruises please" She asked.
Hermione went over and sat on the bed. And as she did she felt so dizzy. It soon passed however and she found Madam Pomfrey standing in front of her with her wand in hand. Hermione looked at it and then at her, with a scared look in her eye.
"Don't worry dear, I am just going to point my wand at your throat and it will show me inside the of it. Much quicker than those muggle x-ray things." She explained.
Hermione nodded to show that she understood. Madam Pomfrey pointed at her throat and bluish light came out of her wand. She looked at Hermione's throat. She didn't speak until the light vanished.
"Well it looks like your throat is really sore. That is why you can't eat or speak. But don't worry" She added at the look on Hermione's face "I can fix this in a second"
Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and whispered a few words and pointed at Hermione's throat. Hermione had a weird tingling sensation in her throat; it was as if a feather was being moved up and down it. When it stopped Hermione spoke.
"Thank you!" She said croakily. Madam Pomfrey smiled "Anytime dear, you will be croaky for a few days then everything will be better.
"Miss Granger, what happened how did you get those bruises, well the bruises that were there before I removed them?"
Hermione opened her mouth and then faltered "I don't know. I can't remember. I just woke up with it . . . I think." She said uncertainly "Well can I get back to my room? I have loads of homework to do." Madam Pomfrey nodded.
"If you remember anything come and see me, I think Dumbledore should know about this. Those bruises were nasty. So come to me again ok?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
Hermione nodded and then walked out of the hospital wing. When she was round the corner she ran. She didn't know why she was running. She just knew that it felt good. The air rushing past her and her hair being pushed out of her face. It made her partially forget about her worries and her bruises . . . it felt good.
She stopped running when she found herself outside her common room. She stopped and took a couple of deep breaths, and said the password. She smiled as the wall was opening. The password reminded her of the fact that Draco didn't like it. Her smile faded slightly, she had a quick memory of something which he done but she couldn't remember it was on the edge of her memory. She laughed slightly at the thought of Harry and Ron if she told them she wasn't sure of something. She walked into the common room with her head held high.
Hermione walked straight into her room not taking any notice of what was surrounding her, she was still thinking of that unsure memory that she had had, if she paid more attention she would have noticed that something has slipped out of her pocket but she didn't so as she walked into her room she pointed her wand at the door and quickly flicked her wrist and the door closed with a snap behind her.
She quickly walked over to her desk and sat down and started on her ton of homework she had. She would most probably be there all day.
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Draco was in the hall eating his breakfast when she came in. The doors opened and there she was walking into the hall ignoring everyone else, just concentrating on the Gryffindor table. Her neck was bare; revealing her bruises . . . the bruises that he had caused her. He felt a pang of guilt rise up inside of him.
He looked down guiltily and stared at his plate. As he stared his plate swayed in front of him and he felt dizzy. He breathed deeply and shook his head. He looked up and as he did he noticed Hermione walking out of the hall. Her bruises were visible to everyone, as he looked he thought "How did she get those bruises?" Then like a quick flash he had a memory but couldn't remember where from. In this Memory there was just Hermione with what looked like his hands coming away from her throat. He shook his head again and just rejected that idea.
Draco quickly got up from the table and walked out of the hall and to his common room. He got to the wall and said the password, and he shuddered slightly as he said it because he had another memory but he couldn't remember what it was from.
He gave himself a shake and then decided to get a book off of the shelves and have a quick read. Draco walked to the bookcase and extended his hand to reach for a book about healing. He then remembered about how he had told Hermione that he had wanted to get a book the night before but all he had wanted to do was see her and he smiled at the memory of her blushing.
He grabbed the book and sat down on the sofa and began to read. After about half an hour he had learned to heal minor injuries and he felt quite pleased with himself. He heard the sound of the wall opening and looked up to see Hermione walking across the common room staring straight at her room, not taking any notice of him. He felt kind of hurt and was about to call out to her when she shut her door.
He felt kind of sad. He hadn't done anything to her. He looked at the wall as it closed back into place and he noticed a bit of paper on the floor. Leaning forward Draco bent down and picked it up. It was a note to Hermione. Telling her to go and meet someone at 5:00 in the Room of requirement. Draco looked at the note in suspicion then he looked at Hermione's door and back to the paper. He decided to go as well. Just out of curiosity . . . and maybe he decided to go because a different reason as well.
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A/N: Well there it is chapter 15. Thank you to all the reviews. And just to say that things might be a little more exciting in the upcoming chapters . . . well I hope you find them interesting. And another thing Draco is not under the imperius curse it's just that hopefully things are explained more in this chapter. If you are wondering why he is being so nice to Hermione it is because he just realises that he doesn't have to be nasty to her. Thanks again for all those who reviewed. Water Demon
Draco stood there horrified. He wouldn't hurt her would he? The truth was yes, he could. He didn't really care about her that much not to hurt her. He had only just started to call her Hermione. Draco thought he was passed the stage of hurting people . . . but obviously not. He then realised that this was why he didn't want friends: he would just hurt them in the end. So to stop it from happening any more he turned his heart to stone again. Whether he thought it was right or not did not matter. He let his head lead him, not his heart. But he didn't remember anything, just his dream! All the rest was a blur.
He had come out into the common room and he stood by the fire place and he could of sworn his nightmare stalker had tapped him on the arm . . . it must have been Hermione. In his fearful and angered state he must of imaged Hermione to be him and attacked her.
He thought about what Professor Snape had said in 5th year about not wearing your heart on your sleeve. He trusted his opinion in this case. He would have to lie he just didn't want to hurt her. Maybe his true feelings about her were coming out. He ignored them though. His change of heart showed on his face, he frowned and had a sneer on his lips, he then spoke.
"Yes, I remember what I done and I don't care that I did it." Draco knew what he had to do: push people away, even if it was a friend because that was what she was to him. "You probably deserved it, I am now going to bed, and don't try to hex me you two . . ." He looked at Harry and Ron ."I can deduct points and get you expelled for it." He turned away because she was crying again and he couldn't watch.
He turned smartly on his heel and stomped away to his room, where he slammed the door. Nothing was seen of him that night. Hermione was crying she still couldn't speak. She saw her wand on the table and picked it up. She wrote in the air: 'Harry, Ron go back now. I will be ok, I just need to sleep, don't worry I will lock my door. Now goodnight. Sleep well!' Hermione then got up and gave them both a hug and ushered them out of the door.
Once they had gone she then walked to her room and put a powerful charm on the door to only recognise her touch. Then she got into bed and fell to sleep. But she did not go to him in her dreams she just slept in a deep sleep not knowing what tomorrow would bring.
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Hermione woke up in the morning feeling fresh. She had almost forgotten about last night. But when she tried to speak she couldn't. Her throat still really hurt. She went to a mirror to examine it and it looked worse than ever and it made her want to cry. She got up and went in the shower, coming out fresh and clean. She quickly got dressed and dried her hair. She couldn't cover her bruise because for some reason any sort of cosmetics didn't agree with her. She would just have let it show.
Her polo neck jumper was lost and she didn't have any others. Plus she wanted everyone to see what Malfoy had done to her. Hermione felt a change come over her, she would usually try to cover it up, but now she wanted the world to know. She held her wand tightly and touched the door. Immediately it opened. On the other side of it there was a note. She didn't recognise the handwriting, but she read the note anyway. It read: Hermione come and meet me in the room of requirement at 5:00. Please I need to talk to you. Please come. You'll find out who I am when you come.
She stuffed it into her jeans pocket and then walked out into the corridor. She walked at her own pace to get to the dinner hall, trying to get ready to face the world. When she got there she stopped and took a few deep breaths before throwing the doors open. As she entered everyone looked her way then a hush fell across the hall.
She ignored everyone and sat down at the Gryffindor table. She sat next to Harry and Ron who gave her a hug. She pointed at her throat to show that she still couldn't speak. They understood, so they spoke in a way that she would be able to answer her questions with a nod or a shake of her head. She was really thankful of this. The conversation was good and everything was going smoothly until Ron suggested that she should eat something. She smiled at him and took a slice of toast.
She bit into it and started chewing which was fine. But when it came to the swallowing that was a different matter. She tried but it got stuck. It got stuck right about where her bruises were. She started to choke. Harry and Ron clapped her on the back which brought it up. It fell down onto the plate. She gave Harry and Ron an apologetic look, they shrugged and looked away. Hermione felt like she couldn't eat so she got out her wand again and wrote in the air: 'Right I am going to the infirmary to see Madam Pomfrey, I am not hungry anymore, and I will be in my common room. See you.'
Hermione got up and then walked out of the dinner hall, she walked around the corridors still feeling confused with Draco's change of mood. Finally she was at the doors of the hospital wing. She walked through the doors and knocked on them as she walked past. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and walked over to Hermione.
"What's the problem dear?" She asked in a nice way.
Hermione again lifted up her wand and wrote in the air. This is what she wrote: 'I have a sore throat and I can't talk. Could you check it out please?'
"Certainly just sit on the bed over there, after I have finished would you tell me how you've got those bruises please" She asked.
Hermione went over and sat on the bed. And as she did she felt so dizzy. It soon passed however and she found Madam Pomfrey standing in front of her with her wand in hand. Hermione looked at it and then at her, with a scared look in her eye.
"Don't worry dear, I am just going to point my wand at your throat and it will show me inside the of it. Much quicker than those muggle x-ray things." She explained.
Hermione nodded to show that she understood. Madam Pomfrey pointed at her throat and bluish light came out of her wand. She looked at Hermione's throat. She didn't speak until the light vanished.
"Well it looks like your throat is really sore. That is why you can't eat or speak. But don't worry" She added at the look on Hermione's face "I can fix this in a second"
Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and whispered a few words and pointed at Hermione's throat. Hermione had a weird tingling sensation in her throat; it was as if a feather was being moved up and down it. When it stopped Hermione spoke.
"Thank you!" She said croakily. Madam Pomfrey smiled "Anytime dear, you will be croaky for a few days then everything will be better.
"Miss Granger, what happened how did you get those bruises, well the bruises that were there before I removed them?"
Hermione opened her mouth and then faltered "I don't know. I can't remember. I just woke up with it . . . I think." She said uncertainly "Well can I get back to my room? I have loads of homework to do." Madam Pomfrey nodded.
"If you remember anything come and see me, I think Dumbledore should know about this. Those bruises were nasty. So come to me again ok?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
Hermione nodded and then walked out of the hospital wing. When she was round the corner she ran. She didn't know why she was running. She just knew that it felt good. The air rushing past her and her hair being pushed out of her face. It made her partially forget about her worries and her bruises . . . it felt good.
She stopped running when she found herself outside her common room. She stopped and took a couple of deep breaths, and said the password. She smiled as the wall was opening. The password reminded her of the fact that Draco didn't like it. Her smile faded slightly, she had a quick memory of something which he done but she couldn't remember it was on the edge of her memory. She laughed slightly at the thought of Harry and Ron if she told them she wasn't sure of something. She walked into the common room with her head held high.
Hermione walked straight into her room not taking any notice of what was surrounding her, she was still thinking of that unsure memory that she had had, if she paid more attention she would have noticed that something has slipped out of her pocket but she didn't so as she walked into her room she pointed her wand at the door and quickly flicked her wrist and the door closed with a snap behind her.
She quickly walked over to her desk and sat down and started on her ton of homework she had. She would most probably be there all day.
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Draco was in the hall eating his breakfast when she came in. The doors opened and there she was walking into the hall ignoring everyone else, just concentrating on the Gryffindor table. Her neck was bare; revealing her bruises . . . the bruises that he had caused her. He felt a pang of guilt rise up inside of him.
He looked down guiltily and stared at his plate. As he stared his plate swayed in front of him and he felt dizzy. He breathed deeply and shook his head. He looked up and as he did he noticed Hermione walking out of the hall. Her bruises were visible to everyone, as he looked he thought "How did she get those bruises?" Then like a quick flash he had a memory but couldn't remember where from. In this Memory there was just Hermione with what looked like his hands coming away from her throat. He shook his head again and just rejected that idea.
Draco quickly got up from the table and walked out of the hall and to his common room. He got to the wall and said the password, and he shuddered slightly as he said it because he had another memory but he couldn't remember what it was from.
He gave himself a shake and then decided to get a book off of the shelves and have a quick read. Draco walked to the bookcase and extended his hand to reach for a book about healing. He then remembered about how he had told Hermione that he had wanted to get a book the night before but all he had wanted to do was see her and he smiled at the memory of her blushing.
He grabbed the book and sat down on the sofa and began to read. After about half an hour he had learned to heal minor injuries and he felt quite pleased with himself. He heard the sound of the wall opening and looked up to see Hermione walking across the common room staring straight at her room, not taking any notice of him. He felt kind of hurt and was about to call out to her when she shut her door.
He felt kind of sad. He hadn't done anything to her. He looked at the wall as it closed back into place and he noticed a bit of paper on the floor. Leaning forward Draco bent down and picked it up. It was a note to Hermione. Telling her to go and meet someone at 5:00 in the Room of requirement. Draco looked at the note in suspicion then he looked at Hermione's door and back to the paper. He decided to go as well. Just out of curiosity . . . and maybe he decided to go because a different reason as well.
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A/N: Well there it is chapter 15. Thank you to all the reviews. And just to say that things might be a little more exciting in the upcoming chapters . . . well I hope you find them interesting. And another thing Draco is not under the imperius curse it's just that hopefully things are explained more in this chapter. If you are wondering why he is being so nice to Hermione it is because he just realises that he doesn't have to be nasty to her. Thanks again for all those who reviewed. Water Demon