Message in a Bottle

Chapter 11

They both stared at each other deciding to not say anything. Then it hit Draco. The marks, the ones on her neck! They must have been from HIM! He lifted his hand and ran it over her cheek, something he'd dreamt of doing often, reaching out to touch the girl who had become his best friend. She shivered at his touch, almost backing away. But she didn't. She stayed put. She wanted to get the point across to him that she was there to stay.

At the touch of his hand, she felt something she didn't expect. Warmth. "I always expected your skin to be so cold," she admitted.

He didn't like the comment feeling almost offended but it was irrelevant. "I'm not like my father," he responded with a crooked smile. He looked her over and was shocked. She was gorgeous. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Her long brown hair hung in her face covering her scared expression. He pushed a few tendrils back behind her ear so he could look into her eyes. They were a mysterious dark brown, so dark in fact that they were almost black. Slowly, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner."

She responded by resting her head against his shoulder and getting comfortable on the couch. "I made a point of never trying to guess who you were. It terrified me, the thought that you could be someone I already knew."

Then something struck her like a bolt of lightning and she sat upright as quickly as she could. "You're not going to tell anyone who I am, right? I mean I know you've hated me for so long and all but..."

He put a finger up against her lips in order to silence her. "Shh...You can trust me." That was definitely a first. For the first time in his life, he had a friend and he wanted her to trust him. But not only that. He trusted her as well.

"I think I already knew that," she replied, laying back down on him. "What are we going to do about this?"

He rested his chin on the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her. "Keep our friendship a secret, of course. My dad can't know. I wish it was different but I..."

"That's okay," she said cutting him off. "I wish it was different as well but no one would accept it. Your father, my friends, no one. It's too much to have to deal with. Let's not bother. Everything is too complicated. Let's keep our friendship simple."

Draco agreed with her logic. Simplicity was one of the most treasured things in life. Why complicate things when they were fine the way they were? He enjoyed the fact that he had a good part of his life. He sat and thought of all the little things that would make his life better this year: coming back to the common room to someone who actually cared about him, knowing there was someone in the stands during Quidditch matches that was actually cheering him on (even if it was a silent cheering), having someone to talk to about anything that bothered him, feeling like for once, he had a reason to live. This year would turn out to be much better than expected.

They rested for a while, both of them needing sleep but neither one finding it possible. Hermione was busy taking in everything. She always loved to overanalyze anything that happened and this was just a bit much for her. She had fallen for Dragon and now he wound up being her worst enemy.

She didn't like being touched by any man. Every look a boy sent her made her think of HIM and she didn't like it but not with Draco. He had a calming effect on her. For some reason or another, he made her feel safe and comforted.

He sat there as well thinking about everything but he found it hard to think clearly when she smelled so good. He inhaled her scent...peaches. It was hypnotizing. She was intoxicating to him. Every whiff he got sent chills up and down his spine. He wanted so badly to have her but he knew he couldn't. Too many reasons for them NOT to be together but the only reason he would ever even think about was her. She was most likely not ready to be touched by another man after what had happened to her. Another thought that ran through his head was the idea that she might not have been interested in him that way.

Though it seemed clear to him that he wanted her to be more than a friend, he wasn't sure what she was thinking. It was all too new and too confusing and so they just sat there with their thoughts.

Damion flew around the room hooting happily. Finally he would be able to stop flying back and forth around the countryside of Britain. He landed on the windowsill and watched the two new friends getting acquainted.

They talked for a few hours, trying to re-familiarize themselves with each other. They each knew their pen pals and they knew their old selves but this was different. THEY were different. The entire situation was different and everything was changed. And so they were busy re-acquainting themselves with their new friends.

They laughed for hours and hours, telling jokes and humorous stories. "When I was five, my mum used to bring me to this muggle fast food place called Kentucky Fried Chicken. I loved it," Hermione said, starting a new story. "And don't ask me how but I began choking on a pickle. Looking back on it I'm surprised because HE jumped up and saved me. He did the heimlich maneuver. I'll never forget that." She was smiling but her lips immediately dropped into a frown. "Why he would save my life only to ruin it later on is beyond me."

A few tears managed to slide down her cheek but she immediately brushed them away not wanting to have him see her crying but he grabbed her hands. "You don't have to brush the tears away. You can cry in front of me. It's okay...Hermione." Her name rolled off his tongue like it was nothing. He had never called her by her real name before, only last names were suitable for his enemy. But not now. Now she was Hermione and he didn't want it any other way. It seemed so natural to call her by that name.

"I...I...I just don't...I...Why?" she asked and he wasn't quite sure what she was questioning. Was she thinking about her stepfather or was she questioning Draco's new found kindness towards her?

He picked her up from the couch and walked up the stairs that led to her room. She shuttered at his every touch but she had no energy to tell him to leave her be let alone to walk up to her own room so she let him carry her. Pushing open the door, he took long strides to get to her bed. "Do you want to get changed?" he asked her with a look of worry on his face.

"No. I'll sleep in my clothes." He tucked her under the covers and turned to leave but her voice stopped him. "Good night..." He continued walking as he heard her whisper, "Draco."

Reaching his room, he took off his shirt and examined all his scars. They didn't seem so bad anymore. At least he was safe from his father most of the year through. And he had never been violated like she had been. 'Poor Hermione,' he thought with a frown. 'I wish I could rewind time and make sure she was never put in that situation to begin with. If I ever saw that man I would kill him!'

He went to the bathroom and showered off. As he was in the shower allowing the water to flow over his bare back, he heard a deafening scream coming from Hermione's room. Without a second thought, he got out, wrapped a towel around himself and ran to her side.

As he neared her bed, he saw her flailing around in fits, her hands waving violently in the air and her head swaying back and forth. She was screaming, "Get off of me! Please! I promise I'll behave! Just please don't!" Her legs were wriggling as if there was someone on top of her but there was no one there. The room was empty save from Draco and Hermione. He got a little closer to her and managed to push her arms down on the bed to restrain her.

"Hermione, it's me, Draco. Wake up," he commanded in a soft tone. She was still screaming and trying to break out of his hold and he backed off, knowing that if she awoke to find herself pinned it would scare her even more.

He continued calling her to wake up and soon, she did. Her head shook in realization of what was going on. She bolted upright in bed clutching the blankets to her chest. "He...He...He was here! I...he..."

He sat next to her and stroked her head. "It was just a dream," he reassured her. "He can't hurt you here, sweetheart." It was uncommon for him to show so much affection to anyone but the names just kept coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

He continued stroking her hair, enjoying the soft feel and noticing that she seemed to be assuaged by the gesture. She brought her knees up to her chest and began rocking back and forth with silent gratitude to Draco for waking her up. It was another one of her nightmares. She feared they'd come too often and she was glad Draco would be in the next room to wake her up when she needed.

He stood up and kissed her forehead. "I'll be off to sleep now," he said as he began to retreat back to his own room.

When she saw his back she stopped him by standing up and placing both her hands on his shoulders. "Don't go," she demanded. She brought him back over to her bed and made his sit down. She sat behind him, running her hands over the scars on his back. "He did this to you?" she asked even though she knew the answer.

He nodded his head, enjoying the warm sensation her touch brought to him. Her soft fingers ran over the deep gashes that Lucius had made and she wanted to take Draco in and make sure no one could ever hurt him again. She laid down on the bed and patted for him to lay next to her.

He followed her instructions, ready to give her anything she wanted, including if she wanted him to leave. As soon as he laid down, she rested her head where his neck met his shoulder and put one arm across his chest. "Time to sleep," she said while stifling a yawn. It was then that he realized all he was wearing was a towel but it appeared as though it didn't faze her at all and so he tightened it around his waist, making sure it couldn't come undone. Then he wrapped one arm around her, holding her tight.

"Hermione, I have a question," he said cautiously.

"What?" she responded with another yawn, falling asleep as she spoke.

"Um...Well don't answer if you don't want but um...

"What is it, Draco?" she said with annoyance in her inflection. She was still falling asleep though and was hardly conscious that the conversation was even taking place.

Taking a deep breath in, Draco blurted out, "Who's your father?"

Her eyes stayed closed and she looked like she was asleep. Without ever realizing it, she responded, "Tom Riddle," right before she drifted off to sleep.

A/N...Finally...everything is put into one chapter. I'm sorry for any of those who think this unlikely for her to be so close to a man so soon after she's been raped but in order for the story to move, I'm going to do things my way. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for all your lovely reviews. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter but you're going to have to live with it. This is how I'm writing the story. Sorry.