Chapter 10-

AN-Sorry for all of those who wanted more Hermione-Draco action, but I didn't want it to be that easy. I dunno where this story is going. I am just kinda taking it one step at a time. So, you will just have to stick around and see if they can rebuild what little bit of a relationship they had or if it isn't possible anymore….Enjoy…

Hermione finally finished the long walk to the nearest road and pulled out her wand. She raised it in the air and within seconds the Knight Bus appeared in front of her.

Stan stepped out and smiled at her. "'Ave a good vacation, did you?"

Hermione nodded and smiled back. It was a fake smile because inside she wanted nothing more than to hide somewhere and cry herself to sleep, but he looked convinced and took her trunk. She climbed in and told Earl, the driver, that she wanted to get to Diagon Alley. She went to the back of the bus and laid down on a bed in a dark corner as the bus took off at an alarming speed. She fell back onto the bed and tears immediately filled her eyes. 'Why is everybody doing this to me?' she wondered as silent tears streamed from her deep brown eyes onto her pillow.

After what seemed like hours, the bus screeched to a stop and Stan said, "Diagon Alley!!"

Hermione got up and wiped her face before walking to the door and exiting the bus. "Bye, missy." Stan said as the door closed and the bus disappeared into the night.

"Bye." Hermione whispered before turning towards the entrance to the Leakey Cauldron. "Well, here goes nothing." she muttered as she walked up to the door and pushed it open. She went straight through the bar to the room with the brick wall entrance to Diagon Alley. She tapped the bricks in a certain order and the wall moved aside to reveal a crowded street full of witches and wizards shopping.

She walked towards a great big white building at the end of the street called, Gringots. It was the wizarding bank. She walked inside and right up to the front desk. The goblin behind the counter said, "What do you want?" in a rather unfriendly voice.

"I need to make a withdrawal." she said bravely.

"Gidget!!!" the goblin yelled and another goblin appeared immediately. This goblin was smaller and looked like a girl. She had a little bit of hair that hung down past her jaw bone and her fingernails were painted black. "Vault 1127!!"

Gidget bowed and led the way through a door on their left. Soon, they were racing through a maze of vaults. When the car finally came to a stop, Hermione had to hold the side to get her bearings before she could stand.

"Key." said Gidget in a higher more friendly voice.

"Oh, yeah." Hermione said as she pulled a small skeleton key out of her pocket and handed it to the goblin. Gidget opened the vault and stood back so that Hermione could get in. Hermione collected a few handfuls of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts and left the vault.

Back out on the street, she bought the necessary books, some new robes, and a silver and white spotted owl. 'I can't believe I gave my cat to Sirius. I still miss him, and I don't even know what happened to him after Sirius died. Poor Sirius…' she thought as she admired the owl. After looking at it for a while, she decided to name it, Triton.

When she was finished shopping, she went back out side and held her wand up once again. The Knight Bus appeared within seconds and once again the doors flung open and Stan stepped out. "Well, hey there, Missy. Missed us, did ya?"

"I need to get to Hogsmeade." she said as she boarded the bus once again. She was about to head back to her seat on the bus when Stan said something that stopped her in her tracks. "Yeah, we j'st dropped a boy off 'ere a few 'ours ago. 'E told us to come back for 'im at ten. It's fifteen till now, so we are gonna wait for 'im and then we'll set off."

"A b-boy?" Hermione asked as she turned around. "Who was it?"

"Some blond kid. 'E is going to Hogsmeade too 's a matter a fact. Ya know 'im?"

"Nope." Hermione said quickly before walking up the stairs to the third floor and sitting on a bed. 'I'll just wait a few minutes when they get to our stop so that I won't run into him.' she thought before falling into an uncomfortable sleep.

Draco walked towards the Leaky Cauldron in a fowl mood. He was lugging all his new school things and thinking about the days events. 'I can't believe that the Leaky Cauldron has no rooms!!! Now I have no choice but to go to Hogsmeade and see if I can find something there.' Suddenly he heard a bill chime. 'What? It can't be ten already.' he thought as he took off running towards the street outside the Leaky Cauldron.

Soon, he came to a stop in front of the Knight Bus. Stan stepped out and said, "I'll get those things fer yeh." With that, he grabbed the packages from Draco and stepped aside so he could board.

"How long will it take to get to Hogsmeade?" Draco asked without turning to look at Stan.

"Well, we got several stops to make on the way, so it'll prolly be around 8 tomorra morning" Stan replied.

"Fine. I am going to get some sleep. Is anyone on the top floor?" he asked. "I want peace and quiet."

"Well, there's one. S'es sleepin' right now."

"Good, wake me up when we arrive, will you?"

"Sure."

Draco nodded and headed up the stairs. He felt mentally and physically exhausted and was ready to sleep. When he reached the top floor he collapsed on the first bed he saw. He didn't even realize or care that Hermione was sleeping only feet away from him.

12:45am…

Draco was startled awake when he heard something. He sat straight up and looked around him for the source of the sound. When he heard nothing he got ready to lay back down, but just before his head hit the pillow he heard it again. It was a cry from a woman.

"NO! Don't!!! Please leave me alone!!" the voice yelled. Draco immediately recognized the voice immediately, it was none other than the one he had been trying to get away from…Hermione.

Draco's immediate reaction was to go to her and help her, but he only got about a foot when he remembered the fight that they had had earlier. 'There isn't even anything going on between us.' said her voice in his head. He stopped in his tracks, debating whether or not to go to her. His Slytherin side was telling him that she doesn't deserve him, but his other side wanted to go her and help her.

Then, she spoke again. "Draco…How could you?? I thought you cared about me." She mumbled between sobs.

Dream

Hermione was sitting on Draco's lay crying. Ron had just broken her heart and she was hoping for comfort in the arms of the man she had grown to like, maybe even love. She was incoherently mumbling things when suddenly his face went blank. He shoved her off of his lap and moved away. Hermione landed with a dull thud on the hard wood floor as him sudden change of mood was sinking in.

"Draco, What…"

"You are just a stupid, filthy Mud blood!! You don't deserve a Pureblood like me!!!" he yelled. Then he reached down, grabbed her by the arm, and none to gently pulled her to her feet.

"Stop." She said, her voice shaking with fear. This was all to familiar, but Draco was supposed to be her savior not her attacker. 'He had promised never to hurt me, so why is he doing this.' she wondered somewhere in the back of her mind.

"I HATE YOU!!" he yelled as he raised his hand and struck her.

Hermione's hand flew to her cheek as she staggered from the strength of his blow. Tears began to flow harder as she backed away shaking her head. This didn't make sense…

"Draco, how could you?? I thought you cared about me…" Hermione choked out as he advanced on her.

"I never cared about you!!!'" he said as he laughed. Then, he raised his hand and struck her again. "I can't stand you." he said as he pushed her against the wall. Where he pinned her by pressing the length of his body against her and holding her hands over her head.

"Please stop. Don't be like our fathers. Please, Draco, don't hit me anymore." she pleaded with him as the tears continued to cascade down her cheeks.

"Quit whining!!" he yelled before violently pressing his lips to her, just as her father had done dozens of times before. He pressed so hard that she was forced to open her mouth. He took this as an invitation to slide his tongue into her mouth.

Hermione paniced and did the only thing that she could think of, she bit down as hard as she could. When she tasted blood, she let go. Draco pulled back and his hands flew to his mouth as he howled in pain. Hermione took this opportunity to run for her life. Unfortunately, Draco's Quidditch-trained body was much quicker than hers and he caught her before she had even reached the door. He tackled her and the both crashed to the ground with Draco pinning her once again. Hermione screamed as loud as she could before whispering, "Please…no…"

Draco

"Please stop!!!" Hermione yelled as Draco stood only feet away, still unable to get over his pride. "Don't be like our fathers!! Please, Draco, stop hitting me!!"

'Me, hitting her? Our fathers…' he wondered, then it hit him. She was having the dream about her father again, except it was him hitting her and abusing her instead of her father. 'Oh no…' Draco made up his mind, he was going to go to her, but once again he stopped in his tracks. This time it was because of something else that she said.

"I HATE YOU, DRACO MALFOY!!! YOU ARE EVERYTHING THAT I ALWAYS THOUGHT YOU WERE!!! RAPE ME, BEAT ME, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!!! YOU ARE EXACTLY LIKE YOUR FATHER!! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!!!!" Hermione yelled from her bed.

Draco, having heard this, flared with fury once again. 'Fine. If she hates me, then I hate her too.' he thought before walking back to his bed and covering his head with the pillow.

Hermione's screams continued throughout the night. Every thirty minutes the dream would change or start over. Sometimes it was him hurting her, other times it was her father. Draco listened to it all. He listened and cried. He couldn't help it. He loved her, whether he wanted to admit it or not, he knew it was true. He wanted to go to her, tell her it would be ok, and be there for her, but his pride wouldn't let him. The voice inside his head told him to go to her, to forget what his pride was telling him, but he wouldn't listen. He did, however, make himself lay there and listen to her cries. He didn't sleep again that night and soon footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. He threw the blankets over his head.

Stan emerged from the stairs, smiling. Draco faked sleep and listened as Stan went and woke Hermione. Draco opened his eyes slightly and he lifted the blanket a tiny bit, so that he could see her. She sat up and looked at Stan. She had dark bags under her eyes and her eyes themselves were bloodshot from crying. She tried to look like she was okay, but Draco could have seen through that disguise even if he hadn't heard her cries that night. "Time to get up lil' lady. We are 'ere." he said with a bow.

"Thank you." she said in a low, far away voice. She got up, grabbed her trunk and began to make her way downstairs.

Then, Stan came over to him. Draco sat up and looked at Stan before he had the chance to wake him. "I'm awake. Thanks." Draco said as he too grabbed his trunk and headed toward the stairs. He made sure he walked slowly to make sure Hermione didn't see him. When she was out of site, Draco got off of the bus and went the opposite direction. 'Everything is going to go back to normal now. This summer never. happened. She will make up the wonder boys and never look back.' he thought as he walked away in search of somewhere he can stay for a week.

Hermione

Hermione walked up the pathway to Hogwarts. When she finally arrived, she walked straight to Dumbledore's office. She got to the Gargoyle and stopped. 'Shoot. I don't know the password.' she thought as she stood there, trying to think of what it might be. Lucky for her, she heard Professor McGonogall and Professor Dumbledore voices and they were coming closer. When they turned the corner, they immediately saw Hermione standing there.

"Miss Granger, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here a week before term starts?" Dumbledore said as he approached.

"It's a…long story." she said in quiet voice.

"What's the matter?" Professor McGonogall asked in obvious concern for her best student.

"Well, how about we go up to my office and you can tell us the whole story." Dumbledore said as he heard more footsteps approaching. Hermione nodded and Dumbledore said, "Gummy Bears." The gargoyle leapt aside and they climbed up the stairs.

Once in Dumbledore's office, they all sat down. Dumbledore sat behind his deck, McGonogall sat in a chair next to his, and Hermione sat on the other side of the desk. There was an uncomfortable silence before Dumbledore said, "So, why don't you tell us what happened over the summer that brought you here so soon. We know about your father, but why don't you go ahead and tell us the whole story."

Hermione gulped. She didn't know what to say. She really didn't want to tell them about her and Draco getting close, but she didn't know how she could leave it out. "Well," she started, "My mother died and my dad started drinking. He would be constantly drunk and he suddenly began being violent. He would hit me and yell at me constantly." she said as tears welled up in her eyes. She paused for a second to regain herself before continuing. "Soon, it became to much. He would beat me so badly that I would be confined to my bed for the day or sometimes more. He constantly blamed me for mom's death and it was ripping me apart piece by piece. I didn't want to leave my dad, but I saw no other choice. So one day I packed up my stuff and snuck out of the house. I called the Knight Bus, like Harry had done in third year, and went to my parents' deserted cabin. I didn't think he would go looking for me there. Anyway, the Knight bus dropped me off about two miles from the cabin, so I started walking. I was almost there when something heavy feel right on top of me. I soon discovered that it was Draco. I didn't know it was him at the time because it was dark, but I felt bad for this unconscious man. I picked him up and carried him to the cabin. He was beaten badly. I helped him get better and we slowly started becoming friends. Then one day, my Draco went to the grocery store. I heard a knock on the door and I answered it because I thought that Draco had just forgot the key. It was my dad. He hit me and hurt me. He was about to…" Hermione trailed off, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"It's ok, Miss Granger. Take your time." Professor McGonogall said in a motherly voice.

Hermione nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, he was about to…rape me." she said the last in a barely audible whisper. "Then, Draco came and saved me. He thru him off of me and called you." she said looking at Dumbledore. "After that, we got really close. Then, yesterday, we got in a fight and here I am." she finished, leaving out the part about Ron. She wiped her eyes and then looked up at her professors. Dumbledore's eyes were full of love and understanding and McGongall's were full of pity and that motherly look. Professor McGonogall suddenly stood, walked around the desk, bent down, and pulled Hermione into an embrace. This shocked Hermione since it was so not a Professor McGonogall thing to do, but after she got over the initial shock, she returned the much needed hug. Tears were pooling in her professor's eyes as they pulled apart. "You will always have a home here. I think that Professor Dumbledore will agree with me." she said turning to get conformation from the man in question.

"Of coarse." he said with a smile and the twinkle in his eyes. "Now, since you are here early, I think that we will let you go ahead and stay in your prefect dormitories." With that, he stood and began walking towards the door. He opened it and gestured for the two girls to go first. They all went through and Dumbledore led them down the corridor.

Professor McGonogall did another thing that was very un-her. She put a motherly arm around Hermione's shoulder and said, "You come to me if you need anything."

Hermione smiled and nodded. She liked the new Professor McGonogall. She had always looked to this woman as a role model, now she might be able to look to her as a mother as well.

Dumbledore suddenly stopped in front of a portrait of a boy and a girl. The boy was wearing green and the girl was in a scarlet dress. They looked like they were from the 30's. Dumbledore saw her looking at the portrait and said, "They were Head Boy and Head Girl in 1933."

Hermione smiled and nodded. Then Dumbledore said, "Happy Heads." The portrait moved aside and a hole appeared from behind it. "Well, we will leave you here. See you at lunch." He winked and escorted McGonogall back towards his office.

Hermione climbed inside and admired her new room. The whole room was done in white, red, and black. The counters were marble and the floors were hard wood, except in front of the fireplace. There, was a shag carpet in deep, blood red. There were huge bookcases every way she looked. Then, there was a wood table with 10 chairs around it. 'Must be for the prefect meetings…' she thought as she walked towards the door with her name carved in it. 'Wonder who the new Head Boy is…' When she entered her room, she saw that it was much bigger than her old room. In the middle was one king-sized four poster with blood red curtains. Across from the bed was a small dresser and a vanity. The vanity had a huge mirror and a small cushioned chair. She smiled and sat in front of the mirror. She had totally forgot about all of her problems until she saw her reflection. She looked horrible. Heavy bags hung beneath her eyes, her eyes themselves were decorated in red, and her face was red and puffy from crying. Her depression came flooding back with a vengeance. She wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and never come out again, but then she thought of something. Harry…

Hermione got up and ran towards the portrait hole. She wanted to talk to Harry before Ron got the chance. Once she got out into the corridor, she stopped. 'Wait, I have no idea where he is…' she thought. 'If I were Harry and I was alone, what would I do???' she only had to think for a few seconds before it came to her, 'Quidditch!!! He has to be at the pitch.'

With that thought, she ran towards the Entrance Hall. She flew through the doors and ran to the Quidditch Pitch. Sure enough, Harry was soaring high above the stands doing flips and dives.

"Harry!!! HARRY!!!" she yelled as she waved her arms over her head in an attempt to get his attention. She was a bout to yell out his name again when another form appeared beside him. Hermione saw the red hair and immediately knew that it was Ron. Her heart sank. Harry is going to take his side…but I still have to try.' So, once again she began yelling his name and waving her arms. Ron spotted her first. He squinted before elbowing Harry and pointing down at her. Harry, who had been laughing, suddenly froze. Even from that far away, she could see that he was mad.

They talked for a few minutes before flying towards her. A few seconds later, they landed in front of her. They both stood there and waited. Neither made a sound.

"Harry…Ron…" she started, but once again she was cut off by Ron's yells.

"What do you want, traitor!!!" he yelled.

"It wasn't…" she tried again, but this time it was Harry who cut her off.

"How could you, Granger?? I thought you were my friend." he said in a half hurt, half angry voice.

"I am--"

"NO YOUR NOT!!! YOU ARE SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY!!!" Ron yelled.

"I am no--"

"Forget it, Granger. Ron told me everything. We never want to see you again." Harry said in a slightly raised voice before they mounted their brooms and flew away.

"No…" Hermione muttered before turning on heel and running back to the castle, tears streaming from her eyes for the umpteenth time in the last two days.

'I really am alone…' she thought as she flung herself onto her bed and cried.

After crying for a few hours, she decided that she needed to get her feelings out. She decided to write a letter to no one.

Anyone who'll listen,

People used to tell to me that life is not perfect. Well, for a long time I thought they were wrong. I thought my life was perfect. I had friends that loved me, a loving family, I go to one of the best schools…I loved my life. These past few years have been totally perfect. I thought that my life could never be anything but perfect. I guess that that is where I made my mistake. Nothing is perfect, and once you start thinking that it is everything falls apart.

I thought my life was prefect, so what happens?? It falls apart!!! Why is life so cruel??? I had two of the most wonderful friends. Sure we had our disagreements, but we have been best friends for 5 years. We used to do everything together. Now, as of today they never want to see me again. I also had a guy in my life. I was just starting to love him when he suddenly decided that he too never wants to see me again. My family is no linger a family and the only thing I have left is school, but what is going to school if you have no friends?? Why did my life suddenly turn upside down????? I can't stand being alone. I have nobody to talk to, nobody to love, nothing…I need a friend…

If anybody ever gets this, I need a night in shining armor…Save me from the life which was so perfect, but is now laying around me in ruin!!! Will you be my friend????

Yours truly,
Hopelessly Lost

After signing the letter, she sealed it and tied it to Triton's foot. "Take this to someone…" she said as she opened a window and let him out.

AN- that was a long one…eh??? Well, hope that you liked it…Tune in next week for the next episode of Getting Through…jk. Well, bye…

I love Tom,

Gotta Love Drakie