Nine o'clock, the luminescent numbers of the digital clock sitting on Draco's bedside table read. It was quite funny how much could unfold within an hour and how much could be accomplished. In Hermione's previous life, an hour would be more than enough to fully memorise at least five pages worth of information, which was a quite impressive feat, but she dubbed it as the second most impressive feat, the first being what she had accomplished on that day.
At nine o'clock sharp Hermione had been dressed and ready, books packed, as she was adamant on returning to her classes. She had decided that it wasn't worth it, putting her marks in jeopardy all because of her crippling fear of Ron.
"Are you sure? I mean it's not going to be the end of the world if you fail a semester. Well, that's what I think." Harry asked at the breakfast table, while Draco stared at her with concern etched on his face. Hermione couldn't look Draco in the face, not after how far the two had ventured two nights ago. Things seemed so tense between them, and Hermione absolutely abhorred it. She wouldn't have kissed him, even though she quite enjoyed the sensation of his lips pressed against hers, if it meant that things between them would be so awkward. Luckily Harry and Blaise didn't detect the tension between them.
"Harry, baby, she's an intellectual. I bet it was killing her, being coupled up in this apartment with us, right Hermione?" To Blaise's words, all she had to offer was a curt nod and a tense smile.
Fifteen minutes past nine, she sat in the backseat of Harry's car as he drove them to one of his favourite coffee spots. "But we just had coffee!" Hermione said incredulously as he drove.
Harry tsked. "Coffee? No, I don't think that you can call that terrible excuse of a drink coffee! At best it's water dyed black. Blaise makes the worst coffee, but please don't tell him I said that yeah?" He winked at Hermione.
Wordlessly the car ride continued, with Hermione peering out the window as her mind swam with thoughts. The bustling streets of London seemed so foreign to her now, as even before going into hiding at Draco's place, she barely left the house. She wistfully reminisced of a time when she wasn't inhibited, when she could freely walk the streets with friends who were a mere distant memory. She missed her nightlife, she missed the sheer feeling of gladness whenever she didn't wake up hungover like her friends because she didn't drink any alcohol. She missed gloating to her friends about not suffering through a headache for the entirety of the day because she didn't drink excessively the night before.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Harry asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"It's nothing, really."
"You sure? You looked pretty deep in thought there."
Hermione nodded, and no other words were said for the rest of the trip. Twenty minutes past nine, they parked outside of the coffee place. Harry didn't leave his seat just yet. "Hermione?" He turned, facing her. Hermione didn't answer.
"I hope you and I can be friends, Hermione. I know that we haven't had a decent conversation but I hope that we get along."
Hermione's heart panged painfully. The prospect of friendship seemed so sweet, seeing as she had dropped her closest friends the moment she started seeing Ron.
They walked into the coffee shop, the smell of caffeine and baked goods filling her nostrils. Her mouth began to water. "Okay I'm going to order a Pumpkin spice latte and a chocolate chip cookie. Hermione, what would you like?" Harry asked as he walked to the counter, fishing out his wallet. "I'll just have a cappuccino. And a blueberry muffin." She said, "I'll be at the booth by the door if you need me." Harry nodded.
Hermione took a seat on the plush seats of the booth, peering out of the shop at the street, once again absorbed by the bustling streets and the busy people walking to their individual locations. She was so concentrated on the city scene that she didn't notice the person creeping up behind her.
Half past nine, the peaceful world she resided in shattered into pieces.
"Hermione." She froze upon hearing that familiar low baritone voice. She turned, met with a sight that made her heart drop to her feet and her chest tighten.
"Hermione love—"
"What are you doing here?" Hermione spat, her heartbeats quickening at an alarming pace. Ron shuffled his feet as he kept his eyes on the floor.
The man who had treated her like she wasn't worthy of any affection nor praise, the man behind her low self-esteem, the man that painted her pale skin black and blue like an empty canvas, stood before her, somehow a lot different than when she had fled from his tyranny nights ago. Perhaps it was because that feral look he had in his eyes was gone, the same look that he had when she left, the same look that he always had whenever she envisioned him in her mind.
In fact, he looked a lot more unkempt than she had ever seen him. Auburn stubble dotted his chin and the lower half of his face, his eyes were bloodshot and the black hoodie he wore was stained.
"I-I just n-needed to see you Love." He croaked, reaching for Hermione. She flinched away from his touch. "Mione, I've missed you so much."
"Uhm… may I help you?" Ron turned, facing Harry, who held their orders in his hand. He stared at him with a cold, contemptuous gaze. She saw a flash of that familiar ire in his eyes. She honestly hoped that they didn't start a fight in the coffee shop, not that she was concerned with causing a scene. She was more concerned with Ron, who surpassed Harry in strength, hurting him. "Hermione, he isn't bothering you is he?"
As much as he wasn't being bothersome, he was scaring her shitless. She wished she could've vocalised that. Instead, she lied.
"N-No. He wasn't a bother. In fact we were just having a discussion. You can leave if you want to, you're already five minutes late for class anyway." Harry's eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Are you sure? You're okay being late to class?"
"It's okay." Hermione assured, nodding stiffly. With that, Harry left the café hesitantly, peering over his shoulder occasionally as he left for his car.
"Take a seat." Hermione said, motioning for him to sit down. He did so.
For what felt like an eternity, silence rang between them, so loud that it deafened them to the chatter of the other occupants of the café.
Ron reached forward to touch her hands that rested, clasped, on the table, but she retracted them in a blink of an eye, setting them on her lap under the table. He sighed. "Mione, I'm so sorry what happened that night, I was drunk, I didn't mean all those things, I swear. I hate that I dug this large trench between us. Please baby, can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Hermione sat quietly, as she allowed his words to sink into her mind with a feeling of annoyance. It was that same, rehearsed apology that was as empty as a discarded can on the street.
"Ron…" She hesitated, slightly afraid of uttering her words to him. "I don't want anything to do with you, ever. Okay?"
She watched as he bowed his head, a low sob leaving his mouth. "Baby I love you, please don't do this."
"No, I'm done. I'm—" she stopped herself before she could say anymore. The I'm sorry remained on the tip of her tongue. She wasn't sorry about a damn thing. She took a deep breath. "I'm… done."
Surprisingly he shook his head, a look of acceptance settling on his face. "O-okay."
"I'm going to come later to fetch the rest of my stuff." And with that, she rose from her seat, and left the café, her shoulders for once feeling light. At a minute to ten, she felt more liberated than she had ever been.
If only things could've stayed between that one hour span of time when she felt the most in control. If only, if only, if only.
Her classes had just ended when she came around to her old dorm room to retrieve the rest of her stuff she couldn't take because she was in such a hurry to escape from him. Harry had accompanied her, agreeing to stay outside in case something went south.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked against the door, memories filling her, both nostalgic and traumatic. It took a moment, a moment that felt like an eternity for Hermione, before he opened the door, the strong stench of alcohol smacking her in the face. Ron leant against the threshold, eyes more bloodshot than ever, his mouth pulled into a grimace.
"Is your faggot coming into the house too?" He sneered. Hermione winced at the derogatory term. She saw Harry tense.
"No Ron, he isn't." She answered, before pushing past him and walking into the apartment, a strange feeling running across her spine. The house was like something out of a neat freak's and a mysophobiac's combined nightmares. Several empty crisp packets littered the floor, along with empty pizza boxes, empty beer bottles and used cigarettes. The house smelt strongly of tobacco, alcohol, and food gone bad. The once pristine carpet had an assortment of stains on it and she spotted a few half eaten slices of pizza here and there, mold growing on them. She inwardly gagged.
"You see Mione? The house turned to shit without you, I'm turning to shit without you." He said miserably. "You don't know how much I need you."
Hermione clenched her fist, her jaw tightening. "That isn't an excuse, you're a grown man, I'm sure you know how to work a hoover." With that, she walked into their bedroom, oblivious to Ron locking the front door before following her.
The room was just as cluttered and messy as the living room. Clothes and shoes covered the bottom of the floor, majority she noticed, were hers. Her books laid on the floor, tattered and torn. She sighed frustratedly before she began to pick up her clothes, putting them inside the box she had brought to put her stuff in.
While she picked up her stuff, she heard the door shut, followed by the click of the lock. She stood up straight, her blood running cold. She turned, her eyes falling on Ron who stood against the door. "What are you doing?"
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, dodging her question. "We had a good thing, why are you trying to ruin it?" He began to pursue her.
"Ron—" He cut her off. "Baby I don't think you know how much I love you. You think what that blonde prick gives you is love? He doesn't care about you, he just wants to fuck you." He said maliciously. She backed herself all the way against the closet. Ron only got closer, the malevolence in his eyes more apparent.
"Ron, leave me alone, p-please." She said, fear filling her body.
"We would've been alright if you didn't fucking leave. I would've woken up, we would've settled things, I would've tried to fix things." Hermione shook her head, a sense of boldness suddenly evoked within her. "Fix things?" She sneered, chuckling bitterly. "It's always the same empty promise with you, isn't it? You were never going to fix things and you know it! You care too much about yourself to do that!"
"HOW WOULD YOU FUCKING KNOW, BITCH!" He yelled, as his outstretched hand fell onto her cheek, her head snapping to the side. She cupped her sore cheek, her glare burning with ire. "You're a fucking coward who hits women because you can't find a man formidable enough to take your bullying and violence. I hate you Ronald." She spat.
He grabbed a fistful of her brown tresses, pulling her forward. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP! You don't know shit!" He then punched her in the mouth, the impact of his fist causing her lip to split. Blood oozed from her fresh injury.
He then thew her to the floor, her head hitting the corner of her vanity table on the way down. Her vision grew fuzzy, Ron's blurry figure hovering over her. He straddled her, his fists falling down to every inch of her body from her face to her thighs. His blows seemed relentless.
Finally, his blows ceased and he sat against the bed, breathing heavily. Broken sobs and small whimpers left her lips, as she clutched her broken body, her previous jolt of bravery untraceable as fear took over once again. She felt as though she had been repeatedly run over by a car. She began to crawl away from him and towards the door, only for him to grab her by the ankle. A scream tore through her dry throat, as she flailed and kicked, attempting to get away from her assailant, but to no avail.
She felt his hands run over her side, a sense of dread washing over. "You don't know how much I love you, you ungrateful slag! I love you too much to lose you like this, not like this! I'd sooner watch you die than have you taken away from me by some blonde twat." His hand creeped under her shirt, goosebumps jumping to life on her skin as he touched her. She felt her chest tighten. She felt his wet lips leave sloppy kisses all over her neck. Shock and fear froze her like an ice figurine.
Only after he began to tug at the waistband of her jeans did the reality of the situation she was in register. She began to scream, trying her level best to fight back. "Shut up!" He yelled, punching her in the back, but that however didn't dim her cries for help.
A sudden bang sounded, the noise stilling both of them. Another one followed, followed by Draco's voice, loud with the threat of violence lingering in his voice. "Open the fucking door Weasley or I swear I'm going to kick it down!" He threatened from behind the door.
"DRA—" Her scream was muffled by Ron's hand. "If you make a sound I'm going to fucking kill you!" He hissed into her ear.
"Open the door you piece of shit or I swear!" He knocked again. "I already fucking heard her!"
Hermione's heartbeat was akin to the rapid beating of drums in an African tribe. She internally prayed that Draco would save her from the imminent danger she was in.
A loud thud sounded, as Draco threw his body against the sturdy door. Ron suddenly let go of her. He walked to the other side of the room, and began to rummage in a bag that sat in the corner, muttering to himself. Hermione watched him with trepidation. Two more heavy thuds that shook debris from the aged doors and the doors finally slammed open, the lock broken by Draco's heavy body. He stumbled in, his face panic stricken and his eyes as wide as saucers. His eyes landed on Hermione's beaten form, the colour draining from his face as he saw her condition. "Holy fuck! Hermione! W-what the fuck did he do to you!" He rushed towards her, his movements halted by Ron as he held a knife towards Draco, the object dangerously close to Draco's chest.
Ron smirked. "You must be the Draco my lovely girlfriend keeps talking about." He chuckled, the sound cold and harsh. Draco scowled. "Weasley." Draco said icily.
"Let go of Hermione." At that, Ron laughed. "You want me to let go of my girlfriend, my property?"
"She isn't an object, Weasley." Draco spat. Ron ignored his statement, and walked towards Hermione, who was now sitting up, clutching herself. He knelt before Hermione, taking her chin in his hands, before he pressed his mouth against hers. The kiss was just as she expected it, cold, hard and sloppy. He nipped at her lip, drawing blood. Hermione winced. He tightly gripped the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Hermione attempted to force him off of her, but to no avail. Draco stood, watching the two, the urge to break Ron's neck unbearably difficult to restrain.
After what felt like ages, he finally detached his lips from her. "She's mine, and nothing will change that." He stood up, walking towards Draco with his switchblade held in front of him.
Draco backed away, as he eyed the blade, trepidation evident on his face. His eyes snapped away from the knife, locking with Ron's, that were stony and cold, a smirk etched on his freckled face.
It was a blink once and you'll miss it moment. One moment, they were having a standoff, Ron holding the blade to Draco while Draco eyed it like a snake charmer eyeing a poisonous viper, anticipating its lethal bite. The next moment, they were on the floor, Draco throwing punch upon punch on him, harsh cracks of skin on skin contact sounding in the air. The next moment, the blade was sunk into Draco's torso, his grey hoodie rapidly staining with the colour of crimson. He clutched the wound, his face contorted with pain. A scream tore through Hermione's throat, as she began to feel nausea capture her at the amount of blood the wound exuded. She scurried to Draco's side, hovering over his incapacitated form in panic. "D-Draco, oh my God… I-I'm sorry… this w-would'nt have happened if it wasn't for me!" She sobbed harshly, tears rapidly cascading down her face. She attempted to clutch Draco but Ron dragged her away by the scuff of her neck, before walking back to Draco, who was still clutching himself in an attempt to stop the blood flow as he winced and groaned in pain.
"Say goodbye to your little lover!" He exclaimed, as he knelt next to Draco's form, holding the knife above his chest. The silver blade glinted menacingly in the light. Draco's eyes widened, fear flashing within his grey irises. Hermione cupped her hands over her mouth.
It seemed like the entire world went in slow motion from then. Something snapped in Hermione just as he began to bring the knife down, and before she knew it, she had lunged towards him in an attempt to snatch the knife from his clutches.
"What are you doing?! Let go!" They both fought for the knife, Hermione surprisingly overpowering him. After what felt like hours of sparring, she finally loosened his grip on the knife,causing it to drop to the floor. She quickly yanked it, and before she could comprehend what she was doing, she had sunk the blade into his body, inflicting three deep wounds on his thigh, torso and shoulder. He stared at her, shock and hate within his gaze. "You… fucking… b-bitch… you stabbed… you stabbed me." He wheezed, wincing as each word battled out of his mouth. He slumped against the bed.
The incredible rush of energy she had previously felt had disappeared, replaced by the mix of nausea, exhaustion and agony she felt. And just as the distant cry of police sirens penetrated the almost still air, Hermione collapsed.
Author's Note
i know it's been a while since you've recieved an update from me and i apologize. I was plagued with so much work you can't even imagine. Anyway, we're finally at the end of this little story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing it. Stay tuned cos the last chapter is dropping today as well.
Byeeee!!
