A/N: Very good reviews so here is the next chapter. Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but Jacoby. Everything is owned by the lovely and talented J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 3
Hermione reached down and felt an invisible lump on the ground at her feet. She reached out a wavering and slowly pulled what felt like a piece of cloth away from the lump she knew lay before her. She shrieked when she came to discover that lump as Draco Malfoy, sleeping on the side of the road, or at least he was.
Draco shot up into a stance and his wand slid from his sleeve into his hand. He looked around wide eyed and could it be?….scared… He noticed Hermione standing about ten feet away from him looking rather surprised and above all else tense. His frame visibly loosening as the seconds passed.
"What are you doing way out here?" Draco asked her with a skeptical look on his face. He wouldn't have usually given a damn about anything concerning the little mudblood but this had caught his interest.
Hermione looked him over with a newly formed scowl and hesitated to answer the question but found no reason not too. "Running, you?"
"Why the bloody hell would you care mudblood?" He snarled at her then a smirk spread across his face. "So you finally realized what it is to be a mudblood did you? Running away." His smirk burning into her.
Hermione looked at the ground for a second urging the tears away from her eyes. "Forget it, you wouldn't understand Malfoy." she turned away from him not looking up into those cold cruel eyes. As she continued walking down the road she heard the grass crunch behind her and knew he was following close behind. She stopped and turned to look at him and sure enough there he was. "What do you want Malfoy?"
"I don't see the point in both of us running alone, do you?" He said looking off as if it were only logical.
"Ohhh so you are running away." a smile formed on her lips at the fact that he wasn't so perfect after all, like he thought he was. " What happened to make the Slytherin Prince want to run away?" Hermione crossed her arms and waited with a raised eyebrow.
Draco looked over at Hermione and walked slowly over to her, his eyes locked on hers. His body only inches away. He looked down at her and leaned in close enough for Hermione to feel his breath on her face. He whispered softly. "That…is something you wouldn't understand." He stood back and without looking at Hermione he continued walking. Hermione stood looking off thinking of what she just saw…his eyes were so sad.
Hermione followed close behind him, not a word spoken between the two strangers to each other. The darkness surrounded them but it was a comfort to say the least. Nothing could be seen nor heard on that desolate street that lay in front and behind. It seemed never-ending.
The silence of her world was broken by Draco's voice that seemed to emerge from nowhere. "So Granger, are you hungry?" He stopped and sat in the dry, dead grass after laying out the blanket he had been sleeping on.
Hermione didn't answer at first. She wasn't sure if this was a trick or not but her stomach ached and she replied, "Yes." and looked down at him from his seat. He smiled up at her and moved over so she could sit. 'What is with Malfoy? He's being so…nice…' she thought to herself and reluctantly sat beside him. The moonlight lit the scene enough where they had no trouble seeing.
Draco dug through the bag that had taken up residence on his shoulder and handed her a sandwich, taking one out for himself. Hermione looked the sandwich over not knowing if she should risk it. Draco started laughing as he watched her. "There's nothing wrong with it Granger, it's just a sandwich. I made some before I left."
Hermione seemed satisfied and ate the sandwich which did indeed seem perfectly okay and actually very good. When she finished she balled up the wrapper and Draco took it from her, stuffing it back in his bag. "How do you know how to make sandwich's? I thought the house elves did everything."
"Yes well….. They do but…" his eyes moved to his feet.
"You can tell me Mal…Draco. I'm not going to tell anyone, I swear." Hermione said holding her hands up as her last words came out.
Draco looked at her hesitantly, sighed and gave in. "Okay well, It's all apart of survival in my life. My fath…Lucius would get mad at something someone did and take it out on me. The physical abuse didn't actually start happening till I was nine or so, but when I was younger he started getting mad at me for not being a perfect son and would refuse to let me eat anything all day." he shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I used to sneak out to the kitchen and make a sandwich after my father went to sleep. The house elves showed me how when I was 5."
Draco start putting all the things in his bag including the blanket once Hermione got off. He began walking again not hearing Hermione behind him he stopped and turned around, looking at her. She was playing with a blade of grass that she had plucked from the ground and seemed to be concentrating on it very hard.
"What's wrong Hermione…" He eyed her somewhat worriedly as he took a step toward her.
"My father started this summer...I.. I tried to kill myself a few times….but I couldn't do it." Hermione said in a small voice and seemed to be kind of zoned out.
Draco stopped when he heard 'My dad started this summer' "Your father hurt you?" he asked incredulously. He walked closer to her not knowing what to do or if he should even believe her.
Hermione looked up at him looking into his gray eyes, "Don't believe me?" she slowly pulled up her shirt sleeve and held her arm out for him to see the most recent mark on her body. "I got that one for not cleaning the kitchen when he never told me too."
Draco inspected her burn mark and raised his brows in disbelief. "What else has he done?"
Hermione sighed but told him quietly as if ashamed. "He has done a lot of things, I cant talk about them…It's just too hard…"
Draco nodded, he understood the horrors of scars and their history. "Why don't you just show me."
Hermione nodded and started to slowly lift her shirt feeling a bit self conscious.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" he put his hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her.
She nodded and pulled her shirt up. The first thing Draco noticed was a long scar that went all the way across her stomach ,but it was very thin. Hermione had gotten that one from her father's favorite blade ,his favorite blade to use on her anyway. She looked around for cars which was useless because the road they had been walking down was in the middle of no where. She pulled the shirt over her head and took it off dropping it to the ground.
Draco was horrified when he saw the many little cuts and bruises that covered her, not to mention the scars that would stay with her. Hermione slowly turned around to show him her back. there was a tattoo on her right shoulder that said in medium sized letters 'Property of J.G.'
"My god Hermione, did your father do that?" there was no response. Draco stood up slowly and walked over to Hermione. He gently turned her around and found her in tears. He knew he had to do something but he was never really faced with a problem like this before, especially concerning her of all people. "Oh Hermione, it's okay. I won't let that bastard hurt you again and neither will anyone else. I promise, I will never let you get hurt again." He pulled her into a hug and she cried on his shoulder for what seemed like forever. He didn't exactly know why he cared for her but he did. He wanted to be a support for her….something he never had.
As Hermione cried continuously on Draco she simply couldn't believe that this was Draco Malfoy who was comforting her. He was the one who used to make her miserable. Now he was trying effortlessly to make her whole again. She finished crying and looked up into the strong gray eyes of her new protector. "Thank you Draco. Thank you for being here."
"You still have Harry and Ron to." Draco pointed out trying to make her feel better.
"No I don't." She retrieved her wand and flicked it at her face. Suddenly her bottom lip appeared to be swollen and she had bruises covering her face. "Ron did this to me. So you see…I have no one left." She flicked her wand again at her face and the bruises were concealed once more.
"That bastard, but your wrong about one thing Hermione. You have me now." Draco leaned in slowly and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. This seemed to be the first kiss Hermione had had where actually kissed back.
They slowly came apart and looked at one another for a moment with smiles on their faces. "I happen to know a wizard in Knockturn Alley who could remove that tattoo for you. He made his own potion for it. I've helped him out a few times, so he owes me." Draco smiled at Hermione once again.
"Well I had better put my shirt back on."
Draco smirked, "You could leave it off if you wanted to, I wouldn't mind." Hermione playfully punched his arm and put her shirt back on.
"Come on Draco, lets go to Diagon Alley, shall we?"
"Yes lets." Draco said taking her arm under his and continuing their walk.
That night they were in their room at the Leaky Cauldron. They didn't have enough money to get two different rooms, so they got one with one bed. Draco slept on the floor and Hermione slept on the bed.
As Draco slowly drifted off to sleep Hermione whispered softly to him "Draco are you still awake?"
Draco's eyes fluttered open once more and he sighed, "Yes, why?"
"I…just wanted to say thank you for everything. I know I must be so bloody annoying right now with all my whining…Look I've been thinking about it and you don't have to stay with me if you don't want too. I know I'm probably just holding you back." Hermione said sitting up in bed and looking down at her hands.
Draco's outline could be seen standing from the floor and walking towards the bed. "Hermione, I am not going to leave you. You have been let down too many times and I'm not going to contribute to that number. And another thing, why are you so certain that you are holding me back? As a matter of fact you're more or less pushing me forward. I don't know where I would be if you hadn't come along." Draco paused as he sat down on her bed, then meeting her eyes he said with all the sincerity he owned, "How about, from now on, we stop hating each other and be friends? I know I have been horrible to you and you didn't deserve it, but I do hope you can forgive me. So, friends?" He held out his hand to shake hers and waited for her hand.
Hermione ignored his hand and pulled him into a hug smiling the whole time. She let go and sat in front of him. "You know now, that you're my only friend at Hogwarts, don't you?"
Draco smiled and nodded, "As you are to me. Everyone is going to flip when they find out." Both started laughing at the very thought of what the people at Hogwarts were going to say.
Hermione and Draco talked for hours about their lives and friends. Hermione was quite surprised to learn that Draco was very much interested in Muggle television and music. She filled him in on her favorite show "Charmed" and her favorite band "Good Charlotte". By four o'clock in the morning they decided it was too late to go to sleep so they each took showers and got dressed.
Hermione had went out to buy some clothes, as she didn't have any with her, earlier that morning and was currently upstairs getting dressed. She had gone into the bathroom before he had a chance to talk to her though so he yelled through the door that he was going to go get breakfast in the Leaky Cauldron and to meet him down there.
Draco waited for Hermione down in the bar and when she finally did come down, he had ordered her a plate of breakfast and was working on his own. "This sausage is great Hermione" He said stuffing his face with half eaten link breakfast sausages. He looked up to see Hermione with straight black hair ,long black pants with chains that crossed in the back and a black long sleeve shirt that said " 'Wingardium Leviosa'.…save me." Her lips where covered in a dark red lip stick and her eyes were outlined in black making her pale complexion stand out vividly.
Draco dropped his sausage and stared in ahhh. "Wow Hermione, you look…hott!" She smiled and sat down to eat her breakfast.
After a bit, Hermione and Draco left the bar and stepped into Diagon Alley. And of course who would they run into but Hagrid himself.
Hagrid beamed at Hermione and walked up to her and Draco, " ow' are ya Hermione?" He paused for a moment as he seemed to just notice Draco standing beside her, "what are you doing with Malfoy?"
Draco glared and Hermione giggled "Draco and me are friends now Hagrid. He is actually very understanding once you get to know him."
"Okay, well….watch out for her Draco. Or I'll…oh never mind.. Bye Hermione and …Draco." Hagrid walked away slowly eying Draco before shaking his scraggly head and walking off.
"And that Hermione, is what Hogwarts is going to be like." Draco said as he to started laughing.
They quietly reenacted the scene as they made their way to Knockturn Alley.
When Draco reached the right door he pushed it open roughly and it screeched louder than any door Hermione had ever heard. Draco, as Hermione noticed, put his Slytherin/Malfoy attitude back in place as he walked in and looked around with a sneer. "Talon!" He called out and a man came through the back door. Talon wore black robes and had short black hair. He looked to be in his late 20's.
"Well hello there Mr. Malfoy. Anything I can help you and the young miss with." He leaned against the counter eying Draco as if reading him.
"Actually Talon, there is something you can help us out with and I would like it done for free. I after all helped you , didn't I?" Draco glared back at Talon and awaited a response.
Finally Talon nodded, "Very well Draco what do you want?"
Draco motioned for Hermione to come to him and turn around. He slowly pulled up her shirt and showed him the tattoo on her shoulder. "Can you remove that?"
Talon walked around to Hermione and studied the tattoo, "Yes I can. If you don't mind me asking, who did it and what does it mean?" Talon looked at Draco and then at the back of Hermione's head.
Hermione turned around straight faced and looked up into Talon's pale eyes. "My father did it to mark me as his property. J.G. are his initials. Now can I please just get it the hell off my back?"
Talon simply nodded and showed her and Draco to a back room where she had to take her shirt off and lay on a table. He took out a lotion type thing and held it "Umm.. This is going to hurt like hell, are you sure about it?"
Hermione nodded and added softly, "I can deal with pain but I can't deal with that tattoo." Talon nodded his understanding . Draco took hold of Hermione's hands and took a seat at Hermione's head. Talon slowly poured the thick liquid over the tattoo. As soon as it made contact with her skin it sizzled. Hermione let out a yelp and fought back tears as she squeezed Draco's hand. "Oh gods that hurts." she lay her forehead on the comfy table, loving the cooling sensation it provided.
After Half an hour of this Talon took a rag and wiped the now black liquid off of her back to reveal clean skin where the tattoo once was. He smiled to himself. "That is all there is to it Miss." He looked at Hermione and noticed her straight black hair and black clothes. He knew their was definitely a story there. Then he looked at her face and noticed something. "Did anyone ever tell you that you would look so very hott with a lip ring?"
Hermione smiled and blushed a bit "No, do you really think I would look good with one?" Talon nodded and she looked down at Draco to see him nodding to. She dug in her pockets and sighed.
"Darn, I don't think I have enough."
Draco sighed and looked up at Talon, "Do this for free and I'll owe you. Okay?"
Talon smiled and got out his equipment to pierce her lip.
A/N: I hope you all liked it. If not just tell me. If you do, tell me. I can use all the help I can get. I am working on the next chapter and will have it up as soon as people review and tell me what they think of this one.