Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The books, movies, and all memorabilia belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. No infringement intended.

Au/N: Okay. I apologize ahead of time, but I will have a freaking long-ass author's note. And it will NOT be nice.

First of all, I can't please everybody. Some people think this story is too mushy (this is a ROMANCE, people…romances are mushy!) while some people think it's moving far too fast. That may be true…I agree with many of the things you see wrong with it. But I never claimed to be perfect, so please don't send me emails (you know who you are) telling me I should write things that are actually worth reading because this story is a 'piece of trash that doesn't deserve to be published on I don't mind flames…but that's just cold. Cold and undeserved on my part.

If you don't want mushy, don't read a romance. If you don't want fast-paced stuff…I'm terribly sorry. I'll try to slow it up a bit. But to that person who sent me that email…that was so MEAN!

Ahem I told you it wouldn't be nice. I just had to get it out. Thank you.

Chapter Seven. Betrayal

"Harry? Ron? I'm back!" I yelled as soon as Draco set me down inside the house. I'd become so nervous thinking about what Harry and Ron would say…I couldn't think straight. I prepared myself for ridicule, hatred, and flying objects. This would not be easy.

"Hermione?" said a voice from the living room. I turned, suddenly very afraid, to look at Draco. He smiled reassuringly, nodding. I slowly walked into the living room. Harry was sitting up on the couch; he'd obviously fallen asleep there, judging by the way his clothes were wrinkled and a blanket was strewn across him. He straightened his bent glasses and grinned at me. I glanced at the chair by the fireplace to see Ron sucking on his thumb and cuddling with a teddy bear.

"Harry…I'm so sorry that I made you worry! I just…lost track of time…"

"That's fine, 'Mione. Just…please…don't do that to me again. I thought something had happened to you," Harry said, his eyes glancing over my shoulder to Draco.

"Well…nothing did. And if you were so worried, why didn't you come after me yourselves?"

"I…I don't know. I remember grabbing Ron and heading to the door…but after that, there's nothing." Harry seemed lost in thought. He became incredibly nervous. His eyes grew wide. "I really have no idea what happened!" Harry said loudly. "My head…oh God…'Mione…" his confused expression turned to a look of horrible pain. He fell to his knees, writhing in agony. No sooner had I dropped to Harry's side then I heard Ron begin screaming, too.

I looked up and saw that Ron had fallen out of his chair. The teddy bear fell to the ground and Ron kicked and screamed on the floor. I bit my lip, trying to hold Harry down, trying to keep his hands away from his face, because he was tearing long, bloody scratches into his flesh. But no sooner had I secured his hands at his sides when I realized that Harry wasn't causing the gashes. An unseen force was causing the injuries to appear on his face. I looked at Ron in horror; it was the same with him.

"Draco!" I screamed, finding it more and more difficult to hold Harry down. "Help me! Get Ron!" Tears began to well up in my eyes as I watched my best friends twist in brutal agony, invisible hands clawing at their flesh, not knowing what to do. To me, having no idea what's going on was the worst possibility in the world. I struggled to understand what was happening, but then I heard a chillingly familiar voice fill my ears.

"My, my, my, Draco! The Golden Trio, laid into my very hands. I knew you'd be good for something. Now…reclaim your wand…and show me how much you've learned."

Fear stabbed cold, icy daggers into my heart. My lips were numb and I couldn't speak. I could not blink or breathe. I looked from the bruised, starving man who'd spoken to the younger, healthier man whom I'd come to think of as something more than a ferret. He looked down at the floor and muttered, "Accio, wand," before I even realized what was going on.

He'd come to my home, entered my new family, taken over my heart, and put me at ease…just before he led his father to me and leaned in for the kill.

"Lucius…" I breathed, feeling my hands beginning to shake. I realized with short-lived joy that Harry and Ron had stopped screaming in pain and were lying peacefully on the floor, breathing normally. But then I turned to look at the Malfoys and all hope left me.

"And how have you been, Mudblood?" Lucius Malfoy asked coldly. His ragged appearance was easily explained. He'd survived the war, gone into hiding the same way Sirius Black had, and had been waiting for his chance for revenge. Luckily, his cunning son was there to lend him a helping hand. He noticed that I was glaring at his disheveled persona and he grimaced. "Don't like what you see, Mudblood? Well, I wouldn't look like this if a certain little bitch and her two idiotic friends hadn't decided to save the world at the most inopportune time, now would I?" he demanded. He began to circle me, looking disgustedly at me. I crossed my arms in discomfort.

After a moment, Lucius stopped. I closed my eyes, knowing I'd probably die soon. It didn't seem so bad an idea right then; I'd exposed my friends to the most dangerous man alive, and to top it all of, I'd fallen in love with him. Suddenly, Lucius leaned in—and took a deep, hungry breath of me. My eyes snapped open in shock. I glared straight across from me at Draco—he also looked surprised.

"Did you fuck her?" Lucius demanded, rushing toward his son, his eyes on fire.

"N-no! Never!" Draco screamed. I saw fear plastered on his face. Lucius was the only man he was afraid of. Draco's words hurt me so severely I almost did wish Lucius would kill me. I'd already lost my family, my friends, and my dignity. What was my life?

Lucius cooled off at his son's response, but I still noticed there was an edge to the way he moved and a darting, suspicious glare in his eyes.

"But you're close to her. I can tell by the way you're standing there—afraid to touch her. My son has never been afraid to touch a woman. Not even Mudblood whores." Lucius sneered down at me, his matted hair falling across his dirty face. "I just never thought you'd care for one…" Lucius said softly, eerily. He came very close to my face, so that I could feel his cool breath against my skin. "Is it because she's alone? Is it because you're the reason she's alone?"

My breath caught in my throat.

"Did he tell you, Mudblood? Did he tell you that he was the reason your family was wiped out? Did he?" Lucius demanded. I didn't answer him. I only stared at Draco, my eyes narrowed, my hands clenched into fists.

"The Dark Lord…gave him an order. He told my disloyal son to end the lives of Maria and Travis Granger, as well as the life of their infant son, Thomas."

My eyes began to burn as the tears of pure, unadulterated hatred consumed me. But I would not let Lucius or Draco see my tears. Lucius began to pace the room, telling his story with glee. I continued to glare at Draco. He could not look at me.

"My son was told that I would accompany him on his mission. However, the Dark Lord only entrusted my son with the location of this...house. He was commanded to take me with him, but he—my son—used a spell to immobilize me for several hours. He apparated to this house, but not before snatching my invisibility cloak.

"He did not anticipate the Dark Lord arriving at our home to give him more instructions. He found me there, unable to move, and released the enchantment. Furious, he commanded me to follow my son, giving me the exact location of where he'd be. If Draco did not end the lives of your pointless family, I was responsible for carrying out the mission."

I took a deep breath as Lucius called my family "pointless." I struggled to maintain control over myself, but with every second, I felt my grip on my emotions slipping away.

"And so, I came to be here. I found my son, watching a little family from beneath the invisibility cloak. His wand was poised and ready, and it would've been quick and simple, but he failed to carry out his orders. He'd always been weak; I should've known since the very moment he'd not killed that pathetic excuse of a Headmaster that he'd never amount to anything. So…" Lucius laughed and wiped tears of glee out of his eyes as he retold his marvelous story, "I killed them myself, after Draco left. I couldn't have him stepping in to save the day, now, could I?" Lucius laughed harder and harder until he held his stomach in pain.

I felt physically sick, watching the sick son of a bitch who'd murdered my family in cold blood laugh. He made my family seem like a joke, a sham. He made the few, precious years I spent with them seem like nothing. And Draco had never done anything. He'd never killed my family; he'd had the heart that his father lacked. But somehow, I still couldn't look at him. Maybe it was because I was hurting so badly, or maybe it was because I was so angry. But I think the main reason would be that I slammed my fist into Lucius Malfoy's jaw so hard that he spun around and fell flat on his smug ass.

End Chapter

Well, some things are explained, and I took out the mushy. And it went much slower. Anyway, leave a review!