Author's Note: So this one isn't as long as the first, as I apologize. I needed a cut-off point. Please feel free to read and review. Reviews help motivate me to write faster :)

Chapter Two: I'll Protect You

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Hermione followed Draco all the way back to his apartment that, to her surprise, was not the most lavished place as she had expected it to be. She tried to fix her appearance the best she could but to not avail. She waited until he entered before she walked over and gently knocked on the door, feeling foolish for not being able to go back to her own home.

She stood there awkwardly, her hair a mess, her blouse and skirt disheveled and smelling sickeningly of Blaise's sickening cologne. A red mark was apparent on her cheek and an outline of Blaise's fingers were red across her throat from where he had held her against the wall. This was the last place she ever thought she'd be but truly did not have anyone else to turn to.

"Granger, what are you doing here?"

Hermione swallowed hard and searched his silver eyes desperately, feeling scared and angry at the same time. She felt tears of hurt well in her own chestnut eyes.

"W-Why did you l-lie to me, Draco…? D-Do you really hate me that much, that you'd want to hurt me…?"

Draco's expression of question changed into one of confusion now and he took a step closer to her.

"What are you talking about? I've gotten over our rivalry and my hatred for you the second we graduated… what happened, Granger?"

Hermione instinctively took a step back and bit her lip to hide a gasp. She looked down and shut her eyes tightly before looking back up at him, anger in her eyes but tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"You lied to me! You lied! You told me that Blaise was such a great fucking guy! You wanted to hurt me!"

Hermione pounded on Draco's chest weakly with her fists as she broke out into sobs, feeling betrayed. He quickly took her wrists gently in his hands and looked into her eyes, worry suddenly filling his own as he saw her fear when she attempted to struggle.

"Shhh… hey, hey... I don't know what you're talking about, Granger. You need to try and calm down so we can talk. I don't know what happened but you need to know that I never wanted to hurt you. Never…"

Hermione hiccupped and whimpered before she took a deep breath, her heart pounding hard against her ribcage as she sobbed. She felt a calmness and a feeling of safety and security fill her as she felt his hands on her skin.

He gently let go of her wrists now and placed a hand on her back. "Come inside… let's talk."

She wiped the tears with her palm and then let him walk her into his small apartment complex. Inside, Draco turned on some lights and walked her into the living room before helping her sit down on the plain beige couch.

"Just relax… I'll be right back and then you can tell me what happened. Make yourself at home, Granger," Draco waited for her acknowledgment and then disappeared from sight.

As Hermione looked around, she felt like she was back at her parents' home. The tan carpet covered the area of the living room and ended at the hallway where hardwood floors suddenly appeared and went into a longer, narrow hallway where Hermione assumed contained extra rooms and bathrooms. She looked outside and saw the moon hanging in the winter sky, feeling like it was a sign that hope was here and that Draco Malfoy could help her in some way in her hour of need.

He came back a few minutes later, empty-handed, and sat down beside her. She flinched the second she felt his hand on her cheek and fear became laced in her eyes.

"It's alright. I'm just going to heal you… I won't hurt you, I promise."

Hermione felt comfort in his words as they ran off his tongue smooth like silk. She relaxed a little and then nodded in understanding, wanting to believe him more than anything. She watched with conditioned hesitation as he healed her cheek and then was careful when he placed his hand on her throat to heal that as well.

"So Blaise did this to you?" Draco asked, not wanting to believe it as anger swelled in him.

"Y-Yes. He's… he's not who I thought he was," Hermione said, almost inaudibly.

Draco swallowed hard and took a deep breath before he ran a hand through his blonde hair in thought. "I'm sorry, Granger. I really am. All the years I've known him, I've never seen him hurt any of his girlfriends or… just any woman at all. Did something bring this on, him hurting you? There must have been something that provoked him."

She looked down after he returned his hand and she was quiet for a long time, replaying the scene in her mind.

"H-He… Blaise was… he was acting sick. He was so… so forceful," her bottom lip quivered and she bit it gently. "I mean, a-at first I wanted to have sex with him but he was… talking so horribly, it made me feel disgusting. It made me feel like a-an object. H-He made me… Christ. He made me give him a blowjob. He g-grabbed my hair… and just forced me and then I threatened to leave and then he apologized. We made it over to the bed and… h-he put his fingers in me really roughly…i-it hurt… it hurt really bad."

Draco listened intently and felt his hands trembling with anger towards his now ex-best friend. How could he be so close to the guy and not know about this? His best friend hurt Hermione… he had to do something. He felt the overwhelming urge to protect her.

"You… you were a virgin, weren't you?" Draco asked fearfully, already knowing the answer. When she nodded, he sighed and bit his lip before he searched her eyes again.

Hermione decided not to tell him about Blaise raping her, if that was what you could call it. Wait, did he rape her? He didn't finish… but she had said no. But she had wanted to sleep with Blaise in the beginning. So was it really rape? These thoughts entangled in her mind and made her heart race with fear and uncertainty. What if it wasn't really rape and he fired her for false accusations? Hermione decided not to bring it up.

"I'm so sorry, Granger. I really am. I-I didn't mean to… I honestly didn't think he would hurt you," Draco struggled for words as he looked at Hermione apologetically.

"It's o-okay. I suppose you didn't know how he really was. It's… it's okay," Hermione shifted nervously on the couch and then looked up at him almost pleadingly. "I can't go back to work. I can't go back and face him again."

Draco stood up and was quiet for awhile before he looked down at her. "You can stay here if you don't want to go back to your place. Umm… we'll figure out something, okay? But, we do need to go back to wherever you live and get some clothes for you."

Hermione's eyes widened with terror. "W-What if he's there? What if he's waiting for me?"

He seemed to think about this for awhile before he smiled weakly. "I won't let him touch you. You're safe with me, Granger."

She looked up at him and then nodded, genuinely feeling safe for the first time in her life.

* * * * *

They exited Draco's apartment and started towards Hermione's house. She hugged her coat tighter to her as the wind blew around her legs. Neither of them said a word to the other until they reached her house.

Hermione fumbled with the keys and unlocked it before entering, holding her breath. She looked around cautiously, as if Blaise could be hiding behind the door. She relaxed again when she felt Draco's hand on her arm softly.

"It's alright… let's go get your clothes," he replied before he let her lead them down the hallway to her own bedroom. He glanced around anywhere Blaise could possibly hide.

Hermione grabbed a backpack and started shoving jeans and shirts and underwear in it lazily, not wanting to be here longer than she had to. She went into the bathroom and grabbed her shower stuff and her toothbrush before walking back out to where Draco was waiting for her in the bedroom.

"Ready to go?"

Hermione nodded but then felt her heart stop when she heard the sound of someone opening the front door. She felt her blood run cold and looked at Draco with unadulterated fear in her eyes.

He put his fingers to his lips and took her hand before leading her into a walk in closet. He quickly helped her inside and then knelt down to meet her eyes as the footsteps got closer and closer.

"Stay in here. Be as quiet as you can. I'm going to hide in the bathroom and when I hear him coming towards you, I'm going to jump out and hurt him. I'm going to protect you," Draco whispered quickly to her before he suddenly kissed her forehead and hurried into the bathroom.

This gesture surprised and almost frightened Hermione but she pushed it aside for now before closing the closet door silently, leaning back in the closet so she was away from Blaise's sight.

"Hermione… I know you're here, darling. Come out, come out, wherever you are…"

She watched him move closer to the closet and she covered her mouth to stop herself from letting out a whimper. She could feel her heart stop dead in her chest, fearing that Blaise could hear it pounding so wildly.

"I won't hurt you! Come on out… I still have to give you your promotion."

Blaise neared the closet until he looked at through the small spaces that were vertical on the door and started towards it with more confidence.

Suddenly, Hermione heard a door open and saw Draco hurry out of the bathroom before he suddenly punched Blaise before he kicked him in the ribs.

"You son-of-a-bitch! What did you do to her?! I trusted you! I trusted you with everything and you let me down!"

Blaise groaned in pain and attempted to get up on his knees but Draco kicked him again, this time with more force. Hermione bit her lip at the thought of Draco intentionally or unintentionally breaking Blaise's ribs, or puncturing his lungs. She had to force herself to stay inside the closet as much as she wanted to break out of it and stop Draco.

"How could you do that to her? What kind of animal are you?!"

Blaise coughed and groaned again in pain before he finally made it up on his knees. He looked up at Draco now with an unreadable expression on his face.

"You're the animal, Malfoy. You… you're the one who… almost killed that old brute at Hogwarts. Y-You were going to kill him! Y-You're the one w-who has the Dark Mark! Y-You're the monster, Draco! You're the fucking monster!"

Hermione had forgotten about Draco receiving the Dark Mark on his arm. It had been years since that had happened, and he had proven that he could be a decent person. He hadn't killed anyone.

She watched as Draco suddenly looked fearful and angry. She knew those feelings. She knew how it felt to have them simultaneously.

"I don't have the Mark anymore, Blaise. It's gone and I am not that person anymore! But this isn't even about me! It's about Granger and what you've done to her!"

Blaise grabbed a bedside table and forced himself to stand but he cringed, holding his side with one hand as he glared at Draco.

"Why are you protecting her?! What could you possibly want from her?"

Draco shook his head and looked back at Blaise with a sincere demeanor of protectiveness.

"I don't want anything from Granger except her trust. I want you to stay the hell away from her from now on. If you come within five feet of her, I'll get a restraining order against you, and if you break that, then I'll have you arrested!"

Blaise chuckled sickeningly now and shook his head. "She's my finest employee. What are we going to do at work?"

Draco glared darkly at him and took a threatening step towards him. "She won't be coming back to work, and neither am I…"

"I'll fire you both, and you'll never find jobs within the Ministry!"

"We'll find jobs… but I won't let her work with a manipulative bastard like you, and I won't work with someone I can't trust."

Hermione felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Draco say this. She continued to watch from the closet door, inching closer to light of the closet.

"You'll be sorry you said that, Draco," Blaise said before he looked at his ex friend and started to walk out of the bedroom, holding his side still.

Draco waited until he left the apartment before he walked over to the closet door and opened it, crouching down to where she was; her innocent eyes curious and unsure. He took the bag from her and helped her to her feet and apparated her back to the apartment.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked somewhat awkwardly.

Hermione took her backpack from him and sat down on the couch, nodding. "Y-Yeah, I'm alright. D-Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine."

They sat in silence for a long time before Draco cleared his throat. "Umm… you should be getting to bed. It's almost one in the morning. Let me show you to your room," he said as he stood back up and started down the hall a short ways before he stopped a small, empty guest room.

Hermione walked in and was surprised at the lavender paint on the walls. She bit her lip and then looked at him.

"T-Thank you, for everything, Draco. Y-You've been really great to me tonight," Hermione smiled weakly.

Draco didn't return the smile as he kept his eyes to the white carpeted floor. "You're welcome. I'm… I'm right across the hall if you need anything. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I'll see you in the morning, Granger."

Hermione bit her lip, feeling like she had done something to provoke his sudden change in attitude. "G-Goodnight, Draco."

She watched him leave the room rather quickly and then go across the hall to his own room before he shut the door with more force than what was necessary. Hermione closed her own door before she got changed into her gray sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt and got under the covers on the bed. She laid there for what felt like hours, the scene with Blaise and him rape- doing whatever to her playing on a loop in her head until she became so mentally exhausted that she forced her eyes to close and fell asleep.