Author's Note: So I know I told you that there was going to be vampires in this chapter and throughout but unfortunately (or fortunately) for you, I changed my mind. I've been thinking and it wouldn't mesh with the plot I had in mind real well. Maybe I'll add them in another HP fanfic. Anyway, thank you for your reviews! I apologize for the long wait. I'll try not to have that happen again. Now, onto the next chapter :)

Chapter Four: Father And Son Reunited

- - -

Identical blonde hair and stormy silver eyes were staring back at him. The figure of his father holding Hermione roughly by her arm stood before him. He glanced at Hermione who had terror in her eyes and was looking at Draco pleadingly.

"Draco, you've been a bad son, indeed. I believe it's time for us to catch up. But first, I think me and Miss. Granger should spend some time… catching up," Lucius said with a smirk on his face.

The way he said this last part sent chills down Draco's spine. He glared at his father with malice. "Let her go!"

"But why would I want to do that, Draco? She's very valuable to me. She's a Mudblood and we need to rid the wizarding world of her… kind."

Hermione whimpered and attempted to struggle out of his tight grip but it was no use. She looked into Draco's eyes and saw pure anger in them.

Draco pulled out his wand quickly and aimed it at his father. "AVADA –"

"CRUCIO!"

Draco dropped his wand as he felt his whole body become overwhelmed with excruciating pain, forcing him to drop to the ground, clutching his stomach as he screamed.

"DRACO!" Hermione screamed and tried to run towards him but Lucius pulled her back and then backhanded her so she hit the ground hard.

Lucius watched his son lie on the ground, writhing in agony, and then knelt down to him. "I will always be stronger than you, boy. Always. How dare you try to use an Unforgiveable on me! You'd risk spending the rest of your pathetic life in Azkaban for Granger? You continue to give me reasons to disappoint me… tsk tsk, Draco…"

Draco clenched and unclenched his fists in pain, wanting to look over and see if she was alright, but his body physically wouldn't let him. This scared him more and put more fear into him than his father's words did. He tried to fight the curse, but felt it spreading throughout his entire self, feeling like he was being burned alive.

"You need to figure out where your loyalties lie," Lucius sneered, shaking his head. "If you do not ask the Dark Lord to put the Mark back onto your arm, I will disown you as my son," Lucius said darkly, ice in his voice.

He took the curse of his son and then stood back up before he started to walk away from Draco. At that moment, Draco stood up and aimed his wand at Lucius once again, his hands shaking with rage.

"Sectumsemp –"

Lucius turned around not a second later. "SECTUMSEPMPRA!"

Draco flew back on the ground and whimpered in pain, feeling cuts across his chest and stomach. He looked up in time to see Lucius laugh sickly and then apparated off of the grounds.

Hermione ran over to him and knelt down, her heart sinking as she watched blood slowly ooze out of the fresh cuts across his chest, making his shirt crimson. "Oh god, Draco… I-I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…" Hermione cried, a red handprint visible on her cheek.

Draco took in sharp breaths and looked up at her with tears of pain. "T-Take me to the castle… to the hospital w-wing…i-it's quicker…"

She bit her lip but nodded, placing one hand on his arm before she apparated them to the hospital wing and gently helped him lay down on a bed. As soon as she did this, Madam Pomfrey walked over to them, a look of surprise and shock on her face.

"Oh my, oh my… what brings you here, Draco Malfoy?"

He sighed and cringed as Madam Pomfrey took off his shirt. "My father… he's gotten back in touch with me."

Hermione wiped her tears that were on her cheek and tried to calm herself as she looked from Pomfrey to Draco. "I'm sorry, D-Draco… t-this is my fault…"

Draco winced as the nurse began to wipe his cuts with a washcloth and began to disinfect them. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek comfortingly.

"Now you listen to me, Granger," he said in a soft tone. "You should've been more careful considering the situation, but you were happy and carefree, and you didn't want to think about Blaise coming after you again. I'm not angry, and I don't blame you for what happened to me. It was my father's fault, and no one else's. Okay?"

Hermione swallowed hard but nodded reluctantly, relaxing a little but remained quiet.

Madame Pomfrey walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a small vial that contained a green and brown leaf with vine-like stems coming off of it. "I'm just going to crush some dittany and it'll reduce the scarring. Excuse me for a few moments while I go do that…"

Draco watched her walk away and over to a basin before she began to crush up the magical plant. He reached out and took Hermione's hand in his, gently thumbing it soothingly, seeing how uneasy she looked.

"Let's not worry about this right now, Granger. We'll talk about this after we're out of here, alright?"

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "Draco… he came after us! He could've killed you!"

As she raised her voice, Draco gently covered her mouth with his hand and searched her chestnut eyes with his silver ones. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"But he didn't. We'll talk about this when we get somewhere safer, like I said," he said in a stern voice before he took his hand off carefully.

Hermione was nervous at how Draco was acting, but she knew why he was acting this way. He was scared. He didn't want to go down that road again with putting the Dark Mark upon his forearm. She knew that Draco was different now, and he didn't want it as much as she didn't want it on his arm. Hermione looked at Draco and was about to walk out of the wing for some air but he instantly grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry, Granger. I am. Please, don't go anywhere right now without me," he pleaded. "I don't want my father coming back and seeing that you're alone."

She could sense the fear in his voice and reluctantly stood over by him again, waiting for Madame Pomfrey to come back. Draco appeared to relax a little and lay back down.

"I've crushed up the dittany so we can just spread it on your cuts like a cream, Mr. Malfoy."

Madame Pomfrey took a Q-tip and started to apply the green cream to his pale, tainted skin. Draco winced a few times and as he did this, he squeezed Hermione's hand that was by her side. Once Pomfrey was finished, she smiled at the two of them and cleaned up the station where they were.

"Okay, you both are free to leave. Like I said, Draco, you shouldn't have any major scarring but I can't promise you won't have any at all. And for your own sake, take it easy…"

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and slowly stood up before he lead Hermione out, casually letting go of her hand, not realizing that he still was.

They walked in silence until they finally made it out of the castle. The cold air nipped at their skin but Hermione continued to follow him, almost afraid to say anything.

For Draco, his father's words haunted him.

If you do not ask the Dark Lord to put the Mark back onto your arm, I will disown you as my son…

He was under a lot of pressure and stress, and he didn't know where to turn. He was afraid to talk about this with Hermione, but knew he had to. She wasn't safe alone anymore, between the threat of Blaise and his father. He unlocked his apartment and then walked in, closing the door behind Hermione.

She walked inside and sat on the couch, her legs too weak to stand anymore. Draco walked into the kitchen and turned the kettle on to kill some time before she had to talk to her, and he watched as steam slowly began to become visible. When it started screaming, he shut the burner off poured the hot water into two mugs and poured a bit of milk into hers. He walked into the living room and sat down beside her, handing her tea mug to her.

"T-Thanks…" Hermione set the mug on the coffee table instead and looked at him, wanting answers to her unasked questions.

Draco saw the questioning in her eyes and set his tea down as well and turned to face her on the sofa. "It's time we talk about this. I think I need your help."

* * * *

"So what are you going to do?"

"About what, exactly?"

Hermione took a sip of her tea finally and bit her lip. "About the Dark Mark… a-are you going to go to Voldemort and ask for him to put it on you again?"

"No, of course not. I can't go through that shit again. I can't kill anyone who hasn't done any wrong. I need… you to tell me what you want me to do," Draco said in a tone that was deadly serious.

Hermione's eyes widened. "W-What? Draco… I can't… tell you what I want you to do. My opinion doesn't matter. It's what you think that you should do."

Draco sighed now and ran a hand through his hair. "I think that I shouldn't go through with it, but if I don't, my father is going to disown me as his son. Your opinion does matter to me, Granger. Believe it or not… you matter to me."

This last sentence made her look up in surprise at him, and made him clear his throat.

"I mean, if you don't stay by me, you could end up hurt by either Blaise or my father. So… umm… just tell me what you're thinking about with my dilemma, because this will obviously affect you too."

Hermione nodded and even though it was obvious to her about what he must not do, but she remained patient and calm, realizing that it was not as apparent to him because of the consequences of the action.

"Okay, well… if you get the Mark, then Voldemort is going to want you to kill others. Innocent people. And one of those people might be me… if you don't get it, then your father will disown you, but no one will die…"

"How do you know? How do you know that my father won't come after you, or even me, if I decide not to get the Dark Mark again?"

"I-I don't, but… it's better than him killing innocent people."

"Granger! We're innocent people too! This wouldn't be our fault if he starts to kill again!"

Hermione looked down at her hands anxiously. "I don't think you should get the Mark again, Draco. Your father doesn't love you, and if he says he does, it's only because you're his only heir. You don't want to do this. You don't want to kill anyone. Do you remember when Voldemort wanted you to kill Professor Dumbledore? Harry said that he could see you and you were crying, and your hands were shaking, and you had lowered your wand before Severus did it himself. You're not an evil person. Others may think you are, but I know that you're not. There is good in you, and I don't want you to get the Dark Mark again."

Draco listened intently, his heart racing as she spoke with such confidence that it seemed convincing. He took another drink of his tea when she was finished and thought for awhile. His father disowning him wouldn't be the worst thing ever in the world. It might even take the pressure off. He just didn't want her to get hurt again because of his rejection of getting the Mark. Draco knew she was right though, and he finally looked at her and nodded.

"Okay. I'm not… I'm not going to do it. Thank you, Granger."

Hermione smiled weakly and let out a sigh of relief. The two sat in an awkward silence again before she finally spoke.

"W-When can I go back to my house?"

Draco sighed and took another drink of his tea before setting it back down. "I don't know. I suppose you can go back after Blaise dies of some horrible disease," he answered, half-jokingly.

His tone of voice didn't put Hermione at ease.

"Are you serious? You must be joking, Draco. I can't wait for him to keel over before moving back into my house. It's my house! I should be able to go back there right now."

"Look, Granger, you can't. Not until we know that there's no danger of him hurting you again."

Hermione slammed the cup down on the coffee table with more force than what was necessary and stood up before she started to put her coat on. Draco stood up quickly now and walked over to her.

"Where do you think you're going? You can't go back there! It's not safe yet!"

Hermione took her hair out from under the coat and looked up at his hovering figure. "Oh yeah? When will it be safe, Draco? When? I'm sick and tired of waiting! I can't be afraid of him my entire life!"

Draco gently took her hand and blocked the front door that went out of his apartment. He held it firmly, but was careful not to hurt her.

"Some people are just monsters, and Blaise is one of them. It'll be safe when we can get

him put in jail! When he can't hurt you anymore. But we have nothing against him except that he hit you, but I already healed you! Unless he did something else to you…" Draco trailed off, looking at her desperately.

"He didn't rape me!" The sentence suddenly came out of her mouth but a part of her didn't believe even her own voice. Hermione still didn't know exactly if it could be considered rape or not, but she could get into trouble for false accusations if it wasn't true.

"I don't think even you know what Blaise did, Granger."

She took a deep breath to stop the anger from boiling up and exploding. Tears formed in her eyes though instead and she looked up at Draco.

"You don't know what he did either."

"Of course I don't! You won't tell me! Damnit, Granger… you're so difficult! You barely talk to me unless you have to! Why don't you just open your mouth and fucking speak already?!"

The anger belonging to Draco had come out without warning, and he immediately regretted the words he spoke. He ran his hands through his blonde hair in frustration and irritation with himself.

Hermione's tears fell down her cheeks now and she looked at him with hurt in her eyes. "I'm just going to leave, since I'm so difficult," she replied in a whisper.

"Granger, no –" Draco went to grab her arm to stop her but she ripped it from his grip.

"No! Don't even… don't even fucking touch me, Draco! You don't like me! You still can't even call me by my first name!"

Hermione stormed out of his apartment quickly before he could catch up and she held her coat tightly to her before she started to walk swiftly to her house a block down from his apartment. Once she had arrived, she walked inside and closed and locked the door before she turned on all the lights.

She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife before she decided to do a quick sweep of the house, just in case Blaise was hiding somewhere. She checked the bedrooms, the bathroom, the guest room, and anywhere one could hide in the living room. She put the knife back and suddenly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock at the door. Hermione grabbed the knife again before she walked slowly over to the door and unlocked it. The knock came again and she opened the door, the knife raised up in her hand.

"Hermione! Jesus Christ! It's me!"

She breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed her arm when she saw Ginny Weasley at the door, looking confused and frightened. Hermione set the knife down on an end table before she hugged her friend.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny. I wasn't expecting you…"

Ginny returned the welcomed embrace and then stepped back and looked at her. "Who did you expect, one of the Death Eaters?"

Hermione sighed and took the knife back into the kitchen before she put the kettle on. She walked back over to her. "Close, Blaise Zabini."

Ginny looked at her in surprise now. "Why would you be expecting him, Mia?"

She invited Ginny to sit down on the sofa and Hermione went on to explain what had happened at Blaise's mansion. She told her about what Blaise did, and how she wasn't sure if it was rape or not, and how confused she was, and by the time she was done, Hermione was in tears.

Ginny hugged her gently and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Oh, Hermione… I'm so sorry. I had no idea what you had gone through. I should've called, or owled, or something…"

Hermione sniffled and wiped her cheeks with her palms. "N-No, please don't blame yourself. I-I just didn't w-want to tell anyone about i-it yet."

Ginny nodded in understanding and then placed some of Hermione's loose locks of hair behind her ears. When she heard the kettle scream, she gently set her friend against the sofa and stood up, walking into the kitchen.

"So what do you think it was, Mia? Do you think what Blaise did to you was rape?" Ginny asked as she poured the hot water into two mugs while waiting for Hermione's reply.

Hermione took a hesitated breath as she tried to calm herself down. "I-I don't know, Ginny… I'm so confused right now. My head's going in so many different ways about this right now. I-I wanted it… at first… but B-Blaise was so rough. I told him I was a virgin, and he just… he was so sick. If you could've seen the look in his eyes…"

Ginny brought the tea back into the living room and sat down beside Hermione again, setting her tea in front of her. She was quiet for awhile, just imagining what her friend had gone through.

"I think what Blaise did to you was rape, Mia. You might have wanted to have sex with him in the beginning, but it sounds like he got too out of control and he was inconsiderate of you. You told him to take it easy and he ignored you. H-Have you gone to a hospital or anything yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "I-I was only sore for a few hours, and then I was alright."

Ginny sighed now and looked at Hermione with sadness in her bright brown eyes. "Mia, they could've gotten evidence that he raped you. We could've sent him to prison…"

"No, I mean… they couldn't have gotten any evidence…he didn't… finish," Hermione said with bright red cheeks.

"I'm sure they still could've gotten his DNA. And it's your word against his. In these cases, the woman almost always wins. The hospital could've gotten something."

Hermione bit her lip hard and then looked down at her hands. "I-Is it too late to go?"

Ginny looked down at her own hands, hating that something like this had to happen to her best friend. She bit her lip as well, trying to think of other solutions, and who they could call.

"I-It usually is, if it's been 24 hours… and if you've showered it off. B-But we can go if you want to… I mean, it's worth a shot, if nothing else. What do we have to lose?"

Hermione nodded and finally looked up at Ginny. "O-Okay, thank you, Gin. Will you take me there, to St. Mungos?"

Hermione didn't want to go to the hospital wing for this. Madame Pomfrey knew her and her friends too well, and Hermione was an adult now. She had to go to an adult hospital.

"Of course I'll take you there, Hermione. D-Do you want to call anyone else to come with us?"

For a split second, Hermione thought about calling Draco, but then remembered his fury and their fight. She didn't need any more stress right now. "N-No, not yet."

Ginny smiled softly and stood before Hermione did the same, and then put her coat on. She interlocked arms with Hermione and held her hand tightly. "Ready?"

Hermione nodded and Ginny apparated them outside of St. Mungos Hospital for witches and wizards. She watched all of the parents taking their sick children inside, as well as women her age enter sobbing, on gurneys. She held on tighter to Ginny and felt fear building up inside of her now.

"Excuse me… can I help you?" A young woman at the receptionist's desk asked Ginny.

"Yes, umm… I'm with my friend here, and… I just found out she was raped by someone. Would it be possible to see if you could help her, and collect any evidence from her attacker?"

The receptionist eyed Hermione cautiously and then nodded to Ginny. "Have a seat, please. I'll see if a doctor can take her now."

The two girls watched as the woman stood up and started down the hall. Ginny turned to Hermione.

"It's going to be okay, Mia. I promise… I'll be by your side the whole time."

Hermione smiled weakly and nodded, relaxing a little bit. "Thank you, Ginny."

The receptionist sat down at her desk as a doctor walked over to Hermione and Ginny.

"Hello, would you girls please follow me?"

Hermione looked at Ginny nervously and then followed the young doctor. He couldn't have been older than thirty, if that. His professional matter made Hermione feel a bit more at ease, but it didn't ease her nervousness. He told Hermione to lay down on the bed, and another doctor would be in shortly, and then left their room.

Hermione took off her clothes and put on the uncomfortable and revealing hospital gown, its sterile smell wafting throughout the room. She laid back down on the chair and felt her stomach sink when she saw the stirrups. She looked at Ginny who sat in a chair next to her and held out hand. She felt relief wash over her when her friend took it again and then waited in the fluorescent-lit room for the other doctor, all the while thinking how much she wanted Draco in here with her instead of Ginny.