After paying for the dress, Hermione curtly bid farewell to Ginny and all but ran out of the baby store. Hearing her name being called, she turned around mid-stride and came face-to-face with the one who had caused her so much pain.
"Hermione! Hermione!" a tall-red headed man repeated while waving a had before her face, "Earth to Hermione, is anyone in there?" he joked, smiling at her in a friendly manner.
Snapping our of the shock holding her, Hermione screamed taking wild steps backwards, her arms flailing helplessly as she desperately tried to put as much space between herself and the man so close to her. Still screaming, she tripped over the unstable pavement and fell into the familiar arms of Draco Malfoy.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Draco yelled at the man standing opposite him, looking at Hermione with an expression between shock and disgust.
"Make him go away….AWAY!" Hermione muttered, shaking and staring wide-eyed at the man in front of her. Shuddering, she dug her face into Draco's chest mumbling "Make him go away. Ron…bad" Looking down at his fiancé with a look of concern, Draco turned around, "Ron I really think you should leave. She's pregnant and I don't want her upset."
"Pregnant? PREGNANT? As in about to have a baby?" Ron blinked and looked Hermione up and down, pausing on her stomach and then the bad she was clutching to her chest, "Did you see Ginny?"
"She served us," Draco replied before pulling Hermione behind him, "and we really must be off now."
"Hope to see you around," Ron called after them as they briskly walked down the street, Draco's arm wrapped protectively around Hermione's waist.
"Hope we don't see you," Draco muttered so only Hermione could hear him and pulled Hermione into a deserted passageway, "Okay, now you're going to tell me what's going on."
Looking at her blonde-haired counter part, tears formed in Hermione's eyes, "I don't want to talk about it Draco. It hurts too much," she answered before ducking her face from his view.
Pulling her into a hug, Draco rested his head n her for a second before replying, "It could ease the pain to let someone know. Bottling things like this up is not good for you — or the baby."
"But —" Hermione started but was silenced by Draco's finger on her lips.
"I don't want to hear excuses, I want to know what upset you so much and I want to hear it now." Draco told her in a matter-of-factly, no arguments way, "Okay?"
Sighing her defeat, Hermione nodded and Draco moved his fingers allowing her to speak. "it wasn't anything in particular," she began and when Draco looked to interrupt she silenced him, "No Draco, let me finish," and took a deep breath. " okay, I suppose there was the shock of seeing him. I hadn't expected it and it just brought back the memories of those incidents."
Nodding his head, Draco just looked at her, not speaking yet telling her to continue.
"About three months into our engagement I had passed out in the kitchen and I remember when I woke up he was — he was doing things — it seemed forever until he noticed I was awake and he made it a joke — as if I had fallen asleep while we were — you know" Hermione shuddered as she told Draco, the memories seeming to consume her.
"And before that, after I had 'fallen' down the stairs, he gave me that look — that one he gave me today — it was as if he hated me, was disgusted by me but just couldn't look away. It was horrifyingly embarrassing, he just stared at me like I was some kind of freak." Hermione continued to confide in Draco who was silently shaking from anger.
"The week before our engagement, he beat me for the first time. He was so angry. I don't know what about, but he took it out on me. I was bruised for about a week after that." Closing her eyes, Hermione unsuccessfully tried to black out the memories; crying she continued. "The punches—the kicks—I hurt everywhere. There was not one place that was not sore. After he beat me, he raped me, and then blamed me! And do you know what is crazier than that? I believed him! I apologised for being beaten; I told him I wouldn't do it again." Hermione raged as sobs tore through her body.
"Baby — Mione — its okay. He can't hurt you anymore. I'll always be here to protect you. He'll never hurt you again." Draco murmured as he rocked her back and forth, held tightly in his arms.
"I thought he was right, that it was really all my fault until I met you. You know — he used to make me promise that I wouldn't be near you; that I wouldn't look at you; talk to you. He saw that you made me stronger against him, he tried to make he quit work because you were there. I said no and he beat me, but look now—we're together and he is gone. Still and asshole and will always be in our lives but ultimately gone. He means nothing, you meant everything to me and nothing can ever change that." Hermione finished and wrapped her arms more tightly around Draco, "I feel better now."
"I told you telling someone would make you feel better," Draco spoke into her hair. he was calm on the outside but furiously plotting Ron's downfall on the inside. "The Weasel will pay fro what he's done Mione — the Weasel will pay."