The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.
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This is a more gruesome than I hoped but, I needed to explain how a powerful and strong Hermione could end up like she did.
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The morning came despite Charlie's desire to have it stay away. There was no putting off the inevitable so, he rolled off of the sofa and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for the trip back home and facing his family. Once he was done and had made breakfast for both him and Hermione, Charlie brought the tray loaded with bowls and mugs of piping hot tea into the bedroom. After placing the tray on the nightstand and pulling back the curtains, Charlie stood next to the bed and gently called Hermione's name.
"Hey sleepyhead…time to rise and shine…" After no response from the witch Charlie leaned in closer to her ear and spoke louder, "Hey stinky you want a bath before I leave?"
Hermione's eye opened and she crinkled her nose. "I don't really stink do I?"
"You wouldn't wilt flowers but I just thought you might like to feel fresh before I left. I assume I will be gone the better part of the day…you might be ripe by the time I get back Sunshine." Hermione realized that Charlie's tone was lighthearted and well meaning not cold and demanding. It was a welcomed change.
"Do you have to go?" Hermione was wiping the sleep out of her eyes and she found she could turn on to her back with out a great deal of pain.
Charlie smiled at her improvement in mobility. "Yeah I think I do. I have to make an appearance or it would seem odd."
Hermione nodded and turned her head to the fragrant tea. "Is that for me?"
Charlie reached for a mug and took a sip. "I guess I could be persuaded to share."
Hermione smiled as he held her mug at the correct level for her to enjoy the tea with a straw. Her appetite was larger this morning than last and Charlie was proud of her eating almost half of the bowl of oatmeal.
Hermione rested as he cleaned up in the kitchen and drew a warm bath. Hermione apprehensively tested her limbs for pain. Starting with her fingers, she flexed and straightened her joints noting that the bruises seemed lighter and the cuts were beginning to heal. After working her way up to her shoulders, she realized the worst she felt was a dull ache. Tentatively she started the same process with her toes working up until she reached her thighs and hips. It was at the point the pain was bad enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Hermione wiped the tears from her cheeks. It was better than yesterday and could only get better tomorrow. She realized that for the second morning in a row she had woken up with out the punishment, she was going to survive.
Charlie came back and helped her out of her shirt and smelled her hair. "It is pretty rank do you think you are up for a shampoo?"
Hermione grimaced. "I honestly don't think I could take a shower."
Charlie smiled. "Lucky for you I don't have a shower, only a hand held spray. I am a Weasley I can move fast in the bathroom. You will have all day to recover."
Hermione looked worried but nodded. "I trust you."
Charlie carried her and carefully placed her in the warm water. She hissed as the water came in contact with the more sensitive wounds. Charlie was true to his word and had her hair washed and body cleaned in record time. Wrapping her warm towels Charlie helped back to the bed. He quickly freshen the sheets before she got back in. They used the same procedure as before, Hermione putting the ointment where she could and screaming into the pillow while Charlie put the ointment on places where she couldn't.
Charlie found an old Quidditch jersey that was big that fell to her knees. He helped her detangle her mass of curls and with great effort they were able to get it into a single braid. Hermione experimented with a couple of pillows behind her head and shoulders. She found that she could tolerate the slight change in position and she wouldn't have to be flat on her back again all day.
Charlie gathered his dress robes and went to change in the bathroom. When he returned Hermione smiled at him, he was stunning.
"You clean up very well!"
Charlie blushed. Flustered he asked, "Got your wand?"
Hermione nodded.
"Remember how to summon food from the kitchen?" They had gone over all of this during her bath.
Hermione nodded.
"Okay then, I'm going." Charlie looked concerned. "You sure you're okay?"
Hermione nodded but she had tears in her eyes. "Give Jane a hug for me…I've never even gotten to hold her."
Charlie squeezed her hand. "I will."
Hermione held her sobs until she was certain Charlie had left. Baby Jane, she had been so excited when Ron and Monica had told her they were expecting a girl. Hermione loved those two together.
It had been right after Voldemort was destroyed that Hermione and Ron had realized that they loved each other and that they needed each other but, they weren't in love with each other. Ron had been heartbroken as was Hermione however they had been determined to remain close.
It was Hermione that had introduced Ron to her roommate Monica. She was suspicious when Monica had not come home after her fifth date with Ron. No one was happier for them than Hermione at their wedding
Hermione's mind gave a shutter as she remembered Ron and Monica's wedding. It was then that Percy began his dogged pursuit of her. At first she was flattered by Percy's attention, he had been her idol when she first started Hogwarts. He was so studious and diligent. Even after the final battle and he had recanted is previous behavior, Hermione watched as he worked hard to return to his family's good graces. She had admired his apparently sincere effort to bring reform to the Ministry and prove his worth to the Weasley name. He seemed to be the ideal man for the smartest witch of her time.
For almost a year Hermione had kept him at arm's length. Her instincts were screaming run but her mind, her logical mind kept thinking how nice and attentive he was. She accepted lunch dates and that eventually turned into dinner dates that turned into short trips. All of which were perfectly lovely and chaste.
Hermione shifted to her side with great difficulty. Looking at Charlie's desk she saw his calendar. It her memory was correct it had only been nine weeks ago the Percy finally worked up enough nerve to kiss her goodnight. Only eight weeks ago that he had awkwardly and bashfully proposed to her.
Hermione remembered her initial hesitancy to say yes but, again her logical brain eventually won the argument.
Percy had worked on her to elope with him. He kept saying he wanted their love to be a private affair. He made it sound so romantic to elope to a Caribbean island and spend their first days as man and wife on a sandy beach. Against her better judgment, Hermione agreed and that next day they had portkeyed to the island of St. Michaelmas, and small wizarding and muggle island in the British Virgin Islands.
Hermione cried as her mind replayed their private marriage ceremony on the beach. It had been picturesque, the perfect wedding. After thanking the local official who had performed the service, they had gone to dinner at beach front restaurant.
That was when everything changed. After dinner when they had returned to their beach front cottage, Percy had slapped her and accused her of trying to seduce the waiter from dinner. The memory made Hermione shift with anxiety. She felt so stupid, it had not register at the time she did not understand what Percy was screaming about.
That night Percy had beaten her unmercifully. He had called her horrible names and grabbing her by the hair he had apparated them straight back to London and his townhouse. She was still stunned when he had taken her wand as she lay in a bloody heap on the floor. He left her there until the next morning as she floated in and out of consciousness. The next memory she had was of waking up on the marble floor screaming. The punishment had begun.
Hermione wiped her face with the sheet as she gingerly turned back to rest on her back. She remembered every detail of the next day. Once her husband of less that twenty four hours had decided that her 'lesson' for the morning was over, he had hastily cleaned her up, covering up all the bruises with spells, dressed her in his favorite outfit and told her that they were expected to attend the Weasley family brunch. Hermione could still feel his breath on her neck as he whispered that if she slipped up at all during their visit he would be forced to curse Monica, dear sweet very pregnant Monica. If the baby died as a result it would all be Hermione's fault.
The brunch was the last time that Hermione had seen anyone else besides her monster of a husband. He had stripped her as soon as they arrived back at townhouse, saying that he would give all of her clothes to his girlfriend. Hermione had stood naked and stunned in the kitchen; she was trapped. Percy had made it perfectly clear through the outing that if she even considered trying to escape he would kill her and those she loved. It would be a shame if something happened to Monica and the poor baby would never make it to its first birthday, all because of her.
Hermione tried to stop thinking as she started at ceiling in Charlie's bedroom. But scene after scene of Percy beating and torturing her played across her mind. Of course, she had refused to obey his commands but, every time she refused the beatings got worse until she gave up and did what he said. It finally got so bad that she just lay on the floor and waited for the pain.
The most terrible was when he came back to the townhouse after Jane was born. She was waiting on the floor in the kitchen waiting for the punishment. He was so enraged he had beaten her anyway, accusing her if having slept with Ron and how could she have married him if she was so impure. Hermione had screamed back between punches, that she was a virgin. That just incensed him more, the worst followed. He tortured her.
Hermione did not realize that she had squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again she saw Charlie's sheets, Charlie's ceiling, Charlie's walls, she was safe. A sigh escaped her as she relished in the knowledge that she was away from the cold marble floor and a small smile crept over her face as she realized that Percy would never again have control over her.
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Now what is she going to do about it?
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