A/N: Don't own.

Chapter Five: One Hundred And Four

"So what are we going to do now?"

Draco glanced down at Ginny who was sitting on the floor with Blaise. "We need to go to the Ministry and get the divorce papers. You'll sign it, and we'll return them. Then Cormac has no connection to you anymore and we can have him arrested if he tries anything."

Hermione bit her lip in thought. Draco had said he was going to put the two of them in hospital after the whole ordeal was over. Now that Draco was about to get the divorce papers, she wouldn't have much time until he did this. She didn't have much time until she was about to have no control over anything whatsoever. She looked down at her lap, only vaguely hearing the conversation taking place in the living room.

"How long until we go to get the papers, Draco?"

He shrugged and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know. The sooner we go, the better. I don't want Cormac around here anytime soon."

Ginny looked over at Hermione who looked tired, and pale, but knew she probably looked about the same. She looked back at Draco now, thinking. "Could we… hold off a couple weeks?"

Draco looked at Blaise and then back at Ginny. "I don't think it's good if we wait that long. We're just asking for trouble. That'll be just enough time for that restraining order to expire and Cormac finding a way around the divorce papers. Why don't you want to get it over and done with?"

Ginny was quiet for awhile and Hermione looked up to see Ginny looking at her. Draco looked between the two girls and caught on.

"Look, I'm worried about both of your health but… I just want all this shit with Cormac to stop. I won't send you to hospital right after this is all over, but I will make you there sooner or later. It's in both of your benefit to go there sooner rather than later. If something happens to you, I'll be held responsible for you since you're living under my roof. Do you understand?"

Ginny and Hermione both nodded and Hermione felt relief wash over her, the panic subsiding. Draco hated himself for deciding this but he needed the two of them to be as cooperative as possible, and they would try to postpone the papers for as long as possible. Blaise nodded at him, almost as if he was saying that he made the right decision.

"Do you want to go for a run, Gin?"

Ginny almost jumped up at the offer and smiled, nodding. When she looked at Draco though, his face was filled with hesitation and concern.

Hermione felt uncomfortable at the silence. "I'm sure we can find some jogging clothes in Draco's room."

Blaise sensed Draco's hesitation and cleared his throat. "Just let them go, man."

Draco tongued his cheek, trying to keep his patience. "I really don't think that jogging out there is a good idea right now," he said as he looked at Ginny, ignoring Blaise. "Cormac's out there, he'll be looking for you."

Hermione walked over to Draco and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just let her come with me. I'll watch out for her."

Draco shook his head, shrugging away her hand from his shoulder as he stepped away from her but turned around to look at both of them.

"You'll watch out for her? Would that be before or after Cormac attacks you both?"

Hermione felt small as Draco asked his rhetorical questions but she tried to push it back down. "Is this about Cormac attacking Ginny or do you just not want us to go jogging because you're afraid it's going to make us thinner?"

"Both," he said quickly. "You can exercise here, where Blaise and I can protect you. Why do you want to go out there and put yourselves in danger? Why are you so quick to want to die?"

Hermione knew that Draco meant this in more than one way and she felt her stomach tighten. She shook her head in disappointment at him and gently took Ginny's hand. "Come on, Gin. Let's go get changed so we can get out of here for awhile."

Ginny didn't object and willingly followed her into Draco's bedroom. Draco looked at Blaise whose face was unreadable.

"One of us should go with them."

Blaise bit his lip unsurely. "They'll never forgive us if we follow them everywhere they go. We can't keep an eye on them every minute of every day unless they stay here. We… just need to trust them. We'll make sure they take their wands with them when they leave the apartment, and a phone. They're old enough where we just have to trust they'll keep each other safe."

Draco clenched and unclenched his fists but then took a deep breath and nodded¸ letting out the breath. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish they knew the harm they were doing to their bodies with all their exercise. It's not just about Cormac getting to them."

"I know, Draco. It's just a part of their illness. We can make sure they don't overdo it though. We'll weigh them once a week and if they get below one-hundred pounds then we'll just tell them they have to gain some weight before they can try to lose it again."

"They need to be put in hospital so they can have IVs put in. They need professional help. They need to gain weight, a lot of weight."

"You already promised them you'd hold off before you did that. You can't just go back on your word," Blaise replied.

"I can if they're about to die. They're malnourished, Blaise. They don't have hardly any fat on their bodies! There's so many things that can happen to them, and if any of them do, then I'm going back on my word if it means it'll save their lives."

Blaise sighed and shook his head. "Come on, man! We can make them gain weight here. We don't have to put them in a place where strangers are going to slap IVs into their arms and force-feed them! Why are being so difficult on this?"

Draco suddenly shoved him. "Because I don't want either of them to fucking die!"

Blaise stumbled back slightly and began to think that arguing with Draco about this was a lost cause. He looked down at the floor, tonguing the inside of his cheek in frustration. He wanted to help the girls without being the cause of their death by letting them keep going on like they were.

"Open your goddamn eyes and look at them, Blaise! They're walking skeletons," Draco said, frustrated.

"You're such as asshole, Draco!"

Draco turned around to see Hermione and he sighed. "Grang- Hermione! How long have you been standing there?"

Hermione glared at him. "Enough to know that you want to put us in hospital as soon as possible and that we're walking skeletons!"

He walked over to her and placed his hand on her arm gently but she slapped it off. "Get away from me, Draco! If you're going to talk about us, at least have the decency to say what you think to our faces!"IWWW

Ginny hurried out of the bedroom, dressed in similar jogging pants as Hermione, and looked from Draco to Hermione. She looked at Ginny and then at Draco in disgust before taking Ginny's hand and started out of the apartment, Draco following.

"Wait! When will you be back?"

"Later!"

With that, Hermione and Ginny left the apartment, leaving Draco with Blaise and his anger. He gritted his teeth and suddenly started for Blaise, his hands shaking in rage. He wasn't going to hurt the girls, he couldn't. He knew that his friend could take it though. Blaise was too familiar with Draco's sudden violent outbursts. This didn't stop him though from trying to get away from him.

"No… no, Draco! Please… please don't," he begged, scrambling away from him.

"I'm sorry, Blaise," Draco growled as he grabbed Blaise leg, pulling him back towards him, Blaise's fingernails clawing the floor along the way.

He then felt a sharp pain on his skin and felt Draco dealt him a heavy blow, knocking him onto his stomach. Draco kicked his side a few times until he saw his friend spit out blood onto the hardwood floor. He had his father's temper, and despised himself for it. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he couldn't help himself.

"S-Stop… please stop…."

Draco suddenly turned him over and started punching him over and over until his knuckles were stained with Blaise's blood now. He stood up and took a deep breath before sliding onto the floor beside Blaise, looking over at him almost fearfully.

The two were silent for the longest time before Draco finally spoke, tears in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry," he leaned over, lifted up Blaise's shirt to see the bruises from his broken ribs. He quickly healed them back in place and stood up, helping his friend up as well.

Blaise felt pain in his face but he didn't want Draco to heal those. He wanted him to see all the pain he inflicted. He wanted it to be an everyday reminder, and maybe make him think twice.

"No… get away from me, Draco," Blaise said, almost casually as he knocked Draco's hand away when he attempted to heal his face. He sighed heavily and then started down the hall towards the bathroom.

Draco bit his lip as fresh tears rolled down his eyes in guilt, not wanting to be alone right now. Truth be told, he was just as messed up as Hermione was; he just didn't want to admit it.

\ \ \ \

"We've ran two miles around Hogsmeade and you haven't said a word, Mia. Are you okay?"

Hermione stopping running down as Ginny did but walked along side with her. "Aren't you mad at Draco? He's so two-faced!"

Ginny looked over at her now, trying to catch her breath. "W-What do you mean?"

Hermione took deep breaths in an attempt to catch her own breath as her lungs were forced to work twice as hard. "He acts all nice, tells me he loves me, and now he wants to throw us into hospital as soon as possible!"

Ginny stopped walking now and looked at her. "He told you he loves you?"

"Well, not directly, but he said that he slept with you because it was as close as he could get to me. He told me he's always had a crush on me."

Ginny looked mildly hurt now but looked like she was trying to hide it. "O-Oh… well, what me and him was special, even if it was sleeping together, and kissing…"

Hermione nodded quickly. "I know! I know it was. He told me that you meant something to him. He told me that you weren't just a nice lay for him. He really liked you, Gin. I'm sorry if I made it seem like he was using you."

Ginny shivered, although she was sweating. She gave a small smile. "I know. It's okay. You know, he's just worried and scared. He doesn't understand about what we're doing. It's not his fault though. He's just… frustrated, I guess."

"But it's like, why can't he just leave us alone? Why does he always have to get on our case about not eating? He should understand. His sister went through the same thing."

Ginny stretched her arms above her head. "I don't know. He just cares about what happens to us."

"Yeah, but so does Blaise, and he doesn't bug us about not eating. He encourages us,"

Ginny pulled the large sweatshirt sleeves over her hands and looked at Hermione. She shrugged and waved to her to start jogging again. As Hermione started running by her side, she went on.

"I'm not going into hospital. They'll hook us to IVs and make us fat!"

Ginny thought for awhile. She breathed heavily, her chest aching. She didn't want to feel like this anymore. She didn't want to feel tired or irritated. She didn't want to feel exhausted all the time. She wanted to get better. She realized she was sick of being different from everyone else and she wanted to be able to have a healthy relationship with food. Ginny hadn't really stopped to think about how she wanted to live until now.

"Hey, Hermione? I don't want to be like this anymore…"

Hermione stopped jogging now and looked at her, hurt in her eyes. "Oh, so you have a choice now? You can choose to be sick like me and switch it off whenever you want?"

"Mia, I think I was just like this because of Cormac. He made me like this! He called me fat every chance he got and he abused me! I wanted him to stop so I started to not eat and I ran all the time… he broke me."

Hermione started feeling betrayed. She felt angry tears fill her eyes now. "You poser! You had a choice! I've been like this since my last year in school! You want to get better! You don't have the same goals I have, Ginny! I really thought you did!"

"What are you talking about, Hermione? You can get better too! You just don't want to!"

She shook her head now. "No! I'm not sick! I am healthy! Being thin is healthy! I'm pure inside because I don't have any toxins in my body. I won't go to hospital… you can fucking go though, Ginny! You're not like me and I really thought you were! For awhile I was thinking, 'wow! I'm not alone!' but it turns out that I'm more alone than ever!"

Ginny stood there, watching her friend sob uncontrollably. She felt guilty being the cause of her tears. She wasn't really sure what to say or do now. "I-I'm… I'm sorry, Mia. I don't know what else to say."

Hermione wiped away the cascading tears with the sweatshirt sleeve. "No… go to hospital and get fat! At least I can take solace in the fact that I'll always be thinner than you!"

Ginny looked at her in disbelief and hurt. "Whatever, Hermione. I'm sorry that you're too stubborn to get help with me. I'm going back to the apartment. Are you coming?"

Hermione didn't answer her but she started walking in the direction of Draco's apartment. They walked back in total silence except for the occasional hiccups on Hermione's end as she tried to stifle her tears. When they got there, they walked inside, locking the door behind them.

"We're back!"

No one came out to greet them and Ginny became worried. She walked down the hall, looking into each of the rooms until she saw the bathroom light on.

"Hello?"

Blaise looked over and opened the door wider so she could come in. "Hey, Ginny. How was your run?"

Ginny gasped when she saw the bruises imprinted on Blaise's face. She walked over to him and searched his eyes. "D-Did Draco do this to you?"

"It's not his fault… he need an outlet to take out his anger on. I would've rather he hurt me than you or Hermione."

She bit her lip and shook her head. "That's not fair, Blaise. He shouldn't have hurt you at all. He should've been able to control his anger."

He shrugged and started to clean up his broken lip. "Where's Hermione?"

Ginny sat down on the closed toilet seat, watching Blaise heal himself the best he could. "In the living room. Where's Draco?"

"Draco's in his room. He hasn't come out since I went to clean myself up. I guess he's feeling pretty bad."

"Well, good. He should feel bad about doing that to you. What if he hurts one of us?"

Blaise walked over to her and knelt down, taking her hand in his own. "I wouldn't let that happen. I'd kick him out until he calmed down. I would never let him lay a hand on you or Hermione."

Ginny smiled softly and nodded in understanding. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She felt his arms gently wrap around her body and she relaxed. When he pulled away now, he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Are you okay?"

Ginny bit her lip now and glanced down at her lap before looking up at him hesitantly. "I want to get better."

Blaise searched her hazel eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yes, I don't want Cormac to be in my head forever. I want to be healthy like I used to be."

"Good for you, Ginny. What you're doing is smart, and I'm really proud of you for knowing that you need help. You're doing the right thing," Blaise said, smiling back at her.

"I-I know. I just wish Hermione would do it with me."

Blaise sighed softly and hugged her again. "I'm afraid it may be too late for her. We'll get her into hospital though, even if we have to drag her in there."

She nodded and stood up. "Do you want to watch TV?"

Blaise stood up as well. "Sure. After you."

Ginny lead him out of the bathroom and walked into the living room before sitting down on the couch, Blaise sitting beside her.

Meanwhile, Hermione saw Ginny coming into the living room and decided to go find Draco. She needed to be around someone. She needed a shoulder to cry on. Hermione walked down the hallway and tried the doorknob to Draco's room. When it opened, she entered slowly, surprised he hadn't locked it.

"D-Draco?"

Hermione looked around in the darkened room but didn't see him. Then, she heard water running. She walked towards the bathroom quickly and stopped at the half cracked door.

"Are you alright?"

Draco shut the water off and towel dried his hands, ridding himself of Blaise's blood from earlier. Hermione glanced at them to see his knuckles were bruises and there were still specks of stained blood on them.

"What do you want, Granger?" Draco asked as he shoved his hands in his pants pockets, noticing her looking at them.

Hermione ignored Draco's inability to call her by her first name and then grabbed one of his arms, trying to pull it out of his pocket. He struggled against her and tried to grab her hand with his free one.

"What are you doing? Let go!"

"No! I want to see your hand!"

Draco finally gave in and took out his blood specked hand to show her. "There. Are you happy now? Can you finally see what a monster I am!"

Hermione inspected his bruised knuckles now and already guessed what had happened. "You hurt him because you were angry at me," she said, matter-of-factly.

Draco sighed heavily and watched her, enjoying the feeling of her soft touch on his rough skin. He couldn't deny it because she was right but the truth coming out of her mouth just made the reality of it all that much more painful.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I've never hit a woman, and I don't plan to anytime soon. He knows… how I get sometimes, and he just… he understands me like no one else does. Blaise forgives me when I do it. He doesn't want me to hit you or Ginny either. I regret hurting him. He's my best mate, and… I hate myself for hurting him."

Hermione looked up at Draco, feeling like her problems weren't so bad compared to his own. She raised his hand she was still holding up towards her mouth and then gently kissed one of his knuckles softly.

Draco seemed to relax when she did this and then opened his hand as he gently placed it on her cheek before caressing it affectionately. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I don't want you to be afraid of me. I'd never, ever, hit you. I wouldn't let myself."

She nuzzled into his hand and smiled weakly. "Sometimes you can't help the things you can't control," she whispered, searching his emerald eyes.

Draco nodded, knowing she was referring to herself as well, but was amazed at how relevant it was.

"Do you want to sit down and talk?"

Hermione bit her lip nervously but nodded. He took her hand and lead her over to his bed before sitting down on it. She climbed up on the bed beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, finding comfort in his smell and his touch as he wrapped his arm around her protectively.

"How was your run?"

"Shit. Ginny wants to get better. She wants to get fat."

Draco felt his heart sink, hearing her sad and annoyed tone. "And you don't…"

She tried not to get upset at him like she always did when he mentioned her stubbornness when it came to not eating. "Can we please not talk about me right now? I don't want to fight with you anymore."

Draco ran his fingers through her wavy locks. "Okay. I'm sorry, go on."

"Well, Ginny and me had this huge fight outside and… I really felt like she was my support with this. I felt like we understood each other and that we were fighting the same fight. Now I feel…. betrayed and angry that she decided she wants to get better… get 'healthy" and… I feel so alone now, Draco. I feel like we were walking in the forest together, and we got so deep into it and she abandoned me."

Draco continued to caress her hair and then gently planted a kiss to her temple. "You don't have to feel alone. I'm with you, I want to help you the best I can."

"You're going to send me into hospital. That's not helping me. I don't need help."

Draco wanted so badly to yell and shout at her about needing help. She was so blind that she couldn't see the shape she was in.

"I'm not going to send you there yet. And… I hate to do this, but Blaise has a point. I can't force you to eat unless I jam the food down your throat. Can we make a compromise?"

Hermione looked up at him curiously. "What is it?"

"I'll let you do this. I'll let you exercise and keep your routines but… I'm going to weigh you once a week, randomly. If you dip below… 106 pounds, then you're going to have to cut down on the exercise and actually eat something until you get back up there."

Hermione looked at him and shook her head. "D-Draco, I literally cannot get to 106 pounds. I'm about 100 right now! I'd have to gain six more pounds…"

"I'm sorry, Hermione but… you don't have any fat on you. You barely have any muscle. You're decaying away and I can't just… be here and not do anything about it. If you get down to 95 pounds, you'll die. I really would feel better if you were 106 pounds."

Hermione swallowed hard and looked down. "102."

Draco bit his lip tenderly, not liking that she was negotiating her weight. "How about 104 pounds?"

She hesitated, the idea of gaining a whole 4 pounds terrified her to death. "103."

Draco shook his head now, cutting the line off. "No, I'm sorry, Hermione but that's too low too. 104 is my final offer or else… I'll have to send you to hospital tomorrow."

Hermione picked at the skin around her fingernails now, afraid to look at him. She didn't want to eat and she was going to have to in order to not be put in St. Mungos Hospital. "Fine. 104 then. I swear I'm going to cry when I'm eating though… I've done so good just… drinking water and swallowing vitamin pills. It's all gone down the drain now that I have to gain four pounds."

Draco gently lifted her chin up so she was forced to look at him. "It's okay. I'm going to help you do this, Hermione. You can cry if you need to, but… my place is better than the hospital, right?"

She nodded now but inside her stomach was twisting in a million knots.

"Good. Can you promise me you'll at least try to do it my way?"

"I'll try, but I don't know if I can promise that I'll be able to stick to it. Food scares me half to death."

Draco let go of her chin now and then wrapped both of his arms around her, breathing her in. She felt like a small child in his arms and felt queasy when he could feel her ribcage through the sweatshirt. He kissed her forehead and then her hair and held her to him.

Hermione bit her lip hard now, on the verge of crying. The more she thought about all the food she would have to eat, the more she wanted to cry. The tears filled her eyes and her body shook against his as she tried to hold back the tears that were coming.

Draco felt this and pulled her closer so she was sitting on his lap, making her easier to hold. "Go ahead… you can cry, Hermione. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

She clutched his tank top tightly in her one hand as she started to sob against him, all the events from the day just pouring out of her. Hermione melted into him, her cold body warming up the longer he held her. She didn't want this to end. She felt so safe and secure with him like this. Hermione cried into him, her tears falling from her face and onto his pale skin over and over again. Draco never moved the whole time and held her small frame until Hermione had cried herself to sleep. He pulled back on the bed covers and then tucked her in before he got under beside her and wrapped his arms around her again, holding her gently against him and soon falling asleep himself.

Please keep reviewing! I really want to know what you guys think and if I should keep going with it!