Chapter 9 – The Flashback
Disclaimer – I don't own any of the recognisable characters in this story.
Last Chapter – "Hem hem," someone cleared their throat. Both Hermione and Draco looked up – Draco with some difficulty – to see a man and a woman in long coats standing next to Lucius at the nearest door. All shared the same puzzled and questioning expression on their faces. Their gaze took in everything from Hermione's clown-made up face to the fact that she was basically astride Draco on the floor.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Guinevere… this is your daughter, Hermione," Lucius introduced, an angry yet forced look on his face. The Guinevere's looked the situation up and down, astonished and almost ashamed. Hermione took a deep breath. She had a lot of explaining to do.
Just as Hermione was going to speak to her parents for the first time ever, Lucius cut across in front of her.
"Well, Raziel, Lucretia," Lucius began, looking at each of them in turn. "Maybe it is best if we step into the lounge whilst these two fix themselves up." Before turning away to usher the Guinevere's into the lounge, he threw the pair on the ground the dirtiest glare he could muster. Hermione felt a flicker of fear and by the way Draco tensed underneath her, she knew their feelings were mutual.
As soon as the door closed behind Lucius and the Guinevere's, Hermione slapped Draco hard across the face. As Draco still had Hermione on top of him, it was rather hard for him to defend himself.
"What was that for!" Draco exclaimed. Hermione's eyes widened incredulously.
"What was that for! Malfoy, I just met my parents for the first time looking like a clown!" Hermione screamed at him, aware yet acting oblivious to the fact that the Guinevere's and Lucius were just a door away. Before Hermione could do anything, Draco flipped her over onto her back, pinning her arms beside her, his body atop hers.
"Calm down," Draco hushed her, his voice lowering, "You don't want them thinking you're a crazy clown, do you?" Hermione opened her mouth to shout something obscene at him but was quickly silenced by Draco's hand.
"You can still fix this Grang-" Draco stopped mid-sentence, realising his mistake. "Guinevere…. No, that's too long to say. Bloody hell, Granger why couldn't your parents have had a simple name like… Granger?"
Hermione's eyes lit up furiously and she tried to say something but it was quickly muffled by Draco's hand. Draco didn't look like he was going to be moving it any time soon.
"Well," Draco continued, ignoring Hermione's protests and the fact that he just insulted her. "I guess I'll have you call you Hermione… that is your first name, isn't it?" Draco smirked. Hermione's eyes narrowed into a glare and Draco quickly continued.
"Yes Hermione will have to do… for now, until I find another suitable name for you," Draco said, a sly grin on his face.
"Suitable by whose standards?" Hermione snapped, managing to get the words out through Draco's hand. Draco just smirked again.
"Well we'd best get you quickly fixed up now to go and meet your parents-" Hermione shot him the filthiest look she could muster. "-the room is just up the hall." They continued walking and finally stopped outside a door.
"This is not the same room I was in the other night when Maria was helping me fix myself up for dinner," Hermione shot at him accusingly. Draco just chuckled and put a hand on the doorknob.
"You don't think we only have one Dressing Room, do you?" When Draco opened the door, Hermione couldn't help but gasp. This was unlike any Dressing Room Hermione had ever seen before. It wasn't a small box of a room, one by two meters with a small mirror on one wall – this room was about the size of a very large lounge room. A very large lounge room filled with tables, mirrors, racks, and drawers of clothes, tubs of makeup and boxes of shoes. It was similar to the one Hermione was in the other night, yet it was even bigger and not quite as messy.
"Is there anything you don't have?" Hermione asked him, her mouth agape. Draco seemed to think about it for a moment.
"Hmm, let's see. Torture chamber, check. Strip club, check. Bar and casino, check, check. No, I'm pretty sure I have everything," Draco laughed. Hermione was surprised to see that he could still smirk whilst laughing, but if anyone could it would be Draco Malfoy.
"Urgh!" Hermione muttered in disgust and pushed passed him into the Dressing Room. Draco just smirked and closed the door behind him after he entered.
Hermione began muttering to herself quietly, but didn't bother keeping her voice down enough so that Draco couldn't hear her.
"… dragged into this mess … meet my parents … clown! ARGH! … insufferable prat … git …"
Draco cleared his throat.
"I am here you know?" Draco reminded Hermione, who gave him a frosty glare.
"I already know of that current misfortune," Hermione retorted nastily, turning away again, searching for something to remove what she suspected was paint from her face.
"Well, someone's not in a very good mood," Draco said patronisingly.
"Don't start, Malfoy," Hermione warned him, not looking up from the box she was rummaging through. Finally she found a cloth and a small container of makeup-remover. Hermione, perplexed, picked up the makeup-remover, and held it up in front of herself, showing it to Draco.
"Why have you got makeup-remover?" Hermione questioned him accusingly. Draco seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"This isn't my Dressing Room, Hermione," was Draco's comeback before he turned away, suddenly interested in the green wallpaper. Hermione gave Draco a strange, questioning look before turning around, not pursuing him further.
Hermione walked over to the closest mirror and, after dabbing some makeup-remover on the cloth, she began scrubbing her face furiously. It was times like this she wished she had a wand. This of course gave her an idea.
"Can I just use your wand?" Hermione asked Draco, her voice dropping its earlier bitterness, a smile on her face. Draco looked at her for a moment, seemingly considering it.
"No."
The scowl immediately returned on Hermione's face and she looked back at the mirror, rubbing the paint off her cheeks.
Draco couldn't help but laugh. He leant against the now closed door and watched Hermione, who just finished washing her face, wander around the room, picking up clothes, jewellery and makeup. She dropped most items immediately, a look of disgust on her face. Draco just shrugged.
I can't help it that the majority of clothes in here could be suitable in a brothel.
Draco laughed softly at the effect that simple sentence would have made on Hermione had he voiced his thoughts.
"What the hell am I going to wear?" Hermione cursed, more to herself than to Draco as she threw a slinky pink top over her shoulder. Draco's eyes followed it until it hit the ground and by the time it had, another – this time blue – was on its way. Draco sighed.
"Can't you just pick something?" Draco exclaimed? "Surely it's not that hard!" Hermione span around to face him angrily.
"Not that hard! Malfoy, would you be caught wearing any of these clothes?" Hermione asked, shaking a frilly, vibrant orange - not to mention see-through! - top in front of him.
"Depends on the situation…"
"Urgh!" Hermione paced around the room, finding more and more unsuitable clothes, throwing each one on the ground.
"Are you going to pick those up?" Draco asked. Hermione gave him a filthy look and Draco backed right off.
"Do you actually have anything suitable?" Hermione asked impatiently, swiping at a strand of hair in her face.
"Well you could just go in what you're wearing…"
Hermione looked down at the clothes she was wearing then back up at Draco.
"If that's the case, then why did we come in here to begin with?" Hermione exclaimed.
Draco shrugged, "You were the one who wanted to get changed."
Hermione took a few steps towards Draco.
"If ever there was a time I wanted to kill you more-" She began.
"Wasn't that just before when you met your parents looking like a clown?"
Hermione, livid, took a few more steps – very close to Draco now! – but Draco quickly spoke.
"Alright, alright! I'll pick something for you to wear!" Draco brushed passed Hermione, heading towards a clothes rack, stopping the raging girl in her tracks.
"Oh, I don't think s-"
Draco dismissed this comment with an elegant wave of his hand. Hermione angrily crossed her arms over her chest and followed Draco as he approached a clothes rack. He flicked through a few things and immediately chose several items. It seemed this rack had not caught Hermione's eye earlier as the clothes Draco pulled out were actually rather nice and surprisingly conservative. The pants he had chosen were black and not too tight, definitely better than the tracksuit pants Hermione was wearing now. He gave this to Hermione followed by a deep rose-coloured top and a black, large-buttoned jacket.
"There, that should do for the moment," Draco said, looking as thought it wasn't hard at all.. Hermione just stared at him.
"Was that rack even there before!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Well I didn't push it in here whilst you were rampaging."
"I was not rampaging!"
"Really, then what would you call it? PMS?"
Draco ducked as a coat hanger flew dangerously close to his head.
"I'd call it searching! It's like looking for a needle in a haystack in here! These have got to be the only clothes in here that cover up more than they show!" Hermione retorted, shaking the clothes in her arms in front of him. "And they're certainly the only ones in here that don't scream out the word 'prostitute'!"
Draco looked affronted.
"I think the clothes in here are actually quite nice, I chose them myself…" Draco trailed off thoughtfully.
"You would, Malfoy." Draco smirked. They stood there in silence for a moment, Draco looking at Hermione expectantly, and Hermione looking confused.
"Well go on, get dressed already!" Draco motioned towards the bundle of clothing in her arms.
"Well, where's the change room?" Hermione asked.
"There isn't one," Draco said simply. Hermione's jaw dropped.
"What! Are you kidding? Where am I supposed to get dressed?"
Draco paused for a moment before saying with a smirk, "I guess you'll just have to get dressed in here."
Hermione leered at him.
"I am not getting dressed in front of you, Malfoy," Hermione spat. "No way… you'll just have to wait outside." It seemed Hermione's mind had been made up. Draco laughed. It appeared he did not share the same idea.
"I wouldn't be a very good kidnapper if I left my prisoner unattended and unrestrained, would I?"
"You wouldn't be a very good kidnapper if you didn't know why you were kidnapping someone, would you?" Hermione shot back in the same patronising tone. Draco glared at her.
"Well I know now, don't I?"
Hermione arched an eyebrow in surprise. "You do? Well, it's about time you were informed."
"Don't start with me Hermione. The thing is, now I know and you don't. So if I were you – and I am very thankful to be able to say that I'm not – I wouldn't test me. Because I really don't think you would like to know why you are truly here."
Hermione looked at him in silence. There were just some times – Hermione had noticed in the past few days – where Draco Malfoy could be the biggest prat ever. He could suddenly change from being annoying to being unbearable in the blink of an eye. Hermione had just learned not to say anything in these times. Hermione tore her eyes away from him and flicked her eyes around the room. She could hear Draco's breathing, as she was only about a metre away from him. But that was all she could hear. That and her own.
Suddenly a white-hot pain erupted from Hermione's chest. She cried out as an abrupt weakness washed over her. She could hear distant cries of her name, but they were so far away. Haze clouded her vision, the edges becoming blurry. A sharp pain in her knees told her she'd hit the ground. Everything after that was black.
Bright sunshine shone in her eyes as she ran around in the long grass, her chocolate curls bouncing behind her. The young girl, no older than six, clothed in a pretty white dress with pink roses smiled cheerfully. She looked over her shoulder laughing at her friend way behind her. When she turned back around she could see a large stone building. She smiled up at it, recognition on her face as she waved to a woman standing at the front door.
The girl approached the woman, tilting her head to the side. Slowly she took a few steps forward before hugging the woman around the waist. When she pulled away the woman said something but the girl could not hear her. It was strange. The girl quickly ran inside as suddenly she was grabbed from behind. She spun around and was met by her blonde haired friend. She smiled.
"Hi Draco."
Hermione gasped and sat up bolt right. Draco had his hand on her arm, which he had previously been shaking to awaken her and was knelt down beside her.
"What happened?" Draco quickly asked. Hermione stared at him in shock, gasping for breath. She pushed away from him, pulling her arm back. He looked at her oddly.
"What happened! You're asking me what just happened!" Hermione was hysterical.
"Bloody hell Hermione, calm down," Draco hushed her.
"You're expecting me to calm down! I just saw what I presumed was a flashback of when I was young. Malfoy, you were in it!" Hermione exclaimed.
Draco looked surprised.
"You know that's impossible…" Draco suddenly trailed off, his eyes on Hermione hand. Up until now Hermione had not realised she had been clutching the gold pedant around her neck. Realising now, she also noticed it was oddly warm.
"How did you get that?" Draco asked quietly. Hermione still played with it between her fingers.
"Maria gave it to me," Hermione said tentatively. "It was in the dressing room."
"You shouldn't have that," Draco said softly, his eyes never leaving the pendant in Hermione's fingers. Hermione didn't say a word.
"What's going on, Draco?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice. Draco's eyes flickered up to hers.
"It's not my right to say," Draco stated simply.
"Then whose right is it?" Hermione asked.
"Get dressed and I'll take you straight to them," Draco muttered, looking deep in thought as he quietly left the room.
A/N – Finally, here is the ninth chapter of Corruptive. Sorry it took so long to get out… three months, I think! A lot has been happening in my life lately (a few things I would not like to mention) and it's been difficult for me to write this story. Also, this story has undergone a complete plot change. I felt that where I was heading was way too cliché and predictable so I've changed it – a lot.
Sorry again for the inconvenience. I didn't mean to keep you hanging for so long. Now that I've got the new plot in mind, I'll try and update a lot faster in future. Please do keep in mind that I have school, masses of homework, upcoming exams and a job that all keep me fairly busy. I won't ever keep you all waiting for this long again though.
If you're reading this, thank you for being so patient.
Marauders Gal