Ch6

TheAwesomeOne897, thank you for understanding. And I'll share something with you. No one is a FAN of rape, at least no one in their right minds. But do you know what people ARE a fan of? Women OVERCOMING rape. And that's what this story is going to be about. That, and falling in love amidst misery.
guest on 1/21/13, thank you. Truly. I am still shocked though. See, I've always fancied myself to be a writer someday. But i sort of thought it might be a case of me thinking I'm pretty talented and ending up discovering that I'm actually pretty atrocious. And I just can't help but be happily surprised that this ISN'T the case. Lol.
ZordonFan, I'm speechless. Lol. That was the most thorough review I've gotten so far and it was completely spot on. Thank you for taking this journey with me. =)
-Steph

Chapter Six

:Hermione:
It was Sunday night. She had been in her room for a week straight. She had seen no reason, nor felt any desires to step outside.

Her room had an attached bathroom, which upon discovery, she hated instantly. Mirrors everywhere. A full wall of mirrors behind the sinks. And shower doors with mirrors on the inside. She only ever went in there in the dark. She couldn't stand to look at herself.

She also didn't need to leave for food. Mostly because she had no desire to eat. But also because the house elves had been bringing her food on a tray, left outside her door. She never touched it. She didn't want to make the poor elves do extra work on her behalf.

Hermione spent her time doing what she did best. She studied. She read. She devoured knowledge. She was working her way through all of the books that her shelves had been stocked with. Trying to find some semblance of normal.

:Draco:
She hadn't left her room all week. Not even once. He also hadn't heard a single noise coming from her end of the hallway. She wasn't eating either. He knew because he had personally gone to the kitchens himself and prepared food for her to leave outside her door. She never touched it.

All week long, Draco had heard the whispers of his fellow classmates. Some seemed to think that Hermione had forgone her education in order to start working some incredible job. Some thought that perhaps she had transferred to Beauxbatons. Some thought maybe she was just "studying abroad". No one came close to guessing the truth. They were also wondering why Dumbledore had yet to appoint a new Head Girl. But on this issue, the student body had no theories.

A knock on the portrait hole roused Draco from his thoughts. He swung his legs off of the window seat, and stood, walking leisurely towards the door. He was in no hurry to get to whoever was on the other side. He had an inkling that he knew who it was, considering they were not just knocking at the portrait, but pounding frantically. He was in no mood to deal with such dramatics today.

Draco pulled the portrait open slowly and was not surprised to see The Stupid Twosome on the other side. They had shown up here everyday demanding answers from the Head Boy. Insisting that he must know something, and that he MUST tell them what he knew.

Rolling his eyes, Draco went for an air of boredom, inspecting the nonexistent dirt under his fingernails.

"What do the two of you want today? I've already told you idiots, I am Head Boy. I will not be ordered about by the likes of you," he said scornfully.

"Enough with the pleasantries, Malfoy," Harry spat, venom lacing his voice. "Dumbledore told us she's here. Now let us in!" he demanded, shoving past Draco rudely.

Harry and Ron both headed up the stairs two at a time, pausing at the top before heading to the only closed door on the right.

:Hermione:
She had just drifted off for a nap, when her door was practically thrown off its hinges. Hermione was up in an instant, standing on her bed with her back against the wall and her wand pointed steadily at her door.

Harry and Ron, stood in the doorway, staring at Hermione with wide eyes. She was emaciated, her hair dirty and unbrushed. There was a wild look in her eyes that they had never seen before. Not to mention the fact that she was pointing a wand at them.

"Hermione," Harry started uncertainly, taking several steps into the room. "It's just us, Hermione."

"Yeah Hermione, remember us? Your best friends?" Ron added rudely.

Hermione glared at Ron, but her wand hand trembled before she lowered it slowly. Truth be told, she hadn't thought of Harry and Ron all week. She had been trying to wrap her head around the fact that after so many months spent being held captive, she was finally free. She had yet to come to terms with THAT, so she had not thought about the fact that very soon, she would have to face the rest of the school. Her friends. Her classmates. Her professors. The reality of what tomorrow would bring smacked her hard.

"What's happened to you, Hermione?" Harry asked softly, walking closer to the bed. "Let me, let us, help you," he whispered reaching for her hand.

Hermione saw his hurt when she flinched. She saw the confusion. She saw that Harry was scared for her. Or maybe OF her. She couldn't be sure which. When he reached for her hand a second time, slowly, timidly, she tried to let him. She really tried to be ok for Harry's sake. He had always been her rock. Comforting him, and allowing him to comfort her, had always been so natural. They were closer than most siblings. Harry was her true BEST friend. But when his hand closed gently around hers, Hermione couldn't help the irrational fear that crept along her skin. She couldn't help the strangled cry as she jerked her hand away from her most treasured friend. And this time, she broke, fleeing into the bathroom and slamming the door behind her to muffle her sobs.

:Draco:
"Well, did you get what you barged in here for?" Draco asked menacingly from the doorway. "Did you nitwit's accomplish anything?"

He had followed them up the stairs. Naturally. This was HIS dorm, after all. HE was SUPPOSED to be here. He had seen the entire interaction. He had scoffed at the Weasel's blatant stupidity and disregard for tact. He had seen Saint Potter's soft willingness to help. But mostly, Draco had seen Hermione terrified by her best friends. Apparently, The Golden Trio had crumbled.

Now Draco did not assume that Potter or Weasel had had anything to do with Hermione's strange behavior, in fact they seemed just as confused by all of it as Draco was. But he did find Hermione's reaction to the two idiots, rather surprising. He had expected the three to hug and start blubbering about their feelings, and crying at the injustice of the world. Stupid Gryffindors with their bleeding hearts routine. He did NOT expect Hermione to point her wand in their faces.

"If you two are quite finished here, I think it would be best if you left," Draco stated, pointing towards the portrait hole.

Potter caught his eye, held his gaze for several moments, before nodding in defeat and tugging the Weasel back down the stairs.

Draco was about to follow them back down when he heard several crashes, and smashing coming from the bathroom. He ran into his room, and tried to get into the bathroom. It was locked of course. Hermione was no idiot.

"Granger?" he yelled, banging on the door. "Granger, I'll break this door down if I have to."

He heard nothing from the other side. Silencing spell? Draco tried every unlocking spell he knew. He even tried blasting the door into pieces. He was starting to panic.

He took several deep breaths and then, knocking softly, he called out calmly and evenly, "Granger, if you don't unlock this door, I'll be forced to fetch the assistance of the first professor I come across."

Draco waited for several heartbeats, and then, finally, he heard the sound of the door unlocking.

He opened it slowly, so as not to frighten her. "Granger, I'm coming in now," he called out softly.

Draco opened the door fully and flipped on the lights, gaping at the scene displayed before him. The mirror wall was completely shattered, shards of broken glass covering the floor. He saw bloody footprints trailing through the glass, and followed them to the shower, which was running.

"Granger," he spoke softly, but loud enough to be heard over the water, "I'm going to open the door now, Granger," he said, gripping the handle of the shower door, and pulling it open ever so slowly.

Draco's heart literally stopped beating. Or rather, it missed several beats in a row, before starting up again quite painfully. Hermione sat in the corner of the shower, curled into herself, rocking back and forth. She was still wearing the white lounge pants and shirt from the hospital wing, which were now soaking wet and sticking to her tiny frame. The water surrounding the drain ran red with blood. Draco noticed glass on the floor of the shower, and saw that the mirrors on the inside of the doors had also been smashed.

"Granger," he started, then stopped. Unsure of what to say.

Draco dropped down to his knees in front of the small, trembling witch, without bothering to turn off the freezing water. He did not touch her. Instead he brought his face level with hers, and held his hand out in front of her.

"I know this may be hard to believe, Granger," he said softly, "but I'm not here to hurt you."

Hermione slowly gazed up into his eyes, resting those same broken, lifeless eyes on his face. She stared at him for several moments before turning her gaze to his outstretched hand.

"Please let me help you Granger," Draco whispered to her.

Hermione stared deeply into his eyes for several minutes, unmoving. Draco felt as if she were trying to read his soul. She nodded slightly, biting her lip, before timidly placing her tiny hand inside of his.

"I'm going to pick you up, and carry you into your room," Draco informed her slowly, as if speaking to a child. "I don't want you to have to walk back through that glass."

Hermione snapped fearful eyes back to his face, and tried to pull her hand back out of his.

Draco held onto her hand softly, but firmly, and looked into her eyes. "Granger, I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered sincerely. "Please believe that."

Hermione hesitated before nodding once more. Draco used her hand to pull her to her feet, wincing when he heard glass crunching under her feet. He then placed one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees, scooping her up slowly and gently, cradling her against himself. He noticed how light she was, and how sharp her bones felt, pressing into his arms and chest. He carried her through the broken glass, into her bedroom and sat her carefully on the bed.

"I need to get these wet clothes off," Draco told her through chattering teeth, "and then I'd like to heal your cuts."

Hermione nodded almost imperceptibly, and Draco dashed back through the bathroom and into his bedroom. He ripped his clothes and shoes off quickly, and yanked on a pair of fleece lounge pants and a long sleeve grey shirt. He pondered for a quick second before grabbing another pair of lounge pants and a t shirt that were both too small for him, from the back of the drawer. He waved his wand quickly at the bathroom, vanishing all of the glass before sprinting back through to Hermione's room.

She was sitting on her bed shivering violently, her teeth chattering loudly. She looked up when he entered, staring at him silently.

"I brought you dry clothes," Draco said awkwardly. "I wasn't sure where to find yours and in any case, I didn't fancy having a look through your dressers," he finished, blushing slightly. "I can help you change if you need..." noticing her frantic look he quickly backtracked, "or I could just leave for a few seconds and you just pop that door open when you're finished." And with that he hurried back to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

After what felt like several minutes later, the bathroom door clicked open and Draco poked his head around it. Hermione was sitting on her bed, still in the same white hospital clothes, with tears running down her face.

She looked up at Draco pitifully. "I need help," she said in a cracked voice that obviously hadn't been used much lately. "I, I ca-can't do it myself," she finished miserably.

Draco walked over slowly, taking the clothes from her outstretched hands. "I know this isn't what you want, Granger, but if it helps, I promise I won't look."

Hermione nodded, still crying, and turned her face away. Putting her arms straight up in the air, she allowed Draco to pull the shirt over her head. He helped her into his old shirt, without looking at her body, and then tried to figure out how to change her bottoms without her needing to stand on her bloody feet.

"Granger, just lift your bum and I'll pull the pants off," Draco said, blushing madly, and feeling extremely awkward. He could tell that this was torture for Hermione, and he felt terrible for her. But she complied, pushing up with her arms, and lifting her bum so Draco could pull the pants down and off. He worked her feet carefully into the clean pants and pulled them up after requesting that she lift her bum once more.

Hermione was visibly relieved when it was over, and Draco began inspecting her cuts. Her feet were bloody and torn and after fetching a bowl of warm water and a washcloth from the bathroom, Draco proceeded to clean the blood off and pick out the pieces of glass before using a spell to seal the wounds, and another to heal them over.

He got up to leave, but Hermione stopped him with a shaky hand on his forearm. That was when Draco saw her shredded knuckles, still dripping blood. He realized then that she had not had her wand with her in the shower. That she must have used her fists to shatter all of that glass.

"What happened to you, Granger?" Draco asked quietly, looking up into her face as he cleaned the blood and glass from her hands.

"I lost control," Hermione began, with her cracked, unused voice. "Hermione Granger, controlling, bossy, know-it-all. I needed to be in control. And then that bit me in the ass, and i was the one who was being controlled. I must have been obsessed. And I was punished for my obsession. I forced myself not to pay attention to what was happening to me. And now, it's as if I've come to my senses. Now there's blood everywhere. And it's all my fault. My insanity," she finished, tears streaming down her face.

Draco reached up, and gently ran his thumb under both of her eyes, wiping the tears away. "You're not insane, Granger. You're just... human."

Hermione let out a strangled sort of laugh, as Draco got to his feet. She climbed up into her bed and allowed Draco to pull the covers over her.

"What happens tomorrow, when people realize I'm not normal anymore?" Hermione asked quietly.

Draco stared at her open mouthed for several long moments, before he shrugged his shoulders at her. "I guess you tell them all to just 'fuck off' if they don't like it," he told her with a small smile.

He walked away as she laughed again, this one sounding more normal, less forced. Just as he was about to head back out towards the common room she stopped him with a soft, "Malfoy?"

"Granger?" he questioned, pausing at her door.

She stared at him for a long moment, frowning, before nodding and saying, "You're a different person than you used to be."

"So are you, Granger," he replied., before shutting her door with a soft click.

He leaned his back against it for a moment, thinking about everything that had just happened. Finally he pushed himself of and headed to his room deciding to just head to bed himself.