Stay Away From Me

By: the enchanted kneazle

Thanks for all the great reviews, guys. I get so excited when I get one, I must have read each one ten times! Keep em' coming!

Chapter 9

Hermione felt like the worst kind of fool. The moment she had started to feel like Malfoy actually had a soul; he had gone and verbally crucified her in front of her friends. Not only had she been hurt, but she had been so ashamed.

Some of the things he said were things she only thought to herself in her darkest moments. She never thought that they would be voiced by her one-time enemy turned…whatever he was to her now.

When he had finally shifted his gaze away from her face and walked away from their table, she was left to face the pitying looks of her friends. She knew they didn't believe any of what he said, but she did know that Harry and Ron sometimes felt guilty that they had girlfriends and she was forever single.

They had done their best to quickly change the subject and move the attention away from her, but Hermione could feel the stares of the rest of the class on her, probably thinking about Malfoy's statement and realizing he was right.

Her cheeks flamed and tears glistened on the end of her eyelashes as she mechanically completed her assignment. Only when she had finished did she put her head down on the table and close her eyes, not getting up until the room had completely cleared of students.

Ron and Harry were waiting for her just outside the door.

"Hey Hermione, we figured you needed a minute to collect yourself. You shouldn't listen to anything that ferret says." Ron said sympathetically.

Harry had an angry look on his face when he told her, "Yeah, we caught him waiting out here after class. The git was probably looking for another go at you. He scrammed when he saw us though."

Hermione was relieved that they had stayed behind to wait for her. They really were great friends and when it came down to the important things, they were always there for her.

Harry went on to say, "He had this look on his face earlier when you yelled at him. It was like he wanted to strangle you or something. I didn't like it one bit. Promise me, you won't go anywhere alone for awhile okay?

She could only nod and bury her face in Harry's shoulder as they enveloped her in bear hugs and the emotions rushed to the surface. She knew it was silly to be so upset over words. But they were words that cut deep. Straight to her core. They were her deepest insecurities broadcast to the world by someone she had begun to make a part of her world.

They walked back to the castle in comraderie, the boys doing their best to cheer her up and even getting a small smile when they did an impression of Padma and Parvati gossiping about some sixth-year and then going around asking the whole common room if Padma was a cougar for dating him.

Before they walked into the Great Hall for lunch, Hermione steeled herself. She knew that the news would have already traveled about Malfoys mockery of her and that there would be plenty of gawking stares thrown her way, but she was really only concerned with the attention of one.

She had to force herself to keep her head high and her emotions in check as she felt those silver eyes on her face. She sat down with her back ramrod straight and began to eat.

Those who were staring went back to their meals, some disappointed at her lack of emotion and some silently applauding her for not giving Malfoy the satisfaction of seeing her crumble. She ate her meal and stood, Harry and Ron immediately jumping up to follow, and the three of them left the room.

They continued like this for the next few days, and Hermione greatly appreciated the peace of mind having them around afforded her. There was no way Malfoy could get to her and for right now, she was happy about that.

But, it was starting to get a little annoying when they would go to the library with her and then spend the whole time complaining, making it nearly impossible to get any work done. She finally got them to agree to leave her alone at nights reasoning that she would either be on rounds with Blaise, in the Library under the watchful eye of Madame Pince, or in her password protected dormitory.

It had been exactly a week when something happened that tested Hermione's resolve. She was at breakfast and the owls had just finished delivering the post when suddenly the hall hushed in awe.

She looked up to see a pitch black eagle owl swoop in. It had to have at least a six foot wingspan. There was no mistaking that it belonged to someone powerful. Before it even reached its destination, Hermione knew exactly who that Slytherin green envelope was intended for.

The students blearily went back to their food after seeing that amazing display of beauty. Hermione, however, was curious and she sat half turned in his direction and watched Malfoy, whose attention was warily reading the letter in front of him.

Suddenly, and without warning, his fist slammed hard onto the table in front of him, rage overtaking his face. Hermione jumped at the aggression of the act and quickly turned back around. What could possibly be in that note that would make Malfoy, a person so notoriously controlled, lose even the slightest bit of composure?

Hermione knew personally how terrible some of the things his father did to him were. Was he being summoned home that evening for another torture session? Her overworked brain ran through all the possibilities. She would watch the map just in case. She worried for the rest of the day.

That evening, after parting ways with Ron and Harry after dinner, Hermione was in the library studying for an upcoming Charms exam. She was delighted to have the vast library practically all to herself, knowing that hardly anyone went there after dinner. She went to her favorite spot way in the back corner. No one would bother her back there and she could finally get some work done.

She had been studying for about an hour when she decided to check the map. If Malfoy was going to sneak out tonight, he would be leaving right about now. She gasped when she finally found his name. He was in the library! And by the looks of it, he was sytematically making his way through the library toward her location.

She shot up, quietly shoving everything into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. She stealthily slipped between two bookshelves quickly making her way through the vast maze in a pattern that would have anyone else lost.

She stopped after a few minutes and was just about to check the map for Malfoy's location when a hand covered her mouth and Malfoy's face came into view as he walked around to face her. He gently pushed her against the shelf behind her, his hands wrapped around her upper arms.

His eyes were red with bags under them as if he hadn't slept in a long time. He grabbed the strap of her bag and lifted it over her shoudler to set it on the ground.

Hermione didn't know what she was expecting him to do next, but she certainly wasn't expecting him to do what he did. He reached up to gently brush her hair behind her back and pushed her shirt to the side as his finger started to trace what was left of his love bite. His eyes followed its path.

Then he slowly bent down and rested his head on her shoudler, occasionally pressing a soft kiss to her throat, but mostly just breathing in and out, over and over. She stood stock still for a moment, but then her hand slowly came up to run up and down his back in soothing motions, figuring this had something to do with the letter.

They stood locked in this embrace, each comforting the other in their own way, for a long while. Hermione was just about to pull away, when Malfoy said something so quietly, she almost didn't hear it.

"I'm sorry."

I'm so excited to hear what you guys think of this chapter! Thanks for reading and please don't be shy!