A/n: Another chapter! I'm not sure its my best, but here it is :) I'll try to have the next one out soon, so send in the feedback! Thanks to my beta ashash52009!
Bambi: Here we go :)
She was exceptionally uncomfortable, even with Harry walking beside her. It was the boy on her other side that had her nervously playing with her fingers. Having Ron in such close proximity made her heart pound wildly against her rib cage, and caused her to feel as though her airways were just a bit too tight. If Harry was not there she would be running as fast as she could in the opposite direction, but he was, and that promised her a safe atmosphere at least for now.
They finally reached the common room and entered the crowded space. She made sure to take a seat against the arm of the couch and drag Harry down beside her; forcing an irritated Ron to sit opposite her on another sofa instead. He glared at her as the pair began a match of wizard's chest, and she was grateful for the time. Now she could catch up on reading.
Halfway through their match she felt a hard kick against her shin and she squeaked, drawing Harry's attention. A sidelong look at Ron instantly warned her that saying anything would be bad for her, and she forced down the impending fear in her chest and smiled, hoping it didn't look like a grimace. "Sorry, thought I saw something on the other side of the common room," she lied, not specifying what. Both boys looked in the direction, Ron to simply play along, and then quickly resumed the game.
Oh Harry, why must you be so naïve about what's happening right now? She tried to focus on her book, hoping to escape soon.
A few minutes later, the game was over and Harry yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed," he said, waving goodnight to the pair as he headed for the stairs.
She immediately felt her panic spike. Oh no no no! She had been too caught up in her book to notice how late it was getting, and that the common room was nearly empty except for a couple on a large couch on the other side of the common room.
"Me too," she said quickly, shoving her book into her bag and attempting to slip past, only to feel Ron's steely grip on her arm.
"Where do you think your going," he said, spinning her arm. She watched his hand move to his trousers and rub as he looked her over, and the bile rose in her throat. Not that again.
"It's late," she said, pulling free of his grip in his distracted state and took a few steps back. "I have head things to discuss with Malfoy tonight, and-"
"I'm sure plans with the fucking ferret can wait," he snapped, eyes darkening at the mention of her blond roommate. "There's no need to be getting back to him Hermione, he's bad news."
You're bad news! "He's not so bad Ron," she said, noticing to her great disappointment that the couple had fallen asleep on their couch and were not awake to help her. She glanced back at the redhead who had stood from the couch and was coming towards her. "Besides, he's quite nice when you get to know him," she continued nervously, knowing it was not the best thing to say, but unsure what else to tell him.
His eyes flashed dangerously. "Nice? There is absolutely nothing nice about Malfoy, and you know that! Now come here and stop being so stubborn," he demanded, pausing to fold his arms tightly over this chest and glare.
She shook her head. "I really need to get back Ron." The wand in her pocket was digging into her skin, but she resisted the urge to grab it. What would he do to her the next time they met up if she hexed him? Definitely nothing good.
He frowned. "You need to stay right here with me Hermione," his eyes gleamed as he looked her over again, "Actually, you need to follow me upstairs."
No. She whipped her wand out quickly, ignoring how badly her hand was shaking and spoke quickly. "Stupefy!" She didn't spend the time to watch him fall; she just turned and ran as the sleeping man on the other couch woke up.
She ran as fast as her feet would carry her down the hall, a stitch in her side as she dashed for the common room. Halfway there she tripped in her panic and sprawled on the floor, books scattering. Her head hit the concrete floor but she barely felt the pain; instead all she could focus on was the feeling of defeat in her chest. Only a short moment with Ron and he was already coming after her again; it was completely insane.
The first tear dripped down her cheek closely followed by three more as she became unraveled, her mind traveling back to the one night she had been trying to forget. She refused to sob and alert anyone nearby that she was lying in a crumbled mess on the floor, but it was very difficult.
Hermione had no idea how long she laid there before someone cleared their throat, causing her head to snap up. She met the concerned eyes of Colin Creevey, who had grown into himself and was now a seventh year prefect. His wand was lit and he was looking around anxiously, as though expecting someone to jump out of the dark. "Merlin Hermione, are you alright?" He reached out a hand and helped her up, collecting her things with a flick of his wand.
"I'm fine Colin," she said quickly, whipping her eyes. "I tripped."
"I noticed," he said, but the tone of his voice told her that he didn't think that was the reason she was crying. Instead of handing her back her bag, he slung it over his shoulder and smiled at her. "I'll take you back to your common room."
"No, that's alright Colin," she said quickly. Obviously, the initial threat was gone since she had stupefied Ron, so he couldn't have followed her. Without him chasing her places, she was certain that she could get back to the Head's dorm by herself.
Besides, wandering alone with a man was still slightly unsettling, but, Colin was a sweetie and she didn't believe she would have anything to worry about. Still, it would give her charming roommate a reason to wonder why the escort was needed.
Oh, so many variables.
Colin shrugged. "It's alright, my patrol is done anyways." She didn't need him to add on "And you are shaking like a leaf" because she was clenching her fists to hide the fact.
Deciding it wouldn't do her any harm to walk with him to the room's entrance, but shoo him away before Malfoy showed up, she agreed and they began walking. They were halfway there when he spoke again. "May I ask you a personal question?"
Colin never did have any idea what personal space is… he was always photographing Harry. "Sure," she said, hoping it had nothing to do with finding her on the castle floor.
"Whatever happened between you and Weasley? You two seemed to be doing really well in your relationship."
She visibly flinched and it didn't go unnoticed by Colin, but he didn't comment. "Things changed between us, and I needed to move on from the relationship we were forming."
"Did something bad happen?"
Hermione quickly decided it was getting to close to the truth, "I'd rather not talk about it."
He nodded understandingly, deciding Harry or Ginny were probably talking to her about it anyways. "Okay, I didn't mean to pry or anything."
"You're fine Colin."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. Once at the portrait he handed her back her bag. "This is where the Head dorms are?"
The girl nodded. "Yes, and I would be grateful if you didn't tell anywhere where they are. It's supposed to be a secret after all."
Creevey held up his hands in surrender and nodded. "If you prefer."
She smiled tightly. "Thanks Colin."
"Anytime," he replied, before tipping his head in her direction and walking away. She waited until he rounded a corner before she said the password and hurried in. The moment she was inside she walked to the couch and collapsed on it, feeling a second wave of tears. Was she really so pathetic now that she always needed someone to pull her back onto her feet?
A few minutes later she felt the couch sink a bit as a heavier body sat beside hers, and she peered through her fingers to look at the blond sitting beside her, eyebrow raised, in his pajamas. Her cheeks colored as she realized this and quickly looked up.
"Have another bad encounter with Weasel?" he asked dryly.
"It's not important," she muttered, fixing her crooked shirt.
His eyes glazed over. "Of course it fucking matters Granger. Have you been completely ignoring the past few days? You're a mess and it's his fault, so yes, it fucking matters."
She flinched. "Not all the time."
He rolled his eyes. "Yes Granger, it does matter all the time."
They were quiet for a time, as she played with her fingers. Telling Malfoy about her newest near-encounter with Ron could be a very bad idea, but it could also help. After all, he had been there by her side when the boy decided to rape her that day, and he had saved her from being his partner in class. It couldn't hurt to tell him, could it?
As the blond prepared to stand up, she spoke, "Ron tried to attack me again."
He froze and turned his head, eyebrow up, "And what happened this time Granger?"
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "I-I stupefied him before he could get too close."
The surprise on her face was priceless as a smirk spread across his features. "Good for you then."
"W-what?" she asked, thoroughly confused.
Smirk still in place, he spoke, "At least you actually did something this time Granger."
Although his words may have been meant to be encouraging, they had the opposite effect on her. "Excuse me?"
He held up his hands. "I didn't mean anything by it Granger. I'm just saying that you didn't let the same thing happen again, which is good."
Try as she might, she couldn't exactly be mad at him. She had thought that he was saying she was weak for letting it happen, but he was just saying that it was good she tried to defend herself. Perhaps it would be better if she left out the part about falling down in the corridor and crying before Colin found her.
Yeah, that's not important. Then he really may think something happened.
Why do I care about what Malfoy thinks?
"I guess it is," she finally said, nodding to him. "I just ran afterwards." Why am I telling him this?
He nodded. "Good for you then Granger."
Silence again. Did every silence need to seem uncomfortable?
At length, he stood. "Well, although your silence is charming, I think I'm actually going to try and sleep now." Inclining his head, he turned. "Night Granger."
"Malfoy," she said, sighing heavily. He walked into his room and shut the door, leaving her alone with her thoughts. In the aftermath, her encounter with Ron seemed even scarier. He was willing to physically hurt her with one of his best friend's right next to her, and he would be a complete arsehole to her in a room with people, so long as they were far enough away. She shuddered, glad she had used the spell and not taken anything from him.
She stood and grabbed her bag, trudging towards her bedroom. It felt far heavier then when she had come up, but decided it had to be because her adrenaline rush from running away from Ron was gone and the events of the day were weighing down on her. Collapsing onto her bed she felt her body try to immediately pass out, but she wasn't ready to yet. Grunting, she stood and headed for the joined bathroom, intent on brushing her teeth at least.
Stepping in, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. It appeared as though she really had been crying, and guessed Malfoy simply chose to ignore that fact since she didn't bring it up. For that she was grateful.
Pushing her hair back as she brushed her teeth, she groaned. From her tumble into the floor, there was a small welt on the side of her face that had been hidden until she pushed her hair back. With a sigh, she realized her hair would have to remain down for the next several days unless she wanted questions. Having never been very gifted with healing spells, she was not about to attempt anything on herself, and there was absolutely no way she would be asking Malfoy.