Chapter 17
Hermione got woken up by a completely outraged Ginny who ranted at her for her 'sudden disappearance' as Ginny put it..."Do you have any idea how worried I was!" Ginny exclaimed. The rant continued for another half an hour at least before Hermione couldn't take it anymore "Shut up Ginny!" Hermione yelled at her friend "excuse me?" Ginny whispered in disbelief "I said shut up! You're the whole reason I left the dorm room to begin with, you're suffocating me! If I needed to be mothered and wrapped in cotton wool I would just go home and let my own mother do that! You're my friend not my mother, I am not your responsibility nor do I appreciate being treated like a child" Hermione snapped at Ginny before heading to the bathroom and locking the door behind her. "I will stop treating you like a child when you realise that it's not all about you! You have a little person growing inside of you, when will you learn that your actions hold consequences for not only you but that child of yours too?" Ginny shouted through the door. Hermione had enough, she thought of her favourite place in the castle and disapparented herself; however she ended up in the most unexpected place. Draco Malfoy's Dorm room.
Just as Hermione appeared in Draco's room, he exited his shower room completely naked "For the love of Merlin" Hermione gasped as she turned away from him "What the hell Granger?" Malfoy shouted out "I'll explain in minute, but can you please get some clothes on?" she begged "Why? This is my room" he stated placing his hands on his hips, centring himself in the doorway "Ugh!" Hermione grunted "You're such a child" she replied as she turned to face him with her hands covering her eyes "Coming from the witch who is hiding behind her hands" he retorted with an amused chuckle "Malfoy!" she scolded "Okay, i'll get my gown".
After a brief moment he told her she could remove her hands from her eyes, she hesitated for a moment fearing that he hadn't put on his gown. When she opened her eyes he was standing in front of her wearing a black gown that was loosely tied at his waist, so that his chest was on show. Hermione couldn't help but stare, damn hormones, she thought to herself "Now, now Granger, no need for the longing stare; all you have to do is ask" he drawled out in a low, dangerous tone while slowly and alluringly walking towards her. Her breathing started to quicken with each step he took towards her "Stop walking" she mumbled out quickly, almost begging him to stop "Mmmm, but seeing that look on your face is too good" he laughed out. It was a game to him, and Hermione didn't like to be played.
"Why do you hate me because of your father?" she blurted out. Draco stopped dead in his tracks "You heard me?" he questioned "I thought you were sleeping" he stated "I was" she clarified "I thought it was just a dream but you just confirmed that it wasn't" she sighed before continuing "Are you going to answer me?" she questioned him; he turned his back to her "Get out" he whispered as his shoulders rose and fell with his growing anger "What?" Hermione asked confused "I said GET OUT!" He bellowed at her in a loud, harsh voice. Hermione jumped slightly, taken aback by his sudden anger "NO!" she shouted back at him.
Draco half turned his head so he could see Hermione from the corner of his eye, not wanting to fully face her "Draco" she whispered out softly "What did I do?" she questioned, careful not to press him into anything. She knew how volatile he could get "You beat me" he stated with a dark and hateful chuckle, he walked over to his double bed and sat down before looking up at Hermione and gesturing her to sit by him. He waited for her to sit before he continued "Potter had already beaten me at quidditch, Weasly beat me at nothing and you beat me academically" Hermione just looked at him and waited for him to continue "Father could handle my beaten by Potter, he's a pureblood after all, but to be beaten by you..." he paused momentarily as if preparing himself for something awful "Father couldn't have that." He paused again, Hermione looked up at his face and he looked pained "you can show me, instead of telling me" Hermione suggested "I suppose" Draco agreed, he turned towards her and grabbed her face in his hands "You ready?" he asked Hermione nodded and with a whispered incantation she shot back to that moment in time that made Draco Malfoy hate her.
**flash back**
"You got beaten academically by a mudblood?" Lucius yelled as he smacked Draco across the face, his rings splitting Draco's lip.
"F-father" Draco stammered "You don't understand" he started as Lucius swung his cane and cracked it into Draco's ribs.
"I don't understand what boy?" he bellowed "That you not only let Potter better you at quidditch, but you let a filthy mudblood beat you in academics?" He hit Draco again causing him to fall to him knees.
Lucius pulled on Draco's hair, forcing him to look at his father. Lucius chuckled "To get beaten by Potter I understand, at least you were beaten by a fellow pure blood but Granger? You bring nothing but shame to this family and if you weren't the only heir I had I would kill you right now, with no hesitation" he said calmly with a sickening smile plastered on his vile face
"Oh Lucius" Narcissa cried from besides him "let him be, It was by a mere decimal that Granger beat him by" Lucius slowly turned his head toward Narcissa before backhanding her across the face. Narcissa's head snapped to the side and she stumbled back from the force of his attack, she looked between the two men before fleeing the room with tears rolling down her face
"You see Draco, your mother is wrong to teach you that to be beaten is perfectly acceptable" He let go of Draco's hair and rolled up his sleeves. "I am going to show you what it really means to get beat" his father seethed at him, Draco took a sharp breath in and mentally prepared himself for what was to come.
Lucius grabbed a handful of Draco's hair once again and forced him to look up "you will learn" he promised his son before his fist connected with Draco's face sending him into a crumpled mess on the marble floor, the blood from his wounds coating the white floor crimson red. Before Draco could move, his father's steel capped shoe connected with his abdomen and then with his jaw causing a sickening crack to ricochet off the walls.
His beating continued until his father grew bored, it was brutal and undeserving yet he had to endure it."Now you know better than to get beaten by a filthy, loathsome mudblood, don't you Draco" Draco nodded. He watched his father leave him there in a bruised, swollen and bloodied mess. Alone and broken.
**End flash back**
Hermione opened her eyes and looked painfully at Draco with silent tears streaming down her face "I'm so sorry" she whispered wholeheartedly, Draco whipped the tears away from her eyes and pulled her into a tight embrace, smoothing her hair "It's okay" he breathed out as Hermione started to sob into his shoulder "You're not the one who beat me" he whispered as he tightly closed his eyes and let a single tear fall down his face.