Chapter 4
That evening, Ron ignored her at dinner and Hermione couldn't help but be annoyed at his mood swings. He tried to leave the great hall without speaking to her so she got up and followed him towards the Gryffindor Tower.
"Ron!"
He stopped and whirled on her so fast she stumbled back. "What do you want Hermione?"
"I want to talk. Why are you ignoring me? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, confused.
"What's wrong?" He growled, "What's wrong is that you're a cheating little whore."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Hermione gaped at him.
He shoved her and she stumbled back, "You and Malfoy. You think I don't see how you talk. You live together. I get it. You're desperate."
"You mean the potions project? You're insane Ron. Jealousy doesn't look good on you. He was the only one without a partner, I had no one else to work with."
"Fine, I'll forgive you this once." Ron folded his arms over his chest, "But I forbid you from speaking to any other men besides Harry and me. Got it?"
Hermione scoffs, "Excuse me? You're not my father Ronald, you don't get to forbid me from talking to anyone."
He gets up in her face quickly, backing her against the wall in the empty corridor. Hermione is suddenly aware of just how alone they are.
His hand is around her throat instantly and she claws desperately trying to breathe. Her eyes are wide as she looks into Ron's. No remorse is in his eyes as he grits his teeth, squeezing harder.
He leans close and growls into her ear, "You will obey me. Do you understand?"
She pushes at his hands, her vision going back as she nods violently.
He releases her and she drops to the ground, gasping. He kicks her torso, "Pathetic."
Hermione watches his footsteps retreat, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Her pale hands shake as she pushes herself up, leaning against the wall for support. She hurries off to her dormitory. When she opens the portrait, she finds Draco and Blaise sitting in the common room talking.
She looks away and hurries past them, hands across her chest.
"Woah, what's wrong Hermione?" Blaise asked, standing up.
She ignored him and walked faster until she reached her room. She curled up on her bed.
A knock on her door, and then Draco, "Hey Hermoine. What happened? Why are you crying?"
"Nothing, go away. Ron and I just had a fight, it's nothing." She replied through the door.
"Oh, alright then."
She spent the rest of the evening crying in her bed.
In the morning, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy and circular bruises rung around her neck.
The bathroom door opened and before she could try to hide her bruises, her eyes met Draco's. He stared at her, mouth agape. "Merlin…did the weasel do that to you?"
She shook her head, "No. No of course not."
"Then what happened?" He asked, eyes narrowed.
"I just…I…" She tried to come up with some story but nothing came to mind.
"Right. That arse. How dare he." Draco exclaimed.
"He didn't Malfoy. It wasn't him. And even if it was I wouldn't want your help. You…you worthless snake. Leave me alone, I was a fool thinking you could ever change. That we could ever be friends. Why would I want to be friends with you?"
With every nasty word she spat at him, guilt swelled in her chest. But she knew the only way to get him to drop it was to make him so angry at her that he'd forget about it.
He scoffed, "Fine. Mudblood. Let him kill you for all I care. He'd be saving me from doing it myself."
He stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door. She flinched at the loud sound, but she knew she had done what she needed to do. She shut her eyes to compose herself and then began applying makeup to cover the marks.