~Present~
Draco Malfoy sat up rather abruptly in bed. It was the same nightmare that had plagued him for the last few years. The one that was a reminder of all the terrible that had happened not just to him but to so many innocent people during the war. He dreamt of the thing he was forced to do to so many that he once
thought was below him. The first time he was ordered to harm an innocent muggle family. When he was forced to torture mom first, then the father, then the young child no older than 5, the worst was the youngest, a girl the age of two. That scarred him monumentally, Draco was never the same after that night. He tried his best during the time to help the muggles and muggleborn who crossed his path but there were many he couldn't save.
The worst of all was one he thought he hated for the many year they attended Hogwarts.
~past~
Draco remembered being summoned by his aunt to identify a group of teenagers. She thought it could have been the Golden Trio. The moment Draco stepped into the room, he knew it was indeed Harry Potter and his friends.
Still, he denied it, but he supposed his gaze lingered more on Hermione Granger than on the others. Bellatrix saw this, smirked and asked if Draco liked ' this one'. She chuckled when Draco shook his head frantically.
But stopped immediately when she spotted the sword of Gryffindor. That is when all hell broke loose.
Draco could hardly keep up with all the came afterward.
Potter and Weasel were dragged out of the room, Granger was on the floor screaming bloody murder from the torturous curses placed on her. Bellatrix was yelling. His parents had made themselves scarce and Draco had wished he never froze where he stood. Then what happened next possibly would have happened and everything wouldn't have turned to shit.
Bellatrix turned to look at her family and spotted Draco before beckoning him toward her. Hesitantly Draco moved to where she stood, next to the still, tortured body of Hermione Granger. Draco made the mistake of sparing her a glance.
"Fuck her. It will make her talk, I'm sure of it! Would you like that dirty whore?!"
Draco shook his head no, but Bellatrix didn't take no for an answer.
"Ohh Drakey! You dare to say no to your dear aunt?!" Bellatrix tutted.
Before Draco could fully understand what was going on he felt his mind drifting from his body. He could see and feel himself,distantly being directed to lay on top of the damaged girl, take off her clothes and lower his trousers.
He felt humiliated when he was forced to take Hermione Granger against her will and his, in front of his mother and his father. He could see her face become red from screaming so hard. He could feel himself crying silently as he committed the act of rape against his classmate that he used to despise. It was as humiliating for him as it was for her.
When it was all over, his mind returned to his body but he was in shock. Draco could feel himself shaking as much as he tried his best to control the slight muscle tremors. He flinched away when Bellatrix' hand landed on his shoulder.
"This is what happens when you try to defy orders Draco. "
Draco rose, fixed himself and left the room without looking acknowledging anyone or anything. He felt numb.
Only 3 months later, the war between light and dark ended but the battle waged on within Draco.
He was having a very hard time trying to move on from the brutality he faced but he covered it up well.
He didn't want to worry his mother further than he already had. But when he was in private the memories and the sounds of all those people screaming as they were tortured and killed, drove him to the point of nearly going insane.
He felt constricted. It was the manor. Most everything bad happened her. He couldn't stay. He had to leave. He apparated to somewhere he drew comfort from, suddenly he could feel the warm summer sun on his face, feel the cooling breeze and smell the French lavender from the field outside of the family villa near the French coast.
He let his mother know that he would be staying there. It had only been a week, a week of peace, a week of barely any memories of nightmares when he heard the pop of the apparition coming from the same place he first landed.
He wasn't expecting his parents to be here, they would have owled before popping in. So, Draco drew his want and was on guard as he walked to the apparition point.
Draco felt himself falter when he saw Hermione Granger standing there, staring at the beautiful view that he admired himself when he got to the villa.
He took a moment to observe her. Her hair was in soft, luscious curls, her body out on a healthy weight, filling out the sundress she wore, her face wasn't so gaunt and held a healthy color, She looked much better than she did when she was dragged into the manor by snatchers. Then when he…
Draco shook his head to keep the memories at bay.
He cleared his throat to gain Granger's attention.
She jumped and turned to face him.
"Uh, hi. Your mother told me where you were, I hope you don't mind," She said a bit awkwardl, smiling only slightly in the end.
It took a few moments for Draco's thoughts to come together and to form a proper sentence.
"You- you were looking for me?" Why the hell would she be looking for him. If he were her, he would never want to be in his presence again.
He could see she was nervous so he offered her a seat on the patio and a drink of fresh lemonade.
She accepted and took a sip of the lemonade he poured for her.
He sat across from her and poured himself a glass. He glances at her to see her looking around anxiously.
It made him feel nervous. He wondered why she was here and if it had to do with that day in the manor. He wasn't quite ready to talk about that day with anyone just yet. Suddenly parched he took a long sip of his lemonade.
Granger gave him a moment to settle into his seat before addressing him.
" I apologize for intruding on your vacation but there was something rather important that I needed to speak with you about."
Draco's nerves flared to life at her words. He tried to keep his emotions and reactions under control just as he was always taught. So, he gestured for her to continue, willing this conversation to be over and done with.
"Um, well, I wanted to speak about what happened that day."
There Draco swallowed thickly and turned his gaze to the glass of half way drunken lemonade on the table. He couldn't look at her as the flurry of memories of that awful day flit through his mind.
"I-I don't blame you for what happened. I know what your aunt made you do. You tried to stand up for yourself and say no and in turn that didn't quite work out well. You are as much of a victim as I am and I want you to know that I understand. I don't hate you Draco Malfoy."
Draco didn't know whether to be shocked or relieved. Perhaps he was both. He simply nodded in acknowledgment feeling as though she had more to say. Only a moment later she continued even more nervous than before.
Draco had never seen Hermione Granger so unsure of herself. Maybe two years ago he would've have relished seeing such a thing but now after seeing her so vulnerable before. He realized that it reminded him of the year that made most people who were once so strong, deteriorate.
"There is something else about that day that you should know about Draco. "
He stared at her confused as she took in a deep breath.
"I am with child. Its yours." She needn't say much else.
If Draco thought he was shocked before he certainly was now.
How could this have happened? Well, he knew how but, why did this have to happen to them of all people. Wasn't it enough that they were both raped? To add a child resulting from such an assault was damn near heinous. Draco had never felt so much shock, shame, and embarrassment at once.
He didn't realize he began to hyperventilate some, and Granger and to move toward him and placed her cool hands on his face and forced him to look at her. Stormy Grey eyes met warmed Brown.
She coaxed him to calm down and it was so hard to do just that with the news that had been broken. Then Draco realized that he wasn't the one that had to carry the reminder of that day and Granger had to have been going through much worse than he did. He slowly began to breath normally again.
"I'm so terribly sorry Hermione," Draco managed.
He looked at her, catching the momentary surprise etched on her face before giving him a mirthless smile.
"As am I Draco."
Granger told him she would keep in touch before she left him alone with nothing but his thoughts and the cooling lavender breeze.
That night Draco drank himself into a stupor.
Author's note:
Hey guy's. This is something new that I have been working on. It isn't edited or proofread so I will more than likely come back later and do that. Hope you enjoy. More to come, hopefully soon.
Love,
Dani