Instead of wandering around the library aimlessly, she decided to be at least prudent with her time. She walked robotically towards the spell books, trying to find a counterspell to the Bloodbind curse carved on her chest. Just the thought of it made her shudder. As her fingers brushed lightly over the spines of the ancient books, she realized with a sinking feeling she wouldn’t find what she was looking for. Damn, it must be in the restricted section – after all, it wasn’t a fluffy-feel-good spell. She sighed.
She looked at her hand, rubbing her fingers together. Did it really happen? It almost felt like a nightmare. She groaned - how she wished. Why wasn’t she in bed, just sleeping away her sorrow?
A large hand clapped her shoulder. She screamed and turned, knocking the books on the table away. She could vaguely hear Madame Pince harshly whispering, "SHHHHHHH!! This is a library!"
"Woah! What’s wrong Hermione?!" Ron asked, holding both of his hands up. She leaned on the table for support, her legs wobbly and her head spinning from the adrenaline rush. She took deep breaths, terror still in her eyes.
"’Mione? You okay?" Harry asked, stepping forward, hand outstretched.
She couldn’t find her voice, her mouth just moved in silence. Finally, "I-I’m fine……..Harry. You just surprised me, that’s all." She flinched away from his hands.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and then looked back at her. "No, you’re not fine, Hermione. You’re sounding kind of hoarse, what’s the matter? Are those bags under you eyes?" Ron asked, concerned.
Hermione’s eyes teared. She was so grateful for them – it wasn’t until now did she realize how much she loved them; her friends – her best friends who cared about her. And she couldn’t say a word to them. For once she wished they weren’t so perceptive when it came to her well-being. She had to lie. And she hated it. Her lips quivered, attempting to control herself. She took a deep breath.
"The thing is…….oh, please don’t laugh, especially you Ron," she began, trying to make her voice steady. They waited expectantly.
"I haven’t done ANY homework this weekend! Not even the scrolls that are due tomorrow!" She couldn’t believe how menial it all sounded now. "And I had a nightmare last night about how I got expelled from Hogwarts. I thought you were the Headmaster, Ron, coming to tell me I had to leave!"
They both visibly relaxed. "But it’s really not like you to not do your homework Hermione! What happened?" Harry asked, still a bit doubtful.
"I…….I-I’m a little sick so I’m having trouble concentrating," she mumbled. The concentrating part was true in any case.
Ron took one look at her and his face softened. "Hey, don’t worry about it! Me and Harry’ll help you out, won’t we Harry?" He nudged Harry hard in the ribs. Harry grunted. "It’s kinda easy once you get started. That tells you something, doesn’t it? Come on, let’s go to the Common Room where it’s warm, okay? You’ll make your cold worse if you stay here."
Hermione relaxed, her smile showing the immense relief she felt. She nodded. "L-Let me just put away these books, all right?" She took the huge pile of books and started to put them back on the shelves.
When she was walking away, Ron didn’t tear his eyes away from her. He mumbled, "She um, looks nice today, huh?" Harry turned to stare at him. A knowing smile appeared on his face and he grinned. Harry nodded; he had to agree, she did look quite pretty today. She was wearing a white, long-sleeved turtleneck and a plaid miniskirt. It showed off her long legs and slender figure.
She returned, with only one book left in her hand. "Okay, let’s go. This book goes in the front," she said, feeling better now that her friends were here. What would she do without them? A blanket of warmth engulfed her.
Walking ahead of them, she reached the shelf closest to the entrance of the library and attempted to place the book on the highest ledge. The door to the library suddenly swung open and she whipped her head around – Draco Malfoy. He blinked. He too, was surprised to see her. His look of surprise quickly changed to that of a leer as he looked her up and down, undressing her with his eyes.
She stared, her hands jerkily putting the book in place, her eyes never leaving his. He seemed to be able to lock her eyes onto his and she couldn’t tear her eyes away even if she tried. He went behind her and put his hand under her raised arm, placing his hand directly on top of her tattoo. He pressed his hard body against her, his breath hot against her cheek. She started to tremble.
<Pleasedon’thurtmeGoawayPleasepleasepleaseSomeonecomeDON’TTOUCHME!!>
"Hello Hermione," he whispered seductively. She shivered.
"What the hell are you doing to her?!" Ron shouted, seeing how intimately close they were. Harry quickly took out his wand as Ron waved his. They hesitated only because they knew Madame Pince was close by.
Malfoy glared at them, ready to bark out an insult, when he glanced over at Hermione. Her face was flushed – she wasn’t even looking at her friends. She was staring down at the floor, into nothing, as if she was ashamed to look at them. He could feel her body actually getting colder.
Ron’s eyes twitched as he saw Malfoy lean closer to Hermione and whispered something into her ear. She stiffened.
"……..Draco," she whispered, unable to keep her voice from cracking.
He chuckled and strode out of the room, shooting Harry and Ron a look of complete triumph.
They quickly ran to Hermione’s side. Millions of questions poured out. What was he doing? Why did you call him Draco? Why was he so close?
Hermione suddenly burst out in tears. They quickly stopped their questions. She sobbed, trying hard to regain control. She shakily stepped forward, but her legs were too weak and she started to fall forward. Ron rushed forward to catch her. She clung to him pitifully, while Harry held her shoulders for support.
Somewhere in the middle of her crying, they could make out, "……..wanted to tell you…..horrible……..I couldn’t………he– "
She quickly stiffened, and Ron held her tightly. Her fingers dug into his shoulders painfully. "’Mione?!"
She screamed in pain, her whole body arching. As quickly as it came, the pain passed and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
"HERMIONE!"
*******************************************************
She slowly opened her eyes. She coughed; her mouth was parched and dry like she had her mouth full of cotton balls. A deep voice cleared his throat beside her. She gulped, desperately praying to the gods it wasn’t who she thought it was and turned her head.
Hermione started to question her religious belief, as it was indeed Draco Malfoy that was sitting beside her on an uncomfortable hospital chair. He had his legs crossed, with his ankle atop his knee and his hands laced together, covering part of his face. He looked ever the pleased predator. She unconsciously scooted away from him as much as she was able to. Why was he always right there?
He sighed in disappointment. "I told you it was futile to tell someone. I warned you it would be painful. You just don’t listen, do you? I hope you realize now I never make empty threats."
She placed her hand over her mouth, attempting to hold back her sobs. She whispered, her voice rasping, "What do you want? Just tell me what you’re after!"
He slowly smiled sinfully, positioning himself above her. It was the kind of smile that made women throw themselves to his feet out of passion. A smile that should be outlawed.
"You."
He saw the internal conflict going through her eyes. She closed her eyes in anguish and turned her head away from him. Finally, she snarled, "Go to hell!"
He blinked. Hell? Maybe breaking her was harder than he thought. Just the thought of that made him want her more. She really wasn’t like all the women out there, all the women who bored him. The moment she would submit to him would be the most glorious conquest he has ever had. No one ever refused him. And soon, neither would she.
He leaned in closer, a devious grin on his face. "Well, if you send me to hell, then I think it’s only fair I send you to heaven."
He reached into his robe and took out Hermione’s wand. It would look too suspicious if she didn’t have it for class tomorrow. In any case, he had confidence in his spell. He placed the wand discreetly beside her on the bed.
Hermione’s eyes finally began focusing again, and she noticed her wand besides her. Too spent to reach for it, she could only gasp for breath. She could vaguely hear Malfoy over the roaring waves ringing in her ears.
"I’m not done with you yet, Hermione," he said menacingly, before giving her a parting passionate kiss. He held her tongue between his teeth and then bit her, just enough to hurt. She gave a small cry of pain in his mouth.
"Remember who you belong to."
With that, he swiftly left the room before the nurse entered. The nurse’s unwanted interruption would not be forgotten. He slammed the door behind him. Hermione jumped at the sound, her heart pounding furiously. The nurse entered and took one look at her.
"Oh my! You look a bit flushed! Perhaps you’re coming down with a fever. Let me get a tonic in the other room, dear." She returned to the back room.
The poor nurse, she was also facing an intense resentment from Hermione, although from a different angle. <Why couldn’t she come in sooner? What kind of nurse is she?!> She thought furiously.
But quickly, Hermione’s anger died, replaced by disgust, fear, and self-pity. Swallowed a sob and turned face down on her pillow. She couldn’t believe the feelings she had had – it was indescribable. But she hated it so much – why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be her?
"Hermione? Are you okay – what’s wrong?!" Harry asked. Harry? She lifted her head from her pillow. Harry and Ron were at the foot of her bed with a tray of food. She must not have noticed them entering. They looked extremely uncomfortable, and strangely guarded. However, she was too tired to give it any thought.
"I feel sick," she whispered. It wasn’t a lie.
"Yeah, you look it. Here, eat a lot of food, okay? To get your strength back," Ron said cryptically, placing the food on the small table near her bed.
"I’m not very hungry………."
"Eat, or we’ll have to spoon-feed you. And you’re not coming to class tomorrow either, got it? You need some rest," Harry said with finality.
Hermione easily agreed. She really didn’t want to be back in class with Malfoy; she would feel too exposed. She would be safe here. <If only that stupid nurse would stay in the room.> She thought sourly.
She nodded and saw her friends relax. The nurse came back with tonic in hand. "Out boys, she needs her rest!" she clucked, shooing them towards the exit. They reluctantly waved and left. Hermione dutifully swallowed a mouthful of heaven-knows-what, and laid back down on her bed. She looked at her hands. She felt dirty.
She shifted to her side, and remembered she finally had her wand back. She quickly picked it up and grasped it firmly in her hand as if she was afraid it would be taken away from her.
She studied it, her brilliant mind racing at light-speed. For the longest time, she did nothing but stare at her wand, barely breathing. Finally, a look of comprehension glossed her face. The solution dawned on her. She smiled a grim smile.
<I have you now Malfoy…..> she thought.
<I have you now.>
No comments:
Post a Comment