Oi, Granger!
AUTHORS SAY: I am greatly aware that it has taken me about three months to update this story. I have to say that this time, it w NOT my fault. I've been having problems with my PC, and had to rewrite this whole chapter. Things are A LOT different from the previous chapter I had written, but I like this outcome better. To let you all know, my other stories will not be updated for some time, but please check back mid next week to see if there is an update. Also, I have written a second chapter to "Imperfection" and if you have not read it, please take a look and read. It's a two shot, and seems to be a favorite amongst a lot of fan readers.
Thank you!
Just as a warning, this chapter is rated R for strong language. Click the "submit review" button at ANY time in this chapter.
A boy with a coin he crammed in his jeans
Then making a wish he tossed in the sea
Walked to a town that all of us burn
When God left the ground to circle the world
Chapter Eleven: Rain on Me, Shame on Me
From chapter five...
"I-I-I killed him," Hermione stammered. "I'm so sorry, Draco." Round, fat tears began to roll down Hermione's cheeks. She shook violently as he removed himself from her lap. "I…I RUINED YOUR FAMILY!" she screamed. She finally lost herself in her tears. "It's my entire fault!"
Draco wrapped his arms around her shaking figure, giving Harry a calculating look, and hugged her.
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Draco fiddled with the clasp of his robe as he stood outside of Greenhouse Three, the sky shifting to warn outsiders that a storm was on its way. The violent gray and black swirls rumbled onward as he waited to catch sight of her, walking along side her two sidekicks. He had earlier waved away Blaise's offer to come confront her with him, thinking that Blaise's presence would definitely add to the problems.
Class had restarted, and soon January had melted into February, unusually melting away the snow by wild rainstorms and humid days. Draco had turned into himself these last few weeks, becoming a shell of his former self and ignoring his Quidditch practices, his friends, and most of all his duties. Hermione had put in to transfer from her living quarters and switch up her patrolling duties, making it nearly impossible for him to ever see her during the day. In class, she ignored him, as if he didn't exist, and failed to inform him when Head Meetings were, seeing that she switched them up often. He had finally decided it was time to go through with Blaise's new idea.
"Oh Harry, I can see what I can do…I cancelled the Prefect meeting tonight for some extra sleep-in time…but…I can help you with your Ancient Runes," Draco heard her say.
"I would really appreciate that," Potter replied. There was a loud, rude snort.
"Yeah, but don't think she'll do your homework, Hermione here holds strong to her homework policy, eh love?" Weasel said. Draco peered around the corner where the Golden Trio stood underneath an Oak tree, clueless to the storm building up in the sky. Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione' body and kissed the side of her cheek softly. Draco had heard the rumors, had seen the relationship unfurl in front of him. Luna Lovegood and Ron Weasley were done, the girl believing she would do a lot better without Ron and his conflicted feelings for his best mate. He had heard through the grapevine that the breakup had been very quiet and understandable. It took the weasel about a week to move in on Hermione, believing that the kiss the two shared was the window to a relationship.
She looked healthy, Draco thought. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her books as she crushed them to her chest, a small content smile on her face. He pulled away from the corner and leaned against the cool glass of the Greenhouse. She was happy.
Looking up into the mass of the oncoming storm, Draco felt a drop of rain fall onto his cheek and slowly slide down his face, falling off of his narrow chin. He didn't wipe the wet trail away.
"Bloody hell," the Weasel said. "It's about to rain, and I'm starving."
"Well, let's go then," Potter suggested. Hermione, who had put down her bag, lifted it and made a small exclamation of surprise.
"Oh!"
"What's wrong?" Potter asked.
"I left my ink in the Greenhouse!" she said. The Weasel growled.
"Hermione…but I'm hungry!"
"Oh cram it Ron," Potter snapped. "We'll wait for you while you run back to get it, okay?" There was an angry sigh and a quiet one.
"But it's all the way in Greenhouse fifteen!"
"Listen, why don't you two head up to the castle and meet up with Ginny? I'm sure she doesn't want to wait for you all to come round for dinner. I'll just meet you in the Great Hall, okay?" Hermione said. There was a tense silence and the Weasel laughed.
"That's my girl, always thinking of others."
"Are you sure Hermione?" Potter asked, the concern evident in his voice.
"I'm very sure, now hurry off! You two are giving me a headache!" she said as a small giggle followed her remark. Draco waited as he saw the two Gryffindor boys make their way towards the castle. When he was sure the boys were out of sight, he made his way around the Greenhouse but stopped when he heard a noise, and quickly retracted to his hiding position. He safely peered around the corner and saw Hermione sitting in the grass, crying into her hands. He stifled a gasp and watched as she cleaned her face of tears with the sleeve of her long robe. There was a clatter of thunder and she jumped, causing the tears to once again flow down her face, just in time for a heavy gush of rain to fall from the threatening sky.
The two of them stood their, soaked to the bone in rain, Draco watching the woman of his life cry herself to confusion, and Hermione oblivious to his presence.
He stepped from behind the Greenhouse in to her line of sight. She shivered and looked up at him. She was pale with the icy rain hitting her hair and face, making it soppy and matted to her forehead. Draco thought she looked beautiful.
"No…no…please go away!" she cried. She began to shakily make her way to her feet and slipped but Draco, with his quick Seeker reflexes, reached out to steady her. Immediately she lifted her hands and roughly pushed him away from her. "I don't want to SEE you Malfoy, let alone be anywhere NEAR you!" she shouted, pushing pass him to walk away. He immediately followed her, the rain becoming almost unable to bear on their shoulders, along with the weight of the pain and betrayal the two felt for each other.
"Just listen to me."
"I can't listen to someone who does not exist! And I have convinced myself that you do NOT exist Malfoy!" she snapped over her shoulder, not sparing him a glance. Suddenly, she stopped and sharply turned to face him. Her face was red as well as the rim of her eyes. Draco couldn't tell if she had cried while her back was turned to him, because her tears magnificently blended in with the raindrops gliding down her soft cheeks. She shook her head at him, like a mother would do to a disobeying child, and released a hallow laugh. "I can't believe I allowed myself to think you were actually human. That you, Draco Fucking Malfoy, Slytherin bastard and possible next Dark Lord, would ever love someone. You aren't human. You're a shell of a human-being waiting for someone to come and kill you off. You're a wounded dog that needs to be put down, and not worth the save or pathetic glance at a pound! WHO could possibly love someone that defeated and dead? And that someone being me to top it off? Me, Hermione Granger, mudblood and know-it-all? How dare I even think it possible! And I have suffered the consequences, and I am aware that you are definitely your father's son!" she spat. Her usually lovely brown eyes were dark with rage and disgust as she moved into his space. "I HATE you! I hate you because I look into those damned eyes of yours and all I can see is Lucius's prodigy, his wonder child that somehow made it through the war, and promised to marry a pureblood woman and have a filthy, bigoted child like his own!"
"You don't know what you're saying," Draco hissed, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed her. "You better fucking stop now while you're ahead, Granger."
"Don't tell me what to DO!" she roared. "You took everything from me!"
"You GAVE it to me, you filthy bitch!" he shouted. He didn't pause to see the pain flicker in her eyes. "You're a fucking WHORE Granger!" Draco tried to bite down on his lip, but felt the words fighting to come from his throat to shut the raging girl down. She had hurt him with her heated words, and now he wanted to hurt her with his, even if every word that sliced through her made him hurt too. "You opened your legs for me you slut! Even AFTER you found out I was going to use you! You tried to play it off like you had turned the tables, that YOU were in control," he had pushed her back, her form suddenly small, shaking and weak. "But you weren't in control Granger; you were as fucking depressed and terrified as you are now! YOU'RE the loveless one; YOU'RE the one who is hopelessly dead and defeated." He pulled her to him, her body lax in his arms as he hissed in her ear, "YOU'RE the one, Hermione Fucking Granger, who gave herself away to someone like ME." He heard her sob, but continued to angrily speak in her ear. "And if Lucius were still alive, he would've been PROUD that I ruined your perfect virgin status for game. But we can't all have what we want, now can we Granger? My Father is DEAD because of you."
The words left his mouth with a bitter taste as a horrible clap of thunder erupted from above and seem to hit the two of them, rattling their very bones. Hermione, who was for a while leaning heavily into Draco's arms, collapsed against his chest, her body unmoving and cold.
It was approximately six thirty-seven when Madame Pomfrey heard the horrendous clatter of thunder outside her hospital's window. It was loud, nearly shaking the ground under her small heeled shoes. As she looked out the window, there was a flash of lightening that made her turn away from the window, her arm coming up the shield her eyes from the harsh light. She was deeply disturbed by the bright light, feeling a slight chill overcome her that briefly reminded her of experiences from Divination class some odd sixty years ago. She shrugged the feeling off and instead pulled out her wand to fix the beds in the empty infirmary. She was happy that today had been minor, with only a few potion mishaps and one corridor fight, none including that wretched Malfoy junior and young Harry Potter. Sometimes she felt like she was the children's mediator, these last seven years. With an exhausted sigh and a nervous look out the window, she began to clean. She was on her thirteenth bed, when she heard her double doors burst open, and the sliding of shoes against the tile's floor. She screamed, taken off guard, and turned to see a soaking wet Draco Malfoy, carrying an unconscious, and equally soaked Hermione Granger.
"She's dead! Oh god…she's dead Madame Pomfrey!" he cried frantically, tears falling from his wide and wild gray eyes.
Shocked and deeply terrified, Madame Pomfrey's wand dropped from her clammy hand as Malfoy slid to the floor, cradling a blue-tinged Hermione Granger with blood forming at the corner of her lips to slide down her chin. He never ceased in running his fingers down her face and through her hair, muttering words of comfort into the girl's deaf ears.
Oh no! Please review. I know this chapter is short, but it's all I have for you right now as I try to recover things from my old files. I'm so sorry for the wait, and I hope this will tie you all over for the next week. Thank you so much for reading, and please check out the song above, it is from Iron & Wine's new and much anticipated album! But most importantly, please tell me what you thought about this chapter!