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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
Chapter 16
In the library earlier, Hermione had done some research. In particular, she'd researched pain charms, such as those Malfoy had used on her the other night in the Potions classroom. There were many versions, she found, some more painful than others. There were particular combinations that were reputed to be excruciating. Some were even nearly as bad as the unforgivable Cruciatus.
Having learned the theory, Hermione looked forward to some practical research into the subject.
Malfoy's shock gave way to anger. He came at her, rushing forward in a low crouch, eyes glittering in rage. She hit him with a pain curse - one of the more gentle ones. He fell back, gasping. "You'll pay for this Granger."
Hermione smiled at him and hit him with the curse again, putting a little more power into it. She said nothing but enjoyed the view of Malfoy rolling about on the floor, the tangle of black robes contrasting with his naked flesh. She almost laughed, catching sight of his now flaccid penis, small and shriveled tightly against his body, no longer an instrument of torture and humiliation.
She let him have a few moments without pain, watching as he lay panting on the floor. He must look much as she had, huddling on the cold stone of the potions classroom after his round of pain curses.
"Didn't you hear me, Granger?" He was breathing hard and trying to pull his robes around him. "You have no idea what you're doing. Your parents will be dead by morning, Mudblood."
Hermione hadn't spoken a word since entering the Charms classroom. She had enjoyed her activities in silence so far. "I don't think so." She said, casting the curse again, shorter, this time but more painfully. Malfoy's expression of pain and disbelief was quite invigorating.
"Malfoy, has it ever crossed your mind that I am a witch?" She watched his expression, which was one of confusion. "I mean, you just assume that I'll just roll over and let you fuck me, torture me, and humiliate me." She shot a small curse at him, just to keep his attention focused. "But I'm a witch, you Slytherin idiot. I'm top of our class. I know more curses and hexes than you will ever learn. Do you know that I could kill you in an instant. That would put a stop to my troubles, now, wouldn't it?" She played with the wand, happy that Malfoy's eyes seemed to follow it fearfully.
The thoughts were tempting. She'd imagined killing him enough times that it was starting to feel like a valid option. Standing here with her wand out, in full control over her tormentor, it began to feel more like an actual possibility.
"You're a Mudblood," Malfoy said. "That's all I need to know. Your parents are dead, Granger. How do you feel about that? Your own revenge more important than their lives?"
"I don't think so, Malfoy. I have recently come into possession of something that changes everything." She toyed with her wand but didn't curse him. "Everything. I have irrefutable evidence that your father is the leader of the Death Eaters. I have proof that he orchestrated the attack on the Finnegans. One word to the Aurors and he's in Azkaban for life."
Malfoy's sneering scowl told her that he didn't believe her.
"Well," she said, frowning, "maybe not for life. I've heard that with everything going on, the Ministry doesn't really have the patience for trials and sentencing. Most Death Eaters are getting the Dementor's Kiss straight away, aren't they? If there's evidence convincing enough..." She paused for a moment as if in thought. She took two steps toward Malfoy and leaned down a bit to look him straight in the eye. "I'd call what I have most convincing. Most convincing."
Malfoy had collected himself somewhat. He crouched on the stone classroom floor, holding his robes tightly around his naked flesh. If he had the chance he would lunge. She stepped back two paces, warily. Best to keep him off balance, she thought, shooting another curse his direction. This was a new one, and she watched closely, noting its most interesting effects in an almost scholarly way.
"You've got nothing, bitch! You're playing a very dangerous game and you'll come to regret it - if you live long enough."
Hermione decided it was perhaps time to demonstrate her evidence. She pulled the box with the Pensieve from her robes. It was a complicated spell, to project the Pensieve contents on the wall rather than falling into the memory, but Hermione was a very clever witch, after all. Draco watched in silence as the figure of his father and the other Death Eaters became visible, the sound of his father's imperious voice booming through the empty classroom.
There were other memories, but Hermione decided she'd keep them to herself for the time being, ending the spell after the first memory. "Is that convincing enough for you? There are more memories here - plenty of them. Enough to keep the Aurors busy for quite a while, rounding up Death Eaters. Your father will be the first. They'd want to set an example, wouldn't they? I'm certain they'd administer the Kiss right off. And I suspect Voldemort wouldn't be too happy with you being the one responsible for the loss of his top echelon of Death Eaters."
She smiled at Draco. "In fact, I think I'll add some of my own memories to these before I give them to the Aurors. Would you care to see what Azkaban is really like, Malfoy? I'd love to be the one to send you there."
Malfoy's face had been haughty and indignant to this point. Now, Hermione could see fear creeping into his expression. She was enjoying herself immensely.
"What do you want, Granger?" Malfoy's tone was defeatist but wary. She didn't trust him for a second and shot a tricky combination of curses at him, making him once again fall back in pain.
"What do I want? Hmm," she said, thinking. "I want to kill you. In the event that I don't, I want you to leave my parents alone. I want you to make sure that your father leaves them alone. Not just my parents, but everyone else in Gryffindor as well. Anyone at Hogwarts, really. If I get news that any pupil's parents are killed by Death Eaters, this happy little box of memories will go straight to the ministry."
"I don't have control over my father or the Death Eaters!"
"That's not what you told me before," she said, glaring at the blond boy. "You quite led me to believe that your father was wrapped around your little finger and the Death Eaters were at your beck and call." She mustered up another curse and watched as Malfoy again thrashed on the floor.
"I may have exaggerated somewhat." he admitted, panting as the curse let up.
She sent another curse at him then - the worst one she had . She closed her eyes for a moment, unwilling to watch his agony further. How much truth had there been in his threats? Perhaps she would never know. Still, she felt the fool for believing him as she had.
After the curse wore off, she cleared her throat. "You will do your absolute best to prevent attacks on the families of Hogwarts pupils. The deal still stands - Azkaban or the Kiss."
Draco looked very cross, but he nodded.
"You will leave me alone. You will leave Ron alone. You will leave Harry alone. I don't want to hear your snide comments anymore. You will also be silent about what you did to me. If I hear the Slytherins sniggering, or anyone in the other houses, I'll know."
Malfoy snorted. "I can't stop the sniggering, Granger. You're a school joke already, and not because of our little activities."
She aimed a new curse at him, the pain catching him off guard. "That's what I'm talking about, Malfoy. Didn't I warn you about the snide comments?"
"Crabbe and Goyle know."
"Of course they do," she rolled her eyes. "But I'm confident that you can keep them in line. Their fathers are in the Pensieve memory as well, aren't they? I recognized the resemblance to those mountains of flesh standing next to your father. If nothing else, surely you can convince them with that."
Malfoy sat in silence for a while, looking at the ground. She could tell he was thinking, and readied her wand for possible attack. After several minutes he said, "All right, Granger. You win." It came out as a murmur in a defeated voice, but she heard it.
"I rather think that nobody wins, Malfoy." she said, sadly.
~*~
It seemed strange in the days going forward that on the surface things returned to normal. Well, not quite normal. Hermione felt like she wouldn't ever be normal again. She tried her best, though, finding that freeing herself from her tormentor gave her the courage to go forward. She got caught up with her classes and studied hard. She avoided Malfoy as best she could. She studied Pensieves until she could make a copy of the memories. One set locked up in her dormitory, the other sent by owl post to a Gringotts vault. She didn't trust Malfoy for one minute. If he could get his hands on the evidence she would again be at his mercy.
The summer proved a balm to her, living a quiet Muggle existence with her parents. For the first time she was happy to leave Hogwarts at the end of term. Part of her didn't want to go back. Another part of her knew she couldn't give up. Getting on the train back to school the fall of her seventh year was difficult, but she knew it was the right thing.
Her friendship with Ron and Harry was practically nonexistent. They weren't speaking to her nor she to them. She knew that they knew she was no longer having sex with Malfoy, and they must have noticed that Malfoy was avoiding them all. How much they had found out about the whole thing, she didn't know. They left her alone, mostly, though she caught them staring at her sometimes.
She spent most of her free time in the library. It was still her favorite place.
Studying transfiguration at her favorite table near the charms section, Hermione looked up as someone sat down across from her. It was Professor Snape, she saw with surprise. "P-P-Professor?"
"I'm most pleased to see you back at your studies, Miss Granger."
She blinked. "Thank you, professor." Looking around her, she could tell that there was no one within earshot. "Thank you. For the Pensieve. For everything. I wish I could do more than just saying the words."
"It is unnecessary. I trust that you have successfully extricated yourself from your precarious situation?"
She nodded.
"I have noticed a certain amount of..." his voice trailed off as if he sought the right word. "strain," he flicked a piece of lint from his robes, "in your relationship with Messrs Potter and Weasley."
She shrugged, wondering why Snape should have an interest in her friendship with Harry and Ron. He'd never liked them, although he had saved Harry's life in the past. She looked at the dark cloaked figure, whose face was pale and impassive.
"I know you are aware that in my position, I am privy to certain information." She nodded, her eyes widening. "I cannot go into detail but this year will be most important. The penultimate battle may, indeed, be fought. Do you understand?"
Hermione gasped, incredulous, looking at her potions teacher. Could it be?
"It is my belief that Mr. Potter will play a rather large role in the outcome of this struggle, and by association, Mr. Weasley as well." Snape didn't look happy about this but his voice was matter of fact rather than sneering.
"Mr. Potter will need all his friends. I'm certain that you can see how this would be most helpful in upcoming events."
Hermione didn't understand. "What do you mean, Professor?"
Snape rolled his eyes. "Dear girl, do I have to spell everything out for you? I thought you were bright. I'm simply recommending that you reconcile your relationship with the boys." His annoyed voice then softened a bit. "I believe that they could very well use your assistance in the upcoming struggle."
"Will it be as bad as that?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.
Snape waved his hand in the air. "I cannot go into it, Miss Granger. I just ask that you consider the role you would like to play in the future, should there be a battle with the Dark Lord." She blinked, but said nothing. Snape looked closely at her, his eyes so dark they were almost black. "Do you wish to be here, Miss Granger, alone, in the library, doing your studies?" His dark cloak flaring out behind him, her potions master left her alone.
Hermione thought about her professor's words. Part of her wanted to be alone. She still needed to heal from her experiences. It would be so uncomfortable being around Harry and Ron again. Despite this, she knew she couldn't sit back and watch while there was a struggle the could forge the fate of the wizarding world. She knew which side she belonged on.
Hermione thought about things a long time, sitting in the library. She made a decision. It was a difficult one, but once she made a decision she stuck with it.
Returning to the Gryffindor common room, Hermione saw Harry and Ron sitting at a table, school texts piled nearby. She could tell they weren't studying, but were arguing about Quidditch.
They looked surprised when she sat down with them. "Hi Ron. Hi Harry."
"Hi Hermione." Harry said while Ron just stared at her.
"Do you want to study together for the Potions exam?" she asked, not really knowing what to say. It was easy to fall back on her strength, schoolwork.
There was a long pause as Harry and Ron considered her words, glancing at each other and then back at her.
"So you're talking to us again, Hermione?" Ron spat at her.
She sighed. "Ron, I'm sorry. I wasn't at my best before, but things have changed now. I hurt you and I'm sorry. I can't tell you how much." She looked closely at Ron. "I've forgiven you for the things you said to me. For the stuff at the lake."
Harry looked confused at this. Hermione knew Ron hadn't told him about how close he had come to assaulting her in rage. Ron's face had turned quite purple.
Harry spoke then. "I'm sorry that you didn't feel like you could come to us for help, Hermione. That's what hurts the most. We were your friends. You let Malfoy hurt you while you left us out."
Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, disliking hearing the sound of her tormentor's name. "I know, Harry. I'm sorry. I should have come to you. I needed my friends so much. But I did what I did because I'm your friend. Because I didn't want anyone else to get hurt." She paused. "I've learned some things in all this. One thing that I learned was that I had to help myself in order to heal. I had to be the one to do it."
Harry looked as if he were considering her words. "We've been friends a long time, Hermione. Nothing can change that." He stood up and stepped over to her. Taking her hands he drew her up to stand close to him. "I've missed you." He hugged her tightly. It felt good, Hermione thought. It felt right.
"I'm going up to the dormitory for a while so you two can talk." With that, Harry left them.
Hermione sat back down. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves for what would probably be a very painful conversation with Ron.
Ron looked at her, his face still a bit purple, his eyes angry. "I told you I was sorry about that stuff at the lake. You should have gone to the Headmaster. Go now, if you like."
Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, an incredible sadness washing over her. "I don't want to go to the Headmaster, Ron. I know you wouldn't have hurt me like that. You didn't hurt me."
"Then why are you throwing it in my face, Hermione?"
"I'm not, Ron. I told you that I forgive you. I just wanted you to hear it. I'm... I suppose I'm hoping that you can forgive me as well."
Ron sighed. "Forgive you? I'm still angry, Hermione. More than that, I'm disappointed. You shut me out. I cared about you and you pushed me away like I didn't matter. Like 'we' didn't matter - didn't mean anything to you."
"I know, Ron." She felt like crying. Ron would never forgive her. She might as well go back to the library now, though she didn't. She remained at the table.
Ron ran his fingers through his red hair and leaned back, looking at her. With an indignant tone, he demanded "What was that about - that day in your dormitory. I want the truth. Were you and Malfoy laughing at me? Having fun with poor pathetic Weasley, the prematurely ejaculating fool who can't even shag his own girlfriend?"
Hermione shook her head, trying not to let the tears come. "I'm so sorry about that, Ron. It wasn't fair to you. I shouldn't have done it."
She didn't know what she wanted to say to him. She decided to go for total honesty, mustering her courage. "I was supposed to see Malfoy that night - for the first time. I felt like I had no other choice about it - either I slept with him or people would be killed. I didn't want to do it. I was afraid. I was afraid of a lot of things but mostly I was afraid of was losing my chance with you. I know I told you before that I wasn't ready for sex, and I wasn't, but I knew that when I was, that I wanted it to be with you." Her voice was low, though there was nobody within earshot.
She leaned closer. "I wanted my first time to be with you, Ron. Especially when I had to meet Malfoy. When you came to my dormitory that day I realized that I didn't have to give up my dream of our first time together. I was desperate for you to make love to me, so that I could at least have that."
She blinked back tears quickly, so Ron wouldn't see them. "I made my decision, and I thought that was all that mattered, but it wasn't. I was so angry when you turned me down because it meant that I had lost any chance at that dream. It meant that I had to have my first experience with Malfoy. It meant that you and I would never be able to share that together. It meant that I had absolutely no control over my own life anymore."
Ron was staring at her, but she couldn't read his expression. It might be confusion, or anger, or maybe pity, she thought.
"I never laughed at you. I love you. I was clinging to a dream, and I didn't take your feelings into account. It wasn't fair to you and I am so sorry."
Ron was silent, looking down at the table. She could tell from the changes in his expression that he was thinking. After a few moments he looked up at her. "You love me?"
Had she said that? She thought back. "Yes, Ron. I've always loved you as a friend. But it is more than that. I know we can never get back to where we were, but I hope we can start to be friends again."
Ron nodded. "I think that's why it hurt so much, Hermione. I loved you so much. It wasn't so much what you did in the dormitory or even with that stupid prat Malfoy. It was that you did it behind my back. You didn't trust me enough."
She nodded. "I wanted to, Ron."
Ron nodded slightly, his eyes meeting hers. He stared at her intently for what seemed like ages. The common room was quiet, the other Gryffindors having left to give them some privacy. The fire cracked in the grate, and Hermione could hear the sound of their breathing, in synch in the quiet room. After a few moments, Ron reached over and took her hand briefly. He looked at it. Then he looked deeply into her eyes. She felt naked under his gaze, but she didn't mind.
Putting her hand down, Ron pulled a text book out of the stack next to him. He smiled and his eyes were friendly. "So, do you want to help me with this Potions final or what?"
Fin
- 15
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