You Don't Know

Chapter 11 - Release

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He grabbed a hold of her. Hermione struggled but his grip on her arms was too strong.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said as his eyes darkened.

"You shouldn't have been watching," said Draco tightening his grip.

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"He will be ours," hissed a reaper licking his lips with a ghostly forked tongue.

"Yes he is turning, soon there will be no going back" grinned the faceless shadow.

The forest then broke out into a load hissing that sounded like many screams being drifted by the wind.

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Hermione couldn't move. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she just couldn't. Fear had a hold of her. She wanted to brake free of his grip and run, but he was too strong for her. Her eyes began to swirl with water.

"I swear I didn't see anything" stumbled Hermione.

"You lie," snarled Draco.

"I didn't I promise. Please let me go. You're hurting me," pleaded Hermione as tears started to roll down her cheek.

Fear and horror ran across Draco's face. He abruptly let go and stumbled back like in a spell. His eyes were wide open, they glistened with alarm, his mouth open ready to speak but no words formed on his lips. He gritted his teeth, grabbed his head and yelled a silent scream. He looked across at Hermione who was still in shock. He didn't want to hurt her. He felt as though he had no control over himself. That something deep inside of him had taken control. Was it the real him, the Malfoy he was supposed to be? No! He wasn't like that. No! He didn't want to be like that.

"No!" he screamed, "I'm not like him!"

Hermione jumped in fright. She so did want to run, but she was afraid that if she did Draco would do something. Their heartbeats raced in unity from adrenaline and fear. Draco's breathing was erratic. His chest pulsated as he tried to steady his breathing. He wiped some of the blood away with his sleeve. He looked across at Hermione. He could see the panic in her eyes. He didn't want her to be afraid, he didn't want to harm her. It was his entire fault she had gotten mixed up in this.

"I...I...I'm Sorry," he finally whispered after an awkward silence.

Hermione carefully whipped the tears from her cheeks. She was still worried that Draco would loose it again, and he knew this.

"There's no need to be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her, but this gave little comfort to her.

Draco delved his hand into his pocket, Hermione stepped further back not knowing what he was going to retrieve, and deep down she hoped it wouldn't be a wand. He pulled out a dark green handkerchief. Carefully he lent forward with an out stretched hand and offered it to Hermione.

"You're bleeding," he said somberly. Nervously she took it and attended to the cut on her head.

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"NO!" screamed the shadows.

"He is drifting from our clutch, me must act soon!"

The shadows hissed in agreement. They would have to take action soon if they were to claim their hair.

****

Draco turned and flung him self on the ground up against the front desk. He placed his hand on the ground but quickly withdrew it.

"Shit," he said wearyingly clutching his hand as blood dripped down his wrist. He pushed the broken glass away. Hermione looked across at him. For some reason he looked different. His face was no longer full of hatred and spite, it was now warn and somnolent. Although he resembled the Malfoy she thought she had known, there was something she hadn't noticed before. His face was worn beyond his years, as if he had grown up before those around him. To be a man before he was ready. It was as if there was still the little boy inside of him wanting to brake free from his shell. For some reason the fear inside of her had been washed away and in a way she now felt empathy for him.

Hermione loosened her tie and pulled it off from around her neck. She cleared a space next to him and knelt down. She took a hold of his hand and opened his clenched fist to reveal a cut across the palm of his hand. She slowly ran her fingers across the cut. His hand shivered from the sudden touch. She took her tie and began to wrap it around the cut tightly before tying it off. She then closed his fist around the momentary bandaging. The whole time Draco watched her from the corner of his eye, curious to as why she was doing this after what he had done. She turned from him and took out her wand. Draco alarmed, pushed him self up hard against the desk. Whispering an incantation under her breath the scattered shards of glass began to gravitate towards her wand, twisting and turning and molding together to form the once whole jar. Once it had pulled itself together all the beans began to swirl like a tornado into the jar.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Draco finally about to muster up the guts.

"I don't know," she replied placing the jar back on Binn's desk.

"You didn't have too," said Draco bringing his knees up under his chin.

"I know," said Hermione sitting down beside him, alongside the desk.

They sat there in silence staring directly ahead, with the other unsure of what to say. Hermione massaged the cut on her head that sat directly above her left eyebrow. Draco seeing this took her hand away. He brushed her hair out of her face to reveal the cut above her eyebrow. His touch was cold, yet gentle. She flinched as he touched her cut, but the stinging disappeared as he blew softly over her cut. Slowly he leaned back against the desk. Hermione in shock touched where the cut was, but found that it was gone. Astonished she turned to Draco and found him placing his wand into his pocket. She felt compelled to say something but she was unsure about what.

"Thank you," she managed to say, Draco just shrugged and rubbed his clasped hand in reply.

"You have to tell some one," she said carefully.

"Ha" he said in a half laugh half cry. "And who would I tell?"

"I don't know, Dumbledore," she said realizing she hadn't thought through what she had said. Draco gave another short laugh.

"You still don't get it do you," he said at a fast pace. "There isn't anything you can do, it just the way it is!"

"Don't say that," she said troubled.

"What do you want me to say, that I love my father and that everything is perfect? I hate to ruin it for you but not all of us are like you!"

"Like me? What has that got to do with what I just saw!" said Hermione angrily. Draco grabbed his head in frustration.

"I don't want to talk about it!" he said gritting his teeth.

"It's a bit late for that," exclaimed Hermione " Why can't we tell someone?" questioned Hermione, she was unsure if he would answer it. His mood had changed rapidly, it was as if he was afraid to talk.

"You don't know my father, the power he has. Nothing good will come of it. People have accused him of worse and these people and problems have a habit of suddenly disappearing. You don't mess with him."

Hermione was stunned by what she had just heard. Although she often though this about Lucius Malfoy she never thought she would hear his son say it. A person until recently she though was eager to be like him and gain his approval. In a way she knew he was right. There was nothing that could be done. From what she had seen and heard about Lucius Malfoy he defiantly was not one to be on the bad side of.

"What just happened," said Draco getting up

"Yes," said Hermione following him.

"It never happened. You never saw what you saw, heard what you heard. Understand?"

Hermione nodded knowing that she would never tell anyone, knowing that it would just cause more trouble. Draco sighed from exhaustion.

"About the tutoring," said Draco mildly.

"I know," said Hermione picking up her books that were still strewn across the floor. She went to speak again but when she looked up she noticed he was gone.

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Not wanting to or unwilling to think about anything, Hermione headed back to the Gryffindor common room. To make it look more like she had been to the library she though it best to stop by there first. When she turned the corner to where the main entrance to the library was she saw Ron leaning up against the doorway.

"You said you were going to be in the Library studying," he said firmly.

"I know. I just went out to get some air" lied Hermione.

"I've been here the whole time and I never saw you"

"What's with all the questions," joked Hermione.

"Are you going to tell me where you were?" questioned Ron

"I already told you studying. Gee just because I happen to change my mind you get all suspicious," for some strange reason she really didn't feel any guilt about lying to Ron. She felt like it wasn't any of his business where she was 24 hours a day.

"I was just worried is all" said Ron defensively.

"I'm know. I'm sorry. Lets just forget about it and go and see what Harry's up too." She said trying to cheer up the stiff air that had formed between them.

"I'm sorry too for not trusting you," said Ron taking Hermione by the arm. Hermione smiled across at him. Deep down she had no desire to tell him what she knew, in a way this frightened her. She had always been able to tell them everything, but somehow everything she knew and thought she had known had changed. Nothing was anymore, as it seemed.

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