A Certain Amount of Sense

Chapter 10

“Interesting,” thought Draco Malfoy as he followed Hermione down towards the dungeons. She was heading straight to the Slytherin common room, as though she knew where it was. This was getting better by the second. If he could catch her where she wasn’t allowed, it would be possible to blackmail her into doing whatever he wanted. With that thought in mind, he made sure to proceed even more stealthily than before. No need for her to know he was there before he wanted her to.

It came as a surprise, then, when instead of stopping at the entrance to his common room, she continued ahead…towards Snape’s quarters. Did she even know where she was going? What could she possibly want with Snape? It didn’t matter; soon she would be hit by the Confundus charm that intrinsically warded these halls to prevent any non-Slytherin students from finding Snape’s private rooms, and she’d become utterly lost. He grinned as another option came to mind. Perhaps he could play hero to her damsel in distress.

He waited until he knew for sure the charm had triggered. It was obvious when she began to slow down and look around in bewilderment. “Better get her now while she still hasn’t figured it out,” he thought to himself. He carefully schooled his face to show guilelessness and approached her from behind, brushing away the odd feelings of déjà vu.

***

Hermione was confused. “I was just here last night. But…but it all looks different now. There should have been a turn here, I…I think.” It didn’t help that the first time she had come this way she had been focused on making sure Malfoy wasn’t going to turn around and attack her. And last night on her way back to her room she had been not a little dazed; without thinking of which way she was going, she had found herself in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

She sighed. Perhaps she should backtrack…. She turned around and slammed straight into something hard. Not entirely hard though, and rather warm. With arms that were clutching hers. Hard.

“Oof.”

“Careful, Mudblood. You should watch where you’re going.”

“Malfoy!” she hissed.

“That’s right, Her-mi-o-ne. Why, you should be glad to see me. Feeling a little lost, are we?” Ugh, he had said her name the exact same way he had last night. How many times was this going to happen to her?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Malfoy. Now let me go!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I think you should consider being a little nicer to me now. How else are you going to find your way out of here?” As he said this, he had walked her backwards until she felt the wall behind her.

“For the last time, get off me!”

“Fine.” To her surprise, he actually let go of her but continued to stand where he was with a smirk on his face. If she wanted to move, she’d have to touch him again, if only to shove him back. She didn’t want to risk him catching hold of her hands again so she considered her options. She looked both ways down the hall but for the life of her couldn’t remember anymore which way she had come.

***

Draco could see the confusion in her eyes. Enough of playing the pouf. Any second she was going to bolt, and he wasn’t sure there was enough time for a game of cat-and-mouse before classes. He wanted her now. Time to take this to the next level.

***

Snape rounded the corner on his way to his classroom, but stopped short when he saw Draco and some little tart pressed against the wall. Really, the boy was beginning to act entirely too much like his father sometimes. His first thought was to make his presence known immediately, but then he saw a wisp of chestnut curl emerge from behind the blond boy’s head and heard a familiar voice moan “Please….” in a much throatier tone than he had ever heard before. Dear God was that why the two of them had been in this hallway last night? His initial instinct was squashed and as much as it disgusted him, the inner voyeur in him took over.

***

Hermione had been just about to run for it (she figured it didn’t really matter which way she ran, as long as she could put some distance between herself and Malfoy and perhaps get a chance to hex him while she was at it) when she felt his hands on hers again. She struggled and tried to knee him, but he took away the opportunity by slipping in between her legs with his and pinning her tightly to the wall. He brought her hands up over her head and held them there with one hand while the other one slid down her arm, the side of her breast, and then back up to hold her jaw.

“Shhhh…,” he murmured, his face so close to hers that she could smell his breath and see just how dilated his pupils were. She whimpered, but he just held her there. She could feel him all along her body: his chest pressing against hers, his outer thighs brushing her inner thighs, and most of all, she could feel him there. It was so hard and present, pushing up against her; there was no way to deny it, no way to block out what was happening to her. She watched him tip his face towards her and thought he would kiss her, but instead he continued to lower his head and brought his lips to the hollow of her throat. The hand not holding hers had moved up into her hair so she was able to turn away from him. This only bared her neck more to him, and he was starting to lick along its length. She squeezed her eyes shut. “This is not happening, this is not happening. Think, God damn it!”

“Her-mi-o-ne,” he breathed and bucked up against her with his hips. She gasped and her eyes flew open. Oh God, why did that feel so…. This was effing Malfoy for God’s sake!

“Please….” Tears splashed onto her cheeks and he moved up to lap at them with his tongue.

“Please what? What do you want, Hermione? Do you want…this?” She felt his hand slide down to cup her breast. It was a rough motion, and when he started kneading it she knew there would be bruises. He was grinding against her again and then his hand left her only to reach inside her robes and head for her waistband. Instinctively, she bucked against him, trying to avoid his hand, but it only further rubbed against his already straining erection.

“Oh gods! Hermione! Agh….” he cried suddenly, lifting his head from her and arching his back. In terror, she felt him spasm once, twice, and then grow slack. Her hands were freed, and slowly, she sank down until she was huddling herself in a fetal position, fully crying now.

***

Malfoy continued to loom over her, his forehead touching the spot on the wall she had just abandoned and his hands on either side, supporting his weight. He was still trying to catch his breath when he heard a rustle of cloth and footsteps.

“What is the meaning of this?!” It was only Snape, but speaking in a tone of voice he had never used on him before.

“Sir, I….”

“Get out of here, Malfoy, before you’re late for your first class.”

“But what about….” He gestured towards Hermione.

“I’ll take care of her. And don’t ever let me catch you doing this again in the hallways. It’s utterly demeaning. And to a Gryffindor Mudblood, nonetheless. I thought you’d have better taste, Malfoy.”

Draco gulped. “You won’t…you won’t tell Father will you?”

“If you don’t leave right this instant I just might do that.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” And he was off. No need to stick around if your father’s own lapdog was going to clean up your mess for you. He almost felt like whistling. All in all this had been a most enjoyable morning. Ugh, except he’d need to change first before going to class. There was no way he was going to walk around all day like that.

***

As soon as Malfoy was gone Severus knelt down besides the weeping girl. He wasn’t sure if she had heard all the words he had exchanged with Malfoy, but he could tell she was aware of his presence because as he drew nearer her cries grew higher pitched and she scrambled to back away from him.

“Hermione. Miss Granger, it’s all right. He’s gone. It’s only me, Professor Snape.” He ventured a hand towards her. When she didn’t flinch, he rested it on her shoulders. At the touch, her former mewls turned full-blown sobs of pain. He wasn’t sure who made the first move, but somehow her arms were thrown around his neck and she was crying into his shoulder. Great big wails of anguish. He hesitated only a moment before awkwardly wrapping his arms around her and stroking her back with one hand.

He cursed himself. He should have known she was not a willing participant in the ugly act he had witnessed. What could he have possibly been thinking? And instead of stepping in sooner, he had stood there like a randy teenaged boy and watched the bastard ravage her. Thank God it had not come to…oh God, would he have remained standing there if it had? He didn’t know. Didn’t want to know.

He riled against his helplessness. He couldn’t punish the young Malfoy, but how was he to explain that to her? How to explain to a young, no-longer-innocent-girl that her attacker would not be brought to justice by the institution she so trusted? It was completely unfair, but it was how it had to be if he wanted to continue his ruse. Damn, if only someone else could have caught them.

As it was, he needed to get the girl somewhere safe for the moment. He’d have brought her to McGonagall or even Poppy, but he was sure the hallways would be crowded at this time with his Slytherins rushing off to their first class of the day and wanted to spare Hermione any further humiliation. To his rooms it would have to be then. Gently, he lifted her up, her arms still around his neck, and carried her to his chambers. Once inside, he deliberated where to put her. His bed seemed…too closely associated with what she had just been through, but anywhere else seemed too astringent. Finally, he settled on transfiguring his sofa into more of a chaise and depositing her there. She whimpered some as she felt him leave and clung tighter to his neck.

“Miss Granger, please. I’m not going to leave you, but I need you to let go of me.”

Obediently, she unclasped her hands and laid back. He summoned some blankets from his bed and tucked them over her. Next he summoned a vial of Sleeping Potion and a goblet.

“Miss Granger, I think it would be best if you drank this. You’ve suffered a terrible ordeal and need to rest. I’ll let your teachers know that you’ve been excused from your classes today.” He poured the purple potion into the goblet and held it to her lips. She looked at it and then at him. Red and swollen as they were, her eyes were still fully expressive, and right now they were conveying such trust that it made him catch his breath. What had he done to deserve that? She maintained the eye contact as she opened her mouth and drank the full dosage. Almost immediately her eyes closed and her head fell back.

He lingered there, watching her breath a few times before rising. It was with a heavy heart that he picked up some Floo powder and threw it into the fire.

“The Headmaster’s office.”

A few seconds later Dumbledore’s head appeared in the green fire.

“Yes, Severus? What is it?”

“There’s been…a situation. Involving Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy, sir.” The old wizard’s eyes suddenly lost their twinkle and turned seriously sober.

“I see. What has happened now?”

Severus’ demeanor changed as well. “It’s that bastard, Malfoy. I caught him trying to force himself on Miss Granger. Fortunately he couldn’t control himself and spent prematurely.” The last few words were spoken very dryly. “I sent him off with a warning and brought Miss Granger to my rooms.”

“Dear God, Severus. Is she all right?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir. She was crying rather profusely, but she seemed to respond to my directions. I’ve given her a dose of Sleeping Potion so she’s currently unconscious. I thought it would be best under the circumstances.”

“Yes, yes. You were right to do as you did. I’ll contact Poppy immediately. Unfortunately there was an accident just now in the fourth year Herbology class. It seems one of the Hufflepuffs managed to douse half the class in Bubotubor pus and the hospital wing is currently full. She may need to stay in your rooms until further notice. Can you find someone to cover for you until we get Miss Granger out of your custody?”

“Of course. I’ll send the Bloody Baron. He should keep the second years terrified enough not to do anything stupid.”

“Yes, of course. And Severus? Thank you. I know this is not easy for you.” Snape found that he could only nod. The headmaster’s face disappeared and the fire returned to its normal colors.