Love Shack, Baby

A frail eighteen year old girl lay on a moldy green couch in the middle of a cheap apartment. It was a little after one in the morning and the dark room was partly illuminated by the pale, flickering glow of a television screen. The light reflected off the girl´s nearly translucent skin. She had long brown hair and empty brown eyes.

    The girl´s name was Hermione Granger, and she was dying of a broken heart.

    Hermione willed herself to get off the couch with much difficulty. Shedding her lumpy marquee of blankets she slowly shuffled to the washroom and muttered, "Lumos," in a croaky voice.

    The girl in the mirror was a stranger to Hermione. Was this the same person who graduated from Hogwarts with top honors? This girl, with dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks, couldn´t possibly have been Hermione Granger, whom everyone thought of as a strong, independent woman.

    Hermione sighed. It had been a month since Harry had moved out and left her, alone and confused. He had said he´d loved her. They had been together since sixth year at Hogwarts. When he´d rented this apartment for the both of them she took it as a sign of commitment.

Was she stupid?

    Hermione picked up a glass of water sitting on the sink and threw it into the bathtub. The smash resounded through the tiny washroom and made Hermione clutched her head in pain. In one month her life had gone to shit; one long, everlasting hangover.

    Leaning over the sink, Hermione felt her warm burst of anger ebb away, leaving the familiar numb, defeated sensation to envelope her once more.

    "Slimy, back-stabbing, bastard!" Hermione spat bitterly. "Why do I miss you so much?"

    Hermione´s head shot up suddenly as three great bangs sounded on the front door.

    "Harry?" Hermione breathed. Her heart raced as she ran to the door, almost tripping over the coffee table in her haste.

    The person banged hard on the door again, and Hermione searched frantically for her wand. She needed it to remove the charms she had placed to lock herself in.

    "Oh, where did I put it?" she hissed. "It´s Harry, I just know it is!"

    She spotted her wand sticking out of a pile of dirty laundry by the couch and she lunged for it.

    "I´m coming, Harry!" she cried, moving as she hadn´t done in a month.

    "DECARCE!" Hermione screamed at the door. As soon as her spell hit the door it blew open in a cloud of silvery smoke.

     But it wasn´t Harry Potter on the other side.

    As the smoke cleared Hermione could see a tall, thin shape in the door way.

    It was Draco Malfoy, wild-eyed and ragged, his blond hair hanging in tendrils in front of his face. He was barely able to stand as he leaned against the door frame for support.

    Hermione gasped. Malfoy raised his arm and pointed his wand at her.

    "Where´s Potter?" Draco demanded. He was breathing hard.

    "I- I don´t-" Hermione started, she took a step back. "He´s not here."

    "Liar!" Malfoy cried. "He lives here. Where is he?"

    "He moved out," Hermione whispered.

    Draco´s arm dropped lifelessly to his side. He suddenly appeared exhausted.

    "Fuck," he swore, and blacked out in Hermione´s doorway.