Halloween Mix-Up

Halloween Mix-Up

by: Tassana Burrfoot







Chapter Fourteen: Snakes\' Lair







Hermione sighed as she rested back into her chair. She closed her eyes and massaged her temple with her forefingers. She had been lucky. Zabini hadn\'t touched her skin.



How much longer was she going to have to keep this up? It felt as though the days were just dragging by, each one slower than the last. And every day, every moment, she had to watch herself. She couldn\'t touch her friends, her classmates.



Of course, it couldn\'t just stop at friends and classmates. Oh, no. She had to have a bloody teacher after her as well! Thankfully, the other teachers knew, so she didn\'t have to worry about accidentally touching Professor Flitwick, Filch, or Hagrid. In fact, those three seemed to stay far away from her.



She didn\'t blame them. Hell, she didn\'t even blame Snape. If anything, it was her own bloody fault. She read the stupid prayer out loud without first reading the fine print. How could she have been so stupid? Normally, she\'d read a book from front to back before even daring to read anything aloud.



She heard the bathroom door open, but didn\'t even bother to look. She knew Draco was there. He had asked to spend the night in the apartment and she agreed. It felt nice, having him there. While they didn\'t always agree on things, he was an intriguing person to talk to.



She felt his lips on her forehead and she smiled. "Mmm, that feels good," she commented. "I could use another one of those right here," she said, pointing to her lips.



He chuckled and happily obliged. He didn\'t linger, just a quick hello kiss. But it was enough to brighten her mood and help her to momentarily forget about her problem.



"I see you finished Vector\'s essay?" he said as he took the armchair next to hers. To his delight, the armchair went from crimson red to emerald green. "You\'ll have to remember to thank Dumbledore for these chairs. They\'re incredible."



She opened her eyes to see what he was talking about and giggled. "Oh, yes. Dumbledore told me about that little trick. Since he wasn\'t sure whether you\'d be staying here often or not, he made the armchairs able to change colour. I think he did it in case I were to \'infect\' a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff as well."



He pulled a face. "You make it sound as though you have some disease," he remarked. "It\'s not that bad."



"Oh really? Why don\'t you live with it then," she retorted. "Then again, you\'d probably like it too much."



"What\'s that supposed to mean?" he demanded indignantly.



She just shrugged. "Just what I said. Everyone knows how much of a ladies man you are. No doubt you\'d thoroughly enjoy having as many women as you can touch. Some of us have morals, you know," she stated.



The moment she said it, Hermione knew she had said too much. Draco\'s eyes narrowed and he pinched his lips in hurt. When he spoke, it was with a quiet, calm anger, "You know, Granger, I don\'t think I want to sleep in here tonight. I might be too tempted to \'have as many women as I want.\'"



As he rose from his chair, she made a move to grab his sleeve. "Draco, I didn\'t mean..."



"I know what you meant," he hissed, snatching his arm from her. "And I\'m tired of it. I\'ve done everything for you, Hermione. When are you going to see that this isn\'t some game to me? The spell just enhances feelings one already has, it doesn\'t create them. I care about you, very deeply. I know I\'ve made mistakes in the past, but this is something I\'m certain of."



He stormed to the door and picked up his book sack. Before leaving, he turned to her and said, "I can\'t wait until Valentine\'s Day comes. And I don\'t give a damn if I\'m your true love or not. If it\'s found I\'m not, I will fight him. Whoever he is. I will fight for you until I no longer breathe if I must. One of these days, Hermione Granger, you\'ll see... And that\'s not the spell talking."



And then, he left. Just like that. He opened the door and walked out of the room.



Hermione watched him go. Mixed emotions coursed through her body. A part of her wanted to go after him, to beg for his forgiveness. Another part told her to just leave him alone. A third part told her it was the spell that was talking. None of it gave her any hope.



(II) (II)



It was late. Hermione knew she shouldn\'t be out so late. But, she needed to get away. She needed to take a walk and cool herself down. Draco\'s outburst still plagued her mind.



Draco\'s outburst?!



"No doubt you\'d thoroughly enjoy having as many women as you can touch. Some of us have morals, you know."



How could she have said that to him? Thus far, he had been the most supportive, helpful person. He was a fountain of information about the gods and did everything he could for her. Anything she wanted, he made sure she got. He had been nothing but good to her. The best, honestly.



And she pushed him away.



She took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh as she leaned against the wall. What was wrong with her? She had been a bitch and there was no excuse for it. He didn\'t deserve the treatment she had given him.



Annoyed with herself, Hermione turned on her heel and began going a different route. She knew what she had to do. She had to apologize. And she knew where to find him, even if she didn\'t know how she was going to get in. Perhaps she could ask Snape...



As she entered the dungeons, she began looking for the doorway to the Slytherin common room. Harry had told her what it looked like, where it was located. It shouldn\'t be that hard to... ah ha! She found it!



But, she still didn\'t know the password. But, she knew the password to Snape\'s private chambers. She could go to him, ask him if she could speak to Draco, and then... No, she couldn\'t do that.



It was bad enough she had hurt Draco. If she were to go to Snape to ask him to speak to Draco, it would hurt him. Snape was affected by the spell, which meant that he thought himself in love with her. Finding her chasing after another guy was not something which would please him.



"Now, what is a lioness doing out on her own in the dead of night?" a venomous voice asked from the shadows.



Her eyes darted around as she whispered, "Lumos." They then narrowed when she saw the face of the voice. "Zabini. What are you doing out of your dormitory this late at night? I should dock points off of Slytherin."



His lip curled in a smirk. "Oh, believe me, Granger. When I\'m through with you, you\'ll be wishing you could do more than just \'dock off points.\'"



"What are you on about?" she demanded, though she already had a sinking feeling she knew.



His smirk only grew wider and more evil. "Come now, Granger. You\'re smarter than that. Surely you can figure it out. You\'re here, all alone, right in the heart of the snakes\' lair. It\'s not that difficult."



"Don\'t you dare come near me!" she snarled, pointing her wand at him.



He only laughed as her wand suddenly flew out of her hand. He glanced a bit beyond her and nodded. "Good catch, Nott. Up for some fun?"



Hermione wheeled around to find, not just Theodore Nott, but Crabbe, Goyle, and two other Slytherins she hadn\'t counted on. Fear crept over her like spiders over a web. She was trapped.



When she opened her mouth to scream, fear washed over her. Her voice was gone. Somehow, one of them, probably Zabini, had cast a Silencing Charm on her. Help wasn\'t coming.



Before she could stop them, they were on her like a pack of wolves. They dragged her into the Common Room and began ripping her clothes off. "You\'ll pay for what you did to me today, Granger," Zabini snarled as he unzipped his trousers. "I think I\'m going to enjoy this."



She knew what was coming and Hermione fought against it. But the boys just held her down as Zabini thrust into her. His face lit up in delight. "So, I see I\'m not the first to have been with you," he laughed. "Who was it then? Potter? Weasley? Malfoy?... Snape? Nott saw you come out of Snape\'s private chambers a few nights back. Is that what you were doing? Fucking your way to Snape\'s good side?"



The boys laughed as Zabini taunted her, thrusting into her as though she were nothing. When he came, she wanted to die. "Who\'s next?" Zabini asked as he pulled out of her. He hadn\'t been finished coming, so his seed continued to spill all over her.



Nott was next and he took her with the same greedy hunger. "You like that, don\'t you, you little slut?" the boy teased as he shoved himself into her.



Hermione bit back the tears as, one by one, the Slytherin boys took her. If only she could talk. If only she could scream! She needed Draco. Or Snape. SOMEONE!



As a seventh year shoved himself inside her, a door banged open. "What the bloody hell is going on in here?! Do any of you have a fucking clue as to what time..."



The entire room fell silent as the boys crowded her. The seventh year, Hermione didn\'t know his name, pulled out of her and turned to where the voice had come from. Hermione closed her eyes and sighed in relief. She knew who that voice belonged to.



"What are you hiding?" Draco asked as he walked down the stair from his dorm. He looked from boy to boy, but no one seemed inclined to answer. His eyes narrowed at Goyle. "Well?"



"We were having some fun," Zabini answered before Goyle could blow it. "Pansy offered herself, so we thought we\'d take plea..."



"I did not," Pansy said as she, too, walked out of her dorms. "Draco, I\'ve been in my dormitory this whole time. In fact, I was about to come out here to see what all the noise was about."



Draco sneered, "Would you like to try that again, Zabini?"



Blaise clamped his mouth shut and refused to answer. He knew what would happen if Draco found out the truth.



"It was just a slut we found," Nott said, suddenly. He shrugged it off as though it was no big deal.



Draco tilted his head to the side. "Oh, really? Let me see, then," he requested.



No one moved.



Annoyed, Draco waved his wand at the gang of Slytherins, throwing them away from their hidden "pleasure." His eyes widened in horror at what he saw. Hermione lay there, on the couch, covered in semen and blood. Her clothes were nothing but bits of rags over her body, her hair a worse mess than normal.



"Pansy, go find Snape," he ordered as he rushed to the Muggle-born\'s side.



As much as Pansy hated the Mudblood, she dare not disobey. As it was, she knew what was in store for the idiots who had done it.



Draco checked over Hermione, knowing she would have to go to Madam Pomfrey to get a full analysis. He ran his fingers over her jaw and waved the Silencing Charm away from her. "Why are you all the way down here?" he asked her, concern written on his face.



Now that she could talk, all Hermione wanted to do was cry. So, she did. She grabbed onto his shirt and sobbed. "Draco," she coughed through her tears. "I\'m so-so so-sorry. I-I-I just wa-wanted to apolo-apologize to you. Pl-please..."



"Shh. Shh," he whispered as he gathered her into his arms and rubbed her back. "It\'s alright, love. It\'s over. It\'s all over. You\'re safe now."



"They touched me," she breathed. "All six, Draco. Th-they..."



But he didn\'t hear any more. He didn\'t need to.



Just then, Snape burst into the room. His face was livid as he looked down at the mess. "Who\'s responsible for this?!" he demanded.



The boys just stared at their Head in wide-eyed fear. Pansy stood next to him with her arms folded across her chest. Draco turned to Snape. "All six of them, Professor," he replied, holding Hermione close to him. "They\'ve all... touched her. And they raped her."



"That little slut wanted it!" Zabini erupted. "I\'ve seen the way she looks at Slytherins. We just figured..."



"I will hear no more," Snape growled. "I am sending letters to your parents for your immediate removal off these grounds. I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour from my own House! Unless the headmaster disagrees, which I doubt he will, you six are all expelled. Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson, I want the two of you to help Miss Granger to the hospital wing."



As Draco and Pansy did as they were told, Snape turned back to the boys. "And if something is wrong with her, there will be charges pressed against you six. Honestly, I wouldn\'t be surprised if she and her parents decided to press charges regardless. You\'ll be lucky if you are able to dodge Azkaban."



With that, Snape followed Draco, Pansy, and Hermione out of the room.