Stolen Innocence

Chapter Sixteen

Draco and Hermione walked back to the Head's Quarters, careful to take the short cuts Hermione knew so they wouldn't attract the attention from the dinner crowd in the corridors.

Neither spoke as they walked, feeling nothing needed to be said. They walked in contentment throughout the dimly lit corridors. When they reached their common room, they entered, blinded by the bright light.

Hermione squinted her eyes, sheilding them with her hand. She turned to look at Draco and gasped. His robes were covered in a deep red fluid.

"Draco, what the hell is that?" Hermione asked, pointing to his front. Draco looked down and his eyes went wide.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing." He said, searching for his wand. He turned away from her questioning stare and opened up his book bag.

"It's not nothing, what happened?" She asked, genuinely worried.

"Nothing, it's fine." He told her, shaking it off. He took out his wand, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Was it Harry?" She questioned, imagining Harry ambushing Draco in the corridor.

"No, it's fine. Just drop it, okay?" Draco said in an annoyed voice.

"What happened to telling each other things?" Hermione remarked, a hand on her hip.

"Don't start." He warned, pointing at her.

"I'm not starting anything," She told him, holding her hands up in mock surrender. "But you were the one that said we should tell each other things." Draco let out a frustrated sigh.

"Hermione, don't."

"Don't what? Are you hiding something from me, Draco?" Hermione accused.

"It was Ron, okay?" Draco half shouted, anger evident in his voice. Hermione put a hand over her mouth.

"Oh no, Draco what did you do?" She asked, her mouth hanging open.

"We got into a little scrap, it was nothing, really." He told her.

"Draco, that's a lot of blood. What happened?" Draco bowed his head, refusing to look her in the eye.

"He said some things that pissed me off, so I hit him." He said, sitting down on the couch. Hermione sat down beside him and put an arm around him.

"Is he okay?" She asked, worried. If Draco did something, Ron would come after her for it.

"He'll be fine, he was breathing when I left him."

"WHAT!?" Hermione shouted, jumping out of her seat. "He was breathing? What condition did you leave him in?"

"What do you care?" Draco asked, looking up at her. "He's done worse to you, he deserved everything he got."

"Oh no, oh no." Hermione put her face in her hands and paced the room. "Oh no."

Draco got up and followed her around. "What? What's wrong?"

"Draco! Do you know what this means?" She told him, a scared note in her voice. Draco just gave her a confused look. "He'd going to come after me for this!"

"Why would he?" He asked. Hermione let out an impatient grunt.

"That's what he's like, don't you get it? He knows we're not exactly enemies anymore, he'll think I had something to do with it." Hermione said.

"That's dumb. I did it, not you."

"Oh, he doesn't care! According to him, everything that goes wrong is my fault!" Hermione half shouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "It was like that when we were dating and it'll be the same now. Especially since it was you." Draco cursed under his breath.

"I'm so stupid." He mumbled. Hermione snorted.

"Yes, you are." She said. Draco sat back down on the couch, but Hermione kept pacing.

"What are we gonna do?" Draco asked no one in particular.

"I don't know..." Hermione answered, equally stumped.

*

Hermione and Draco stayed up most of the night, pondering over their problem. They'd gotten nowhere and had eventually trudged off to bed, depressed and tired, not having gotten anywhere.

Draco awoke early the next morning, having not slept much at all. He was groggy and moody as he reluctantly pulled himself out of bed. He sleepily made his way into the bathroom, turning on the shower.

Still half asleep, he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the steamy shower. He let the hot water hit his pale skin, relaxing his tense muscles. He closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth, running his hands through his hair.

Draco stood in the showe for a while, just thinking. He didn't know how he could get Hermione out of this mess. He wanted to help her, after all, if anything happened to her, it would be on his shoulders. He didn't want her to get hurt, he wanted to keep her safe, but he didn't know how.

He needed to ask for help, but who? Blaise was out of the question, he couldn't help him with this. And Blaise wouldn't be too happy about helping Hermione. No one else in Slytherin would give him the time of day, they all wanted him killed for his betrayal.

McGonagall was a no, that old prude always hated him. She'd surely blow it all out of proportion and probably kick him out and throw Hermione in a safe house. He couldn't tell anyone who couldn't keep it to themselves, Hermione trusted him not to tell.

That's when a thought hit him; Snape. His godfather was still on the run from the ministry, but he'd said that Draco's owl could find him any time he was needed. And boy, he was needed now.

Draco quickly washed and stepped out of the shower. He dressed hurriedly, throwing on his recreational clothes. It was still early, so he had time to get to the Owlery before anyone else would get up.

Draco jogged the whole way to the large tower, a piece of parchent clutched in his hand. He found his owl right away and called for it. He watched his beautiful bird fly down and land gracefully on his arm. He stroked it lovingly, then handed it his letter. The bird took it in it's beak, gave a soft coo, and flew out through the open window.

Draco watched the bird fly off, keeping his fingers crossed. He just hoped it wasn't too late. He needed his godfather now, and he'd always said Draco could find him, no matter what.

Draco made his way back to the Head's Quarters, keen on catching a little more sleep before breakfast. He removed his clothes and got back into bed in only his boxers, closing his eyes to drift off to sleep. Before his head even hit the pillow, the door to his bedroom opened and someone walked in. Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione standing across the room in her pajamas.

"Yes?" He asked, wondering why she was in there.

"Can I sleep with you for a bit?" She asked in a small voice. Draco noticed that she had a scared expression on her face and it looked like she hadn't really slept all night.

"Hop in." He told her, holding up the covers and sliding over. Hermione climbed in and snuggled up to him. Draco layed back down, trying with all his might not to touch her.

"Draco?" Hermione called sleepily after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Draco asked, his eyes still closed.

"Will you hold me like you did before?" She asked. Draco smiled slightly and eagerly wrapped his arms around the trembling girl's waist, pulling her close so her back was flush against his front.

"Better?" He asked, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

"Yes, thank you." She answered, yawning. Draco let out a yawn as well and felt himself slowly drift off to sleep, feeling the happiest he'd felt in a long time.

To Be Continued...

There you all go, another quick update. Luckily for all of you, I'm going to be stuck at home for a few days. I'm having a minor surgery and will have to stay off my feet for a while, so I'll have lots of time to update my stories. Also, I've recently edited all my stories for grammar as I got yet another complaint about the spacing. There you go, not stop bugging me about it ! Anywayss, thnxx goes out to:

-Miss.Dee, happy I could make your day a little bit better. Ron did get beat up in the last chapter, but don't worry, he'll get beat up again. Hope you feel better soon, see youu Wednesdayy !

-pickles87, thnxx for the tip about Snape, it's a good idea for I stole it, hope youu don't mind. Yeah, I guess Draco should've obliviated him, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight.

-angelnomiko, glad youu liked the last one. Here's your update.

-littledragonhunter33, happyy to hear youu liked itt.

-Tjay Motou, well thanks for your opinion. Maybe it was off because they made up so fast? I don't know, let me know if you figure it out, I do like to hear people's opinions, even if it isn't praise (that's just a plus).

-Kay_Rage, I think most people want Ron to die. I myself think he deserves to be castrated and live to be 100 like that, but that's just me.

-alice, no you're not the only person who says they're short, I'll try harder to make them longer. And I know, I've been so busy I've barely had time to update what with school and all this family crap going on and now my surgery. I'll be off for a few days this week and I'll be sure to read your story, don't worry.

-littledragonhunter33, happy youu like it.

-catysmom, glad you're enjoying my story, here's your update.

I just love getting all these reviews. Keep it up, I love reading them && I reply to everyone. If I get lots of reviews, I'll update right away.

Much Love...

XXX

Xx-.k.a.y.y.-xX