The Subjugation of Hermione Granger

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe and all the characters are property of J.K. Rowling and whomever else has a finger in the huge franchise. I do not. I make no money nor do I claim any ownership of the people, places, and things (unless I make them up as we go). It is only to have some fun do I write this story, in hopes of some entertainment.

The common room was empty when Harry, Hermione and Ron entered. The fire flickered invitingly in the hearth and the room was subdued and tranquil. For the longest time, the Gryffindor common room had been anything but peaceful. With the three friends at odds with one another, the cozy room had taken on a depressing atmosphere. The couches and chairs didn\'t seem as comfortable. The fire wasn\'t as warm.

Now, Hermione didn\'t want to leave to go to bed.

\"Come on,\" Hermione urged her two friends. \"Let\'s sit in front of the fire.\" Like before, the young witch thought with a twinge of sadness. How many months did they waste? How many days could they have been having fun and laughing? All she wanted now was to make sure the three of them stayed friends. There was a long way to go before they found their way back to the level of comfort they had at the beginning of the year though.

\"Alright,\" Harry replied with a nod. He flopped down into a large armchair and stared off into the fire. It was hypnotic. The dancing flames licked the air and sent warmth blowing over his face. The crackling of the wood was like a soft melody.

Hermione frowned slightly at Harry\'s choice of seats. The big armchair was usually Ron\'s seat of choice. Harry usually took the left end of the chesterfield and Hermione the right. Now it appeared they were playing musical chairs, with Ron taking over Hermione\'s old spot and Hermione sitting at the left side of the sofa. This just proved that there was still a ways to go before things were completely set between them. At least Harry was facing them, his legs dangling over one arm of the chair, his head on the other.

\"I can\'t believe that Malfoy,\" Ron exclaimed. \"What was he thinking?\"

\"Don\'t even think on it Ron,\" Hermione said cautiously. \"He\'s just a bully after all. Anything to put sody ddy down and make himself feel big, that\'s all it is to him.\"

\"Has he been giving you trouble all term, Hermione?\" Harry asked, his voice ladened with guilt.

Hermione looked into the fire with a small frown. \"Well, that wasn\'t the first time he\'s cornered me in the halls, but like I said to Ron, don\'t even think on it.\"

\"How can I not think about it?\" Harry commented in shock. \"He had you up against the wall tonight. I hate to think what might have happened if Ron and I hadn\'t come along when we did.\"

\"We seem to have a knack for showing up at the right time,\" Ron said happily.

Hermione didn\'t correct Ron. They may have shown up a couple times when she needed them, but where were they the night Draco had raped her? Where were they every other time Draco had put her under the Imperius Curse? It would do no good to point that out. It wasn\'t their fault. They didn\'t need to know. \"My heroes,\" Hermione said with a slightly sarcastic tone that neither boy picked up on.

Harry smiled at Hermione. It was the first really genuine smile she had seen directed her way for months. Her heart fluttered. \"Harry has the sweetest smile,\" she thought dreamily.

\"Hey Harry,\" Ron called over. \"Want to play exploding snap or wizard\'s chess?\"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Hermione turned her head towards the red haired teen. \"Really Ron, isn\'t it a bit late for that?\"

\"Isn\'t it a bit late for us to be up at all?\" Ron shot back.

\"Well we could go to bed then,\" Harry said matter of factly.

All three teens looked at each other. After a moment of contemplation they shook their heads and together said \"Nah.\"

\"I’m not very sleepy,\" Harry said standing up. He stretched and his back cracked loudly. Hermione winced at the sound. \"Fancy going for a walk?\"

\"Ugh!\" Ron groaned. \"I don\'t want to move.\"

\"Well we could do something constructive then,\" Hermione suggested.

\"If you say we should do our homework, I won\'t talk to you again,\" Ron joked.

Scowling at the red head, Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. She didn\'t say anything.

\"Budge up Hermione,\" Harry said, making the girl move out of his usual spot. She smiled brightly as Harry sat down beside her and then turned to beam at Ron. He forced a smile but then yawned, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. \"We could just sit here and stare into the fire all night,\" Harry commented as his eyes followed the glowing flames.

\"Just so long as we agree on one thing,\" Hermione said timidly.

\"What\'s that?\" Ron asked.

\"Let\'s promise to stay friends, no matter what.\"

Harry turned his head to the right. Ron turhis his head to the left. Hermione blushed as both boys looked at her. With a shrug of the shoulders, Ron agreed. Hermione and Ron turned to Harry. He was looking into the fire, deep in thought. Hermione had the disquieting feeling that all was not going to be fine with the raven haired teen. It was as if he was trying to sort out his future in this moment. In this instant, he was going to decide the course os lis life.

Harry turned to look at Ron and then Hermione. Their eyes locked and she saw sadness in the green depths of his eyes. Her heart fluttered in fear. \"Alright,\" Harry finally said. His voice was flat, monotonous. \"Friends. No matter what.\"

Hermione let out a huge sigh. She hadn\'t realized that she had been holding her breath. She smiled brightly at Harry and then fell back into the soft cushions of the chesterfield. With heavy eyes, she looked into the fire. \"There\'s a Hogsmeade weekend coming up,\" Hermione mentioned. \"It\'ll be nice to spend the day with you two. What do you reckon we should do?\"

\"Dunno,\" Harry muttered lazily. Hermione could hear the yawn in his voice. \"We\'ve done just near everything. Zonko\'s is always good for a laugh.\"

\"Honeydukes,\" Ron said with a yawn. His eyes were closed, his chin rested on his chest. \"We gotta go to Honeydukes.\"

Hermione giggled. \"Oh right. We can\'t forget about Ron\'s sweets.\"

\"Of course not,\" Harry murmured.

Hermione glanced over and noticed his eyes were closed too. It was only a matter of time before both boys were fast asleep. The responsible thing to do would be to go to bed. They needed to shuffle up to their dormitories and climb into their warm comfortable beds and get some sleep before classes. They would need their sleep to make it through potions in the morning. Professor Snape wouldn\'t go easy on them if they came to class exhausted. In fact, the teacher would most likely drive them that much harder. Hermione couldn\'t bring herself to move though. The three teens were finally on good terms again and it felt good to be sitting there with them. It felt good to have the boys on either side of her. She watched the flames dance in the hearth and after a while her eyes drifted shut also.

The morning came, as it usually does, all too swiftly. Sun shone in through the high windows and washed over the three teens with warmth. Hermione squeezed her eyes tight, not wanting to wake up. She felt content for the first time in a long while and wanted it to last. Her neck felt stiff but she could live with that.

Hermione opened her eyes in confusion. Why was her neck sore? And why wasn\'t she in bed? Opening her eyes in alarm, the young witch looked into the clean fireplace. The ash was gone and three clean logs sat on the metal rack inside, ready to be lit. The previous night replayed over in her memory and she let a small smile grace her lips.

Her head rested on Harry\'s shoulder and his arm was around her. Slowly, Hermione looked up at her friend and smiled affectionately as she noticed his glasses were askew. Turning, she looked over to Ron and shook her head in amusement as he was reclining at the end of the couch with his feet on her lap.

Giggling caught Hermione\'s attention and she peered over the back of the chesterfield and saw Lavender and Parvati whispering. When they noticed the young bushy haired witch awake they stepped closer.

\"Made up have you?\" Parvati commented in a hushed tone. \"How very sweet.\"

Smiling broadly, Hermione whispered back, \"It appears so.\"

\"You really should be more discreet Hermione,\" Lavender giggled, indicating with a wave, Harry, Ron, and Hermione\'s sleeping arrangement. \"People will talk.\"

\"Well if they do, you can set them straight,\" Hermione said pointedly. Lavender just grinned broadly. Hermione rolled her eyes.

\"Are you coming down to breakfast?\" Parvati asked.

\"Breakfast?\" Ron stammered, his eyes flying open. His feet lifted a couple inches from Hermione\'s legs as he tried to sit up, but then fell back down when the strength wasn\'t forthcoming. \"Ugh. Oi Lavender, how about bringing back some toast for me?\"

\"I don’t think so Ron,\" the blonde exclaimed, affronted. \"I\'m not your Mum.\"

Ron shuddered. \"Thank Merlin for that. I\'d be in therapy for the rest of my life.\" Giving Lavender a wink, to which she blushed, Ron finally managed to sit up. He stepped over to Lavender and put his arm around her shoulders. Giving her an affectionate squeeze, he asked, “Now why wouldn’t you get me some toast?” With a wave over his shoulder to Hermione, Ron disappeared with the two girls.

Turning to Harry, Hermione smiled wistfully at the sleeping teen. She hated to wake him, but she didn’t want to be late for Potions again. She wanted the two of them to be on time and sitting quietly in their seats so Professor Snape had no excuse to separate them. She doubted Draco would put her under the Imperius Curse today, but she didn’t want to have to put up with his snide comments and insults.

“Harry,” she urged softly, shaking the teen’s shoulder. “Wake up.”

Slowly, Harry’s eyes fluttered open. As his sleepy eyes turned towards her, Hermione thought how nice it was to see him first thing in the morning. She wanted him to be the first thing she saw upon waking, with his tussled black hair and brilliant green eyes. A smile crossed his lips and the young woman thought it was the nicest smile she had ever seen. The urge to lean forward and press her lips to his tugged at her heart, but she fought it. Kissing Harry would just reopen the hurt and heartache that they were trying to mend. It was better if they took it slow. Hermione didn’t want to push Harry into something that he wasn’t ready for. Not again.

“Morning,” Harry murmured. He brought his hand up to rub at his eyes and bumped his glasses. With a sigh of frustration, he took them off, rubbed his tired eyes, and then replaced his glasses on his nose.

Hermione jumped off the couch and pulled Harry up. “It’s breakfast time. Then Potions.”

Harry groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

Harry and Hermione entered Potions class with the rest of the students and were at their seats when Professor Snape swept into the room, his robes billowing behind him. He cast a withering glare at Harry, at the teen’s impertinence for being on time and quiet. The teacher obviously wanted to reprimand him again.

Snape swept up to the blackboard and flipped it over, the instructions for that lesson\'s project on the other side. The Potions professor leveled his hard stare on the students and looked down his hawkish nose. “You will be brewing a calming draught for today. If prepared properly, the person who drinks the potion will feel quite relaxed and any stress he or she was feeling will vanish. Don’t be fooled by the name however. If prepared improperly, grave consequences will be had.“ Snape let a cold smile climb his lips. He turned his dark eyes to Harry. \"You will be testing your draught on your partners, so I suggest you pay attention.\"

There were a few gasps from the students. Hermione saw the small smirk crack the professor’s lips as he glanced around the room. Casting a fretful look at Harry, Hermione bit her lower lip. She hoped the professor stayed behind his desk and didn’t wander. He could be quite distracting at times. Especially for Harry. Speaking of distracting, Hermione looked over her shoulder to the back of the class. Draco was copying the instructions onto his parchment diligently, but he saw Hermione looking his way. With a self serving sneer, Draco winked at her. With a slight gasp and her face reddening, Hermione quickly turned around.

“Ignore him Hermione,” Harry said through his teeth. “Don’t let him get to you.”

Hermione shook her head ruefully. If Harry only knew how much Draco had gotten to her. She leaned over his arm and scanned his notes, trying to make sure he had copied the instructions correctly.

He turned to look at her. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to poison you.”

She snapped her head up to look at Harry in the eyes. “I never…”

“I know,” Harry replied with a chuckle. “But I’m not the best student in here. I can understand you being a bit worried.”

“Oh Harry, I trust you.” The two friends shared a comforting smile.

Harry grimaced and clamped his hand over his scar.

A deafening wail filled the room. Every student covered their ears with their hands. Harry jumped from his seat, knocking it back as he tried to protect his ears as well as block out the stabbing pain in his forehead. Hermione clutched at his sleeve as Professor Snape flew to the door and pulled it wide. Sticking his head out into the corridor, he whipped back inside and slammed the door. With a flick of his wand, the door was locked and the alarm cut off.

“Thank Merlin,” Hermione muttered as the echo of the ringing still danced in her head.

Professor Snape hastened to the ingredients supply closet and flung open the door. \"Quickly, everyone through here.\"

\"What\'s going on?\" Harry asked even as he winced in pain. His hand was pressed tightly to his forehead, the other held onto his wand.

\"Hogwarts is under attack,\" Snape commented dryly. \"Now, for once Mister Potter, do as you are told and get through here before the Death Eaters break through that door.\"

Some of the girls screamed then as the class jumped to their collective feet and scrambled to the storage closet. Harry held back. Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled. “Come on Harry,” she pleaded, her voice tinged with panic.

Snape glided over to him, grabbed the front of Harry’s robe and drew him up to face him. “For once Potter, listen. Hogwarts is being attacked by Death Eaters. The are most likely after you. Do everyone a favour and get into that storage cupboard.” Harry meant to protest some more, but Snape snarled viciously. “If you don’t go, I will hex you and Miss Granger can carry you into that cupboard. Now Go!”

Reluctantly, Harry followed Hermione and Professor Snape closed the door and locked it. There was little light and Hermione bumped into some of the other students. Her hand clung to Harry’s tightly. Once their eyes adjusted to the dimness, they saw that the room was much larger than it seemed. There were shelves arranged much like a library but held vials and jars of everything imaginable that could be used in mixing potions instead.

“I don’t like this,” Harry whispered. “We’re sitting ducks here.”

“Harry, Professor Snape wouldn’t hide us here if he didn’t think it was safe.”

The black haired teen looked over Hermione’s head and scowled at Draco. “Voldemort knows I’m here Hermione. Somebody would have told him what class I was in. Everyone here is in danger because of me. Maybe if I’m out there I can lead them away from you and everyone else.”

“Hey Potter,” Draco called out. “Do you want out so badly? I may be able to help you.” The blonde teen tapped the wall, reminiscent of the bricks behind the Leaky Cauldron, and it shifted and flowed like water, creating a hole big enough for a person to step through. The Slytherin smiled sanctimoniously.

“Harry, no!” Hermione gasped as he poked his head out the hole.

“Let him go Granger,” Draco said silkily. “I’ll protect you.”

“Shut up Malfoy,” Harry ordered. He turned to Hermione. “I have to go.”

“Then I’m going with you.”

“No you aren’t.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Hermione looked squarely at her friend. “If I can’t stop you from leaving the safety of this cupboard then I’m going with you to keep you safe.”

Panic swept into Harry’s eyes. “Remember what happened at the Ministry of Magic Hermione. You almost… I can’t let you do that again. I… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”

“Then stay h” He” Hermione begged. “Stay here with me, please.”

“I can’t,” Harry said sadly. He stepped through the hole and looked back. “Close the hole, Malfoy.”

“No!” Hermione yelled. She raced to the hole and began to climb through. She was stopped by Draco’s hand on her arm. “Let go Malfoy.”

“He doesn’t want you Granger,” Draco said quickly, hissing through his teeth. “You should stay. You don’t want to get hurt, now do you?”

“As long as I’m with Harry, I’ll be fine.”

“Apparently not. What was Potter saying about the Ministry? You almost died? Doesn’t sound like he protected you very well then. Why would you risk your life for someone like him?

“You don’t understand the meaning of friendship Malfoy.”

“Is it friendship Granger, or something else?” Draco asked guardedly.

Hermione looked hard into Draco’s grey eyes. “I won’t let Harry go alone. If I have to die by his side keeping him safe, then so be it.”

Stunned by her words, Draco’s grip on her arm slipped. She jumped through the hole in the wall and ran off down the hall after Harry. Draco scowled as he slipped back into the shadows of the supply cupboard.

Hermione dashed down the corridor and grabbed Harry’s arm. He turned back and smiled lightly at her, giving her hand a squeeze. Breathing heavily, her heart pounding in her chest, Hermione drew her wand and smiled in return. She was ready. The young witch was going to protect her friend, no matter what.

Shouts and blasts of magic echoed along the corridor, the din frightening in its intensity. Hermione could feel the fear tighten in her belly at the prospect of facing more Death Eaters. She had almost died the last time she had faced them. Turning to look at the determined face of Harry, she thought of all they had gone through together. A calm washed over her, settling the turmoil in her stomach and erasing the doubts she had about facing the evil up ahead. As long as Harry was beside her, she would be all right. With hands clasped together, the two teens took a steadying breath and then turned the corner and ran towards the magic.


Author\'s Note: i\'m very sensitive to reviews. i do listen. so when i get a review that isn\'t necessarily raving, i take notice. it\'s not that i get hurt feelings or anything, but i think how my story is progressing a bit more closely. i\'m saying this because i recently got a review (for \"To Be Or To Be Nott\") that made me question my portrayal of harry. the reviewer mentioned that harry seemed to be pining for whomever he had slept with. from what i had written before i could see that view. with the chapters pertaining to harry\'s story out of this one, and a few touches here and there, i hope that pining is gone. it was never my intention to make harry seem so weak. also, when i get to harry\'s own story i hope to delve deeper into harry\'s feelings and thoughts and i hope that will shed some light on his \'pining\'. anyway, that was an editorial brought to you be quackerjacks. there\'s a quack in every box. now, on to the reviews.

star - you think it\'s obvious that they like each other? oh no! where did i go wrong? they, um, really don\'t like each other. it\'s all a ruse. don\'t look at that duck behind the curtain...

spaz141 - thanks for your sympathies. it was a blow to the muse. you can only imagine how agonizing it was to desperately try to retrieve my lost chapters from a blank disk. sigh. rewriting was a bitch too. i went off topic and just kept rambling. i hated what i wrote after. i think i\'ve learned from my mistake though. i now have all the chapters on my hard drive and a seperate disk for each story. hermione has a disk, theodore has a disk and harry and ron are sharing a disk at the moment. hopefully that will be enough. as for hope, hope is good, but if you know me kno know i like to throw cuballballs at the characters. keep reading. muahahaha.

keys - i\'m glad you like the story. what about my portrayal of draco? is it any good? don\'t get discouraged about draco getting the shaft this chapter. he isn\'t through yet. he wouldn\'t give up that easily would he?

Classic Cowboy - you really think i would throw a wrench their way? lol. sorry for the lack of smut recently. you\'ll have to wait a bit longer too. there won\'t be any smuttiness next chapter either. the next though...

Miki - hmmm, no lies eh? hufflepuff for sure. harry is very hormonal. that is a great way to describe him. i have to wonder about your state of mind though. how can draco be considered sexy? he\'s a nasty guy. i don\'t think there is one chapter where i\'ve written him in a good light. some of you people surprise me. lol. consensual rape? isn\'t that an oxymoron?

SloppyHermione - a snapping harry eh? it might make a good bit of tension between everyone. i\'ll tell you what, i\'ll keep it in mind. i\'ve always thought harry was rather calm and reserved. hehe. he would never fly off the handle like that.

aramis - sorry for the short chapters. if i go on too long i get antsy about finding the ending. i try to keep the chapters modest in length. that way i can get them posted faster (that is, when the site works) i\'m glad you liked the chapter. how\'s the rest of the story?

Dr. Huff-Puff - yeah, hopefully i\'ve learned my lesson too. no more one disk saving for me. as for draco being afraid of harry, he was. i\'ve researched this, in the books and especially the movies, draco acts all tough but in the end he\'s just a scared little boy. i\'m trying to incorporate that quirk into the story. plus he was stunned that harry hit him. having your nose broken is a shocker. as for the no wand use by any of them, well draco was stunned (as mentioned) and harry was just so furious that he didn\'t even think. i thought it would be more primal and teenagery. since harry grew up in muggle land and got beaten up by dudley all those years i think he would just act back like that. as for ron clenching his wand, that was before he took harry\'s and hermione\'s wands. Ron\'s from a wizard family, so his instinct would be to reach for his wand. he just didn\'t have the time to hex draco before harry punched him. hope that sheds some light on your questions.nks nks for the review. :-)

traydr vic - you\'re really getting the idea of the story now. that\'s so great. you should go back and read your reviews and see the progression in your attitude. it\'s amazing. i knew that punch would make your day. hehe. i thought it might last longer (the smacking around of draco) but it wasn\'t meant to be. draco had to get to detention. lol. and you\'re right about udating my other story first. i\'m on a biweekly schedule for my stories (for the most part). next week will be TBOTBN and then back here the week after and then back to TBOTBN and... well you get the idea. i\'m going to try to do that for the remainder of the story. is that reasonable to you?