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 next morning dawned brightly. Sun streamed in the windows and cast its golden glow throughout the dormitory. A sliver of light pierced through Hermione’s curtains and shone into her eyes. Blinking once, twice, she opened her eyes with a smile. The events of the previous evening had been melted away like the gloom of the night. There was darkness ahead, the future uncertain, especially where Draco Malfoy was concerned, but today all was well. Hermione felt surprisingly good.

Throwing open her bed curtains, Hermione spied her roommates already awake. Lavender was busily braiding Parvati’s hair as they talked in hushed, yet giggling tones. They looked up at the movement from the third bed and smiled.

“Good morning, Hermione,” Lavender called. A touch of concern softened her voice. “How are you this morning?”

Hermione took a moment to ponder the question. A smile touched her lips. “Never better,” she replied, and for the first time in months, it was true. A lot of her good cheer was because of the two girls before her, as well as Ginny and even Myrtle. It was hard to believe that she had always considered Lavender and Parvati rather flighty and shallow. Hermione felt guilty over such a judgement. The two Gryffindor witches had proved to be strong and courageous friends. Hermione couldn’t contain a chuckle.

“And what do you find so amusing, sleepyhead?” Parvati asked with a wry grin.

“I was just thinking, it was no wonder I didn’t have any friends before I learned I was a witch. If I have to be attacked and almost killed (or worse) to bond with anyone, it’s not surprising I was such an introvert.” Lavender and Parvati shared a confused look that caused Hermione to break out laughing. “Never mind,” she gasped out between large gulps of air. “I just want to thank you both so much for helping me out of a rather sticky situation last night.”

“Sticky?” Lavender exclaimed. “It was a smidgeon worse than sticky, I would say. We weren’t expecting to have to go into battle like that.”

Parvati nodded her head, but winced in pain as Lavender still held her hair tightly. She glared back at Lavender before turning to give Hermione a soft look. “Myrtle only mentioned Malfoy being there. You should have seen her. She came flying up through the floor all ghost like.”

“Scared the dickens out of me, let me tell you,” the blonde girl stated, shaking her head in exasperation.

“She seemed kind of upset.”

“There’s a surprise,” Hermione sighed, getting a chuckle from the other two. “Why was she upset this time?”

“Myrtle thought she had gotten it wrong about you and Malfoy. She was carrying on about if you and that ferret were no longer meeting, why on Earth would you be playing around with him again. Well, we knew something was amiss then.”

Snapping a band to the end of Parvati’s braid, Lavender picked up the story. “Well, you can imagine how we raced down the stairs and into the common room. We grabbed Ginny away from Dean, almost bowled over a very startled Dennis Creevey and dashed out the portrait hole. We were quite surprised to see seven Slytherins in that loo, let me say.”

“It wasn’t exactly on my agenda either,” Hermione said dourly. Draco had acted most peculiar during that bathroom brawl. One minute he was saying she belonged to him. The next there were six other boys ready to give her a poke. Did Draco like to share that much, or did he have other plans? The way he had hexed that awful Wes Craven certainly made it seem like the latter.

As if reading her thoughts, Lavender turned her bright blue eyes to Hermione. “It was quite odd when Malfoy hexed that seventh year, wasn’t it. That seemed to me to be rather foolish.”

“It was… unsettling,” Hermione said thoughtfully. The look in Draco’s eyes as he stepped over Wes and grabbed her had been very intense. His smile had even caused her stomach to do leaps. He had been so dashing and heroic. The young witch had wanted to give in and let Draco claim her then. She had felt so drawn to him. Perhaps it was a damsel-in-distress syndrome. If memory served, she had felt like that all the way back in first year when Harry had jumped onto that troll’s back. Of course, the feeling was a lot more innocent then. There had been no burning desire, only heart thumping admiration. The sensation was almost commonplace now, with Harry regularly saving the day. With Draco it was new.

Hermione shook her head in confusion. She needed to stay away from daredevilry. If her theory was true and she became infatuated with whomever it was that saved her life, she could very well fall in love with Professor Snape. A shudder ran through her body at the thought of wanting to kiss that overgrown bat. There was no way that was going to happen!

“I think I should become a librarian,” Hermione muttered. Lavender and Parvati shared another confused look. They were going to think she was batty. Chuckling lightly, Hermione waved dismissively. “Never mind. I think it’s time for breakfast.”

The three girls entered the common room and saw Ginny straight away. The red haired girl was smooching her boyfriend Dean. At the sound of giggling, the couple broke apart and looked up. Seeing Hermione smiling brightened Ginny’s face. “I’ll meet you in the Great Hall, okay Dean?”

Raising an eyebrow, Dean glanced over at the other three girls and rolled his eyes. “I’ll save you a seat,” he said good-naturedly.

“You don’t have to,” Ginny said saucily. “I’ll just sit on your knee if there are no seats available.” A large grin spread across the wizards face as he pecked his girlfriend on the lips before crossing to the portrait hole.

Turning to face the three girls, Ginny blushed slightly at the sugary “Oohhs” and “Aahhs” from her friends. Hermione stepped forward and pulled Ginny into a fierce embrace, surprising the female Weasley. “Hermione?”

Stepping back, Hermione gripped Ginny’s arms and looked her in the eyes. “Thank you, Ginny,” Hermione exclaimed emotionally. “Thank you for being such a good friend. Thank you for helping me last night.”

Seeing the heartfelt sparkle in Hermione’s eyes, Ginny’s cheeks turned pink once again. She nodded humbly. The two girls shared a tight embrace again before pulling apart. Hermione looked around the common room, noticing how empty it was. “Where are Ron and Harry? They usually wait.” a slight tremor shook her voice. The fear that the two boys knew her sordid secret suddenly crashed down upon her. Did they somehow find out about her time with Draco and abandon her?

“Oh, they were waiting,” Ginny replied with a sheepish grin. “But I sent them down for breakfast. I told them that you were a little slow this morning.”

“Slow?” the bushy haired witch asked, perplexed.

“You know, women’s troubles,” Ginny giggled.

Hermione’s mouth gaped. “Ginny! It hasn’t even been a full month since you used that excuse last time.”

“So? They’re boys. They won’t know the difference.”

“She’s probably right, Hermione,” Parvati said with an amused smile. “They are quite dense.”

“They are not!” Hermione said defensively. The other three girls gave her a queer look. Hermione blushed. “Okay, so they are that dense. It’s just you keep using that excuse. It’s embarrassing.”

“I know, Hermione,” Ginny said contritely as the girls stepped through the portrait hole and began descending the stairs. They had to stop and take another route when the flight of steps before them decided to change directions. “I have six older brothers. When I first started, I got all kinds of teasing. Can you imagine what Fred and George were like?” The other girls visibly shuddered, remembering the pranks the twins enjoyed pulling. Ginny nodded ruefully. “I got them back though.”

The smug look on the red head’s face prompted Lavender to exclaim, “Well? How did you get them back?”

“By taking the micky out of their, ahem, packages. Morning wood isn’t easy to hide in a house as crowded as the Burrow.”

“Oh my goodness!” Lavender shrieked, her cheeks colouring. “That’s so bad.” The four girls giggling followed them into the Great Hall.

Hermione’s laughter died on her lips as she spied a mass of flaming hair and a mess of unruly black hair beside it. Ron and Harry, her two best friends were chatting conspiratorially together but stopped at the sound of the girls arriving. Hermione’s heart stopped at the impassive expressions on the boy’s faces. What were they thinking? Did they care for her company anymore? It was so hard to tell, and that was a new experience for her. Over five years, she had learned to read their expressions well. Hermione hoped the skill hadn’t disappeared along with her virginity.

Harry’s eyes were hidden by the glare of the sunlight reflecting off his glasses, but his smile dispelled all the doubts raging within the witch. Ron’s smile was equally as big. “Oi! Hermione. Over here. We saved you a seat,” Ron called out. “Budge up, Neville.”

Hermione gave Ginny a bright smile before swiftly walking over to the now empty space on the bench. Before she could take a seat, Ron slid over. Hermione blushed slightly as she sat down between Ron and Harry. “Alright then, Hermione?” Ron asked with a boyish grin.

Hermione leaned into his shoulder with a playful bump. “Definitely,” she stated happily. She turned her sparkling eyes to her other friend. With another bump, Hermione brushed shoulders with Harry, but when his arm slipped around her shoulders, the young girl found herself in a sideways embrace. The two teens stayed like that, shoulders touching, for several seconds before Harry finally let go. They smiled brightly at each other.

Breakfast flew by in a flurry of playful banter and light conversation about the upcoming Quidditch match, the Christmas holiday, and Ron’s atrocious table manners. Hermione felt like the year was starting all over again. Her worries were already fading away as if they never existed.

“What’s our first class today?” Ron asked with a mouthful of food.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione tutted. “Charms, of course. I hope you remembered to review. We have a test today.” At Ron’s look of horror, the untamed mass of brown hair shook in consternation. “Honestly Ron, how do you expect to pass any NEWTs if you don’t pay attention?”

“NEWTs are next year!” Ron exclaimed.

“It’s never too early to start preparation. If you can’t even manage to remember a test now, how will you remember all the material for the NEWTs?”

Ron looked across to the silent wizard on Hermione’s right side. “Help me out here, Harry.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Harry exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t drag me into this.”

Hermione swiveled to face the green-eyed boy. “You studied, right Harry? You’re prepared.”

“Um, yeah, of course,” Harry stammered, looking everywhere but at the girl. “Completely on top of things.”

“Harry James Potter! Don’t you fib to me.”

Harry shot Ron an angry glare before his face broke out in a happy smile. He turned quickly, rising to his feet. “C’mon, let’s get going. We don’t want to be late.”

As Hermione stood, she caught sight of Draco staring angrily at her. Like a deer caught in the beams of a car’s headlights, she froze. The teen looked ready to curse her. She felt sure that he wouldn’t though. Not with any witnesses. Hermione chuckled nervously. Draco would want to get her alone. There would be a reckoning, she knew. It was only a matter of time.

Ron and Harry noticed their friend’s pause and followed her gaze. “Bloody arrogant prat,” Ron spat. “What he do, make an obscene gesture?” Ron raised his arm to perform his own gesture towards the Slytherin, but Hermione caught his hand.

“Don’t,” she said forcefully. “Just let it go.” Turning her back purposefully toward Draco, Hermione grabbed Harry’s arm also. With a deliberate tug, she began leading her friends from the Great Hall. Trying to get their minds off their rival, Hermione deftly changed the subject. “Since you both seem to be falling behind on your school work, I think we should set up a new study schedule. No doubt you haven’t been following the timetable I made in those agendas I gave you at the beginning of term, or you would have known of the test today. I think two hours a night should be fine to start…”

Ron groaned. “She’s mental, she is,” he whispered to Harry behind Hermione’s back. Nodding, Harry just smiled.

The End...?


Author\'s Note: well here it is, the final chapter to this tale. i know it ends abrupty and hermione isn\'t with anyone. that is deliberate. this was a story of self discovery. hermione went through a journey, good or bad. just remember the journey isn\'t necessarily over. i have so many ideas and some of those ideas are continuations of this story. if you\'re all patient, you might just get to see how it all goes. and i must thank you all for reviewing. especially those of you who have been around since the very beginning. your comments and well wishing really kept my spirits up when i had that mild nervous breakdown and had to split this story into three. harry\'s story is next, but after i get rid of some smaller plot bunnies i have bouncing around.

and now to the reviews...

Classic Cowboy - well, i didn\'t go much further with this story, but like i said, there is more to come. keep an eye out.

JW - i know those slytherins should be punished but there are a lot of people who, when they get raped or attacked they feel responsible and never come forward. hermione actually enjoyed her encounters with draco (for the most part) and she does feel responsible for them. it\'s something that she would just want to keep behind her. but really, would draco allow that? muahaha.

JB - sorry, no avadas or crucios this time around. but you never know what the future holds. thanks for your review.

Mercika - was that a cliffhanger? i thought it ended on a good note. anyway, i hope you liked how it ended. thanks for the reviews.

dragon34 - does draco have feellings for hermione? does draco have feelings period? you\'ll find out when i get around to telling draco\'s side of the story. stay tuned.

spaz141 - i welcome all reactions. constructive comments are always best and heavy praise is very welcome. makes the heart swell. ignorant flames are not exactly welcome, but at least i know what works and doesn\'t then. all in all, it helps me grow as a writer. i appreciate the fact that you have been around forever. i\'m very glad. you are basically on the nose about hermione coming away with that life lesson. she is her own woman and she has found that being controlled isn\'t what she wants. i hope my ending is acceptable. as for me being a man writing about a woman\'s perspective, what can i say. even though i put her in some nasty situations, i love women. hehe

Apollonia - there is only one person that is 100 % evil. but voldemort didn\'t play a part in this story. i\'m glad you liked chapter 25. it was fun (yet difficult) to write. and of course hermione is still somewhat attracted to draco. from what i\'ve read of the reviews, it seems draco is still a tasty dish for all you women. go figure.

tdk - so glad you liked it. thanks!

cdog21 - i cut it down to the wire but i managed to finish this chapter just a short time ago. happy new year to you and everyone else hehe. i\'m really glad you liked the ass kicking the girls handed out. those da meetings really come in handy. and yeah, there have been happier, more fun chapters, but they were needed i realize. every story needs some lightness to it. and darkness too. thanks for you support.

TheScarlettLetter - the story really moved you eh? that\'s awesome. thanks so much for the reviews. it seems you only read the first three chapters though. get cracking on the others. or did the fourth chapter send you packing? lol i wouldn\'t be surprised. oh well. i hope you are still with us.

deedee - sorry to disappoint you but hermione didn\'t end up with draco this time. but who knows what the future will bring. wait a minute, i know! hehe there is a reason why draco saved hermione and why hermione still felt drawn to draco. that will be covered later in another story. keep watching.

Adrienne - all in one sitting? that\'s a lot of reading. i\'m really glad you liked the story. even though harry and hermione didn\'t end up together romantically in this story, they did end up together in the end. as friends. that\'s close, right?

ddrinki4 - hehe, i had a whole lot of people worried. i would say i wrote it well then. keep you guessing, that\'s the way to write. sorry for the self congratulations there. i\'m ashamed. hehe.

Sali - i had to have the girls rescue her. throughout the story, hermione has been kind of isolated from the boys. it was the girls that stepped up. thanks for the kind words.

Leonora Christina Karlsson - wow that was a long review. but thanks so much. it\'s amazing that you care enough to write so much. the main focus on the review was dumbledore. i\'ll let you in on a little secret. i don\'t like that chapter anymore. i think it\'s still well written and i will still use it somewhere, but i\'m planning a major revision sometime in the future and that chapter will be removed. it won\'t happen for a while though. lol i\'m lazy.

AriadneElda - thanks so much for the review. and any review you send my way is wonderful. you were lucky you didn\'t have to suffer through the cliffhanger. lol others weren\'t so lucky.

mac - sorry to disappoint lol but i hope you can live with the ending just the same.

OddDoll - glad you liked it. tell me how you like the end.

Luci - thanks for the review. i appreciate the fact that you appreciate the story. or something like that. hehe.