War & Peace: HP Style

Chapter 6 – And They Say That A Hero Could Save Us

Someone told me love would all save us,
But how can that be,
Look what love gave us,
World full of killing,
And blood-spilling, that world never came.

And they say that a hero could save us,
I'm not gonna stand here and wait,
I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles,
Watch as we all fly away.

Hero - Nickelback

Sunday, October 16th
An Alcove Near the Library


Once the vial was empty, Theo placed it back in his robes. A malicious smile formed as he smirked at Greg. "Now that the business portion of our evening is out of the way, what do you say we have some fun with the mudblood?"


Hermione opened her mouth and was able to let loose a scream that had both of her attackers scrambling to cover her mouth. Theo shoved the handkerchief between her lips and yanked visciously in her hair. "It's past curfew now and no one is around to help you. I'm about to give you a preview of what will come your way when the Dark Lord decides to bring you to his encampment."

Theo scooted back so that he could seat himself on the bench and had her legs spread, his fierce grip on her thighs clamping her legs in place. The gleam in his dark eyes was terrifying and Hermione struggled as hard as she could, but to no avail. Goyle just squeezed his arms even tighter around her, practically cutting of her air supply in the process.

Theo's hands inched up her thighs, pushing her skirt up in the process. Hermione tried to gasp for air but the cloth in her mouth and Goyle's hold would not let her breath. She felt the darkness creeping in and she began to feel light headed. This was not how she wanted her life to end. Finally, though, she was too weak to continue to struggle. Before she passed out she could have sworn she heard Draco Malfoy's voice demanding that Theo and Greg let her go. But Malfoy wouldn't do that, would he?


~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Draco watched as the girl he just saved from possible rape shifted underneath his outer robe. He had come upon the scene as he was doing his prefect rounds and had immediately sprung into action at the sight of the attack. He had drawn his wand on two boys who had once been his closest friends. They had laughed, insisting that he join them in their quest to initiate Hermione into the life of being a Death Eater whore. Draco had never waivered. His arm remained poised and aimed at Theo's heart. He had told them to get up and leave. By this point, Hermione had already passed out and was slumped over in Greg's arms. Theo's hands had remained on her legs, but then he seemed to consider something. Nodding at Greg, he got up and stood so that the tip of Draco's wand was pressed directly into his chest.

Theo had stared directly into Draco's eyes and spoke so low even Goyle who had left Hermione on the bench and also stood up, could not hear him. "Your father is going to hear about this. It's blasphemy for you to stand here in defense of some stupid mudblood bitch. Lord Voldemort will hear of it as well, and your life will become forfeit. I hope the ugly cunt is worth it, Draco."

Draco had not flinched, indeed he had shown no emotion whatsoever in response to Theo's threat. He held his tongue as he watched his former friends make their way down the corridor. On one hand he was relieved they had walked away and he had not had to use his wand, but on the other there was a rage building up inside of him. Hermione was a girl they had known since they were eleven. It was not as though she was a random girl nobody knew. Draco knew her, knew that she was partly the reason he and Blaise were accepted into Dumbledore's Army, and had it not been for him, she'd have been raped, possibily murdered for his sins.

He had covered her with his outer robe, her body was cool to the touch. He considered picking her up and carrying her to Madam Pomfrey. However. he wasn't sure if she would want the entire school to know what had happened to her. He glanced at her face and saw the tell tale red of a hand print on her cheek.

"Fuck!" he swore softly and turned around, his back to Hermione. Closing his eyes, he rubbed at his temples. A headache was brewing and along with it the urge to Crucio a few former pals and anyone else involved either directly or indirectly. His thoughts raced on, and he wondered if he should somehow contact Potter. Potter was better at being a bloody hero than he could ever be.

A soft moan behind him caused him to spin around and watch as Hermione opened her eyes. "M....Malfoy? What....what happened? I remember..." Her face drained of any remaining color as images of what had so recently transpired invaded her memory. She sat up quickly and began to tremble, though Draco could see she was doing her best to hold it in. He walked towards her.

"You need to get to Madam Pomfrey, Granger. She can...." He spoke calmly.

"NO!" Hermione shouted. "No one, Draco, no one needs to know about this." She swayed and he dropped down on the bench next to her.

"Don't be a fool, Granger! You were almost raped, you need to be examined." His voice was soft, but firm, leaving no room for argument. Angrily she shoved herself away from him, turning her back towards him and covering her face with her hands. She was quiet a moment then he noticed her shoulders shake in time with her sobbing. She began to shiver unconrollably and Draco knew he had to do something to help her but he was unsure as to what.

He stood up and offered his hand out to her, "Come on, I'll take you to Potter. He'll know what to do and perhaps the Weasley girl can examine you." Hermione removed her hands from her face and stared up at him, tear tracks lining her face. When she spoke her voice was full of despair.

"The damage has already been done, Draco. Before you arrived they forced some bitter tasting potion down my throat." The tears welled up in her eyes again, and Draco turned, slamming his fist into the wall.

"Gods damn it!!" His hand swelled as he knew it would. A stone wall was not conducive to fits of anger. Almost absentmindedly he ran a healing spell on his hand, then turned to the silently weeping girl on the bench. "Hermione, you need to be examined right away. Do you feel any different? What kinds of symptoms are you having?"

Hermione ignored his question her gaze locked on a spot a little further away. He said her name again in an attempt to get her attention. Finally she turned her attention back towards him. "Nott said it was a gift from the Dark Lord. That's the vial over there," she whispered, "He must have dropped it."

Draco went to the small glass vial and picked it up. He tucked it away in his robes, he had every intention of taking it to Professor Snape in the morning. Now he had to get one stubborn Gryffindor to the hospital wing. even though she had so far refused any help. She seemed okay, but as they were both in Advanced Potions they both knew that some potions didn't show their effects right away.

"Granger, please. You need to be seen by someone who will know what to look for." he spoke quietly and Hermione stared at him curiously, her fear and anger over her own situation momentarily forgotten at Draco's use of the word please. That was something she thought she would never hear from him.

"Malfoy, listen to me. I am not going to the hospital wing. The moment I do what happened will be all over the school, and that is not something I want. I don't want anyone in authority to know. I need to help Harry defeat Voldemort and that is what I will do. You will not get in my way. As a matter of fact, hand me the vial, I will research it myself." Her small impassioned speech seemed to tire her out. And she wearily slumped her shoulders and pulled his robe tighter around her, for she was still trembling.

Draco was amazed. She had been forced to drink a potion he was sure would do something horrific to her. She had practically been raped and yet she was as defiant as ever, claiming the need to help Harry Potter was more important then herself. She was more courageous than anyone he'd ever met, but she'd die if someone didn't help her.

"Potter then."

"No, no one. Harry has enough on his shoulders, I won't add to it." The stubborn set of her chin, and the grim line of her mouth were proof of her words. He sighed. Somewhere deep inside he had known the moment he stumbled upon Theo and Greg attacking her that he would end up doing more than just making them leave her alone.

"Then you're going to have to adjust to having me around." She opened her mouth to argue, but he spoke over her. "I know how they are, Granger, I know the way they think. I can protect you. Besides, you need help figuring out what was in that potion. I'm the only one besides yourself that is capable enough to do so."

She could not argue with him when his reasoning was sound and so she didn't. Instead she surprised them both. "Fine, you can hang around me. But others will surely question why. What should we tell them?" She bit her lower lip, thinking the whole situation through in true Hermione fashion.

"Why tell them anything? After tonight my father will know without a doubt which side I am fighting for. That is all anyone needs to know. As for Potter and company, tell them I'm helping you research. Let's get you to the Head Dorms, I'm sure Boot is wondering where you are."

"Didn't anyone tell you, Malfoy? The Heads aren't sharing a dorm this year. We have our own private living spaces. Mine is up near Gryffindor Tower." Draco kept his surprise in check. What was Dumbledore thinking, keeping the number one Muggleborn on Voldemort's list separated from even her friends? He held his hand out to her and was oddly gratified that she trusted him enough to place her hand in his so he could help her stand. Her legs were still shaky from the attack and so Draco adjusted his robes around her and wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. Neither realized that something had begun between them.


Authors Note

So so so sorry for waiting so long....real life definitley got in the way.....kids were sick, I was sick, some other issues, but hopefully I can focus more on this story now.


margaritama - I can't really say much without giving away the plot.....I hope enjoyed the chapter though! =) And I agree Ginny does feel forced, I honestly feel that Luna and Harry have a lot more in common.

Dreamweaver - Harry is too preoccupied elsewhere to spare a thought for who's interested in Ginny. He counts her and Neville as two who will always help him do the right thing with out question, unlike Ron....LOL. Though Ron and Michael are being immature i suspect one or both might eventually come around.

Yup Harry and Luna =) as I said before to Margaritama, i agree with her statement that Ginny feels forced. We really don't get to know her too much in the books. I like her, and sometimes I do pair her with Harry but for this story Harry needs somebody else, and that turned out to be Luna.

As for the rest, I hope you got some answers, and I'm sure you'll have more questions!

HarryGinny4eva - As amusing as your description of events was, I am sure you see that things turned out a bit differently. I hope it didn't disappointment too much ;) Thank you so much for the compliments on my writing. I enjoy your characterizations as well (as you already know) and hopefully now that real life as sort of settled for now I can update with more regularity! Hugs to you!!!!

mem mem - Thank you!! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter!