Promised Love ~ Dramione

Trust - Ch.9

Hermione hid in her room for the rest of the day. McGonagall had sent them a letter telling them they'd be getting the week off classes to socialize and become 'friendly' with their dorm mates and partners. It wasn't her main priority though. How had she been so careless? She'd barely rushed into her room after and put up a silencing charm before she burst into tears.

Not because Ron had betrayed her trust.
Not because they had seen it.

It was because of the way they treated her differently because of it. That Molly Weasley had been cautious around her all summer, never questioning her for the long sleeves she wore.

That she had caught Arthur Weasley glancing at her pitifully multiple times during his quiet conversations with his wife.

That Fred and George always checked in on her whenever she was quiet for too long.

That Lavender and Parvati always changed the subject when their conversation about war got too close to 'scars'.

It was that they treated her like she was fragile because of the scar on her arm that hurt. It was exactly the reason she didn't want anyone to know. It was bad enough that Fleur and Bill were there during the healing process. That Luna and Dean were only a few feet away when it had happened. The looks on their faces made her vow to herself that she would never utter a word about it.

And now all her dorm mates had just seen it.

She was curled up on her bed, her arms wrapped around her legs, which were pulled up to her chest. She had her head leaning back against the headboard, dried tears on her face.

She sat up straight and cleared her throat before rolling up her left sleeve. She stared down at the mark on her arm. Sometimes it still hurt. She never told anyone, she didn't want them to worry.

She'd done some research on it and couldn't find a reason. It had seemed like a regular dagger, she was sure if it had a curse on it, she would've noticed.

She closed her eyes, running her hands through her hair. Parvati and Lavender had known. The whole Weasley family had known. Seamus and Neville had known. She wondered if they had told anyone else.

She rolled down her sleeve, eyes still closed as she tilted her head up toward the canopy. Bellatrix Lestrange. That's the face she saw every time she closed her eyes. The reason she was such a light sleeper.

"I believe this beast is yours?"

Her eyes shot open and her head snapped towards the door. When had he came? She glanced down at the cage he was holding. Crookshanks. She grinned, she hadn't seen her cat in a few days, as he preferred to stay with Ginny in Gryffindor tower.

She got up and practically raced towards him. She grabbed the cage from him and went back to her bed. She placed the cage lightly on her covers before letting Crookshanks out.

She could basically hear Draco's scowl as she turned her back to him, pulling Crookshanks into her arms. "Oh, How I missed you! Has Ginny been feeding you well?" She questioned, her grin widening as Crookshanks purred in response.

"You've gone mad"

She threw a glare at him over her shoulder. "I don't believe that's any of your business"

"That thing is not staying here- not in this room"

"That thing has a name, and yes he is"

"Over my dead body-"

"That can be arranged"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "This is my room-"