Inkbound

Chapter 4

Hermione thought this must be what being under the Imperious Curse felt like. Ever since she went to Draco the other day to get the second part of her tattoo done, she had been in a daze. Determined not to go back to him, not to fall for his dark charms again, she took to wandering around the safe house like she was sleepwalking.

Both Ron and Harry were worried about her.

'Blimey, Hermione,' Ron mumbled when she accidentally added salt to his tea instead of sugar. 'Maybe you should go and have a nap? I think you've been under a lot of stress lately.'

She snapped at him in response, escaping his and Harry's concerned gaze to wander the house some more. Avoiding them, she spent the afternoon in the makeshift medical bay with Pomona Pomfrey and Padma Patil, who'd been working as her apprentice since she'd joined the Order. An afternoon spent rolling bandages, brewing potions and chatting with Padma helped distract Hermione for a few hours at least.

It didn't really make a difference though, and Harry approached her with wary eyes later that afternoon.

'Hermione, listen,' he started awkwardly, running a hand through his messy dark hair. 'I know we were going to head out together on that lead for the next Horcrux, but Ron and I were talking, and...' he trailed off, probably because of the feral snarl she failed to contain.

'Oh, you and Ron were just talking, were you,' she spat out, her hands moving to her hips of their own accord. She felt a hot flash of anger at the thought of her boyfriend and her supposed best friend discussing her behind her back, and thought she heard a crackle of magic loose in her hair.

Harry gulped and pressed on before his resolve failed him. 'We just think you need a bit of a rest, Hermione. You can stay here for this one, and then we'll go after the next one together, okay?'

No, it was most certainly not okay, Hermione thought to herself.

It ended up not mattering what Hermione thought, however, as even Remus backed up the boys and refused to let her go with them.

She was left alone, lying on the bed she shared with Ron, where she fidgeted fitfully. She could practically feel the unfinished snake tattoo slithering over her skin, burning a path as it did.

All she wanted to do was go to the ruined greenhouse and let Malfoy put his hands on her.

Instead she rolled over and snatched up the novel she had been trying to read, opening it up at the marked page and resolutely putting Draco Malfoy out of her mind.

Draco reclined on the battered chaise, this time reading a half-ruined book on wand-lore he'd found in the musty old library. He wasn't too surprised when Hermione wandered into his greenhouse later that day, a resigned expression on her face.

Draco carefully marked his place, halfway through the chapter on cores and their different characteristics, and wordlessly held his arms open to her. She collapsed into them with a loud sigh, settling back against him and staring blindly out of the greenhouse glass. Idly he let a hand stray to her ridiculously wild curls, twirling one around his fingers.

'Something on your mind?' he asked, quietly, when she didn't break the silence.

Instead of answering him, Hermione pulled away from his touch, pushing herself off the chaise and stalking over to the corner where he kept his cauldron and potion ingredients. She picked up a glass jar of lacewing flies and turned them over in her hands. She was obviously thinking hard about something, biting down on her bottom lip the way she used to back in the library at Hogwarts when she was studying.

Draco stood from the chaise as well, joining her by the cauldron. 'Tell me what's bothering you, Hermione,' he said, making no effort to soften his words.