The Abuser

Jealous

Out with the reason, in with the season, taking down names in my book of jealousy. Jealousy.

- Who We Are by Imagine Dragons

............

I blink as sunlight falls across my bed. Thank God it's the holidays! I think, because I'll bet it's past noon. I have good reason for sleeping in, however, as Draco and I didn't retreat from the Astronomy Tower until quarter past three this morning. I sigh and stretch luxuriously. I still feel like I have butterflies fluttering around inside of me. Sitting up in bed, I look down at my chest, and-

"What the hell?!"

While I was sleeping, someone must have cut the entire front of my night-gown away, exposing my simple green bra. I jump up and run to the bathroom to change into something decent. None of my roommates are still in bed, but if they were... I'll bet Pansy did this! I'm going to kill her. She's such a cow!

I look into the large mirror and give an involuntary gasp. Inked over my entire face, neck, chest, hands, and legs are hundreds of dirty words and degrading comments. "Scarlet Woman" is scrawled in large letters across my left arm, and my forehead bears the charming insignia "HOOKER". I try to rub "Tramp" off of my cheek, but to no avail.

The marks fade a bit in the bath, but are all still clearly readable. "What kind of ink did she use?" I mutter under my breath as I put my jeans on. I wear a long-sleeved flannel shirt with a collar which covers most of the words, unfortunately however, my face remains distinctly readable. I settle for brushing my hair across my forehead in bangs, therefore hiding most of "HOOKER", and turn back to survey the dormitory.

My body clearly isn't the only thing that Pansy has attempted to demolish, as I see that my wardrobe has been gutted and a vast majority of my clothes lay on the ground; some burned, others cut into pieces. My ball gown sprawls across her bed, shredded almost unrecognizably. That's it. My clothes I can replace, but that dress was my mother's!

Fuming, I march over to Pansy's violently pink boudoir and proceed to smash her vast collection of perfumes. In no time at all, the entire dorm reeks of Pansy's "sultry scent".

I'm not an overly violent person and I can keep a cool head, but I believe that there are times when people deserve to get payed back. Just one of the many reasons I'm in Slytherin, I suppose as I write on her mirror in lipstick, crossing out her inscription of "Mrs. Pansy Malfoy".

I stand back and observe my work. I feel a bit guilty, but to be honest, she was practically begging for it! For a final touch, I pull her own pink ball gown from her dresser, laying it on the floor.

"Incendio!" I yell, aiming my wand. It bursts into flames and after I stomp the fire out, I rub my fingers over the charged fabric.

I strip her magenta covers from her bed and using the soot on my hands, write "JEALOUS" in large letters over her pale pink sheets.

...

"So...you and Malfoy, huh?" Harry says suddenly from behind me, causing me to start and spill my pumpkin juice.

I look questioningly at him as he helps me clean it up. "How do you know? It was only last night! You're- you're not mad...are you?"

He smiles, albeit rather sadly. "Of course I'm not angry. I always knew that you liked him. I mean, you couldn't tear your eyes off of him last year."

"Well, you certainly realized that before I did!" I interject before he continues.

"Everyone knows by now, Pansy was just here, wining about it at the top of her lungs. Besides, the eyes and ears at Hogwarts..."

"...Never Sleep!" I finish with a bit of a laugh.

He sits beside me, helping himself to some breakfast. "Look, whatever choices you make, just know that I'll always be your friend and you can tell me anything. I don't care, exactly, if you're with Malfoy, but please be careful!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you know Malfoy. He's- he's just a bit... all I'm saying is that take care. If he hurts you or anything like that, stand up for yourself. He doesn't have power over you all of a sudden, even if he thinks that he does. Just know that if I catch wind of him abusing you in any way at all, Ron and I will beat him till he never sees the light of day again and Hermione will make sure to hex his ass off." His tone takes on a sudden vehemence that startles me a bit.

"Of course! But I'm not worried...we love each other. The adjustment will be big, but I have confidence that our relationship will stay strong." I say a bit falteringly. Draco wouldn't keep hurting me now...would he?

Harry manages a grin and says goodbye, before hurrying over to the Gryffindor table. He keeps his voice cheery, but I can tell that it's an effort.

I sigh, resting my arms on the table. Dear God, don't let this romance ruin my friendship with Harry, Ron, and Hermione!

...

"Ha! You go, Potter!" Draco flashes his Potter Stinks badge at Harry from across the stadium.

I give him a quelling look. "Draco, I get that you two hate each other, but for my sake, please!"

"Someday Hazel, someday, you are going to have to choose..." he mutters darkly, but takes his seat next to me just the same.

I laugh and put my hand on his knee. "Don't be silly! Who do you think will win?"

"Anybody but Potter." He says lightly, swooping in for a quick kiss.

The wind rustles our hair as we sit in the vast stadium over looing the lake. Harry stands up to his waist in the dark water, looking rather lost.

It'll be two months as of tomorrow that Draco and I have been dating and I'm pleased to say that we haven't had a serious fight yet. True, I've had to whip him into shape a bit and I've made it clear that I won't join in any laughs about the Golden Trio. On the whole, however, our relationship is everything that I could have dreamed.

Harry and I have drifted apart, mostly due to his stress over the Tournament and Ron is ignoring me, but Hermione and I remain as close as ever. She's not thrilled about Draco and I, but she is willing to put her personal prejudices aside for the sake of our friendship.

Draco laughs a bit as Harry wades deeper into the lake, almost slipping on the slippery sand and rocks.

"I think that Harry may actually have the best chance. I mean, he tied for first in the First Task." Seeing his tense frown, I relent. "Let's talk about something else. I have a feeling that this Task is going to be rather dull for us."

He smirks and stands up, pulling me with him. "Who says that we have to stick around for the entire hour?"

I blush. "Um...the teachers?" I giggle as he leads me along the narrow walk way between the bench-like seats.

"I don't recall any rules like that." We race down the steps and out of the stadium.

"Fine, you win. Where to now?" I say resignedly, as he leads me away from the lake.

"Let's go to the astronomy tower again. We'll still have a nice view of the Stadium, but... we'll be alone." He winks and I gently shove him on the chest.

After the long climb to the tower, we fall panting into each other's arms, reclining against the parapets as we look over the black water of the distant lake.

"Remember when you told me to burn in hell, back in our first year?" He whispers as he stokes my hair. "Did you really mean it?"

"At the time, yes. Oh yes!" I laugh. "I'm sorry I was so rude."

"It's not you who has to be apologetic. Sometimes, I'm sure that I'll just mess everything up again...and then what we have will be destroyed. I- I don't ever want that to happen."

I'm silent for a while, staring blankly down at the stadium. Eventually, I turn and rest my hands against his chest. "I love you, Draco. It's going to take a lot more than a mistake to steal my feelings for you. Don't you forget that, either."