The Dark Side (Unedited)

Chapter 11

They trudged through the snow until they came across Honeydukes, where everyone went inside to find something to treat their sweet tooth. She couldn't find where Draco was, so she went over to Ron who was standing by himself at the sampler table.

"Hungry again, are you?" He jumped and turned to face her with his mouth stuffed with lollies. She chuckled at his guilty face and waited for him to swallow them all.

"Oh, Mione, you've got to try this one!" They were at the table for quite a while, Ron testing out different sorts of lollies and her trying the ones he said were good. Soon her hands were so full that when he swallowed a round toffee one and said it was delicious and that she had to try it, he had to put it in her mouth for her. His hand lingered for a couple of seconds too long, and they shared a knowing look - they were both thinking of the time they had spent together as a couple. He quickly pulled his hand away and turned away awkwardly, trying to find a lolly that he hadn't tasted yet.

They both were startled when a low voice suddenly growled behind them. "Get away from her, right now." Draco snarled from under the Invisibility Cloak. Ron turned around, confused and didn't move an inch away from Hermione not realising that it was Draco. He was suddenly winded by a blow to his stomach that lifted him off the ground for a second. Hermione gasped and all of the lollies from her hands dropped to ground and rolled everywhere. The sound of them rattling along the timber floor made even more people turn to look at them, and her hands flew to her face, frightened to witness what was happening around her. When she peeked, she saw that Draco had removed the Cloak and was walking towards Ron, who was pressed against the wall in shock.

When Draco moved to attack him again, she jumped in front of him and put her hands on his chest. "Draco, calm down. He didn't mean anything by it." He just pushed her hands away and gently moved past her. "Draco, please! Don't hurt him! Calm down, Draco!" Her voice broke with fear, and a sob escaped from her throat. He raised his fist and sent it flying into Ron's face. Hermione screamed and tears sprouted from her eyes. She ran over to Ron and covered his body by wrapping her arms around him. He had hit his head on the wall and was unconscious, so she laid him on the ground. She placed her hand on his cheek and her heart hurt as she saw the blood running from his mouth. She felt a hand on her shoulder and knew it was Draco. She looked at Ron's innocent face and she felt the anger surge through her, and her hands started to shake. She stood up to face Draco, and she saw the sorrow in his eyes, but he wasn't getting away with it this time.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"How dare you touch him? Get away from me!" He tried to step closer to her, but she lunged at him and shoved him so hard that he almost fell over. "I mean it, get away from me!" She roared and people started to crowd the shop, obviously hearing them from outside. Draco still didn't move, so she went closer to him, trying to intimidate him. "Get out of my life. We are done and I never want to see you again. Got it?" He turned away from her then, but not before she caught a glimpse of the tear that thundered down his cheek. Her chest was hurting, and she wanted to run away and cry until she couldn't any longer. But when she heard Ron groan and saw that he was in pain, she snapped into her usual responsible mode. She got out her wand and knelt next to him, examining his injuries. His jaw didn't appear to be broken, but he was already getting an almighty bruise. She mentally flicked through the pages of her healing books to make sure she used the correct spell, and slowly began to heal his jaw. She checked the back of his head to see if it was alright after it's harsh meeting with the wall, but there wasn't anything that she should be worried about.

Then she took a deep breath and moved down to his stomach. She double checked and then triple checked that this spell would help the injury and not make it worse, and with a shaky hand began murmuring the spell. The black and blue colour of his skin seemed to seep into her wand as she circled it around his wound. It was such a simple procedure, but her nerves were exploding and her body was still shaking with fear that she would make a wrong move and the pained expression would return to his face. It broke her heart to see her best friend in pain because of her. Because she was so selfish that she was putting everyone through this stressful ordeal so that she could run off with the enemy. What was the point of trying to make them get along when they were never going to? As the last inch of black had turned back to the usual pale white, she noticed the tears that were running down her face.