Fascination|𝐴 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 (𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 3, 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight | River of Tears

River of Tears, by Alessia Cara

Hermione sat on the couch in the Gryffindor Common room with Draco's copy of Fantastic Beasts in her hands. Her eyes were bloodshot and red, not to mention swollen from crying so much and tears streamed down her face creating long streak marks across her cheeks. Hermione took a long, deep breath, trying to calm herself. She wiped a tear away before it could fall on the book in her hands and inhaled sharply. She'd been crying nonstop for days and it was becoming quite pathetic. Even her dorm mates were sick of Hermione's depressed behavior and constant sobbing, hence her sitting alone in the Gryffindor Common Room.

   Looking at the book in her hands, Hermione stroked it's cover, letting it a long sighed. She had tried to work up the courage to give the book back to Draco but she couldn't bring herself to approach him. She'd been avoiding him for days since the accident. If that's what you even wanted to call it. Hermione's stomach growled and she shifted uncomfortably, ignoring the growing discomfort in her stomach. She hadn't eaten in days, avoiding every meal. It wasn't exactly pleasant to be practically starving yourself just to avoid a boy but she'd dealt with it. Starving was easier than going to the Great Hall and facing him.

Draco wasn't the only person that's Hermione was avoiding. Over the last few days, Hermione refused to talk to Ron and most other students as well, including Gryffindors. She couldn't bring herself to speak to Ron. He'd only tell her that he told her so, that he called it and that he had told her Draco was no good. Hermione couldn't listen to it. That was the last thing she needed to hear. She knew that Ron probably knew that the reason she was crying was because she and draco broke up, but he didn't need to know the details. The only people she'd spoken to were Harry and Ginny, and she hadn't even told Harry what had really happened. They both promised not to mention it to Ron seeing as how she didn't want him to go about lecturing her and possibly trying to start a fight with Malfoy.

   Hermione groaned. She could hardly believe that they had been on a first name basis. Now she could hardly think of him without bursting into tears. Hermione had told Ginny everything of course, as she was her closest girl-friend. The younger redheaded girl was appalled. She had tried to come up with a reason for why he would do such a thing but after hearing the entire story Ginny could think of no excuse. She couldn't understand why Draco would do such a thing. That made two of them. Hermione knew she needed to start going out more, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything really other than mope about.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Ginny came and forced her to take a shower and get ready for lunch. She had insisted that Hermione eat a hot meal then spend at least a few hours in the library afterwards. Hermione knew that Ginny was trying to help her get over the heartache and get back into her normal routine. She figured that at least then Hermione would have a little bit of a distraction. The idea of running into Draco or him approaching her scared her out of her wits. She was worried that even the sight of him would cause her to break down, but she was trying to be strong for at least Harry and Ron's sake. They were worried sick about her and were concerned by her recent attitude.

   Hermione was grateful to Ginny for being there for her and she felt bad for excluding Harry and Ron but right now she just needed the support of another girl, and that was exactly what Ginny offered. Though her best girl-friend could be strict and made Hermione do things she wasn't necessarily in the mood for, like brushing her hair or taking a shower, Hermione knew that it was for her own good. Personal hygiene was very important, Hermione reminded herself of this. She would rather not loose all her friends to her own horrid appearance and smell. Hermione wrinkled her nose, disgusted with herself.

Ginny also had convinced her that it would do her no good to sit around and mope, but if she really wanted to get back at Draco, then she needed to go back out there with confidence. By "out there", she meant in public, preferably other than only classes. But the more Hermione dwelled on it the more she can to the fact that she didn't want to get back at Draco. Yes he'd hurt her more than he'd ever possibly know, but she still cared about him and felt no desire for revenge. Besides, it wouldn't make her feel better. In fact, it would only make her feel worse. Hermione never wanted to hurt Draco, no matter how badly he'd scared her.