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

Chapter Thirty | Stronger

Stronger, by Kelly Clarkson

There he was. Standing there, waiting to watch the "show", or so he called it. Hermione breathed heavily, her emotions running rampid. But the strongest emotion, the emotion that took over all others was anger. Pure unbridled anger. Hermione stormed down the hill towards Malfoy with her wand raised. She wanted to hex him right then and there. Ron stepped in her way but she pushed him out of her path. She could hear Ron and Harry's footsteps close behind and Ron called out to her. "Hermione, no! He's not worth it!" But Hermione didn't care. She was going to make him pay for this! For causing the poor hippogriff to be sentenced to death, for leading her on, and for that snide comment he'd just made at Harry. How dare he make fun of the poor animals death!

She was filled with so much anger and rage that she pulled her wand out and pointed it directly at Malfoy's head. Hermione had let him get away with hurting her, manipulating her, and breaking her heart but when he put the life of an innocent animal in danger and sentence of death, she would not stand by helplessly. She would stand up for what was right and fight back. No longer would she control her emotions.

Draco's actions had been feeding the flame, all she had to do was let it roar. She wanted to hit him where it hurt. Hermione had never felt this way before. Even when he had broke her heart, she never wanted to hurt him. Revenge had crossed her mind she would not deny, but she'd never felt the want to get him back for what he'd done. But now? Hermione felt the overwhelming urge to hurt him. She wanted to get revenge for what he did to her, to her friends, and to Buckbeak. 

   When Hermione reached Malfoy, she pointed her wand at his throat, so close it was pressed against the skin on his neck. She watched as he whimpered, and his minions backed away, frightened by her sudden burst of anger. They knew what she was capable and so did Draco. But more importantly, she knew what she was capable of. Her anger was blinding her and all she could see was the face of the boy who hurt her. Who stole her affection, her kisses, and her heart then threw them away. And she hated him for it. Hermione realized that she had never truly hated anyone before. Until now. What she felt for Draco was real hate. She would never forgive him and she would never ever go back to him.

But as she racked her her mind for a spell to use on him she saw something enter his eyes. Pain. True, real pain. It was evident on his face. Draco looked as if he were truly broken. Hermione sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for her to cause him physical pain. He actually believed that she was going to hurt him and he wasn't fighting back. Why? Well up until a moment ago she believed she was going to hurt him, but why didn't he fight back?

Taking a deep breath, Hermione allowed herself to calm down. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and blinked rapidly. She had been so blinded by anger she hadn't stopped to look at the boy she once cared deeply about standing before her. The boy that she still cared deeply about, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.

   Hermione lowered her wand and Draco opened his eyes. He looked relieved and at the same time a bit worried as he kept his eyes on her wand. Did he have no trust in her? Hermione rolled her eyes and raised her nose to him. She supposed he would have no reason to, he'd broken her trust a long time ago after all. Hermione's eyes began to water and she turned around so he wouldn't see her cry. Ron looked a bit disappointed but nodded as she looked up at him. Harry still stared at Draco angrily. She took a deep breath, ready to walk away but when she heard a laugh coming from behind her Hermione looked back and saw him smile. The smug expression on his face made her blood boil. She couldn't just let him get away with what he'd done.

So, with her fist clenched, Hermione bent her elbow and turned around. She swung her arm and her fist came in contact with Malfoy's face. She felt her kuckles collide with his nose and something crunched. Hermione gasped and pulled her hand away, wincing at the horrible sound that had come from Draco's face. He gasped as well and fell to the ground with a whimper.