`Ronald Weasley has to be one of the most insufferable prats I've ever met!' she thought, dropping the stack of books on the table with a bit more vigor than was necessarily required.
The library was mostly empty. Lunch was being served but she wasn't feeling very hungry.
She pushed a fall of hair behind her ear and pulled out parchment and quill, determined to finish next week's Transfiguration assignment early, if only to have something to distract her thoughts. But try as she may, her mind kept slipping to Ron.
He infuriated her! He was her friend, yes, and they had been through things together that others couldn't fathom, but he could also be so completely thoughtless at times she wondered if it was worth it. It felt like everything had spiraled out of control the last few weeks and every time she attempted to right the ship things got worse.
She knew she shouldn't have confunded McLaggen but she had seen Ron play enough Quidditch at the Burrow to know he was better than his nerves were allowing him to be and she also couldn't bare the thought of saddling Harry with that obnoxious oaf all season. But now she regretted that decision, painfully. Her and Ron had been at each other's throats seemingly non-stop, even more than usual. She prided herself on her control and keeping her composure. She didn't know how many times in the last six years she had preached to both Ron and Harry to back down from the Slytherin's, to not let them goad them into a fight, but one wrong word from Ron and all reason and sense flew out the window.
Ron's newest tactic was the one that had her fuming at present. His sudden interest in Lavender Brown. She wasn't jealous. She knew that's what he was trying to do and that's what made her so furious. Not only was the idiot incapable of understanding that she wasn't interested in him that way, but he was now using poor, unsuspecting Lavender in his futile scheme.
She admitted that there was a time at the end of fourth year when she thought she might like him in that way but between his behavior at the Yule Ball and the things she felt when Victor Krum had turned his attentions to her she knew that all she could feel for Ron was brotherly love, and at the moment, murderous thoughts.
The idea that romance should be on anyone's mind right now was bewildering to her. Voldemort was ramping up his efforts and Harry needed them to be focused right then.
She bit her lip guiltily and shook her head as if to shake away the bad thoughts. She hadn't been nearly as attentive to Harry this year as she normally was. The business with Ron and Harry's newfound success in Potions had her feeling as if she didn't really know her place and her pride was stinging.
But Ron had unknowingly taken it too far today. His mimicry of her in Transfiguration had hurt. He couldn't have known that displays such as his had been a weekly occurrence for her before she came to Hogwarts. Her early school years hadn't been terribly pleasant, so for someone who was supposed to be her friend to do something so hurtful, she didn't know if she could forgive him.
She had raced from the room as soon as possible, embarrassed that she hadn't been able to hold back the tears. She had thought the bathroom was empty until a faint humming caught her attention and she saw Luna Lovegood sitting crosslegged in a windowsill. The quirky girl hadn't said much, just handed her some tissue and patted her on the back until she stopped crying. It didn't help her already awful day that immediately upon exiting the bathroom she saw Harry standing there looking uncomfortable and holding her books. Mortified she had barely said two words to him before grabbing her things and headed straight to the library.
Which is where she was now. And she was mad. Ron never thought before he acted. Never! He just constantly pushed without bothering to turn around and see what carnage lay behind him. The more she thought about all the terrible and hurtful things he had said and done to her over the years the madder she got and when she spotted the pompous form of one Cormac McLaggen strutting through the stacks Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her age, did one of the stupidest things ever.
"Oh Cormac" she called, voice falsely sweet.
It was as if she had accio'd him there. He slid into the chair across from her and leaned in close. She nearly lost her nerve but in a flash of memory saw Ron mocking her in class and steeled herself for what she was about to do.
He would have been attractive if not for his completely obnoxious personality.
"I was wondering...and I know it's terribly late notice...but I need a date to Professor Slughorn's" and before she could finish he cut her off
"Of course!" he said enthusiastically "I'd be honored to go with you."
His hand reached out and grasped hers and she had to force herself not to yank it back in revulsion. Sliding her hand from his graciously she put a smile on her face. "Just as friends, Cormac."
"Absolutely. Friends." he repeated
Knowing she needed an excuse to leave and that she would not be getting any work down she made a show of gathering her things. "Well, I really must be going. I'll meet you at 8, tonight." she said, trying to get out of there as soon as possible.
"I'll count down the hours until we meet again." and before she could stop him he had grabbed her hand a pressed a kiss to the top of it. With a wink and a glint in his eye that made a shiver go down her spine he was gone.
`What have I done.' she asked herself, hoping she could make it through the night without having to hex McLaggen into next week and that Ron would get her message loud and clear and they could be done with this mess.
Later that evening she wasn't disappointed. She knew announcing she was going to the party with McLaggen would get a rise out of Ron and she was right. She hadn't planned on being quite so girlish when Parvati was questioning her but seeing Ron's growing fury out of the corner of her eye made her feel reckless. So reckless in fact that when Parvati asked if she was dating McLaggen she said yes. As she left the table she caught Harry's eye and felt a clench in her stomach at his disapproving look.
The hour leading up to the party seemed never ending. She felt sick to her stomach and thought about sending a note to McLaggen telling him something had come up and she couldn't go. Ron wasn't even going to be there! But she knew people would talk and that would be enough. After tonight she'd confront Ron and they'd have it out. Her actions may be childish but she felt they were justified. As much as she wished she could just crawl into bed with a book she knew she couldn't. Her presence was expected by the Professor and she had already taken the charade this far, the hard part was really over, a few more hours and it would just be an unpleasant memory.
She spent enough time on her hair, dress and makeup so that it would look like she cared. Not one to care very much how others saw her she was still a girl and had to admit that her dress was quite flattering and that her hair had managed to behave itself for once. Squaring her shoulders she gave herself one last look "Gryffindor courage." she muttered to no one. "Quite right dear. Have a lovely time." the mirror replied before she headed for the party.
She saw McLaggen before he saw her and had enough time to throw a too bright smile on her face.
"Hermione!" he exclaimed, hurrying forward and placing her arm in his, trapping it there with his other hand. "Shall we?" he asked, nodding towards the door where she could see a throng of students and adult wizards entering. All she could do is say yes as he pulled her forward.
After greeting Professor Slughorn and a few other guests Hermione made a beeline for the refreshments table and gulped down a glass of punch, anxious for anything that would give her an excuse to not talk to her `date'.
Suddenly an arm wrapped itself around her waist from behind and she felt hot breath on her ear "There you are. You're not trying to get away from me, are you?"
She whipped around so quickly he had to step back to avoid her flying hair. "Cormac! No...I...I'm sorry, I was just so thirsty."
His hand snaked around her again and she leveled him with a trademark Granger glare. "I thought we agreed to come as friends."
"Of course." he said smoothly, still not moving his arm "I'm just being friendly."
She forced a smile and grabbed his hand in hers, removing it from her back but not letting it go. Maybe if she allowed him this he wouldn't try anything else. His pleased grin told her she was safe, for now. "Would you like to get something to eat?" she suggested and after his nod led him towards the back of the room where several tables were laded with what she normally would have considered very tempting looking dishes.
She managed to waste a good fifteen minutes by filling up a plate and keeping her mouth stuffed with food, nodding every now and then to whatever McLaggen was going on about. When the plates were empty they mingled with some other guests and Hermione kept searching the crowd for Harry. The main part of her plan involved sticking with him and Luna and not having to be alone at all with McLaggen.
She felt McLaggen grip her hand tighter suddenly "Oh my, how fortuitous." he said
She looked at him quizzically and saw him pointing up. Directly above their heads was a giant sprig of mistletoe. Her heart dropped. She opened her mouth to protest but before she could utter a sound his mouth was on hers. It took all her willpower not to gag. He tasted like steak and kidney pie. She pushed at his chest but he seemed to take that as encouragement instead and thrust a hand into her hair, the other pressing possessively into her lower back.
Just as she was reaching for her wand he pulled back and looked down at her dopily. "Sorry, tradition and all." he said, pointing again at the offending plant.
If she had wanted word to get back to Ron that right there had ensured it would. Her work was effectively done. "Cormac, would you mind getting me some punch?" she asked softly. "Not at all." he replied, a strange look coming across his face, almost predatory, before he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
As soon as he was out of sight she ducked in the opposite direction.
"Hermione! Hermione!" she heard and breathed a sigh of relief, it was Harry.
"Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!" she gasped out
"What's happened to you?" Harry asked, looking concerned
"Oh, I've just escaped -- I mean, I've just left Cormac." she paused "Under the mistletoe." she added at Harry's questioning look.
"Serves you right for coming with him." he said in a tight voice
She winced. She deserved that. She knew Harry was caught in the middle with her and Ron fighting and she knew it hadn't been easy on him either.
"I thought he'd annoy Ron the most." she admitted sheepishly "I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole..."
"You considered Smith!" Harry said, his shock and revulsion evident
"Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman. Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall..." she grabbed Harry by the sleeve and drug him with her to the other side of the room. Unfortunately she had led them right to Professor Trelawney.
Hermione barely paid attention to what the other three were talking about, so concerned she was about knowing when McLaggen would reappear. She bit her lip nervously.
"Hermione. Are you ok?" Harry asked
"I'm fine Harry. I can handle McLaggen." she assured him, noticing he had stepped closer to her and seemed worried. "Really, Harry. He just doesn't seem to understand what `just friends' means. After tonight I'm just going to tell him it's not going to work out and that will be that."
"If you'd like I can..."
But she didn't hear what else Harry was going to say as she spotted McLaggen heading her direction. "Oh Merlin, here he comes, see you Harry." she said quickly before darting away through some other guests.
He did find her a few minutes later after she had joined another conversation. "Here is your drink. Sorry it took so long for me to find you."
She smiled her appreciation and took a long drink of the punch, absentmindedly noting that the taste was different than the glass she had had before. McLaggen had managed to wrap an arm around her from behind again and at this point she didn't have the energy to deal with that again. Finishing her drink she chatted lightly with some other students when suddenly she felt terribly light headed. She put a hand to her head and stumbled slightly as McLaggen pulled her away. She could hear him making their apologies to the others but she couldn't really register what he was saying.
"Hermione? Are you alright?" he asked
"No. I don't feel very well. I think....I'm sorry...I think I'd like to call it a night." she was able to get out, wincing at her slurred speech. `What is wrong with me. I was fine just a minute ago.'
McLaggen was taking on her entire weight now and she could barely keep her eyes open. Blood was rushing in her ears and spots danced in front of her eyes.
"How about we get you out of here." he said before pulling her to him roughly
A grimace of confusion made its way across her face. Something was wrong.
"No." she protested, weakly, trying to push him away but she didn't seem to have any strength.
And then he laughed and a chill went straight through her. "Too late, Granger. You're mine."
Her mind was frantic but her body was simply incapable of doing anything. The way he had positioned them it would look to anyone else that they were just enjoying a romantic moment. She forced her eyes to stay open and scanned the room, searching for Harry. She spotted him heading for the door. "Har...." she tried to call out but all that emerged was a soft rasp, easily swallowed by the din of the party.
"You think Potter's going to save you?" he whispered "No one is going to save you. Now lets get going, I have a message to deliver."
Her blood ran cold and there was nothing she could do as McLaggen guided them towards the door. It was easy for him to support her slight weight and they moved much quicker than she could have anticipated. Her hearing and vision were fading in and out and they passed no one else in the corridors. Her desperation grew. She didn't know what he intended to do to her but she knew it wouldn't be good.
Her legs finally gave way completely but that didn't slow him down at all, he picked her up in his arms and kept walking. Her head bounced on his shoulder and as they passed a hallway she saw a flash of red hair. She forced her eyes to stay open knowing this could be her only hope of getting help.
When Ron stepped into the corridor he just stared at her. Glaring. Her eyes welled with tears, she tried again to call out but this time not a single sound emerged. She locked eyes with him and tried to will him to understand that this wasn't what it looked like and that she was in trouble, pleading that he know she needed help. But as they rounded the corner and he fell from her sight the last thing she saw was his back as he walked away.
Now she was truly afraid. Bile rose up in her throat and she knew if she could move she'd be shaking. This was not right. McLaggen was not right. He was taking her further into the bowels of the castle. Corridors that no students should be in until suddenly they came upon a small alcove and he dumped her violently on the cold stones.
The air rushed out of her at the impact and her head smacked painfully on the floor only adding to the disorientation she was already experiencing.
She tried to speak but nothing came out. He laughed cruelly, a strange look in his eyes that made him seem like someone else entirely.
She knew that she was well and truly alone and the only person who could get her out of this mess was herself. If she could only reach her wand she could attempt to do a silent spell. With one sudden jerk she was able to throw her right arm across her body and make a wild grab for the wand tucked into the back of her skirt. But her movements were slow and clumsy and before she knew what was happening McLaggen had struck. A fist landed high on her left cheek bone, throwing her head to the side, stars exploding in her vision. She didn't even feel him pluck the wand from her but she did hear it's mocking clatter as he threw it behind him.
"I don't think we'll be needing that." he said snidely, reaching a hand out to trace along the cheek he had just struck. She wished she could recoil. Wished that she could use the foulest curses she knew on him but she couldn't, she was completely helpless.
He started talking then. Rambling really, almost as if he didn't even recognize she was there. "Maybe...maybe this will be the way. To get the message across. To get Potter to understand. He can hide in the castle. He can hide behind Dumbledore. He can hide behind his mother's protection." McLaggen paused then before leaning in close and then licking a long trail up her neck to her ear where he whispered. "But we are everywhere and he has no idea. How do you think he's going to feel when he sees what's happened to his mudblood whore."
She was losing consciousness then, maybe from whatever he had given her or maybe from sheer fright. She felt a tear escape and then the shocking pain as he yelled `Crucio!' Just as McLaggen's hand made it's way up her leg and under her skirt she gave up on trying to stay awake and her last coherent thought was of Harry, hoping he would find her.