I Will Protect You

CHAPTER THREE

Page count: 10

Wood Estate - Sunday 22nd November 1998

Oliver hadn't slept well; his thoughts and dreams had been filled of nothing but the witch currently resting in one of the spare bedrooms of his manor. He thought it strange that he would be the one to find her, to save her, as she had helped him fend off the attention of that drunken woman.

He was disgusted by what had happened to her. Who would want to hurt her? She was Hermione Granger, war heroine, one-third of the Golden Trio, she was instrumental in winning the war for them. Why would someone want to hurt her? And in such a violent and horrific manner?

He kept seeing her, she had looked rather beautiful when he had seen her in the bar, but when he found her, she looked so vulnerable, nothing like the confident and powerful woman he had seen at the bar defending him. Nothing like the photos he had seen of her in the newspapers, smiling, scowling, looking annoyed; it depended on her mood and the article that was accompanying the picture.

She was covered in bruises and injuries, had torn clothing and she was completely and utterly vulnerable in her unconscious state.

And she had been a virgin? That surprised him, given her celebrity status, the rumours and her beauty, but then again, you couldn't judge a book by its cover. Her being a virgin made her assault seem worse.

When the news of her assault was told to her she had looked devastated, panicked, which was understandable, hell, he was devastated for her. But then she had that little chat with Thomas and her panic had turned into relief.

Who the hell was relieved at the news of rape?

He sighed, he couldn't sleep anymore and so he climbed out of bed and decided that he would go for a fly around the grounds of his manor. He quickly headed to his bathroom, showered and dried and dressed in jeans, a jumper and a pair of trainers, before casting a Warming Charm over himself, he grabbed his broom and apparated out of the manor.

After an hour and a half of flying around the estate, the sun had risen and he decided it was time to head back. He flew back to the manor before apparating into his living room, rather than walking through the manor.

What he found had him both confused and amused.

Hermione was currently crawling along the floor as her dog, Merlin, was walking beside her, slowly and protectively.

He leaned against the back of his grey corner suite couch and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do ye think yer doin'?"

She startled and turned to face him, she scowled at him and continued crawling, he noticed that she was heading to the fireplace.

"I'm going home; I will not intrude on your privacy or be a burden to you any longer."

"Yer not a burden," he spoke, shrugging. It was true; she wasn't, he was actually a little curious about her.

"Nevertheless, I'm going home, not only do I have a case I need to research, I have no clothing and I really want to shower."

"Yer cannae get home through the floo, yer not keyed intae the network, ye also cannae apparate since once again, yer not keyed intae the wards," he spoke amused.

"Then key me into your floo network so I can leave and then remove my access or accompany me home," she scowled at him.

"Thomas would kill mae; he said he'd be by this mornin'. Why are ye crawling?"

"I thought it would be fun, much easier than walking, it's great for the knees too," she said sarcastically.

He snorted at her. "Ye cannae walk, can ye?"