Draco's P.O.V
When Hermione walked out, she was wearing the sweat pants and t-shirt.
"What you called me earlier 'sir'," I started.
"I - I'm sorry! You hadn't told me how to address you yet!" She rushed in a scared tone.
"You can call me anything that doesn't make me sound superior to you unless we're around other people," I stated.
"I - I don't understand," she mumbled.
"Listen, I don't want you to think of me as superior. I am your equal."
She looked so confused, so I changed the subject.
“Are you hungry?” I asked her.
“No,” she replied.
“Are you lying?”
“N - no, I wasn't allowed to eat much… what I ate yesterday is enough to fill me for days,” she replied.
“I still want to get a cupboard of food in here so you can eat when you're hungry.”
I jumped off the bed, making Hermione flinch and cover her head.
“Granger, relax,” I ordered.
She slowly took her hands down but kept her eyes shut.
“I'm not going to hurt you,” I stated, holding her wrist. “We’re going down to the kitchens, when we're out there, only call me sir or master. Only speak when spoken to and stay close to me.”
She bit her lip and nodded, so I led her out of the room and to the kitchens. I handed her a bunch of foods.
“Take these back to the room, and wait for me there,” I ordered.
She nodded and rushed out of the kitchen. I was gathering my own food when I heard my aunt talking to Hermione.
“You must be Draco's Mudblood,” Bellatrix stated.
“Y - yes, m - ma’am,” Hermione stuttered.
I rushed into the room, forgetting the food, to see Hermione's trembling frame in front of my aunts evil grin.
I marched up to Hermione and grabbed her arm. She flinched.
“I told you to go back to the room,” I growled.
“Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir,” she repeated in a terrified voice.
Her eyes looked at me with pure horror. She was terrified.
“Go!” I shouted.
She raced up the stairs at a speed I thought was impossible in her condition. She left, but the look in her eyes didn't.
“Nice Mudblood,” my aunt smirked.
“Eh,” I shrugged, “it's like having a tall house elf.”
She nodded.
“Run along now, I'm quite busy,” she stated.
I rushed back to the kitchen, grabbed the food, and went upstairs.
When I opened the door, my eyes landed on a trembling figure in the corner. Hermione was gasping for air, trembling, and crying. I put a silencing charm on the room.
“Granger?” I asked, dropping the food on the bed.
She started sobbing, her back pressed tightly to the wall. I went up to her and knelt down. I gently touched her arm, making her breathing speed up.
“Granger! Calm down!”
She tried to breathe.
“You're okay, calm down,” I said a bit quieter.
I slowly grabbed her shoulders.
“I - I - I'm sorry,” she whimpered. “P - please don't h - hurt me. I didn't m - mean to. I'm s - sorry.”
“Hermione, calm down,” I said softly, “You didn't do anything wrong.”
She slowly started to breathe. I pulled her closer and put my arms around her shoulders. She leaned on my shoulder as she regained her breath.
“Better?”
She sniffed and nodded. I slowly pulled back from her trembling body.
“I'm sorry I scared you,” I told her.
She nodded but didn't speak. I sighed and stood up. I pulled her to her feet and had her sit on the bed.
“I'm going to get a few things. Do you want anything from the library?” I asked.
“A book?”
I laughed.
“Well I knew that, I meant anything specific,” I smirked.
“Something easy please… I - I haven't read in years.”
I gaped at her. She looked uncomfortable.
“They don't allow books for slaves,” she uttered quietly. “I - I don't even remember if I can read.”
“I'll get you a couple books I know you've read… so… anything in a library,” I stated. “I'll be back in a few.”
She nodded.
Hermione's P.O.V
I watched as Draco left the room.
I relaxed a little bit. I was terrified of the man. He had a wand, he has the power to hurt me in a split second. He was strong too, he could throw me to the ground in one shove, but, of course, I think anyone could do that.
I got off the bed and sat back in the corner. I liked it here more for some reason. I liked how I could see every angle around me; no surprise stabs in the side from behind.
At that thought, I started to think how much my life changed over the past forty-eight hours. Not long ago I was beaten and bloody, sitting in a cage, wondering every second if it would be my last, my relief. Now, I was wearing real clothes, in a real room, with people. I haven't been hurt once here.
I stayed lost in thought for a while.
I looked up when the door opened. I expected Draco, but who came in instead was enough to nearly give me a heart attack.
“Mudblood, where's Draco?” Bellatrix snarled.
“H - he w - went to the library, Ma’am,” I stuttered.
She walked up to me. I was trembling immensely as she knelt before me. I made sure not to make eye contact.
“Good, you know your place,” she stated.
I gasped in pain when she suddenly waved her wand, and a gash spread across my cheek.
“Oh, poor wittle Mudblood. Did that hurt?” She crackled in a mock-baby voice. “Let me make it better.”
She grabbed a knife from her pocket and shoved it right into the top of my leg. I screamed in pain.
“There, now you won't even notice the one in your cheek,” she smirked.
She left the knife in my leg and brought her face to my ear.
“You won't bleed out if Draco gets here in time. You better hope he doesn't,” she whispered before leaving the room.
My vision was blurred by tears, but I could see the crimson blood fine. My hands were shaking as every part of my body numbed. I sobbed, realizing I could finally be in peace. So long as Draco is too late.
Draco’s P.O.V.
I was on my way back to my room when I heard a scream. It was Hermione's. My heart sank as I started to run.
When I got upstairs, I nearly ran into my aunt in the hall.
“Oh Draco, you're just in time, the Mudblood needs a hand,” she smirked.
I nodded with a fake smirk.
“Cruciatus?” I asked.
“No, no, a knife in her leg,” she smirked. “Have fun.”
My heart sank as my aunt walked away. I ran to my room and threw open the door.
Hermione was sitting in a small pool of crimson blood. I threw the books on the bed, slammed the door shut, and put up a silencing charm. I dropped to my knees in front of her.
She was barely conscious. The knife was still in her leg, so deep I could only see the handle.
“Hermione, stay with me,” I ordered, using a couple spells so the bleeding would lessen.
Once I'd slowed the bleeding, I grabbed the handle of the blade.
“Hermione, this is going to hurt,” I stated.
I gently pulled the blade out, making Hermione cry out. There was so much blood that seeped from the new wound. When I got the knife out, she moved her hands to the wound, keeping me from healing it. Her eyes drooped and her skin paled.
“Hermione, move your hands.”
“L - l - let me d - die,” she pleaded.
“Hermione, I said move your hands,” I ordered louder.
She whimpered but didn't move. Her eyes closed again. I grabbed her wrists and held them away as I tried to heal the wound. I summoned a potion designed for deep wounds and quickly poured it on.
She cried in pain and tried to get her hands from my grip.
“It's almost done; let it heal you,” I said softly.
Once the potion stopped, she started sobbing again. I looked at the wound. It wasn't bleeding, and it closed a bit. I could see a bit of her bone in the large gash and I could see her healed artery. I would have to watch it so it wouldn't get infected.
I cleaned the blood with a flick of my wand. I then healed the scratch on her cheek. I cleaned both of our hands and made the knife vanish.
“Come on, Granger,” I muttered, lifting her up.
She was fading out as I set her on the bed; her eyes were barely open. I got new bandages and carefully wrapped the injured part of her leg.
“Sleep Hermione,” I ordered.
She looked at me with tear filled eyes before slowly letting them shut.
I waited until she fell asleep before I grabbed a book and started to read.