imprisonment

Chapter 5; H

Hermione was taken aback by such words. Her breath caught in her throat and she had no idea what to say. She sat next to the vent in the corner of the room, perplexed by what he had just asked of her. Draco was not someone she liked, and she could hardly pretend he was. He was not a nice person, him pushing her down in the shower proved that.

She was confused as to why he would even suggest such an absurd thing. Maybe he was losing his mind. She shook her head and tried to think of what he had said.

The wall between them allowed her to pretend he was anyone in the world. He could be someone who was kind, someone who wasn't a Death Eater. She closed her eyes and tried to picture a world where Draco wasn't malicious, a world where they could have been friends. She thought long and hard but her mind went blank. A world where Draco Malfoy was different did not exist. He was not a good person and he never would be. Hermione couldn't waste her energy on fantasies that were delusional. It wasn't practical.

She paused for a second and decided that she could be civil, they were stuck here for an indeterminate amount of time. She had to learn how to survive: isolation ruins the psyche.

Trying to think of a conversation started she blurted out, "What's your favourite color?" It was all she could come up with. She didn't have any energy to spare on anything else.

"What kind of dumb question is that Granger," he said in a sarcastic tone. It was actually impressive how he could turn anything into some type of argument. Talking to him was exhausting, but she knew she had to do it. Sitting in a windowless cell with no human interaction makes a person do things they normally wouldn't, and talking to him was one of those things.

"The kind you ask when you're getting to know someone," she sighed. Talking to him was pointless.

"Green. Next," he said through the vent.

Of course, it was, how unoriginal. Draco was the darkest of greens. The kind that dared you to get close, only to strike at you. He was green like the serpent in the story of Adam and Eve; tempting you to take a bite. Temping you to risk it all.

"Favorite class," Hermione asked him.

"Potions," Draco responded without a second thought, "You have to have better things to ask me than that."

"Why did you try to have Buckbeak killed," Hermione asked. She had been thinking about it since she had brought up punching him in the face. As soon as the words left her lips she knew this would no longer be a civil conversation, and they would no longer be strangers separated between a wall.

"I didn't plan on that happening," he said in a low tone. Hermione knew this was just another excuse for his piss poor behavior.

"Of course not," she snapped back, unable to stop now. She couldn't force herself to remain civil. This set him off.

"Shut the fuck up Granger, as if you know anything about me besides what I've wanted you to see. How does it feel to be miss fucking perfect all the time? I know you're used to having constant praise, but Weaslebee isn't here to kiss your arse, so you are stuck with me. And you and I both know I don't claim to be a nice person. I was bloody thirteen and upset so I told my father. I may be heartless, but I don't just have animals executed. That was all his doings." He ranted until he was out of breath.

Hemione sat next to the vent and took in a deep breath. She knew better than to feed into his lies.

Intentions don't excuse actions, they never will. He was not allowed to justify his actions. She sat in silence with only her thoughts. Being young does not excuse his actions. His father does not excuse his actions. Nothing does. She repeated these thoughts to herself.

Draco was void of empathy and borderline sociopathic. He didn't care about anyone but himself and nothing would ever convince her otherwise. Not even this stupid game he was trying to play. He did not deserve redemption, and nothing would change that.

"I can't play this idiotic game with you anymore. You're right you are heartless; you are not someone I like and that will never change. Some wall between us definitely won't." She said firmly. No amount of walls between them would ever change how she felt about him. Just because she couldn't see him, did not mean he was stripped of what kind of person he was.

"I didn't expect it to Granger. Do you think for one bloody second that I want to be friends with you? Silly girl." His voice was filled with venom, just like him.

***

Hermione missed the days she spent curled up into a reading nook in her dorm room at Hogwarts. She missed the smell of the fresh parchment paper, the feeling of her wand in her hand, and turning the pages of a new book. She missed her home. She thought back on days spent with the Order before the battle of Hogwarts. She thought life before it got so complicated.

The air in the cell was damp. It had been several days since their argument and even more days since her last shower. She felt dirty, alone, and defeated. Hermione had not given herself time to grieve all the lives lost and it all seemed to catch up to her. She crumpled to the group and let herself cry. It felt like the world was crashing around her, but she let all the pain in. It felt as if her throat had constricted and no breath could enter. Her heart physically hurt. Harry was gone. She would never hear his laugh again. Never embrace him when she was upset again. He was dead and her heart broke for him. Her heart broke for all the dead not given a proper burial. The lives thrown away like garbage.

She got up and walked up to the rocky wall in front of her. She ran her fingers along the stones and lifted her hand back. She then proceeded to punch the wall. She used all the strength she could muster and stood there hitting it over and over until her knuckles started to bleed.

Her cheeks were hot and tears streamed down her face. She quickly wiped them along with the snot running down her nose. Cries filled with hallow pain choked out. Her hair was tangled and surrounded her face. She pulled it behind her ears and cupped her face in her hands. Suddenly, she heard deathly screaming around her, before realizing it was her own. Hermione didn't care if it disrupted Draco, he hadn't lost what she had.

I have to get out of here.

Hermione stopped for a second to regain her breath. She walked over to the sink and splashed water in her face. She was still trembling and her thoughts swarmed around her head. She stared at herself in the mirror and tried to focus on one thought at a time.

Draco had not lost what she had.

That was it. His parents were still out there. He was not alone in here like she was. He had a way out of here. His parents were known death eaters who had an in with Voldemort. Whatever Draco did could not have been bad enough for them to abandon him. All he had to do was convince them to let him out: convince them that he was on their side.

She paced back in forth trying to organize her thoughts. She was confident that his parents would have to come back for him, and she would be damned if he left and she was still stuck here.

Hermione knew what she had to do. She would get on Draco's good side. It would take a lot of patience, but she could do it. She would be the serpent tempting him. She would get close enough to him, that way when his parents came back for him, they would take her with them. It was genius.

All she had to do was play the part.

***

A/N
This is a shorter chapter, but I will be posting chapter six on Dec 4 at the latest. As I said before, since this fic will contain different POVs per chapter, the chapters will be shorter. Because of this though, there will be multiple updates a week along with more chapters overall.