Chapter 7, Book 1, After a War

Hermione felt her back pressed against the wall, she turned her head to avoid the Slytherin's horrid breath. She winced when the pressure on her shoulders increased, making her squeak in pain. One Slytherin covered her mouth while the other extended her arm out. No. She had figured they were just going to jinx her and run off before the got caught. They rolled up her sleeve and looked at the scar on her arm. 

"That looks like its been fading doesn't it?" The female Slytherin asked. The guy looking at her arm nodded. 

"It does, should trace it over so people can see it." He twisted her arm, making her wince again before he took a knife from his pocket. How had he even gotten that!? Hermione let out a few panicked breaths before she closed her eyes tightly, mentally preparing herself for the pain she was about to go through. Again. The female began to whisper all of her flaws to her, she didn't have the ideal female form, Her hair wasn't perfect, she didn't wear enough makeup, she was born unto muggle parents that were probably afraid of her, she didn't have enough fun, she studied too much, she worked too hard, she was the teachers pet, she betrayed the Gryffindors, she was dating a rat, she was- it just kept going and didn't stop, it was an eternal loop of pain. 

The knife touched her skin and she bit the Slytherin's hand but they didn't even seem to care. She yelled out in pain but nobody even heard it but the two Slytherins in front of her. She panted, tears stinging her eyes when they pulled away, there was blood dripping from her arm, splattering all over her homework she had been working on moments before the two showed up. They smirked at her and then pulled back, they heard footsteps coming up to the common rooms, Quidditch tryouts must have finished.  

The Slytherin common room wasn't safe. She slid down the wall to sit down, she pulled her knees up to her chest and held onto her arm tightly, watching as blood dripped from it, they had taken her wand so she couldn't fix it. She watched as people walked by, going to their dorms and such to do some of their piles of homework before dinner. Every one of them ignored her as they walked past, Maya and Bella gave her a pitiful look but didn't do anything. It wasn't until Theodore and Malfoy stepped into the common room that anyone approached her. Malfoy quickly walked over to her and knelt in front of her, cursing lowly when he saw her arm. She didn't move, she just looked at him, his silver eyes met her hazel ones, then his gaze moved back to her arm.

"Who?" He questioned sternly, making her wince. Theodore looked around for anyone who could still be lurking around that might have done it. Hermione shook her head. If she answered, they would come back. They would come to get her. Malfoy looked up at Theodore. "Nobody leaves this common room." He told him. Theodore nodded and rushed off to the common room entrance. Malfoy looked back at the crying girl in front of him. He took out his wand and pointed it at her arm, apparently, he was getting good at the nonverbal spells because his mouth hadn't even moved, yet the blood on her arm began to clear up. 

"Granger," He snapped. "you need to tell me who did this or I can't do anything to help." He glared at her as though he was going to figure it out either way. She glanced up and looked around the room to see if they were still there. They were sitting in front of the fireplace, glaring at her, silently telling her that she wasn't to tell Malfoy. She looked back at the blonde boy in front of her and shook her head. She wasn't going to tell him. 

His glare deepened and he looked around, he met eyes with the people glaring at her. He stood up but she grabbed his wrist, he looked down at her and she shook her head. 

"Malfoy don't-" He pulled out of her grasp after hearing her broken voice. She watched as he stepped over to the two Slytherins sitting on the couch. If he hurt them he could end up in Azkaban, he was already on the edge because of the war. She got up to her feet, feeling a bit dizzy from the blood loss, but she had to get to him. It was too late, He said a spell, paralyzing the girl temporarily, he punched the boy in the nose and snatched his knife before the boy could use it before slashing him across the arm, he elbowed the girl's nose and cut her arm too. He slipped the knife into his pocket and then glared at the two Slytherins as blood dripped from their noses, he took the totalus curse off of the girl and watched as they ran out of the common room. 

Malfoy stepped back over to a horrified Hermione, giving her wand back to her, she hadn't even noticed him snatch it off of the bullies. He was out of breath and he just looked at her for a moment. He didn't expect a thank you, did he!? He wasn't supposed to do that. 

"Don't tell Potter I did that. He won't let me hear the end of it. He'll go over my probation a thousand times trying to get me to chill. Let me know if anyone bothers you again, though I don't think anyone else will," He told her, he put his wand in his pocket and glanced at Theodore in the doorway, he was currently paying all the Slytherins not to tell anyone else with a little bit of gossip he'd gotten from Pansy. 

"Malfoy you can't do that," Hermione whispered to him, he looked back at her and shook his head. 

"Don't make it be more then it is Granger. Either Potter and Weasel take you to your classes from now on or I do, The twin is barely ever in this common room so I don't expect him to take care of you. I told you that I was going to keep the Slytherins off of you, I wasn't kidding. Just don't make it a big deal." He kept glancing around, waiting for a teacher to burst in and take him away. 

"But Malfoy, you could be arrested, you shouldn't have done that-"

"-Granger shut up," He snapped. He stepped away from her, walking towards Theodore and helping him convince the other Slytherins to ignore what they saw. Hermione didn't move, she couldn't. She looked at her homework and sat back down, though she couldn't focus. Her arm stung with pain and she could barely think straight, every time she glanced up she saw Malfoy already looking at her. He was confusing her. She didn't like it. He didn't seem like a Slytherin anymore, he was more of a Gryffindor now- then why had the hat placed him in Slytherin? 

Blaise had said that Hermione had taken his place in Slytherin and he had taken her place in Gryffindor, like they had swapped- 

That was it. 

Harry was supposed to be a Slytherin and Malfoy was supposed to be a Gryffindor.