Monster, by Skillet

Draco had witnessed the gut-wrenching scene unfold between Hermione and the boy who she believed to be him. Tears streamed down her cheeks and Draco struggled to cry out and let her know that it wasn't him. The boy smiled evilly and Draco grimaced as he fought against the body-binding curse with everything he had in him. His imposter cast a spell so that Draco could see through the wall, then staged the scene so that it would unfold before him. Draco grit his teeth, the only movement the spell would allow, trying to subside the anguish. He couldn't stand it, he had to watch as that... that... sociopath destroyed the only good thing he had in his life.

   Pain, dread, rage. All of these emotions washed over him as he watched the boy he'd once considered a friend break the heart of the only girl he'd ever truly cared about. She was the only person in his life who truly mattered to him and soon she would hate him with every part of her being. In her eyes, he was the one who had hurt her, and he would deserve her hatred. Draco grimaced. If that truly were him he would deserve it, but he had to prove to her that it wasn't him.

Draco knew that Hermione would never speak to him again. After this, she had a justified reason. She thought that that boy was him. He wouldn't be able to explain what happened and Hermione would never believe him anyway. Draco looked at Hermione, her beautiful innocent face. The hurt expression she portrayed at the boy insulted her. Draco wanted nothing more than to pull her close, hold her in his arms and tell her everything was alright. That everything was going to be alright. To tell her that he loved her.

   Pain inched away at his heart. Draco berated himself for not telling her that he loved her when he had the chance. Maybe if he had this wouldn't have happened. Draco sighed. Of course this still would have happened, it was bound to happen. But at least if he had told her before then she would have known. He would have admitted it to her. Whether she would have believed it after this he did not know but it would have made him feel better to know that he had told her.

Suddenly, the boy pulled Hermione into a harsh and aggressive kiss. Draco felt his blood begun to boil and rage coursed through his veins. He wasn't just angry, but he felt uncaged aggressive rage upon seeing this boy kiss her. Not only did he kiss her, he kissed her forcefully. Draco growled. How dare he lay a hand on her!! Hermione struggled against the boy's grip then pulled her wand on him and sent him flying against the wall. He hit the stone with a thud and a groan then fell to the ground, almost unconscious.

   With tears in her eyes, Hermione approached the boy she believed to be Draco and pointed her wand at him once more. "Revelio!" Draco's eyes widened as the spell hit the boy square in the chest. She knew! She knew that it wasn't him! There would have been no other reason for her to cast the revealing charm! Draco waited for the polyjuice potion to wear off but dread filled him as he found himself staring into the same mirror image and the boy smiled at him.

Draco felt as though a knife had been plunged into his heart. Of course the Slytherin had placed shields around himself. It was only an obvious defense mechanism. Draco watched as Hermione's face became deathly pale and she covered her mouth with her hands to stifle her sobs. Hermione was trembling as she pulled out her wand, pointing it at the boy once more. Draco grimaced as the boy taunted her, trying to make her hex him. He silently urged her not to do anything she'd get in trouble for. Draco breathed a sigh of relief when she dropped her wand. "No. I'm not like you." She let out a sharp cry and ran down the hall, as far away as she could.

When he was certain she had gone, the boy stood and approached the broom cupboard where Draco was locked away. He opened the door and faced the growling and wriggling Draco. The boy rolled his eyes. "Don't bother. I'm sure by now you've realized that I am skilled in the ways of the Dark Arts. My spells are impenetrable. Why do you think Granger's little counterspell didn't work?" Draco eyed the boy, unable to speak. If he had, he would have hexed him right then and there. A slight ping of guilt crept in when he realized he'd had every intention of using the Cruciatus Curse on the Slytherin. But the feeling of guilt didn't last long as Draco knew that the boy deserved it and had been ready to preform the exact curse on Hermione and probably countless others himself.

   An evil smile spread across the boy's face and the polyjuoce potion began to wear off. "It's a shame you won't be able to tell her what happened yourself. Even if she'd listen, your memory will be so jumbled you wouldn't be able to get the story straight, much less tell her who the real imposter had been." Draco's eyes widened and he struggled while the boy cackled. "Yes indeed. If there's one thing I'm particularly skilled at it's memory Charms. You see, my Obliviation Charms put old Lockhart's to shame." He raised an eyebrow with an amused smile. "I do believe that your girlfriend had a crush on our old Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor, did she not?" Draco growled and the boy rolled his eyes again. "Oh very well." He lifed his hand and waved his wand, though he remained immobile, Draco was able to speak.

"You bastard!" Draco spat as soon as he could speak. The boy laughed and seemed amused by Draco's insult. A silent voice urged him to mutter the countercurse but Draco didn't know if he'd be able to break the spell without his wand and even if he could the Slytherin would see and stop him from speaking. Instead, he worked out tactics in his head as he talked, trying to keep the boy busy. "Why did you do this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want what you have."

Horror settled and dread crept in. "Hermione?" Draco gasped. Had that been what all this was about? Draco had something he wanted? Did he want Hermione for himself?

"No you fool! I would never date a filthy little mudblood like Granger, and a Gryffindor no less. No, I want your title. The respect the other Slytherins give you. I want to be the head of the Slytherin house. From the day you arrived at Hogwarts you took over. The perfect pureblood Malfoy. You are respected and they listen to you. Even after you show that your a blood traitor they still show you more respect than they've ever shown me. Well not anymore. After your little mudblood leaves you, you will have nothing. It will be a disgrace. The talk of the school."

Draco realized that he was right. Draco would be hated by everyone around, not just Gryffindors but Slytherins, Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws alike. He grimaced as the boy raised his eyebrows and pulled out his wand. Draco faught the body binding curse but his limbs would not obey his command. "What are you going to do? Make me forget this ever happened? Isn't very effective considering I won't remember anything that happened."

"Oh no. I'm just going to make you forget me. You will remember every gruesome, horrible, cruel moment that occurred today, but you won't remember the name or face behind the heinous act. To you, I will have had no part in this action." He let out a sharp laugh. "The inability to remember who did it will be enough to drive you insane. Every cruel word I spoke to her, the threats, the kiss, her tears, you're going to remember it all."

Draco's eyes widened in fear and terror gripped him by the heart when the boy pointed his wand at Draco. He squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to fight it but the spell was too strong. Draco could tell that the boy was also using Legilimens. He could feel the boy searching trough his memories and ripping them at the seams. The boy's eyes widened and he smiled as something new entered Draco's head. As he could feel the memory of the boy slipping through his mind.

   But suddenly something stopped and he could see the boy smile. He came close to Draco's ear and a meniacle voice whispered in his ear. "I could alter your memories to make you believe that you were the one who did this. You wouldn't be able to understand why or what caused you to do such a horrible thing, but it would be quite entertaining. The guilt would be enough to consume you, but I think that watching you go crazy for being unable to remember who actually had done it will suffice. There's no need to be... extremely cruel."

   The Legilimency continued until Draco's mind felt as though it were being pried open with a crowbar. Memories flooded his mind as the boy searched his mind, looking for the exact memories he wanted to change. Draco grit his teeth and gasped as he brought back the memories of torcher and torment. The memories of Draco tormenting Hermione. Every time he called her a mudblood and made fun of her for her blood status. "Stop!" Draco growled but the boy just laughed and dug further into Draco's mind. Bringing out deeper memories and even past thoughts. Thoughts of hatred, anger, and even jealousy towards his father, Weasley, and even Hermione. Draco let out a low scream that mingled with a growl. "Get out of my head!" The boy's laughter filled his ears and Draco screamed.

   It all happened very fast but Draco felt the memory of the boy slipping yet Hermione's pain and anguish was still very vivid in his mind. But as it slipped away, he couldn't quite pinpoint the face or name of the boy who had attacked him then hurt Hermione. With the memory disappearing, Draco realized that he wouldn't be able to tell Hermione who had actually done it. He'd have no evidence and no name. There would be no way to convince her that he was innocent. Draco closed off his mind but the boy was too powerful. He felt a sting and pain surge through his mind then everything went black.

When Draco woke the next morning everything was fuzzy. He couldn't quite remember the events of the previous day, there were only bits and pieces, but he prayed that his suspensions or maybe... memories had been only a nightmare. Draco hurried to get ready for the day, showering and getting dressed as quickly as possible. He had to see Hermione, he had to know what had happened. He dreaded the idea that his nightmare hadn't only been a "nightmare".

   Draco grabbed his wand off the nightstand and hurried to the Great Hall for breakfast. That was most likely where Hermione would be. Hopefully he could try and explain things. If she truly cared about him, maybe she'd hear him out. He couldn't blame her if she's didnt want to see him though. After the terrible things that... that boy did. Draco came to the horrid realization that he couldn't even remember the boy's face. How could he even explain himself?

When he reached the Great Hall he made his way to the Gryffindor table only to find that Hermione and Ginny along with Potter and Weasley were all absent. Draco groaned. They probably all knew what happened. Potter and Weasley were most likely ready to kill him and Draco was scared to see what Ginny would do. If she didn't give it to him then Weasley was sure to. Draco knew that the weasel would relish in the victory of Draco kissing Hermione. He would made it blatantly clear that she didn't want anything else to do with him. He would also tell Draco all about Hermione's pain and suffering.

   Weasley would enjoy watching Draco suffer over the fact that he'd hurt her. It didnt really matter though. Draco already blamed himself for the entire situation. Nothing they could say would make him feel worse. He had witnessed the entire thing. Though he hadn't actually done it, it was his fault that it happened. He couldn't help but blame himself. If only he had been stronger or faught harder, maybe he could have broken the spell.

Many Slytherins and Gryffindors alike had begun to stare at Draco for his off behavior. Draco scanned the faces of the Slytherin students as they looked at him in question. He swallowed taking shallow and ragged breaths. Draco realized that any one of the students could be the one to have done it. Because he couldn't rightly remember the face or name it could have been anyone. Blaise and Theo stared at Draco as if he were crazy and Pansy stood. She approached him and placed a hand on his arm. "Are you alright, Draco?"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Yeah mate, you look pale...r than usual."

Draco swallowed and nodded. "I just... need to take care of something." He said then spun around and hurried out of the Great Hall. Draco didn't waist any time and ran through the halls, making his way to the library. He prayed that Hermione would be there. She had to be there. It was his only hope. If she wasn't there then she was in the Gryffindor tower and he wouldn't be able to reach her there. He'd have no way of communicating with her and he needed to see her now.

When he reached the library, Draco went directly to their spot. His heart dropped when he reached the table and realized that she wasn't there. In a last second decision, Draco hurried out of the library and ran onto the grounds. His breaths were sharp and air came in short supply but it didn't matter. He ran to the tree down by the lake where they had shared their first kiss, where Hermione would go when she was feeling lonely because she knew he'd always meet her there.

   Draco dropped to his knees. He should have known she wouldn't be there. And why would she be? Hermione would most likely be in her dorms... crying. Guilt and pain washed over him like a wave of scalding hot water yet an icy hand gripped his heart. Draco ran his hands through his hair, tugging it and almost pulling it from the roots. But at this point he was numb to the pain. It didn't even matter anymore.

He'd lost her and it was all his fault. If only he had faught harder or did more to show her that he loved her this wouldn't have happened. Draco thought back to the gut wrenching memory. The pain clearly etched into Hermione's expression. Her resistance to believe it was truly him until she had no way to prove it false. Draco let out a shallow sigh. His heart swelled at the fact that she had defended him until the very end, until the point that it broke her.

   Draco screamed and balled his hands into fists. He inched closer to the shore and looked into the water of the Black Lake. The reflection staring back at him was broken and a mess. But not only that, a horror was shown before him and Draco saw his father staring back at him from the Black Lake's surface. He blinked when Draco blinked, Draco moved his head a fraction and his father followed in suit.

   Anger and dread flooded him and Draco pounded the water with his fists, causing ripples to break out across the surface. His anger didn't subside and Draco cupped his palms to gather water and splash his face. He needed to calm down, loosing his temper wasn't helping anything. He was a complete wreck, and it was all over a girl. But she wasn't just some girl. She was a Gryffindor muggleborn, and the brightest witch of their age. And she was a mudblood. But she was his mudblood.

Looking down at his reflection Draco shook his head fiercely. He was not his father, he would never be like Lucius Malfoy. Draco refused to follow in his father's footsteps. Lucius Malfoy had become hard and cruel over the past few years, a change that had started before even Draco's birth. Draco refused to be blood prejudice and become fascinated with the Dark Arts as his father had. No. Draco wouldn't take up his fathers ways. His fascination lied elsewhere.

   Draco felt a jolt of determination. He was going to make things right, and he was going to win Hermione back. She was his inspiration and he was fascinated by her. Not the Dark Arts, not his blood status, not his money and name, but her. In that moment, Draco promised himself he'd win Hermione back. Somehow would fix this. He didn't know how, but he would gain her trust again. When that happened, he'd never let anything like this ever happen again. Draco promised himself, if he ever got her back, he would never let her go again.

Author's Note:

So, I've given a hint as to what the name of the next book with be. I'll give you a hint, it's in the last paragraph. Let me know in the comments what you think the name of the next book is! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, at least as much a you can considering the events. But I am working on it and I hope you all enjoyed. Please be sure to comment and leave a like ignored you have not already! Thank you all for reading, have a good night!