Trust Me | Hermione Granger x Female OC (Book 3)

Cheater

By the sun's positions on the skylight, Ellie had assumed it was the next day already. Her body had indicated that she had been laying there much longer than she should have been. Her shoulder was sore, and Ellie looked down to see dried blood on her knuckles. Ellie propped herself up on the lockers as she processed yesterday's events. She pondered if it was all just a dream; yet, the broken mirror proved otherwise. Ellie took a deep breath as she remembered how she felt when she saw Hermione under Cormac. How happy her face was without her. How betrayed she felt.

Ellie stared at the ground for another few minutes, her blank stare complimenting her motionless body.

The door opened suddenly, seeming to be magically unlocked. A curly-haired Gryffindor stood in the doorway, her eyes searching for something as she tucked her wand back into her pocket. Her eyes finally rested on the Hufflepuff, who glared at her menacingly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ellie growled, her eyes narrowing at Hermione.

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing here? You missed class today!" Hermione approached Ellie, clearly flustered. Her cheeks were flushed from her search for Ellie.

Ellie stood up angrily. "Is that really what you care about now?"

"I'm still angry at you," Hermione said coldly, her eyes traveling to Ellie's bloody knuckles. Her face softened slightly at the sight.

"This is what you do to yourself?" Hermione questioned, gesturing at her hands.

"Oh, so now you care about me? You did this to me," Ellie spat, hiding her knuckles behind her body.

"My doing?!" Hermione shrieked. "Last time I remember, you've been a terrible girlfriend!"

Ellie stepped towards Hermione, anger now fueling her words. Yesterday's emotions all came rushing back to her, the anger now increased with the sight of Hermione.

"And that makes up by cheating on me?!" Ellie asked, her voice raised.

"I don't-" Hermione defended, but was cut off.

"No, you don't get to speak here!" Ellie interrupted coldly. "If you're here to apologize about Cormac, then get out of my face."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Hermione asked with confusion. Her mind raced with anything she might have done to provoke Ellie, but she didn't seem to remember the last 24 hours.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You know, I was going to apologize to you yesterday. But then, I realized it was just a waste of my time. I get that you're angry. I get that! But you crossed the line," Ellie growled.

"You know I hate him! You know how much I despise him. And then you go snog him?! That's way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. But I saw it. With my own two eyes. You were waiting to pick a fight with me, weren't you? So you could jump at the chance to get with Cormac," Ellie yelled, her voice getting louder and louder.

Hermione was now crying silently, watching as Ellie attacked her with her words. She didn't know what to do, or why she was acting like that. Seeing Ellie in such an enraged state made Hermione uneasy and afraid to speak up.

"I have been through so much. You know that more than anyone else in this damn school. My father is dead. Cedric is dead. And now you're cheating on me? With bloody Cormac? Of all people? You're hurting me!" Ellie continued, her entire body filled with rage.

"I thought you were better than this. I thought you loved me!" Ellie screamed.

"I do love you!" Hermione squeaked, her cheeks stained with tears.

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Ellie screamed. "If you had loved me, you wouldn't have cheated on me!"

"And don't even act surprised. Because, news flash: You're a fucking cheater!" Ellie screeched at Hermione's face.

Hermione flinched at Ellie's words. Never in her life had Ellie cursed at her, specifically using that word. More tears streamed down her cheeks as she saw a part of Ellie she never had seen before. She looked at Ellie's tightly clenched fists and stepped back in fear, afraid of what this side of Ellie might do.

"Yeah, you heard me! You're a cheater. And that's all you are! A lying, wretched cheater. So if you want to go snog Cormac again, be my guest. Hell, you can even snog Ron if you'd like!"

Ellie banged her fist against the locker beside her, leaving a deep dent in the metal. Hermione flinched at her actions, taking another step backwards as her back hit the wall.

"Ellie-" Hermione tried to interfere, but was cut off once more.

"You know what, Hermione? Never in my life had I truly trusted someone until you came along. I trusted you! With everything! And now you go ahead and break that trust. Because, guess what: you will never be able to regain that trust again," Ellie continued coldly, her voice lowering.

Ellie was now face-to-face with Hermione, breathing heavily from her rant. She noticed Hermione's fear and stepped backward to give her space. Ellie took a few deep breaths as her anger started to subside. Hermione stared at her in fear, her back pressed against the wall.

A single tear fell from Ellie's eye. The anger that once controlled her had now went away and was replaced with pain. Ellie's fists started to unclench, leaving dents in her palms where her fingernails dug.

Ellie looked at the fearful Hermione once more. She assumed her anger had scared the Gryffindor into a state of shock.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you," Ellie reassured in a monotone voice.

Hermione stepped away from the wall cautiously as Ellie took a seat on one of the benches, hanging her head down in deep concentration. After a few moments, Ellie looked up at Hermione, her eyes filled with tears. The words she never thought she would have to say was now itching the back of her throat.

"I can't be with a cheater," Ellie announced with a heavy heart.

"W-What do you mean?" Hermione stuttered frantically, hoping that Ellie didn't mean what she interpreted.

Ellie gazed deep into Hermione's eyes with pain and sorrow. Her heart felt weighted with an unbearable amount of pain. Ellie's eyes started to stream with tears as she looked at Hermione apologetically.

"Hermione... I can't be in a relationship with a cheater. Meaning... we can't be together anymore," Ellie choked out, her voice breaking at every word.

Hermione's heart shattered into a million pieces, tumbling over the broken glass shards beneath her feet.

"L-Love, you ca-" Hermione tried to object.

"Please don't call me that," Ellie intervened suddenly.

"Ellie, y-you're in no state to make these kind of decisions right now. Y-You can't do this to me," Hermione pleaded, her clouded with watery pain.

"You did this to yourself," Ellie replied solemnly as she stood up and started heading towards the door.

Hermione immediately went after Ellie, clutching her arm desperately.

"P-Please... let me fix this..." Hermione begged, her fingers grasping Ellie in hopes she wouldn't leave.

Ellie shrugged off Hermione's hand from her arm. She locked eyes with Hermione, savoring the last look of her honey golden eyes. More tears erupted from both of their eyes, their hearts breaking.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. We're done," Ellie finalized as she quickly left the locker room, leaving fragments of her broken heart.

Hermione stood there, frozen in place. She pinched herself in hopes that it wasn't real. Over and over again, she racked her brain about what she could have possibly done to Ellie within the past 24 hours. She slumped down on the door frame, bawling with silent gasps. Her entire body was numb, as if a piece of her was removed from herself. She cried and cried, until there was nothing left to cry out, her body shriveling in pain.