Hermione pulled her hand out of his grip, ignoring the pained expression that crossed his handsome face. She wasn't ready to go down a path they couldn't come back from. If either of them started that journey again, it would end in nothing but sorrow. Her heart, cracked and shriveled up as it might be, could not handle another break. All Augustus would ever be to her would be another chink in the fragile armor she'd been maintaining since her best friend was murdered on the floor of the Great Hall by her master. He could break her in a second, if he wished.