'Seasons Of Love'

-1-

"I say C'est La Vie- so let her be a lesbian"

Summer was continuing to wage war like a banshee. It was hot- even for Scotland, Hermione noted- and she knew her stuff- Australia was a hell hole no matter what time of year.

The start of term feast was much the same- Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors making their way into the world, headmaster Dumbledore giving his speech and announcing the new DADA teacher: Professor Bleaque. She was a chirpy woman by the looks of her. Hermione sincerely hoped that she wasn't anything like Dolores Umbridge.

Looking at her Prefect badge, Hermione sighed and pinned it to her roves- she had a herd of first-years to take somewhere.

The next morning did not hold low spirits for Xaelene Parkinson. It never would. She was a morning person through and through.

Approaching one of her prefects, she noted that it was Hermione Granger, dully bashing her head against a wall and cursing men. 'You right there, sweety?' She placed a hand between the wall and the head of bushy brown hair.

'Just fucking peachy.' Hermione turned to see who she was talking to, and, shocked to see the Head girl, she apologized for her language and behaviour.

'Tsk! No need to worry yourself, love. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?' Flicking her unnaturally straight brown hair out of the way, she looked Hermione in the eyes.

'God yes.' She responded. 'But if I start now, I'll be late to class.' Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. 'Oh, wow… a Slytherin, 'Eh?'

'Gah, don't be so wary. I won't stab you in the back, share your secrets with anyone or fuel any gossip topics.' Hermione blinked at the forwardness of the Head Girl and smiled.

'Honestly, you are going to be a much… much better Head Girl than Katie Bell if my logical prediction serves me well.' Hermione observed the laid-back but still rule-obeying young woman.

'Listen, if you need to talk, I live… on the second floor, next to the painting of a book and a quill. Simply grab a real quill and write your name in the book. I'll know who you are and I can let you in.' Hermione nodded her head, bushy hair flying everywhere. 'Take care of yourself, okay, sweety?'

They departed to their classes, leaving Hermione to feign attentiveness and Xaelene to struggle through a double History of Magic class.

'Oh. My. God. Parvarti, did you see the Head Girl this year? She was fat. She needs to diet, honestly. Although once she's lost half her bodyweight, she'd be kind of pretty. She does have a nice face… though who would get so many piercings is beyond me… A nose piercing? It looked terrible! Her hair is tolerable, I suppose… A vibrant shade of brown, and a very nice straight texture.' Lavender started ranting just as Transfigurations was about to end. Hermione froze, her eyes widening as they talked about the Head Girl.

Pissed off with both sexes of the human race, Hermione turned around, her eyes narrowed at Lavender. 'Lavender, you obviously see no deeper than skin. Xaelene is not fat, though clearly you are. If not in body weight, but in personality. You're fat, you're bitchy and you care very little about the feelings of the Head Girl. I am a prefect, and I know Xaelene. She may be a Slytherin, but so is Padma, isn't she,Parvarti? As for her looks, I thought she was stunning. She at least, is comfortable enough with who she is to not feel the need to starve herself.' With that, Hermione's speech finished in time for the bell, she grabbed her bag and went straight to the second floor, pulling a quill out of her bag and scrawling her name on the book.

'Miss Granger.' A silky voice called from behind her. 'Five points from Gryffindor for vandalism.'

'Actually professor, she's just visiting me.' The Head Girl appeared from behind Professor Snape. 'It's the orthodox way to enter my chambers, I assure you, sir.' Xaelene smiled and ran her finger along the quill. It rose up in the air and wrote a message of welcome on the open book.

'If you'll excuse us, sir.' She took Hermione by the hand and pulled her into the chambers, leaving Professor Snape standing there, looking like a complete moron. Promptly realising he was looking like a moron, he moved away and deducted a few points from Gryffindors.

Setting about making tea, Xaelene charmed a blow up doll to move about the room, cleaning things up.

'I suppose you needed to talk then?' Xaelene asked.

'Yes… Oh, two sugars.' The older girl nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears, reaching for the sugar and gently tipping in the white crystals before stirring. 'It's… Well… have you ever been the only girl in a group of guys?'

'Many times in class. They treat me like a retard and I show them I'm not. Constantly.' Hermione giggled a little at this, and sat down across from Xaelene.

'It's Harry and Ron.' Hermione admitted. 'I've been their external brain for the past five years, and… I suppose I'm just sick of it. 'Mione, check this for me, 'Mione, look this over, please? Mione, can you write my introduction?' Hermione let out a bitter laugh and sipped her tea.

'Love, I can't say I know what it's like, but I can say I understand. You want to feel valued as a friend not as a walking encyclopaedia?' Xaelene sat back in her chair, flicking her hair off her shoulders. 'I always wanted to feel valued as a daughter in my household, but my mother was always trying to get me to lose weight, so that a nice pureblood would choose to marry me.' She laughed blackly 'And they wonder why Slytherins are so bitter about Gryffindors…'

'Are you going to marry a pureblood?' Hermione asked, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

'I've told my parents that I'll do whatever they want me to when I'm in school… They've got a nice old man… Ollivander… lined up for me to marry just after Yule… I think I'll commit suicide just before I go home. I'm trying to make the best of my life while I've got control over it, do you understand that theory?'

'Yes, but you shouldn't kill yourself!' Hermione exclaimed, spilling a third of her tea on her robes.

'Oh dear.' Xaelene flicked her wand to clean up the mess. 'Anyway, I don't have much choice. Either I die by my own hand, or I suffer a shag worse than death.'

'You could run…' Hermione said wildly 'Run away from your family! Sirius Black did! He went to the Potters! I'll take you in!'

'That's very kind of you, but I made a magical agreement with my parents… Not that I even like men in that way.' Xaelene sipped her tea, her kohl eyeliner giving her green-grey eyes a brilliance effect.

Hermione's face fell 'There has to be a way around it. And congratulations on your lesbianism.'

'Why thank you.' Xaelene laughed. 'And of course there is. But I don't have the heart of a murderess.' A black tear fell down Xaelene's face, and she sniffed as she wiped it away.

The next day, Hermione realised that Xaelene was way out of her depth- and there was nothing she could do to help. Hermione flew on auto-pilot through her classes and went to her head of house at lunch time.

'Professor, do you have a moment?' Hermione peaked her head through the door, looking in at her superior.

'Of course, Miss Granger. Come in.' Hermione did as she was told, standing in the office, waiting for another direction. 'Sit. May I offer tea?'

'No, that's… that's quite alright.' Hermione brushed the sleeve of her robes forward towards her wrists as she tried to work out what to say.

'Was there something in particular you wanted to ask me, Miss Granger?' the older woman looked over her tea suspiciously.

'Y-yes… Professor… I realise I could talk to you if I was having a problem… to an extent, but… hypothetically, if you weren't here, would there be anyone else for me to talk to?' Hermione stuttered, struggling to voice what she wanted to say.

'You realise that all heads of houses are busy people and don't necessarily have time to listen to students?' Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow and eyed Hermione uneasily.

'Of course, of course, that's part of the problem. You're busy and don't have much time to give thought to trivial things… I was just wondering… where could I go? To talk to someone?' Hermione was now staring directly at her hands, expecting a "No one, Miss Granger, get out of my office and don't trip on your way out."

'Miss Granger… Do you not have friends that you could talk to?' Hermione began to feel exasperated- did this woman not understand the concept of 'someone else'?

'Professor, I do. But I'm assuming your lack of answer has more than made up for the stuttering of my question. Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall.' Hermione picked up her bag from the floor beside her and fled the room.

Did Hogwarts not care? Their students might be going through an emotional low- a fight with their friends, and who could they turn to? There were no guidance officers or councillors here, so clearly Hogwarts authorities were somehow promoting students turning to dark magic by not offering them support.

That's what Hogwarts needed. Some form of neutral support, not house rivalries, not heads of houses- too busy to even pay attention and certainly not cliques forming in the houses.

'Hermione, are you okay?' it was Xaelene. She was with Pansy, who appeared to have an interest with her fingernails.

'I… I can't believe this place.' Hermione whispered, tears finally falling from her eyes. 'There's no one for anyone to talk to! If everyone was sent to you, you'd be overflowed with first years missing their parents, fifth years having emotional breakdowns and people asking to for help with a study regime.'

'We can talk about this back in my room, if you like… Uh… Do you mind if Pansy comes with us? I have to cure her hex because she refuses to go to Madam Pomfrey.' Xaelene looked reasonably apologetic about her sister before she walked the rest of the distance down the hallway to her rooms.

They all marched into the room and Xaelene bossed her little sister around, forcing her to sit down, hold ice packs to places on her body and change them to hot packs every thirty seconds.

'Now, what can I do you for, sweets?' She twisted her ever-straight hair and threw it behind her shoulder.

'Well, I went to see Professor McGonagall… not because I had a problem, not because I needed help with anything, but because I needed to know whether there was anyone who could help someone with a problem. Heads of houses are much too busy to deal with students, she told me. Then she detailed that I had friends I could talk to. I thanked her for her lack of answer and fled the room.' Hermione pushed her bushy hair away from her face and looked up at Xaelene.

'Pansy! Change the one on your left knee, it's been there for a full minute!' she scolded before turning back to Hermione. 'I know there's no one to talk to. It's kind of sad, if you think about it. In a school of over two thousand students, you'd think they'd have a councillor of some sort…' Xaelene made tea again, while kicking her charmed blow up doll away from her sink.

'You'd think so, wouldn't you?' Hermione agreed. 'There's nothing we can do about it, is there?'

'Pansy, you can go now. Try not to get Padma angry when you insult Gryffindors, won't you?' Xaelene frowned slightly at her sister's retreating figure and only turned back to Hermione once the door was closed. 'No, but I'd love to do something. A support group, maybe? Where girls- and guys, if they're interested- from all the houses can get together and discuss problems, study, just… be a group, I guess.'

'You know, that's not half a bad idea. I can do some research about what goes into a group like that, if you want? I know the perfect place to hold these meetings, too.' Hermione stood abruptly and nearly squashed Xaelene in a hug. 'Thank you. Thank you so much.'

Hermione rushed out of the room with a glance back and a wink

Authors Note: RENT. A play produced in the 90's, opening people's eyes to AIDS, gays, bisexuals,cross dressers, anything taboo. Basically, this story is based around some themes in RENT and some of the songs featured in the musical. The title for this story will become more evident as it goes on. If you don't know the song Seasons Of Love or the movie production of RENT, I urge you to check it out, or you may not pick up on some of the references.

Cheers.