On Paper and In Person

This fanfic takes place one year after the Dark War. Since the previous year at Hogwarts had accomplished little to no actual education, due to the Death Eaters' control of the Wizarding school, students have been required to retake that year of classes. However, many of the young witches and wizards accepted this willingly, eager to cling to any stability after the chaos of the war shattered so much of their lives. That included the Trio, as well as some other unexpected faces. Our story begins during the second month of this new school year.

Chapter One: Heartbreak

Hermione slapped him with all the strength she could muster, and ran. She should have hexed him, she realized viciously, but at the time she had simply wanted to inflict upon him as much pain as possible, and seeing as her wand was not at the ready the stinging blow would have to suffice. That bastard. How could he do this to her? She hurried down the hallway, stifling a sob, and turned into the first empty classroom she could find. Then she let the tears roll freely down her face, sitting on a table and hugging her knees to her chest. Her heartbreak was mixed grief, rage, and betrayal.

She hoped he wouldn't follow her. In fact, she never wanted to see his face again, unless it was on the receiving end of a jinx. Closing her eyes, she couldn't help flashing back to their first kiss, in the middle of the greatest and most terrible Wizarding battle of all time. Their relationship had seemed so promising then. He had kissed her with a consuming passion, tempered by the gentlest true love. He had murmured in her ear that he had loved her all along, and would love her forever. And yet it was a lie. She transfigured a desk into a pillow and proceeded to punch the stuffing out of it. The feathers flew all over the tidy classroom, but she didn't care; she was crying her heart out all over again.

Less than a year after she gave him her heart, he had broken it. Two weeks ago she had glimpsed them together in the hidden stairwell. Panicking, she had wiped the incident from her mind – it couldn't have been anything; he loved her. And yet as she had climbed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room this evening, there he was, snogging her without the slightest remorse. Hearing the loud thump as her textbooks fell from her arms to the ground, Ron had disengaged himself from Lavender's mouth abruptly.

"Herm'!" he said, nervously licking his lips. "I, er, I thought you were studying in the library!"

The nerve of him. For a moment all she could do was glare, trying to control the emotions which threatened to overwhelm her. Recovering from her momentary loss for words, she replied with ice in her voice, "I was. Then I decided it would be nice to study up here tonight, to spend some time with you. Forgive me, I wasn't aware you had other plans." He gaped for a few seconds, trying to formulate some dimwitted excuse, but she didn't want apologies. She wanted him to hurt as badly as she did. And so in a sudden outburst she had smacked him with all her strength, and run.

She stopped rocking back and forth and sniffled a little. She tried to resign herself to the fact that she would never be with him again. She thought that she was enough for Ron, that his love was something special he reserved for her and her alone. But barely a month back at Hogwarts and he had hooked up with an old girlfriend. She sighed pitifully, not even caring that the front of her robes were soaked with tears.

Then she heard shouts and raucous laughter in the hallway. Annoyed, she put a charm on the door to silence the noise. How could anyone be happy when she was so upset? As soon as she turned back around, however, the offensive group had burst through the doorway into her classroom.

Draco Malfoy and several of his gang had just finished pulling off an elaborate prank on Mrs. Norris involving excessive amounts of cat nip, and had dashed off before Filch could arrive. Their laughter continued for a brief second until they realized the room was already occupied. They filed out, quieting only a little, all except one.

"Hey Granger, what's the matter? None of your friends care to put up with your ugly mug?" Malfoy sneered, recognizing her from behind.

"Get the hell out of here, Malfoy, before I curse your face off," she spat fiercely, spinning around to face him with her wand pointed at his chest, her tear-streaked face shining. Her emotions were already strained to their limit and she was this close to releasing all that frustration.

"Whoa there, Granger. Easy. It was a joke. I'm sorry," he stammered, backing away. Despite the fact that he was being threatened, he sincerely meant his apology. He may have hated the know-it-all's Mudblood guts, but he wouldn't have insulted her if he had known she was already crying. His pure-blood upbringing did bestow him with some decency.

He sheepishly turned to leave, glancing back at her over his shoulder. She sat back down and was hiding her face in her hands, trying not to let her tears show. Her slender frame shuddered as she tried to take a deep breath. Unable to bear the guilt, he walked over to her and awkwardly patted her shoulder. He felt bad for insulting her, and seeing her continue to cry was making him feel uneasy. "I'm sorry," he repeated. When she didn't look up, he hesitantly added, "Are you ok?"

Hermione closed her eyes. "No," she stated plainly, "but I want to be alone, thanks." She couldn't process anything else, so much had happened tonight and she was overwhelmed. Confused but relieved at being dismissed, Draco left, closing the door behind him.

Thanks for reading! I've already finished writing a draft for this story, so updates should come quickly :). Reviews are appreciated! ~Quill