Chapter One: Lies and Explosions

Hermione was extremely mad. Hermione Granger was the Head Girl, a Gryffindor, Harry Potter's best friend and the smartest witch in her year. She had no clue how any of those things mattered, but she had to somehow boost her self-confidence. Otherwise, she did not think she would be able to handle what she was about to do. Hermione stood up, slowly and quietly, but the entire Gryffindor table was staring at her like she had sprouted another head.

"Yes, Susan, thank you. Do you know where they are right now?" Hermione said in a completely calm voice. The red-haired Hufflepuff nodded and motioned for Hermione to follow her. All heads turned as the two girls walked down the aisle towards the exit from the hall. The Gryffindors were looking rather fearful, the Hufflepuffs all had sympathetic expressions on their faces, the Ravenclaws were nodding and the Slytherins did what they do. They smirked.

Hermione walked after Susan down the corridor leading from the hall into the staircase that went in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. As soon as the doors behind them snapped shut Susan turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry, I really am... I was just doing my prefect duties, you know, after Hannah left... and I stumbled on them. They didn't see me, they were really... occupied." Susan blushed and looked at Hermione. The latter was holding back tears. Yes, she had sworn to herself that she would not lose control but she was very near it.

Susan's completely innocent sympathetic gaze did the trick. Hermione took one look at the bracelet on her hand, tore it off and burst into hysterical tears. She was crying so hard the walls around her seemed to shake, between her sobs you could make out distant mumbles. Susan, who had been extremely surprised at this, had gathered herself and hugged Hermione.

"Fine. It will all be fine. Just fine." The Hufflepuff whispered consoling words to the brown-haired girl who was breaking apart in front of her. About ten or so minutes later Hermione finally calmed herself and turned her red eyes to Susan.

"Yes. I'll be fine. Thank you, so much, for telling me, too. Go on." Susan set off towards the stairs without another word. They walked up several flights, up to the fourth floor Hermione thought, and stopped in front of a regular door. Just like any other. Behind this other door were the two people Hermione hated most.

She burst into the room, pushed Susan out of the way and stared. Ronald Weasley and Pansy Parkinson were locked in an intertwining hug and had their lips on one another's. Hermione felt her hair crackle with electricity, and her brown eyes had a look in her face that was never there before. Taking a deep breath she screamed.

"RONALD! Ronald, how could you do this to me? How? For seven years we've been the best of FRIENDS, we've done everything together, the three of us! YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME BACK AT HARRY'S HOUSE THIS SUMMER! WE CAME BACK TO HOGWARTS TOGETHER TO FIND THE CUP! TOGETHER! AND NOW YOU'RE WITH THIS STUPID UGLY SLYTHERIN COW! HOW, RONALD? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?"

Hermione seemed to run out of steam, she leaned against the door, breathing heavily and holding in more hysterical tears. Pansy was looking slightly bewildered and defiant. Ron- no, Ronald, she was going to call him Ronald. Ronald was staring at Hermione with a shocked and scared expression on his face.

"'Mione? I'm sorry," he spoke in the quietest of voices, his face extremely pale.

Hermione raised her head to face him and spat, in a voice so unlike her own, "Shut up. Just shut up!" She wiped a stray tear off her face. Ronald opened his mouth. His cheeks were turning bright pink and he had a sort of glare in his eyes. Hermione was not going to take this. She had done absolutely nothing wrong and he shouldn't even be trying to protest. It was him, he should be cowering on the floor, he knew how many jinxes Hermione Granger could send at him.

"Hermione, I can explain. Just stop screaming, I didn't mean for it to happen, she came at me, I just..." He never got a chance to finish. Hermione raised her wand and pointed it smack in the middle of his forehead. Pansy was looking utterly indifferent to all of this.

Hermione spoke, "Don't you dare, don't you dare Ronald Weasley. I don't deny, she could have done that, but you've been here half an hour at least. Ample time to shake her off, don't you think?" Ronald seemed to find nothing to say to this. He stepped back from her wand and looked at Pansy for a way to escape. Hermione found this very odd, so she whirled away from her scumbag of a friend and faced the one he had cheated with. She had a smile on her face, her long brown hair was still mussed as if someone had run their fingers through it.

"Hermione Granger, smart know-it-all and Mudblood," said Pansy in her high-pitched voice. "What you didn't seem to know is that your boyfriend-" she spat the word like a hot coal, "-has been with me since October. Halloween feast, to be exact. So, perhaps I did seduce him, but after that- every day for a half-month, while Clueless Hermione does her library round we come to this very room." The Slytherin laughed, and Hermione realized she would never hear a sound as vile as that.

There were several seconds when Hermione Granger did not know what to do. She did not know what could be the punishment for what Ronald Weasley had done to her. All she knew was that she had to think of something. As she raised her wand, the other two occupants of the room did too. Hermione pointed hers straight at Ronald but before she could send the jinx Pansy had muttered "Obliviate!".

Two lights from two wands connected, for a moment they fought with each other as if determined to take over. Hermione's own wand began to shake, thick gray smoke billowed out of it. Then, there was a deafening explosion. The room shook as if there was a violent earthquake, sparks of all colors flew from the ball of smoke and fire in the middle. One of those sparks caught Hermione on the face.

There was a burning sensation, as if someone had given her a hard and stinging slap. Hermione clapped her left hand to her face, her other one still clutching the smoking wand, but before she could gather her wits about her and do something another explosion rocked the room. Hermione staggered backwards, fell onto the door and crashed to the floor. Now there was only darkness.