A/n I wrote this really late at night after doing a ton of work so I don't know how good it really is. I just thought I'd post it anyway; so please review so I know how good (or bad) it is. I think that there's a song with this title and i just want to let y'all know that this isn't a songfic.I also don't truly believe Hermione's like this…I just needed a character to work with. Thanks to my Hr teacher and my friendLala for the inspiration.
Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable from the Harry Potter series, which I acknowledge to belong to J.K. Rowling.
Weakness was unacceptable. Failure was not an option. Perfection was the only thing that saved her. She was perfect. She was
beautiful, smart, talented and popular. She walked about with a smile on her face and not a care in the world. Life was easy for
her. This was how others perceived her. How she had made them perceive her. If they only knew…she was not beautiful nor
smart nor talented and if everyone knew this neither would she be popular. It was a good thing she could act for everyday she
was playing a part. She had been in character so long she was beginning to forget the reasons for her charade. She did remember
her life before Hogwarts. The rejection she received from her peers and the neglect she received from her parents. So it was that
when she came here, she became determined to do everything, to feel everything and to be everything. She wore her brains out
studying and would have done fine with that. But she no longer settled for fine. An encoded message on her arm was all she
needed for straight A's. She was pretty but not beautiful. She was pretty sure she'd never be beautiful…so she made the
beautiful one's ugly instead. Her talent was the only thing semi-genuine. She was not truly talented but was truly driven. Those
long nights were not spent doing the homework for the week after next but in studying and in poring over everything she might
need to know. This was her life. A stage-play. A make-believe character living a make believe life. Underneath it all, this was
Hermione Granger.