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DISCLAIMER: I'm a poor unknown writer and J.K Rowling is a famous millionaire. I wonder which one of us owns Harry Potter? Just in case you couldn't guess, it's not me! So don't sue! (Although the plot does belong to me. Everything else is J.K Rowling's and co. Right!)

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CLEAR THINKING

She could take it no longer. The bitter tears which had been accumulating slowly in the corners of her eyes for the past half an hour were threatening to spill over if she remained any longer in the Great Hall. Thus far, she had been very careful to conceal all signs of the depression that weighed on her mind, but she could not maintain her acting skills anymore. A barely audible sob escaped her throat at the precise moment a single tear broke down the dam surrounding her increasingly blurry eyes. If she did not leave now, a flood was bound to follow. Besides, the aromas of the endless dishes of food piled high on the tables were beginning to make her feel nauseous. Her own meal was already too cold to enjoy.

She excused herself from the table, much to the surprise of her friends, who, all of a sudden, were aware of her presence and concerned about the unhappy expression on her reddened face. With a superficial smile, she explained that nothing was the matter- she had somehow rubbed pepper in her eyes and needed to go to the bathroom to try and wash the traces out. She commented on her stupidity and gave another reassuring smile, as her sharp mind commented on her superb acting abilities. The given answer was quickly accepted by her friends, who resumed their previous conversation. Wiping another tear from her face, she bitterly noted the time she had told her friends that if she touched pepper, her hands would redden and swell. She looked down at her hands. They were neither red nor swollen. Yet again, her friends had not been listening to her.

Her relief on exiting the Great Hall was immense. The corridors were still decorated with red and green tinsel, plus various other trimmings which marked the tradition that had caused such a flurry of excitement throughout the day, in both the young and old residents of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although the noise very easily penetrated the walls of the Great Hall, the corridors were deserted and so the atmosphere was not sickeningly sweet and joyful. It was also considerably darker, probably because the glowing trees were confined to the Great Hall. For a brief second, it had crossed her mind that it would be fun to kick one of those cursed trees to the floor, and watch a chain reaction of broken lights smash upon the marble. Not to mention the chain reaction of horrified gasps that would form on everyone's face as they realised the identity of the culprit. But of course, reasoning and logic had prevented any serious damage from occurring.

She made her way up to the Common Room and headed straight for her dormitory. By this stage, her vision was too blurred to find the object she was looking for, so she simply laid down on her bed, and curled into a ball. Regaining her vision was her top priority now. She could not continue on with her plan in her current state. She needed to be able to think clearly to complete her task. Time passed. Eventually, the snowflakes falling outside her frosted window became discernible. With her eyesight restored, she finally brought her attention to the ring lying upon her neatly packed suitcase. It was a simple gold ring containing a sapphire stone. It had been given to her this morning as a present. And it had to be destroyed.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Got questions? I promise they will be answered in upcoming chapters. Provided that my inspiration doesn't fizzle out. And my main inspiration was Christmas, hehe. So consider this a late Christmas fic. Please review and tell me what you thought. Greatly appreciated :)

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