Disclaimer: Don't own noth'in. Stop calling me.



Hermoine had always liked going to school. Even before she had gotten her fateful letter, she had always liked learning things. This year was different, though. Last year, she had had a love, but this year he was back in his own country. They had broken up, after she decided that a long distance relationship wasn't a thing that she needed at the moment. And, althought she hated to admit it to even her best friends, she did like him a lot, maybe not as much as he had liked her, but she still missed him. And it was with this empty heart that she walked though the front doors of school with. After the first day, and the sorting ceremony, and everything, she passed one of her least favorite people in the corridors. Draco Malfoy. He was with this girl named Mary Bonney. He smirked at her, and kept on walking.

Later that night, when she was in the common room with Harry and Ron, she was discussing her feelings with them.

"I just feel lonely, that's all," she said. Ron put his arm around her. Hermoine knew that Ron liked her, but she didn't feel the same way about him. They were always fighting, no need to put romantic feelings into those heated arguments.

"Look, what ever happends, we'll always be there for you," said Harry.

"Yeah, you've always got friends," said Ron. Great, thought Hermoine, this was getting corny.

"Thanks, you guys," she said, with heart, "I'm going to bed, see you tomarrow." She climbed up the cold stone stairs and into her nice, warm bed.

That night, she had a dream. Draco was walking down the hall with Mary Bonney again and he still smirked at her. But this time, a girl with brown hair and purple eyes was standing next to her. She smiled a different smirk, a sort of I-know-something-you-don't-know kind of thing. With that, she woke up, and forgot the dream entirely.

* * *

Potions, yuck.

"Let's see," said Professor Snape, "I'm going to do something different for a change." There was a look on his face that no one in the class liked. "I usually let you pick your partners, but today, I'm going to partner you up with other people." A murmer arose in the classroom. Heromine really hoped that Professor Snape wouldn't partner up Malfoy and Harry, because she remembered the last time he did that she and a few other students ended up petrified in the hospital wing for weeks. Fortunatly, he seemed to have and didn't partner them up. Unfrotunatly, he partnered up Draco with Hermoine.

"Great," she thought.

"So," said Draco coldly when they had started, "I heard that you and your beau broke it off. What happened, did he suddenly learn to see properly?" He snickered. Gosh, this was pathetic, he didn't have anyone to laught at his jokes so he laughted at his own.

"No, and it seems that no one is blind enough to find you attractive either, or is stupid enough, which would you perfer?" Ok, it wasn't the best come back, she thought, but I'm not very good at them. It seemed to do the trick, though. He shut up. They worked through most of the potions without saying anything to each other. Hermoine was chopping spiders, when she knocked over a test tube of bat blood.

"What did you do that for?" exclaimed Malfoy.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" exclaimed Hermoine back. Luckly Snape wasn't in the room, he had gone running down the hall after Peeves.

"I see we can't do everything right," said Malfoy in a sinister voice. This hit a nerve with Hermoine.

"Look, why are you always picking on me? I've never done anything to you, well, nothing that wasn't out of retailation! What do you have against me? And don't say it's because my parents are muggle and I shouldn't be in this school, because I have beaten you in every singel, freggin subject. I think that I have just as much right as anyone else. So come on, what is it?" Malfoy stammered, but came out with no anwser. By this time the whole class was looking at them. Snape had still not come back into the room, thank goodness. Hermione pointed her wand at the ground and the bat blood disapeared. Malfoy remained silent, gazing at her with questioning eyes. The bell rang shortly and Hermione stormed out of the class room without even waiting for Harry and Ron.