Prologue

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Hermione said loudly.

"Don't make me laugh, you little Mudblood" he answered mockingly, titling his head. She clenched her fists in annoyance, ready to hit a boy directly into his smug face, wanting to tear him apart with a single move, to break every tiny bone in his body, to curse him with the Cruciatus curse, to rip him up. The hate was almost unbearable; she was filled with it to her very core, the hate was the main liquid in her veins, not the blood. The Mudblood blood! Slytherin smiled knowingly. Bloody bastard.

"Don't call her like that" she heard a furious voice behind her. That was Weasley." You stupid Death Eater."

The smile on his face faded immediately. Who that fuck thought he was? Now that was his turn to become angry. And oh, he was really pissed off. These fools, they were so annoying. Especially Granger. How could she be so proud of herself? Of her parentage? Of her marks? She was just a little suck-up, after all, nothing to be proud of. He was annoyed just because of her very presence. He was the one who could be proud of himself. He was perfect, indeed. Not that stupid bitch.

A sudden thought occupied his mind. That thought was almost thrilling, painfully sweet and seductive. He smirked darkly. Yes, that would definitely be the best thing he could do. How'd do that if not him? A filthy punishment for the filthy people.

Gryffindors were aware that he was up to no good, but that was nothing to worry about. He was alone against three of them, after all. What could he do? But like it always happens, he did what nobody was expecting.

"Sectumsempra!" shouted Malfoy. The red curse was about to hit Harry right into his chest when…

Hermione awoke in the middle of the night, clenching her fists painfully. There was no wand in her right hand, nor did she was in one of the Hogwarts' corridors. She sighed in relief. That kind of stupid dreams followed her every night for about a week. And Granger still didn't know why those memories – they had to be the memories, they were too real, her emotions and feelings were too valid – were so strange and surreal.

A girl closed her eyes, leaning to the wall. She was exhausted – the whole week without normal sleep was not as easy as she thought the insomnia could be. Crap.

Seeing no other option, she lay back on her bed, trying to fall asleep, thought Hermione didn't feel like sleeping at all.

That dreams weren't actually the nightmares, they were just strange and odd. It was hard to believe in the story they told.

After few more hours she finally fell asleep. Though it wasn't long, just two hours.

"You look bad. Something happened?" Parkinson said indifferently just to fill the silence.

"Have a bad sleep for a week, nothing serious" Granger answered as indifferently as her classmate, sipping the pumpkin juice. Pansy asked that question almost every morning, it was like a ritual. Not a pleasant one, but at least habitual.

"Uh-huh. See you later on Potions" said Slytherin, rising from her seat. She had already finished her meal.

Hermione shrugged unconcernedly, continuing her breakfast. She didn't feel like chatting. She never felt like chatting, actually. It wasn't done in Slytherin. If students started talking animatedly, that always looked strangely. It wasn't as purebloods behave. Having friends wasn't normal too. It was normal to have acquaintances, yes, but not friends. Everybody knew that people were always about to betray each other. They didn't need any friends. They were not the bloody Gryffindors, after all, they did have dignity.

"Good morning, Granger" Draco greeted her.

"Morning, Malfoy" she did the same, thinking that this was so unlike of her dreams. But dreams were just the dreams, didn't they? Unconsciously, she turned her head to the Gryffindor table. Everybody was talking, sometimes there were burst of laugher there and there. Stupid gits, how could they be so careless? Her eyes stopped on Weasley, Potter and Longbottom. The Golden Trio, pf. Three morons. Thinking that she became sentimental, Granger stood up with perfectly straight back and high raised head.

The Potion time, Snape would be proud of her new invention.