Disclaimer: I do not own HP, or the characters. The plot's mine, though.

A/N: This is a re-write of the first chapter. I haven't worked on this fic in so long, that I decided to go through and read it through before adding more. It was at that time that I re-discovered just how much the original chapter sucked. I mean, it was bad. But, that's all right; because I'm re-writing the first couple chapters to help fit the developing plot line better and just overall improve and lengthen them. Then, maybe more people will read my story and discover how good it gets, instead of brushing it off because of the bad beginning.

Liz: Here's to you, girl, for getting me motivated enough to get this written and up. I would have had it up sooner, but I had to completely move all my files from my old computer to my current one. That was hard because the old one was so old. It took a lot of file condensing, file moving, and emailing several attachments, but I got it done.

-whew- but.. Yeah. I hope you like the re-write.

Chapter 1: Tears and Confusion

Hermione sat down against the stone wall, hidden from view by a suit of armor. Tears were spilling down her face, and she was unable to stop them. All she wanted to do was run away and hide, jump in bed and pull the covers over her head. A good book would be nice, to take her to some other time and place and escape the here and now. Books had always been her means of escape. Whenever things were too much, whenever life just seemed like it was going to strangle her, she'd grab a book and hide away.

Finally, the tears stopped and she was able to clear her expression, make her face calm and tranquil. It would not do to let others know that she was troubled. She was Head Girl, after all, and all the younger students looked up to her. She must seem poised and in control. She came out from behind the suit of armor and into a deserted corridor. She followed what surely must be a worn path in the rug, for all she walked it, to her other hideaway, the library.

It used to be that upon approaching the library, her spirits would be lifted and she would cheer slightly. Now however, she was still downcast upon approaching. However, she was doggedly determined to search the selves for something she long believed not to be there, a book she hadn't yet read. She wove her familiar pattern through the shelves, pausing briefly to look at her favorite books, nod her head to fellow Gryfindors, or rearrange books that had been put away out of place. After a while, she noticed that someone had been following her. She walked around a bookcase and doubled back, and found herself face to face with an extremely surprised and embarrassed Ron.

"Ron! Why are you following me around the library?"

"Umm… Hermione…"

"Yes? I'm wondering why you were following me around."

"I… uh…. uh… I….uh..uh…."

"Well, fine. If you don't want to tell me, okay. But please stop following me. I thought you were- oh, nevermind." She turned and continued searching the shelves diligently. Ron kept following her, beet red.

"Uh… Hermione, The Halloween Ball is next week…"

"Yes Ron, I'm aware of that. I made a speech about it last week to the fifth years and up."

"Oh yeah… I forgot… well, I was wondering if you're going…"

She stopped to look at him. "Ron, I am Head Girl. I have to go. I even have to dance with Malfoy….." She stopped at this thought and trailed off. Ron, taking her silence as disgust, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know how you feel, Hermione. I'm sorry."

'How could he know how I feel?' Thought Hermione, 'He knows nothing about me…' She looked up at Ron, about to tell him off for assuming he knew her thoughts, but couldn't when she saw his face. His face was so funny looking, she couldn't help but laugh. He was so much taller than her, and she had to look up to see him properly. He was trying to look determined and confident, but was failing miserably. His face was bright red and he looked like he'd rather face Voldemort again rather than talk to her right now.

"Ron, why are you looking at me like that? Did my face turn purple or something?"

"No, no! Of course not! You look perfect!"

"Then what is it, Ron? There's no need to act so nervous around me. We've been friends for almost seven years. Chill out." She continued searching the shelves.

"What are you looking for?" Ron questioned, looking for a way to change the subject.

"Oh, nothing I guess. Nothing that exists here."

Ron wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, so he contented himself with following her down the rest of the row in silence. She was about to go onto the next row and continue scanning the titles, when her finger got caught in a thread loop at the top of a small book on the end of the row. She untangled her finger and in doing so got a closer look at the book. She had never seen it before; it was ragged however, and well worn, so it obviously wasn't a brand new book. There was no title on the cover, which puzzled her. She stopped and took it off the shelf, and held it in her hand. It was warm, as though someone had just put it down, which surprised her a lot. Suddenly, she had the urge to find somewhere quiet and sit down and read. She was about to walk out of the library and head towards her room, when she remembered that Ron was still following her – and that she should probably check the book out. She walked up to the main desk, still trying to figure out what Ron wanted, and how to get away from him.

"What's that?" He asked her, finding a way to open up the conversation again.

"It's a book, Ron.. I thought we'd gone over the simple principles of nouns." She flashed him a quick grin and stuck out her tongue. Then she turned and continued walking.

Madame Pince gave her an odd look when she asked to check out the book, but didn't protest. Hermione, looking at the book, missed the look. Ron, looking at Hermione, missed it as well. Hermione thanked her and started to head out of the library, Ron still tailing her. She had made it up a staircase and was in a secret corridor when Ron reached over and grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, startled; she had just about forgotten that he was next to her, as she was so used to having him there.

"Hermione… I…I…" He stuttered.

"Ron, what?" she put her hand up to turn his face so that he was looking her in the eye. "What do you keep trying to say to me?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath, steeling his nerves. "I…" He couldn't continue the sentence. Instead, he bent down and started kissing her.

She pulled away, scared. "Ron! What are you doing!" she looked around wildly, as if to assure herself that nobody had seen that. He held tighter to her wrist and pushed her against the wall, kissing her again.

This time she pulled away and shoved him back, almost panicking. She gave him a wild, terrified look, and ran away down the corridor to her room.

Ron watched her go, and then slumped down against the wall, his head in his hands.

A/N: just some info on the plot here, I started this fic a long time ago… so a lot of what was in the original doesn't fit with the actual story line anymore. Thus, I'm tweaking some of it here and there, those of you who had read it before, I hope you like the improvements. If you haven't read it before, well, I still hope you like it. I am including a lot of info from books five and six, so, if you haven't read them, watch out.