The Dark Prince

That night Hermione lay awake in bed unable to sleep. 7 months and she hadn't noticed. But, now that she thought about it, it did make sense. The way he would always leave and not tell her where he was going, and became more "jumpy", in a sense. How he would constantly look around and if you happened to come up behind him he would go nuts. Yep now she understood the signs. Slowly she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

When Hermione awoke the next morning she felt slightly better than the day before. Thankfully it was Saturday and she was able to sleep in. she was awake, but she didn't feel like getting up, so she rolled over and just lay there. It was about noon when she decided to shower. Maybe that would make her feel better. She entered the bathroom and set her PJ's and new clothes to the side. She opened the stall door, turned the water to warm and stepped in. As the drops trickled down her back her muscles and mind relaxed. She grabbed her strawberry scented shampoo and began to wash her hair, slowly scrubbing away the tension. Hermione then repeated the process with the conditioner. She turned off the shower and stepped in front of the mirror and wiped away the steam to study how she looked today. Well, it was better than yesterday. The black rings around her eyes had disappeared and she wore no makeup so there weren't any smudges on her face. As she studied her face she realized that she didn't look all that bad. Maybe if she fixed her hair and put on a little eye-…. No! She was fine the way she was. Well, maybe she could change her hair for a day, and try some different makeup. I mean what harm could it do?

So Hermione set to work on her hair. She dried it, then pulled out her straightener and got down to work. After, she started on her makeup. First she put on light blue eye shadow, then some dark blue eyeliner, on her lower eye lid, followed by some mascara. Once she was satisfied she got dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a plain baby blue t-shirt that hugged her curves and a pair of white and blue sneaker. Simple, but she liked it. And as her finishing touch she ran a stick of shimmer lip gloss over her pink lips, then charmed her hair and makeup to stay that way all day. Smiling into the mirror she grabbed her stuff, placed it on her bed and left, almost forgetting about Harry and Ginny. Almost.

Lunch, of course, had already begun so she headed for something to eat. She entered and everything seemed fine until she spotted Harry and Ginny. Her breath halted and her movement stopped. They looked so happy while she wasn't. Harry was tickling her and all Ginny did was giggle until Harry kissed her on the lips. Ron was totally fine with this betrayal apparently. So she decided to sit down beside Seamus and Neville. "Hello Hermione. How are you?" Neville asked politely.

"I've been better, but thanks for asking." She smiled sweetly.

"So Harry and Ginny look happy together huh?" Neville commented Hermione felt another round of tears coming and stood to leave.

"Well-uh-nice talking to you Neville." She forced out then ran out of the Great Hall before anyone could see. But one person did, and followed her out. Neville seemed confused and turned to his friend hoping for an answer. "Neville, you shouldn't have said that." Seamus said to him.

"Why? What did I do wrong?"

"Hermione caught Harry and Ginny together the other night while they were still going out. It was sad. I heard everything. I was awake in my bed."

"You mean…?"

"Yes Neville. Harry cheated on her with Ginny."

"Oh, poor Hermione." He sighed.

Draco knew where she was going and took a short cut to drop off the letter. He opened the doors and was happy she wasn't there yet. Then placed the letter on the table, inscribed her name on the front then left. He would be watching her that night.

Hermione, as Draco assumed, left for the solitude of the library, and headed straight for her table in the back. Only to find a letter left there. She gently turned it over in her hands looking at it questionably. Deciding a little look wouldn't hurt she opened the seal and pulled the parchment out, and began to read the beautifully written script:

I have watched you for years and never have I seen you as low as I did yesterday and today. I know of a place where you can be totally alone if you should ever like to go there. In this room there are books I'm sure you've never read and you can relax, just be yourself. Anything you want just think of and it will appear. You can find this room just past the stairs to the astronomy tower. There is a painting of the planets and stars, I'm sure you've seen.-" I have" thought Hermione.- step up to it and whisper the password (integrity) and enter. You and I are the only people who know of this secret room. You have no reason to trust me, but it's there if you choose to go.

The Dark Prince

"The Dark Prince?" She questioned out loud. Who was he? Why did he care? Maybe she should go. She did need some new reading material, and she could be completely alone. "Okay, I'll do it." She said to no one in particular.

She would go there late at night to read, be alone, and do what ever she felt like doing. Hermione the grabbed some of her parchments, books, quills and ink, and began to work on her charms essay. Little did she know "The Dark Prince" was watching her from a table across the room, smirking. She was very trusting.