A/N: sorry for late update. it's my finals week. but once it's sembreak i promise faster updates! read and review!

Disclaimer. Not mine. Blah blah blah.

The bell rang ending Transfiguration. She walked past me and I can't help but follow her with my gaze.

"Hey, mate." Ron said to me. I turned to look at him. He was still fixing his things.

"I heard about the scene in the great hall earlier. That Granger, she's freaky." Ron said not looking at me.

I was glad he wasn't because if he did, he would have seen the deadly look I gave him.

"What?" I asked walking away knowing that he was following. I tried to sound uncaring.

"Even if there weren't much people at the hall, I'm sure she would have known that the whole school will still know about that scene." He said.

"What's the connection of that to being freaky?" I asked. He's not making sense.

"She told the whole school that she used Malfoy. That's fine with me, serves the git right but I think she's too full of herself. Who does she think she is? She might be smart but to be so blunt and proud of the evil thing she does, that's just so irritating." He said annoyed.

I was more annoyed at him, really. He doesn't know her. How can he judge her? I realized that I don't know her too and yet, I was protecting her and getting angry at my best friend because of her.

I sighed.

"What's the problem?" Ron asked and I just shook my head and Ron shrugged.

Ginny stormed in the great hall at lunch and sat beside me with a huff.

"That girl definitely gets on my nerve." Ginny said putting rice and chicken on her plate.

"Who?" I asked. I wonder who was the lucky girl that got under Ginny's skin and going to be facing hell soon. The youngest Weasley was known for her temper and her bat-boogey hex.

"Granger." She huffed. "Who does she think she is?"

"What happened?" I worried. What did Hermione do?

"She bumped me in the hallway and she just looked at me. She didn't even apologize! I swear I'd get back to her. I swear I will!" Ginny was murdering her piece of chicken and a lot of students were looking at us.

"Calm down, Gin. Don't let her get to you. She's probably crazy just like Bellatrix Lestrange so don't mind her." Ron said and grabbed a hotdog.

When he was about to bite the hotdog, it turned to a snake.

"Aaaarrgghh!" Ron yelled throwing the snake at the table and jumping backwards making him fall on his butt.

I readied my wand to kill the snake but it landed as a hotdog as if it didn't became a snake. I'm sure it did but I don't know what was happening.

We heard that laughter and we all saw Hermione walking past Ron. She did this but why?

Ginny stood up beside me and took out her wand and pointed it at Hermione.

"What's the matter, Weasley? Is there something wrong?" Hermione said.

"You bitch! Stupefy!" Ginny yelled.

Hermione was fast to react and was able to cast a protego before the spell hit her.

"Petrificus Totalus." Hermione fired at Ginny and I caught Ginny falling, petrified.

Hermione walked towards us and looked Ginny in the eye. "If you have a problem with me, Weasley, and you want to fight, it's not a problem with me. Just that, let's make it a nice match. Not here, not now. Talk to me whenever you want and set the time and place and I'll be there."

She walked out of the great hall leaving all of us stunned. I was the first to recover and revived Ginny.

"I'll show her. I'll show her. I'll show her." Ginny kept on murmuring as she too went out of the great hall.

This is just bloody brilliant. What's happening? Things weren't like this before. It wasn't nice between her and us but it certainly wasn't this bad.

…xoxo….

Ginny had not approached Hermione yet. She was training herself and I even helped her sometimes. Hermione, on the other hand, was as calm as she always is but since that scene on the great hall, she started eating alone sitting at the end of the Slytherin table. No one ever dared to sit beside her.

As a sixth year prefect, I still have to do my rounds. It's a waste of time really. Perhaps if she was doing her rounds at the same time I am, everything will be more interesting. I walked and walked not really paying attention to things so it really shocked me when a student was sent flying backwards in front of me.

I rushed to see what was happening and when I looked at my left, I saw Hermione dueling two more seventh year Slytherin boys. I rushed to her aid and stupefied one of her opponents. The other one lost focused so he was easily hit by Hermione. The three boys lay on the floor unconscious.

I looked at Hermione and saw her looking at me but something caught my eye. I ran to her and held up her arm. I saw her flinch a little.

"You're wounded and bleeding." I whispered. Blood kept on trickling down to the floor.

"Let go of me." She said.

"No. I'll take you to the hospital wing." I held her other arm and tried to drag her with me.

"I said let go of me. I'm a witch. I can heal myself." She snatched back her arm forcefully and pointed her wand at her bleeding wound.

She did heal herself but there was a very visible scar left.

"Do you have dittany on your room?" I asked her softly.

"No."

"It would leave a scar if you don't put dittany on them soon."

"I know. And I don't care." She walked away but I stopped her.

"Granger." I called her.

"What is it, Potter? You're gonna tell on me? Do it. I don't care." She turned her back on me once again but I held her arm.

"Don't touch me." She stared me in the eyes probably trying to scare me off.

"What happened?" I asked wanting to know what was going on.

"None of your business." She spat.

"Stop being so stubborn!" I hissed. I didn't let go of her arm but instead dragged her to the way to the kitchen.

"I'll curse you if you don't let me go this instant, Potter." She threatened me.

"I don't care. We have to get dittany." I said.

I felt her stiffen and follow me. She didn't fight anymore. Curiously, I looked at her. She was staring at me with a very blank expression.

"Why do you care if it leaves me a scar?" she asked.

"It won't look good on you." She laughed loudly. A cold laugh of course.

"As if I could look any worse, Potter. I know what everyone thinks about me. I know that they think of me as the worst person here in Hogwarts, even worse than Malfoy."

I sighed. Not everyone. Not me. We arrived in front of the portrait with a bowl of fruits and I tickled the pear and it opened for us. I led us in.

House elves ran to us offering a lot of food and I looked at Hermione, she was looking at them with a blank expression.

"Dobby." I called and the house elf appeared beside me.

"Yes. Harry Potter, sir. Dobby is here." Dobby bowed down. I knelt in front of Dobby so I could be of eye level with him.

"Dobby, will you get me some dittany at the hospital wing please?" I asked him and the elf nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course, Harry Potter, sir. Anything for Harry Potter, sir." Dobby bowed down once again and disapparated.

I led Hermione to a table and let her sit down. I sat down beside her.

"Do you want some food?" I asked and she looked at me.

"No. Aren't you going to tell Dumbledore about what you saw?" she asked.

"Not if you'll tell me what exactly happened." I offered her an apple.

She sighed and took it.

"It looks like Parkinson got some seventh year students on her side. I was doing my patrol when they appeared. We had a little chat before we dueled but that was it. Happy?" she said emotionlessly and I sighed and nodded.

"Is this the first time this happened?" I asked softly.

"Not really." To say that I was having conversation with her shocked me was an understatement.

I looked at her and she looked so tired. I guess even a strong witch like her gets tired too and this is her breaking point.

"Do you think I could spend the rest of the night here?" She asked.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not really up for whatever Parkinson has prepared for me when I go back to my dorm." She said and crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down. She yawned and closed her eyes.

This is the first time I saw this side of her. I think this is the first time she ever showed this side of her to someone. I watched her sleep and I can't help but appreciate the beauty in front of me.

She looked so peaceful. It was the face of that little girl I met before, so innocent, so warm. Her skin was white and I remember how soft it was when I was leading her here. Her eyes, if only there are feelings in them, would probably hypnotize every man in this castle. Her lips were pink and full and it looked so soft. I wonder how it would feel to kiss her.

I felt blood rushed to my cheeks. What the hell was I thinking?

Dobby appeared a moment later holding some dittany. I conjured up a pillow and lift her head up carefully to remove her arm and replaced it with a pillow. She must be so tired considering she didn't even wake. I placed dittany on her wounded arm and so the scar slowly starts to fade.

I conjured up a blanket and placed it around her. I don't want to change her position because I might wake her. I conjured up another pillow and laid my head on it facing her. I can't help but marvel at the feeling of sleeping with her as the last person I'll see.

After a few minutes of watching her with a smile, I felt sleep engulf me and I drifted off to a dream where Hermione was warm and cheerful. I think I'm….

In love with her…

Zchynard: what do you think? review please! thanks for the five people who had reviewed my first chap! please continue supporting. thanks lot! :D