By lunchtime, Neville was surprised to hear that both Hermione and Ginny were going to be paired up with Malfoy and Zabini for the entire school year. He expressed great concern and worried what Harry and Ron would say.
"No, absolutely not. They cannot know about this," Ginny outwardly exclaimed.
"When they eventually find out, which I'm sure won't be too long from now, how would you think they'd react knowing you didn't tell them directly?" Neville brought up a great point which made Ginny promptly bow her head down in defeat.
Hermione was suddenly reminded that she had to write a letter to the two, keeping them up to date about her days in Hogwarts as promised, especially on the first day. Although she really wanted to exclude Malfoy in her letters, she couldn't not tell them about him.
"How about we delay the news? They've just started their jobs and we wouldn't want to stress them more than they probably already are," Hermione interjected.
"Good idea! We'll tell them, eventually, and hopefully, by then everything will be sorted out."
Ginny was happily resolved and ate her lunch. Neville watched Ginny in puzzlement before chowing down into his own lunch, shaking his head at the younger girl in the process.
Hermione couldn't wait to write to the two, however, and decided to head to the library for the remainder of the period.
Before she left, Ginny called out to her.
"Hermione, you haven't eaten anything since this morning! You have to eat!"
Hermione, not wanting to upset the girl, grabbed a green apple from one of the picnic baskets on the table to go.
"I'll see you later!"
Once she made it to the library, all newly repaired, she retreated to her usual quaint spot where she'd always done her work in peace. Hermione manoeuvred her way through the large bookshelves and tables that structured the library and was ready to release some built up stress.
But the moment she came to her table, a certain platinum-haired Slytherin was fast asleep in her chair. His house robe draped over the chair's backside, leaving him in his white button-up shirt constricting around his arms that covered his face. With his head in between them, Hermione could barely see his sleepy expression.
Nevertheless, she was utterly shocked and instantly dropped her apple in hand.
She's seen so much of Malfoy the very first day of school it was starting to tear her sanity apart. Seeing him sit and contaminate the only place she could call her safe haven ripped at her insides. How dare he ruin her simple pleasures.
She didn't want to waste any more time glaring at Malfoy's unsuspecting form and hurriedly exited the library.
Hermione never saw his head lift wearily at what had fallen in front of him.
As the day went on, Hermione sat quietly in her last class with Luna. Since lunchtime, she felt restless and began to feel more haggard. Luna was a bit worried and asked Hermione if she had eaten beforehand.
"Just a bit," Hermione lied as she wrote down notes simultaneously.
"Then it must be the nargles," Luna concluded before pulling out a butterbeer cork necklace from the insides of her robe, "here, take this. It will keep them away and hopefully, you will feel better."
Hermione stopped writing to stare at the item the Ravenclaw held out to her. Even after gaping at its unsightly appearance, she brought it up over her head and pulled it gracefully down and around her neck before tucking it into her shirt for safe keeping. She was genuinely surprised by Luna's unusual yet thoughtful gift and took the necklace in gratitude.
The girl's subtle yet quirky smile made Hermione feel a little better and she reciprocated the small gesture before she continued to write her notes.
But by the end of class, Hermione didn't feel any better and physically felt weaker in comparison to her emotional state. She begun to feel the consequence of not eating reach somewhere in her abdomen and mentally cursed herself for not listening to Ginny.
When the bell decisively rang, Hermione got up swiftly from her seat, after quickly packing her supplies, and was one of the first to promptly leave the classroom. She left before Luna could even ask to escort her out.
As she hurriedly made her way past hordes of students, who from time to time stopped to point her out, she noticed two sizable figures walk her way. Malfoy, holding an apple, was in conversation with Theodore Nott. The two Slytherins hadn't noticed her as she tried to hide away from their eventual gaze and continued onward to her room.
Sighting Malfoy again made Hermione want to hurl and so she sprinted her way to the Gryffindor Tower.
Hermione plopped herself onto her bed once she finally reached her room. Her gut stung and her mind felt like it would spill out of her ears. The pounding in her chest ached and she couldn't stop the constant pangs that rung through her head.
Was she going insane?
Tears fell from her clenched eyes as she held herself tightly to her covers. Every moment and every feeling had swelled up tremendously like it was finally going to blow from all the tension. Her silent screams as she inhaled and exhaled heavily ran continuously until she no longer had the energy to persist. Hermione eventually cried herself to sleep, drowned in her soundless tears.
Finally, did she rest in a dreamless state of mind.
By evening, a gentle pat on Hermione's arm woke her. Ginny sat beside her form and looked rather worried to see her dishevelled and still in uniform.
"Hermione, are you alright? Luna said you ran back to the dorm looking pale," Ginny asked as she rubbed Hermione's arm in comfort.
"I feel a lot better now," Hermione sat up and rubbed her right temple, "what time is it?"
"It's six, which means dinner should be ready," Ginny got up from the bed and placed a hand on her hip, "and since you're feeling better as you say you are, you're going to go down to the hall and eat an actual meal. Part of the reason why you're feeling worn out is that your nutrient intake is so low."
"Thanks for the concern, but I'm all right, I've eaten enough," Hermione returned, not wanting to see a certain classmate just yet.
"I'm serious Hermione, I'm worried about you. Your behaviour isn't normal. Don't make me have to owl Harry and Ron about this, because like you said, they shouldn't stress out more than what they're dealing with right now. I know you aren't eating properly Hermione, Luna told me."
Hermione sighed and realised how naive she was behaving.
"If you're feeling bad, it may be that time of the month. Maybe you should visit Madam Pomfrey and ask for a potion to relieve the pain," Ginny suggested.
Ginny was right, it must have been her monthly coming soon. It would explain all of her emotions and physical sensations hitting her all at once. It would explain her loss of appetite and weariness too.
"Thank you, Ginny. I don't know what I'd do without you here," Hermione sincerely acclaimed.
"Not a problem. I'm here for you Hermione."
Hermione hugged Ginny as she got up to head for dinner. Ginny remained by her side the entire walk in case Hermione ever felt too feeble. Luckily, she was able to walk with enough strength in her spine towards the Great Hall with no troubles.
Hermione and Ginny arrived later than most and they both received a good amount of stares as they entered. Once they reached the Gryffindor table, Hermione paused to stare at the black plaque that was still situated at the front of the hall behind the professors. For a quick second, her heart pounded in her chest seeing the ominous object displayed there at the front but settled down when Ginny brought her attention to the food before her.
"Hermione, this looks delicious!" Ginny exclaimed to avert her gaze.
Hermione smiled at the girl and took her seat next to the redhead. She managed to eat some things and eventually an entire meal which was a relief.
But when she thought she could finally eat and function regularly, she could sense again that familiar pair of eyes eerily graze the back of her head.
Malfoy's stone-cold stare caught her eyes as she rotated her head his way. He held no snarl nor any sign of disgust looking at her and she couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she was a common source of prospect. Before she could look away with slight apprehension, the Slytherin's attention shifted to Zabini who spoke to him by his side and their contact broke.
Hermione was left puzzled.
What did he want from her?
Her attention was then interrupted by Ginny and Neville as they all finished their dinner and started to clear up and head in for the night. Hermione followed the pair quietly, relieved to be leaving the hall.
Back at the Common Room, the three decided to sit together in front of the fireplace and write their letters back home. Ginny wrote to her parents and Harry while Neville wrote to his grandmother. Hermione wrote to Harry first and recounted her time in Hogwarts so far. She knew Harry was more reasonable of the two boys when it came to mishaps but for his sake, decided to lay off about the Slytherin news and tell him instead of some of the physical changes that happened to the school. When it came to writing to Ron, she spoke with more affection, her reddened face peaking a certain Gryffindor's interest.
"Writing to Ronald are you?" Ginny asked with a smug look.
"It's none of your concern," Hermione countered not looking at the girl from embarrassment.
Neville sniggered a little from Ginny's inquiry. She had to hit him and the younger girl's arms to stop them from erupting into childish laughter.
"And what about you and Harry, hm?" Hermione countered again.
Ginny's ears slowly resembled the common room's colour and had to swat at both Hermione and Neville before they could make fun of her in return.
"Luckily for me, it's just me grandmum," Neville voiced complacent.
The two girls promptly looked at each other and smiled in unison before replying, "that's because Luna is here."
The sudden jerk of his hand caused his ink bottle to spill over onto his letter and Hermione and Ginny burst out into laughter from his reaction. The three of them went back and forth at each other's necks until they couldn't take all of the pangs hitting their stomachs from the humorous banter.
Hermione hadn't felt this way since her school days with Harry and Ron. Watching Ginny and Neville interact was a whole new experience for her and she quite liked it. But alas, it would never give her the same warmth Harry and Ron gave her, not with the chill in the air still persistent.
When she finished her letters to the boys, she heard Ginny speak of the start of the new Quidditch season to Neville. She asked him to consider trying out for a position on the team since she was the new captain looking for new members. She complained about the old Slytherin captain, Theodore Nott, taking up a position he should have given up to an underclassman but all in all, wondered how well he'll train his team for the year. Neville replied back to the fiery redhead and Hermione found herself distant yet again.
She wondered if Malfoy would join the Slytherin Quidditch team that year before she shook her head from ever thinking such a thing. Thinking about Malfoy would only do her more harm than good in her current emotional state. It was imminently exhausting.
But why couldn't she stop?
Hermione shivered once more before turning herself in for the night. The earlier she slept, the more she had time to rest before the nightmares began.
Oh, how she quivered at the thought.