A/N: Hey guys, so I want to apologize for posting such a short chapter. My feelings were clearly reflected in it, as I've had a rather shitty day myself (Although, I've got nothing on Hermione) and I just feel like doing a bit of reading for a change, rather than writing. This chapter's a little more intense than the others. I hope that makes up for the length and you can all forgive me. Thanks so much for reading and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
She was starting to get used to all the whispers and head turns, Hermione thought to herself, as she entered the Great Hall for breakfast, but they didn't annoy her any less. She had spent half the night trying to figure out the charm to fix her uniform, when she finally did, she didn't put it back quite to the same loose and too big state it was in before, but it was no longer the skin-tight, having-to-apologize-for-your-arse-falling-out-of-the-bottom-of-your-skirt type deal that it was. Even though it wasn't a dramatic change, it was definitely getting attention and she was surprised by just how much. Her uniform was fitting similarly to how most of the other girls wore theirs. I guess it was just something no one expected from her – and since a lot of attention was already on her (thank you, Malfoy), they noticed.
She hated herself for it, but she loved the way Ron gawked at her as she walked past him. Hermione knew this new outfit didn't make her any more attractive, but since Ron had at least at some point been attracted to her (she hoped), and it obviously had an effect on him. What did she care what that stupid git thought about her? She reasoned with herself that it was just because of a recent breakup. But, as usual, she knew she was lying to herself. She hadn't really had feelings for him for months.
These thoughts turned her mood sour and in a hurry. She hadn't slept enough last night, and it showed. She was downright irritable. She wanted to rip the eyeballs right out of the sockets of those that so much as glanced in her direction.
Taking her seat at the end of the table, she grabbed a piece of toast and viciously buttered it, staring directly at Malfoy the whole time. All this was his fault, after all. All the new attention. The hateful glares she was on the receiving end of from her old friends.
It seemed that Ron hadn't learned anything from their first meal back at Hogwarts, because he was loudly talking about her again. "Of course she whored up her wardrobe; Malfoy wouldn't be caught dead shagging anything less than a total slag… even she's smart enough to have figured that one out."
Still not removing her eyes from Malfoy, she yelled loud enough for everyone to hear, "Shut your fucking mouth, Ronald. Have you checked your new girlfriend's skirt, lately? It's about three inches shorter than mine, so don't you dare call me a slag."
Malfoy's smirk grew, obviously enjoying her chastisement of Ron. When she had finished destroying yet another piece of toast with her butter knife, she looked over at him and gave him her deadliest scowl. She knew she probably looked demented, but she just didn't care.
"She's not my girlfriend…" she was pretty sure she heard Ron mutter. Lucky for him, Lavender wasn't present.
"I fucking bet. That's why you were hanging all over her last night. Although, it seemed that I was the one you couldn't take your eyes off of." Hermione looked around and saw there were no professors present in the Great Hall. Perfect. She was going to take this opportunity to publicly humiliate the man who managed to break her heart with his words, when it wasn't really his to begin with.
"I was just surprised to see such a skank walking through the common room," Ron said, making up an excuse for his obvious behavior he couldn't deny.
"Yes, that's what it was, I'm sure. Your eyes weren't moving between my tits and thighs the whole time or anything." Her sarcasm and crudeness seemed to shock most of the student body. Lavender chose this moment to join them at their meal. Her mouth immediately turned down into a frown.
"You don't even know what you're talking about," Lavender said to her, condescendingly.
"Don't even get me started on you…" she spat in the girl's directions. "Ron, maybe you should shut your girl up…"
"She is not my girl!" he yelled back at her. Lavender was now looking at him, clearly furious. Hermione laughed. Seeing her anger, he quickly shut his mouth. Smart move.
Feeling accomplished, she got up to leave, her very well-buttered toast untouched.
"Have you checked yourself for diseases lately? Looking a bit peaky. You're bound to have caught something from that slimy git." He just had to try to get the last word in, didn't he? He really should have known better.
"Fucking hell, Ron, are you really that jealous? You should learn to watch your damn mouth. You might have actually had a second chance with me if you knew how."
"Yeah, like I'd want another chance with you." His inability to look in her eye said otherwise.
"You just keep telling yourself that when you're fucking this cunt over here and trying not to cry out my name when you cum," she said, nodding her head toward Lavender.
"What did you just call me?" Hermione was trying to pretend the silly girl didn't exist, but she just making it so fucking difficult.
"A cunt. You know, another word for the female genitals. Vagina. Twat. Whatever you like."
"You foul-mouthed bitch!" Lavender came at her, obviously ready for a catfight. Hermione quickly threw a shielding charm up, violently impeding the attack. Lavender looked dumbfounded, as she hit the shield and fell on her bum.
"Don't you fucking touch me," she said, glaring down her nose at the girl. Hermione took one last look at Malfoy, who was practically in hysterics, and left the Hall. She was absolutely fuming. She knew she should have contained her anger a little more, but she didn't want to. She couldn't have cared much less at that moment about what anyone thought, or what trouble this might get her into. Lavender was lucky her head was still attached to her shoulders.
"That was bloody brilliant! For a mudblood, that is." She would recognize that voice anywhere.
"Get the fuck away from me, Malfoy. I don't feel like dealing with your endless taunting, if you could call it something so nice."
"Someone's a little crabby today. Is it because you were up all night, thinking of me, as you fingered yourself to an orgasm, wishing it was my fingers underneath those red, lacey knickers?"
"You wish." His crudeness didn't even faze her right now. She just wanted to get as far from him as possible. She wanted to cry. He had other ideas, however, as he followed her. "Why won't you just leave me the hell alone?"
"I'd rather not. Besides, I wanted to let you know that word of your knickers has spread all the way through third year. You're quite popular with the young boys."
Turning to him, she asked, "Why are you trying to ruin my life?" with sincerity that seemed to shock him. It registered on his face, but only for a fraction of a second.
"You ruin mine."
"What have I ever done to you to deserve what you've done to me? Honestly?"
"You existed, Mudblood." His lighthearted mood was now gone, the darkness ebbing in. "Your filthy existence in this school has been enough to ruin my entire education. You strut through these halls as if you actually belong here. Like you're welcome here. And you're not."
"How dare you? I've earned my place here more than you ever have. I have worked my arse off, and I deserve to be here as much, if not more, than any other pureblood student in this school."
"Don't compare yourself them. They're your superiors, and you're dirty. Worthless scum, you are. You need to learn to have a little more respect." He was getting closer to her again, and she welcomed it. She was ready to take on anyone. The rage rushing through her body had her quivering from head to toe.
"Fuck you, Malfoy," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. His harsh words normally never affected her this way, but everything was already so wrong. "Go fuck yourself and each of your little superior pureblood friends if you think they're so great."
"Watch yourself," he growled. "Watch what you say to me."
"No. I'm done censoring myself, if you haven't noticed." She got in his face this time. She was too enraged… too upset to be afraid of him. "You are nothing but an arrogant, self-righteous bastard. You think you're so great when you're nothing but a coward! A worthless coward! And I am so fucking sick of the way you look down your nose at me, like you're so much better. At least I fought for what I believed in. I always have. You… you just stand there and watch, and let everyone do your bidding for you. You even stood back and practically let one of your friends die for you!" His eyes narrowed even further at her reference to Crabbe's death. Hermione was gasping for her air after her rampage, and realizing she had been jabbing her finger into his chest, punctuating each sentence physically.
"Get your bloody finger the fuck off of me!" He yelled in her face, smacking her hand away hard. The side of Hermione's hand stung from the impact. She glared in reproach. He then reached out, grabbing her chin with a brutal amount of force. The bruising pressure of his fingers made her want to cry out, but she wasn't about to let that happen. Not in front of him. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she bit her lip to hold in the pain.
"Look at me." He sounded strangely calm. Reluctantly opening her eyes, she met his beautiful, penetrating gaze. Her anger disappeared, along with the pain where his fingers squeezed her jaw. All she could do was stare back into those silver eyes. There was so much pain and so much conflict lying in them. Her heart ached for him.
They remained that way for what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only seconds.
As he pushed her away from him by the grip on her chin, everything came flowing back, drowning her. This was the man she loathed almost more than any other. Her childhood nemesis and the current bane of her existence. The ache came back to her jaw, as did the realization of what just happened while she regained her balance, both mentally and physically. She didn't dare look at his face again, afraid of what she might see.
"You better watch your back, mudblood." His words penetrated her in a way that made a shiver crawl up her spine. She would never, ever admit it out loud, but the power that beautiful, blonde man had over her absolutely terrified her.
