X. Competition

"Bloody hell, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed upon seeing her face. She supposed it was quite the sight, to see her with a split lip and an eye that was beginning to turn a dark shade of purple. Most girls would've used some beauty charms to cover up such blemishes (if they even got them in the first place), but Hermione wasn't like most girls. Her headstrong and confrontational nature was what got her into such a mess in the first place. It had started when she'd overheard Seamus and Dean talking after Charms class, while everyone was packing up to head to lunch.

"Everything I'd heard, I figured she'd put out, but no. All she wanted to do was kiss me!" She heard Seamus exclaim to Dean, who shook his head.

"Rumors can be pretty damn misleading." Dean had said, "I guess now we can tell everyone that she's a slut that will only lead you on." Hermione scolded herself for not being able to just let it go and continue on with her day like nothing ever happened. She just felt compelled to follow them. I mean, just because she thought they were talking about Lavender didn't mean they were. She and Seamus had only dated briefly during fourth year, and they were probably talking about someone more recent. Why would he still be mad over his relationship with Lavender anyway? It was so long ago. Still, Hermione followed loosely behind them out of the classroom.

"Not that it even matters. Look at who she's dating now, that's damaging enough in my opinion. Hermione Granger is just the bottom of the barrel, no doubt about it." They both laughed at this. Hermione could feel something burning in the back of her throat, leaving a foul taste in her mouth. She couldn't tell if it was anger or hurt, or both, but it lit a fire under the surface of everything that was her. Subconsciously, she gripped her wand a little tighter as she approached the pair, bag slung across her opposite shoulder.

"Why is it that I feel you both have something to say to my face?" Hermione bit back as much of the anger as she could, but it certainly didn't keep her from being hostile. Seamus turned to stare at her with wide eyes and Dean just looked amused at her courage.

"He was saying that you're quite literally the last person any guy in this school would choose to date, and that includes the Slytherins. Lavender deserves you, she's a slut too daft to figure out how to be an actual slut. Shame though, that all her looks are being wasted on you, but it's not like either of you are going to put out, anyway."

Hermione was surprised she actually let him finish the sentence before firing off a spell. She didn't even remember what it was exactly, it was all a spur of the moment affair, sparked by passion and by anger. One of them cast a spell that sent her flying back into the stone wall, resulting in her split lip and many other bruises that she was sure were appearing underneath her clothes. She'd recovered surprisingly quickly (she figured it was probably the adrenaline), hitting Dean with her fiercest "stupefy!" This put him out of commission, but certainly didn't stop Seamus from running up to her and catching her with a fierce right hook on the cheek as she was rising from the cold floor. Hermione responded with the hardest kick she could manage aimed right between Seamus's legs. At this point, McGonagall (and more professors that Hermione was too out of it to recognize) appeared and broke up the fight.

After a quick check up in the hospital wing and a stern talking to from both McGonagall and Dumbledore, which resulted in one hundred points being deducted from Gryffindor on her behalf alone. She was sure it would be at least another two hundred from both Seamus and Dean, but at the moment that she found herself sitting on the common room couch, she didn't particularly care.

"So, what happened?" Harry asked. "I mean, we've heard rumors, but we don't really know if they're true…" Hermione smiled slightly, still able to taste the overwhelming metallic flavor of her own blood.

"The short version is that Seamus and Dean were saying not too pleasant things about both Lavender and I, and I lost control." Hermione explained. It was true, after all. She had lost control, no matter how proud of herself she was for doing so. Harry and Ron looked to each other for a minute, and then grinned at her.

"Dean's in the hospital wing nursing the worst migraine of his life and Seamus starting crying cause of how hard you kicked him, from what we've heard." Ron said. "I didn't think you had it in you, Hermione." He laughed heartily, and Harry and Hermione soon both joined in with him. Their moment of reveling in Hermione's defeat of Seamus and Dean was cut short by the loud entrance of Lavender from the portrait hole. She rushed into the common room, looking relieved to find Hermione sitting on the couch. Ron and Harry both stepped aside to give her access to her girlfriend.

"Christ, Hermione, are you okay?" Lavender was speaking far quicker than she usually did, color painting her pale cheeks. Hermione couldn't help but smile, she'd probably run all the way from the Great Hall when she'd heard about the fight. She took Hermione's cheeks gently in her hands, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. Hermione grabbed her waist, pulling the girl into her lap with a quiet (and rather adorable) squeak of protest from her. Lavender just smiled at her, before Hermione pressed another kiss against her lips, ignoring the dull ache of her newly acquired bruises.

"You should be quite proud of her, you know." Harry spoke to Lavender, emerald eyes sparkling with something that Hermione wasn't in the state to decipher.

"Yeah, she kicked some serious ass out there!" Ron chimed in. He was having just as much fun with this as Harry was.

"In the name of love, I hope?" Lavender asked her softly, arms wrapped around her neck. It only took one look at Lavender for Hermione to nod. This girl, with all her beauty and her shame, with her fair hair and even fairer skin, watermelon lip gloss and her passion. Even with all her flaws, her fears, her insecurities, Hermione knew she loved her. In fact, those flaws were just as responsible for the love that she felt as her perfections, the love that made Hermione's heart beat faster and her cheeks flush.

"Of course."