She didn't manage to slip off before the interrogation – thought Ginny had lost her the minute she was out of Great Hall, but Neville knew better; he was in her heels until he was able to confront her in the Gryffindor common room right before their first lesson, Charms.

"Hermione!" he called out.

She scowled, but was careful not to have Neville see it. She continued on, praying inwardly to finally reach the girl dormitories' staircase without seeming too desperate to avoid Neville.

She didn't manage as Neville grabbed her wrist and tugged on it, but still giving her the opportunity to just flee way. With a sigh Hermione decided against it – this conversation was bound to happen with either of her friends.

"Care to explain?" he asked in a tone so tender that it softened her determination. Even just from this she knew that he really did care for her – so she nodded rigidly and sat down in front of the fire with calm heart.

Her gaze never left the flickering flames as she was mesmerized by their beauty. Their warmth relaxed her muscles and she enjoyed it dearly. School made her so stiff and exhausted.

He spoke out of the blue, shyly and afraid not to make her angry with his words, "Are you... friends with them?" he dared with pleading eyes.

Hermione pulled up her knees to tightly hug them to her chest before answering, "More like distant acquaintances. Like you. Or Ginny. But nothing more, really."

"Why did you help them?"

Ouch. Now this was forward.

She peered up at him with what she believed to be the most innocent eyes of a little girl, "Because they needed guidance?"

This seemed to snap the scale to the side. Definitely not for her advances – she thought when seeing Neville's eyes flare.

"When they were smashed and hardly able to stand on their two feet? Merlin Hermione, the whole school knows their little escapades by now! And they labelled you as their good-doer! A guardian!" he exasperated and ran his fingers through his dark hair, desperate to get his point through her infamously stubborn skull.

She shrugged, "I was labelled mudblood before."

Without looking at him, she knew what he felt his stomach churn at her words. Hech, even her stomach churned! He was ashamed as he looked away from her, goose-bumps evident on his skin.

She didn't dare add that good-doer and guardian was still better than the latter.

"You shouldn't say that."

She nodded in acknowledgement. After all, she knew that this was one of the dirtiest cards in her possession however she couldn't resist using it. She needed to distance herself, especially from sweet, naive Neville. He still didn't see the colour between white and black.

She saw as he glanced down on her covered left hand and she made sure to move it away from his line of sight. He may not know for sure what was carved there, but he probably had a good idea about it.

"Why do you keep... squirming away, Hermione?" he asked, his tone soft and comforting, eyes radiating warmth, "You never sit with us at breakfast, always in the library and all you do is going to classes. It's not... healthy, Hermione."

She scowled, knowing what he wanted to say. 'It's not normal.' However she answered him without actually giving answer to his question, "I have to study."

He repeated the motion of running his fingers through his hair as he snorted in disbelief, "Can't you just... trust in us?"

She smiled bitterly and turned back to the fire, her hands running up and down on her legs absent-mindedly. "Trust who, Neville? There're plenty of people who still look down on me, and we fought a bloody war against this ideology. I was told in third year that because my magic is not that ancient in my blood, therefore I'm unable to get Divination right. Professor Flitwick was actually surprised, because I got Wingardium Leviosa at first try despite being a muggle-born. Now, do you think that's fair? After all these years, I'm tired of proving myself."

When she lifted her head to lock eyes with Neville, she could easily spot the nervousness and cluelessness swirling in his dark irises. He tried to understand - but both knew that was impossible for him.

Biting her lip, she ended up saying, "Maybe I shouldn't say that, but I couldn't change that fact. Anything, but that."

And with that, she marched down for Charms on auto-pilot, blind to her surrounding, and with spiking tears glistening in her eyes. She escaped.