THC

House: Ravenclaw

Class: Head of House

Category: Drabble

Prompt(s) chosen: [Season] Spring

Word count: 990

Notes: Modern college au, I don't mention the friends Hermione had a falling out with because I don't envision them to be HP characters but you can look at it how you want.

Wait for the snow to melt and the flowers to bloom

Outside, flowers have begun to bloom and the leaves no longer fall and decay on the ground. The world seems to have gotten its life back. For a time that's meant to symbolize regrowth, Hermione feels like everything around her has died.

Schoolwork has piled up around her and she feels like she's losing her mind. The clock blinks next to her as a reminder that her assignment is already late. Her laptop is open to an email from her professor granting her the extra time to complete it and yet, she feels as though she doesn't deserve it. The tears stream down her face as the document in the other window remains blank.

Growing up, she never had issues with completing her school work but this semester has been difficult. Her friend group has slowly dwindled and the one friend she thought she had left no longer speaks to her. It's not like Hermione let them all walk away either, she fought until she couldn't fight anymore. She never liked giving up, and she never liked asking for help. Unfortunately, both have occurred in such a small amount of time.

The weather outside is finally nice and she doesn't have anyone to share it with. The unexpected heat from the afternoon has carried into the evening, her window is open, and that's as much of the outdoors as Hermione has seen in a few days. She knows it's bad but she's surviving off the food she had in her room instead of leaving to get food from the dining hall. Even though no one is looking at her, she can't help but feel like everyone is staring when she eats alone.

"Just turn the computer off," Hermione whispers to herself. There's no use in worrying about it now that her professor has granted her some extra time. "Go to sleep."

She can't move off the floor where she ended up. The desk that she usually kept pristine is a mess of papers she never put away. Her mind can't focus on everything that has piled up while she fought to have some control of her life. The floor was the only clean area of her room.

Outside she can hear a group of students yelling, probably heading to some house party that the cops will break up, and while Hermione has never been the partying type she feels even more alone in her room.

University was supposed to be fun, and yet, she's never done any of the "fun" things she was meant to. She never dated anyone, never went to a party, she was always the voice of reason in the broken friend group she used to have. Maybe that's why they all ditched her. She sucked the fun out of everything it seemed.

Her phone was probably dead somewhere in her room. She hasn't bothered to check it in a while, now that there isn't anyone to talk to. Her parents text her and as long as she calls them once a week, they don't really mind what she gets up to. Most likely because they know she isn't going to do anything they would disapprove of.

"I just don't understand," the tears come out in sobs now, "It was fine a little while ago and now I'm the monster that has torn everything apart."

Hermione knows that she hasn't done anything wrong. She made a mistake, apologized for it, but she never did anything wrong. But she also knows that in the end, when those friends talk about it to other people, she'll be the bad guy.

She finally moves and closes the laptop, and somehow she ends up in the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth. She doesn't remember getting up and walking there. Her brain had been too preoccupied with everything it seems. Hermione completes her nighttime routine on autopilot and falls into her bed. Even for Hermione, it's quite early to be going to sleep, but there isn't much else for her to do.

"I'll sit outside for a bit tomorrow," if she says it aloud then maybe she'll have the energy to do it. "Get some fresh air and some exercise."

She wakes up before her alarm goes off but she doesn't let herself fall back asleep. Hermione pushes herself out of bed and gets dressed before she can change her mind. The walk to the dining hall isn't long and she eats something other than cereal or frozen meals for the first time in three days.

After breakfast, she takes a walk around campus. It's late April, and the sun is warming up everything around her. Most of the campus is still asleep since it's the weekend. Hermione doesn't have to recover from a hangover so she gets to enjoy what nature has to offer her.

Since the weather has warmed up, the fountain in the middle of campus has been turned on. Hermione sits and watches the water splash into the pool. She observes some birds walking around the edge and startle when a squirrel runs past.

It can't heal what she's going through but she knows that she'll get through it. Winter always turns into Spring. The cold goes away and everything comes back to life. Maybe she hasn't reached that point yet to coincide with the season, but she'll reach it. She will manage to finish her work and she'll be able to form new friendships. This isn't the end of everything just because one thing ended.

Like every book she's ever read, this is just a new chapter, a new beginning, and that helps Hermione feel at peace for the first time in a while. Her entire life isn't going to be summarized by her college years despite how everyone makes it seem. Life goes on, and hers will as well.

She just has to wait for the snow to melt and the flowers to blossom.