For a moment, the anger she felt towards the ring lying so innocently in front of her faded. She knew in her heart that it had not been given to her with the intention of causing hurt or pain. On the contrary, it was a gift of love. The card which had accompanied it had been longwinded, talking about many matters, but of the ring, it had said that the sapphire stone symbolised her sharp mind and the gold symbolised love for her. If ever things did not make sense and logic threatened to defy her, she need only look at the sapphire, which above all, represented clear thinking. Something like that, anyway. She had torn up the card and burnt it, so she could not check for the exact phrase.
A resentful laugh, which sounded extremely out of place in the empty dormitory, echoed around the room. Things definitely did not make sense at the moment. Logic was most certainly threatening to defy her. She looked at the ring, waiting for its supposed magic to work. How ironic that it did the exact opposite of what it was meant to do. The ring did not help her think clearly at all. Rather, it only clouded up her mind further with thoughts of anger. The ring had failed in its purpose and thus, she figured, it was pointless keeping it. It would only serve to remind her of the meaning of pain. Whatever pity she had felt for the ring was now gone, and destroying it was once again the only thing she wanted to do.
Resolute, she headed out of her dormitory, and proceeded out of the Common Room, with the ring clasped tightly in her hand. She half wished that it would simply melt there and then in the palm of her hand, so that she would not have to follow out the rest of a plan that she knew was rather risky. But she had never been one to rely upon wishful thinking, and continued on, determined and certain there was no other way. As she approached the Great Hall, she realised, to her disgust, that the feast had ended and the students who had not returned home for the break were singing carols. Obviously, a considerable amount of time had passed. She began to run, so as to make sure that no-one in the Great Hall noticed her. There was always bound to be someone whose attention was diverted to the corridors rather than towards the Headmaster.
She stole a glance at the festivities occurring inside the impressive Hall and caught a glimpse of her friends . It did not surprise her to see that they were acting foolish again, while belting out the well-known tunes in what she was certain was an off-key tone. She sighed as she realised that her whereabouts were not an issue of importance to them. It was not unexpected, but it pained her all the same. Once again, she felt as if she had been disregarded. Half of her argued that she had to be alone and that she did not want anyone bothering her about what was the matter. Sympathy would only interfere and make matters worse. The other half persisted that she would feel a lot better if she confessed what was troubling her. She needed to be comforted, and there was nothing wrong with someone telling her that they care.
With these thoughts coursing through her mind, she suddenly realised that the air had become cold. She stopped. She was surrounded by darkness and silence, and there was certainly no sign of anything remotely connected to the festivities occurring elsewhere around the School. It suited her fine. Pulling out her wand, she cast the lumos spell, and allowed the light to guide her to the place where she would finally destroy the accursed ring. Standing outside the door of her Potions classroom, she knew that any last trace of logic she might have had was well and truly gone.