Chapter one

The window was hung on the wall like a picture frame, the picture constantly changing. One day there are sunbeams and laughter, children dancing and playing within the secure world of dreams. On other days, rain falls from the sky and the picture is bleak. No one enters the frame. And every single one of those days, someone smiles, someone cries, a heart is given away and a heart is broken…

On the day in question, a light gust of wind caught the trees in its race to be ahead of itself. The soft trickle of the leaves being pushed away filled the silence of the morning.  Long gone was the bird's song of dawn and all that was left was the sunlight touching each object in its path. Time passed slowly, enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning. At that precise moment, everything seemed all right with the world. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was untainted by the troubles of the Muggle world.

Hermione sat bolt upright in bed a panicked expression imprinted into her features. A hand flew up to her mouth and shook slightly as the cool night air washed over it. She bit her lip attentively as her vision began to clear. Across the room from her was a window. A soft light played around her face and the panic soon faded. She pulled the soft duvet up round her chin and pushed the tangled mess of hair from her face. Silence reined in the dormitory. Hermione took a deep breath and stretched upwards, preparing herself for getting out of bed. A yawn built up in the back of her throat and she fought to contain it. Finally though, she let it escape, smothering it with the palm of her hand. Her eyes flicked down to where her hand was now rested on the duvet. Patterns of the crumpled sheets where temporarily embedded in her skin. She smiled slightly and traced the lines with her fingers. To her it was just evidence of a good nights sleep. Shuffling about a bit, she stuck her foot out of the confining quilt. A shiver ran up her spine as the chill reached her. Quickly she withdrew it and snuggled up even more. 'Five more minutes,' she said sinking back down into the bed and letting her eyes drop closed.

***

Hermione clutched at her robes as she ran down the corridor at break neck speed. 'Merlin, Merlin, Merlin!' she said under her breath as she reached the stairs and screeched to a halt. The staircase that should have descended before her was gone. She cursed whoever had thought of giving the stairs a life of their own. Looking around desperately, she spotted a staircase slowly moving towards her. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she impatiently crossed her arms across her chest, tapping her foot lightly against the carpeting of the floor.

The corridors of Hogwarts were filled with silence at this time of day. All the students would be in the great hall tucking into the first meal of the day. Hermione smiled at the thought of food. The queasy rumbling in her stomach was beginning to become audible. She had the plan all mapped out in her mind. It would take the stairs about two minutes to reach her. Then, if she ran as fast as she could, she might be able to grab the last of the food on the Gryffindor table before going to Potions with Harry and Ron. Nervously, she played with a strand of hair that hung in front of her face. Her foot tapping became quicker and louder, as she became more frustrated. Finally, the stairs arrived and she jumped. Swiftly she bound down the stairs two at a time, spurred on by the growing ache in her stomach.

As she neared the Great Hall, she gasped for breath, each gulp becoming more difficult. She came to a stop right in front of the large oak doors and brushed out the creases in her skirt with a hand. Once it was smoothed out, she ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to rid herself of the nighttime tangles that were showing. She took a deep breath and timidly pushed the door open.

The first thing that hit Hermione was the aroma of food and coffee that filled the room with a homey feel. Ever since the first year, she'd been amazed at the amount of food she could eat. Hogwarts food was delicious at the best of times. Her favourite meal of the day was dinner. She could sit with her friends and feel completely relaxed. There was no pressure for her to get up and go to lessons and no fear of being late for anything. The best bit was always the company though. She had known Harry and Ron for almost six years now and she loved them with all her heart. Sometimes, of course, the bickering would be too much for her and she would storm off, but normally they were happy. Hogwarts was her home away from home in every way.

The second thing that hit Hermione was the flow of people making their way out of the hall. She swore under her breath, not wanting anyone to hear her. Taking another deep breath, she hunched her shoulders, lowered her head and tried to barge through all the people. Nothing was going to stop her from getting at least one thing to eat. After a few minutes being pushed backwards by the flow of people, she persevered and began shoving people out of the way with her elbows.

As she dug her elbow into someone she heard a familiar laugh coming from in front of her. A smile graced her face and she pushed further to get to the voice. Muttering apologies to various people, she finally reached her destination.

'Jeesh Hermione! You look like hell!' Ron said with a slight smile.

Hermione scowled at him and muttered something about hell being the new fashion look. She looked eagerly at his hands and then stuck a hand in his pocket searching for food. Ron watched her wide eyed for a couple of seconds then carefully removed her hands with his own. 'Stop that,' He muttered quietly giving her back her hands. She blushed slightly and tuned to look at Harry who had his hands firmly stuck in his pockets.

'Have either of you got any food at all?' She asked almost shrilly.

Ron and Harry looked at each other and shook their heads. She stamped her foot and took a deep breath. If there was one thing she didn't want to do, it was miss one of Snape's lessons. Without thinking, she rubbed her empty stomach, willing away the hollow feeling inside. She spun on her heel and almost marched back out into the corridor. Harry and Ron laughed audibly behind her and she turned to scowl at them.

Without much further ado, they were soon at Potions. Hermione walked along the side of the benches, running her fingers over the smooth panelling fixed to the side. The room was full with Slytherin and Gryffindor students, all fixed with a blank expression. She glanced around. Snape wasn't anywhere in sight. She smiled slightly and took her place on the front row next to Harry. Quickly she put her books on the table and opened them to where she had bookmarked the lessons work. It was always best, in her opinion, to try be a step ahead of Snape.

The door flew open with a bang and the tall sinister shape of Snape briskly marched down the side and to the front of the classroom. He was dressed from foot to toe in black, as usual, and looked like he had something smelly under his nose. The familiar sneer crossed his face.

'Today, class, we are going to have a test on all we have learnt this year,' He said with venom.

A stifled groan lingered in the room as the lesson began.

***

'How do you think you did?'

Hermione brought herself away from her own thoughts and glanced up at Harry. He smiled gently at her. She returned the gesture knowing that he knew the answer to his own question. Everybody knew that Hermione Granger always does well in exams.

'I think I did alright,' she said with a smile.

They walked towards the great hall in silence. Ron, she knew, had gone to find his books for the next few lessons and she could sense Harry had wanted to go too. Both of the boys treated her as if she was incapable most of the time and she found it strangely comforting. She liked having brotherly figures in her life.

'I think Ron might need some help with finding those books. You know what he's like,' she said firmly.

Harry glanced at her and saw what she meant. Nodding, he turned and moved quickly through the crowd and towards the stairs. She watched him for a lingering second and then walked forward almost knocking someone over. 'Oh, I am sorry…' She muttered blushing slightly. Then she looked up to see it was and scowled.

'Watch where you're going Granger,' he spat at her, 'or do you purposefully go around walking into people?'

'Only special people like you,' she said snidely and tried to side step him. To her surprise, he blocked her movements with his body and she ended up stepping into him again. 'Get out of the way, Malfoy,' she said in a dangerous whisper.

'What Granger? Can't even get past me without the help of Potter and Weasley?' He said with a callous laugh.

Hermione attempted to get past him again and again he blocked her path. 'Careful Malfoy, I might start to think you want to keep me here!' She said calmly trying to hold back the shrill tone of her voice.

Draco smiled and ran a finger along her arm, sending a frown to her face. He leaned in close. Hermione held her breath and felt his own breath hot against her neck. His lips were close to her ear now and she shivered under his touch. She could feel him smiling. She stared blankly at a spot just past his shoulder, as of it was something that happened everyday.

'Wouldn't you like to know?' He whispered softly.

Hermione felt her eyes widen and instinctively she pushed him away and gave him the, 'your beneath me and your scum,' look before storming up the corridor, her head held high. She heard him laugh and growled to herself.

As soon as she knew she was out of sight she half ran, half jogged, up to the Gryffindor Common room. She felt like hitting someone. She felt like screaming. She was disappointed with herself for not having handled the situation better. Quickly, she muttered the password to the Fat Lady and climbed into the room. All was quiet and still, not a soul in sight. She double-checked them screeched in anger, stamping her foot down on the floor. Slipping her hand into her robes, she withdrew her wand and waved it about making it crackle at the end. Again, she growled.

'Calm down Hermione,' she muttered to herself, 'it's just Malfoy. Don't bring yourself down to his level.' She took a couple of deep breaths and walked up to her dorm room.

***

…The window was hung on the wall like a picture frame, the picture constantly changing. The sunshine was bright and the broomsticks flew high. All was content outside. No hearts had been broken. None had been given away. Tranquillity reined supreme.

That was that day. What about tomorrow?