"Hey, what happened at detention last night?" Harry asked Hermione at breakfast the next morning.
Hermione placed an egg on her plate. "Nothing much, just his usual self."
Ron snickered. "Figures. The greasy git doesn't even have a personality in detention."
"When did you get back?" Harry, the more observing of the two, noticed the dark bags under her eyes.
Hermione stifled a yawn and groaned. "Really late. I didn't even have a chance to get started on tomorrow's homework!" She exaggerated and took out a book. The two boys sweatdropped and left her alone. She looked flipped through her book and couldn't help but be amused. Her two best friends didn't even know when she lied to them. Not that she enjoyed lying to them. . .But she couldn't tell them about last night, now could she?
Hermione finished her breakfast and walked to class with Harry and Ron. They were talking about Qudditich.
Good. Then they don't expect me to talk. I hate Qudditich.
She allowed herself to become wrapped up in her own thoughts, but they soon arrived at their Charms class. Hermione seated herself beside Harry with Ron on the other side of him.
And so began their lesson. . .
Hermione was bored during it because she had already learned to do the charm in her previous year.
"So much for a challenge," She muttered under her breath and flicked her wand, successfully performing the Zilius Charm.
Harry looked at her. "Did you say something?"
Before Hermione could reply, Ron gasped. "How did you do that on the first try?! I've been trying all morning!" He whined.
Hermione smiled. If nothing else, she could count on her friends to make her laugh.
"It's alright, Ron, just do this," She flicked her wand and the candle in front her became covered in ice with the flame still burning from within.
Ron narrowed his eyes at her movements, watching her carefully. He stuck his tongue out on the corner of his mouth and flicked his wand. The candle became covered in ice, but the flame went out. Ron glared daggers at the candle. Hermione laughed. He glared at her.
"You're only laughing because you can do it!" He muttered before returning his glare to the candle.
Harry grinned and attempted to do the charm himself, but, like Ron, failed. However, Harry wasn't nearly as spiteful. Hermione smiled and tried to show Ron again but he kept muttering, so she gave up and showed Harry.
By the end of class Harry was able to perform the charm without the flame going completely out and Ron had taught himself a few choice phrases about the Zilius Charm. . .
Hermione looked at the two talking about Qudditich (again) and smiled to herself. She really did have good friends. . .She was a lucky person.
It's just a shame they were as blind as bats when it came to understanding her. If she made any effort whatsoever to conceal her emotions, they would never see what she was hiding. And she had too much pride to just come out and tell them. And if she blurted something out that made her seem mad about something, it was attributed to her monthly.
The trio proceed to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. And, as usual, they learned absolutely nothing. It wasn't that they didn't have a competent teacher, it was just that they knew everything. Battling Lord Voldemort so many times would do that. They had had to learn counter curses, charms, and other spells to fight Voldemort. So, now they knew everything that was offered at the highest level of the DADA class.
And, as usual, the class passed with each falling into their own dream-like state of boredom. Sometimes Hermione could see Harry and Ron playing various games on a piece of paper they passed back and forth; they once tried to include her in it in one of their previous years, but she had scolded them so badly they never asked again.
But, now, she didn't feel the need to concentrate on her studies nearly as much. She almost wished they would include her. Almost. She still didn't approve of completely ignoring the professor. You never know, you might learn something. . .She suppressed a giggle. Like any of the three of them would learn something they didn't already know and had used in a duel.
Leaning back in her chair, she absently began doodling on a piece of parchment.
__________
"Hermione, are you going?"
"What? Going where?"
"To the Qudditich game! Don't tell me you forgot!" Ron looked horrorstricken.
She smiled at him. "Have I ever missed one?"
"Well, you missed a couple in our second year. . ."
Hermione playfully pushed Ron. "Being frozen by a Basilisk doesn't give me a freebie to miss a game?"
Ron laughed. "No! You should have still come!"
Hermione let out an exaggerated sigh and began walking over to her dormitory. She paused and called over her shoulder, "Do you have time to wait for me? I just need to get changed."
"I have to get ready too. Will you be long?"
"No, I'll be fast."
And so she was, Hermione hurried up and the stairs as Ron waited in the common room, already talking to someone else about Qudditich.
"I'm here!" She said breathlessly, now wearing heavier clothes that required a lot of buttons. . .Ron looked at her started walking towards the door. Hermione threw a cloak around her and followed him.
"Do you guys have any plans for beating them? Ravenclaw, right?" She asked Ron as they walked through the building.
"Yeah, me and Harry were able to come up with some good plays, but we're saving most of them for when we play Slytherin. Ravenclaw will be easy to beat."
Hermione nodded and was soon walking by herself to the Qudditich pitch. Ron had to go change in the locker rooms. She tugged the cloak tighter around her and quickened her pace. She didn't like being alone. . .
Ignoring the slight bite to the wind, she hurried over to the Gryffindor stands, but someone stopped her before she got there. Someone's fingertips just barely grazed her shoulder before she spun around, wand out.
"Hey! Don't go pointing that at me!"
Her eyes narrowed. She definitely didn't want to see him again, especially so soon.
Graham chuckled. "What? Don't want to put your wand away? Afraid of me?" This time he snickered. "You should be," He began to stride away. "You never know when it might happen again."
He left Hermione standing alone before the Gryffindor stands. She shivered, but not from the cold.
"Hermione!" Lavender and Parvati ran over to her with Akasa trailing behind them.
"Did you save any seats?"
Hermione shook her head. "I just got here."
"Oh! Then come on! We need to get some seats!" Lavender grabbed her hand and together the four girls ran all the way till they found four seats.
"There," Parvati sat down. "We got some seats. It's starting!" Lavender and Parvati immediately started giggling and pointing at various male players. Hermione looked at them as if they weren't human.
"They don't even like the sport, they just like watching the boys," Akasa whispered in Hermione's ear. Hermione chuckled and nodded, then turned her attention to the Qudditich pitch.
It felt as long and as boring to Hermione as DADA class, except this time she had no parchment to doodle on. . .However, this time she did busy herself with watching the referee. It was Professor Snape.
She watched his fluid movements as he maneuvered his broomstick throughout the field. She watched as he made sharp, sudden turns to avoid hitting players and vice versa. She watched him make a dive to avoid a handful of players shooting towards a quaffle that had wandered near him. She watched his robes billow around him as he made calls that no one dared challenge. She watched as he looked around the stands, then, suddenly, his gaze rested on her. She stared at him and he stared back, then her eyes widened. He caught onto what she saw and quickly moved out of the path of a bludger and two beaters chasing after it.
And then, the game ended too quickly for Hermione. She cheered when they had won. She gave her congratulations to Ron and Harry when they had made their way to the common room, talking about nothing other than the Qudditich game. They reached the portrait when suddenly Hermione had remembered something.
"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed.
Harry and Ron looked at her. "What?"
"I forgot my notebook in the library! I need to go get it!" Without another word, she turned around and walked quickly down the dark corridors to the library. It took her a few minutes, but she got there soon. Stepping into the darkened room she immediately spotted her notebook, picked it up, and headed out.
"Where do you think you are going?" A cold voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
"No. . ." She whispered and hugged the notebook tightly to her chest.
"Hermione Granger," An amused chuckle came from behind her. She spun around and came face to face with Graham, she began to draw her wand, he stopped her by clasping a cold hand over her wrist tightly. "What were you planning to do with that?"
Hermione struggled to get out of his grasp but couldn't, not while holding onto her notebook and glaring at him at the same time.
"I'm waiting. What were you going to do with it? Were you actually going to try and hurt me?" His face twisted into a sadistic smile.
Hermione's stomach flipped inside of her before she gathered her courage and spun into action. She hit Graham in the face with her notebook book then brought her knee up to his stomach. Hard. He fell for a short enough moment for Hermione to dislodge her wrist from his hold. She broke into a run that was cut all to short for Graham had quickly got back up and shoved her into a stone wall and held her there. He held each of her upper arms tightly. She felt herself bruising.
"No! She let out in a choked gasp, her eyes tearing as stars exploded in front of her eyes. Her head had hit the wall. But, no, she mustn't lose consciousness, she mustn't! Graham's grip tightened on her and he leaned next to her ear and prepared to whisper something, but he was suddenly stopped and let go of her immediately.
"P-Professor!" He choked out.
Professor Snape stood before the two, glaring icily at Graham.