Some acknowledgments to the kind people that reviewed:
Ja ni, that's very generous of you. I'm new to writing fan fiction, so it means a lot to hear some praise, makes me a little more confident. Thanks again.
Liese, I'm glad you like it, here's the next chapter.
Snapped, Chapter 3:
I'm way early for breakfast; the only other people in the great hall are a few quiet 7th year Slytherins, and a 1st year Ravenclaw. One of the Slytherin girls actually winks at me. I sit down and help myself to some cold cereal. I swear silently, Hermione has just walked into the hall; she's making a beeline for me. I can already here some sort of important "talk" coming.
"Good morning Harry," she says, sitting down across from me.
"Morning," I nod.
"Harry, you're acting very withdrawn. If you want to talk I'm here. You can't bottle up your emotions; they'll eat you up until you can't contain them. It's not a healthy way to live," I set down my spoon.
"I'm counting on it. If I don't bottle them up Voldemort is going to use them against me. Recently I've found that if I bottle them up, I can control when I release them, and I do it when it's to my advantage," I'm being patient, but she better not take this much farther.
"You think it's to your advantage to beat the snot out of students, and attack a teacher?"
"Has Malfoy been calling you 'Mudblood' recently? Have you seen Crabble and Goyle harassing the Gryfindors much lately? Have you noticed all the points Snape took away are back? Have you noticed he's ignoring me completely now, my potions grade is soaring. He's leaving Neville alone and he's doing as well as I am! If that's not using uncontrollable bursts of emotions to my advantage, then you tell me what is," gradually my tone gets harsher, "You wanna know a secret Hermione?"
"Yes,"
I tell her the prophecy. She's totally stunned, I can see the gears in her head turning, and it makes sense now, all the pressure I can put on the Order of the Phoenix. I finish my cereal quickly and leave her sitting at the table in contemplation.
"Harry! Wait!"
I keep walking, our little audience is watching, there's no need to make a scene here. Her hand lands on my shoulder and spins me around.
"Leave me alone," I say quietly.
"No. You hear me out," her voice is loud and clear, other students are coming through the door now.
"Don't make a scene here,"
"I'm your friend, stop pushing me away," I wince at how loud her voice is.
I grab her arm, and start to drag her out of hall. To my total shock she shoves me off. Instead of trying again I stride purposefully towards the door.
"Impedimenta!" the hex hits me in the back and I'm barely moving forward now. I can't believe she just hexed me in front of a growing group of students; none of the teachers are here yet thank Merlin. I'm fighting the hex; my speed is slowing increasing until I turn around to face her, finally free of the effects.
"You will here me out," the look in her eyes is very determined, but this is ridiculous, it couldn't be so impossibly important I listen to her now. She's being totally unreasonable, embarrassing me; I'm getting pissed again.
"You curse me again and it's on," a circle of curious students is forming around us.
"Incarcerous!" thick ropes fly out of thin air at me, I can't believe she's pushing me like this. I dive sideways; the students around us take a step back. I flick my wrist, my wand detaches from the Auror's holster that Tonks gave me for my birthday. It lands in my hand as I roll to my feet.
I fire a babbling curse at her, she conjures a shield and it flies back at me. I summon a bench to block it. We're circling each other; I feint right and charge to her left. I fight well up close.
"Diffindo!" this time it's going to take more than a bench to block it, I summon the entire table, dishes crash to the floor, platters crack and food flies as the table launches in front of me. It is snapped neatly in half when the charm hits it. Things are escalating, had I not dodged that curse I would have received a nice gash on my leg. I need to end this. I can hardly believe this is Hermione I'm dueling.
"Expelliarmus!" I catch her wand and toss it over my shoulder. She's not done.
"Stop pushing me away!" she's in tears now and running at me, fist cocked. She's right in front of me, slamming away at my chest, I dodge back so she can't hit my face. I'm surprised at how strong she's hitting me, so is our little audience. I make a grab for a flying fist and hiss in pain as I miss; she jams 3 of my fingers. I take another step back, and succeed in nabbing the hem of her sleeve; I reverse directions and get her flailing arms under control, my arms around her. She's not done yet, she tries to knee me but I'm expecting it. Finally she gives up and is sobbing into my shoulder, it's a significant improvement to having slicing charms fired at me. She's nearly hysterical, eyes swollen and blind from crying, I lead her out of the great hall and towards the hospital wing. I resist the urge to comment on her outburst of emotion.
