Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever pretended to, own Harry Potter. So please don't sue me. Now, on with the story!
"Absolute rubbish," Hermione said dismissively.
"It is not!" replied Ron. "Right, Harry?"
"Er..." Harry squirmed uncomfortably under the expectant gazes of his two best friends. "I dunno," he mumbled.
The three of them were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, enjoying a rare evening of relaxation without uncompleted studies hanging over their heads. The conversation, predictably, had quickly turned into an argument between Hermione and Ron.
"There is no such thing, "said Hermione firmly, "as bad luck."
"But you're a witch!" exclaimed Ron in disbelief. "How can you say that?"
"Silly superstitions are not the same thing as magic," Hermione explained impatiently. "Magic produces immediate, tangible results, where as there is no evidence that superstitions have any basis in fact."
"You want proof?" said Ron. "Just ask Ginny! She walked underneath a ladder, then fell and sprained her ankle the very next minute. Or how about this: My dad saw a black cat in his path on his way to work, and he was forty-five minutes late."
"Dudley broke a mirror once," Harry added. "The next day he got suspended from school for two weeks."
Ron looked at Harry in surprise, pleased at his contribution. "There you go," said Ron with a satisfied smirk.
Hermione shook her head. "This is ridiculous. There are completely logical explanations for all of those things."
"Alright," Ron conceded, "but then why do we still have superstitions? There must be some truth to them."
"That, Ronald, is where you are wrong," Hermione replied smugly. "Haven't your parents ever told you to wait half an hour after you eat to go swimming? Or that reading with a flashlight under the covers will make you go blind? Completely and totally false."
"Who would want to stay up late reading anyway?" wondered Ron.
"It doesn't matter," said Hermione. "The point is, just because a saying exists doesn't mean it's true."
"I know that!" Ron replied indignantly. "I still say you're wrong, though."
"Honestly, Ron, you are impossible!" Hermione exclaimed.
Ron grinned. "Thanks."
"Fine. I'll just have to show you," she continued, snatching a hand mirror that was resting on the table beside her. "Now according to superstition, breaking this mirror would be very bad luck, correct?"
"Yeah," Ron agreed, "seven years of it."
"We'll see about that," Hermione replied.
"Hermione, wait," Harry began. "I really don't think you should-"
But she had already let go of the mirror. It fell to the floor and shattered, eliciting outbursts of surprise from around the common room.
"Bloody hell, Hermione!" said Ron. "Do you realize what you've done?"
Hermione simply smiled serenely. "We'll see," she repeated.
Harry yawned. "I think I'm going to bed."
"Me too," said Hermione.
Ron eyed the mirror splinters scattered across the floor. "Aren't you going to clean this up?" he asked.
"I'll do it in the morning," she said with a yawn, climbing the stairs to her dormitory. "Good night, Harry! Good night, Ron!"
"Good night, Hermione!" the boys replied, retiring to their own dormitory. On the common room floor, shards of glass reflected the dying firelight.
Author's Note: Well, what do you think? It's really short, and I still have a lot of work to do, obviously, so any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. There will probably be several more chapters at least, although not necessarily anytime soon. Please review! Thanks!