Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I invent Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's material in this story. All of my credit goes to J.K. Rowling and her publishers.
When Hermione entered the Common Room, Harry and Ron quickly ran over to her, faces concerned.
"Erm…Hermione? Are you all right?" Ron asked.
"Malfoy is such an ugly git…he had no right to call you a…you know what" Harry supplied.
Hermione smiled. Those two, she thought, can be so dense. "I am perfectly fine, now, but say! It is the weekend. Have you two finished all your homework?" Neither Ron nor Harry answered the last question, but instead, Harry suggested all three go to visit Hagrid. Harry wanted to make sure that Hermione really was not feeling down after the run-in with Malfoy; he was not sure he bought her happy-go-lucky façade.
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About half an hour later, the three stumbled down to Hagrid's hut. They found him spraying his tomato garden with flesh-eating slug repellent.
"How you three doing? Stayin' outta' trouble, I hope? An' Harry, you feelin' better? I mean… "
Hermione and Ron laughed together. After only the fourth week of Fall Term, Harry and Ron together had lost about 60 points for Gryffindor together. Luckily, Hermione's intellect in class had more than made up for it in the point totals. However, with the illicit mention of the death of his godfather, Harry looked down. He missed Sirius more than the other two could ever know, but after his talk with Dumbledore (which he had conveniently never shared with Hermione and Ron), he knew that he must continue on with his life, however unclear his destiny.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione proceeded into Hagrid's hut for tea and some of Hagrid's infamous rock cakes. Harry and Ron choked down seven apiece, and Hermione's stomach grumbled. She had not eaten much of her breakfast as a result of Malfoy's remark. However, she told herself, NO! REMEMBER!
After about 20 minutes of the boys stuffing their faces with rock cakes, it was time for the three to get back to the castle. Hermione had already finished her homework the night before, but Harry and Ron needed to work on an essay for Snape on the Draught of the Living Dead and one for Professor Binns for History of Magic. They waved Hagrid "goodbye" and made the long walk to the Gryffindor Common Room.
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After an argument between Ron and Hermione ("I can't do your homework for you forever! You should use the planner I gave you for Christmas last year! Versus "Just a bit more…you are such a know-it-all!"), Harry interrupted to suggest going to the Great Hall for dinner.
The boys once again piled their plates to the brim. Hermione tentatively chose a few mixed vegetables and water. Harry looked at her in surprise,
"Is that all you're going to have?"
"I ate a lot for breakfast," Hermione lied.
"Nuh uh…'ou left," said Ron with his mouth full, pumpkin juice lightly spraying an angry Dean Thomas on his left.
"I am just full, okay?" Hermione answered testily. The boys decided to drop it, though Harry gave Hermione a funny look; he had a strange feeling inside him. However, his thoughts were interrupted when Neville Longbottom, a few seats down, knocked over his flagon of pumpkin juice all over Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown who shrieked shrilly at him.
At this point, Hermione excused herself from the table, claiming that she had to proofread her essays before bed. Though she said nothing, she felt a little shaky and immediately blew out her bedside candle and fell into a deep slumber…
Hermione sat in Professor McGonagall's classroom. The discussion was the transfiguration of porcupines to pincushions, a lesson they had learned in the first year at Hogwarts. McGonagall asked a student to demonstrate, and naturally, Hermione raised her hand. When called upon, Hermione blanked out…she didn't know how! The perfectionist did not know the answer. The class laughed, Harry and Ron along with the others. Professor Dumbledore walked in with Snape, Flitwick, and even Fudge, the Minister of Magic, all laughing at her mistake…
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Author's note: Finally, a slightly longer chapter! I will update later tomorrow, even though it is Easter. I had a bit of writer's block earlier, but I now am back on track. To all Christians, Happy Easter! To those of you who have other faiths or beliefs, have a great rest of the weekend. I hope you enjoy this story so far. Please Review! I always love your comments and suggestions!