A/N: All right, here's the next chapter for those of you dedicated readers. You all make me feel soo loved. Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 3: Strange days for Hermione

When Hermione got back to the castle, she almost immediately sensed that something was different. Strange almost. As she climbed up the stair case up to the Gryffindor common, the Patil twins were going down and when they saw Hermione, they pointed, giggled and then whispered to each other, glancing back at her. "That was rather rude," she thought. She couldn't see why they would be whispering about her.

Just then it hit her. Ron must have told them. For all she knew, he could've told the whole house about this morning. "Ooh, Merlin! He's such a foul, immature git!" Just the fact that Harry heard her is embarrassing enough. Then it turned out that Ron was also there the whole time. The situation was too much to handle. She was about to explode. She could feel anger and frustration seething through her, as she clenched her hands into small fists.

And in her frustration, she ran the rest of the way up to the common room. Ron had messed where his nose didn't belong, and he was going to pay for it. "And all this because of one blooming sentence I said aloud!" her head seemed to be screaming at her from the inside.

"What's your hurry?" the Fat Lady asked with smug curiosity.

"Oh come of it, you know what's been going on in there today. Don't act clueless. You just want me to say what's going on so I'll have to admit it actually happened. I just have some unfinished business to attend to. Now if you don't mind, Snapping lizards."

"Fine have it your way," the Fat Lady said as she swung open. "I'll find out soon enough what's been going on."

"Damn, that portrait. If I had it my way, that bloody portrait would be out of a job." Any other day Hermione wouldn't have been so cross with her, but she was still seething from Ron.

When she returned to the common room, Ron was sitting down with a fourth of the Gryffindor house surrounding him as he repeated the accounts of the earlier morning.

"…And then he just couldn't resist. He said, Dunno. What are you going to do with me?'

With that, the whole room was bursting with laughter. And that was enough for Hermione. This was going to end now.

"RON!" yelled Hermione. "I want a word with you."

"Oh, is that all, don't want to give you part in the story? Yours, I think, would be much better than my part take on it. Maybe you could tell them about you jumped up from your seat, sprawling parchment everywhere." Once again the whole room was laughing with him.

With that she smacked him full in the face. Then, without another word, she turned on her heel and left. The whole room went silent as they watched her leave and Ron was left looking a bit bewildered as he tenderly rubbed his now very red cheek.

"Done already? Must have been some quick unfinished business you had to attend to." said a sarcastic Fat Lady.

"Oh, shut up." said Hermione, storming away.

At first she walked aimlessly away, not caring where she was going, but after about ten minutes she decided to spend some time in the library. She knew that more often than she always went to the library when she was upset. There wouldn't be any books on her kind of problem, but the piece and quiet was indeed inviting.

After wondering around the shelves for awhile she decided to sit by the windowsill, wondering what it would be like to be a rain drop. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I've been running away all day. Now I've gone as low as I could get. I'm isolating myself from everyone, I just smacked Ron, and the chances of me ever talking to Harry again would be a hundred to one. And all the things that I could be thinking about, I'm wondering what it would be like to be a rain drop. When will the torment end?" Soon enough, the time came for dinner.

Slowly she got up from the windowsill and walked towards the Great Hall. Once again, there was an air that something strange was going on. As she approached the Gryffindor table, she received many sideways glances. When she eventually sat down next to Ginny, it seemed that everyone was trying to scoot away from her. Even Ginny was extra quiet today. Where was Harry? Cho was at the Ravenclaw table so he wasn't with her. She hadn't seen him since she left the common room this morning. Hermione felt really awkward so she decided that she should her food as fast as possible and get out of there.

She got up from her seat and walked towards the Great Hall doors to leave, but she was met there by Cho Chang.

"Where do you think your going Granger? You think you can take Harry from me? Well you got another thing coming. You're just a plain girl, Granger. What makes you think that Harry will like you? Don't be a stupid girl, Granger. Wouldn't want to mess up you brainy reputation." sneered Cho as she began to walk Hermione into a corner. "Just stay away from him got it?"

"Sure thing Cho. What makes you think that I'm actually going to listen to you? I've been friends with Harry longer than you've known that he's been going to Hogwarts. You two have only going out for a month. I don't have to listen to you. See you around Cho." And with that she moved away from Cho, heading out the door. But before she leave the Great Hall, something or someone hit her the back of the head, making her pass out.

A/N: I hope you like this cliffe of a chapter. Plz review & thankz to those who did.