Disclaimer: Rowlings owns Harry Potter
Bloodshot eyes and a brilliant smile adorned Hermione's face as she entered her next classroom. For two months, her classmates noticed her strange behavior and soon rumors spread like wildfire. The students peppered questions at her with false concern in hopes to discover her secret. Hermione noticed the growing rumors and the main topic of gossip, but she didn't care. The last beautiful letter from her secret admirer nearly caused her to squeal in delight. She sat at her desk gazing out the window as Harry and Ron arrived.
Hermione could hear them whispering about her, but she was beyond caring. Her thoughts were trying to figure out who her mysterious Romeo was. A hand appeared in front of her line of sight waving slightly. Shaking her head to rid of her hazy thoughts, she forced her attention to whoever was rude enough to disturb her daydreaming. Harry watched her with concern, "Hermione, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" She felt the usual warmth rising up her neck to her cheeks. She thanked Jack Frost for the cold weather to cover up her flushing face. Harry's eyebrows furrowed while Ron watched in jealousy because he was left out of the conversation.
"Because you haven't been yourself recently, you were almost late for Transfiguration this morning. Are you sick?"
Hermione looked down at the surface of her desk, "No, I'm fine. I just stayed up later than planned, and I guess I have overloaded myself with too much schoolwork again this year."
Her statement turned on alarms for Harry, "Don't overwork yourself."
She gave him a heartwarming smile, "It will be all right. I'll just make sure I schedule my time better." Snape entered the room while dictating today's lesson. Throughout the lesson, Hermione felt Harry's eyes on her periodically as if to check and make sure she was okay. She tried her best to ignore the silent, inquiring, green eyes.
"Mr. Potter, if you could be so kind as to pay attention in class instead of making eyes at Miss Granger; you might actually pass this class with a decent grade." Snape voiced sharply, "And Miss Granger, even though you may gain passing grades, I would appreciate if you could pay attention as well unless you find my lessons too mediocre for your giant head."
Hermione's face lit up the room while the Slytherins sniggered behind their hands. She felt more than saw Harry's furious glare; she knew he was about to do something incredibly stupid. Before he stood up, she reached out from under the desk and grabbed his pant leg. Learning from experience, Harry kept his hate-filled glare on Snape instead of looking at Hermione in confusion. Snape just smirked as he turned his back to continue the lesson.
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"Why did you stop me?" Harry was obviously still furious as he stomped next to Hermione. Ron was trailing behind seething with jealousy as he was ignored once again.
"Because you would have done something stupid, and I didn't want to get more points knocked off because you can't control your temper." She stated as she continued to walk to the next class. Harry gritted his teeth. Soon they departed to different classrooms. Hermione sighed as she sat down behind her desk waiting for the teacher to arrive. She rubbed her eyes hoping to squeeze out the fatigue she felt. Last night, she had to wait for everyone to go to sleep before she could read the letter, but Ginny and some other girls stayed up late to gossip about the boys.
Hermione joined half-hearted all the while praying they would fall asleep. It neared the hour of three before sleep claimed them. Hermione was tempted herself to join them, but the letter hung heavy in her mind. With renewed vigor, she slipped out of bed and grabbed a book and the letter before exiting the dorms. She quietly crept downstairs to the lounge. She sat nearby a window then turned on a nearby lamp.
My Love,
The hour reached late as I write this letter to you. My mind was filled with thoughts of you so I had to write down my thoughts in the form of a letter. I wonder how you are fairing. Lately, I have noticed you seem a bit more exhausted, and I fear that I may be the reason for your lack of health. I must apologize in advance for my selfishness. I don't think I could stop writing to you even at the sake of your health, but I do hope you will take better care of yourself.
Not that you need it, but you should maintain your routine beauty sleep so your cheery disposition would highlight my day. The holidays are nearing as well as the trip to Hogsmeade, which will be perfect; I have the perfect gift in mind for you. I wish we could share a warm butterbeer together, but I do not have the courage yet to face you. Eventually, I will reveal myself to you, but until then, I shall continue writing letters to reveal bits and pieces of my heart to you. I hope that my heart was well received and in the end when we meet, my heart will remain in one piece.
Yours forever,
Secret Admirer
Hermione fell asleep in the chair clutching the book to her chest with the letter posing as a bookmark. She was awaken by students clambering into the lounge dressed and ready for breakfast. In her still sleepy state, she fell back into her peaceful slumber dreaming of a boy. His imagine remains fuzzy yet dark hair was evident. Light reflected off something from his face. A contented smile fell upon her face as the imagine started to slowly clear itself. The boy held out his hand to her as green eyes smiled back at her.
She reached out to grab his hand when she was awakened by Ginny, "Hermione, what are you doing? Class is about to start."
It took a moment for Hermione to compute what Ginny said before she jerked open her eyes, "What?!"
Hermione forced herself to pay attention to the lectures all day while her eyes felt like sandpaper. She could imagine what she might look like to her secret admirer, 'I hope he hasn't seen me yet. I must look horrible.' She headed into the girls bathroom once the day's lessons were over.
Heading toward the sink, she turned on the cold water. She splashed her face several times while rubbing her skin to wake herself up. The water helped a bit, but the fatigue hung heavily on her body. She was in a way grateful the letters arrived once a week, otherwise, she would be in quite a state.
The smile grew on her face, "To think, I used to hate girls who acted all giddy about boys they liked, and yet here I am staying up at all hours in the night to read letters. I really am becoming one of those silly school girls I once despised." She looked in the mirror, "Who are you?" Her thoughts throughout the day always returned to that dream. Whenever she tried to recall the image, it seemed to slip further away from her until she could no longer remember. "Next time, I will have to write down my dreams the moment I wake up but right now I am heading to bed early." She gathered her bag and left the restroom. A pair of shoes behind the door of a stall appeared, and the door slowly opened. A smile slowly grew on their face, "Soon, you will know."
AN: I am very sorry for the long wait. For some reason, this chapter was extremely difficult to write, and I don't know why. I hope the readers haven't given up on me. Anyway, thank you for your supportive reviews; I hope to receive the same support for this chapter. Same as before ten reviews.