Hermione walked into her room, only (to her dismay) to be greeted by a group of squealing girls. Hermione had the luxury of a smaller room she only had to share with one other person, Ginny. Unfortunately for her, however, was that Ginny was quite the social pariah. Oftentimes Ginny brought her friends to hang out in their shared room, and Hermione was too polite to say anything about it. Sometimes the girl just needed some peace and quiet. And it sure didn't help that Hermione didn't get along with Ginny's choice of friends.

"Oh, hi. Don't mind me, I'm just going to study on my side of the room." Hermione said dismissively. Ginny's friends were gathered around her bed, fashion magazines sprawled all over.

"Hermione! You can come join us if you want. Trust me you don't want to miss this." Ginny invited.

Out of politeness and slight intrigue, Hermione decided to inquire about this. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing that would concern you. You're… not this kind of girl, you know?" Lavender snarked. Hermione would never understand how Ginny could stand Lavender. The girl was a snob with no self respect. It sure didn't help that she seemed to have it out for Hermione.

"Oh hush, Lav." Padma scowled her friend. "Do you have a date yet, Hermione?"

Hermione instantly knew they were talking about the Easter dance, even though it was months away. Preparations had already started and many students were already finding dates. Just hours earlier Roger Davies asked her to go with him. Hermione declined, not really having a reason. She guessed she just wanted to wait for someone more… special. "Roger Davies asked me, but I declined. I don't even know if I'm going to go yet."

"Roger Davies?!" All three girls exclaimed at the same moment.

"He's a seventh year!" Padma exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell me right away? Why did you decline?" Ginny screamed out. Lavender stayed silent, snarling at Hermione in silence.

"I just got here! And as for Roger Davies, it's a little random. I've never really talked to him. I barely know the guy so why would I go with him?"

"But he's in his seventh year!" Padma exclaimed once more.

"Roger is probably the best offer you'll get. You should ask him again." Lavender suggested with her usual backhanded snakeness.

"Oh please, I'm sure that's not true. I bet Ron will ask you this year." Ginny consoled. However when she said this, Lavender snapped up into a sitting position.

"I sincerely doubt that, as he has already asked me! Find your own date, Hermione!" She snarled. Hermione rolled her eyes. Obviously Lavender was threatened by her and jealous of her friendship with Ronald, but it wasn't like Hermione was interested in him (anymore) anyways.

"That's great, Lavender." Hermione said with a cheeky smile. Kill 'em with kindness, right? "But honestly after the Yule ball fiasco last year, I don't know if I'm up for another dance."

"What fiasco? Viktor Krum took you and nobody could take their eyes off you the whole dance. Every guy was after you after that night." Ginny said.

"That's absurd, Gin," Hermione brushed off her comments. She never believed her appearance was anything special. It was a shame, because everyone around her knew she was. "Besides, the night ended in me crying all my makeup off, so how good could it really have been."

"You shouldn't have let Ron ruin a great night. We both know he was just jealous." Ginny said empathetically.

"I sincerely doubt he was jealous. He was just being a good friend to Harry by not fraternizing with the enemy." Lavender now really started getting on Hermione's nerves. Wherever she went, chaos usually followed. Every interaction Hermione had with the girl, usually ended in her feeling insecure and at times in tears. She tried not to let the girl get on her nerves, but it was pretty damn hard.

"Ron was the one with a poster of Viktor hanging above his bed. Trust me, he had no issue with Viktor Krum, just an issue with Viktor Krum and Hermione together." Ginny retorted.

"That's ludicrous. Why would Ron be jealous? It's not like Hermione has anything to offer."

"Lavender!" Padma and Ginny both screamed out, shocked by their friends' words.

"Am I wrong?" Lavender rolled her eyes. "She obviously doesn't take care of herself. The hair, the bags under her eyes, the baggy clothes, her body-"

Before she could continue, Ginny had gotten enough of the girl. "Lavender I will not have you speak about Hermione that way. Especially in her own room. I think it's best you leave."

Lavender huffed and gathered her things, not wanting to be in Hermione's presence anyways. Shooting the girl one last glare, she stormed out of the room. The truth was, Lavender had been head over heels for Ron since the first year and Hermione was the girl closest to him. Naturally, she was jealous from the get go. It didn't help that Lavender had huge self esteem issues and that any other boy she snogged over the years, had the hots for Hermione too.

"Hermione, what she said isn't true at all!" Ginny started.

"Yeah. I know we're not best friends or anything, but I honestly have always admired your beauty and intellect. Everybody knows you're the prettiest girl in school!" Padma finished off. Though it was true that the girls were nothing more than just acquaintances, they had always been friendly.

"Thanks guys." Hermione said, but not believing a word they uttered. "I'm going to go take a shower."

In the shower Hermione broke down. She sat on the cold tile floor and hugged her knees, while burying her head in them. The sound of the water droplets puring drowned out the sound of Hermione's muffled sobs. She spent the better half of an hour trying to calm down, before finally stepping out of the shower. She closely examined herself in the mirror. Lavender had been right. She did look not taken care of. Her face was pale and tired, cheeks puffy and eyes bloodshot. Her posture had worsened over all the time she spent hunched over books. Her hair was dry and unruly. Her finger nails looked brittle and blue. Her whole body was covered in bruises, most of which she couldn't explain. Running her fingers through her hair showed a clump just sitting between her fingers. Hermione hated what she saw. Maybe this is why Ron didn't like her. Maybe this is why no one will ever like her, much less love her.

The surge of strong, hateful emotions caused her magic to accidentally crack the mirror, sharp shards of glass falling everywhere. Hermione picked a big one up. She looked into it. Her mother had always been quite the opposite of Hermione, believing in silly superstitions and vague horoscopes. If she were here right now she would warn Hermione to close her eyes, it was bad luck to look in a broken mirror. Hermione could practically hear the lecture in her head. She wondered if her parents would be disappointed in the person she had become. She was reckless and stubborn. Not to mention she was obviously not the prettiest girl in the world. When she looked in the broken mirror, all she could see was a broken girl.

She sunk against the bathroom wall, gripping the mirror tighter and tighter. It was digging deeper and deeper into her skin, beads of blood were forming. Hermione started to fumble with the skin on her thigh, pinching it between the fingers of her other hand, wishing she could cut it all off. And so she did. A line of blood appeared on her thigh. Another appeared next to it. They were thick and deep, and looked like they were growing. The tears stopped streaming, while the blood started bleeding.

When the sharp, now covered in blood mirror dropped out of her hand, Hermione sat on the ground motionless. Her feelings of agony cleared up, as if escaping through the cuts. Now she was numb; didn't feel a thing. After a while she got up and got ready for bed like nothing happened.

The next morning Hermione had completely forgotten she cut herself the night before. She was horrified when she entered the bathroom and saw the two deep red gashes on her thighs. It stung when she traced her fingers over the fresh wounds. Quickly, she grabbed her wand and thanked Merlin for having practiced healing spells. At first, she figured it would be necessary considering Harry and Ron would do before they thought and always ended up in the hospital wing. Never had she expected to use healing spells on herself, especially on intentional wounds.

After performing the spell 2 small, thin, barely noticeable scars were left. If she had been a more experienced practitioner her skin would probably once again be flawless, but unfortunately she was now stuck with two eternal reminders of her pain.

Luckily scars were high enough on her legs that her skirt covered them. Out of sight, out of mind. Hermione was cold in her uniform so she threw on an oversized jumper that fell over the majority of her skirt, which she rolled up twice, shortening it. All the girls at Hogwarts rolled their skirts up. Although she wouldn't admit it, Lavender's comments had hurt a soft spot. Hanging out with mostly boys hadn't done much for her self confidence over the years. She was sick of being seen as 'one of the guys'. Ron had once even told her multiple times that he saw her as a guy.

Hermione grabbed her bookbag and headed downstairs where Harry and Ron were waiting for her. Together they headed for the Great Hall. To Hermione's despair, Lavender was waiting at the Gryffindor table next to an empty seat, presumably for Ron, who giddily joined her. Harry and Hermione had to sit further up the table.

"How long has that been going on?" Hermione asked, referring to the pair of awfully close teenagers.

"Since before Christmas." Harry told her while getting some food. "Sorry, Hermione. I know how you felt about him."

"I don't feel like that. Not anymore."

"Is there someone new?" Harry asked teasingly. Hermione's eyes flashed to the Slytherin table for a brief second.

"No! Why would there be someone new? Just because I don't like Ron anymore doesn't mean I suddenly like someone else. I just raised my standards, that's all. Nothing else is going on. How could you even think that?" Hermione vigorously denied.

"Your defensiveness really isn't helping your case, 'Mione." Harry told her with a smirk. Before she could reply Harry continued. "I'm not going to pry about who it is, don't worry."

"There's nothing to pry about, Harry. I'd tell you if I liked someone new."

"Okay." Harry said, not convinced, but Hermione obviously didn't want to talk about the subject so he dropped it.

Hermione had a black coffee for breakfast, before excusing herself, saying her appetite was ruined, gesturing the touchy couple further up the table. Harry shot her one more sympathetic glance. Hermione headed to potions. To Snape's dismay, she was the first one there. Soon enough the class started filling up with students. Hermione was stuck in her thoughts but they were interrupted by a certain Slytherin sliding into the seat next to her. She wasn't expecting Draco to openly and willingly sit next to her. Especially in Potions where social interaction with your partner was unavoidable. She however didn't comment on it, appreciating his rare public shows of friendship.

"Hi." She said softly. Draco gave her an acknowledging nod. They sat in silence while waiting for Snape to start his lesson.

"Are you cold?" Draco said breaking the silence.

"Um, not particularly, no." Hermione furrowed her brows. Lately, she was always cold, but right now it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"You're shaking." He gestured her trembling hands.

"Oh, it's just coffee." Hermione tugged her sleeves over her fingers and clutched them in her palms. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if it was the caffeine, the fact that she was always freezing or her hunger.

Draco didn't ask any further. Soon Snape started the lecture. Hermione had trouble focusing on what he was saying. Her thoughts traveled to her partner. He volunteered to get the cauldron and other supplies for the potion they were brewing today. Hermione was about to get up, but he put his hand on her shoulder before getting up himself. She thought it was thoughtful. In previous years when they had to partner up together she always got everything, while Draco muttered something about it being her job as a mudblood. He hadn't called her that slur in a while either. Their bad blood seemed like a distant memory.

Hermione was so out of it that she didn't even notice Draco calling her until he waved his hand in front of her face. "Hermione?"

"Hm, yes? Sorry."

"I asked where you wanted to meet tonight." Draco said. Hermione shot him a confused look. Why did he want to meet tonight? It made her stomach flicker a bit, as if she were on a rollercoaster. She held in a smile.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, we're patrolling remember." Draco said as he cocked his brow. Hermione's eyes widened. She completely forgot about Prefect duty.

"Oh," Hermione looked down. Lately she had been so distracted by nothing at all. "Meet me by the library?"

"Sure." Draco was baffled that Hermione had forgotten. Just the other day she had forgotten her Arithmancy textbook in her room too. He had to share his with her, not that Draco minded being in such close proximity to Hermione and her apple-vanilla scent.

Draco was for once looking forward to Prefect duty. He never really liked being a Prefect and often neglected his duties, except for the perks of using his title as a weapon. He hoped Hermione didn't change out of her uniform. He noticed it looked different today. Her skirt seemed higher. He loved the knee-high socks too. It looked sexy.

Luckily for Draco, Hermione indeed showed up in her uniform. It looked rougher than this morning. Her hair was a mess, up in a loose bun with fly away framing her face. Her tie was loosened and top shirt buttons undone, she took off her sweater earlier. Draco noticed that Hermione's skirt was rolled up and shorter. He knew other girls did it; Pansy rolled hers up so high that it left little to the imagination. Hermione was perfect, though. Absolutely breathtaking.

"Malfoy." Hermione greeted him.

"Granger." Malfoy greeted back with a dashing smile. "You ready?"

"Yes, let's go."

"Here," Draco said as he handed Hermione one half of a sandwich while he kept the other one. He had fallen into the habit of bringing food whenever he knew Hermione would be there. Though he started seeing her make more appearances at meals, her worrying appearance wasn't changing. If anything it looked like her face was only sagging in more. She was still beautiful, she just looked… broken.

Hermione accepted the sandwich from Draco's grip. It was thoughtful of him, even if he acted as if it wasn't a big deal, but Hermione silently cursed him every time he brought her food. It was a waste. She felt horrible for just wasting food.

As they were walking Draco noticed Hermione's fingers were still trembling and she was slouching, arms crossed over her chest. Draco felt cold just looking at the shivering girl. She shouldn't have taken off that sweater. Draco started taking off his robes and swiftly draped them over Hermione's shoulders.

"What are you doing?" She asked, to which Draco rolled his eyes.

"You're quivering, Granger." Hermione was about to start protesting, but Draco stopped her. "Don't be so stubborn and put the damn thing on." Hermione was too tired to put up a fight and just gave in. She slipped into the robes and clung them to her, still cold, but a little warmer. Draco couldn't help but smile at the sight of Hermione Granger in his Draco Malfoy's, robes. Hermione was practically drowning in his robes, tripping over the long drapes every few steps. She could've easily transfigured them to fit her. Draco wondered why she didn't just do that. Such simple magic was way beyond her capabilities. The truth is Hermione had thought about transfiguring the robes, but she liked the feel of the huge clothing over her. The robes let out an overwhelming smell of Draco's cologne, Hermione could just swim in it.

After a long silence Hermione finally spoke up, after a long battle in her head. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get Lavender's words out of her head. "Draco, we're friends."

"Interesting observation, Granger. I give you an O in assessment." Draco said sarcastically.

"Malfoy, I'm serious."

"Yes, we're friends. What's this about?" Draco said, confused.

"Friends give each other advice, right? With no judgement."

"Spit it out, Granger."

"Well, I mean- Lavender said-" Hermione stuttered out, but ended up huffing and taking a pause. "God, I don't know what I'm asking. Forget about it. "

"Hermione, what happened? What did Lavender say or do?"

"Roger Davies asked me to the Easter dance and I said no. When Lavender found out she said I should be lucky because I'm… well, me. It's just been bothering me all day."

"You're not serious, right?" Draco scoffed. "Hermione you can't let Lavender brown get into your head. Everybody knows you're too good for any bloke that goes to this school. Lavender knows it and she's jealous."

Hermione snorted at that. "Oh, please. She has nothing to be jealous about."

"Everybody knows but you, apparently." Draco was baffled at Hermione's reaction. Did she actually not know how special she was? "Hermione, you can't seriously think Brown is right."

"She is though! I don't wear make-up, I don't do my hair, I don't dress like a 'girl'. Boys don't-" Hermione started ranting but was cut off by Draco abruptly stopping in his tracks and grabbing her by her shoulders, gently backing her up against a wall.

"Stop it right there, Granger. Every bloody bloke at this school wants you, and you're too bloody good for every single one of them. Hell, your best friend is in love with you and that's why Brown is green with jealousy. For fucks sake, don't worry your pretty little mind about this. Especially not if it's coming from the likes of Brown." Draco was staring right into Hermione's eyes. His hands were still on her shoulders. Hermione finally noticed how close their faces were. She'd never seen Draco so raw, so passionate. Draco's left hand moved up to her face where he cupped his cheek. He softly caressed it with his thumb. Draco didn't even notice he did it, it just felt natural. "Besides, you don't even need to cake your face with paint; you look fine."

After a long silence, Hermione broke the silence by clearing her throat. Draco's hand dropped and he took a step back. Part of her felt weird about it. It was like she saw another side of Draco.

"Uh.. thanks." Hermione thanked Draco for his earlier words, after there was an appropriate distance between them. She regained her composure and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But I must say, nobody needs make-up and it's not paint. It's a modern art; girls use it to express themselves."

Draco chuckled at Hermione's little rant. "Whatever you say, feminist." And just like that, what happened between them was forgotten.

When Hermione returned to her room she expected Ginny to bombard her with questions about who's robe Hermione was wearing, but to her surprise, Ginny's bed was empty. There were a few lazy pillows in the shape of a body, but her fiery red hair was absent. Hermione Rolled her eyes and figured she was spending the night with Michael again. Lately Ginny was rarely found in her own bed. Hermione didn't really mind it; it let her study in peace without fearing waking up her roommate. This also meant nobody was keeping her in check. The sleepless nights were stacking up.

Hi! So what did you think? I have written to chapter 20 already, but I've hit a bit of a writer's block. I have a vague idea of where I want the story to go, but I'm having a lot of trouble with executing it. I'm not even sure if it's the right way to go. If anyone has any requests or theories, I'd greatly appreciate them. Thanks for reading! Please review if you have any spare time. 3