A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you guys are enjoying this one. This chapter has a bit of young Hermione perspective. I can't remember if we have done that before or not. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter twelve and be on the lookout for chapter thirteen soon!

1995

"Watch where you are going, Granger," Weasley growled when he pushed his way past her as she was leaving the library, knocking all of the books that she was carrying out of her hands.

Stumbling, Hermione scoffed staring at the mess that had been created at her feet. Her fingers tightened around her wand, while she tried to talk herself out of losing house points for dueling in the hallway. Rowena knew that Weasley was on her last nerve. "You're the one who ran into me, Weasley," she countered. Then she pushed him where she knew it would hurt - his family. She'd seen enough arguments between him and Draco to know that it was sure to send steam coming out of his ears. "Guess your mother didn't teach you any manners. She must have been too busy with your more accomplished siblings to bother with you."

"Oh, fuck off, Granger," he said, though a violent red colored flush was creeping up his neck. "You don't want to get into something you can't handle since your little body guards aren't with you. Did the snakes finally get sick of you?"

If Weasley's family was his button to push, mention of Draco, Alphard and Harry were her's. Hermione often felt rather uncool compared to the three Slytherins and she knew that many people wondered what the popular boys were doing hanging around with her. Unable to resist, she sent a stinging hex right for his nose, making Weasley yelp and run away.

Good, she thought to herself. It wouldn't do to let him see the tears that had been prickling in the corners of her eyes. Sighing, she knelt down on the hard stone floor so that she could gather up her books once more, before making the long trek up towards Ravenclaw Tower. Luna Lovegood was already there answering the riddle, so Hermione happily followed her in, feeling too flustered to do much critical thinking at the moment.

Hermione's eyes swept the Common Room before settling on her friend, Mandy Brocklehurst, sitting in one of the window seats. Immediately, she made her way over, keen to share her frustrations with someone else.

"Whoa, what's got a snitch in your bonnet?" the half-blood girl, her brown eyes widening in surprise at the dark look on Hermione's face.

"Weasley," Hermione answered glumly. "I don't know why he has it out for me. He just shoved past me when I was leaving the library, and made me drop all my books before making a comment about how I don't have any friends."

Mandy snorted. "Maybe he was worried that you were running off to spend time with Draco," she mused, a knowing grin on her face.

Hermione, however, had no idea what her friend was insinuating. "What do you mean?" she asked her blonde friend, wondering what she knew that Hermione didn't.

"Isn't it obvious?" Mandy asked, a smirk on her face.

Hermione shook her head. "I wouldn't be asking if I knew, Mandy," she scolded. If there was one thing that Hermione Granger didn't do, it was play dumb.

"Sometimes I wonder how you are the smartest person in our year," Mandy joked. "I think it's obvious why Weasley can't seem to leave you alone...clearly, he just has a little crush on you."

"What?" Hermione squawked, finding the idea preposterous. "That's crazy, Mandy. Weasley is always so rude to me. I just told you that he pushed me out of the way." If Weasley really did like her, he was not doing a good job of showing it, in Hermione's opinion. And, he certainly wasn't doing anything to make her like him back.

"Didn't you see the look on his face when you hugged Draco after the Slytherin-Gryffindor match the other week?" Mandy asked, a grin on her face. "He looked positively murderous to see you wrapped around him."

"If he looked murderous, it was probably just because of how terrible he played," Hermione said with a sniff. Draco had been positively gleeful to learn that Weasley had made keeper for Gryffindor that year, and had been busy working up all sorts of plays for the chasers. He'd scored a record for Slytherin house in that game.

Then, she blushed, finally having registered that Mandy said she was wrapped around Draco. "And I wasn't wrapped around Draco. You are making a simple hug between friends seem salacious," she corrected. Even though she wasn't a Slytherin, she had been so overcome with elation at Slytherin's smashing win that she hadn't been able to stop herself from running and hugging Draco as soon as they walked off the pitch. Draco and laughed, hugging her back fiercely and spinning her around in a circle.

"Uh-huh," Mandy said with a raised eyebrow, clearly not believing what Hermione was saying.

"I don't know what else to tell you," Hermione said, tucking her knees underneath her chin in an attempt to hide her blush. "Draco and I are just good friends. Best friends even. We have been since I was six years old."

"Well, even if that is true - which, I happen to think the two of you are in denial, for the record - it certainly doesn't seem like that from the outside," Mandy countered. "And, I think that Weasley is just jealous. So he takes it out on you."

Hermione rolled her eyes at hearing that. "Boys," she said with a frown. "They are so stupid."

With her frustrations vented, Hermione decided to retreat to her bed for the evening, hoping to do a bit of light reading before bed. But, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't focus on the words in front of her. Instead, all she could think about was what Mandy had said. Was it possible that Ronald Weasley really liked her? If so, she wondered why he was determined to be such a thorn in her side. But even more unsettling, did people really think that there was more than just friendship between her and Draco?

And, did she want there to be?