Okay--so it took a bit longer to update than promised. But here it is all the same--i know its unusual--but alternative can be exciting, right! er-right?

Chapter 2: Tell Me Its Not Broken­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Only once Malfoy and the Dungeon classrooms were far behind them did Fred and George release Harry and Ron. Fred opened his mouth to ask the very questions Hermione didn't want to answer.

She had no idea what had really happened—but she knew much more than she cared to—and wasn't ready just yet to part with the startling conclusion Malfoy had beaten into her mind.

"I…um..can I speak to you both for a second…its urgent!" she said, steering her two boys away from a rather hurt and bewildered Fred and George.

When she had found an empty classroom she stopped not sure what she was going to say now that she had the chance to say it.

"Hermione are you okay?" Harry asked worriedly, he couldn't understand his friend's strange behaviour.

She turned away from them.

Looking at her reflection in the windows of the classroom. Her face, more pale than usual floating over the image of the darkening grounds outside made her bruises appear livid on her face. She brought the tips of her fingers to her cheek and gingerly felt the edge of the bruise.

The boys exchanged a significant look behind her turned back.

"I'm fine." She said, remembering the reason why she had rushed Ron and Harry off to the empty classroom.

"I'm just…

Kiss me and tell me its not broken...kiss me and kiss me till I'm dead….see, I give you the stars from the bruised evening sky…

Fine. But, you guys,"

She added, turning around to face her two best friends,

"please don't tell anyone what happened!"

She looked at them with blazing eyes full of daring, her unbruised cheek glowing red.

"Why not, Hermione! Malfoy hit you really hard. And you're a girl..I mean…you're not supposed to hit girls. Ever."

Ron finished rather meekly when he saw Hermione's expression of sudden anger.

"Why shouldn't he have hit me? I hit him first didn't I? And it wasn't the first time either!"

"Hermione, don't worry, what Ron meant to say was that Malfoy shouldn't be hitting anyone and he certainly shouldn't be allowed to get away with it!"

Harry said, pragmatically, hoping to avoid the argument that was looming between an utterly bewildered Ron and an utterly bewildering Hermione.

Ron remained silent.

"He's not going to get away with anything. I just don't want to give him the opportunity to gloat about this little piece of his handiwork in front of the whole school just so that he gets an evening of detention. If we don't tell anyone then he certainly won't be a fool enough to do so either."

Hermione looked from Harry's incredulous face to Ron's blank one.

"Please."

She said in a soft pleading voice.

Her face was now completely pale and her eyes brimming with tears that trembled on her eyelashes, threatening to fall.

This image of Hermione was even more disconcerting than the fieriness they had been met with previously.

"Okay Hermione, we won't tell anyone."

Harry said resignedly.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered.

She made a move to start for the door of the classroom when Ron grabbed her wrist. Hermione flinched involuntarily.

"Mione, wait.."

Ron had been silent for the past few minutes and now suddenly found his voice again.

"Why did you hit Malfoy in the first place?"

Hermione looked confused for a moment before her brow cleared and she said softly,

"Oh, just something he said..you know…called me a mudblood…."

She trailed off the two boys both waiting for her explaination,

"Oh, c'mon you guys," Hermione laughed lightly, "its not hard for Malfoy to a make me want to punch that pureblood face of his, I just lost control."

Ron smirked slightly. Wiping one of the tears off of Hermione's face and stood up to follow her out of the room.

Harry smiled too. But he did so sadly.

Hermione, the one who always told him and Ron to ignore the Slytherin's taunts, had suddenly lashed out because of an insult that Malfoy threw her way almost daily?

Hermione had lied to them and he was going to find out why.

See! That was good! --okay so it was a bit crap but I just had to put that chapter in to create some suspense. The next chapter will be more exciting. Promise!

I hope you are all the patient, forgiving people I think you are. Reveiw and let me know how its going, what you think, what your pet's name is, what the weather is like where you live, etc.etc.etc. or give me some cool song lyrics and I will try toinclude them in my fic.

xx.

p.s. the words in italics are from the song To You I Bestow by Mundy. No, they're not a character's thoughts. But they do relate to what's happening.