A/N: "'Mione" is pronounced like Hermione, without the her. It's not too difficult. This is my own story, so bits and pieces are compiled together from the books, though they might not all fit in the real thing- such as: they're in their sixth year, but Fred and George are still students at Hogwarts, Hermione has decided to put up with Divination, and nobody's died.

Waterfall, Wash Me Away

Hermione made it back to the castle just in time for dinner. It took her longer than she had expected, because after walking a few feet from the pool she realized she had a long gash on her leg, most likely from when Malfoy made the rock she was sitting on explode. As she limped into the main hall, Lavender Brown, who was waiting outside the great hall wearing a pink headband and matching shirt, grabbed her arm. Hermione couldn't help but notice that Ron was nowhere to be found, but that was probably who she had been waiting for.

"I'm so sorry about earlier- Hermione, what happened?" She gaped at Hermione, looking her over. "Did you get in a fight with the giant squid? Come with me." The shorter girl dragged her to the nearest girls' washroom. Hermione examined herself in the mirror, gasping.

"It's ruined!" She said, holding out the hem of her shirt. Today she had decided to wear a nice white button-up beneath her robes, hoping that Ron would notice the effort. Now it was covered in grass stains and dirt and a bit of moss, from the pool of water she had been so gently plunged into. She tried to clean it with a swipe of her wand, but it only spread and made the shirt worse.

"What happened?"

"I went swimming, obviously." Hermione glared at the girl. Being back in the castle every emotion that had sent her into the Forbidden Forest earlier flooded back into her, and she felt tears pricking behind her eyes. "Look, can you get Ginny Weasley for me? I know how much you must be missing your... 'Won-Won'"

Lavender stared at Hermione, sizing her up. She looked so miserable, with her mossy hair and ruined shirt, and tears running down her face... Lavender decided that for today, she could afford Hermione some amnesty. She scurried off to find Ginny Weasley.

Ginny was at her usual spot at the Gryffindor table, laughing at something Luna had said. According to the look on Luna's face, she hadn't meant to be funny. "Ginny, Hermione needs you. She's in the girls' washroom. She looks an awul mess." Ginny, who had turned red when she realized she shouldn't be laughing, stood up hurriedly, glad to avoid the embarassment. Ginny dashed off, leaving Lavender and Luna looking awkwardly at each other.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked gently. "Hermione, are you in here?" She heard a sniff in one of the stalls, and a bedraggled Hermione came out, face red and wet. Ginny rushed over to her, and embraced the poor girl in a hug. "Oh, 'Mione. Here, let's get you up to Gryffindor Tower." She took her hand, and lead her out of the washroom. As they entered the now deserted entrance hall, Hermione shivered, and pulled her robes closer around herself. "Lavender wasn't kidding- you look horrible! What happened?"

Hermione looked down at her feet as they continued to walk up to Gryffindor Tower. "Got in a fight wiv Malfoy," she mumbled under her breath.

"What?" Ginny hadn't heard a word she had said.

"I said, I got in a Fight. With. Malfoy!" Hermione almost shouted, tears streaming down her face. Ginny stared at her, speechless. "No, that's not why I'm crying," Hermione admitted, bitterly. "That's just why I look so awful."

Ginny's face revealed that she couldn't decide what to ask next, so Hermione continued.

"Your bloody awful brother is still with Lavender Brown, and it disgusts me to no end. Then earlier this morning, right after divination- and you know what kind of mood that class puts me in- I get in a row with her over whether or not 'The Grim' really appeared in nine people's tea leaves today, and he takes her side! He didn't even know what we were arguing about!" Hermione finished in a huff, and began to walk in silence.

"That prat! I'll beat him up for you, if you want." Ginny grinned and put an arm over Hermione's shoulder. Hermione tried to smile, as Ginny opened the potrait hole and helped her in. "Here. You get dressed in some dry clothes, and I'll grab my stash of Chocolate Frogs and Nevermelt Ice Cream and be right down, okay? Then we can talk about your fight with Malfoy. I do hope you won?" She asked, pausing to look at Hermione. At the shake of the bushy hair, she muttered to herself, "Well, I'd better throw in some butterbeer, too, then," and ran to her room.

Several minutes later, the two of them were sitting in front of the fire in the common room, sipping butterbeers with ice cream and chocolate frogs between them. "How did you get all of this?" Hermione asked, stalling for time. The attempt failed, as Ginny said simply, "Fred and George."

"Where were you when Malfoy attacked you?" Ginny asked, grabbing a frog and watching Hermione closely.

"Who said anything about being attacked?" Hermione asked, grinning into her butterbeer. "We could have been dueling for the fun of it."

"Well he had to have caught you off your guard, otherwise you'd've won, no contest. You really are the most talented witch of your year."

"I'm flattered. All right, fine, he did attack me. In the Forbidden Forest. Whilst crying." Ginny gasped.

"Wh-wh-what? Malfoy... Crying?" Ginny coughed in a fit of hysteria.

"No, don't laugh! Please, Ginny! It's a secret!" But Ginny continued laughing, and when she tried to take a sip of butterbeer it spluttered out her nose. At this very moment, Fred and George Weasley burst through the portrait-hole, singing a song about 'The Muggle Who Won the Quidditch World Cup'.

"...And they all cheered!" The boys finished, bowing to the empty room before turning and seeing the two girls by the fire. "Oh, hey Gin! Hermione, What's-" Fred began, to be cut off by George.

"That in your hair?" George finished, walking over to Hermione and picking out a bit of moss.

"I fancied a swim earlier, and haven't showered yet," Hermione lied, looking away.

"And what about-"

"Your leg?"

Hermione looked down at the gash in her leg. "Oh, bugger."

"To Madame Pompfrey!" The the twins said simultaneously, and then went over to her chair and scooped her up. They began to carry her out of the common room when Ginny stopped them.

"Wait, Fred, George, put her down!" Ginny said, still giggling a bit.

"What are you on about then?" Fred asked, looking suspiciously at the giggling girl.

"Had one too many?" asked George, pointing at the butterbeer in her hand and smiling.

"No, wait, I wanted to see if I could heal her leg," Ginny mumbled, regaining her composure. "I know the spell, and I want to give it a shot before she gets dragged off to the hospital wing for nothing."

Hermione nodded at her, and struggled to make the boys put her down. "Thank you very much," she said seethingly at the twins. "But next time, I'd rather have some warning before you pick me up and attempt to lug me off somewhere. Ginny?" She looked inquiringly at Ginny who took out her wand and muttered "Mende", while running it across the cut. It quickly healed itself, and Ginny looked rather pleased.

---

Soon after Fred and George arrived, more people started streaming in from dinner. Ginny scooped up her snacks and pointed Hermione to the portrait hole. "I still want to hear the whole story!" She said, as she lead Hermione to the Room of Requirement. "We need someplace peaceful, and quiet, with comfortable chairs." She repeated this as the walked back and forth, as this was the only way to get the Room of Requirement to open. When the door appeared, she wrenched it open and sat Hermione down on a red beanbag chair in what looked to be a small living room. She then grabbed a yellow beanbag chair and sat next to her friend. "Now," She said, taking a swig from a new butterbeer. "Tell me everything."

Hermione told her about how, after fighting with Ron and Lavender, she had disillusioned herself and marched into the Forest, searching for peace and some time alone. She told her about the slug, and overhearing Malfoy, and finally, she got to the part about the pool.

"It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, Gin! The water was a clear, crystal blue, and the ground was sandy but looked green in the light shining in through the trees. It was amazing. And there was a waterfall! I was rinsing my hands in it when a unicorn came up from across the pool and started drinking the water, not fifteen feet from me!"

"Wow," Ginny said, eyes alight. She decided that she would look for it some time, if she ever got the chance. "It sounds beautiful."

"It was. But then Malfoy had to go and spoil it! He just appeared, as if out of nowhere, and started cursing me!"

"What? Why did he do that?"

"He told me to leave, and his eyes were all red so I asked if he had been crying. He made the rock I was sitting on explode and I flew into the water, and, well, eventually I grabbed on to my wand and expelliarmussed him, and started telling him he had no right to attack me even if his parents were getting a divorce. He asked how I knew, and, well, he looked so pathetic, crying like that, so I told him how I'd overheard his conversation with his mother. He just snapped. He started calling me- well, you know. And talking about how since he was a pureblood I had no right to spy on him! As if I would ever, in my life, want to spy on Draco Malfoy having a row with his mother! And then he-" she paused, looking at her shoes. "Then he stole my wand and stunned me, and that's the last thing I remember." She didn't want to tell Ginny how he had threatened to have her killed, or how he nearly strangled her. She wasn't sure why she was keeping it to herself, but she felt she should.

"He did all that?" Ginny asked, staring at her, eyes wide. "And that's why you were back so late- because you'd been knocked out in the middle of the Forbidden Forest? We need to tell someone."

"No!" Hermione surprised even herself, defending him, but the words tumbled out of her. "No, I don't want him to get in trouble."

"You don't want him to get in trouble..." Ginny's freckled face had gone pale under her red hair. "You don't want him to get in trouble for attacking you? For cutting your leg and abandoning you in the Forest?"

"No. Gin, I feel so sorry for him. If Dumbledore heard about this, Draco would get kicked out! Can you imagine what that would do to him? And what that would do to his already broken family? I couldn't do that to anyone. Not even Draco Malfoy." Hermione had lost her appetite for chocolate frogs, and stood up. "Thanks for letting me whine to you. I think I'm going to go up to bed now." She started out the door.

"I'd recommend a shower first," Ginny said, picking a bit of moss out of Hermione's hair and dropping it on the floor. The girls both half-laughed, and then returned to Gryffindor Tower in silence.