Chapter 9
"What do you want?" She spat, a look of contempt on her face, but Hermione could see past the façade. There was deep sadness and self-loathing in Pansy's eyes.
Hermione took a few steps closer and stopped when she was only inches away. Pansy stiffened at the movement, but Hermione stayed put, giving no indication that she had seen it. She knew that Pansy didn't like to show outward signs of weakness, it was a trait most Slytherins shared. It seemed though, that sulking on the bathroom floor was a sign of weakness, but Hermione did not dare point this out. Instead she held out her hand as an offering to help her up, but Pansy just glared at it making no move to take it.
"I thought we were past all the incivilities," Hermione said, trying to keep the hurt expression off of her face, but it had managed to seep into her voice making it shake. She saw a brief guilty look in Pansy's eyes, but it was gone so fast Hermione thought she might have imagined it. Pansy's lip curled into a sneer and Hermione waited for the barrage of insults.
"As if I would ever be civil to a Mudblood." Hate was lacing her every word. Hermione froze completely. She hated that word! It meant everything that she fought against in the War. Racism, fascism, and violence. The fact that it had come out of the mouth of someone she cared about made it even worse. She straightened to her full height and spoke to Pansy in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"I see. Well if that's all you have to say to me then I'll be on my way." She spun on her heel and walked as quickly as she could to the bathroom door without running. She half expected to hear a "Wait!," but it never came, so she continued walking until she got to her common room.
"Aconite," she muttered to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and Hermione climbed through the portrait hole. She saw Ron and Harry sitting across from each other playing chess. From the expression on Harry's face it was obvious that Ron was winning. She walked over to them hesitantly, she knew that Ron was still not talking to her and she didn't want to make it worse than it already is.
They were so wrapped up in their game that she had to clear her throat to get their attention. Harry looked over at her and gave her a tentative "Hi." Hermione knew that this would happen. Harry would feel stuck in the middle of whatever spat that her and Ron had gotten into. She really didn't blame him, she felt the same way during Fourth year when Ron was being a jealous git about Harry getting into the Triwizard Tournament. He would jump between them trying to stay friends with both of them and preventing any further complication in his already overly complicated life. She really hoped that Ron would either forgive her or completely break of their friendship, though the former would be most desirable.
"How are you both doing?" She asked. She really didn't expect an answer from Ron, but to her surprise he did.
"Alright, you?" He questioned. She sighed with relief. He was finally talking to her, being friendly even. Hermione knew that their friendship would never be quite the same, but perhaps they could reach some kind of medium. Harry visibly relaxed and they fell into an easy conversation that only seven years of friendship could allow. Hermione was glad that something in her life was going right, and she went to bed with a little less weight on her shoulders.
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She groggily woke up the next morning and stumbled her way across the dorm room. Contrary to popular belief she was not a morning person. She actually hated mornings more than anything, her Mum always chided her bad disposition when Hermione had to wake up early for primary school, all her Mum got in return was a glare.
She wiped the sleep from her eyes and opened the door to the bathroom. She took a nice, warm, awakening shower that left her much more awake that she had been previously. Hermione quickly dressed in the standard uniform and headed down the stairs into the common room. Knowing that Harry and Ron would not be awake yet she sat down in her favourite armchair by the inviting fire, pulling out a book that was a werewolf's point of view on Lycanthropy called Hairy Snout, Human Heart. It made her think about her deceased Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and she wanted to cry, but she didn't, she cried enough for a lifetime.
When she was finally able to concentrate on her book Harry and Ron came stumbling down the stairs. She said good morning and they grunted in reply and they all went off to breakfast. Despite his sleepy appearance, Ron was apparently competent enough to eat everything in sight. She was taking some scrambled eggs for herself when she saw Pansy Parkinson walking through the doors and directly towards her. This made Hermione extremely nervous. Pansy stopped right in front of Hermione and started speaking quite loudly.
"Hermione I'm really sorry for what I said to you. It was inexcusable and I hate myself for saying what I did. Please forgive me," Pansy pleaded.
Hermione's jaw dropped open, for the first time in her life Hermione Granger was at a loss for words.
A/N: I am SOOOO sorry the amount of time it has taken for this updated is inexcusable. I hope you will all forgive me! AA
