Betrayal

Harry and Ron avoided her from the start, which gave Hermione an excuse to stay in her bed during Monday. Betrayal was felt on both sides:

When Harry confronted her, she felt relief because he was the more sensitive one out of the two boys. They met in the common room when everyone else was at breakfast,

"H-Harry!" Hermione shyly mumbled, "I've been trying to talk to you," Harry could easily tell that she had been crying all night.

"About what, how you like Malfoy, yeah, I know," he spat, and looked into eyes, "how could you be in love with the guy I hate?"

"I-I don't, I'm not, It's not like that, okay?" Hermione's voice quivered. Pain reappeared in her eyes for what little tears she had left were gone, but more were forced to be created.

"What ever you say, have fun not being our friend," he then walked past her, and purposely bumped shoulders with Hermione.

"Ron knows too?" she stiffened, and turned around as he stopped at the entrance of the boy's stairs.

"Yeah and he wants you to stay away from him," Harry replied. She looked down and gripped her skirt as she stood there and sobbed.

As girls came and gone, and Hermione laid on her bed with the curtains covering it, caressing the scarf and staring at her drawing. I still love him constantly repeated in her head, but Monday night it turned to I still love him… Homework… I still love him… Homework… She finished her homework that night with tears on her cheeks.

Using her time turner, she arrived to potions class early after spending extra time using enchantments to make it look like she had not been crying. Once again, she could feel the eyes pierce her. Harry and Ron grudgingly sat down next to her, making her feel horrible because she could sense their anger yet relieved because they were the closest anyone had gotten to her.

Hermione could tell that even Professor Snape looked at her differently. As she lay on her bed that night she wondered how could my life turn into a living hell so fast? Crying herself to sleep became common with her yet that night she slipped into slumber smiling. To herself she thought, everybody must care about me if they're making a big deal about who I like.

For the next week Hermione felt as though she was the only one affected, and for once, she was wrong.