AHA! I'm so sorry for not updating, I seem to have... well... forgotten my password... don't worry, I'm working hard... or at least... I think I am... on this chapter, though my head is about to split open... I've only typed up two sentences... and already, I've fixed about six mistakes... this might take a while... Alright... here we go...

((Acknowledgements are discontinued, as they make the story seem longer and kinda detract from the actually chapter...))

T Treats T
She raised her hand high, ready to strike me, as I leaned my head to the side and shut my eyes tightly; waiting for the blow, but the pain never came. I opened my eyes and looked at her, and noticed that her mouth was agape and she was facing upwards, I followed her gaze and what I saw next I will never forget....

-"Red Fire Skies" Aura, coming to FictionPress.net soon (BlueFireKrazed)

Chapter

(.(.(.(.(.(8).).).).).)

--- Encounters ---

Hermione smiles inwardly, as she stood in front of Madame Pomfrey, who was giving a small speech on being careful and more watchful of herself. Hermione nodded when she felt she needed to, and when she heard Madame Pomfrey finally close her mouth, she all but ran down the hall. Her smiles widened as she threw her hands in the air, feeling free from the intruding white walls of the Hospital Wing. She walked slowly down the stairs, thinking of what to do next, and as luck would have it, moments later, she felt herself run into something, nearly falling down the stairs from the force of the collision. Hermione was barely able to maintain her balance by holding on to the marble railing of the stairs; she looked down to see that the person she had walked into was now at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing her head painfully.

"I'm so sorry!" Hermione began, running down the stairs as the person, who was wearing a Ravenclaw Scarf and Badge, stood up, still rubbing her sides, "I wasn't watching where I was going, I'm sorry." Not knowing what to say, she finally recognized the person under the hood of the robes as Aura Smiles.

"It's alright, Hermione, everyone crashes into someone at some point" a cheerful smile danced on her lips as she laughed slightly.

"So where are you headed?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Oh just on my way up to the Hospital Wing," Smiles said, shrugging. There was something in her voice that made Hermione wonder, and the bags under her eyes didn't lower her curiosity, but she shook it off and continues walking, after waving good bye at a smiling and hurried Aura Smiles.

It had been three days since Hermione had been released from the confinements of the Hospital Wing and Hermione was feeling exhausted, she had spent most of the days in the library, catching up with a weeks worth of homework. Since the time she had spent in the Hospital Wing, she had not had schoolmates take her the homework assignments.

As Hermione was headed up the marble stairways to the Gryffindor Common Room, late that day, she heard a voice, while turning to head up the next flight of stairs. She turned to look down and saw that the Weasley Twins and Aura were bounding up the stairs she had just finished climbing two at a time.

"Oy! Hermione" The twins said in unison as they arrived next to her and waited with her until a rather disheveled looking Smiles walked up after them. Hermione greeted them tiredly, exhausted from the day's events and the seemingly endless flights of stairs. On their way up to the Common Room, there was light chit-chat in which Hermione explained her reasons for feeling so tired.

"Crackerfairy," Hermione said casually as they arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, whom merely blinked at them, shrugged and swung forward. Fred stepped in first, followed by Smiles, Hermione and leading up the end was George, who narrowly escaped a hard smack on his hind from the closing portrait. Since the day Hermione had escaped the confines of the Hospital Wing, the angry stares from her peers had seemed to intensify; this caused Hermione to become much more anti-social than ever, no matter this, she continued to hold her head up high, and was finally where she was before, at the top of her class. Hermione headed straight for the stairs that lead to the girl's dormitory, the now quiet Common Room was a usual part of her day, and she considered it a routine of a sort.

"Where are you going, Granger?" a voice snarled as someone clamped their hand around her arm and yanked her backwards, nearly making her loose her balanced, something that she noticed she was loosing a lot lately. She spun around angrily, slapping the owner of the hand hard across the face, though she had known who it was the minute they uttered a syllable, she knew it would make a difference if she had hit Draco Malfoy at that moment, the small gasps of the people around them echoed throughout the silent room. Hermione looked up, to see the emerald eyes of Harry Potter. She herself almost gasped at the mixed emotions she found in his intense green orbs and stared, hurt, anger and something she couldn't quite place. In an instant, the emotions were gone, and she noticed his stare become dark and hateful. Harry's cheeks were tinted red from anger and embarrassment and her handprint on his left cheek was just a shade darker. Hermione herself was blushing as well, but she did not feel hatred from her once best friend, but more of a feeling of betrayal. Hermione looked down to see that in his hands he was clutching a strange book, the yellow words spelling "Scribbler" against a dark navy blue background.

"What do you want, Potter?" Hermione spat venomously, she said no more, fearing her voice would break mid-sentence. She looked around for Fred and George, "The couldn't have left already, could they've?" her mind raced a bit at the thought that the whole Common Room was staring at her, yet again, and she couldn't find some sort of sympathy or solace in any of those cold, hateful eyes. Hermione's mind clouded as the silence overwhelmed her, "What should I do now?"

Hermione stood there, returning the glares that her peers were directing towards her, awaiting the answer that Harry was supposed to answer. After several quite minutes, none came, and Hermione had to do everything in her power to not throw her hands up angrily and slap him again, to get him to talk. She spun on her heel and headed up the girl's dormitory Stairs, where the glares of younger girls came her way, she ignored them all boldly. "I won't take this!" her mind screamed "If they don't wish to treat me as a friend, than I will treat them as the enemy!" she stormed up that stairs and to her prefect's dorm, completely outraged.

Sorry this took me so long, I know, I know this is short, but I've been having strange times when I can't write anything, and when I can't stop typing... not that it is ever good - Well, please review with anything you want to fix or just comments, which I love. Constructive Critisism welcomed - And to whom said that Hermione was to weak, this is the beginning of a very violent Hermione.

THANK ALL OF YOU FOR REVIEWING!!

Alright, thanks for reading,

Ja-ne
BlueFireKrAzEd