Chapter 2

Hermione still couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy, son of a known Death Eater and devout Slytherin, was sitting with her and conversing politely. They had mainly discussed the series they both liked and another book they also favored. They then talked about the coming exams, prefect duties, but not really anything too personal. It had been several hours of pleasantries and the sun was getting close to the mountains.

"So, who do you think is going to be the Heads of the next year?" Draco asked in a polite but seeking way. She wanted to say what she really thought, her and Harry, but she didn't want to seem rude.

"I'm not sure. I really hope I get Head Girl, but Head Boy is a probably up for grabs." She said hoping not to sound too conceded.

"Of course you'll get it Granger. You are the know-it-all who beats me in every class, except for one." He said smugly.

"That's because Snape favors you." She accused, slightly miffed, then she regretted it because he almost looked pained.

"I know." He replied looking away. "I'd like to think that I'm at least good at one thing. Do you know how much shit I get from my father for losing to a Mudblood?" She looked down at her hands. She wasn't really upset at the offensive term but more out of pity for him. He really was intelligent, but to his father he wasn't good enough because she beat him. She wondered if it had been anyone else if it would bother him so bad, and concluded it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry." She said really feeling bad for the jab about Snape.

"No you're not. You pride yourself in being the perfect student and that's exactly why you will be Head Girl and I'll always be second best. You bloody well know you wouldn't put anything in front of your damned grades." He was angered, she couldn't blame him, but his accusations still stung.

"You don't know anything about me!" she raised her voice slightly.

"I know all about you. You're Hermione Granger. You are a Mudblood who was entirely surprised at receiving an invitation to a world that you didn't even know existed. You were ecstatic to come here and prove yourself to your proud family. They were ever so happy to learn that you earned top grades, distracting them from the reality that you were becoming a bossy prude. You've had one boyfriend, Viktor Krum. He was a small fling that ended with the summer and the start of a new year and new girls to swoon over him. Your friends protect you and never like to let you out of their sight, which is probably killing them right now that you aren't with them. Everyone loves you now that you fight for the Order and so on and so on." He paused looking over her reaction. "Right aren't I?"

She stood up furious. "No you are not, you selfish git! If for one second, you came down from your fancy, rich, little pureblood pedestal you'd learn what it's really like having to work for your grades! You'd learn that not everyone can coast through life on good looks and money! They aren't everything!" she shouted and grabbed her book and walked around him to leave. She paused and said with tears. "And you don't know anything about me! I don't have the perfect life that you envisioned, believe me! So go back to your snobby, slutty friends and leave me the Hell alone!"

He watched as she stormed off. He really didn't think that she had it in her to truly stand up to him like that. She was still yelling as she was walking away.

"And to think I thought that foul ferret could be civilized for once! PEOPLE NEVER CHANGE!" she cried, the angry and pent up tears streaming down her cheeks. She knew she couldn't go back to the common room and see the boys like this; she did not want to have to explain everything that went on.

She went to her other haven, the one full of the musty smell of hundred-year-old books and lovely vanilla- Madam Pince like to burn candles. The smell always seemed to calm her down. She went to the back corner in the biography section, no one but her really enjoyed that section. She sat with her back to one of the shelves, laying her head against a rather large autobiography on Cornelius Fudge. She tried to close her eyes and ease her mind but every time she did, she saw his face. She was so furious that he though that her life was so grand, who was he to judge her at all? His father bought his way into everything! He may be critical of him sometimes, but if he tried harder then he wouldn't disappoint him.

People who took things for granted always bothered her. She worked for everything she received, the attention was earned, but she just liked to feel accomplished. She loved the feeling, that for once in her life, she belonged somewhere, and he took that away from her. How she hated him! He was arrogant, rude, and ungrateful! He had everything; parents with loads of money, plenty of friends, good looks, and charisma. He could have almost anything he wanted in life. All she had was her grades.

3

Hermione was walking from class with Harry and Ron a few weeks later. The conversation had turned to the coming holidays. They discussed their vacation plans and the times they would meet up. Harry would be coming of age this summer, so he and Ron were going to celebrate with the Twins and Charlie in Ireland. They had invited her but she knew it was only out of politeness, they wanted to have an all boys outing, so she declined.

"Are you sure you won't come with us?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, come on Hermione, you've always been one of the guys." Ron laughed. She didn't find this rude statement funny at all. He knew how self-conscious she was about things like that.

"I know Ron, I'm just one of the guys. I'm just the girl that you borrow homework from. I'm the one that you expect to be there when Lavender says something you don't understand. I'm just one of the guys!" she raised her voice slightly. She had tears filling her eyes. They, mainly Ron, never appreciated her. They acted as if she would always be there to do their work for them or to devise the perfect plans, it was infuriating.

"Hermione, I didn't-" Ron started.

"What Ronald? You didn't what? Think? Yeah, that happens all too often for you doesn't it."

"Hermione?!" he exclaimed, but Hermione ignored him and stomped off. "What the bloody Hell has gotten into her? Is she ragging or something?!"

"No, I'm not!" she stopped in her tracks. "I'm just tired of you being an insensitive prick! For Merlin's sake, Malfoy is a better conversationalist than you!" With that last snap, she marched off to the girls' dormitories, leaving all three boys awestruck at what she had just said.

3

Draco had overheard their little tiff and had liked that someone else was razzing on the Weasel, other than him. He wondered though, what was really on her mind. She seems so much more angry and bitter than the usually chipper Hermione who had just scored 5 points higher than him on her N.E.W.T.S. He knew that girls were emotional before their time of the month but she was never like this. And the fact that she added that extra hurt on him about me. That was very unlike her, she even complimented me. Well sort of, if you could count being able to hold on a conversation that doesn't involve food or Quidditch impressive. He laughed to himself.

Maybe he would look into this and see what was bothering her so bad. He hated to admit it, but he almost felt sorry for her. He just didn't like to see any girls, even Mudbloods, being so troubled- and not even of his doing. He might just try to comfort her, or at the very least trick someone else into doing it.