I didn't even try to fall asleep again. I knew all I'd have was nightmares. Sleep was tempting though. After crying so much my eyes were sore and it felt good to close them. I forced myself to stay awake; there was no way that I was going through those horrid nightmares again. I would have to ask Madam Pomfrey for a Dreamless Sleep Potion tomorrow. I lay in bed, staring at the top of my four poster bed. I had pondered studying a bit for O.W.L.s but my tired mind convinced me not to. After hours of tossing and turning in bed the sun began to come up. I hurried into the loo and began to get ready as soon as it was a decent hour to do so. Even after I had gotten completely ready, even taking the time to style my hair a little, everyone in the room was still asleep.

My eyes were tearing due to exhaustion, so I decided an early breakfast and some coffee would help loads. I grabbed my bag and quietly tiptoed out of the dorm and down the steps to the common room. As I approached the common room I noticed a large mass lying at the bottom of the stares. As I got closer I noticed that Fred was lying across the entranceway to the girl's dorms. I guessed in an attempt to catch me when I entered the common room. My heart ached at the sweet notion, but I stepped over him and continued on my way to breakfast.

I wanted to forgive Fred, I really did, but I couldn't bare the thought of him and George being expelled. Let alone being sent to Azkaban. I shivered as the images from my nightmares filled my head. I forced myself to start translating ruins inside my head to keep the images away. When I entered the Great Hall I was one of only a handful of students. Dumbledore and McGonagall were the only professors present at the staff table. Breakfast continued for another two hours so I wasn't surprised at the low attendance.

"Hello, Neville." I said sitting down across from him. He had a book propped against the pitcher of orange juice in front of him as he lazily ate his breakfast.

"Good morning, Hermione, what are you doing up so early?" He asked closing his book and returning it to his bag.

"I couldn't sleep, what about you?" I poured myself some pumpkin juice and buttered some toast.

"I'm usually always up this early. Professor Sprout lets me help in the greenhouses. There are a lot of plants that need attention just as the sun rises."

"Oh, I had never really thought of that. That seems fun though."

He grinned at me. "Oh it is! There is this one flower that only blooms once a day, for about a minute when the sun first hits it. It's the most beautiful flower; I look forward to seeing it every day."

"Fascinating." I said dipping the corner of my toast into an over-easy egg.

"Are you alright, Hermione? You've got huge bags below your eyes." Neville said with a worried expression.

I hastily grabbed a compact mirror from my bag. Neville was right, deep bags ringed underneath my eyes. I quickly dabbed some concealer onto them and blended it in with my finger.

"Better?" I asked stowing the mirror and make up back into my bag.

He nodded, and didn't push the fact that I had avoided his question. We continued for the rest of breakfast in a comfortable silence. Unfortunately whenever my mind became unoccupied, the images of Fred and sometimes George leaked back into my head. Somehow the thought of those two under the Dementor's influence seemed worse than anyone else I knew. I had no idea why, seeing as I was closer to Harry than I was George, but Harry's image wasn't seeping into my head. Maybe it was because Fred and George just seemed so untouchable by bad things. They were always joking, and smiling. I focused on translating more and more ruins whenever these images leaked into my brain.

I had just finished my third cup of coffee when Ginny and Harry settled down at the table with Neville and me.

"Hey, 'Mione." Harry said sitting down next to me.

"Hi, Harry." I said smiling weakly at him.

I noticed Ginny and Harry exchanging looks from the corner of my eye.

"I saw that." I said setting my utensils down and glaring at the two of them.

"Did you see?" Ginny started to say.

"Fred? Yes I did. Doesn't change anything." I said biting into another slice of toast.

"But."

"No, you guys don't get it. You might think that the Toad is just saying those things, but she's serious. You didn't hear her last night. I can't just condone those two being sent to Azkaban just so they can keep their prides unwounded."

"You really think?" Harry asked, but I cut over him as well.

"Harry, do you really think she's above that kind of thing? You see what she does to people who just annoy her, I mean just look at your hand and Fred's."

Harry grimaced rubbing the back of his left hand self-consciously. The words still clearly etched into the skin. More and more students were trickling into the Great Hall, with only an hour of breakfast left now.

I kept an eye out for the twins, ready to flee at a moment's notice. I just couldn't talk to Fred right now, I knew the second he started talking to me I would want to forgive him.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade with Fred tomorrow?" Ginny asked. Tomorrow was the last Hogsmeade trip before Halloween. Gryffindor House always had a costume party on Halloween, after the feast, so everyone was looking to get their costumes tomorrow.

"I've no idea." I said truthfully. I had completely forgotten about the trip.

Suddenly, with about a half hour left of breakfast, the twins appeared. Fred looked miserable, and had bags about the same size as mine underneath his eyes. George had an arm thrown across his shoulders and was quietly whispering to him.

"See ya in class." I said standing up and hurrying the opposite way of the twins. I heard them calling after me as I hurried out a side door, but I acted as though I hadn't heard them and hustled out of the hall.

(F-H)

I woke up cold and with an ache in my neck. I slowly blinked my eyes open, momentarily confused as to why I was laying on the common room floor. The previous night's events flowed into my mind. It felt like there was a vice around my heart as the mental image of Hermione's tearful face filled my mind. Her words 'Don't touch me!' played on repeat as I finally got the strength to stand up and head up to my dorm to get ready.

"Any luck?" George asked as I walked into the room. I shook my head and began to dig through my trunk.

"She'll come 'round, Freddie, don't worry." George said in an effort to cheer me up.

I shook my head. "If there is one thing that rivals her intelligence it's her stubbornness."

"Once she sees the Toad's face when we give her a taste of our latest invention, she'll be laughing with everyone else."

"No, George, she won't be. She was serious about what she said."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we should listen to her."

"What?" George said sounding flabbergasted.

I stood up and looked up at him. "At least for now, we should lay off of pranking. I was thinking about it, and I really think she would do it."

"You really think Umbridge would send us to Azkaban?" He asked looking amused.

"Look at this." I said thrusting the back of my left hand close to his face.

"If she does this because we were annoying her, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to snap our wands in half and send us to that island." George looked into my eyes and seemed to sober up.

"You're probably right, Gred." I checked the clock realizing if I wanted breakfast and to catch up with Hermione before class, I would have to hurry up. No more than five minutes later and George and I were making our way down to breakfast. The images from last night were still running through my head on replay, and I couldn't do anything to get them to stop.

"Just explain to her what we agreed, Fred. That's why she's mad at you. Once she knows we're listening to her, you guys will be back to normal." We were half way down the Gryffindor table when I caught sight of her hightailing it out of the Hall.

"Hermione!" George and I yelled after her. Either she didn't hear us, or she was ignoring us. I voted for the second.

My mood was not getting any better as I sat down at the bench next to Harry.

"She still mad?" George asked sitting on my other side.

"You could say that." Harry said nervously.

(F-G)

Anyone who had any trace of observational skills knew that there was something up with Hermione Granger and Fred Weasley. The former had yet to answer a question in any class and it was just before lunch. Even the Slytherin's noticed that the know-it-all was not her usual self. Not even Malfoy had the heart to take the mickey out of her. The latter was equally as miserable, if not more so. The usually always smiling prankster was seen with his arms folded beneath his head and he was using them as a makeshift pillow. Not even a knock-knock joke could be pulled out of him. Even Dumbledore noticed the differences in the two students. A few bets were made on how quickly the two would go back to their normal selves. It was rumoured that McGonagall had wages on sometime between lunch and the feast, her closest competitor being Flitwick who had the slot of between breakfast and lunch. Of course, these were just rumours.

A.N.

This wasn't as quick as my usual updates, but I have been busy! I finally found a car (a 2002 Mazda Tribute for anyone who's curious) and I've been trying to finalize the details of that. Also, my internet has been shut off so I'm only able to update when at my dad's house or a friends. If anyone is interested, MeggiPadfoot kindly translated this fic into French, so this story is officially available in two languages. The link is on my profile. Also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but in my last chapter I messed up lunch and dinner. Hermione went from going to lunch to showing up at dinner. Just a little mess up on my part that I need to fix. And I'm sorry for the fact that this author's note is turning into a novel, but this fic has hit over 11,000 views. Yayyyy. Well as always review! And I'll try to get another update up while I'm at my daddy's.

Love, Alexis