Hello again! Sorry that my updates have been few and far between. I've finally gotten a new laptop though so I hope to be posting more often.

This chapter is a little shorter than most of my others and I'm sure that it's riddled with mistakes. I wrote with a certain kind of anger in my mind and I found myself in a rather foul mood myself after I was finished. *sigh* I can't be the only person who gets that far into their writing. I hope I'm not the only one, anyway.

Well, enjoy this chapter and, as always, let me know what you think, please.

I don't own Harry Potter.

Harry, obviously oblivious to the warning signs the woman was exhibiting, he continued on, driven by anger. "After everything that arsehole put us through! The years of being locked in his dungeon for his disgusting classes! And you shagged him? Are you mad?" Ron winced and backed away, clearly not wanting to get himself in any more trouble. He was focused on Hermione's face, which was growing redder by the second.

"He hates Gryffindors, as well! Don't you realize that he's probably using you for a good roll about? You stupid prat for falling for his trickery! And you laid in his bed? That slimy, greasy git's bed? You're disgusting! And you've slept with a teacher! What? Was I not good enough? Or Ron? Or any other guy your own age? Or were you planning on making your way over to us after he dumped your sorry arse?"

SMACK!

Harry didn't see her hand escape her robes. He did, however, feel it strike the side of his face.

He stumbled back, his own hand moving to cover the rapidly forming welt. Ron just diverted his attention to the ground, clearly wishing to avoid a similar fate.

"Bastard! How dare you!" Hermione seemed to grow six inches taller as she sucked air in her chest. "You foul, filthy excuse for a friend! Who gave you advice when you wanted to date that wanker, Cho Chang? You comforted you when she dropped you for Cedric? Because he was handsome and popular? Even famous Harry Potter wasn't good enough for that bimbo! But you wanted her! And Ron!"

Ron flinched, scared of being hit. "Wasn't it you who said he cried about it? Sobbed like a bitch, did he?" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she advanced on Harry.

"Seven years I've stood by your side, shadowed by that stupid scar on your forehead. Everything you got yourself into, I've gotten you out of! Remember the Triwizard Tournament? Who stayed up, night after night, researching ways to get you through the competition alive? And yet, did you ever look my way? Did you ever see the way I looked at you? Of course not. I was just the best friend. Not pretty enough for either of you. But if you needed to copy homework or a spell then who did you call on?"

"I finally find someone who makes me happy and all you can do is threaten him? Even when Dumbledore himself knows about us? And he hasn't condemned us! Or do you think that you're better than him? He's misguided and can't see what you can, yeah? You're the delusional one, Harry Potter! You let your stupid fame get to your head! Everything you've ever done, I've taught you! You forgot who has the brains in our friendship, clearly! Just because I'm shagging Severus doesn't give you any right to open your big mouth! So what if he's older than me? So what if you don't like him? I don't give a damn for your opinion!"

She paused and looked into his eyes, seeing something peculiar there. A small, evil smile appeared on his face then and she dropped her tone down, mimicking Snape's dangerous tone almost perfect. "But this isn't about Severus. It's not about his age or that he's a teacher… You're jealous, aren't you?"

There was an eerie silence in the corridor. No one chose to move or even breathe. Harry looked like he was growing livid again but Hermione's next words put him in his place.

"You're the pathetic one. I can see it in your eyes. You're off your rocker because you don't stand a chance now. You know that you couldn't get in if you tried. And you're pissed that of all people to give me a go, it was Severus Snape."

"Well, newsflash, Potter. You waited too long. You didn't have the balls to ask me out, over the seven bloody years we've spent together. It's your loss."

Now that Hermione was finished her rant, she shrunk a few inches and pushed past Ron, striking him in the shoulder as she moved to pick up her books. Without looking back, she headed in the direction of the charms corridor.

Blinded by her fury, she rushed past Draco Malfoy hiding behind a statue, a stunned look plastered to his face. She never saw him.

It took a few moments for Ron to move or make a sound. "Er… Harry?"

Seemingly woken up by Ron's voice, Harry rubbed his face, a distant look on his face. He looked in his wand hand and realized that he must have dropped it at some point. "Lost my wand" he muttered.

The two set off to find it in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. They were so preoccupied that they didn't see Draco take off down the corridor.

Before entering the Charms classroom, Hermione composed herself in the bathroom, fixing her hair and washing her face. By the time she was finished, no one would have any idea about the row she just had with Harry. Ron was just a bystander, she told herself. He knew better than to open his mouth. "He'll be easy to forgive." She even spoke the lines out loud. "Harry, on the other hand..."

Now that she was alone, she could feel something like sadness creeping into her chest. It made her breath catch and the corner of her eyes burn. With both hands, she gripped the sides of the sink, staring down at the tap in an attempt to compose herself. After a few moments, she took in a deep gulp of air and shuddered, a whimper escaping her throat. That's when the first tears dropped from her eyes and fell onto the tap.

Overwhelmed, she sat down on the ledge that ran around the wall and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.