Memo: A chapter a day keeps the angry fans away. I seem to be updating at school and gets shoved across and friend types

Hiiiiiiiiiii! I'm Wendy! I'm in control right now... So... How's life? Goood? Good. End of story -Leaves-

As I was saying whacks hand across friend head I seem to be updating at school because I've finished this story and... yeah. Thanks to the two people to vote love nick and Lady Arachnia

gets shoved across again

Hugs and kisses for the reviewers! YAAAAAY! If you don't like them I can send you cookies if you really want ; -Leaves again-

On to the story. Oh and I don't own Harry Potter Blah blah...

---

Hermione did not want to go to the Prefect compartment. Though Ron would be joining her, it would not be the same. She would be in command. He would not be able to speak to her, to whisper comforting or assuring things in her ear, and most of all Malfoy (the foul scum) would be at her side in Ron's place. This was supposed to be her most glorious year. Ron a prefect, Hermione Head Girl, and Harry captain of the Quidditch team (as appointed the year before), they were all supposed to laugh and further procrastinate their thinking of Voldemort. His threat had been growing at a rapid pace, but Hermione did not like to think about that. She liked to think about things that made her smile, seeing as there was so little that did so during these depressing days.

"Hermione, shouldn't we be going?" Ron asked and furrowed his eyebrows. Hermione took a deep breath and a soft moan escaped her lips. Neither Harry nor Ron knew why, but it was hard to notice the minor twitch of pain in her right eye.

"Hermione, are you sure you're feeling alright?" Harry asked quizzically.

"Yes, I mean I had to remind YOU of our responsibilities," Ron observed dramatically. Hermione gave them a tiresome smile, trying her best to be discrete.

"I'm fine, boys. I was just going over the textbooks that I bought in Diagon Alley in my mind. Cant be too prepared, now can we?" she asked with a quiet smirk. Harry laughed.

"Yep, she's feeling alright. Now you two run off and be good students. I suppose I should start going around and speaking with the Quidditch team... Ron you remember what we talked about?" Harry asked. Ron nodded eagerly. He looked at Hermione with a cock-eye smile.

"Hermione you should see me play! I've gotten twice as good as I was from last year!" he gloated. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Ron, we already made it clear to you last year that you ARE a good Keeper and you ARE better than Oliver Wood used to be. After you won that final match in our fifth year you've been an INCREDIBLE Quidditch player, and I don't even care for the sport. Now can we PLEASE go?" she asked impatiently, wanting to quickly get the meeting over with.

Ron looked at her and chuckled; obviously proud of himself and the way he had excelled so quickly in the sport after he had gotten over how nervous he was in front of crowds. Harry rolled his eyes and waved goodbye, separating from his two friends for the rest of the train ride.

They walked briskly to the compartment. Stepping inside quietly, Hermione shut the door and sighed. She smiled brightly at Ginny who was looking rather bored and lonely. She brightened the moment she saw Hermione's face.

"What took you so long? I thought you'd come immediately here! I've been waiting forever!" Ginny said in exasperation as she threw her arms around Hermione's neck tightly. Hermione embraced the girl though she did not find the hug as satisfying as she had Ron's. It had something to do with the tight hold and the comfort between her and Ron that made things different. She and Ginny could hug, but it was always just a little awkward. They weren't as good of friends as she and Ron were.

"How was your summer?" Hermione asked lightly. Ginny looked at Hermione and shrugged while pulling away from their embrace.

"It was alright. Fred and George kept on sending us anonymous packages or ones from false identities. Soon we had to stand about ten feet away to open any mail so as we did turn orange or all of a sudden sprout a beak or something," Ginny laughed. Hermione smiled, remembering several packages she had received from the twins.

She was filled with a cold sadness when she remembered how she never even got a chance to open them.

"So how was your summer?" Ginny asked Hermione. She was quiet for a moment.

"It was fun," she said simply. Ginny rolled her eyes. She was so open about what she thought and how she felt. She was upfront and stubborn, beautiful with her straight red hair and bright smile. She was glowing with spirit and a light heart... Hermione never wished more to be like Ginny.

"Hermione, don't be so vague! I need details!" She pulled her friend down on the seat, next to Cho Chang, who was also a prefect. The girls did not greet each other. The two had never been on very good terms.

"Well," Hermione started. Lies and stories filled her mind quickly, flooding and taking over. She did not even consider telling Ginny the truth. "I read, and that took up most of my time. I had to explain a billion things to Mum and Dad about the Wizarding World. Crookshanks got fleas, the poor thing," Hermione said quietly. She remembered Crookshanks, snoozing quietly in his cage, and she reminded herself quietly to let him out to stretch his legs when she got the chance.

Ginny gave Hermione a pitying smile.

"And I thought I had a dull summer," Ginny said seriously. Hermione shrugged and gave her a quiet smile.

'If you only knew.'

"Ginny got herself a boyfriend," Ron said and eased himself down in the seat across from them. Hermione looked him up and down briefly and secretively. He was such a handsome boy who wore his heart on his sleeve.

She tried to stir up the cinders. She tried to make some sort of warmth blossom in her chest or her stomach. She would have even been content with her an unexplained warmth in her feet when she looked at him.

Ron looked down in embarrassment when Hermione realized she was staring at her best friend. She looked away, her expression impassive. She then cracked a smile at her.

"Oh really? What's his name?" she asked. Ginny sighed.

"His name is Billy Harris. I wanted to tell you but obviously Ron couldn't wait to break the news," Ginny said in frustration.

"Yea, well I don't like him!" Ron snapped stubbornly. Hermione laughed at how protective the redheaded boy was.

"You don't like him because he's a muggle!" Ginny snapped back with a familiar stubborn fire in her eyes. Hermione was taken back.

"You're dating a muggle?" she asked quietly. Ginny nodded with a smile on his face.

"Yea. It was the strangest thing, too. I was out for a walk and he was completely lost. I couldn't help but invite him home to meet my family..."

"He knows about magic?" Hermione gasped. Ginny giggled as her eyes sparkled magically. Hermione was in awe at the girl's feelings for her boyfriend.

"Yes. Oh, don't worry. He knew all about magic when I met him. You see when we met it was more of he almost ran into my on his bicycle, and he swerved out of the way. I fell backwards and my wand fell out of my pocket. That's how we started talking his brother is a wizard," she said quickly. Hermione nodded, understanding a little more.

"Well... is he cute?" Hermione asked. She wasn't all about studying and books and learning. She did care about the same things as other girls did, including how handsome a boy was. Ginny gasped and her eyes rolled up in her head as she bit her lip.

"He is BEYOND cute. He is ADORABLE. He is HOT. He is the definition of GOOD-LOOKING," she said overdramatically. Hermione laughed. That was Ginny. She always had a flare for the dramatic.

"How old is he?" Hermione asked.

"Sixteen, just like me," she said with a small smile. Hermione couldn't help but be proud of Ginny. She was thankful Ginny had gotten over her crush on Harry in their third year. It would have been quite awkward if she were still in love with him while he was not exactly interested in a relationship at the moment.

Hermione sighed sadly. Harry was going through so much. After Sirius death he had never quite been the same. He tried, but his heart had just become so cold and hard. It was as if nothing could penetrate it. She pitied Harry.

"I'm so happy for you," Hermione said sweetly.

Ginny noticed as Hermione's face had such a subtle cringe it was nearly unnoticeable. It seemed that Hermione was in pain but she did not want anyone to see. So Ginny said nothing and gave Hermione a thankful smile to her comment and was quiet. Hermione leaned back and closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying the lack of conversation.

"Well, now that you're all here, let us begin," Professor McGonagall said the moment after Malfoy entered the compartment. He had obviously been showing off his Head Boy privileges to anyone who would listen.

Hermione did not hear the things she said. She did not hear about the schedules. She kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She could practically feel the color draining from her face. The light hurt. She took the paper without even looking at it, holding it in her trembling fingers.

She felt someone shaking her arm. She refused to accept the fact that she had to open her eyes. She refused the fact that she had to wake up. She refused to listen to the orders of others. She just wanted to curl up and sleep for the rest of the day. She just wanted to ignore her responsibilities for once and just do what she wished.

"Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked gently. Hermione pried open her eyes and stared at the Professor. She closed her eyes momentarily for a moment and regretfully opened them again. Draco Malfoy stood in the corner, looking like a stone, not a hint of feeling or any sort of compassion on his featured face.

"I'm sorry, Professor," she said quietly and strained to stand. McGonagall placed a hand on her shoulder and firmly made her resume her seat.

"Miss Granger is it..."

"Professor, I'm absolutely fine," Hermione said and waved her hand as if the matter were nothing. She wanted to tell the Professor she was not alright but she wanted everyone to leave her alone. That wasn't going to happen. That was as likely as her lie being the truth. For her to be completely isolated was going to be as likely as her being completely all right.

McGonagall shook her head, disbelieving her lies.

"If you want I can speak with Professor Dumbledore and excuse you to your quarters for the evening...with your condition I'm sure that would be no problem," she said gently. Hermione stubbornly stood up.

"I told you I'm fine! Please, Professor, stop treating me as if I'm just some piece of china!" Hermione said and rushed from the compartment.

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall called after her in worry. "Please, come back her for a moment," she said sternly. Hermione hesitated for a moment and then sighed, her shoulders slumped in defeat. She turned and walked back to the Professor. Her legs felt wobbly and she could feel clammy sweat on her forehead.

"Yes?" she asked. Professor McGonagall sighed

"This evening, you and Mr. Malfoy will supervise the Prefects and make sure that everyone is situated. Then you will return to your quarters. The password into the common room is charlatan..."

"That's a peculiar password," Hermione thought out loud. McGonagall shrugged.

"What does charlatan mean?" Draco asked a blush in his pale face at not knowing this. Hermione turned to him.

"I figured you should know. You are the definition of one,"

Hermione shot at him. She then blushed and looked at the ground. "Sorry, Professor," she mumbled. The woman looked at Hermione disapprovingly and pursed her lips.

"Mr. Malfoy, charlatan means someone who boasts lies, is a poser, and... other things," McGonagall said simply. He opened his mouth to snap back at Hermione but McGonagall shot him a warning glare and he shut his mouth quickly.

"I was hoping the two of you would put aside your petty differences for at least this one year, considering your living accommodations. For this little outbreak, Miss Granger, is has proven that my hopes proved pointless. The two of you are now going to be under watch. If your grades slip, you appear disheveled in the morning," her eyes flickered momentarily to Hermione, "or if any one of the staff notice anything other than civil behavior towards one another, you will both be reprieved of your duties entirely. You will not even be a prefect," McGonagall said simply. Malfoy seemed utterly displeased at the thought but said nothing of it. The Professor sighed. "You can now return to your compartments."

Hermione turned and left quickly and quietly. She meant to run away from the two of them as fast as possible.

She would cuddle with Crookshanks and whisper all of her troubles into his ear. He would purr affectionately and not judge her at all, and then nuzzle her face before falling asleep in her arms.

She craved this acceptance and affection so much she was almost sprinting to her compartment.

When she reached there, she noticed that she was alone. Ron had gone off in search of Harry and Ginny would be with her friends.

She closed the compartment door quietly, standing up straight with a solid expression for anyone who was watching. It closed with a click and she turned, taking a single shaky breath.

She threw herself down on the bench and began to cry.