Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling nor do I own Harry Potter. See previous chapters.

Last time…

"Don't you dare patronize me Ronald! You want closure? You want to officially be able to go out with Genevieve? Fine! Here's your bloody closure! It's over – I'm breaking up with you because I fucking hate you and I never want to speak to you again!" With that, she turned around and reached for the doorknob. Just before turning it, she turned back to Ron and with a mocking tone she added, "Oh and don't worry about your reputation. I won't tell anyone how horrid you both are because unlike you, I don't go around trying to ruin other people's lives!"

As usual, Ron simply stood there open mouthed as Hermione walked out and slammed the door.

Chapter 11

Life goes on. That was a lesson Hermione learned over the next few days. No matter what happens, the sun will always rise the following morning and the world will keep spinning. Life at Hogwarts was no different – it went on as usual. Hermione was irrevocably changed that night and she now had to reevaluate everything about herself and find out what she really wanted in life. However, she still had to go through the motions. True to form, Hermione made the best out of the situation. She studied as hard as ever (after all, she wasn't going to waste her time at school and give Genevieve a sense of satisfaction if she failed) and maintained such a façade of her old self that it even convinced both Harry and Ginny that she was completely alright.

At first it was difficult. Though her confrontation with Ron helped make her feel a bit better, it still stung when he and Genevieve announced that they were dating the very next day. It wasn't so much that she had any feelings left for Ron – it just reminded her of how stupid she was to believe him and his lies. The pity stares she got from everyone didn't help matters much either. The morning after the HGF (or Head Girl Fiasco, as she liked to call it), people's stares were mostly curious and inquisitive, wondering if she was going to suddenly break down and cry in front of them. When Ron and Genevieve made their announcement the next day, curious stares turned into those of pity. Hermione never really cared about what others thought of her, but pity was something that she absolutely despised and did not want. Luckily, the twins' pin gave her some relief since stares of pity would quickly turn into looks of hurt and confusion as well as exclamations of "Ow! Who hit me?!" and "Why did you do that?!" to their innocent companions. Hermione loved the twins more than ever during those few days. However, none of these compared to the hurt Hermione felt inside her. When classes became a bit dull, Hermione would find herself spacing out and thinking of Cedric. She would think about how she would be with him now if her jump hadn't been interrupted. The longing to be with him was so intense it hurt.

Eventually, Hermione soon became yesterday's news. The amount of people mysteriously smacked in the head grew smaller and smaller until there were none left. As for Cedric, though she still thought of him every day and night, Hermione accepted that for now, this was where she was and she just had to make the best of it.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Unfortunately, fate decided to throw her another curve ball. About a week after the HGF, Hermione was at dinner when Dumbledore made an announcement.

"Good evening everyone," Dumbledore's voice instantly quieted the Great Hall. "I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner but I have an important announcement to make. Tonight we have a special guest," Dumbledore continued, stretching his arm out to call the guest to the front.

Hermione's breath hitched and her heart started pounding in her chest as she looked to the front and found Mr. Amos Diggory, Cedric's dad.

"Mr. Diggory," Dumbledore continued speaking though Hermione was barely aware of him. She was staring at the closest living link she had to Cedric in years. "Is here today to present a great addition to Hogwarts – the Cedric Diggory scholarship!"

Hermione's attention was instantly reclaimed by the headmaster at the mention of Cedric's name.

"Cedric was of course, a great student at this school. We are all proud to honour him with this scholarship in his name. Before I give out the details, I'd like to call on someone very dear to him, to speak about the fine young man that inspired this award."

Hermione waited anxiously to find out who this person was. She half-expected Dumbledore to call on her but of course, she was being silly. No one knew about her relationship with Cedric. Nonetheless, the name Dumbledore did call came as a shock.

"Ms. Chang, if you please."

With a proud smile on her face, Cho stood up from the Ravenclaw table and flipped her shiny, black hair back. She haughtily walked up to the front, clearly loving the attention.

"Hi everyone," Cho began. "Yes, Cedric and I were very close."

Hermione wanted to snort at that one but it would've been rude and highly inappropriate. As much as she loathed the girl, she at least hoped that Cho would give people a good reminder of who Cedric was.

"Cedric was handsome. He was smart and nice… and… brilliant at quidditch! Did I mention gorgeous? That boy was fit! We were so close – he said he wanted to marry me. Said I had the face of an angel. It's a shame he died. That face, oh, it was so…"

Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't stand one more minute of Cho using Cedric for attention. She was sick of Cho pretending like she knew him, sick of her talking about Cedric's face and quidditch skills as if that was all he was. With a mumbled excuse to Harry, Hermione slipped out of the Great Hall. Once she was out, Hermione ran down the hall, not caring where she was going. She just needed to get away. She found a door, opened it, and entered. She shut the door for privacy, collapsed against a wall and cried her heart out. She cried because she was angry. She was angry at Cho for using Cedric and for reducing him to nothing more than good looks and athletic ability. She was angry at her classmates for believing Cho and remembering Cedric only for being the school's "Golden Boy", an image he despised so much. She saw their attention waver once Dumbledore made his announcement. She heard some of them go "Oh, I thought it was something important" as if Cedric was just some random person. As if he didn't walk the halls with them, eat with them, talked to them, played quidditch with them. Most of all she cried for Cedric and herself. She cried for the boy who was so easily forgotten because he died in a far off, quiet graveyard and not in a blaze of glory. She cried for the boy who would be remembered as nothing more than that great-looking kid who played quidditch well. She cried for the man who was so much more than that and for herself because she couldn't do anything about it. No one knew about her and Cedric and so she would never be given the chance to make them remember him. But she would remember him. When everyone else forgets, she would always remember.

"Why are you crying?" A small voice startled Hermione and made her look up. "Why are you so sad? Angels aren't supposed to cry."

In front of Hermione stood a little girl of about 5 with curly, blonde hair, a pink dress, and a teddy bear under her arm.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be alright," the little girl continued. "You sure are dressed funny for an angel."

"I'm not an angel," Hermione said gently, wiping her tears from her face. "I'm Hermione. What's your name?"

"Nice to meet you, Hermione," the girl said with a smile, holding out her hand. Hermione shook it. "My name is Sophia Isabella-." She paused. "Umm, Mum says I'm not supposed to say my whole name. But you can call me Sophie."

"That's ok," Hermione said not wanting to scare her. "You have great manners," she said, referring to the handshake.

"Mum says I always have to be polite. My brother is very polite too and I want to be just like him," Sophie stated. "Except I don't want to be a boy!" She added laughing.

"No, you're a very pretty girl," Hermione agreed. "What's your brother's name?" she asked hoping to get more information.

"Umm," Sophie paused. "I'm not allowed to say."

"Ok," said Hermione, not wanting to push her. "How old are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm 4 and 3 quarters and this is my room, silly!" Sophie laughed.

Hermione smiled back and looked around the room. Sure enough, she was sitting by the entrance of what looked to be a little girl's suite. In the middle of the room were two couches in front of a fireplace. There was a mini-kitchen with a table and chairs at one end of the room, and two doors were on the other end. One corner looked like a play area filled with lots of toys, including a rocking horse as big as a miniature pony and a small table with a full tea service. It looked more like a room for a little princess. So many questions popped up in Hermione's head.

"You have a lovely room," Hermione said.

"Do you want to see my bedroom?" Sophie asked excitedly, pulling Hermione towards one of the doors.

The child was impressively articulate for someone her age but Hermione knew she had to stop her or she wouldn't get any answers.

"Maybe in a minute," Hermione said with a smile. "How about we sit on the couch for now?"

Once they were settled, Hermione asked more questions.

"Sophie, do you live here? How did you get here?"

"Yes. My mummy brought me here. She said I need to stay with my brother for now because she was going to be very busy so he will take care of me. She bought me all this stuff so that it would seem just like my room in my other house. Sometimes, my brother buys me toys too. He also brings me chocolate and candy!"

"I see," said Hermione. "Why did you think I was an angel?"

"Well, I asked for one and I usually get what I want," Sophie said matter-of-factly. "See, my brother's been really sad lately and I wanted to cheer him up. He tries to be happy when he's around me but sometimes I catch him looking really sad. I thought an angel would help because that's what they do right?" She looked up at Hermione.

"Yes," Hermione agreed not wanting to disappoint the little girl. She still wanted to know what was going though. "So, what do you do all day?"

"Well, I'm not allowed to go out so I play here all day. Dobby brings me food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My brother comes to see me sometimes during the day. He comes every night after dinner to play with me and help me get ready for bed. It's almost my bedtime so he should be here soon."

Hermione was about to ask her a question when the door opened.

"Granger?!"

"Malfoy?!"

A/N: Sorry for the delay but unfortunately school has been keeping me extremely busy. Please review! I'd really love to hear from you.