DISCLAIMER: In its use of intellectual property and characters belonging to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury Publishing, et cetera, this work is intended to be transformative commentary on the original. No profit is being made from this work.

BETA READER: silverbluewords

CHALLENGE: Write a short scene—200 to 300 words. Leave a gap and skip ahead to another short scene with the same characters you were studying before the gap. 500 words.

SHORT STORY #4: THE GAP

The end was always Hermione's favourite part of the story. Conflicts were resolved, order was restored, and everything simply fell into place—at least until that evil git snatched her book out of her hands and pegged it down the corridor, cackling with glee and sneering back at her in a blatant dare to retaliate.

"Honestly!" she huffed, crossing her arms and stomping after him. She refused to take part in his petty little games. "Malfoy, you snivelling prat! Give it back!"

"No, I don't think I will," he drawled over his shoulder as he darted around the corner. "In fact, I reckon I'll leave this somewhere for you to find, say, like down the loo, where the rest of this tripe belongs," he taunted, flapping her book behind him in a rude imitation of flatulence.

"You wouldn't!" she shrieked, lunging forth and tackling him to the ground. He gave a shrill yelp, and she seized the opportunity to straddle his scrawny arse, wrestle her book back, and smack him upside the head with it, all the while cursing and spitting in his stupid, pointy, ferrety face—

"Ms Granger!" came Professor McGonagall's horrified gasp. "And Mr Malfoy! Explain yourselves, both of you!"

"HE/SHE STARTED IT!" they both snarled at the same time.

"That is quite enough!" scolded the older woman. "Mr Malfoy, you should consider yourself fortunate that I will not be notifying your father of this incident. And you, Ms Granger, I would never have expected such unruly behaviour of you. Back to your dormitories, immediately."

"Yes, Professor," they muttered in unison, gingerly returning to their feet.

Yet as soon as Professor McGonagall was out of earshot, he turned to her and smirked, "By the way, Granger, nice hair."

Curiously, she reached up, only to find that her hair ribbon was missing. Instead, there was a massive glob of chewing gum stuck to the ends of her curls. "MALFOY!" she screamed after his retreating footsteps.

Hermione stared at the crinkled pages, unable to decipher the blotted ink through the tears that burned her vision. She no longer cared about the ending. They were all the same.

She closed her eyes and gradually let all of her childish fantasies tumble out of her hands.

"Foolish Granger, always has her conk wedged inside a book," Malfoy snickered, scooping up the fallen tome.

He didn't even bother trying to escape anymore. He simply wiggled it over her head.

"Give it back, you wanker!" she hissed, leaping and flailing in an unsuccessful attempt to swipe her book back.

"No, I don't think I will," he drawled. "In fact, I reckon I'll leave it somewhere for you to find, say, like down the front of my trousers—"

"Grow up, Malfoy," she snapped, marching off with a dignified sniff. "You can just keep the ruddy book."

"By the way, Granger," he called after her. "Nice hair."

She peered over her shoulder and saw that he was still there, grinning as he held on to the book that was, for all intents and purposes, now his. "Thanks, Draco," she smiled back.

TO BE CONTINUED