"Pathetic" said Draco as he entered the Slytherin Common Room. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting on two arm chairs, stabbing at the fireplace with a metal poker. They both looked up as Draco walked further into the room. He moved over to the green leather couch and sat. "Seriously...this is pathetic."

Crabbe and Goyle both hesitated to respond to the mumbled outburst. They knew never to get into Draco's business. Crabbe nudged Goyle and they both stood up slowly. Goyle moved first, walking closer to the aggravated Draco on the couch.

"What's pathetic?" he asked, still hesitant about what he had just done. Draco quickly switched his piercing blue eyes from the ground to rest on Goyle's face. Goyle backed away and gulped.

"What's pathetic?" he asked. "That Mudblood is crying on the steps outside of our dorm, and I can't get any sleep!" He stood up from the couch and walked a bit closer to the two frightened boys. "How about you both go tell her to beat it and go back to her own dorm." Draco turned and disappeared up the rounded staircase that led to the boy's dormitory.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other. Hesitantly, they moved across the common room to the entry way, and opened the door so that they could slightly peak through. Hermione, however, was nowhere to be found.

After looking for a few seconds more, the two turned back, closed the door, and followed Draco's path up the staircase.

They found Draco stretched out on his bed, legs crossed, with his arms extended and pulled under his head in a make-shift pillow, and his eyes closed. "Draco…" Crabbe began, "…the girl wasn't there." He quickly opened them when he heard Crabbe.

"Good," he said simply, and then gestured for Crabbe and Goyle to leave the room.

The next morning, Hermione woke from a fitful and restless sleep. She herself off of her pillow and sat up on her crimson sheets. Her eyes where no longer red from crying, more of a pink color really. As she brought her hand up to wipe away a few remaining tear drops, she finally noticed the small gathering in one of the corners of the dorm. All the other girls from Gryffindor where already awake, and she could hear them whispering. Hermione got up, put her white coated slippers on, and walked over to the crowd of girls on the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" she asked as she got closer to the girls. They were all sitting on the floor and in the middle sat none other than Lavender Brown. Her curly long hair now in a small neat bun piled effortlessly on top of her head. Lavender looked up to see Hermione peering at the crowd and smiled. Her smile was not sincere though; Hermione knew that Lavender had always wanted Ron to herself, and that she hated other girls around him. All attention was on Lavender, so when the girls saw her look up, they lifted their heads as well, finally noticing Hermione standing behind them.

Parvati Patil, another one of Hermione's roommates, said, "Lavender and Ron are now together!" and as if that was the first time the girls had heard that piece of information, they all squealed. Lavender was still looking at Hermione with malice, like she wanted to see her cry. Hermione clenched her hands into a fist. She wanted to fist her hands into Lavender's curly fucking hair and pull til it ripped from her scalp. She wanted to slap her until her face was as red as hers had been from crying last night.

"Oh," was all that came out of Hermione's mouth. Lavender gave out a little smirk and looked back down at the crowd of girls waiting for more information about the previous night. Hermione's face began to grow hot with embarrassment and furry.

"I've got to get out of here," she thought to herself. She walked over to her bed and opened her trunk. Many things were stored in there, but mostly her precious books. She dug to the far end of the trunk and took out a set of underwear and a bra, and then turned and grabbed the uniform that was sitting on the end of her bed. She looked back at the group of girls, slightly lifted her eyebrows, and frowned. Then, she turned and walked over to the bathroom, trying to contain the emotions that were threatening to surface.

It was now lunch time and Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. She had a silver plate filled with chicken and a salad. On the side of the plate was her Defense Against the Dark Arts book, and she was reading it as she cut her chicken into tiny, bite-sized pieces.

"Hey!" said Ron as he approached the long table. Hermione looked up to see that his robe had a stain on it, and his red hair was uncombed. He waved and gave Hermione the big smile that she has seen him give Lavender last night. The thought numbed her and made her feel a bit queasy, and she quickly looked back at her book. Ron sat down on the other side of the table and took a piece of bread from the tray. Hermione stayed silent.

"I said hey, Hermione. Hey?" He made a hand gesture in front of her face to see if she was listening. Hermione looked up, a bit pink in the face. She didn't say anything for a few seconds as she stared at Ron's worried face. He knew when he was in trouble. Hermione would make a certain face to alert him to this fact...the same face she wore now. Hermione paused and then gave out a big smile.

"Hey Ron!" she said cheerfully looking back down to her book once more. Her hands now clenched the knife she had been using to cut the chicken in an attempt to control the emotions she knew would show very soon. In a last effort to keep calm, she kept a smile drawn on her face, willing herself to feel as calm as she looked. Ron hesitated to say anything for the time being, so he just ate his bread.

A few minutes passed, but to both of them the awkward silence seemed like hours. Neither one wanted to talk. They had both started their homework as a distraction from the tension when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey guys," said Harry as he sat down next to Ron. Hermione looked up to see that Harry's faced bore a wide smile. "I just talked to Cho Chang."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron finally looked away from her as he turned to Harry.

"So, you like her?" Ron asked putting his arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry nodded his head excitedly. "Well…then we have to get her to like you too!" Ron nudged Harry and they both laughed. Hermione still didn't feel very humorous and remained somber. She rolled her eyes once more and looked around to see if Cho Chang was nearby.

She let out a quiet gasp as she saw Draco Malfoy starring intently towards the table where she and her two friends sat. She quickly turned back around to Harry and Ron. Her heart was beating quite fast as she thought of last night and what Malfoy and seen…what he had heard.

Hermione quickly stood up and grabbed her things. "I'm going to the bathroom..." she announced to the two boys who were still fooling around on the other side of the table. They stopped laughing for a moment and turned towards her to wave good-bye.

Hermione looked back to Malfoy, who was still looking at her. She sprinted to the exit of the Great Hall and left.

The moment she disappeared, Draco stood up and walked towards the doors after Hermione.