Hello! I have some people follow and favorite this story, so I decided to write another chapter! I hope you enjoy it! - Rex
Hermione sat with her back to the large window in one of the alcoves of the library, a place in which she found herself often and a place where she noticed she could be left alone. It was Halloween now, it had been a couple of months since they had started school, and everyone had started to settle into a routine. Cliques had also started forming and to Hermione's dismay, she had not fit into any of them. She had been so excited to finally have a place where she belonged, and it turned out she was going to have to keep searching. While she was here, however, she would be learning everything there is to know about magic.
She remembered the day she found the library specifically. After trying and succeeding every spell in her spell book, she had gone to the library to find some new stuff to try. When she opened the heavy wooden doors, she had fallen in love. It smelled like old books and sunlight. The room had been split into eight alcoves, each one surrounded by bookcases and each one with a large stained-glass window. The windows all had different colors and patterns. Each alcove had a small table big enough for three or four students to study, 2 armchairs in rich beige colors, and a window seat that overlooked the grounds. Hermione supposed the windows were charmed because each window overlooked a different section of the grounds.
Her chosen window was, in her opinion, the most beautiful one in the whole library. It used muted greys and swirled them together with vibrant greens. The pattern in Hermione's opinion was close to what it looked like when cartoons had wind drawn into them. Flecked around the swirls were silver and gold flecks that almost looked as if they were moving through the wind. If one were to look out the window they would see the forbidden forest, in front of which was a small hut with some extremely large pumpkins growing behind it. Hermione learned that the hut belonged to the groundskeeper and saw him puttering around his enormous garden sometimes. She had not had a conversation with him yet, but he had kind eyes and Hermione had a good feeling about him.
For an hour Hermione was fully immersed in a book about practical magic. It was fascinating. The book contained lots of spells that a witch or wizard may need to use in their everyday lives. There were spells to fix clothing, spells to clean you and your house, there was even a section on spells for health and beauty. Hermione decided to check it out. She knew magic was useful, but she had never realized it could be used for so many things. As she left the library with her new treasure she headed to charms. Today was exciting for her because they were going to learn about making things fly, Hermione had studied the theory and had practiced pronouncements for almost an hour the night before to make sure that she would not mess up and set anything on fire. That was magic, no matter how amazing and helpful it was, it was also easy to make a mistake and end up doing something dangerous.
The lesson had started out okay, but it had quickly become a nightmare. After trying to be helpful to Ronald Weasley (which he had not even been thankful for), Hermione ended up getting the feather to float on her first try. She didn't even get the chance to celebrate however, because almost immediately after another student from their year nearly set the school on fire. As they were leaving the lesson she started to walk over to where the Weasley kid was talking to Harry Potter, as she approached, she heard them talking. "She's a nightmare honestly, it's no wonder no one wants to be her friend."
Hermione of course had been able to tell that a lot of her peers were uncomfortable around her but to hear it so bluntly from Ronald Weasley of all people, that really sent her over the edge. She pushed him as hard as she could as she passed him, tears were starting to leak down her cheeks as she quickly looked for a place to hide. To feel vulnerable was one thing, but for people to see her be vulnerable that would not do. She had almost made it to the bathroom when she smacked right into another student.
Falling to the ground Hermione thought her day couldn't possibly get any worse. She looked up and met the eyes of the last person she wanted to see her cry. Draco Malfoy stood there looking at her silently. He was missing his usual lackies that seemed to follow him around like little ducks everywhere he went. He regarded her for a moment and then to her surprise held out a hand to help her up. She almost didn't take it. He was not usually very kind, she had learned. The first time they had spoken he had been extremely friendly, but it had turned to a cold indifference when he had found out she was muggleborn. They had not spoken since.
She grabbed his hand and pulled herself up onto her feet. Muttering a quick thanks, she hurried off as fast as she could toward the girl's bathroom to the left. She quickly found an open stall and huddled in there. She was planning to stay there for the whole day if possible. Several times she cried. Thinking about how lonely she was, how much she missed her parents, how much she missed her room. A couple times, some girls from her dormitory tried to coax her out of the stall. One even mentioned that the feast was about to start, and she needed to eat. Finally, when Hermione thought she might faint from hunger she decided to try and catch the end of the feast. She pushed the stall door open and stepped out, wiping her face with her robes. She was thinking she really should use some water to cool the redness around her eyes.
For the second time that day Hermione smacked into someone, or wait, this time it was something she realized as she raised her head. After taking in height of the troll standing in front of her, Hermione let out an earsplitting scream. She had never seen a troll before, and this one had to have been on the larger side. She had read about them but could not remember reading about them being in or around Hogwarts.
Halfway through her scream someone came crashing through the bathroom door. Hermione looked over and saw Ron Weasley of all people storming the troll. He had an odd look of determination on his face that quickly turned to fear as he came face to face with it. Suddenly, Harry jumped in front of him, and the troll decided this was a good time to pick him up. The troll swung Harry around in the air almost as if he was playing with him.
Harry started yelling at Ron to do something, Ron however, was still frozen in shock. His eyes shot to where Hermione was huddled up against the corner, so Hermione quickly made the hand movements for Wingardium Leviosa. Ron followed her movements and successfully knocked out the troll. Harry, who had fallen to ground beside her when the troll released him, helped her to her feet. As soon as she was on her feet the teachers burst in and they had to explain themselves. Hermione took the blame, it was the least she could do for the boys who saved her life.
Hermione could tell as she climbed the tower to her dormitory that something had shifted in them. She could still feel the adrenaline pick up in her veins when Ron had said "What are friends for?"
I know that this story is slow going but keep in mind I am not the most experienced writer! Please let me know how you like the story! favorite or follow so I know that you want more! -Rex
