Hermione showed up to classes looking and acting completely normally the day after the bullying incident. Pansy had been trying to hide her surprise, but Hermione was careful to show no reaction and give nothing away. She was quieter, though – she didn't raise her hand quite as often in class, and she kept to herself during the practical exercises. Crabbe and Goyle were distressed over it – her helping them in Charms class had been what was helping them pass.

Hermione still claimed top marks in class, and she still answered the teachers whenever she was called upon, but she took upon herself a somewhat more reserved attitude. She wasn't going to shirk her classes, and she certainly wasn't going to not achieve everything she could because of a bunch of bullies, but there was no need to advertise the fact and be ostentatious about it – not while she couldn't beat them, if they were to attack again.

Hermione felt different, afterward. It was hard to see a face in the hallway, and not flinch, remembering that same face twisted with hatred as it aimed a cutting charm at you. Just managing normal was a challenge, and Hermione began avoiding the Slytherin common room, instead meeting with Blaise, Tracey, and Millie in old classrooms to study, claiming that the classrooms were warmer than the previous ones they'd used in the dungeons.

Things remained much the same, on the outside. Hermione still endured snide remarks from the older Slytherins, but she retained the respect she'd earned of her classmates and a few others in the lower years. But Hermione was disappointed, oddly enough, she realized; she'd come so far in gaining the respect of her classmates that it'd seemed like she'd climbed a huge mountain, when really, she'd only mounted the smallest foothill of overcoming the blood prejudice she faced. And although nothing had really changed, Hermione felt like everything was different.

Hogwarts just didn't seem quite as magical anymore.

Her Gryffindor friends noticed the difference in her behavior, and after much pestering, Hermione finally opened up about being bullied to her friends, though she skimped on the details of what had happened – mostly by leaving them out entirely.

Which was a good decision – these friends were Gryffindors, after all, and would have run to McGonagall in indignation on her behalf if she'd told. Just admitted that Pansy and some older Slytherins were giving her a hard time had them furious.

"Can't you just talk to Snape about it?"

"Professor Snape, Harry," Hermione corrected. "And no."

Hermione, Harry, and Neville were hanging out in one of the higher towers, near the Divination classroom. It was warmer up here, and the air smelled like cinnamon and something else. It was calming to Hermione, and even better, far away from the Slytherin common room, where Hermione didn't quite feel safe anymore.

"Professor McGonagall would take exception to bullying in Gryffindor," Neville said. "I think Lavender and Parvati were teasing Sally-Ann a little too much, and McGonagall set them straight in a hurry."

"It's different in Slytherin," Hermione said moodily. She sat herself on a nearby window ledge, swinging her feet. "If I went to a teacher, it'd be saying that I can't handle my problems on my own."

"But you're eleven. You're not supposed to have to handle this on your own," Harry said. "The teachers even like you. You don't think they'd help you with Pansy?"

"Twelve," Hermione corrected. "And no, absolutely not. It might stop the bullying, but it'd lose any respect I've gained so far in Slytherin."

Neville grimaced. "I'll never get how you got sorted into that rotten house, Hermione. You're so nice!"

"Ambition, I guess," Hermione said, kicking the wall. "It's not all bad. It's just… I get so frustrated, you know? I don't want to have to constantly deal with this."

"Maybe you could show her up?" Harry suggested. "What are you good at that she's not?"

Neville snorted. "Besides everything?"

Hermione laughed.

"Pansy's marks aren't great, but they're not horrible, either," she said. "I just… I need to show them that I can do something that proves that I belong."

"Down to a duel or some archaic Pureblood tradition, then," Neville sighed. "Probably have to be a duel. The weird Pureblood traditions aren't really done anymore. Some people say they're Dark Magic."

"Are they?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

Neville looked uncomfortable.

"Not… not really," he said. "But some of them involve blood, which makes people uneasy. A lot of people squirm at the thought of blood magic."

"Why?" Harry asked. "Is it evil?"

"A lot of Dark spells and rituals use people's blood to target them," Neville said, looking more and more uneasy. "So people don't like it. It seems like a slippery slope, to most witches and wizards."

"A duel, then," Hermione said, tactfully changing the subject. "She's bound to refuse if I challenge her. How can I force her into it?"

"Is there some fancy pureblood honor-duel system?" Harry asked, looking at Neville. "Is there a way for her to challenge Pansy without Pansy being able to refuse? And if she refuses, she looks like a coward?"

"I don't think that's legal anymore," Neville said, hesitant. "It definitely wouldn't be legal for children."

"Probably a good thing," Hermione muttered, hopping off the window ledge. "I'd have probably ended up dueling Ron my first week here."

"And I'd actually have dueled Malfoy," Harry said, making a face.

"We'll think of something, Hermione," Neville encouraged. "I'm sure we will."

Hermione gave them both a smile as they started down the stairs.