Hermione's All That

Hermione rubbed her eyes, as she sat up in her four poster bed. She eyed the room, looking around to see what her roommates were doing, and immediately remembered that she had her own room. Her own room! She wanted to scream with joy. She enjoyed her privacy and to have her own space was magnificent.

She got up from her bed and walked over to the dresser. She didn't have to worry about walking to hard or shutting a drawer to loud, she could make as much noise as she wanted to, it didn't matter. There was no one to tell her otherwise.

She picked up her brush, attempting to untangle her wild hair, and she peered at her image in the mirror.

She studied her hair for a second…well if you could even call it hair. It was more of a bush lying on her head. It had always been that way, ever sense she was young. She had never been able to tame it, and figured there was no use trying now. She didn't mind it at certain times, because it seemed to fall in cute little ringlets down her back, but that didn't happen often.

Eyeing her face, she had to admit, it didn't look all that bad. She had defined cheek bones and a slim face, but her eyes…she hated them. They were so plain and dull, nothing like those she wished she had. She wanted the kind that sparkle like bright green or baby blue…hers were just brown, just plain brown.

Her figure wasn't all that bad, either, but she chose to hide it under baggy shirts. While most girls tried to pull up their skirts, she was the one pulling it down to hide as much as possible. She just felt so uncomfortable with her body.

She threw down the brush in the hopeless attempt and threw herself onto her bed. Letting out a huge sigh, her thoughts seemed to roam to yesterday. She thought about running into Harry Potter and what he had said.

Did he really want to speak to me? Why would he want to do that when he hasn't spoken one word to me since we started here?

She always admired Harry Potter, not because he was famous or handsome, but because of how he held himself: so confident. He was able to make a difference in other people's lives. People actually listened to what he had to say. If only I had that kind of power. He was smart, and always the competition for her.

While thinking, she remembered yesterday when she found out that her room just happened to be right beside the head boy's. At least they didn't have to share a bathroom.

She tuned her thoughts from Harry Potter and pushed herself up to a sitting position on her bed. Her eyes drifted to her nightstand where one picture sat. While she stared at this certain picture, she couldn't help but get misty eyed.

She walked over to it and slowly picked it up, tracing the images that were forever immortalized within that piece of paper.

The picture was one of her and her parents at the zoo when she was ten. She didn't know she was a witch then, but that didn't matter, she was still happy. They had gone there for a fun day out.

She was sitting on her dad's shoulders, and her mom was standing beside them. One of her hands was holding Hermione's hand, the other was on her father's arm. Her mom was smiling up at her and Hermione thought she never looked more beautiful.

They were all smiles that day. Hermione felt the tears welling up in her eyes when she thought about how happy she had been then, when everything was as it was suppose to be, but life was cruel, and she lost her parents the summer of her sixth year.

Her mind drifted back to that fateful day when her life changed forever:

~*Flashback*~

"Hermione, come down honey, and help your dear old mom with breakfast," Hermione heard her mom call up to her as she finished putting on her clothes.

"Coming mom," Hermione replied, racing downstairs. She walked in to see her mom over the stove, her dad at the table reading the newspaper. Walking over to her mom, she gave her a peck on the cheek and said, "Mom, you're not old, so stop saying that!"

Her mom laughed and smiled at her. "What do you want for breakfast?" she asked, rummaging through the refrigerator.

"French toast!" Hermione exclaimed. It was her favorite, especially the way her mom made it. The ingredients weren't just eggs and toast, but also love…and Hermione knew it.

"We don't have any eggs!" her mom said from behind the door.

"Oh, well that's ok. We can have them another time," Hermione replied, disappointed.

"No honey today is your last day before you have to go off to Hogwarts tomorrow, and I want to make it special," her mom said. I will just go to the store."

"Well, I'm going with you," Hermione said.

"Well, wait for me!" Mr. Granger exclaimed as he folded up his paper and they hurried out the door.

Hermione and her parents were coming out of the grocery store twenty minutes later, eggs in hand.

They were walking to their car when the unthinkable happened. Suddenly in the street appeared ten Death Eaters.

Hermione screamed and told her parents to duck. A death eater turned and fired at curse at Hermione's mother, and Hermione watched as she fell to the ground, lifeless eyes staring up at the clouds.

Hermione wanted to scream, cry, run away, anything, but her body wouldn't respond. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She felt pressure on her shoulder, and she was pushed to the ground.

She couldn't see who it was, but then they spoke softly into her ear. "Hermione, listen to me. Whatever happens, you stay still, do not move, ok?" her dad whispered.

Hermione couldn't do anything but nod in compliance. She stared at the asphalt, feeling her dad on top of her, holding her protectively.

Then, her dad's grip went limp and Hermione knew why. They had killed him too. She was alone. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming out. Her breathing was irregular and her heart pounded so hard within her chest, she was just waiting for it to explode.

She felt the body of her father being lifted off of her and a hand reached down and grabbed her arm. This is the end. I am going to die here and now, in the streets.

Hermione turned, tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks. She was stunned to see none other than Remus Lupin, one of her professor's from Hogwarts.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Lupin asked as he helped guide her away from the fray of anxious aurors and frantic muggles.

She couldn't speak, she could barely move. She managed to nod her head and he looked at her face.

"My…my parents? Oh god, Professor Lupin, my parents!" she cried out as she grabbed helplessly onto his shirt. She lost all composure as she sank to the ground, her eyes leaking endlessly.

~*End Flashback*~

Hermione shook her head of the day and wiped a few stray tears that had escaped from the memories. Professor Lupin had been wonderful that day, helping her through her most difficult time. She buried her parents two days after the event, and she had mourned them ever since. The pain had reduced some, but there were times she thought the grief was going to swallow her up whole.

Her grandmother was her only living relative, so she moved into Hermione's home immediately, but her grandmother was very ill, and she had to have a nurse take care of her. Most of the time Hermione was alone, completely and utterly alone.

She missed her parents so much and the thought of them not being here with her made her want to curl up into a ball and stay there forever.

She didn't want to think on it anymore, so she walked to her bag and put the picture inside. She liked to carry it around, knowing that her parents were with her in spirit.

Throwing the heavy bag onto her shoulders, Hermione climbed down the stairs and walked through the common room.

It was filled with chatter and constant laughing from the various people all up and ready to begin the first day of classes.

Hermione bumped into a few first years, making their way around with faces lit up as bright as the stars and grins that stretched from ear to ear. Hermione couldn't help but smile at their happy faces.

The innocence and purity at that age was serenity, and she missed that. She missed being the naïve, young girl who thought there was no bad in the world and everyone could be trusted.

She learned the hard way, and she had been learning for her whole life. People never ceased to amaze her at what laughs they got out of people's torment.

She knew what everyone thought of her. She was weird and a dork, but she didn't care. She knew she was a strong, independent person and she was her own self. She was not what everyone tried to mold into. She wanted to be Hermione Granger, not another copy of Cho Chang, like half the girls in the school wished they were.

The whispers in the halls and snickering she heard in the corridors were not lost on her, but she tried to ignore it. She blocked it out, but she couldn't deny that some of the remarks really did hit home. Every time she heard another insult or "look here comes that weird bookworm" or "look at that hair, she is so ugly!" it drilled another small whole in her heart and confidence. She held her head up high everyday, but whenever she was alone, the tears came and the anguish sobs filled the night air as her torment was released. It was at that time she wanted her parents…she desperately needed them at times.

Continuing through the common room, no one stopped to say hello or wish her a good morning. A burst of laughter caught her attention, and she looked over to see Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Lavender Brown, and Ginny Weasley sitting on the couch at the end of the room. They were smiling and Hermione knew they were having a good time. She longed for that, a friend to laugh with and help her when times were bad. She had one friend, Neville Longbottom, but he was awfully strange half the time and they didn't hang out much, besides eating meals together and partnering together in class projects.

She stopped for a moment to look upon the happy scene that unfolded before her eyes and she felt her heart give a jump. Her loneliness was getting to her, but she couldn't change it now. No one would even give her a chance, no one wanted to get to know, "Know-It-All Granger". That's all she was known for, her mind.

She was happy about that, her hard work and crude work schedule didn't go unaccredited, but that wasn't what she was all about. Beneath the books and studious work habits, lay an untapped spirit just dying to be set free. She wanted to have fun once and awhile. She was human, and like every other human, she wanted to laugh, hang out with friends, and just be a teenager for once.

She pushed her thoughts aside as she shook her head at the four friends cutting up. Another boring year was ahead of her, but maybe, just maybe something more was in store for her, she just had to hope.

So lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that she had been staring at Harry Potter the whole time. She was drawn to life immediately when she noticed that he was looking back at her. He didn't smile or frown, his face was neutral; as if he was studying her like he would a test question.

They locked eyes, both trying to decipher one another through their stare. Suddenly Hermione saw Harry begin to smile the little half grin that he was famous for, and it about knocked her off her feet. She felt drawn to him like a magnet, but snapped from her thoughts when she saw him getting up from his seat.

Hermione turned fast and headed toward the portrait hole. She slipped out just as she heard the ebony-haired boy call her name. She didn't know why she was ignoring him, but the whole situation made her uncomfortable. Something just seemed off about the whole circumstance.

She continued her trek down the corridor at a fast pace, making sure to get in the Great Hall before Harry had a chance to catch up with her.

She was walking so fast, she didn't watch where she was going. She came around a corner, and slammed right into a heavy force, knocking her off her feet and spilling the contents of her bag all over the hall.

She felt sore, but she pushed herself up and lifted her head to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…," Hermione started to say, but was rudely interrupted by one of the worst Slytherin's, Pansy Parkinson.

"Yeah, you better be sorry. Next time watch where you're going Mudblood! Now I am going to have to scrub extra hard to get your germs off of me!" Pansy hissed as she brushed her arms as if she just came in contact with the plague.

Hermione pulled herself up and looked Pansy straight in the face. "Ten points from Slytherin for using foul language toward a perfect in the halls, Pansy!" Hermione said back.

She bent down, ignoring Pansy's look of utter contempt, and continued to pick up her spilled contents and stuffed them in her bag.

She reached over to pick up the picture of her and her parents when suddenly a foot landed on her hand, pinning it to the floor.

Pansy's heel dug into Hermione's flesh, and she could feel the blood begin to leak out.

She watched as Pansy leaned down and picked up her picture. Hermione clenched her teeth in anger. "Well , well, well, what do we have here?" Pansy sneered as she looked over the picture. "Well isn't it the Mudblood and her filthy parents. This is just disgusting. I can't believe you carry this around with you!"

Hermione jerked her hand free from Pansy's foot, and stood up abruptly. She made a grab for her picture, but Pansy was quicker and moved it out of her reach. "Pansy, give that to me right now!" Hermione hissed through clenched teeth. Her fingers were digging into her palms from holding her fist together so tightly.

"No, I don't think I will. You know people like this don't deserve to even live in this world…," Pansy sneered, looking at the picture then back at Hermione with a look of loathing etched on her face. "…and neither do people like you!"

Hermione was seething with resentment. She could already tell that her face was red with anger. She reached again, but Pansy avoided her grasp. "Pansy, give that to me or else…" Hermione said trying to control her anger. She hated being bullied, but she never got this mad, but when they were making fun of her parents…that was another story.

"Or else what?" Pansy taunted, holding the picture high above her head. She gave Hermione one more sneer before taking the picture and tossing it into the wall. It was all in slow motion for Hermione as she watched the picture soar through the air and smash completely into the hard concrete. Glass littered the hallway and the picture fell to the ground, it too was in pieces. The way the glass shattered, it ripped inward, causing the picture to take the brunt force of the impact.

Hermione wanted to scream, shout, anything at the moment, but she froze, gazing at the fragile pieces of her beloved family.

Just then a loud voice stunned both Pansy and Hermione. "Pansy Parkinson! That is a week worth of detention and fifty points from Slytherin for destroying personal property!"

Hermione looked up and saw Harry Potter striding towards them, a look of pure detest upon his face.

Pansy turned around and sauntered down the hallway as if nothing happened.

Hermione finally regained her mobility and began collecting the splintered remains. She strained herself to hold back the tears as she carefully picked up the torn pieces of her picture. It was like her life, torn apart and never being able to put back together.

Hermione reached for the last piece, only to come in contact with another hand. She looked up anxiously and found Harry Potter kneeling beside her, aiding her in cleaning up the mess.

She stared only for a second, before turning her gaze down to his hand and taking the last piece of the image. "Thank you," she whispered in an almost inaudible voice, but Harry heard it loud and clear.

"Hermione, I am so sorry for that happening. She shouldn't taunt you like that!" Harry replied, a sympathetic tone was present in his voice.

Hermione turned and looked at him once again. "You learn to deal with it when you're me," Hermione told him as she pushed the last bits of the picture inside her bag.

"Well you shouldn't have to deal with it, no one should," Harry replied as he held out his hand to help her off the floor. As she placed her hand in his, she completely forgot about the gash that was on the top of her hand. When Harry placed pressure on it to pull her up, she winced in pain. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, concerned.

"It's nothing," Hermione said as she tried to pull her hand away before Harry saw her wound. He held on to her hand and looked at the cut.

"This is a deep cut, you should go to the hospital wing," Harry said to her as he looked up at her.

"It's fine, really. It will heal in a few days, it doesn't even hurt," Hermione lied. Again, she tried to pull her hand away, but Harry held it in place. He placed his finger on the cut and gave it a slight pressure. Hermione grimaced from the pain and immediately shot her hand back.

"Yeah, of course it's fine," Harry said, sarcastically. "Let me see it again."

Hermione looked at him wearily, wondering if he was going to try and touch it again. She shook her head.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Now, give me your hand," Harry said. Hermione lifted her hand in his and he pulled out his wand. Hermione's eyes widened, wondering what he was about to do. Harry saw this and smiled, "I'm not going to hex you or anything. I am just going to perform a simple healing charm. It should fix it up."

He held the wand over her wand, giving it a wave and saving the healing charm, her skin began to glow for a moment before repairing itself. It was completely healed. Harry let go of her hand and Hermione began rubbing the spot where the gash had disappeared.

"Thank you," she said, still staring at her hand.

"No problem. When you play Quidditch as much as me and fight evil forces like I do all the time, then you would know a few healing charms too. I have been in the hospital wing more than enough for me, so I brushed up on my healing skills so I could avoid small trips. If I never have to see that room again, it will be too soon!" Harry explained.

Hermione smiled and brushed her hair behind her ears.

"Why don't you just repair the picture with magic? It will go back to as good as new," Harry asked, voicing his thoughts.

"No," Hermione exclaimed suddenly. The look on Harry's face told Hermione that she stunned him. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I just can't," Hermione said to him as she turned to make her way to the great hall.

"Why not?" Harry asked and Hermione wished he didn't. How could she explain that she didn't want to use magic on the one last piece of muggle stuff she really had of her parents? In her fifth year, Hermione's home was lost to a fire, including everything in it. They lost photographs, clothes, treasures, everything. This picture happened to be at her parent's work, on the front desk. It was all they had left at the time and Hermione's parents gave it to her to keep at Hogwarts.

And now sense they were dead, it was all she had left of them, or at least it was all she had left that was…muggle. She knew it probably sounded stupid, and even though she cared for magic completely and would never trade it for anything in the world, she treasured her heritage and her muggleborn status. Her parents weren't magic, and it was only natural for her to want to keep it non-magic.

The picture was untainted. It wasn't moving or enchanted, it was a regular photograph of her regular world and that is what she treasured most about it.

"Just….just because," Hermione said and she continued down the hall, trying to get away from Harry. Her eyes were watering and she was finding it awfully hard to keep her tears at bay.

"I'm sorry to intrude, I was just curious," Harry answered honestly. Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned to him.

"Thank you for what you did back there and I didn't mean to bark at you either, but this is just a touchy subject for me, and I'd rather not talk about it," Hermione said staring at the wall beside them. She couldn't look him in the face, her tears were already about to cascade down her cheeks, but she couldn't cry, not in front of him. It would show weakness and she didn't want to be known as weak. A bookworm…OK she could live with that…weird, that wasn't so bad…but weak? That was something she wished to not be associated with. And even though Harry had been kind and helped her out back there, he was still one of them; one of the popular kids who would tease and taunt her behind her back. She knew he was in on the fun jokes or insults people threw at her in class or while she sat in the common room, engrossed in a book.

"Ok, I understand," Harry answered to Hermione's surprise. She fully believed that he would have something to say or push her to admit what was going on. Maybe she was expecting a jeer or mock from him, who wouldn't?

Hermione nodded her head, and turned to walk down the hall. She had to get to a bathroom and fast before she turned into a water fountain. Just as she started to walk, she felt a hand grab her arm. She turned back to see Harry standing there beside her.

"Listen Hermione, I was wondering if you would want to do something with me?" Harry asked with a big smile across his face.

Hermione stared in shock for a minute, letting what he just said sink in. Did Harry Potter just ask me on a date? No, something is wrong here. He can't just ignore me for seven years, then all of sudden, he speaks to me and it is to ask me out.

Hermione shifted her weight, becoming uncomfortable at the situation. She looked down and stated, "I don't think that is a good idea. Thanks again for your help," Hermione said as she turned and began to walk down the hall, not looking back.

Her thoughts were running marathons within her brain. Why did that happen? Maybe he was actually interested. Yeah, ok, Harry Potter, one of the most popular, hottest, and not to mention the bloody boy-who-lived, would really like me as anything, not even as a friend.

Hermione scrambled down the hall, slouched over from her heavy satchel thrown over her shoulder.

She turned into the nearest bathroom and darted into an empty stall. As soon as the door closed, it was like the Hoover Dam broke. Water shed from her eyes, falling to the floor, never to exist again, yet more were born and just as quickly they fell to their deaths only to be replaced by more.

Hermione sobbed uncontrollably as the thoughts of the picture entered her mind. She curled up into the corner of the stall, falling to the ground. Her face was in agony, her heart ached with pain and sadness, her head pounded as the morning's events replayed themselves over and over within her mind.

"Mom," she cried out into the air, hoping and praying that somewhere her parents could hear her screams. "Dad! I need you now! God, I need them now!" She banged her fists on the stall, trying to relinquish the pain she felt inside. Nothing helped, everything was getting to her.

After crying till she had no more tears to shed, she pulled herself together. Making sure she looked presentable, she scrambled out of the bathroom and scuttled toward the great hall, hoping to catch a bite to eat in the last five minutes of breakfast.

Opening the doors, she hurried inside and noticed Neville was sitting at the table. He looked as if he was in a conversation with himself, and this happened often.

She slide on the bench in front of him and grabbed a piece of toast. Neville didn't even know that Hermione had sat down. He had his elbows on the table and the balls of his fists were on either side of his head, holding it up. He was staring at his plate and muttering a few things. He was too quiet for Hermione to hear what he was saying.

Hermione stared at her friend and wondered what was really wrong with him. They had met on the train ride to Hogwarts their first year, when Neville lost his toad and Hermione helped him look for it. They were both loners and didn't really need much company, so they seemed to be good friends.

But they weren't really best friends. They hardly did anything together. Well, when Hermione really thought about it the only thing they did was help each other on projects and ate meals together. They rarely had any conversation, Neville too lost in his thoughts and Hermione too intent on reading books.

Hermione suddenly began to wonder why they were friends at all, but she brushed the thought aside. Neville was a good person, and despite his clumsiness and obvious peculiarities, Hermione liked him being there. The comfort of knowing that someone was her friend was better than no friend at all.

"Hello Neville," Hermione said and Neville jumped at the sudden sound. He looked quite alarmed, but gave Hermione a warm smile.

"Hey Hermione, how was your morning?" Neville asked as he began to butter his bagel.

"The usual," Hermione said. She didn't really want to recount the events of what actually occurred, and she just didn't feel comfortable with telling him. She kept it to herself and put on her usual facade. "Ready to begin classes?"

Neville shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be," Neville admitted.

Hermione sympathized with him, knowing that Neville tried, but magic just didn't come easily to him.

Professor McGonagall passed out the time-sheets, and everyone was frantically looking over their courses. Hermione scanned over hers, but she was already well aware of what classes she would be taking. She was ready to begin classes, and this year she actually had one class that was going to be more laid back and Hermione couldn't wait for, Astronomy. She loved the sky, stars, and anything that had to do with the Universe and Astronomy had been her passion since the beginning of school.

Her eyes drifted from her schedule, almost by some unseen force. Something seemed to make her look down the length of the table. When she did, she caught eyes with Harry. Hermione saw that he was looking at her intently. He gave a small smile and Hermione smiled back. No longer being able to hold the gaze, she turned her attention back to the plate in front of her.

What was going on? Why do I feel so drawn to Harry Potter all of a sudden? She was loosing her control and that unnerved her. She had to be in control of things that went on around her and inside her, or she would have nothing. The thoughts gave her a start and she picked up her bag.

Bidding Neville a goodbye, she turned and walked out of the hall without looking back.

Harry watched the retreating form of Hermione exit the Great Hall. His thoughts drifted on this morning's events, and his stomach seemed to flip. He couldn't believe what had occurred. He felt terrible for Hermione.

He knew she was holding back her tears when she was talking to him earlier. He could see the shiny glaze of them standing out. He remembered her heartbroken face when the portrait smashed into a billion pieces, and for some reason he didn't want to see that face ever again on her.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the voice of the blond haired boy sitting beside him. "So Potter, make any progress with the bookworm yet?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I'm working on it, but she keeps trying to avoid me. How can I get her to talk to me?" Harry said.

Ginny leaned over and said, "Why not try and find out what she likes? That might be a start."

Harry thought on this a moment and realized that might be a good idea. He tried thinking of things that might interest her. He knew she didn't like Quidditch, but she liked books. There wasn't anything he could really do in the library. He was already the second smartest student, underneath Hermione, and knew he didn't need tutoring. I will figure it out later.

"Come on mate, we have divination first," Ron said as he stood from the table. Harry looked at him and shook his head.

"Not this year Ron, I dropped it. I couldn't stand one more year with Trelawny and her death omens. So Professor McGonagall signed me up for Astronomy. I have it tonight at ten," Harry told Ron. Harry saw Ron's face fall at the news.

"Great, now I gotta go through the old bat by myself!" Ron exclaimed.

"Sorry mate. But look on the bright side, Malfoy will be with you," Harry said and he watched as Ron rolled his eyes.

"Oh great, like I really want to spend my time with him!" Ron uttered.

"Hey, watch it Weasley!" Draco warned and again, Ron rolled his eyes.

"Well come on then, he can't be late. What are you going to do in the meantime?" Ron asked Harry.

"Well, I thought I would go down to the common room for a bit. I have first part of the day free since my class is at night," Harry replied.

"Alright see ya!" Ron called as he trudged along.

Malfoy waited till Ron was out of earshot and whispered, "You better hurry with the bet. I believe the ball is only three months away and counting, and if you plan on making the Granger geek queen, you have a lot of work to do."

Harry turned and smirked at Draco. "Don't get your hopes up yet, Malfoy. I have just begun to work my magic!"

Draco grinned at Harry and laughed. "I guess we'll see about that!" With that he strolled out of the Great Hall, heading toward Divination.

Harry ambled up to the portrait hole. His thoughts were on Hermione and how he was going to get her to agree to do something with him. He said the password and the door swung open.

Harry stepped in and walked over to his favorite chair. He was about to sit down, when he noticed that someone was sitting in it. He immediately recognized the bushy-haired girl whose nose was jammed into their Potions book for seventh year.

"Uh-hmm," Harry cleared his throat getting Hermione's attention as he stood in front of her.

Hermione peered over the top of her book and said sweetly, "Yes?"

"Um, you're sitting in my chair," Harry said.

Hermione looked at the chair for a moment and looked back at him. "I don't see your name on it," she replied, picking her book back up and beginning to read again.

"This is where I always sit. It is my favorite chair in the common room and I always sit here," Harry said, starting to get a bit annoyed.

"There are plenty of other seats in this room. I think you can find one that is not occupied," Hermione answered, not bothering to look at him.

"Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but can you please just move. I'm asking nicely," Harry stated, looking down at the girl.

"And I am telling you nicely. I will not move. I am comfortable here and I don't see why I have to move. This chair does not belong to you, but to Hogwarts, and I have every right to sit in it," Hermione answered again, lowering her book to look up at the green-eyed boy.

"Fine," Harry answered through clenched teeth. He turned and stalked over to the other chair on the other side of the room and plopped down. He looked over at Hermione, who was still reading as if nothing happened, and glared at her. Why is she being such a brat?

Hermione didn't look up at Harry, but she knew he was eyeing her down. Why is he being such a brat? It's only a chair!

Why did she have to take my chair? Harry settled himself back in the chair trying to calm him-self down. Why did I even take this bet? I am never going to get her to become queen. She's completely unreasonable and intolerable.

Folding his arms across his chest, Harry sighed deeply. He tried to ignore Hermione, but the sound of a book closing got his attention. He looked over at her and saw her pick up another book. He looked at it and his eyes got wide. He couldn't believe his luck. In her hand was an Astronomy book.

Taking the opportunity, Harry said, "Do you have Astronomy?"

Hermione looked over at him and replied, "Yes, that's why I have the book."

Harry ignored her sarcastic remark and continued, "Well, I have a question."

Hermione lowered the book and looked over at him. Her facial expression told Harry she was listening and to continue. "I need some help in that class."

"Astronomy? You don't take Astronomy!" Hermione said, eyeing him.

"Well, I do know. I always had Divination, but I couldn't stand Trelawny any longer," Harry said and he heard a small, "Don't blame you," come out of Hermione's mouth.

"So Professor McGonagall signed me up for Astronomy. I have never taken the class before and I could use some help. I don't even know where to begin," Harry said hoping his plan would work. Harry watched as Hermione seemed to debating whether or not to help him. He hoped she would choose the former.

"Are you sure you can't get it on your own? I mean, you do have the second highest grade in the school," Hermione told him. She didn't know if she should help him or not. He looked as if he really needed help, and if he never took Astronomy before, he would need help catching up.

"Yeah, below you. That's why I'm asking you for your help. I know that I can never beat your scores and be number one, but I take pride in being number two, and if I do badly in Astronomy, then my grades will fall, knocking me from the number two spot. Someone like Ernie McMillan or, god forbid, Malfoy, will take my place," Harry said, smirking. He saw Hermione give a smile at his remark and he thought maybe he had succeeded.

"I don't know," Hermione said still looking at him.

"Oh, c'mon," Harry pleaded. "I will work whenever you want me too and I will do whatever you need me too. It won't be a waste of your time, I promise!" He got up from his chair and walked over to her. He got down on his knees and stuck out his bottom lip. Hermione couldn't help but think about how adorable he looked. She smiled at his antics.

"I won't even get mad that you were in my chair. You can sit in it whenever you like," Harry said as he gave Hermione his puppy-dog eyes.

"I would have sat here anyway, but sense you asked nicely and I can tell you really are desperate, I'll help you," Hermione answered.

Harry got up from his feet and walked toward her. He smiled.

"Meet me here at eight tonight, and we can head to the tower early, that way I can show you a few basic things that you might need to know for the class at ten," Hermione said as she got up from the chair, making her way to the stairs.

"I'll be here," Harry answered, looking at her.

Hermione nodded her head and started up the stairs, disappearing out of sight.

Harry sat down in "his" chair, and plopped his feet up on the desk, and propped his head up with his hands. He leaned back and chuckled to himself. Now all he had to do was become her friend, and then get her to change her look. Hopefully by then, he could have word spread about Hermione, and Cho will have a bit of a competition at the dance.

He smiled again and said to himself, "And now the fun begins!"