Tradition

5/10/96-30/10/96
The next few weeks were some of the best Hermione had had in years.
The friendship between her and the girls was blossoming like a flower in spring and it was only a few weeks before Hermione barely even missed the friendships she had left behind in Gryffindor. Potter and Weasel had never comforted her as she panicked about grades, instead normally opting just to tease her about being a try-hard; the girls valued ambition and unstop why she cared. The boys would spend hours asking for help on the most recent essays but the girls would simply sit with her as they all did them together- more than happy to get on with it early if it meant they could do it with her. For once in her life it seemed that Hermione had friends that actually cared.
Moreover, the revenge against now not only the boys but also the other people she’d considered friends who were all so quick to turn their back on her was well underway. The plan was simple, turn classic pranks that the Weasley twins had used, in their years at hogwarts, to terrorise Slytherins and turn it right back around.
It started small, with a simple charm that turned any insult the Gryffindors said towards Slytherin into the most ridiculous compliment. It took two while lessons before Hermione discovered if it had worked, the charm proving effective when Seamus turned to Dean and said at a whisper obviously meant to be heard by Hermione “How long until Granger comes running back when she realises the Slytherins she hangs out with are nothing but beautiful angels of the sun... wait no i meant that they’re the reason for my very being”
With his second compliment his voice had raised to a low level shout and the whole class had listened in. Laughter erupted from Gryffindors and Ravenclaws alike. Seamus’ face went bright red and this only encouraged the laughter. Hermione almost felt bad but then she remembered how Seamus had gone from being her friend to whispering about her and spreading rumours- he could deal
with being the victim of a small, harmless prank.
The girls struck again with another Weasley Twin classic- changing the house colours on people’s robes. The late night spent charming the entrance to the Gryffindor common room was well worth the furious looks upon the members of her house when they arrived at breakfast in green and silver robes. Furthermore, it was well worth the feeling of belonging she now felt when in the same coloured robes as her closest friends. If you’d have told twelve year old Hermione that she would be spending actual time wishing she was a member of the snake house she would’ve laughed straight in your face but now there was nothing she could’ve wished for more.

Hermione, as well as the pranks, threw herself into her studies with Pansy. It was their last study session together before Samhain when for the first time Hermione experienced what it felt like to have one of Pansy’s breathtaking smiles directed at her. Wait... when did she start thinking of Pansy’s smiles as breathtaking? What was happening to her?
But anyway, back to Pansy’s smile being directed at her. Hermione had just questioned after the traditions surrounding family and whether she would be able to participate because her family were all muggles.
“Well when they say family they really just mean the people of your choice, the people you consider to be your family.”
“So I can just do it with you and the girls.”
It was with this comment that the whole library seemed to brighten, as if she sun itself had come out with Pansy’s smile. Oh gods. It suddenly dawned on Hermione. She had a crush on Pansy Parkinson. Pansy Parkinson who had hated her guts for years and who was obsessed with Draco and was definitely straight.
That night, the night before Samhain, was the worst Hermione had slept since she had become friends with the slytherin girls. This realisation was equal measures horrifying and clarifying; the way Hermione had been acting around Pansy for the past month suddenly seemed to make sense.