The Prize
"Oh Hermione, I didn't realise you were in here." Ron questioned from the door way, Lavender clinging to his arm.
"Yeah, we'll I am." She said.
"Umm, Hermione would you mind maybe leaving me the room to give us some privacy." Lavender asked, the sweetness to her voice sickening.
"Yeah, I don't mind, I don't particularly want to throw up today either." Hermione stated as she stood up about to leave.
"Oh Ron-Ron, you aren't going to let her speak to me like that."
"Well she is my friend, I'm not going to take sides."
"But I'm your girlfriend, Ron you are supposed to stand up for me."
"Fine then. Hermione would you please apologise to Lavender."
"No, I'm not going to apologise because she has been nothing but rude to me."
"Please Hermione, for our friendship."Ron replied.
"No, you have treated me like trash ever since we came back, we have no friendship."
"Hermione."
"No, don't talk to me."She pick up her stuff and left the common room through the main door.
She couldn't bear to look at him in the eye, to see his face even. Ron had made her feel so completely and utterly useless and alone when he had told her that kissing her was a mistake that she didn't even want to read anything for a week because he had made reading out to be one of her faults.
She was an idiot for ever liking him.
She strode around the corner, walking as fast as she could to get the library, her safe place when for the second time today she walked into someone walking the other way.
"Ouch!"
"Sorry." She replied as she looked up into the face of whoever she had walked into this time. Whoever it was, was rather tall and almost it almost felt like walking into a brick wall...
"Granger, again seriously."
It was Malfoy. Again.
"Hay, you walked into me too you know, you ferret."
"You you should slow down, that could have hurt if you weren't so small."
"Oh, just shut up." She carried on walking, her ears burning slightly from embarrassment but she had to admit that it had taken her mind away from what happened with Ron and she was starting to feel better.
As soon as she walked into the library she headed straight to her favourite place to read, at the very back there was a small corner hidden from most people as there were so many shelves full of books that no one wanted to read. As she got there she slumped into her favourite leather armchair and conjured a mug of coffee, set it on the window sill and started to read her book.
As she started to read she found that her mind was wandering back to what Ron had said to her at the start of the year. How it made her feel.
They had been standing outside the great hall about to go in for the feast welcoming them all back to school. As people were going into the hall Ron had pulled her aside. She had thought he wanted to kiss her. How could she have been so stupid. Looking back at it, his complete awkwardness hadn't been a sign that he was nervous as she had thought but about how cowardly what he said next would be.
"Hermione... it's just not going to work between us. At the battle of Hogwarts, I only kissed you because I thought we were going to die and I didn't want to be alone. It was heat of the moment. Now I realise that I'm in love with Lavender, and you helped me realise that."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing as she just stood there with her mouth wide open. She could almost hear the sound of her heart being torn apart by his words.
"It's not you really, it's just that I like to be free and Lavender is more on my level. No offence but you are a bit uptight and you are always reading."
"What's wrong with me being uptight and reading Ron." She laughed sarcastically to herself. "You know I'm not exactly happy about you breaking up with me but did you really have to insult my entire being while you are at it. You know you would think I would get at least some respect from what I have done helping you and saving your life, but no you are using those qualities as a way to insult me."
"It's not like that Mione."
"Okay, what is it like."
"It's just Lavender is more free spirited than you."
"Ah I see. Well you know what, you can no longer expect help in your lessons from me, and I no longer give you permission to call me Mione, because you are a pig Ronald Wesley, and I hope you are happy."
With that she stomped of in the hall and had to force herself the whole time not to cry.
She would get him back for what he said to her, make him realise how much he needed her and then let him know how much it hurts to be abandoned and replaced.
It wasn't long until it was the fourth day of the month and everyone was gathered, once again in the great hall. Hermione was sat with Ginny and Luna once again and Professor McGonagall was stood at the front of the hall about to speak.
"Hello everyone, as you know, today is the day where I explain the rules of the winter games. You will pick your group members, write the names down on a pice of paper and place them in the bowl of snow." Then she spread her arms wide and conjured a podium with a gold bowl containing snow in it. "You will place your names in and once it dissolves then you will be entered. Tomorrow evening at eight o'clock exactly the snow will melt and the water will catch fire and display the teams in the enchanted sky above. You will then get your first clue. A number of you are probably wondering now, what you you get in return. The prize is that each person in the winning team will be granted one wish, following the laws of wishes, no bringing back the dead, no wishing for love and no wishing for more wishes. I must warn you however, only three teams in the last one hundred years have been successful. Good luck."
With that everyone started talking and Hermione could feel by the reaction of the rest of the students that the competition had already begun.