UnExpected

Chapter 20

First year...

Ron was in a bad mood. He pushed through the crowded corridors to reach the outside, still bitter over Hermione upstaging him during Charms class.

"It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends. She's a nightmare, honestly," he complained to Harry.

Someone pushed between them as they rushed past. A bundle of books cradled to their chest and tears in their eyes.

"I think she heard you," said Harry, as they watched Hermione hurry away.

Those insufferable, ungrateful twits. She was only trying to help them. It's not her fault that they didn't know what they were doing. That they didn't bother studying or listening to the teacher. They didn't have to be so cruel.

Hermione was so deep into her internal scathing that she wasn't aware of where she was going. Unfortunately, causing her to bump right into someone she always tried to avoid.

"Granger, are you okay?"

Hermione immediately stopped and turned to her right. Her teary eyes narrowing.

"As if you care?" she bit out.

Buffy stood there with a look of concern on her face. Her Slytherin crew behind her. She had overhead what Weasley had told her, and couldn't very well pass up the opportunity, now could she? "Is it what Potter and Weasley said?"

Hermione didn't answer as she kept her attention on the ground and wiped at her eyes.

"Now, Granger, you really shouldn't be upset because of that. After all, they were only telling you the truth. It's not their fault you're a know-it-all loser who no one likes to be around. Maybe you should take it to heart and realize that being such a complete pain isn't the best way to cure your leprosy," Buffy said with a smile.

The tears gathered more fiercely in her eyes and Hermione stormed away. Pansy shrieked with laughter while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle chuckled heartedly. And Buffy only watched her go, already bored with the situation.

Harry and Ron walked past them, both of them shooting hateful glares in Buffy's direction.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You were the ones who told her she didn't have any friends remember," she taunted them. Smiling when she saw their guilty expressions. "And she actually considered you two to be her mates. Helped you out because she actually cared, and this is how you repay her. So much for all that Gryffindor loyalty."

"Good job, Potter," Draco smirked. "I guess, unlike you, Granger couldn't tell the wrong sort for herself."

Buffy and Draco, along with their Slytherin crew, confidently walked off. The arrogant smirks still firmly placed on their lips.

*****

There wasn't a single sound in the room. She was alone. Buffy lay motionless in her bed, trying to find the strength to move and deal with the rest of the day, but finding it difficult with each passing minute. Pulling on any courage she had, she finally rose and moved the bed curtains out of the way.

"Hermione," she said, pulling back in surprise. Guess her senses weren't as sharp as she thought.

"I actually gave you a chance," she said. Her arms crossed protectively over her chest and her eyes hard. "When you came back, I noticed you were different. You weren't mean. You just kept to yourself. And then I noticed you were helping Neville with his studies, and I believed you had actually changed."

"I have changed. I'm not the same person I used to be."

"That's a laugh," she snorted. "You haven't changed at all. This was all some game to you, wasn't it? Luring us into a false sense of security before you stabbed us in the back."