SUPRA VIRES

CHAPTER FOUR: CONVERSATIONS

5th year

Her worst memories were the lessons in the dungeon. Not only did they share it with Slytherins, but they were also led by Professor Snape, who openly favored his students. The first lesson after the holidays was no different from those she remembered before.

She tried her best to meet the requirements of all teachers. She tried to be an exemplary student, but had she always been one? Sometimes she thought she wouldn't be able to cope, especially when everyone in Slytherin was laughing at her. They threw unpleasant comments at her, ranging from the lightest ones: "Brush your hair, nerd", "Hey Granger, check my homework!", ending with the worst ones:

"What do you think, Draco, is it better to be a whore or a mudblood?" Zabini muttered, seeing Hermione walking by so she could hear it.

"Whore," Malfoy began calmly. "At least she'll accept that she is one," he finished, looking hatefully at the girl.

It was in moments like these that Hermione wanted to cast some unforgivable spell on the boy. Unfortunately, she limited herself to a bitter smile and a growl:

"If you have this ability, do you think it's better to be a Muggle in a wheelchair or an aristocratic heartless bastard? I'll give you a hint," she continued, not letting the boy answer, "a Muggle in a wheelchair. He'll recover sooner than you."

She deliberately used words that the young wizards, who had never been around Muggles, didn't know. This not only made them frustrated, but also dimmed them for a moment.

"Does that mean I don't have a heart?" Draco asked Zabini when the girl left.

"I guess so," replied Blaise, who also didn't understand the message.

"She uses strange names. What is a wheelchair?" Crabbe asked, remembering the comparison, to which neither Malfoy nor Zabini could answer.

Meanwhile, Hermione was running to the Gryffindor common room. She was about to meet Ron and Harry, who were faking illness so as not to go to Potions class.

"A Mudblood or a whore, they should come up with something new. One day I'll do something to him, I promise. I'll come over, cast a spell and enjoy..."

"Is that so?"

Hermione jumped as if she had just done something forbidden and was caught red-handed by the professor. She stood still, slowly turning around. Luckily it was only Malfoy's ex-girlfriend. Every student at Hogwarts knew about their breakup. Apparently, it took Pansy a month to come to terms with it, and it took another month for her to recover.

"What's that to you?" Hermione growled unpleasantly. "Do you care what I say?"

"That's what I hate most about you," Parkinson said, grimacing as if she had eaten something extremely sour. "You are throwing words to the wind."

"Not at all," Hermione replied a bit too quickly. "Maybe one day I'll actually do it," she finished, thinking about her dream job. If she became an Auror in the future and he became a Death Eater, she would have no qualms about retaliating for all the years of humiliation.

"Why do you want to wait?" Pansy asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Excuse me?"

"And you're supposed to be so intelligent," Pansy murmured slowly. "The question isn't whether you want to do it, because I know you do," she continued calmly, ignoring the girl's disgusted expression. "The question is whether you can do it... Are you ready..."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, clearly nervous. "Ready for what?" she couldn't understand why the girl was hanging around Gryffindor Tower, much less why she was talking to her.