The Hogwarts Letter

Chapter 3

The rest of the weekend passed quickly for Hermione, who was engrossed in studying for the exams that week. If she had been less distracted, she would have noticed that her parents were engaging in a lot of whispered conversations and phone calls. But she was in her room or the study for most of the weekend, and so she noticed nothing wrong. 

When Hermione walked to school on Monday, she was so worried about exams that she'd almost forgotten about the incident with Vincent Malcolm on Friday. That changed the minute she got to school. Even though Vincent didn't go to their school, somehow everyone had heard about it. Most people had heard a garbled version that she'd knocked the bookshelf on Vincent on purpose, or that she'd held him down and beat him up. Hermione received a few congratulations from people who didn't like Vincent, and a lot of threats from those who did. The first day of exams went well for her, despite all that, until she was walking home. 

Hermione wasn't reading a book for once, so she saw the gang of boys waiting for her. She briefly considered turning back and staying at the school, or going a different way, but the school didn't let students back in and the gang would just follow her if she took another street. So she continued walking towards the boys. 

This time, there was no teasing or wordplay. Two of the boys grabbed her arms and legs while the leader punched her in the stomach several times, and then finished with smack in the face. "That's for Vincent," he snarled. "Keep away from those better than you, bookworm."

Hermione lay on the sidewalk as the boys walked away. A single tear dripped down her nose. What did it take to stop boys from beating her up on the way home from school for something she didn't do? What did it take for her to maybe, just maybe, make a friend or two?