Revenge Gone Wrong

Chapter 1

Hermione clenched her teeth, got closer to Draco, and proceeded to forcibly knee him in the family jewels. She waited a split second to make sure that Draco was writhing in agony on the floor, then smirked and walked away, leaving Harry and Ron openmouthed in her wake.

After a silent, shocked pause, the two boys hurried after Hermione, wide grins on their faces.

"You sure know where to hit, don't you?" Ron said, laughing.

"He deserved it," said Hermione, sniffing and putting her nose in the air. "I will NOT be spoken to that way, especially not by that... that..." Hermione started steaming. "How dare he talk to me like that?"

She strode up to the Fat Lady's painting just in time to hear Snape yell, "Miss Granger! You will report to the headmaster's office right away!"

Hermione didn't even look over her shoulder. She threw her hand in the air dismissively and yelled back, "Bugger off, Snape!"

"Bug - what? THIRTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, the boys winced, and the Fat Lady giggled. "Password, my dear?"

"Caveat emptor."

As the door to the Gryffindor common room closed behind them, they could hear chortling coming from the students in the hall outside.

As the sixth year began, the students and faculty at Hogwarts had noticed a definite change in a certain Miss Hermione Granger. She was as studious as ever, and her marks remained among the highest in her class, but even a simple look from her screamed "Do not mess with me." She hadn't plunged into full-blown teenage rebellion - there were no smoke breaks stolen in the girls' lavatory, her robes were in order and as neat as they had always been, and there were no midnight trysts. She simply did not and would not take anyone's crap. She was tired of people assuming that just because she was hoity-toity, always-knows-the-answer, goody-two-shoes Hermione, that they could order her around however they liked.

It also stemmed from certain buried, unresolved feelings that she continually tried her best to keep down, but she didn't like to think about that at all.

"Hermione, that was brilliant!" Ron fell in one of the overstuffed chairs, laughing. Harry managed a frown, and opened his mouth to chastise them both... and then changed his mind and gave a lopsided grin. "Forget it. That was worth the thirty points."

Hermione's face broke out into a grin. "It was, wasn't it?"

Harry sat down. "What exactly did Draco say to you, anyhow?"

"He made an extremely disgusting suggestion as how I could get in the Slytherin prefect's good graces."

"Will someone explain to me again exactly why that git is still here when everybody knows his whole family consists of Death Eaters?" Ron folded his arms. "I swear to God, one of these days..."

Harry grinned. "...Pow, right in the kisser." He and Ron giggled, as much as two boys could giggle. Over the last summer, Ron had spent an inordinate amount of time with him at the Dursleys', watching muggle movies. They quoted movies to themselves all the time, and it was getting harder and harder to understand the two of them. "Hey, d'you know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in France?"

Ron busted out laughing. "A royale with cheese!"

"Ron, I do think that is the worst Travolta imitation I've ever heard."

"Like yours is so much better! For crying out loud, we're British, stupid." Ron launched himself at Harry, and the two boys began to tussle. Hermione rolled her eyes and muttered something about the relative size of boys' brains, but Ron and Harry were too busy giving each other noogies to hear.

"I'm heading to Dumbledore's office," Hermione called on her way out. Once again, it fell on deaf ears.

When she got there, Dumbledore greeted her with a stern frown. "Please, sit, Miss Granger," he said, motioning to a chair. "You might have seriously hurt Mr. Malfoy today."

"I'm sorry, Headmaster... Okay, maybe I'm not that sorry. Draco was being terribly obscene, and suggested that I -"

Dumbledore put a hand in the air. "It's okay, Miss Granger. Something tells me that I don't need to know the details. However, you were out of line, and you are going to have to serve detention with me. Professor Snape wanted me to hand you over to him, but I decided that wasn't necessary. Oh, and speaking of Professor Snape... You were most certainly out of line when you told him to, ahem, 'bugger off'. The thirty points he deducted from Gryffindor should suffice for punishment... I don't think I have to tell you that I do not want to hear of this happening again, Miss Granger."

Hermione bowed her head meekly. "Yes, sir." Albus Dumbledore was the only person who could order her around with impunity. Well, him and Harry, but Harry never tried.

Dumbledore dismissed her, and she returned to the Gryffindor common room, where Ron and Seamus were sniggering over the fact that Cho Chang had come to visit Harry. Cho had apparently been throwing every signal in the book at Harry, who had remained oblivious. Well, oblivious to everything but the lower point of the V-neck Cho was wearing.

Hermione rolled her eyes and went up to her bedroom. Flopping down on her bed with a sigh, she stared at the ceiling and bit her lip. What is wrong with me lately? I've been so angry all the time! I have this knot in my stomach that doesn't seem to want to go away. I've got this awful bloody attitude all the time and I'm even becoming sick of myself!

All of a sudden, she heard, Cho yell, "Harry Potter, you must be the densest person on the goddamn planet!" She burst through the door of the girls' dormitory.

Hermione sat up with a sigh. "What'd he do?"

Cho burst into tears. "I'vedonesomuchforhimandIkeepon-"

"Cho. Slow down."

Cho took a breath between sobs. "I - I just have changed so much trying to get him to l-l-l-like me (sniffle) and... he just doesn't get any c-c-clues, and (wail) I just want him to notice meeee!" She threw herself down on Hermione's bed, shoulders heaving with sobs.

Oh bloody hell, not right now. "Cho, Harry is a guy. All guys are dense. All guys think with their little brain instead of their big one."

She looked up, sniffling. "Little brain?"

"Yeah, you know, their - oh, never mind. Anyways, if you want something, you have to go get it yourself, because if you wait for a guy to make a move... well, you'll be waiting forever."

Cho sat up, looking determined. She gave one last sniffle and wiped her tear-stained face, which smeared her carefully applied lipstick and mascara. Hermione thought of telling her for a split second, but reconsidered due to the fact that she couldn't stand Cho anyway.

"You know what? You're right. I'm gonna go out there and get what I want. Thanks, Hermione."

"Don't mention it," Hermione called, as Cho strode off. No. Really. Don't mention it. She settled back down onto her bed, trying to figure out exactly why she was so bitchy all the time. She'd probably stew over it for a while and then get back to studying. She didn't have to think at all while studying (given that she'd already read her textbooks three times over) and that was a good thing.