Bleeding Roses

Chapter 1

Two Broken Hearts

The Hogwarts grounds were quiet and it didn't seem that anyone was present, lurking around with no apparent reason like the students normally did. A girl quickly descended the stairs that led in and out of Hogwarts Castle. The wind blew and her bushy brown hair flew back, freeing her tear-streaked face. She hugged her textbook tighter against her, trying to keep the little warmth she had. She ran toward the large oak tree near the lake and threw herself down on the grass, sobbing.

Hermione Granger never considered herself pretty, nor did anyone tell her that she was pretty. Even at seventeen years of age, the Head Girl was somewhat flat-breasted and petite. She knew that she did have a curvy body although she hid it under layers of large, thick Hogwarts uniform. Her brilliant chestnut eyes were usually filled with happiness and her cheeks were generally flushed, but none of it applied today.

Hermione picked up her book from the ground and started to read. She absolutely needed to study for the test next class. She couldn't afford to fail this test, since it counted for twenty percent of her total grade. She started reading, but she kept drifting out of focus. She tried hard to concentrate on the words in the textbook rather than Ron, but it seemed impossible. Come on, she thought desperately. Concentrate, you stupid brain! I need to learn this by next period! It was no use. She finally gave up and threw her book back on the ground and hugged her knees. Tears were leaking out of her eyes like streams, but she couldn't help it.

"WHY?" she shouted at the top of her lungs to the sky. "Why me?" she added softly to herself.

She stayed in that position for Merlin knows how long. She was shaking and cried until she had no more tears. She didn't even know when she drifted off to sleep.

*****

Draco Malfoy lied on the grass, looking up at the sky. He hated his life so much. His fellow Slytherins had all turned their backs on him, except for Pansy Parkinson who was after his money. Because he had backed down from being a Death Eater, they stopped admiring him. They called him a coward. They stopped talking him. They had stopped helping him whenever he needed help. The students of other Houses still paid no attention to him. In their minds are still etched the years of mistreatment that he took enormous pleasure in. It wasn't just his fellow schoolmates that had abandoned him, but his own family also. His fugitive father--he had escaped from Azkaban the previous year and is now in hiding--had been so furious that he performed the Cruciatus Curse on him five times in a row after beating him up. He regretted ever visiting him. He had bruises everywhere as well as open-wounds. Maybe I should just end my life now, he thought bitterly.

There was the lake. He could jump in. It's not like anyone's going to notice, he thought indignantly. Actually, they'll all be happy. There were all kinds of hostile creatures in the lake. They'll probably make his death easier. Or he could drown. Or maybe he could Avada Kedavra himself. It would be virtually painless. The idea seemed pleasing enough to him. Or maybe he could just stab himself. There would be a lot of blood, but he will make his point clear to any spectators. He was so enveloped in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the bushy haired girl running down the steps of the Hogwarts Castle. He noticed that he wasn't alone only when she started to cry her eyes out. Even though he couldn't bear the sound of crying, he didn't do anything. After all, it was Mudblood Granger.

Although they had to work side by side and share the same common room for almost two months already, they still hadn't developed any kind of relationship, except the one they had for six years. Being Head Boy didn't make him feel any more willing to be with Hermione than before, so why worry about whether she was crying or not?

Draco had observed that Hermione spent a lot of time in Gryffindor Tower visiting her oh-so-great boyfriend, Weasel. She only came back late every night to sleep. The very next morning, before he could even wake up, she had already gone down to breakfast with Scarhead and the Weasel. He wondered why she wasn't with them now. The bell rung from inside the castle and it marked the end of break. He jumped up and rushed to the castle, dragging his backpack behind. He shot a look at the innocent face of the sleeping Hermione. He almost wanted wake her up, but he didn't. As he burst into Professor Flitwick's class just in time before the second bell rang, he thought that maybe he ought to have woken her. It just didn't seem right not to.

*****

Hermione suddenly woke up, feeling someone shaking her. She dully opened her eyes to see a pair of emerald green ones staring at her. She jumped, but calmed down after she realized that it was her best friend, Harry Potter. She could see that he had been very worried about her. She smiled to reassure him and she could feel Harry's grip loosen around her shoulders.

"Where were you last period?" Harry asked. "You missed Danielle's test!"

Danielle Thibault was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who came from Beauxbatons. She was always very nice and understanding. Hermione just wished that Danielle would understand about her falling asleep while trying to study. And as a result, missed the whole period. She did not want a detention! She jumped up.

"I missed the whole period?" she asked while slapping the grass off her robes.

"Yes!" Harry nodded. "What were you doing?"

"I fell asleep!" she answered. "I was trying to study, but I guess I was too tired."

That was only part of the reason why she fell asleep. The other part, she didn't want to tell Harry. It was too painful. She almost cried again, but stopped her tears from flowing. She suspected that Harry knew about the second reason despite his impassive facial expression.

"Herbology's cancelled," Harry said. "There was an accident in Greenhouse Three. Obviously, some kid thought it would be funny to drop a dung bomb in the Teeth of Vampire. You know that the plant hates any physical contact. Well, Professor Sprout is trying to sort everything out."

"Good then. This leaves me time to go see Professor Thibault and tell her exactly what happened!" she said and ran toward the castle.

"You know she likes to be called Danielle!" he called after her.

"Whatever!" she called back as she waved her hand dismissively.

When she entered Danielle's office, she saw that the teacher wasn't there. However, there was a note on the desk saying that she would be back in five minutes. Hermione took a seat on the comfortable armchair and looked around the office.

It was by far the most comfortable office for seven years. There weren't any self-portraits like the days of Lockhart's reign over the office. There weren't any dark detectors when the imposter Moody lived there. They made her feel very disconcerted. There weren't any of the overly feminine objects and decorative items Umbridge had. Instead, the office's color scheme was warm colors. The walls were painted red. There were yellow coffee tables surrounded by orange couches and armchairs. Even though the colors were rather bright, they weren't blinding. It only brightened the otherwise dark room.

Danielle came in. She was surprised to find Hermione sitting in front of the desk, looking around. She closed the door with a snap and Hermione jumped involuntarily. She smiled at her.

Danielle was the youngest teacher at Hogwarts so far. She had fair skin that didn't seem to want to tan, which really frustrated her at times. Her straight golden blond hair rested gently on her shoulders. Her blue eyes were warm and carefree. She had a pointed chin and rosy lips. Her pointy nose and her high cheekbones accented her features.

"Good afternoon Hermione," she said with a mild French accent, but Hermione thought that it was exotic.

"Good afternoon Professor Thibault," Hermione replied politely.

"Please call me Danielle," Danielle said.

"If you insist," said Hermione. "I would like to know if there is any way I could make up the test that I missed." She blushed thinking about why she had missed it.

"Of course!" Danielle's smile remained on her face. "Any time would be fine. When do you want to take it?"

"Now," answered Hermione without hesitation.

"Are you sure you are ready?" she asked.

"Yes," the bushy haired girl said.

She opened her file cabinet and took out a Muggle manila folder. She withdrew a piece of parchment paper and handed it to Hermione. Although Hermione felt slightly nervous because she hadn't really studied for the test during break, she felt pretty sure that she could ace it without too much problem. After all, she did stay up after one in the morning last night to study.

Hermione pulled out an eagle-feathered quill from her backpack and dipped it in the inkbottle. She scanned the questions briefly. There were fifty questions in total. Easy, she thought. Question number one. Who discovered the less common spell for blocking minor curses? Walter Invepell, the son of two Ministry workers, who wanted to gain fame above everything. He did get fame, but it was short lived, because the spell that the invented only had a fifty-fifty chance of being successful. Question number two. Why are some weaker spells more efficient than some powerful spells? The weaker spells need less energy than the powerful spells so the caster can put more magic in them. Sometimes, the powerful spells would consume the caster if he or she is too weak. One by one, Hermione answered the entire test questions.

"Done." She handed the parchment to Danielle and replaced her quill and inkbottle in her backpack.

"All right," said Danielle. "You will get it back next class, like the other students."

"Thank you Professor." She stood up and straightened her robes.

As she exited the classroom, she felt much more confident than before she took the test. Sighing pleasantly, she descended the main Hogwarts stairs again, hoping to rejoin Harry and discuss the couple test questions that she wasn't as confident about. In the middle of the grassy field, she stopped abruptly. Her happiness vanished at once. Harry wasn't alone. He was joking and talking with...

Ron.

Ron was the first one to look up and see her. He immediately lowered his head, looking away. Hermione felt her tears coming back. Harry, obviously noticing the tension, saw Hermione too. He waved. Hermione turned on her heel and ran to the opposite direction, ignoring Harry's calls behind her.

She felt her tears flying behind her as she ran back toward the castle. Her vision was blurred. She found it amazing to have walked up the steps of the castle without tripping once. Sobbing, she bumped into someone in the Entrance Hall. She didn't even look up to see who it was.

"Watch it Granger!" the angry voice yelled.

She recognized the voice that belonged to the person she wanted to see least at the moment. It was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Sorry," she muttered and ran to the library, no real intention in mind, except crying.

Draco felt confused. She didn't even insult him. Before she turned her head around, he had glimpsed at her face and understood that she was too preoccupied to come up with an insult to throw at him. Her face was shining with tears. However, he had no idea why she was crying and followed her out of simple curiosity.

He made sure to stay at a distance from her. Midway, he realized that she was heading to the library. Nobody would be there at this hour. Everyone was outside, taking classes, or in their common rooms. Before entering the library, he stood outside and watched her take a seat in the corner, weeping. He strolled in casually, looking around and hiding his true intentions. He finally decided that it wasn't going to lead him anywhere and decided that it was best to talk to her.

"Granger," he said.

"Go away Malfoy," she snapped.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to sound less cold.

"None of your business," Hermione said angrily. "Now GO AWAY!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said. Why am I being so caring all of a sudden to a Mudblood? He thought.

"Leave me alone!" Hermione said menacingly.

"Fine!" Draco said, feeling himself again. "You are nothing but a filthy little Mudblood anyway! Why should I care about you? I don't know WHAT came over me."

He turned and was just about to walk away that a small voice made him stop.

"Ron broke up with me," Hermione said between sobs. "Isn't that what you wanted to know? Now go away!"

"I don't take orders from Mudbloods," he said and sat down. "Why?"

The question came as a surprise and she was confused. "Because you think you are better than Mudbloods, of course," she said trying to sound confident.

Draco laughed. "I meant, why did he break up with you?"

Hermione felt herself blushing furiously. "He said that it was better just to be friends."

"That's it?" Draco asked, disappointed because he thought there was going to be something juicy.

"Yeah..." Hermione sunk down in her chair. "Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity," he said and stood up.

He left, leaving Hermione very confused at what just happened. They just had a somewhat civilized conversation. How did that happen? The shock and confusion drove Ron completely out of Hermione's mind. Instead, her thoughts were all on Draco.