Despite not having seen my parents in an entire year, I spent the summer at the Weasley's.

This was due to the fact that poor as day Arthur scored his kids and their friends tickets to the Quidditch World Cup.

"Contacts at the Ministry." He winked at me when I enquired how he could afford such an extravagance.

Wow, so he was taking bribes now.

*****

"Ron, where are you? Oh, this is stupid - Lumos!"

I illuminated my wand and directed its narrow beam across the path. Ron was lying sprawled on the ground.

"Tripped over a tree-root," he muttered angrily, getting to his feet again.

"Well, with feet that size, hard not to," a drawling voice spoke from behind us.

I turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene on the campsite through a gap in the trees.

"Fuck off, Malfoy," Ron snarled, stepping up close to me and growling like a guard dog.

Draco's pale eyes glittered as he slowly surveyed us. His gaze lingered on me slightly longer than was necessary and I found myself unexpectedly shivering.

"Language, Weasley. Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't want her spotted, would you?"

Keeping his eyes on me, his lips twitched into a smirk, just as a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around us.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I sniffed defiantly.

"Granger, they're after Muggles," he sneered. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in mid-air? Because if you do, hang around... they're moving this way, and it would give us a good laugh."

(Years later, he would swear this had been his fourteen-year-old way of trying to save me, but I remain convinced it was just an excuse for him to talk about my knickers.)

"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled on my other side.

"Have it your own way, Potter," Draco said, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

I grabbed Ron's arm before he could lunge at him. Merlin, didn't he realise that Draco was doing this deliberately to get a rise?

"Leave it, Ron," I muttered, throwing a disgusted look at Draco, whose eyes remained fixed gleefully upon me. "The git really isn't worth it."

Another flash of green light, and I swore I could see his face momentarily fall at my words. Several people nearby screamed.

Draco immediately recovered himself and chuckled softly. "Scare easily, don't they?" He said lazily. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to - trying to rescue Muggles?"

"Where're your parents?" Harry said, his temper clearly rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"

Draco finally tore his eyes away from me to face Harry, a smile still fixed upon his lips. "Well... if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"

"Oh, come on," I said, getting fed up with this, it was always the bloody same, "let's go and find the others before I feel tempted to try out my right hook again."

Draco's lip instantly curled into a sneer, anger flashing in his eyes as he turned back to me. "Keep that big bushy head down, Granger."

And then he swept away without another word, leaving the three of us staring after him.

******

Well, after that rather eventful camping trip, it was back to Hogwarts we go.

Turns out, Dumbledore had entered the school into a tournament that has a history of killing students.

I was starting to get the impression that he didn't like us very much.

*****

Ron stopped talking to Harry, for some reason getting in a right mood about him becoming a Champion.

It meant I was forever passing messages on, acting like some sort of stupid owl.

Well, at least it beat being turned into a bouncing ferret, I suppose.

I was sad I missed that. Especially as it served Draco right for making those hateful badges.

He had even offered one to me ("Want one, Granger? I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want a Mudblood sliming it up.").

He then 'accidentally' hit me with a teeth enlarging hex after Harry stepped in to defend my honour. The effect had Pansy Parkinson doubled up in silent giggles and Snape cruelly commenting that he could see no difference.

Bastard.

But to Draco's due, his badges had given me an idea for a campaign of my very own. 

"Spew? What the fuck is spew?!" Ron spluttered, looking at the badge I had presented to him in disgust.

"Not spew," I said impatiently. "It's S - P - E - W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Never heard of it," Ron said, dismissively tossing the badge back into my box.

"Well, of course you haven't," I said briskly, "I've only just started it."

"Yeah?" Ron said in mild surprise. "How many members have you got?"

"Well - if you and Harry join - three."

"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew', do you?" Ron scoffed.

"Well it beats Potter Stinks!" I yelled, angry tears stinging behind eyes as I slammed the lid of my box shut and stormed up to my dormitory.

Ron didn't get it, those poor house-elves needed help and I was the only one willing to stand up for them. I literally couldn't sleep at night worrying about their welfare. The only thing Ron cared about was himself, convinced that Harry being made a Champion was done deliberately just to wind him up.

Poor Harry. I'd never seen anyone look so frightened before, it made me like Ron a lot less and Harry a lot more. So, I put all my effort into helping him, finding empty classrooms where I taught him how to do the Summoning Charm and other such useful spells.

Ron couldn't understand why I was doing it.

"Uh- because he's our friend, Ronald, and I care about him."

"All he wants is glory." Ron muttered bitterly. "And all you're doing is helping him."

"Do you not know your best friend at all?" I asked, completely baffled. Was he being deliberately obtuse?

I wished Harry luck before the first task, giving him a fierce hug in the tent before he went out to face his potential death.

Unfortunately, Rita Skeeter saw and decided to sexualise an innocent friendship between two fourteen year olds and splash it all over the papers.

Bitch.

But on the bright side, Ron and Harry made up after Ron being impressed that Harry could steal an egg from a traumatised and evidently distressed dragon, and the trio were back in business.

*****

Dear Mum and Dad,

I know it's been years, but I'm not coming home for Christmas. There is this school ball which I have been asked to by this seventeen year old boy who follows me around the school and generally stalks me. But it's okay because he's a Champion and a sports star and everyone wants to sleep with him. Please can you send me a dress, the sluttier the better. I want to make another boy jealous, you see.

Love you always,

Your little Hermonica

*****

I walked into the common room in time to overhear Ron and Harry grumbling about the fact that they hadn't yet got dates for the ball.

"This is mad," Ron muttered, staring dolefully into the fire. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"

I froze at the mention of my name, careful not to make a noise as I hovered behind them.

"What?" Harry spluttered.

"Yeah, I know!" Ron chortled as though this was simply ludicrous that anyone could ask me. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff - but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville... I mean, who would?"

"You're not really one to laugh, are you, Ronald?!" I snapped, deciding to make myself known. He and Harry looked up sharply, colour draining from both their faces.

"Hermione, I-"

"Save it, Ronald!" I spat, not interested in hearing his baseless apologies. "All the good-looking ones taken? Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."

Ron's eyes widened as though suddenly seeing me in a whole new light. "Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl..."

"Oh, well spotted," I said acidly.

"Well - you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't." I snapped.

"Oh, come on," he said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has..."

"I can't come with you," I said, feeling my face grow hot, "because I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not!" Ron scoffed. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

"Oh, did I? Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

He stared for a moment. And then he grinned again.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said in an annoyingly condescending manner. "That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you!" I said, feeling very, very angry. "I'm going with someone else!"

The word 'liar' had barely formed on his lips when I stormed away, not being able to bear to even look at him anymore.

I couldn't wait to shove his idol in his face.

*****