My Father's Daughter

CHAPTER TEN

Page count: 32

Weeks had passed since Hermione's return to school and in that time she'd officially become the pariah of Hogwarts.

Slytherins hated her for her believed Muggleborn status, Ravenclaws avoided her because she was top of the year for academics, Hufflepuffs were too afraid to be seen speaking to her for fear of the response from the other houses, and Gryffindors hated her for her transfer to Slytherin house regardless of the fact she'd had no choice in the matter. And it didn't help with Harry, Ron and Ginny filling their housemates' heads with thoughts of Hermione being a traitor that couldn't be trusted.

The only social interaction she received was from Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy. One, her desk mate in almost all of their shared classes and who'd sit with her in the library during their free periods, and the other who'd escort her to breakfast before the castle had woken and who'd find her in the library and remind her that curfew was upon them when she lost track of time.

She'd also noted a change in behaviour for some of her professors and although they still awarded her the marks she deserved, she noted that she was forced to work harder than the other students in her class in order to achieve them. Dumbledore's influence, she assumed. Those completely unaffected were Snape and Slughorn, the latter only having eyes for Harry and his suddenly perfect brewing technique. And it was driving her insane.

As Hermione stepped into the castle after taking a stroll around the Black Lake for a little fresh air before the weather changed and it became too cold to do so, she gripped her wand in her hand and held it down by her side, a counter charm on the tip of her tongue and ready to be cast should it need to be.

Being the new pariah of Hogwarts brought more than avoidance and hissed insults in the corridors. It also brought sneaky hexes and curses being thrown her way when her back was turned. Cowards, the lot of them, Hermione thought. Of course, it was only the Slytherins and Gryffindors that were involved, and as Draco had warned previously, it was only those in her year and above, the lower years being too afraid of her. Hermione knew the Slytherins had been issued warnings by the parents that she was not to be harmed and despite knowing how cowardice most of them were when their parents were involved, (being too afraid of being blasted from the family tree for their disobedience and betrayal) that hadn't stopped them from drawing their wand on her.

The first time it'd happened had been the third day of school and between first and second period, the corridors busy and bustling with students heading to their next class. She hadn't seen who'd been responsible and given the crowd, it made it all the more humiliating.

Being hit with a Tripping Jinx, Hermione had fallen to the ground, barely catching her fall on her hands, skimming her palms and knees on the rough stone flooring and the contents of her bag spilling out. As laughter erupted around her, she hastily gathered her belongings back into her bag and made a hasty retreat to her DADA classroom, ten minutes before anyone else.

Angry at herself for not being prepared and taken off guard when she should've expected it, she'd taken a seat at her desk, conjured a glass and filled it with water before cleaning her bloody knees and palms. It was at that point when Snape unexpectedly stepped out from his office, clearly taken by surprise at her presence. After demanding she tell him what'd happened, he'd berated her for not being prepared before offering a jar of dittany for her to treat her wounds. That was the kindest act he'd ever done for her.

Ever since that day, she was always prepared and despite constantly being on the defence, once or twice they did manage to slip through her defences, especially if there was more than one of them. She never saw their faces, only their robes adorned with red or green as they fled.