SERPENTIS

03⊙ Pyragones

⊙THREE⊙

pyragones

Hybrid of Dragon and Insect

"It's wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa," Hermione snapped, letting out an irritated huff to clear her bangs out of vision. She had been delighted when Professor Flitwick had placed Theo in her group, but her joy had quickly died when Pansy Parkinson joined. Not to mention the Malfoy heir sitting behind her with his two servant-friends. In front of her table was Ron and Harry, working with Neville.

Theo had gotten used to her bossy attitude by now, and didn't seem to mind as much as he first had when he experienced the receiving end of her temper. Hermione could feel that Theo still struggled against biting back a sarcastic reply, as was his way of speaking, but he thankfully decided against retorting, preferring to keep quiet. Evading the storm if he could help it, he called it.

Pansy Parkinson, however, did not have an understanding of how to get around Hermione's infamous attitude. "Let's see you do it," she growled, her eyes in an offended slit.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione said with a firm voice, her lips stretching into a smile as her feather floated up with a nice balance, catching the eyes of the professor who loudly commenced her achievement. She knew the black haired girl was glaring, whispering to the Malfoy gang which undoubtedly was about her. Hermione paid them no mind, their hate just proved she was better than them, that is until she passed by them after the charms period.

"I can't stand her," Pansy seethed. Hermione and Theo had been walking behind them to their next class, Slytherin students only, when she heard the derogatory term usually reserved for her being said. "That mudblood has no place in Slytherin."

"Did you expect anything else?" next to her, Draco sneered.

"A nightmare, that's what she is," said Pansy to her friends.

Although Hermione had gotten somewhat used to being called names, and bullied for what she could not have controlled, her birth, she hadn't been prepared for a new line of insult. Especially from someone other than Malfoy and his two prats.

She quickly pushed by them, making sure her bushy hair curtained her face and determinedly speed walked to Merlin-knows-where, she just wanted to get out their sight as fast as she could. From far, she heard Theo mutter, "she heard you, you guys.

"So?" Draco laughed. "Serves her right."

"Maybe she realised no slytherin friend wants to be near her other than you," Pansy had a smug look on. "Whatever will she do when you get sick again?"

"Sod this," Theo glared. "Sod the lot of you."

The tears burning in the back of her eyes threatened to seep out, and her heart drummed against her ears, refusing to allow any of their conversation to be heard further. She walked faster, her feet nearly stomping on the stone floor until she reached where the gang would be less likely to get in, the girl's bathroom.

It was almost used by all of the houses but Slytherin, as the girls always complained the toilet near their dormitories was better equipped. Hermione did not mind, as she quickly found a stall stationed the furthest away from the exit. Her fingers gripped the raven shaped handle, and fastened it.

The wash of sadness and sorrow that passed from her head to toes did nothing to calm her down. It wasn't that being called a nightmare itself was so despairing, but it had been the last straw, the final daring jab in a game of Jenga. The blocks of her carefully placed frontage had toppled down, all with a slightly misjudged push.