Chapter Two

A/N: A huge thanks to JenniferLupinBlack for being my alpha and to Craftsman for being my fabulous beta.

Disclaimer: JKR owns the world and characters of Harry Potter, not me. I also do not own Shakespeare's sonnet. I am making no money from the posting of this story.

Chapter Two

The next day, Hermione sat down with Ginny for breakfast. The redhead looked glum, so Hermione decided she would share her news with her. Maybe a little gossip would cheer Ginny right up?

"So, guess what!" Hermione said, smiling cheerfully.

Ginny looked up from her porridge. "What?" she asked, curious about Hermione's cheery attitude.

"So, I opened up my Charms book last night and a letter fell out," Hermione whispered, leaning forward so only Ginny would hear.

Ginny's brown eyes widened. "What?" she hissed, grabbing Hermione's arm and pulling her even closer. "What kind of letter?"

A blush crept across Hermione's face. "A love letter."

"A love letter! From who? Was it for you?" Ginny exclaimed in a whisper.

"Of course it was!" Hermione whispered back excitedly. "It had my name on it and everything."

Ginny let out a small squeal of delight, gaining a few stares.

Hermione quickly shushed her. "Don't tell anyone ... especially Harry and Ron," she pleaded.

"Of course not," Ginny promised. "So who was it from?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. She frowned. She had spent most of the night lying in bed trying to figure out who could have written her the note. She truly had no idea. "It just said from my secret admirer."

"This is so exciting," Ginny pressed. "I wonder who it is. Do you have any guesses?"

Hermione shook her head.

Ginny frowned. "Really? No idea at all."

Hermione gave a dejected shrug. "No idea." She frowned. "Maybe it's just Lavender playing a mean joke on me."

"No!" Ginny hissed. "I don't think she'd stoop that low."

Hermione arched her eyebrow. "She can be pretty vindictive."

"No, don't think like that. Is it so hard for you to believe that someone likes you?" Ginny asked, getting a little flustered at Hermione not seeing how beautiful she really was.

"Yes," Hermione admitted.

"Well, that's absurd. You're gorgeous, Hermione." Ginny gave Hermione a quick hug. "Don't ever think otherwise, okay?"

Hermione nodded. The two of them stood, knowing it was time to go to class. "Were you all right earlier?" Hermione asked as they made their way into the halls.

Ginny gave a shrug. "Dean and I had a row earlier, big surprise there."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ginny shook her head. "Not at all. He's just being an arse for no reason."

Hermione was quiet. "Well, this is my stop. I'll see you later." The two of them lingered outside of the classroom door.

"Bye!" Ginny said, hugging Hermione before continuing down the hallway.

Stepping into the Transfiguration classroom, Hermione saw she was the first one there. She was usually early for all her classes so it wasn't too out of the ordinary. However, what was out of the ordinary was the small piece of paper at her usual seat.

Walking over, Hermione looked at the paper. It was blank. "Weird," she muttered. Picking up the paper, she gasped when words started to appear. A smile appeared on her face when she realized it was from her secret admirer once more.

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,

That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Hermione sighed. Whoever her admirer was, he was obviously a fan of Shakespeare. The sonnet he quoted was one of her favorites, but she couldn't help but wonder why he specifically picked that one. There was a certain sense of darkness there that intrigued Hermione. She needed to find out who her admirer was.

The rest of the class filed in, and Hermione frowned when she realized Harry and Ron weren't going to sit with her. She looked at them with a forlorn expression on her face. Neville noticed and took the vacant seat next to her.

"They'll get over it, Hermione," Neville said apologetically. He had heard what had happened from Seamus and Dean. They had witnessed Hermione sticking up for a Slytherin and word had spread like wildfire.

Hermione frowned. "I can't believe they've allowed it to go this far." Many of the other Gryffindors were giving her dirty looks. "I'm some sort of pariah simply because I wouldn't lie to Professor Snape." She shook her head. "Ridiculous."

Professor McGonagall entered the room and class began. They were learning how to transfigure their hair into different colors, lengths, or styles. It was harder than she had anticipated it to be.

Neville and she practiced together. Neville had tried very hard to change his hair color but ended up failing.

"It looks a little lighter," Hermione said, trying to make him feel better.

He shrugged. "Let's see what you can do."

Hermione closed her eyes and imagined her hair as blonde. A small "whoa" from Neville alerted her to her success. "How does it look?" she asked, reaching from the mirror.

"Your hair is very blonde," he said. His eyes flicked to something behind her.

"What?" Hermione asked, turning her head to see what he was looking at. She glanced backwards and found a pair of grey eyes looking at her. Her brown eyes widened in surprise. "Why is Malfoy staring at me?" she whispered.

Neville laughed. "Well, your hair is the same color as his. That might be why."

She found herself smiling. Malfoy quickly tore his gaze away, returning his attention to Pansy. Hermione turned back around in her seat and looked to Neville. "Why don't you practice some more?" she suggested after she turned her hair brown once more.

"All right," Neville replied. The two of them spent the rest of the class practicing the charm some more.

Once class ended, Hermione and Neville made their way towards the Great Hall. Since Transfiguration was a double period, it was now time for dinner.

"You know, I'm surprised you're not wearing a paper bag over your face," a shrill voice called out.

Hermione stopped, turning around. Neville paused beside her.

Lavender stood with her hands on her hips, drawing the attention of some of the other students. Even the Slytherins stopped and stared.

"So why did you betray your fellow Gryffindors?" Lavender asked. "Are you whoring yourself around with a Slytherin?"

Hermione's face burned with anger and embarrassment. How dare she stand there and say those things?

"That's it, isn't it? You're a traitor and a whore?" Lavender smirked, enjoying the public shaming of Hermione.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Lavender!" Hermione retorted with a glare. "None of that is remotely true."

"Of course it is!" Lavender said, laughing. "So, which one is it? Crabbe? Goyle? Or maybe Parkinson is more in your taste."

"None of them!" Hermione shrieked. "I'm not sleeping with anyone!"

"Lavender, that's enough," Neville said, stepping in. "There's no need for this. Back off."

"She's a slut! First Ron, now the Slytherins. No shame, huh, Hermione? Who's next? Professors? Perhaps Professor Snape?" Lavender taunted. Hermione heard the whispers forming around her.

"That's how she gets her good grades." someone spoke in a loud whisper.

Hermione, unable to take anymore, turn and ran down the hallway. She ran until her lungs grew heavy, and then she slowed into a walk. Not wanting anyone to see her cry, she wandered about the halls aimlessly. She just needed some alone time.

Eventually, Hermione made her way back to the dorm. Everyone was still at dinner so she was able to slip into bed without being noticed. As she was about to close the curtains, she froze. There was a single rose on her nightstand. A small note was attached.

Don't let what Lavender said bother you... You're worth so much more than that.

Hermione smiled but she couldn't help but wonder how her secret admirer managed to get into her dorm. Maybe a girl brought it up? Or maybe it was a house-elf? She was hitting a dead end in her conclusions.

Bringing the rose to her nose, she sniffed it. Its sweet smell calmed her nerves. Her admirer was right. She shouldn't let what Lavender said bother her.

She knew none of it was true and that was all that mattered. Eventually, Hermione drifted to sleep feeling better about herself.