Disclaimer: Once again, I regret to say, that none of this is mine. Except the plot. Which might have been used in a film or something, so it's probably not mine either. I own nothing. *sniff…*
What on earth had made her so upset?
Back at Hogwarts in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione sat at the open window, the nippy February air biting at her porcelain features. Watching the Hogwarts students- or more so- the Hogwarts couples returning from their romantic trips into Hogsmeade, she sat, alone and miserable occasionally sighing with disgust at herself.
She had got to mad with Harry, she had shouted at him, made him feel so ashamed of something he hadn't done. Or rather something he did do. He had bought a Valentines card, for that special someone, which had caused Hermione to almost break down in hysterical tears in front of him.
He's my best friend, she thought bitterly. If he was buying a card for someone, he'd have told me who for, wouldn't he? Unless… He didn't want me to know because….
She snorted with further disgust at herself. Get a grip, Granger. She told herself savagely. He won't like you, you're… Hermione. And he's… he's Harry Potter. He's smart, kind, brave, not to mention unbearably adorable, and good looking. He doesn't deserve any old plain Jane who throws herself at his feet, claiming to be the one for him. He went through all his life without love, he's not gonna throw away his feelings on no one.
She looked out over the vast grounds, the sun setting and casting an eerily pretty glow on the lawns and the Forest. Couples were lying on the neat grass, watching the sunset reflected in the golden lake, hands linked, arms around each other. Near the dull green mass of Forest, Ron and Luna were snuggled up against a tree, hugging each other tightly. It made her physically sick to look at it.
She turned away from the window, realising she had unexpected tears on her cheeks. Wiping them away, she swiftly moved over to the soft armchair in front of the merrily dancing flames in the fireplace, and grabbed a nearby book, holding it like a security blanket, the one thing she could find solace in. The tears were threatening to break through the emotional dam built up inside her, and she let them.
She cried, for the first time in about five years, Hermione cried. Cool, calm and collected Hermione Granger, always level headed and so in tune with herself, knew the answer to everything, and if she didn't, she'd consult a book. Well, she knew a book couldn't help her this time, but it didn't stop her from hugging it tightly, as if it were something- or rather, someone else.
She had found the reason why she was so upset about Harry buying a card for someone special. She was upset that she wasn't the someone special.