The Lioness of Gryffindor

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A/N Ok, I take back what I said about wanting to hear about the bad things. I got a couple of really hurtful reviews. But I really would like to hear what I could do to make it better.

The same disclaimer stands. Don't make me repeat it.

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As Hermione walked the halls behind McGonagall, her thoughts drifted back to the fight.

‘You could have saved him the pain,’ Harry yelled at her.

‘For all your book smarts Hermione, you are utterly useless in a fight.’ Ron started.

‘Stop fighting’ Hagrid managed to groan, but only Hermione seemed to hear him.

‘And to think I loved you,’ spat Ron. He had already turned that bright scarlet colour he did when he was mad. ‘And we welcomed you into our family. You are no better than that bastard Malfoy.’ She had stormed out of hospital wing at that. Running, until she felt she couldn’t run anymore.

That had hurt the most. To be compared to that self-serving blond git.

A silent tear ran down her cheek. She would just have to show them that she was better than they thought she was and could do just fine without them.

“Miss Granger I’m hoping you read the handbook we sent with your school letter.” The sound of the new head mistresses voice snapped her out of the trance she had worked herself into. Quickly she wiped the tear from her cheek and straightened her auburn hair. The curls automatically reformed themselves, cascading down her back.

“Yes I have, professor,” she replied politely.

“I would also like to point out, Miss Granger, that your behaviour earlier has upset some of the younger students. I would therefore like you to take a couple first years from different houses under your wing. As I said before we left your common room, you are not to let your prejudice toward the other houses sway you away from your task.”

She fought to remember what exactly she was tasked to do with them. Not knowing what to expect, but expecting just about anything, she continued to follow the professor.

Upon coming to the charms classroom, Professor McGonagall opened the door. “Try to make them feel welcome dear,” the Professor whispered to her as she left the room. Hermione surveyed the room and found it was almost full of students.

“Hello everyone,” Hermione managed to say without her voice cracking. “My name is Hermione Granger.”

A dark haired boy at the front of the room stood up and introduced himself. “My name is Kim Blair.” A few students at the back of the class snickered at this. She figured they must be the Slytherin. “Are you the Hermione that fought beside Harry Potter?”

All the students seemed to quiet down to hear the answer. It almost seemed like she has cast a silencing spell on the room. You couldn’t even hear the sound of rustling robes.

“I am,” she said rather quietly. She wasn’t sure if they had heard of her cowardly freeze in the middle of the fight.

Kim turned around to face the rest of the room. “See I told you we where being taken care of by a legend.” He turned back around and smiled at Hermione. With that smile on his face he reminded her of Harry at that age. She stood there staring at Kim while her heart broke again. The word ‘useless’ rebounded in her skull.

A skinny girl, she hoped it was a girl, stood up next. “Hermione, if I can call you that, would you please tell us what it was like on your first day?” With those words she remembered why she was here. Professor McGonagall had told her that for some reason this one muggle orphanage had contained a few gifted students. She was to show them as best she could what the wizard’s life was all about.

She told them the story of her letter, the shopping trip to Diagon Alley and the train ride where she met Harry and Ron. They listened as if this story hadn’t been run in the prophet for a week. Just before she was going to tell them about the sorting hat the door opened again. Silent as the snake he was, Draco Malfoy entered the room.

When he saw Hermione sitting on the desk her back straight and fire in her eyes, he just couldn’t contain his youthful stirrings. Her robes hung in just such a way that he could see that she had filled out since the first time he had seen her sit like that. He pushed away those impure thoughts, reminding himself that she was a mudblood.

Professor McGonagall entered the room shortly after and proceeded to the front desk where she shooed the young Gryffindor student off it.

“May I introduce the Head Boy and Head Girl of Hogwarts.” she motioned to Hermione and Draco. “They will be your guides and mentors for this year. If you have any questions that can not be directed to your house prefects, please, don’t hesitate to ask them. You are all dismissed now.” All the students gathered into small groups to exit the room. The professor then nodded to the pair.

Draco’s eye narrowed at the thought of working with that no good for nothing mudblood. “Head mistress, I’m sure our time would be better spent if only one of us took on this task.”

“Mr Malfoy,” she began, “I expect that with your studies and other tasks that it would be mutually beneficial to have both of you working on this assignment.” She stood slowly and with such grace that Draco knew if he said more there would be a visit to her office and a lecture to follow. She swept out of the room, after she knew that both Head Boy and Head Girl knew that she wouldn’t expect anything less then their best.

Draco sneered at Hermione for a while, before she felt a need to burst out crying. She calmly walked out of the room and toward the nearest bathroom. She didn’t make it there before the tears began to flow again, the word ‘useless’ rebounding in her head again.

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