Hermione quickly walked up to her dorm room. Ginny and Harry were together; Ron was off snogging Lavender, and Malfoy was probably bullying some defenseless first year. She had no one.
Hermione sat down numbly, and stared at the white wall. She blinked back the rush of tears that threatened to fall, sighing. She laid down on her bed; why was life so cruel to her? She hadn't done anything to anyone. Yet life had decided to show her the bitterness, pain, and sorrow that befell everyone eventually. A tear slid down her cheek, and she brushed it off. Why couldn't everything just go back to the way it was? Why did it have to take this course instead of another?
"The brightest witch of her age..." she mumbled to herself. If she was so knowledgeable, then why couldn't she find the answer? Why did it have to run away? She managed to fall asleep somehow. Hopefully, her dreams were an escape from reality this time, instead of more of the life she was living.
No. Her dreams were restless; Lavender always showed up in her dream- no- her nightmare- and started kissing her ex-boyfriend.
"You're nobody..." she whispered, twirling a lock of dirty blond hair around her finger. "Just a poor, filthy, mudblood. No real friends...no nothing. You don't have a place here, mudblood." Ron came up behind Lavender, and she giggled, pecking him on the cheek. "Even Ron didn't want you." she stared with brown eyes, and bit her lip. "Go back to where you belong." she whispered to Hermione, pushing her away. Hermione stumbled and fell; Lavender and Ron laughed, staring at her with cold eyes. And the scene dissolved into darkness.
She screamed.

Hermione woke up, surrounded by bright light. "Where am I?" she mumbled, trying to sit up.
"The Infirmary, dear." Madam Pomfrey said, walking over to her. "You were found unconscious in your dorm by Miss Ginny Weasly. Now, how do you feel?"
"Desolate and alone." she mumbled inaudibly, looking away.
"What was that dear?" the nurse asked.
"Nothing." Hermione answered, shaking her head. "I feel fine."
Madam Pomfrey nodded, pleased. "You are going to stay one more night, Miss Granger. Just so I can keep an eye on you for a little longer."
Hermione nodded reluctantly, turning on to her side. She drifted into sleep again; her dreams were empty this time. Just a void of darkness with occasional bursts of color. She wondered what that meant. The next time she woke up, it was dark outside. The lights were off, and moonlight cascaded in from the window above her cot. Hermione sat up and stared out the window across from her. She could see the faint glimmering of the Black Lake; she looked around- there were no nurses in sight. She got out of the bed, standing up and walking over to the window. She rested her elbows on the windowsill, and stared out at the night. It was so peaceful; nightingales flew overhead, and the tiny, twinkling lights of fireflies and and woodland creatures lit up the forest. It was so serene- so tranquil. And, for a moment, she thought back to that night on the lakeside.
The door to the Infirmary creaked; she looked abruptly that way. The person stared at her, and she met their eyes. She could tell- she knew exactly who it was.