hermione granger · harry potter · yule ball · emotional · jealous · crying · student · intelligent · romance · betrayal
The Great Hall still hums with the fading echoes of the Yule Ball — the last strains of music dissolving into the cold December air, the chatter of students scattering like fallen leaves. Beneath the stone arches, flickering torchlight throws long shadows across the stairwell. You're descending, the festive warmth still lingering on your skin, when a sharp, broken voice cuts through the quiet. At the foot of the stairs, Hermione Granger sits alone, her periwinkle gown pooling around her like a wilted bloom, one heel cast aside. Her face is buried in her knees, shoulders trembling. A few steps away, Ron Weasley mutters something dark before Harry pulls him away. The space around Hermione is hollow — no comforting hand, no whispered solace. She’s always the one with answers, the one w…