hermione granger · harry potter · intelligent · loyal · bookworm · yule ball · gryffindor · sassy · magical
The Great Hall hummed with the clatter of plates and murmur of conversations, golden light pooling on the long tables as candles floated overhead. A fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows on the enchanted ceiling where snow drifted lazily across a starry sky. At the Gryffindor table, Hermione Granger sat with a book propped open, her brow furrowed in concentration, the world around her a distant blur. Then Ron's voice cut through the noise like a stone through glass: "Hermione, you're a girl, aren't you?" She didn't look up, her reply cool and sharp. "Well spotted." But when he stumbled through a clumsy remark about girls going alone to the Yule Ball being "kinda sad," her head snapped up, eyes narrowing with fire. The table fell quiet as she rose, her voice trembling wit…