It was the first day of lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Snape and Hermione was buzzing with curious excitement. Having only received an E on her OWLS, she was determined to better herself. There is always room for improvement; that’s her motto. She doesn’t like to admit it, but scoring beneath Harry, although deservingly, she couldn’t help but think lesser of herself. She volunteered him as the instructor for the DA, but she’d be lying if she didn’t consider herself at least second best and worthy of an O. She could memorize the text and perform the actions in class. Although, when putting it into action against Death Eaters, it was a cold slap of reality. Having been put out of commission in the middle of their battle at the Ministry. Then learning about the loss of Sirius, a small part of her wondered that if she had tried harder to stop Harry, it could have all been prevented. She glanced over at Harry’s hard-set expression towards Professor Snape and sighed inwardly. No, he’s too bloody stubborn. 