Hi! This is my new story! Thanks for reading it! I don't really have much else to say right now.

The Pretenders

Chapter 1: The Breakdown

She was screaming into her favorite feather pillow. Again. The appliances were going crazy because she was upset. Again. She cried as she felt totally helpless and alone. Again.

It was the 2nd time in less than a month that it had happened. Hermione wished she had never come home at all; that she was still at Hogwarts. Her sister, Beth, was behaving worse than ever before, and she knew that her parents were counting on her to be the responsible one, even though Beth was older. She had made her parents upset because she supposedly went to spend the night at a friend's house and didn't tell them. Of course, it got all around the family, and her uncle had made a passing comment about Hermione having a 'cracked halo' now. Like she was supposed to be perfect all day, every day. Nobody knew how much that little comment they had all laughed at hurt her; how deeply it cut her. Hermione was so unhappy with life, but nobody knew that. And they never would.

Soon she was done crying and screaming, and she just lay there, wondering why she was the way she was. The well-known answer came immediately in her mind. It was a defense mechanism, her way of coping. She couldn't trust anyone. She would always have her doubts; no matter how many times people proved themselves. Nothing personal, she just couldn't, or wouldn't trust anyone. She would never let anyone see the real her. She could never be that vulnerable to anyone. She was only a Pretender. Hermione had given herself the name almost nine years ago. Only a Pretender.

An hour later, she was still just laying there, caught up in her thoughts. However, acting on a sudden, unexplainable urge, she got up and started to write. Yet another hour passed, and she was done. Sealing the letter, she called Thunder (the owl she had gotten when Crookshanks died the summer before sixth year) over, attached the letter, and whispered into the bird's ear. The owl looked strangely at her for a moment then took off. Hermione fell back into bed, being sure to avoid the pillow she had been crying into. 'I've done it now. No turning back.' She let her mind wander before finally settling into the darkness that was sleep.

Draco woke to a tapping noise. He checked his watch; it was two in the morning. What would an owl be doing here at this time? Getting out of the warm bed, he opened the window and let the beautiful gray bird in. He took the letter and the owl settled in, apparently waiting for a reply. He glanced over the letter's face, and saw it didn't say to whom it was addressed to. He opened it anyway, realizing it was meant for him by the owl's look. He began to read, and then paused. He looked at the owl again, thinking it was some joke or something. The owl didn't look away, and Draco decided to keep reading.

To: A Pretender

Hey. I'm sure you're confused. I'm not sure why I'm writing this, except to say that I just need to let it out, and I certainly couldn't do that if I knew who you were or you knew who I am. That is why I'll just call myself Thunder, after my owl. I trust her to take this to a person who'll understand, a person like me. A Pretender, that's what I call myself. Only because of the fact that nobody knows who I am, what I'm really like. I pretend all the time. I pretend that I hate the guy that I love. I pretend to love doing schoolwork, when really I'm such a procrastinator. I pretend I don't care when something upsets me. I pretend to care so much about my grades. I pretend to care so much about my family when really I despise them all. And I keep all my extremely sarcastic comments inside my head because everybody would think I'm mean, and that doesn't fit with the rest of my pretending. I'm so tired of pretending. I hate it, but I just can't stop. I can't bring myself to let even the closest of friends know me, to be that vulnerable. Now I'm putting myself on the line, and I'm not even sure why. Can you relate? All I'm going to say about myself is that I'm a girl, I'm 18, and I go to Hogwarts. Write back if you are a pretender, and if you're not, my owl has failed and you can just ignore this.

Thunder

Draco read the letter over four more times before it actually sunk in. Once it did, however, he was wide-awake and in shock. 'Do I really want to talk about my personal life? About how much I pretend also? Yes, I do.' He decided to write back right away. He was done rather quickly as he wrote fast, but instead of attaching the letter to Thunder, he gave it to his own owl, (which coincidentally, was named Lightning) and gave him strict orders to follow Thunder home. He gave both owls treats and they went on their way. Draco knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so instead, he set about organizing his closet. Again.

Tapping woke Hermione, much the same way it had awaken Draco, at nearly six in the morning. She really didn't want to get out of her warm bed, but stumbled to open the window anyway. She noticed there were two owls instead of just her own. Quickly shutting the window after they swooped in, she tried not to let the cool morning air in. Thunder went to her cage, and the unknown owl settled on her desk. Hermione realized the unknown owl was the one carrying the letter. Going to it, she untied it while the owl watched on. She was very glad that the person had written back, though she didn't show. Outwardly, she played it cool, incase the owl was watching her or something. You could never be too sure. Sounded paranoid, she knew that, but it was true. Breaking the seal, she read the letter.

Thunder,

Hey. I was shocked to get your letter, but almost relieved in a weird way too. That's a good name, a Pretender. I'm one too I guess, though I try not to think about it that much. Is it the same with you? We're actually pretty similar in some ways. I go to Hogwarts too, I'll be 18 in a couple of months, but I'm a boy. I guess we'll both be in our 7th year when we go back. I'll try not to think about who you could be, cause it'll just bug me, but I know it's better if we don't know who each other are. We pretend a lot of the same things too. I'm practically obsessed with a girl that thinks I hate her. What about your guy? Everyone thinks I want to be just like my father and that I adore him, but the truth is, I hate him more than anything. I pretend that I don't care about anything. I pretend to be a neat freak, but I love messes. Do you like messes? My whole life feels like a sham. Nothing is the way that I want it to be. Everyone thinks I'm this evil little cockroach. I pretend to believe all this shit about people and differences, but it's all my dad. I pretend that we're a perfect little family, but we're probably the most dysfunctional family you'll ever meet. I suppose that's enough for the first letter, so write back soon. Lightning is my owl's name, so that'll be mine too.

Lightning

She smiled her brightest smile, deciding to write back later that evening. Hermione cleared a spot on her desk that she designated PLP: Pretender's Letter's Pile. After placing the letter there and giving his owl a treat, she opened the window for him and then went to get breakfast since she was up.

Just as she was preparing to sit down with her chocolate pancakes, she heard a small tapping noise at the door. Thinking it might be another owl she opened the door only to find Beth. She dragged herself in.

"Thanks Herms. What are you doing up?"

"It's the morning. Don't call me Herms. Have you been out all night?"

"Don't tell mum, it's not that big of a deal. Do you want some?" She opened what Hermione took to be water, only to be confronted with a putrid smell, resembling nail polish remover and something she couldn't name.

"What is that?"

"Vodka. It's really good, and I think you'd make a fun drunk. Much better than now, anyway."

"Just go upstairs and take that shit with you. I don't want dad to come down and smell it."

"Fine, fine. See you later."

Hermione just grumped at her, her morning now ruined. By the time her dad came down, Hermione was done with her pancakes. After saying goodmorning, she asked for some money, as she planned on riding up to the library and then the pizza place not to far for lunch. Her dad gave her a little more than necessary and told her to have fun. Thanking him with a hug, she ran upstairs to get in the shower. Today she would find some good extracurricular reading material to last her the summer. After all, she wouldn't need to start her homework and all that reading until the second week in August.

Hello again! How do you like the start of my new story? I won't beg you to review, but it makes me so happy to read that you enjoy reading it. I have one more thing: I said it in my first story, and I'll say it here, PLEASE don't tell me you hate it without telling me WHY you hate it! I don't mind people expressing their opinions, but it's really annoying to hear that someone hates my story when they didn't tell me why. It's just this thing that I have, so indulge, will ya? That's all for now!

Dizzy