Breaking the Glass

Chapter Song: Rise Up

Hermione's name had become impossible to ignore.

The Daily Prophet ran story after story — some praising her courage, others dripping with venomous spite.

A Mudblood fighting for equality. A war hero unbowed by darkness.

But the backlash was fierce.

Letters flooded the Ministry.

Whispers poisoned the corridors.

Old prejudices clawed their way back into the light.

Each hateful headline threatened to shatter the fragile peace she'd fought so hard to build.

Yet Hermione refused to back down.

She stood tall in interviews, debates, and public forums — a beacon of resilience and reason.

Every insult became a stepping stone.

Every sneer forged her resolve.

One evening, after a particularly brutal editorial called her a "stain on pure wizarding blood," Hermione sat alone in the quiet of her study, the weight of the world pressing down.

For a moment, the pain threatened to engulf her — the years of hatred, fear, and isolation crashing like waves.

But then something inside her cracked — not broken, but breaking free.

Like glass splintering under pressure, shards of pain shattered and fell away.

In the shards gleamed something new:

Freedom.

Strength.

Hope.

She rose from her chair, eyes shining with fierce clarity.

The fight wasn't over — but neither was she.

Hermione Granger-Malfoy, Mudblood and warrior, would continue to stand, unyielding.

For herself. For Mia. For a world that desperately needed change.

Because sometimes, the hardest battles break us — and the strongest battles set us free.