A/N: Krumione and I don't own Harry Potter.

He first saw her in the library. She was reading alone at the table in a corner, her brown curly hair tinted gold by the candlelight. Her right thumb was caressing the page she was about to turn, while her left index finger was gently twirling one of the curls that hung over her shoulder. His eyes followed her movement as she turned the page, her expression passionately focused on the knowledge she was gleaning. He was also pleased to note that her right hand had automatically returned to cradling the next page.

His eyes moved from her behavior to her appearance. Her wild hair was left free, with no trace of potion, and he could see no evidence of beauty-enhancers either. There was something bravely beautiful about a girl who was confident enough to not need such things. She looked a few years younger than he, but he had never been that good at guessing ages.

The group of nuisances that had been following him chose that time to make a rather noisy entrance into the quiet sanctuary. Their giggling had caused the girl at the table to look up, though he was pleased to note that she looked annoyed at having been interrupted. Clearly she agreed with his assessment that the others were nuisances.

She looked around for the cause and when she saw him, he gulped. Here was the test... was she going to become a nuisance too?

She rolled her eyes, snapped her book shut in an affronted manner, and stalked right out of the library without a glance back.

He smiled.