Ron sat thanking the house elfs and swearing that he'd have nothing to do with S.P.E.W if it meant that the house elfs would stay and cook him more food, which was on the same level of expertise and satisfaction as his mother's (not that he'd ever tell her). His eyes kept on flickering to Hermione though, but he wasn't sure why. Something was telling him that she was acting strange, but he couldn't quite get it.

"Hey, when d'you ever think you'd see the day when Hermione's in a daydream? Look at her." Harry quietly whispered as to not distract Hermione, as to them both, this was a sight to behold. It finally clicked for Ron, and seeing her stare into oblivion was quite surreal. She was sat on the opposite side of where he and Harry were sitting, and she hadn't picked at her food all too much after the first five minutes. Harry was growing increasingly concerned, and Ron unconsciously scraped at his plate, accidently pressing his fork too hard into the plate, making a screeching sound and cringing isntantaneously. A few people shivered in disgust at the sound and they looked over at Ron, who apologized softly while Harry tried to shake off the sound, which seemed to echo in his mind.

When they both eventually looked up at Hermione, they noticed she was out of her daze and had already continued to eat while balancing a conversation with Padma, who was very excitedly talking about a new spell she had learnt that could fire at two different people at one time, given they were within ten meters within proximity of each other and that it could be learnt at the defense club, which was mentioned quietly. Harry and Ron continued to watch her for a second before turning to each other.

"D'you see that? How long do you reckon she was out of it?"

"I don't know, mate, but she looked like she was in quite deep. It was bloody fascinating," Ron replied. Harry nodded a bit and turned back to his food, both of them feeling a bit foolish. Maybe it wasn't quite as big of a deal as they were making it out to be and they were both overreacting. They still felt a bit weird about it, though.

"I think it's around time for the feast? Anyhow, I'm starving and if I don't eat I think I'll be sick."

"Being sick on an empty stomach? Is that even possible?"Hermione questioned, quickly capping on the top of the ink wells and putting all her stationary into her bag.

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out," groaning, Florence returned the books they had pulled from a near by shelf. "Do you want to come here again soon? It's a nice spot you've found."

"Too many people come by here. Can we go some place where people won't bother us?" Hermione asked. She thought of how to phrase her next question without sounding too pushy, and her heart started beating a bit faster when Florence started to come back to their table. "How about Ravenclaw tower? I expect it's not very busy there. And that's if you don't mind, I mean I'd take you with me to Gryffindor tower but my dorm is pretty loud." She finished, starting to feel a bit as if she'd gone too far. She really hoped Florence didn't think she was nosey.

"It's a pretty nice atmosphere. I'll take you," she replied nonchalantly, very pleased with the fact that Hermione wanted to visit her dorm. Once they were more used to what they had, maybe Hermione could take her to her dorm. "My dorm should be pretty empty after classes have finished. Should I get my books ready this time, though?" She added, chuckling and bending to grab her satchel when Hermione blushed slightly and tried to play it off.

Hermione checked that everything was in her bag, and didn't bother to look Florence in the eye when she said, "It depends on whether you get distracted this time. But maybe not, I'll see how I feel." She tried to act cool, a bit unused to this but really enjoying herself and egging Florence on.

"I guess we'll see whether you decide to feel up my leg again. Next time I'll remind myself to wear a skirt," she teased, taking a few steps away to indicate she was ready to leave. She looked back at Hermione, who seemed to be a bit flustered.

"It'll do you well to remember that," Hermione replied, catching up to Florence and reaching for her hand.

They walked in comfortable silence through the high shelves, still slightly embarrassed at the new experience they were both sharing, both teenagers who were the center of each others worlds. When they were near the end of one of the bookshelves, Florence stopped walking and looked all around them while Hermione waited patiently, chest tightening with promise, and when Florence turned back to her, she reached up on the balls of her feet and gave her a close mouthed kiss, holding it for a few seconds and then she went back down, lips thinning and restraining a wide smile, while Florence squeezed her hand and beamed at her, giving her a peck on the cheek before adjusting her bag and letting go of Hermione's hand, just to be safe. They turned the corner and continued walking, hearing more signs of life in the library now, and Florence looked up at the clock at the exit of the library, realizing that dinner would begin in a few minutes. She turned to look at Hermione imploringly, trying to not make it obvious while she watched as she repressed a smile. It made her smile, too.

"What class do you have last tomorrow?" Florence asked as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"Potions."

"Damn it, I have Charms, which is basically on the other side of the school."

"Well we can meet in the middle if you'd like? But I'm sure we'll catch up to each other if we make our way to Ravenclaw, anyway. Depends on if anybody makes a mess in Potions, though." After a few more moments of silence, she said "I say we meet at the Great Hall."

"Whoever's earlier can just sit there for a while, I suppose," the Great Hall was now in sight, and as they stepped nearer, Florence wished she could preserve her time with Hermione forever. "Perfect. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"I'll see you then. Bye, Florence," Hermione replied, and looking away as soon as Florence met her eye, she added "and don't forget to wear a skirt."

Florence chuckled, and with a promised 'I will', they both entered the Great Hall and went to their own house, Hermione glancing at Florence occasionally until she came opposite of where Ron and Harry sat. They didn't seem to notice her yet, so the food must have just appeared a few moments ago. She started putting food onto her plate, loading a lot of mashed potato and peas onto it, suddenly feeling mighty hungry.

After a few minutes of eating and striking a quick conversation about Arithmancy with Dean, she quickly scanned through the students at Ravenclaw, spotting Florence after a good fifteen seconds, taking the time to look at her properly. Her short black hair, her dimples, her crooked nose, all of which Hermione adored. Just then, Hermione wished she could spend a whole day with her without interruptions. She'd have to make plans on a weekend, and she looked forward to that day.

Her relationship with Florence was so easy and natural. It wasn't awkward and expected like her and Ron, who she loved - albeit platonically -, and wasn't as futile as her fling with Viktor. She wasn't sure whether her and Florence were girlfriends, but just being like this was enough to satisfy Hermione, for now.

Ron scraping his fork on his plate did manage to pull her out of her thoughts, and Padma's exclamation made her turn, and when Padma caught her eye, she smiled at her and greeted her, having not spoken with her in a few days. The conversation began with ease, and feeling happier and lighter than she ever had before, Hermione had the energy to fully engage her in conversation and found, to her delight, that not conversing with Padma properly was a mistake, as she was actually a very interesting person.

But all throughout dinner Ron and Harry were giving her weird looks, and when she asked them if anything was bothering them, they said it was nothing. Oh well, if it didn't involve her, right now, it didn't worry her. She had a lot more on her mind.