DISCLAIMER: I am not JKR, therefore I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.


Shivering, I stepped into Flourish and Blotts and stamped to try and get some snow off my boots. Then I inhaled deeply- I had never been a huge fan of reading, but I loved the smell of books. It was somehow comforting.

"I'll be with you in just a moment," called a female voice, buried somewhere in bookshelves to my left. I walked to one of them and began to scan the titles. My copy of Quidditch Through the Ages was worn past all hope- pages were falling out, they were stained, ripped, or the words were faded. It had lasted me all through Hogwarts, but it was finally dead, and I needed a new one.

"Can I help- Ginny!" I looked to my left and jumped when I saw Hermione standing there. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, and she was wearing jeans, a large, loose, red sweater, and furry boots. She laughed at my surprise, and after a quick hug (that set my heart to racing), I said, "I didn't know you worked here!"

She rolled her eyes. "I've been applying to the Ministry, but so far no luck." When I asked her what department, she replied, "Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, hopefully. You know, I want to work for house-elf rights, and maybe then move on to other creatures."

"And they haven't hired you?" I asked incredulously. "They must be mad!"

Hermione sighed. "Well, you know, I'm young. I've got time. And it's not so bad working here. Which I should be doing right now," she grinned. "Can I help you find anything?"

I held up the deceased copy of Quidditch Through the Ages that I had brought along with me. She took it and frowned at me as she flipped through the pages. "Honestly, Ginny, this is horrible! Come on." She took my wrist and dragged me towards the back. At a shelf in a far corner, she pulled out a brand new book. "Here you are."

"Thanks, 'Mione. Hey, what time do you get off?" I inquired.

"Not 'til four," she replied. "Why?"

I swallowed deeply to prepare myself. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to meet at the Leaky Cauldron for a drink. I haven't seen you in forever; we need to catch up."

Hermione grinned. "Alright," she said. "Four fifteen at the Leaky Cauldron. It's a date." My heart nearly stopped.

I checked my watch- it was around eleven. That would give me about five hours to wander aimlessly around Diagon Alley. I had finished my shopping and had nothing else to buy. As I paid for my book, I thought about how to entertain myself for that long. But my wallet was full and there were lots of shops, and even though I didn't necessarily need anything, I decided I could shop around for a while.

"See you tonight," I called, waving as I stepped into the street.

In case you're wondering- your suspicions are correct. I like Hermione, a lot. We got pretty close during my fifth year, and friendship turned to… well, more. For me, that is. I don't think she returned the feeling. But she did notice that I was acting strange, and asked about it. I told her nothing was wrong, and she persisted, and finally she said, "You like someone, don't you?" I had to say something, so I told her I liked Harry. And Harry and I dated. Then a few weeks ago, we broke up. We were still friends; the split was mutual- it just wasn't the way it had once been. I knew why- my thoughts so often strayed to Hermione that I was spaced out half the time and moody for the rest of it.

And now I was meeting her for drinks at the Leaky Cauldron- and she had said it was a date. I could have sung. And that was why I was inventing things to do, so I had an excuse to stay in Diagon Alley for five hours, just to wait on a friend and have drinks with her. Because I was completely obsessed and head-over-heels in love.

Crap.