Hermione slid into the seat next to Harry and took a drink of orange juice. Being unable to sleep the night before, she hadn't fallen asleep until the early morning hours. She hadn't even awoken when the other girls had dressed and gone. When she had finally woken up and realized that it was well past eight, she knew she had very little time. She grabbed a roll and looked up to see Ron staring at her in astonishment. She rolled her eyes and said, "What Ronald?"
"Nothing," Ron said, shaking his head and turning his attention back to his food.
"Couldn't sleep?" Harry asked her.
"Afraid not," Hermione sighed and bit into her roll. She let her eyes wander around the hall, lingering for a moment on the Slytherin table before she realized that Harry was trying to get her attention.
"Hermione?" he asked.
"Yes, Harry?"
"Who is that girl?" he asked her and pointed to a blonde across the hall. She froze as she followed his finger and then suddenly knocked his hand down.
"It's rude to point, Harry!" she said quickly.
"But who is she?" Ron asked.
"Quinn Fabray. She transferred here from Beauxbatons a couple of days ago. Why?" she asked.
"No reason. Just curioius," Harry told her, staring at him.
"Do you fancy her?" she asked, grinning.
"No, of course not," Harry blushed, looking down at the paper in his hands.
"Blimey, Harry. A girl from Beauxbatons? They're all stuck up!" Ron said.
"Or maybe they just don't have time for idiots!" Hermione stood, cursing to herself, and stormed out of the Great Hall, bumping into someone as she entered the hall. "I'm terribly sorry!"
"No, it's alright," Hermione looked up and saw Quinn Fabray. She felt her kneesgo weak, preventing her from running, like she so desperately wanted. Of all people to bump into, it just had to be Quinn.
"Oh, no, really. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," Hermione explained.
"It's okay," Quinn flashed Hermione a smile. Hermione's heart jumped to her throat. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes, I'm fine," Hermione answered quickly.
"I'm Quinn. Quinn Fabray," Quinn held out her hand and Hermione stared at it for a moment and then took it. Quinn's hands were so soft.
"Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you," Hermione smiled.
"I think the pleasure's all mine," Quinn grinned. "So, do you think you could tell me where I could find the potions classroom? I've really only been here a couple of days."
"Sure," Hermione grinned and walked with Quinn.
"You're smiling more than usual," Ron commented as Hermione slipped into the commons. She took a seat between him and Harry.
"Today was a good day," she sighed and pulled a book out of her bag. She had shown Quinn to the potions classroom, having a friendly discussion along the way. The two of them had agreed to meet up after classes were over, and Hermione was going to show Quinn around Hogwarts. As Hermione showed her around, she learned two things of importance. One, Quinn didn't have a boyfriend. And two, Quinn wasn't even interested in boys. Hermione would be lying if she said that last part didn't excite her. There weren't many girls at Hogwarts that were open about being interested in girls, so she mostly had to keep it to herself. But then Quinn came along, and Hermione had so been hoping that she would at least be bisexual. She wasn't sure what had caught her attention first: that sweet smile, those gorgeous green eyes, or that adorable giggle of hers.
"So what did you do today?" Harry asked her, yanking her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, just toured the grounds, really," Hermione said, pretending to study the book.
"Yeah? Harry and I saw you with that Quinn girl," Ron said, nudging her. "Did you give Harry a good word?"
"Ron!" Harry hissed.
"No, no. We didn't even talk about boys," Hermione told them.
"You didn't? Well, what kind of girl talk is that? I mean, you didn't even tell her what boys to go for and what boys to stay away from?" Ron asked her.
"Nope. We really didn't talk about it," Hermione sighed.
"Well, you could have at least given Harry a good word," Ron mumbled.
"Oh, shut up, Ron!" Hermione shouted as she stood. "I can't help it if all girls don't think about boy twenty-four hours a day. Some girls don't think about boys at all!" With that, she turned on her heel and fled to her dorm. She flopped down on her bed and sighed. It wasn't like she hadn't been trying to give them hints all along. Not that either of them were even interested in her, but they did have the right to know that she wasn't even into men, didn't they? But the two of them were too oblivious to ever catch any of her hints. One of these days, she was going to have to spell it out to them.
The next few days, she found that she couldn't focus in her classes. Her teachers were asking her if she felt alright, and her classmates were staring in shock. But she didn't care. All she could think about was Quinn and how her eyes sparkled when she laughed. And that cute little way she blushed. Oh god, it was driving Hermione insane. She'd never felt this way about anyone before. They hadn't gotten to see each other much, as they were both quite busy, but they planned to spend some time together today.
"Hermione!" Hermione looked for the source of the whisper and saw none other than the adorable Quinn Fabray looking back at her. Hermione closed her book and grinned at Quinn.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Hermione asked her.
"Oh, I finished with things early, and I thought I might find you here. I mean, I know how much you love books," Quinn smiled as she gestured to the shelves piled with books.
"You know me too well," Hermione gave Quinn a knowing smile as she shoved her books into her bag. "Well, what do you want to do today?"
"I was thinking we could spend some time outside. This place is beautiful," Quinn said.
"I can think of more beautiful things," Hermione said quietly and Quinn blushed. Hermione stood and followed Quinn out of the library. Quinn grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her out of the castle.
"I want to walk around the black lake," She told Hermione. "I love it so much!" Hermione smiled at Quinn, her heart pounding in her chest. Quinn didn't let go as she slowed her pace and they walked along the shore.
"Quinn?" Hermione asked.
"Yes?"
Hermione hesitated, trying to force herself to ask the question. It had been on her mind for a while now. It kept her up at night. She just had to know the answer. "Do you like anyone at Hogwarts yet?"
Quinn stopped and looked at Hermione, and Hermione noticed that Quinn's eyes looked so much brighter outisde. The way that the sun hit them made Hermione think of soft, fresh cut grass, and she could almost smell it. She thought that if she tried, she could easily get lost in Quinn's eyes forever. It was where she belonged.
Hermione's stomach fluttered as Quinn's hand caressed her cheek, and she stood still as Quinn moved closer, closing the gap between them. She closed her eyes as Quinn's soft, pink lips touched her own. She parted her lips, letting Quinn kiss her deeper. Wrapping her arm around Quinn's waist, she pulled her closer. She kept her eyes closed even after Quinn pulled back, savoring the moment in her mind. When she finally opened them, she saw Quinn's green eyes staring into her own, and that precious smile she loved so much was just inches away from her own face. Hermione couldn't help but grin as Quinn whispered, "I thought I'd made it obvious."
