Hermione lay on her stomach on her bed, a book held protectively in her arms. Brown eyes quickly scanned the page eagerly taking in the story folding out on the pages. She sighed, she knew she still had the essay to do for Charms and it wouldn't finish itself. But, she thought, I am so close to finding out who killed Paige. Homework can wait for another moment.

"Hermione…" Parvarti started eagerly, hopping off her bed and jumping onto Hermione's.

Hermione paid her no mind, her concentration far away. Lavender and Parvarti hovered over her. Lavender poked her and after receiving no response huffed annoyed.

"HERMIONE!"

Hermione looked up at the two in exasperation and surprise. Parvarti looked at Lavender impatiently.

"We were trying to get on her good side, Lav."

Parvarti turned to Hermione big brown eyes wide.

"Can I do your hair, Hermione?"

Hermione glanced forlornly at her bushy locks and sighed, knowing she would have no peace until she agreed.

"Sure," she said unenthusiastically.

Parvarti jumped at the opportunity, quickly grabbing a disgustingly pink comb, which lay on her dresser. Brandishing the comb in one hand and her wand in the other, Parvarti advanced upon Hermione.

She quickly cast a charm upon her hair that was supposed to suppress the most "intangible tangles" in Lavender's words. Parvarti ran her comb through Hermione's hair seemingly annoyed that it didn't flow, quite the opposite in fact it stuck to her scalp. Parvarti placed her hands on Hermione's head and pulled, Hermione winced as her hair resisted all attempts to curl into perfect ringlets, or any other form of submission.

As Lavender lamented over the loss of her fourth comb holding the two broken pieces in her hand, having been destroyed by Hermione's hair, Hermione ducked out of the room book in hand. She hopped down the girls stairs hoping they wouldn't notice she was missing for another moment. She raced up the stairs to the boy's dorm thanking the lord they weren't charmed as the girl's stairs were. She burst into the sixth year dorm and slammed the door closed. The four boys currently occupying the dorm looked up at her in surprise.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," Ron said looking up from the game of exploding snap he had been playing. "What you do to you hair?"

Hermione turned towards the boys mirror her face scrunched in worry as she turned to examine her appearance. She groaned almost immediately. Her hair had gone from bushy to horrid in the course of an hour. Her hair corkscrewed off her head and instead of falling past her shoulders it stuck out of her head in a crazy mass of curls.

She collapsed on the nearest bed and the boys continued to watch her in astonishment.

"Really, Hermione," Harry said, "What happened to you?"

"Lavender and Parvarti happened," Hermione explained exasperatedly.

All four boys groaned. The came around patting her on the mass of crazy curls, smiling all the way.

"It's not funny," she huffed.

She pulled the hair back into an odd sort of ponytail the curls straining against their restraint. Harry smiled encouragingly.

"Hey," he said, "That doesn't look half-bad."

Hermione groaned, but his horrid attempt at encouraging her had left her feeling better and she risked a smile.

"Why are you guys so nice?"

Dean shrugged as he placed the last card on the stack and it exploded in his face, he frowned and Hermione laughed at the expression on his face.

She collapsed back on the bed she was lying on.

"Can't I just stay here forever," she groaned.

Harry shrugged, "Forever's awhile. But you can stay here tonight, tomorrow's Saturday anyway. You can stay here until Lavender and Parvarti calm down at least. Neville's in the hospital wing anyways, had a rather bad accident in potions if you remember, we have an extra bed."

Hermione tackled the four boys and they collapsed under her weight. They all fell into one humongous dog pile. Unfortunately they landed onto of the ever growing pile of exploding snaps. Needless to say they exploded onto the five, creating quite a sight.

A minute later the five were finally disentangled; looking slightly bruised none worse for the wear. They all collapsed onto different beds, letting out a breezy laugh. Hermione pulled her book out from where it had fallen on the floor. She opened it breezily her eyes scanning the pages but only half her attention was on the book, which was odd considering it was her. The other half of her brain was focusing on the boys in front of her. They were arguing but in more for the fun of the argument than actually caring about the topic.

They eventually got bored and came and crowded on the bed that Hermione was currently lying in her finger twisting around her corkscrew hair.

"What you reading?" One boy chorused.

"Don't you dare be doing homework." Hermione was pretty sure that had been Ron.

Hermione handed over her book reluctantly to Harry. Who took it and plopped down on his bed and started reading. He batted away the advances of the other boys, shooing them away easily. Hermione watched him read, enjoying the way his face changed as he read something that interested him.

Harry had been reading for a half hour, before Hermione snatched it back from him. Harry gave her an offended look.

"Hey, I was reading that," he protested making a half hearted grab for it.

"So was I. You can read it when I was finished."

Harry gave her a puppy dog face that he knew Hermione would fall for.

"I never ever read anything of yours Hermione. You can't deny me this one time."

Hermione swatted him on the head, falling into another bed and picking up her book. Harry's head peeked over the top looking at her book longingly.

"Really, your hairs not that bad, Hermione."

Hermione scrunched her nose up and he laughed as she handed him over the book. He plopped down next to her.

"Here," he said moving into a position so she could see the book in his hand, "You can read, too."

Hermione smiled even though Harry was almost two hundred pages behind her she leaned over so she could read the semi-familiar words. Harry held the book in one hand his other hand twirling her honey brown curls his finger hooking around the corkscrewing curls. She smiled as she glanced at the corner of her eye to see the other boys playing wizards chess. She caught the eye of Ron who winked. She laughed lightly, she had her boys didn't she?