As Harry walked into the great hall for dinner, he spotted his friends sat at the Griffindoor table. Hermione looked as though somebody had suggested using house elves as target practise. She was sat down opposite Ginny and another fourth year girl, Niamh Carroll; the only Slytherin Harry had ever had a genuinely friendly conversation with. As he and Ron approached, they heard Ginny muttering to Hermione across the table.
"You have to help us! y'know... with cover stories and such. THEY can't know, and HE can't know that YOU know!"
Harry had intended to remain undetected and hear more, but Ron's general lack of subtly soon shattered this plan.
"WHo can't know what?" He asked, looking around the hall as he swung his leg over the bench. Noah's ghostly white face flushed scarlet and she began fiddling idly with the curly black hair that she often swung in front of her face.
"Um- well...you-you know...err, t-t-the, um. Well- um..."
But her stuttering sentence was never finished. Ron's face lit up as his Ravenclaw girlfriend, Katie Watt, sat down next to him
"Hi Niamh, Ginny, Herm-" another sentence was stopped midway as Ron's mouth found its way to Katie's. Fred and George chose this exact moment to walk past.
"Ooh! Get in there, Prefect Ronnie!"
The couple broke apart, Ron's ears an unflattering magenta. George looked down at Katie and grinned.
"So, tell me, what would a fine young lady doing with a second-rate Weasley, eh? I'll show you a good time, love. Just say the word..." He winked suggestively and he and Fred walked off towards the Quidditch pitch. Ron started to get up, muttering angrily to himself.
"He... that little b-...I'll get my hands on him..."
Katie stood up too, and followed her boyfriend out of the great hall, pleading with him to leave it alone. Harry turned to face Hermione, who was still laughing and said
"so, you never told us wh-" But another distraction came. Ginny suddenly began coughing uncontrollably and Niamh, as though following orders, muttered "Bye" and set off to rejoin the Slytherin table. Ginny's choking ceased.
"Erm, are you two okay?" Harry asked uncertainly "Are you hiding something or what?" The two girls glanced surreptitiously at each other before Hermione answered.
"Well, we can't tell you what's going on because, well- because it isn't our secret to tell!" She looked positively exasperated at the thought of holding the secret in, but something in her face told Harry that he wouldn't be breaking it out of her today. So he retrieved his broom from beneath the table and hurried after Fred and George.