HERMIONE'S DECISION
The party had begun. The steady thump, thump, thump of the music coming from the cellars of the Leaky Cauldron shook the old Inn's brickwork and rattled the windows. Harry Potter's eighteenth birthday celebrations were underway.
Way up in the attic, in a room that spanned the entire length of the Inn, stood Hermione, studying herself in the bathroom mirror.
She ran the lipstick over her lips again, removed a tiny lump of mascara from her lashes and sprayed a final layer of perfume at her throat.
She took a deep breath in an attempt to relax, but her heart was beating so hard it was almost painful. She must remain cool tonight if she was going to go through with her decision.
Three months ago when Harry had announced he was going to have this party, Hermione had put a big red circle around the date in her diary with the words 'Harry's Birthday Party' inside. Then, as the weeks went by and their time at Hogwarts came to an end, she began to think about things. Things that had crossed her mind before, but had been squashed away by immersing herself in her school work.
Now the studying and the exams had come to an end and she'd had nothing to occupy her thoughts for a while. Nothing except...
Finally, in red ink, she had added three letters inside that red circle in her diary: 'LMV'.
She took a final look in the mirror.
She had put her hair up, leaving a couple of wispy tendrils hanging down in front of her ears. A necklace with a single diamond - an eighteenth birthday present from her parents - sat in the hollow of her throat. Her dress was a black silk, halter-neck that hugged her bra-less body and then flared at the hips - the material ending four inches above her knees.
She had charmed her skin to a honey-brown, an effect she'd been pretty pleased with, especially as her back was bare.
She felt gorgeous; she felt sexy; she felt...ready.
For tonight was the night Hermione Granger planned to lose her virginity, and the person she had chosen for the task - was Harry.