For those of you kind enough to be following my other fics, I promise I will get back to them. This little plot bunny (with huge teeth) grabbed hold of me and distracted my muse with its shininess. That and I've been having trouble figuring out how to end Second Chance. I really don't want to leave Harry out in the cold after he's been such a great sport.

Thanks again for reading, and now back to our show!


Ron, Draco, Harry, and Alicia went to the library, hoping to find some information on the love potion Ginny gave their best friend. They spent nearly an hour looking for it when finally Alicia gave a victory cry and lept to her feet. "Ah ha! Here it is! I've found it."

Harry, Ron, and Draco looked up in surprise to see Harry's girlfriend hopping up and down excitedly, pointing to a page in the large, dusty tome she was holding.

"Are you all right, Alicia?" drawled Draco.

"I'm fine, Draco. Here! Take a look. This explains it all." She thrust the book into his arms and pointed at a softly glowing paragraph.

"What's it say, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked. "Tell you what, Weasley, I'll read this just for you, seeing as I don't want to sit here and wait for you to puzzle out all the long words."

Ron shot him an obscene gesture.

"Lovely." He turned to Alicia. "Now that we all know Weasley's IQ, please be quiet so he may actually learn something."

Ron stumped away and flung himself into a chair. "Anytime, Malfoy."

The silver-haired Slytherin drew a breath to respond, but then changed his mind at the look of irritation on Harry's face. It was not worth it. "Heh hem. 'The Admo Dolus potion is one of the most potent love potions ever created. It causes the imbiber to experience feelings of love and lust for the first person of the opposite gender they see. The effects can fade in time if not acted upon, but never truly go away. There have been instances of those separated by years once again experiencing the full effects of the Admo Dolus. The only known cure for this potion is the legendary Quamtotius Eximo potion, commonly referred to as the Nullifying potion. As of this record, no known victims of the Admo Dolus have been cured of their symptoms, but most are unwilling to do anything other than accept the new feelings and enjoy the sense of deep and abiding love caused by the potion.

"The only recorded instance of a failure of the Admo Dolus was a case in 1592, when a young man was given the potion shortly before his marriage to his childhood sweetheart. It is thought that the bonds of love between them were so strong, that he was able to resist the effects. The only change in his behaviour was a supposed relaxation of his inhibitions when it came to his future bride. It is important to note that love is not all that is required to resist the Admo Dolus. The love must be returned as intensely as it is given. Further studies seem to indicate that the potion further strengthens the bond between the victim and his or her amoure. There is too little known about this particular aspect of the Admo Dolus, but a complete account of all known instances may be found in Lavlier's Libram of Love.'"

Alicia beamed. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"Ugh. What's so wonderful about it? So it's possible that she resisted the potion. So what?"

Harry gently took his girlfriend's hand before she could grab her wand. "Ron, it really is rather amazing."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Weasley!" exclaimed Draco. "It means Granger is in love with somebody else. That's why the potion didn't work."

"More than that, Ron, it means that the person she loves is also in love with her." Alicia's eyes sparkled. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Ron grimaced. "Yeah. Bloody brilliant. So who is this amazing bloke Hermione is so taken with?"

"We don't know, Ron. I don't think Hermione's mentioned it to anyone, has she?" Alicia looked inquiringly at the boys.

Draco snorted. "Yeah, Henderson. Granger constantly talks to me about her love life. I remember this one time…"

"Malfoy," warned Harry, "shut it. No, Alicia. We don't know. And I suspect Ginny doesn't either if she went through all this trouble to get the love potion to Hermione. She probably hasn't told anyone."

"Why not," asked Ron plaintively. "We're her best friends. She's supposed to tell us this stuff."

"Maybe we should just ask her," said Harry. "Ginny's probably told her everything by now. She needs to know what we've found."

The others nodded and followed the dark-haired Gryffindor out the door. Hopefully they would find the two friends soon.

It took some time, but Ginny finally found Hermione up in the Astronomy Tower, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. Her eyes were drawn to the sparkle of a particularly beautiful bracelet on the older girl's left wrist. She appeared to be fiddling with a charm on it.

"What do you want, Ginny?" Hermione sounded very annoyed. This was not going to end well.

"Uh… I was hoping I could talk with you. A… about earlier today."

Hermione turned, sighing in resignation. "Fine." She gestured for the red-haired girl to join her on the ledge. "What?"

Ginny worried with the hem of her skirt. "Er… uh… this is… not going to be easy for me, 'Mione. Could you please not say anything until after I'm done?"

She nodded slowly.

"I… uh… I'm not exactly proud of the things I've done, 'Mione. But you have to believe I was doing it for the best of reasons. My brother loves you. He's loved you for years and you just… well, you've never really given him a chance. I thought… I mean, all you needed was a bit of a push to see how great you could be together and then everyone would be happy. Harry and Alicia, me and Draco, you and Ron…"

"Luna and Sir Nicholas?"

"Hermione!"

"It never even occurred to you to wonder what your actions could have meant to other people, did it? You were just thinking about how happy you could make Ron. Did you ever think that maybe I couldn't be happy with someone like Ron?"

"What? No, 'Mione! He could make you so happy! He's fun, and you need that. He's not too bad looking, tries to make his friends happy…"

"Could not hold a conversation about Potions of Arithmancy to save his life, would be resentful of my success and would expect me to start popping out babies as soon as I was able…"

"He could show you how to live your life, Hermione! How to enjoy life and not just spend all your time in the bloody library!"

"Ah yes, the library. Heaven forbid I go and do something I truly enjoy. Next you're going to tell me he would teach me to appreciate Quidditch!"

"I'm sure he would…"

"That's not what I want, Ginny! Can't you get it through your thick head? Ron and I tried a relationship last year, and everyone knows how successful it was. Even Harry was glad to see us break up."

"You weren't ready then!"

"All he wanted to do was go into broom closets and snog! Ginny, that may be the way some people wish to live their lives, but not me. I have dreams, goals, and ambitions. I don't want to be stuck in some house somewhere, popping out my own Quidditch team and having the dinner menu as biggest quandary in my life. I want to travel…"

"Ron's probably going to be with the Cannons."

"To places other than Europe. I want to learn about different types of magic, talk to people from far off lands, explore the world!"

"What about love? Family? A home?"

"One day I'll find someone to settle down with, Ginny, but not now. I have four years of university ahead of me, along with a possible apprenticeship with Professor McGonagall or Flitwick. I could come back to teach at Hogwarts one day. I can't do that if I'm chained to Ron Weasley, mindlessly following him about Europe as he plays Quidditch!"

Something snapped within Ginny and she lost control of her tongue. "You honestly think some wizard is actually going to be accepting of that? Hermione, I know you're not from the Wizarding world, but you really need to get your head out of your ass. Look at you! You're a fucking bookworm with no social skills and few redeeming qualities that would make a man want you. You'll be lucky if you find someone like Filch that will give you the time of day in four years, much less someone as desirable as my brother. He will take care of you! I'm sure he'd even let you go to school…"

"Let?" Hermione's voice was soft but ice cold. "Ron Weasley isn't in the position to 'let' anyone, much less me do anything. You may not think I have any redeeming qualities, Ginny, but I think you're the one with your head in your ass. I don't need a man to validate my existence; unlike some witches I know who can't put on a skirt without thinking of its Draco Malfoy approval potential. I may not be the most sociable person in the world, but while you're bowing and scraping to whatever wizard you rope into marrying you, I will be traveling the world, making a difference. I may not be able to find a wizard to condescend to marry me thanks to my ambitions, but I sure as hell don't need a wizard to make myself happy."

Ginny was shocked at the scathing look her friend was giving her. She was only trying to help her get along in Wizarding society. "'Mione…"

"Don't call me that, Ginny. Don't ever talk to me again. I don't need you, and I certainly don't need your so-called helpful interference. Leave. Me. Alone." Hermione leapt off the ledge and headed for the door, fury evident in every step she took. She had just reached the door to the tower when it burst open, revealing Alica, Harry, Ron, and Draco.

"Hermione!" Harry gleefully picked up his friend and swung her around. "We've found it! Everything's going to be okay!"

Hermione eyed him in bewilderment. "What?"

Harry put her down. "We found it! The potion's not affecting you! See? It's right here." He thrust a large book at her.

Slowly taking the proffered book, Hermione gazed at her best friend curiously. "Potion?"

Harry's eyes shifted to Ginny who squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny. Alicia took over at that point, and explained.

"Hermione. It… uh… appears you took a love potion."

"WHAT?" Hermione whirled to glare at Ginny, wand suddenly in hand. She stalked toward the startled red head. "You did this. You gave me a love potion. A fucking love potion!"

"'Mione…"

"Harry, one more word from you and I will hex you until you are no longer the Boy Who Lived."

It took a moment for the implication to sink in, and then he blanched. "Er…"

"Calm down, Hermione," said Alicia, slowly approaching the enraged Head Girl. "You don't want to lose your badge, do you?"

"Bugger off, Alicia. I could give a whistle for my badge at this point." She placed her wand at Ginny's throat. "You have no idea what this little stunt has done."

Ginny's eyes were wide with fear. No one had ever seen Hermione like this. Even fighting Voldemort she had been cool and collected. "Hermione…"

"What potion?" she grated.

"Admo Doulus."

Hermione saw red as the implications of ingesting such a powerful aphrodisiac flooded her mind. Severus was going to hate her.

"I'm sorry, 'Mione," babbled Ginny, "I thought you just needed a push. I thought…"

"No you didn't, Ginevra. You didn't think at all." Hundreds of hexes and curses flooded her mind, and the normally calm Gryffindor fought with herself over what to do about her former friend. Alicia was right. If she hexed Ginny she would lose her Head Girl's badge, and at this point in time, it was the only thing she had to keep her sane. There was no way Severus would want her now. He would be convinced that the love potion was the only reason she kissed him, and would never believe that she fell in love with him several weeks ago.

"Five hundred points from Gryffindor."

Silence fell over the students as Hermione's words registered. With that short phrase, Hermione Granger guaranteed Gryffindor House would lose the House Cup this year. Harry's initial indignation quickly turned into acceptance as he realized her revenge was actually quite appropriate. It was the students in their house who had been pushing her to be with Ron for several years now, and all of them were somehow part of the conspiracy to get the two of them alone together at various points. Neville Longbottom, in all honesty, was the only Gryffindor who stayed out of it, merely stating that Hermione knew what she wanted, and that if Ron was it, she would make sure she got him.

Harry never thought he would see the day when Neville was proven so right. His eyes met those of his angry best friend, and the rest of his resentment died as he saw the despair there. Something about this situation was far worse than any of them realized. He stepped forward.

"'Mione…"

The tears she held back suddenly surged forth, and Hermione found herself unable to maintain her control. She pushed past the contrite students in the doorway, rushing down the stairs to escape. "Bugger off, Harry," she sobbed. "I never want to talk with any of you ever again!"

Harry was stricken by her words and the grief within them. Somehow, they had managed to destroy the happiness of his best friend.

Bugger.