"Harry…we can't spy on them."

"We've done it before and you haven't worried as much as you are now. Pull yourself together, man."

They tried to make as little noise as they could as they crept down the halls and corridors. Unfortunately Ron did what Neville usually did and forgot where the trick stair was. Well you can imagine what happened. Harry remembered and jumped it but Ron didn't. The cloak slipped off them and they were nearly seen as the girls stopped walking down the corridor below when they heard Ron go through the floor.

"Never mind. It's probably just Peeves." Lavender said and they continued on to the bathroom.

"Ron, you complete clutz. Even Neville's learnt where they are by now. Thank god this castle has Peeves in it." Harry said as he hauled him out.

The girls entered the bathroom as they neared it and they rushed to get inside before the door closed. Somehow they managed it, but they very nearly didn't.

The girls were settling themselves on the floor and were starting to set out their magazines and make up boxes which Ron had somehow overlooked when they passed him.

"Okay, so who's first for the choosing of the perfect make up for the Yule ball?" Lavender was saying.

"Yes and whoever's left gets the perfect hairdo for it." Ginny said.

"You wanna go first or shall I?" Hermione asked Parvati.

"You make up I hair."

"Yes Tarzan!" Hermione joked. "I can't wait for this night. It's gonna be even better than it was the first time we had it. Remember that one, when we were in fourth year? Well, Ginny was in third year."

"Yes, Padma and I had such a terrible time then. Well we did while Harry and Ron were our chaperones. You know that dance I had to do with Harry to lead the dancing, because he was the champion? Well I had to lead him! He had absolutely no rhythm and I could tell how nervous he was."

"Well, at the time I overheard him asking Ron why we moved around in packs. And then Ron said something about him being a dragon slayer and that, hang on, let me see if I can quote him. 'If you can't get a date for this thing then none of us have a chance!' It was that episode where Ron actually realized that I was a girl. Really hurt my feelings that did. And I only stuck with Krum for so long to annoy him."

"We suspected you did. Remember that article that described you as a 'scarlet woman' as Ron moaned to me when that Skeeter bitch wrote it."

"Aren't Padma and Luna joining us?"

"Yes, they'll be here soon. And so will Pansy and Hannah."

"Hermione, I hope you aren't talking about Pansy Parkinson. She can't be joining us."

"Yes she can, Ginny. She's actually quite nice once you talk to her when Malfoy isn't around. And I know a secret about Crabbe."

"Tell us!" they all exclaimed stopping what they were doing.

"I'll wait for the others to arrive. Well Pansy already knows since she told me. I've actually witnessed it as well as being on the receiving end of it."

"When does your dress arrive?"

"The same time as your new sari's arrive."

"Ron's paying for a new dress for me."

"Why?"

"I got him the cloak back for Harry."

"I wonder why Harry wanted it back."

"I have a hunch. Ah! Here're the others." Hermione smiled as the girls walked in and Pansy sat near her.

While Lavender was fussing over Padma's hair Ginny drew Hermione to the other end of the bathroom. Harry and Ron were more than a little curious about what they were going to say so they followed them.

"Do we tell the girls what we overheard?"

"No, not yet. I don't want to be the cause of everyone's break-ups. You do realise what would happen if we..,"

"I know. I know. I'm dumping Dean tomorrow anyway. God, boys are pigs!"

"I know. Complete animals aren't they? Well, we can't do without them."

"You don't have seven older brothers."

"No but one of them is the bane of my life. I love both my boys dearly but I do rather feel like I am their nanny instead of their friend."

They had by now raised their voices a little and wandered back to the rest of the group.

"I know what you mean," Parvati said. "One of them especially."

All the girls shared a look and said "Ron!" together. Then they all laughed.

"Harry's not so bad, he just needs a mother, and love, but Ron! He never really…"

"Grew up? Developed any kind of emotion deeper than that of a cockroach?" Ginny said grinning.

"Yes! He can be so dim sometimes that it's just infuriating."

"Mind you, I'd kill to be in your position, Hermione." Padma said.

"I would too." Luna said sadly. "At least Ronald talks to you. he thinks I'm crazy so he never talks to me unless I pluck up the courage to talk to him first, and whenever I do he snubs me."

"I could talk to him if you want. I know how much you like him. Shall we do some match making, Ginny?"

"Remember what happened last time you two played match maker? You tried to get me together with Neville!" Parvati said shuddering at her disastrous blind date with the young herbologist.

"I understand why Luna would want to be friends with them. But why do you, Padma?"

"For the same reason as Luna, only I want to get closer to Harry."

"Back off, sis, he's mine!"

"You're not even dating him! He's just using you for sex!"

Both of the Patil twins were now facing off. Only Pansy watched their quarrel; all of the other girls were far too used to their fights over boys to attend to their actual words.

Harry and Ron started chuckling quietly at the conversation they had just heard and it's absurdity, so they had to make a dash for the furthest end of the bathroom. They knocked against the last cubicle with a clatter. Hermione's head snapped up when she heard it.

So, I was right after all, that's why Harry wanted his cloak back. Time to play…

"How's dear old Draco doing at the moment, Pansy? He's looked a little off whenever I've been in close contact with him. Which has been quite a lot recently…" She said with an evil glance to the end of the bathroom. This should get to him.

All the other girls, and boys if she could see them, were staring at Hermione as though she were a Crumple-Horned Snorkack or a Blast Ended Skrewt. Not only had she enquired after Malfoy as though she felt sorry for him but she had called him by his first name.

"What?" She said looking around at them before delivering her fatal blow. "I think he's sexy."

All jaws in the bathroom including Myrtle's and the boys', barring Hermione and Pansy's, dropped. The twins blinked at her in amazement. Even Ginny looked surprised, Hermione hadn't told her about that.

Although they couldn't see it, Harry had wrenched the cloak off Ron behind the cubicle wall and was now standing in the aisle between the cubicles making faces and wild unbelieving hand gestures at Hermione. At one point he forgot he was under the cloak, presumably he had also forgotten how tall he had become, because he lifted his hands above his head and waved them around. Logically this then relieved his feet of the cloak and Hermione saw them. She raised her gaze to where she knew his eyes were and winked at him before subtly pointing at his feet. He caught on and lowered his hands. She grinned and winked at him again and turned back to the circle.

"I've had an idea. Why don't we go round the circle and say who we want to ask us to the ball. I know that some of us already have dates, lucky buggers, but I think it would be interesting to see who wants to go out with whom. I'm also interested in seeing how many times Harry's name pops up."

"No lets play Spin-The-Bottle-Truth. It's way more fun." Lavender said excitedly.

"Who'll start? Pansy, you're the guest here, why don't you start us off?"

The bottle stopped on…

"Luna! Are you really as batty as you appear to be?"

"Not in the slightest. I am actually very bright, as I suspect Crabbe to be as well, am I right? Parvati! What is actually going on between you and Harry at the moment?"

"I believe the street term for it is fuck-buddies. No strings attached sex. Hannah! Have you actually got a date for the ball yet?"

"No! And I haven't got a dress yet either!"

"Don't worry, we'll help you."

"Thanks. Okay, Ginny! I heard a story once that you and Hermione had a thing together. Is this true, did you?"

"Well, yes. We experimented with homosexuality a year ago. Lavender!" she glanced at Hermione. "Are you being faithful to Seamus?"

"Yes, of course I am!"

"No you're not! I know for a fact that you and my boyfriend are cheating on Seamus and myself."

"How do you know?"

"I have my sources. Continue please."

"Pansy! What is this story about Crabbe that we were hinted at by Hermione earlier?"

"Sorry, Pansy, it kinda slipped out."

"It's okay. It's not that shocking anyway. Vincent Crabbe is no oaf as you think he is. He is actually a gentleman and Draco is always afraid that he will show him up so he forced him to create this persona of stupidity. He's actually far cleverer than Draco and a lot nicer than Draco is. Hermione was in the library with me once and he came up to us and asked for a book on advanced charms that Hermione was just finishing with and you should have seen her face when he asked her so politely, and they talked about advanced charms and I watched her face the whole time, I have never seen her more shocked. Okay. Hermione! What do you actually feel about your two best friends?"

"Um, Ron, he's like the brother I never had, sweet though he is, and believe me he really is adorable when he's just upset me, such a gentleman, but he can be as infuriating as any boy can when he really wants to. Well, not Harry. He's different. I'm not sure how I feel about him. He's a dear boy and I can actually talk to him, which is almost impossible with Ron. But he's sometimes so clueless. He's a lost little boy, and I want to cuddle him like a mother would her long lost child. I've heard stories about what his parents were like and he is so like them that I know they would be as proud of him as I am. He's been though so much and I couldn't bear anything happening to him. But I've had to. I've had to sit by and watch as he goes through everything the world can throw at him and to see him come out as mentally damaged as he has. He doesn't show it, but he is damaged by it all and he thinks it makes him big, or that he thinks it'll upset me, so he hides it. He really isn't as brave as he appears to be. I see it all the time, even though he does a good job of hiding it from me. I feel so bad for him. I-I-I feel more for him than I can say. And he doesn't even notice me. Sure we're friends, but he doesn't know how much I care for him. I'm sorry to go on about him girls, but I can't seem to help it."

"That's perfectly alright, Hermione. We understand."

"I think I know what you're going through."

"Yeah, there's a name for that feeling. It's love. You're in love with him."

"Ginny! I am not in love with Harry!"

"Fine! You're in denial about the fact that you're in love with Harry."

"I don't blame you."

"We relinquish our claim on his affections in favour of you. It's a shame but you deserve him more than we do." The twins said at the same time.

"What do I do?"

"Ask him out!"

"Yeah, make him feel bad by asking him out, rather than him having the guts to ask you out."

"Besides, you won't ever find out how he feels about you unless you ask him out."

"Couldn't I just ask him what he feels about me."

"NO! No! You can't do that, it's like a fist class ticket to a year of awkward moments between you. Do you want that?"

"No, of course not. I really am hopeless aren't I?"

"Yes but you're…"

"Hopelessly in love, I know."