"So what was so urgent, 'Mione?" Ginny asked, tired and confused from being pulled out of bed and dragged outside. Hermione glanced at her and frowned.

"I did something really wrong…" She answered , turning to look out towards the forest at the display of orange, yellow, and red leaves.

"Honey, I don't think it'll matter to anyone if you wrote your essay wron-"

Nothing like that." She interrupted Ginny and quickly searched for the words to tell her, "I, uh, well… I slept with someone last night/" Ginny's face went blank for a moment, and then the questions began.

"Who was it? When? Where? How? Why? Was it good?" Hermione blocked the others out, not wanting to hear the embarrassing things that Ginny wanted to know.

"First of all, it happened last night, on my common room floor, I'm not going to go into details about how, and it happened… ell, I'm not sure how or why it happened, it just did." She took a deep breath, "and I don't know who it was." Ginny sat for a moment, and then finally spoke.

"I don't understand. How can you not know who he is?" Her confusion deepened, "Do you know what house he's in, or what year?"

"Well, he was drinking wine, so he's a seventh year, and I think he's either a Slytherin or a Gryffindor. He wouldn't let me take his mask off, so I have no clue." Hermione tried not to get emotional again.

"Hermione, you're so book smart, but so street dumb." She glared at Ginny when she said this, "What makes you think he's in Gryffindor?"

"Well, he had so much confidence, and bravery. The only reason I have to think that's he's in Slytherin is because he danced really well and seemed like her had a lot of money. His wealth was apparent in his clothes, the was he acted. How he drank his wine especially."

"Sounds like a Slytherin to me." Ginny said, smiling weakly at Hermione, "I'm so sorry." Her words made Hermione tear up and she quickly regretted apologizing. "Look, you've got two options. One, you can sit here and be depressed and feel sorry for yourself, or two, you can get over it and never mention it again. I'd go with number two. It's not as if you have to face him everyday, because you don't even know who he is!" Ginny's words sank into her slowly, and she went over it again in her mind. Ginny had a point. She couldn't stay upset over something like that, she'd probably never figure out who he was.

"I still feel like such an idiot for letting something like this happen!" Hermione spoke with anger in her voice, her face was hot, and she wanted to scream.

"It's okay, this happens to every-"

"No, it happens to everyone else, not me! Things like this do not happen to me!" Angry tears were now rolling down her cheeks and she couldn't stop. She realized she sounded like a rich brat who didn't get the car she wanted for er birthday, like off of those shows on T.V. She breathed in slowly, catching her breath, "Look, Gin. I really appreciate you talking to me, but I need to go."

"But where are you-"

"I don't know. I'll see you at dinner Ginny, and thanks." Hermione stood, her jogging pants a bit damp from sitting in the grass, which was still covered with morning dew. Ginny did the same thing and slowly turned, walking back towards the castle and glancing back every so often.

Malfoy was sprawled out on the couch, enjoying the silence that he longed for. His eyes were closed and his mind was all but quiet. IT as silently laughing at the Head Girl's situation. He simply couldn't believe that it had happened! IT was as if he didn't have the cognitive ability to comprehend it. Bookworm, virgin Granger! His mind laughed again. She never let her guard down normally, and she did for one night, and it would probably be the worst night of her life, at least afterwards anyway. It hadn't been planned, but it happened as if it had.

He had drifted into a soft sleep when Hermione walked back into the common room. She opened the portrait and looked around. Malfoy's eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open, and Hermione had to laugh. He looked so vulnerable, like she could pull any prank and he wouldn't move. She shut the portrait slowly and tiptoed into the kitchen area. She looked around and decided to open a cabinet. Perfect, a thin wine glass…

Hermione lifted the glass over her head and let it fall, turning to see Malfoys reaction as it shattered everywhere. She couldn't contain her laughter as he jumped up off the couch and looked around until his eyes landed on her.

"Bloody hell, Granger! Are you a butterfingers, too?" He yelled, realizing that she was doubled over with laughter. He growled, stomped into the small kitchen and stood in front of her. She looked up and wiped away tears in the corner of her eye. He reached down and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "Think it's funny, do you?"

"Of- of course I do." She laughed, trying to catch her breath and failing. His face lit up with hatred and he shook her a bit. She bit her lip, but continued to giggle.

"So what has gotten into the Mudblood today? Have you found youw masked prince, or did you realize he just used you?" His words stopped the giggling. She glared.

"Neither. I realized it wasn't worth it, being upset by it. It happens. I'm sure you've done it to plenty of girls, Malfoy." Hermione turned to walk away, but her still had a firm grip on her wrist, and he pulled her back.

"I have never done that. Not once did I do that to any girl I ever slept with. Don't make assumptions about me Granger." He spat out her name and pushed her away from him. She blinked for a minute, and mumbled an apology before turning and running up the stairs. Malfoy glared at her retreating figure then looked down at the floor, at the shattered glass all across the tile. He pulled his wand out of his pand and with a wave, it was all gone.

The next week crawled by and the Ball was a hot topic of conversation. Colin Creevy had taken pictures and developed them himself so copies were up everywhere in the school. Hermione even saw Peeves carrying one around singing a tune about a pig in a dress. The image was of Pansy Parkinson, in a purple dress, bending over the dessert table and she was piling a plate full of doughnuts and chocolate frogs.

The aire outside was growing more biter, and bit at the faces of students while at the first Quidditch game. Ravenclaw versus Slytherin.

"Do you mind telling me why you two pulled me out of my exceedingly warm bed so early in the morning?" Hermione glared at Ron and Harry, huddling into a ball in a big jacket, her gloved hands rubbing together trying, but not succeeding, to create heat. Her Gryffindor scarf was wrapped tightly around her neck all the way up to her nose and ears. The pitch was full of students, but mainly Slytherin and Ravenclaw; Two or three Hufflepuffs crowded together in their bleachers. Harry made it mandatory that the entire Gryffindor team went to every game so they could watch other teams strategies. Today they had dragged Hermione away.

"I've told you, 'Mione, we need to-"

"Find other teams weaknesses, blah, blah, blah." She turned her entire poofy body to make sure he could see the glare, "What does any of that have to do with me?"

"I just thought maybe you could help." Harry said, watching as Madam Hooch signaled for the teams to get in their ready positions.

"Well, I'm going back to bed." She said, standing up. Harry waved a distant goodbye while watching the two teams soar into the air. Hermione rolled her eyes and just left, starting to descend the stairs carefully.

It took her ten minutes to get back into the warm and toasty castle. She immediately shed two pounds of poofy clothing and made her way up to her dormitory. It felt so nice to finally be warming up, to be out of the cold and wind. Harry and Ron had her outside at 7:30, watching the teams preparing for the match. With a glance at her watch, Hermione realized that they had wasted two and a half hours of her time. Time she could've spent studying or sleeping. She smiled to herself as she decided to give them the same fate the next morning, waking them up early to study for exams that were months away.

As Hermione reached her portrait she noticed something was different. She stood and looked for a moment when she finally noticed what was missing: The lion and The snake… she couldn't get into the room. She sighed, and turned on her heel, growling inwardly as she walked back down the stairs, and heading towards the library.

Hermione looked up from her book to hear people yelling and laughing in the hallways outside. She glanced from her book to her watch. '12:30...the match must finally be over…' She placed a bookmark in between the pages and took the book to be checked out, then headed out into the bustling hallway, making her way down to the Great Hall.

Students were just coming in from the cold outside and sitting down for lunch, desperately trying to heat up. Hermione found Harry and Ron sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor table, and she sat across from them. She immediately began grabbing things to make a sandwich.

"Oi! Hermione! You missed it! Malfoy fell off his broom! He smacked his head pretty hard against a goal and went down like a sack!" Ron said, taking a break from eating, to laugh. He was obviously enjoying the event. Hermione stared at him open mouthed, hands in midair holding her sandwich a foot away from her mouth.

"Ron! I can't believe you!"

"What?"

"How can you laugh at someone so serious? Next time something bad happens to you, I'm going to laugh uncontrollably until my spleen explodes, how does that sound?"

"Why are you defending him?" Ron asked, his face beet red, and Hermione blinked.

"I'm not standing up for him, it's just that something bad happened, and you shouldn't laugh, even if it does happen to an enemy. You're just as bad as he is." Hermione took a bite out of her sandwich as she ignored the fuming that Ron was doing. She took a sip of pumpkin juice and turned to Harry, "So Slytherin won, did they?"

"No. When Malfoy fell, he caught the snitch. They won 210 to 80. It was disappointing." His reply made Hermione frown, too. Now not only will Harry and Ron be upset for another week or so, Malfoy will now be pouncing on every opportunity to brag about his fall and catching the snitch while in the process.I'm very sorry it took me longer than it should, but I've had a very hectic week. I have National Art Honor Society every Wednesday and several other things along the way. I'm still writing in my notebook every day to keep up, but typing it up takes a lil longer, because I always get interrupted. Please review, and thanks to those of you who did, I really did appreciate it. I know you are wondering who she slept with, but I need you all to be just a little more patient J I have about half of a chapter in my notebook and I'll write as much as possible before Friday. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!!

-Twilight-in-Winter-