Harry Potter and all related characters and places are owned by JK Rowling - I just make them dance for my own amusement.

This chapter is incredibly short - for two reasons. One, you got a chapter only yesterday too. Two, it's only a bit of filler - I thought jumping from pre-Third Year to Fourth Year would be a little odd, so here's a short little snippet for you.

~xxx~

Ginny leant forward in her seat, mouth hanging open slightly; expectantly. Hermione regarded the redhead carefully for a moment, not sure how exactly to proceed. Their eyes were focussed on each other, never blinking. They remained that way for several moments, before Ginny finally spoke in a whisper.

"And then?"

Hermione flopped back in her armchair.

"I ran," she replied meekly. "What else could I do?"

The two girls were seated beside the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room, each curled up in a squashy armchair. Aside from them, the room was deserted, everyone else having gone to bed. There was no danger of anyone coming in late, not with the Dementors floating about the place. Hermione had seemed oddly distant since their return to Hogwarts; Harry and Ron had failed to notice, though with a deranged killer on the loose and likely after Harry, they couldn't entirely be blamed. Still, Ginny had noticed, and after several failed attempts at getting the brunette to explain what was wrong, the Second Year had finally got Hermione to talk about the Summer holidays.

"You ran away from her?" the redhead repeated. "Hermione Jean Granger that is the single most clichéd thing I have ever heard!"

"Well what else could I do?" Hermione replied hotly. "I kissed her! What could I have said or done after that?"

"Well how did she react?" Ginny asked, leaning upon the chair arm.

"Oh I don't know," the bushy haired girl replied despondently, looking away and into the fire. "I don't think I even opened my eyes until I'd started running."

"So how do you know she didn't like it?" the younger witch pressed. "Maybe she would have kissed back."

"Come off it, Ginny," Hermione said. "She probably reacted the same way any 16 year old would if a 13 year old of their own gender kissed them; with disgust."

"How do you know she didn't feel the same though?"

"Now who's being clichéd?" the brunette countered. "You can't change someone's preferences just by kissing them."

"So…does this mean you're-" Hermione cut her off.

"I don't know," she replied quietly. "She's…she's the only person that's ever made me feel that way…I suppose I can't know what I am…" She sighed, and slowly got to her feet. Ginny watched as she made her way over to one of the tall, thin windows, overlooking the already snow-covered grounds. It was the middle of the night, but a few torches still burned around the school. "We were so alike…" she murmured. "She understood me…"

"I thought you said she was the most popular girl in her school?" Ginny said, before catching herself. "No offense."

Hermione gave a brief smile at the redhead's faux-pas. "True," she replied. "But the way we feel is the same…" She turned back to the other girl, however her eyes were more directed at the floor than anything else. "How many people in this school know my face?"

"Uhh…I suppose…..everyone?" Ginny answered, her brow furrowed. "What's your point?"

"How many of those people actually know me?" the brunette continued. "To so many people I'm known as being clever, and a 'teacher's pet'…"

"I…don't really get where you're going with this," the younger girl said. "You make it sound like you have no friends."

"What?" Hermione looked up. "Oh, no, no I didn't mean that." She forced a smile. "What I mean is that we both knew what it was like to be judged by qualities other than our personalities; Fleur by her looks, and me by my brains."

"So…you're saying that while people were admiring her looks, they should have also been looking at how smart she was?"

"Yes."

"And…" Ginny smirked. "You're saying that while people know you for your cleverness, they should be admiring your looks?"

"Ye- No! Ginny!"

But Hermione's mood had been broken; she was smiling again. The two girls laughed, and for the rest of the night their conversation covered much happier topics. Ginny of course promised not to tell a soul about what had been said. Hermione wasn't sure that telling someone else was a good idea; after all, if someone else knew, she wouldn't simply be able to pretend the events with Fleur had never happened. Still, having the chance to talk to someone about it all had made her feel much better, if only temporarily.

As the year went on, Hermione's mind quickly focussed on other things, not least the continued threat to Harry from Sirius Black. By January, she hadn't thought of Fleur more than a couple of times, and only fleetingly. Whatever she had felt for the French girl, she was positive that it had simply been a phase. A simple crush on a person she would never meet again.

That's what helped her sleep at night, at least, as Ginny put it.

~xxx~

A person she'd never meet again? I think we all know that's not the case...