Hermione looked out of the window in Gryffindor's common room, drinking in the pitch black night dusted with stars.

So many stars. How long would it take to count them all? She thought to herself. 1,2,3,4,5,6….7…. oh no, I think I've already counted that one. Giggling to herself, she gave up.

It was at that point that Ginny slammed her book onto the table, sending a resounding thud around the room. "Hermione, what is wrong with you?!" She exclaimed.

Hermione turned round and smiled. "I'm just appreciating the beauty of things I've never really noticed before," she replied, turning back to look out the window once more. Wasn't that so true. She heard Ginny tut.

"You've never appreciated the night's sky's beauty? My arse," Ginny rudely snorted. "You don't remember the time in March when you borrowed that book from the library about constellations, then? And you snuck out nearly every night to stargaze? Or are you appreciating the beauty of something else that you – hang on a minute. Miss Granger, are you in love?"

Hermione couldn't help but to burst out laughing. Ginny, feeling slightly chagrined at jumping to such a conclusion, laughed along too. "I was only joking about the whole love thing, 'mione."

"I wasn't," Hermione replied quietly. Not quietly enough, for Ginny managed to hear. She felt a hand tug at her arm, and before Hermione knew it, she had been pushed on to the sofa and Ginny was towering over her.

"Miss Granger, I demand to know who this person is, what you did, and when it happened!" Ginny started on a serious, almost reprimanding note, but slowly gave in to curiosity and excitement for a bit of girly gossip, and ended up sitting down on the sofa opposite repeating 'Who? What? When? Tell me, tell me!'

Hermione smiled to herself, stalling for time by pulling a cushion onto her lap and fiddling with one of the golden tassels.

"It was about…" Hermione was about to say 'five-ish' until she remembered that it was common knowledge she had only got back to the common room at seven after spending three hours in detention with Draco Malfoy. If she gave a time, it would be obvious it was Draco – and although she was sure Ginny would wheedle it out of her at some point, Hermione was still going to try her best to ease that little fact in when Ginny wasn't in such an explosive mood.

"…It was today," Hermione finished helplessly. Ginny squealed, but soon got over it. "What period?"

"That is for me to know, and you not to find out!" Hermione answered smartly, tapping her nose for good measure. Realising it was a hopeless cause, Ginny moved on to the next one.

"Okay, so what did you do?" She asked excitedly.

Hermione grimaced. Show time. "It was only small, but…"

"But what?"

"It was definitely…"

"Definitely what?!"

"It was definitely a kiss," She said quickly and quietly. Ginny shrieked with excitement, provoking a few irritable Gryffindors to shout down from their dorms for her to shut up.

"It's only 8.30, you morons!" Ginny yelled. She turned back to Hermione with a huge grin plastered on her face. "I can't believe this. I actually cannot believe this. My girl's smitten!" Hermione leaned back and groaned inwardly. Ginny was speaking at two hundred miles per hour – her trademark sign that this was the only the start of it. There was still the full detailed analysis of the kiss (including rating, which way she had tilted her head, and whether there was any mouth-opening) to come, plus an evaluation which would be longer than the ones Snape expected for his experiment write – ups. On top of that, Hermione realized that she wouldn't be going anywhere until she told Ginny who the guy was.

About half an hour later, Ginny had got out of Hermione every single detail about the kiss. She felt rather like an orange being squeezed of every single drop of juice. She hadn't minded, though – it put off the main question of the evening. Who was the guy?

And here it came. Ginny looked up the staircases to the dormitories, and then to the common room entrance. She then looked around, to see who else was in the room. Seeing that the only occupants were at the other end by the bookshelves, Ginny smiled and leaned in close.

"Who was it?"

"Um," She started helplessly. Um. Oh dear. Hermione had two options – the first was, of course, to just come straight and tell the truth. But really, that was just a recipe for disaster. Ginny hated Draco, partly because of his jokes made at Harry and Ron's expense, and also because of his dubious connections to dark wizards. Ginny had a very good way with words – Hermione knew that if she admitted it was Draco, it would be ten minutes tops for Ginny to turn it all around and make Hermione feel overwhelmingly guilty about the whole thing and wishing it had never happened, when truthfully, Hermione had not felt so happy in a while.

This left the other option: to lie. This was risky, as Hermione would have to choose the boy right now and just hope that he'd play along. Which boy who I know well would play along to this? It would mean I would have to tell them the truth as well….

Harry! Hermione congratulated herself on her excellent idea. After all, Harry had kept the whole library – runes homework scenario unmentioned - and he wasn't stupid. He must've put two and two together. He had stuck up for Hermione after her little outburst in the dining hall.

Harry was a risky one, though. Say Ginny got to Harry before her and asked for every little detail? Would Harry catch on in time? Would what he said match up with hers? And then there was also that one small, niggling problem – Hermione had suspected for a while now that Ginny quite fancied Harry.

"Ginny… I just – I just want you to know that it wasn't really all that serious… just a bit of fun – no, that sounds bad. I just mean, it isn't the start of something else – '

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Spit it out, Hermione. You know you're not going anywhere until you tell me."

Hermione took a deep breath. "It was Harry."

She didn't look up see Ginny's reaction. The fact that it was silent for a few seconds told Hermione all that she needed to know – Ginny did indeed like Harry. Better this than the truth, though.

Or was it?

"Wow! I wasn't expecting that," Ginny replied, her enthusiasm obviously feigned. "Perhaps Ron, or maybe even Seamus, I thought. But I thought you and Harry were strictly friends?"

Hermione realized this wasn't a question, an inquiry. It was her last chance to deny it, to reassure Ginny. Hating herself, Hermione shook her head.

"I told you, it probably won't go anywhere. It was just an in-the-moment thing," Hermione said lamely. "I kind of regret it, to be honest. In fact, I shall go and speak to him this very instant and see what it is going on."

"You do that," Ginny replied in a small voice, her smile more a grimace. As Hermione left the room to go searching for Harry in the library, she heard Ginny mutter to herself.

"I thought he liked me. Well, he obviously bloody doesn't. How can I ever compare to her, anyway?"