Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.

Any constructive criticism or reviews are extremely welcome. I adore feedback of any kind. I am sorry for the rather long wait, almost a week, but I've had exams and been rather busy so I apologise.

Girl's Day Out

Ginny had decided that after the dramatic and tiring day Hermione had dealt with, she deserved some relaxation. That was why Hermione found herself being woken up at 7 am the day after her fight with Bill to be dragged to a wizarding spa by Ginny, Tonks and Luna.

She had questioned the chirpy red-head about what exactly was relaxing about being woken up so early, but Ginny had just rolled her eyes and told Hermione that they were booked in early to get lots done during the day. Ginny was a force to be reckoned with and so the little problem of them not being allowed outside Hogwarts was solved by her arguments that Tonks would be with them and they would take two Order members as guards. That was how Mad-Eye and Kingsley found themselves standing outside the massage room the girls were in looking completely out of place and grumbling about vicious little red-heads. They might be top aurors, but anyone with any sense was wary of Ginny on a mission.

Hermione had to admit that all her worries seemed to melt away once the massage started, it was completely heavenly to be pampered and she knew there was a lot of tension in her shoulders and back from the amount of books she carried around. From the content moans she could hear Ginny, Tonks and Luna emitting, they were all enjoying it just as much as she was and though all bar Luna were in an official relationship (Luna and Blaise were practically dating anyway) they still enjoyed the view of the rather handsome male masseurs that Ginny had decided on.

The girls didn't chat much during the massages, too busy enjoying them and not wishing to have private conversations in such a public place. Instead, Hermione took the time to compare her rare experiences of muggle massages to this wizarding spa's version. She found the current one much more pleasing since magic could give a soothing atmosphere quickly and the magical lotions were much more effective than muggle versions.

Massages soon finished and the four girls moved onto the steam room, followed by Kingsley and Moody, who stood outside the door trying to look subtle and failing miserably - after all how often did you see two imposing men standing guard outside a sauna of all things. Hermione had to giggle a little at that, she would have probably made a joke to Kingsley about it (because you never joke with Moody), but the war mood at the moment and the reasons the two aurors had to go with them stopped any comment.

Ginny cast a privacy charm on the room as soon as all four girls had entered, you could never be too careful with Voldemort around, he had spies everywhere. Hermione had only a minute to get comfortably settled on one of the wooden benches, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, before the three other occupants of the room turned their eyes eagerly on her. She anticipated their barrage of questions just before they were thrown at her - "I can't believe you didn't tell me about you and Sirius" - "so … what was he like?" - "I'm shocked you actually told the boys, it does explain why Sirius was so petrified though."

Hermione went pink with embarrassment, "calm down you three, I didn't tell you because it was a secret I shared with Sirius and so I obviously wasn't going to tell you when he was in the veil - it would have just led to a rather large outpouring of emotion. Then when I brought him back it never seemed like a good time, then there would have been severe problems if any of the boys had found out. I asked his permission to tell you all because I trust you all and I knew that Bill deserved to know - I would have probably had to tell him anyway, if we date long enough to sleep together."

They looked about to ask another question but Hermione cut them off, "that is all I will tell you about my motives for telling Bill. I let you three know because I knew you were desperate to find out. As for the boys, I wanted witnesses in case Bill tried to kill Sirius, though I knew there was the risk that they'd do the job themselves." She sighed, "I guess I miscalculated, because it wasn't Bill who really got mad at Sirius, he just got mad at me and ended up insulting Remus and Kingsley in the process. I should have just kept my mouth shut."

Ginny, Tonks and Luna, seeing that their friend was close to tears, converged on her in a group hug. Ginny shook her head fiercely, "it's not your fault Mione, it was incredibly brave and probably a bit stupid to tell us all, but you are a Gryffindor and we're good at shocking people. Anyway, we're all very honoured that you told us and I know for a fact that Sirius is still alive, though he got some stern words from Remus, Kingsley, Harry and Ron. Bill was being a prat anyway, he normally has much more tact and that little episode of his reminded me so much of Ron."

Hermione smiled at Ginny, her eyes still a little teary, she was surprised that the red head had taken her side rather than her oldest and favourite brother's. She knew that what Bill had said was out of line, but she hadn't been and angel and family tended to come first for Ginny. "Thanks you guys, now can we please talk about something a bit happier?"

Luna looked at Hermione with her usual dreamy expression, but it had a little mischievous smile hidden underneath as she posed her question - "so how was Sirius in bed then?" Hermione just threw her spare towel at the blonde as the four occupants of the sauna burst out laughing."

The remaining sauna time was spent with Hermione's three friends clamouring for details of her one time with Sirius, Ginny and Luna because both thought he was completely hot and Tonks because she wanted something to tease her cousin with. Hermione managed to remain tight-lipped though, giving away only a few vague details she knew Sirius wouldn't mind her telling him. The basic impression they got was that Sirius had been good … very good indeed.

Kingsley and Moody tailed the girls as they moved to the pool, where they swam some laps before just racing, splashing and having fun. Hermione enjoyed it … being able to just laugh and act like a little child, forgetting about the war for a while and being the teenager she'd never really had the chance to be. She noticed the small smile that graced Kingsley's features, though she wasn't sure if it was because they were all having fun or due to the slender witch in the revealing bikini who had entered the pool just after them - Kingsley was a confirmed bachelor, but she knew he had an eye for pretty witches who didn't mind no-strings relationships. Moody just shook his head and kept a sharp eye out for danger, his magical eye rotating the entire 360 degrees every few minutes.

The girls slipped periodically from the pool to the jacuzzi, always shivering from the temperature change as they went from the latter to the former. Ginny decided the best way to combat this would be to just jump into the deep end of the pool to get the sudden temperature change over with. Tonks was all for the idea and jumped straight in after Ginny. Luna and Hermione were a little more sceptical and didn't fancy such a drastic change in temperature as opposed to the slow way they got used to it as they went down the steps into the pool. Eventually Ginny and Tonks got sick of waiting and exited the pool, pushing the brunette and blonde into the pool forcefully before jumping in after them and swimming quickly away to avoid the wrath of the shivering Hermione and Luna.

After about an hour in and around the pool Hermione could tell that Moody was getting impatient - he'd had to smack Kingsley, who was normally an excellent auror, around the head about ten times to get him to focus on their the four females under his care rather than the good looking, busty witches in the room. She took pity on the old auror and dragged the other three into the changing rooms, smiling slightly as Moody gave her a rare smile in thanks.

Hermione was looking forward to the last section of their day; hair styling, facial and manicure. She might not be an overly materialistic girly girl, neither were Ginny, Tonks or Luna really. But they all appreciated dressing up occasionally and they loved being pampered once in a while.

Like the masseurs, the stylists had been carefully vetted and were very pro-Order, they'd all known one Order member or another rather well and were trusted. They seemed delighted to have Harry Potter's girlfriend, best friend and two other friends there with them and they chattered excitedly to them all as they worked their magic, though they always steered clear of any topic around the war.

Since it was a rather small, exclusive salon, Ginny and Luna went first and Hermione watched as their hair was cut and layered and straightened, before they went off the moisturise while two of the witches filed, buffed and painted their nails (gold for Ginny and bright blue for Luna).

Tonks skipped the hair styling, being a metamorphagus meant she just concentrated for a second before getting her desired hairstyle, her natural raven black, but with some violet highlights in keeping with her sparky personality. Hermione had her hair trimmed and a few layers cut in, making her curly hair look brighter and healthier. Tonks picked violet nail varnish to match her highlights, while Hermione agonised over colours for a while before deciding to forgo her usual choice of clear polish and picking out a deep red for the manicurist to apply.

They let the polish dry as they enjoyed their facials and Hermione left the spa feeling very refreshed. From the looks on the faces of the other three, they felt the same. She had to admit that they all looked pretty good and she couldn't wait to surprise Bill with her fresher look and a more relaxed attitude - for the day at least. She was also sure that Tonks would be very busy with Remus as soon as they arrived back at Hogwarts, the same went for Ginny and Harry. As for Luna, hopefully this would be one step closer to her revealing her feelings about Blaise, she was getting a bit sick of them dancing round their feelings.

They exited the spa and walked a little further down the path towards the cosy little café next to it. Hermione smiled as she spoke, "come on you lot, let's eat and then we can go back to Hogwarts and knock those boys' socks off with our new looks."

"Yes," she thought happily, "we're all bound to have a great time tonight."

Thanks to Readerforlife for the review of last chapter, it was much appreciated. Thanks to Mel for the review and the constructive criticism, I shall endeavour to use your suggestions.

Updates will be a little random for a few weeks, there could be two in a few days or there might not be one for a week. I have some rather important coursework due soon and will therefore be busy. The schedule will hopefully go back to normal (a chapter every 3 days) in a few weeks. Apologies for any inconvenience or unpredictability.

Next chapter; a look into the perspective of our favourite Azkaban escapee - Sirius.