Climbing out of a window on the peak of Gryffindor tower was hard enough by itself. Doing it in the depth of night, whilst the climate frozen solid, was even worse. Hermione Granger had never once laid a light handed touch on the thought of sneaking out of Hogwarts- nevermind the middle of the night! For a ninteen-year-old returning for her seventh year of education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,she hadn't changed the least since her first year. Sure, she'd matured phsysically and grown out of the "annoying know-it-all" stage, but she was still loyal to her never-fail self. Sneaking out was way out of league for Hermione. The only reason she could actually sneak out now was because of her past experiences with Harry and Ron- they broke rules almost daily; her alongside in the vast majority of cases.
Over the past year, not a single student at Hogwarts was educated properly- as a matter of fact, each student's body, brain and family was abused terribly. The second Wizarding war had taken place- and the final battle in the halls of Hogwarts itself. Yet once the Ministry had recovered itself, it would not let such traumatic events excuse Hogwarts pupils from moving on in the Wizarding world without a proper year of education. N.E.W.T.'s and O.W.L.'s were required to be taken, and every lesson was to be taught! Thus Hermione and the rest of her year were to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to fully complete their seventh year.
Feeling exceedingly anxious, Hermione pushed her eight-paned Gryffindor dormitory window open fully. She planned for this to be her first and last time she would perform such an act. However, she had no choice- it was crucial that she retrieve her time turner from the Library, otherwise she would be very seriously scolded, something which was around the category of "worst nightmare" for Hermione Granger.
As Hermione slipped her right foot out the window, she could hear footsteps coming rythmically up the spiral staircase just outside her dormitory. Giggles filled the area just outside the door, and Hermione quickened her pace and hurried out the window as to avoid Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil from tattling on her. The constant heavy beat from the deafening party down in the common room was drilling itself into Hermione's mind. Her wish to escape became more desperate than it had ever been.
This would have been a heck of a lot easier if Ron hadn't exploded a "celebratory" breakout down there... Hermione mumbled to herself whilst dangling out the window. She didn't dare look down, and wished so much more that she didn't have to hang- but if Ginny was going to pick her up outside the window, on a broomstick, while not being seen by anyone in the dormitory, this was going to be their number one option.
Where the hell are you, Ginny?! Hermione mentally yelled into the night. Her fingers were slipping as sweat built up- what if Ginny never came? What if she was still down in the common room, and had completely forgotten about Hermione? This was not her night- Lavender and Parvati would come giggling in any moment, probably slam the window shut on Hermione's fingers... she'd abandoned the whole of Gryffindor house just to "go up to bed" after they'd thrown an abnormally large party just to celebrate the return of Hogwarts (something they all thought Hermione might be most intrigued in), and now she was dangling out a window more than a mile up from the ground. What was wrong with her tonight?!
Hermione couldn't bare to look down, but she was too anxious for Ginny. Very cautiously, she tilted her head just the least bit to the left- the direction which Ginny should be arriving from- and let out an exasperated groan seeing as there wasn't a single sign of the blazing red hair flying towards her.
Hermione was just beginning to plan out an excuse for Lavender and Parvati accompanying her arrival from the window when she nearly slipped off the window and fell a mile down to her death due to a sudden but friendly voice behind her.
"If I hadn't been in on this, and I flew by and noticed a Hermione Granger just dangling out of that window like that, I would've been absolutely positive that you'd gone mental." Ginny Weasley stated plainly.
Hermione whipped around and threw herself onto Ginny's firebolt (a present from Harry). She rubbed her arms sourly and then gave Ginny a good scolding for arriving late, as the two dived down into the lower levels of Hogwarts, then glided a bit around to the Eastern side.
"Well, really, Hermione," Ginny said, without a single change of expression after Hermione's scoldings, "It was absolutely impossible to get out of that party. I had to set off three of Fred and George's works before I could make a good enough diversion-"
"My bed excuse was really that bad? You didn't even think to use it yourself?!" Hermione said, a bit bewildered.
"Hermione, what do you think everyone would think if I used the same thing as you- and really, it's not fit for me at all anyway. No one would believe me, especially with the way I was dancing tonight." Hermione laughed at this last bit.
"I suppose you're right. But you know..." Hermione began, "Ron really did look quite insulted when I left. Was he alright?"
Ginny was quiet for a few moments, then replied, "He actually spent a really long time planning this for you. Wanted to really take you out for a time. I guess he just wished it would boost your mood... he was really upset by the way you were acting at the Burrow this summer, you know. But hey- I don't blame you. He can get really hard on people sometimes, and I wouldn't be the only one wanting time away from him." Hermione cradled her bottom lip between her teeth for a bit, then let out a quiet, "hmm." Ginny and Hermione flew the rest of the way to the Library window in silence.
"Alright hun, we're here." Ginny said quietly, pulling up the window. "I've snuck in and opened it earlier so we've nothing to worry about." Ginny consoled, seeing Hermione's worried face. It cleared a bit at this news. "I'll stay here as long as you're quick..." Ginny finished, and Hermione nodded and dropped in through the window.
Inside the library was dead silence. Luck was with Hermione as she blew off more worry at the thought of Peeves' absence.
"Lumos," Hermione whispered to her wand, and the tip basked white light all through the narrow gap between bookshelves where Hermione stood. Sprinting through seventeen aisles of bookcases, Hermione finally reached one large clearing with six tables filling it. Crouching low, she squeezed between two chairs pushed into the first table and examined the area carefully. No time turner was seen, and thus she hastily moved on to the second table. Hermione moved quickly through the tables until she reached the sixth table. There was no time turner to be seen, although...
"GRANGER! GRANGER! GRANGER STEALING THINGS FROM THE LIBRAR-" Hermione clocked Peeves directly over the head with a rather large volume taken from a nearby shelf. He spun at her and screamed louder, "GRANGER ABUSING PEOPLE! GRANGER IN THE LIBRARY, GRANGER IN THE LIBRARY STEALING AND ABUSING PEOPLE! PROFESSOR, PROFESSOR!" Peeves screamed. a lantern was immediately lit only five bookcases away.
"PEEVES!" Hermione whispered with a bitter tone, "If you DARE get me in a situation worse than this, I'll call the Bloody Baron in straight away to deal with you!" Peeves looked utterly bewildered.
"N-N-Not the B-Bloody B-Baron! My dear M-Miss G-Granger...I-" Peeves stuttered, but Hermione caught him before he could get any farther.
"Oh SHUT UP! Where is my time turner, Peeves? It's not under any of these tables where I can honestly swear I left it-" Peeves turned and disappeared behind a bookshelf seven aisles away. He was back within seconds, carrying Hermione's beloved time turner.
"Oh thank the lord... Now, you make sure Madam Pince doesn't catch me sneaking around on my way out or else you know what's gonna happen!" Hermione warned. Peeves nodded vigorously, and glided as fast as he could over to the lantern, where a crash and a yell could be heard. A horrific scent of dung filled Hermione's nose, and she smirked while waddling towards the window. Ginny was waiting while laughing rather sinisterly.
Hermione clambered onto Ginny's broom as fast as she could pull herself on, and the two girls took off at lightning speed up to Gryffindor tower. Ginny poked her head in the window for a few seconds, making sure there were no spectators, and then let Hermione go. The two hugged through the window and then Ginny was off to return her broom.
Glancing at her clock and noticing it was merely ten, Hermione skipped down the staircase and peeked into the common room. The party was still raging, but Ron was no where to be seen. Hermione's complexion turned to confused, and she slowly walked back up the stairs and knocked on the seventh year boy's dorm. Neville answered.
"Oh...Hermione! Hi!" Neville smiled so big that it almost reached his ears. Hermione returned the smile, and then gently asked for entrance.
Neville gave her his permission and stepped aside.
Merely one one other boy was sitting in the room, perched on his bed, reading- Ron Weasley. Hermione blushed and smiled a little upon seeing him, and rushed over to his four-poster. He didn't look up at her entrance, not until she sat down on his legs.
"Ow." He complained, pulling them in to his chest and sitting up. Hermione took a little gasp."What're you doing here? I thought you were...sleeping." He asked in a solid tone.
"Well... I was, but... I couldn't help thinking I'd hurt you or something. You know, with leaving the party like that." Ron looked down at his toes at this.
"Hm."
"...hm?" Hermione mimicked. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't believe me?" Ron snapped up.
"Of course I do. I just- I just- want to spend more time with you, I guess. You've been with Ginny more than ever lately." Ron admitted.
"Oh." Hermione said. There was a rather awkward silence for a while between the two. "Well, I suppose we could always... erm..." More silence followed, broken after about ten seconds by a mere cough from Neville.
"Hermione, it's alright. Don't worry about it. I guess we just have to get used to this whole dating thing." Ron consoled. Hermione swallowed, looking at the ground.
"I suppose I should just be off to bed, then. Goodnight, Ron." Hermione smiled at him as she got up to leave. Ron leaned in a bit, apparently expecting a kiss, but ended up pecking her just to the left of her lips.
"er- 'Night, Mione." Ron waved her off and she exited, shortly after waving to Neville.
In the morning that followed, Hermione and Ginny walked together down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ron were waiting for them at the Gryffindor table, Ron munching away at some waffles slathered in syrup and butter.
"Morning, Mione!" He greeted her, reaching across the table to hug her. Hermione leaned in a bit, and Ron held on to her for about a minute before Hermione slipped out. Ron dove immediately back to his food, while Harry crawled under the table to kiss Ginny good morning and give Hermione a welcoming hug.
"Ron, you've got some syrup on your cheek." Hermione told Ron. He looked up and expectantly leaned in to her.
"er- wip it of for me peas?" He asked with a full mouth. She hesitated, but wiped it off anyway. "Thanks." He said, sitting back down. Several minutes followed in silence between Ron and Hermione, while Ginny talked up a storm with Harry. The two were laughing so hard that Harry almost choked on his pumpkin juice when Parvati Patil swept by with her twin sister, Padma, and threw a "Good Morning," at Ron. His ears transformed into a scarlet colour and he gave them a small wave.
"You know, there's another party tonight. Seamus and Dean are throwing it down at the Hog's Head. Will you two come with me and Ginny?" Harry asked polietely, gesturing to Ron and Hermione.
"Absolutely! Mione- do you mind bringing some money? I haven't really got any at the moment, so I won't be able to buy us any drinks, but if you brought some...?" Ron looked up at Hermione.
"Well, I suppose so! But what happened to the ten galleons I gave you at the start of term?" Hermione asked. Ron's entire head turned the colour of turnip.
"I...er...sort of seemed to...misplace them..." He coughed out. Hermione didn't say anything. The rest of breakfast passed in silence, with the occasional Prophet-headline-shout-out from Ginny. Finally Hermione excused herself, and Ginny followed in pursuit, tagging along Harry, who brought Ron. The four of them set off together up the grand staircase, until Hermione cut herself off from everyone as to go along to the Library herself.
"I'll see you all later, then," She said to them, and was off. Neither she nor Ron took a backward glance.
Upon arriving at the Library, it was just about empty apart from five fourth year Hufflepuffs huddled in a corner studying. Hermione made her way to the very back corner of the Library, where there were two large black armchairs sitting across from each other in front of a small window perched above a fireplace. Hermione slid a copy of Advanced Rune Translation out of its space in a nearby bookshelf, and then settled down in the right-handed chair. She had gotten about fifty pages in by the time a tall, lean and handsome figure approached her from behind. He studied her posture and her beauty for a minute, taking in the loveliness of the way she lounged in the red armchair. Her golden hair, no longer frizzy but with a sweet curl, hung over the back and mesmorized him for a bit as he took in the way the flames' light from the fire shimmered across it. Observing her more carefully, He noticed that she was cradling a book between her hands.
"Ahh, memorizing every word so you can go on and cheat again? What a pathetic excuse for intelligence." A very arrogant voice sneered. Hermione spun around to see Draco Malfoy towering over her, observing her posture in a rather strange way; his nose screwed up as if he were smelling a rather horrific scent.
"Malfoy! Why don't you shut your mouth before I can lay my fist on it again?" Hermione spat at him. Malfoy looked rather embarassed as he recollected the memory of her punch six years ago.
"You filthy mudblood! You don't think I've collected any more skill over the past years? You will never be able to even touch this face before I crack your arm in two!" He threw at Hermione. She looked hurt, but only a bit.
"What a twit you are!" She shouted, slamming her book shut and rising from her chair. She didn't dare leave her area; this was her territory and she wasn't going to let Malfoy kick her out. "Get out of here!" She screamed. Malfoy snatched her book and ran. Hermione crossed her arms and marched off in the opposite direction.
Reaching the staircase, Hermione sprinted up until she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, whom was sharing a goblet of grapes with her friend Violet. "Log moss!" She yelled at the Fat Lady hurridely, and then threw herself through the portrait hole. Ron and Seamus were playing a rather intense game of wizard chess, Lavender and Parvati were gossiping with Romilda Vane in a corner, and Dean was playing a game of exploding snap with Dennis Creevey while Neville read The Encyclopedia of Toadstools. A group of second year girls were spying on another quartet of third year boys, and Harry and Ginny were sitting together affectionately by the calm fire. Hermione huffed upstairs and collapsed onto her bed, staring blankly at the cieling for a half an hour until Ginny came running up to check on her.
"Mione, what's wrong? You and Ron seem... weird." Ginny said right as she sat down on the bed to the right of Hermione's.
"We're fine, Gin. Don't worry about us... I think we just have to get used to, you know, the whole dating thing." Hermione gave Ginny a smile. Ginny sighed and then went on,
"Alright, but remember, if ANYTHING is bothering you, you MUST tell me! Right away! Now, we'd better get ready for that party... you are coming, right?" Ginny got up from the bed and began to search Hermione's wardrobe, pulling every possible dress out of every drawer ad throwing it over to Hermione.
"Of course I'm coming. Ron wants me to spend more time with him anyway, this'll be the perfect opportunity, I'm sure!" Hermione exclaimed excitedley, suddenly becoming alive at the thought of the party and grabbing dresses.
Ginny turned around and held up a medium-sized pink frilly one to Hermione's body. It had a puffy skirt and a bodice top. Hermione stuck out her tongue and Ginny threw the dress over her shoulder, picking up a powder blue one instead. This dress was longer, with frills over the top as well lining the bottom. "Way too plain," mentioned Ginny, and she threw this one away, grasping for another dress fast. Hermione and Ginny continued through this process until-
"YES!" They yelled in unison. Ginny squealed, and Hermione spun around with the dress. It was perfect- scarlet, with a gold trimming on the bottom, gold frill lining the top, and a gold sparkle gleaming on every inch. It was just a tad puffy in the skirt, and was strapless!
"You'll look STUNNING, Hermione." Ginny complimented. Hermione blushed strongly, and then ran over to her wardrobe again, easily knowing Ginny wouldn't have many dresses. She grabbed a gold one that had a plum lace. Ginny gave another excited squeal and ran out to try it on. Hermione followed in quick pursuit.
Before long, Hermione was skipping down to Hogsmeade, arm-in-arm with Ron, Ginny and Harry by their side. Ron was ecstatic, and together he and Hermione glowed as they approached the Hog's Head, laughing loudly along with Harry and Ginny.
Inside the pub was a ridiculous amount of people. It wasn't just Gryffindor house who'd been in on the party- it had been the whole school. Everyone was jumping along to the pumping beat of the Weird Sisters, which was thumping at a crazy-loud volume. Everyone, no matter what the age, was drinking enormous amounts of Butterbeer and firewhiskey. Harry and Ginny immediately sprinted out to the dance floor, while Ron took Hermione over to a table in the corner. Grabbing some firewhiskey, the two sat down and sipped.
"So... this is nice!" Ron smiled. Hermione returned it reluctantly.
"It is indeed!" She yelled over the blasting music. "But, don't you want to go and take a spin?" Ron looked surprised.
"Oh! Right! Er- let's go!" He took her hand and led her on to the dance floor, which was clogged with people all jumping excitedely to the same beat, screaming. Hermione and Ron spun around together, joining in with the dance. After the song had ended (within 30 seconds of the couple's arrival to the dance floor), Ron abandoned Hermione for some more firewhiskey. She had no choice but to quickly run back to their table, where she found Ron sipping from her firewhiskey, his own cup drained.
"Come with me to buy some more!" Ron yelled, and dragged her off to the bar, where he purchased three more glasses of firewhiskey. Hermione sat uncomfortably next to him, not accepting any more drinks.
"Oi, Ron!" A dark brown haired girl with light blue eyes bounced up to Ron, holding a halfway-filled bottle of Butterbeer. "Demelza Robins- You remember me, don't you? I'm chaser on Gryffindor's quidditch team." She smiled cheekily at Ron.
"Ahh- right- Demelza- how you doing? Been dancing hard, eh?" Ron commented.
"Oh yeah! Came here with Dean...but..." Demelza blushed and looked at her feet. Hermione didn't notice Demelza's arrival, though, as she had slipped away as to have a talk with Ginny.
"Hermione, I'm so, so sorry- but the dress..." Ginny apologized. Hermione gasped, looking down at the plum lining on the bottom of the skirt. It was torn.
"Oh Gin, it's perfectly okay. We can fix that in a wink, promise. Hey, as long as you did it while dancing..." Hermione and Ginny chuckled, until Ginny's face was wiped clean into worry.
"Mione- look- isn't that Demelza? You know, the girl who played chaser with me? Really sweet, good at dodging bludgers?" Ginny nodded to the bubbly seventeen year old.
"What's she..." Hermione squinted her eyes, gasped, and ran over to Ron. "Ron, what's happened he-" Hermione stopped midsentence due to the fact that Demelza and Ron were fully intertwined with each other, their lips battling fiercly. Ron's left hand had dropped down to below Demelza's waistline, and his right was smooshed against her right cheek. Demelza broke out of their kiss and blushed strongly, while Ron whipped around to Hermione- "Oi! Didn't see you there, Mione! Would you like another firewhis-" Hermione smacked Ron harshly across the face. Demelza gasped and ran, while Hermione continued to round on Ron.
"RONALD WEASLEY! You sick, cheating little git! You horrifyingly bad-arsed jerk- you-you- ARRGH!" Hermione gave Ron one last, hard slap on the face and then sprinted off up the stairs, dove into an empty booth and sobbed. Ron was left without a final word, rubbing his sore face, getting up from his seat with a firewhiskey in hand and hunting Demelza. Ginny looked overly disgusted, but Harry found her and took her away to dance again.
Meanwhile, Hermione sat leaning back on the seat, a bit drowsy from crying so much but feeling calmed from a warm butterbeer. She was jerked out of her dreamy state and abruptly returned to reality when a slim, handsome figure slid into the booth on the opposite side of the table.
"Granger," Malfoy spoke her name in a much softer tone than usual- and completely lacking the sneer. He was looking her over and noting her changes- a much more elegant face, beautifully curled hair like he'd never seen it, and a stunning figure. Her frame was thin, but curved in all the right places. She had fairy fingers, and the slimest, sexiest legs imaginable. Her waistline was perfect, and her eyes were a light honey brown, with a sparkle. Malfoy was intrigued.
Likewise, Hermione examined Malfoy with great curiousity. He was dressed in straight black- a tux with tails, and an unbuttoned white collared shirt underneath. His hair had been run-through enough times so that it stuck out at random angles, but with darkened highlights to make the bleach-blond beam. His shoulders were stiff and broad, and his eyes were a very pale grey, with a tint of blue. His lashes overlooked the lids and his lips were parted perfectly. Hermione couldn't help but wish to reach out and brush his face with the back of her hand- just to feel if this young man was real.
What were they thinking?! These were the arch-enemies- the people they'd hated most- for almost 10 years! The mudblood and the pureblood- the Slytherin and the Gryffindor- how could they possibly be attracted to one another?!
But Malfoy couldn't help to think deeper. He wanted to try her out. He wanted to bring her back to his dormitory and test her. See her focuses and her rules. See what she'd really turned into.
"Evening, Malfoy." Hermione pushed her past thoughts about him quickly away and greeted him as cold as possible. Malfoy smirked.
"You up for a Butterbeer?" He offered. Hermione looked confused.
"Not unless you resist the urge to poision mine," She scoffed. Malfoy chuckled and then reached under the table to pull at her dress. Hermione reacted within seconds, smacking him. Neither one of them removed eye contact.
"What're you playing at?" Hermione asked curiously, without removing the cold tone. Malfoy raised one eyebrow.
"Nothing." He said innocently. Hermione rolled her eyes and attempted to get up from the booth. Malfoy grabbed her arm before she could get any farther and set her back down. Hermione wrestled herself out of his grip and jerked it back to safety.
"Granger, tell me what just happened between you and Weasel." Malfoy demanded. Hermione made for a bitter, sarcastic laugh.
"Never! Why are you so interested anyway? Why don't you just tell me what happened to Pansy?" Hermione forced on him, knowing the two had been dating for three years.
"She's downstairs, drunk, snogging Blaise. But I don't care about her." Malfoy leaned into Hermione, and she leaned as far back as possible.
"Malfoy, get away from me," Hermione spat, and rushed out of the booth, down the stairs, through the door of the Hog's Head and out of Hogsmeade without a second glance.
Lying in her messy four-poster bed staring blankly at the cieling, Hermione fingered with her time turner idly. It was very possible for her to go back in time and be together with Ron once more... to keep them both from going to the party and splitting. Yet Hermione knew that what had happened happened for a reason- even if Ron had been drunk. These were problems that happened all the time in life- things that you just needed to push through and move on from. Anyway, it hadn't been a right relationship with Ron. Everything seemed to have an awkward feel to it, whether they were snogging or just plain chatting about Quidditch. With a sniffle, Hermione rolled over onto her face and moved onto analyzing her encounter with Malfoy at the Hog's Head.
The very first word that ran into her head upon thinking of the situation was, "Creep." Hermione felt highly assaulted by him that night- the tugging on her dress, leaning into her, the way he talked... just the thought made her shiver! But of all people, why Malfoy?! How is it that he became interested so suddenly?
Ginny broke into the dormitory soon after finishing this thought, panting like a dog. She froze upon seeing Hermione, then rounded on her.
"WHERE have you BEEN?! I've just searched the whole of Hogsmeade and half the castle looking for you!" Ginny collapsed on Lavender Brown's bed and let out a voluminous sigh.
"I've had a rough night, Ginny, and requested some alone time." Hermione stated very plainly, her arms crossed. Ginny looked startled.
" then, I suppose I'll just...go..." She said, getting up as slow as a sloth and exiting straight-backed. But Hermione didn't let her go that easily-
"GINNY!" She called suddenly, sitting up in bed. Ginny whirled around.
"What?!"
"Stay. Please. I have some things I want your opinion on."
Ginny raised one eyebrow and then lazily lumbered over to Lavender's bed again. Sitting down politely with her hands folded neatly in her lap, she waited a minute before Hermione began.
"So of course you know about Ron and I..." Hermione began, and Ginny nodded sadly. "And in case you aren't aware of the details, I gave him several good smackings before I ran. So don't be alarmed if he rubs his cheeks for the next few days." Ginny giggled a bit before letting Hermione smirk and go on. "As you know I sort of disappeared for a while after... sprinted to the upstairs with a Butterbeer to calm myself, and took some thinking time. But then..." Hermione paused to put some pressure on her bottom lip for a few seconds before continuing. "Malfoy slid in." Hermione didn't need to look up to know what Ginny's face had trasformed into.
"Git," Hermione heard Ginny mumble low under her breath. Grinning, Hermione vented every single detail about Malfoy to Ginny- how he'd played around with her, what Pansy ended up doing, how he had been talking to her. Ginny was quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything and analyzing it in her mind very carefully.
"It's probably just an act, Mione," She finalized. "Probably just a dare from his friends. I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you; Malfoy isn't worth anybody's time. Don't let him slip into your mind too much!" Hermione nodded in agreement, but not fully believing.
After a while of additional chatting, Ginny walked sleepily out of Hermione's dorm and headed straight for the sixth year's dorms. Hermione wandered to her wandrobe and pulled out a pair of burnt orange and maroon plaid pajama pants along with a plain orange tank top. Slipping out of her tear-stained party dress and into the pajamas, Hermione did a faceplant onto her four poster and then scrambled under the covers.
Merely ten minutes following her return to bed, Hermione's ears perked up to the sound of two young girls and a young man excitedly bounding up the staircase just outside. Hermione was startled to see Parvati and Demelza twinkle into the dormitory, their hair a rat's nest and their bodies wobbling around uncontrollbly.
"Oh, evening, Hermione!" Parvati greeted her. Demelza looked shocked to find her there. Hermione smiled and waved politely in at the both of them.
"Had a nice night, I see." She said. Both girls giggled.
Very suddenly, the young man who had been heard climbing the stairs with Parvati and Demelza came bursting into the dorm.
"Dem!" Ronald Weasley ran to Demelza, picked her up, and gave her a large lick.
"Oh Ronald, don't be a dog!" Demelza squealed. Both of them laughed, and Parvati rolled her eyes and headed to her wardrobe. Hermione turned the colour of her bed curtains (which mind you, are an incredibly deep red), as to submit to her already simmering anger.
"Now Dem... what're you doing in here, this is the seventh year's dorm, not the sixth ye-" Ron halted immediately upon seeing Hermione steaming in the bed nearest himself.
"Oh- er- there's plenty more room in my bed, Dem, let's be off now..." Ron grabbed Demelza by the wrist and dragged her out of the dorm. Parvati tagged along as if she were the loyal pet dog.
Tears began to well up in Hermione's eyes again, and fell over the brim rather quickly. She didn't bother wiping them away this time, instead she subsided with rolling into her pillow and sobbing silently until sleep came for a visit.