Disclaimer: Alas, I am not the almighty writing goddess, J. K. Rowling. I am just an enthusiastic fan.

Notes: asterisks (**) indicate flashbacks

Hermione smirked.

She knew it would only have been a matter of time before Ron and Harry noticed she was a pure, hot-blooded female. But she never thought it was take them this long. She found it a little hard to believe that they'd known her for seven years, and it only hit them now that there was a possibility that Hermione Granger was anything other than a mothering, bookworm friend.

She recalled a moment from their fourth year.

**Ron had been staring at her for a full two minutes, seemingly contemplating something. Suddenly, he said, "Hermione, Neville's right—you are a girl. . . ."

"Oh well spotted," came from her mouth while "Boys are stupid," came from her mind.

After a few more bits of dialogue (she couldn't remember the exact words), she had said something like "Just because it's taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

Then he grinned at her and asked her to the ball again. Oh how hard it had been to turn down that grin. Why couldn't he have done that before Viktor asked her? In a fit of anger, she had shouted that she already had a date, thank you very much, and stormed off.**

Later, Hermione remembered, she had felt a bit depressed that they hadn't cared to notice she was a girl. Now that she was almost a woman, the wait had been worth it. Sure, Ron and Harry tried to act the same around her, but she caught their sidelong glances and starry-eyed expressions at her.

Her smirk faltered a bit.

These guys were her best friends, had been since her first year at Hogwarts. This new attention was great, but did she really want her relationship with Ron to change? Ron and Harry, she corrected.

She laughed. Was she still denying the crush she'd had on Ron? It was silly and pointless to—

"Hermione? Hermione?  Are you okay?" Ron's concerned voice broke through her thoughts.

His voice had gotten deeper, she noticed. "Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking about… questions I'm going to have to ask at the staff meeting tonight. Don't want to start off the new school year slacking off on my Head Girl duties."

Yes, that's right. Let him believe she's a dutiful as ever. Let him believe she's still bookwormy, frizzy Hermione, who would never, ever be thinking about how cute a certain Weasley's freckles look after a Quidditch victory…

What do you think? Should I continue? 10 reviews, please!