Author's note: This is my first-ever published fanfic, so try to keep an open-mind. ^^;; I wrote this because… well… I'm not all together sure *why* I wrote this. I think that Hermione's lack of confidence concerning certain aspects of herself is the entire cornerstone of her personality and why she is the way she is. Or maybe I just wanted to see a story where she attempted to seduce both Harry *and* Ron. (Oooh… A rarity! Although, it is more Harry than Ron… Oh, well.) Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated; I don't mind flames either. So… Enjoy!



Ring!

Like a gun at a marathon, the sound of the class bell signaled the din of students gathering their things and rushing for the door. "I expect those reports on my desk, first thing Monday!" Professor McGonagall called over the clamour, stepping back to avoid the trample of students anxious for their long-awaited weekend.

Hermione was carefully packing up her bottle of ink when she raised her eyes to look over by the door. Apparently Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were debating who was more deserving of the honour to carry Lavender Brown's books. They took turns thrusting the other out of Lavender's presence, trying to gain her full attention. Hermione gave a small snort, finished gathering her things, and made her way out of the Transfiguration classroom.

Unfortunately, her impeccable timing caused her to move into the flow of hallway traffic a few people behind Lavender, Seamus, and Dean. Apparently they had reached an agreement so that Seamus was carrying her book bag and Dean her textbooks. Now, however, they were battling over who could tell Lavender the funniest joke. More like who can tell the worst joke, Hermione thought darkly as she stalked sulkily down the corridor.

"Why so glum?" Hermione looked to her left to discover the ever- familiar face of Ginny Weasley walking beside her. Ginny was now fourteen years old, which meant her fourth year attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the summer, she discarded her now-deemed childish pigtails for a flowing mane of pure ginger, her nails once short from nervous biting for ten beautifully pink almonds, and the androgynous figure of childhood for one that promised a beautiful young woman when fully bloomed. The knowledge of this sparkled in the jade depths that looked up at Hermione, while in another set of eyes, which knew of the attention and affection these changes would draw, it was dreaded.

"Oh. Hullo, Ginny," she greeted the younger girl, her voice trodden with disgust.

"You look like you've got it in for someone," Ginny continued, studying Hermione's almost homicidal expression. Up ahead, Lavender's shrill laughter followed by an "Oh, Seamus!" filtered down to the girls' ears.

"Oh, *Seamus!*" the brown-haired girl mocked, throwing her hand about in a histrionic manner. Ginny put a hand over her mouth, squelching her laughter.

"Jealous, perhaps?" the younger girl concluded, drawing her hand down from mouth. Hermione's hand immediately dropped.

"Jealous?! Jealous of that dim twit?!" she asked, a livid fire burning in her eyes. "Hmph! That'll be the day!" At that, she threw her chin up in the air, her face contorted with indignation and resentment.

Ginny put a reassuring hand on the older girl's shoulder. "I was only kidding, you know." Hermione didn't look convinced. "I'm sure there's plenty of guys who would want to date you," Ginny tried again, "if only you'd…" Her sentence dropped there.

"What?" the brown-haired girl pressed, her eyes lighting up again as her face dropped back down to look at the other girl. "If only I'd what?"

Hesitance written all over her face, Ginny continued. "Well, I read in a magazine once, Lavender's actually, that guys like a girl who…" She stopped, her eyes finding a comforting spot on the floor.

"Come out with it already!" Hermione urged.

"They like a girl who isn't so reserved… One that knows how to have a good time." Ginny prepared herself for the storm.

"Well, one can guess what Lavender calls a good time!" Hermione snorted. "I see her holding hands with a different person every week! Won't be long till every boy in school has had a swing with her!" She stopped her tirade there, her face melting into uncertainty. The flame in her eyes replaced with an almost sadness, she turned to her friend. "Am I really… reserved?"

Ginny gave a little shrug. "Most everyone seems to think so. They all think you spend your life studying. Maybe if you let loose once in a while…"

A sigh escaped Hermione as they stopped in front of the Fat Lady's picture. "Cheer up, 'Mione. We have a trip down to Hogsmeade this weekend," she comforted her friend. Hermione nodded.

Hermione stared searchingly into the mirror. She was going through her usual bedtime ritual in the dormitory bathroom. Wash her face… Comb her hair… Put on her pajamas… Brush her teeth… The "brushing the teeth" part was taking a little longer because she had fallen deep into thought and wasn't aware she had brushed the same part of her teeth four times already. But the only true unusual part of her routine was the time she was doing it.

It was only eight o'clock.

Witnessing the scene with Lavender and the discussion with Ginny this afternoon had shaken her. The look of disconcertment on Ginny's face when Hermione told her to go to dinner without her was still quite visible in her mind, and the same looks that would be on Ron and Harry's face she could clearly imagine. Right now, she needed to be alone. And what better place than the dormitory on a Friday night?

She continued to stare deeply into the mirror. Her greatest talent was not only knowing an answer but also being able to find it. So why was she failing so miserably now? Why was she hoping for an invisible finger to write out an answer for her on the mirror? Hermione finally rinsed her mouth and set down her toothbrush.

~What does Lavender have that I don't?~ Hermione gave a short laugh in spite of herself. ~Lavender doesn't have some tangled, brown bush for hair,~ she thought as she picked up a strand of hair and slowly let it fall back in place. ~"They all think you spend your life studying…"~ Well, pardon her if it was unfashionable to want to be somewhat intelligent. She knew full well what Lavender's pathetic magazines preached: guys like pretty, stupid girls.

She may not fall into the stupid category, but wasn't she at least, to some extent, pretty? Bushiness aside, she always thought she had a fairly attractive face and she had an ideal figure. Hermione took a few steps back from the sink to take a better look at herself. Although not fully visible through her nightdress, she had developed the fashionable slender shape and long legs. Unless a guy wanted some voluptuous-

She recalled the second-most preached thing in Lavender's magazines: guys liked busty girls. How often had she sat in Charms class listening to those two blasted Hufflepuffs snickering about which girls needed an enlargement charm? She really ought to complain to Professor Flitwick… But they had never mentioned her as needing one, right? Still, doubt had instilled itself into Hermione.

She paused. She listened anxiously for any hint of a voice in the dormitory. After a minute, deeming that it was safe, Hermione undid the top buttons on her nightdress. Giving one final listen, she drew her dress from her shoulders and revealed to the mirror her brassiere-ed breasts. She looked intently at her reflection. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with them. ~Of course, the ugliest baby is beautiful to its mother.~ But they at least seemed proportional…

She turned from side to side slowly, trying to spot an imperfection. Maybe she ought to ask someone's opinion? ~Ha!~ Like bloody hell she'd ask Parvati or Lavender and give them the pleasure of seizing dominion over her… Ginny would say that they looked fine, either way… Harry and Ron… Hermione's face went scarlet at that thought. They were her best friends… But what was she supposed to do? Rip off her shirt, shove her chest in their faces, and asked if they liked her breasts?

Still unsure of herself, she cupped her hands under her breasts and experimented, pushing them up and down. They still looked fine to her… Maybe she should find a push-up bra in Hogsmeade?

Hermione was thrown from her thoughts with a crash at the sound of a knock on the bathroom door. She held her breath, her brain pulsing with fear, her heart beating with anxiety. She had been torn from her thoughts and placed into confusion. Not knowing what else to do, she simply stood there as she was.

"'Mione? Ginny said you weren't coming down for-" Hermione's eyes widened.

So did Harry's.

Even if one of them had tried to speak, no words would have been able to penetrate the awkwardness-filled air. So, the two stood there; Harry's hand fixed to the doorknob and Hermione's to her breasts. Silence hung between the two, a hot red seizing their faces. The black-haired boy's lower lip moved gently, as if in preparation for speech. But he said nothing and immediately pulled the door closed.

Movement found Hermione's bones again. She turned sharply from the door, her hands going to her face. Curses struggled through her trembling lips as she fought her slowly weakening knees. Why did she-! Why didn't he-! She was such a-! What an embarrassing-! What was she-! What will he-! Her brain pounded against her skull as all her thoughts raced through it. Her knees finally gave out, and she found the soft texture of the bathroom mat.

Hermione kneeled there in silence for a moment, before the sound of the door once again frightened her. "Hermione?!" the voice, full of concern, belonged to Ginny. "Hermione, are you alright? What happened?"

"I should've realized they put locks on a door for blasted reason!" Hermione moaned through her hands, which still covered her burning face.

Ginny knelt down beside her, a comforting arm going around the older girl's bare shoulders. "What happened?" Ginny repeated. "Harry said he was going to go make sure you were al-" Ginny stopped, staring at Hermione with wide eyes. "Oh, no!" she gasped. "He didn't catch you dressing did he? How positively embarr-! "

The brown-haired girl let her hands fall from her face. "No… not exactly…" She recounted what she had been thinking about and how Harry had walked in at the most inopportune time.

"Well, at least you had a bra on!" the other girl laughed optimistically. "And besides, there's nothing wrong with your bust at all." If only Hermione had placed a wager on that one…

"What am I going to do?" There was anxiety written all over Hermione's face. "How am I supposed to go to Hogsmeade with him and Ron tomorrow? Oh, no!" Now, anxiety was her face. "What if he tells your brother? What if he tells everyone? I'll never be able to live it down! I won't be able to go to class! I won't be able to even go out into the dormitory!"

"Hush," Ginny quieted her, giving her shoulders a comforting squeeze. "I think I know what you need." Hermione looked up at her, hope barely glimmering in her eyes.

"You do?"

"Yes. And I know exactly where to find it in Hogsmeade."