Chapter Six...

Kat and I spent a lot of the night standing and talking and admiring the surroundings. I could tell she really wanted to dance from the way she was stepping from side to side with the music and humming the song lyrics however there was no way I was going to dance. I didn't dance and that was as much a fact as squeezing pimples was.

"Do you want another drink?" I asked her after Angelina Johnson and Fred Weasley had retired from their dance spectacular.

"No thanks," Kat replied, "I just had nine."

"True," I replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

I could tell from the looks we were getting, some of the other male students were pretty jealous of how my date looked. I suppose I wasn't the only one who barely recognised Kat with her looking all pretty and stuff. I kept getting envious looks from Noel even though he was standing with Charlotte and she looked mighty fine too.

I couldn't help but keep glancing around the hall for a sign of Hermione. I was half hoping I guess that I might spot her and see her fully transformed into a beuatiful belle too. But after about three hours of bopping up and down to the music and continiously drinking Fruit Punch, I gave up looking for her.

"Oliver," said Kat after awhile.


"Hmm?" I asked, looking around once more.

"Do you mind if I dance with Robert?" she asked. Robert was one of her Hufflepuff friends and he was standing beside her looking rather eager and excited.

"Uhh, sure," I waved them off. Kat looked really happy too, I could tell she was glad to finally be able to have a boogey.

From my spectating position I could see Percy and his date Penelope, dancing to a beat of their own off in a corner. Though I'm not the world's most musical person even I could hear a loud bass and beat in the heavy music. Apparently they couldn't. However they looked very happy so I ignored their grunts and ouches and admired them.

I could even see some of my teachers having a dance which was a little scary but amusing too. I began to feel uncomfortable standing there all alone at the drink table as if I had no date. Not wanting to look too awkward and humiliated I decided to quietly exit the ball and take a walk outside where there was air and a bit of peace and quiet.

The night was quite brisk and I folded my arms to try and keep warm in these flimsy dress robes. There were couples all over the Quidditch pitch and garden areas, some quietly whispering, others cuddling and others doing things that shall remain nameless as I'm not sure what age groups may be reading this.

I spotted Charlotte and Noel in the Gryffindor stands, having their own little party and kept walking. I began thinking about Hermione and where she might have been. Out here in the cold possibly? Perhaps she was in the library studying? Maybe she was still in her dormitory not wanting to socialise? I didn't have to wonder for much longer though as before I knew it, I spotted her sitting under a large oak tree, with a lamp and thick book.

"I can't believe this," I greeted her. "You're studying??"

She looked up and laughed. "No, not really. This is a personal book, not for an exam or anything."

Under the moonlight it was hard to tell how she looked but she didn't appear to look dressed up or any different to how she normally looked. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"So what is it then?" I asked.

"It's a book," she answered with what seemed to be, a genuine smile.

"What kind?" I pressured, sitting down next to her and trying to get a glance at it.

She giggled as I grabbed her hand to get to the book. This wasn't possible. Was I actually flirting with Hermione Granger? I froze in the position we were in. She looked a little nervous too and we both went back to nromal whilst I handed her back her book.

"It's just a book about..."

"Quidditch!" I cried, finishing the sentence for her. The light had caught the gold embossed title and I could quite easily read the heading 'Quidditch Through the Ages'.

"Well..." she looked down.

"You want to learn about Quidditch don't you?" I was shocked but in a good, pleasing way.

"Kind of."

"Why's that?"

"Um... curiosity," she answered, shrugging. "I suppose I wanted to be able to understand why you want to go to the ESQ so badly."

She wanted to learn about Quidditch for me. This girl was full of surprises.

"I don't get it," I said. "You do so much for me, and I'm nothing but mean. Why?"

She shrugged again. "How is the ball? Are you and Kat having fun?"

Gotcha, I thought. "How did you know I was going with Kat?"

Even in the darkness I knew she was turning red. "Oh somebody must have mentioned it to me," she tried to cover up. "So how is the ball? Where did Kat go?"

Now it was my turn to be mysterious and frustrating. I shrugged.

She laughed.

Don't you hate those awful silences you get when you've had a great conversation, laughed and then had nothing else to say? Well, that's the sort of silence we had next.

Trying to think of something to say, I spoke the first thing that came to mind. "Why didn't you go to the ball?"

I hoped she wouldn't say something depressing like 'Because no one asked me' because then I knew it would be my job to have to comfort her and say nice things. I didn't want to have to do that.

Luckily I didn't because her answer was simple and straight forward. "Because I didn't want to."

"Oh fair enough," was all I had to say.

As we kept on talking into the night, with music playing distantly in the background, I realised that this was the very first time I had viewed Hermione as a person and not just an annoying bookworm with nothing but homework to do. I knew that after this night, the way I treated Hermione would not only be different, but be kind.

* * * * *

The next day I woke up feeling very ill. Nine and a half glasses of fruit punch can do that to you. As I lifted my heavy body out of bed I hoped that Kat was feeling this terrible too so that I wouldn't be the only one, mean as that may have sounded. I dropped my feet on the ground and searched frantically around for something to wear.

Somewhere from across the room I heard somebody grunt.

"Perce?" I whispered.

"Urgh..." Percy raised his head slightly from the pillow and grinned at me. "Morning Oliver," he drooled.

"Uh hi," I replied.

"Have a good night?"

"Yeah I did thanks, did you?" I asked. "Percy?" I repeated again, after getting no reply. "Hello?" As I squinted my eyes to see clearer I realised he'd fallen asleep again. Chuckling to myself and regretting it when the headache kicked in, I rolled off the bed and found some robes lying around. After throwing them on and stumbling down the stairs to the common room I was greeted by... well nobody.

Seeing as I was used to getting up so early due to Quidditch training it seemed I must have been the only person awake in all of Hogwarts. My body clock wouldn't let me sleep in, even with the thumping headache.

"Hi Oliver," somebody said from one of the armchairs.

I jumped about a foot off the ground as I had thought I was the only one in here. "Hermione, good morning!" I said.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

I couldn't believe my very eyes. I rubbed them once, I rubbed them twice and finally I stopped rubbing them because I was creating red marks. I blinked to get the sleep out of my eyes but it made no difference. Surely enough, Hermione was sitting there doing homework.

I shouldn't have been surprised because watching Hermione do homework was becoming very ordinary but after a ball? The morning after a full on hardcore night of partying? And she was up at five studying?

"Uh why?" was all I could say.

"Why what?" she asked, completely innocent.

"Why are you doing homework?" I asked.

She just laughed but didn't answer my question. I collapsed on an armchair opposite her and we sat there for ten minutes with the only noise being the scratching of her quill on the parchment.

For some reason, I still had the thumping bass and beat from the previous night echoing in my head. Orange juice. I needed food.

"Want to grab some breakfast?" I asked, commanding, more than asking.

"No thanks," she replied, looking up briefly to gesture at the empty plate sitting next to her armchair. "Already eaten."

"Well, want to keep me company then?" I hinted more.

"Oh!" she seemed to get the point. "Yeah, sure, okay." She carefully closed the book and slid it under the chair where it was safely concealed. After noticing the strange look on my face she explained. "I don't want someone to steal it." I opened my mouth to tell her that nobody would want to steal a school textbook but closed it again. I was too tired to lecture someone. Hell, I was too tired to even care who I was eating breakfast with.

As we reached the Great Hall, I could smell bacon and eggs and toast and pancakes all wafting in the air. My stomach rumbled and I knew Hermione was hungry again too judging by the look on her face.

I pushed the door open and let her through before pulling out a chair for her to sit down.

She stared in awe at me.

"What?" I asked, sitting down opposite her.

"You just opened the door for me and pulled out my chair," she remarked, helping herself to some toast.

I turned red. I had to. "Oh well..." I trailed off.

We were the only two in the entire Great Hall except for a house elf here and there, who were mumbling something about getting breakfast ready so early and nobody even coming to eat it.

For what felt like the first time ever, I was truly looking at Hermione. I realised what I had initially said about her was totally wrong. She wasn't bad looking at all. Even dressed in plain robes and with no make-up and nothing special done with her hair, she had some sort of natural glow immensing itself from her. The way her eyes sparkled when she laughed at something totally lame I had said, or the way she seemed to frown ever so slightly when she was thinking. All of these things I had noticed about her in the last few weeks. But nothing, nothing was more beautiful than her personality.

Suddenly and scarily it hit me. Just as the bacon was about to enter my mouth. I was falling in love with Hermione.

The fork missed my mouth and I dropped the food on the table cloth. Yet I didn't even notice. I was too busy trying to calm the nerves inside of me. Hermione? Me? Love? Try as I might, this was something I definitely could not ignore.

Author's Note: I am so sorry it has taken so long for me to get this chapter out! Oh God, I feel so terrible. I had started it but never got round to continuing it because I have been just so busy! I know that that is my excuse every time but believe me, I feel awful. I'll keep writing them as fast as I can okay? Hope you haven't all forgotten about this story...

Author's Note continued: By the way, thanks to the people who added me to their Favourites list. With this new ffnet feature, I can now see who added me and I truly appreciate it. Thanks heaps!