Dedicated to my friend Elli, and to Katrina, the only one who I ever told my story to. And to all the guys out there with red hair. You will love me, and I will very, very much love you. LOL But remember, I said RED not orange.

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It was, in Hermione's opinion, much too early to be getting up. But she couldn't miss this interview, and she couldn't miss the train. So she stumbled out of bed and relied on her sense of touch to make sure she got to the bathroom. She didn't need to worry about anyone seeing her in this state, everyone except her and Ron were asleep, and Ron took a long time to get out of bed. She reached the door and turned the knob. She walked in.

If Hermione hadn't been awake before, she was most definitely wide awake now. Ron had obviously just had a shower and was wearing only a towel around his waist. His hair was still wet and he was just finished brushing his teeth. For someone who had been tortured for three years….He looked very good.

Hermione scolded herself for thinking such thoughts and realised exactly what, if anyone was up at this ghastly hour, this would look like.

" Oh, um, I'll uh just wait outside until you're finished I suppose," she said, turning quite like the colour of Ron's hair.

Speaking of his hair, she realised suddenly how extremely cute red hair could be. She could imagine what it would be like to run her fingers through it. She yelled at herself again, wondering what was wrong with her to be making her think these thoughts. Her body obviously couldn't stand getting up at this hour. Yes, that must be it. But she really had to get out of here, before her mind thought other things. She needed to get out. Now. She started to walk backwards out of the washroom but slammed into the door, realising that it must be closed. She fumbled with the knob, and Ron sniggered at her. He obviously thought this was all very funny.

The door clicked, and Hermione fell back into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. She leaned against the walls and closed her eyes. She thought about exactly what she had just seen. Of course, she hadn't exactly seen anything bad. Oh, no, it had all been good but, the embarrassment! Head Girl at Hogwarts seeing THAT and thinking THOSE thoughts! What if someone found out? What if Professor McGonagall found out?

This is ridiculous, she thought. No one's going to know. It's not that bad, I suppose. But, Honestly! Didn't Ron think to lock the door? Suddenly she started laughing as she imagined what the look on her face must have looked like. No wonder Ron found it funny.

The door opened, and out came Ron, swinging the towel in his hand and whistling. He grinned at her.

" It's all yours," he said with a smirk on his face.

" What are you DOING up at this hour? You're never up this early, and even then, you're always grumpy if you haven't gotten enough sleep. And I know you didn't. Seven hours is not enough! Honestly, Ron, didn't you know that it's unhealthy to be lacking sleep? It can cause serious-" But she never got to finish since Ron, tired of listening to her, pushed her into the washroom and closed the door behind her. Well! Thought Hermione. But she went in the shower anyway.

Half an hour later, Hermione and Ron had eaten, and had just put on their jackets. Shrinking their trunks, they pocketed them and headed out the door. The town was starting to wake up and the sun had just come over the trees. The Christmas snow sparkled so white it blinded you, literally.

"Owwww! My eyes!" said Ron, rubbing the aforementioned body part. Hermione agreed, then screamed when she realised the time.

"Ron! Lokk at the time! We're going to be late!" she said, starting to run.

"Hermione," said Ron, catching up quickly, " We won't be late. The train station is just around the corner!"

" Yes, but Ron, we haven't bought your ticket yet!" she yelled, pulling ahead. Ron eyes widened when he realised that they hadn't.

" Run!!!!!" he agreed. And they ran. They ran up the long driveway, down the long street and around the corner to the station. They raced inside the building, ran to the nearest ticket vender and hurriedly asked for a ticket. The vender smiled at them and said," Sorry, but this train is full, there are no tickets left."

" No tickets! But there must be some! Who the hell travels on New Years day to London?" said Hermione, and Ron snorted.

" We do, obviously. And watch your language Hermione…" Hermione simply glared at him.

" No, honestly, we don't need two seats, it's okay, just give us a ticket. One of us can stand."

" Or you can sit in my lap."

" No," the vendor repeated. " I can't do that. There is only a certain number of people allowed on the train and it's already full. London is a long ways away, you know." He said it with such finality that they gave up and bought a ticket for the next train. Gloomily, they went over to a bench and sat down. And they waited. And waited. And waited. The minutes on the clock passed very slowly, and Hermione was almost crying with frustration. Ron kept on trying to make stabs at conversation, but Hermione was very bored, and Hermione was not a person whom you wanted to be around when she was bored. Finally, an hour and a half of boredom and Ron's awful jokes ( was it just me or had Hermione wanted those jokes more than anything else in the world a few days ago?) the train finally pulled into the station.