A/N: Chapter five is here! I hope you guys like this one. It's longer like I promised!

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Harry, Hermione, always-so-sexy Draco, Ron, Ginny or any other character in the HP world.

Enjoy!

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CHAPTER V – Wandering

Few days later, on Friday, Dumbledore announced to the whole school there was going to be a ball, a Valentine's day ball. Especially the girls were very happy about the idea. You could hear them talking about what kind of dress robes or make-up they should wear on Valentine's day.

Though it wasn't even Christmas yet, everybody started to find dates for the ball. After Dumbledore's announce, Neville had this weird expression in his eyes every time Hermione glanced at him. She was afraid that Neville might ask her to the dance, so she ran away every time she saw him coming near her.

"do you think Hermione wants to go with me to the dance?", Neville asked Harry when they were at the Care of magical creatures -lesson.

"well… umm…", Harry thought.

He knew Hermione didn't want go to the ball with Neville. Harry just wasn't sure how to say that to him.

"I really don't know Neville. Maybe you should just ask someone else."

"like who?"

"like… like…", Harry pondered out loud. "like Ginny!"

"Ginny? But she's… she's Ron's sister", Neville said it like Harry didn't already know that.

"you don't have to ask her if you don't want to. I'm just suggesting", said Harry smiling weakly. "but I think you should just forget Hermione."

"h-has she said something bad about me? Is she mad?", Neville paled as a sheet.

"no, no! I just think she might… might…go with someone else", said Harry feeling strong sympathy towards Neville.

Neville nodded sadly and left it there. Harry looked him feeling very sad for him.

The day was just horrible for Hermione. Not just because of Neville but because she had to do a potions pair work with Goyle! Ron was paired with Draco and Harry with Seamus. Snape had taken lots of points from Gryffindor because Hermione had grumbled about her partner.

Goyle was a complete idiot! (but that of course didn't surprise Hermione). Hermione had to tell him every single thing he was suppose to do, like "first add the yellow feather and then stir for a moment" etc. But Goyle didn't remember what Hermione had told him just a minute ago so he did the opposite. He stirred (the boiling water) first and then put the feather. Luckily nothing happened (after all, stirring boiling water doesn't really make much damage). The whole thing just proved how stupid Goyle was.

At times Hermione was about to snap but calmed herself down. She didn't want to give Snape any more reasons to deduct points from Gryffindor.

Everything looked going just fine until Goyle was about to put leech instead of carnation. That was it. She couldn't help it. Goyle had done so many mistakes that this just was it.

"no! No! No!", Hermione yelled so loud that everybody in the room started to stare at her.

"you beanhead! You put the leech after you have mixed all the other ingredients!"

Goyle growled something but left it there.

'what an idiot!', Hermione thought.

Snape, of course, took loads of points from Gryffindor because of "Ms Granger's behaviour", so had Snape snarled at her.

Like always, Neville had made his and Pansy's potion explode. A loud blast was heard and Pansy was covered with thick yellow liquid. She cried and screamed, so Snape had to take her to the hospital wing. Ron was getting glares from Slytherins because he laughed to what just had happened. Neville, on the contrary, was scared and about to cry.

At the same evening Hermione went to the Gryffindor common room to see Harry and Ron. An evening with Draco Malfoy didn't sound very tempting really.

In a way she missed those moments with Harry and Ron she had shared with them these passed years. Now it seemed like she wasn't even a Gryffindor anymore, having a different common room and sharing it with Draco Malfoy, her worst enemy. Only times she could associate with her friends seemed to be when they had lessons. On her free-time she had to do Heads' works. And though she enjoyed it, she felt somehow sad knowing Harry and Ron were having fun together at the same time. Hermione felt like she was a third wheel. But she didn't want to be an outsider. No.

"hullo! I thought I'd come here to visit you guys."

"hullo Hermione! We were just playing wizard's chess."

"well, aren't you always", Hermione gave a laugh and sat next to them.

Hermione watched them play the game for a half an hour and then got so bored that she went to the girls dormitory to see Ginny. She was there alone. Ginny was sitting on her bed looking pretty sad.

"hi Ginny!"

"hi", she answered quietly.

"what's wrong? Is it still about what happened with Malfoy? I mean if it is, you should just forget it. It's been like three –"

"no it's not that. I didn't even remember it after you reminded me of it", Ginny sighed.

"oh. Well, what is it then? Boy problems?", Hermione gave a laugh.

"well… not really… kind of."

"what is it? you can tell me", Hermione said as she sat next to Ginny.

"you see… Neville asked me to go with him to the ball…"

"oh…"

"yeah", Ginny sighed again.

"well what did you say to him?"

"I told him I would go with him but the truth is I don't want to."

Ginny looked down sadly.

"oh. Why did you even say you were going with him?"

"he… he looked so desperate. I couldn't say no", Ginny said.

"What are you going to do now?", Hermione asked gently.

"I don't know. If I say to him I don't want to go with him, I will hurt his feelings. But on the other hand, if I don't tell him, I'm not happy 'cause then I have to go with him", Ginny said sadly. "And I probably wouldn't get anybody else as partner to go with if I don't go with Neville. And if Neville noticed this he might start asking questions like: 'if you don't have a partner then why didn't want to go with me?'. Hermione! I don't know what to do!", Ginny cried.

"oh Ginny. I honestly don't know. I'm sorry. Maybe you just should tell him the truth."

"I can't! It would just hurt his feelings!"

"sometimes it's the only way", Hermione said and put her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"maybe… thank you anyway", Ginny said quietly and looked down.

Hermione comforted Ginny so long that she didn't even notice it was almost twelve o'clock.

"oh my god, Ginny! It's nearly midnight! I have to go! Do you think you'll be ok?", she asked and Ginny nodded. Hermione left Ginny and rushed to the Gryffindor common room.

Ron and Harry had probably already gone bed because the common room was empty.

Hermione walked through the dark corridors and pumped into something. She almost screamed but held it back. It was dark but the person who she had pumped into obviously had the same features as Draco had.

"Malfoy?", she whispered.

"what are you doing here?", he asked surprised.

"I could make you the same question", Hermione answered.

They heard footsteps somewhere near and before Hermione could say anything, she was pulled into a dark corner.

"be quiet", Draco told her.

Soon they saw Filch coming with Mrs Norris in front of him. Mrs Norris stopped near Draco and Hermione, and glanced at the direction of their hiding place.

"what is it? Did you see somebody?", Filch asked Mrs Norris.

Fortunately Filch passed Hermione and Draco, and started looking for them from a wrong place. Soon he and Mrs Norris disappeared. Draco stepped back to the corridor.

"phew! That was close", Hermione let out sigh of relief.

Draco didn't say anything.

"thank you", Hermione whispered to him.

Again he didn't answer. They started walking back to their common room.

"so… why are you up so late?", Hermione started a conversation.

"none of your business!", Draco snapped.

"okey, what ever", Hermione muttered. "You know, you could be much nicer to me now that we are Heads", she added.

"I don't want to make friends with mudbloods", he spat.

"you don't have to be my friend! I'm just saying you should do your duties as a Head boy and stop acting like a five year-old. You didn't help me with our decorations so I had to do it by myself! And as I recall it, you haven't done any of our duties! Nor have you helped me!", Hermione raised her voice.

"stop whining, Granger! I have done some of our works! Why do you have to be such a McGonagall about it?!", Draco almost yelled.

"because you are lazy! They shouldn't have picked you as a Head boy! You do absolutely nothing!"

"you are such a bitch!", Draco snarled.

"excuse me? What did you call me?!", Hermione asked angrily.

"a bitch!"

"how dare you!", she roared and almost jumped on Draco but someone held her back.

"there's no need for that Ms Granger!", they heard a voice.

"professor McGonagall!?", Hermione and Draco cried in unison.

"what are you two doing here fighting this time of night?! You know we have a curfew here!"

"we were just–"

"I don't care! Twenty points taken from Gryffindor and Slytherin!"

"but –"

"AND you both receive detention! Tomorrow- pardon me – today at eleven o'clock with Mr Filch!"

Draco glared at Hermione.

"it's all your fault mudblood", Draco murmured as McGonagall lead them back to the Heads' common room.

"what did you say Mr Malfoy?", McGonagall asked him knitting her brows.

"nothing", he muttered. "Absolutely nothing", he glared at Hermione.

"good! Because I don't want my two Heads fight over some little issues. Is that clear?!"

"yes", Draco and Hermione both answered quietly looking down.

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A/N: phew! Here you go guys! :) I hope this was long enough. Well, there's going to be a detention in the next chapter… what's gonna happen… I wonder, I wonder… ;)

Thanks to my reviewers:

Tandy – thanks!

Jessica laiter – hehe… I so agree!! :)

Totaloser – hehe… don't know what to say… ;)

RE16 – I just wanted to know… thank you for reviewing!

Scuorpionlady – thank you for reviewing and I will take a good look at your stories as soon as I can =)

Meg – I will :) yeah! Tom's hot! :P