A/N: Thanks to all the people who gave me feedback from the last chapter! You guys are the best! (

Disclaimer: Nope, still haven't managed to get my hands on the rights...

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"I can't believe we have to go through this again," Ron muttered to Harry as they eyed a group of giggling girls hurrying down the hallway and looking back in their direction, erupting into even more giggles.

Harry sighed. "Yeah, I know. You would think the professors would at least have some sort of sympathy on us."

"No shit." Ron rolled his eyes. "But from the way Dumbledore talked, you'd think that people actually enjoyed themselves last year."

"Well, I guess a lot of people did," Harry said, shrugging. "I mean, Seamus and Lavender certainly had a good time."

They both snickered remembering how Seamus had come back and given them a play by play of the "goodnight" he'd said with Lavender the year before. Of course, Seamus and Lavender were long over- probably because Seamus couldn't seem to make himself stop staring at every other (well, almost every other- there were the Eloise Midgens and Millicent Bulstrodes that didn't count) female in the school.

"Yeah, can't you imagine how jealous Parvati was when Lavender filled her in?" Ron was grinning slyly at Harry who rolled his eyes at the redhead.

"I think Parvati had a fine time without me," he said sharply. "Padma certainly seemed to handling things just fine on her own."

Harry had, in a last attempt to secure himself a date the year before, managed to talk Parvati Patil into accompanying him and even managed to get Ron a date with Parvati's identical twin Padma. Of course, he was sure that the Patil twins would think long and hard before ever agreeing to go out with them again, as the night had been completely awful until the twins had abandoned Harry and Ron for some guys from a different school.

Ron shrugged. Then he smiled in a way that Harry didn't like too much. "You know what? Padma sure was cozying up to me at the end of last year... Maybe I'll go with her again."

He seemed quite full of himself and completely sure that Padma would accept his offer with no question. Harry, somehow, didn't think it was going to happen.

"What about Hermione?" he asked, quickly sneaking a glance around to make sure no one was lagging close enough to them in the corridor to overhear their conversation.

Ron turned his head and met Harry's eye; Harry could see a faint blush coloring his pale face. "What about her? She'll probably owl Mr. Krum to accompany her." He said the name 'Mr. Krum' in a rather biting fashion, wrinkling his eyes as the words escaped his lips.

Harry decided to comment anymore on the topic. He started to say something about that night's upcoming Quidditch practice, but he was cut short when Ron pointed ahead of them at something.

"Speaking of 'Mione. There she is."

Harry stopped short. He was silent for a moment before snickering loudly. "Did you just call her 'Mione?"

Ron stopped and turned around, confused for only a second before erupting into his own laughter. "Oh, yeah! She hates it! Bugs the shit out of her!" He glanced in the direction of their female best friend who was approaching them quickly. "Call her that and see what she does," Ron whispered to Harry just as Hermione joined them.

"Hey, guys!" she said brightly.

Harry fought down a laugh and managed to say, "Hey, 'Mione."

Hermione's smile faded as she stared at Harry. Then her gaze fell on Ron, and she glared at him. "Hello, Ronald," she said bitingly. Turning to Harry, she said, "Hello, Harold."

Harry couldn't hold back the laughter at that. "That's not even my real name."

But Hermione pointed a finger in his face and said quite haughtily. "It could be for all you know, so shut up."

Harry smirked at her and reached for the finger she had placed in his face. He lowered her hand and said, "Okay, 'Mione."

Hermione threw both hands into the air and let out an exasperated, "Eurgh! I can barely deal with one of you, much less two!"

Both boys started to laugh but quickly stopped as a group of about five girls stopped very close to them, giggling loudly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched them curiously as two of the girls extracted themselves from the group and joined the trio.

One of the girls was Emily Mayfield, and the other one was another fourth year that they all knew by sight but had never spoken to. She, too, was very pretty, with long silky black hair, almond colored eyes, and coffee- colored skin. Both girls were showing off perfect smiles as they stopped beside the three friends.

"Hi, Harry," Emily said brightly. Her hair was down now, no longer in the plaits, and it fell almost to her waist in smooth waves.

Harry glanced at the floor, feeling himself blush again. "Uh, hey."

"I still don't have a date," Emily told him pointedly.

Harry didn't know what that was supposed to mean to him, so he just said, "Er... Okay."

Emily smiled once again; she had to be the smilingest person on the face of the planet. With that, she turned her attention to Harry's best friend. "You're Ron, right?" she asked with another quick grin.

Ron looked slightly taken aback that she had addressed him, but he managed to nod. "Yeah."

Emily motioned in the direction of her friend. "This is Valerie Priers." Harry watched as Valerie shot Ron a smile to rival Emily's.

Ron managed to return it, though it was clear he was a little uncomfortable. "Hi, Valerie..."

Valerie grinned. "Hi!" Okay, she was a very perky person.

Emily took it upon herself to continue the conversation. "Do you have a date for the ball, Ron?"

Harry chanced a glance at Hermione who was suddenly looking anything but amused.

"Um..." Ron swallowed and shook his head. "No..."

"Good!" Emily seemed quite pleased by his response. "Valerie doesn't, either! So, she'll probably be around, I'm sure available, for at least the next few days."

Valerie was smiling at Ron in a way that could have put Emily Mayfield to shame. Ron was now blushing a dark pink as he nodded quickly and said, "Er... Okay."

This was the obviously the breaking point for Hermione. She let out a very loud sound of disgust and said, "Don't you girls have anything better to do than stand around and giggle?!" She was directing the question to the group of Valerie and Emily's friends, but Harry didn't miss how her glare turned sharply to Valerie at the end of her question.

Everyone stood staring at her in shock. It was clear that Ron had no idea what to say to her sudden rudeness, and the group of friends looked just as shocked as Harry felt. It was Emily who finally spoke.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but just because your two best friends don't want to date you doesn't mean you have to get all pissy." She said this in a tone completely different chipper one she usually used. In fact, she sounded downright nasty.

Hermione just stared at her silently for a second before retorting in an equally nasty tone. "Well, they certainly don't want to date you. But I guess you can't get that through your thick skull. Perhaps the bleaching spell you use on your hair seeped through to your brain." Hermione placed both hands on her hips and stared at the other girl, daring her to say something else.

Ron and Harry were both quite shocked. Stunned silent, in fact.

Emily let out a huge gasp of surprise, and it was quite clear she wasn't able to come up with a comeback quick enough. Valerie, however, stepped forward and straight into Hermione's view.

"Don't you even..."

She was cut off by Hermione throwing a hand up to stop her. "I don't believe anyone said anything to you, Miss Valerie," she literally spat the word 'Valerie.' "So, kindly keep your nose in your own business."

Valerie, though, was certainly not going to keep her nose in her own business. Smiling sarcastically, she cocked her head to one side and said, "Aren't you a Mudblood?" in what was a very sweet-toned voice, however phony it might have been.

She had, of course, said the wrong thing, and Ron suddenly spoke up. "Don't you talk to her like that!"

Hermione turned to Ron only briefly before pulling him back by his arm and saying, "Ron, just shut up." Ron looked at her, confusion on his face, but he shut up nonetheless. Hermione kept speaking. "Yes, I am Muggle-born," in a tone that showed she was proud of the fact. Then with a sweet and phony voice to match Valerie's she said, "And what are you? A Slytherin reject?"

Perhaps Valerie had been counting on being sorted into Slytherin and had been denied that fact, and was still holding bitterness about the situation. Perhaps she didn't appreciate being called a reject. Whatever the cause, Hermione's last sentence obviously sent her over the edge, and before any of them knew what was happening, Valerie's fist was making direct contact with Hermione's nose.

Hermione gasped with the initial shock and quickly clapped a hand to her nose, Harry assumed to stop the blood.

Harry felt an anger like no other taking over him. It was one thing to mess with him, and he could even keep himself under control when someone messed with Ron. But to mess with Hermione was just not acceptable.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he found himself exclaiming at Valerie as he saw Ron immediately dart forward and grab Hermione.

The fourth year Ravenclaws obviously all found this funny, as their giggling had turned abruptly into laughing. Harry could see Ron holding Hermione's shoulders, obviously coaxing her to let him have a look at the nose, but she was shaking her head.

"What's the matter?" Valerie asked snidely. "Aren't you going to fight back?"

It was wrong to taunt Hermione, as she'd never been one to back down from a challenge. She made an instant move to attack the fourth year, but Ron luckily still had a grasp on her shoulders and held her back. "No, Hermione!" he said quickly. "You know you'll get into real trouble this time!"

Harry wished that Valerie wasn't a girl because he still had a clean slate on the fighting scale for the year, and he would honestly have liked to knock the shit out of the girl. He wanted to yell a few choice words at the group of girls, but he noticed Ron dragging Hermione down the hall, obviously away from the group, and he didn't have time to do anything except glare at the whole lot of them before hurrying off after his best friends.

He saw Ron lead Hermione into a classroom, which was undoubtedly empty, as the school day was over. He started to join them but stopped short when he realized he was able to glimpse them through a crack they had left in the half-open door.

What he saw he didn't like at all.

Hermione was still clutching her nose, but had, at some point, obviously broken down into tears because she was whimpering loudly. Ron was still holding her shoulders and, from the looks of it, terrified beyond belief.

"Calm down," he urged quietly. "Let me see your nose."

But Hermione just shook her head rapidly and continued whimpering.

Ron kept one hand on her shoulder and used his other to raise her chin up to look at him. Just as quietly, he said, "Please."

But Hermione started crying even harder, and Harry could see that she was practically trembling.

"Hermione, you have to let me see it," he said gently. "Come on." He reached for the hands she had clamped over her face, and surprisingly enough, she allowed him to remove them.

Harry gasped at the sight. Hermione's entire face from her nose to her chin was covered in thick red liquid. Obviously, Valerie Priers was a very good fighter; it looked like she had really hurt Hermione with that one hit.

Ron looked shocked for a minute, but he forced himself not to make too big of a deal out of it- probably so Hermione wouldn't freak anymore than she already was. Instead, Ron placed a hand very carefully to her lips and brushed away some of the blood, so she could speak without inhaling it. Harry saw that when Ron's hands made contact with Hermione's mouth, that neither of them moved for a second before Ron gently raised her chin again.

"Are you okay?" He was using a gentle, calming voice that Harry wasn't even aware Ron possessed.

Hermione had stopped whimpering, but tears were still falling from her cheeks. She shook her head slowly and barely whispered, "It really hurts."

Ron nodded. "I know." Then he said, "We should get you to Madame Pomfrey; she'll be able to fix it."

But Hermione shook her head much more rapidly this time. "No! I'll get in trouble!"

"No, you won't," Ron squeezed her shoulder gently. "You didn't do anything; that girl just hit you. And anyway, there weren't any teachers around, and you know Madame Pomfrey doesn't ask questions."

Harry ducked out of sight just in time to see his two best friends emerging from the classroom, Ron's arm protectively around Hermione's shoulder as she bent her head to hide the mess on her face from view.

It was at this time that Harry heard a loud group of talking and laughing coming from the opposite direction. He turned to see Emily, Valerie, and their Ravenclaw friends marching proudly down the hall.

Harry couldn't take it anymore.

Whipping out his wand, he pointed it directly at Valerie and muttered a spell he had just recently read about. "Grunnitus!"

Valerie instantly sprouted a pig's tail, not unlike the one Dudley had received at the age of eleven, and her nose slowly transformed into a snout. Then, with great pleasure, Harry watched as she started grunting like a farm hog. All of her friends took on faces of horror, but Harry laughed.

And, of course, Professor Severus Snape just happened to be making his way down the hall at exactly the moment Harry had pulled his wand out.

"Finished, Potter?" he asked coldly, a wicked smile covering his thin lips. "This should be fun for both of us."

Harry inwardly groaned. This day just couldn't get any better...

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So? This one was a little short, too, but the next one's not. I've had it written for awhile, and I have to say it's one of my favorites ever! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!!!