Draco Malfoy hissed to himself when he saw the couple's tender embrace. He turned and stalked down to the dungeons. As he crossed through the Slytherin Common room, his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, looked to their leader for any orders. He shook his head and continued up to his private dormitory room. The other two boys returned to their game of chess. Not playing properly of course, but deliberately sending the pieces to be crushed. They laughed piggishly at the chess pieces' feeble attempts to defend themselves from their inevitable doom.

When Draco reached his room, he started pacing back and forth, following a well-worn path in the shiny granite floor. He cracked his knuckles and ground his teeth, the very picture of restrained anger. He took up his wand, cast a silencing charm on the room and then threw the wand against a wall with a grunt. "That little slut!" He raged. "Of course the little whore would go after Potter. And she got him. She could get anything she bloody-well wanted with that hair, those breasts." He thumped himself in the head. Truth be told, Draco Malfoy was overwhelmingly, inescapably infatuated with one Ginny Weasley. In a horrible twist of karma, he had fallen hopelessly in love with one of his greatest enemies. While Ginny herself was not a particular adversary to him personally, she was a Weasley, and Weasley's definitely were. Or so his father was constantly drilling into his head. Draco was to have nothing to do with that family, or his father would know why. Not used to feeling any sentiment for his fellow peers, besides utter loathing, Draco reacted to his unsolicited emotions for Ginny Weasley in the only way he knew: resentment and anger. "The scheming wench must have known I was there. Yes, she knew and she was flaunting her inaccessibility deliberately, just to spite me. Of course, that must be it." It never occurred to Draco that the couple simply loved each other, and were caught in the moment. Such rationalities were non- existent in the sixteen-year olds twisted mind. He was certain that Ginny Weasley knew of his feelings for her. Why else would he treat her, the way he did? No, to Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley knew all too well how he felt for her, and she rejected him by latching onto his insufferable rival in everything he did, Harry Potter.

Draco growled out loud at the memory of the two together, her small, delicate hands roaming Harry's body, and Harry's running over her back, her thighs, squeezing her round buttocks softly. Draco's eyes drifted shut and it did not take a great stretch of imagination to see himself in Potter's place, his lips trailing her neck, his hands caressing her lithe body, feeling the flatness of her taut stomach, kneading her perfect breasts and more. His eyes flashed open when he noticed his own hands moving, and blood rushing away from his head to other extremities on his body. "I need a shower," he thought grimly, feeling a familiar twinge in his nether regions. "A long, cold shower," he confirmed to himself. Losing himself in his Ginny-fantasy again, he fled to his private bathroom, for just that.

Meanwhile, in Gryffindor Tower...

Hermione waited until Lavender and Parvati both left the Common Room for bed, before feigning exhaustion and following them upstairs. Instead of continuing past their door, and onto her prefect bedroom, as she did every other night, she stopped at the girls' sixth year dormitory. Rapping on the door softly, she listened for sounds of moment inside. She was not disappointed. Someone's voice called out, getting louder as they got closer to the door.

"I told you before, Seamus. You aren't getting your Christmas present early, no matter how much you beg and plead, so just, go-Oh my!" Lavender opened the door to a chuckling Hermione, rather than a horny Seamus. Her face instantly went the same shade as her name. "Um, hi...Hermione. What a...surprise." Hermione sobered quickly.

"Lavender, I need your help." The pleading look in her eyes told Lavender that Hermione was quite serious. She ushered the girl into the room, looking up and down the staircase quickly, before shutting and locking the dormitory door. She led Hermione to her bed, made painfully obvious by the bright mauve duvet. After she had sat down herself, and made herself comfortable, Lavender faced Hermione. "Now, what exactly do you need my help for?" Hermione swallowed nervously. "Well, it's kind of...it's sort of...well, it's like this..."

"Oh, honey, you're going to have to speed this up," Lavender interrupted. Hermione blushed, and looked at her hands, which were folded nervously in her lap.

She continued quietly, "Well, to tell you the truth, its kind of related to what you were yelling through the door." Lavender coloured again, but to a much lesser degree.

"What about it?"

"Well, it's about...well, you may not believe this, but I kinda have feelings for Ron Weas-"

Lavender cut her off with a squeal. "'Vati, you owe me five galleons," she called across the room.

"Excuse me?" Hermione started at Lavender blankly.

"Oh no! Hermione, you couldn't have waited two more weeks?!" Parvati Patil's voice called across the room.

"What?"

"Oh, it's ok, Hermione," Lavender explained. "Me and Parvati-"

"Parvati and I," Hermione corrected automatically. Lavender rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Parvati and I had a bet going on you and Ron realising the UST between you two. I bet that you would figure it out before the year was over."

"You did what?" Hermione shrilled. "And what on earth is UST?"

"Unresolved Sexual Tension," Parvati supplied, as she came to join the two girls on Lavender's bed. Hermione just stared in shock at these two girls.

"Does everyone know my business?" she finally asked.

"Yes," the two girls replied in unison, as Parvati begrudgingly handed over five gold coins, which Lavender eagerly pocketed.

"Now, what do you need my help for, if you've already realised that you're in love with Ron?" Hermione quickly detailed Ron's plan to toy with her, and her own counter attack. "The only problem is, I know nothing about seducing men," she concluded. "Which is why I need you two,"

"Hmm, this is quite a predicament for you to be in," Lavender said. "What do you think, 'Vati?"

"I think we should teach her some skills. She's a fast learner, and studies well, as everyone well knows." Hermione grinned.

"What skills, exactly?" she asked.

"The fine art of seduction," Lavender and Parvati said in unison.

"Uh huh..."

"But not tonight," Lavender said, abruptly. "Training starts tomorrow, bright and early." Lavender then began climbing back under her purple bed covers.

"So, like...eight?" Hermione suggested. Parvati snorted.

"Try eleven," she said, as if the answer had been glaringly obvious. Hermione nodded agreement.

"Thank you, you guys. This really means a lot to me."

"Don't thank us until the boy has been caught," Parvati said as she made her way back to her own bed. Hermione strode towards the door. Remembering something just as she reached for the handle, she turned and called back, "Oh, and Lavender?"

"Mmhmm?"

"What did you get Seamus for Christmas?" Lavender chuckled softly.

"Chocolate body paint."

Hermione's eyes widened at the thought, and without another world, retreated to the relative normalcy of her own room.