It was the second last week of the summer holidays, and Hermione was frustrated. She was staying at the Burrow, and, as usual, sharing a room with Ginny. But this summer, Luna Lovegood was also staying- and sharing Ginny's room.
This normally wouldn't cause a problem. Of course, Hermione didn't really appreciate Luna's... individuality... but she could put up with it in short bursts. And after all, Luna was Ginny's friend, and Hermione spent much more time with Ron and Harry. She didn't see her every minute of the day. This afternoon, however, all Hermione wanted to do was read, and there was absolutely nowhere for her to go. It was rainy and bleak, and everyone was inside due to the wet weather. The Burrow was crowded with extra people and every single room had someone in it- someone being noisy. Honestly.
At the moment, Hermione was in Ginny's room, and having much trouble concentrating on reading Hogwarts, a History- for the 26th time, she was proud to say. But Ginny and Luna just kept giggling and talking, and their chatter was slowly driving her insane...
'Will you two please be quiet!'
Ginny raised her eyebrows at Hermione. 'Really, Hermione, we have a whole house. If you can't put up with us, there are other rooms.'
'Fine.' Hermione got up from the fading pink carpet, annoyance flickering over her face.
Hermione buried her nose in the book again and continued to read as she made her way slowly down the stairs, hand on the railing to steady herself. After a few minor trips and stumbles she reached the bottom of the stairs.
She tried the doors of a few rooms before discovering the quiet and peacefulness of the lounge, and decided to make this room her reading room for today. Hermione eventually found her way to the squashy, comfortable sofa by feeling her way along the walls, too engrossed in the current chapter to look up. She felt the soft padding of the sofa, and walked around to the front of it. She sat down, and-
'Argh!' a voice cried.
Hermione jumped up more quickly than she ever had before.
'Oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sit on you, I just didn't see you, I-'
A distinctly ruffled Percy Weasley interrupted her apologetic rant from the spot on the couch where Hermione had sat on him.
'Hermione! Calm down. It's perfectly alright. Just... watch where you're going next time.'
Hermione nodded her head embarrassedly, her face a bright pink from the ordeal. She quietly walked over to a single seat on the other side of the room, making sure no one was in it first.
After a short while Hermione sneaked a glance across the room at Percy. She wanted to see whether his face was still red. He was engrossed in his own book- A History of Wizards in Asia- and his face had, on the whole, resumed its normal pallor. With the odd freckle, of course.
In fact, Percy looked quite different than he had last summer, Hermione mused. She hadn't seen him since then, and he had developed a certain something... she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
So Hermione decided she would have to continue to steal glances at Percy until she discovered what exactly it was about him that was keeping her attention.
Half an hour later, Hermione thought she might have an inkling of what it was. But this time when she looked up for another bout of staring, she saw Percy staring right back at her.
A red flush began to creep over the sides of his face, and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. Hermione could see his eyes getting wider and she was sure hers were as well. She wanted to avert her eyes but neither of them could break away from that intense stare.
At last, Percy stood up. Red-faced, he managed to get out a few words before almost running out of the room.
'So - I guess I'll - see you round, then?'
Hermione was too busy staring to even nod.