It was about half-past four when Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely returned from their Prefect duties, and entered the compartment Harry Potter was sitting in. Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasely were napping on the seat across from him. Harry sighed. He had been staring absent-mindedly out of the window at the rolling English countryside, when a sudden noise jerked him out of his state of mind. Ron had slammed the sliding door angrily out of his way as he stormed in. Hermione followed him with a worried expression on her face.

"He didn't mean it, Ron!" she exclaimed.

"He did too, that bloody prick..." snarled Ron, plopping down next to Harry. Looking amused at Ron's anger, Harry said, "What happened?"

Hermione sighed and took a seat next to the sleeping Ginny. "Seamus Finnigan spilled hot chocolate all over his shoes."

"He poured it on there himself." Ron glowered.

"The train lurched, Ron!"

"Oh, right, take his side. That's typical of you," grumbled Ron, who had seized the bottom of his robes and was hastily wiping his robes. "These are my last good pair, you know."

Harry felt sympathetic towards his red-headed friend. Even though at some times Ron could be hot-headed, he had a point. Ron's family was poor and they didn't have a lot of money to buy clothes all the time. The hot-chocolate had probably stained them, and when the milk in the chocolate dried, it would have a horrible stench.

"Hermione, isn't there anything you can do for Ron? A drying spell or something?" asked Harry, stretching his arms.

"We already tried that. The hot chocolate already dried."

"Oh." said Harry, suddenly not looking forward to sharing a room with Ron.

The compartment was silent for a few moments, and both Hermione and Harry sighed and looked at the window out at the countryside. The sky had darkened, as if with their mood, and it had begun to drizzle. Neville's head lolled around and he began to snore. At this, Ginny Weasely woke up, rumpled and red-nosed.

"Zzz...Wha?" she asked, peering over at Neville curiously. She began to laugh then stopped at the sight of Ron's face. "Ron, what happened?"

"That bloody bastard, Seamus Finnigan--"

"--Accidentally spilled hot chocolate on Ron's shoes." Hermione finished angrily, and stood up. "I'm going to go to the loo!"

At that, she left the room, slamming the sliding door behind her. Ron looked down and wiped his shoes with the hem of his robe again. The room was silent again. Harry exchanged a worried look with Ginny.

"Seamus meant it, though." said Ron quietly.

"How do you know?" asked Ginny, annoyed.

"Well, before Hermione had finished her rounds, we had an argument. Me and Seamus, I mean," muttered Ron, "About who gets Hermione."

"Oh, and I'm guessing it didn't take his side?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. But he didn't have to get revenge or something! It was very hot chocolate!"

Harry began to laugh, and Ginny snickered. Ron looked up and saw Hermione standing there, holding a piece of paper, and wearing a very Hermione-like expression.

"I didn't go to the loo," she said, "Instead I went to the driver and asked him what speed we were going about ten minutes ago."

Everyone in the compartment, except Neville, groaned. It was so like Hermione to get the facts before accusing someone!

"Well, we were going approximately ninety six and a half kilometers per hour. So if we had the weight of the hot chocolate, which is about one kilo, we could figure the terminal velocity of the spilled hot chocolate."

"Oh my God..." mumbled Ginny.

"I've already figured it out, and Seamus DID accidentally spill the hot chocolate on Ron's shoes."

"God, Hermione, I wish you weren't smart!" cried Ron.

At that moment, a white light flashed on Hermione, and she fell to her knees. Ginny gasped and ran to her side.

"Hermione! What happened? Are you okay!"

Hermione picked herself up and started laughing hysterically.

"Ha ha ha, oh my God, I amsuch a klutz!" she said between the giggles, and took her place next to Neville.

The conversation in the compartment was normal for quite a while. Perhaps the lights had malfunctioned, though Harry. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with Hermione. At a quarter past five, the sliding door was pushed open and Draco Malfoy entered the compartment.

"Oh, look how cozy." he said, referring to the packed compartment.

"Malfoy!" said Harry. "What do you want!"

"Now, now, why are you raising your voice?" he asked, with a curt smile on his face.

"What are you up to, Malfoy?" asked Ginny.

"I'm borrowing Hermione for a bit." he stated, then grabbed a confused Hermione by the hand and ran out of the door.

"Hey! Come back!" cried Ron.

"It's okay, Ron. Hermione's a smart girl. She'll be okay." Ginny reassured his brother.

But her words were defied by a shriek from the hallway. The whole compartment rushed out to see what the matter was. Hermione was sprawled on her back on the floor, and Draco was standing above her with a look of disgust on his face.

"Malfoy!" cried Ron. "What did you do! Give her back!"

"You can have her! She's so dumb!" he shouted in disbelief and dashed in his compartment.

Hermione tilted her back to look at Harry, Ron and Ginny. "Hi," she smiled and laughed.

"Hermione, what happened?" asked Ginny. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Well, Malfoy asked me if I knew Scrimgeour, and I said 'Yeah' because it's a dance isn't it?"

"A dance?"

"Yeah, a type of break dance. And then he asked me why I was being so weird and I shrieked 'cause I'm not."

"So, you really don't know Scrimgeour?"

"I told you! It's a type of break dance!" cried Hermione, and attempted to do a head spin.

"Oh man..." muttered Ginny, as the boys went back into the compartment, leaving her standing in the hall.