Hermione Granger was down in the Gryffindor Common Room well before breakfast, reading. It was actually a bit of a trial spending multiple days in a small room - even though Lavender and Parvati would leave and give her some peace and quiet.

The Gryffindor Common Room was cozy, particularly the brilliant couches - even if they were in eyebleeding crimson and gold. Other students greeted Hermione as they came down (although most of them seemed to be in such a hurry for breakfast that they didn't talk).

Lavender had sat down with Parvati a third of the way around the room from Hermione, so she wasn't surprised at all when Ron made a beeline for "Lav." Harry came tumbling down the stairs a good five minutes later, and mumbled something about his alarm when Angelina looked at his state of disarray.

He perked up when he saw Hermione, making his way over to her. "Hermione! You've recovered!" He said cheerily, sitting down with her. Hermione could almost hear Ron's part of the conversation, with him saying "Rotten luck, and over the weekend too!"

Hermione nodded, closing the book with her finger in it to save her place.

"Was it Malfoy that did it?" Harry asked.

Hermione said, "No, and not here. Come along." Hermione said, standing, and walking swiftly down Gryffindor Tower, and into a disused balcony area, that opened onto a dustcover-ridden room that looked to have rather too many chairs and tables for sitting in. And it was dusty, too, as Harry sneezed.

"How do you even know about this place?" Harry asked.

"Stumbled into it a year ago." Hermione said, "You know how the stairs are always changing?"

Harry nodded, saying, "So if it wasn't Malfoy, who was it?"

Hermione laughed, saying, "It doesn't matter," to which Harry gave a glare Hermione didn't quite understand, "It wasn't unkindly meant."

Harry crossed his arms, "Whatever." His face had gone hard, and he looked close to growling at her.

"Besides it was my idea," Hermione said primly.

"WAIT!" Harry said, in a surprising imitation of Ron Weasley, "You WANTED that to happen? WHY?"

"It was informative." Hermione said in her normal lecturing tone. "You did want to know what was going on with the Slytherins, didn't you?"

Harry started talking as if out of a strangled throat, "Well, Yes, But- THAT?!"

"That." Hermione said calmly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry said, his big green eyes trying to make her feel guilty.

Hermione was more resolute than most, and was unmoved, "You can't act your way out of a paper bag."

Harry hung his head, for just a moment, and then looked up, with a small grin on his face, "That look on Snape's face!"

Hermione gave a slow grin back, and said, "You should have seen Malfoy's!"

"Erm, I was looking at him," Harry said, looking abashed.

"Yes, but not when I first walked in the room. He looked like he was going to faint. And not out of fear - out of sheer embarrassment for the entire incident!" Hermione chuckled

"Which he wasn't involved in?" Harry said, sounding confused.

"Exactly! Who would have guessed he was such a prude!?" Hermione said, still laughing, and Harry joined in.

"So, what did you learn-" Harry asked eagerly.

"Nobody from Slytherin was looking at Malfoy. They were taking their cues from Nott." Hermione said excitedly, "That means that you were right - Malfoy's not in power anymore."

Harry contemplated, "Malfoy thought Pansy did it ..."

Hermione shook her head, "If he really thought that, wouldn't he have smirked a congratulations?"

Harry nodded slowly, and then straightened, "He was deflecting! Instead of a pure denial, he was saying he didn't do it!" Harry shook his head, chagrined, "Wish I'd have thought of that... woulda helped fourth year."

Hermione shook her head, convinced that nothing would save Harry from having the rest of the school hate him. "And... there's something else." Hermione said, "The Slytherins weren't looking at Malfoy - that means that they don't believe, absent of his Slytherin position, that he'd do something like that."

Harry shook his head, absently. "Do you think that was because of the nature of the spell?"

"Honestly?" Hermione said, "I couldn't say... I didn't expect Malfoy to react so strongly to it - he was acting as if he abhorred even being in the same room as it..."

Harry smirked at Hermione, and said, "Great job! Let's grab breakfast before we're late to Transfiguration."

And they both pounded down the stairs towards the Great Hall.

[a/n: Of course Hermione doesn't just do a prank (and getting that reaction from Malfoy and Snape!). It makes me smile.

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