Chapter Twelve

-

An Overnight Change

"My, how nice everyone looks this morning," Professor McGonagall said.

Today, some of the boys were wearing shirts with collars, and even Pansy was wearing a dress.

Hermione slid down in her chair. She was the only girl in jeans.

Professor McGonagall smiled at Ginny. "I think you've started a trend," she said.

That's for sure, Hermione thought. And clothes were only a small part of it.

Parvati spent the morning with her head in her hands staring at Harry's profile. Hermione could see how uncomfortable it made him. He squirmed in his seat, shot Parvati exasperated looks, covered the side of his face with an open hand, and finally turned the back of his head to her. Once, Professor McGonagall scolded him for fidgeting, which made everyone, except Harry and Hermione, laugh.

The entire class was unusually fidgety all morning. They were up and down like jack-in-the-boxes, offering to collect papers, hand them out, refill their ink – anything to allow them to pass by one another's desks where they dropped notes or exchanged playful pokes or grinned at one another in the same sappy way.

At first, both boys and girls would glance at Ginny to check her reaction to the proceedings, but when she paid no attention, they seemed to forget all about her.

Hermione's stern, disapproving face kept anybody from bothering her. Nevile did approach her desk once with what looked like a note. He hesitated beside her briefly, his face growing redder, and then moved on. By lunchtime, only Hermione and Ginny seemed exempt from the madness that had gripped the third years.

When it was time for lunch, Professor McGonagall said, "I have never seen this class so restless. I strongly suggest you avoid sugar at lunch." She believed that sugar was at the root of the world's problems. Sugar and jeans.

The class exploded out of the room despite Professor McGonagall's warning to be quiet in the halls. Unnoticed, Hermione slipped out of the classroom holding her books. Ginny came out at her heels.

"Hi," she said. "Do you think we could sit together at the Gryffindor table at lunch?"

"Oh, sure," Hermione said. She tried to imagine how the other girls would take this new development. With Ginny at their table, they wouldn't be able to talk about her.

"I couldn't concentrate at all this morning," Ginny said.

Who could? Hermione thought.

"This class is really different," Ginny went on. "Much more… social or something. In my other class, the boys and girls didn't pay so much attention to each other."

Hermione looked at her in disbelief. While she realised that Ginny hadn't been a third year long enough to realise how complete a change had come over the class, she found it hard to believe that the girl was completely unaware of her part in the transformation. "They weren't always like this," she said, studying Ginny for some indication that she knew more than she was letting on. "Actually, they just got this way."

Ginny blinked innocently. "You mean, like, overnight?"

Hermione shrugged. "Just about."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Gee, Hermione," she said, "it sounds like some kind of horror movie or something where everybody goes to bed one way and gets up another." She laughed nervously at the thought.

Hermione saw enough truth in that comparison to keep her from joining in.

As Hermione and Ginny approached the girls' table, Parvati, Padma and Lavender began moving spots frantically.

Padma patted a space on the bench between her and Parvati. "Sit here, Ginny," she said. It was more like a command than an invitation.

On the other side of the table, Lavender said, "there's more room here."

Smiling at them both, Ginny sat away from them all in a space near Harry. Hermione sat between Harry and Ginny.

Immediately, Malfoy scooted over from the Slytherin table and kneeled next to Ginny.

Leaning close to her, he said, "How's it going?"

Ginny shot Hermione a sidelong glance. Her fearful expression seemed to say: Help!

Hermione smiled back.

Padma spotted the exchange. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Ginny said, "just a little private joke. Right, Hermione?"

"Right," Hermione answered. Glancing around the table, she added, "Just a little private joke." She noted with satisfaction that she could almost see the steam rising from the tops of the other girls' heads.

Malfoy got to his feet. Judging by his expression, Hermione knew he thought the joke was on him.

"See you," he said and drifted back to the Slytherin table.

Watching after him sadly, Lavender said, "Now look what you did, Hermione."

"What did I do?" asked Hermione.

"Chased Draco away," Lavender answered.

"He didn't come over to talk to you, Lavender," Padma sneered.

Lavender shrugged. "So what? He came over, didn't he?"

Padma looked puzzled.

"If he came over, maybe some of the other boys might've come over too," Lavender explained.

"Oh. Right," Padma said. Then she gave Hermione a dirty look.

Egged on by the other boys, Nevile ambled over holding two bottles of Zonko's Shrinking Powder. "Put your hands on the table," he told Ginny.

Ginny glanced up at him, her eyes wide. "Why?"

"I want to show you something," Nevile said.

Ginny hesitated.

"Don't do it, Ginny," Padma said.

That seemed to be all Ginny needed. "Okay," she said.

"Palms down," Nevile said.

Ginny followed instructions. "Now what?"

"This." Nevile placed a bottle of shrinking powder on the back of each of her hands. "Okay. Now what you do it try to move the cartons off your hands without spilling any milk."

Everyone held their breath as Ginny surveyed the situation.

She smiled. "You mean like this?" She leaned forward and removed a carton with her teeth. With the freed hand, she took the carton from her mouth and handed it to Nevile. Then she removed the second container and gave that to him.

The girls clapped.

The boys cheered.

Nevile's face melted downward. His eyes still on Ginny, he reached toward the table. He set one bottle close to the edge – too close! It rocked. He grabbed for it, and crushed the bottle in his hand, getting shrinking powder all over him. The other smashed on the ground, spilling it on the ground.

Everyone laughed.

Except Ginny. She popped up out of her chair to help Nevile mop himself off. She helped him up and took him to the infirmary as he rapidly began to shrink.

Hermione caught Harry's eye. The look of admiration in it was unmistakable.