As much as Hermione wants to complete as much work as possible, she decides to allow herself to spend time with her friends and ventures out into the train halls in search of them. The thick pile of papers are clipped together and tucked into a folder which she holds to her side. Upon exiting the meeting compartment, she notices the confused, irritated students left in Malfoy's wake. Hermione shakes her head, turning in the other direction to seek out her fellow Gryffindors.

Not long after departing, she spots a distressed witch pushing the cart of sweets. The woman is given a handful of Galleons by someone on the other side of a compartment door. Hermione rolls her eyes, approaching the lady.

"I can only sell you ten chocolate frogs!" the woman insists as she tries to count up the coins.

"You have plenty of them," Hermione hears Ron insist.

"I still have the whole train to go through!"

Ron's pleads come to a pause as he spots Hermione. "Ten is plenty," she chimes in, and he blushes.

"How about ten each for the lot of us?" he asks the woman.

She stops counting to consider the offer. "Five each, but I'll bring back the leftover frogs after I've gone through my route."

"Done," Ron nods. "Also, fifteen of the pepper imps, some fudge flies, a handful of toffees… and two sugar quills," he finishes, sending a wink toward Hermione.

The witch gathers the candy, packaging it in a paper bag for him after handing back a few of his galleons and a couple sickles. "Thank you for your business," she says somewhat insincerely.

"See you after your round," he smiles, looking at the basket of packaged chocolate frogs on her trolly as she walks away.

"You've come into some money, I see," Hermione teases.

"Well, it's gone now," he grins, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the compartment.

Ginny flies up from her spot, pulling her into a tight hug and pinning the girl's arms against her sides in the process. "I missed you so much!" she cries.

"I… missed you t-too," Hermione coughs out, bending her elbows and tapping the folder of papers to her back in an attempt to embrace her friend. "How was your summer?" she manages to ask as Ginny finally releases her.

"Amazing! Quidditch camp was so much fun." She lowers her voice and leans closer to Hermione, presumably so Harry and her brother can't hear her. "I met so many hot guys. Muscular, nice… some of them are even smart!" As Harry joins the two in the middle of the compartment, Ginny bites her lip and giving her a knowing glance.

"Uh, hello again," Harry interrupts, giving Hermione a side hug. "I wish Ginny had greeted me with that much enthusiasm," he teases lightheartedly.

Hermione laughs. "You don't have our kind of connection." Ginny nods in agreement.

On the bench behind Hermione sits Luna, Neville, and Dean. She greets each of them with a quick hug. The other four squeeze together on the empty bench, Hermione between Ginny and Ron. He begins to break open the paper bag stuffed full of candy, using the folder on Hermione's lap to spread the packaged sweets around. He hands both sugar quills directly to Hermione. "Thank you." She shoots him an appreciative smile.

"I've got thirty-five chocolate frogs," Ron says to the group. "You can all have some, I just want the cards."

"You want those?" Harry asks, leaning over the girls to view Ron at the other end of the compartment. "They've mass-produced cards with our own faces, you know."

Hermione nods. "I've got our three cards at home, but after seeing it in every other package, it's gotten a bit old." Harry mutters in agreement, and their friends join in only to earn a few looks from the Trio.

"I'm still looking for Ptolemy," Neville says, "but I've got about twenty Hermiones."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," she spits. He shrugs. "You know, I'm insulted that my card is the most common."

"You should be!" Ginny chimes in. "You're a rare, beautiful, glowing gem. Those cards should reflect that."

Hermione nods confidently. "Yes, they should."

"Uh… yeah," Ron mutters. "Anyway, I haven't had a chocolate frog in ages. I'd be happy to take all of the 'Miones off your hands." He sends her a sweet smile and she fights back a blush, looking down at the candy placed in her lap.

Each of them takes a chocolate frog, opening them at once. Chaos ensues as Neville's frog immediately hops onto the top of his head. Dean, distracted by his sudden jerking around, loses his frog as well. The two of them run from wall to wall as the frogs search for a way out. Dean catches his, but Neville's slips itself through the small slit in the window.

"Tough break," Dean comments, sitting back down and stuffing his frog in his mouth. Ron, mouth full of chocolate, tosses Neville another package. Luna takes it from him as soon as he plops down next to her, opening it up and squishing the frog enough to make it stop moving.

"Thanks…" Neville takes the frog back and frowns at the appearance of it, seemingly missing the excitement of a moving one.

"Let's see those cards," Ron prompts, reaching out to collect everyone's. "...Alright, we've got two of me, one of Harry, one of Circe, and... three of 'Mione." Hermione rolls her eyes, the numbers further proving her point. Ron shakes his head, wrapping an arm around her shoulders tightly in an attempt to make her feel better.

"What else have you got?" Ginny asks Ron.

He retrieves his arm to dig into the bag. "Some toffee and fudge flies, and a lot of pepper imps."

"Hand over the flies." She holds her palm out across Hermione, and Ron sets the small bag in her hand.

"Throw me a toffee," Harry says. Dean holds his hands up as well, so Ron throws them each a piece.

"Does anyone want one of the imps?" Ron asks. Everyone shakes their heads. "What am I supposed to do with fifteen of these?"

"Why don't you eat them all?" Neville asks.

"Because he'll fill the entire train with smoke!" Hermione exclaims, wondering if he had forgotten that one imp could set off a fire alarm from all the smoke it forced out of the head of its consumer. Evidently, Ron didn't care.

"I've got a better idea," Ron says, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. Hermione was about to cut in to remind him that she hadn't been giving a suggestion, she was cautioning him against eating more than one. "I'm going to see how many it takes to set my breath on fire," he chuckles.

Hermione shakes her head. "Ronald, no!"

He pretends to have not heard her and reaches for the tiny fabric bag full of them. Hermione watches his hand as he grabs it from the folder on her lap, but doesn't attempt to stop him. She's known the boy long enough to know that he will do it whether or not she approves. In fact, he'd somehow be even more reckless if she didn't approve. That's always how it's gone in the past.

Ron starts shoveling the black mints into his mouth, chewing through them. Steam almost immediately begins flying from his ears and lips, but he fights the urge to stop and continues to fill his mouth with more. After eating the whole fifteen, Hermione is leaning into Ginny to space herself from the boy, who has begun sweating profusely. The compartment, despite the cracked window, is filled with smoke and causes everyone to choke as they try to breathe. Ron hasn't opened his mouth since dumping the last five imps in, and everyone waits in anticipation for him to breathe out and see if the challenge has worked.

"Merlin, Ronald! Your face is even more red than your hair!" Hermione exclaims.

He turns to her and laughs before he's realizing what he's doing. She jumps off the bench as her robe catches fire from his flamed breath. "It worked!" he yells, sending flames at her once more.

"Shut up!" Harry, Ginny, and Hermione shout in unison. The other two get up and begin looking for something to put out the flames with.

The fire proves to be more powerful than anticipated, refusing to disappear as it singes through her robe. Harry reaches for his wand, gripping it in his hand as he stutters through a charm. "Ignus… uh, ignis… rege-"

"Ignis rigescent!" Hermione screams at him, scrambling to unbutton the robe as the heat begins to hurt her skin.

"Right, ignis rigescent!" he yells as Hermione pulls the robe apart, breaking off some of the buttons. She throws it to the ground, stomping on it in an attempt to put out the flame. The pain in her burnt shoulder subsides and gives way to a dull tickle as Harry finally gets through the spell.

Ron rises, rubbing the back of his neck. Hermione stands in front of him, arms crossed. "Sorry," Ron whispers, a final, weak flame coming from his mouth. Had Harry not put the freeze fire charm on her, her face probably would have been a bit burnt instead of only feeling a slight tickle. She glares at him as he avoids her eye, too guilty to really face her. The white long sleeve button down she wears is uncomfortably tight, and only wearing that tucked into her uniform's skirt makes her feel unusually exposed.

"I have an extra robe," Luna chimes in, not affected in the slightest by the scene that had just played out. "You can use some of the fabric to fix that hole in yours."

"You don't need it?"

"No, but you'll have to go to the back of the train to get it."

"...Where is it?"

"On the ceiling in the tiny hall before the bathrooms."

"Oh… why?"

"I'm trying to catch Flurtails."

Hermione doesn't bother to inquire on what those are or how she plans to catch them with a hanging robe. "Okay, will you lead me back there?" Luna nods, heading to the door and sliding it open.

"Ginny...?" Hermione asks. She nods, accompanying the two to save Hermione from awkward conversations alone with Luna. She grabs Hermione's robe and the buttons for her, following the girls out. "How was your summer, Luna?" Hermione asks as they head down the hall to the back of the train.

"It was good. I studied tons of new creatures. Have you seen any of the new editions of The Quibbler?"

"Uh… can't say that I have."

"Ditto," Ginny replies.

"Well, the articles on creatures have doubled since last year. It's beginning to take off."

"That's great," Hermione says, trying her best to remain from criticizing the nonsense normally published within it.

"It is." Luna swerves through the people in the hall seamlessly, while Ginny and Hermione trail behind her, exchanging looks every so often. "How long have you been dating Ron?"

Hermione is taken aback by the question, stopping in her tracks for half a second. "Oh, um, we aren't together," she responds as she jogs a couple steps to catch back up with the two of them.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes… I'm sure."

"Hmm. He seems as if he's interested in you."

"He is," Ginny confirms.

"I know," Hermione nods, rubbing her arm.

"Are you interested?" Luna presses.

Hermione shrugs before she remembers that Luna can't see her. "I'm not really sure anymore."

"Like I said, I met tons of cute men at Quidditch camp," Ginny says. "I've talked you up already and I have their addresses to send owls to. You ask, and it's all yours."

"I'll think about it."

Luna turns to look at the pair over her shoulder. "Are you looking to be with anyone?"

"I think so… dating sounds fun now that I don't need to worry about saving the world anymore."

"You deserve it. I love my brother, but I'm here to help you get laid."

"Ginny!" Hermione gasps. "I think I am perfectly capable of doing that by myself."

"Hun… you can't count it as getting laid if you're by yourself."

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

Hermione notices the large compartment where their meeting was held only an hour ago. Recalling the Quidditch conversation that had occured with Malfoy, she turns to Ginny. "So, Harry isn't trying out for the Quidditch team this year?"

"Not that I know of. I think he should, but he's insistent on patrolling during the season instead. I'm not sure why he won't do it."

"Maybe he thinks he'll get the part because he's important," Luna suggests.

"...Maybe," Ginny says, considering the theory. "He's talented, though. It's not as if he doesn't deserve a spot on the team."

The girls reach the end of most of the compartments, now replaced by a more open space with booths and tables placed back to back against the windows. "And there, we have the opposite case," Hermione whispers to Ginny, eyeing Malfoy as the back of his blonde hair comes into sight. Ginny chuckles louder than intended, and the pair giggles. Parkinson and some girl Hermione can't remember the name of sit across from him. Their laughing draws attention from the girls, and Ginny returns their glare. Hermione only smirks at the dirty looks she receives from them.

Hermione fights the feeling of eyes on her back as she passes the table, now in sight of Malfoy and Zabini. Hushed whispers fill her ears as Luna starts talking about the creature she's attempting to catch, so she tries to focus as much as possible on her babbling instead. Soon enough, they've reached the bathrooms. Luna stands on her toes, snatching her robe from the ceiling. "Nothing," she sighs as she examines it. "Here you go."

Hermione takes the robe from her, and the three of them go into one of the bathrooms to attempt to fix up her own robe. Ginny splays Hermione's out on the floor, setting the buttons that were ripped off in their proper places. "You're sure you don't need this?" she asks Luna, who nods. She immediately tears a large piece of fabric from the bottom, placing it over the burnt hole. "Do you think reparo will work?"

"I hope so," Hermione answers.

Ginny pulls her wand from her robe, casting the spell. The buttons loop themselves back in the threads of the robe, but the fabric from Luna's robe remains separate. "Shit," she mutters.

"Now what?" Hermione asks. Ginny shrugs.

"I may have a needle in the pocket of that," Luna says.

"Why?" Ginny asks. Luna begins to answer, mentioning something about the creatures again. "Actually, I don't need to know," she cuts in. Digging carefully into the robe pocket, she manages to find the aforementioned needle. "Can you sow?"

"Yes, it'll take me a while though."

Ginny nods. "Okay, we can take it back to the compartment if you want to." Luna agrees, gathering the robes and needle from Ginny. They leave the bathroom together, and Luna uses her wand to levitate her ripped-up robe back to the ceiling.

As Hermione leads the way back to the main hallway, she nearly runs into Malfoy who seems to be on his way to the bathroom. "Granger," he sneers.

"Malfoy. Back to your usual… charming… self?" she asks caustically.

"I would say so." He eyes her friends behind her, then focuses back on her. "You have a body, Granger. Never noticed."

Hermione crosses her arms over her chest, blushing as her skirt seems to grow shorter and her top grows tighter. The feeling of being undressed mentally overcomes her and she glares up at him. "I never wanted you to," she retorts.

He smirks, making her feel as if her statement only fueled him. "Are you sure about that?"

She huffs, rolling her eyes. "Fuck off," she mutters, fed up with him and his moods already. She walks past him, shoulder hitting his hard as she does so. Ginny follows her lead, but she hears Luna say goodbye to him politely as she trails behind the girls. Hermione turns to shake her head at Ginny.

The peaceful time without Pansy and Daphne is short lived as the two return a short time later, taking their spots across from the boys once more as if nothing had happened. Draco was back to moping over his Head situation, arms crossed and slouched in the booth.

"Now what's wrong with you?" Daphne pries.

He glares at her. "I'm fine."

"You seem fine," Pansy quips.

"Keep your mouth shut. I know it's hard, but try," he remarks, voice dripping with mocked sympathy.

"You should have seen him after the meeting," Pansy tells Daphne, disregarding him. "Kept glaring AKs at the muggle-lovers."

"Avada Kedavras?" she whispers, eyes wide. Pansy nods vehemently, earning yet another one of Draco's glares. He looks to Blaise in hopes of being defended, but his friend only shrugs.

"Speak of the mudblood," Pansy whispers, staring over Draco's shoulder. He hears the laugh of two girls, not daring to turn and look at them.

"Now look at who's glaring AKs," Blaise says as they pass, referencing Pansy's staredown with the girls. Draco finally looks up to see Weaslette, one of their mental friends, and Granger. She catches his eye as he notices her lack of robe. A thin white button up is tucked into her short skirt. If Draco had thought she was attractive before… which he hadn't… well, he's screwed now. "Damn."

Blaise takes the words right from his head.

"Whoring out now that she's not with Weasley anymore, I'd bet," Daphne chuckles.

"She's not?" Draco asks.

Daphne shakes her head. "I swear every paper's got something about them now. My cousin's friend wouldn't shut up about Weasley being single. She's got something for him, Merlin knows what she sees in that, though."

"Why do you care?" Pansy pries, cocking one eyebrow up.

"I won't have to deal with Weasley in my dorm this year."

"They're still friends," Daphne reasons. Draco shrugs, not caring so much about that for some reason unknown to himself.

He hears the shuffling of the three girls and the close of the bathroom door. He eyes Granger, who is waiting for Loony Lovegood to do something presumably strange. Without a word or even a look to his friends, Draco gets up and saunters straight over to them. As he nears the corner, Granger rounds it and nearly walks into him. She takes a few steps back, craning her neck slightly to look up at him. "Granger," he smirks at her.

"Malfoy. Back to your usual charming self?" she asks, stuttering through her greeting in the slightest. He grins to himself.

He glances back at her friends. Weaslette is staring at him, matching Granger's angry stance. He finds himself holding back a laugh thinking about how the two short girls must think themselves very intimidating despite the fact that he easily towers over the both of them. Lovegood, on the other hand, stands to the side, simply watching the interaction between him and Granger as if it's a casual meeting of two acquaintances. Focusing back on the brown-haired witch in front of him, he nods. "I would say so…. You have a body, Granger. I'd never noticed."

His simple comment on the fact that she had a form hidden beneath her robes brings a bright red heat to her cheeks. Her hands tug down her skirt subconsciously and she crosses her arms over her chest, probably to try to hide the curve of her chest. Much to his satisfaction, the action brings far more attention to her breasts than before.

"I never wanted you to." Her bottom lip props itself out in just the slightest as she says so. The sight almost makes Draco want to abandon his pureblood morals as she stands in front of him, so embarrassed under his gaze.

"Are you sure about that?"

Her eyebrows knit together. "Fuck off," he hears her say as she tries to hit his shoulder. In reality, his body barely budges while hers is nearly knocked off guard. Ginny attempts to do the same, but ends up only brushing past him.

"Goodbye Draco," Luna waves, following the angry girls back to the front of the train. Draco chuckles to himself, walking to the bathrooms.

[A/N: Thank you for reading, favorite and follow this story if you're enjoying it and want to see future chapters! Please leave a review with your thoughts so far. I love reading them and they make me feel much more excited to write new chapters!]