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Hermione groaned, flinging an arm over her eyes to block the sunlight that pierced the small opening in her bed hangings.
"You okay?" Lavender was standing over her, looking mildly concerned and very amused.
"Uhhhg." Hermione moaned into her pillow, rolling onto her side to face away from the painful brightness.
"Crazy night?" She was only six months older than Hermione, but loved to act as though she carried a vast array of the universe's secrets.
"Too… much… champagne." the words were a groaning sigh. She wondered why she was being bothered at such an early hour, and by Lavender, who usually slept through breakfast, of all people.
"Drink this." she tossed a small bottle onto the bed, and, noticing the skeptical expression the other girl wore, added "Trust me, it'll make you feel loads better." Hermione's stomach churned unpleasantly and she decided that anything was worth a try at this point if it might help. As she drained the cool, bitter liquid she could feel the fog in her head clearing and the dull heaviness of her limbs lifting. She turned to face her friend, a smile brightening her face.
"Thanks, Lav. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Least I could do after all the bad marks you've saved me from. Now come on or you'll miss lunch."
"Lunch?" how could she have slept so late? She leapt out from under the covers, grabbing up some robes and headed for the shower.
"Um, you might want to cover up a little before you leave the room." Lavender giggled. Hermione looked down, realizing with horror that she had fallen asleep in her bra, stockings and panties. If she thought she had been uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to when the door burst open and Ginny walked in.
"Hermione, you weren't at breakfast and I wanted to make sure you weren't mad at me or-" she froze, eyes darting quickly over her friend's mostly nude form, disheveled hair, and smudged makeup. Hermione hugged the folded robes close to her chest, snatching up a towel and flinging it around her body before dashing off toward the showers with Lavender close behind her.
Ginny stood in the doorway for a few moments without moving, before sinking to the floor, utterly stunned. She had slept very little the night before, awakened time and time again by the chaotic emotions clashing inside her. The sight of Hermione nearly naked, standing vulnerable and messy with none of her usual poise, had knocked the air out of the petite redhead's lungs. Her head spun as she desperately tried to capture even a single thought for long enough to process and understand it.
Meanwhile, Hermione leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the hot water stream down her body and through her thoroughly tangled hair. Lavender sat on the bench outside the shower. Concern was evident on her face as she watched her friend's blurred form moving behind the opaque curtain. After a few moments of tentative silence, she finally spoke.
"So what happened last night?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing exciting. Dating a Quidditch star is exciting at first, but I could only spend so much time staring at his amazing muscles and dark brooding eyes before I had to actually listen to him talk. We ended up calling it a night pretty early."
"That's not what I meant. We both know your night wasn't over when you said goodnight to Krum." Hermione poked her head out from behind the curtain, suddenly interested. The long thick hair plastered to her pale body made her look particularly vulnerable.
"What do you mean?" Lavender could hear the hint of nervousness in her voice.
"What's up with you and Ginny? You seemed to be having a pretty good time last night but this morning you can barely look at each other. Did something major happen?"
"No, nothing at all. I swear." She was standing under the water again, running fingers through dark tangles with her back turned to her friend. If she was honest, she didn't know herself. She wanted to think it was nothing. They had both had too much to drink and no one to kiss, and it was just an accident they had kissed each other.
But still…