The girl sat crying in an empty classroom.
She wondered if her best friend would ever realize what she felt for him. He treated her terribly, but she loved him all the same. She knew he had to put on a front for the world, so that it couldn't hurt him, and she knew that she was perhaps the only one to see him when his mask slipped. And she loved him for his vulnerability, the side of him that only she knew.
She just wished he would notice her. Sure, they spent time together. Hung out, did homework, all those kinds of things. But whenever she said, 'You're my best friend", what she was really trying to say was "I love you". Just once, she wanted to hear him say it back.
But when he did things like this, it was hard to forgive him. He had humiliated her in front of everyone, all the other Gryffindors. She didn't want to face anyone right now.
Maybe, she thought, if she did something crazy enough, she could finally get his attention. If he realized that she was up for dating, he would realize that he couldn't let her be with anyone but him. If she could go on a date with someone awful, someone he really hated, then he would see. She knew it wasn't the best thought out plan, but she had to try, for her own sake.
She would ask that Quidditch player. The tall one, with the dark hair. Sure, he was an obnoxious prat, but there would be no danger of her falling for him. And he was sure to annoy her real target the most. Yes, she would ask him to Slughorn's party. Word would most certainly get around.
She left the classroom in search of him, in case she lost her resolve. She just hoped that it would work. She really missed her best friend.
AN: Lily was in the Slug Club, as Slughorn told Harry. Hermione's Quidditch player is Cormac, not Krum.