A/N~ Oh, I got so excited I had to upload another chappie! Might as well take advantage of the creative juices while they flow right? If the wireless would cooperate anyhow. Bloody, stupid muggle invention. Anyhow, still looking for star/sky related songs. If you guys don't throw any out, I'm gonna have to start stretching and winging it. We don't need that. I've got a few to sort through but more are welcome! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: ~*~Moondance~*~

And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush

And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

Can I just have one more moon dance with you?

~ Moondance by Van Morrison

"Now, what are you going to say to Charlie tonight when you talk to him during Harvey's little birthday party?" Rowena tested, slathering some smoky eye shadow on her poor victim. She'd instructed Hermione to give her a crash course in all the occupants in the house and so far she'd gotten none of their names right… except for Charlie but that was because she insisted on hearing about that particular subject for close to twenty minutes. By process of elimination, she'd determined this was the one to test Hermione out on- to see if anything she was instructing her in was working.

"It's Harry." Hermione corrected. "Harry's birthday party is tonight. You'd think you'd know of him at least, I mean, you have a portrait hanging in the castle, don't you ever hear about the boy who lived?"

"Sorry, sorry! I guess I have a hard time putting a face to the legend… well, that face." Rowena said in her usual bossy, bitchy way. "So, what are you going to say to Charlie and if you tell me it'll be some tidbit about dragons you read in a book, I'll scream."

"I'm to ask him about the scar on his forearm. The one that looks like a star." Hermione said tentatively, wincing away from the mascara brush. Rowena gave her a dangerous look and she obediently stopped squirming. They'd been locked upstairs in the bathroom/Ginny's room since they'd returned from shopping and discovered Molly was throwing Harry's party early so that it fell on a weekend and everyone could sleep in the next day. Rowena had dragged Hermione upstairs to do her hair, makeup, and clothes.

"That's a start, yes." Rowena commented, giving Hermione's hair a final scrunch. She sat back, hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork. "Well, here goes nothing, right?"

"You mean you're finally done torturing me?" Hermione reiterated, raising an eyebrow.

"For the moment at least. Let's get downstairs." Rowena instructed. She turned and led the way, confident that she looked hot, at least. Hermione tried to peek at herself in a mirror on the way by but Rowena grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

They went down the stairs and out to the garden where the rest of the Weasleys were assembled. Even Percy and Bill with his wife of one year, Fleur were there, along with some other close friends which included Neville and Luna. Everyone mingled around a tent similar to the one from the wedding with glowing pixies (a charm had obviously been cast on them) in glass lanterns for twinkling lights. As soon as the two girls entered the garden all eyes flew up to the late comers and a silence fell.

Hermione's breath halted in this dire moment of truth. No one was saying anything or doing anything or smiling even. Rowena must have tricked her cruelly and made her look horrid. That's why she wasn't allowed to look in the mirror. The outfit made her look terrible, the make up was like a prostitute, the hair a mass of tangles. That had to be it. She was a laughing stock.

Only then Charlie stepped forward, his eyes on Hermione alone. "Hermione… you look bloody fantastic! Bravo, Rowena, you certainly have a gift."

"Yes, well. It wasn't much to work with but I definitely improved the subject." Rowena said with a proud shake of her long, silky hair. Hermione bit her tongue at being spoken of like a painting.

"Oh, you simply brought out her finer features." Charlie allowed, finally glancing at the beauty queen beside Hermione. "I don't think she was completely a lost case."

"Well, no…" Rowena relented. "She has excellent bone structure, at least. We were never properly introduced. I'm Rowena."

She held out her hand, which Charlie took and kissed nobly. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise." Rowena said, smiling triumphantly. Then she glanced from Hermione, standing silent and awkward at her side, and back to Charlie, and inexplicably blurted, "I have to say, I find Fred very sexy. Or is it George? One or both of them has definitely caught my eye."

Hermione cast her a bewildered glance, wondering if someone has slipped her a truth potion when she wasn't looking. Charlie looked amused. "Well, it depends on what you're looking for. George is more likely to bring you flowers, Fred is more likely to bring you into a closet."

"Oh, really?" Rowena smirked, attention caught. She glanced back at the twins, grinning mischievously and waving her fingers. "Well, kiddies, excuse me. I've got matters to attend to."

She turned to walk away, thought of something, and grabbed Hermione by the arm just as she opened her mouth to ask Charlie about the scar. She yanked her hard off to the side and Hermione winced, wondering if she was going to dislocate her arm. She pulled back, massaging her shoulder carefully. "That kind of hurt, Rowena."

"You aren't interested in either of the twins, are you? I mean, it sounded like Charlie was the one who you liked so I figured I'd leave him alone. I'm right, aren't I and you don't care for either of the twins?" Rowena demanded, ignoring Hermione's whining. Hermione glanced at the two guys in question. One was blowing kisses in their direction while the other was pouring some mysterious potion into the punch.

"Uh, no." Hermione replied, quite certain. "Just don't touch the punch."

"You got it." Rowena said, clapping eagerly. She then turned so swiftly, her hair slapped Hermione in the face and she sneezed. Hermione headed back over to Charlie who was studying her with an eyebrow quirked.

"Sorry about that." Hermione said shyly as soon as she reached him.

"Wanted to make sure she wasn't moving in on your man?" Charlie joked.

"Something like that, yeah." Hermione said with a smirk. "I told her the twins were all hers."

"Lucky me." Charlie said enigmatically. Hermione glanced at him curiously but he wasn't elaborating.

"So, um… care to tell me about how you got that scar?"

"Which scar?" Charlie wondered, holding out both muscular arms for scrutiny. She pointed to the star-shaped one on his left forearm. "Oh, that one. Huh… don't really remember, actually. Once you work with dragons you sort of lose track of your battle scar stories. Shall I make one up for you?"

Hermione scrunched her nose delicately. "I think I'll be ok without the story."

"It's a good one." He promised.

"You don't even remember it."

"Well, the one I had in mind was a good one. It involved Snape, a bottle of shampoo and one seriously improperly aimed scourging shampoo."

Hermione giggled like Rowena had taught her though she felt it was still way too soon to start cracking Snape jokes, particularly in light of all the good he'd done for Harry's sake in the final battle and all. Just then Luna came up and pulled Hermione aside slightly more gently than Rowena had. "Hermione, I'm deeply concerned."

The older girl turned to the strange one curiously. "What's wrong, Luna?"

"You've changed your appearance."

"Actually, Rowena did for me." Hermione replied dryly.

"You should be above such petty things, Hermione. Changing your appearance is going to attract Annaracks."

"Isn't that a type of chair?" Hermione said distractedly, her eyes flickering to Charlie curiously. He was now talking to Cho, who'd appeared with Oliver Wood of all people. She flicked her hair back and batted her eyes like anything, while Wood stood off to the side completely oblivious as he discussed Quidditch with Ron.

"No, it's a type of suitor."

"Oh."

"They're bad, Hermione!" Luna insisted, stomping her foot childishly. "It will cause nothing but heartbreak."

"I'll be on the look out for any Adirondacks."

"Annaracks!"

"Right, Ant-attacks. Got it. Excuse me a moment." Thoroughly confused and slightly bothered, Hermione turned from the girl and began searching the now sizable crowd for Charlie.

"Her-my-own-ninny!" A strong Bulgarian accent said and she found herself engulfed in a bizarre hug from a man she hadn't seen in years. Viktor Krum set her back down on her feet and leered down at her, swigging deeply from a glass of fire whiskey. "It's been too long. You look radiant."

"Um, thanks. I'm surprised to see you!" She replied honestly. He chuckled at that.

"The var is over. It makes visiting friends easier. Catching up, as you say." He leaned forward and she backed away a little into someone. She turned.

"Oh, hello Harry! Happy birthday!" She exclaimed excitedly. Harry beamed at her.

"Thanks, 'Mione!" He hugged her tightly. "And thank you so much for the broom polish!"

Krum chuckled at this, misunderstanding Harry no doubt and translating it into something dirty. Hermione found herself blushing just for thinking along the same lines to reach her conclusion about his laughter. She pushed that aside however and said, "Oh, yes. Well you know, I am sorry I kicked the Firebolt the other night. I don't know why everyone's so on edge lately."

"Maybe they all need broom polishes." Krum suggested.

"We're just a bit out of sorts right now, is all. We'll get over it soon enough. You'll see. It'll be the same as ever." Harry swore. "Even if that Rowena girl is around. Why would you even wish for some random girl, Hermione?"

"Maybe broom polish vasn't enough." Krum once more tried to butt in. Hermione gave him a severe look before turning back to her thoroughly confused friend.

"It was an accident, Harry. I didn't mean to wish on that stupid star at all. Believe me, if I'd known, there are millions of things I'd rather wish for." She swore. Harry nodded thoughtfully before getting distracted by Oliver Wood and drifting away. Poor Hermione was left with Krum.

"You know, Hermy-own-ninny, I could use some broom polish myself." He suggested.

"Krum, you're not being funny!" Hermione finally hissed, thoroughly fed up with the joke.

"Ah, there you are!" Charlie chuckled, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. "Reconnecting with old friends I see? How are you, Krum? Still the professional seeker?"

"Yes." Krum answered simply, clearly not enjoying being interrupted. Just then a band started up somewhere with some jazz music, completely spontaneous and random for Harry's party. Only when she saw one of the twins leading Rowena out to the center of the floor did she understand. Harry stood off to the side, a strange look on his face as he cradled his cup of punch. He didn't seem to be staring at the band or the twins antics for that matter. His eyes were on Ginny. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the hand and led her out to dance.

"I didn't think Harry knew how to dance to jazz." Hermione remarked, frowning. What on earth was in that punch. Suddenly, Charlie grabbed old of her hand.

"Let's teach them a thing or two, eh?" He said. She trembled but allowed him to steer her away and twirl her about the floor. He smirked devilishly. "Figured you could use an excuse to get away from Krum."

"Thank you." She replied with a smile. There was silence for a moment. Rowena gave her a glare that said plainly she needed to keep talking. "You're in a good mood tonight."

Charlie raised his eyebrows. "No different from any other night."

Hermione shrugged, feeling the need to ramble. "Sometimes you're more standoffish."

He chuckled. "I hear girls like the dark, brooding look." He dipped her, expertly. "It's sexy."

"And who have you been trying to impress?" She demanded as he tugged her up again, twirling her and bring her so they were mere inches apart.

"Who do you think?" He retorted. "Not everyone needed to see a make over to know you were something special, Hermione."

"Really?" She whispered, breathlessly.

"Really." Charlie confirmed, leaning down to give her a kiss. A real kiss. Not like those needy kisses of Viktor or that loser Cormac. No, this was an honest to Merlin, capital K kiss. She shuddered in his arms as his lips molded against hers, tender and warm, studied in the art of kissing.

"Having fun?" Rowena whispered beside her ear. Hermione waved her away, allowing Charlie to pull her tightly. When they broke apart for air, Hermione grabbed a cup of punch from George and knocked it back, before even thinking clearly. She felt something bubbling up inside her throat and for a moment she was afraid she was going to hurl. She tried to force herself away from Charlie, but something rooted her to the spot. This was it, she was going to puke-

"I think you're the sexiest Weasley boy, by far. If I had my way, you'd walk around shirtless every day and rub oil on your muscles to make them gleam like some hero out of one of Ginny's trash novels. We could roll around in the pond together like two pigs and come out looking better than those figures." She said in a clear and concise voice. She clamped a hand over her mouth.

For a moment, Charlie just blinked at her, his face impassive. Then, he burst into a fit of laughter, clapping one of the twins on the shoulder companionably. "A cruel joke, Fred. But bloody brilliant and amusing."

"Who knew Hermione had such an imagination." Fred said with a twinkle in his eye. Hermione just stared at them in horror. Charlie leaned in, kissing her on the forehead.

"It's a joke, Hermione. Don't worry about it."

"Right." She agreed, blushing violently. They made their way across the lawn to sit under the tree again, silent. Finally, Hermione couldn't stand it any more. "So, what was all that about?"

"It was a kiss, Hermione." Charlie pointed out the obvious. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well obviously I knew that. I was just wondering what it means."

"It means I like you. A little more than as a friend." He replied with a shrug. She was reminded of his easy-going way with women. As far as she knew, Charlie never had an actual relationship. Just weird spontaneous romances. Her heart drooped a little. She was kind of hoping for more than that.

"So, we just see what happens?" She reiterated.

"Exactly." He said, looking rather uncomfortable with the whole serious talk business. He studied the sky up above. "You're a riddle, Hermione."

"I could say the same about you. Out of curiosity, why am I a riddle?" She wondered.

"Because only you would waste a perfectly good wish on bringing that into your life." He mused, pointing to the Ravenclaw founder, who was laughing at something one of the twins said, using the other for support. Her shirt had slipped low, revealing a bit of pink bra and she seemed completely oblivious to it. She leaned in to whisper in one of the twins ears, her eyes glancing up and searching out Charlie. She made an obvious interested glance.

"Yeah, well. I didn't think that was going to be what I got. I didn't even mean to make that stupid wish!" Hermione sighed.

"Well, maybe you'll get something good out of the whole thing. I mean, look. She's been around one day and you already got a make over. Not that it was needed but hey, your curls look better. Happier and healthier." He said with a shrug. "She keeps looking at me… a bit unnerving really."

"I think her goal is to make every man in the house in love with her before the start of term."

"Including dad?" Charlie wondered. Hermione shuddered but it was true, Mr. Weasley had fondly just brought out his collection of rubber ducks and was now showing them to Rowena as if they were the most fascinating of muggle artifacts.

"Merlin, let's hope not!" Hermione said, appalled.

"Hogwarts letters! Finally!" Ginny exclaimed, dumping one unceremoniously on to Hermione's head. The older girl sat up in her bed with a yawn, glancing about for Rowena. Ginny must have caught her gaze. "Don't bother. She never came back in last night, again. Merlin, if she keeps on like this, I'll be able to say one of my brothers knocked up the Ravenclaw house founder!"

"That just sounds wrong on so many levels." Hermione countered hoarsely, pulling her unruly hair up into a bun.

"Nice hickeys, 'Mione. Looks like Rowena isn't the only one getting lucky around here." Ginny teased. She got a rude finger gesture for her troubles as Hermione scanned her Hogwarts letter. "Speaking of which, have you let him in your pants yet?"

Hermione shook her head. She and Charlie had been getting along great the past week since Harry's party, hanging out all the time and of course, making out. Yet something always stopped her before they could go very far in their, er, activities. She couldn't fathom getting too down and dirty with someone who wasn't interested in anything serious. It just wasn't like her. Sure, her make over had gained her more notice, but she wanted true love, not Mr. Right-here, Right-now.

"He's going to lose interest." Rowena warned, finally making an appearance in one of the twins oversized shirts. She sat at the foot of Hermione's bed. "What's that?"

"Hogwarts letter. You've got one too. I explained the circumstances to McGonagall and while I'm sure she got a good laugh out of it, she's made the necessary arrangements for you to be a student." Hermione explained, handing her a letter similar to her own.

"How surprising! I've been sorted into Ravenclaw. I never expected such an honor!" Rowena said, sounding the exact opposite of her words. Hermione wasn't listening however. She'd just turned the page and a badge had tumbled into her lap.

"I don't believe it… I'm Head Girl!" She squealed excitedly.

"Who didn't see that one coming." Ginny remarked, rolling her eyes. "Congratulations, 'Mione. If I had any desire to be an upstanding moral citizen, I dare say I'd be envious that you took that position, which would have most likely been mine, had you graduated on time."

"You didn't graduate on time? And you claim to be the smartest witch of your era?" Rowena snickered.

"Um, hello? Do you ever listen to a word I say? I explained this to you. We took a year off to find and destroy the horcruxes and save the world. I dare say I can be excused for that." Hermione pointed out, thoroughly annoyed.

"Yes, well… had it been me, I would have simply been exempt from my final year." Rowena insisted, studying her nails in a bored fashion.

"I'll exempt you right back out into the pond and shove that shooting star right up-"

"Alright, alright!" Ginny interrupted. "Why don't we focus on being excited. Yay, Hogwarts, remember? Let's go to Diagon Alley today and get all our stuff."

Rowena shrugged coolly but Hermione beamed at the redhead excitedly. "Let's do it!"

"Well, if you'd let him pull your pants down, he would." Rowena bit out sourly.

"Not that it!"

An hour later found the girls accompanying Ron and Harry around the familiar wizard shops, collecting books and new robes and various other necessities. Hermione had seriously hoped one of the boys would make head boy but she should be so lucky. Neither did and so she was left wondering who she would be trapped in a common room with. The head students got their own set of rooms- one of the perks of being so important.

"These are the robes I'm going to have to wear?" Rowena complained loudly, trying on her robes at Madame Malkins. "How positively boring."

"Well, get used to looking like everyone else." Hermione pointed out, folding her arms. "You can't be unique and stand out all the time, you know."

"I don't know why you're so mean to her, Hermione." Ron insisted beside her. "I mean, isn't she an angel?"

"Until you get to know her."

"You're just jealous cause you have competition as the cleverest witch in our class. And this one is even gorgeous on top of being so smart." He insisted. "Plus, she's a nice person and you can't deal with that because you're only nice to people who faun over your brain power."

"Oh yes, she pisses good, smart-girl deeds in her sleep, Ron." Hermione agreed sarcastically. Ron just stared at her, open-mouthed. "What? You didn't think I knew the word piss? Well, here's a little practice for you. Piss. Off."

With that, she turned on her heel and stomped away from her once crush and best friend. Honestly, the tension between the group was so palpable. She could feel herself drifting away from them and it scared her. It was the only reason she clung so hard to them this summer, determined to go to the Burrow, even against her better judgment. Well, it wasn't going so well as she'd hoped. Rowena definitely didn't help matters.

Ron and Hermione didn't speak to each other for the rest of the day and they all apparated back in sour moods. All except Rowena, who'd somehow managed to strike up a conversation with Blaise Zabini in the book store. With less than excited hearts, everyone tumbled into bed, restless for what the start of term would bring them this year.