Disclaimer: Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Potter, Sage, Rowling, and Thyme.

A/N: Sorry, Cedric/Hermione fans. I did consider it, but I have other plans for him—probably ones that you haven't seen before. And anyway, I think my idea worked out pretty well, here.

Chapter 73

Hermione arrived at Hogwarts castle on Sunday morning with a beautiful new dress safely stowed in her trunk. They'd bought it in the muggle world, but it still looked like something a witch might wear. It was made of many layers of sheer, periwinkle-blue silk, and she'd fallen in love with it at once. If she dyed her hair blond, she could probably pass for Cinderella in it. When she mentioned that to Mum, Mum had half-jokingly insisted on adding a blue, silk headband to complete the ensemble. She'd never been one to dress up or generally be "girly" but she was surprised how much she enjoyed it.

Hagrid let her in the front gates with a smile. The huge man was still trying to dress fancier than he used to, presumably to impress Madame Maxime. He certainly put a lot of effort into tending her Abaxans, from what he told her.

"You know, that Rita Skeeter came and talked ter me twice last week," he mentioned at one point.

"I heard," Hermione groaned. "You didn't tell her anything incriminating, did you?"

"Course not—er, not that there was anythin' ter say. Nope," he said. "She asked about the Skrewts some, but she was mostly int'rested in Harry."

"Oh, of course she was."

"Well, I told her we was good friends since I fetched him from the Dursleys, and he was a good boy. She didn't like the angle. Wanted me ter call him a troublemaker, but she won't hear that from me. So, yer goin' ter the ball, Hermione?"

"Yes, I just need a date," she said.

"Well, I'm sure a nice, smart girl like you can get one, no problem," Hagrid said.

Hermione turned a little pink and retorted, "So what about you, Hagrid?"

Hagrid turned a lot redder than she did. "Me? Oh, uh, yeah, I though' I might look in on it. Should be a good to-do."

Hermione just smiled. Hagrid was definitely still sweet on Madame Maxime. It was too bad they didn't make suits in his size, she thought. For that matter, how would anyone go about making a suit that big? And for that matter, where did Hagrid get the clothes he had already. Maybe he made them himself. It wouldn't surprise her.

She had caught the Knight Bus early to come in for breakfast, so she quickly grabbed a seat with her friends. A change had come over Hogwarts besides the usual Christmas decorations. The girls were all looking very excited about the ball, while an unusual air of nervousness had fallen over the boys. She hadn't thought a ball would cause that much anxiety, but then, she didn't have much experience herself.

"Hi, Hermione," Ginny said brightly as she took her seat. "It's good to see you."

"You too, Ginny," she replied. "Ron, Harry, Fred, George."

"Hi," the boys said.

Hermione saw that Ginny was sitting conspicuously close by Harry's side. She looked at the redhead and flicked her eyes towards Harry. Ginny shook her head almost imperceptibly. Boys, Hermione thought.

"It's so great that your folks let you come back for the ball," Ginny said.

"And Headmaster Dumbledore," Hermione agreed. "I just hope I'm not getting too late a start."

"No, you should be fine. Fred asked Angelina yesterday, but he's the only one of us who has a date yet."

"I told George he should ask Alicia to go with him," Fred piped up. "All of you better hurry up before the good ones are taken."

"I can get my own date, Fred," George said with noticeable annoyance. "You just worry about not tripping over Angie's feet."

"I resent that. I'm an excellent dancer, and you know it."

Harry shook his head dejectedly. "What I want to know is why girls always travel in packs," he said. "You can never get one alone."

"Strength in numbers, I should think," Hermione said. "It provides moral support and, if necessary, physical backup to a girl who wants to refuse an invitation. That and more gossipping opportunities," she added. She wisely opted not to ask Harry about whom he wanted to ask for now and changed the subject.

As for herself, Hermione really wanted to see Cedric. She hoped he was willing to talk to her after the mess at the First Task, but she wasn't sure. She decided to try to recruit Alicia Spinnet and Roger Davies to talk to him and make it a meeting of their Arithmancy study group for old times' sake. That was successful, and it worked well, since they were able to commiserate in the library over their respective classes.

"So how was Professor Vector's end-of-term exam?" Hermione asked to break the ice.

"Ugh, it was awful," Alicia said at once. "N.E.W.T.-level Arithmancy is a lot harder than I thought."

"Well, it's called 'Nastily Exhausting' for a reason," Cedric said.

"It gave me a headache," Roger said. "I don't think anybody did well. Well, I'm sure you could've Hermione."

"I don't know," she countered. "It's not as easy for me as it used to be, either. Of course, I'm in an accelerated program this year, but still."

"But you still invented that spell to fight a dragon," Alicia said. "I never could've done that."

Maybe, Hermione thought, though she felt like they could have worked that out given more time and even a rudimentary exposure to group theory and number theory. Still, she was reminded how far ahead of the curve she was when she found herself trying to explain her radioactivity project to her friends. A large part of it probably went over their heads, although they got the gist of it.

"Wait, you said a sixth exception to Gamp's Law?" Roger gasped. Hermione nodded. "Bloody hell, Rebecca's gonna be so jealous!"

Hermione bit her lip: "Er, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that to her. I don't want to cause trouble about it right before the ball. I mean…we're all just here to have fun this week, right?"

"Oh, right, I guess," Roger said. "As long as she doesn't bring it up or anything. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't want my date to be mad that night."

"Oh? You're going with her?"

"Yep, we're still together. It's going great. What about you? You have a date yet?"

"Not yet…" Hermione said slowly, wondering if she could nudge closer to Cedric without being too conspicuous.

"Well," Cedric said, seemingly oblivious, "I asked Cho Chang to go with me yesterday."

Hermione froze. "Oh?" she said, trying to sound merely interested, though her traitorous voice squeaked a little. "You did?"

"Uh huh. Should be a good time."

"That's…nice…" She turned to Alicia just so she wouldn't have to look at him any longer.

"No one's asked me, yet," Alicia said without elaborating. "Hermione, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." But she excused herself not long after that and fled from the library because she couldn't keep from crying anymore. She made her way to the Room of Requirement, where she could vent her dismay in private, and she stereotypically collapsed to her knees.

Why? she thought. Why did this happen? Why did Mum and Dad have to pull me out this year, of all years? I finally found a boy I like, and they go and make me miss the boat! If I could have been here this year, maybe he would've actually noticed me!

She didn't want to blame Cedric. He was the last person she wanted to blame, for obvious reasons. Part of her wanted to blame Cho Chang, but he was the one who had asked her. Her parents were easy targets, but as she silently raged against them, it only made her feel guilty. They had been so supportive of her this year—this week especially. More than she felt like she deserved, the way she kept lying to them by omission, both this year and last. They were being so generous letting her come to the ball at all.

It's that bastard who entered Harry in the Tournament! she thought, conveniently ignoring the fact that she might not be here at all if it weren't for that. He's ruining Harry's life, and now he's screwing with mine, too! If he hadn't driven a wedge between Cedric and Harry, I could've talked to Cedric ages ago.

But that thought only made her turn on herself: Why couldn't I have just talked to Cedric before? Why couldn't I just suck it up and tell him I like him before he up and went with some other girl? And of course, it had to be the pretty girl. Even Harry has a crush on Cho, and he's definitely behind the curve emotionally. I used to be a Gryffindor! Why couldn't I just bloody well say something?

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the logical train of thought didn't end with beating herself up, and her mind, ever logical, kept following it. Even as she saw the realisations coming, no matter how much she wanted to, she was powerless to stop them.

But I did say something, she remembered. I sent him that letter. I sent a letter to him personally that I would be back for the ball, and I didn't do that for all my friends. I all but told him outright that I liked him. I specifically told him I would be back for the Yule Ball a week ago, and he only asked Cho yesterday. Then, if he wanted to ask me, he had plenty of time, and he (No no no!)…just didn't want to.

She curled up on the sofa and under the blanket the Room had provided, tears leaking from her eyes again, her insides feeling like lead. Did I do something wrong? she wondered. Should I have actually told him that I like him? Or would it not have made a difference? Did he always just see me as the smart little girl in his class? Cedric's always been nice to me, but was that all it was?

Merlin's beard, why does it hurt so much? It's only a crush! I'm not supposed to be one of these girly girls who's devastated when her crush blows her off. I'm not Ginny! I'm certainly not Lavender or Parvati! Why do I feel like I've been punched in the gut? She had no idea know what to do. Maybe it was just because Cedric was the first boy she really liked. Maybe it was because she'd had her heart set on him for so long. Maybe it was because she didn't have a clue what she was doing. She was new to the romance game at fifteen (and setting her sights on an older boy), when a lot (though far from all) of the students had started at thirteen. Or maybe she just didn't have as strong a constitution as she thought. All she knew was that it had been a long time since she had so wished to have her mum there with her.

She wasn't sure how long she was trapped there in her dark thoughts when, to her shock, the door opened.

"Hermione?"

"Eep!" She reflexively drew her wand and pointed it at the door.

"Whoa! Whoa! It's me!"

She lowered her wand: "Harry?"

"Hi. Are you okay?"

"Um…" She really didn't want to answer that. She quickly wiped her eyes. "How did you find me?" she demanded.

"Alicia told Fred and George that you ran off and looked really upset. She asked them where you were, but I have the Marauder's Map, now, so they asked me."

"This room isn't on the Map," Hermione interrupted.

"I know," Harry replied. "When I didn't see you on it, I assumed you were here."

"Oh…of course…Um…have a seat, then." Of course, the elves' quarters weren't on the Map, either, but he wouldn't have had too many places to check.

He did. "So…are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm…fine."

She could see that even Harry, as naturally clueless as he was, could see through that. "Why did you run off, then?"

"Never mind about me," she snapped. "So, do you have a date to the Ball, yet?"

He sighed and lowered his gaze. "No," he said. "I want to ask Cho Chang, but I can never get her alone.

"Ohhh…" Hermione groaned. "Don't bother. She's already going with Cedric Diggory."

Harry let out a choking sound, and when she looked up him, he looked like he'd been punched in the gut. She felt guilty, then. She was taking her problems out on Harry because he was the closest available target. She felt a brief twinge of satisfaction that he was feeling the same pain she was, but all it did was make them feel miserable together.

"Sorry, Harry," she muttered. "If it helps, I'm not having any better luck than you are."

"You aren't—?" he started in confusion. "You mean…? Oh my God, you like Cedric?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"Um, sorry, it's just, you…didn't seem the type?"

"Ugh, story of my life, apparently. I must not have seemed the type to him, either."

"So that's why you—?" Hermione stared at him, and he trailed off. Harry was silent for a minute, unsure of what to say. He finally settled on, "Well, this is a mess, isn't it."

"Yep."

"Why does everyone expect the boys to ask the girls, anyway?" he griped. "It just makes it that much harder for us."

"You mean no girls have asked you?" Hermione said in surprise. Of course, Ginny was such a romantic, it would be just like her to wait for Harry to ask her.

Harry blushed: "Erm…actually, I've had three girls ask me."

"And you turned them down?"

"I didn't know any of them. I've never even spoken to any of them before."

"Oh. So they only wanted to go with you because you're famous," she reasoned. "Actually when you put it that way, I'm surprised there aren't more. But then again, they all think we're together, don't they?"

Harry blushed harder and changed the subject back: "I mean it. Girls expect boys to ask them, and then they travel in packs. It's so intimidating."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Boys, she thought again. "That sounds like a test of will to me," she teased. Harry glared at her. "And don't think we girls have it easy. We have to worry about, is the boy we like going to ask us, and what do you do if someone else asks us first? Do you turn him down and keep hoping, or do you accept since it's a bird in the hand, and you're kinda friendly with him—"

She stopped as Harry was staring at her in bewilderment. "If there's a guy you like, why don't you just ask him?" he said. "We don't travel in packs."

That's what I've been asking myself all morning. It was strange how strange and pointless some customs seemed when you stopped to think about them. It was the nineties, wasn't it? "I don't know. You know I'm not the best person to ask about girl stuff."

"But you are a girl."

"Yes, but try asking Lavender; you'll get a real earful. Look, girls are expected not to ask boys because…I don't know. It looks desperate or something. That's just the way the social roles are. We're expected to drop hints instead."

"Hints?"

"Yeah, like smiling at one boy in particular, or doing little favours for him, or going out of our way to talk to him or give him a compliment…Or something like that. I'm new at this."

She looked again and saw Harry staring at her with a very worried look. "Hermione…" he said nervously, "are you trying to get me to ask you to the ball?"

"What?" she squeaked. "Me? No! I was thinking you should ask Ginny."

"Ginny?"

"Oh, come on, Harry, you know she likes you. And I've seen the way you are with her."

"Umm…?"

"You know. I saw how much you enjoyed teaching her to fly your Firebolt last year."

At that, there was an amazing transformation as the most carefree smile came over Harry's face that she had seen on him all year. Hermione laughed.

"Always wear your emotions on your sleeve, don't you Harry? Ginny told me you've been helping her with her Arithmancy homework, too. And I could see how much you appreciated her support with the First Task."

"Yeah, she's pretty nice," Harry agreed, still smiling a little. "I just never thought—"

"Well, you were crushing on Cho, weren't you? Maybe you were so hung up on her that you never noticed you had something special right in front of you…something you were completely taking for granted…Anyway, I think you two would be good together."

"Huh…Maybe you're right," he said. "I don't know if Ron'll like it, though."

"Don't worry about Ron. Ginny will set him straight if he gives you any grief."

Harry laughed. Ginny could definitely do that. He paused, leaning back and imagining taking Ginny to the ball instead of Cho like he had been picturing all week. Amazingly, he found himself smiling again. Ginny was a good friend; she was always there for him, practically as much as Hermione this year. They got along well, and she was a lot of fun to be around. She took after the Twins that way.

Hermione could easily guess what her best friend was thinking. "There, you see?" she said. "You should go ask her."

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I will," he said. He stood up and stopped. "What about you, though?"

She sighed. All this effort helping Harry, and it didn't help her with any of her own problems…or did it? Had she been so hung up on Cedric like Harry was on Cho? Had it simply been that she let herself get caught up in the fantasy that it hurt so much? And was it her native stubbornness that made it so hard for her to accept that he wasn't interested. And most importantly, was she missing that she had something special right in front of her whom she was taking for granted? It could be…

"Don't worry about me," she told him. "I think maybe I need to take my own advice."

Harry gave her a questioning look, but he slipped out and left her in the Room.

Hermione started really thinking about the friends she had around her—the ones who had been supportive of her, and whom she enjoyed being around. And it didn't take long to realise that there was one boy who had always been kind to her and was always happy to help her, who truly appreciated her gifts, who showed a particular concern for her, even more so than his brothers, who went out of his way to cheer her up when she was having a hard time, and who could always make her laugh, even when she was most miserable.

And who, as of this morning, didn't have a date yet.

Now, what can I do to get his attention? she thought, but she stopped that line of thought in its tracks when she realised it the same trap as before. It was amazing how strong social conditioning could be. And yet, as she thought about dancing and mischief, she got a brilliant idea for a hint that he couldn't possibly miss.

And if that doesn't work, then I'll come out and ask him.

If Hermione had wanted to do a nice, clean, professional-looking job with this, it would have taken her all day, but as it was, she could make a quick-and-dirty job of it in under an hour. The hardest part was moving the phonograph into the Common Room. To do that, she asked Colin Creevey to give her a hand after lunch with the promise of some great new Omniocular photos.

She hadn't been sure what she'd do for music at first, but she soon remembered that she was sitting in Hogwarts's own local junk shop. She popped outside and asked the Room for waltz music and got exactly what she needed. After that, it was just a matter of moving it, scrawling a few runes and charging them, and getting Ginny to distract her brothers for a little while.

After dinner, Hermione and the Creevey Brothers ran up to Gryffindor Tower to make sure they were the first ones into the Common Room. They asked what this was all about, but she just said it was a surprise. Hermione sat in a chair near the door and pretended to read a book while the Creeveys played a half-hearted game of Exploding Snap. They all flicked their eyes up each time someone came in the portrait hole.

It took a while. The Common Room was about half full before the prank was activated. Then, Lavender and Parvati came in, followed by—

"Oh, no! Padma!" Hermione said.

"Well, nice to see you too—Whoa!"

Hermione hadn't accounted for Padma coming up to visit her sister, but it was too late. Her runic chain had activated. The detection runes triggered when they sensed that two people who were identical in appearance passed over the threshold. They triggered the next rune, which released a stored spell: a Finite that cancelled the Hover Charm on the needle of the phonograph. The needle dropped, and the Blue Danube Waltz began playing. They, then final pair of runes activated with a flash of light, releasing two more stored spells: two copies of Hermione's Waltzing Matilda Jinx from last year.

The Common Room laughed as Parvati and Padma grabbed hold of each other and started waltzing around the floor to the music. The Omnioculars on Hermione's side-table were already recording.

"Hermione!" Parvati yelled.

"What the hell?" Padma said.

"Sorry! Sorry!" she said, jumping up and flicking her wand. "Finite Incantatem." The two girls stopped dancing.

"What was that?" Parvati and Padma demanded in unison.

"Sorry. I didn't know you'd be here, Padma," she said as she reset the phonograph. "I set the spell to trigger on twins—any twins. Levioso." The needle levitated again, and she hurriedly recharged her runes: "Finite Levioso Potentia. Waltzing Matilda Potentia. Waltzing Matilda Potentia. Phew! There, it's reset. Just don't go near the door until it activates again."

"How long will that take?" Padma asked.

"It shouldn't be long."

Sure enough, Harry, Ron, and Ginny came into the Common Room at that moment, closely followed by the correct one of the two other pairs of identical twins in the school. With a flash of light, Fred and George Weasley began waltzing around the Common Room to the Blue Danube. Despite the Patils giving away the prank, people laughed even harder at that sight. Everyone loved it when someone pulled one over on those two.

"Bloody hell!" the boys yelled in unison.

"Where'd this come from?" Fred demanded.

"Hang on, I know this spell," George said. "Hermione?"

Hermione was doubled over, laughing.

"Damn, she got us fair and square, didn't she?" said an impressed Fred.

"That she did, brother," George said.

"And I'll have the photos in time for Christmas," Hermione called, patting her Omnioculars and wiping a tear from her eye.

They stared at each other, still waltzing. "Wow, she really got us," George said. "We'll need to get her back."

"Yes, that deserves some payback," Fred replied. Just then, Angelina laughing uproariously, leaning against the wall. At that, the Twins got mischievous grins on their faces. They pushed apart, and in a flash, Fred grabbed Angelina, and George grabbed Hermione, and there were two couples waltzing around the floor.

Hermione's eyes went wide. Somehow, she hadn't anticipated this to develop so quickly, but fortunately, she did know how to dance. She giggled as she and George spun around the floor, and she ended with a spin-out and a flourish, drawing her wand in perfect time and casting, "Finite!" The Common Room applauded while Angelina managed to similarly extricate herself from Fred.

"Now that was a good prank," George said.

"I'll say." Fred agreed. He found her wooden rune over the portrait hole. "Hmm, elegant and simple. Say, do you think you could turn this into something we could sell, Hermione?"

"Sell?"

"Of course, we'd give you a generous cut if you would license it out," George said.

"Well, I suppose I could," she said.

"Brilliant!" he said. He hugged her impulsively, and then hesitated, pulled back, and stared at her thoughtfully. "Hermione…will you go to the ball with me?" he asked.

Hermione grinned ear to ear: "Yes, George, I'd love to."

She only remembered that they had an audience when she heard gasps from the onlookers, and she wasn't sure whether to turn white as a sheet or red as a beetroot. Another thing she had failed to anticipate was George asking her so publicly, even though she really should have.

"Hermione, are you nuts?" Ron gasped. "You're going with George?"

"And what's wrong with that?" And Hermione finally chose red over white when she and George said it at the same time. Harry, she noted, said nothing, but his eyebrows had vanished into his mess of hair. Ginny was suppressing mingled shock and laughter.

"But—but—you're you, and he's…him," Ron stammered.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Ronniekins?" George said.

"Well, you're a giant prankster and Hermione—"

"Just pranked us?" Fred cut in.

"Face it, Hermione hasn't been innocent and harmless since her first year," George said.

"Thank you, George," she said.

"But you're always about being nice and following the rules and stuff," Ron protested. "I mean, when there's no dark wizards around."

"Only by choice, Ronald. Child of dentists, remember?" she said, flashing a wicked grin at Ron, who paled at once and decided not to question her choices further.

Even Fred shuddered at the sight. "Speaking of which, Georgie, are you off your nut?" he turned on his twin.

"Probably," George answered. "But you know what, Freddie, I think it's going to go well."

Hermione blushed even as resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Boys could be so ridiculous sometimes, but she supposed that was what she got for associating with the Weasleys.

"Well, I don't think anybody saw this coming, Hermione," Ginny summed it up, approaching closer so she could speak without being overheard. She herself had been grinning all afternoon, but coyly refused to explain why to anyone when asked. "But I'm glad to see you lightening up for a change. I think you might both do each other some good."

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione said quietly. "I don't think I saw it coming before today myself, but George always has been a good friend."

"I believe it. People don't really notice, but the Twins are both really good guys. I'm happy for you…I am surprised you went for a boy with so few O.W.L.s, though," she added slyly.

"Well, I'm sure you know both of them really are pretty smart," Hermione said. Ginny nodded knowingly. "If they were smart and didn't apply themselves at all, I don't think I'd be interested, but they actually do apply themselves. It's just not in a traditional way."

"Exactly! Just try telling that to Mum, though. She thinks a Ministry job like Percy's is the only way to go. Anyway, thank you so much for talking some sense into Harry."

"It was the least I could do. He can be so clueless sometimes."

"Yeah. Boys," Ginny giggled. "But I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my brothers. I want to surprise them."

Hermione smiled. "That I think we can do." She sighed happily. "I think I'll take a walk. I'll see you later."

"Okay, have fun."

Hermione climbed out through the portrait hole and strolled down the hall happily, going nowhere in particular. It was hard to believe it had been such a roller coaster of a day. She'd been in tears this morning, and now she felt almost irrationally cheerful. Had she really just waltzed with George Weasley in front of all of Gryffindor? Yes, yes, she had. And had he publicly asked her to the Yule Ball. Yes, that too. She was way outside her comfort zone, and yet she was still smiling. She'd never realised until now how much she liked George, but he really was the most important one (besides Harry) who was always there to help her.

She wandered through the corridors, generally enjoying the evening, until she heard a high, distant voice singing:

"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme."

Hermione quickened her pace and moved towards the voice, going around one corner and then another as the sound echoed through the halls.

"Remember me to one who lives there,

For he once was a true love of mine."

Hermione turned around the next corner and saw the source of the voice: a small girl with long, blond hair skipping down the corridor.

"Tell him to make me a cambric shirt.

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Without no seam nor needlework.

Then, he'll be a true love of mine."

"Hello, Luna," Hermione called, and the girl turned around.

"Oh, hello, Hermione," she said. "You're certainly looking happy and nargle-free tonight."

"Um…sure, right. I just got a date to the ball."

"That's nice. Who is it?"

Hermione looked back and forth as if it were a secret and said, "George Weasley."

Luna tilted her head, looking thoughtful. "I can see that," she said after a moment.

Hermione started laughing. Luna frowned, but she explained: "You're the only one who's said that."

"Really? I would have thought it was obvious."

"Luna, someday, you'll have to explain how you can be so perceptive. So, are you going?"

"No, no one's asked me. Third-years have to go with an older student. But I don't like dancing much, anyway."

"I can't believe that," Hermione insisted. "You're—well, you."

"Well, I do enjoy some dancing, but not many people know the dances I know." Luna demonstrated by doing a strange dance that looked like she was swatting at insects over her head whilst spinning in a circle.

"Erm, right." Hermione privately suspected Luna might just be in denial over not being asked. The girl was hard to read, but she'd known her long enough that she thought she could recognise a sheen of disappointment. "You sing beautifully."

"Why, thank you, Hermione. I love Scarborough Fair. It's so delightfully absurd."

"It's very you, Luna. I'll see you later. Be sure not to miss curfew."

"Good night, Hermione," she said, and she started singing again:

"Tell him to make me a cambric shirt.

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

Without no seam nor needlework.

Then, he'll be a true love of mine."

"Heh, a seamless shirt," Hermione said to herself. "Delightfully absurd. Definitely Luna…How would you even make a seamless shirt? A circular loom, maybe? Of course, we have magic, here. You could probably join pieces of cloth magically…"

That would be an interesting charm, she thought. She wondered how she might do it. Probably create a charm to unravel the seams and re-weave them. Or maybe, with the way the threads themselves were made…Well that was a lot like the spells she'd made for dealing with her hair, just on a different scale, wasn't it? She started calculating some of the spell elements in her head.

She stopped. That could work. That could actually work, and it wouldn't be too difficult, either. She could make a seamless shirt—she was pretty sure, anyway. That could make a lot of tailoring-type things easier. She'd tried a spot of magical knitting for fun a while back, and it was abysmal, but with this, she could make just about anything if she had existing cloth and a pattern. Why, she could even weave together custom clothes that were, say, twice the normal size.

Oh, this was good.

There was a certain tendency of girls who were already paired up to want to play matchmaker, and Hermione found she had a bit of that streak herself. That, and she had a new spell idea that she wanted to try out. This could be fun. She already had a couple of little charms to show off at the ball. But she couldn't pull this one off on her own. She made a quick trip to the Room of Requirement to see what supplies of cloth it could produce. She wasn't sure if there would be much in good condition, and there wasn't much time to order anything, but she was pleased to find there was enough that she thought they could work with it. Then she ran back to Gryffindor Tower.

Conveniently enough, Hermione had arranged to stay in her old dorm room for the week. Less conveniently, Lavender and Parvati were eager to talk to her about something completely different.

"Hermione!" they squealed when she got back.

"When did this happen?"

"Seriously? George Weasley?"

"It's official. Our Hermione has gone insane."

"Three O.W.L.s, class prankster, always causing trouble, constant danger of suspension—"

"And I could defeat a dragon without breaking a nail," Hermione interrupted. "What of it?"

That made her friends draw back nervously.

"Thank you," Sally-Anne said from her bed. "Some of us want to sleep sometime soon."

"We just didn't think you were the type, Hermione," Parvati said apologetically. "I mean, still, George Weasley."

Hermione shrugged: "He makes me laugh."

They smiled at that. "That does sound like a good start," Parvati admitted.

"Plus, I suspect in a few years, he'll actually be a successful businessman," Hermione added. "Anyway, I had a question for you."

"What?"

"Lav…Parv…How would you feel about doing a big makeover project?"

Lavender gasped: "You're finally gonna let us do your hair?"

"No…Well, maybe. But I was actually thinking about Hagrid."

Lav's and Parv's eyes grew to saucer-sized, and they turned and stared at each other.

"If we could make him presentable—" Lavender started.

"—him and Madame Maxime—" Parvati continued.

"—that would be so romantic!"

"He'll need a real suit, though."

"And we'll have to do something with that hair."

"We won't have a hope of that without magic."

"Girls?" Hermione interrupted. They turned to look at her. She raised her wand and swirled it to uncurl her own hair. "I'll supply the spells. You do the rest."

Both girls squealed again and threw their arms around her. "One of us! One of us!" they chanted.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"