The first trip to Hogsmeade was announced to happen on October 31st, to everyone's excitement. Hermione was pleased to learn everyone in Slytherin from her class had received permission to go. Already Tracey was talking about how she couldn't wait to check out the Shrieking Shack and waxing poetic about the Three Broomsticks as the rest of the class was still lining up to read the announcement on the board in the common room.

A few of the Slytherins were more hesitant, however.

"We'll have to go past the dementors to get there, won't we?" Blaise said grimly. "Will we really be able to feel cheerful and have fun after going past them?"

Theo looked uneasy. "We'll have to walk fast, then."

"It's not right, that we have to be exposed to them," Draco declared. "We're students. Children. They should let us through without any difficulty and keep them away from us."

"Ah, but how can they then be sure you're not carrying Sirius Black in your pocket?" Blaise said slyly. "The dementors need to be very careful of such things, after all."

Draco sneered. "Go boil your head."

The Slytherins' caution and frustration about the dementors was nothing, however, compared to Harry's wrath.

"McGonagall said I couldn't go!" Harry was livid, storming around the Gryffindor common room holding his permission form. "I got the form 'signed' and everything, but I'm still not allowed to go! Because of Sirius Black," he sneered. "Aren't there Ministry people watching for him in Hogsmeade anyway?"

Hermione watched Harry rage, as did Ron and Neville with wide eyes. Hermione couldn't blame him in the slightest – it was clearly discriminatory treatment and unfair, regardless of the reasoning behind it. And Harry had gone to all the trouble of forging his Uncle's signature and everything.

Percy the Head Boy tried to be helpful.

"Your safety is more important than a daytrip, Harry," he told him seriously. "People make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

Hermione watched with wry amusement as Percy kept talking, oblivious to the growing rage under Harry's skin.

"—All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit—"

Hermione wondered if Harry's hair was going to start to spark soon, or if his head would just explode.

"—but really, Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything."

Harry gritted out that he'd forgotten something in the Great Hall, and Hermione followed him as he stormed out. He glanced over at her, but Hermione didn't say anything, just shrugging.

"If you want," she said, "there are empty classrooms in the dungeon. They'll echo a lot less than the Great Hall."

Harry glared at her, but he followed her down the stairs to an empty classroom nonetheless. Hermione had just managed to hop up on a desk and flick the door shut with her wand before Harry's frustration burst out of him.

"It's just so unfair!" he yelled. He stormed around the room, pacing, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "It's not my fault some stupid murderer wants to kill me, yet I'm being punished for it!"

"I wouldn't say 'punished'…" Hermione said cautiously.

"Well, it feels like a punishment, doesn't it?" Harry snapped. "Everyone else gets to go off and have fun, while I have to stay locked in the castle, don't I? Even though Sirius Black could kill any one of them, but no, he's specifically after me, so I'm not allowed out at all."

For a moment, Hermione considered telling Harry of the secret passage Blaise had showed her, before a new thought occurred to her.

"Cedric said that Filch usually collects the permission forms…" Hermione ventured. "Do you think he knows you're not supposed to go?"

Harry paused, shooting her a look.

"What?"

"Well, it's not like there's a school rule of 'Harry isn't allowed out of the castle', is there?" Hermione said. "It sounds like your Head of House is issuing this edict alone. So if you lined up to go and gave Filch your form, how would he know you're not supposed to be coming along?"

Harry blinked, then scowled.

"McGonagall would know," he said darkly. "She would find out, and then I'd get detention for a week when I got back."

"Would the detention be worth the trip to you?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked at her with surprise. "Are you suggesting I do it anyway?"

"I'm suggesting you evaluate how much you want to go to Hogsmeade against the potential consequences." She took a deep breath. "If you went and then did get punished, you could appeal the punishment to the Board of Governors as unfair. You could make a case for it being discriminatory and unfair, and how it wasn't based on you breaking any actual school rule. You could stand a chance of winning."

"Appeal a punishment?" Harry goggled at her. "I didn't know that was even a thing."

"Well, it's not like it comes up much, does it?" Hermione said defensively. "It's in Hogwarts, a History. Unfair punishments can be appealed to the Board of Directors. Generally, when professors punish us, though, it's for breaking a school rule, so it's not like an appeal would have a hope in hell." She bit her lip. "This is different, though, isn't it? You wouldn't be breaking a school rule – just one professor's un-backed-up edict."

Harry stared at her for a long moment.

"Is your mind normal?" he asked. He started to grin. "Neville and Ron just told me it was too bad, that they'd bring me back sweets. And you're proposing deliberately disobeying McGonagall and taking it to the Board of Governors."

Hermione flushed.

"I see a problem, and I'm trying to help you find ways around it," she said hotly. "Because it's not fair – if it's your safety at risk, you should be the one who gets to risk it or not, in my opinion. And disobeying and appealing any subsequent punishment stands a chance—"

Harry was laughing.

"It's not a bad thing," he said, amused. "Just unexpected."

He sat down on the desk next to Hermione. Hermione just looked at him fondly, watching as his temper gradually calmed down.

"I don't think it'd be worth it," he said finally, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, I could, but McGonagall would be livid, and I don't want to go through all the work of appealing to the Board of Governors…"

"Then," Hermione promised, "I will bring you back sweets from Honeydukes."

Harry laughed and rolled his eyes.

"It's still unfair," he said, "but I'll take what I can get."

Tracey was aghast that Hermione had a date to Hogsmeade, and then irrationally excited over it. Hermione was embarrassed while Tracey bounced around dormitory, Millie shooting her smirks from her bed as she stroked Crookshanks. Daphne was laughing, and Pansy rolled her eyes, already over it.

"A date?" Tracey squealed. "Already?"

"Daphne's got one too," Hermione defended. "She's going with Warrington."

"Daphne's got an escorted meeting with him," Tracey said, rolling her eyes. "Not the same thing!"

"It is," Hermione argued.

"It isn't," Daphne said. "I'm not of an age, yet, so Cassius can't pay me formal suit. Having a meeting at Madame Puddifoot's is all that's appropriate at this time."

"See?" Tracey said triumphantly.

"It's at least similar," Hermione equivocated. "Daphne's still got a romantic appointment with a boy, right?"

Tracey's smile grew devious.

"Ah, but she's got a chaperone." Her eyes glowed. "It's not like she is going to be able to sneak off and snog her beau if she's so inclined."

"Tracey!" Hermione's face flamed, but Tracey waved off her embarrassment.

"You have been kissed before, haven't you?" she said. "Cedric is two years older. He almost certainly has, and you need to know what you're doing."

"I have," Hermione said, defensive.

"Who?" Millie challenged. Her smirk grew. "Who have you snogged, Hermione?"

"I—that's not the point!" Hermione defended. "I have, though!"

"Ooh, who?" Tracey pressed. "Who?"

Hermione bit her lip.

"There was someone in France, over the summer," she said finally. "We—there was a lot of snogging."

Tracey shrieked and bounced on her bed, Millie laughing.

"I knew it!" she crowed. "I'm not the only one, now! Ha!"

"The only one?" Hermione repeated. "What do you mean?"

"No one else has been kissing people yet," Tracey said dismissively. "Daphne and Pansy aren't of an age yet, and Millie's got no interest in anyone. You're the only one who I thought might be getting off with people too."

Hermione glanced at Daphne and Pansy. Daphne had her head lowered bashfully, graceful, but Pansy looked oddly defensive.

"Well, it's not appropriate, is it?" Pansy said defensively. "It'd be viewed like an adult kissing a child."

"I'm content to wait to be kissed." Daphne's smile was dreamy. "The anticipation will make the moment it does come more special than it'd be otherwise."

"I thought we'd all go to Hogsmeade together the first time," Millie commented. "I suppose that'll change, now?"

Hermione glanced at Millie. "What do you mean?"

"I figured you, me, Tracey, and Blaise would all go and explore together," Millie said. Her tone of voice didn't sound hurt, just matter-of-fact. "You having a date changes that."

"Oh," Hermione said. She blinked. "I didn't think of that."

"We could all get dates!" Tracey suggested. "Then we could all go together!"

Millie scowled at Tracey. "We can't all have boys running to us with a crook of our finger, Tracey."

"Platonic dates, then." Tracey tossed her head. "Hermione's got male friends up in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw she could set us all up with, doesn't she?"

"And what about for Blaise…?" Millie said dryly. "How do you think he will react to all this?"

Tracey paused. "…oh."

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Hermione wanted to know. "Why would Blaise have an issue with this?"

"Well, like…" Tracey screwed her face up. "Oh, Circe. Don't you think Blaise would want to go with you, Hermione?"

Hermione blinked, taken aback.

"I mean, I guess?" she said. "He probably presumed we'd all—"

"No. Like on a date, Hermione," Tracey said pointedly.

Hermione considered, startled.

"I wouldn't put it past him possibly asking," she said slowly. "But Blaise flirts with everyone."

Tracey and Millie exchanged a glance.

"If you say so," Millie said doubtfully.

"A group thing probably wouldn't work out well, anyway," Hermione said, biting her lip. "I don't think Cedric really has a group date in mind…"

"You mean he wants to take you off and snog you," Tracey said, grinning, and Hermione flushed.

"So what if he does?" she said hotly.

Tracey laughed. "I'm not criticizing! I'm just teasing!"

Millie's eyes gleamed.

"Have fun and be careful," she advised. A smirk spread across her face. "And don't forget that potion that you stole, in case you need it."

"Oh, be quiet—!"

Hermione's face flamed and her dormmates laughed, teasing her, and though Hermione knew she wouldn't be doing anything near anything that would require such a potion, it was oddly kind of flattering that the other girls thought she could hook a boy as handsome as Cedric Diggory, and that he would want to do those sorts of things with her.