Hermione had been on precisely one formal date with a boy before, and that had been with Cedric over the summer. And it had been much more casual than taking someone to Hogsmeade – it seemed like there were distinct social implications in taking someone on such a date at school. The idea of going on a date publicly, in front of all her peers, was somehow far more nerve-wracking. And Hermione wasn't quite sure what to wear, or how to behave, or what to do for any of it.

As such, she was rifling through her robes and fretting the morning of Halloween, with Tracey offering advice. Crookshanks watched on from her coverlet with a distinctly disgusted air about him – clearly, as a cat, he was above such things as clothes.

"How formal is this?" she despaired. "He's not courting me, but he's made it clear that he would if I wanted, so what am I supposed to wear?"

"Something with a lower neckline for him to enjoy," Tracey suggested, keeping her face entirely neutral, though her eyes were dancing.

Hermione hurled a pillow at her, and Tracey laughed.

"Honestly, you're overthinking it, Hermione," Tracey told her. "Just wear something you look good in. Avoiding the courting label means you don't have to worry about all the drama."

"I still don't want to mess it up," Hermione muttered, embarrassed, and Tracey laughed and teased her as she got ready.

Hermione found herself reflecting on the differences and details this time as she got ready. She was doing her hair, she was putting on a bit of makeup, and she was carefully choosing her robes. There was a weird feeling about all of it, to her – it felt very much like a performance. It was more a question of "what would Hermione wear on a date?" and less of Hermione just actually wearing clothes and happening to go on a date.

It felt somewhat odd. Whenever she'd been sort of seeing Fleur, she'd just worn whatever. She'd chosen to wear some things because she thought Fleur would appreciate them, but there'd always been a bit of a thrill or excitement to it. Even when they'd gone to their fancy dinner, Hermione had dressed her best, but there was no feeling of tension behind it. This felt much more anxious than that. Maybe it was because this date would be in front of all their classmates?

Not for the first time, Hermione wished she had turned Cedric down. It would have been much easier and low-key to just go with all her friends.

"Did I tell you?" Tracey asked. Hermione glanced over, and Tracey hesitated.

"What?" Hermione prompted.

"Well…" Tracey paused. "I'm going with Adrian. You know. To Hogsmeade."

Hermione's eyes widened.

"You didn't tell me that!" she exclaimed. "You've got a date of your own, now?"

Tracey shifted. "I guess."

Hermione paused.

"…you don't look thrilled about it," she said, watching Tracey. "Are you happy about it?"

"I mean, I said yes, so I guess?" Tracey didn't look at Hermione as she fussed with her hair. "It's just – I don't know what he's playing at, really."

"You've been seeing him for ages now, though," Hermione pointed out, finally choosing to wear her amber robes to help boost her confidence. "Surely it only makes sense that he ask you out properly now?"

Tracey made a face.

"We've been snogging for ages, now," she corrected. "It's – that's not really the same as dating someone, is it?"

"It's not like we had any opportunities for proper dates in second year," Hermione said. "This is the first opportunity, really."

"I suppose." Tracey shrugged, and Hermione started to smirk.

"So… you don't even really like him," she guessed. "You just like the snogging."

Tracey's face burned red, but she didn't deny it.

"I just – I don't know him, really," she said. "I know he's an excellent kisser, but that's about it."

"Isn't that the point of dating someone?" Hermione asked. "To get to know them better?"

Tracey considered.

"Is it?" she asked. "Is that the difference between dating and courting? 'Dating' you get to know a person, and 'courting' you figure out if you'd want to marry them?"

"I am not the person to be asking that question," Hermione said dryly. She turned to Tracey. "Should I wear a butterfly?"

"Nah, no need," Tracey dismissed. "You wore one all summer – that's plenty. You could wear other jewelry now if you wanted to, though."

Hermione hummed and turned back to her things. She didn't really have much in the way of jewelry – mostly just butterfly clips, a couple pieces from home, and the light blue pearl set she'd gotten for her birthday.

"What if I don't like him, though?" Tracey despaired. "If I get to know him, and then he turns out to be a total snob, I'm not going to be able to kiss him anymore!"

Hermione laughed.

"Then you dump him," she advised, "and find someone new to snog."

Tracey rolled her eyes. "It's not that easy, Hermione!"

"I bet it is," Hermione teased. "Adrian's probably bragged on your snogging skills to his entire dorm. Just pick one of his mates, and I'm sure any one of them would be happy to fulfill your snogging needs."

Tracey threw the pillow back at Hermione, who caught it and laughed. Tracey grinned at her.

"This is kind of fun," she admitted a moment later. "Getting ready and gossiping like this."

"I'm glad you've got a date too, now," Hermione admitted. "I felt bad for not going with everyone as just friends."

"Oh, it's fine," Tracey dismissed, waving a hand. "Millie's going to go exploring with Hannah Abbot, I think – Susan's got a date too, so Hannah and Millie resolved to link up and go around together."

"Susan?" Hermione was surprised. "That's lovely. Who?"

Tracey hesitated. "...Blaise."

Hermione paused, her hands stopping their movement as she brushed out her robes for a split second. She turned slowly on the spot to look at Tracey, who was determinedly not looking at Hermione.

"Blaise?" she asked. "Susan is going with Blaise?"

"Technically, Blaise asked her out, I think," Tracey said, suddenly very busy doing up her boots. "Susan hadn't been anticipating it, I don't think, but she was amenable enough."

"How did I miss this?" Hermione wanted to know. "When did this happen?"

Tracey shrugged uneasily. "Just before Charms this week. You got there almost late – you got lost the way there on the way from Divination or something, I think."

"Oh." She'd undoubtedly had to Time-Turn to go to Ancient Runes. "I didn't… I missed that happening."

Tracey looked at her. "Well, it happened."

Hermione bit her lip, considering for a long moment.

"Good," she said finally. "That's good."

"It is?" Tracey sounded surprised.

"It is." Hermione voice was firmer. "Blaise will be attentive and charming, and Susan deserves someone who will flirt with her and make her smile."

Tracey's eyebrows rose very high, but she didn't say anything else.

"Do you think the boys are waiting?" she asked, turning back to her dresser. "Or do you think I have time to put on mascara?"

"I think mascara should be fine," Hermione advised, determinedly pushing the Blaise and Susan matter from her mind. "Just so long as you don't put the wand in your eye."

Her words clearly jinxed it; Tracey slipped and stuck herself in the eye, and the next few minutes were spent trying to heal Tracey's eye and reduce the redness while Tracey simultaneously insisted on trying again.

Both Hermione and Tracey had agreed to meet their dates in the Entrance Hall. It seemed to be the place to meet up – there were people milling all over, looking for each other.

"How are we even supposed to find them?" Tracey grumbled. "We're not all as tall as you are."

"They'll have to find us, I think," Hermione said. "I'm pretty sure this is one of those male chivalry things where it would offend their pride if we found them first."

Tracey snickered. "That's true."

They saw Adrian first. He caught sight of Tracey and stopped in his tracks, looking slightly stunned, before making his way over. Hermione watched as he approached, but Adrian hardly noticed her – he only had eyes for Tracey.

"Tracey," he breathed, holding her eyes.

Tracey held her chin up. "Adrian."

Tracey's attitude broke the tension, and Adrian's face cleared into an easy smirk. He turned to Hermione and nodded to her.

"Miss Granger," he said, smirking. "Looking forward to Hogsmeade?"

"Of course," Hermione said, smiling back. "It would be hard not to – we've never been."

"Well, I'll be sure to give your friend here a wonderful time and tour of it all, if you allow me to steal her away from you," Adrian said, putting an arm around Tracey and tugging her closer at the waist. His eyes glinted, and Tracey turned red. "If you would be amenable to such a thing?"

"She's not my mother," Tracey hissed at him, embarrassed, and Hermione laughed.

"Of course," she said, playing along. "Be sure to have her home by suppertime!"

Adrian gave her a jaunty wave as he and Tracey headed for the doors. Tracey was seemingly trying to chastise him for his behavior, while Adrian was clearly ignoring it or laughing it off. Hermione watched them go with amusement.

"He's besotted with her, you know."

Hermione turned quickly to see Blaise at her side, looking after Tracey and Adrian with a smirk.

"When did you sneak up?" Hermione demanded, and Blaise grinned.

"Just now." He nodded after them. "He is besotted though, don't you think?"

Hermione considered, humming.

"I think he likes her a lot more than she likes him," she said finally. "I'm glad she gave him a chance for a proper date instead of just snogging in corners."

"Has she ever been on a proper date before?" Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt it," Hermione dismissed. "There was nowhere to do so last year, and I don't think she did anything over the summer."

"I think that's the situation for a lot of us," Blaise said, nodding at the crowd. "No one's done it before, so we're all figuring it out."

Hermione followed Blaise's eyes, looking over the crowd. There were lots of students milling about, but the older ones seemed to find their companions more quickly and leave the hall. The third years, however, seemed to be the ones more anxiously hanging about, and there was a distinct air of nervousness to them all. The girls had visibly made more of an effort today – Hermione could tell several of them had undoubtedly spent an uncomfortable night in curling rags to fix their hair up prettily today.

"It seems that way," Hermione agreed. She looked sideways at Blaise. "Is that what you're doing?"

Blaise glanced at her. "Doing what?"

"With Susan?" She cleared her throat. "You're having your first date with Susan?"

Blaise shrugged, a sparkle in his eye.

"I figured I might as well," he said. "I've never been on a date before, so I have no idea what I'm doing, really. Better to figure it out with someone safe like Susan who's not going to mock me if I muck it all up."

"Oh." For some reason, a tension eased in Hermione's throat. "That's… very sensible of you."

"Plus," Blaise said, his eyes glinting, "she's very easy on the eyes, isn't she?"

Hermione choked, her eyes flying up to look at Blaise.

"What?" she demanded, but Blaise's smirk only grew.

"She's easy on the eyes, isn't she?" he murmured. "Come on, Hermione; I know you look too…"

"I—I have no idea what you mean," Hermione said stiffly, holding her head up high, and Blaise laughed lowly.

"You can claim what you want, love, but I know the truth," he teased her. "I won't tell. But admit to yourself – she's fit, isn't she?" He gestured. "Look. She's right there."

Hermione turned. Susan and Cedric were coming towards them, from the staircase that led to the Hufflepuff burrow. Cedric's face lit up when he saw her, and he grinned. Hermione grinned back, before her eyes went to Susan for a moment.

Susan was rather pretty, Hermione supposed. Her face was nice, her hair was shiny, and she'd gained a lot of confidence once she'd started wearing her colored glasses. She'd clearly started growing up, too – Hermione wondered if she wore stays, or if she hadn't gone that far yet. As attractive as she was, though, Hermione was relieved to realize she wasn't attracted to her – the fact that she was attractive was just something about her she noticed, the same as she noticed her hair or eyes.

"She's pretty," Hermione admitted to Blaise quietly. "Just… not quite my type of pretty, I think?"

Blaise's eyes lit in triumph. He opened his mouth to say something, but then Susan and Cedric were upon them.

"Thanks for waiting!" Susan said, bouncing up to them. "Hi!" She grinned at Hermione, breathless, before looking at Blaise. "Thanks."

"Of course," Blaise said smoothly, giving her a teasing bow. "I couldn't just abandon you here, could I?"

Susan laughed, and she stepped up next to Blaise. "You could have, but I wouldn't advise it."

Hermione looked away from them as Cedric stepped up to her. He took her hand, his eyes warm as he looked down at her, and she could feel her face flush.

"You look great, Hermione," he told her. He lifted the back of her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to it.

"Thanks." Hermione was determined not to feel flustered. "Are you ready to go?"

"Not quite…" Cedric tilted his head at her, as if considering something, before snapping his fingers. "I've got it!"

He pulled a blood red rose out from his robes with great panache, as if from nowhere, and Hermione laughed as he transfigured the stem into a comb and put it into her hair.

"Was that supposed to look like wandless magic?" she asked him.

"It was," Cedric said solemnly, his eyes dancing. "Muggle sleight of hand is a lot harder than it looks, incidentally. But it made you laugh."

He stepped back and looked at her, and Hermione grinned up at him.

"Satisfied?" she asked, and Cedric grinned.

"Now, I am," he agreed. "Shall we?"

He offered her his arm, which Hermione took as he led her out the doors into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, there were more people milling about in their cloaks, queueing up to go to the carriages. Draco Malfoy was waiting with Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle when he caught sight of her with Cedric, and his eyes widened to dramatic proportions. He glared at Cedric for a long few moments before grudgingly turning back to Theo, and Hermione hid her smirk - over the summer, Draco had been indignant that Cedric hadn't properly taken her out, so she imagined he couldn't exactly object now, no matter how much he may want to.

Filch was collecting permissions slips as people filed through the queue, his beady eyes glaring as third years came close to hand over their slips. Ron and Neville were saying goodbye to Harry at the side of the courtyard, Harry looking thoroughly miserable but trying to put on a good face for his friends.

"Poor Harry," Hermione murmured.

Cedric glanced over. "He can't come?"

"Professor McGonagall forbid it because of the danger of Sirius Black," Hermione told him. She sighed. "I know it's suspected he's after Harry, but it still seems so unfair."

"She's his Head of House, though." Cedric shrugged. "Her first priority should be keeping him safe, really. If not letting him go to the village is the best way to do that…"

Hermione took a moment to consider if Snape's first priority was keeping his Slytherins safe. Judging from the way he covered for them when they were in trouble, helped them accomplish their sneaky plans, and merely rolled his eyes at some of their more dangerous escapades, she severely doubted it.

"I think Snape more prioritizes helping us achieve our goals without us doing something stupid along the way," Hermione said thoughtfully. "He's never seemed to be overly concerned with safety or risk, just stupidity or outright danger."

Cedric laughed.

"Well, you're Slytherins, aren't you?" he teased. "You're the most ambitious bunch of us all, so that makes sense, that he'd need to temper and guide that ambition. But look at the Gryffindors."

Hermione glanced over as they passed Neville and Ron. "What about them?"

"Well, they're known for bravery and courage, aren't they?" Cedric said. "They go charging off into battle, regardless of the odds or danger. It makes sense that McGonagall would have to try and protect them from themselves so they survive the full seven years here."

Hermione remembered Harry's vehemence to stop Voldemort at the end of their first year, to steal the stone for himself. He and Neville and Ron had been so determined, so stubborn that a bunch of first years needed to save the school and the world, and she found herself smirking.

"That's a fair point," she acknowledged, handing Filch her slip as he glared at her.

"Of course it is," Cedric said, grinning. "Every House is different. Flitwick probably has to help the Ravenclaws remember basic things – to stop reading and studying and remember to eat and sleep from time to time."

Hermione's opinion of Flitwick as a Head of House wasn't the highest, given his treatment (or ignorance) of Luna and Amanda's situations, but she managed a strained laugh.

"Fair enough." She looked up at Cedric. "What does Professor Sprout prioritize for you?"

Cedric looked down at her, a smile playing around his lips.

"Well," he said. "Hufflepuffs are known for our loyalty and patience, aren't we? That and hard work and justice, I suppose."

"I can't imagine her needing to protect you from hard work, though," Hermione teased. "She probably works the hardest of all the teachers, toiling in the greenhouses like she does."

"No, you're right." An amused smile played around his lips.

"What, then?" Hermione prodded.

Cedric's gaze caught hers and held it, and his eyes softened. Hermione found herself somewhat breathless for a moment as he looked at her.

"When a Hufflepuff gives their loyalty to someone, it's very hard to get them to give it up," he murmured. He brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, tucking it back. "Sprout helps try to make sure we give our loyalty to the right people in the first place, so we don't end up betrayed or with broken hearts."

Hermione's heart thudded hard in her throat. She swallowed. "That's very kind of her."

"It is." Cedric's eyes were still on hers, but his lips tilted up into a slight smile. "Luckily for me, you're one of her favorites, and she was only too excited to hear I was taking you on a date."

Hermione could feel her face burn, and Cedric grinned as he led her to one of the carriages.

Hermione, Cedric, Susan, and Blaise ended up all sharing a carriage into the town, as Susan and Blaise had been trailing right behind them in the line. Susan was excited, and her enthusiasm was contagious, and Hermione found herself brightening up as well.

"Can you imagine, the Shrieking Shack, on today of all days?" she said. "If it's really haunted, today of all days it will be the most haunted, don't you think?"

Hermione was reminded of her parents' comments, of what wizards considered haunted or not, and she smirked. "Today of all days?"

"Well, it's Halloween, isn't it?" Susan said. "Hauntings are practically expected to happen today!"

Hermione laughed, but her laughter was cut off sharply by a chilling gust of cold as their carriage slowed. Her eyes widened, and she sat stock-still in her chair. Susan's eyes caught hers, grim.

"Dementors," she said uneasily. "Hopefully they just need to look in, and we'll be on our way soon…"

One of the horrible, hooded creatures peered into the carriage for a moment, nothing visible under its tattered hood. Hermione found her breath stopping, her eyes wide, as something chilling clutched her center. It felt like her magic was freezing in her body, like she'd never be warm again…

…and finally the carriage began to roll again, the cold slowly seeping back out of her bones. As Hermione gradually warmed back up, her thoughts slowly returning to normal, she found the others looking at her expectantly.

"Sorry," she said. She cleared her throat. "Did someone say something?"

"I asked if you were alright." Cedric looked at her with worry. "Are you okay, Hermione?"

"I—yeah, I'm fine. I just…" Hermione shook her head, grimacing. "I just hate them, you know?"

"They're terrible," Susan agreed, shuddering. "I can't wait until Black is caught and they all go back to Azkaban where they belong."

"At least they're keeping us safe," Cedric said reasonably.

"Are they?" Blaise drawled, raising an eyebrow. Cedric looked surprised.

"Aren't they?" he challenged back, and Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Black got past the dementors once before, didn't he…?" he said. "What's to say he couldn't do it again?"

Cedric paused at that.

"I'm fairly certain that the Ministry figured out what the security breach at Azkaban was and fixed it," he said finally. "My father said something to that effect. I don't think it was the dementors' fault that he managed to escape."

Blaise's eyebrow merely rose higher, and Hermione could see a mean glint in his eyes.

"I'm glad we won't have to deal with them again for hours," Hermione said determinedly. She turned to Cedric. "We're almost there – where should we go first?"

Cedric looked down at her fondly.

"Well," he said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said airily. "I've never been. Everywhere, I expect!"

Cedric laughed.

"Well, we might as well go everywhere, then," he said, his eyes sparkling. "You only get to visit Hogsmeade for the first time once."