It took two weeks and one rather unfortunate accident- involving a school owl, ink and Goyle's lap during Transfiguration- to set up another meeting between the pair. Finding time while Prefect duties, impending Apparition lessons, homework, friends and getting sleep dominated their lives was nearly impossible. Their notes back and forth were plenty entertaining though…

Hermione found the ones exchanged the day before had been particularly noteworthy:

Good Morning Kitten,

It's snowing again. Looks like lunch in the Astronomy Tower is canceled. What else is new, right?

In other news... Who would have thought an owl and ink pot would be so hard to separate? Or that McGonagall could turn that color purple without having a heart attack!

Would tonight at Eleven work?

-A Hero In Training

Dear Hero,

Fate is a fickle bitch and she must hate us, I have extended rounds tonight. A certain someone assumed I wouldn't be busy and made plans with his banshee. It is a thankless job making sure the kiddies behave.

Tomorrow night at Ten would work for me. How about where we won't be found?

That isn't funny! You shouldn't say such things, besides she was able to do the reverse wandwork pretty quickly. I think she was more disappointed that people laughed. It showed massive amounts of immaturity and gave the class away as the assholes we are.

-Not Your Average Princess

Why Hello There Foul Mouthed Vixen,

You were not kidding when you said you hated mornings. I have to admit, when you talk like that I cannot stop myself from imagining a better use for that pretty little mouth of yours.

Ten o'clock tomorrow is really too far away... But patience is a virtue... So I should really work on it if I want to be a hero. This shit is exhausting. How do you do it all of the time?

-A Teenage Boy With An Indecent Mind

While logically she knew he must be thinking about her in that way, it was still strange to have the proof at the bottom of her trunk. Along with the rest of the forbidden messages she had received over the last few weeks. They had used every trick in the book to be able to get word to one another. Unfamiliar owls, crumbled pieces of parchment left for the other pick up, secret hand slips in the hallways, leaving a note in a specific book in the library. Anything they could think of to not draw attention to themselves while hoping their lackluster codes worked well enough that no one would be able to figure out who they were if intercepted.

She hoped that their meeting tonight was able to happen without any hitches. After all of the teasing she needed some type of release. Books, knitting and homework were only an outlet for so long before her hormones had her a withering mess each night. She didn't necessarily want sex and wasn't sure if she would let it go that far. What she did want was the complex feelings combined with the release of pent up frustration that his kisses offered her. She wanted the closeness she felt when they were pressed up against each other. She wanted to hear him tell her how wonderful she was. The words made all the more ambrosian due to who was whispering them in her ear.

The only issue with the whole thing was that she had no clue what she was doing. She did not make a habit of trying to seduce anyone, much less someone who was as sophisticated as Draco. Not that it sounded like he would need much convincing, but a little effort couldn't hurt…

Thankfully Ginny was going to come and help her get ready, that way they would be able to have the conversation that was long overdue. Their hectic schedules had also kept them apart. Hermione found herself wondering if this was a natural phase in growing up. While most of her friendships were solid, Ron not included, they still had to make an effort to have time to spend with one another. It wasn't like a few years ago when they were together round the clock. Everyone had their own responsibilities to attend to now. The thought made her sad but also grateful that she and the girl had managed to squeeze some time from both of their schedules.

However fleeting it may be…

-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-\/-

"Hermione... You... Look... Hot!" The redhead gasped at her in disbelief. "I can't wait for you to see!"

"Well then the logical thing would be to let me look in the mirror Ginny..." She told her jokingly, appreciating the girl trying to overinflate her ego. She needed it sometimes. Having been such an odd duck for so long it was hard to believe she could be considered good-looking or in this case- hot. There had only been a handful of times that she had truly felt that way and almost all of them had been recently with a certain someone…

A roll of the witch's eyes was the only answer she got before Ginny turned her around, so she could see herself for the first time in over an hour. Her friend had worked diligently to make sure she looked her best. The goal being a "relaxed flirty" look, whatever the hell that meant... Ginny had told her all about the issues she was having with Dean. Mostly revolving around the fact that they were not getting enough time apart now that he was a Chaser.

Hermione watched as the girl in the mirror's eyes wandered up and down her body. It wasn't that she was shockingly beautiful and the sudden realization had caused a cognitive disconnect or anything like that... More that she could not recognize herself in the confident set of the girl's shoulders or the small smile that played on her glossed lips. That person couldn't possibly be her.

She stood there in a pair of light-wash mock bell-bottom jeans. They were tight until her knee where they started to flare out, leaving ample enough room for the pair of mahogany colored oxford heeled boots to peek out. A black tank top was covered by a navy blue knit sweater. Purposefully two sizes too big so it hung off her left shoulder loosely.

Her makeup shouldn't have been anything special, but once again, under Ginny's hands all of her best features were enhanced. Her eyes popped and the soft curve of her bottom lip looked naturally plump. Her hair... Was her hair. The witch was able to tame the frizziness and get the curls to soften slightly, giving a much more polished look.

A giggle escaped her lips as she raised an eyebrow at her friend in the mirror. "You are a miracle worker. You know that right?"

"Yes. Yes I do." Ginny replied dramatically, fanning herself as if flushed by the compliment. "So do I get to hear all the deets on the Mystery Guy? Who is he? How long have you been hooking up? How far have you gone? Why weren't you honest about him after the party? That is where you decided you liked him right?"

She'd had some hope that she would be able to wiggle her way out of having to talk about herself. If Hermione could have kept the girl talking about Dean there wouldn't be a need to even go there, but the witch's rapid fire questions showed she wouldn't be that lucky. Not even close…

"Ummm... Okay. Where to start? He... He was at the party and left shortly after I did so we ended up bumping into each other. I never explicitly lied about him... I didn't tell you about him because... Well... because I didn't and still don't know if it will go anywhere. I want to be sure before sharing. We have only hung out a few times so far... And we have kissed. Does that cover all of your questions?"

Her friend's eyebrow rose at her guarded answers but she didn't challenge her on not divulging the identity of her beau. "Well at the very least you could tell me some stuff about him. Give me something girl!"

"Gods Ginny! What would you like to know? He is smart... Like ridiculously smart. He is a lot more gentle than I would have ever thought he could be. And funny! Such a wicked sense of humor. He gives off the air of bad boy, all the way, but deep down he really is good. And... And so handsome... I... I can't figure out what he sees in me..." She responded before turning to her and sighing heavily.

"Oh my Gods... Hermione Granger is smitten! Someone call 'The Prophet'... This is front page news!" The girl squealed and flung her arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Shhhhh! Please! I do not want anyone else finding out about this... Until I am ready. Just... Promise me you will keep your mouth shut, okay?! You can't even tell Dean!" She rushed out, trying to reign in the girl's excitement.

Ginny's eyes narrowed into a suspicious glare. "He is a Slytherin, isn't he? That's why you want to keep it so hush hush!"

Her own eyes widened at how quickly she had been able to figure such a huge part of it out. The redhead wasn't dumb that was for sure. Unable to recover quickly enough, she stammered. "I... I.. Uhhhh... He... What?!"

"Definitely a Slytherin."

"I did not say that!"

"You didn't have to. Your flustered act of indignation did it for you..."

"Well... Shit!"

The laugh that came from the girl put her at ease. She couldn't be mad if she found the situation funny... She leaned over and whispered flirtatiously in Hermione's ear. "Is it Zabini?"

"What?! No! I can tell you with a one hundred percent guarantee... My Mystery Guy is not Blaise Zabini." Hermione shook her head at the absurdity. Granted the truth wasn't much better…

"Dang! He is pretty smart and good-looking... Oh well..." Ginny gave her a kiss on the cheek before threatening menacingly. "I will figure it out..."

The witch giggled and jumped out of the way when Hermione playfully batted at her. "Quit being so nosey!"

"Alright, alright! I need to go find Harry and warn him I might be late for practice tomorrow anyway... Have fun! Don't do anything I would." She told her as she waggled her eyebrows at the implied suggestion before giving her another kiss on the check and exiting with a crooked smile plastered on her face.

Just how lucky she was to have the girl as a friend ran through her mind again. It was a miracle how she could make her laugh even in the most stressful of moments and it helped her more than Ginny would ever know. The fact that the witch was a gods' send when it came to appearance charms didn't hurt either... Anyone who could fire a curse or hex with as much potency as a Anti-Blush Charm was gifted. Plain and simple.

She was also incredibly stubborn.

Making Hermione hope that it was an innocent joke and she wasn't really planning to go out of her way to figure out who her snake was...