Potions lessons with Slughorn went a thousand times smoother than they ever had with Snape. Harry thought it had quite a bit to do with Slughorn's comparatively lax teaching style. Hermione argued that it had more to do with the fact that most students had dropped the course once it was no longer required.

Neville, he wasn't sure who was right. On the one hand, he and most of the students who had had trouble with potions had elected not to take the class. That left room for less catastrophic accidents where people wound up in the hospital wing.

To further support that argument, Neville was doing fine in defense against the dark arts. If Professor Snape hadn't managed to cause a decline in Neville Longbottom's grades, it might just be that potions was a hard subject to master.

On the other hand, Neville couldn't help but remember how Viktor had used soup to soothe his fears concerning potions. Viktor wasn't a teacher, but Neville had no doubt that he would be a good one if he so chose.

"What's the verdict?" Padma asked Harry and Hermione as they both worked on a potions essay.

"We've agreed to disagree," Harry said.

"It's probably a mixture of both," Ron said, "but they're both being stubborn."

"Are they ever not?" Neville asked.

"Dunno," Ron shrugged. "I assume that Hermione's capable of compromise. She is getting married after all."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but didn't stop writing. Now that Harry no longer had a teacher who he despised for potions, and for whom the feeling was reciprocated, had shown an unprecedented skill in potions. She was working twice as hard to stay ahead of him.

It didn't help any that Slughorn obviously played favourites. And his favourites were those with fame and power. Hermione, for all her connections and academic prowess, could never hope to match the fame of Harry Potter. He was the boy who lived after all.

"So Hermione, are you going to be around at all this weekend?" Neville asked.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend, which meant that Viktor might be around. He tried to show up as much as he possibly could. He had always done so, but everyone else noticed that fewer of his games and practices seemed to fall on Hogsmeade weekends.

It wasn't coincidence. Viktor had taken the liberty of writing to Professor Dumbledore and asked for the Hogsmeade schedule. While he couldn't necessarily change the games on a whim, he did have some sway if he asked as ahead as he had. And he had managed to get his schedule arraigned in such a way that he could spend as much time with Hermione as possible.

Hermione appreciated it. She knew that even though they could technically "talk" just about anywhere and anytime it was still important that they spend time together. And it was nice to spend time in person, when they didn't have to talk.

She certainly didn't mind the snogging that came with it either. She rather enjoyed that part. And she was certain that Viktor had absolutely no qualms about her kissing him.

"I doubt it," Hermione said. "I've got a date."

All four of her friends shared a smile. Hermione didn't notice, still scribbling out her essay. She was determined to finish before Friday hit. Even if it wasn't due until next Wednesday she didn't want it looming over her. She wouldn't enjoy her weekend much that way.

"Sounds fun," Padma said. "Hey Neville, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"I thought that was the plan," he said confused.

"She's asking you on a date," Hermione said.

"Oh." Neville blushed profusely, doing an excellent impression of a tomato. "I'd like that."

"Finally," Harry sighed.

"What do you mean by that?" Padma asked.

"I mean that Neville's been crushing on you since the Yule ball. I'm surprised he hasn't asked you out earlier."

"Which would have been like me asking Hermione out. Even if we both liked each other, which we didn't," Ron said, "it would have been horribly awkward."

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I've been hoping you two would go out. But I know better than to get involved in someone else's relationship."

Harry smiled and shook his head. He didn't need to get in the middle of that discussion.

"Just glad someone said something. It would be sad if you missed out on something because you were too scared to say anything," Ron said.

"Speaking of which, what do you think of Lavender?" Hermione asked.

A/N: I know this is a short chapter. But the next one should be longer. We'll get to see Neville and Padma go on a date. (I think that's a big fat yes. Let me know what you think.) And there will be some Viktor. Yay.