Hermione woke up in her dorm; she pressed her forehead, the events from the previous nights coming back in a large, crashing wave. She remembered everything clearly, except...how did she get to her room?
"Good morning, Mione." called a cheerful voice. She looked over at Ginny, who had sat up from her bead where she had been reading, and placed her book on the bedside table. "How are you?"
The brunette looked around the dormitory; it was Ginny's dorm, not her's. "How did I get here again?" she mumbled, still half- asleep.
" Professor McGonagall actually helped me get you here. She saw someone near the lake, and saw that it was you from one of the window. I, uh, happened to run into her on my way back to the dorms."
"What were you doing out so late?" Hermione asked, teasingly.
Ginny's blushed furiously. "I was...uh, taking a walk."
"Sure you were. Taking a "walk" with Harry, I assume?"
Ginny's face became even redder, if that was even possible.
Hermione smiled to herself. It was always so fun teasing Ginny about her love life with "The Chosen One." She threw back the blanket and sat up. Hermione rubbed her eyes, looking out one of the windows at the sunlit grounds. "Ginny!" she said frantically. "We have class! We're going to be late!"
"Mione, it's Saturday."
Hermione paused in her frenzy. "...Oh. Good." Ginny laughed, and Hermione threw an embroidered pillow at her.
"But Hermione," Ginny started, her voice taking on a curious yet surprised tone.
She nodded, acknowledging that she had heard the first part of the question.
"Who was with you?"
Hermione stared at Ginny. She cringed as her cheeks reddened slightly. Thankfully and luckily, Ginny didn't notice. Hermione honestly had no idea why she had blushed. It was Malfoy, for goodness sake. But there was just something about him...he seemed more relaxed. More...welcomed, almost. She couldn't find the words for feeling. It was like he had finally let out a shard of his actual self for a moment. A chill went down her spine at the thought of what had happened last night. The tingle wasn't unpleasant, necessarily, though she would never admit it, even to her best friend.
"Why do you ask?" Hermione asked, trying to hide the rushed secrecy in her tone.
Ginny stared at her, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear and crossing her arms. "Who was it?"
"The least expected person, that's for sure." she mumbled. It was the truth. No one would ever guess that it had been Draco Lucius Malfoy who had coincidentally decided to go to the Black Lake.
"Luna? Seamus? Dean? Lavender?" Hermione shook her head and flashed Ginny "the look."
"Sorry." The redhead said, shrugging sheepishly. "She's unlikely, though." She kept sprouting out names, and Hermione shook her head at each one. It seemed like she had named every student at Hogwarts before she finally spat out, "Malfoy?"
Hermione didn't answer, but glanced at Ginny, then continued to pull on black converse shoes that matched her theme of purple, white, and black.
"Wait, Malfoy?" Ginny said in utter disbelief. "Actually?"
"It was just coincidence." Hermione said honestly, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "It's not like I asked for it or anything. We were just at the same place at the same time."
Ginny stared for a second. She had that look in her eye when she was trying to figure something out. Hermione looked up from fastening a thin, golden bracelet on her wrist.
"What?" she said defensively, cheeks taking on the slightest pink tinge.
"...Nothing." Ginny said, stepping into a pair of white sneakers and bending over to tie them. A moment later, she stood back up. "You ready for breakfast?" she asked, changing the subject.
Hermione nodded, glancing at herself once in the mirror. "Yeah."