The two girls didn’t stop running until they reached the Gryffindor common room, collapsing in front of the fire. Ginny, whose hair was still sopping wet, was doubled over with laughter.
“Keep it down!” Hermione hissed, pointing her wand at Ginny and blasting her with a drying charm. Ginny’s bright red hair flew back and then settled lightly on her shoulders.
“Someone saw me!” Hermione whispered in a panic.
“I was out there, too!”
“But you were almost completely underwater! I was walking about in my undergarments, and someone went and saw me!”
Ginny stopped laughing abruptly and gasped aloud. “What if it was Filch?!”
Hermione grabbed a throw-pillow from the couch and threw it at Ginny angrily.
“Oh, why did I let you talk me into it?” Hermione groaned. She leaned back on the couch, slowly taking off her shoes. “It couldn’t have been Filch anyway; he never goes out on the grounds. He always walks the halls with his precious Mrs. Norris.”
Ginny stood up and stretched her hand out to Hermione, whose wavy brown hair was wildly mussed.
“Let’s get to bed, ‘Mione. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
•
The next morning, Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled looks as Ginny and Hermione wolfed down their breakfast before them. This was not a typical sight at all. Usually Hermione was birdlike, picking occasionally at her food while still looking over a paper or flipping through a giant book. This particular morning, however, her curly brown hair was tied back messily with a clip, and she kept her big brown eyes down at her plate. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that she was still under the watch of those mysterious eyes.
“Is something wrong?” Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two girls.
“No!” Ginny exclaimed, nearly choking on a bit of egg.
“Why?” Hermione said quickly, trying to calm her voice. “Had you heard anything?”
“What are you on about?” Ron said, pointing his fork accusingly at Hermione. He and Harry again exchanged looks of puzzlement.
At that moment, dozens of owls swooped in through the ceiling, bringing in the fresh morning air with them. Owls of all colours and sizes circled and dived, dropping packages delicately in front of students here and there. Much to Hermione’s surprise, an unfamiliar owl dropped down next to her mug of orange juice and held out its tiny leg. Attached to it was a small bit of parchment, held on only by a crude bit of twine. She unraveled it and held it up to her nose. It said only this:
I saw you.
Hermione’s face went pale and she cleared her throat loudly in Ginny's direction.
“Oh, um… we’re quite full,” Ginny rushed, dropping her fork.
“Yes, we have to, er… stop by the library before Potions,” Hermione stammered. “We’ll see you in class!”
Before the boys could utter a word, the two girls hurried, heads down, out of the Great Hall. Ron leaned over to Harry, eyes darting suspiciously.
“Bet it’s their ‘time of the month’, what d’you think, Harry?”
“At the same time?”
•
When Harry and Ron arrived at Snape’s Potions class, they found that Hermione was already there. She was sitting next to Neville, whispering hurriedly. Suddenly, Harry felt someone bump into him, hard.
“Watch it, scar-head,” said the handsome Slytherin with a grin. Draco pushed by him and took his seat next to Blaise. They immediately leaned back in their chairs and began laughing heartily.
Ron shook his head. “Miserable ferret.”
Before they could do anything, Snape burst forward into the classroom, causing a hush to fall across the students. He immediately began droning about the day’s lesson, but Draco found it hard to concentrate. He’d been dying to see Granger’s reaction since he sent her that note by owl. She must be completely mortified!
He turned his head cautiously to glance back at her. She was sitting next to that ever-pathetic Neville, looking down solemnly at her Potions book. Her light brown hair was tied up in a messy knot, leaving tendrils around her face. Her big brown eyes, which were normally quite pensive and concentrating, now only looked sorrowful. For a moment, just a moment, he felt a tinge of pity. Suddenly Draco leaned forward and began scribbling on a bit of parchment. After a moment, he ripped off a piece and folded it several times. He waited until Snape’s back was to him, and then tapped the folded bit of parchment lightly with his wand.
“Aracneo ad Granger,” he whispered. Then he quickly dropped the paper to the ground. It sprouted eight spindly paper legs and began crawling awkwardly across the floor. Draco smirked to himself as he watched the lively bit of parchment crawl into Hermione’s book-bag and nestle inside.
He took a moment to look again at the Gryffindor girl, dressed in long robes. He tried to picture the silhouette he’d seen the night before, still in disbelief that it was the same girl. There… the same slender shoulders, those long arms, the flat stomach...if only I could catch her standing up.
Just as Hermione lifted her left leg up to cross it over her right, Draco was shaken out of his stare by an elbow to his side. Blaise was staring at him curiously. Draco lifted an arm up as though he’d back-hand his friend, and then shook his head. From then on, he tried to pay attention to the rest of class.
•
“Ginny! Over here,” Hermione called. She was leaning against the stone wall surrounding the Herbology greenhouses, a long distance away from the entrance. Ginny came running over immediately, her book-bag slung over her shoulder. Hermione was holding hers out like it was infectious.
“Another note?” Ginny panted.
Hermione nodded, and reached into her bag. She delicately pulled out the spider-like bit of folded parchment, frowning.
“Well, what’s it say?” Ginny said impatiently.
“I don’t know! I can’t unfold a spider!”
Ginny snatched it out of Hermione’s hands and unfolded the parchment, which squealed one last time. She read it aloud.
“Why so shy?”
“That’s all it says?” Hermione yelped, closing her fists.
“That’s all,” Ginny sighed. “It says ‘Why so shy?’”.
Hermione wrapped her arms around her waist as though she might be sick. Ginny immediately came and put an arm around her friend.
“Someone’s toying with you, ‘Mione. But we’ll get him. We’ll find him out, I swear.”
Hermione nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying. A moment later, they parted to go to their separate classes. Little did they know, a steel-eyed Slytherin had watched it all from afar.
•
As soon as it was lunchtime, the girls rushed into the Great Hall. Since they had no classes together, it was hard for them to find time to talk. As soon as they sat down at their table, they immediately pushed their plates aside and pulled out a piece of parchment. Ginny immediately began scribbling, putting an arm in front of the paper so Harry and Ron couldn’t read.
Are you sure it was a boy? Ginny wrote. She slid the parchment quickly over to Hermione.
I heard a gasp, and it sounded like a guy. And they had very heavy footsteps as they ran off.
Maybe it was a very fat girl, with an unusually low voice?
Hermione scoffed as she put her quill to the parchment.
I’m absolutely sure it was a guy! Who else would be standing there ogling us? Besides, the handwriting in these notes I’m getting is very sloppy, like a guy’s.
What about a teacher walking the grounds? Ooh, what if it was Snape? What if Snape saw you in your undies, Hermione? Wouldn’t you just die?
It couldn’t have been a teacher or prefect; they would’ve docked house-points immediately and then dragged us, soaking and all, up to McGonagall’s office! Therefore, it had to be a student.
Well that narrows it down, I suppose…
Suddenly, Ginny noticed Ron trying to lean over his plate and read what she was writing.
“Mind your business!” Ginny squealed, shoving the note towards Hermione. Ron, still leaning over his plate, tried to grab it.
“What’s the big secret, then?” he said furiously.
“You really want to know?” Hermione said stiffly.
“Yeah, I do!”
Hermione leaned in closely and pointed her finger at Ron’s chest.
“You’ve got jam on you.”
It was true; Ron had gotten strawberry jam on his robes whilst trying to get a peek at that note. As he scrubbed at it with his napkin, the girls got up from the table and walked quickly towards the door. Instinctively, Hermione glanced towards the Slytherin table. Draco was stretching out his long arms, and then ran his hand through his shaggy blonde hair as he turned to talk to Blaise. Hermione nearly walked into Ginny as they got to the door. Ginny grabbed her hand and yanked her quickly out of the Great Hall.
As soon as they got into the hallway, Ginny turned to face Hermione, beaming.
“I’ve got an idea. First we have to write Fred and George…”