After another terrible date, Hermione returns to her flat to Crookshanks and complains to him. When something strange happens, what is Hermione to do?

"So, what do you think kissing girls would be like?" Theo didn't know the answer to that, and it pained him—not only because he hadn't kissed a girl yet, but because he didn't know the answer. He had always prided himself on knowing things.

There was someone in the broom closet with him. And he didn't even know who it was. All James knew was that the person was shorter than him, smelt like musk and bergamot, and felt like heaven pressed up against him.

He should have walked away and left the stag to its own devices, but instead, Regulus began to speak. "Hi, my name is Regulus."

"You expect me to walk home with you dressed like that?" "Sure, I look good in this, don't I?" Sirius twirled on the spot and wriggled his arse, which obviously wasn't visible, but it was the thought that counted.

Lee glanced at Fred's reflection and immediately whirled around to face him. "Oh, Merlin, that's your 'I did something bad' face. How bad did you fuck up?" "On a scale of one to ten, it's an eleven."

Regulus peered off the edge of the roof of the Gryffindor tower at the Black Lake and promptly took a step back. Shaking his head, he said, "There is no way I'm jumping off this tower. Have you seen how high up we are?" "It will be fun, Reg," Rabastan said, almost vibrating with excitement. "Please?"

Draco was rudely awakened by a loud, "Wakey wakey, eggs and bake-y!" He groaned and rolled over in bed, yanking the pillow over his head to silence the annoying voice of one Harry Potter.

"I'll roll the dice, land on one of the squares, and then you all will answer the question that's written on it. Whoever gets the right answer will win a point," Rabastan explained and pointed at one of the small boxes. "For example… What's my favourite number?" "69," Regulus stated, his face stoic as usual.

Blaise chuckled and began his story. "Do you know the legend of La Befana?" Scorpius shook his head, his eyes widening. "Wha's dat?" "Not what, it's a who." "An owl?" "No, La Befana is a witch."

"Let's play Three Things. We ask each other three things—like three things you would do after taking a shower—and we answer them," James said with a grin. "Sounds simple enough," Regulus muttered. It didn't seem dangerous. "Alright, ask away."

Now that they'd found the witch holed up in a shack somewhere on the coast of Finland and she'd admitted to her crimes, Harry could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was over. The innocent had been avenged.

"Hermione?" Charlie called out, startling her from her daydreams. She blinked, almost forgetting where she was. "Want to make some snow angels with me?" Hermione bit her lip, mulling over her options. Stay inside and daydream about the gorgeous hunk of man? Or go out and spend more time with him? The answer was pretty obvious.

Hermione buried her face in between her knees and sobbed harder, thinking of how her classmates had all joined to prank her. The scent of mud, green slime, and something Hermione couldn't even name wafted off her clothes, and she almost retched at the smell. "I just wanted a friend," she whispered to herself in the empty bathroom. "Just one… Was that too much to ask for?"

When Hermione smiled up at him, her eyelashes fluttering, Thorfinn's breath hitched. He realised that he had been lying not only to Lucius but to himself too.

"Um, Granger… Don't panic, yeah…" "Cedric…" "But… we just might be… lost."

"I know you miss her, Harry," she whispered in the darkness. "I do, too. I can't even imagine what you're going through, but you should know that I'm here for you."

"Would you… would you like to sleep with me tonight?" Remus whispered in the darkness, and Hermione's heart flipped.

"All you need is true love's kiss, Reggie," Sirius said, wrapping his arm around Regulus's shoulder and tugging him closer—even though Regulus was now baring his teeth at Sirius and was a second away from ripping his brother's head off. "The mistletoe will disappear as soon as you get that kiss, I promise."

Opening the note slowly, Hermione's childish hopes and dreams of being liked by her crush were crushed—completely shattered—by the words Malfoy had scribbled on the paper.