Triangulate

Hermione liked to take things seriously. After all, if she was to do something, she might as well do it perfectly. Perfection could be cultivated, just like any other habit, or so her parents had always told her.

If she wanted different results (i.e.. Harry noticing her instead of looking at her as a mere friend), she had to do things differently this time.

And she needed to look perfect tonight; at this stage, she couldn't imagine anything that would change how Harry saw her. After all, Ron hadn't started seeing her as a woman until she'd appeared on Krum's arm dressed like a daydream. Had Harry only stepped back for his friend, or had he really never considered Hermione to be anything more than a buddy with long hair?

After finishing the last touches on her hair, she took a deep breath. There, she thought. Now you really cannot recognize me.

As she walked down the corridors, Hermione was given proof of how different she looked: all those whose path she crossed looked at her with openly appreciative glances. She got those up-and-down looks she rarely received.

She crossed the path of some Slytherins she recognized; in the middle thereof stood Malfoy with his slicked back blond hair and tight-fitting, black dress robes.

"Hey," he said, stopping her, grabbing her arm gently. "Have we met before?"

"Touch me again and I'll hex you," she snapped in response.

Recognizing her voice, Malfoy's face clouded. "Granger!"

She whipped out her wand for good measure. Malfoy raised his hands in mock submission, smirking as he said, "My bad, really, Granger, it's just that you're unrecognizable." His cronies sniggered in the background.

She silently cast a silencing charm on them before rushing off. She had more important things to do than to tend to some Slytherins! She needed to find Harry and change her fate.

Then she bumped into Ron. "Whoa," he said. "Hermione!" Then his face soured. "Slug Club, eh?"

"Yeah," she said. She stood from one leg to the other, impatient. "Where are you going?"

"Meeting Lavender," he replied. "You look… great, though."

Hermione smiled tightly. "Have you seen Harry?"

Ron's face darkened. "No, but I have seen Ginny. She was crying to Luna. They had a row or something, she and Harry. I expected my best friend to treat my sister better…"

"Oh, no," Hermione said, not knowing how to feel. "I… Look. Maybe it's just temporary."

"It'd better be," Ron snapped. "I'll kill him if he breaks my sister's heart, and she's dead set on marrying him."

"M-marrying him? Aren't they a little young for that?" Hermione asked, her voice high-pitched. Now she was in even more of a hurry to get to Harry.

Ron shrugged. "No, not really. My parents got married when they were barely out of school and Ginny plans to do the same. Me too, if things with Lavender continue to go the way they have."

"Alright, that's wonderful," Hermione said impatiently. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be late unless I –"

"Oh, yeah, of course, go," Ron said, but his face twisted into a grimace of jealousy; Hermione knew he despised not being invited to the Slug Club despite his exploits. The fact that Slughorn kept calling him Weatherby only added insult to injury. "See you around, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, bid her goodbyes before running to the Great Hall, where Slughorn's get-together was to take place. She could hear the click-clack of her high heels as she ran to meet her prince, holding up the hem of her skirt so she wouldn't trip. Finally, she skidded to a halt upon seeing him in the middle of the room, talking to a group of boys, and her heart caught in her breath upon seeing him. He was tall, taller than her, with ebony hair and sparkling green eyes, shrouded only slightly by thick glasses. His clothes were snug around his muscular body.

Suddenly, Harry and his friends turned to her, and it was as though time itself had stopped. Harry met her eyes, and it was like he was seeing her for the first time, or finally seeing her as she was for the first time.

"Hermione…" she heard him mutter under his breath.

The next seconds, Hermione feared, could make or her break her fate.