Madam Pomfrey let Hermione leave the Infirmary that afternoon. She was greeted at dinner with a hug from Ginny, and countless other people asking how she was feeling. She felt fine; happier than she had in days. She made it through dinner without any disturbances from Ron and Lavender, luckily. Instead of focusing on them, she savored the time with Harry and Ginny, along with Luna who had visited for a short while from the Ravenclaw table.
After dinner, she left in the direction of the common room with Ginny; Harry had decided to talk to Dean, Seamus, and Neville about a topic regarding Charms. Instead of going to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny led Hermione out to the grounds. It was still light outside, though the sky was starting to streak with violet. They stopped at the beach, and Hermione looked at Ginny in confusion.
"Why the beach?" she asked. "Why not the library?"
Ginny rolled her eyes like the answer was the most obvious thing in the whole wide world. "Where were you two nights ago? Who were you with?"
Hermione straightened, trying to ignore the fact that her face had taken on a pink tinge. "Just because we happened to be at the same place at the same time doesn't mean anything, Ginny."
The Weasley smiled. "But the fact that you blush profuriously ever time he's mentioned does mean something." Ginny stared at her, tucking a strand of fire- red hair behind her ear. "You like him, don't you." she finally said after a minute of silence. Hermione glared at her knowingly, face heating up.
"I do not!" she insisted, trying not to smile. Ginny just grinned, crossing her arms.
"Wait until Harry hears about this." she said, biting her lip.
"Don't!" Hermione screeched, grabbing her arm. "Don't you dare." Ginny paused, pretending to contemplate the situation.
"Fine." she said reluctantly, sighing, holding up her hands. She smiled, eyes sparkling. "You can't deny it though."
"Oh, shut up." Ginny just laughed, taking a step back towards the school.
"Come on, Mione. I'll ask McGonagall if you can stay in our dorm tonight." Hermione nodded, glancing back at the spot where she and Draco had talked. She smiled to herself, following Ginny.

Everyone else was asleep. But for some reason, Hermione couldn't. She was wide awake, thoughts of the previous past two nights fresh in her head. She picked up a book from the side table, flipping to the page where she had left a book mark. She didn't get far, however, because she heard tapping on the window next to her temporary bed. Hermione stood up, and looked at an owl. A large, majestic, Eurasian Eagle- Owl. She looked into it's amber eyes, opening the window and taking the piece of paper that had been tied to its talon.

Granger-
Meet me at the lake.
-D.M.