Although they were curious about the new Potions professor, the young witches and wizards were instantly distracted by the dinner that suddenly appeared on the tables.
After all, nothing mattered more than filling their stomachs...
Speaking of Hermione after she parted ways with Draco, it was impossible not to mention the Gryffindor table closest to the edge.
There was nothing inherently special about that table. What made it different was the people who sat there.
It was in a very marginal spot, and not just because it happened to be tucked away in a corner.
If you paid attention, you would notice that the people who sat there were either students with very few friends at school, or those who were not good at talking and interacting with others.
The only exception was probably Hermione Granger.
When she had first arrived at Hogwarts, she really had been a little arrogant and hopeless at reading the room. That had left people with the unpleasant impression that she was cold and meddlesome.
But anyone who actually got to know her would quickly realize that Hermione was the kind of girl who made a very good friend.
Given a little more time, she surely would have been accepted by Gryffindor's little lions.
But.
For some reason, things seemed to have gone off course.
And everyone knew the main reason for her current situation was that Malfoy...
Naturally, where there were people who struggled socially, there were also people who thrived.
One of them was Ginny Weasley, a year below Hermione, yet in a very short time she had already won the favor of most of the students. At that very moment, she was sneaking into the Great Hall.
With her open, unaffected personality, it was easy for both boys and girls to warm to her.
And with the way she stood up for her friends so frankly and bravely, the Gryffindors had accepted her almost at once.
By comparison, Hermione Granger, who was close to Slytherin, seemed like the exact opposite example...
...
In short, because Ginny was so well liked, even if someone noticed her sneaking around, they would pretend not to see it, and might even help cover for her.
What puzzled the others, though, was who had managed to offend this Weasley girl.
Her emotions were written all over her face.
Maybe she simply was not very good at hiding what she felt, because the puffed up, sulky look on Ginny's face was obvious.
Completely unaware that people had already noticed her, Ginny fixed her eyes on a certain someone.
Found you. Blushing that hard, she definitely forgot all about me.
The person Ginny was grumbling about was, of course, Hermione, who had left her behind earlier.
And just as Ginny had seen, Hermione's absent minded look and foolish smile, as though she were thinking of something and grinning to herself, made it seem as though she had completely forgotten there had been a third person present at the time...
It was hardly Hermione's fault for looking so silly.
Even she had not been mentally prepared for Draco to do something like that to her.
It was not as though they had never done such things before, but those moments had either been on a silent tower late at night or in an underground corridor where no one was ever likely to pass by.
In other words, always somewhere they absolutely would not be seen...
This kind of experience, though, constantly worrying that someone might catch them at any moment, was Hermione's first taste of that sort of thrill... Tch.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Hermione, who had been smiling foolishly just a second ago, ground her teeth and stamped her foot. Her fair long legs pressed together a little awkwardly.
One second she was grinning.
The next, she was pouting.
So distracted and absent minded was she that she had probably not taken in a single word about the new professor up on the staff table.
That was probably why, even after Ginny came over and sat down at the table, Hermione never noticed the extra person beside her at all...
...
Thud.
Ginny dropped into her seat without the slightest concern for whether it looked graceful or ladylike, then stared with wide eyes at Hermione, who turned at the sound.
"..."
"..."
First came a long silence.
Then came the painfully obvious awkwardness.
Of course, Hermione was the only one who did not know what to say. Her guilty, wandering eyes made it perfectly clear that she had finally remembered exactly what she had forgotten...
"You're here."
"That's right, I'm here... No, wait. That is not what you should be saying, is it?!"
Realizing her friend really did seem angry, Hermione quickly pressed her hands together and started apologizing with a pleading look.
"I didn't mean to. I just... uh..."
Halfway through her explanation, Hermione realized there was no way she could actually explain it properly.
Not unless she was willing to talk about the intimate exchange she had just had with Draco...
And with how thin skinned she was, there was no way she could ever do that.
What she did not know was that Ginny, despite looking like she had come to demand answers, had already seen everything. Even now, those scenes still seemed vividly imprinted in her mind.
For some reason, under the curious gazes of the people around them, the two girls, each charming in her own way, suddenly fell silent and started blushing. Neither of them was willing to let their eyes meet for even a second.
As though they were afraid the other might see right through them...
As time passed, just as Hermione was feeling guilty and Ginny was tying herself in knots, tonight's feast appeared on the table at exactly the right moment.
Even though they saw this every year, the instant it happened Hermione and Ginny both slowly let out a breath and wore the same pleasantly surprised expressions as the first years.
Because they could finally escape that delicate, awkward atmosphere from a moment ago...
...
Good food could lift anyone's spirits, and Hermione and Ginny were no exception.
By the time dessert arrived, the two friends seemed to have forgotten the awkwardness from before, as though nothing had happened at all.
Taking a bite of fruit from her fork, Hermione sneaked a glance at Ginny. She was actually rather curious about what had happened over the holiday.
If there was one person who had become the most famous during that great battle, then without a doubt it was Draco.
But if Draco could be called the male lead, then the ones who could be called the female leads were probably only Ginny and Luna.
Hermione had not yet had a chance to hear the full story from Draco, but she could at least approach the matter from the girls' side first...
After a pause, Hermione set down her knife and fork.
"Come to think of it, you and Draco..."
"I didn't see anything!"
"....."
"...."
Hermione first looked blank, then in the space of a heartbeat her face turned bright red.
And after seeing Hermione's stiff, stunned expression, Ginny finally realized what she had just blurted out.
With a groan of regret, Ginny covered her face with one hand.
Was that not basically a confession...?