"Oh my god, I'm seeing hippos!" cried Ron. Two hippos walked indifferently beside him, Harry, and Hermione, chatting intently to each other.

"Relax, Ron," said Harry, "Dumbledore invited them for the graduation party, remember?"

"Why hippos?" whined Ron. "I hate hippos. They are not even very interesting."

"They are quite human, if you ask me," said Hermione thoughtfully. Another pair of hippos was doing jumping jacks not too far away.

"Because they are magic hippos," said Ron. "But that doesn't stop them from being hippos. Merlin, I thought I was going insane when I saw one for the first time in the Great Hall."

Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione met up on Sunday morning.

"You're going to tell him?" Hermione asked rather coldly. She didn't want to show she was concerned.

"Hell yeah," spat Lavender, crossing her arms.

"Do what you want," said Hermione. "And you're going to serve the punishment for losing the bet. Today, right before Quidditch."

Parvati bit her lower lip, and so did Lavender.

"Fine," grumbled Lavender. She'd tell Malfoy. She'd make it look really bad.

Hermione sat with others in the Slytherin section. She would have felt guilty if the opposing team was Gryffindor, but since it was only Hufflepuff, her best friends did little more than grumbling about it.

Parvati helped Lavender undress (not that she really needed help). "Let's get this over with," grumbled Lavender.

She stepped out into the field. Some players were out stretching, and the thousands of students were watching. She closed her eyes and began to run.

"OH MY FREAKIN GOD!" cried a seventh-year Ravenclaw.

"Is that Lavender Brown?" exclaimed Dean Thomas.

"Holy crap!" screamed a Slytherin.

"SHE'S NAKED!" a first-year Hufflepuff pointed out.

"Whose side is she on?" asked Seamus Finnigan.

"Somebody get her out of there!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Whose team is she supporting?" asked Seamus Finnigan again.

"EWWW!" exclaimed a first-year Gryffindor.

The whole business lasted less than a minute. Professors had her dragged away covered up in a blanket, and in the shocked air the game proceeded. Hermione stood in her seat. She wasn't exactly pleased, but at least Lavender got embarrassed big time.

"Is that the snitch? IS THAT THE SNITCH? YES IT IS! SLYTHERIN WINS!" screamed Zacharias Smith, who was at the podium narrating the game. Hermione, along with a crowd of Slytherins, jumped up in cheer. Draco gave everyone a proud smirk with the golden snitch clutched in his hand, with his teammates hugging and tackling him.

"What was all that about with Lavender chick?" asked Draco that evening, sitting comfortably by Hermione out by the lake. His team was still celebrating in the common room, but he knew it would mean nothing without Hermione.

"Look," began Hermione uncomfortably, "there's something I need to tell you-"

"Malfoy!"

They both turned to find Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil standing a little away, their arms crossed. Draco smirked. "Look, it's the naked chick."

They marched up to where Hermione and Draco were sitting. Lavender wore a look of triumph-well-paid-for. "Were you going to tell him something, Hermione?"

"Yes, I was," she replied quietly, "until you interrupted me."

"Well, I can continue," spat Lavender, sneering. "You saw me today, didn't you, Malfoy?"

He smirked. "Yes, I did. Did you come all the way here to tell me that?"

"No, I didn't," said Lavender triumphantly. It was as if she didn't think it was of much importance now. "Why do you think I did that?"

"Because you're a slut? Get lost, Brown," said Draco, turning away from her to face Hermione. However, Lavender answered her own question.

"It was because of a certain bet I had lost," she said briskly.

"Good for you, now, get lost," muttered Draco.

"Don't you want to know what it was about?" asked Lavender, a sneer on her lips. Draco looked up at her, his face expressionless.

"What, that you made a bet with Hermione here to see if she could get laid by me in a month?" he said quietly. Both Lavender and Parvati's eyes widened. However, that was nothing compared to Hermione's. She dropped her jaw in disbelief.

"You told him already?" demanded Parvati, staring at Hermione.

"She didn't tell me," said Draco quietly before Hermione could say anything. "And as you can tell, I'm not breaking up with her on that account. Now piss off, Brown."

Lavender stormed away, Parvati close behind. Draco rested his back on a tree trunk and closed his eyes as if nothing had happened.

"Wow," breathed Hermione, shaking her head in disbelief. "How did you-"

"How did I know?" said Draco, his eyes still closed, "I know you won't even buy it if I told you I guessed. That Weasley chick told me."

"Ginny?" exclaimed Hermione, her eyes wide.

"Yup," he droned as if it were nothing. "I really wish you would have told me...but then again it was a rule..."

"When did she tell you?" she asked, fearing the worst. What if he knew all along?

"Last Friday," he said, opening his eyes and smirking a little.

"Play it safe, Hermione, sleep with him tonight".

Draco hadn't hesitated much as soon as he spotted the bed...

Ginny nodded, understanding. "You don't have to tell him."

Hermione stared at Draco.

"Maybe he'll understand?" said Ginny, but even she wasn't sure of herself.

A grateful smile arose on her lips. "Draco!" she cried, flinging her arms around him and giving him a big hug.

"'Mione, you are choking me," he gagged, out of breath.

"Oh, sorry," she said, flushed, letting him go. He smiled.

"Were you mad?" she asked worriedly.

"I was at first," he admitted. "I felt so used," he said, dramatically throwing his arms across his chest like a girl covering up her breasts. Hermione laughed.

"Doesn't seem like you're mad now," she said.

"Not anymore," he winked, "because sex was great."

"You git!" Hermione cried, laughing. He laughed, too.

"And that Weasley chick told me you did love me," he said softly, staring into her eyes. She blushed. "And besides, I was too much in love with you to stay mad at you."

"Gosh, I don't know whether to thank her or be mad at her!" she cried, laughing.

"Oh crap," muttered Draco, "I'm seeing hippos again!" Three hippos walked by, giggling at the couple.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried as she entered the Gryffindor common room. Ginny was snogging Harry in a sofa. Harry struggled to push Ginny away as he spotted Hermione, but Ginny held on, holding up a hand to Hermione as if asking her to wait. And so Hermione waited, tapping her right foot on the floor and watching the spectacle. After a while, Ginny finally pulled away.

"Yes, Hermione?" she asked as if nothing had happened. Harry looked extremely flushed.

"I know what you did last Friday," Hermione said in mock accusation, pointing a finger at Ginny. For a second she looked guilty, but catching the little smile on Hermione's lips, she brightened up immediately.

"Guess it worked out?" she asked, her right hand still on Harry's thigh. He tried to push it away, blushing, but she held on.

"Yes, and thank you!" Hermione exclaimed, beaming. She gave Ginny a big hug. "And as thanks, Draco and I prepared something for you."

"Really, what?" asked Ginny, amused.

"I guess it's more for Harry, but anyways, here it is!" Hermione smiled as she opened the door. Draco came in with a broomstick.

"You got me a broomstick?" Ginny was a bit confused. "Then how is it for Harry?"

"Oh, this broomstick doesn't fly," explained Hermione, a sly grin on her lips.

"Then what does it do?" asked Ginny.

Draco smirked. "It vibrates." Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise as Hermione and Draco smiled at each other.

"Awesome," breathed Harry.

A/N: Thank you for reading - leave a review! If you liked this I highly recommend checking out my other fics on my profile. This was my first fic and there (I hope) have been a lot of improvement since. Best, Tina.