Ginevra Weasley bent over the thick book, her finger tracing a sentence on the page for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

"So… I don't really get it... What happens exactly? " She looked up sheepishly at Hermione Granger, her tutor and friend, brushingfine red hair away from her face.

Hermione sighed. "Gin," she said, apparently trying hard not to sound too exasperated, and failing miserably, "I just explained it to you! Perhaps it's time for a break…"

Ginny gave a relieved sigh and jumped out of her seat. "Oh, good, it's dinner time anyway… I'm absolutely ravenous."

The two girls hurried out of the portrait hole and down the corridors to the Great Hall, Ginny pulling Hermione along behind her.

"Oh, Hermione, hurry up! I'm so hungry I could eat a Hippogriff!"

After what seemed like an eternity to Ginny, they finally reached the marble staircase, where Ginny paused for breath.

"Tired, Weaselette?" A smirking Draco Malfoy drawled. "From what, I wonder? Have you been doing private things with Potty again?"

Ginny flushed tomato red, silently cursing Harry for kissing her out of the blue in that deserted classroom, and Malfoy for walking in at such an inopportune moment. She pushed Hermione ahead, thinking quickly.

"What, is it any of your business?" She asked, pretending to pause to think, her finger tapping her chin, then added with a sly grin, "Or… maybe you're just jealous?"

A pinkish hue tinged Malfoy's pale cheeks. Before he could think of a retort, Ginny smirked back at him, and followed Hermione down the steps to the Great Hall.

Then, she felt a hand push at the small of her back. Startled, she tripped forward, involuntarily putting out her hands to break her fall.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped, as she felt the push. The girls tumbled down the stairs in a jumble of arms, legs, and robes, and finally landed with a thud at the base of the stairs. The last thing Ginny registered were the fine grains of glittering sand, and minute shards of glass, all over her robes and the floor.