Extra Planning.

(Sometimes you need less plot, sometimes things need a little fleshing out. This is the latter)

This would be a significantly harder target to get alone. Daphne wasn't the type to be separated from her clique easily. If she wasn't with Parkinson by her side, Zabini and Nott would be vying for her attention and basking in her frosty company. The challenge was thrilling to Hermione. She had to be smarter, more cunning than ever before.

Daphne being a prefect just like Hermione, would be what worked against her. Like it or not, nothing could change the fact that one house's band of prefects had to work with the others, attending all meetings and... sometimes sharing the same patrols.

Now granted, there wasn't much enforcement in place to get Gryffindor's and Slytherin's to team up. Gryffindor prefects like herself would choose to go with a Hufflepuff if not someone from their own house, when inter-house collaboration was mandated, or Ravenclaw from a Slytherin point of view. Heads of houses also accepted that you couldn't put red and green together, without conflict or abrasiveness coming out of it.

But Hermione had a plan. She knew that if she played her cards right, she could break this trend whilst not raising too many eyebrows. She'd seen the prefect rounds for Thursday evening, of which both herself and Greengrass would share the same time slot, but they'd be patrolling different sections from one another. Hermione had the west wing, and Daphne was on surrounding school ground duty.

Patrolling school grounds had high priority, because of the level of danger that occurred when prefects were to miss students sneaking out into outside areas. That meant you had to patrol the school grounds with at least two prefects, and if that couldn't happen prefects in other sections can be transferred whilst the remaining prefect does their rounds solo.

The poor Ravenclaw who'd fallen unfortunately sick that night, well, Hermione could only apologise. It was a simple potion she'd spilled on him by "accident" during that day's potions lesson. Not enough to be harmful, just enough to make him sick enough to miss his rounds.

But getting Daphne's rounds partner out-of-action was only half the issue, to influence McGonagall's decision to put Greengrass alone in the castle instead, that didn't look like Hermione was setting up for something...boy did that sound difficult.

But she had her ways. Like this one...

"Professor, I've heard rumours that some Slytherin students might be meeting at the Quidditch pitch tonight, Merlin knows why...but I'm not sure it's for Quidditch reasons" Hermione spoke up at the prefect meeting, her eyes meeting Daphne's, who was seated across from her. The room fell silent, all eyes on McGonagall, who frowned at the news.

"You what?" Greengrass returned with hostility and obvious confusion too since she'd never heard of this fake meeting. "No they're not, get better sources."

"Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm hoping to be proven wrong" Hermione said with a shrug, playing the part of the concerned and diligent prefect. "But should they be true, Greengrass operating in that area tonight doesn't fill me with confidence. That could be security insurance for her fellow Slytherin's, not a deterrent for trouble."

"This is a lot of speculation, and not enough fact for my liking Miss Granger" McGonagall returns, and Hermione saw the satisfied smirk appearing on the blonde's face. It fell quickly though. "However, Hogwarts takes matters of safety very seriously, for rumours are neither lies nor truth until they're confirmed. We can't rely on them, but we dare not ignore them. Systems of order, of which the prefect initiative is one, is to be respected not manipulated."

The room remained silent, and Daphne's expression tightened, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge of the table. "Granger says some outlandish unsubstantiated lie, and suddenly I'm untrustworthy. How is this possible, Professor?"

McGonagall's gaze was sharp. "Miss Greengrass, I'm not saying you're untrustworthy. But in light of track history... activities like what your house have been guilty of in the recent past, it is my duty to consider all scenarios." She paused before continuing, "if such a nefarious meeting is happening tonight or not, I'm not running the risk of it being true and not having done anything to prevent it. For that reason, I'm putting two prefects from other sections to replace you. Volunteers?"

As predicted nobody raised their hands. Nobody liked doing the school ground duty. It was always cold. It required the most responsibility. It was very scary at times around the Forbidden Forest. It wasn't a gig anyone wanted, not even Hermione. Though that isn't to say this wasn't part of her plan, because the lack of volunteers played a hand.

"Professor, I think the logical and fair thing is to just rotate the roster. Move me and Hannah to the lower floor, Nott and Boot to the grounds, and Greengrass can patrol the West Wing by herself." It was a simple proposal that Hermione knew would work. It was the fairest way, but also pretty much guaranteed that Daphne would be alone in the West Wing all evening.

What about herself though? How was she going to shake off Hannah Abbott to go track down the lonely Daphne Greengrass?

Hermione had anticipated this. Later during the meeting, she had slipped a small note to Hannah under the table, folded neatly into a triangle. Hannah, a bright girl, caught on immediately. The note contained a simple message: "Greengrass is up to something. I have to keep an eye on her. Cover for me in the West Wing tonight, and I'll owe you one."

The blonde's eyes widened slightly, but she nodded in understanding. Hannah knew that Hermione always had good instincts and opposed the Slytherin menaces at every turn. The lower floor was quite straightforward of a patrol anyway, so it wasn't a complete loss.

That evening, Hermione made her way to the West Wing, her heart racing with anticipation. She knew the order Daphne would take because they all found it more convenient to take the West Wing in a clockwise fashion. This left the prefects bathroom for last, which gave one of the prefects in that section a good opportunity for an immediate shower following their completed patrol.

Hermione waited in the water, her nakedness hidden by the steamy haze that filled the room. She had timed it well early, knowing Daphne would end her patrol here. The pheromones she had been building up for a few minutes were wafting up with the steam. The steam would give her pheromones a lot more range, but with more subtlety. It was not the quick overpowering way that she had Tracey with.

This would be slower, but she'll have time to savour it.