The Approaching Storm

Chapter 6: The Mistletoe Gala

A girl walked along the snow packed trail, wearing a brilliant smile. She headed to the lake for some fresh air, filling her lungs with the crisp air. She thought about the events that gave her this smile. Oh life was definitely grand, for one Hermione Granger.

Saturday and Sunday were not that eventful in our young heroine's life. These days were composed of a couple of things.

One was sorting through Harry's issues, of possibly having a date with his sister.

Hermione assured him it was ok.

The next was Ron's weirdness around Hermione.

He became rather distant. He wouldn't stay in the same room alone with her. She thought this odd, since they're going to the dance only as friends.

Harry told her, "Ron's a prat."

He was just nervous about him having asked her. Hermione said she understood, but deep down hoped he wouldn't be like this during the Gala. A date who was going to ignore her, would not be much fun. She was happy she was going with Ron. He was a good friend. She wasn't sure if she wanted more than that or not. She was afraid of how it would change their relationship. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to take that gamble, well not yet at least.

Monday. This was the start of a wonderful week.

First was the announcement that Celestina Warbeck would be performing at the Gala. She was a popular singing Sorceress, and one of Hermione's favorites. Ginny had all of her Wizard Disc's, and got Hermione hooked on the Sorceress.

Next was Potions class. That was an ironic statement in itself. Hermione was actually glad, no thrilled, to be going to Potions. She hadn't seen Malfoy since the bet, and she couldn't wait for him to pay up. As she walked into the classroom, she saw his white blonde hair and she smiled a huge grin. She sat in her seat beside him, since they were partners.

Agitated, was a calm way to put his facial expression. He didn't even turn to look at her, as she sat down. She was going to love this. For once, she got to be the tormentor.

An evil little voice laughed inside her head.

"What's with the hostile vibes, Mr. Malfoy? You almost look like you lost at something. Or maybe tied?" she said, looking at him, with shinny eyes and a devilishly sweet smile.

He turned his head slightly. He eyed her, with a disgusted expression.

"Live it up while you can, Granger. Trust me, it won't last long. The only reason why we tied is because Weasley ran out of options. He asked you as a last resort. Now if you still want to live in that sort of limelight, be my guest. After all, it does go with someone of your stature," he said coldly.

"Come now, don't try and rain on my parade. You're such a bad loser. Suck it up and be a man," she said, still with a triumphant look.

"Hardy..Har..Har," he said in a goofy voice. "Besides you didn't win, we tied!" he said with finality.

"I know, but I get my reward today. Oh, look, it just walked through the door," she said, as Snape made his way to the front of the classroom.

The class went by fairly smooth for Malfoy, so far. He hadn't had to stick up for her yet. Hermione decided this just would not do. She decided that she wasn't going to be a know-it-all, she was going to be, well a ditz.

This started with her dropping her book as Snape walked by. Malfoy immediately jumped out of his seat to pick it up. He played like it was his fault. Malfoy turned and gave Hermione a deadly glare.

Hermione smiled.

Then came the beaker of Wormstail, which she accidentally split. Malfoy was quick to wipe it up before Snape noticed. He gave her a warning growl.

Hermione smiled.

Lastly was the potion. Hermione somehow had mixed up the ingredients. Instead of being a bright color blue, the mixture was a moldy green. Draco whispered harshly, asking what had she done. She looked the picture of innocence, shrugging her shoulders. Draco tried to fix it before Snape noticed. It was to late.

"Miss Granger! What have you done? This potion is an awful mess! Are you that incompetent?" Snape asked, in a growling manner.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm not sure what happened," Hermione said, eyeing Draco.

Draco was calling her every foul name in the book, under his breath.

Hermione smiled.

"How dare you smile, young lady! Lets see how much you smile when I take thirty points aw.." Snape almost finished, but was interrupted by Draco mumbling something. He looked at Draco.

"What was that, Mr. Malfoy? I couldn't quite make out what you were saying," Snape said, eyeing Draco with a questioning look.

Draco mumbled the incoherent statement under his breath again.

"Speak up, Mr. Malfoy, I haven't got all day!" Snape said rather snappishly.

Draco looked towards Hermione, with outer most disgust. He sucked in his breath and looked at Snape.

"I said it wasn't her fault! It was mine! OK!" Draco finished, in a rather loud voice.

Gasps were heard throughout the room, made by Slytherins and Gryffindors.

"Oh, I see. Why didn't you just say so? All right back to work everyone, and do clean up this mess, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger," Snape said, saying Hermione's name like he just ate a vomit flavored Bertie Bott Bean.

Hermione smiled.

The rest of the class was still in shock. Draco just hung his head. The questions and torment he would soon be receiving from his housemates.

Could life get any worse? Draco thought.

Hermione stopped with her insistent smiling. She was starting to feel bad for Draco.

Oh, all right, he looks pathetic enough, she thought, finally giving in.

"Ok, I won't torment you anymore. I think you have had enough punishment," Hermione said to Draco.

"Yeah, like it matters now. The damage has already been done. You might as well put me on a skewer and say I'm done," he said back, still with his head down.

"Oh come on, you big baby. It's not that bad. This person in front of me definitely is not the Draco Malfoy I know and loathe. The Malfoy I know would come up with some nasty, witty excuse, to keep his housemates at bay. Along with a few obnoxious rumors," Hermione said, in a matter of fact voice.

"Yes, that's true. I am very witty. And who in their right mind would think I'm actually sticking up for you," he said.

"Yes, see I knew the real Malfoy was hiding in there somewhere. Now your big problem is just explaining the dance to them," she said.

"Ah, my dear girl, you need not worry of that. I have that all planned out in my great scheme," he said, eyeing her with a devilish stare.

"Why do I feel like some kind of prey," she said, eyeing him cautiously.

"Because you are, my dear," he said.

The rest of the week flew by. Snape left Draco and Hermione alone during class. He was still sheepish of Draco's past behavior, and avoided them all together. Hermione couldn't have been more pleased with this. She had received perfect marks on all their assignments. Snape had not taken any points from her all week. She could definitely get used to this.

Hermione rubbed her hands over her cheeks. It was starting rather chilly, standing out by the lake. She noticed the time. She needed to get back to get ready for the Gala. It was tonight. She walked back to the castle to get ready, for the event of the year.

**********

The Great Hall was gorgeous.

Life sized ice sculptures, were placed all around. The ceiling had been enchanted with light snow falling, making a glittering affect. The ceiling also had the Aurora Borealis. This made the light snow turn a rainbow of colors. The tables were covered in white, as well as the chairs. Of course there was the mistletoe. This was no ordinary mistletoe, but enchanted. The two fortunate or unfortunate victims would be trapped, until a kiss was given. The gardens were like last years, at the Yule Ball. Fairy's danced around, shinning little lights, and sprinkling fairy dust. This was a special dust that would automatically put a smile on anyone's face. If sprinkled with enough of it, the evilest person would perform sweet deeds. Snow was covering the ground and bushes, but a heating charm was being used to keep warm.

A lone girl, looking like a fairy princess stood alone looking at her surroundings. She wore a lovely dust blue gown that had a revealing neckline, but not to revealing. The dress emphasized her nicely shaped figure, fitting her well in all the right places. When she moved the gown shimmered and flowed with her steps. She was quite beautiful.

She was unaware of the dashing young masked swordsman, starring at her.

He looked as if he had just stepped out of a Zorro movie with his snug fitting black leather pants, white long-sleeve shirt, cape, and hat. The shirt's top buttons were not buttoned, giving a teasing glimpse of his well-defined chest hid underneath the shirt. The cape gave him a dramatic and intensive allure. His hat was large, covering most of his face in a shadow. White blonde tresses could be seen from the back of the hat. He was very handsome.

Hermione found out that Prefects needed to be at the Gala early. Harry had informed her Ron wasn't ready. He had nerves. Basically he was in the bathroom being sick. Harry gave Hermione a sympathetic look. She said it was ok, and she would just meet them at the Gala. Harry smiled. He knelt down before her and took her hand and kissed it. He told her she was the most beautiful princess, he had ever seen. She blushed and swatted him away. She told him he had never seen a princess. Harry agreed, but still said she would be the prettiest in the land. He bowed in a mock fashion. She laughed at him, and thanked him for being such a good friend.

Now she was here, in the Great Hall, dateless for the moment. She was worried about Ron, but figured he'd be ok. She heard a cough behind her and turned around.

"You can make quite the transformation, can't you, Granger?" the swordsman said.

"If that's a compliment, then thank-you," she said to him.

"Nice get up. So what fairy magic can you do?" the swordsman said.

"Ah, watch and see," she said, as she commanded her wings to flap. Glitter flew from them sprinkling all around. The swordsman wore a grin at this.

"Very clever," he said.

"So dark, mighty, swordsman, what magic can you do?" she asked him.

"You know, I could take that as a loaded question," he said, with a smirk.

He pulled out his sword and held it in front of him. The sword began to glow, and then it turned into a beautiful red rose. He handed it to her.

She noticed that another, or was it the same, sword replaced at his hip. She chuckled slightly.

"So this is how you are going to try to woo girls away from their dates? With Malfoy charm," she said, shaking her head slightly.

"Of course with Malfoy charm. Did you think I would actually need anything else?" he said, with a traditional smirk.

Hermione got ready to answer, but noticed all the people entering the Great Hall. Then, she saw him. Her date. He didn't have on a crafty swordsman costume, but it suited him. Ron and Harry were explorers. At least that is what they told Hermione they were. They had on white tops, Ron's with ruffles. Brown leather type pants. Hermione wondered if it was dragon skin or not. Also long capes and hats. They were quite the pair. She saw Harry smile at her, as Ron noticed her at the same time. He gave her a lopsided smile. She excused herself from the swordsman, and walked over to the pair.

"Well, what do we have here?" she asked them.

"Why we are explorers, my dear," Ron said, as he bowed. "You, must have fallen from the heavens," he added.

Hermione smiled at this. "So, what special magic, can you two do in these get ups?" she asked them.

Ron pulled out a compass looking device. It made a holograph in the air of all the directions. Harry pulled out scope that let you see behind solid surfaces.

"Very creative, you two. I'm so proud," she said sincerely to them.

"Thanks," they both said, with big smiles.

The music started. Celectina introduced herself and began to sing one of her many top hits. Susan grabbed Harry, as they headed to the dance floor. Hermione noticed Malfoy with his first victim, out on the dance floor. She was a Ravenclaw, in their year named, Mandy Brocklehurst.

Poor Girl, Hermione thought.

Ron asked her if she wanted to dance, she said yes. Dancing with Ron was fun. Hermione felt very natural at being close to him, but also very weird. She noticed how fidgety he was being during the dance. He would calm down and then fidget again. Hermione thought this was a little funny.

Hermione danced to many songs, and watched Malfoy with many partners. Hermione had to say that the dashing swordsman was successfully stealing many girls away from their dates.

Ron and Hermione decided to take a break for a while. Ginny came over and joined them with Colin, her date. They talked and laughed. Ron excused himself for a minute, and said he'd be right back. The group went on with their conversation.

"So, how's it going with Ron? At least he hasn't gotten sick on you," Harry said to Hermione.

"Yes, I know. He's fine. How's it going with Susan?" she asked him.

"Actually quite well. She is a really nice girl. I don't feel awkward being her date," he stated.

"That's good, I'm glad your having fun," she said. Hermione started looking around the crowd.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Oh nothing, I'm just looking for Ron. The next dance is for the Prefects. Why don't you go dance with Susan, I'll see you out there," she said to him.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you alone," he said.

"Harry, I'm a big girl. I'm fine. Now go dance," she commanded, with a smile.

Harry nodded and bowed, with a smile. Then he turned to go dance with Susan. Hermione looked all around.

Ron where are you? Hermione thought.

Just then the announcement was made for the Prefect dance. Other couples were still on the floor, but the Prefects were all suppose to be out dancing.

Where is he! Hermione thought, now visually looking upset.

A hand grabbed her from behind, and pulled her out onto the dance floor. She let out a relief breath, thinking it was Ron. She turned to her partner, to ask where he had been.

It wasn't Ron.

Malfoy! Hermione thought.

"What are you doing? I thought we had the last dance," she said, questioning him.

"Well, seeing as your so called date, is indisposed for the moment. I figured now would be a good time for the dance. Also, not to mention, all the Prefects are suppose to dance and you needed a partner," he said to her, smugly.

"But what will everyone say? You know, about you dancing with me?" she asked.

"Since I've danced with every other girl, they won't say too much. Plus I'm enjoying the look on PotLuck's face right now. Oh if looks could kill, I'd be ten feet under," he said, enjoying the situation immensely.

Hermione turned slightly, to see Harry giving Draco a sour look. She mouthed she was fine to him. He nodded and focused back on his date, but still gave Draco glares every now and then. Hermione looked back to Draco.

"Don't antagonize them tonight, please," she asked of him.

"You know, I can get use to you saying please to me," he said, in a superior tone.

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. She then remembered something he had previously said.

"What did you mean by my date being indisposed?" she asked, as the song finished

Draco looked at her. The way he looked at her, she thought she almost saw pity, but why?

"I'll let you find that out on your own, thanks for the dance, Hermione," he whispered into her ear.

This action gave Hermione goose bumps all over her arms. She looked up to Malfoy, but he was gone. She saw him approaching his next victim.

Hermione began to walk around in search of Ron. She looked all over. Was he in the bathroom sick again? Did he go back to the Tower? She wondered a hundred questions, until she saw him.

Over in a corner, somewhat secluded, was Ron. She saw the mistletoe he was under.

Oh, he got trapped. He should look where he's going. Let me go save him, she thought

As she approached she noticed something, or someone. A girl was in front of Ron. As she got closer, she recognized her to be Hannah Abbott. A Hufflepuff girl, that was in their year. What she didn't expect was what she should have, since they were standing under the enchanted mistletoe.

They kissed.

Hermione almost gasped, but remembered how you have to get free. You have to kiss.

Well they had to kiss to get free of the mistletoe. Its fine, she thought, but her heart was beating wildly.

What happened next made her heart stop all together.

They kissed again.

She felt her heart shatter. She could have sworn, she heard the pieces break inside her body. She knew she had been harboring feelings of more than friendship, for Ron. She had just been denying them. To have them thrown so viciously back in her face was awful. She gasped and turned away.

Ron heard her gasp.

"Her. Hermione," he stuttered her name.

She wouldn't turn and look at him. She couldn't face him.

How could he! Hermione thought.

Then she remembered his words. The emphasis he put on going together, just as friends.

Did he lie when he said she wasn't a last resort? Was Malfoy right? Did Malfoy already know this? That's why he came and danced with her? Is this what he meant by indisposed? Hermione thought, frantically.

"Hermione, this isn't, I mean," Ron tried to put some form of an apology together. Hannah looked as shocked and worried as Ron did.

Hermione stomped down her pain. She called up all of her courage to do this. Ron was her friend. They had never agreed on anything more than friendship. She needed to be the true friend.

"Its Ok, Ron. You two just surprised me for a minute," she said to them.

"Hermione, are you sure you're ok. I mean, I'm sorry, I don't know," he tried to explain again.

"No really, I'm fine. I have Harry back there I can harass. So see everything is ok, I promise," she said, trying her best to hold back tears at the blatant lie.

Ron smiled. He didn't know what to say. Hermione smiled back and turned around, walking back into the Gala.

She didn't want to be around all these people. She put on the fakest smile she could muster. She avoided Harry at all costs. He would see right through her. It hurt, it hurt her bad. She found herself outside, in the garden. She was away from most of the people. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to yell, scream, but most of all, cry. She couldn't break down with these people still here.

Someone grabbed her and pulled her behind a bush. She looked up to see the last person she thought she would want to see. But right now, he was the best thing she had ever laid her eyes upon. She looked up to him. She definitely could see the pity in his eyes now. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore. She cried. She cried as she felt two arms awkwardly try to comfort her. She cried as she heard words, she couldn't understand, from her sobs. All she knew was that she was being comforted, by the least likely person she could have imagined. She let all of her sorrow out at that moment, all of her pain and her heartbreak.

She cried, in Draco's arms.

Harry had just finished another dance with Susan. He had to admit she was a fun date. This event was extremely different than the Yule Ball. He was actually enjoying the Gala. Susan had excused herself to go talk to some of her friends. Harry thought this would be a good time to check on the Hermione/Ron progress. He hadn't been too pleased to see Malfoy dancing with her.

What's that slimy git up to anyway? And where did Ron go? Harry thought.

As if his thoughts were being read, Ron entered the Gala, looking quite flustered.

"You look a little out of sorts. Where have you been anyway? Hermione was looking for you earlier," Harry said to Ron, eyeing him with curiosity.

"Oh, yeah, about that," Ron started to say. He brought his hand up to his head and smacked his forehead a couple of times. "Harry, I've got myself in a real bind. I don't know what to do," Ron said to Harry, shaking his head as he spoke.

"What happened?" Harry asked, and then had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "This involves Hermione, doesn't it?" Harry concluded.

"I'll say," Ron said. "Sit down and I'll try to explain," he continued, as they both took seats.

"I had to go to the bathroom. As I was walking, Hannah Abbot bumped into me. I said excuse me, and tried to walk away. Neither one of us could move. I looked up, and we were trapped underneath the blasted mistletoe. We didn't know what to do. I mean I knew that we had to kiss, but it was embarrassing. We stayed like that for a while. We both decided to just do it, kiss each other. Well, our first couple of attempts didn't go so well. We both kept backing out, at the last minute. Finally, we both sucked in a breath and did it. We kissed. I was relieved at first, but I started to wonder how it would be to kiss her again. So I did. That's when I heard someone gasp. It was Hermione. I didn't know what to say. She wouldn't look at me at first. Finally she did. She told me we had just surprised her, and that she was fine. I still didn't know what to say. She left after that. I didn't kiss Hannah because I liked her. I just wanted to kiss. I'm so confused. I have no idea what to do. I know Hermione and I are just friends, but you know how we are. I think I really hurt her. What should I do?" Ron finished telling Harry, looking miserable.

Harry just stared at Ron. He wasn't sure what to tell him. Actually, he wasn't sure if he should be upset with Ron, for such a careless act. Harry had his suspicions for a while about his two best friends. Both of them are very stubborn, but he was sure they both had hidden feelings. After this event, he wasn't sure what to think. He did have a sinking feeling that Ron, would end up regretting it, sometime in the future.

"I think that, right now, you should stay here. I'll go look for Hermione," Harry said, as he stood up.

Ron just nodded, in a daze. Harry left him, and started his search for Hermione. Ginny was the first person he asked of Hermione's whereabouts. She hadn't seen her. He asked Lavender and a couple of other girls. No one had seen her. He wandered into the garden. Maybe she could be out here. People were hard to see, due to the bushes. He took out the scope he had made. He could see behind the bushes. The first couple of bushes he saw past, made him feel like a Peeping Tom. There was no lack of snogging. He looked to another bush, and dropped the scope. Harry's eyes harden, and he let out a growl, as he marched up to the bush. He pushed back the branches roughly and interrupted, the unsuspecting pair.

Hermione felt so drained and weak. She felt as if Draco was the only thing holding her up, at the moment. She wasn't thinking about how strange it was for him to be holding her. She wasn't remembering all the evil things he had said and done to her in the past. She wasn't contemplating the repercussions of this moment. All she knew was that she felt like her heart had just been ripped away from her. She felt so empty.

"Get your bloody hands off of her, you bastard!" someone yelled, as Malfoy was pushed away from Hermione.

Malfoy, unfortunately, couldn't keep his balance from the push he received. He stumbled backwards and fell into a fountain.

"Hermione, are you ok? He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Harry asked, concerned for his friend.

"Harry," Hermione said, with sad eyes. She looked towards Malfoy in the fountain, who still just sat there, for some unknown reason. "He was only helping me. He wasn't hurting me," she finished, looking towards the ground.

Harry went up to his friend. He put his arms around her. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I know what happened. I don't know what to say. I know that it will be ok though. And you can always use my shoulder to lean on," he said, trying to perk his friend up.

Hermione looked up at him and gave a slight smile. She thanked him and gave him a hug. She then began to walk over to Malfoy, who had a statue pouring water onto his head.

"So, that idiot was actually being nice? That must be a lifetime achievement for him," Harry said, giving Malfoy a weary look.

"Actually, he has been quite pleasant for the whole evening," she said back to him.

"Alright, now I know something is suspicious. And why hasn't he got up yet?" he said, giving Draco a stern glare.

Malfoy spurt out water and gasped for a breath. He quickly jumped out of the fountain. He looked all around and took in his surroundings.

"What the Hell just happened? Why am I all wet!?" he asked, in utter confusion.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, with dumbfounded looks, and then back towards him.

"You fell in the fountain," Harry said simply.

"What are you talking about, Potty Breath?" Draco said, as he eyed Harry wearily.

"You were holding Hermione. I pushed you away from her. Then you fell into the fountain. You, bloody git!" Harry said back to him, stating the events, raising his voice along the way.

"What! I wasn't holding Granger! Are you seeing things? You psycho freak! Tell him, Granger! I wouldn't touch you, if my life depended on it!" he yelled, looking towards Hermione, for verification.

Hermione looked at him, with confusion.

What is he playing at? Hermione thought.

"Do you have that short term of a memory? It's ok to be a nice guy, once in a while, you know," she said, looking at him with disbelief.

Draco just stared at her, his mouth open.

Has everyone lost their minds!? What are Granger and Potter up to? Draco thought, looking between them.

A fairy flew past Draco. He swatted at it, like he had all the other fairies that had annoyed him.

Wait a minute. That dust, those blasted fairies are carrying. What did it do? Draco thought, with a finger up to his chin, tapping.

Then a light bulb went off in his head. His eyes darkened at the realization.

"Ahh, Bloody Hell! Stupid, stupid, Goody-goody Dumbledore and his happy dust! I swear that man does some heavy potions, because he defiantly lives in La-La land!" he roared, grabbing his head.

"What are you going on about now?" Harry asked him, getting weary of the unstable Malfoy.

Malfoy looked at both of them. He shook his head.

"All right, listen up idiots," he said, as he began to tell his story.

Earlier that evening, Draco had arrived early at the Gala. He was wandering around, surveying the décor.

It could be better, not very original, he thought, as he rolled his eyes.

He thought about what girls he was going to charm away from their dates. He walked out into the garden.

A fairy zoomed by his noise.

What a bloody nuisance! They had to be a Dumbledoff idea, he thought, as he swatted the fairy away.

The fairy turned and blew dust towards Draco. He sneezed.

"You little!" he proceeded to say, and then he stopped, not feeling like destroying the fairy.

He walked back into the Gala, and that was when he saw Granger. She was quite lovely. He went up and talked to her. He had no inhibitions, and really felt like being pleasant to Granger.

The night went on. He had danced with many girls. He still felt a little odd, he was happy. He walked down the hall. He saw a sight he never thought he would see. Weasley was with a girl who was not Granger. Oh! He was never going to let her live this down. Then he had another thought. Why bother? He shrugged his shoulders and walked back into the Gala.

The Prefect dance was about to start. He got ready to grab an unsuspecting victim to dance with, but then he saw Granger. She was alone. He felt a pang in his heart.

What was that? Draco wondered.

He had an extreme urge to dance with Granger. He did. As the dance ended, she wondered about the Weasel. He actually felt sorry for her, but why? He didn't like these feelings. He walked away, after thanking her for the dance. Then his mind began to clear. Like a fog was being lifted. He felt very light headed.

What have I been doing? Why was I actually being nice to Mudblood Granger?! What could have possessed me to do such a desperate act! Draco wondered, as he walked into the garden.

Another fairy zoomed by his nose. He swatted the nuisance. The fairy was persistent and kept flying around, like a gnat that won't go away. He growled and waited. When the fairy flew by again, he smacked his hands together, squashing the fairy. The fairy fell from his hand, not moving. Draco smirked an evil grin, thinking he had destroyed the blasted thing. The fairy perked up quickly.

Draco pointed at it saying, "Why You!"

The fairy bit into Draco's finger. He let out a yelp of pain. He waved his finger around madly, trying to shake the fairy lose. He finally succeeded. The fairy stuck its tongue out at him. Then it poured its entire contents of fairy powder onto Draco's head

"And that is all I remember, after that idiot creature, dumped happy dust on me," Malfoy said, concluding his memory.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other rolled their eyes and shook their heads. They turned around and walked away from Malfoy. They both were thinking the same thing.

Idiot

**********

Hermione lay awake that the night. She left the Gala early and went straight to bed, avoiding everyone. The aching pain in her heart was turning into a dull thud. She felt numb all over. What was wrong with her? Ron is her friend. They had never said they were anything more than friends. There was no reason for her to be upset by this. So he kissed another girl, friends could kiss people, couldn't they? Ron doesn't know that she might have feelings for him, so she can't be mad at him for kissing a girl. Besides a romantic relationship between her and Ron would just mess up their friendship. Look at what's happened after just one date. This is for the best. So why did it still hurt? She wondered how Ron would act around her. Would things be normal between them?

Hermione stayed awake for hours, trying to convince herself everything was fine. Deep down she knew things were far from fine. What she had envisioned between her and Ron and what could happen between them, had changed. He was still her friend, a wonderful friend, but is that all he would ever be?

There was a soft knock at the bedroom door. Hermione didn't want to see anyone but it would be rude not to answer the knock. She went to the door after a moment. She opened the door to find nobody there. She looked outside of the door and saw Ron's head from behind, going down the steps. Then Hermione looked down and saw a rose with a note attached to it.

The rose was enchanted and sparkled. Hermione smiled at the rose. She opened the note, which only said one word.

Sorry.

Hermione smiled at the note. Her pain was still there, but at least she knew her friend cared. She closed the door and went back to bed.

************

The next day, students where preparing to go home for Christmas Break. Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the twins were going to the Burrow. Hermione was invited. She wanted to spend Christmas with her parents. They pleaded with her to come afterwards.

Ginny knew what had happened with Ron and Hannah. She was giving him nasty glares every second she could spare. She assured Hermione that she would have fun. Plus she could see Ron being embarrassed by Aunt Flora. Since the age of two, Ron had always been targeted by his Aunt, for her so called 'Fashionable Wizards' experiments. The whole family had many laughs at Ron's expense.

Hermione snickered at the thought. Hermione had never felt weird about being around Ron and his family. This time shouldn't be different. She agreed to come after Christmas Day.

The group left Hogwarts and headed to the Hogwarts Express. As they got the train, they found an empty compartment. They all piled in with the exception of the twins. Fred and George had set up 'pranks', on the food trolley. They wanted to make sure the 'pranks' fell into Slytherin hands. The twins where in their seventh year, but acted more like second years.

Shrieks where heard on the journey to King's Cross. A very purple Malcolm Baddock, a Slytherin student, stormed into Harry's compartment.

"Ar r ey, I ill em!" Malcolm attempted, at what Harry could only assume was speaking.

Malcolm had a huge tongue, along with being purple, inhibiting his speech

"What?" Ginny asked, giving the boy a very strange look.

"He said, where are they, he's going to kill them," Blaise Zabini said, appearing from behind Malcolm, with Malfoy there too. Malcolm just nodded his head furiously.

"Sorry, not here," Ron replied, giving a fake, sarcastic, smile.

"Weasley, are you actually acting like you're better than us? Even Malcolm being purple, with a tongue the size of London, is still better than you will ever amount to," Draco said, chuckling.

He eyed Ron up and down and then said, "Such a disgrace you are," he finished, nastily.

"Why you! Come and say that to my face, then we will see how much of a disgrace I am!" Ron yelled at Malfoy, jumping up to his feet.

"Come out here and show me then. I still think you won't even amount to the crap I wipe off of my boots," Malfoy said, stepping aside, for Ron to come out.

"That's it! Your going to wish you never got on this train!" Ron roared, heading to the door.

"Ehh, I'm so scared," Malfoy said, sarcastically, putting his hands up in a mock fashion.

"All right, that's enough!" Harry said, as he jumped up, preventing Ron from leaving the compartment.

"Bugger off, you great prat. Go harass some other unfortunate person," Harry concluded.

"Your such the Party Pooper, Potty." Draco said, as he rolled his eyes.

"You bloody dolts, aren't worth the effort anyhow. Happy Holidays. I hope the Burrow is still there for you to go home to. Hogwarts tuition did go up," he finished, with a smirk, and walked back down the hall.

"One day, I swear, his face will meet my fist over and over again," Ron said, as he sat back down, with a scary smile on his face.

"Looks like Fred and George, aren't making many friends. They're going to have blokes trying to skin their hides before this trip is over," Ginny said, trying to change the topic.

"Two comical geniuses. Always out to get laughs," Harry replied, trying to help Ginny out.

Hermione stood up. "I'll be right back," she said.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked, concerned. His quick change of mood was startling.

"Bathroom," was all she replied.

Ron's ears turned red, and he replied, "Oh, Ok"

Hermione rolled her eyes and exited the compartment. She had a smile on her face. Maybe things could go back to normal.

On the way back to her compartment, a boy almost walked past her. This was almost because right before he did walk past, he tripped.

He knocked Hermione into the open compartment to her left.

Hermione stumbled, unable to maintain her balance. She braced herself for impact, with her hands outstretched. She landed on the seat, and she found herself in a very awkward position. She was in someone's lap. She turned to see who it was. Her only response was, "Bloody Hell." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Happy to see me, are you. I had no idea how forward you are, Granger. You really want to get into my knickers, don't you?" the dreaded voice said.

"Well, I um, will um, leave now," the boy said, that had knocked into Hermione. "By the way, sorry," he finished, as he left the compartment.

"All alone. What shall we do?" the voice persisted.

"Bugger off idiot, I wouldn't want your knickers if they were worth millions and I was the poorest witch alive," Hermione said, turning her head away from him.

"Ah, so you mean if you were a Weasley. By the way, you know you're still sitting in my lap," Malfoy stated.

Hermione had never moved so fast in her life. She stood up so quickly she almost fell again. She looked at Malfoy and snorted.

"Idiot. Where is the rest of your lot?" she said, still not looking at him.

"Worried about being alone with me, are you? Afraid you can't control those raging hormone's, Granger?" he said, enjoying himself immensely.

"My hormones rage no where near you," she said, with a superior attitude, nose in the air.

"You seemed pretty willing to be near me the other night. You didn't fight my embrace at all. You seemed to melt into it. Can't blame you, I mean any girl would give her wand, to be in my embrace," Malfoy said, looking smug.

"Ahh! I was distraught. I would have hugged a Flobberworm, not that you're much better," she said, as she turned her head away from him.

"Wait! I thought you didn't remember anything," she said, eyeing him skeptically.

"I didn't at first. I had no control over my actions. That night, I had a couple of flashbacks, and I pieced together the rest of it. After all, I would have to be drugged to be nice to you," he finished, as he smirked.

"Jerk. Why am I even staying in here with you?" Hermione asked.

"Why are you?" Malfoy asked back.

"Fine! I'm leaving!" she yelled, as she turned to leave.

"Go then. By the way I hope you're not mopping around about Weasley. Besides the fact he is beneath even you, it would be no fun to harass and agitate you, if you were already miserable. You would put up less of a fight," he said, still with a smirk.

"Whatever," she stopped, and looked towards Malfoy.

"Even if you were drugged and not your slimy self at the time, I still wanted to say thanks. If you acted like that more often, we might even be friends, one day," she finished, with a slight smile.

"And then brimstone would fall from the sky, the seas would turn to blood, and hell would freeze over. But hey, stranger things have happened," he said, still with his smug attitude.

Hermione shook her head. "Your impossible, you know that right? Have a happy holiday, Pure Blood," she said, as she looked up to him, with a smirk of her own.

"The impossible is always possible, for those who try. Have a happy holiday, Muggle born. Try not to run into any walls in the Burrow, it might fall down," he said, with a smirk that almost looked like a smile.

Hermione rolled her eyes again, and left the compartment. This was definitely turning out to be an interesting year.