Melting Ice

Ginny sat on her bed, the curtains drawn around her, a silencing spell making everyone else think she was asleep. She'd come back to see an enchanted rose on her pillow, the color changing from red to green and then back again. She smiled as she placed it on her nightstand. About two weeks had passed since the Harvest Ball. Ron was slowly becoming accustomed to her friendship with Draco, though she wasn't sure if it was only a friendship. They never did anything more than talk or study, mainly because there were always people watching them. If it wasn't her brother and his friends, it was the Slytherins.

Lately though, Ron had been occupied. He'd waited too long to do anything about his feelings for Hermione and she and Harry, well, they were spending a lot more time together. But Ron didn't seem that bothered. He and Lavendar were together a lot. He often sought her help for their divination homework. Ginny'd had to bite back a laugh the first time she heard him ask. She, and everyone else in the Gryffindor tower, knew how much Ron hated divination...

The tug on her curtains surprised her. It was Hermione. "Girls' night in the Common Room.. You in?" They had discussed the idea for a while, banning the boys from the Common Room for a slumber party. The Sixth and Seventh years had decided to do it, but they hadn't really announced it, wanting to keep the younger students on track with their studies.

"Yeah... Give me a second... I want to finish this owl real quick." Ginny gestured to where the eagle owl stood, waiting for the reply she was writing. She drew a tiny heart and a V at the bottom and then tied the letter to his leg. He took off quickly, exiting through the open window. Hermione then spotted the rose.

"Let me guess, Draco?"

Ginny smiled. "It was here when I got back today, along with Hades and a short note." Hermione sighed.

"That is really sweet. He does seem a little better lately... At least he's not quite as nasty as before..." She smiled. She was trying to get along with the Slytherin for her friend's sake. Ginny climbed out off of her bed, her stuffed silver dragon in her arms. It was a present from Draco for her birthday and she hadn't slept without it since the night he gave it to her. Her shorts were had been Bill's, before he outgrew them... And the tshirt she wore had been George's. They were faded and worn, but comfortable. And that was really all that mattered. When she stood next to Hermione, the differences between the two was noticed easily. Hermione wore a long flannel nightgown, with long sleeves and a high, buttoned neck. Ginny just shook her head.

When they entered the common room, they both bit back laughter. Lavendar was doing something to Parvati's hair... And both had some strange green stuff on their faces. Hermione looked at Ginny, who was looking back. Both had looks of horror on their faces. "I'm not even going to ask.... I don't want to know.... I'm just going to pretend I never saw that..." Hermione just nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her hand was reflexively twirling her own curly locks. The two girls headed for a couch, a little out of the way, just watching the others with the mud masks, curlers, and other assorted muggle beauty products. Of course, there were a few items Ginny'd seen in her mother's Witch Weekly's, but the ads always made her cringe.

One of the sixth years spoke up. "Ok, now that the Head Girl and Ginny are here, can we play Truth or Dare?" Apparently, she'd asked this before and been told to wait for Hermione and Ginny...

Lavender grinned. "Yes, now we can play..." Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes towards Hermione. "I'll start... Parvati, truth or dare?" Ginny drifted off into daydreams, not really paying attention until she heard her own name called.

"Huh?"

"Truth or dare, Virginia?"

"Ummm, truth, I guess..."

"Ok, what is the deal with the strange gifts you've been getting since this year started? They just appear out of nowhere, with that black owl, like that dragon you've got..."

Ginny blushed. Hades had been visiting her an awful lot since the night of the ball. "A friend sends me little things. He likes to make me smile. He says I don't do it enough..." Every single one of the girls, other than Ginny and Hermione squealed when the word "he" came out of her mouth.

Ginny refused to give any more details, though she did ask Lavendar just what was going on between her and Ron... After that, no one else asked Ginny anything about her "secret admirer".

The game fizzled out, no one else really having any secrets. After all, how many secrets can you keep when you live with people for six or seven years? Ginny and Hermione retired to a corner, where they sat and talked about anything and everything, while keeping an eye out for anything getting out of hand. That prefect training was hard to forget, even during a party.

*****

Hermione sat in front of the fire, staring into the dancing flames. She was deep in thought. She loved being with Harry so much, though they weren't officially a couple, but a part of her was jealous that Ron spent so much time with Lavendar. At first, she'd thought it was because Lavendar was an empty headed twit, but now, she wondered. She'd see the two together and was hard pressed not to interrupt them. And then there was Harry. She could so easily see herself falling in love with him, which is perhaps why she was so afraid to let go and do so. She couldn't be sure if she was just a person to spend time with to him or if he really wanted to be with her, in that way...

Sometimes, she envied Ginny. The younger girl had no complications in her love life, other than her brothers all hated the one guy she really seemed to like. But Draco did seem to treat Ginny a lot better than he treated anyone else, so maybe he could change, if only for her. Hermione definitely hoped this was the case. Ginny'd been through enough, in the Chamber of Secrets, to last her a few lifetimes.

Harry stood on the steps, watching Hermione as she stared into the fire. He had known something was bothering her, but he doubted she'd talk to him about it. He wasn't always the most sensitive when something was bothering her, though he was more so than Ron... He knew it was likely the changing dynamics of their friendships that was bothering her. Hermione had never done well with change, and this friendship had been a huge part of their lives for seven years. He still remembered that first day on the train, and then the mountain troll and how the bossy young girl had stood up for them, earning her their eternal gratitude and how the three had become inseparable afterwards. He sat on the stairs and continued to watch her, content as long as she was in his view.

*****

Ginny sat on her bed, Hades having just left her window, letter in hand. She opened it, smiling as she did so. Her friendship with Draco had always been a little complicated, and after the Harvest Ball, it was both less and more so. Less so because they no longer hid their friendship, openly spending time together and no longer insulting each other in the hallways. More so because the other feelings between them were rising up more frequently, causing some degree of awkwardness. The letter surprised her.

"My dearest Ginny,

I find myself writing this because I can not stop thinking of you and of what almost happened in the stairwell earlier today. A part of me is terrified by these awkward moments that rise up between us. That part is afraid that if something were to happen, I would lose your friendship. Virginia, you're the first real friend I've had in my life and to lose you would be a traumatic event. But I cannot deny the other parts of me, the ones that cause these awkward moments. I cannot fight what I am, and I know I will never deserve you, but I would try to make you happy... If you'd let me.."

Yours, Draco."

She stared at the letter, reading it over and over. She knew exactly how he felt. He was the first friend she'd had who wasn't friends with or wanted to be friends with one of her brothers first. She didn't want to lose him in that aspect, but she couldn't deny the attraction between them. There were times when they would sit and talk and she would get so lost in his eyes that she had to ask him to repeat what he had said, because she hadn't heard a word. He'd just smirk and do as she asked, as if he knew what she'd been doing. He probably did know, the git...

She read the letter again and smiled. At least she knew it was a mutual attraction now. Hades clucked softly, reminding him that he waited for a reply. She smiled again and reached for her own parchment and quill...

"My dearest Draco,

I am actually relieved to find that you feel much the same as I do on this. I haven't been able to stop thinking about that moment in the stairwell either. Or about the look in your eyes when we danced at the ball... Perhaps we should just see where things are going with us? If it is not meant to be, I'm sure we will both realize it before our friendship is compromised...

Love, Virginia."

Her hands shook as she tied the letter to Hades' outstretched leg. As he flew through her open window, she sighed and then re read the letter in front of her. When Hermione came in to see why she wasn't out in the common room, she found her curled up with the letter in her hand, a smile on her sleeping face. The older girl shook her head, pulled a blanket up over the younger prefect, and stepped back out into the common room. She looked over to where Harry and Ron were once more engaged in a battle of Wizard's chess, and then over to where Lavendar and Pavarti were doing each other's hair, following the detailed instructions in their copies of Teen Witch Weekly. With a sigh, she pulled out her worn copy of Hogwarts; A History and turned to where she'd left off reading the night before.

Harry wasn't as oblivious to her as he seemed though. They'd been spending more time together, but he was still nervous around her sometimes. After years of friendship, he felt silly being so nervous around her. But Sirius had told him that it was the same way for his parents. He reached into his pocket, fingering his last letter from his godfather. The words lingered in his mind, memorized from the many readings.

Harry,

Forgive me for laughing when I read your letter. You just reminded me so much of James that I couldn't help myself. You see, it was just about the middle of our own seventh year when he came to me with a problem. It seems he'd finally decided to admit he was in love with Lily. She was one of our best friends, the only one outside of the four of us who knew about Remus' condition. She even suspected about our monthly adventures... We all knew how he felt, just as I'm sure most of your friends know how you feel about Hermione, before the thought had even occurred to him. In fact, it had taken Peter's comment about it to even get James thinking in that direction. But once he started, he couldn't stop. Except once he realized it, he didn't know how to act around her.

So when he came to me, asking me what he should do, I told him exactly what I tell you now. Talk to her. Tell her how you feel, because otherwise, she's never going to know. She is the only one as clueless as you were yourself when it comes to your feelings for her.

Your Hermione reminds me of Lily. Both are smart, strong and independent. Not to mention protective and determined. Once Lily had decided she wanted your father, nothing could keep them apart, not even James himself. He was so afraid of turning her into even more of a target that he almost ended it. But she called him on it, and refused to let him. She reminded him of how much stronger they are together than apart, and after that, James never even attempted to protect her by leaving again. That was just before our own graduation. Of course, you don't have to worry about that, with Voldemort gone, but I couldn't resist sharing that with you.

Write me soon, let me know how things go when you tell her. Remus is curious as well, bloody reading over my shoulder... Can you hear me muttering about nosy friends from there?

Sirius.

Harry smiled, and then realized Ron had been talking to him for the past ten minutes. "Mate, are you alright? It's been your turn for ages..."

"Yeah, Ron, fine.. Just thinking about my last letter from Sirius..." Since he was cleared now, there was no reason to keep calling him Snuffles. He made his move and let his eyes drift back over to Hermione. He had very nearly zoned out again when he heard Ron's exuberant call of "Checkmate" and he shrugged. Standing, he made his way over to Hermione and lightly ran a hand over her hair.