AN: Happy New Year! What better way to start off the new year than a new chapter? None! Or, at least I think so.

Thank you to those who reviewed last chapter! I love you guys, remember that!

creativewriter17: Ha! I didn't even realize when I was writing that that she was slapping her future husband. That made me crack up ;D

And, of course, thank you to:

indigofrisbee, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, and Macbec3! Keep reviewing! And thank those of you for the alerts!

Disclaimer: Nope. No owny HP.

I woke up on Christmas morning to Hermione roughly shaking my shoulders. I groaned and rolled over, stuffing my face into my pillow. Hermione only began to shake me harder, "Honestly, Jennifer. Get up."

I groaned, raising my hand and attempting to blindly swat any part of her I could reach. She laughed, grabbing my shoulder and giving it another shake, "Come on, Jen. We have to open presents. You can't just stay in bed all day."

Curse all these morning people, I thought bitterly.

I groaned and flipped over onto my back, cracking my eyes a bit only to snap them shut a few moments later, blinded by the harsh morning sunlight coming in through the window. "The presents won't go anywhere." I pulled my comforter up over my head and mumbled, "They'll still be there… just let me sleep for a few more hours…"

Hermione snatched the covers away, ripping them off until they fell into a heap on the floor. I immediately sat up, hissing at the bright sunlight. "Fine, fine. I'll be down in a few minutes." Hermione gave me a look as if to say, You had better not fall asleep again. I waved her off, and got up, heading toward the bathroom.

I emerged thirty minutes later, pulling on the pale lavender sweater with a silver 'J' stitched onto the front, made by Mrs. Weasley, which Hermione had tossed onto my bed for me to put on.

I huffed and descended the steps toward the common room, bringing the small pile of presents that appeared at the foot of my bed. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were almost the only Gryffindors who had stayed behind for the holidays, and because of this, we had the common room to ourselves. The others were already seated and lightly conversing. I plopped down on the couch nest to Harry, who grinned and gave me a one-armed hug, "Nice of you to finally join us, Jen."

I grinned and swatted him playfully on the shoulder and turned to the rest of the group, who were also decked out in Mrs. Weasley's hand-knitted sweaters. I chuckled as Ron plucked with distaste at his usual maroon sweater.

Hermione flashed me a wide grin from her position on the floor before saying to us all, "Happy Christmas, everyone!" which was chorused by the rest of us, and we began eagerly ripping open our presents.

I smiled as I opened a hand-knitted scarf in Gryffindor colors, sent by my mother. Stitched onto the end in gold lettering was the neat calligraphy, To Jenny, our wonderful little girl. I sighed a little at the 'little girl' bit, but I knew they loved me, and were sad to see me grow up. My smile grew as I wrapped it around my neck, surprised at how warm it was, and turned to my other presents. I opened a few books from Hermione, and a box of sweets from Harry and Ron. I smiled and thanked my friends, then returned my gaze to my now diminished pile.

I was surprised to see another box sitting near the pile of discarded wrapping paper. I cocked my head slightly, looking curiously at the lone package. Had that been there before? I gingerly picked it up. The black box was long and thin. I slowly lifted off the lid and gasped softly when I saw a single red rose lying on the dark velvet lining. I sat there, shocked, mouth slightly agape. Someone had sent me a rose?

Why?

Who?

I glanced down as a flash of white fell out of the lid still in my hand. A note. I gently picked it up off the carpet and read the neat writing.

The rose is delicate and beautiful, yet willing to draw blood to defend itself.

There wasn't a name. I stared wide-eyed at the swirly script. It was oddly poetic and insightful, surprising for a guy. Who would send this to me? I didn't have any admirers that I knew of. Pfft, admirers. If I could get that much. Rarely would a guy talk to me more than necessary during classes. That's something Hermione and I share: We get ignored by the majority of the male population. Better looking girls to keep an eye on, I guess. When I look in the mirror, I see an ordinary looking girl. Pretty, to give myself that much, but nothing special.

I picked up the rose and brought it up to my nose. I sniffed the flower, smelling the sweet scent. I smiled softly.

"Who sent that?" I heard Hermione gasp.

"I don't know." I mumbled simply. I smelled the flower again, closing my eyes, getting lost in the sweet fragrance. But I really want to find out.

The last few days of the holidays flew by in a blur of snowball fights and countless games of Exploding Snap. Too soon, break was over and students were filing back into Hogwarts off of the train, their chatter echoing in the hallways as reunited friends eagerly talked about their holidays and presents.

With classes starting up again the next day, Hermione dragged me to the library for some last minute studying. I only went along because Harry and Ron had decided to go out and practice their flying, and I really didn't want to stay in the common room alone. Outside of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I really didn't have any other friends. Sure, there was Neville and Ginny, but we didn't really talk all that often. Ever since I sat in Harry and Ron's compartment on the Hogwarts Express in first year, I had become the fourth member of the 'Potter gang.' I never really fit in anywhere else. It's not that I didn't try to make new friends, they just didn't accept me.

While Hermione was almost entirely hidden from view by stacks of books on charms and potions, I took to looking out the window. The snow was slowly melting, making the ground muddy. I laughed. Filch is going to have a field day. My thoughts returned to the single rose that was currently in my dorm. Ever since Christmas, I had puzzled over who it could be from, but I always came up empty-handed. I knew it wasn't from Harry or Ron. It was probably a Gryffindor, but that only narrowed it down so much. I sighed and lightly hit my head against the window pane, frustrated. Who sent me the bloody rose?

Hermione's voice piped up from behind the mountain of books, "What do you think Snape is going to go over tomorrow? Something complex? Or maybe just something simple to get us back on track?" There was a sigh and a shuffle of papers as she flipped through her notes.

I laughed, and moved aside a few books so that I could see Hermione's face. She looked extremely stressed as she flipped through a Potions textbook. "Hermione, doll. I don't think he's going to give us a quiz the first day back."

She just shook her bushy head, bending over her book once again, "I like to be prepared," her voice slightly muffled from her face being stuck in the thick volume.

I sighed, sat back in my chair, and pulled out my fiction out of my book bag, knowing I was fighting a hopeless battle.

AN: Woo! Okay, slight filler chapter at the end, but I promise, there's more to come. As always, review! As a New Year's present? ;)