It was a unanimous decision between the teachers to give the students the day off after the Yule Ball, considering how late it was by the time everyone had drifted back to their rooms. Everyone was grateful for this as they tiredly made their way to breakfast the next morning. Ginny, Hermione, and Harry were trying to keep their eyes open as they ate while Ron had simply fallen asleep sitting up, his head propped up on his left hand while his right held a fork with a sausage skewered on the end. The silence of the Great Hall was interrupted when dozens of owls flew in, their screeches filling the room and making several students jump, including Ron who dropped his fork to the table with a clatter.
"Wha-what happened?" Ron's eyes swiveled around as he tried to take in his surroundings.
Laughing lightly, Hermione put her hand on his arm, "Nothing, Ron, it's just the mail." She pointed up at the cloud of owls that were circling overhead. Ron just nodded and shoved his fork in his mouth.
The flap of wings above them made the group look up, only to see Errol attempting to land on the table. Not wanting to be covered in her breakfast, Ginny stood up on the bench and snatched Errol out of the air. She took her seat while cradling Errol and untied the roll of newspaper from his leg before releasing him to a nearby plate of sausage.
"What's it say?" Ron asked around a yawn.
"There's been a reported sighting of the Death Eaters." Silence followed Ginny's statement and Hermione, Harry, and Ron shared worried looks as Ginny's eyes flew across the page. A moment later, Ginny let out a small sigh of relief, "It looks like they were seen in Romania a couple of days ago. They think they're hiding out until Voldemort sends for them."
"Why Romania? Why go so far?" Ron scrunched his forehead.
Hermione thought about this, "I guess it makes sense. I mean, Voldemort did hide there for over a decade after Harry defeated him the first time. If they use the forests, they might never be found until they decide to show themselves."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and a dragon will eat them," Ginny tapped her chin in thought, earning smiles from Hermione and Ron. She had been hoping to make Harry laugh, even a little, but he had stayed quiet, lost in his thoughts. She grabbed his hand under the table and gave it a slight squeeze, making him turn to face her. She gave him a smile and a nod, silently telling him that everything would work out.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Harry knew Ginny had been trying to make him laugh, but he couldn't quite make himself join in with the others. He was happy that the Death Eaters were in Romania, but they were still out there and it worried him that no one was absolutely sure where they were. Yes, they'd been sighted in Romania, but how long would they actually stay there? Harry was pulled from his thoughts when Ginny grabbed his hand. He looked at her and her lips quirked up into a smile while her eyes and the small nod of her head told him that everything would be alright. He gripped her hand back and took a deep breath, allowing himself to relax and let it go for the moment.
"So, what do you want to do today?" Harry looked around the group.
"We could play quidditch," Ron suggested.
"Works for me," Ginny nodded.
"Sounds good," Hermione stood up to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?" Ginny frowned.
"I'm going to grab a book to read while you play quidditch."
"Oh, no you aren't," Ron grinned as he grasped Hermione's hand and pulled her back. "You're going to play with us."
"No, I'm not!" Hermione's curls swung as she shook her head, "Do you even remember when you tried to teach me over the Summer? I fell off the broom and almost crushed you."
"That was actually my favorite part," Ron said thoughtfully, making Hermione turn pink.
"You're not going to be able to have any fun if you're stuck making sure I don't kill myself."
"That's not true, I liked teaching you how to ride! This time it'll be even better."
"Why?" Hermione looked at him like he was insane.
"This time I can hold on to you tighter when we share a broom and I can let myself enjoy it."
This made Hermione turn a brilliant shade of red, but she bit her lip to hide a smile, "Okay, but if I see that you aren't having any fun, then I'm going to read and you can fly with them," Hermione nodded towards Harry and Ginny.
"Deal," Ron grinned.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Ron, I knew this was going to happen! Why did I let you convince me to play?" Hermione had been saying this the entire time the four of them had made the long walk from the quidditch pitch back to the school only an hour and a half after they'd started playing. Hermione had been doing well flying and keeping up with the others and Ron had stopped staying right by her side since she was more comfortable on her own now. This had proven to be a bad idea as it provided Ron with an unobstructed view of Hermione, whose curls were being blown around her head by the wind and a beautiful smile was stretched across her face as she watched Harry trying to get the quaffle away from Ginny. He was so distracted that he'd failed to notice that he was tipping rather precariously to one side of his broom until he hit the ground with a resounding thud and twisting his ankle.
"Hermione, it's fine! I told you it wasn't your fault. I didn't even fall that far!" Ron was going to avoid explaining the real reason he fell for as long as he could. How could he tell Hermione that he'd fallen off his broom cause he'd been gawking at her?
"At least let us bring you to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said and she and Harry lifted Ron's arms from around their shoulders and deposited him on the couch.
"No way, she'll just make me stay there overnight and force some awful tasting medicine down my throat."
"He's got a point," Harry spoke up. He and Ginny had decided to stay out of Ron and Hermione's discussion due to their tendency to lose their temper if they thought their friends were taking sides.
Hermione pursed her lips, "Fine, but you're staying right there." She pointed at him and proceeded to prop his leg up on a pillow.
"I think you could give Mrs. Weasley a run for her money, Hermione," Harry snorted. He was saved from her retort when Ginny, who had gone to look at the notice board in the room, called over to them.
"Good news! Professor Bovin's scheduled another advanced class for this Friday at four. And the last Hogsmeade trip is set for the next day."
"That's odd that they'd let us go to Hogsmeade with the Death Eaters out there," Hermione frowned.
Ginny continued reading off the paper, "It says we'll be allowed half the time we normally get and we're only allowed to go to the shops on the main street."
"Why?" Ron spoke up from where he was reclined on the couch.
"Probably so the teachers can keep an eye on us," Hermione took a seat next to Ron.
"I'm more interested in Bovin's class," Ron said. They all agreed and began coming up with ideas about what Bovin would teach them in their next class.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The week went by quickly and that came as a relief to the large group of students that made up Professor Bovin's advanced class. No hints had been given as to what they'd be learning and Hermione and Ginny had spent the last hour before the class coming up with ideas while Harry and Ron had gone down to the kitchens to see Dobby and get something to eat.
"Let's go, Hermione, if we're the ones that are late we'll never hear the end of it from the boys," Ginny swung her bag over her shoulder.
"I'm coming," Hermione reached up to a shelf to return a book she'd been reading and was pulling her arm back when she felt a small tug on her wrist. Hearing a clinking sound, she looked around and saw the bracelet that Ron had given to her laying on the floor with the chain broken, "Oh, no!"
"What's wrong?" Ginny came over and saw Hermione staring at the broken chain with the charms laying scattered next to it. "It's okay, Hermione, we'll just fix it."
Hermione nodded her head quickly, seeming to have momentarily forgotten that they could use magic to repair the bracelet. Ginny took out her wand and waved it over the chain, "Reparo." The bracelet remained motionless and Ginny tried the spell twice more with no effect, "I don't understand, why isn't it working?"
"I don't know, maybe the spell doesn't work on this material. What am I going to do? Ron's going to be crushed," Hermione's eyes shone with unshed tears.
Ginny thought for a moment before the solution dawned on her, "Wait, didn't Ron say he bought the bracelet from a little shop in Hogsmeade?" Hermione nodded as she bent to collect the thin silver chain and charms. "We've got our last Hogsmeade trip tomorrow, so we could distract Ron and you could go to the shop to get the chain fixed."
Hermione's face lit up, "Oh, that's brilliant, Ginny! I'll just keep my sleeves rolled down so he won't notice." Hermione slipped the bracelet into her bag and straightened her robes, "Alright, let's go." They left the library and made their way to Professor Bovin's classroom, arriving just seconds before Harry and Ron came in. The group talked about the trip to Hogsmeade the next day while the class filled with students and Ginny noticed Hermione absently rubbing her wrist several times.
"Okay, class," Professor Bovin entered the room and closed the doors behind him. "Today we will be revisiting several spells that we've gone over in previous lessons. I want you to pair up and practice the Patronus Charm as well as these two spells," He flicked his wand and the words Elementum Incendo and Elementum Nympha appeared on the chalkboard at the same time that candles and bowls of water materialized and hovered next to the students.
Ron paired with Hermione and Harry with Ginny, both groups beginning with the Patronus charm. Harry and Ginny easily conjured theirs and assisted Ron and Hermione, both of whom were steadily producing more than just wisps of silver. They moved on to the other two spells which they recognized as the ones they'd had to research for the first class. They were a little difficult to perform, but the group found that if they relaxed and had fun with it instead of getting frustrated then they did much better. Half an hour later, Bovin called out for them to stop and they formed a circle with him in the center.
"Now we are going to do a little demonstration, who would like to go first? Ah, yes, Mr. Davies, Miss Abbott, Mr. Hopkins, Miss Bones, and Mr. Finch-Fletchley, please step forward." The five students moved towards the center of the class, curiosity on their faces. A bowl of water hovered in front of them, "I want all of you to cast the water element spell, but I want you to do it while thinking of a memory that makes you angry."
The group concentrated for a moment and then looks of anger came across their features. One by one they raised their wands and cast the spell, but each time the water would begin growing from the bowl and then the magic would fizzle out. After Justin had taken his turn, Bovin waved at the group to return to their places and beckoned to the others, "Thank you. Now, everyone else who was not chosen to be a part of the first group, please step forward." Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Katie, and Luna took the places of the last group and held their wands ready in their hands.
"This time I want you to perform the fire element spell, but I want you to think of a memory that makes you happy," Professor Bovin waved his wand and the bowl of water floating in front of the group was replaced by a candle. They took their turn casting the spell and each time the flame grew until it was a wall of heat that towered over them and swirled around the room before it returned to a single flame.
Once the second group had rejoined the others, Professor Bovin stepped forward, "Who can tell me what these demonstrations have shown?" Both Hermione and Ginny raised their hands, "Yes, Miss Granger and Miss Weasley?"
Hermione nodded at Ginny to go first, "It shows the power that emotions have over spells which, in a way, means you need to be a good person if you want to be a great witch or wizard."
Bovin smiled, "Well said, Miss Weasley. Does everyone understand the importance of what she said?" His question was mostly met with some head shaking and eyes that showed a little confusion. "Alright, Miss Granger would you care to elaborate on what Miss Weasley said?"
"The happier the memory, the stronger the spell. Being angry and revenge-driven weakens your power while being a good person allows for you to recall truly happy memories, which makes your magic stronger," Hermione finished.
"What if you're a terrible person but you are completely happy with your life? Wouldn't that happiness make your magic stronger?" Professor Bovin asked.
"No, it wouldn't. True happiness has to come from deep in your soul and it has to come from a good place. No matter how happy you may be despite being a horrible person, your magic will never compare to that of someone whose soul is pure," Hermione answered simply.
Professor Bovin smiled at the girls, "Well done, I hope everyone here will think about what they said. Class dismissed."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hermione, will you stop fidgeting! It's going to be fine," Ginny said with exasperation. They had gotten ready for their final trip to Hogsmeade and Ginny had gone to Hermione's room to see if she needed help with distracting Ron while Hermione took her bracelet to the jewelers.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, I'm just nervous! I don't want Ron to find out, I'm hoping he'll go to that quidditch shop."
"I'm sure he will, he can't help himself from going in there even if he's already seen everything. Just act like it's a normal Hogsmeade trip and he'll never suspect a thing," Ginny turned to go downstairs and Hermione followed reluctantly.
Harry and Ron were already in the common room waiting for Hermione and Ginny to come down and they joined the crowd of other students in the Entrance Hall. Harry had the odd feeling that he was being watched by someone and when he looked around he made eye contact with one of the last people he wanted to see. Cho Chang was alternating between smiling at him and glaring at Ginny. Harry sighed and turned back around, he wished she would just leave him alone and stop looking at Ginny like that. Falling for Ginny was out of his control. All he had to do was look at her and his throat tightened up and his knees went weak. Every now and again he thought of how long it had taken him to realize he was in love with her and he wanted to slap himself. He'd been so stupid!
He felt his arm being pulled and snapped out of his thoughts to find that the doors had been opened and the students had begun moving forward. Ginny was holding his hand and was pulling him with her. Looking around, the group took notice of the fact that the number of teachers accompanying them to Hogsmeade had tripled since the Death Eaters had yet to be recaptured.
"What do you say to a butterbeer before going to the shops?" Hermione looked at the other three, widening her eyes slightly when her gaze connected with Ginny's.
"That sounds good," Ginny answered, catching on to Hermione's look. The boys nodded their agreement and they were soon standing in the Three Broomsticks and finding a table to sit at. Harry and Ron offered to get the drinks and left the girls to stand in line at the counter.
"Did you need my help or something?" Ginny asked as soon as the boys were out of earshot.
Hermione nodded, "I was hoping you'd get the hint. I forgot to leave the charms for my bracelet in my room, could you hold on to them for me while I bring the chain to the jeweler?"
"Sure," Ginny put the small charms in her pocket and looked up to see if the line at the counter had moved forward at all. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Cho Chang attempting to talk to Harry. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, but Harry had had a crush on her a couple of years before and Cho was very pretty.
Hermione saw the concern playing over Ginny's face and followed her gaze, "You know you don't have anything to worry about, right?"
Ginny smiled a little but shrugged her shoulders, "Do you think he still likes her?"
"Of course not! How could you think that?"
"I don't know, he liked her once and she is pretty," Ginny bit her lip.
"Did you know that the minute Harry realized he loved you this Summer he came bursting into our room and told me? Nearly gave me a heart attack when he threw open the door the way he did. Of course, being a boy he was too thick to realize he'd been in love with you for a long time already." Hermione saw Ginny start to smile so she continued, "And whenever you weren't looking, I'd see him watching you with a faraway look in his eyes or he'd turn red when you looked at him. Harry may have liked Cho at one point but it doesn't mean anything to him."
Ginny was still absorbing what Hermione had said to her when Harry and Ron came back with the drinks. Pushing her thoughts to the side with the intention of thinking about them again later, she joined in the conversation. It wasn't long before their mugs were empty and they were heading out the door. Ginny noticed that Hermione was subtly guiding them along the side of the street that would bring them right past the quidditch shop that Ron loved and sure enough, he had stopped in front of the large glass windows of the store.
"Let's go inside," he walked towards the door but stopped when he saw no one was coming.
"I was going to go look at that little shop over there," Ginny pointed down the street.
"I wanted to look at the new books that have come in," Hermione said.
Ron looked at Harry, "Sorry mate, I think I'll just wait here. It doesn't look like they have anything new anyways."
Giving them all a look that said he thought they were mad for passing up such an opportunity, Ron went into the store. Ginny went to look at the store she'd mentioned and Hermione walked in the direction of the bookstore, making sure no one was looking before going past the store and ducking into the little jewelry shop. The departure of his friends and Ginny had left Harry with nothing to do but wait. He was thinking of something he could do to pass the time when he saw someone coming toward him. He bit back a groan when he saw who it was.
"Harry, I need to talk to you," Cho Chang stood in front of him with her arms crossed.
