Christmas was tense. Most people had gone home, as usual, and nearly everyone that had stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday seemed to be having a good time. Except for the Gryffindors. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny in particular were having a hard time. With Ron seemingly dead in the Hospital Wing, Christmas cheer was definitely in short supply.

"Just pretend he graduated already," Hermione suggested to Ginny. "Or on vacation." The younger girl's eyes shining, she just gave Hermione a small smile thanks; feeling a bit awkward, Hermione gave Ginny a hug. "Ron will be all right," she said with as much conviction as possible. "Don't worry."

"He'll be all right," Ginny repeated, wishing she could believe.

* * *

Staring into the dying flames, Harry could hear the creak someone walking down the stairs from the Girls Dorm but he didn't turn around. He knew who it was; only one person could know he was still sitting there.

"Still up?" Hermione asked. It was after eleven on Christmas Eve, and only Harry remained in the Common Room. The rest of the few Gryffindors had all gone to bed early in anticipation of the coming day.

Harry sighed. "I'm not tired," he replied quietly.

Hermione sat down on the squishy armchair next to him. "Harry," she said softly. He looked up from the fire for the first time. In Hermione's eyes his own pain and sadness was mirrored; she missed Ron too. But for Harry it was so much more than just Ron. It was his life whole life; Hermione couldn't understand that.

But Hermione, brilliant Hermione, seemed to understand anyway. "Listen to your heart," she told him. And she leaned forward and kissed him.

Pulling her into a hug, Harry kissed her back. She sat in his lap, their arms around each other, staring into the fire together.

* * *

Harry awoke, his neck stiff. Blinking slowly, he realized he was in the Common Room with Hermione sitting in his lap, her head on his shoulder. Trying not to wake Hermione, he shifted the slightest bit. The Common Room was dark; a sliver of moonlight provided the only light along with an occasional spark from the fire. Checking Hermione's watch, since his was behind her back, he could see it was two in the morning.

Carefully lifting Hermione, he carried her up the stairs to the Girls Dorm. The door marked Sixth Years was not fully closed, so he nudged it open with his back.

Lavender and Parvati had gone home for Christmas; Hermione was alone in her room. Since two of the nightstands had makeup strewn over them, Harry knew the remaining organized one had to be Hermione's. He lay Hermione on her bed, tucked her in, and gently kissed her forehead. Before pulling the curtains across so the sun wouldn't wake her in the morning, he looked out into the night. It had begun to snow; large, fluffy flakes drifted down from heaven. Harry felt incredibly peaceful, as if he could watch the snow fall forever. With one last look outside, he pulled the curtains shut, smiled at the sleeping Hermione, and closed the door softly behind him.

* * *

Sitting around Ron's bed with a stack of Christmas presents were Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. Instead of opening their presents right away in the morning, they had agreed to open them after breakfast in the Hospital Wing. Dumbledore had told them that although Ron probably could not hear, he wasn't certain, and it couldn't hurt.

Hermione grabbed the first present, a small box from her parents. Tearing off the paper, she announced, "My parents actually didn't send me sugar free candy for once! I got some money to spend at Hogsmeade, and a charm bracelet. With little figurines," she added, in case Ron could hear and was thinking charms were enchantments. "There's a wand charm, and a little teddy bear, and a book." Slipping the bracelet onto her left wrist, she motioned for Harry to open the next gift.

From Hermione Harry got a rare Enchantments book, with several little known spells included. The Somnis Curse was one of them, but since so little was known about it the description was only half a page.

"Ron's turn!" Ginny announced. A colorful bag stuffed with tissue paper sat on his stomach. Hermione took the tissue paper out and removed the gift underneath.

"From Ginny you got... a wizard CD player and head phones," Hermione said.

"Well then, I guess he should open my present next." Harry felt a little awkward about the wording, but ripped the paper off his gift to Ron. "The thing you were probably just hoping for... CDs!"

Ginny took the CDs from him. "The Weird Sisters, the Weird Sisters Greatest Hits, and Weird Sisters 2001." The last was the sisters' latest release, so Ginny popped it in the CD player for them to listen.

"Here, Harry," Ginny said, handing him a small package as she tapped her foot to the beat of a fast song. Pulling the paper off revealed Invisibility Thread.

"Wow! I was meaning to fix that hole..."

"Be careful using it," Ginny warned. "It's rare and it's expensive. Just use a small piece."

"Ok," Harry replied. "Ginny, you next." Harry pushed a box toward her, from him and Hermione. She blushed, but not nearly as much as she had three years earlier, when she blushed just at the thought of Harry. Carefully unwrapping the paper so as not to tear it, she pulled one piece of tape off after another.

"Any day," Harry joked.

"I just like savoring the experience," Ginny replied defensively. Folding the paper, she placed it at the foot of Ron's bed and opened the box. Inside was another box.

Harry groaned. "Hermione!"

"Well, I thought it would be funny," she said playfully. He just made a face, although he wasn't really mad.

Several boxes later, Ginny opened the final box and gasped in surprise. Inside the tiny box was a pair of earrings. She removed them from the box and held them up to the light. The cutest little golden wands hung down, with a tiny diamond chip at the tip.

"Wow," she finally managed. "Just wow." She leaned forward, giving first Hermione a thank you hug and then Harry.

They exchanged the rest of their gifts, including traditional sweaters from Mrs. Weasley, then went to the Great Hall for a light lunch; the house elves didn't want everyone full for the big feast. Since most people had gone home, all the tables were pushed to the side except for two, right in the center of the room. Besides Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, there were about twenty other people. Draco, however, was the only Slytherin.

After lunch, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny joined almost all the other remaining students outside for a snowball fight. It had snowed a good six inches the night before with drifts up to a foot, and it was damp, sticky snow: the best kind for making snowballs.

"No magic!" someone shouted. Several people groaned, but no one really minded.

Soon snowballs were flying everywhere. Everyone formed pairs and small groups, for protection. Forts were being built by hand, and everyone was just having fun. Suddenly Harry yelled out as someone stuffed snow down his cloak. Whirling around, he saw Hermione.

Harry lunged forward, tackling Hermione to the ground. Squealing with laughter, Hermione fought back. The two of them rolled around in the snow for a few minutes, forgetting about the snowball fight. Exhausted, Harry cried, "I win!" He had finally managed to pin Hermione down under him. With a mischievous grin, Hermione tilted her head up and gave him a peck on the lips. Harry was caught by surprise, but it melted like the snow on his face. Leaning down, he returned the kiss passionately.

A snowball hit Harry in the back, bringing them back to reality. "C'mon!" Harry rolled off Hermione, helped her up, and they returned to the game.

* * *

The Christmas Feast was magnificent as usual. Turkey, duck, ham, potatoes and gravy, various soups, several different breads, rice and apples, pumpkin juice, some more traditional dishes, and even eggnog and butterbeer covered the table. Dumbledore made a little "Merry Christmas" announcement and everyone dug in. Harry and Hermione sat next to each other, just enjoying each other's company. Everyone else was chatting about their day: the presents they got, the snowball fight, what they would be doing with their families. Ginny was a bit quiet, no doubt thinking about Ron, but other than that seemed her usual self. A few other fifth years had stayed, so she talked with them.

Snow was falling from the ceiling of the Great Hall, just as it was from the sky outside, but it was enchanted so it wasn't wet or cold. The crystals caught the light, making them sparkle. Between all the excellent food, the soft drone of people talking, and the snow, it was really quite peaceful in the Great Hall.

Several hours later, after a leisurely first, second, and third course, followed by dessert and filled with conversation, everyone one by one began to slowly return to their Common Rooms. Harry raised his goblet to his lips, finishing off his eggnog; then he and Hermione left together, holding hands.

"Well, this has been some Christmas," Harry commented as they walked the familiar path to the Gryffindor Common Room. Their voices echoed slightly, but their footsteps were muffled through the carpet.

"It sure has," she breathed. Turning to Harry, she hugged him tight, kissing him softly. "Mostly in a good way."

Continuing up to the Common Room with Hermione by his side, Harry couldn't disagree.

* * *

The rest of Christmas vacation was just as wonderful. Hermione helped take Harry's mind off his other best friend, and vise versa. They had always been best friends, but Harry had never seen Hermione as a girlfriend before. Then again, he hadn't known her deepness, the roots of her soul. Hermione was much more... poetic than Harry had ever thought. And above all, she understood him, understood him like no one else ever did or, at least he had thought, ever could.

New Year's Eve was a cause for celebration. The two second years who had studied Fred and George the year before were responsible for the party, and while they were pretty good, no one could replace the Weasley twins. However, they were getting better with each party. Food was strewn all over the place, there was music and space cleared for dancing; everyone was generally having a great time. The Hogwarts Express had arrived the day before, and the Common Room was packed. Harry and Hermione had decided why not, and they were on the dance floor too. A few butterbeers had helped a little, but they weren't drunk.

Hearts pounding from exertion, they walked over to one of the tables set up with food. Grabbing a butterbeer, Harry popped it open, took a swig, and offered the bottle to Hermione.

Together, they finished off the bottle. A slow song came on, and the younger students cleared off, as they weren't half of a couple. Harry was a bit surprised to see Ginny dancing with Neville, but Hermione brought him back to his own situation. With their arms around each other's waist, they swayed to the beat, Hermione's head on Harry's shoulder.

It dawned on Harry that Hermione was special. More special than he had ever thought. And it had taken Ron to help him realize that.

The song ended, and before another could begin the music stopped. "It's almost midnight!" someone called.

The countdown began. "Ten, nine, eight," the entire Common Room chanted. "Four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!" Several people sent colorful sparks from their wands, and the two troublemakers set off fireworks and other Zonko's pranks they had.

"Happy New Year," Harry said above the chaos.

"Happy New Year," Hermione whispered. Leaning forward, they greeted the New Year together with a kiss.

* * *

The party continued until after one. Classes didn't start until the third, and it was a good thing because almost everyone would have fallen asleep. The Great Hall was close to empty for breakfast, but by lunch everyone was awake and hungry.

"Want to go visit Ron?" Hermione asked after lunch.

"Sure, why not," Harry replied. Holding hands, they walked to the Hospital Wing.

Opening the door, they could see the sleeping Ron on the same bed he had been on for the past two months. Sunlight streamed in from the nearby window, forming a rectangle across Ron's face and part of his chest.

"Kind of depressing," Hermione said. "He looks so..." She didn't want to finish her sentence.

"Act cheerful. Dumbledore said he might be able to hear us."

Walking over to Ron's bed, they each sat on a plastic chair. "Today's New Year's Day," Hermione began. "There was a party last night. Those two second years are pretty good. No one can replace your brothers though."

"Yeah. I mean, the last great troublemakers were Sirius and my dad. They don't come around that often. Our kids might know the next pair."

"Or, if genes have anything to do with it, they might be the next pair," Hermione grumbled.

"If we're lucky." Hermione shot Harry a Look, and the two of them burst out laughing.

"Laughter is good for the soul," Hermione said seriously. She looked at Ron with sadness in her eyes. "We'll visit again soon," she told him, wondering if he could even hear.