Ree's note: Military time pisses you suckers off, does it? Well deal with it! I come from a European family and that just happens to be the format I use. I avoided it in this chapter if you still feel like reading, eh. Read! Read! Read!

"Where've you been, mate?" Harry heard Dean Thomas yell when he entered the common room. He and Ron were involved in a chess game, which Harry could tell Ron was fierily winning by the large number of white pieces next to Ron's side.

"The library, needed to get some information on our Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. No big deal," he smoothly answered. Dean shrugged his shoulders and went back to playing chess, but Hermione wasn't fooled by Harry's answer. After Harry plopped down in his favorite chair next to her, she rounded onto him.

"It was related to that paper you were holding, wasn't it. Someone wanted to meet you down in the library, that's why you were there. Isn't it?" Once Harry displayed a face of shock, Hermione laughed triumphantly. "You can't hide anything from me, Mr. Potter! So, tell me, who wanted to talk to you?"

"Err, Cho. She said she was sorry about last year and asked me to go to Hogsmeade with her over the weekend, to Madame Puddifoot's for tea."

"Oh! How exciting, Harry. But I thought that you were over Cho," she added with a nervous glance over at Ginny, who was inconspicuously listening in on Harry and Hermione's conversation. "You had said the two of you were done, hadn't you."

"I did, and I said that for good reason, too!" Hermione stared at Harry curiously. "For heaven's sake, I thought you were good at this stuff, Hermione! I don't even like Cho anymore. I just can't figure out who it is that I do." Silence was followed by Harry's finish and broken by the unnoticed Ginny standing out of her chair.

"I'm pretty tired. G'night, you two!" After the appreciated rumble of "Good nights", she headed up to her bedroom soon followed by Hermione. Since Ron and Dean were still battling their wits, Harry decided it best for him to get an early night's rest and think about the entire situation tomorrow morning.

The Thursday sun awoke Harry earlier than he had expected. After slumping in his bed from the 5:30 wake-up, he changed into his school robes and head into the common room to see if anyone else was up this early in the morning.

Not to his surprise, Hermione relaxed in front of the fireplace, which danced purple flames (a specialty of Hermione's), reading a book Harry noticed to have a wizard with a rather large grin holding some kind of wild- looking plant. Hermione put down her book when she noticed Harry slouch into the chair across from hers and stared at him menacingly.

"You can't go with Cho on Saturday!" Her eyes were round with anxiety.

"Morning to you, too," Harry replied, taken aback.

Hermione moved in her seat and rolled her eyes. "You really shouldn't, though, Harry. I mean, I thought that the two of you were over and all-" Harry could tell that Hermione wasn't telling him the exact reason why he shouldn't and he shot her a look of impatience.

"Well, there's always room for second chances, isn't there?" Harry answered as he removed himself from the chair. Hermione went to open her mouth but Harry was already on his way out of the common room. He wasn't exactly sure why he didn't want to listen to Hermione. He knew that there was nothing exactly special about Cho to him anymore, so why did he care what she had to say? But, Hermione was always trying to interfere in his love life, so why not tell her off this time? Harry thought he had a right to his defense.

It was almost 6:00, and he wasn't even sure if the Great Hall was open for breakfast yet. He looked out the large windows of the Entrance Hall, observing the tiny snowflakes falling from the sky and onto the vast fields. 'It's so beautiful,' he thought to himself as his eyes roamed over the white Quidditch field.

"Hello, Harry!" Harry jumped backwards as Ginny appeared right in front of him, catching his gaze. "I saw you talking to Hermione this morning and you left in a bit of a hurray before I even got to say good morning to you. So, good morning! What are you doing up so early?"

Harry was a bit relieved to see Ginny, as he was feeling a bit awkward downstairs by himself at this time of the morning. "I'm hungry." Ginny laughed at his forwardness, and mumbled, "You sounded like Goyle." Harry and Ginny walked into the Great Hall together to find the tables all decorated with the usual breakfast foods.

Sitting down in the Great Hall with only a scattered few students, Harry started to notice things about his best friend's little sister that he had never noticed before. Like how when she smiled her entire face glowed radiantly and when she laughed the entire room seemed to bounce with bliss. Taken away by the endearment of Ginny's eyes as she blabbered on about Quidditch and her Potions O.W.L., Harry thought to himself that the snow plastered fields were not the only beautiful thing about Hogwarts today.

After one meal of scrambled eggs and sausages, Ginny removed herself from her seat catching Harry once again off guard. "You coming, Harry? I reckon I should get a move on to the common room to get my books for Herbology." As she straightened her robes and flipped her hair, Harry understood why he had the urge to detest Cho's proclamation of a Hogsmeade date. There was someone else he would much rather spend it with.

"Harry! Oh, Harry!" Harry snapped his head towards the entrance of the Great Hall onto Cho bustling up to the Gryffindor table where he and Ginny stood. "Good morning, Harry. You too, Ginny. Care to join me for breakfast?" Cho asked sweetly yet her eyes flickering misleadingly.

"We already ate, thank you," Ginny replied, flashing a glance towards Harry for his approval.

"Well, I wasn't exactly addressing my question towards you, now was I?" Cho questioned the red haired Gryffindor, whose eyes widened in incredulity. "Harry? Care to?"

"Err, sorry, Cho. I already ate. With Ginny," Harry added as he sighed boldly, "See you later, eh?" The urge to turn his head to witness the look on Cho's face as he walked out of the Great Hall with Ginny right beside him was almost irresistible.

~~~~~*woohoo! Read, read, read!!!!!*~~~~~