A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed, I really appreciate it. I have finally made the plot move, Go me! Don't forget to review again. Sorry it's a bit short…but it's worth it. And there is a brief Lord of the Rings reference…it's the other geek side of me coming out, hehehe.

02/21/03-Happy Birthday to Alan Rickman (Snape) who turns 57 today!

Chapter 11-

"The train's going to leave without you," Hermione mumbled as she hugged Draco tightly.

"That's okay," he responded, as he pulled away from her. "I have something for you. It's a Christmas gift, so don't open it until Christmas morning," Draco pulled out a small box and handed it to her.

"All right, I'll wait."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Now go, before the train leaves," she said, with a weak smile. Draco grinned at her.

"All right, I'm going. Happy Christmas. I love you."

"Happy Christmas. I love you too. I'll miss you," Hermione responded as Draco ran to the train door. The porter was about to shut the door, and unwillingly stopped and held it open. Draco turned and smiled at her one last time before boarding the train.

Hermione waited for the train to leave the station before walking back to the carriages. She got into an empty and tried to make herself warm against the cold weather.

The carriage began to move and Hermione starred out the window. Snow hadn't fallen yet, but the gray clouds in the sky clearly showed that it would. The gloomy weather was the opposite of how Hermione was feeling. She was still the top of her class, everything was sorted out between her and Ron, and most of all she had Draco. A smile appeared on her face just from the thought of him. Looking down, she saw the box in her hands.

She could hold it in the palm of her hand, but it was still reasonably large. The box was silver, with a blood red ribbon holding it closed. There was a small glittering red bow in the center. Temptation was setting in, but her promise to Draco stopped her from opening it. It was Friday, still a week from Christmas, but she would have to wait. Hermione put the box in her pocket as the carriage pulled up to the Hogwarts grounds.

Walking up the stairs to the doors, Hermione pulled her scarf and cloak tightly around her. As soon as she entered the school, she headed straight for the Great Hall. As she opened the doors, she spotted Ron and Harry playing Wizard Chess. By the look of Harry's face, he wasn't doing very well.

"Check mate," Ron said with a note of triumph in his voice, a huge grin on his face. Harry looked at the board and frowned.

"Good game," he mumbled, too used to this scenario. Hermione smiled and sat down next to Harry.

"I'm back," she said cheerfully, watching as Ron and Harry picked the remains of the chess pieces up.

"You just missed the best game of chess I have ever played," Ron said.

"And the worst game I've ever played," Harry mumbled. Hermione laughed. Looking down the table, she saw the only other Gryffindors that had decided to stay over the break. Ginny Weasley was reading a book, stealing occasional glances at them, or better said, at Harry. There were a couple of students at the Slytherin table, and another couple at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey, Harry...have you heard from Snuffles?" Hermione suddenly had an urge to ask. The question caught Harry off guard and he looked up at her curiously.

"Um, no, I haven't. I reckon everything's all right, Dumbledore doesn't looked worried and Voldemort--," Ron and Hermione flinched, " hasn't been seen or heard from by anyone, so I suppose Snuffles isn't doing much right now," Harry said. A worried expression came across his face. "I've been so pre-occupied with school, I haven't even thought about Voldemort. Maybe I should ask Dumbledore about it..." he trailed off.

" Don't think about it, everything's fine if you haven't heard anything from Dumbledore. He'd tell you if something had happen," Ron said.

"You're right," Harry said, and he tried to forget about it.

"Anyway, I'm going to go to the library, but I have to get my books in my dorm, are you guys going to the Common Room?" Hermione asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go," Harry said as Ron put away the chess board and pieces. The Trio walked out the door, waving at Ginny on their way out.

As they walked up a flight of stairs, Ron grabbed Harry's arm as he nearly tripped.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, startled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just wasn't paying attention..." he said, starring at something. Ron and Hermione both turned their heads in the direction he was looking at. Cho Chang was just walking around a corner, and was surprisingly alone. Ron let go of Harry's arm and the lack of extra support caused Harry to stumble a bit before finally being able to stand up straight.

"I thought you were over her?" Ron said, as he and Hemione began walking ahead. Harry started walking slowly after them.

"I am, I am. She's just so...."

"Beautiful," Ron and Hermione finished, as Ron rolled his eyes. Harry blushed slightly as he finally caught up to them. They didn't talk for a few minutes and soon they were at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she asked lazily.

"Mellon," the Trio said in unison. The Fat Lady nodded and the portrait flung open. The only people in the common room were the Creevey brothers. Harry and Ron immediately sat down in their usual couch near the fire, and began talking quietly. Hermione walked up the spiral staircase to her dorm. She turned the knob and she froze at what she saw. Her hands came up to her mouth and she screamed.

A/N: There's a little button to review down there…CLICK.