A/N: I think this is a good size chapter. Hopefully it is because I don't have any more time to work on it with all the make-up work I have from school. So anyway... this chapter is starting to get a litter deeper into the H/G and R/Hr thing, but not too much. I'm trying to take it slow. It would be weird to just thrust them into anything, right? I think so. I don't own the characters...I'm not rich...yada yada. I had a bit of writer's block, so I'm praying this turned out ok. Review and let me know what you think please! It helps a lot. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter! : ^ )

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Harry was heartbroken to see them go. Ron and Ginny were leaving this year for christmas at the Burrow. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were set on spending quality time with the family since no one knew what would happen during the next few years. Bill and Charlie took time off work, Fred and George as well (though it was hard for Harry to see them as grown business men out in the world), but Percy refused to come home. This had angered Mr. Weasley, but he decided not to take any action, because Percy did after all work for the minister of magic. Ron and Ginny, with the blessing of their parents, had requested that Harry come along as well, but Harry politely declined. He felt that it was only fair for them to spend quality time together, and even though he was appreciative of everything the Weasley's had given him, he was not an official member of the family.

Hermione was leaving as she normally did. Her parents refused to let her stay at Hogwarts, since she was growing fast and they did not want to spend christmas without her. Harry insisted that she should go. Everyone was so worried about him. He would be the only Gryffindor left in the common room for an entire week, but he didn't mind. He didn't have a family to rush home to. So he would stay alone and think about......things....

"Oh Harry, I just can't stand to leave you like this!" Hermione whimpered. Harry shook his head and put a finger to his lips to silence her. He gave her a quick hug and patted her back.

"No worries Hermione. This is where I'm meant to be. You're meant to be with your family." Harry said in a small voice and nodded to her in reassurance. She sniffed and turned to say goodbye to Ron.

"Ron, I wish I could spend Christmas with you as well," Hermione said sadly. He smiled and blushed a little.

"Yeah, well...just open my gift and think of me, and I'll do the same for you." he replied. She nodded and hesistated before enveloping him in a hug. She smiled at Ginny.

"You're going to have a great Christmas Ginny. Take care of yourself." she said politely. Ginny nodded and gave her a quick hug as Hermione grabbed her trunk. She gave one final wave before exiting through the portrait hole, headed for home. Ron sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I still don't get why you won't come with us mate, but I know you've made up your mind." Ron said sadly. Harry shook his head 'yes' and sighed.

"You're my best friend Ron, you know that right?" Harry asked him. Ron gave a half-smile and gave Harry a quick hug.

"Of course I do, as long as you know you're mine. 6 years...." Ron said shaking his head in disbelief. Harry smiled. It had been 6 years...and he was ok.

"Yup. Well, Happy Christmas Ron. I'll be seeing ya." Harry said.

"Same to you. Don't depress yourself. Think about positive things ok?" Ron replied. Harry nodded and watched as Ron picked up his trunk. He stared at Ginny who was wringing her hands and staring down at her trunk sadly.

"Don't take too long Gin. I'll see you down there." Ron said to her and left. Ginny sighed and looked up at Harry with a tear in her eye.

"Ginny! Don't..please.." Harry started to say, but Ginny quickly interrupted him.

"No one should be alone on Christmas." she said loudly. He stared at her for a moment before giving her a hug.

"You'll have your brothers and parents. Concentrate on them and don't worry about me." Harry ordered. Ginny sniffled.

"You can't honestly tell me that you don't want anyone to think of you over the holidays." Ginny replied. He thought a minute and looked down at her.

"I suppose I can't stop you from thinking about me...I mean if you really want to, but I mean, I'll be ok here Ginny. Honestly." He stated and nervously pulled away. Ginny bit her lip.

"Well I will be thinking of you, just enough so that you know someone cares about you out there. I guess I'll see you after break." Ginny said smiling slightly. Harry nodded and grinned.

"I look forward to it. Have a happy Christmas Ginny. You and Ron both." Harry told her. She sighed. 'There he goes again..I'm only Ron's younger sister to him' Ginny thought to herself. She gave a meek smile as she grabbed her things and headed for the door. Before she left she turned back around to face him. Was it just her imagination, or did he look completely..depressed?

"I got you something, but you can't have it until Christmas. I made Dobby promise to keep it for me." she said, but left before Harry could respond. For once she didn't want to know what he would say. She just wanted to leave. If she stayed there any longer, she'd be locked in those pools of green forever.

Harry sighed as the last of the Gryffindors left Hogwarts. He was alone again. All he could think about was Ginny's crying figure as she left for home. She was passionate about so many things. She truely believed people should be together for the holidays, but why should he bother to intrude on their traditions? He admitted to himself that he would like nothing more than to be at the Burrow for winter break, but Hogwarts was warm and cozy. He did have some thinking to do....and well....it's not like he didn't care about them. In fact, he had slipped a present into each of their trunks before they left. It was just..the way things had to be for Harry this year. Oh how he would miss them...

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Harry trudged around Hogwarts about an hour later. He was bored already, with no one to keep him company. If it were as it normally was, he's probably be playing chess with Ron in the common room, talking about the Chuddley Cannons, or how Bill and Charlie were driving Mrs. Weasley crazy. Maybe even Percy would be mentioned, not without a few curses muttered under Ron's breath. This year Luna had stayed behind because her father was out searching for good Quibbler articles. Harry had been interested by Luna during the last part of 5th year. She was definately....different, but now he found himself with a lack of things to say around her. She had tried to talk with him about the veil in the Department of Mysteries, but he found that he had finally accpeted Sirius's death and could not bring himself to believe there was anything he could do to change things. He was connected to something bigger than he could control.

It was as Harry wandered the corridors that he felt himself bump into something soft. He looked down to see Cho's face staring up at his (even though she was older, Harry was much taller), tear stained as usual. If it had been a year before he would have blushed like crazy, or stammered as he spoke, but things had changed. He sighed and took a step back.

"Sorry Cho. I wasn't watching where I was going." he said calmly. Cho wiped her tears and smiled up at him.

"I'm sorry too Harry! But I mean..well for...well you see, Michael dumped me." she spit out. Harry could only manage to say "oh". He did feel sorry for Cho, she was still a pretty and intelligent girl who didn't deserve to be heartbroken.

"You know why?" she asked him. Harry felt a little nervous. Even though his attraction to the girl in front of him had vanished, she could still find a way to make him uncomfortable.

"No." he said simply. She sighed and held back her tears.

"I told him I liked somebody else." she said and bit her lip. If things were the way they used to be, Harry would have stared admiringly at the older girl and prayed that she had meant him. Now he felt the opposite. He hoped she was over Harry..that she had only used him as a pain easer...

"That's too bad for Michael. I'm sure he didn't like that." Harry muttered. Cho shook her head sadly.

"No, he didn't. I was so mean to you Harry. I thought you liked that girl I always see you with, but the way she stares at that red-head boy, well now I know you guys are just friends." she spilled. Harry felt a little angry now. Of course he was just friends with Hermione. Why didn't she just ask him about it?

"Yeah, I don't like Hermione like that." he replied. She sniffed and took a step closer to him.

"Well do you think you could give me a second chance? I really like you Harry. You're the only one who knows....just...knows...." she said quietly. Harry was heartbroken. She liked him for his understanding of personal pain. That was all. He said nothing. He didn't know what to say. She stared at him expectantly, but his lips never moved.

"Christmas is a time of forgivness you know. I like you Harry, really." she said again. Harry was hesitant. She had JUST broken up with her boyfriend and she was running to him for comfort. That's all she wanted him from before....comfort from Cedric's death. Harry admitted that he still felt some desire to be near her, to be the one should could turn to, but not as much as he did before. It was not enough to act on, only enough for friendship. He wanted to be able to comfort someone, to hold them and love them like other boyfriends did, but not this way. Not the way Cho wanted him to. It just didn't seem to fit.

"I'm sorry Cho, I'd love to be friends with you....but I....I....I like somebody else." he stammered. His last pharse hit him hard in the face. 'I like somebody else?' he thought to himself. Thoughts reeled through his head. Things screamed at him, but he didn't know what. 'What am I talking about? Who am I saying.....I didn't mean that!' he yelled to himself. Cho teared up again.

"Who?" she asked as she backed away from him. He didn't know. He honestly didn't know. Did he even mean what he said? He meant the first half. He only wanted to be friends....but...but there was no one else.....right?

"I uh... just...please Cho. Don't cry over me. I want to be your friend." He said again.

"I want to be your friend too Harry. I'm sorry I brought this up. I feel so stupid. I hope you can forgive me. I'll see you around." she said sadly and walked away. Harry was frozen in his spot. What had just happened? A thought suddenly popped into his head.

'I'm not worth your tears' he had whispered to Ginny in the common room a month or so earlier. He felt his heart break. It was true..he wasn't worth anyone's tears.... he felt himself once again start moving. When he looked up, he felt a shock of sky blue hit him. He was staring into the soft eyes of Professor Dumbledore.

"Hello Professor" he said quietly. Dumbledore smiled at him warmly.

"Hello Harry. Staying at Hogwarts again this year?" he asked, knowing the answer. Harry sighed and gave a small nod. "The others have gone home I presume. Well hopefully you'll have a nice peaceful time on your own."

"I was hoping I could just relax some and think," Harry replied.

"Ah yes, but where's the fun in that?" he asked. Harry was hurting, and Dumbledore knew it.

"I guess not so much. I'll miss Hermione and Ron....and...and...Ginny," Harry said slowly. Dumbledore smiled widely.

"I'm sure. Well I have some things to take care of Harry, but if you're not busy thinking, I'd like to invite you to share a cup of hot cocoa with me christmas afternoon. An old wizard like me could use the company. Don't answer right away, just show up if you feel like at 2. The password is 'peppermints'. Have to be in the holiday spirit you know." Dumbledore said merrily. Harry couldn't help but smile at the offer.

"Thank you sir." he said simply. Dumbledore nodded and walked away, leaving Harry to himself once more. At least there was one person left at Hogwarts he could share the holiday with.....

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Ron bounded into Ginny's room, flinging the door open and grinning like crazy.

"It's Christmas!" he shouted. Ginny smiled up at him and shook her head.

"Well of course it is. So are we going downstairs?" she asked. Ron thought for a moment before sitting down on the end of her bed.

"Nah. Lets open our presents from our friends first." Ron replied.

"Just you and me?" she asked. Ron's eyes twinkled and he nodded.

"Yeah, just me and you." he replied. She hugged him and he patted her back.

"I love you Ron. You're a good brother you know." she said quietly. He blushed a bit and playfully hit her.

"I love you too. You're not so bad." he said and laughed. She chuckled and slid out of bed to grab a gift.

"This is for you from Hermione. She told me to give it to you," Ginny said and handed him a package. Ron rolled his eyes.

"It's probably a book about how procrastination is unacceptable," he said noticing the shape of the gift. Ginny sighed.

"Since when do you use such big words? Besides, it's not nice to judge Hermione like that." she said. Ron felt a little bad about his comment, but quietly unwrapped his gift. He was not surprised to see a book, but it had no title. It was just maroon with a gold trim, nothing on the front of it whatsoever. As he flipped it open to the first page, he noticed it was actually a photo album. Inside were pictures of him playing quidditch, and a couple of Harry, and few of Hermione herself. He looked at each page completely stunned.

"This isn't a Hermione gift..." he said in confusion. Ginny shook her head and laughed.

"She said she wanted to do something special this year and asked me my opinion on what to get you. I said a lifetime supply of chocolate frogs, but she came up with this instead. I had to bug Colin for a week to borrow his camera though." Ginny said, smiling at the memory. Ron was in awe. 'Why would Hermione do this for me? God I miss her...maybe I should owl her or...something' he thought.

"Wow, that was really nice of her. Why would she....I mean this is... well, uh.Ginny you should open a gift now." Ron mumbled. Ginny laughed and grabbed a package close to her bed. She unwrapped the paper to reveal a necklace with an emerald green star in the center and a silver chain. She beamed with joy.

"Who is that from?" Ron asked.

"My friend Bonnie," Ginny answered. Ron smiled and nodded. He grabbed another one of his gifts and smiled at the Chuddley Cannons poster that was revealed.

"I'm beginning to think Harry has a theme to my christmas gifts," he said and chuckled. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Well if you talked about anything other than quidditch than maybe he'd know of something else to get you," she replied. Ron shrugged and motioned for her to grab a gift.She unwrapped one to find a book about being a female quidditch player. She laughed at her gift from Hermione, it was....thoughtful.

"Told you Hermione liked to give books," he said in a smug tone. Ginny shrugged and placed it on her bedside table. Ron grabbed a gift and looked at it strangely.

"Who's that one from?" Ginny asked. Ron choked a bit and scratched his head.

"Uh, well it's from Luna..." he said blushing. Ginny laughed.

"That girl fancies you I think. She's a bit odd, but has a good heart..." Ginny told him fighting back a laugh. Ron found a box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and a few issues of The Quibbler inside. He stared at them a few moments before pushing them aside and sighing.

"I guess we should go downstairs now, eh?" Ron asked. Ginny shook her head.

"I've got one more," she said and looked down at her gift. Ron smiled.

"Ah, from Harry, right? Wonder what he got you. Maybe a broom polishing kit, since he is the quidditch captain. He's taking it a bit seriously I'd have to say," Ron said with a grin. Ginny shrugged and opened it. Inside were various types of candy, Bernie Bott's every flavor beans, hard candies, sugar quills, chocolate frogs, the whole works. Along with it, a note. Ginny smiled as she picked it up.

' For your sugar addiction. I went back to Honeydukes after you left with your friends. That was of course with Ron and Hermione complaining the whole time, thinking I was crazy for buying so much candy after they had just been there. I was a little uneasy, but I guess now you can't say I don't appreciate my friends. Oh yeah, share some with Ron. I'm sure he's snickering right now. - Harry '

Ginny couldn't help but feel a little guilty she had made him go back to Honeydukes because of her stupid sweet tooth, but it was so nice of him. It was most definately a Harry Potter thing to do. He amazed her more and more each day, though she wished it wasn't like that. He didn't see her the way she saw him, and every now and again it hurt to think about it. She thought about Harry alone at Hogwarts and prayed he was alright. Ron snapped her out of his thoughts as he yelled.

"My god! He got you all this candy!? Jeeze! You better be up to sharing that with that older brother you love so much," Ron said excitedly. Ginny laughed and grinned at him.

"George will get plenty of this. Thanks for being so concerned."

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Harry yawned as he stepped out of bed. Snowflakes fell softly outside the window of the dormitory, the first snow of the winter. 'Too bad I'm alone' Harry thought as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. It was Christmas again and christmas meant gifts. He smiled as he found his way down to the common room. He had placed all his gifts by the fireplace, waiting anxiously to be able to open them. He had contemplated opening them early (who would know?), but decided that would ruin the best part of Christmas. Well, one of the best parts. The best part of Christmas was being with family, but he didn't have family anymore. He held back a tear or two as he curled himself up in a chair with his gifts. The first one he opened was from Ron. It was a bit of polish for his broom (he had recently run out since he cherished his broom so much) and a couple of chocolate frogs. Harry smiled at this, he could never get enough chocolate. Ron's gift was accompanied by the famous knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley. Harry could not help but feel a bit more content with himself. No matter how bad things got, he could always count on a sweater for Christmas. This year it was dark blue with a green H in the center. He put it on right away and grabbed his gift from Hermione. He was surprised to see it was not shaped like a book. He opened it to find a bunch of packets of hot cocoa mix and a knitted blanket. Hermione had picked up a few more tips on how to knit from Mrs. Weasley at the burrow during the summer. Harry was surprised when she hadn't made any hats for the houseleves, but she had obviously been working on this. He smiled at it and placed it around his shoulders. Christmas was turning out to be alright. The last gift he opened was a cake made by Hagrid. It was a bit odd looking, but he ate some anyway and was grateful to have it. After a few moments of groggily staring at the fire going in the common room, Harry was shaken when two large eyes appeared in front of his own.

"Harry Potter is alone on Christmas, sir?" Dobby asked him. Harry smiled meekly.

"Hi Dobby. Um, yes...I'm alone today, but it's ok really," Harry said and scratched his head.

"Well Dobby had to come sir, not to disturb you sir, but I had to come sir because of Wheezy," Dobby said happily. Harry sighed and mustered up another smile.

"It's ok Dobby, but what exactly are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Wheezy sir. The Wheezy girl's present to Harry Potter sir," Dobby said and handed him a neatly wrapped gift. 'Ginny' Harry thought and smiled.

"Thank you Dobby. I'll make sure to let her know you gave it to me," Harry said happily. Dobby smiled and took a bow.

"Dobby must go to Winky now sir. Dobby promised her a good Christmas. Goodbye Harry Potter," he said and exited the room. Harry sighed as he watched the small house-elf go. Even he had someone to be with this Christmas. He thought about Ginny and wondered for a moment if she was thinking about him as she said she would be. 'No, that's silly. She's probably just enjoying herself at home' he thought. He moved around a bit in his spot in the chair and unwrapped his gift. He stared wide-eyed at what was before him. It was a small replica of a snitch, around the size of a real one. It's wings even moved a bit when you touched it, but of course it didn't move as fast as a real snitch would. It was interesting. He stared at it for a long time, thinking about Ginny and what she could possibly be doing. He wished he could ask her for some advice about Cho. Was he wrong in turning her down? Could he really like anyone else? Was it terrible that he had lied to Cho? He didn't mean to! It just came out...somehow. He sighed and got up from where he was sitting. It was nearing 2, and he wanted to take Dumbledore up on his offer. It was getting terribly lonely in the Gryffindor common room.

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"Hello Professor," Harry said quietly as he entered Professor Dumbledore's office. It was just as it used to be, excpet missing a few items. Harry frowned remembering how he had thrown a tantrum and wrecked some of Dumbledore's things last year. Things were just....crazy. He took a seat on the other side of Dumbledore's desk, where he had been many times before and never to just have a friendly chat. Dumbledore smiled widely, his eyes twinkling.

"Hello Harry. You look a little tired," he said simply. Harry shrugged.

"Well I am. I haven't gotten enough sleep I guess," he replied. Dumbledore smiled knowingly.

"How is quidditch practice coming along? I was informed of your win against Hufflepuff earlier this year. Congratulations." he asked a yawning Harry.

"Thank you. It's coming along just fine. Bonnie and Ginny are doing really well," Harry said simply. He felt a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden. He couldn't help but think about the fact that he was in Dumbledore's office...and the prophecy...

"I had a concern I wanted to express to you, if I may..." Dumbledore said softly. Harry was staring down at his lap and jerked his head up at this statement.

"Um...sure...ok.." Harry replied nervously.

"Well I was under the impression last year that I had my own small army in Hogwarts, but so far this year... it seems that it's disbanded. I was a little upset noticing this since our Defense Against the Dark Arts classes aren't going as well as I had hoped," Dumbledore said with a slight laugh. Harry cocked his head to the side and grinned.

"Yeah, well maybe I could work on that," he asnwered and shook his head. Dumbledore nodded and watched the young boy in front of him.

" Do take care of yourself this year Harry. Things are hard, I know, but if you ever need anyone to talk to do see Professor McGonagall about it. She'd be happy to escort you to my office. As an old man, I don't get many visitors now adays. Well, at least any who just want to have a thoughtful conversation," Dumbledore stated as he leaned back in his chair. Harry nodded and sighed.

"I'll keep that in mind Professor. Thank you."