Thank you lord, it's Friday!!!! *church bells* Funny thing is, is that I don't even go to church! ;) I'm so happy, school is gone for about 2 ½ days and I get to write, write, write! Oh yeah and if I mess up with punctuation or spelling, sorry, I'm not the Grammar Queen! ;)

Well, this chapter is sorta Hermione's view on it, and a lil' something, not sure what yet, but I'll make it up as I write..or type in this case.

I kinda wanted Draco in this story, but he'd just be a nuisance in the story, so sorry all you Draco/Tom Felton or whatever fans!

Yeah, and for the rest of the chapters I'm going to type without the little 'tab' thing when there is a paragraph, dunno if you get what I mean but who cares, here's the next chapter.

Hermione dragged with the group going to the Gryffendor Tower. Her feelings were all mixed up. First she felt like she was to blame, then Harry. Then she felt like crying, or punching someone out if they came near her. Now she didn't care and all she wanted to do what get out of her wet, clinging bathing suit and get under her covers to forget about today.

It was 11 o'clock when she finally went to bed. Some girls, like Ginny, were chatting in hushed, giddy voices about their day, or some boy they liked. It stopped after a while; the room was full of sleeping, relaxed breathing. It was almost dead silent when Ginny whispered to her, "Hey, Hermione. You up?"

She didn't want to answer and acted like she was asleep. This was her alone time with her own mind and body. But her emotions took over her at the late of night, when the whole day overwhelmed her. She was crying and when she tried to keep quiet, her voice accidentally squeaked in her throat.

"Hermione? Are...are you ok?

She knew Ginny knew she was awake, so she choked out an answer.

"N-no."

She couldn't keep it in any longer. She couldn't pretend she was perfectly fine when it felt like someone ripped her insides out.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked again, worried, and she got up to sit behind her, Hermione's back turned, "What happened?"

Hermione sat up, her hair sticking to her wet face, "You w-were right. I did like.Harry--- and, and I made a huge mistake."

Ginny said nothing and put her arm around her. It felt good to have Ginny here like an older sister, while she babbled on like a little girl who lost her parents.

"I-thought, just maybe, that...that he had the same feel-feelings towards me like I did with---with him." Now she was hiccuping and gulping for air, wanting to let it all out.

"So...so I, I---," Ginny stopped her short. "You don't need to tell me, Hermione. You can keep it to yourself, some things you should. I don't know what to tell you. I don't think a stupid mistake could ruin your friendship right?" Ginny said but Hermione spun around.

"It wasn't a stupid mistake! It was how I felt! And how do you know if we'll be friends or not?! Who said I wanted to be anyways after what happened?!" She exploded, and some of the girls stirred and groaned in their sleep.

Ginny backed away and headed for her bed, "You don't need to take it out on me! See, I know I don't know what happened between you two, but what I do know is that you're hurting and all I was doing was trying to comfort you. But obviously that's not good enough," She hissed back, whipping herself into bed.

"Ginny, look, I'm sorry. I'm just having a....never mind. I didn't mean to snap at you, goodnight." Hermione said. She knew Ginny might have still been mad at her after she apologized, but she had to say something.

Ginny never knew why she put up with Hermione sometimes, but she couldn't stay too mad. She lived in a house full of boys and she was the closest thing to a sister she had.

"Goodnight, Hermione. Get some sleep."

Halloween came and went. The trees changed colors, from dull green to vibrant reds and oranges. Then November came and left also, leaving a miserable chill in the air. Flurries of snow swirled by the time mid- December came by.

Harry and Hermione weren't ignoring each other, but they weren't really talking either. There was an occasional, "Hello", in the morning, a "sorry" if they bumped into each other, and even a, "thank you", when they passed food to each other at dinnertime. Hermione didn't have a desire to talk to him about. What would they talk about anyway? It had been about two months since then but she still kept her mouth shut. It was killing Harry, though. The silence at dinner or in the Common Room between them. He wanted to say at least something, but he didn't know what.

Ron noticed they weren't talking as much. They both suddenly got quiet. He didn't bring anything thing up about it, so he tried to fire up a conservation between them every now and then.

Christmas inched closer and the excitement from everyone warmed Hogwarts and could have melted the snow. Ron decided to stay in sake of Harry because he knew Harry had to have someone around that would talk to him. Hermione owled her parents she wanted to stay at Hogwarts this year for the holiday. Her parents would have been cheerful and they would have realized the alter in her mood. Her parents shouldn't see her moping around.

It was the night before Christmas. The halls and rooms were decorated with the whole Christmas theme: Santa, mistletoe, and little gifts hidden everywhere. The Common Room was buzzing with overjoyed whispers about the next day and it slowly died out with the fire in the hearth.

Hermione couldn't go to sleep. She was busy thinking of Christmas, school coming up again, and of Harry. In the middle of the room, a huge pine tree was glittering with ornaments and candy canes. She sat in front of it, almost reminding herself of when she was younger. She'd wait for morning, only to be asleep and miss Santa's arrival. But this time she sat there because of the smell. She loved the smell of fresh pine.

Harry heard someone go down to the Common Room, and he half hoped it was Hermione. There was only one way to see. He crept out of bed and when he reached the middle of the stairs, he peeked over to the room. Hermione was there and she was in front of the tree, stretched out.

He decided this probably wasn't a right time to disrupt her, so he sneakily stepped back up. He almost made it until he set his foot down on one of the steps. It squeaked loudly, and Hermione turned around to see what it was. Harry returned back down, knowing she most likely heard him.

He came down the stairs and she returned her look to the pine branches in front of her. She didn't want to look like she was waiting for him to come down. He walked around the couches and sat on one, right in front of the fire.

They did not talk and listened to the noises outside the windows and the cracking of the fire and wood. Then the clock chimed 12 times. It was officially midnight, officially Christmas Day. Presents for everyone magically appeared from under the tree and Hermione had to move out of the way for the endless stacks of gifts from parents, friends....

"Happy Christmas," Harry said, but he still stayed faced towards the fire.

"À vous aussi," Hermione mumbled.

"What?" Harry asked, not really what she said was English.

"It's French for 'To you as well'," She said, finally looking over to him.

"I didn't know you could speak French," Harry said. He had been friends with her for almost 5 years and he just found this out?

"Just a little, I picked it up here and there," She said.

She looked over at the presents, tied with bows and ribbons. She spotted a little gift with her name on it. It wouldn't hurt if she opened just one present. It was wrapped with a Gryffendor theme paper, bright red with the lion shining boldly. She picked it up and she started to rip it open.

"It's from me," Harry abruptly said. Hermione turned to him, not even knowing he was still watching her.

She continued to unwrap until she got to a thin white box. Inside was Hogsmeade's finest chocolate. She closed it, wanting to save it until later.

"Thanks, you shouldn't of, though," She said, thinking about what she got for him. She had gotten a while ago, before the lake event.

"It's not much, but I thought you'd like it," Harry said and he got up to go over to see where his presents were, if there were any. He found one from Hermione and started to tear the paper, but Hermione put her hand on the present.

"You've got to wait 'till morning!" She said, trying to be serious, but she was smiling.

"Well, what about you? You---aww, never mind, I'll wait." He set the present down under the tree. He was so lighthearted now that they were talking like normal friends. But he knew that they both were bothered by what had happened in the past. "Hermione, I hope you know I'm sorry."

She acted like she didn't hear him and started to get up, "Well goodnight, and happy Christmas, again." She stood up and walked towards the stairs when Harry said,

"À vous aussi." She looked over at him skeptically, but smirked at him in a friendly way. "I picked it up somewhere," He said and he got up also.

"Goodnight," He said in a whisper, and he grabbed her elbows and brought her in. He then kissed her slightly, but tenderly on the lips. This was not what she was expecting but it was much more than she thought it would of felt like. The pain she held in her chest for months, lifted and she felt stronger inside. His kiss, though, made her feel vulnerable and exposed to him and she let him hold her.

It felt like a long time before they pulled away, only it to be a few seconds. The desire for each other had suddenly let go. Harry didn't know why he even resisted against her in the first place. He looked at her, and her eyes were still closed when they pulled away. He let go of one of her arms and kissed her cheek. Then he left her to be as he walked up the steps.

Hermione opened her eyes when he kissed her cheek and watched him leave. She knew this was better than any gift than she could ever have and she had only opened one.

Well what a happy chapter! It makes me feel fuzzy inside. Ok not really, but I love this chapter.

In case you're wondering, the chapter title is a fancy French phrase, translated it's: 'Love is Blooming'.

Come back anytime when I have it updated!! ;)