I picked up the package addressed to me. It was wrapped in dark blue paper with tiny light blue Santa's all over it and a ribbon in the same color as the Santa's. I was surprised; the outside of the package looked like something Hermione would normally do: it was pretty to look at, well thought out, and perfected; totally Hermione.

I untied the bow and unwrapped the pretty paper. Inside, I found a lovely, medium sized light blue leather notebook that had a leather string with a fringe at the end attached to the front and back cover so I could tie it closed. My name was engraved in the front: Virginia Weasley, it said in big, bold, fancy letters.

Hermione always knew the perfect gifts to get; that was my first thought. Then, however, I realized that Hermione hadn't been the Hermione that got perfect gifts since September, so I became puzzled. I read the card.

Dear Ginny,

I'm sorry if your gift is a little late, but I had some trouble sending it off... you know, being in the muggle world right now and all. I hope you like it. Its hard to get a good gift for you, you know.

I'm having a good time here with my parents, although I miss all of you terribly. Can't wait to see you! Merry Christmas!

Love always,

Hermione

I was in shock. Not once did she mention Krum. Then, for a second, a selfish sadness came over me because if she wasn't in love with Krum anymore, that meant she was more available to Harry. I looked over at him and Ron. There expressions looked as surprised as I felt.

"What did she get you?" I asked.

"A snitch signed by Lynch." Harry said, his voice sounded grateful and confused.

"A "Nimbus 2004!" Said Ron sounding too grateful to be confused, although his face was a bit puzzled.

"What about you?" Harry asked, still in the same tone of voice. I held up my notebook. Harry pretended to look impressed, but obviously didn't see why anyone would want a notebook for Christmas.

"Cool." He sad, but unconvincingly, while Ron was lost in his own broomstick world.

"So," I said. "What do you think?"

Ron, still in a Nimbus world, said that that he loved it.

"Did you even here what I said?" I asked.

"Uh huh." Ron stared at his broom.

"Well then, say something!"

"Hermione is great!"

I was getting really fed up, so I walked over to Ron and spit in his face. That sure snapped him out of it.

"Harry! Stop laughing!" Ron said to Harry who was indeed laughing. I smiled. I liked to make Harry laugh.

"Sorry, sorry." Said Harry.

"So, is it just me, or is she acting normal again?" I got back to business.

"She didn't mention Krum once in my card," said Harry.

"Me either." I replied. Ron just shook his head.

"God! What is the matter with her?!" I was very annoyed.

"Hormones?" Ron put in. Why did I have such a stupid brother?

"What? Its possible!"

"Ron! – never mind." I decided to keep my nasty comments to myself.

"What?"

I sighed. "You know nothing about girls. We don't get over a boy that quickly!" Well, it was true for me, at least.

"You got over Michael fast enough! And you'd been avoiding Dean since a few weeks, or months or whatever before he dumped you!" There was silence. For once, I had nothing to say, no comeback. What he said was true. Ron stared at me for a moment, as if he were analyzing me. I stared back, wondering what he was thinking.

"Your still in love with Harry, aren't you?!" Ron sounded as though he struck gold and I felt like it was because I had given him all of mine. He really was a lot smarter than I took him for.

Thank god my back was facing Harry, because, of course, I turned red. I then forced out an unconvincing laugh.

"You are kidding, right?"

"Don't even try and hide it. You're a Weasley, remember? Your skin gives you away!" said Ron, smoothly. There went the only upside of the situation, Harry now knew I was blushing. I wont even begin to write all the horrible things I wanted to say to Ron.

"I'm going to lunch!" I announced. "Please, ignore my idiot brother." I added to Harry, who was looking very uncomfortable.

I marched serenely and confidently out of the common room while Harry and Ron could still see me. Once I was out of their sight, I dropped the image and loosely ran to the great hall, my face burning with rage and embarrassment.

I sat down at the Gryffindor table, but pushed away my food. I wondered if Harry believed Ron. And for some reason, I found myself not wanting to rip Ron into pieces. In fact, it wouldn't have been that bad if Harry did believe Ron.... What was I thinking? I must have been crazy! I would never want Harry to know!

Lila then entered the great hall and I found myself wishing she had gone back to those old friends she had talked about. I was really starting not to like her.

She sat down next to me, despite the fact she was a Slytherin.

"Merry Christmas!" she said in her annoying, high pitched voice.

"You too," I responded.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the blue notebook sitting on the table. I must have forgotten to leave in the common room when I was mad.

"Christmas gift from Hermione." I really wasn't in the mood to talk to Lila.

"Oh, that's ever so sweet. Did she say anything special in her card?" Lila's young and innocent face now possessed a wise, suspicious smirk I didn't know she had.

I looked up and stared into her eyes for a moment. Her once again innocent smile and her enigmatic eyes just didn't make sense.

"No," I said shortly. "Nothing special." It was what she hadn't said that confused me.

We sat there eating in awkward silence for a while until Harry and Ron appeared and sat down across from Lila and me.

"Must you interrupt my pleasant lunch with Lila?" I asked then coldly, even though my lunch with Lila was hardly pleasant at all.

"Sorry, but we get hungry too, you know," Ron replied.

"Well, I'm finished anyway. I might as well leave. Enjoy your meals."

"Ginny, I was just joking! Since when can't you take a joke? This isn't the first time I've teased you about liking Harry! What's wrong with you?" He said this slowly, as if he thought I was three years old.

"Nothing is wrong with me, Ron. It's just getting old, that's all." He was right though. Even after I stopped liking Harry like that, Ron constantly teased me about us being a couple and it never bothered me. In fact, I laughed with him. God, why did I have to be such an idiot? He was only teasing me! Now Ron must really think I fancy Harry. "Besides, I'm tired. I'm going to go take a nap," I added.

"Since when do you take 'naps'?"

"Ron, let it go." Harry's irritated voice made me realize how much I had been acting like a baby lately. I turned around and made my way upstairs.

I did my best to ignore Harry and Ron for the rest of the vacation. My attempt at getting along with them had obviously failed and I just wanted to be alone.

In fact, it wasn't until the night of our second to last day of Christmas break, that I said more than a word to either of them.

I was in bed at about 12:30 in the morning and I was planning on reading a bit and going to sleep but then I realized that I had left my book in the common room. So, I grumpily walked down there. The first thing I noticed, was that the fire was still burning. The second thing I noticed, was that it was still burning because someone was sitting on the couch in front of it and staring into the fire as if in a deep conversation with it.

I knew I hadn't talked to either of them all vacation, but there was something wrong with Harry and it would have just been cruel of me to walk in, get my book, and just leave.

I sat down on the chair next to him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, being extremely straight forward. Harry looked up at me, anger in his eyes. I wasn't sure if it was towards me, or whatever was bothering him.

"So now you want to talk to me?" His voice was cold and serious now, unlike it was on Christmas morning when he was just kidding around. There was silence for a while. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it wasn't friendly either.

"Do you honestly want to know what I'm doing here, in front of the fire, in the middle of the night?" Harry finally asked.

"Yes," I replied simply.

"Why?"

"...why?" I found this a very odd question from Harry.

"Yes. Why do you care about what I'm doing here?"

"Because... I care about you...." I said it was if it were the most obvious thing in the world. A few more seconds of silence passed.

"I never thought I'd here you say something like that again," Harry said, his voice a bit softer now.

"Why not?" I was kind of offended. Harry just starred at me with a look of disappointment.

"Ginny, I got you a rose for Christmas, asking for our friendship back – not that I know why we lost it in the first place - and look how you treat me! All year you've been acting like this and it just keeps getting worse. What's wrong with you?"

"I- I'm... sorry. I really am." I really was that time.

Harry went back to his original position of staring blankly into the fire, resting his chin on his hands which were propped up by his elbows which were leaning on his knees. He stayed in that position for at least five minutes, while I sat comfortably on the cushioned chair, feeling better now that I had cleared at least part of my subconscious guiltiness.

"It wasn't really Sirius, was it?" Harry asked after a long time. At first, I didn't know what he was talking about, but then I realized.

"No... no, I don't think it was."

"Who was it?" He didn't give me enough time to say anything though, because while I was thinking about what to say, he continued talking. "Remember when we'd talk to him through the fire?" he sounded desperate.

"Harry, don't start this," I now moved over to the couch and placed myself next to him.

"And remember when I thought he had killed my parents and I was about to actually kill him?" Harry let out a nervous laugh. "Funny, because now he's dead."

"So, do you do this every night?" I had to turn him away from this topic. Knowing his stubborn temper, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to go looking to kill You-Know-Who right then.

"What?"

"Do you sit here and think about Sirius every single night?"

"I tend to try and avoid that," he responded a bit sarcastically.

"Who do you think it was?" I asked.

"I don't know. If I did though..."

"Do you think it was a stupid trick? Or maybe it was serious?"

"No, it wasn't. Didn't we just discuss this?" He gave me that perfect smile. I laughed.

There was more silence. Now however, it was pleasant and enjoyable. After a couple of minutes I talked.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?" He sounded kind of absent minded again.

I paused. "Do you... still like Hermione? I mean, in that way?" Harry stared at me.

"What?!"

"Don't you remember? You told me. A few months ago, you told me." Harry laughed. "Be quiet you idiot! You'll wake up the whole castle!"

"You actually believed me?"

"Well, yes. I mean, what was I supposed to do?"

Harry took in a big breath. "Okay, listen. The only reason I said that was because I, well, I saw something and I didn't want to tell you. And don't get offended because the only reason I didn't tell you was because... well... I'm not sure why. I guess I was just hoping..."

"Just tell me already!"

"Well, I was coming out of the lavatory near the defense against the dark arts classroom the day that Sirius... had... come. I heard voices from inside. I thought I was hearing things, but I could have sworn that... well, that I heard Sirius. So I leaned closer to the door and heard his voice saying that he was finished and that he thought... he thought... that... 'they' fell for it. Then I heard Krum say 'Congratulation, you've done it again.' And, the person that sounded like Sirius asked if that was a surprise and then they both started to laugh. And I ran back here."

"I knew this all had something to do with Krum!"

"So... so you don't think that it really was Sirius?"

I laughed. "Of course not!"

Harry let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't believe he had thought it was actually Sirius all this time.

"So who was it?" he asked.

I suddenly realized how tired I was. "I have no idea." After a few seconds, I added, "you don't think it has to do with... with... You-Know-Who, do you? I mean, this is the year that... well... you know, the prophesy." I whispered the last two words.

Harry was now staring directly into my eyes and his penetrating gaze full of anger, bravery, love, hate, and confusion made me feel as if I were about to melt. I stared back intensely, wanting nothing more then to give him a big hug and never let go. I wished it could be that way all the time. I wished I could always be so comfortable around Harry, the way I used to feel around him. Before... well, before I fell in love with him again. I wished so badly that I could just love him as a friend, I wanted to go back to that brother and sisterly bond we'd had. Before... before this year. Before Krum ever came and caused Hermione to fall in love with him. Before Harry had to tell me he liked Hermione and I realized...

"Harry! Do you think... do you think Krum is making Hermione love him on purpose?"

He laughed. "He's too stupid to do that."

"Yes, well, that's what I thought. But I saw him in the library..." and I told Harry about how I saw Krum with that Love Charms book.

"It was probably just a coincidence. I mean, why would he want to do that to Hermione?"

"Because she used to like him, but doesn't anymore...well didn't. But, he still likes her and wants Hermione to love him!"

"Good point. But how do we stop it? And what about now...in the letters she sent us. She seemed totally like herself. Do you think it doesn't work outside school grounds?"

"Probably. I have an idea. Tomorrow's our last day of vacation, so, if he does have something do with all this, he's probably preparing something. I think we should follow him all day under your invisibility cloak."

"Yeah, ok. We'll tell Ron about it in the morning."

"O...ok." Without realizing it, I was hoping that this would have been something Harry was willing to do without dragging Ron along.

I then remembered the dream I had, the one about lila turning into Sirius.

"Did I ever tell you about the dream I had that night in Krum's office?"

"What dream?" and I briefly told Harry about it, leaving out the part about him and I being a couple and all. Once I was finished, Harry stared at me looking incredibly hurt, so much, that it pained me to look into his eyes. He then turned back to look into the fire.

"Maybe it really was him. Maybe I was wrong all along. Maybe he really was the one who... who.... Maybe he's just not as good as I made him out to be."

"Harry shut up! It was just a dream!

"Then why did you just tell it to me as if it were such a big deal?" I really wished I didn't tell him at all.

"I don't know! I just found it interesting, that's all," I took his hand and squeezed it tight, causing him to look at me again. "Sirius is not Lila," I said slowly.

"Well maybe he is. I mean, that can be a good thing. Maybe the person I heard was just someone who sounded like him and he really did come that day in the common room. Or maybe their related or something."

I yawned.

"You're tired, you should go to sleep."

"No, I'm not. I'm fine." I wanted to yawn again, but I suppressed it the best I could.

Harry wasn't looking at me anymore. He was facing the dying fire, although he seemed more relaxed now. His head was leaning against the back of the couch and his arms were sitting lazily on the top part of the couch on either side of his head. He reminded me of an eagle, graceful and courageous; he even looked as though he were about to fly. It still seemed as if he was deep in thought though. There was silence between us, but I still felt as though we were talking. I watched him for a while, he wasn't moving at all, but I felt as though I could see his brain running fast, thinking of a million things. I kept my eyes open for as long as I could, trying to figure out exactly what he was thinking until I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.