Later that afternoon, Ron and Hermione walked down into the Great Hall. Since neither one of them had gotten anything to eat that morning, they were both really hungry. Nobody was in the Great Hall except Harry, Amy, two first years, a sixth year Slytherin, and Ginny. Ginny motioned for them to come over and sit next to her. After hurrying down the aisle, Ron and Hermione swung their legs over the wooden benches and sat across from Ginny.

"Merlin Hermione, you caused a fuss this morning!" Ginny squealed. Hermione and Ron leaned closer as Ginny filled them in on what had happened after Hermione had been dragged from the room.

"Amy was mad as a wet cat." Ginny began, "After you left, she yelled at Harry, cried, and started screaming at McGonagall when she said she couldn't punish you, Hermione, because she hadn't seen the attack. She only had Amy's word, and seeing as you and Amy aren't the best friends in the world…well…she decided to let you off the hook! Well, Amy didn't like that, so she dragged Harry off into a broom cupboard and screamed at him. I feel so bad for him; he has no right being with that bitch." She looked over at Harry and Amy wistfully—she, as much as she tried to deny it, still liked Harry a great deal, and hated to see him like this. Hermione reached her hand across the table and took Ginny's hand, giving it a squeeze. Ron reached under the table and squeezed her knee before taking her hand and holding it in his own under the table so Ginny wouldn't see. As subtle as his knee squeeze/ hand hold was, Ginny noticed and started grinning.

"Are you two—erm—attached?" She giggled as Ron and Hermione both turned a very deep red. Ginny giggled again and waved her hand at them. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Anyway—" She said, looking back at Harry and Amy. "I just wish that he would dump her and find somebody else."

"Yeah, so do I." Hermione and Ron said at the same time. They glanced at each other and smiled.

"Harry just needs to straighten out his priorities is all. You know what they say—in order to really appreciate someone you have to have your heart broken at least once. And I think all of us here have experienced that except Harry. But I think it'll happen pretty soon." She said. She scooted closer to Ron and he slipped her arm around her waist, leaning his hand on the bench as Hermione cuddled up against his chest. They sat and talked to Ginny for about ten minutes before Ginny looked over towards Harry and started laughing.

"What?" Ron asked, looking over his shoulder towards where Harry and Amy were sitting. Harry had a look of shocked happiness on his face, and Amy looked like she was about to jump on Hermione again. Hermione grinned and waved in Amy's direction, tilted her head back and kissed Ron near his ear. Surprisingly he didn't blush; he just grinned and looked down at Hermione fondly. He made the mistake of looking up and grinning at Harry, who gave him a thumbs-up sign. Amy saw this and hit Harry in the back of the head with her hand. Then she stood up and stormed out of the hall—leaving Harry alone. Ron hesitated for a moment, then released Hermione's waist and walked over to Harry.

"Hey Mate." He said, sitting down across from him.

"Hey." Harry muttered.

"You still want her?" Ron fiddled with his jacket as he asked the question. Harry snapped his head up, a look of anger on his face. As if coming to a sudden realization, the anger slipped off his face, and was replaced with a look of disgust and shame.

"I don't know what I saw in her." Harry hit the table and leaned his head onto his fist. Ron reached across the table and hesitated before putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"It's okay mate, I know what you mean," He said. Harry lifted his head off the table and looked over at Ron.

"I'm sorry Mate." He whispered. Ron just shrugged and looked up as he felt Hermione's hand brush the back of his neck.

"Are you two—settled?" She asked, sitting next to Ron. Ginny went to the other side of the table and sat next to Harry.

"I owe you an apology too Hermione." Harry said.

"That's alright. Don't worry about it. I'm glad you did it to tell you the truth." She glanced over at Ron, who by this point had taken her hand and was holding it in his, and smiled. They sat around and chatted for awhile before Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table.

"Students." His voice boomed across the hall. "Since there are so few of us—" He looked at the thirty or so kids that had gathered in the hall and smiled. "—your teachers and I have decided that we will have a little party. We'll just put on some music and let you have fun." With a wave of his hand, the tables disappeared, the lights dimmed and the candles on the walls blazed. Music by the Hobgoblins swept from some unseen place and filled the hall with excitement. The teachers all stood up and walked into the room off the side of the hall and shut the door. Kids gradually started getting up and dancing. Ron held his hand out to Hermione and they walked out onto the floor and started to dance. Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"This is great," She whispered, "The perfect Christmas gift."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Ron leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. When he looked up, he saw Harry and Ginny sitting over at the table still. He turned Hermione so she could watch as well. They saw Harry offer Ginny his hand and lead her out onto the floor. While he didn't hold Ginny as close as Ron was holding Hermione, he held her at a friendly distance. They smiled at each other and talked. Ron started to walk over to them when Hermione stopped him.

"Ron, give him a chance."

"But—"

"I've given him one—you gave Amy one, why is he any different?"

"Because that's my sister…"

"But she'll be good for Harry. She can erase whatever damage Amy might have caused." Ron didn't say anything, he just nodded, but continued to watch Harry like a hawk.