AN: Well, writer's block has plagued me for the last couple of days, so I've been bad about updating... bad Scribble! bad! but here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it! I think the chapters are winding down here... probably three, maybe four more? But don't despair! That's still something! And I may change my mind and decide to write more than I thought I would. So, have fun, and review please!

Chapter Ten: Friendships

January was harsh and bitter outside the castle. The snow hardly stopped falling all month long. Hermione and Draco found refuge in the Room of Requirement, where they spent most of their breaks. They told no one where they went, not that they had anyone they really wanted to tell.

Hermione was caught up on the secret romance. Sneaking away to meet a forbidden love... it was what she had read about in the storybooks. It was romantic and dangerous at the same time. They had to work to be together. That's what Hermione had always wanted.

As January drifted into February, the weather subtled. It still snowed, but lightly now, and the wind was not so harsh. On the weekends, Hermione and Draco took to wandering around the grounds together, sometimes drifting into the Forbidden Forest, sometimes just walking around the more desolate areas of the grounds where no one else went. Hermione always had a book open, though, so that if they were caught, they could say they were studying.

Draco didn't mind not being able to tell his friends about her. It wasn't as if any of them would have really cared at all. His father would, though. Falling in love with a Mudblood simply wasn't the proper image that Lucius had in mind. Draco would probably never tell him. He was just happy being around Hermione. He felt warm when he saw her and couldn't get her out of his head when she wasn't there.

But after a while, the sneaking, the secret meetings... they began to wear down on both of them. It was becoming harder and harder to hide everything. The excuses for not being around were running thin, and they grew tired of using them.

One day, Draco started to walk Hermione to her dormitory entrance. Hermione protested. "Someone will see us," she said.

"I don't care, Mione," Draco replied. "I really don't. Not anymore."

Hermione smiled, but there was doubt behind it. "I really don't... what if Harry and Ron..."

"Like I care about those two dimwits," Draco said. Hermione persed her lips.

"They're still my friends, Draco."

"They don't deserve to be your friends."

"Draco!"

"Well, it's true!" Draco said, then sighed. "Fine. You know what? Go be with your friends. I don't care. I'll see you."

He stomped down the hallway away from her Common Room.

"Don't get mad at me!" Hermione yelled after him.

"I'm not mad!" he called back, not even turning around. "See you."

Hermione sighed angrily and stormed off to the Common Room.

Harry and Ron were sitting in a corner with Ginny. The Common Room around them was bustling with people playing games and having fun. The three of them, however, seemed to be having a heated discussion of some sort. When Hermione entered, Ginny looked up. She dawned a smile and motioned for her to come over. Hermione considered ignoring her, but after the outburst with Draco about them still being friends, she would have felt guilty doing that. She weaved her way around the students to her friends.

"Hermione!" Ron cried. "We have seen you in ages!"

"That's silly, Ron, you know I'm in almost all of your classes."

"You know what he means, Mione," Ginny said. "You're never around anymore, and when you are, you hardly speak."

"You're daydreamy," Harry agreed.

"Daydreamy isn't a word," Hermione said, sitting down in the empty chair beside them. Crookshanks jumped into her lap, and she petted him abesentmindedly.

"Don't you change the subject!" Ginny said, sounding remarkably like Mrs. Weasley. "We miss you!"

"Look, we know we were jerks to you," Harry said, "but we want to make it up to you. Ron had a chat with Professor McGonagall..."

"...who had a chat with Dumbledore," Ron interrupted, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "And they both agree that life is getting much too dull around here lately. We haven't had a dance since fourth year..."

"Third year, for some of us," Giny agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

"Whatever. Point is, they want to have a Valentine's Day dance. You know, to liven things up. Take our minds off of exams and such..."

"But exams are ages away," Hermione said. They all stared at her with open mouths.

"Now we know something's wrong," Ron said finally. "You never take exams so lightly."

"Well, what does a dance have to do with solving anything?" Hermione said, shifting uncomfortably, causing Crookshanks to send her a look of annoyance.

"Well, we figured we could have, you know, a good time together. Just us four. Hanging out like we used to." Harry looked at her hopefully. "Please, Mione? Go with Ron. Ginny can go with me, and we'll have a great time!"

"We will! Please, Mione?" Ginny pleaded. Ron was looking at her with a goofy smile on his face, and Hermione laughed a little.

Harry grinned. "Is that a yes?"

"That's a yes."

Ginny squealed and launched herself at Hermione with a big hug. "Oh, thanks for forgiving us, Hermione! You don't know how bad we all felt!"

"Really, it's, erm, all right!" Hermione said, hugging her friend back. Ginny pulled away and smiled at her. "But um, Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"If I'm going with you... you can't wear those dress robes with the frays and things... those made you look like a hippie."

"Yeah, they did," Ron laughed. He and Harry stood up, giving Hermione hugs as they went by. They walked up to their dormitory. Hermione heard Ron ask Harry, "What's a hippie?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll buy you some dress robes, mate, good ones."

"No, really, I wanna know!"

"Really, Ron, it doesn't matter."

"Come on, please?"

"No!"

Hermione and Ginny giggled. "Those two..."

"You didn't have to live with one of them for fifteen years," Ginny said. She stood up and stretched with a yawn. "Time for me to get to bed. It's good to have you back, Hermione."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, sinking lower in her chair. "It is good."

AN: in a strange voice You want to review! You want to review! You want to re- Aw, screw it. Subliminal messages never did work for me. Please review! Tell me what you think!