'Sup guys. I hopes this chapter is a little longer. There is a lot more about Hermione and Ron here but still some Draco/ Ginny too. I hopes you all enjoy. And thanks for al the reviews. Much obliged. OH, and I promised my friend Lou aka Death by Peanut that I would make a shout out that her FAB story was taken down. But hey Lou, you'll bounce back, anyway all, take care and I hope you like this chappy....bixx

When the 7th years reached the great hall, they were pleasantly surprised to find it was decorated for the festive season. There was the ordinary tinsel hanging around the great stain glass windows, as well as a few other enchanted decorations.

Ron took up his usual spot, with Hermione next to him and Harry opposite. Ron grabbed one of everything that was laid before him, as did Harry and the other 7th year boys. Hermione however, didn't touch anything.

"Was'up Mione?" Ron asked through a mouth full of food.

Hermione turned her nose up at her boyfriend and his disgusting habits. "Nothing. Ignore me"

"K" Was the only reply she got, other than a few grunts of satisfaction. The food was obviously of high standards.

The hall gradually filled up through out the morning. The house elves had outdone themselves with the food.

Well into the meal – the boys were on their 3rd helping- Hermione dropped her fork, deciding she was not hungry, and stood to leave.

"Wher' woo goin?" Ron muttered with a mouth full of pancakes and syrup.

"Just.....for a walk." Hermione turned to leave but Ron stood and grabbed her arm. He swallowed his mouth full of food and said:

"What's wrong with you today. You've been funny all morning?"

Hermione sighed. "I...just.....miss my parents." She quickly lied.

"Oh" Ron seemed shocked. She spent almost 10 months a year at this place during the school year and he had never heard her say that she missed her parents. "Ok. Do you...ah.....wanna talk about it?"

"No. I'll just....take a walk." And she hurried off.

Ron sat down.

"She alright mate?" Harry asked from opposite.

"Huh?" Ron looked at him. "Oh yeah....she just......misses her parents."

"Misses her parents? Well that's one I haven't heard before. I always thought Hermione was better at excuses than that" He laughed. Ron however, looked mortified.

"What do you think she is making excuses for? Has she got something to hide?"

Harry stopped eating. "I dunno mate. Ask her. She's the one doing the lying."

"So you think she has got something to hide?" Ron was no hysterical.

"Ron mate. Calm down. Hermione loves you. I'm sure its nothi-"

"I have to find her!" Ron jumped up form his seat and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione was walking down the charms corridor. She didn't expect to just 'bump' into Ginny down here, but she had no idea where to start looking. So why not check EVERY corridor this place had. Great.

'Ginny is going to get a real talking to when I find her. Does she really think this is how I wanna spend my Christmas?" She mused.

Hermione rounded a corner. She followed a passage that led to the upper levels. Making her way up the castle, she looked in the Divinations class room- nope, she wasn't in there.

She was about to head back down and perhaps check out the dungeons, when she suddenly heard a girls voice, laughing, form a little way ahead.

The corridor was currently empty. Hermione looked around her and spotted a statue of a Gargoyle, and hid behind it.

She waited with baited breath. She suddenly released a breath she didn't realize she was holding, as she saw her red head friend emerge from the stairs of the North Tower. Just as she was about to jump out from behind the statue and hex her into the New Year, she saw another figure.

Draco Malfoy was standing behind Ginny, his arms wrapped around her middle, and he was whispering something into her ear.

Hermione stayed well put as she watched the couple. It was safe to say they looked very happy together.

Hermione smiled. She didn't want to be the one to ruin the mood. Now she knew that Ginny was ok, she would have that talk with her later.

She turned to leave when she suddenly walked into an unsuspecting cobweb.

She shrieked and jumped almost 3ft into the air.

Realizing what she had done, she quickly tried to silence herself with a hand over her mouth; but it was too late. Looking over at the couple, it was clear they had heard her.

"Who's there?" Ginny's voice quivered.

Hermione just stayed silent.

"I know you're there. Just come out"

Hermione stayed dead still. Suddenly, out of the blue, she felt a strong hand grab the back of her robes, and pull her out into the open.

"Granger!"

"Hermione!" Draco let go of her robes so she could brush herself off.

"Ginny, Malfoy." She nodded to each of them. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah. Fancy that ay. I spose it was just coincidence that you happened to be hiding behind that statue.....spying on us" Malfoy practically spat.

"Now wait just a minute...I wasn't-"

"What ever Granger. Quit while you're ahead."

"Why you little prick"

"Bitch"

"Manwhore"

"Slut"

"Bastard"

"Fuckwit"

"Dipshit"

"Slapper"

"Wanker"

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" Both Hermione and Draco, who were now mere inches form each other's faces, turned to look at Ginny. She was fuming. "Will you both just STOP. I do NOT want to see my best friend and my boyfriend arguing.

Hermione and Draco both hung their heads in shame. Everything was silent for a moment, before Draco spoke up.

"Oh great. Now she knows she's gonna go tell her little boyfriend and his little buddies about us."

"NO I WON'T" Hermione fumed.

"Oh...and how do we know that?" Draco drawled.

"Draco...." Ginny started. "Hermione already knows. She's known all along." Ginny began to rub her temple. This was giving her a headache.

"Oh.....does she now?" Draco smirked at Hermione. "Well she better not tell"

"I WONT." Hermione yelled in his face, but Draco didn't seem fazed by it. He carried on smirking in fact. "I've know for this long and I haven't told. I guess you being....you, don't know the meaning of the word trust." Hermione smirked right back at him.

"Shut the fuck up Granger. All I am saying is that if you tell I will-"

"You will NOTHING ok!" Ginny was fuming, but she was also on the verge of tears. "Look Draco. Hermione is my best friend; She won't tell. And Hermione, you're gonna have to start being nicer to Draco-"

Hermione laughed. "Over my dead body"

"Like wise babe." Draco drawled.

"PLEASE!" Tears spluttered don Ginny's face. "Its important to me that you two aren't at each others throats all the time. Ok you don't have to like each other but at least be civil to one another."

Draco eyed Hermione, then nodded. "Yeah.....ok" He pulled Ginny into a hug until she stopped crying. "Sorry" He whispered into her hair.

Hermione rubbed her back soothingly. "Yeah I'm sorry too. I'll.......TRY and be nice." She eyes Draco over Ginny's shoulder, and he eyed her right back.

Ginny backed away form Draco and smiled. "Thank you. Now, hadn't we better go"

"Yeah. I think I need to make sure Ron is ok. I think he was concerned as to why I left this morning."

The three started walking down the corridor. Draco, with his arm draped round Ginny's waist, and Hermione beside, sneaking glances at them and smiling.

They were just walking down the Transfigurations corridor, when ahead, both Hermione and Ginny spotted Ron heading their way. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed them yet, so while Draco was unawares, Ginny shoved him behind a statue of a wizard wearing a kilt.

"Ow" he whined as he hit the wall.

"Shhh" Ginny and Hermione said at the same time.

Draco looked around and saw Ron heading their way. He had to hide a smirk.

"Hermione" Ron sounded relieved to have found her. "Can we talk?"

"Erm...sure" Hermione waved 'goodbye' to Ginny and shot Draco a furtive glance, then let herself be led away by Ron.

Ron peeped into an empty classroom, and, making sure is WAS empty, walked in, closing the door behind them.

Hermione sat down on one of the tables, looking skeptical. Her boyfriend wouldn't meet her eye. Ron rounded the table and sat down on the other side. They sat like that, in silence for a few moments before Hermione asked:

"Ron...is er...everything ok?"

Ron lifted his head to look at her. Hermione gasped when she saw that his eyes were blood shot.

"Oh Ron....what is it" She rounded the table so she sat next to him and place a hand on his knew.

Ron's eyes never left her face. "Are you seeing someone else." He blurted it out before he even had a chance to process what he was saying.

"WHAT!" Hermione stood form the table and looked at her boyfriend, disbelieving.

"Are you seeing some-"

"I heard what you said Ronald. What do you take me for? Some Slapper. Ofcourse I'm not." Hermione was fuming and stood up.

Ron noticed this and joined her standing.

"Well what am I supposed to think? You keep secrets form me. Don't tell me what is bothering you when I KNOW that something is. Like at breakfast. What was that?"

"Ron I-"

"Just tell me if you want to break up instead of sneaking around behind my back"

"RONALD WEASLEY! How DARE you imply that I am seeing someone else. You KNOW how much I love you- well after today I may reconsider that!" Hermione rubbed her temple and groaned.

"Well what is going on then?"

"Nothing is going on"

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Hermione shrieked.

"I don't know WHY you would but I know that you are. I know there was something wrong at breakfast today. Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because there's nothing to tell"

"There you go again. With the lies."

"Ronald if you don't shut your trap soon I'm gonna walk out of here and all this will be over between us."

"Fine. Maybe its for the best."

Hermione gasped. "You don't mean that"

"No....I don't.....but if you don't tell me what is going on then maybe this relationship isn't as strong as we thought it was. Relationships are based on Trust Hermione."

Hermione needed to sit down. After everything she had done for Ginny, all of this was happening. She wished she had never found out about Ginny in the first place.

"Ron I......." Hermione stopped. Not being able to find the right words.

Hermione felt the table move as Ron sat down next to her. "Mione....ofcourse I don't wanna break up....." he placed a hand on her leg. "But I just need to know that you're not keeping things form me."

Hermione turned to him. "Ron it's not as simple as that. Yes I am keeping a secret, but it's not my secret to tell."

Ron sighed in defeat. "Ok..... it has nothing to do with us?"

'Yes it does' Hermione hated lying to him. He looked so helpless in his current state. "No Ron. It has nothing to do with us. And I'm NOT cheating on you" she jabbed him in the ribs with her finger.

Ron simpered and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry sweety. I trust you. And I love you." He pouted.

Hermione laughed. "Come on then. Lets go find the others."

And they left hand in hand.

The day went by pretty smoothly consider what HAD happened. Ginny sat with the Gryffindors for the Christmas main meal, and Draco sat with the Slytherins. They kept throwing glances at each other. Hermione, who was sitting next to Ginny, noticed this.

"You'll wanna be more careful ya know" She said with out looking at Ginny.

"Why?" Ginny asked, confused.

Hermione dropped her fork. She made sure everyone else was focused on their conversations before she turned to Ginny and said.

"Look, Gin, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But Ron suspects something."

"WHAT!" Ginny hissed.

"Shh...I mean....not between you two. But he knows something is going on. And I almost told him" (Ginny gasped) "I hate lying to him Ginny. You either be more careful, and keep me out of this in future, or you tell him, coz I will NOT jeopardize my own relationship for yours"

Ginny looked gobsmacked as Hermione picked up her fork and carried on eating.

"Was he.....i mean.....what did he say?" Ginny whispered.

"Only that he knows I have a secret. But I tell you Generva, he nearly broke up with me today because I wouldn't tell him. If he confronts me about it again, I won't try and hide it" Hermione almost snapped.

Ginny wanted to cry. She wanted to run to Draco and make him tell her everything was ok. But she couldn't.

Hermione didn't really speak to her through out the rest of the meal, unless it was to ask "can you pass the peas please?"

At the end of the meal, Dumbledore said a few words, then he dismissed them all back to their commonroom's for coco and settle in for the evening.

Ginny fled the hall before anyone else, wanting to get away form everyone. She managed to get out into the Entrance Hall first, and as she was about to run up the stairs to her common room, she felt a hand grab her arm.

"Get of me!" She yelled. The person wouldn't let go. Instead, they flung her round, swung her over their shoulder, and marched outside into the night.

"Put me down." Ginny yelled. The person took her into a group of trees and finally put her down. Ginny was about to turn around and smack the person, when she realized it was:

"Draco"

"Ginny"

"What are you doing"

Draco took a deep breath and sighed.

"Well, you ran out of that Hall like you had the wind up your arse, and you were ignoring me at dinner after you had that little chat with Granger." Ginny hung her head. "What did she say to you?"

"Oh...nothing"

"Don't give me that crap. I know she said something that upset you. What was it?" Draco was a few inches form her now, towering over her.

Ginny sighed. "Its just....Ron is suspicious....he doesn't know anything about us. He just knows that Hermione is keeping something form him."

Draco huffed. "So?"

Ginny looked at him. "So? SO? So she said if he asks he about it again she wont hide it form him. She'll tell."

Ginny was in hysterics. Draco pulled her into a hug. "Some friend she is"

Ginny pulled away. "No.... it's not like that. Ron nearly broke up with her because she wouldn't tell, and she hates lying to him."

"Ah...I see."

"Hmmmm"

"Well, we'll just have to be more careful" Draco said playfully, as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, that were slightly frozen from the cold air.

They kissed for a while before Ginny decided that if they were going to play it safe, this was the wrong way to go about it.

They waited until the entrance hall was clear of all people, and headed in.

Draco gave her a kiss on the stairs and watched her retreating back.

He sighed as he made his way down to the Dungeons, dreading tomorrow. It was just one step closer to facing his destiny.