Disclaimer. I am Lindsay. No J or a K or a Rowling in my name. thanks.

After that night, there seemed to be an unwritten rule that the two heads would be nicer to each other. There was no more name calling, and when they saw each other in their common room, there would be brief, but pleasant chit-chat. Both seemed to be quite happy with the arrangement. Unbeknownst to either of them, they dreamed of the other at night, and wondered how they could have wasted 6 years.

The weekend came fast for Hermione. She was sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast on Saturday, eating, and talking to her friends at the Gryffindor table. The following weekend was the first Quidditch game of the year, and everyone seemed to be either excited or nervous about it. Soon enough, breakfast was over, and Hermione was on her way to her room to grab her sweater, and then to meet Ginny in the entrance so that they could enjoy the still warm weather.

They met, and were on their way outside, headed towards the lake, so that they could sit down to talk. They both got comfortable, and stared out at the lake, watching the squid move lazily along the shoreline.

"'Mione, what happened to you over the summer? You have changed a lot since last year. It isn't a bad thing, by any means, but its odd, you know?" Ginny asked, still watching the squid.

'Summer? Nothing. You know me Gin; it was a summer of books, and a shopping spree. Nothing special" Hermione replied, a bit too quickly.

Ginny looked over at her best friend, and sighed. She knew that Hermione was lying. She never could do it right.

"Please don't lie to me, and please, don't treat me like a child. I get enough of that from Ron." Ginny said, looking right at Hermione.

Hermione looked at her friend, and sighed. She looked back to the lake. 'Well' she thought 'Ginny IS my best female friend. Maybe I should finally get this off my chest.' She looked back at Ginny, and changed her positioning under the tree, so that her whole body faced Ginny.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you, and I don't want to act like Ron. I know that you aren't a child anymore, but I guess you're right. Stuff DID happen over the holidays, and I think that it's finally time to get it off my chest." Hermione said, telling her about the constant name-calling, the verbal abuse and finally the rapes. By this time, both girls had tears streaming down their cheeks.

"Hermione!! I'm so sorry that happened to you!! No wonder you changed!! You have been taking it a lot better then I would have." Ginny said, hugging her friend tightly.

'No, Gin, I didn't take it well." Hermione pulled away from her friend, and pulled the sleeves of her sweater up, revealing faint, shiny scars across her wrist. Ginny gasped at the sight, and hugged Hermione again.

"Don't you EVER do that again Hermione Granger!! You can't leave me alone, you can't do this to yourself!!" Ginny cried, fresh tears streaming down, unchecked.

"Don't worry, I have no plans on doing this again. I was depressed. I was at my all time low, but I survived. Ill be honest though, Gin, if I didn't have my music, and the thoughts of my friends, I think I would have done it, and that scares me. It scares me a lot. I still have nightmares of what happened, and the aftermath." Hermione said, pulling her sleeves back down.

"I'm glad that you are doing better with this, and if EVER you need someone to talk to again, come to me. You're my best friend, and I promise that I will do whatever I can to make you feel better." Ginny said, hugging Hermione, yet again.

"I know Gin, you're my best friend, and the same goes for you." Hermione said, hugging her back.

Both girls managed to get a hold of themselves, and talked about other things. They talked about Harry, and how Ginny still liked him, school, and how Ron had a new crush, but refused to tell anyone, even Harry who it was.

"Does this mean that Ron is finally over me?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I think so. I just wish that I knew who it was!!" Ginny squealed. "'Mione, its almost time for lunch. As much fun as I'm having, I'm hungry!!"

The two girls continued to talk about Ron, and other things, while they walked back up to the castle. They headed towards the Great Hall, still laughing about Fred and George's newest pranks. They sat down across from Ron and Harry, and began serving themselves great amounts of food.

"Hey 'Mione, Ginny. Did you guys have a fun morning?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny.

"Ya, we did. We finally got all out girl talk in. She's all ready for a afternoon full of testosterone." Ginny joked, shoving macaroni into her mouth.

They talked all through lunch, mainly about; you guessed it, Quidditch and the ball. They only had another 3 weeks before the ball, and while everything was going smoothly, Hermione couldn't help but feel that she had forgotten something. She decided that she would ask Draco about it the next time she saw him.

Lunch was over, and the Golden Trio was walking up to the Gryffindor tower, so that they could talk without worrying about other people hearing.

"Harry, lets play some Wizards chess, we can finally show 'Mione how to play" Ron said, walking into the dorm. It was fairly empty, since most students were out enjoying the sunshine.

Hermione watched them play chess, realizing quickly that it was very much like Muggle chess, only you told the pieces where to go, rather then moving them yourself. The game was soon over, and Hermione was playing Harry.

"Wow, I never thought Id see the day that someone could beat me faster then Ron!" Harry exclaimed, after being beaten within 10 minutes.

Hermione just smiled, and said "Well, it's just like Muggle chess, and I used to play that all the time with my grandmother. She taught me all the little tricks and strategies that I would need to know to beat just about anyone."

"Alright, lets test this little theory, I challenge you to a game Hermione! If I win, you tell me everything about this ball." Ron said, setting up the chessboard.

"And if I win, or rather, when I win, I want you to tell me who you have a crush on." Hermione said.

"You're on!!"

The chess game was rather intense, with both players pulling moves that neither had expected at all. Finally, after a hard fought game, Hermione was the winner.

"HA! Now, how about you tell me Ronald, you aren't getting yourself out of this one" Hermione said, triumphantly.

"Alright" he grumbled "But I don't want anyone else to know, so Harry, I'm sorry, but can you excuse us?"

"Sure, but I had better get to know who it is soon!!" Harry said, leaving the common room, and heading up to the dorms.

Hermione turned back to Ron, with an expectant look on her face. "Well."

"Hermione, the only reason I'm telling you is because we had a deal, and I wont go back on it. But I swear to god, if you tell anyone, or laugh, Ill hang you upside down on a broom by your knickers. Got it?" Ron said, threatingly.

"Yes Ron, I know. Now, out with it."

"Pansy Parkinson." He mumbled.

"What was that?" Hermione said, knowing exactly what he had said, but not believing her luck.

"I said, I like Pansy Parkinson." Ron said, blushing like mad, and still not looking at her.

Hermione squealed, jumped up and hugged Ron tightly. "Good for you!! I hoped that you liked her!!!"

Ron looked at her, confused, and asked "What? Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I have to go soon, by the way. Head duties." Hermione said, bursting with joy, and simply dying to tell Pansy about this. She didn't actually have Head duties, but she didn't think he needed to know that.