Author's Notes: Here it is! The extremely, extremely, extremely long chapter! Seventeen pages on Microsoft Word, baby. I'm very proud of myself.

Just so you know, I had to take some liberties with the text for this chapter. First of all, the timeline was sort of screwy…according to OotP, Dumbledore told Hermione about what happened the night of Harry's nightmare about Mr. Weasley two days after it happened. Seeing as this makes little to no sense, and that Hermione would probably be curious as to why Harry and all the Weasleys disappeared in the middle of the night, I took some liberties and had Dumbledore tell her about it the morning after. Also, there's a sort of "extended" scene in here, when Harry and co. are eating sandwiches at Grimmauld Place. The first half is from OotP, and the second half I made up. Just in case you're wondering about that.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter…I had to make up a lot of stuff based on the very limited information JKR gives us in Chapter 23 of OotP. Constructive criticism would be much appreciated. Here's hoping it's realistic.

Oh, and see if you can spot my nod to the movie actors in this chapter.


Wednesday, 20 December

6:15 a.m.

I don't know what to do and I feel so helpless just sitting here…I can't believe yesterday I was so mean to Ron and Harry…especially Ron. I'm still not one hundred percent sure what's happened - everyone's stories are so contradictory. But Dean, Neville, and Seamus look pretty shaken up, and we can't leave the common room…

All right, I need to calm down and write everything down logically…maybe then I can make sense of what I know already.

I woke up very early this morning and I couldn't figure out why. It was about five o'clock, I think - the sun wasn't even up yet. When I woke up I felt sort of uneasy, like something was wrong…I can't explain it. Parvati was still asleep but Lavender was awake. This was when I knew something was wrong for sure; Lavender has never awoken earlier than she absolutely has to be up. She was standing by her bed in her dressing gown.

"Oh good, you're awake," Lavender said, sounding excited. "I heard voices downstairs…but it's far too early for everyone else to be up…I was just going to see what's going on."

I nodded and put on my own dressing gown, and we both headed downstairs. A handful of fourth and fifth years were standing around the common room, still in their night things. When Lavender saw the anxious looks on many faces, her excitement disappeared and was replaced by nervousness. I made my way over to Neville, Dean, and Seamus.

"What's up?" I asked, keeping a careful eye on Dean. If his eyes wandered anywhere below my neck, I was ready to slap him. But Dean seemed to be too nervous and worried to be looking anywhere he shouldn't be.

"Where's Ron and Harry?" I asked, a slight note of panic in my voice.

Dean and Seamus exchanged looks. Neville was the one who spoke up.

"They left a few hours ago, with Professor McGonagall," he said, sounding scared.

"What?"

"We heard Harry screaming in the middle of the night," Dean explained. "Ron kept calling his name and when he finally woke up he threw up all over the place."

"He kept insisting that…that Ron's dad had been…um, attacked," Neville continued hesitantly. I felt my heart leap. "He said Ron's dad had been…bitten, or something…we just thought he'd had a bad nightmare, but he was really ill so I went to go get Professor McGonagall."

No more bad dreams, I'd promised Harry. But this didn't sound like your average nightmare.

"He kept going on about how Ron's dad had been attacked and there was loads of blood, something about a snake…" Dean trailed off and looked uncomfortable. "He said…he said he did it…"

"He was raving like a lunatic," Seamus muttered under his breath.

"Shut up!" Neville said sharply. All of us stared at Neville in shock. Neville looked a bit surprised at himself too; he blushed and muttered an apology.

"Anyway, when Neville came back with McGonagall we figured she'd just fix Harry up and calm him down, you know? But she seemed to take him seriously, because she told him she believed him and then she took Harry and Ron with her to go see Dumbledore," Dean finished.

My heart was thumping so hard against my chest that I could hear it in my ears. "Where are they now?"

"Dunno. We haven't seen them since."

"How long ago was this?"

Dean and Neville exchanged glances and shrugged. "Two or three in the morning?" Dean guessed. "We didn't really look at the time 'til much later."

"Well, we have to find out what's happened," I said determinedly, heading for the portrait hole, even though I was only in my dressing gown.

"We've tried it already," Neville called after me. "It's locked."

True to his word, the portrait hole did not swing open when I approached it. I tried a few spells, but still it would not budge. I stared at the back of the painting for a while, trying to organize my thoughts. We've never been locked in before…

I don't know if Neville's and Dean's version of events is really what happened. But the fact remains that Harry and Ron are gone, and we are locked in the common room. Something very serious must have happened. Evidently whatever Harry saw was so convincing that Professor McGonagall, a member of the Order, took him seriously and brought him and Ron to the headmaster.

Gabriella Carpino, who shares a dorm with Ginny, told us that Professor McGonagall had evidently returned later on and had woken Ginny up to take her to the headmaster as well. Lee Jordan, who came downstairs bleary-eyed about an hour after Lavender and I, confirmed that Fred and George were not in their beds either, although he admitted that he had slept through them leaving.

Several other stories quickly began floating around, each more outlandish than the next: Harry and the Weasley children had been expelled, abducted, learned to Disapparate, etc. Honestly, hasn't anyone read Hogwarts: A History?

Based on Dean's and Neville's version of events, what seems to make the most sense is this:

Harry had a nightmare that was actually some sort of vision, probably due to his connection with Voldemort. In his nightmare, Harry saw Mr. Weasley being attacked, presumably by a snake - or rather, Harry was the snake, according to Dean. That bit is sort of confusing, and also quite disturbing, but at least the snake part makes sense. Voldemort's a big fan of snakes, after all, and I think Harry's mentioned that he keeps a snake as a pet.

I'm assuming that Mr. Weasley was guarding whatever it is that the Order has to guard, and that the snake attacked him in order to steal it. Professor McGonagall must have recognized this when Harry explained the dream, and so she took him and Ron to Dumbledore. She then must have come back to get the other Weasleys when Dumbledore confirmed Harry's story, which is what I am assuming he did. On her way out, Professor McGonagall must have locked the portrait hole. Maybe she was trying to prevent the missing students' friends from leaving to look for them…or maybe…maybe she's afraid something big has happened with Voldemort and doesn't want us running about the castle because it's not safe…

I hope Mr. Weasley is all right…I mean, I can't really tell from Dean's and Neville's descriptions if he was seriously injured…but I have this awful, sinking feeling that he was. Why else would Professor McGonagall have woken all the Weasley children and taken them away? It must have been…you know…life-threatening if she risked taking them out of their beds, especially under Umbridge's nose…

Oh my goodness. What if she woke them up because…what if he's already…dead?

I think I'm going to be sick.

8:02 a.m.

Mr. Weasley's alive, thank heavens. But if it hadn't been for Harry…oh, I don't even want to think about it.

Only a few minutes after my last entry, all noise in the common room abruptly ceased as we heard an all-too-familiar voice outside the portrait hole. Her voice was a bit muffled by the wall, but we could make out what she was saying because she was speaking so loudly.

"No, I do not know the password," said Umbridge's foul voice impatiently, "but you must allow me into this common room at once!"

The Fat Lady said something that we couldn't hear very well, but it must have been a refusal to let Umbridge in, because we heard her shout, "Excuse me? Do you know who I am?"

The Fat Lady said something in what sounded like a very rude tone. Good.

"I am the Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and I order you to allow me into this common room now!" Umbridge shrieked.

The Fat Lady said something else, and we strained to hear Umbridge's response, which was in a very low and dangerous-sounding tone. Lavender cautiously crept forward to press her ear against the back of the Fat Lady's painting.

"Why's she want to get in so badly?" Neville whispered to me.

"She must know about Harry and the Weasleys. Maybe she's come to find out what's really happened. If she questions you, you can't tell her anything, Neville," I whispered fervently.

Neville nodded resolutely.

"My good woman, are you threatening me?" the Fat Lady exclaimed loudly.

Umbridge hissed something in response to the Fat Lady. Lavender abruptly jumped back.

"She's going to blast her way in!" Lavender cried. Everyone took a few generous steps back.

But the blast never came. Instead, we heard something even more surprising on the other side of the portrait hole: Dumbledore's voice.

"Ah, Dolores," he said good-naturedly. "May I ask why you're threatening the Hogwarts décor?"

Inside the common room, we all breathed sighs of relief. We heard a frustrated-sounding Umbrdige snap back at the headmaster.

"As I told you in my office a few hours ago, Dolores," replied Dumbledore (I think he was talking loudly on purpose, perhaps so that we could overhear), "I gave the Weasley children and Mr. Potter permission to leave Hogwarts. I received an urgent letter that Arthur Weasley had been badly injured and sent to St. Mungo's, and I felt that his children had the right to leave Hogwarts and visit him there. Mr. Potter is very close with the Weasleys, and so I allowed him to leave as well. I'm afraid the students in this common room won't be able to tell you much more than that."

Umbridge said something angrily.

"As today marks the last day of the term anyway, I did not think it would be such a great problem," Dumbledore answered, a hint of amusement in his voice. He sighed. "But very well. You can speak to the Gryffindor students if you wish. I believe it is Christmas crackers, isn't it, my good lady?"

The portrait hole swung open. Umbridge, wearing an ugly, fluffy, pink dressing gown scrambled into the common room, her face very red. She was followed by a fully dressed, calm, and composed Dumbledore. Most of the students gaped. You don't usually see Dumbledore outside of his office or the Great Hall, never mind in the Gryffindor common room.

"Ah," said Dumbledore brightly, looking around at the many students standing around the room in their night things. "Early risers?"

We all nodded mutely. I was dying to ask Dumbledore if Mr. Weasley was all right, but I wisely held my tongue.

"You there, Finnigan!" Umbridge said sharply, pointing to Seamus. "You must share a dormitory with Potter and Weasley. Where did they go? Why did they leave?"

I gave Seamus a look which clearly said that if he told Umbridge anything, I would curse him into oblivion. It must have been very effective, because Seamus paled slightly and then told Umbridge, "I don't know, Professor. We…woke up this morning and they were…er…gone."

Perhaps there's hope for Seamus yet.

Umbridge seemed to be extremely frustrated by this response. She questioned Dean, Neville, Lee, and the girls in Ginny's year, but all of them gave her the same response. This evidently angered Umbridge immensely, because she then whirled on me, eyes blazing.

"You!" she snarled, not even bothering to use my name. "You're good friends with Potter and Weasley, are you not?"

"Yes," I answered with as much contempt as I could muster into that one syllable.

"Well then, why did they leave their beds in the middle of the night?" she demanded.

"I don't know, Professor," I said coolly. "I generally prefer to sleep in the girls' dormitories."

Several people snickered. Umbridge's face turned purple with fury, and for a brief, frightening moment, I saw her raise her wand in a threatening gesture. The next second, Dumbledore was firmly grasping Umbridge's arm, the one holding the wand.

"Dolores," he said quietly. "I must tell you that if you ever point a wand at one of my students again, you will be very sorry indeed."

Umbridge snatched her arm away from Dumbledore, eyes bulging with anger. Her head swiveled around the common room as she opened and closed her mouth soundlessly. Then she made a furious noise and stomped out of the common room.

"Whoa," breathed Daniel Grint, a fourth-year boy.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said to me casually, as if nothing had happened, "I wonder if I could have a word with you in my office in…let us say…fifteen minutes?"

I nodded, trying to suppress the urge to ask about Mr. Weasley. Seamus may have held his tongue, but I didn't think it was wise to ask Dumbledore anything in front of everyone else.

"I must apologize for intruding into the Gryffindors' personal space," Dumbledore said, addressing the entire common room. "But Professor McGonagall is currently occupied, and I thought someone should prevent Professor Umbridge from blasting a hole in your common room wall. Good day to you."

With that, Dumbledore left the common room, climbing through the portrait hole in the most dignified manner one could possibly have when climbing through a portrait hole. Everyone burst into chatter the moment he left. I mutely climbed the girls' staircase and went into my dorm to dress. Parvati was just waking up.

"What's going on? What's all the…the…" Parvati yawned widely, "commotion down there?"

"Dumbledore just stopped Umbridge from blasting into the common room," I said bluntly.

Parvati was suddenly wide awake. "What?!" She leaped out of bed, threw on a dressing gown, and rushed downstairs.

I left the common room, which was all abuzz with chatter, and quickly walked to Dumbledore's office, anxious for news about Mr. Weasley. The hallways were deserted, as it was still only seven o'clock in the morning. I'd only been to Dumbledore's office once before - in third year when Professor McGonagall took me there to get my Time Turner and talk to Dumbledore about the consequences of its misuse - but I remembered where it was and how to get there.

When I finally came to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office, I stopped and felt very foolish. Professor McGonagall had given the gargoyle the password the last time I was there to make it move aside, and I very much doubted that the password had not changed in the past two years.

"Erm…?" I said.

"Hermione Granger? He's expecting you," said the gargoyle. "Nice slippers," it added with a snigger.

I looked down at my feet and silently cursed. I had thrown on my school robes, but had forgotten to change my slippers.

The gargoyles sprang aside, revealing the moving spiral staircase that lead to Dumbledore's office. I hopped on and waited, silently willing the staircase to move faster. By this time I was almost out of my mind with curiosity and worry. But I figured that Dumbledore would surely not have been so calm and composed in the common room if Mr. Weasley had died…

I knocked a few more times than was probably necessary on the door at the top of the staircase. When Dumbledore called, "Come in," I practically burst through the door. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk. He scribbled something on a piece of parchment, which he gave to his pet phoenix. It disappeared in a burst of flame.

"Is Mr. Weasley…?" I immediately asked anxiously.

"Arthur is alive, and recovering," Dumbledore assured me with a somewhat weary smile. He must have had a long night.

I felt heady with relief, and took a few deep breaths before blurting out, "What's happened? How did Mr. Weasley get hurt? How did Harry know?" And then because I felt very rude bombarding Dumbledore with questions, I hastily added, "Sir?"

"I believe Harry himself can explain it more effectively than I. Suffice to say that his…connection with Voldemort proved rather useful, in this case. I very much doubt that Arthur would be alive now if it was not for him," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Oh," I said. What else do you say to something like that?

"But I asked you here, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, "not only to assure you that Mr. Weasley is in fact alive, but to also extend an invitation on behalf of someone else."

I stared at him blankly.

"Harry and the Weasleys will be spending Christmas at Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore explained. "I was told to pass along the message that Sirius would be delighted to have you as well."

All thoughts of skiing abruptly vanished. If Mr. Weasley was hurt, perhaps I could be some help to Mrs. Weasley and Sirius at Grimmauld Place…or even just spend Christmas there to give Ron - I mean, Ron and Ginny and everyone - moral support.

"Tell Sirius thank you, and that I would be happy to come," I answered before I could have any second thoughts. But now that I really consider it…Christmas at Grimmauld Place…ugh.

Dumbledore nodded. "Were you planning on returning home for the holidays?"

"Yes," I replied, "but I can send an owl to my parents. I mean, they'll be disappointed, but if I explain the situation - "

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid I will have to insist that you not disclose your whereabouts to your parents. Unfortunately, our post system can no longer be trusted. Although I am not particularly fond of lying, especially to one's parents, I would appreciate it if you simply tell them that you are staying here at Hogwarts for the holidays."

This made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but it made sense. "Yes, sir," I said.

"Professor Umbridge is not very happy about students leaving before the end of term, it seems," Dumbledore said with a slight twinkle in his eye, "so I would suggest that you leave tonight, after term has officially ended. The Knight Bus should be able to take you to Grimmauld Place. You can catch it outside the Hogwarts gates. You have taken the Knight Bus before, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. Well, Miss Granger, if you have no further questions, I think you should be heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast." He looked up and gave me a small smile. "Have a pleasant holiday."

I slowly turned to leave, but then a thought occurred to me. I turned back around. "Professor? Actually, I do have another question."

Dumbledore nodded for me to go ahead.

"Erm…" I began, suddenly realizing that my little fears were probably insignificant compared to all the huge things Dumbledore must have to worry about. "It's about…well, Voldemort…he went after a lot of Muggles last time, and…well, I'm very good friends with Harry, and…" I trailed off, feeling stupid. Ron had promised that his parents would not let anything happen to mine. Wasn't that good enough?

"Ah," said Dumbledore knowingly. "I assure you that the Order will not allow any harm to come to your parents, Miss Granger."

I don't know if that means that my parents are in danger, or if they're being watched by the Order, or what. Still, Dumbledore's assurance made me feel much better. If Dumbledore said that my parents are safe, then they're safe.

Now that I've had time to think about it, though, I'm starting to regret my hasty decision to stay at Grimmauld Place over Christmas. Mum and Dad are expecting me on the train home tomorrow…I mean, it's going to look a bit suspicious if I owl them today to tell them that I'm "staying at Hogwarts". I haven't seen them since June, and they really sound like they miss me in their letters. Even though I wasn't particularly looking forward to skiing, I was looking forward to spending some time with them.

But if Sirius is going to be having the entire Weasley clan for Christmas, he'll need as much help as he can get making that place habitable for the holidays. Mrs. Weasley probably wouldn't mind another girl around the place, either, and Ginny will almost certainly be thankful for more female company. Then there's Ron and Harry…well, Ron must have gone through quite the shock last night, and it wouldn't hurt to be there for…you know, moral support. And if Harry's having nightmares about attacking Mr. Weasley as a giant snake, no doubt he's beating himself up about it. They really need me there…I'm the voice of reason in our little trio, after all…

Oh no, breakfast is almost over - I should hurry and write Mum and Dad now, and hopefully the letter will arrive by this evening. I can't believe I have to go to classes after all that this morning. I'm going to have such a hard time concentrating; I still didn't get a straight answer from Dumbledore as to what exactly happened last night, so now I'll have to wait until I get to Grimmauld Place tonight to hear it from Harry himself.

Oh no, we have Umbridge today. She is not going to be happy after that episode in the common room…

12:03 p.m.

I wrote Mum and Dad, and my letter sounds extremely suspicious, at least to me. It basically falls along the lines of: "Dear Mum and Dad, I'm so sorry but I think I'm going to have to stay at school over the holidays. Everyone who's really serious about exams is staying, and I don't want to fall behind. Love, Hermione". Brilliant, Hermione. Mum and Dad are going to hate you forever.

Strangely enough, the news of Harry's and the Weasleys' nighttime disappearance and the incident with Umbridge in the common room this morning has gotten old quickly. After the rest of our house found out, it became old news for Gryffindor, and before the story could spread to the other houses over breakfast, reports that Jeremy Druthers of Hufflepuff is now dating Emi Watson of Ravenclaw had emerged and were quickly pounced upon by the gossipers instead. I'm rather grateful for Emi and Jeremy's timing, actually; the last thing Harry needs is everyone gossiping about him again. At least Seamus is keeping his mouth shut; I think that I'm the only one that he, Neville and Dean told the snake nightmare story to.

Umbridge was surprisingly calm and collected in Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning; she didn't mention the incident in the common room at all and was actually acting quite smug for some reason. I have a bad feeling about this.

I'm going to bolt down my lunch and then go and pack, so that I can leave for Grimmauld Place immediately after Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon.

12:14 p.m.

That's why Umbridge is so smug…there's two amended Educational Decrees up on the bulletin board in the common room:

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS:

The High Inquisitor is hereby also granted access to all student common rooms along with Heads of Houses.

No student may leave the school premises before the end of term without explicit permission from the headmaster, and are hereby also required to receive consent from the Hogwarts High Inquisitor.

The above are amendments to Educational Decrees Number Nine and Number Thirteen.

Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor.

Lee took down the notice, ripped it into tiny pieces, and then enchanted the bits of paper to fall like snow over the common room. "Happy Christmas," he said brightly.

I think we could get in trouble for ripping up Educational Decrees, and as a prefect I probably should have stopped this. But I was only disappointed that Lee got to it before I did.

I'd better pack…

5:05 p.m.

Well, term is officially over, and I'm all set to go. I'm just waiting in the common room for Neville to come down because we're going to take the Knight Bus together. Neville is meeting his grandmother in Diagon Alley, and I've told him that I'm taking it to Muggle London to go Christmas shopping with my parents. I'll just have to make sure he gets off before I do, because not even Neville would believe that there's good shopping in the part of the city where Grimmauld Place is located.

I got a letter back from Mum and Dad by Express Owl…they seem disappointed, of course, but not angry. They pulled the classic guilt trip on me, though. Mum even resorted to underlining words and multiple postscripts:

Dear Hermione,

Well, it was a bit of a shock when we got your letter this morning. Of course we want you to do well, darling, and we understand if you need to stay at school to revise over the holidays, but it just seems like a rather hasty decision. Daddy and I had the entire holiday planned out, and now that you're not coming it's quite disappointing. We're so very disappointed that we won't be seeing you for Christmas; we haven't seen you since June, after all. We're also a bit concerned - is everything else all right, Hermione? Is there anything wrong at school? (Oh, Mum and Dad…you have no idea…)

Dad and I might still go skiing since we've booked the hotel, so you won't find us at home should you change your mind…are you absolutely certain you want to stay at school?

We miss you loads, sweetheart,

Mum & Dad

P.S. If it's because you don't like skiing, we really don't have to go skiing. We could spend a nice, quiet holiday at home if you'd prefer that.

P.P.S. Perhaps you could even stay at Hogwarts for half the holiday, and then come home for the other half?

P.P.P.S. I've made Dad promise not to bother you if you come home and want to be left alone to study over the holidays.

I've owled them back assuring them that nothing's wrong and that I really would prefer to stay at Hogwarts, since the library is here and all. I feel sort of guilty lying to them, but…well, there's nothing else that can be done, is there?

Oh, I think Neville's coming downstairs. Well, to the Knight Bus, then…joy (sarcasm).

9:49 p.m.

Well, I was right. Harry was beating himself up about the vision he had. In fact, when I arrived at Grimmauld Place, he had locked himself in Buckbeak's room.

After I arrived, Ron confirmed that Dean's and Neville's version of events and my deductions were pretty much accurate. Harry had had a vision in which he was a snake attacking Mr. Weasley, who was presumably on guard duty, though we still don't know where. They hadn't been able to get a straight answer out of Mr. Weasley concerning his whereabouts during the attack when they had visited him at St. Mungo's that morning (he's doing much better, apparently, though he still can't leave because his wounds won't heal and he won't stop bleeding). Had Harry not alerted someone immediately, Mr. Weasley may very well have died.

Then Ron informed me in a hushed tone that at St. Mungo's they had overheard (Fred and George had brought the Extendable Ears back into action, no doubt) Mad-Eye Moody say that Voldemort is possessing Harry.

"So," I said to Ron and Ginny as we climbed the stairs, "Harry thinks that Voldemort - "

Ron winced.

" - is possessing him, and that he somehow turned him into a snake and transported him to London and back again in the span of a mere five or ten minutes? I mean, Voldemort - "

Ron's whole body twitched.

" - is powerful, but not that powerful. I highly doubt even Voldemort - "

Ron looked as if he wanted to say something, but clenched his teeth and held his tongue.

" - could do that."

"Well, Harry's got it in his head that he's the one who attacked Dad and now he won't speak to anyone," Ginny explained. "He went straight upstairs when we came back from St. Mungo's and hasn't come down since."

"Oh, honestly," I said, pausing on the landing. "Why don't you two wait someplace? I'll convince him to come down and then we'll sit him down and have a talk with him."

"Okay…I think Mum lit a fire in Harry's room earlier and sent up some sandwiches in the hopes that Harry would come back to his room and eat something," Ginny said. "So we'll meet you guys there."

"Good luck getting him out of there," Ron said doubtfully.

I went up to Buckbeak's room and rapped smartly on the door. "I know you're in there. Will you please come out? I want to talk to you."

Harry opened the door, clearly shocked to see me. "What are you doing here?"

I explained that Dumbledore had told me what happened and that I'd cancelled my skiing plans to come and spend Christmas here. We walked back down to Harry's bedroom, where Ron and Ginny were waiting. Harry seemed surprised to see them and a bit suspicious, as if I had planned some sort of intervention on his behalf, but he stayed.

"So," I asked in a business-like way after we were all settled, "how're you feeling?"

"Fine," Harry lied.

"Oh don't lie, Harry. Ron and Ginny say you've been hiding from everyone since you got back from St. Mungo's."

"Well you have!" Ginny said when Harry looked sour. "And you won't look at any of us!"

Harry insisted that it was them that wouldn't look at him. I suggested they were both taking it in turns and kept missing each other.

Harry eventually got quite irritated and nasty, as he often does when he starts feeling all misunderstood and angst-ridden. "I didn't want anyone to talk to me," he snapped.

"Well that was a bit stupid of you," Ginny said angrily, "seeing as you don't know anyone but me who's been possessed by You-Know-Who, and I can tell you how it feels."

There was a long silence in the room. No one quite knew what to say to that.

Harry looked as if someone had slapped him. He finally muttered, "I forgot."

"Lucky you," Ginny said coolly. (Ginny: 1, Harry: 0)

"I'm sorry," said Harry, and he looked like he really meant it.

We established that Harry is, in fact, not being possessed by Voldemort. I had to explain again that even Voldemort couldn't make Harry fly out of his dormitory…honestly, if it wasn't so expensive, I'd buy both him and Ron - and possibly the rest of Gryffindor house - their own copies of Hogwarts: A History for Christmas.

Once Harry was convinced he was not being possessed and had not attacked Mr. Weasley, he did a complete turn around. He started hungrily cramming sandwiches into his mouth, and then flopped onto his bed, obviously relieved. Outside Harry's room we could hear Sirius singing.

"He's really into this Christmas thing, eh?" Ron said, the corners of his mouth turning up.

"Well he's been all alone for months now. He must be thrilled to have us," Ginny said wisely. "I just wish Dad would be out of the hospital for Christmas, but I don't think that's going to happen. His wounds won't stop bleeding," she told me. "They think it's the snake venom or something."

"He's taking a Blood-Replenishing Potion every hour though, and the Healers are working on an antidote," Ron said.

"Well that's good," I said optimistically. "Maybe he'll be out for New Year's, at least."

"So you're staying for sure, then?" Ron asked tentatively. "For the whole holiday?"

"It looks like it."

"You said Dumbledore talked to you, Hermione," Harry piped up, still dangling upside down from his bed. "Did he - er - say anything?"

"Well, one tends to say a great many things when talking to people," I answered dryly.

"You know what I mean."

"No, nothing you don't already know." I didn't really see a point in bringing up what Dumbledore said about my parents…they would just think I was being silly or selfish, to worry about my parents when Mr. Weasley was bleeding non-stop at St. Mungo's. "Umbridge was really angry that you all disappeared in the middle of the night, though."

"Why, what'd she do?" Ron asked.

"Erm…" I tried to decide if I should tell Harry about what happened this morning. He seemed to be in a better mood, but I didn't want to upset him again, so I tried to give a shortened version of events. "She sort of tried to get into the Gryffindor common room to question everyone - "

"What?" Harry sat up quickly.

"Well you lot had disappeared in the middle of the night, and we all woke up to find you missing and were rather confused and worried so we were all talking about it in the common room…" I said very fast.

"Oh, great," Harry groaned, flopping back down on his bed. "Did the others tell everyone about me thrashing about in my sleep and ranting about snakes? Everyone's going to think I'm even more of a nutter now."

"Don't worry, I don't think Dean and Neville told anyone else about the nightmare thing but me. Actually, by breakfast, most people sort of forgot about the fact that you lot had disappeared. Emi Watson and Jeremy Druthers started going out," I explained, rolling my eyes.

"Really? Those two?" Ron said in surprise. "But I thought Emi hated Jeremy…"

Everyone stared at Ron. He cleared his throat and became very busy eating a sandwich.

"And no one thinks you're a nutter, Harry," I continued. "Well, except Seamus."

"Surprise, surprise," Harry muttered darkly.

"But he didn't tell Umbridge anything. And Neville told him to shut up when he called you a lunatic," I said optimistically.

Everyone looked impressed with Neville.

"So, wait," Ginny said, knitting her eyebrows together. "Seamus didn't tell Umbridge anything? Did she eventually get into the common room?"

I sighed and went back to the beginning of the story, seeing that I wasn't going to get away with skipping details about the events of this morning. Harry didn't get too upset, thankfully, and everyone looked quite shocked when I finished my story.

"Wow," said Ginny. "She actually pointed her wand at you? What did she think she was going to do, curse you right in front of Dumbledore?"

I was going to point out that I didn't think she was actually going to try to hit me with a spell or anything - raising her wand was more of a threatening gesture to get me to talk. But before I could say this, Ron interrupted.

"Hermione probably would have cursed Umbridge stupid before that old toad could even get a jinx out, even if Dumbledore hadn't been there," Ron said with a hint of admiration in his voice. I blushed.

There's something I left out…I didn't really want to write about it before because it was rather silly of me and I hate admitting to doing silly things, even to my own journal. But it was rather important…and even if it was silly, he…well, let me go back and explain.

I got to Grimmauld Place about six o'clock, and not thinking, I rang the doorbell. It set off Mrs. Black's shrieks immediately, of course. Oh well, if the doorbell didn't alert everyone to my presence, Mrs. Black sure did.

Sirius answered the door. "Hermione!" he said, beaming at me while Mrs. Black shrieked in the background. He was holding tinsel in his one hand and boughs of holly in the other. "So glad you could come! Come in, come in!"

I dragged my bags inside and tried to ignore Mrs. Black screaming about how I am a child of filth. "Happy Christmas to you too, Mum," Sirius said cheerfully as he managed to close the curtains over her portrait.

"I think Ron's in the drawing room. I'm not sure where Ginny's gone off to, and Harry's upstairs," Sirius explained. "Here, I'll take your bags up to your old room. I've got to go and decorate up there anyway." He grinned as he held up the holly and tinsel. "So great to have you, did I say that already?"

Sirius pulled out his wand and got my bags levitating up the stairs, and then marched after them singing "O Little Town of Hogsmeade". I stared after him, astounded at the change in him since the summer, and then made my way towards the drawing room.

Ron was outside the drawing room, trying to put a wreath on the door, but the door would not have it. It kept slamming shut, and then the wreath would fall off. Ron cursed and tried again.

"Hi," I said. Ron jumped and dropped the wreath, and then spun around.

"Hermione!" he said in surprise. "What - I thought - skiing - "

He looked a bit paler than usual, and there were large bags under his bloodshot eyes, probably from staying up all last night. And I thought: What must it be like to wake up in the middle of the night to your friend screaming about how your dad's been attacked, and then to sit up all night, waiting to hear if he's alive or dead? It must have been an absolute nightmare…not knowing whether his father was going to die or not, and to just have to sit there, waiting and waiting…

Before I knew what I was doing, I had taken two quick steps forward, had flung my arms around Ron's middle, and was giving him an enormous hug. Ron went all rigid and seemed surprised at first, but after a few moments, rather than pulling away and looking frightened like he usually does, he tentatively wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. And it was so…so nice. I was still cold from being outside and he was so warm…and he smelled really nice, like pine or something, maybe from the wreath…and there was this little spot between his neck and his shoulder where my head fit just right, and I sort of rested it there…and I suddenly understood why I hadn't "snatched up" smart, mature, sensitive Viktor. It's because - let's admit it and accept it, once and for all - I have more-than-friendly feelings for stupid, immature, oblivious Ron.

For a moment it was perfect…I didn't want to say anything for fear of spoiling it, but I thought I should explain why I had practically jumped him in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place.

"Um," I said. Ron immediately released me and looked embarrassed, and I mentally kicked myself for saying anything at all, because I…well, I didn't want it to end. "You looked really…you know, worn out…and I thought you could use…I'm really sorry about your dad."

"S'all right," Ron said, and his voice was kind of husky. Actually, I sort of…liked the sound of it. "He's okay now."

We both stood there stupidly for a moment, avoiding each other's gazes.

"Sirius invited me to stay too," I explained unnecessarily.

"But what about skiing?" Ron asked, shocked.

"Oh…we'll go another time, I'm sure," I assured him. I didn't tell him that I didn't really want to go skiing anyway, but I didn't want to disappoint him because he thought it was so fun. "I thought your Mum might need some extra help around here…" I suddenly felt very bold. "And…I thought you might - "

"Hermione!" said Ginny, who had appeared in the hall behind me. She came over and gave me a hug. "What are you doing here?"

I explained that Sirius had invited me to stay again, and then inquired about Harry, and that's when they told me everything and we started heading upstairs. I was going to say to Ron, "And I thought you might like if I came," just to see what his reaction would be, but I'm really glad that I didn't now. All right, so I might fancy Ron a bit more than I initially admitted. But that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it. Ohhh no, I'm not going to risk our friendship by blurting out something stupid like, "So Ron, I have an enormous crush on you, fancy a go at dating?" He'll think I'm mad. Or worse, he won't want to be friends anymore. No, no, no, I'm going to deal with it on my own and hope that it eventually goes away. Then maybe I can achieve emotional satisfaction.

Anyway, we sat up talking in Harry's room for awhile, and then the three of them decided to go to bed early, since they'd gotten very little sleep the night before. So, here I am, back in my old room at Grimmauld Place, writing in my journal by wand-light with Ginny fast asleep in the bed next to me while I ignore the fact that there's a Scrantula scuttling about here someplace.

It's good to be back (sarcasm).


My Divinest: Yes, I will probably write a parody of OotP. Someday.

Q-BriarXJade-Q: Welcome to the wonderful world of fangirls!

slytherinphoenix7: I agree, constructive criticism is the best praise! Thanks!

Slide: Cool! Where can I see the cover you made for The Sorceress Diaries?

FanFictionFantom "any chance u could alter it so sirius doesnt die and its all one big hoax?" - I wish. Sigh.