Chapter thirteen

When Crys woke up in the morning she was curled up inside of Ron's strong form. His powerful arms were wrapped around her and she felt so safe she never wanted to move. But she had to, someone was coming.

Dean's voice rang up from the staircase, "Ron!"

Crys silently shook Ron awake and he loostened his grip on her. When she heard Dean right outside Ron's bedframe she waited until just the right moment and just as he threw the curtains on one side of the bed open Crys rolled off the other side onto the floor.

"What was that?" Dean asked after hearing a small thump from the other side of Ron's bed

"What was what?" Ron said as Crys silently crept over to the next bed over in the circular room to hide in until Dean was gone. She pulled herself up behind the curtains as quick as she could, still in her lacy black bra and panties. She held her breath as Dean looked around Ron's bed. She felt something move behind her and turned around to see Harry still sleeping behind her. Damn, she thought and clapped a hand over his mouth so he wouldn't make a noise. But one still came. A small shreik from Harry's other side.

"Hermione?" Crys whispered, shocked.

Hermione pulled the sheets up around her to cover herself as she pressed a finger to her lips at Crys, who's jaw was currently hanging open.

Dean left after Ron had assured him he had no idea where Ginny was. Ron came over to get Crys out of Harry's bed which he thought was unoccupied. Crys shoved Hermione down under the sheets and mouthed the word Sleep to Harry as he pulled open the curtains. She pressed a finger to her lips and pointed to Harry who was 'asleep' and Ron nodded at her helped her off of the bed.

That morning at breakfast the list was passed around to see who was staying at Hogwarts during Christmas. Crys signed up, she was the only Griffindor on the list.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked her glancing at her name on the list.

"Signing up to stay here over break. I'm not going ack to my aunt's and I really don't feel like going back to America, ever since Chad..." Ron put a comforting hand on her lower back.

"Crys," he said smoothly, "I told you last week that my mum agreed to let you come back to the Burrow for Christmas."

"What?" she asked him, stunned, "You did not."

"Yes I did."

"When?"

"Last Tuesday."

"Tuesday as in when I was so sleepy I fell asleep over my homework in the common room at seven o'clock?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you think I would remember?"

"'Well you can come with us."

"Good." she said simply and crossed her name off of the list.

Classes were insanely long that day. Just as they were walking out of their last class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures, A Slytherin girl named Karen pulled Crys aside to talk to her.

"Look, Noramison," she started suddenly, "I'm gonna make my point and I'm gonna make it clear. I'm only going to say this once, stay away from Ron."

"What?" Crys said innocently.

"I said stay away from Ron."

"That was twice and your pitiful little threats couldn't make me stay away from Ron if my life depended on it. Face it, you're slow, I got him first and you," she pointed a finger in Karen's face, "Are going to have to live with that."

Karen reached out and hit Crys so hard that she fell backwards into the mud. Karen started at her again but Crys grabbed her wand yelled, "Stupefy!" from her spot on the ground and Karen fell backwards into the mud as well. Crys stood up, unfazed, and headed back to the Griffindor Common Room.

"What happened to you, Crys?" Ron asked worriedly, standing up to cup her face in his hands so she would look up into his face.

"Nothing." she said simply and tried to pull away but he wouldn't let go.

"Nothing gave you a black eye and soaked you?" he asked her.

"It was a very aggressive nothing." she answered and sucessfully pulled away this time to sit in a chair by the fire.

"Crystal, I am serious," he knelt in front of her and looked straight into her eyes, "Tell me who did this to you. It wasn't Malfoy was it?"

"No." she responded, amused, "You think he could do this?" she pointed to her eye.

"It was Karen Drabbats." Hermione spoke from behind her thick book.

"Was it?" Ron forced Crys to look into his eyes again.

She nodded. Ron stood up and ran a frustrated hand through his red hair.

"It's wicked sexy when you do that." Crys told him absentmindedly.

"Why did she do this to you?" he asked her.

"She has a little crush on you. That's all." Crys said softly.

"What?" Ron turned to her.

"Well she does."

"What did she say to you, Crys?"

"She warned me to stay away from you."

"And what did you say back."

"That's not important."

"Tell me."

"I told her that I'm not afraid of her and that I got you first."

He didn't respond but she did see a hint of a smile on his lips. She patted her lap for him to sit on it. He did. Without putting all his weight on her, of course. She leaned her head against the back of the armchair and closed her eyes. He reached over and stroked her hair. Crys might've fallen asleep then, she might've just been so sleepy that she walked up to bed herself but when she woke up in the morning her eye was throbbing and she was hating Karen Drabbats.