Ron and Hermione spent the next few weeks together, and she was always by his side. She felt the chains tighten more and more around her body everyday as she felt the pressure to be the perfect girlfriend that everyone expected her to be. Everyone had talked to her at one point or another about how happy they were to see the perfect couple reunited.

Perfect. She had heard that word so many times and felt that pressure so much since she got back with Ron. Hermione thought that if she heard the word "perfect" just one more time, she'd throw whoever said it off the top of the astronomy tower. Didn't anyone understand the pressure behind the word "perfect"? She thought that if people knew the full weight of the word, it would have been outlawed years ago.

But finally, it was Christmas vacation. Ron, of course, was going home to visit his family. The war had torn them apart and now it was very rare for all the Weasleys to be together in one place. Hermione didn't mind that Ron would be gone. The rest of her classmates would ask her, "How are you going to survive without him during break? Why don't you go with him?" Hermione would simply shrug and say that she would somehow live without him, and explain that Ron really needed the time to be alone with his family. "You two are so perfect for each other," people would coo, and Hermione often felt like smacking someone over the head with her wand.

Draco would also be staying. Christmas at his house wouldn't be the same, and his mother said it would probably be best if he just stayed at school. Naturally, once Karissa heard the news, she was quite eager herself to stay at Hogwarts. Draco felt indifferent about the whole thing. Hermione would be there, which normally would have brightened the whole outlook of vacation, but things between them had become quite chilled and cordial since she and Ron got back together.

Hermione said her goodbyes to Ron and Harry as they boarded the carriage to leave school. Harry gave her one last sad look before the carriage took off, while Ron merely offered a flippant wave. She heaved a sigh and turned to walk up to her dorms and relax. She was so used to the walk that it hardly took her any time at all to get there, and she found herself almost surprised when she met up with the portrait.

"Hullo, Hermione," Lizzie greeted her as she entered the portrait.

"Hey, Lizzie. Where's Will?"

"Will?" Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Off flirting, no doubt. He's always flirting with someone. He'd flirt with the Fat Lady if he could fit in her portrait." Hermione gave a half-hearted laugh.

"If you don't mind me asking, Hermione, you seem awfully glum lately."

"Yea, I guess so. Maybe it's just because it's winter and all," she replied.

"Maybe," Lizzie replied with a tone of disbelief in her voice. "Anyway," she said, returning to her cheerful self, "I'm glad you're staying around, I was afraid I'd have to deal with Draco and Miss Karissa all break."

"Lizzie, why don't you just call her Karissa?" Lizzie shuddered.

"No thank you, I don't really care for her much. I'm still glad to see that Draco hasn't given her the password yet, but all the same it's quite annoying to listen to her plead with me to let her in. Then she pounds on the portrait like it's a bloody wooden door. No thank you! She'll always be 'Miss' to me."

Hermione could certainly emphasize with that, and she told Lizzie so.

"Anyway, she's in there now, so I'd be careful when you walk in."

Hermione's heart fell. "Thanks Lizzie. 'Silver'." The portrait swung open.

Hermione entered the room with trepidation, afraid to even glance over at the couch. Foolishly, she looked towards the smacking noises. Draco was laid out on the couch with Karissa draped on the top of him. She was viciously attacking his lips, his ears, his neck, anything she could get her lips and tongue on. Draco just sort of took it all in passively, eyes shut, save for the occasional tongue that he would offer for Karissa. Karissa obviously thought they were in heated make-out session; Draco was clearly just enjoying the ride. Hermione cleared her throat. Simultaneously, Draco's eyes flung open and Karissa bit his lip a little too hard, both surprised by her entrance.

"Ow!" Karissa pouted as she suddenly found herself thrown to the floor. Draco sat up straight, putting his fingers to his lip and checking for any signs of blood.

"Merlin, Karissa, do try not to bite my lip off next time, eh?"

He glanced over at Hermione through the corner of his eyes, too afraid to turn his head and meet her gaze. Hermione stared at the pair for a few more moments before turning up the stairs and shutting her curtain. Draco stared up at her as her hand disappeared behind the red velvet. Karissa sat there and looked at Draco. Her eyes squinted in deep thought, and then they glanced back down at her lap painfully. Finally, Draco remembered that Karissa was on the floor, and he helped her back onto the couch. He leaned in to kiss her neck, but she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away.

"Draco, don't." For the first time since they'd met, Karissa's voice was down a few octaves and her ditzy lilt was almost gone.

"For months now Draco I've been trying to make you love me, like me even - hell, I'd even settle for a mere toleration. And for the past few weeks, I was sure I'd succeeded. I've made a total fool out of my self, all for you. I know I'm not the brightest star in the sky, but my god, I'm not a complete idiot, Draco."

Draco merely looked at her stunned. He could still pick up her annoying ditziness every once and again, but altogether this was an entirely different Karissa.

"I know that your mum and my mum have been trying to set us up. I was so desperately hoping that it would happen. I have tried every trick in the book to win you over. I have literally thrown myself at you, all in hopes of having your heart. But I'm a girl, Draco. And just like any girl, there are certain things that I can just tell."

She looked sadly into Draco's eyes, and where the pain was written clearly in his, the truth was written clearly in hers.

"You've just been using me to forget things. I'm just a way to forget the pain you've been feeling. Your heart can never belong to me, Draco. And that's because it already belongs to Hermione." Draco's heart fell into his stomach.

"Karissa, I-"

"No, don't worry about it; I knew it all along really. I guess I was just hoping to change things. But I'm not going to do this anymore, I'm not going to make a tool out of myself anymore, and I'm certainly not going to stand in the way of true love anymore. I hope that we can be friends, but this isn't going to happen anymore. Goodbye, Draco."

With that, Karissa kissed his cheek before getting up and walking out the portrait hole. Draco could hardly believe it. Karissa wasn't nearly as dumb as everyone thought she was, and he was impressed by her courageousness. He could respect any girl who would refuse to be used, even though he was the one doing the using. He sat on the couch for another hour or so, thinking about his life and what needed to be changed, and then he retreated to his own room.