Disclaimer- all the characters you recognize are Miss Rowling's. (Who else could invent such beautiful and lively characters?)

CLOSE TO MY HEART

CHAPTER 2

SNOW AND PLANNING

"I won again", Ron thumped his fist in the air and yelled. "Harry, seven years have passed since you've been playing wizard chess and you still can't win."

Hermione raised her eyebrows from her book (Advanced Arthimancy) and looked at Ron.

Harry was red in the face and wanted to change the subject. "Game for a bit if snowball fight?" he asked.

As he said this, Ron and Hermione got up and rushed out of their cozy Gryffindor common room. Through the Great Hall, they went straight outside. The snowfall had ceased but it was still very cold. Hermione ran to the patch of snow near Hagrid's hut. Immediately she was hit in the head by a huge snowball and fell down.

"Ouch Ron, I'm going to pay you back for this", she yelled at him as he struggled to get up from the ground.

Ron came to her side and extended his hand to her. "Here, get up now and be ready for another one, bigger than this."

Hermione did accept his hand but was too fast for him. She picked up a huge ball of snow and smashed it right on Ron's face.

"Hermione!" he gasped.

Harry was watching both of them with an amused expression on his face.

"Hey! Take this." He threw a snowball at them, and the game resumed.

The trio was laughing as they playfully hit each other with snowballs. Suddenly, Hermione was hit on the head from behind. They heard a malicious voice saying, "Mudblood is playing snowball fight with Potty and Weasel."

Draco Malfoy and his sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, their enemies since first year were standing behind her. As soon as Ron heard him say this, he rushed forward and grabbed him by the collar. Crabbe and Goyle ran forward to help Malfoy. But Hermione was far quicker.

She took out her wand from her robes, pointed it at Cragge and Goyle and shouterd, "Tarantallegra!"

She saw that their legs were moving out of control, and the two Slytherins were shouting with a scared expression on their faces.

Next, she pointed her wand at Draco and yelled, "Densaugeo". Malfoy's teeth started growing endlessly.

Horrified, he was looking at Hermione as he did not know the counter-charm.

Hermione smirked at him and said, "Wasn't this the same spell you used on me few years back? Have fun Malfoy. This should teach you something."

Seeing all this Ron was dumbfounded.

He could only say, "Whoa Hermione! That was cool!"

Hermione quickly ran to him and embraced him, "Ron, there's something I need to tell you." Ron was holding her close. He replied, "I too, need to tell you something-"

But Harry interrupted them. Overexcited, he said "Hermione, I never thought. You were amazing." Hermione smiled at the compliment and the three of them went indoors together.

"Harry, about the next D.A. meeting, we've set it for this Friday. However, with Dedalus Diggle teaching us Defense Against Dark Arts, it has become just a hobby club."

"Yeah, after Lupin, this is the first time we've got a proper teacher." Ron put in.

Harry started counting off his fingers and added, "first Quirrel who housed Voldemort in his head, then that idiot Lockhart, Hermione there's nothing to blush about." He said as he saw Hermione going red in the face. "Then the fake Moody," he resumed, "that Fudge crony, Umbridge and then the ever-forgetting fool, McClaggan in our sixth year."

Ron seconded him and said, "Yeah, I heard they sent him off to St. Mungo's for treatment."

"McClaggan and Lockhart in St. Mungo's together, what a pair!" Harry sniggered.

Hermione looked at the positive side of things and said, "Now that we have got a member of the Order taking Defense Against Dark Arts, I guess we should forget about all those morons."

"Right you are." Ron sided with her.

Hermione looked at him and immediately thought about what he wanted to tell her, but she did not know that Ron was thinking the same about her. She knew better than to ask in front of Harry.

"So Harry," she addressed him putting her thoughts aside, "What are we doing in this D.A. meeting?"

"I reckon we should practice what we did in the past two years. Some are still not very good with their Patronuses." Harry replied.

Suddenly the portrait hole opened and in jumped Colin and Dennis Creevey. They were followed by Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who were giggling uncontrollably. Dean and Seamus followed them. Harry waved at them and beckoned them over to him.

"We're having the next D.A. meeting this Friday. Be sure to be there." Harry informed them. They nodded and went upstairs to their dormitory. The portrait hole opened again and in came Neville with a blushing Ginny on his arm. Ginny saw Ron staring at her and stopped in her tracks.

"I thought you were going out with Dean." He said.

"Well, I was. But now I'm going out with Neville."

"I-never knew." Ron stammered.

"Big surprise!" Said Ginny. "I and Dean have broken up and now he's going out with Parvati."

"And Seamus with Lavender?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. They make a nice pair, don't they?" saying this, Ginny and Neville went to the extreme corner of the common room and sat down very close together. Ron was still staring after her. "Honestly, Ron you're looking as if Ginny's dating Grawp." Hermione admonished him.

"Well now I know what Parvati and Lavender were blushing about when they came inside." Harry broke in before Ron and Hermione could start bickering again.

"Now that this is up, let's get on with our homework." Said Hermione. "We need to get all O's to get into Auror training."

"Damn Snape!" Ron said. "First he gave me a 'P' in potions and now I've got to write six full scrolls on the Vanishing potion."

"Ron", Hermione said, "Don't start that all over again. You very well know that he gave you two weeks to complete that. You didn't finish it in all these days, that's your fault. No, don't look at me like that. I'm not writing your essay for you." Hermione said as she saw that pleading look on Ron's face, which she knew so well.

"Supper time, guys." Harry announced in a bored voice. "Ron, Hermione is right. We didn't finish our work before and now we have to pay for it. At most we'll get a 'T' in Potions." he finished in a sarcastic voice. Ron smiled at him and said playfully, "Oh yeah, side with her."

Hermione went out of the common room saying something which sounded very much like, "Boys…"