A/N: There's nothing much to say. I am just the happiest person right now. Thanks for all the reviews! I am so sorry for releasing it so late. It's just that I had a writer's trauma … sigh

Note: For all of you who are wondering why they don't have classes, it's because I skipped it. Harry had detention at the end of the week, so right now, it's the weekend before Christmas break (December 20) (don't ask why I picked that date either)

Chapter 20 – Planning

Christmas break was coming and all the students from Hogwarts were exchanging presents, packing up, and getting ready to visit their friends and family back home. The first years were especially as excited as new born hippogriffs, ready to explore the world.

Harry was just discussing to Hermione about the plan he had to win Ginny back over.

"You need to help me Hermione!" Harry cried, "You're the only one besides Luna who she really trusts,"

"What am I suppose to do!" Hermione asked.

"Just tell her that this is to protect her," Harry explained.

"But she doesn't need to be protected!"

"Hermione please!"

Hermione sighed.

"If you're that desperate Harry, fine, I'll go talk to her," Hermione surrendered.

Harry bent his head down in appreciation. "Thanks a million 'Mione," he replied.

She stood up from the Gryffindor table and went up to the Gryffindor bedroom. She tapped at the door and Ginny said in her soft voice, "Come in,"

"Ginny," Hermione said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered. Hermione then walked in to find Ginny sitting on her bed with piles of clothes scattered all over herself, desks, and the ground.

"Harry doesn't want to go to the Burrow with you Ginny," Hermione said.

"If he won't go with me, I'll just have to go with him," she said, taking a white sweater and packing it into her trunk.

"Ginny –" Hermione started.

"Why can't you just tell him to lay off!" Ginny cried out, "I can take care of myself. I'm already 16 years old God be dammed!"

"You have to think about what Harry wants for you," Hermione tried to say but Ginny shook her head.

"I'm going with him wither he likes it or not," Ginny stated. It was the end of the conversation. You could tell by the strong force and attention Ginny was giving to packing up her belongings.

"Locomoter trunk," Ginny chanted and the trunk rose to her and was put the corner.

"I really think you should reconsider," Hermione mentioned again.

"I've made up my mind," Ginny said, "Besides; Harry was the one who set you up to do this,"

Hermione, shocked, had her eyes open. Ginny smirked.

"It's so obvious,"

Hermione laughed, "You two are the perfect couple,"

"And I tend to keep it that way,"

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Hermione left the room laughing and went down the stairs. It was there that she found Harry pacing back and forth.

"So how did it go?" he asked, lifting his head up from the floor.

"She won't budge,"

"What do you mean she won't budge?" Harry asked, frustrated at the fact that Ginny didn't 'get it'.

"She's going with you," she continued on, "with the mission to find Voldemort. I found her packing up her things. She says that it's her duty as a girlfriend to be with you at the time of need," she paused, "Well…she didn't say that in the words I put it to you but it basically meant the same,"

"Arg!" Harry cried out, "That woman has no idea of what kind to danger she is getting herself into!"

"Harry," Hermione said gently, "I think that you are acting a bit – careless. Ginny is 16 Harry. She knows how to take care of herself,"

"But fighting Voldemort?" Harry asked, "That's foolish! She wasn't thinking. You do stupid things when you're angry,"

"Maybe you should be the one to calm down," said a voice.

Ginny was leaning on the stairs and sighed.

"Harry, you can't stop me from doing this. It's final," she ended it with a peck on Harry's lips.

"Aww….how cute," Hermione commented. "I'm just going to leave you two alone now," and left the common room.

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Why did my father have to be in the middle of this! Malfoy thought furiously. It's because of him that I can't be with her. That I had to take the potion, and ruin my only chance at something called…love. And it sucks always feeling funny, dizzy, dazed at the world.

Malfoy was sitting on a chair and leaning toward the glass table. He was scribbling everything and anything. Any ideas to get along life without love. Without the feeling of Hermione Granger.

How about shunning her away? He thought to himself. No, that won't do…I … I can't break her heart. He admitted to himself.

I can set her up with someone I trust! He thought to himself and said, "I don't trust anyone but her,"

"Why does this have to be so bloody hard!" he cried out in frustration. He shook his pencil from the pressure of holding it for so long and it just snapped. The pencil had broken in two and a piece of it lay next to his palm.

"Dammit!" he shouted and flung the other part of the pencil he was holding onto the wall.

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Hermione was walking down the hall and met a couple of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and chatted but Hermione wasn't walking around for entertainment.

She was just about to enter through the portrait when she heard something pound against the wall.

She ignored the sound and continued on. "What's all the racket about?" she shouted.

She saw Malfoy's head lift up and sighed, "I didn't hit you now did I?" he asked.

"Never mind that,"Hermione answered, "What you are doing here on such a lovely day?" she asked.

He crumpled up the piece of paper full of useless ideas and replied, "Nothing important"

"Well then if it's nothing important, you wouldn't mind taking a walk with me then?" she suggested.

He stood from the chair and backed away, "On second thought," he decided, "I am fairly busy with school work. Snape assigned me to do something about the fangs of at least 3 types of mystical animals,"

"I had potions with you last time and heard of no such thing," Hermione said.

She walked over and dragged Malfoy by the arm.

"I don't think that taking a walk outside would be good for my delicately pale skin!" Draco argued.

"You skin is so pale it needs a little yellow to brighten it up," Hermione commented.

They wandered down the stairs and went outside the castle. The grounds were filled with students chatting and talking, walking with friends and others reading under willow trees. Even the whooping willow seemed tranquil on this particular sunny day.

Hermione led Draco to a spot where they sat on the patch of green grass. She sat down and said, "Now wasn't this a good idea?"

"If you want to sit on dirt maybe," Draco said, not sitting but standing, squinting his eyes from the blazing sun on a particularly warm winter day in Britain.

"It is quite warm for December isn't it?" Draco commented.

"The world is warming up," Hermione answered, "Better to enjoy it now," she said.

"I guess," he said. "Wouldn't it be better to tell Dumbledore then?"

Hermione sighed in complaint. "How about I go tell Dumbledore while you make sure nothing is going on in the forest?" her voice in sarcasm.

"Don't get distracted by this sun," Draco said "Go to his office immediately,"

Hermione sighed in defeat, Draco oblivious to the fact that Hermione was just joking around. "It's not like I'll get distracted Malfoy, I know how to handle myself,"

She stood and went off, ignoring the people around her.

"Good," he murmured, "Now I can see what this weather is really about,"

He walked over and tried to make himself invisible to the others. It wasn't hard. The others around Malfoy seemed as if it was only their little group. He had never seen half the people in Hogwarts so cheerful before. It's as if someone had cast a spell over them. He thought.

He hurried in and looked around. The Forbidden Forest had cast has huge silence around Draco. The quiet had scared him in a way, not used to being the center of nothing. He was surrounded by tall dark tress, all leaning in as if trying to get away from the sunlight.

He traveled further in, and stopped at the sight of a tent being set up.

He hid behind a tree that was a few feet away.

"Get a hurry on!" someone ordered. Draco caught sight of about 5 Death Eaters and in front of him, his own eyes saw, his very own father.

"Dad." He whispered. He looked in more closely. There was more than 1 tent. No…there were about 20 of them!

I've got to convince them to tell me what's going on. He thought to himself. He stepped out of hiding. The Death Eaters stopped working and stared.

Lucius was standing at the corner, ordering and shouting out the directions.

"Father," he replied, stepping out

"Draco…how are you on this fine day?" he greeted.

"Fine thank you," he answered back. "Would you mind telling me what's going on?"

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I don't understand why he would want to ruin a perfectly good day and waste it on silly intentions of You – Know – Who, Hermione thought.

She wandered through the halls admiring the glass painted windows where the light had shown through. The portraits seemed "happier" than usual and the stairs seemed to float from one floor to another.

No! Draco warned me about how this could happen. She walked the rest of the way in silence, staring at the floor, head down.

She knocked at the door and said, "Headmaster! Professor Dumbledore, I have urgent news!"

"Yes, Miss. Granger, come in," he called from inside. Unlike everyone else, Albus Dumbledore had a frown upon his face and his eyebrows were creased.

"Professor, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Fine, fine," he answered.

"Draco thinks that someone had cast a spell over us all using the sun. Silly I know –"

"Mr. Malfoy is right,"

"He is?"

"Where has he gone?" Dumbledore asked.

"Um…well he had mentioned the … the Forbidden Forest,"

He got up with a stern look on his face. "We shall go there then,"

"Where are we going to exactly sir?" Hermione asked.

He kept the pace steady and fast.

"They had cast a pylumo," he said.

"Fire and … light?" she assumed.

"Unusual isn't it? But it is a combo of light and fire. It is a spark that is lighted to have the person who is cast upon to feel cheerful,"

"Yes, I was pretty caught up in it. I didn't know why," she explained.

"We must hurry. If this keeps up, the whole of Hogwarts will not be aware of what they are doing," he said, "Poor Minerva, didn't yell at anyone in particular today," he sighed.

"I'm sure it's nothing sir," Hermione reassured, "But if it is, I'm sure we'll find a way to fix it,"

"I miss the noise of her barking orders. She even greeted the singing lilies," he said sadly.

The sun blazed, making Hermione feel dazed around everyone.

Must be a side effect. Hermione thought.

They wandered through the woods, shuffling their feet as quietly as possible.

"Stay close," Dumbledore warned. They had hid behind the trees where Hermione saw Draco talking to the Death Eaters, having, what it seemed, deep lengthened conversation.

Hermione gasped.

"Shh!" Dumbledore said, "We must listen," he whispered.

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"You aren't still communicating with the foul little Mudblood did you?" Lucius asked suspiciously.

"No father," he replied.

"Good. I don't want to have her mouth removed or to die a very painful death from blabbing would we?"

"Are you spying on me father?"

"I wouldn't call keeping an eye on you spying" he replied. "It was under the Dark Lord's order to watch over you. It seems that you are a great deal of value to him,"

"It would seem so,"

"We are preparing to attack right after Christmas break. You are coming back to the Manor, yes?"

"No, actually, Dumbledore wants me to stay for some reason. Being Head Boy can have their disadvantages,"

"I will speak to the Headmaster himself Draco. Your mark will be held on Christmas Day," he replied sternly.

"Mark?" he asked, a sense of fear had crept over him.

"Yes, mark," he rolled up his sleeve to reveal the scorch that had been planted on his father's own skin.

"Okay, I get it" he replied, "What a wonderful Christmas present,"

"Be prepared Draco," Lucius warned. "I'm going to change and have a little talk with the Headmaster,"

"Father," Draco called out, "Did you cast a spell on Hogwarts?"

"I'm glad you noticed, yes. A wonder pylumo is, isn't it?" he said, grinning the grin that was very much like Draco's. "The ability to make someone unaware of anything around them," he smiled again at his ingenious plan. "Clever, no?"

"Yes, very," he replied sadly.

"Come on now!" Lucius ordered, "We must leave. I've got a meeting to attend to with the Ministry of Magic,"

The others followed him and disappeared out of sight.

Draco sighed, wondering what the reversal of the spell was.

"We have to stop them," a voice said.

Draco turned around and found Hermione and Albus Dumbledore standing a few feet away.

"I can explain…really! I can!" he cried.

"Draco…were you planning with the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked in a concerned voice. You could see that she was trying to hold back her tears.

"No…of course not," he replied sadly.

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A/N: Leaving you with that. Sorry for not updating for so long. Please forgive and have it in your heart to review. I named it planning because it was the planning of how to win Ginny back and the plan of attack from Voldemort and stuff. Thanks!