Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine, got it?

A/N: Oh, well, thanks a lot to all the people that reviewed. I really didn't expect so much response for this story. It was a pleasant surprise. I really hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well. Thanks again!

To lockofcurls: Thanks for beta-reading this chapter and big amount of one-shots. Lol.

Hidden Feelings

As Christmas approached, every single hall of Hogwarts was decorated with mistletoe and enchanted candles. Professor McGonagall had asked the ghosts to sing Christmas Carols at every moment of the day, and Hagrid had adorned the most majestic tree that the Hogwarts pupils have ever seen. Every professor was convinced that the more beautiful the castle looked, the less the students thought about the threat of Voldemort, at least during Christmas time, and it worked with most of the them. But there was still someone that started to feel obsessed with the thought of the Dark Lord.

"Harry," whispered Ron, elbowing him in his ribs. Harry opened his eyes and saw Professor Slughorn reaching his desk slowly. He looked at his potion, which the book said should have turned into a bright pink colour, and that now was as red as Ron's hair. He dived behind his potions' book, he was sure that he has poured all the ingredients, but he wasn't positive about the order. He glanced at Ron and saw that his potion was almost blue. At least red was closer to pink than blue.

"You were daydreaming," said Ron, coughing between the fog that was coming out of his cauldron.

"I wasn't daydreaming. I was thinking," said Harry.

"About You-Know-Who?" asked Ron slowly.

Harry nodded reluctantly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Can't you simply take him out of your brain until Christmas holiday?"

"No," said Harry bitterly.

Professor Slughorn cleared his throat for capturing everybody's attention. "If you want to see something that looks exactly like the potion I asked you to make, you should look into Miss Granger's cauldron," he said, bending down on Hermione's desk. "Perfect colour, perfect smell, perfect consistency," he said, pouring a ladle into her potion and making some potion fall back into the cauldron.

Harry looked at Ron, who was staring at her and smiling. He turned his attention towards Hermione and saw that she didn't look satisfied with herself; she wasn't even trying to suppress a smile. But she didn't look miserably either. It was like she was thinking about something so intensely that she simply didn't mind what was happening around herself. It wasn't the first time that Harry noticed that behaviour in her. She had been acting strangely this whole week, since she had talked with Ginny. She spent all her free time with Ron and Harry, but she never talked unless they asked her something, and even in that case her answers never went over a sentence. But the strangest thing was that she left a room when she saw Ginny entering. Not that Ginny was trying to talk to her, or was looking for her, but it looked like they simply couldn't stand to be in the presence of one another. Ron and Harry didn't see them fight, and both Hermione and Ginny didn't say anything good or bad about each other, they simply ignored the subject when it was brought up. Even Ron was starting to notice that there was something of strange in their behaviour, and that said something.

"Harry, Harry, Harry," said Slughorn bending on his cauldron and snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "This potion is not all that bad, but you are still far from your last year's standard. What happened?"

Harry looked at him and smiled weakly. After what happened with Snape at the end of the last school year, Harry had voluntary thrown away the potions' book of the Half-Blood Prince. The only problem was that now he was back to his usual level, and that meant far behind Hermione's. "I don't know. I put all the ingredients in the cauldron."

"Did you respect the order?" asked Slughorn.

"I guess so," said Harry uncertainly.

Slughorn shook his head and turned towards the rest of the class. "Harry's potion became red instead of pink. Who can tell us where he failed?"

Harry looked instinctually towards Hermione, but her hand didn't fly in the air as usually. It was almost a week that her hand didn't fly anymore though.

"Nobody?" asked Slughorn glancing at the class. "Not even you, Miss. Granger?"

Hermione raised her eyes. "Maybe he put the eye of newt before the wool of bat. That could have made the potion turning red instead of pink."

Slughorn clapped his hands. "Very good Miss. Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Hermione remained silent and didn't seem to care too much for her hundredth successful answer.

Slughorn came back to his desk, deliberately ignoring Ron's potion which was starting to gurgle dangerously. "Class dismissed," he said checking his watch. "Next time I would like to see something of less deluding from you all," he added while the students were washing their cauldrons.

Harry was making his potion disappear with his wand and taking away all the ingredients he had used when Hermione appeared at his side, ready to leave the class for lunch.

"Hey," Harry greeted her.

"Hey," she answered.

"Why didn't you raise your hand if you knew the answer?" he asked her closing his potions' book and putting it away.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and didn't say anything more.

"Hey, Hermione." Ron reached them with his bag on his shoulders. "You did a great job winning ten points to Gryffindor. That was cool," he said, smiling.

Hermione smiled back weakly. "Thanks," she said flushing red, but this time was a little bit less red than the others.

"You're welcome," said Ron grinning.

It was a common knowledge that Ron fancied Hermione, and that Hermione fancied Ron back. Everybody knew that. Well, everybody but Ron. Lately, Harry couldn't help noticing, there was something different in their relationship. It looked almost like every time Ron talked to her was going to be the moment he was going to tell her how he felt, but lost the courage every time. Harry hoped that something would happen soon between the two. Hermione had become colder towards them, towards everybody, but it was almost like she didn't hold less, if any, interest in Ron anymore. Harry started to think that it was taking too long to his friend to tell Hermione how he felt about her, and that she was getting tired of waiting.

"We should move if we don't wanna be late for lunch," said Harry interrupting his friends.

"Yeah, I'm starving," said Ron making his way towards the door.

They reached the Great Hall talking about the fact that most of the ghosts where terribly out of tune when they sang Jingle Bells, with Hermione following silently. The four tables were covered with every kind of food that they could imagine, looking almost ready for Christmas. Harry and Ron sat down side by side and Hermione sat across from them.

"You know," said Ron, helping himself with some roast. "I like the fact that they are trying to distract us from the thought of You-Know-Who in this way."

"Ron, giving us delicious food and making Hogwarts look like Christmas Town is not exactly distracting," said Harry. "I mean, who could forget that Voldemort is always out there?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Harry. They are just trying to make our last days here happier," he said swallowing some meat.

Harry couldn't help laughing. Hermione smiled, too.

Hermione jumped to her feet when she saw Ginny coming in through the doors to the Great Hall.

"Hermione, where are you going?" asked Ron looking at her while she walked quickly towards the door. Ginny looked at her while she passed next to her, she stretched a hand in her direction and then brought the fingers to her mouth, trying to cover the fact that she was biting her bottom lip. Then, she lowered her eyes and walked towards the Gryffindor table. She sat down in front of Ron, in the seat that Hermione has just left.

"Hi," she said to both Ron and Harry without looking at them, but helping herself with some of the food.

"Hi," answered Harry and Ron together.

She started to chew her meat without any intention of wanting to start a proper conversation with them. She too, Harry couldn't help noticing, was behaving in a strange way. She moved away a lock of hair from her eyes, sighing heavily. Harry felt something at the bottom of his stomach and for a moment had to remind himself why he left her this past June.

"Harry?" asked Ron waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you still thinking about You-Know-Who?"

Harry blinked. "What?" he asked without having a clue on what he was talking.

"You were staring," explained Ron.

He was staring at Ginny. "Yeah, I was thinking about Voldemort," he said quickly.

"Nice thought," said Ginny looking at him.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "And what were you thinking about?" he asked her.

Ginny blushed without any apparent reason. "Nothing," she almost whispered.

"It wasn't something about Hermione?" asked Harry.

Ginny paler. "Why?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders again. "I don't know, but you two have been acting strangely since Hermione talked to you after our fight in the Library," said Harry matter-of-factly.

"We are not," answered Ginny hastily.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "Did you have a fight?" he asked her.

"No," she answered.

"Something must have happened," Harry pointed out. "You have always been good friends and now you're avoiding each other."

"Even if something would have happened," snapped Ginny regaining some colour on her face, "It's none of your business."

"Okay, I was just asking," said Harry defensively. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to interfere, I just care for you both."

Ginny looked at him without answering, but took away her eyes almost immediately. "Hermione didn't tell you anything?" she asked after a while.

"No," answered Ron. "What she should have told us?"

"Nothing," said Ginny forcefully. "I was just asking." She looked at her watch. "I'd better go," she muttered before standing up and leaving Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table with the strange feeling that they will never understand girls.