AN: Thank you all who read this story. It makes me very happy that people actually like my writing style or my writing in general. This chapter is for all of you who have been reading this story. Once again I am not JK Rowling.

Harry and I were sitting in the library working on homework and idly talking about different things. I wanted to bring up his break up with Ginny but didn't know how. Last week Ginny had come to me bawling. At first I had thought there had been another attack but after what Ginny had told me I wished it had been an attack. Seeing Ginny so devastated was heartbreaking. Apparently Harry was afraid Voldemort would try to use Ginny again like he had in our second year. He broke up with her to make sure she was safe. But Ginny was quickly starting to look like Tonks had when Remus denied her and it wasn't pretty.

"What are you going to do for Slughorn's party?" Harry asked absently flipping through pages of his potions book and I glared at it.

"I'm going with Sirius, of course, but this weird fight you have with Ginny has got to stop." Harry looked up frowning.

"How do you know about that?" He asked his eyebrows pulling together.

"Oh come on she told me Harry." I said exasperated and glared at him. Harry shifted uncomfortably at the look on my face.

"Hermione I'm trying to keep her safe." Harry said rubbing his eyes.

"I understand that but your hurting Ginny." I said glaring at him. He shifted uncomfortably and looked at the table. I frowned and went back to the original conversation. Slughorn's party.

"And incidentally," I said, after a few moments, "you need to be careful."

"For the last time," Harry said, his voice hoarse, "I am not giving back this book. I've learned more from the Half-blood prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in —"

"I'm not talking about your stupid so-called prince," I said my lip curling in distaste. "I'm talking about earlier. I went into the girl's bathroom just before I came in here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party, and they all seem to have bought Fred and George's love potions, which I'm afraid to say probably work —"

"Why didn't you confiscate them then?" Harry demanded. I looked at him darkly. What did he think I wanted him drugged?

"They didn't have the potions with them in the bathroom," I said scornfully, "They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt the Half-blood prince" I gave the book a scornful look "could dream up an antidote for a dozen different love potions at once, I'd just invite Ginny to go with you, that'll stop all the others thinking they've still got a chance. It's tomorrow night, they're getting desperate."

"I don't want to put Ginny in danger." Harry said absently rubbing his scar.

"Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business." I said grimly. Harry frowned and looked back at his book. I pulled my Arthimancy closer and started to work on a hard equation.

"Hang on a moment," he said slowly. "I thought Filch had banned anything bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

"And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?" I asked, still concentrating on my essay.

"But I thought all the owls were being searched. So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into the school?"

"Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions," I said absently. "It's part of their Owl order service."

"You know a lot about it." I gave Harry a disgusted look.

"It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer," I said coldly, "I don't go around putting potions in people's drinks… or pretending too either, which is just as bad…" I said thinking of the Felix Felicis he had pretended to pour in Ron's drink.

"Yeah, well, never mind that," Harry said quickly. "The point is, Filch is being fooled isn't he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school —?"

"Oh, Harry… not that again…" I said rolling my eyes.

"Come on, why not?" Harry demanded.

"Look," I sighed, "Secrecy Sensors detect jinxes, curses, and concealment charms, don't they? They're used to find dark magic and dark objects. They'd have picked up a powerful curse, like the one in the necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register — anyway Love potions aren't dark or dangerous -"

"Easy for you to say," Harry muttered.

"— so it would be down to Filch to realize it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from —"

I stopped dead paling. Somebody had moved close behind them among the dark bookshelves. We waited, and a moment later the vulturelike countenance of Madam Pince appeared around the corner, her sunken cheeks, her skin like parchment, and her long hooked nose illuminated unflatteringly by the lamp she was carrying.

"The library is now closed," she said, "Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct — what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?"

"It isn't the library's, it's mine!" Harry said hastily, snatching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making off the table as she lunged at it with a clawlike hand. Maybe she would take it away from him. I smirked at the thought.

"Spoiled!" she hissed. "Desecrated, befouled!" I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing.

"It's just a book that's been written on!" Harry said, tugging it out of her grip.

She looked as though she might have a seizure. I hastily packed my things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frogmarched him away.

"She'll ban you from the library if you're not careful. Why did you have to bring that stupid book?" I said darkly. Why hadn't she taken the stupid book?

"It's not my fault she's barking mad, Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something between them…" I made a face. Ew. That would just plain nasty.

"Oh, ha ha…" I finally said.

Enjoying the fact that we could speak normally again, we made their way along the deserted lamp-lit corridors back to the common room, arguing whether or not Filch and Madam Pince were secretly in love with each other. It was an interesting conversation to say the least. We were laughing once we finally made it to the the Fat Lady.

"Baubles" said Harry to the Fat Lady, this being the new, festive password.

"Same to you," said the fat lady with a roguish grin, and she swung forward to admit us.

"Hi, Harry!" Romilda Vane said, the moment he had climbed through the portrait hole. "Fancy a Gillywater?" I made a face and walked further into the room. Ron was in the corner snogging Luna and I rolled my eyes. Luna and Hannah had become honorary Gryffindors and came in all the time.

"No thanks," Harry said quickly. "I don't like it much."

"Well, take these anyway," Romilda said, thrusting a box into his hands. "Chocolate Cauldrons, they've got Firewhisky in them. My gran sent them to me, but I don't like them." As if. She was too young to have Firewhisky.

"Oh — right — thanks a lot." Harry said, looking uncomfortable. "Er — I ' m just going over here with…"

He hurried off behind Hermione, his voice tailing away feebly.

"Told you," I said succinctly, " Sooner you ask someone, sooner they'll all leave you alone and you can —" I stopped Ginny was sitting in front of the fireplace her hair greasy and her eyes blank. Hanna was sitting next to her silently reading a book. Harry stiffened next to me his eyes pained.

"Just ask her." I whispered looking at Ginny. A tear fell down her cheek but she didn't make a move to wipe it away.

"No she won't die because I love her. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her." Harry turned and ran up the steps his eyes shimmering.

I sighed and hung my head. This was not how I expected my sixth year to turn out.

AN: Please Review! It helps it really helps.