Once the brood was finally home, Ron's suspicions were confirmed. Harry would be bunking with him for the entirety of the break. He knew it was coming, but he still had to keep himself from grumbling at the news. He'd have happily shared with Fleur, but no one offered that solution.

He did find it interesting that Remus would also be there for the holidays. That, at least, boded well for his information gathering. Having another Order member nearby would be helpful. That still didn't solve the issue of the notebook, and how the hell he was going to explain it. Well, he'd have to just be discrete until he came up with something.

Later that night after Harry had fallen asleep, Ron grabbed the notebook and scratched a note advising that Remus would be staying with the family for the holidays. After he closed and stashed the book again, he lay back and stared at his ceiling. He was bored. Maybe he shouldn't have slept so long on the train.

He let his mind wander. He thought about Fleur a floor above him. She was brilliant and beautiful, but would not be an appropriate wife for Bill. He would need a pure blood witch, not a half breed. He wasn't too worried about it. She could easily be set aside when the right match was made. Maybe he could arrange for Bill to keep her as a mistress. He doubted it would be possible though. What with Bill being a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Also, with Fleur's beauty and vela blood, she would likely be a highly sought-after prize. Ron wouldn't mind getting a leg up on her, but he wasn't willing to trade Hermione for the woman. Mione was his, forever and always.

He let his mind flit through some of his favorite fantasies. He couldn't wait to have her. He bet she'd be tight and hot. He thought about what Draco told him about girls with fight in them. Hermione definitely had fight. He wasn't sure he wanted to do that to her, at least not the first time. He liked to think about it though. He liked to think of taming the fire in her, watching her struggle, see the look in her eyes as she realized that she couldn't stop him, that she couldn't get away.

Damn! Now he had a hard on. He wondered if he could have a wank without Harry waking up. He wondered if he cared. After a moment of thought, he decided the answer to both questions was yes. He flipped over on his side with a huff, deciding the best course of action was to just go to sleep. He frowned over at his roommate. Why did he always have to ruin everything, he thought. He closed his eyes and imagined a world without Harry until he fell asleep.

*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*

The next few days were filled with mindless tedium. His mother always had some chore for them. It made him wonder what the hell she did when they weren't there. Harry was a sucker and often helped cheerfully. Ron was more than happy to let him.

There had been an Order meeting shortly after they had returned home, but Ron hadn't been able to infiltrate it. Now that the twins were members, they had taken over part of the security. In other words, they were in charge of making sure their younger siblings couldn't spy on them. They had been the perfect choice for that duty considering how successful they had been before they were brought into the group.

That made Ron's mission more difficult and infinitely more boring. Instead of getting the unfiltered information straight from their meeting, Ron had been forced to mingle both before and after it trying to pick up anything he could. He noted who was there, where they came from, any topic of conversation he happened upon. He quietly moved from room to room, watching and listening for anything he could. Not knowing what was important, he simply wrote it all down and trusted someone else to sift through it

Draco assured him that the Dark Lord was pleased with whatever he could pass on. That the Dark Lord preferred that Ron report too much than not enough. Besides the one meeting, there was little to do but mention who stopped by and why. It left him with a lot a free time, and yet little privacy. He feared he may end up starkers before the break was over.

*D*D*D*D*D*D*D*

Draco was bored out of his mind. He'd grown weary of reading and went out to fly. Once he'd reached the manor's pitch, broom in hand, he'd found it already being utilized by other Death Eaters who had no desire to include the younger man. Draco thought about stopping by the kitchen for a bite to eat, but nixed that idea quickly. There was no way that it too had attracted some Death Eaters.

He was sick of having his home overrun. He was used to having guests, but usually some of them were at least his friends. Now though, despite his status, his Dark mark and mission, he was being treated like a child and a nuisance in his own home. He returned to his rooms in a huff and threw himself onto the sofa near the fireplace in his sitting room. He eyed the notebook on the side table.

He flipped through it to see if anything new was written, but there was nothing. It seemed like Weasley was having a time of it himself. He tossed the book back onto the table and leaned back to stare at the ceiling for a while. Predictably, that did nothing to alleviate his boredom. It was then though that he had an idea. Grabbing the notebook once more, he summoned a quill and ink. Fancy a game of chess? He wrote.

*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*R*

Ron was in his bed, staring at his own ceiling when he felt his ring grow warm, alerting him that there was a new message in the notebook. He rolled over and pulled it out from under his mattress. He was surprised by the question he saw. It was definitely not the type of message he was expecting. Thinking on it a moment, he wrote back. Only I if I'm white, he responded.

A second later, You're on, appeared on the page.

Ron grinned. King's pawn to king's pawn 4.