Harry's POV

Hermione had just gone up to bed, claiming she was okay now. But Ginny and I knew better. Ron's harsh words had really effected her. I couldn't blame her: what Ron had said really was harsh. I could tell Ron was the least likely person to ever insult her like that and that was what had made her so upset.

I loved Hermione like my own sister and when I saw her stressed out and depressed, all I wanted was to hug her tightly and wipe her tears away, but I also knew that she had wanted to be alone so I had let her be.

"Ron better apologise to her soon," Ginny pointed out.

"Yeah, he should," I replied, sitting up. "I mean, he is my best friend and all, but he should really think about the consequences of what he says."

"It's like ever since Vanessa and Abby came, he hasn't been himself at all," Ginny sighed, gazing thoughtfully into the roaring fire.

Now that I thought about it, it really was true.Vanessa had been hanging around Ron way too much and Ron let her. He always seemed to enjoy being near her and did everything she did, even if he hated doing it. Just yesterday, I had seen him drinking a cup of hot cappuccino with her. I knew for a fact that he found the drink revolting and preferred Butterbeer over any hot muggle beverage.

I had also felt that Abby was getting too clingy and too well...too possessive of me. She wouldn't let anyone talk to me. Ever. Twice, I had caught her giving Ginny and Hermione the evil eye.

"Hey, have you noticed anything strange about Abby, Gin?" I asked, looking at her closely.

Ginny went scarlet at first: something I knew only too well when she was hiding something or was nervous or embarrassed, and then started fidgeting with her fingers.

"Uh, well, er," she stuttered and I grinned in triumph. So she had noticed something. "Umm, the thing is..." she trailed off.

"You know you can tell me, Ginny," I chuckled, offering her the plate of fries that had been forgotten.

"I'm not sure you'll believe me, Harry. You might think I'm only saying this to make you hate Abby, but I'm not."

My eyes widened in recognition. So this was why she had acted distant whenever Vanessa and Abby were around. But Ginny never did something without a proper reason.

"Ginny Weasley," I began. "You listen to me carefully. I could never, ever hate you okay? You're the best thing that ever happened, and I'm just so glad I know you. I would never let a couple people that I met just a month ago come between us, and I trust you. You would never lie. I just know it! And if you hate Abby, so do I. Because I trust your judgement way more than I trust mine." Every bit of what I had just said was true.

"Harry," Ginny whispered, with tears in her eyes."I...."

"It's okay." I pulled her in for a tight hug and brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. We sat like that for a while until Ginny broke away.

"But what do we do about, Ron?" she asked, worried.

"I'll try to talk some sense into him," I replied. "What about Abby though? You were going to tell me something?"

"Yeah, Harry, I found a book the other day. It was hers but she dropped it in Potions and didn't even notice. It has a picture of her at the back and there's no doubt in my mind that it really was her. Underneath the picture, were the words: This book belongs to Erin Hunt."

This was certainly shocking. It meant that Abby was not who she said she was. She was someone called Erin Hunt. Questions burned through my mind about who Erin Hunt was and whether Vanessa was the same as Abby; someone completely different from what we thought she was.

"She's a Death Eater," I said suddenly."I'm sure of it." There was no other explanation about it rightt now.

"Could be. Hermione is trying to find out anything she can about The Hunts."

Hermione. I smiled. This was not a surprise. As soon as she cane across something she didn't know, she made her ambition to know about it.

"Did she find anything?" At that moment, I heard shuffling footsteps coming down from the girls' dormitories and we turned and saw her. Hermione was wearing the most anxious expressionism her face, and her hair was tangled into knots, but she didn't seem to care right now.

"Ginny," she started and we jumped apart simultaneously. "Er, we need to talk about.. you know what."

"It's okay, Mione. Harry knows about it too now," said Ginny and Hermione sighed, plopping down in front of the fire.

"What did you want to tell me?" Ginny asked.

"Remember Draco's letter? He said they death eaters would try to split us up. Maybe this is what he meant. Vanessa has kind of taken over Ron and Abby wants to take Harry." Hermione stated.

It did make sense. By being with Ron, Vanessa had managed to win Ron over, not from all of us but she had turned him against Hermione.

"That is true. It makes perfect sense." Ginny pointed out.

"So what are we going to do now? Hermione raised her brow, worried."If Abby takes Harry over, we're done for."

"She won't take me over. I know who she really is and what her intentions are. Trust me, I'm not falling for it." I assured them both.

***********************************

I woke up the next morning to see Ron already dressed and hurrying out the door.

"You up, mate?" he asked, turning around while I groped around for my glasses.

"Yeah," I replied, groggily, stumbling out of bed.

We went down to the common-room and I saw Abby and Vanessa at the bottom of the stairs, waiting.

They smiled and made small talk about how cold it was getting and how Christmas was coming up soon. They were just about to go to the portrait hole when Ron said, "Hang on, we should wait for Hermione and Ginny."

Vanessa's expression turned sour but she quickly covered it up.

"Oh, but I'm starving! I'm sure they can come on their own," she smiled.

"Yeah, I guess they can," Ron agreed moving towards the door and Abby motioned for me to come along, but I stood there and didn't move.

"Aren't you coming, Harry?" she demanded, batting her heavily made up eyelashes.

"No, I think I'll wait for Ginny and Hermione," I replied in a firm voice.

"Oh," her face fell."I'll wait too then." Wow. She really was a bit like Pansy Parkinson. At that moment, I just wanted to get away from her and nothing else.

"But you should go ahead to breakfast," I said in what I hoped was a gentle voice. "You're probably hungry."

Then suddenly, her face went all serious and she lowered her voice to a steady drawl.

"But, Harry," she said in a high pitched voice. "We really should wait for Ginny and Hermione so we can at least have breakfast with them. We can do something else together later."

I was really confused now. Why would she go from being super-desperate to super...well considerate towards Hermione and Ginny's feelings in less than a minute?

"What do you....?" But I was cut off by a small giggle. It hadn't come from Abby but from Hermione and Ginny who had now emerged from their dorms.

"Hi, Harry, Abby," Ginny said in a singsong voice while Hermione just smiled. "We better get down to the Great Hall."

Without a word, Abby walked over to the portrait hole and I shrugged as Hermione whispered,

"What's her deal? First she tries to turn you against us and now she does the opposite?"

"Nice try," Ginny muttered under her breath as she "accidentally" bumped into Abby on the way out, and I chuckled under my breath.

*****************************

A/N

Okay, short chapter, I know and maybe not one of my best works either, but i just wanted to get something out to you guys! So i hope you liked it at least a little :)

VOTE AND COMMENT PLEASE :D