Harry's POV

"This is not good at all," I sighed. Ginny and I were huddled close to the fire in the Gryffindor common-room and she had just told me about her encounter with Ron after lunch. If Abby and Vanessa were at The Burrow for Christmas, things were not going to go smoothly.

I had been thinking that if Ron was away from those two for a while, maybe I could knock some sense into him because if there was one thing I knew about spells, it was that distance mattered very much. Last night, I had pondered over the fact that Ron was, after all my best friend and I could not just let him go. He had hurt Hermione so badly yet, a little voice inside my head told me that he was under a spell after all. Over the Christmas break, I would try to get the old Ron back, but these new arrangements were a serious setback.

"Are you all packed?" Ginny asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "What about you and Hermione?"

"I'm done but Hermione's still busy with her packing." and we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Outside, the grounds were silent and a thin tendril of smoke was rising from Hagrid's hut. The Quiditch pitch looked calm and inviting as always and suddenly, I had an idea.

"Hey, Gin," I began."You want to play Quiditch? We can call Hermione and Luna so we'll be evenly matched because they're both bad at Quiditch."

"Sounds good," said Ginny getting up to call Hermione.

Five minutes later, all four of us were out in the freezing cold. The grounds were covered in powdery snow and so was the pitch but that did not stop us from playing. Hermione and I were playing against Ginny and Luna. So far, Hermione had managed to score ten points while Luna had not scored a single goal. Ginny was staring wildly around for any sign of the golden snitch and I was doing the same. I couldn't see very clearly due to the cold and, the retreating light. Then Luna managed to score two goals in a row while Hermione said she had tried a new method of defending the goal. It was hilarious to hear her defend herself.

About half an hour into the game, the quafle came sailing towards our goalposts above which I was hovering on my Firebolt. Hermione darted forward and caught it just in time. I whooped loudly as it made it's way back to Luna who was staring dreamily at something in the forest, and then the quafle went through the goalpost, earning us another ten points.

I suddenly saw a streak of gold heading towards the strands and turned my broomstick to follow it. I knew Ginny was going to catch on soon and realise I had seen the snitch so I moved quickly. The snitch darted around chair legs and then disappeared again. Groaning in frustration, I shot upward.

The snitch was now hovering in front of Ginny and she was paying close attention to it. When it flew downwards, and so did we.

We were neck and neck and were laughing uncontrollably. Ginny even attempted the Wronski Fient but failed, causing muffled laughs to escape my mouth.

"I got it," Ginny yelled as her hand stretched out, but the snitch escaped at the last minute and I grinned, zooming after it. It stopped above Luna's head and I flew towards it as fast as I could. Luna had a far way look on her face and did not even flinch as Ginny and I flew around her. I was a couple metres above Ginny and I thought the snitch was mine. But then, it dropped down a little and fell into Ginny's awaiting palm. Her small delicate hand closed around the golden snitch and she did a victory dance on her broom to which Luna soon joined in.

Hermione and I just pouted and landed on the ground.

"Good game, Potter," Ginny said, holding out her hand.

"You....are an amazing Seeker," I panted taking her hand in my own. We walked back to the castle, our hair whipping behind us and our faces pink from the exercise.

However, when we were only a few yards away from the castle doors, Ginny put a finger to her lips and motioned for us to hide. Loud voices could be heard coming towards the door as we crouched down in the tall grass, straining our ears to listen. I knew those voices. Ron, Abby and Vanessa.

It seemed like they were arguing.

"No! That will not work!" Abby was saying.

"Yes, it will!" Ron retorted.

"But we need the password for the gargoyle in order to get in the Headmistress's office," Vanessa said.

"That can be arranged through the Malfoy kid." That was definitely Ron. But he did not sound like Ron. His voice was a monotone.

"True," Vanessa put in. "What about the mudblood and the blood traitor though?"

"When we have their hero, they will come to us themselves," Ron spat out."We will not need to hurt them that much."

"Will the Weasley's suspect anything, though?" Abby demanded and I heard Ron chortle.

"Who cares if they do? We will get what we want. And when Malfoy comes back, our operation is bound to be a success."

They then walked out of the castle and into the silent grounds. The girls' hair billowed in the air and Ginny and Hermione's scared faces were easily distinguishable. Luna had a blank expression on her face.

"What now?" Ginny asked, her voice back to normal.

"We need to know exactly what they meant," Hermione said. Her face held no sadness or grief, just determination, and I was proud of her for that.

"They said the Malfoy kid," Ginny said, quoting Ron.

"That's Draco. They think he's still on their side. He said he'd come back after Christmas." I said.

"That's an advantage for us, then," Hermione put in.

"They also need something from Professor McGonigall's office." Ginny pointed out.

"And they want me too." I added. "That's all we know apart from the fact that they think your family will find something out."

"Okay, but when Draco comes, he'll be able to help us," Hermione said, hopefully.

"I hope so," I told her as we made our way back to our comma room and Luna went to hers'. No one felt like talking much so we just went up to our dormitories. The bed next to mine was empty and I knew that that bed could only be one person's. Ron. The old Ron. I found myself desperately praying that he would return back to normal. I just could not bear to think that my best friend wanted to get me killed.

The next day dawned cold and wet. The snow fell down in white sheets and walking became even harder. Hermione, Ginny and I had breakfast and then made our way outside with our trunks, ready to board the Hogwarts Express once more.

The steam engine was puffing out clouds of steam and was waiting for us at the station. We clambered into a compartment and sat down, but it felt oddly empty without Ron there.

The countryside went by in a blur of grey, blue and green and after what seemed like a very long time, we arrived at Kings Cross Station. We spotted Mr and Mrs Weasley standing there, chatting animately with Hermione's parents.

When they saw us, they stopped talking and smiled. I was pulled into a huge bear hug by Mrs Weasley and I gladly returned it. She truly was an amazing woman and I loved her.

"Harry," she said. "Have you been eating properly, dear?"

"Yes, Mrs Weasley," I grinned.

"Oh, you must have gotten an inch taller!" she ruffled my hair and I laughed, enjoying it.

"Mum, dad!" squealed Hermione, giving her parents a huge hug. Ron, Abby and Vanessa had now arrived and Ron was introducing them to Mr and Mrs Weasley who were both smiling broadly.

Hugs were exchanged all round and then we made our way out of the station. Mr Weasley walked in the lead with Mr Granger and we followed.

It was when we had reached the cars that the bombshell dropped. Mrs Weasley turned to Mrs Granger and said, "Why don't you people join us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, dear? And Hermione can come over a day before you."

I could see Hermione going pale but it seemed that her mother could not, because she beamed and said,"Of course! That sounds brilliant. We'll make sure to come."

A/N

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