DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters, places, and things mentioned in this story are the property of J.K. Rowling.

CHAPTER ONE SUMMARY: Ginny and Ron become suspicious of Hermione, while Draco is named in the suspicions of someone considerably more powerful.

WARNINGS: Rated T (13+) for strong violence and mild language. THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OTHER INFO: Okay this is my first fanfiction. Please read and review. I welcome critiquing comments also. If you have any favorite parts or least favorite parts, let me know... Thank you :)

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Chapter Three : Suspicions

"Jealousy feeds upon suspicion, and it turns into fury or it ends as soon as we pass from suspicion to certainty."

- Francois de la Rouchefoucauld



"Hermione..." Ginny whispered, shaking her friend gently under the bed sheets for the umpteenth time that morning.

For the past few weeks it had been almost impossible to get Hermione up and about. Ginny thought it was probably because of how late she kept returning from wherever it was she went after dinner. She would hear the door click quietly shut and then Hermione climb softly in the bed beside her every night, at a time that she could only guess. The previous night Ginny had heard birds chirping happily along with Hermione's crawling under the covers, and the birds here didn't come alive until the sun grazed the tip of the horizon.

"Hermione, please," Ginny said more loudly now. "You have to get up. We're going to miss breakfast if you don't."

Hermione groaned and plopped her pillow over her head to drown out Ginny's voice. Annoyed, Ginny threw her hand in the air and headed to breakfast. She decided that she wasn't trying to wake Hermione anymore; it was a waste of effort. Besides, Hermione was the very last person Ginny wanted to talk to right now considering how she had treated she and Ron the day before.

She walked out of the girls' dormitory, straightening her robes, as she spotted Ron waiting on her in the door of the Common Room. He smiled weakly, and Ginny grinned as happily as she could force herself to, trying to cheer him up. Hermione's antics had really been bothering him, and to Ginny's dismay, nothing seemed to reverse the dreadful effects. He was losing sleep over it; she could tell by the deep purple circles that rimmed his eyes, and his words came in short murmurs as opposed to his normal, somewhat clearer speech.

She looked up at him as he shuffled sleepily beside her. He appeared so unsteady that Ginny was prepared to catch him if he happened to collapse, and she stepped carefully behind him as they entered the Great Hall.

They were only slightly late for food, as only a handful of students were just grabbing fruit and scooping scrambled eggs onto their plates. The two siblings slowly made their way to the nearly full Gryfinndor table. Ginny felt as if a pair of eyes were plastered on her as she passed the Slytherin table, but she did not look to accurately accuse the silver eyes that she suspected.

She and Ron sat down and began to fill their plates to the brim with eggs and bacon and such. Ginny loved the food at Hogwarts almost as much as her mother's, but, of course, she knew nobody could rival Molly Weasley's cooking. Ginny sighed unhappily as she thought of her mother at home, and she almost wished she were accompanying her now. With Harry gone and Hermione acting like a prat, there wasn't much at Hogwarts to like besides the food.

"Hermione still asleep?" Ron mumbled to her now, his lips barely moving.

Ginny just nodded, shoving a forkful of scrambled eggs in her mouth. She didn't want to talk about Hermione anymore, even though she knew Ron needed to. Something inside of her was screaming at her to play peacemaker, but she was too peeved at Hermione to help her out. Ginny's idea of helping her out right now was less than civil.

"What time did she get back last night?" he asked, not truly wanting to know but feeling like he had to ask.

"This morning," she corrected him. "And it was fairly late... er... early."

"Ginny!" he yelled at her out of the blue. "This is serious! Quit joking around about it! Hermione hates me, and you are poking fun at it!"

"Ron! I wasn't doing anything like that!" she retorted. "Calm down!"

He exhaled forcefully and stuck his hands in his red hair, looking like he might rip the strands from their roots. She patted his back comfortingly but was really beginning to become tired of both Ron and Hermione's stupidity. Why couldn't they stop betraying each other and be friends again? Otherwise, the two of them were a rather sickening sight. Or at least Ron was; Hermione just seemed sickeningly joyful to be away from her best friends, and Ginny thought she knew why.