Christmas was approaching quickly, and with only one shopping day left before Christmas Eve, the stores of London were jammed pack. Mothers were fighting for the last Lego play set for their son or daughter, fathers were rushing to find gifts for their wives on their usual last-minute trips to the shops; the whole scene was pure chaos.
"Bloody fucking hell! How are we supposed to get to the holiday ham isle?" A tall, red-headed boy yelled down to a girl fitting about the same description, only a good foot or so shorter.
"I told you we should have come earlier in the week, Ron," the twenty-one-year-old Ginny Weasley repremanded her older brother. "I tried to tell you that the shops would be packed, but no-"
"Just shut it Gin," Ron said, glaring at his smart-elek little sister. Just then, his early Christmas present, a cellular phone, began vibrating in his pocket. He flipped it open and raised it to his ear. "Hullo?"
"Hey mate! It's Harry. I'm havin' a small get together at my house on Christmas Eve, you know, some old school chums. You're welcome to come if you're not doing anything with the family," he greeted.
Ron glanced down at his sister. "Um, hang on for a second, mate," he spoke before covering the reciever with his hand. "Hey Ginny, is that invitation for you to spend Christmas with the Malfoy's still open?"
The woman grinned a little. "Yes. And I would rather spend the holidays with them over you anyday!" she joked. She turned and pushed her way through the crowd of distraught shoppers and made her way to the parking lot.
"Count me in," Ron spoke into the reciever.
.::.::.::.
On December twenty-fourth, a tall cloaked man trekked through the snow to get to the door of a small, festive house. As he raised his hand to knock, the door opened, revealing a slightly shorter, black-haired and bespeckled young man with emerald green eyes.
"Ron! It's about time your arse showed up!" Harry Potter said, shaking his pal's hand fiercely. "Come on in, say hello to everyone!"
As Ron stepped into the warm house, aromas of delectible edibles found their way to his nose. Turkey, ham, cranberries, potatos, gravy, rolls, gingerbread, everything you could possibly imagine!
He looked around the living room, seeing some familiar faces. Dean, Seamus, Oliver, Neville, Luna, Padma, Parvati, and someone Ron didn't recognize. "'Lo," he muttered to the rest as he looked at the brunette at the end.
The tendrils of wavy light brown hair that was not pulled back in the half-up, half-down style framed her face generously. The only thing ruining her otherwise beautiful facical features was the fact that she was glaring at Ron with the utmost contempt of loathing.
Ron shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "Erm...Hello," he said uncertainly. Did he know this woman? Had he done something to her while at Hogwarts? Or was she just some raving lunatic that Harry felt sorry for? Luna was there after all. After a few more moments of akward silence and scrutiny, Ron sat down in an armchair and spoke again, "Erm...Do I know you?"
The woman let out a bitter laugh. "I guess it doesn't surprise me that you wouldn't recognize me. I mean, after all, it has been a year." Ron gave her a curious look, much like a puppy who was just told something he did not understand.
She was up from her seat in a flash, walking behind Ron's armchair, making him a slight bit nervous. Was she going to kill him? She trailed her hand along the back of the armchair as she sat on its arm. Her mouth was inches from Ron's left ear, and her breath felt hot on his neck as she whispered so low only he could hear.
"Maybe I should have 'hooked up with McLaggen,' just as you recommended, Ronald."
Ron looked at the woman next to him in shock. This couldn't be the same Hermione Granger he had gone to school with. He looked around the room to find the amused faces of his old schoolmates -minus Harry, who looked a little uncomfortable- looking back at him.
Hermione got up from the arm of the chair and sat back down in her seat, next to Parvati and Harry, and folded her arms. Everyone sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few endless minutes before Seamus spoke up.
"Anyone up for a drinking game?"
.::.::.::.
About an hour and twelve bottles of Firewhiskey later, the floor was littered with the passed-out figures of Hogwarts Alumni. The only concious people were Hermione, Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Luna. Hermione, however, was a bit more tipsy than the others in the room.
"And then-then I sent you a-" hiccup "-present. Sent it with a note and all!" She nodded, spilling some her fourth bottle of Firewhiskey onto her jeans. "Then this s-sonofabitch doesn't have any contact with me for a bloody year! Y-you wanna know what he did? Went running to Lav-Lav, he did." Surprisingly enough, Hermione then busted out into a fit of uncontrollable giggles, only subsiding once she hit her head on the coffee table and fell asleep.
Luna took a look at the sleeping Hermione. "Poor dear, no doubt suffering from Girphatimine," she shook her head sadly.
The others all extanged looks of amusement before Harry suggested a bit of fresh air would do their body good.
.::.::.::.
Thirty minutes after their little walk, the slightly sober adults reentered the house, only to find that the bodies were right where they had been when they had left. Ron conjured a vat of water in mid-air and flicked his wand, causing it to spill over the unconcious, all of which screamed as it did so.
After screaming at the offending Wizard and yelling at the others to dry them off, normal conversation ensued. Ten minutes into this, Hermione excused herself to the kitchen, where she sat for five minutes, dabbing tears from her eyes, before Harry found her.
He sat next to her and placed a comforting arm around her as she cried silently. After silently casting Muffliato, he turned to his friend and pulled her into an embrace. "What's got you crying on Christmas morning, 'Mione?" he asked, rubbing her back.
"I'll give you two hints; Tall, and citrus looking," she said, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
Harry couldn't help but chuckle apprieciatively at Hermione's description of Ron. "No more Firewhiskey for you. What's he done now?"
Hermione let out a deep sigh. "Nothing this Christmas. It was what happened last year. I mean, Lavender dumped him about two days before Christmas, and, well, there was a little something between us going on for the last couple of months, so we knew we had feelings for one another. Then come Christmas, I spill my soul to him, tell him I love him, and what does he do? Run off with that tramp the next day! I really thought he loved me, that's the sad part. But to him, I was just the extra he had laying around, I was someone he could sympathize to about Lavender.
"But get this: He told me he loved me back, and I believed him! Pretty good actor, don't you think? I haven't spoken to him in a year, yet I know that if by some chance, he kissed me, or told me he loved me, or something, he'd probably fool me again! I'm so pathetic!" she cried, resting her head in her hand.
Harry pulled her into a firm hug, reassuring her that he would always be there for her.
"And the thing is," she said in between sobs, "I've been afraid to get into a relationship since then. It hurt so bad, and I don't know if I can risk going through it again."
Harry pulled back and looked at her. "Is that why..."
"Yes Harry. You now know the reason that I have refused you this past year," Hermione answered his unfinished question.
"Hermione, you know I wouldn't do that to you. You know that there wouldn't be any other girl in my life other than you. You wouldn't have to worry about it; I'd be your's, and no one else's."
"But Harry-"
"But nothing, Hermione. Do you not trust me?" he asked, a bit hurt.
"Of course I do, it's just-"
Cutting her argument short, Harry crashed his lips into hers, bringing her body closer to his. He felt her relaxing in his arms as his tounge ran gently over her lower lip. Hermione felt chills up her spine; this was different than it had been with Ron, it was real, it was passionate.
Harry broked away first, looking down at her for a reaction. Her hazel eyes were focused on the seat of the chair she was sitting on. She looked hesitant, as if she wasn't sure what she wanted, like she was torn in two.
Harry gently raised her chin so her eyes were looking into his. "I love you, Hermione," he whispered before bending down once more and planting a soft kiss on her lips. To his delight, she wrapped one arm around his neck and placed one on his cheek as she accepted it.