This is the first fic I've posted in a long time. I write a lot but it generally sucks so I never post. I know this is out of season, but I only recently saw Love Actually, so I'm a latecomer on the bandwagon of Christmassy fluff inspired by that movie. Anyway I've been listening to that Mariah Carey song nonstop, and this is what I got. Almost nonexistent plot, but I like it. So here goes:
"All I want for Christmas is yoooouuuuu, baby!" Hermione sang loudly and off-key to her mother's Mariah Carey CD as her favorite Christmas song ended. She leaned over impatiently and punched the repeat button. One thing she missed at Hogwarts was her music, she had a huge CD collection that she treasured, but her portable CD player wouldn't work at Hogwarts, what with all the magic in the air. As of yet, she hadn't found a way to play them with magic - not too many wizards were interested in Muggle music. Music was a weakness for Hermione, she could lose herself in even the worst 80's dance hit (and her Dad owned a lot of them) and just hearing a favorite song made her forget her usual composed appearance in the moment and just sing badly. It was the only thing that really made her lose her guard.
As the song started again, she stood back to survey her afternoon's work - wrapping gifts. So far she had taken care of presents for her parents (His and Hers scarves), Harry (a book about famous Seeker diversions and their inventors), Ginny (a set of classic Muggle literature, which she found very strange and interesting), Lupin (a box of Honeydukes chocolate), Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (homemade sugar-free fudge) and the twins (a Muggle chemistry set - she had tried to ignore the nagging voice in her head that knew she would become the indirect cause of a good many explosions, knowing they would appreciate it).
The only one left was Ron, and there was just a week and a half left until Christmas. Sighing, she once again opened the tattered Prophet advert for Students Surplus, a store in Diagon Alley that sold all kinds of Wizarding junk, and flopped down on the flowered bedspread of her mother and father's room, where the wrapping paper was kept. On the advert gleamed a gold pin - a lion's head, with a flaming orange mane, apparently made from one elaborately cut gem. The jewel sparkled as it was moved by an invisible hand in the picture, different facets catching beams of light and reflecting them back as dancing drops of fire. That was what she wanted to give him - a Gryffindor lion, showing that she thought him just as brave as Harry, and knew he was not the simple sidekick so much of the school thought he was.
The trouble with giving him this was plain, though. What would he think? It was awfully expensive - he might even take it as charity. Or maybe he or Harry would read too much into it, thinking it was a sort of, I don't know, romantic gift? This was crazy of course. That was reading far too much into it. Like saying "Oh, she got it to prove to him that he's very brave, so he'll stop looking so heartbreakingly sad sometimes, and she'll stop being so worried and concerned about him all the time." Which was absolutely true. Duh.
"Ohgodohgodohgod." The realisation hit her like a thunderbolt, and now she was almost hyperventilating. That was absolutely crazy. But why then did it ring truer than all the other explanations she had thought up for her urge to get this gift? There had been a nagging uneasiness about Ron in the back of her head for months now, but she had used her extraordinary mind power to force it away, leaving it to fester in the small unused portion of her brain where she kept things like Lavender's gossip and Fred' and Georges' jokes. But now it was out. She liked him. Maybe a lot. Oh no. How was she going to face him now, with this huge weight on her mind? Wait. How did he feel about her?
Her train of thought unexpectedly took her back two years ago now, to the Yule Ball in 4th year. That was when the suspicion had really started, it had just gotten larger recently. "Next time ask me before someone else does, and not a last resort!" She blushed at the memory. That had probably given it away to anyone with half a brain. But Ron hadn't seemed to get it. He had been really angry with her around then, mostly about Viktor - oh, he and Viktor! The way he acted. She remembered being touched at his worry that he would use her to get to Harry (although of course she hadn't let it show) and realised with another blush that he had probably been lying. Then he was... jealous? Of Viktor? Because of her?
She had, she realised darkly, known this deep down for a while. She mentally cursed her subconscious - how dare it let all this go on without telling her? But now, she realised, she had her gift. She would go to pick it up today, and send it to Ron, with a letter, and hopefully seen him sooner than she'd expected.
As she bent over parchment, quill scratching excitedly, she grinned at the tail end of the song again, humming happily under her breath.
"All I want for Christmas is you!"
Dear Ron, and Harry too,
Would you mind if I came by on Christmas Eve, maybe stayed the night? I don't want to intrude, and it'll probably disappoint Mum and Dad, but I really want to see you, since we've spent the last few Christmases together. I hope it won't be a problem, owl me back with an answer as soon as possible! Oh, and Ron - I might have something kind of important to tell you.
Much love from Hermione
Please give me some constructive criticism - it's so rare for me to put anything out there that this'll probably be your only chance.
Thanks for reading! xxx Kitsune
