No Better Gift

A/N: I just wrote this because it'd been in my head for a while. It's probably been written before but I've never read on like it. Just a sweet little one-shot for you.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story but I thought of the simple plot all on my own although I have a feeling it has been used before. I didn't purposefully copy anyone though!

Harry walked into his dormitory and sat on his four-poster bed only to hear the crunch of paper underneath him. He stood and picked up the now crumpled piece of paper. He unfolded it and immediately recognized Hermione's handwriting.

Merry Christmas Harry!
I have a little gift for you but you're going to have to find it first.
Go to the place where we shared out first kiss to find the next clue.
Let the games begin.
Love, Hermione

Harry smiled and stuffed the note into his pocket.

Their first kiss? Well, that was incredibly hard to have forgotten. He remembered it as if it were yesterday. . .

Harry and Hermione were sitting awkwardly alone in the common room. The fire was crackling in front of them. Hermione was gazing into the flames but Harry was gazing at Hermione, his head in his hands; elbows resting on the arm of his chair.

"I love looking at the fire, it's so relaxing," remarked Hermione.

"Mm-hm," said Harry still looking at Hermione. Her deep brown eyes gazing ahead.

Hermione suddenly turned to him, seeing the foolish smile on his face. He really didn't even know he was smiling.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because -" Harry began, but why? Why was he smiling? Because he loved Hermione, because he hoped that one day she might love him back, because she was so beautiful with the fire's lights playing on her face. "Because – I'm looking at you."

Harry blushed and turned away. Had he just said that out loud? Yup, he answered himself.

"What?" asked Hermione, half-shocked at what she had heard but also happy.

"Because I'm looking at you. I'm smiling because you're so beautiful."

"Wha-" Hermione had thought she had heard Harry wrong but of course she hadn't, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Harry standing up, a smile still playing on his face. "It's getting late, why don't we go up to bed."

He put out his hand to help Hermione out of her chair. She took his hand and stood up in front of him – very close in front of him in fact. So close, that she could hear him breathing.

They stood like that, staring at each other until finally, Harry couldn't take it anymore.

He leaned in and kissed Hermione softly on her lips.

Hermione, eyes closed and in shock, stiffened. But, instead of opening her eyes and questioning the logic of Harry's actions, she moved closer to Harry and kissed him again. But this time it was a longer kiss – a more passionate kiss. That, perhaps, they had been waiting for, for a very long time.

Harry smiled and shook himself back to reality. That had been three weeks ago and now him and Hermione had been boyfriend and girlfriend since then. Since that moment – they had known that they had something special that they had never seen before.

Harry walked down to the common room and over to the chair by the fire where he had been sitting when he had been gazing at Hermione. There he found another folded note. He unfolded it and –

Remember what happened when we told Ron about us?
Go to the place where he almsot collapsed for the next clue.

Ha, Harry chuckled softly at the memory of this. Ron had panicked when Harry and Hermione had told them that they were girlfriend and boyfriend. . .

"Ron, can you please listen to us for just a second? Please?" asked Hermione, hand in hand with Harry.

"We need to tell you some – er - news," said Harry hesitantly glancing at Hermione who nodded encouragingly.

"Ok, Ok, but – fine. What is it?" asked Ron absolutely oblivious that Harry and Hermione were holding hands.

When Harry didn't say anything (his mouth opening and closing making no noise), Ron raised his eyebrows but then his eyes slowly moved down to Harry and Hermione's hands.

"Why are you – oh," said Ron, and Hermione nodded, "Oooh…"

Harry smiled nervously and also nodded.

"So, is You-Know-Who after you again, Harry, and you had some dream or something? Are any of my family members in danger?" asked Ron.

Harry blinked stupidly and Hermione let go of Harry's hand. She placed her hands on Ron's shoulders.

"Harry and I are – well," she began, constantly glancing at Harry, "we're a couple now, Ron."

Ron jumped up flinging Hermione hands off him.

"You're WHAT?!" he yelled and had to lean against the wall for support. If the wall hadn't been there he would have collapsed.

Harry crumpled up this note and walked out of the portrait hole towards the library. He remembered how Madame Pince had yelled at Ron for "interrupting the sacred silence of the library and disrupting the concentration of his fellow peers" when really; she was doing just the same by yelling at him.

Once at the library, he made his way to the furthest back table and saw a note on top of an open book.

Recognize this potion?
Go to where we brewed it.

Harry glanced at the open book. The title at the top of the page said "The Polyjuice Potion". Hermione had brewed that potion in the abandoned girl's bathroom – Moaning Mertyl's bathroom.

He hurried out of the library, becoming impatient. Madam Pince said something about "no running in the library because that trembles the floor and destroys the train of thought".

Harry almost opened the bathroom door but then he saw a note taped to it. He ripped it off the door and began to read.

If you've gotten this far you're getting impatient.
I know you are so don't you deny it.
Almost there, just one more thing.
Come and find me in our special place.

Special place. . . special place. . . What did she mean by special place? He would've considered all of places he had just visited to have been special places. But which particular special place did she mean.

But then it occurred to Harry that a special place for him to be was in her arms. In her embrace.

"Hermione," he said speaking to the bathroom door, "My special place is with you."

Then, as if the door had understood him, it flung inward and out popped Hermione. She flung her arms around his neck.

"I was hoping you'd say that," she said pulling away from him.

"But what if I hadn't?" asked Harry.

"Well. . . I thought if you loved me enough – you'd know what I had been thinking when I was writing the note."

"I guess I love you then," said Harry smiling.

"I love you too."

Harry swept Hermione up off the ground and cradled her in his arms kissing her softly. He didn't want to be rude but –

"So, what's my present?" he asked shyly.

"What?" asked Hermione in a melted daze from Harry's wonderful kiss. "Oh, what did you think it was? It's me you stupid git!"

She pouted trying to seem angry and serious but it didn't work. She started to laugh at Harry's stupidity.

"Oh. . ." he said. But, to prove that he really wasn't as stupid as he seemed, "Well, then I guess there really is no better gift."

And with that, he gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek and they walked hand and hand to the Great Hall for Christmas Day breakfast.