6th Year Christmas Mistletoe

It was another holiday at the Weasley Burrow. The family, as well as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, were there together for the holiday. However, there was an air of gloom about the place…and not just because of the escalating tension in an imminent wizarding war. That year, Ron Weasley had begun dating classmate Lavender Brown. Their snogging sessions had hurt his friend Hermione Granger deeply. It was clear that she was jealous, and it was clear that she and Ron both had feelings for each other - to everyone except themselves. As a result, Ron and Hermione refused to acknowledge one another. It made everything awkward: mealtimes, moments by the fire, etc.

It got so bad that finally, Harry and the rest of the Weasleys could stand it no longer. One morning, they took the opportunity of Ron and Hermione both sleeping in to kibitz at the table.

"This has to stop." Harry said, voicing everyone's feelings.

"Yeah, but it won't mate," Fred said gloomily. "I bet you they won't make up for the rest of the holiday. Why, I bet it will take a bloody war for them to realize they fancy each other." The musings were meant to be casual observations, but Harry, suddenly hit with a flash of inspiration, pounced.

"I'll take that bet," he challenged, fishing for his pouch. "How much?"

Fred, who looked momentarily taken aback, recovered. His eyes gleamed. "10 sickles!" he countered. Harry slammed the money down on the table.

"You're on!" he growled. There were hoots and "Yeah Potter!"s exchanged. Fred, always the opportunistic one when it came to making a profit, turned to the others. "Who's next?"

"Oh, you know I want in on this!" Bill, the eldest, crowed. He quickly matched Harry's 10. George was right on his heels, besting them both with 15 sickles. Charlie, who was running low on change, contributed a heap of Bronze Knuts. Ginny chipped in 2 whole Galleons. Even Mr. Weasley chipped in, adding a gold coin of his own. Mrs. Weasley looked horrified.

"Arthur!" she shrieked. "You're betting on our own son?!"

"Molly, this has to happen sometime," Arthur replied, with a gravity that did not match the madness of it all. Fred counted up all the money. "Alright, that's 3 Galleons, 35 Sickles and 40 Knuts" he tabulated.

"Hang on," said Ginny. "What are the terms of the bet?"

"Well, I bet that Ron and Hermione won't get in touch with their feelings by the end of the holiday," Bill offered.

"Fine! Then the rest of us bet they will!" Harry shot back. "What say you?" he asked the others. Everyone agreed. It was Bill versus the rest of the family. As the group split to begin the day, Fred was in for another surprise when his mother slipped him a single Galleon, joining their side.

It didn't take long for Harry and the others to hatch a plan. They wanted to win this bet, even if it meant showing up Bill in the short term…yet giving them peace in the long term. They determined that for Ron and Hermione to admit their feelings, they would have to get them alone ("and they have to snog!" Ginny added that last part). That meant setting a trap. Harry and the twins sprang it one day after lunch, in which Hermione had left in a huff after Ron had accidentally kicked her from under the table with his foot. Barely audible to the others, Ron was heard mumbling, "This would be so over if I only had love potion…" Behind copies of Quidditch Weekly, Harry, Fred and George exchanged grins. They were going to play a trick on Ron.

"Ron," asked Fred. "Would you like George's and my love potion?" Ron jumped, as if he had just been burned.

"Yours?" he retorted almost accusingly, yet trying to sound condescending and playing dumb. He ended up just sounding nervous. "Why would I want your love potion?"

"Alright," responded George, feigning feeling put out. "The deal's off. Would you like them, Harry?"

"I wouldn't deprive you of the honor!" laughed Harry, barely able to hold it together.

"It is a great honor," mused Fred. "But George and I have plenty in stock at the shop. Perhaps Bill would like some for…"

"I'm sorry I was rude," Ron interrupted hastily. "How much love potion have you, and when could I have it?" Harry had to pretend to tie his shoe to hide his triumphant smile. They had him now. Fred could sense how desperate his brother sounded. To further mess with Ron's mind, he took a long time in answering, pretending to look the youngest Weasley boy up and down.

"Hmm…I have…6 bottles and you can have them this evening."

"6 whole bottles!" Ron chirped. "Just let her wait…what a sight I'll be!" And he scampered off. The boys relayed the success of the first phase to the others, minus Bill. Ginny looked ecstatic and ran off to complete Phase 2: trap Hermione.

That evening, Ron came downstairs into the sitting room to collect the love potion from Fred as he had been instructed. The room was deserted, but Ron spied the bottles sitting mysteriously in the doorway. Now why the bloody hell did he leave them way over here? he thought. He was just stooping down to pick up the bottles when Hermione appeared in the same doorway.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Ron yelped and almost dropped the bottles as he tried to hide them behind his back. "None of your business!" he shot back, angry at being startled by her, of all people.

"Well, I'm here to meet Ginny for some studying, but seeing as she isn't here and you are…"

"Now!" yelled a voice. Suddenly, shouts of spells could be heard and a barred cage appeared out of thin air, trapping Ron and Hermione in the archway of the door. Harry and the rest of the Weasleys materialized from behind couches, love seats and even the Invisibility Cloak soon after. Hermione instinctively reached for her wand.

"Don't bother!" Ginny called, and she and Harry triumphantly wagged hers and Ron's wands, which they had nicked earlier, in their faces.

"Harry James Potter, you let us out right this minute!" Hermione shrieked. "I don't know what you're playing at, but…"

"Oh, would you look at that!" George interrupted, obviously amused at something above them. Hermione looked up. There growing magically in the doorframe was a sprig of mistletoe. She looked from it to Ron and started to protest loudly, but Harry pretended not to hear her.

"Who's ready to party with some Quidditch?" he hollered. The rest of the Weasleys roared in approval and stampeded out the door, leaving Ron and Hermione alone.

Hermione paced, trying to find a way out. Ron just stood there, staring at her.

"Don't you even care that we're stuck in here?!" Hermione shouted at him. "I bet if you were trapped in here with Lavender, you'd be snogging her face off, you wouldn't mind a bit-"

"Yeah, I would mind," Ron responded quietly. Hermione turned to stare at him. She finally averted her eyes. "What was that you hid when I came in?"

Ron turned beet red before finally admitting guiltily, "Love potion." Hermione let out a shaky, derisive laugh. "LOVE POTION?! Oh, that's so rich, Ronald!" She gasped as another thought came to her. "It's for Lavender, isn't it? She's tossed you and you're trying to win her back!" Then, her mockery turned to disgust. "You're doing something illegal Ron! Corrupting a girl like that…"

"It's not for Lavender; I bloody well got it for you!" Ron roared. He clapped his hand over his mouth, realizing what he had just said.

Hermione was speechless. On the one hand, she should have felt enraged that Ron would dare to try and use her like that. On the other hand, she thought it almost adorable that Ron would go to such lengths for her. She shook her head. Didn't he know she was mad for him?

Her gaze found the mistletoe again. Her jaw set. She didn't know if Ron was telling the truth about her or Lavender or not, but she didn't want to wait to find out. This was a chance to stake her claim, as it were, on a man she had loved since she was at least thirteen years old.

Hermione reached Ron in one stride, grabbed his face and crashed his mouth down upon hers. Her lips dug into his, her arms snaked around his neck and her hands played in his red hair. She kissed him roughly, wanting to convey all her bottled up feelings to him. Finally, after one last feverish dance across his lips, Hermione broke away with a small "pop!" Ron looked stunned until his face broke into an almost insane grin.

"Bloody hell!" he cried and he pulled her back to him, returning the kiss feverishly. Hermione gave a tiny gasp/whimper as his mouth solidified its hold against hers. They backed into the side of the doorframe, holding each other and snogging intensely. Hermione nearly collapsed from the sensation of Ron returning her affection, her kiss; her eyes closed and her engaged mouth curved into a smile against Ron's. I can see why Lavender was so clingy, she thought dazedly. At long last, the couple broke apart. They gazed at each other. "I love-" they started to say, then burst into giggles. Oh, they could tell each other that later!

Just then, they could here wolf whistles and whoops. Ron and Hermione looked back to see Harry and the other Weasleys staring at them through the window.

"YES!" Ginny bellowed, and she turned to her eldest brother. "Pay up," she ordered, holding out her hand. A disgruntled Bill slapped 10 sickles into her hand, but Ginny was not satisfied. "Nah, nah, nah, you gotta pay everybody else too." Bill dealt out more piles of coins to 6 other people. Hermione looked scandalized.

"You BET on us getting together?!" she cried, staring at the others with her arms still draped lazily over Ron's neck.

"Yup," Harry chortled as he strode in and vanished the cage. "Enough was enough, we said. We wanted you to stop fighting and make up." Hermione and Ron both smiled. "Well, thanks, mate. We appreciate it," the latter said. And with that, the family settled down to enjoy the rest of the holiday in peace.