Just a little something I wrote for a contest. Unfortunately I didn't win... maybe I shouldn't say that, because now everyone is thinking that the story ain't good and is not worth reading... :( Oh well... I wanted to share it anyways!

Happy late Christmas!


Beneath the Mistletoe

It was somewhere close to two in the morning. I had just peeled myself out of my dress robes, which lay abandoned in an armchair by the door. I yawned heartily as I flopped on my bed. In disagreement with the constant yawning I just didn't feel like sleeping just yet. The Yule Ball had been more exciting than I could've ever imagined. I'll never forget this night… a thought occurred to me just then. I pulled a small purple book out from underneath my mattress and summoned my self-inking Quill by picking up my wand from the nightstand and whispering "Accio self-inking Quill!" I would make sure I would never forget what happened tonight, from the ugliest episode of the evening to the most wonderful. I unconsciously touched my lips at that thought, displaying an absent minded smile. The Quill practically flew over the paper of my diary… until the consistent yawning got me so exhausted, that I had to take a short break. Closing my eyes for just one moment…

"You're fraternizing with the enemy! That's what you're doing!" Ron shouted. It took me a moment to take in what he had just said. Anger stirred in the pit of my stomach. Anger and disappointment. How could he say that? Wasn't he the one who fawned all over Fleur and, given the chance, would have went to the Ball with her. What would he be? But I didn't have the strength to voice my opinion. I could feel my face turning red and my eyes watering at the disgusted look that he cast me. It hurt to have him look at me like that; I couldn't take it anymore and looked at Harry for some kind of reassurance, help, support… anything! But his feeble stuttered words did nothing to calm Ron's temper. "Don't you see it Harry? She's helping HIM, not you! She probably told him all about you and your strategy…"

That was enough. The final straw. The last bit of strength that held the tears within my eyes was now being used to shout at my best friends "That's just ridiculous, I would never do that! You should know better than that!" But the stone like face of Ron's told me otherwise, and when I turned my eyes back on Harry I was shocked to see that he didn't even want to look back at me. I could feel the hot wet heaviness of a tear on my cheek. Not giving them the satisfaction of seeing me cry about this ridiculous argument, I turned around and all but ran out of the Great Hall, more tears running down my cheeks now.

I found myself on the outside staircase, leading up to the Entrance Hall. My body shook from the sobs and shivered from the cold. But I didn't want to go back inside yet. Not while I was still crying over the broken trust of my friends. In the cold Scottish winter air the hot tears I felt in the Great Hall felt like they turned into tiny icicles as they slowly glided down my face. As I was trying to imagine my face covered in icicles, which would've looked rather funny, I felt something soft and warm being draped around my shoulders. With a gasp of shock I looked up to see that Viktor was standing beside me, his read fur lined coat still in his hands as he tugged it closer around me. I had forgotten about him. A flood of shame rushed through my body and filled the blood vessels in my cheeks with an overabundance of blood.

My eyes fixed on his, as he sat down beside me. For a long moment we only looked into each others eyes. His dark, almost black eyes were so kind and gentle. A total opposite to his rough appearance. I don't know why, but it soothed me to look at his eyes. The tears that were still streaming, when he sat down beside me slowly started to seize. Suddenly his hands rose up to my face. I was aware of his movement, but my eyes were fixed on his, trying to find out what made these eyes look at me the way they did. The touch of his hands on each side of my face caused a small surprised gasp. Not because of the unexpectedness of the touch, but because it was so incredibly gentle. His thumbs started to slowly wipe away the remains of the fight I just had with my best friend. It felt good, it felt soothing. My breathing slowed down and my eyes shut in an attempt to savor this feeling that slowly took a hold of me. The tingling in my stomach, which grew more intense each time Viktors rough skin touched mine.

Suddenly, his hands retreated from their position. I opened my eyes again to look at him once more, a rarely seen smile played around his lips. The tingly feeling in my stomach increased, I felt happy now. Forgotten was the anger that Ron's words had caused just a few minutes ago. My lips formed a small but grateful smile in return. "Thank you Viktor!" He nodded, his smile widened just a little. Then he got up, holding out his hand as an invitation. I took it and lifted my half frozen body off the stone stairs. "Vont to go for valk?" His voice was low and accented, but I understood him perfectly. Nodding my approval, he wrapped an arm around me, which caused me to gasp once more since this was unexpected and new to me, and we started to walk towards the enchanted little garden that was set up solely for the Ball.

It was, to describe it in one word, romantic. The moon and stars were covered by clouds, which made this night almost eerie. The lights of the fairies hovering about in the bushes were the only light source on this particularly dark night. I unconsciously huddled a little closer to Viktor when the wind picked up, his grip around me tightened a little. A feeling of protection made me smile to myself, fueling the tingly feeling in my stomach. At the end of the path we currently walked on I spotted a small shelter with a bench. Freezing slightly from the cold wind, I suggested to go and have a seat. Just before we entered the small building Viktor stopped in his tracks. "You serten you vont to go in dere?" I looked around the small area, but couldn't see anything suspicious or disgusting, or even anyone else, so I got out of his protective embrace, grabbed his hand and pulled him in with me "Of course! I don't see why not!" I said, while taking a seat on the wooden bench in the middle.

We sat there for a moment. Viktor kept his hands in his lap, staring at the ground in front of him and… if I wouldn't know better, I could've sworn he was blushing a bit. Wondering about his awkward behavior all of a sudden I moved a bit closer, leaning forward, to bring my face in front of his. He looked surprised at my action, and straightened up right away. I leaned back as well, still looking in his beautiful dark eyes. "Her-my-ninny!" I could see him flinch at the way he mispronounced my name once more, but it didn't bother me. I started to like the way he said my name and so I grabbed his hands and gave them a squeeze and smiled at him, to tell him that I didn't mind. There it was again. A feint taint of red on his cheeks. My smile formed into a grin. He looked adorable when he was embarrassed. His eyes locked on something above me, I could see how he chewed on his bottom lip as if mulling something over.

What was so interesting up there? Curiosity finally got the better out of me and I turned my eyes towards the ceiling as well. There, in all its beautiful greenness, hung a darling little mistletoe. Tied together by a red ribbon, floating as if placed there by magic - which it probably was - and sporting… eight… no, nine tiny white berries; it was probably the most fascinating thing in the world at the moment. In fact so fascinating, that I couldn't tear my eyes off of it. Tradition called for a kiss beneath the Mistletoe, every little kid knew that. I dared to glance at Viktor and from the unchanged look of contemplation and his reddened cheeks I was sure he knew this tradition as well. Nobody was here to make sure that we did what was expected, so we could just get up and leave and pretend it never happened or… I yelled at myself for being so analytical! Can't I do something out of instinct? Just once? Why…

The ranting in my head was interrupted by a pair of warm lips on top of mine. For once in my life, my thoughts stood still. The tingly feeling in my stomach was gone, replaced by heat. Heat that seemed to pulse through my veins, covering every inch of my body until I had the feeling I was a living torch. My eyes fluttered shut, if it was instinct or if the developing heat in the pit of my stomach sucked the energy out of the muscles controlling them, I didn't know – didn't mind it either. All that was important now was the feeling of his lips against mine. The slight pressure he applied together with the faintest of movements was enough to bring my heart rate up to unknown heights. When our lips parted, after what seemed like a sweet little eternity, I was a little out of breath. How could this Bulgarian Wizard have such an effect on me? I felt like smiling and hugging and… like I wouldn't mind a repeat performance. Slowly, I opened my eyes, to find myself looking in a couple of dark orbs. He seemed tense. I asked myself if he was wondering about what I thought right now, so I smiled and received one of his adorable smiles in return. "Thank you!" I said and wasn't entirely sure who I referred to… Viktor or the Mistletoe.