Magical Mistletoe

Hermione entered the Common Room, not at all surprised to see yet more mistletoe decorating the room. It seemed as if the whole school had gone mad. That's all anyone seemed to have on their minds. The other day, she had even caught some Second Years who had been attempting to put one over the Common Room study table! The little gits hadn't appreciated the Incendio charm she had sent its way, reducing the cheeky holiday decoration to ashes. She noted each placement of mistletoe and added it to her mental list of places to avoid. She supposed that if it became too much of a problem, she could just Incendio the whole lot of them—mistletoe, not Second Years. Though, there were times when the second option seemed rather appealing.

She finally reached the study table and was not at all surprised not to find Ron there. He seemed to think that just because NEWT's weren't until their 7th year that they weren't anything to worry about. She had a feeling she knew where to find Ron—not that she would go looking for him. That was one torture she'd rather skip. Quickly she buried herself in her studies. She was managing to make her way through the extra Arithmancy work she had assigned herself when the Common Room entrance opened. Hermione knew who it was without even turning to look. The whispered "Won-Won" gave it away. Quickly, without looking at Ron and Lavender, Hermione gathered her books and quills back into her bag. She left the room without so much as glancing in Ron's direction, and therefore missed the questioning look he sent her way.

Hermione went to her dormitory and shuttered herself in her bed, behind her closed curtains. No one heard her as she cried herself to sleep.

A week later, Hermione was actually in a good mood. Today was the last day before Christmas holidays. After today, the Common Room would be rid of all those annoying mistletoe-putter-uppers. The last few days had been horrendous, as the mistletoe mania had spread from the Second Years to infect every person in the Gryffindor dormitories, if not all of Hogwarts. Well, every person but Hermione. Hermione was taking even greater joy in Incendio-ing the holiday decorations. Sometimes, she would even Reparo them, just so she could Incendio them again! Harry had taken to treading very softly around her, and Ron…well, Ron didn't even seem to remember that she was alive. He was too wrapped up in Lavender.

Tonight was Slughorn's Christmas party. She was going with McLaggen. She would rather have gone with Ron, but that wasn't an option. Hermione reminded herself that she was going to have fun no matter what. She was sure if she just kept repeating it to herself that it would come true. Mind over matter, she told herself.

Hermione made it through the day and readied herself for the party, still repeating that she was going to have fun tonight. Someone should have told McLaggen. To say that he was free with his hands was an understatement. Bloody mistletoe again! She had been too relaxed at the party and found herself trapped under a sprig of mistletoe. McLaggen had taken his chance. The stupid git should have realized that he was just a fill in to make Ron jealous, Hermione fumed to herself as she made her way back to the Gryffindor tower. Thinking of Ron and the fun they used to have made tears spring to her eyes once again. She had been crying so much lately that she felt like she was becoming a human waterworks. It made her furious with herself.

By the time she had entered the Common Room, she had composed herself somewhat. Because her eyes were free of tears, she could clearly see the bane of her holiday life: mistletoe. Those who had not attended Slughorn's party had apparently decided to fill every available spot in the Common Room with mistletoe.

With a frustrated little squeal, Hermione raised her wand and aimed at the nearest bough of mistletoe and said, "Incendio!"

The few people who were still in the Common Room cleared out quickly as Hermione roasted every last one of the snarky holiday decorations. By the time she had finished off the last one, her eyes were wet with tears. She had started crying again without even noticing. Once again, Hermione went to sleep with tears on her cheeks.

Hermione awoke after only being asleep for a little while. She had dreamt something that had awoken her, but she couldn't remember what the dream had been about. Now that she was awake, she was wide awake. The next morning she would be leaving for home for Christmas holiday. This would be the first Christmas that she hadn't spent with Ron and Harry. She would miss waking them up on Christmas morning. Having her thoughts return to Ron depressed Hermione. She found herself thinking about Ron more and more, even though she didn't want to.

Hermione decided to return to the Common Room. If nothing else, she could pace back and forth for a while until she got sleepy. Cautiously, Hermione peeked into the Common Room, wanting to make sure it was empty. Of course it was. Who would be out of bed at this time of night? Hermione crept into the Common Room, trying to be as quiet as possible. The fireplace was glowing brightly and beckoned Hermione. She settled into one of the comfy chairs in front of the fireplace.

The comfort of the chair or the warmth of the fire quickly lulled Hermione into a peaceful slumber.

"Bloody hell!" Ron muttered when he realized that he was not going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. He wasn't sure what had awoken him, but now he was completely awake. His options were to either stay in his bed, staring at the drapes around his bed and listening to Neville snore or to go downstairs to the Common Room for a while. It wasn't a difficult decision to make.

Ron entered the Common Room, not imagining that anyone, not even a house elf, would be there. He kind of hoped that he would find a house elf there. He could do with a little snack. Unfortunately for Ron's stomach, there was no sign of Dobby or one of his fellow house elves. So, Ron turned to the fireplace chairs. He soon saw that one was already occupied. Hermione was fast asleep in the chair, her hair spilling wildly around her.

Ron had never watched Hermione sleep before. He thought she looked serene, peaceful…and beautiful. He remembered those days in their second year when Hermione had been petrified by the basilisk. He hadn't told anyone, not even Harry, that seeing Hermione like that had scared him as much as seeing Aragog.

Ron sat in the chair next to Hermione's. Usually when he was around her these days, Hermione was busy talking to anyone but him, or worse, she had a look upon her face as if she was seeing something repulsive. He used this moment to study her without her knowing. He noticed things about Hermione that he had never recognized before. He noticed the freckles that were scattered across her cheeks. He noticed the curve of her eyebrows and the cupid's bow that was her mouth. He wanted to trace the freckles on her cheeks. He wanted to inhale the scent of her shampoo. He wanted to kiss her.

Ron glanced up as if looking for his sanity and his eyes fell on the biggest spray of mistletoe he had ever seen. It seemed to glow in the dimly lit Common Room. It dangled right over Hermione's head. Ron glanced from the mistletoe to Hermione and back to the mistletoe. He had his excuse now. This was his chance—if he could just get his legs to move.

Somehow he made it out of his chair. He took a deep breath and went for it. He fully expected Hermione to hit him, but she didn't. He sure didn't expect her to kiss him back, but she did. And he didn't expect her to put her arms around him and pull him to her, but she did that too.

Ron felt his world spinning as he tried to register the sensation of kissing Hermione. He had wondered before what it would be like to kiss her, especially in their fourth year when she had dated Victor Krum. He had been so jealous then! But none of his wonderings had prepared him for the reality. He pulled her closer to him and deepened the kiss. She tasted like strawberries and cream, like Honeyduke's sweetest confections, like every sweet and wonderful thing he had ever tasted. He wound his hand into her hair in an attempt to pull her even closer. Rather than protest, Hermione seemed to want immerse herself in him. Her hands found their way under the collar of his robe. Slowly, she slid them up till one caressed the side of his neck and the other was buried in his hair. How long they were lost in their own world, neither one knew.

When they finally broke apart, Ron was kneeling in front of Hermione's chair and Hermione was sitting up with her arms around Ron's neck.

"Ron…I…" Hermione began, but stopped because she didn't know what to say.

Ron mistook her hesitant tone to be a questioning one and immediately his redheaded temper was set off. "Yes, it's Ron. Didn't you even know who you were kissing?"

"Of course I knew!" Hermione roared back, not sure how she knew, but sure that she had known.

"Really? How?" Ron demanded.

By this time they were both on their feet, standing toe to toe, yelling at one another. They seemed to have forgotten that as Prefects, they should be setting a good example. They also seemed to have forgotten that there was anyone else around.

"What does it matter?" Hermione asked. "The question is why were you kissing me in the first place? You have a girlfriend!"

"I—uh…" Ron hesitated as he tried to remember what had made him temporarily insane. Suddenly he remembered, "The mistletoe."

"What mistletoe?" Hermione demanded, knowing full well that she had burnt every last one to a crisp.

"The one right there," Ron said, pointing to the ceiling.

Hermione glanced up at the ceiling. "I'll ask again, 'What mistletoe?'"

Ron looked up, unsure of what kind of game Hermione was playing. Unfortunately for him, the ceiling was bare. "It was there! I know! I saw it!"

"And now it's vanished? How convenient!" Hermione yelled, trying to stop the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

"This is crazy! Let's just forget it ever happened," Ron said, more confused than ever.

"Fine. Yes. Let's do," Hermione said and turned to go back to the girl's dormitory.

"Hermione…I'm sorry," Ron said, lamely.

That Ron was apologizing for kissing her was almost worse than his suggestion to forget the kiss. She didn't answer. Instead, she pushed past a confused looking Ginny who was just entering the Common Room.

"Ron? What's going on?" Ginny hesitantly asked.

Harry had just entered the Common Room from the boys' dormitory and heard Ginny's question. He looked to Ron for his answer.

"Nothing. Just nothing," Ron said and pushed his way past Ginny and Harry.

Back in the girls' dormitory, Hermione once again crawled into bed with tears drying on her cheeks. She lay back against her pillows and tried to forget the kiss. It had obviously meant nothing to Ron. It must have been a joke or something. In trying to forget the kiss, she remembered her dream. In the dream, she was at the Burrow with Ron. It was Christmas and they were holding hands. It seemed that even in her dreams she couldn't escape him or her feelings for him.

The End