Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any character in this story. besides the plot, that is. Thanks J.K. Rowling for creating a lifetime of memories.

Author Notes: Fluffiness included for your enjoyment. I hope you do like it, and reviews are always great Christmas presents!

Rated: PG

// Split in the Middle

by: Simplicity

-

"Okay we'll pick straws to see who has to go get wood!" George blurted out to the Gryffindors who were crowded around a dying fire, "And yes, that means you have to chop it down."

There had been a lack of wood in the supply department for wood this year due to the fact that Dumbledore allowed the House-elves to take a week off; and unfortunately that week was the week before Christmas. That was the time when a winter storm was brewing and an eerie chill of snow ran up their backs, as well as covered their bodies whole. In which case, Dumbledore stated that it would be their responsibility to their house to acquire wood for their fire. Well, not only their fire, but as well as the fact to keep them warm.

"The other day I had to go get wood so I should be the one who hands out the sticks!" George called out as he grabbed enough sticks to cover the amount of Gryffindors who didn't leave for the holiday break. Which included Harry, Hermoine, Ron, George, Fred, and Ginny. Everyone else had traveled home or on vacation to spend some much needed time away from homework and essays, and potions, and, oh, just everything!

"Now we'll go in order by year." Fred grinned as he noted that he was the oldest from the group of Gryffindors left. Everyone slowly agreed to the terms and so started the picking. "The two who have the shortest sticks have to go out and brings back enough wood for the next couple of nights."

Gathering in a closer circle, Fred picked first. His stick was a good size stick. Around five inches long. Grinning heartedly he leaned back against the couch snuggling into his blanket that his mum made for him. Next up came Harry. He looked hard at the sticks pondering which one to exactly pull. By all means he definitely did not want to go out into the blizzard to get wood, not to mention to actually cut it down in this cold weather.

Harry then pulled the fourth one to the right. And to his surprise, it was only about an inch long. He groaned in pain as there were snickers around the room. He realized there couldn't be a stick shorter then that; and he would most likely have to go out into the snow to chop down .. wood. Resting his head casually on his knees he pulled his jacket from the chair that he sat next to, knowing it would be best to warm up more before exiting.

And the rest of the crew went in turn with the sticks. Hermoine had the second to shortest stick--but Ginny had the last stick to pick. And there was one left; so obviously she got stuck with that stick out of the bunch. Mumbling to herself, she picked the last straw--and to her surprise it was longer then anyone else's. She giggled to herself as she saw Hermoine bang her head on her hands, groaning loudly.

"Hermoine, Harry, you two better get moving." George laughed as he tossed them both a set of hats, "It's getting rather cold and you don't want to keep us up here that cold, Y'know?"

A cold glare came from both Hermoine and Harry's eyes; but they both knew the ultimate consequence: they had to go out in the cold to gather up some sticks to keep their happy faces warm. Struggling to get up, Hermoine, pulled on a coat and bundled up in as much material as she could. She even went as low as to take Harry's extra shirt Mrs. Weasley made him to cover her body more.

As soon as both of them left the Gryffindor house, the rest of the house, which were all Weasleys, snickered to their selves in glee. "I think we all owe a great thanks to George for those magic sticks." Ron grinned to himself as he watched his family. "Or else any of us would be out in the bloody cold gathering wood."

They all happily agreed as they snuggled onto the couch under layers of blankets enjoying several cups of warm, tasty hot chocolate. But none of them couldn't go on without laughing every once in a while at the thought of Harry and Hermoine in that blizzard like weather. But for the most part, after a while, they started to feel a little bad for their prank they had pulled.

--

"Ready Hermoine?" Harry asked as he grasped the almost frozen handle that lead to the pathway that lead to the wooden forest that offered firewood. Hermoine looked a bit frightened at Harry but soon nodded. With her approval, Harry opened the wooden door and a blast of winter's chills rammed into their face, turning them white instantly. Harry looked over at Hermoine a little uneasy as he took the first step out of the door; trying to make this situation as best as he could.

Hermoine just rolled her eyes as she made her way out the door. The blasting snow hit her face; the road seemed almost too thick to see. But the tall lights that shined along the path that lead to the wooden forest gave them a little light in their situation. After several steps, Hermoine said the first words that could come out of her shivering mouth. "It's bloody cold out here, Harry!"

"Do you think I'm that dense Hermoine?" Harry stuttered as he hung the ax over his shoulder to make sure the blade did no harm. His nose wiggled in the snow as he shook off streams of snow that fell on his cloak. "You know we could use magic to give us more light."

Hermoine quickly nodded as she pulled out her wand and waved it in the air. "Lumos!" Her eyes twinkled as a blast of light glowed through the air; helping them out a little more. Harry grinned at her stupidly, trying to keep her a bit happy then what he saw on her lips. But then again, her lips were practically frozen together.

"You know, Hermoine, I'm surprised to see that you didn't think of the light thing first?" Harry stated with a cheesy grin. They were about twenty feet away from the forest, but Hermoine didn't seem too pleased with Harry's comment and in return swiped her foot as hard as she could against Harry's grin. Minus the snow, she did a good job with the kick. At least good enough to make Harry fall over in the freezing snow.

But something caught Harry off guard. He expected the kick; but he didn't expect the grin on Hermoine face. It glowed on her face like a warning beacon. Or.. was it blush? He didn't ask himself more as he saw that they were nearing the forest more. There was a vast horizon of trees to choose from--so, of coarse, they chose the closest tree they could get their hands on. It stood about seven feet tall, and all they needed was a week's worth of wood.

"How should we do this? I've never cut down wood before." Harry asked walking around the tree once, his eyes closed as a wave of blasting cold ran across his face, stinging it with a cry of pain following the hit. But Hermoine didn't notice it, she was too preoccupied with the fact that she had no idea where to even start to cut down a tree. None the less chop it up for wood.

"I have no idea Harry." Hermoine mumbled as she took the ax from Harry, but seeing as it was a bit too heavy for her; she quickly let it drop into the snow and looked back to him nervously. "This is going to be a bit harder then I expected. I mean I read the books about spells; you being a boy should read the books about.. doing man work."

Harry froze at her comment before smiling weakly to her. He picked up the ax, which was ten times too heavy for him--so there was no clue in his mind how heavy it was for Hermoine; but he gathered the strength and placed the sharp end of the ax against the lower part of the tree-where the bark was. Hermoine couldn't help but let out a laugh. Her face then snuggled into her scarf as she felt the wind whip across her tongue, catching her off guard.

"Don't laugh at me, at least I'm trying." He smiled before lifting up the ax, and pulling it away from the tree, then swinging it forward against the bark of the tree. And nothing more then a soft slap echoed from the ax meeting the bark. And only a little dent was carved into the wood. Harry groaned as he picked up the ax and tried again; this time with a little more force; thus making a larger dent. "Do you mind helping me, Hermoine?"

Hermoine was startled at his comment and came out of her 'dream land'. She was too preoccupied with giggles from Harry's attempt to notice his words; but once she recognized them she hurried over moving behind him and grabbing a hold of the ax. She blushed deeply as she felt Harry move against her, and in return Harry blushed too but soon shrugged it off. "Okay Hermoine, on the count of three well pull back and swing. Hermoine nodded as she leaned against Harry for support.

"One.. two.. three." Harry said as he pulled back the ax which was now covered by pounds of snow and together they swung it against the bark. the result was a deep dent almost one-fourth into the tree. Harry quickly turned around and grinned at her with a wink. "Again? You ready?"

Hermoine quickly nodded; this work was making her a bit more warm. But not warm enough to melt all the snow that covered her robes, scarf's, hats, and everything else that was bundled on her peachy body. Harry once again repeated what he said earlier, but this time a bit faster. "One. Two and Three!"

Swinging the ax into the bark again together; this time they made a deeper cut, just enough where the tree was tipping over to the right. he murmured to Hermoine who was clinging tightly to the ax while leaning against Harry. "Two more times, this time we'll just go one right after another and get this over with."

Hermoine nodded again as she rested her head lightly on Harry's shoulder, and in return Harry smiled at her before whispering under the snow, "Are you too tired? We can take a break." Hermoine shook her head as she let out a small sneeze. The cold weather was getting to her, even her nose had turned blue from the frozen snow that slammer into her face every once in a while. "I'm sure, let's just get this over with."

And they did. They sung the large ax into the tree twice more; and with a large thump the tree had fell over to the snowy ground and buried itself into it's coldness. Harry turned to face Hermoine after dropping the ax to the ground, only to give her a warm smile and patted her shoulder lightly seeing that her hands were too frozen to shake. "Good job Hermoine." But Hermoine didn't pay attention, her eyes were focused on her right hand as she stuttered.

"Harry. I have a splinter." Her eyes were focused on her hands, there was a rather large splinter stuck in the palm of her hand. Tears were welding down her already frozen cheeks. "When you threw the ax, a piece of wood got stuck in my hand." Harry looked awfully concerned at her, his own hands wrapped around her right hand. Harry honestly had no clue what to do; whether to take it now or wait till they got back to the castle. That thought fumbled in his mind until he noticed that he was still holding Hermoine's hand tight in his own.

"Hermoine do you think you can wait till we get back to the dorms to get it out?" Harry asked as he looked over at the tree that they had left forgotten as soon as Hermoine's concerns came to heart. She looked worriedly up at Harry for a moment as she looked back down at her hand which was released from Harry's own moments ago. She shook her head slightly before speaking her explanation. "I have to help you carry the wood back, it's too heavy for you alone."

Hermoine was truly right. The seven foot tree would weigh over two hundred pounds. Harry's mind resorted to asking Hagrid for help as soon as he saw the bright light from Hagrids doorstep, but soon realized that he was away for the winter with Madame Maxime. "If Hagrid left his door open, we could go there and try to get the splinter out--and come back for the tree."

Hermoine nodded and looked over her hand again; that splinter was becoming a bad pain in the butt. Harry quickly grabbed Hermoine's right hand and held it in his own with a weak smile before charging over to Hagrid's little shack while dragging Hermoine with him. By luck, Hagrids place wasn't that far from the forest they had gotten their tree from; only fifty feet or so. But the bad thing that occurred in both of their minds was that the storm was growing rapidly and the lights that once shimmered in the path that led to the castles were now hardly visible, not even with the light on Hermoine's wand in hand.

By some chance of luck though, Hagrid's door was lock and a quick sigh of relief was filled in their minds as soon as Harry opened the door. It was a bit warmer in Hagrid's house, and there was a small fire lit to help keep some of the eggs Hagrid had been storing for the next Magical Creatures Class. What luck did they have.

Hermoine quickly sat on the rug covered floor by the fire and sighed in relief as she felt the waves of fire caress her body in their flames. Harry smiled at her as he shut the door and pondered around the large house for a needle of some sort to get the splinter from Hermoine's finger. But all Harry could come upon were larger needles then necessary.

"Hermoine I can't find anything that can take out a splinter from your hand." Harry said aggravated from the fact he could find nothing. But he continued searching, looking through drawers and checking through shelves.

"Has it ever came to your mind to use a spell to bring a needle here?" Hermoine grinned to him before holding her hand to her chest tiredly. There was some affect from the splinter in her that caused her to get a bit drowsy. Harry had never thought of using a Summoning Charm to bring a needle to him. And he thanks Hermoine for that thought; but Hermoine was barely awake.

"Accio Needle!" Harry called out as he focused his wand out the window towards the Hogwarts castle, and almost instantly, a needle came flying out from the castle. It could be barely seen until it swiftly arrived at Hagrids window, and flew inside onto the table. This needle was a much better size compared to Hagrids two feet long needles. "Much better." Harry said to himself as he placed his wand back into his cloak.

He hurriedly walked over to Hermoine who was leaning against the large couch barely able to keep her eyes open for Harry. He smiled at her while kneeling down and looking at the large splinter in Hermoine's finger. Mumbling to himself softly, "This might hurt a little Hermoine. Forgive me."

Hermoine nodded lightly; the needle had caught her attention as it got closer to her skin. Harry softly poked the sharp end of the needle into Hermoine's skin where it poked at the piece of wood lost under Hermoine's clear skin. Hermoine 'eeped' to herself as she felt the sharp tip of the needle touch her flesh, but was overcome by thoughts as the needle poked at the budging wood in her skin. Harry smiled weakly at her as he spoke, "Almost got it Hermoine, just another push."

And the needle pushed against the slender piece of wood again, and the wood popped out of her flesh and onto the floor. A sigh of relief fell over both of them as Hermoine smiled at Harry. "Thank you Harry."

Harry had dropped the needle onto the floor as he looked over Hermoine's hand carefully, making sure it was okay. But Hermoine was too bothered by sleep and yawns to notice what Harry was doing. And Harry caught her tiredness quickly as soon as he felt the warm breath of Hermoine's fall over his cheeks. And for the first time he noticed. Her breath had the scent of sweet honey. He stopped himself from thinking such thoughts immediately.

"Hermoine, we have to go get the wood and get back." Harry said while shaking her shoulder lightly, looking over her sleeping form in awe. "Come on, Hermoine, time to get up."

Hermoine quickly sat up a bit, blinking mindlessly as her vision floated to Harry. She nodded softly as she saw Harry stand up. Her eyes floated towards a cloak that was perched over by Hagrids window; it was near ten o' clock. "Harry can't we stay?" She was like a child, pleading to stay at her favorite toy store. Her eyes were engulfed by the flames by the fire; there was no way in Harry's right mind that he even had the chance to say no to her. She was just too convincing for his good.

"But what if the others get worried?" Harry asked as he squatted down besides her. His glasses fell to the bridge of his nose as he watched her form rest casually against the coach, bundling under her thick coat as a blanket. But of coarse he knew her excuse before she would have said it; only trying to see if she was awake enough to know what the answer was.

And she did. "Send them a letter explaining to situation. I'm too tired Harry." Hermoine was tired. The look on her face was drenching, her eyes were falling to their rest quickly and her body was almost a mount on the ground under her coat. Plus, Harry would not leave Hermoine alone in a blizzard like this; not for one bloody second.

Harry realized he had no other choice but send them a note and tell them the situation. Quickly scribbling a small note on a piece of cloth that he found by Hagrids dining table he took out he wand and focused. he had never done a spell like this, well sending something that far. "Presento letter!" Harry focused the letter where he wanted to go, and off it went. Flying into the thick night sky headed off to the Gryffindors Tower.

Hermoine smiled softly at him as she patted the ground next to her as some sort of invitation; and Harry followed his instincts and wandered over to her, plopping onto the ground next to her. His instincts had not failed him yet, so he continued to follow them--as far as they would take him. There was an small air of silence floating around them until Hermoine's cheek fell onto Harry's shoulder. And Harry could do nothing more then smile at her. He quickly moved his hand around to her other shoulder to hold her in position.

Meanwhile, in his mind he was almost in an awkward dreaming: "What in the world am I doing?" But, still, he allowed his instincts to play the rolls they were now--so far they had not deceived him, only made him more happy. At that thought, another thing floated in his mind: "So holding Hermoine... makes me happy?"

All the while, Hermoine had her face rested on his upper shoulder blade with her right hand resting on his kneecap softly. She was awake, but of coarse, Harry did not know. She had held back her snickers, her giggles, her words--so that she could have Harry hold her. To have Harry hold her for once, and keep her safe and warm. Obviously, it was so much better then being with the Weasley's who would taunt her for her wild hair. Because, Harry would not do such horrible things to Hermoine. He was fully concerned when Hermoine got that splinter. He was fully concerned when drops of blood meshed with white snow from her tender fingers. You see, Harry was different.

Hermoine's eyes flickered up at him as she wrapped herself up in her coat. Broad eyes that held a shy aura in them focused on the orbs of Harry; the ones behind the glasses. She wanted to speak, but could find no words. She was lost in a storm; no not the blizzard, but something in her DNA. Genetics that surged through her every cell; heart racing; strayed away with love. Inside of her, whether it be her hormones going for a spree, or the fact that she was a female in desire of love. Something caused her to be speechless when she looked at Harry.

Harry could do nothing more; besides the small gap between his parted lips; but there was no words with his lips. Just silence; and the glances down to Hermoine. No blinking, from either of them, nor were they looking to hard. They were just dreaming. They were making their own words; more like music. They didn't need to move their lips to show how they felt; because both of their feelings were now fully present to the atmosphere.

Harry had a strong urge to just reach down and kiss her. But something caused the speechless tranquility to fall short of a kiss. Something stopped them from touching each others lips for the first time; whether that kiss were to be a brush of each others lips, or a dive of passion needed love from both of them; something stopped both of them in their tracks.

It was reality.

It both hit them what they were doing; though it seemed like petty little kids love: to them it meant much, much more. And neither of them could control the blushing that swept over their faces. Caressing their cheeks in the red warm glow, and within a second, they both turned away from each others faces. Muttering under their breaths a few apologizes for staring so long as well as a few thoughts floating through their head wondering what were they just doing.

"Sorry Hermoine." Harry spoke in a soft tone, but glancing down to Hermoine's hand which was still on his kneecap and her cheek which was still pressed on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to look so long." He had no better excuse then that. At least a true excuse that rambled in his mind.

Hermoine nodded at his apology and glanced back to his face for a moment. Her right hand which once held a splinter now swept over his cheek. There had always been a feeling that she would be the one to make the first move between them; but that went unnoticed by either of them. In Harry's mind the feeling of Hermoine's hand running down his flesh startled him to the pint where he went back and glanced over Hermoine's form.

Hermoine just giggled at him before speaking the honest truth. "Harry Potter. I have never seen glow so brightly. People could mistake you as Christmas lights." With that comment, Harry's face turned a shade of red darker then originally, and he too laughed at the fact and nuzzled his cheek very lightly against Hermoine's hand. He had no questions or comments to be said, but he knew for the better he should say something.

"Why?" Harry asked trying to clear up the silence and avoid becoming captivated by Hermoine's form for too long that it might cause some harm, well not necessarily harm, but could make things rapidly change. "Why do you have your hand on my cheek?"

Perhaps that wasn't the best question to ask Hermoine, as even before Harry could finish his question Hermoine had removed her hand and looked away, her eyes glancing in the burning fire. A single tear had drained itself down her cheek and onto the floor, but Harry hadn't notice that tear--he was in too much of shock as why Hermoine had pulled away. As you know, Harry wasn't exactly the best boy to deal with love. As known he use to, and still sometimes does kiss his pillow to even learn how to kiss.

"I'm sorry." Hermoine mumbled under his breath as she swiped her right hand across her eyes quickly, trying to remove any form of the wet tear that remained there. But Harry knew that he had ruined the situation and had to make it up somehow, because he did really miss Hermoine's hand on his cheek. That simple sweet love that feelings were made of.

Harry placed his own hand on her cheek and pulled her face to reflect against his own. He smiled weakly at her, that sort of smile that you desire in your dreams to be seen by your lover. That simple yet infatuating smile that all the while Hermoine had grown to adore, not the least say love. "My hand belongs on yours." Harry had said it. He said the only sentence needed to be said for this one special moment's puzzle to be complete.

That DNA fragment came back, those genetics that his mother and father handed down to him came back to his heart and allowed his instincts to take control of his entire heart and soul again. He leaned down towards Hermoine's warm form. Pressing his glistening, cold, smile against Hermoine's own. Hermoine had gladly accepted the kiss; but with not deep passion needed. Their kiss was as simple as.. snow.

As soon as their kiss had ended moments later; they were tangled in each others warm arms for a night full of sleep and tranquil dreams. There were no words or sounds needed after that kiss. There was no need to worry what the Weasleys would do without fire for one night. Or the fact that they left a seven foot tree out in the winters fury forgotten. There was not one bloody need at all. Well, besides being in each other's arms, but that was already a proven fact. As soon as Hermoine's cheek had hit Harry's shoulder; there was nothing in this wizard's world needed to replace the soaring emotions that traveled through his body.

There was no need for mistletoe this year; they had love.

---

Hope you enjoyed my little Harry and Hermoine love, gooey, thing! After many revisions and many nights dreaming about how to make this story end--I think it came out alright.

But if you love it, hate it, please rate it! Just don't discriminate it! :)

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Or Big one!) and Happy Holidays,

- Simplicity

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