Under the Mistletoe
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A/N: I came up with this idea last year but never actually got to write it down. I righted a few mistakes and hopefully it's OK to read now. Enjoy!
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Harry Potter woke up with a start as someone stepped on his foot. He opened his eyes only to receive a strict glance from one of his best friends, Hermione Granger. Ron Weasley, his other friend, gave up a loud snore as a little amount of spit running down his chin was slowly making a tiny pool on the bench. When Hermione saw this she made a slightly disgusted face and then returned to listen to Professor Binns' "vacuum-cleaner" reading.
Harry took for granted that Hermione had heard Binns say something important, or else she wouldn't have woken him up like that... probably. Hermione was a girl after all – they're pretty odd creatures. He could hear Ron's voice echoing in his head;
'No one knows about girls, mate. They're bloody mental most of the time. One second crying, the next happy as if there was a sale on nail polish. What a bloke to do?'.
He looked up and after a little while his ears started working again and he could finally make out the buzzing sound to actual words;
"...and Estuace from East was the wizard who started the company to transport blueberries from up north all the way to the east..." Harry turned his ears off again as he scribbled something like blueberries on his parchment. He gave Hermione a look that said 'are you happy now?' and clearly she was, because she straightened a bit in the chair and gave a little nod before turning back to her own parchment. Harry sighed to himself and let his gaze wander around the classroom. The ghost professor was just turning a page in the big fading book he had in his indistinct hands, taking in an amount of air in a rattling breathe before getting back to the unfinished story.
Harry noted that most of the people in the room were still sleeping or at least lying down on their benches, peering out of the window and fantasizing about what they'd do if they ever came out of this class... But there was one exception (except, of course, Hermione); Parvati and Lavender who were giggling about something unimportant… as usual.
'I just hope it isn't another plan to make me fall in love with them' Harry thougth bitterly. Since his break up with Ginny even more girls than last year had tried to charm, hex or poison him into becoming their boyfriend.
His thoughts were interrupted by the clock and Binns arose as the class was starting to wake up. Susan Bones fell off her chair in surprise, which of course, the old ghost didn't even notice.
"Class dismissed", he just said hoarsely and went through the wall behind his desk, leaving the book he'd been carrying under his arm to fall onto the floor with a thud.
But even before the book had connected with it Hermione arose, so quickly that her book bag slipped off the desk and smashed into the stone floor as well. She hurriedly picked it up; casually throwing it over her left shoulder.
"Well, I'm off." She said keeping her eyes fixed at the front of his desk. He shot a glance at it but realized that he had not forgotten anything and that she was only averting his gaze. Hermione'd been a lot like this all year.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked curiously as he watched her gather the rest of her books, the ink, parchment and quill. Hermione bit her lip for a moment as she took her 'Hogwarts: A History' in a firm grip.
"To the library, of course", she said hesitantly, turned around quickly on the spot and rushed for door. "I'll see you at dinner Harry!" Harry let his eyes linger on Hermione's honey-brown curly-covered back for a moment before shaking his head and his eyes fell on Ron who was still asleep.
'Here we go', Harry thought ironically to himself and started to poke Ron's arm hard enough for it to irritate anyone. But Ron wasn't of course anyone. All he did was to give up a deep, dragon-with-a-terrible-cold-like snore. Harry rolled his eyes at this and smacked the back of his sleeping friend's head. Ron's face smashed onto the desk, but he didn't wake up. Instead he leaned on his cheek and gave up a moan.
"I'm sorry for this mate", Harry said at, sick of trying and then pointed his wand at the Weasley. Simply he said; 'Aqualitie'. A jet of water appeared from the tip his wand and spurted all over the redhead that woke up, groaning over being wet all over.
"What did you do that for?" He asked as Harry gathered his books.
"You wouldn't wake up." Ron got up, shook his hair so that water came all over Harry as well and they walked out of the classroom together.
"Well," he murmured "you didn't have to make me bloody soaking wet! I feel like a drenched Crookshanks!"
"Don't let..."
"...Hermione hear you say that, i know…" Ron said grumpily.
"Actually I was going to say Crookshanks", Harry chuckled. Ron just murmured something in response that Harry somehow managed to miss.
"I don't know what I should buy for her", Ron said as they got out through the big wooden doors.
"Well, any Christmas present is good I guess", Harry told him. "It's the thought that counts."
"Yeah right", Ron said rolling his eyes. "She'll kill me if I get her sweets and I can't imagine I'll be able to get anything else when its only two days notice." Harry gave up a 'hum' and they separated as Ron was heading to the owlery to send a greeting to his family.
Harry walked through the corridor which led up to the Gryffindor tower when he suddenly rammed into someone and dropped all of his belongings. He quickly bent down to save his potions homework from thumping feet, but suddenly noticed he was somewhat trapped in a circle. Harry quickly got up and let his eyes wander. Girls from all years were gathered around him, looking at him hungrily. With a shiver he thought of how much their gleaming eyes reminded him of the many houselves' heads that were hanging on the walls in Grimauld Place. Many of the girls were also frightening alike the faces with their pig noses and big ears. Harry's gaze went up to above him and noticed... well, he was standing underneath a mistletoe.
He quickly snapped back to reality as the girls all around him started closing in. His eyes went around hysterically, trying to find an opening... anything, any way to get away from that stupid, stupid little twig floating in the air above him.
He suddenly saw a little space between a fourth year and Padma Patil. It was small but he took the opportunity, flinged himself trough the opening and rushed down the corridors. He could swear he heard a girl sounding an awful lot like Millicent Bullstrose shrieking;
"Get him!"
When Harry dared to take a look behind him, seeing how the girls were all crazily following his lead, running as fast as they could and... they were closing in on him.
'Oh. My. Great. Wizard. Of. Hogwarts. Merlin, this is crazy!' Harry thought as he picked up the pace, sacrificing his books to be able to run faster. He was desperately wishing for his broom since he was already getting tired. He had to think of a way to get their attention drawn to something else… but what?
He suddenly made an abrupt turn and ran straight into the library. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest as he ran towards Hermione. She was just putting some books in her book bag with her small, fine gestures at a table close to the door.
Harry rushed to her. His breathe was extremely heavy and his throat tight as he could spot the shadows of girls coming after him like monsters. The kind which hides under your bed late at night, when you are all too young to understand that they are not even supposed to exist. But they do, the most certainly do. He could hear someone yelling:
"In here!" As the thumping footsteps came closer Harry reached a shocked Hermione with her hand over her chest and he suddenly did the first thing that came into his mind.
"I'm so sorry for what I am about to do Hermione, but please trust me on this one!" Then he framed her face and bent down to push his lips to hers. He did it in the exact same time as the girls came around the corner. Hermione made a sweet and gentle sound in surprise that sounded like a mixture of laughter and a wondering 'hum'. Her book bag slid out of her grasp, but soon her arms seemed to regain their strength and wrapped around his neck. With her eyes closed she was kissing him back in a moment. Very enthusiastically kissing him back.
Suddenly Harry didn't hear the girls anymore and his hands wrapped around Hermione's waist, pulling her closer to him. Hermione's fingers tangled in his hair as the group of girls watched them in amazement, wondering which one of them had managed to get to the famous Harry Potter first. And also thinking in greenish jealousy, wondering who could possibly make him so very willingly on kissing her back just as passionately.
"Isn't that... Hermione Granger?" Romilda Vane asked suddenly with a hint of disgust and obvious discomfort in her voice. Clearly she'd still not given up on Harry.
"That know-it-all, she always gets everything she asks for!" Another girl cried out in frustration. A few other small comments were made (teachers pet, sweet as a hamster and bookworm among others) but neither of the two seemed to notice. But they couldn't deny that the boy who lived and the cleverest witch of her age's lips fitted like two bits in a puzzle.
When Harry's hands were tangled up in her honey brown curls and she was literally clinging to him, close to trembling as they kissed, they all agreed that they'd had seen more than enough. Silently muttering even more humiliating things under their breath that the two friends couldn't hear, they one by one dropped out of the library. Soon the only two who were still left in there were Harry and Hermione.
As soon as they noticed that they were in fact all alone (which had been quite a while after the people had left and both of them was ignoring the fact that they'd actually pulled away at the lack of oxygen) they let go of one another and glanced longingly at each other's hot faces.
Harry studied Hermione's swollen lips, glossy hazel eyes, rosy cheeks, messy (more than usual) hair and also noticed that her robes were quite untidy. She seemed to be suffering from some kind of strange chill since she was pretty much shaking and she seemed to be having quite an effort standing up properly. Her knees were trembling and she kept blinking as if she was trying very hard to be waking up from a deep sleep.
Harry ran his fingers trough his raven black, messy hair and Hermione let her own fingers trail trough her mane of bushy curls. Then she swallowed and Harry could finally manage to break the uneasy silence.
"Er... thank you."
"You're welcome", was Hermione's breathless response to this. Then they both nodded slightly and turned their back against each other. Harry went straight into a bookshelf and Hermione moaned in pain as her knee went straight into the bench. They found each others gaze and both cheeks turned instantly red.
"I just..." Harry said with a little hoarseness in his voice and since he was very flustered, he was not able to get something else out. Hermione nodded and made an odd movement with her hands in the air surrounding them both, not too long ago breathed by them through the other.
"Yeah, and... a-and I was just, um..." she noticed her book bag and Harry nodded understandingly.
"Yeah, of course."
"Mhm." Hermione took her book bag and with a last nod they both went in different directions.
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A/N: Did you like my Christmas gift. I'd like to hear it. I mean... it's almost Christmas.
I am planning on making a sequel, I just never warned people because I was sure it would take me a long time. I'm quite busy with my new school and everything. So no promises, but maybe before Christmas.