Title: Timing Is Everything
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Hermione

"As she did so, she brushed the top of his head lightly with her hand. He closed his eyes at her touch…"

Dumbledore had agreed in seeing the pair off for the holidays "Give my best to your folks, dear! And do enjoy yourself, won't you, my boy?" His eyes narrowed on Harry before he gave him a forceful nod. The headmaster's eyes twinkled in delight and gave both of him his best wishes until classes resumed.

A simple *pop* and he was gone.

"Honestly Harry, you've nothing to worry about!" She had looped her arm in his and was leading them to her front door.

"I'm just… nervous." He finished with sincerity. "What if we get our stories mixed up or they start interrogating me or…" She put a finger to his lips to silence him.

Under normal circumstances he would be more than happy to visit her parents over the break; he loved the Grangers and they loved him in return! However, this wasn't normal circumstances.

"I told you weeks ago you didn't have to come… You agreed after much deliberation. I just thought it was a good idea to finally confront this situation head on; especially since they've been asking about you more and more. It'll be fine, Harry. We just have to go with it. Oh, and if it helps, should we end up kissing, you're more than welcome to think of Ginny!" She playfully squeezed his intertwined arm upon adding her last comment.

His face had never been so red before. He merely gulped and said, "Should we end up kissing? Don't most couples kiss regardless of the situation?" He asked as if his question answered itself.

Her lips curled into a small smile before replying, "Guess we should be prepared then, huh?" She began knocking on the wooden door. No response. She rang the doorbell a few times. Again, no answer. A look of confusion now painted her face as she grabbed his hand and walked around to the back of the house.

"Hmm, curious… they said they'd be home around now. Luckily they keep a spare key." She had to dust off the blanket of snow to find the chipped brick the key resided under. Flashing him a smile, she unlocked the door and motioned for him to follow.

They removed their shoes & jackets at the door and proceeded to the living room.

"Guess we have more time to prepare for your parent's questions, huh?" Harry said to break the silence.

"Good idea! Just to make sure we're on the same page. But would you mind if I put on the telly? To have some background noise?" She asked while she was already locating the remote.

"Absolutely. And I think Ron would approve as well."

Ron would have been here if it weren't for his father being in St. Mungo's after the recent attack at work. Harry and Hermione advocated to join him but he said that everything was fine & his father was expected to make a speedy recovery. "Just have a good holiday & I'll give my best to the family for you guys." He gave them both bone-crushing hugs before setting off to the Burrow.

He made himself at home while stretching out on the long sofa in front of the big screen. She hit the power button and they joined a Home Alone marathon already in progress. Kevin had just finished setting up his homemade traps and was now waiting for the burglars to come by.

"Ooh, this is one of my favorite holiday movies!" She squealed in a very non-Hermione tone.

She followed his lead and collapsed on the same couch, molding her body against his. She was loving this guise of dating so she could do things like this without much thought besides simply wanting to.

Harry's face returned to its shade of red from outside and was about to ask what they were doing before a voice popped in his head;

"We just have to go with it."

Going against his better judgement, he continued their ruse of acting couple-like and threw his arm over her midriff and grabbed hold of her hand.

"So Home Alone is your favorite Christmas movie? I bet you'll never guess mine!" He attempted changing the subject so they could move on without embarrassment.

"Hmm… Harry Potter's favorite Christmas movie? Is it a kid's movie like Rudolph or Frosty?"

"I'd say the opposite actually." He said between chuckles over her first guesses.

She adjusted herself so she was facing him, "A Christmas Story? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation?" She was sounding exasperated running through a few of her runner ups.

"Those are good guesses but still not my favorite." He said in a playful manner, while tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. It was an innocent gesture but because it was the two of them, alone, in such close proximity, there was something charged about it.

"Tell you what… get us something to drink & I'll tell you what it is." Harry smirked at her before raising an eyebrow.

"That seems like a fair trade-off… But when I come back can you be a little less… aroused? I get we're supposed to act like a couple but this is really just a tune up before my parents are here… Besides, you're spooning me, not Ginny." She turned on her heel before he could defend himself but as she did so, she brushed the top of his head lightly with her hand. He closed his eyes at her touch, and hated himself for poking his best friend in the back with his lower half.

But he hated her last implication even more.

She returned with two mugs full of hot chocolate just as one of the robbers on screen tried getting into the McCallister home through a window & ended up stomping on a bunch of ornaments while he was barefoot. She chuckled lightly as she sipped her beverage and handed him his mug.

"Thank you, Hermione." He gulped down the drink and set it on the nightstand adjacent the couch.

They returned to their previous positions & the liquid was having a somnolent effect on Hermione so naturally he had to disturb her

"Die Hard. Die Hard is my favorite Christmas movie." He whispered into her ear.

"Hrmm… wha.. Die Hard? That can't honestly be a Christmas movie? Honestly, Harry!" She feigned disdain over his trick question while his arm was draped over her torso and her breathing had become rhythmic.

"It is to me. And earlier I wasn't thinking about Ginny or spooning her… just you, Hermione." He revealed the truth to his best friend and in reply he got a loud snore.

The McCallisters were just returning home on Christmas day to surround Kevin with love and affection that he hadn't had the entire vacation. He smiled at the happy ending and flipped the channel to find John McClane handing a gun to Hans Gruber, pretending to be a hostage. Harry always thought something was off about him (besides being the villain in the movie!) but couldn't place his finger on it.

"Maybe tomorrow night." He grinned to himself as he joined her in slumber.

No less than 10 minutes later, the door opened and Mr. & Mrs. Granger entered. Seeing their daughter and her boyfriend sleeping on the couch would normally infuriate them but they knew how much their daughter loved this boy.

"Thank God it wasn't Ronald, right?" Mr. Granger nudged his wife before setting off for bed themselves.

All was well.