The Happiest Christmas Ever.
By Jenette Black
Summary: A certain red-head stays at Hogwarts over Christmas break, and meets up with a certain boy. It's her last chance to show her true feelings – but will she? One-shot, of course. I'll let you guess the paring for yourself ;-)
A/N: Ok – sorry it took me so long to post anything but I just finished reading "the Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks. You know, the book the movie is based on? Well, it was a REALLY sad, romantic story. I almost cried reading that one. So I'd recommend it if you like sappy, romantic stories.
Disclaimer: The Almighty J.K. Rowling owns it all!
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"Bye! Have fun over holiday!" I called to my friends who were leaving Hogwarts for Christmas break. This year, everyone was leaving later than usual – on Christmas Eve. Nobody quite knew why. Dumbledore had just made the announcement, and that was that. I guess no one will ever quite understand how his mind works. Dumbledore's, I mean.
I was going to stay here this year. I was sick of always going home, facing the noise, chaos, and – the boys. That was what I was looking forward to most. A whole week without the boys. Peace and quiet. I smiled inside, looking forward to a whole week without the lot. Heaven!
Walking back to the castle, I thought of the other reason I was staying. I was staying to see the black, messy hair and beautiful eyes (Oh god how I loved the way his glasses fit them perfectly) of one certain boy.
It was my last chance to ask him out. I knew he was staying – he did every year. But this year was different. This year he wouldn't have his friends hanging over him the entire time. Granted, I wouldn't have minded they had stayed, they would've been able to help me, but, now that they weren't here, he'd be alone most of the time. Which is what I wanted, for him to be alone.
Since he was alone, I wasn't going to have to lure him away from his best friend, and my brother, Ron. It's funny how gullible Ron is. He actually believed that I was dating Colin Creevy! I had only told him that to get him to stop nagging me last year. He really is overprotective. Well, if he knew if I wanted to date Harry - HARRY POTTER, his BEST friend – then I think he'd rightfully murder me on the spot. God! I'm 16, I don't need him hanging over me, acting like Dad.
I was so distracted thinking about Ron that I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going – and walked right into the Perfect Potter himself.
"Sorry." I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Whenever I look into those eyes of his – I melt. There's something about them that makes me swoon.
"No problem." He replied, straightening his robes. "Say, why aren't you going home with Ron?"
"Ah… you know. Fred and George'll be there. So will Percy. And Bill and Charlie. Being the only girl there – besides Mum – well it gets pretty lonesome."
"And you're not lonesome here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well it gets kind of lonesome – but not as bad as in the Burrow. I mean, in the Burrow, I'm lonesome AND there's always noise AND Fred and George are always pulling pranks on me AND … oh god I'm rambling. I'm sorry."
"No!" He called. "I mean – don't be. Sorry I mean. You know." He tried to play it cool by running a hand through his jet-black hair. God he's so cute when he does that! Then we stayed there for about 30 seconds – not saying ANYTHING! Awkward silences kill me.
"So, were you heading to the common room?" He asked finally.
"Yeah – I just said good-bye to Hermione, Ron, Colin, and Luna. They just left."
"Yeah, I know. I said bye to them, too. Hermione and Ron I mean."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Hermione and Draco are going out, did you know that?"
"Oh really?" I replied, even though I knew of the news. "Even after the whole Mud- I mean the "M" word thing."
"Yeah – Turn's out Malfoy's a big softy. He apologized about 2 million times before Hermione finally said yes. To dating him, I mean."
"They look cute together, don't you think?"
"Definitely." He replied, sounding vaguely like a girl. But in a cute way.
"I'm sorry you didn't get Head Boy." I remembered that Draco had, and I had never confronted him about it. Harry, I mean.
"Nah, I'd make a lousy Head Boy anyway. Malfoy's better off with it." He said, with clenched fists. We Finally reached the Fat Lady, where Harry gave the password ("Hippogriff"), and sat down near the fire.
"Can you believe this?" He asked, opening his bag. "Christmas, and they're already having us study for out N.E.W.T.S!"
"I'm just glad that my O.W.L.S are over." I commented, sitting next to him.
"Yeah, next year though, you'll be taking N.E.W.T.S." He taunted, taking out his Transfiguration book.
"Don't tell me you're actually studying?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. I'm gonna have to sometime."
"C'mon Harry, it's Christmas break." I closed his book (coincidently, I had to reach my arms around him to do so), and put it back in his bag.
"I guess you're right." He picked up his bag, and started walking upstairs. He came back down a few minutes later with his chess set.
"Bet you're not as good as Ron, eh?" He smirked.
"Are you kidding? I don't even know how to play!"
"All right then, I'll teach you!"
About an hour later, I was fully informed about how to play Chess, and was ready to play a game. Unfortunately, I wasn't as good as I hoped.
"Ha! Checkmate!" Harry taunted, commanding his rook to where my king was. "I win!"
"That's because you've been playing longer! And your pieces like you better." I motioned to the pieces, who were all making faces at me.
"So?" He mocked. "Play again?"
"All right – but if I win, then I'm going to have to give you a makeover – manicure and all." I grinned evilly.
"And if I win?" He asked.
"You decide."
"Ok, if I win then-" he paused, running a finger across his chin for effect. "If I win then you have to sneak down to the kitchen and get us some food – without the Invisibility Cloak!"
"You evil Pig!" I gasped.
"Hey – I'm hungry!"
"What about lunch?"
"Skipped it. I wasn't hungry then."
"And you are now?"
"Well, yeah!"
"All right, fine – if you win, I'll get us food."
"And if you win, then I'll let you give me a make-over."
"Deal!" We said in unison. It was on – we set up our pieces, and the game began. It wasn't exactly a fair game, because it was only my second, but I played my hardest, which isn't that hard if you think about it, but it was hard enough. It was a pretty long game. 30 minutes, at least.
"Queen to C7." I commanded, as my queen went to C7, the space where Harry's king was. "Checkmate!!" I yelled, punching the air. Harry's face showed pure terror as I went upstairs to get my cosmetics.
"We had a deal!" I taunted, slowly opening my cosmetics bag. I took out the reddest lipstick and took the cap off, waving it in front of his face. His face showed pure terror, as mine showed pure glee. I was giving myself an excuse to touch his face!
"Ok, now make a kissy face!" I giggled as he did. I smeared the lipstick on him and then said, "All right, now press together like this." I pressed my lips together, and so did he, blending the lipstick.
"Beautiful, Harry doll." I said in a fake Jersey accent. American, I know, but it seemed to fit the situation.
"I'm going to get you for this Ginny." Harry muttered, as I took off his glasses, setting them on the table.
"Ok now don't blink." I replied, putting on eye-liner.
"OW! That hurts!" He winced.
"You're such a boy, Harry. It doesn't hurt!" I smiled, taking out the mascara. I put that on next, then took out my eye shadow.
"Choose a colour." I pointed to the colours I had; blue, green, pink, purple, black, and gray.
"Eurgh – green I guess." He replied.
"Aw, but that clashes with your eyes!!" I moaned, but put it on anyway. Turns out it looked pretty good. I put on the blush last, then stood back and admired my work.
"Oh, Harry, you look so pretty."
"What about my manicure?" He asked.
"Oh yeah!" I grinned broadly as he moaned again. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Oh god no!" He whispered, slapping his forehead. I reached into my cosmetics bag again, and took out my fake nails, nail glue, and nail polish.
"You're not putting those on me, are you?" He pointed to the fake nails.
"Of course!" I giggled, putting glue on the nails.
"Why me?" He asked.
"Hush, Harry. Now keep your hands flat on the table." He did so, and I pressed the nails onto his. I then blew on them so that they'd dry quicker.
"Ok, now choose a colour." I said, showing the rainbow of nail polish colours.
"Why do I have to choose?" He whined.
"Because they're going to be on your nails, silly." I replied, touching his nose.
"Fine – black."
"Black?!" I replied in disbelief!
"Yeah – Black." He repeated.
"What if I don't have black?" I countered.
"You do. It's right there." He picked it up and handed it to me.
"Fine." I scoffed, opening the bottle. I painted his nails black, and blew on them again to dry. "Happy?"
"Yes, now are you done?" He said, looking at his nails. But you could tell he was trying to stifle a smile.
"Not yet." I replied.
"Well, I'm going to bed." He started to get up, but I wasn't going to let him go that easy.
"Oh no you don't!" I called, putting him back down. I took out my pink polish, and painted little flowers on the black pinkies.. Then I painted a white center in all of them. After I finished with the flowers, I put little red hearts on his ring fingers. Followed by blue stars on his middle fingers, yellow suns on his pointers, and white wands on his thumbs.
"You've got to be kidding me." He muttered, as soon as the designs were dry.
"There I'm done."
"I look ridiculous, don't I?" He asked, looking for a mirror in my cosmetics bag, with no luck.
"No, you don't. And it's not like anyone's going to see y - HARRY DON'T RUB YOUR EYES!!! No! You smudged your mascara!" I cried in despair. So much for the perfect picture.
"Oh, whoops. Sorry."
"It's ok. I can fix it.." I replied, taking out my cover-up. I hid the black blotches on his cheeks, re-applied the mascara, and stood back to admire my handy work.
"There, perfect." I sighed, grabbing my camera. "Smile!" He shielded his face with his hand, but it was too late, I had gotten the picture, and I wasn't afraid to use it against him.
"I wonder what Ron'll think when I show him this." I asked out loud.
"You wouldn't." He spat.
"Oh dear Harry, you clearly don't know me." I smiled evilly, looking at his face. "But don't worry, I won't. As long as you're nice." I winked, grabbed my cosmetics and started walking upstairs.
""Night, Harry," I called behind me.
""Night Ginny." He replied, heading towards the bathrooms to get the make-up off.
I woke up the next morning, with a smile a mile wide on my face. It was Christmas morning, and I had a pile of gifts on the foot of my bed. I was going to open those later. I already knew what most of them were, anyway. A sweater from Mum, some fudge, and other candy, and a book from Hermione. And, of course, a bag of tricks from Fred and George. The usual. Christmas was always so predictable in my family
First, I had to give Harry my gift. So, I slipped on my bathrobe and slippers, grabbed my gift for him, and headed to the common room. I walked up to the fireplace, where the now make-up-less Harry was sitting, and sat down next to him.
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" I said, handing him my gift. He looked surprised as he took it.
"What's this for?" He asked.
"Christmas." I said smartly. Plus, I'd been saving for the past year, but he didn't have to know that.
"Well thanks." He began unwrapping the gift, being careful not to tear the paper. He was being incredibly neat, and I just wanted to rip off his clothes – I mean the paper – for him. He finally unwrapped it, and his eyes light up as he read the label "Property of Harry J. Potter." I beamed as big as he did when he realized it was a case for his Firebolt. He slowly ran his hand up and down the polished oak wood of the case, admiring the smoothness of it.
"Ginny!" He exclaimed. "How could you afford this?"
"It was nothing." I replied, blushing as I crossed my fingers behind my back.
"No, seriously! You're making me feel bad because I didn't get you anything!"
"Don't. You taught me how to play Chess yesterday, lets count that as your present to me."
"But Ginny-"
"It's fine, really." I said, trying to shove it off like it was nothing.
"No really, listen-"
"Come on. Don't you want to see if your Firebolt fits?" I asked, picking up the case.
"Ginny, Wait!" He called, grabbing my arm. I turned around and dropped the case. Daringly, I looked up – straight into his eyes.
"Mmm?" I replied, his eyes melting my insides.
"Look –err." He started, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going to miss you. After I graduate I mean." Wow, talk about random! What did THAT have to do with Christmas? Or anything, really?
"You'll still see me. I mean Ron'll have you over at the Burrow, and I'm not going anywhere. And anyways, that's not for another 6 months." I laughed, sensing that he was nervous, which made me nervous, because Harry NEVER gets nervous. Since he got nervous, it meant something BIG was coming.
"Yeah – over the summer. But, next year, you'll still be in Hogwarts, and I'll be out in the real world. On my own."
"Harry!" I said, giggling. "Since when do you care about me?" Uh-oh! Big mistake! I regretted saying that as soon as the words came out of my mouth. "Look, I didn't mean it like that."
"No- it's ok. I just – I feel like I've grown closer to you. With the whole chess thing, and the make-up thing – y'know?"
"Yeah," I replied, even though I knew it was rhetorical.
"So-" He paused, running a hand through his hair again.
"You know – You look a lot like your dad when you do that." I commented, but probably shouldn't have. He gave me a funny look, that said "How do you know about my Dad," but I ignored it. The only reason I knew about his dad was because of the hours I snuck up into his room and looked through his things. I had come across his Photo Album several times.
"Yeah." He said impatiently, brushing it away. "So, let's see if my Firebolt fits, shall we?" He asked, picking up his broomstick case. Ok, nothing to be nervous about. I breathed a sigh of relief, which I hope he didn't notice.
"Sure." I replied following him upstairs to the dorm. When we were about halfway up the stairs, he stopped and turned around.
"Ginny?" he asked.
"Yeah?" I got nervous all over again.
"You know how I said I didn't have a Christmas present for you?"
"Yeah." I repeated.
"Well I lied. I do."
And with that, he picked me up into his arms, and brought me into a deep kiss softly at first. As the kiss deepened slightly, I started to realize what he was doing, so I started kissing back, wrapping my arms around his neck. It felt great! Like I was in a whole different world, where only me and him mattered. He deepened the kiss even more, holding tighter onto me. I started to feel weak, my knees felt like jell-o, so I held onto him tighter, keeping myself from collapsing. I opened my mouth slightly, letting his tongue gain entrance to my mouth, letting him explore the wonders of it. After a few more minutes, he finally broke away, saying;
"Happy Christmas, Ginny."
"Happy Christmas, Harry." I replied, and it that was the truth – It was happy. The happiest Christmas, ever.
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Ok – Long Authors note ahead, so if you don't want to read it, just skip to the review :-)
Yeah, the end is WICKED Cheesy but this fic is coming from someone who's never been kissed before, so I had a right time writing that. I think I cried twice at least writing it. Also: I have one thing to say – Fooled ya, didn't I? I bet YOU clicked on this thinking that it was another of my Lily/James one-shots, didntchya?
Grr- it took me SOOO long to write this!! Because I kept getting Writers Block. Especially during the whole Chess Scene part. It took me nearly an HOUR to think of what Harry'd make Ginny do if he won! But I got it – finally, no matter how cheesy it is! But you gotta love my detailed make-over scene! I mean, come on. Can you picture Harry like that? Because for some strange reason beyond explanation, I can.
Darn! I tried to make this 10 pages long, but I only got EIGHT! (The author's note would make 9, but who's counting?) So tell me if you think this is a good length. Because, personally, I think it's too short. And I've got a terrible British accent, so I know it sounds American. Sorry if I can't do better. :-(
Ok if you liked this REVIEW, and if you want it – I might write a second chapter! Ok, not a second chapter – but a sequel. A second Chapter would ruin the whole title-relating-to-the-last-sentence thing. I've got an idea, but I won't do it if people don't like the fic so – ideas, suggestions, put it in your REVIEW! And PLEASE tell me if you want the second chapter. AND I DON'T CARE IF YOU FLAME!! I just want reviews, so if you didn't like it then TELL ME!! (Because I know SOME PEOPLE coughHannahcough won't like it because it's already been done before, but guess what? I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!)