Chapter 13: Holly, Bells, and Mistletoe
Hogwarts was lovely this time of year, it was Mark's favorite time.
Christmas had something to do with it, but he just liked the atmosphere that came with the holidays mostly.
The castle waited impatiently for Christmas day, Mark most of all, he had something special planned.
Mark was now in his sixth year at school, he had gotten a drivers license over the summer, but he preferred flying.
Apparation classes had started in school, he liked it, but again he preferred flying.
Luckily, because of Holly, he had done well on OWLS and he couldn't be happier, he knew what he wanted to do when he graduated, play professional Quidditch. He had been named Quidditch captain over the summer and couldn't have been happier. He had been bursting with pride when he had shown Holly his badge.
Holly had also matured over the summer, physically that is.
Mark couldn't keep their friendship on a platonic level anymore, she had developed a beautiful body over the last few years.
And Mark still hadn't told her how he felt, well after tonight she would know.
Mark sat next to her during lunch and could hardly breathe, that's how it had become.
He couldn't breathe when he was near her, but he was suffocating when he wasn't.
When he was near her, all he could do was stare at her dreamily, when he wasn't he could hear her voice inside his head all day long.
They had all the same classes, and Mark was happy about that.
As he followed Holly to the great hall he noticed how much he loved the way her hair swished from side to side as she walked, under her robes he imagined her hips were matching that movement.
He groaned at that thought and she turned around, "Did you say something?" she asked, blushing.
"N-No, I- just a Quidditch injury" he stuttered.
She giggled at his faltering and continued walking to the great hall.
After Lunch, they went to Defense against the Dark Arts class.
Mark split up with Holly at the restroom, "Tell Lupin I'll be there in a minute" he said.
She nodded and continued down the hall.
Mark pushed open the door to the restroom and walked in.
He used the restroom quickly and then washed his hands.
Looking up from the sink, he fiddled with his hair a minute, no success it was a stubborn as his father's.
He pulled out his wand and cleared the small bits of acne away with a charm Holly had invented.
He made his way out of the bathroom and to the DADA classroom, where Professor Lupin was in the middle of a speech on Defensive Jinxes.
"Mark, if you would be kind enough to take a seat" Lupin said, pointing at the empty chair next to Holly.
Mark nodded and slipped into the empty chair.
"I like your hair" Holly said and he blushed slightly.
He silently scolded himself and then tried to pay attention to the lesson.
All through the rest of class, Mark's attention was drawn to Holly's shining face and he couldn't help think how sexy she looked when she was concentrating, she had her head cocked to one side leaning on her arm and her hair was cascading down her shoulder.
After class he found himself reaching for her hand as they walked close together down the halls to potions, but thinking better of it, he pulled his hand back before she noticed.
As they walked down the stairs, Mark, who was not paying attention to where he was walking, sunk into the trap stair.
Holly, who hadn't noticed, kept walking.
"HOLLY! HELP ME DAMN IT!" He yelled.
She twirled around and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a laugh, which was a shame, she had a beautiful laugh.
She walked over to him and helped him out, he kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks" he said, and walked down the stairs.
Holly was rooted to the spot, her hand on the spot where Mark's lips had touched her skin, she was blushing.
"If only" she muttered before running to catch up to Mark.
Holly and Mark reached potions class just in time, no sooner had they taken their seats than Professor Slughorn swept into the classroom.
Holly glanced at Mark and they both grinned.
"Today will be a practical exam, I'm going to put you in pairs, one of you will be poisoned and the other will have to make an antidote, don't worry, if your partner is not cured by the end of class I have pre-made antidotes at the ready" Slughorn said.
Slughorn allowed the students to select their own partners and Mark of course selected Holly.
The Professor started passing out the poisons for students to drink, when he came to Mark and Holly he handed them a bottle of blackish-blue liquid before passing to the next table.
"I'll take it," the two of them said at the same time.
"I'll take the poison," Holly said, "you're better at making potions than I am"
Mark hesitated, anything could happen and he could lose her.
Before Mark could react, Holly downed the bottle of poison.
She swayed for a moment and her eyes rolled into the back of her head before she toppled over on the table.
Mark flipped through his potions book for a quick and easy antidote, finding none he thought for a moment, bezoars weren't allowed in exams.
Then he remembered something he had learned in second year, a potion that antidotes most poison.
He rushed over to the bookcase and pulled out, Most Common Antidotes year 2
He flipped through the book until he found the potion.
He gathered the ingredients from the store cabinet.
He looked down at the instructions,
Chop eel spleen into quarters and dump into water.
Add pinch of spider abdomen powder and stir for twelve minutes.
Add 3 doxy eggs and powder of graphorn horn, four billywig stings should also be used for maximum effectiveness.
Stir until potion turns light shade of green and then add scale of firecrab to the mixture.
At this point a cloud of thick orange smoke should be emitting form your cauldron.
Add saliva of an Acromantula and stir until mixture turns grey.
Heat the mixture to approximately 400 degrees, let mixture cool, or use a freezing charm if you are in a hurry, antidote is now ready to be used.
Mark charmed his knife to chop the eel spleen while he crushed the spider abdomen into a fine powder, his cauldron was heating to boiling point. After he finished crushing the spider, he pinched the powder into the potion.
He dumped his tray of eel spleen into it and used a swirling charm on the water to stir it.
After twelve minutes, he cracked the doxy eggs into the cauldron and pinched the graphorn powder into it.
He tore the stings off some billywigs and dumped them into the potion.
The swirling charm kept up until the water turned green and he stopped it.
Holly groaned and he muttered, "Hold on"
He added the firecrab scale and a puff of orange smoke emitted.
He dumped a bottle of Acromantula saliva into the potion and it made a hissing sound.
He performed another swirling charm and kept it up until the water turned grey.
"Lacarnum Inflamarae" he muttered, pointing his wand at the bottom of his cauldron where a bright blue fire suddenly appeared.
After about five minutes, he put the fire out and performed a freezing charm on the water.
It cooled, but not too much.
He dipped a glass into the foul looking, sludgy potion and brought it out.
It was the foulest smelling thing he had ever handled, and that included bubotuber pus.
He lifted Holly's head gently; her face was now blue, as if she couldn't breathe.
He tipped the potion into her mouth and tilted her head back farther to make her swallow.
She sputtered for a moment and then her eyes fluttered open.
Her face returned to its normal color, and ark let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"Holly?" he asked.
She was silent.
"Holly?" Mark asked again.
"That was the worst thing I've ever tasted" she slurred, her head swaying from side to side.
Mark laughed.
"I thought you were a goner" he said.
After dinner that night, Mark pulled Holly into a vacant classroom.
"We need to talk" he said.
Harry stumbled in the door at about 3:00 in the morning.
He fumbled with the lock on the door, trying to get the blasted thing to lock so he could sneak up to bed.
He was three hours late coming home from work.
Successfully locking the door after about twenty tries, Harry kicked off his shoes and tried to feel his way through the living room.
He bumped into a chair and sprawled over onto the floor, "Shh!" he said, shushing the chair, "we don't want to wake Hermione now, do we"
An exasperated sigh came from somewhere near the kitchen.
The lights flipped on and Harry shielded his eyes, "A little late for that Harry" Hermione said from the kitchen doorway.
She was clad in a pink bathrobe and slippers, her hair in a messy knot behind her head.
"What has gotten into you lately Harry? You've been coming home late from work, every night it's later, and that's if you even come home at all!" Hermione said, "sometimes I wake up in the morning and you're not even there, how is that supposed to make me feel?"
Harry grumbled something under his breath.
"Don't grumble at me Harry Potter! I'm not the one staying out all night and who knows what you're doing out there!" she hissed.
Harry didn't answer and she scowled.
"Harry our marriage is falling apart! I want us to be back to where we were! I want to be able to trust you again!" she said, on the verge of tears.
Harry stumbled forward and shoved a box into her hands before running out the back door.
(A/N: No he's not drunk, just tired)
Hermione didn't move for a while, partly because she was angry, and partly because she was sad.
She didn't know when he'd come back, lately he had been coming home late, sometimes not even coming back.
And now he had left, who knows, he might not come back for a month, he might not come back at all.
Hermione felt her eyes well up with the thought of him leaving her for good.
She slumped to the floor with her hand covering her face.
She dropped the box Harry had given her and it fell open on the floor.
She heard the impact on the kitchen tile and looked up.
Shining back at her, were the most beautiful diamonds she had ever seen, attached to the most beautiful pure gold necklace she had ever seen.
There was a note inside too, she quickly read it.
Dear Hermione,
I know we've had some rough times these past few months, but I really want to make it up to you,
I love you; I can't live without your love and your trust.
All this fighting is just going to lead to a divorce, which is the last thing I want.
You're my everything and I need you.
I'm going to give you your gift early.
Merry Christmas Hermione.
Love with all my heart,
Harry
Hermione gently lifted the necklace out of the box.
She held it in one hand while the other covered her face and her tears spilled out.
She never found the will to leave the floor that night, she cried herself to sleep on the kitchen floor, the necklace still in her hands, clutched to her heart.
The classroom was dark, and Mark did nothing to light it.
Holly looked into his eyes and he was lost in their beauty.
"What was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked.
He shook his head and pointed up at the ceiling.
"Mistletoe" she said with a fiery glint in her eyes.
Mark nodded, he couldn't speak.
He was faintly shocked when Holly leaned up and placed her lips on his lightly.
The only word that could describe this was paradise.
After he came out of his shock, he kissed her back, he tentatively touched her lips with his tongue and she opened, giving him access to her mouth.
Lightning was flashing through his spine, his chest, his stomach, and his legs.
He was in love with this girl and she was kissing him like there was no tomorrow.
Her hands were thrust into his hair and he had his hands under her shirt.
She was moaning into his mouth, and he into hers.
Their tongues were twisted together and their hands were exploring each others' bodies.
Mark had always imagined this kiss and his fantasies didn't come close to what he was now feeling.
Her tongue left his and explored the rest of his mouth, while her hands were massaging his arms.
Mark's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist and his hands were resting on her hindquarters.
Holy began to grind her hips into his and he broke the kiss.
He looked her in the eyes, asking the question without asking.
She bit her lower lip and nodded.
Mark conjured a big floor pillow and laid her down gently.
He climbed on top of her and began to unbutton her shirt, while she worked at his…
When Hermione woke up the next morning, she was hoping against hope Harry would be there.
He wasn't.
Bellatrix had moved out the previous year, so Hermione was all alone.
She didn't have the willpower to eat or to cook, so she slouched into the living room.
She doubted she could climb the stairs to her bedroom so she collapsed on the couch.
She sobbed into the armrest for what seemed like forever.
When she finally composed herself, she took a shower and dressed.
She ran down the stairs and grabbed her car keys, even in the midst of a crises, she had to work, Harry was a grown man, and he knew his own way home.
She was on the verge of tears the whole way to work and she couldn't smile or look sexy for the photo shots at work.
All through shots and paperwork that day Hermione was sniffling and on the verge of crying.
"Crap, crap, crap, and more crap" her agent said, slamming her latest pictures down on his desk, startling Hermione out of her thoughts.
"What?" she asked, looking down at a picture of herself in a sexy black dress.
"You have a unique look Hermione, and usually you're the most gorgeous model in the industry, but these aren't up to your usual standards, you aren't smiling or twirling your hair or anything like you usually do, what's up?" he said.
Hermione found her voice choked as she spoke next, "I'm sorry, it's just that I yelled at my husband last night for being out late, and it turns out he was only out late to buy me this" she said, showing him the necklace that was around her neck. He nodded to let her know he was listening and she continued, "and I yelled at him before he could explain, so he shoved the box into my hand and ran out, that was last night and he still hasn't come back" she said, her tone dropping with each word.
"Oh" Robby (Her agent) said, "that's sad"
Hermione sniffed and nodded.
"I can set you up with a…"
"We don't need a marriage counselor Robby!" Hermione snapped.
"Well, I can at least give you an early paycheck as a motion of sympathy" he said, handing her a white envelope.
Hermione thanked him and walked out.
She cashed the check and deposited the money in the muggle account she and Harry shared.
She worked for two modeling agencies, one for witch weekly and one muggle agency.
After deposited the money she drove back to her big, empty house.
"Cest' la vie" she thought gloomily as she walked in.
Mark woke up with his face still buried in Holly's hair.
They had locked the door before they made love, so Mark wasn't worried about someone walking in on them.
The memory of last night was burned into his head and he recalled it as clearly, as if it had just happened.
Holly began to stir and he released her waist, which he had been clinging firmly to.
"Morning sexy" she mumbled.
"Morning yourself beautiful" Mark said.
Suddenly Holly got up, giving Mark a good view of her perfectly sculpted rear end.
She retrieved her clothes and started putting them on.
"What's the hurry?" Mark asked, sitting up.
Holly grinned at him.
"You made me hungry, now help me get this stupid bra on" she said.
Mark got up and helped her fasten the clip of the blue silk bra she had been wearing, kissing the back of her neck in the process, eliciting a fair few moans.
She pulled her skirt and sweater back on and then her tie.
She tapped her head with her wand and her hair returned to its neat, silky state.
Mark put his clothes back on and then turned around and kissed her.
"I love you" he said.
"And I you" she replied, and holding hands they made their way to the great hall for breakfast.
"And so they bloody arrest me for doing bloody nothing" hiccupped Harry.
"Nothing at all?" Draco asked.
Harry gave him as stupid grin and sloshed some of his Firewhiskey down his shirt.
"No.. hic.. nothing" he said.
Harry and Draco were sitting in the bar of Malfoy manor having a 'friendly shot or two' but unfortunately that 'shot or two' had turned into about twenty or thirty, Harry was able to hold his liquor well but this was getting to be too much.
He swayed on his stool and poured himself another glass.
"And bloody Tonks was the witness at the bloody trial, makin' it sound like I… hic… actually… hic… did… hic… something" Harry said.
"HI-HO SILVER AWAY!" Malfoy suddenly boomed before falling backwards of his stool.
Harry laughed and then fell himself.
When he woke up, he had one hell of a hangover.
"Deliquarius" he muttered and it vanished instantly.
"That's better" he said.
Malfoy was gone, which meant that he had already woken.
Harry stood up on wobbly legs, he was surprised he hadn't cracked his skull during that fall.
How had he even wound up drinking so much?
He had stormed out of the house last night and slept in his car, then that morning he drove to the Malfoy's and Draco had let him in.
Harry explained about his problem with Hermione and Draco had offered to let his stay at the mansion until he worked things out with Hermione.
Draco had agreed and so did Ginny reluctantly, not to tell Hermione where Harry was until he saw it fit to inform her.
After setting Harry's room up they had gone down to the bar, where Harry had tried a little bit of everything, the Malfoy's had a diverse line of drinks, exotic drinks from all around the world, but Harry had in the end, decided to stay with good old Firewhiskey.
Harry walked out of the bar into the hall.
He walked into the kitchen where Draco was reading the Prophet over a cup of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal.
Harry made himself some coffee, but he didn't feel like eating.
Draco handed him the paper when he was finished with it.
The first thing Harry saw when he opened it was Hermione sitting on a Thunderbolt broom with a low cut v-neck shirt and a very short skirt, with an innocent smile on her face.
Harry wadded the paper up and flung it back over the table and it landed in Draco's coffee.
"Hey!" he yelled.
"I'm going for a drive to clear my head" Harry said.
Harry grabbed his keys and jacket off the hook by the door and walked outside to his Crossfire.
He got in and put the top down, he stuck the keys in the ignition and started the car.
He didn't know where he was driving but he drove around for fifteen minutes, when he finally stopped he was in front of a stuffed animal store, with a small smile he parked the car and walked in.
Harry found the biggest stuffed bear he could carry and heaved it to the register.
The young woman working there looked at the price tag, "50 pounds please" she said, Harry paid the money and walked out to the car.
Then he drove to the jewelry store and bought Hermione a set of diamond earrings to match her necklace.
Then he got back in the car and drove home.
Harry put the jewelry box in the bear's hands and rang the doorbell.
Hermione opened the front door to see a big stuffed bear standing in her doorway.
Hermione was confused for a moment, until the bear started talking.
"Mrs. Hermione Potter? I was asked to give this to you!" the bear said.
It handed Hermione a black velvet box and she opened it to find the most beautiful earrings she had ever seen.
There was a note with them,
Hermione, if you forgive me, open the back door
Hermione discarded the note, set the earrings on the coffee table, and ran to the back door.
She opened it to find Harry standing there, his breath smelled heavily of coffee and alcohol but she didn't care, she threw herself into his arms and he kissed her.
When he pulled away, she waved her hand in front of her nose jokingly.
"Your breath stinks, here," she pulled out her wand, "Mintasious" A green liquid shot out of her wand into his mouth and he swished it around for a minute before spitting it out on the lawn.
"Thanks" he said.
"Look, I'm sorry" they both said at the same time.
"No… I'm sorry, I should have listened to what you had to say last night" Hermione said.
Harry stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head gently.
"I've been a prat, I promise, no more staying out late" He said.
Hermione kissed him again before dragging him up to their bedroom.
"You haven't made love to me in a while, let's start there" she said.
I am so sorry it took me so long to update! I've been writing I just haven't found the time to post the story.
I just started school and Felecia really wants to get this wedding planned!
I finished moving in and Felecia's walking again so we're doing okay for the moment.
I hope you like this chapter! It's sort of short but I was in a hurry!
Ok sorry, gotta go!
Bye!