REPOSTED! REVAMPED! REJUVENATED!
Disclaimer: PRIVATIZATION IS GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! So nobody should own anything. Including me, regarding this story.
A/N: This is a slightly edited version of the original Raine Is Crazy's story, "Winter Break". We work together on some of her stories, and we've decided to take this one off her account and repost it on mine. In the process, we've edited and revamped it a bit, fixing errors and suchlike.
We, again,apologise profusely that some of the characters are a mite OOC. It's really hard to write this kind of thing without that happening.
Oh, and one more thing: if you've decided to read this, PLEASE click the little button and review!We LOVE feedback, long or short. :)
Harry ran his fingers through his messy hair in frustration. It was altogether too noisy in the Gryffindor common room to concentrate on anything, let alone a relatively difficult Potions essay. He looked instead around the room, packed with talking students doing everything from playing Truth or Dare to wizard's chess to Gobstones. He could hear the occasional BANG from a group playing Exploding Snap, as well.
When Dean Thomas entered with a box of newly purchased Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, Harry threw down his quill. "This is pointless," he grumbled in disgust. Hermione glanced up and frowned at him.
"If you quit now, you'll be all in a rush later, and you'll come crawling to me for help," she said in a warning tone.
"I'll be begging you for help anyway, o flower of knowledge and brilliance," Harry said resignedly, yawning and stretching. She rolled her eyes.
"What are you going to do instead, then, if you won't do your homework?"
"I don't know about you, but I've got to get out of this room. I'm going for a walk," Harry said decidedly, getting up and stretching. "You coming?"
"No," Hermione sniffed. "I simply must finish this paper on the Disillusionment charm before I do anything else."
"Fine, I'll go alone. It's not exactly safe, though," Harry said in an offhand voice meant to annoy her.
"Get Ron to—oh, yeah ..."
"Ron's in Romania with his family for the break, Hermione," Harry spoke slowly, as though he was talking to a small child, then grinned. Hermione glared and rolled her eyes.
"I know," she growled, unable to keep a half-smile off her face. Harry laughed.
"Come on then, we still have almost two weeks to do homework. Besides, can you really concentrate in all this?" He swept his arm around the room, taking in the chaos and noise. Hermione nodded stubbornly.
Harry shrugged. "Do what you want. See you later," and he walked towards the portrait hole.
Hermione glanced around at the crowded room, looked down at her books, sighed, and stood up. "Oh, hang on, I'll come," she said, rolling her eyes again. Harry smiled.
"Good. What time's curfew again?"
"Nine, Harry."
"What time is it now?"
"Eight fifteen."
"Excellent! Let's go outside," Harry said delightedly. Hermione hung back, hesitating.
"I don't know...it's after dark, Harry. If we're caught we'll get detention."
"No we won't," Harry scoffed. "We won't go out of sight of the castle. Besides, they won't be patrolling the grounds or anything."
She was still reluctant. "You never know what might happen. You remember the Triwiz—"
Harry groaned. "We're not going to find a portkey buried in the snow that'll take us to Voldemort's lair, Hermione. Can't you spare me one night of thinking about him?"
Hermione bit her lip. "But it's cold out," she said in a last-ditch attempt to stay inside. Harry laughed.
"Bring your coat then," he said, heading towards the dormitory stairs to get his own. With a heavy sigh that signified her dislike for the idea and her certainty that they were going to get in trouble, Hermione followed him, retrieved her coat, and was only one step behind him as he climbed out through the portrait into the hall outside. They strolled down to the first floor and went out the front doors.
For quite a while, they talked and laughed about all matters of different things from Ron in Romania to Malfoy to Quidditch to the whereabouts of the giant squid during winter. After about twenty minutes had passed, Hermione asked Harry a question.
"So—what's happening, exactly, with you and Cho?"
Harry shrugged. "We broke up last year and haven't really talked since. Why?"
"Just wondering," Hermione said casually, not meeting Harry's inquisitive glance. He grinned and elbowed her.
"Come on, why?"
Hermione shrugged.
"Tell me!"
"I was just wondering ..." said Hermione, and Harry groaned.
"What is this, a conspiracy? If you don't tell me what's going on, I'll be forced into drastic action," he warned jokingly.
Hermione tossed her hair and sniffed, "Like what?"
"Like ... THIS!" Harry crowed, and tackled her to the snowy ground. Hermione shrieked with laughter as he promptly sat on her, and took off his gloves.
"What on earth are you doing?" she asked in mock terror, pretending to tremble with fear. Harry grinned down at her, a malicious glint in his eyes.
"Are you ticklish, Hermione?"
"NO! Oh, don't you DARE, Harry Potter!" she cried, and struggled with all her might to somehow wriggle out from under him, but of course it was no use. She shrieked again and again while laughing helplessly from Harry's merciless tickling.
Finally, Harry let her push him off of her, and they both leapt to their feet, snowballs in hand. They threw snow at each other furiously for a while, and then Harry lunged for her again, sending them both flying into a large snowdrift. They came up gasping for breath and laughing until they nearly cried.
Still chuckling, the two fell back against the snow, exhausted. Harry noticed her give a slight shiver, and pulled her close to his side, rubbing her arms to warm her up. She relaxed after a few seconds, and let her head drop back onto his chest.
"Oh dear—we should head in, it's ten to nine," said Hermione at last.
"Aw, but we're having such great fun," Harry chuckled. Hermione tossed snow in his face, and giggled as he sputtered.
"Come on, we can finish this battle in the morning." The girl got to her feet, stretched, and brushed herself off. With a sigh, Harry followed her example and they walked back to the castle.
As they came into the Entrance Hall, Hermione shivered again, and for the second time, Harry noticed. "Want my coat?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, thanks."
He looked sideways at her. "Are you sure? It's nice and wet and freezing, the perfect thing to warm you up." Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but I'm afraid I must decline. You see, to maintain my gorgeous looks—" Harry snorted and she elbowed him "—I must not be wet or freezing, and remain warm and dry to—arrggh!" she cried as Harry tossed the dripping jacket onto her head. She shoved it back at him, and took off up towards Gryffindor tower with Harry right on her heels the whole way.
She skidded to a halt just in front of the Fat Lady. "Jingle bells," Hermione gasped out, and stamped her foot in impatience as the portrait swung slowly open. Harry appeared from around the corner and ran up just as Hermione scrambled in.
"Password?"
"Oh, come on! Jingle bells!" Harry groaned, and the Fat Lady swung forward. He climbed into the still-noisy common room and glanced up just in time to see Hermione disappearing up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
"Nooooo!" he exclaimed, and heard laughter from the stairs. He grinned and sat himself down on the couch in front of the fire to warm up.
After a few more minutes, the noise level began to die down, and students started to go up to bed for the night. With a heavy sigh, Harry pulled out his blasted Potions essay and started to write.
He wasn't sure what the hour was when the last person left the common room, leaving him alone in the quiet, accompanied only by the crackling fire.
And his homework.
"Harry?"
He looked over his shoulder and saw Hermione standing in the doorway to the dormitory stairs, books and parchment in hand. He grinned.
"Hullo. You coming down, finally?"
"I don't know if I dare," she said, a smile playing about her lips, and Harry patted the seat beside him.
"Oh, come sit," he said, and she complied. "So ... d'you feel like helping me with Potions?" he asked, flashing her a toothy—and rather sheepish—grin.
"There, see? I told you you'd come begging me for help later!"
"Please?"
"No, I've got to finish my own homework as well, you know!"
"Please? Oh, come on, Hermione!"
"NO! I must do this Charms paper, I won't."
"...Please?"
"Harry!"
He laughed and put on a puppy-dog face, sticking out his lower lip ridiculously.
"Look, just because you've got on a pathetic attempt at a cute face does NOT mean, by any stretch of the imagination, that I'll help you! I told you to do it earlier, but you decided to skiv off. You can do your own work for a change."
"Please?"
"No."
"You're a right witch, you know that?" Harry said, getting up and going over to the window. He pulled out his wand and leaned out, murmuring something.
"What are you—DON'T YOU DARE!" Hermione exclaimed as an oversized ball of snow floated in the window, controlled by Harry's wand. Harry himself was grinning wickedly.
Hermione scrambled to her feet and plunged her hand into her robes to retrieve her wand, but wasn't quite quick enough. The giant snowball fell out of the air and dumped itself directly onto her, soaking her head and upper body. Harry was nearly bent double, laughing.
"You little BEAST!" she cried, shaking her head and showering water droplets all over the carpet in the middle of the room. She got a light in her eye that Harry saw too late. Running up, she threw herself at him.
"Haha—hey!" Harry cried as the force of her crashing into him knocked him over backwards, arms windmilling, and sent them both onto the couch before the fire. Harry landed on his back with Hermione on top of him.
"Great, now I'm all wet too!" he moaned as she laughed.
"That was the plan," teased Hermione, sticking out her tongue and rolling off him. She sat up and started twisting her thick hair between her hands, wringing it out. Harry rolled his eyes.
"THANKS."
"Anytime," she replied sweetly. Harry growled at her, chuckling.
For a while they stayed like that, Harry lying on his back lengthwise on the couch with Hermione sitting up by his legs, and then he remembered something.
"Hey, Hermione—why was it, earlier, that you asked about Cho?"
Hermione frowned for a moment, thinking back. "Oh, that – I really was just curious."
"You mean my getting wet was all for nothing!" Harry roared, while Hermione laughed, nodding.
"Yes, entirely in vain. Serves you right."
Harry looked up from his laughter when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A tired-looking, pyjama-clad Seamus emerged from the boys' dormitories, rubbing his eyes and yawning. His hair was dishevelled and he had only one sock on.
"Oi, d'you know how loud you two are?" he asked sleepily. "Some people are trying to rest, you know." He got a better look at the pair of them. "What are you doing, anyway?"
Harry and Hermione looked at him oddly. "What?"
"Why're you all wet?"
They looked at each other and snorted. "It was Harry's fault," giggled Hermione.
"Was not, you started it!"
"How on earth do you justify that?" she asked, looking indignantly at him.
"You wouldn't help me," Harry said stubbornly.
"Right, whoever's fault it was, could you please stop snogging and hesh up?"
There was a two-second pause during which Harry and Hermione registered what their friend had said. They both burst out laughing. "Seamus, you've had a little too much Butterbeer," said Hermione while Harry nodded.
"Me? Kiss Hermione? No thanks!" he cracked.
"Oh, that's how it is, is it!" she laughed, and walloped Harry full in the face with a couch pillow. Harry lifted his arms and tickled her everywhere he could reach while his head was still buried under the pillow.
"Would you PLEASE be—oh, forget it," grumbled Seamus, and he turned and walked back up the stairs, shaking his head as the other two battled it out on the couch.