Quidditch Conversations

Chapter 3: Mistletoe Issues

Over Christmas break, Harry and Ron decided to practice Quidditch in the snow. It may have been below zero, and the Snitch may have stopped working because its wings had frozen together...but they had had fun nonetheless. After the interesting conditions of the practice, they were more than a little glad to enter the relative warmth of the locker room. However, they were surprised to find it occupied by none other than their dearest bushy friend, Hermione.

She was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, eyes closed and lips puckered. Magically levitated above her head was a sprig of mistletoe. Harry and Ron exchanged surprised and amused looks, and stepped closer to her. "Err…Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione jumped about a foot in the air, and turned around angrily. "Harry! Ron! What are you doing here?"

Ron, barely suppressing his laughter at her indignation, replied, "We've been playing Quidditch…what are you doing here?"

"Why were you playing Quidditch when it's below zero and snowing?" Hermione attempted to distract them from the matter at hand, but her huffy manner couldn't disguise the sheepish flush rising in her cheeks.

"Why were you standing under mistletoe by yourself?" Harry asked, his face making the odd pucker of someone trying extremely hard not to smile.

Hermione dropped her head, looking embarrassed, and scanned the room to make sure they were quite alone. "Okay, listen, I was lonely. I'm tired of always being the best friend, or the smart one. Face it, at Hogwarts I'm the faithful sidekick, or the handy homework helper. I'm never…I'm never the…the Cho Chang, I suppose!" she took a deep breath. "I want a freaking kiss!"

Harry and Ron exchanged another dubious look, this was quite beyond their limited scope of experience. "Well, okay…" Ron began. "But that still doesn't explain…I mean, no one's here, Hermione."

"I know…I was hoping to lure some hot Quidditch players here with my womanly wiles. But the only people who've turned up are you two."

Ron flushed slightly, and asked softly, "Were you…ah, waiting on someone in particular?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not so much. Just someone hot."

Harry shrugged, and grabbed Hermione by the shoulders. "Okay then," he said with a half smile, and gave her a resounding smack of a kiss. Ron's mouth dropped open. This was not the type of thing he and Harry usually got up to with their dearest bushy friend. And besides, he had been the one getting all red and shy…this should have been his awkward moment! Why did Harry always have to steal the mistletoe?

Hermione opened her eyes, looking positively shocked and terrified. "What was that?"

Harry smiled coyly, "Well, you wanted someone hot…"

Ron sat down on a bench, hard. He felt a mixture of anger and absolute shock, mixed with some amusement. He was suddenly capable of feeling many things all at once, it was quite interesting.

Hermione on the other hand, just felt a little ill. "I'm going to go now." As she turned to leave, the mistletoe followed, trailing a couple of feet above her head.

"You forgot the mistletoe!" Ron called after her.

Hermione looked up, and then shrugged. "It's okay. Who knows? Maybe it just needed a test run, and now it'll attract some actual hot guys."

After the door closed behind her, Ron burst out laughing. Looking slightly abashed, Harry muttered, "Shut up," before they both turned to their lockers and began taking off their robes. After a moment Harry asked, "Did she say womanly wiles?"

Ron shook his head. "Girls."

"You said it."

A/N: Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I hope this new installment does not disappoint. A request, if you are an anonymous reviewer I'd love to have your email address so that I can thank you…you certainly deserve it for being so divinely kind.