It was a cold December night and Hermione had just apparated outside of the Weasley's home. The windows were glowing brightly from all the festivities inside. She let out a shaky, nervous breath as she eyed the familiar home. She was running late to their annual Christmas Eve party, and she knew that she was going to get scolded for it, but that wasn't exactly what she was anxious about.
Tiny snowflakes were lightly falling around her head as she began to walk towards the side entrance of the home. As she drew closer, she could hear the faint sound of Christmas music and lively chatter from inside.
Hermione grasped the cold door handle and walked into the kitchen of the Burrow. She was quickly greeted by Molly Weasley, who was putting the finishing icing touches on a giant chocolate cake.
"There you are!" Molly exclaimed with a big smile forming on her face. She wiped her hands on her holiday apron and walked up to Hermione. She pulled her into a quick hug before starting to take off Hermione's coat and laying it neatly on a nearby chair. "I was beginning to get very worried, dear."
Hermione smiled slightly and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was working late."
Molly's eyes widened as she replied, "Again? It's Christmas Eve, for heaven sakes!"
Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at the comment. Honestly, she sounded just like Ron. Ron… She bit her lip nervously. And again, she let out another deep breath to try to shake herself of any racing nerves.
It had been about three years since the Battle of Hogwarts. Three years since Hermione and Ron kissed in the Chamber of Secrets and he told her how he truly felt towards her. They had been together ever since, well, with a few ups and downs. Okay, several ups and down. Lately, they had been arguing more than ever, and she was over it. Tonight, as much as she adored him, she planned to break up with her childhood best friend. She had come to the realization that they were simply just not right for each other, that they would be unfit for a future together. Friends, yes, but marriage partners, no way. They would murder each other. A relationship shouldn't feel like a second job, and she felt like she put a lot of hours in for making it work between them.
She had planned to put an end to it awhile ago, but she always found an excuse not to. After their major argument the other day, she knew it was better to do it sooner than later. Yes, it was Christmas Eve and yes, he was going to be heartbroken, but it was for the best - for the both of them and he would thank her one day for it. Once the party was over, she had plans to talk to him privately about it all. Hopefully, he would understand.
Hermione offered Molly a kind smile and tried her best to reply in her most pleasant tone. "Yes, you know, it's very important to me."
And it was.
When the Battle had ended, Hermione made the decision to return to school to finish her studies. Completing her education and graduating from Hogwarts was highly important to her. Then, she took a position at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, as she continued her work with S.P.E.W.
Molly shook her head at her and responded, "Well, at least, you didn't miss too much of the party. Now go on, get in there, Ron has been waiting for you." She quickly ushered Hermione to the door and opened it wide for her. She practically pushed her into the party festivities before closing the door behind her with a soft thud.
The muffled sounds from before were now filling Hermione's ears loud and clear. She was captivated by all the holiday decorations in front of her. The room was entirely decorated with red and green tinsel. Sparkling garlands were hung around every archway. Red and white candles floated around as they gave off an amber-like hue to the room. Enchanted trays filled with holiday sweets were floating among the crowd as well. And in the corner, there was a very tall Christmas tree that was decorated from top to bottom in glistening red ornaments and shiny gold ribbon.
Her brown eyes then roamed over the immense crowd of people spread across the decorated room. Some were dancing lively to the holiday music while others were chatting away with champagne glasses in their hands. Overall, everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves immensely. After all, it was Christmas Eve.
Hermione began to walk through the party crowd. She casually waved at any familiar faces, greeting them with a polite 'hello' as she passed by them. A tray of champagne-filled glasses floated near her as she quickly grabbed one and began sipping the bubbly drink. It was much needed for her conversation with Ron later.
Alas, she finally spotted Ron standing with George. They were chatting away in the corner, probably discussing work-related topics. Unlike her, Ron didn't return to school. He decided ultimately it wasn't what was best for him. George wanted him to help with the shop, and Ron accepted the position without hesitation.
Hermione took another sip of her champagne as she drew closer to the two ginger haired men. Then, she overheard Ron's voice.
"No, I can't do that, besides, I already know what I'm doing."
Stepping up next to him, Hermione chimed in, "What's that?"
Ron practically jumped at the sound of her voice. He quickly turned towards her and exclaimed, "You made it finally!"
Hermione held her breath briefly. He was probably about to scold her for being late again. But instead, she was shocked when she felt a pair of lips plant a soft kiss on the side of her cheek.
Ron pulled back and grinned widely at her. "I was beginning to get a little worried, you know," he said. She was so confused, she could've sworn that he would be upset with her.
"Oh," Hermione responded lightly, still surprised by his response. "Well, here I am. What were you two talking about?"
Ron quickly replied, "Just some work stuff, right, George?"
George gave a quick nod in agreement. He explained, "We have a new invention being tested right now. Look over here." He put an arm around Hermione's shoulders and turned her towards the direction of one of the hallway archways. He pointed at the sparkling mistletoe that was hanging at the top of the doorframe.
Hermione eyed it for a second before asking, "Mistletoe? What's so special about it?"
"It's not just any ordinary mistletoe," Ron laughed slightly.
Fred nodded and said, "It's enchanted." He took his arm off of Hermione before one of his classic smirks spread across his face. "If you walk underneath it, you'll get stuck completely until someone plants a kiss on you. Fun, eh?" Fred said, grinning mischievously.
"What if no one comes to kiss you?" Hermione pointed out.
"Then, that's very unfortunate luck," George laughed.
Ron chuckled. "No, no, you can disable it, someone else will just have to pull the mistletoe down before getting stuck underneath it, that's all."
Hermione shook her head at the two of them and laughed lightly, "You two are crazy."
"Why thank you, Hermione, my favorite compliment of the night," Fred chuckled before leaving Ron and Hermione and disappearing into the crowd.
Hermione's eyes scanned across the room for a certain raven-haired friend of hers, but he was no where in sight. She actually wanted to get his advice on how to go about it with Ron tonight. Harry and her always confided in each other, he was just so easy to talk to about anything.
Ron bumped her shoulder lightly and interrupted her search for Harry.
"Looking for Harry?" he asked knowingly.
Hermione glanced at him and nodded.
"I think the last time that I saw him, he was talking with Ginny," Ron said.
The smile on Hermione's face began to slowly fade away.
Ron took notice of her slight frown and quickly added, "No, it's all good. It seems like they're on good terms now. Or at least, they're talking again. I mean, it has been three months after all, so they should be. In fact, they talked for quite a bit. He even made his way over and had a friendly chat with her new boyfriend."
Hermione shook her head at him."I still can't believe that she's with Michael again…" She spotted Ginny lively dancing with Michael Corner in the middle of the room. "You know, it's like we never left Hogwarts."
Ron shrugged and then casually replied, "I guess, you never forget your first love, eh?"
Hermione looked up at him and he winked at her with a charming smile forming on his face. She felt her cheeks start to grow warm under his intense stare before she looked away quickly and took another sip of her almost empty glass of champagne.
Suddenly, he took hold of her glass and placed it on a nearby table. "What are you-" Hermione started saying until he grasped her hands tightly in his and began to pull her towards the dancing crowd.
Ron had a goofy grin on his face now. He said, "C'mon, let's dance."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Why was he acting so… different tonight? She dragged her feet as he continued pulling her with him to the middle of the room. She complained, "You know, I'm absolutely awful at dancing."
He instantly replied, "C'mon you owe me after you swore you wouldn't be late to this party."
Hermione argued, "I had a lot of work."
He eyed her for a moment. His piercing blue eyes were practically begging for her to dance with him.
"Ugh, fine," she said defeatedly.
She allowed herself to be pulled into the crowd of dancing people as Ron swayed their interlocked hands to the rhythm of the music. He spun her a few times and managed to get her to laugh at his silly dancing antics. She was actually enjoying herself until… she was reminded of an all too familiar memory. Suddenly, her mind wandered back to that dance that she shared with Harry during the hunt for the Horcruxes. That one night, she tried so desperately to forget, but simply couldn't.
Ron had said something, but with the loud holiday music and her racing thoughts, she didn't hear him quite clearly.
Hermione spoke loudly over the music. "Sorry, what?"
Ron laughed slightly as he pulled her closer to him and rested his hands on her waist. He said into her ear, "Always off thinking about something else, eh? I was saying, it's crazy that we've been together for three years now."
His sweet words sent a jolt of pain through her chest, and she felt awful to be the one to break his heart later tonight, especially with how he was acting tonight. Hermione awkwardly looked away from him, unsure of what to say exactly.
Still avoiding eye contact with him, she quietly said, "Well, time flies."
Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of that familiar messy raven hair that she knew too well. She saw the figure walk out the front door and her eyes quickly wandered over towards the direction of the windows. She could just barely see him standing on the front porch before her view was obstructed by Ron's face.
Ron leaned in again and whispered, "It does, and I wouldn't change one thing about it."
Hermione sighed before commenting, "Well, maybe argue a little less."
"It's you and me, we're always going to bicker and then make up. What couple doesn't?" Ron chuckled.
She caught a glimpse of Harry in the windows again. It almost looked like he was pacing out there on the porch. Without another thought, she swiftly pulled Ron's hands off of her body. "I spotted Harry, I'm just going to go over and say hi quickly," she said. She rushed off before even hearing Ron's response. As she walked through the crowd, she grabbed two steaming mugs from the hot chocolate bar before heading out the front door.
Once she opened the door, she was met with a burst of cold winter air. Luckily, she had her thick white sweater on. The snow was still lightly falling on to the glistening snow covered ground. She closed the front door behind her, and the music and party sounds soon became muffled. Before she could make her presence known, a voice called out to her.
"I should have known you'd come find me."
Turning her head, she was met with his emerald eyes gazing at her and half a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He was standing near the railing of the porch before he turned his attention back towards the cloudy night sky. As she drew closer to him, she noticed that he had an almost empty glass of what looked to be firewhiskey sitting on the patio railing.
Standing right next to him now, she questioned, "Firewhiskey?"
He glanced at her and chuckled lightly, "It's a party, isn't?"
She looked at him with a concerned look. Harry wasn't really one to drink hard liquor unless he had a problem that he was dwelling on. Was it Ginny? Work perhaps? Then again, she shouldn't rush to conclusions; maybe he actually id fancy a drink tonight. She tried her best to push her worrisome thoughts aside.
She placed the red mug of hot cocoa next to his firewhiskey. She smiled at him briefly and happily said, "I figured you'd like some of this to warm you up, it's awfully cold out here."
With a wave of his hand, Hermione immediately felt a soothing warmth overcome her and she felt comfortable again. He must have casted a warming charm around them.
"Thanks," Hermione said.
"Thanks for the hot chocolate," he politely said in return. Then, he poured the remaining firewhiskey into the steaming red mug. He took a small sip and looked down into the mug as if he was lost in his own thoughts.
A few moments passed by without either saying a word to each other. The still silence was very unusual for them, and Hermione knew something was definitely bothering him. She nudged him lightly in the side with her elbow, which made him flash his green eyes at her.
She asked, "Were you not enjoying all the festivities inside?"
Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he muttered, "Just wanted some fresh air."
That was a lie. She knew him too well to fall for any of that. Taking a sip of her own hot chocolate, she hesitantly said, "Ron told me that you talked to Ginny tonight."
"So?"
"Well, you haven't had any contact with her since the break up and-"
"Hermione, this isn't about Ginny."
She insisted, "So you are upset about something."
He turned towards her and yelled, "Just drop it alright!"
His sudden loud voice sent chills down her spine. Clearly he was troubled by something, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it at all. She didn't understand though, he always confided in her about mainly everything. Well, except for his abrupt breakup with Ginny. She found out from Ron that the two broke up before Harry had even told her, and even then, he still never told her the reason as to why they even broke up. Even Ginny refused to talk about it.
The uncomfortable silence was making her a bit tense. Perhaps, it was best to leave him alone since he wasn't ready to talk to her about whatever was bothering him. Hermione mumbled, "I guess I'll just leave you to your thoughts then."
She walked away from him and headed towards the front door, but before she could take another step, his warm calloused hand suddenly grabbed her cold one.
"Wait," he quietly said. She turned to look at him and found his green eyes softened. She thought that she could almost see a flash of hurt within them. He sighed deeply, "I-I'm sorry. You're just trying to be a good friend, and I'm being a git."
"You said it, I didn't, but yes," Hermione agreed.
A cold wind blew against the side of her face and she immediately felt chills race throughout her body. The warming charm must have worn off. She shivered at the cold air around them, the only source of warmth coming from his hand holding hers still.
Suddenly, Harry grabbed hold of her other hand and said, "You're shivering, come here."
He gently pulled her towards him and she felt his strong arms securely wrap around her. She immediately felt the warmth radiating off of his body and onto hers despite the bitter cold blowing against them. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, tightening her hold on him.
He whispered into her ear, "Please don't leave."
Those words. She was haunted by those exact words from that night in the tent. And just like that night, she felt drawn to him like there was an invisible force pulling her to him. It felt wrong to immensely enjoy being in his arms like this, but then again, it felt right in a way.
She tightened her grip on him, and she certainly did not want to let go of him anytime soon. And then suddenly, she began to feel him start to rock their bodies back and forth slowly. He was thinking of that night in the tent too, wasn't he? Their swaying bodies began to turn in small circles as they rested their heads on one another's shoulders just like they did once before.
He finally spoke again, "I think about that night a lot."
She felt his hands slowly move from her back down to her waist. Even with the layer of clothing, his touch felt like a lightning tension between them was almost too much to bear. The feelings that she had long tried to push away, started to fill within her again. She knew she had to transition the mood between them and stop this immediately. Everything was feeling just way too… intimate.
Trying to lighten the mood, she nervously said, "What? About your bad dancing moves?"
He pulled his head off her shoulder and looked at her intensely. Hermione could feel his heated gaze on her and she lifted her head up and hesitantly glanced up at him. His face was awfully close to hers as she took notice of his slightly chapped lips and pink tinged cheeks from the cold. Finally, her eyes shifted up into his mesmerizing emerald eyes. She had to stop this, but she couldn't look away. Her heart began to pound like a drum within her chest, and she was almost nervous that he could actually feel it.
"I think more about what happened after," he quietly said.
Her heart practically stopped at his words. Their swaying came to a full stop too. Did she hear him correctly? She searched his eyes for a confirmation, but he just stared at her for a response.
Three years later and he wanted to bring all this up now? She had long tried to forget the events that occurred after their lovely dance in the tent. Memories of that night began to rush back to her - how she tried to leave after their dance in fear of what she was feeling towards him and how he pulled her back to him, practically begging her to stay with him. That only led to an inevitable shared kiss between the two and eventually, an intimate night of love making between two close friends.
She blushed a deep red and cleared her throat. She could feel his hot breath upon her lips as his face was just mere inches away from hers. She licked her lips instinctively, but then bit her lip.
"I think you drank a bit too much fire whiskey, Harry."
"This isn't the firewhiskey talking, Hermione. I should've talked to you about this sooner and-"
Suddenly, she quickly pushed his hands off of her body and stepped back from him. She had longed for this conversation with him, even had dreamt of it, but now that it was actually happening, she didn't want to hear any of it. It hurt too much.
Avoiding his gaze, she looked down at the ground briefly. Her voice started faltering a bit as she said, "Harry, y-you need to stop this now. This isn't funny."
He took another step towards her, but she continued to take a step back from him, making sure he didn't get too close to her again. Otherwise, she may just give in to him.
"Hermione, please. This has been bothering me for months, years even," he begged.
Did he just say years? His sudden revelation made her fume inside. Anger filled within her brown eyes as she looked up at him. No, he wasn't going to do this to her. "Years? Harry, I wanted to talk to you about this the morning after it happened, but you are the one who refused to talk to me. You are the one who distanced yourself from me afterwards. You are the one who wanted to forget what happened that night."
"Yes, but I never meant to hurt you like-"
"Well, you did!" Her voice was no longer quiet. She added, "We were each other's firsts! Do you know how that made me feel?!" She felt the tears begin to brim her eyes as she roughly wiped them away with the back of her hand. "Do you know how that made me feel to go weeks with you avoiding me in that tiny tent! It was damn hard to pretend nothing happened, but I did it… I pushed aside any feelings that I felt so we could get a sense of normalcy back! So, tell me why? Why bring this all up now?!"
He went silent and finally broke eye contact with her. He stared down at his feet.
"I'm going back inside," she quietly said, wiping at her eyes again with her hand. She went to grasp the door handle until she heard his voice once more.
"I'm not going to regret what I did, Hermione, because I did it to protect you," he confessed.
She turned and looked at him. He remained where he was planted, awaiting for her response.
"I didn't need protection, Harry. I needed you."
He quickly replied, "And I wanted nothing more than to be with you, but the timing wasn't right,"
"And you think, the timing is right now?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. No more words were spoken between the two as a minute passed by.
And after that, she rushed inside without another look at him.
Once she was indoors, she took a deep breath and tried to block out what had just happened. The music once again filled her ears as she wandered through the crowd of people, hoping to find Ron. She wanted to leave the party, and hopefully, he would understand and just let her go. She'd have to save the breakup for another night, because all she wanted was to be alone right now.
Finally, she spotted Ron chatting away with Ginny near the Christmas tree. She wiped her eyes once more to hide any tears lingering before walking up to him. She quietly said, "Hey, can we talk?"
"Oh, I was just looking for you," Ron said. "I actually wanted to-"
Suddenly, the sound of silverware tapping a glass filled the room. Hermione turned her head and saw Ginny holding her champagne glass up high and a spoon in her other hand. The music promptly stopped and all eyes from the crowd turned towards them.
"If everyone can turn their attention over here, my brother has something to say," Ginny said aloud.
Hermione looked at Ron confused, who glanced at her briefly with a smile before looking back out into the crowd. He cleared his throat and spoke loudly, "There's something that I need to say here tonight… something that I've been thinking about for awhile now. Christmas is a magical time, right? It's a time find your way home to be with loved ones. One Christmas morning, when I was at my absolute lowest, I heard a voice." He paused briefly and pointed over at Hermione. "Her voice. That led me back to her."
'Oh no,' Hermione thought. She knew what was happening. He was about to-
Her mind practically shut off when he got down on one knee in front of her.
The party crowd began to cheer and whistle as Molly shushed them to quiet down. Ron took hold of her hand as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful ring. He held it in front of her, and asked, "I love you, Hermione. And my only Christmas wish is to be with you forever. Will you marry me?"
Hermione stared down at him, unsure of what to say next. As every second passed by, she felt like it was an eternity. She couldn't believe this was all happening. It made sense though - his odd, sweet behavior tonight and why he didn't want her late to the party. He had this all planned out. She looked up into the crowd and saw everyone awaiting for her answer. Ginny and Michael were standing just behind Ron, smiling wide. Molly was patting her eyes dry as Arthur held a tight arm around her shoulders. Then suddenly, her eyes landed upon Harry, whose eyes were specifically on her. There was no smile upon his face and he looked almost emotionless at the scene before him.
She turned her head back towards Ron again, who was grinning ear to ear and awaiting her answer.
"Ron, I-" She stumbled upon her words. "Ron, I'm sorry I can't do this."
Once she said those words, she quickly pulled her hand away from his tight grasp. Gasps and whispers filled the crowd as they awkwardly stood there encountering the whole scene. Hermione could no longer stand there in front of him, she had to flee right away. She turned quickly on her heel and rushed past people until she found herself in the kitchen.
Hermione let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Without another thought, she frantically started to look for her coat, but she simply couldn't find it. She could hear the Christmas music slowly start up again. Screw the coat, she had to leave now. And then suddenly, the door burst wide open.
"What the bloody hell was that, Hermione?!" Ron shouted, his face almost matched the color of his hair. He looked absolutely furious.
She bit her lip nervously and started saying, "Ron, please don't be mad at me, but I-"
"Don't be mad?! You made me look like a bloody idiot out there!" he retorted.
"Quiet, everyone will hear us," she scolded at him.
"Let them hear then!"
She knew she should've left right away. This wasn't going to end well at all. She shook her head at him and tried to remain calm, hoping Ron would stop shouting. "This is what I'm talking about, Ron. We fight. We fight all the time." She sighed deeply, "Can you honestly say you want to marry me like this? Our marriage would be a complete, utter disaster."
"That's what we do! We fight, we make up and-"
She could no longer keep her voice calm and rational. She yelled, "Yes, but I've had enough of it!"
Ron jumped at her sudden loud voice. He stayed quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Wha-what are you saying? I thought you loved me."
"Yes, I love you, Ron. But this isn't the romantic kind of love."
Ron took a few steps closer towards her and tried to grasp her hands, but she pulled them away. He desperately shouted at her, "You're wrong! You do love me!"
Shaking her head at him, she said, "I don't, Ron. Not the way you want me to. And I'm sorry, it all came out like this, but I had plans to end our relationship tonight," she paused briefly and looked at him. His blue eyes were still filled with anger and uncertainty. She continued, "Because well, we're just not fit for each other. I mean, look at us now!"
Ron hotly remarked, "And what? You and Harry are?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and complained, "Ron, not this again. I've told you numerous times that there is nothing-"
"Don't lie to me!" he roared at her with his finger pointing straight at her in an accusing way. "I saw you two out there on the porch!"
He saw them? How much did he see? She couldn't deny it now. She couldn't blatantly straight up lie to him now. It was time that he knew the truth. A sense of guilt began to wash over her as she remained quiet in front of him.
As if he noticed the wrongdoing upon her face, he fumbled on his words. "The-there is something going on between you two, isn't there?!"
Hermione sighed deeply, and stared down at her own hands. She had to tell him. In an almost whisper-like voice, she slowly said, "It was before you and I had started dating and-"
Ron quickly asked, "What? You two kissed!?"
She glanced up at him from her hands, and shot him a somber look. No more words needed to be shared to explain what had happened between the two of them. It was as if Ron could read her mind, and instantly his hands at his side balled up into fists.
"Th-that selfish prick!"
He swiftly turned around and started heading for the door.
Hermione caught hold of his shoulder and turned him around. "Ron, it was during the hunt for the Horcruxes, when you had left. You weren't there, you can't be mad at-"
"I can't be mad?!" He scoffed at her and looked at her disgracefully. "You wait, what, a few hours after I left before jumping in bed with some bloke- no, no wait, not just some random bloke, my best mate!"
Hermione yelled, "You left us!"
"And that gives you an excuse to sleep with him!" he shouted back.
"We weren't even together at that point!"
He kicked a kitchen chair that was closest to him as it toppled over onto the ground. "And if I had known all this, maybe I wouldn't have wasted the past three years on us then!" He started heading towards the door again.
Hermione watched as Ron angrily opened the door to the party in full swing again. His head was turning in all directions as if he was searching for a particular someone. Then her eyes went wide, she knew exactly who he was looking for.
"Ron, wait!" Hermione called out to him.
She raced up to him so she could grab a hold of his arm, but Ron was already darting off into the crowd. She tried to push past people, hoping that she could find Harry first and warn him. As soon as she made it into the middle of the room, she found out it was too late. Hermione watched in horror as Ron was hastily walking up to Harry, who was sitting on the couch with Fred in front of the fireplace. Ron now stood across the coffee table from the two men chatting away and then Harry took notice of his presence.
Hermione managed to make her way over to them, just in time, to watch the dramatic scene unfold before her.
"Ron, you alright? You look a bit pale," Harry said.
"You slept with Hermione," Ron stated in an irritated voice.
Fred looked between the two, confused. "Wait, what?"
"Um," Harry nervously gulped and glanced over at Hermione, who had apologetic eyes. He slowly stood up from the couch and started to explain, "Ron, it was before you two had even-"
Before he could finish the sentence though, Ron rushed at him, and Harry dodged him before bolting away in a flash. Hermione shrieked and covered a hand over her mouth in surprise as they ran right past her. Harry ran around the couch as Ron chased him down. They startled other party guests in the crowd as they ran past them. They also knocked over a few enchanted trays along the way as food and drinks fell to the ground with a messy splat.
"Ron, stop, I don't want to fight over this!" Harry yelled at him.
Ron only continued to hunt him down though.
Suddenly, Harry ran behind the hot chocolate bar table as Ron came up on the opposite side of the table, eyeing which direction Harry was going to run towards next. Hermione tried her best to follow the two of them, hoping to stop this whole ordeal.
Harry shouted at him, "Stop it, I didn't do anything!"
"Ron, please stop!" Hermione pleaded with him.
Ron ignored her and yelled back at Harry. "Didn't do anything?! You ruined our relationship by sleeping with my girlfriend!"
"She wasn't yours at that time!"
"You knew how I felt about her, you selfish prick!"
Harry retorted, "Well then, maybe you shouldn't have abandoned us back then!"
"You prat!" Ron shouted.
Ron practically lunged across the table at him at Harry's seething words. Harry saw his chance and ran in the opposite direction of Ron. The two ran past Molly, who was holding a big tray of plated sliced chocolate cake.
"Ron, Harry stop it this instant!" she shrieked at them.
As they ran around her, they almost knocked her down, but luckily, she kept her balance with the huge tray in her hands. She shouted to her husband, "Arthur, will you please get the two of them!"
Arthur patted George on the shoulder and said, "Come help me, George."
Hermione watched as Arthur and George tried to stop Ron and Harry, but they kept rushing past them. They continued to run throughout the crowd of people, making swift turns around all the furniture, and Arthur nor George couldn't catch either of them.
"Boys, boys! Stop this immediately!" Arthur exclaimed.
Ron and Harry didn't listen though.
Arthur bellowed, "Ron, Harry, someone is going to get hurt! This nonsense needs to stop now!"
By a sheer of luck, Arthur had managed to grab a hold of Ron's shirt as he ran past him. He was fighting to get his father's arms off of him, while Harry was running towards the hallway. Then all of a sudden, Harry found himself stuck underneath the archway.
Hermione looked up over Harry's head and saw the enchanted mistletoe hanging above him. She could see his eyes begin to fill with dread.
In a matter of seconds, Ron managed to push his father off of him and started running straight at Harry who was frozen solid to his spot. Harry's eyes went wide.
"Ron, stop it now!" Arthur shouted at his son once more.
Hermione's hands covered her mouth in fear as to what was going to happen.
Fred quickly reached above and pulled the garland down. The glistening decor and mistletoe fell to the ground as Harry realized that he could move again. But it was too late. Ron was sprinting full force at him, and before Harry could do anything to stop him, Ron jumped at him, pushing him straight to the ground.
Both their bodies landed on the ground with a loud thud. They were wrestling each other as Ron was trying pound on Harry, and Harry was trying to stop his swinging arms. The two were so out of breath that eventually, Ron needed to roll to his side and began to cough a little. Harry sat up and tried to catch his breath as well.
The Weasley family and some party guests started circling around the two boys. Hermione stood to the side, unsure if her close presence would make things worse.
"How could you do this to me?" Ron finally managed to say.
"I told you," Harry breathed deeply. "I didn't do anything. It was before you two started dating, Ron, I swear."
"But you still lied," Ron muttered.
Harry looked over at him with a confused expression and Ron finally looked over at him with a fierce look in his eyes.
"She wasn't like your sister at all, was she?" Ron glared at him awaiting an answer, and then he added, "Even now, she isn't."
Harry sighed deeply before slowly shaking his head at him.
And without warning, Ron punched Harry straight in the jaw.
Hermione finally rushed over near them and shrieked, "Ron!"
"Ron, that is enough!" Molly yelled at him.
"No, it's alright," Harry said as he rubbed the side of his jaw.
Arthur and Ginny went and helped Ron up off the ground as Hermione grasped Harry's arm and pulled him up as well.
"No it's not alright!" Ron shouted as Arthur kept a hold on his arm to hold him back from lunging at Harry again.
Hermione stepped up in front of Ron and pleaded to him, "Ron, please stop this."
"And you!" He yelled and pointed an accusing finger at Hermione. "I thought I was angry with him, but no, no, no, I'm angry with you! I hate you." And those were the last nasty words that had come out of Ron's mouth before he roughly pulled his arm away from his father and stormed off upstairs with a loud slam of the door.
Arthur quietly said, "It's probably best that you two leave for now."
Hermione could start to feel the tears fill up in the corner of her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she nodded and turned on her heel to find the nearest exit. She quickly pushed through the crowd of silent people and walked out the front door. As soon as she was outside, she let out a shuddering breath and she let the tears fall freely from her eyes. Snow lightly fell onto her face. And with a few sniffles, she continued to walk onto the front lawn that was blanketed in a few inches of snow.
"Hermione, wait."
Hermione closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. Why couldn't he just leave her be? She could hear his footsteps crunching towards her in the snow and she quickly wiped her eyes and cheeks of any tears. He trotted right up next to her and caught a glimpse of her tear stained face.
"Are you alright? Let me-"
He tried to reach for her hands, but she pulled them away from him. "Not now, Harry." And she continued to walk further away from him in the snow, but he followed closely behind her. "I just want to go home."
"Hermione, please, we need to talk," he pleaded.
"There's nothing to talk about," Hermione responded with another sniffle.
Then, she heard his footsteps come to stop. Unsure if he was still behind her, she slowly turned around and looked at him. His raven hair looked more of a mess than ever from the tussle with Ron and it had small snowflakes landing on top of it. His lower cheek was growing red from where he had gotten hit.
"I knew," Harry suddenly said.
She looked at him with questioning eyes.
He explained, "You asked why I waited until tonight to bring all of this up. Well," he paused and sighed deeply before continuing, "I knew that Ron was going to propose and I guess I realized that this would be my last chance to… tell you how I felt."
She nervously bit her lip, and asked, "Why didn't you tell me about the proposal?"
"Because," he paused. He looked down at the ground and lightly kicked some snow at his feet before looking back up at her. "If there was even the slightest chance, you wanted to marry him, I didn't want to ruin your night."
Her still teary brown eyes were staring into his uncertain emerald ones.
He took another step towards her and confessed, "I love you, Hermione. And I've tried to pretend it was nothing all of these years, but I couldn't. That's actually why I had to break up with Ginny. I don't want to pretend there's nothing between us, not anymore-"
Suddenly, she cried, "Harry, stop."
This was what she wanted, right? Her feelings for Harry had been buried so deep that her heart couldn't handle it. She ached for him terribly and she wanted nothing more than to run straight into his arms and hold onto him for dear life. She wanted to feel his soft lips upon hers again. But, she couldn't. And she wouldn't.
Thoughts of that hurt teenage girl in the tent filled her mind.
"I'm sorry, Harry, I-I can't do this," she said with a single tear sliding down her cold cheek. "It's just not the right time, I'm going home."
Before she could think about staying a moment longer with him, she apparated right into her flat. She was finally home, and she allowed herself to fall to the ground and sob uncontrollably. She cried her heart out for how awful tonight had gone. She stayed like that for what seemed like hours, but was really only twenty minutes. She glanced up at the wall clock and it read 11:32pm. Her teary eyes wandered upon her small decorated Christmas tree in the corner. She was reminded that this Christmas was going to be very different. Unfortunately, she was going to feel awfully lonely the next day.
Wiping her eyes and nose with the sleeve of her sweater, she slowly stood up and tried to pull herself together. She made the decision to clean herself up and get ready for bed. She forced herself into the bathroom, where she turned on the shower. She began to strip herself from her clothing and entered the shower. The warm water was soothing against her cold skin as she tried her best to forget about the horrible night's events.
Suddenly, she thought she head a loud knock at her door. Unsure if it was her mind playing tricks on her, she turned the shower head off and waited a few seconds. Sure enough, there was another loud banging knock on her door.
She quickly got out of the shower and pulled on her white robe, tying it in a knot tightly around her waist. Who would be at her doorstep this late at night? She walked out of the bathroom and into the living room, where she quickly grabbed her wand off the coffee table.
She was startled at the sudden loud knocking again.
"Hermione, it's me!"
It was Harry.
She walked near the front of the door and looked through the peep hole. Sure enough, there he was, still wearing his party attire and that red mark forming on his jawline from Ron's punch.
"I know, you're in there. Please open up."
She could hear the desperation in his voice. And her heart started to race again.
"Harry, please go away. It's late." she said through the door.
"No," he quickly responded. "I'm not going anywhere, Hermione. I let you go before, but I'm not this time. I was a bloody idiot for wasting away all these years, and I don't care if you don't think it's the right time, I'm going to make you listen to what I have to say." His quieted down after those spoken words. "I know why you're running from me, Hermione. I know you, just as well as you know me."
Suddenly, she swiftly opened the door, standing in front of him in just her white terry bath robe. Her eyes were still bloodshot from her hysterical crying before.
She started saying, "No, you don't. You have no idea what I'm-"
He quickly said, "You're afraid."
She stared at him in disbelief.
He took a cautious step towards her and knowingly said, "You're afraid that if we get together, that there is a chance that you'll get hurt again. I know how that brain of yours works, Hermione." He paused briefly, staring into her eyes. He sighed deeply, "And you're thinking that I will want you for one night and push you away the next. That everything I've told you tonight will be forgotten tomorrow. But you're wrong."
He was right. Of course, he was right. If anyone in this world knew her better, it was Harry. She felt like tearing up again and she had no idea what to say next. She was at a loss of words. She bit her lip nervously before whispering, "I love you, Harry. So much, b-but I'm scared."
A tear slipped down her cheek and Harry raised his hand and gently wiped it away with his thumb.
"I know," he responded.
He took this chance to take another step closer to her. He slowly reached for her hands, grasping them gently in his. He kept his eyes on her and quietly said, "But I swear to you, that I will work my hardest everyday to convince you otherwise. Because… I am in love with you, Hermione. I always have been. And I know I always will be. So if I have to wait for you, I'll wait. I'll wait another three years if it takes that long. But don't think for a second that I don't want to be with you because that is all I'm wishing for right-"
That was all she needed to hear before she jumped into his arms and kissed him fiercely. She poured all her emotion in to that heartfelt kiss. Harry wrapped his arms tightly around her and returned the kiss just as fervently. They kissed passionately like that for a few moments before Harry lifted her off the ground and spun her around as Hermione smiled against his lips, planting light kisses on his face.
Suddenly, the clock played a melodic tune as the hands struck midnight, which startled the couple. Harry put Hermione back on the ground as they both turned their heads towards the clock. It was officially Christmas.
Hermione turned her head back towards Harry and saw him smiling down at her. He pulled her back into his arms and leaned down to capture her lips in a chaste kiss this time. He pulled back and whispered against her lips, "Looks like my Christmas wish came true."
She slid her arms around his neck and smiled brightly up at him. "Merry Christmas, Harry."
"Merry Christmas, Hermione."
A/N: So this idea came to me just the other day when I was watching the movie, "The Family Stone". I was inspired by that fun chase scene and then this little dramatic one shot came about. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! :)