AN- SORRY. For the late update. I'm not gonna lie…I got kinda lazy. lol. I'm on winter break and since I didn't have any homework I got lazy. so yeah..when school starts again I think the updates will come sooner. I think. lol
Important. Thanks AquaRius, for catching my mistake. For those of you that didn't notice, I said that when Harry was talking to Hermione, he said they were having nice weather, but it was actually raining. And then they like ate dinner outside. lol. My mistake!
Oh yeah, we're in 2007 now!! Yay! Hope you all had a nice New Year's Day!
ALSO- For those of you that don't know yet, the seventh Harry Potter book is going to be called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. So yeah, just passing the news along.
Onto Chapter 5!
Disclaimer: I do now own Harry Potter, or anything related to it.
Recap:
Ginny chuckled, "The next three weeks are going to be soooo fun!" she said excitedly. And she pulled me up from the ground, "Come on, let's go! Before they come back!"
I obligated, and followed her up the stairs. The coming weeks are going to be fun…but they're also gonna be extremely awkward….
Well, it's been a week since I've arrived at the Weasleys'. Nothing exciting really happened, compared to the shower/extendable ears incident. The only thing that surprised me from the seven days that I've been here is that I've befriended most of the Weasleys plus Luna. I expected that the whole time I would be around Ginny, occasionally Harry and Ron, and Luna I suppose. But surprisingly, I seemed to "click" with everyone.
Luna and I aren't at each other's throats anymore. I think I'm starting to warm up to her just a bit.
Ron and Harry and I became fast friends. I would even go as far as to say we were best friends. We knew each others every thought and we could immediately tell when one of us was in a bad mood. Ron and Harry didn't even think it was weird that we became such fast friends….well, I guess it's better if they don't ask questions.
Bill and Charlie are really nice. They're like my mature older brothers. Always there to talk to. I don't get why Bill chose Fleur though. The whole time she's been here, I've completed ignored her. You can't expect me to forget all those years at Beauxbatons when she treated horribly!
I'm on neutral terms with Percy. All we really did was talk about Hogwarts: A History a couple of times. I feel quite sorry for him actually, having to suffer Fred and George's taunts.
And now for Fred and George. They're the older brothers I didn't really want, but I like them anyways. Since the week I've been here, I've actually learned to tell them apart. Don't ask me how. I just can. Surprisingly, they're really clever. Coming up with things that I've never even dreamed up. Weird ideas, but ideas nonetheless. And they can't seem to let down the bathroom incident either! I think I'm going to go mad if they bring it up every 10 minutes!
Onto a different subject, it's Christmas Eve today! Good thing I ordered everyone's present pre-wrapped from Diagon Alley!
"Good morning," I said cheerfully to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as I made my way towards the table where breakfast was already prepared.
"Good morning, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied, treating me as though I really was her daughter, "You're up early! Usually it's just me and Arthur…and Percy, too!" she added at the end.
Percy? I looked around the room and saw him sulking in the corner of the room.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked curiously.
"Well, it seems that Fred and George were right. He's still trying to get over his broken heart," Mrs. Weasley said dramatically.
"Wait…Percy really was going out with Filch?!?!" I yelled.
"No, no! Of course not!" Mrs. Weasley said appalled, "It's Penelope Clearwater. They've been together since their fourth year…" she trailed off.
"Oh," I said relieved. For a second there, I really thought Percy and Filch were….
Ewww. Bad thoughts, Hermione! And before I could imagine more, errr, images, Fred and George bounced down the steps, breaking the silence.
"Good morning!" they yelled loudly, causing Percy to jump up in surprise.
"A little jumpy this morning, aren't ya, Percy? Still scared that Penelope's new boyfriend's gonna beat you up again?" George said mockingly.
Beat up? Poor, Percy. Sometimes I really do feel sorry for him.
"Oh, don't bother him, George! He might try and kill himself by jumping off his broomstick again!" Fred laughed heartily, "Make sure you don't land on the gnomes again, Perce!"
I stared at the both of them quizzically, "What happened?"
Fred turned around and said, rather loudly, "Well you see, around two weeks ago, Percy received a letter from his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater."
"Yeah?" I said annoyed, "Get to the point!"
"Calm down! I'm getting there!" Fred said snapped, "Well, she said she wanted to break up with Percy because she found a new boyfriend, who was bigger, better, and stronger. And Percy took it hard…I mean, she was his first.."
"And last," George peeped.
"And last," Fred repeated, "Girlfriend. And so, being the intelligent man he is, Percy decided to go to Penelope's house and win her back. And it turns out, her new boyfriend's this humongous guy! Almost as big as Hagrid!"
"Yup." George said, nodding his head in agreement, "And then, of course, he pounded the pulp out of Percy!"
"Yeah…poor chap. When he got home, he tried to kill himself by jumping off his broomstick! And he's such a terrible flier, Percy is. He wound up jumping into a pile of sleeping gnomes." Fred laughed.
"Then when Mom went out into the garden, she saw him sprawled on the ground, with the gnomes throwing pebbles at him. Then she apparated them to St. Mungos, where he had to explain what happened to everyone there!" George said hysterically.
"It was bloody hilarious!" yelled Fred.
"SHUT UP!" roared Percy.
Fred and George were about to reply, until Ginny, Luna, Ron, Harry, Charlie, and Bill poured down the stairs. So basically everyone except for Fleur, who needs her so called "beauty sleep."
"Good morning," everyone chimed.
Everyone settled in at the table for breakfast, and it went by without any problems. Except for the occasional times when George flicked scrambled eggs at Percy. Who, I might add, decided not to object.
Once everyone was finished, I excused myself to go finish my homework.
"Where are you going?" asked Ginny.
"I'm gonna finish my homework," I replied logically.
"Why?" Ron said incredulously.
Well, that's easy for him to say. He's probably just going to copy my homework when we get back to school anyways.
"Just because," I said annoyed.
"But we were going to play Quidditch!" Harry objected.
"More the reason to go!" I replied, "I don't fly!"
"You don't fly?" Harry said incredulously, "What do you do in your life?" Harry immediately slapped his hand over his mouth, "I didn't mean it like that…"
"I have far better things to do than waste my time flying around on a piece of wood!" I snapped.
I turned on my heels and stomped up the stairs. I was about halfway up until I felt someone grab my arm.
"Let go," I said rudely.
"Sorry," the person mumbled, letting go of my arm. It was Harry.
"Well, what do you want?" I asked coldly. I'm still ticked about the 'having no life' comment, you know?
"I was going to ask you come and play Quidditch with us," he said softly, scared I was going to get mad again, "They all want you to play. It was either me coming to get you, or Fred and George!" He said defensively.
Fred and George? I can just imagine them flinging me over their shoulders and dragging me down the stairs.
"Oh…well thanks," I muttered.
"So you're not mad at me anymore?" Harry asked softly.
"Of course not, Harry! You're one of my best friends! I could never stay mad at you!" I said incredulously.
Harry looked down at his feet, "Right…best friend," he muttered.
I looked at him quizzically, "Yeah…" I said, waiting for him to say something.
Harry shook his head, then looked up at me, "So, you wanna play Quidditch with us?"
"I guess. If I don't Fred and George would probably tie me up and drag me down there anyways!" I chuckled, lightening the mood.
Harry and I forgot all about our fight earlier so we began talking and joking around again like the best friends we were. Even though I wish we were more than frien-
What am I thinking? Harry's just a friend, remember? Guys and girls can be friends without anything happening between them! But somehow, that doesn't feel right between me and Harry. I kept contemplating that thought until we reached the backyard, where Fred, George, Ginny, and Ron already had their brooms standing next to them. While Luna was sitting on the grass, reading The Quibbler.
"Finally!" said Fred, exasperated, "Took you long enough!"
"Here," Ginny tossed me a rather filthy-looking broom, "You can use Percy's broom. Bill and Charlie don't like people riding their brooms…and Percy doesn't really care anymore."
"Hold on, why doesn't Luna have to fly?" I asked.
"Have you seen Luna fly? She's like a danger hazard!" Ginny replied seriously.
"Uhm...anyways..in case you forgot. I don't know how to fly," I said to Ginny, hoping she wouldn't make me play with them, "And I'm scared of heights." I added at the end.
Ginny was about to reply until Fred and George suddenly appeared at our side. It gets kinda creepy..they're not even using magic!
"Well, dear sister, you can ride with one of us!" Fred said as a matter-of-factly.
"Ginny already knows how to fly, dimwit!" I said incredulously, "How can you not know your own sister can fly?"
"I wasn't talking about her!" Fred said, offended, "We were talking about you!"
"Don't you consider us you caring, loving, and devilishly handsome brothers?" George asked, mockingly.
"Uhm..no. Not really," I replied curtly, even though I kinda did consider them my brothers..except for the devilishly handsome part, that is. I just wanted to get them ticked.
"I'm offended, dear Hermione!" Fred said.
"It's okay. We forgive you!" George replied, "You can ride with me!"
And with that he grabbed me from waist and flung me over his shoulder.
"Let me down!" I yelled, "You're crushing my rib cage!"
He ignored this and dropped me onto his broomstick.
"What am I supposed to do now?" I said, suddenly afraid. Was he serious taking me up in his broomstick?
"I'll do all the work! Just sit tight!" George said, "…actually, not that tight," he added, grinning mischievously.
What on earth is he talking about?
Before I could say anything else, we were already up in the arm. I quickly wrapped hands around the broomstick, hoping I wouldn't fall.
"You have to grab me around my waist if you don't wanna fall," George chuckled, clearly trying to embarrass me.
I didn't answer. I was too scared to say anything. We're like a hundred feet off the ground! If I fall now, I'll be pulp!
I was about to listen to George's advice and grab onto him until I saw Fred wink at George. George nodded his head, and yelled, "Hey Fred! Pass me the quaffle!"
They're onto to something…
"Okay!" Fred yelled back, and tried to throw us a ball, but missed by about ten feet. Idiot.
I thought George would let it go, but instead he dove after it. And being, well, George, he managed to 'forget' I was sitting with him, and pulled the broomstick into a spiral. And then…
I fell.
I thought I was seriously going to be squashed into the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping at least I wouldn't see myself getting pounded into the ground.
But then, I fell on Ron. Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself. I quickly wrapped my arms around Ron, so I wouldn't fall off again.
"Oh my goodness! Ron you won't believe how scared I was! I seriously thought I was going to-" I cut myself off.
"Ron? What's wrong?" I asked, concerned. His face was, like, the shade of a tomato. Maybe he has like a fever or something…
"Ron? Are you okay?" I asked again, looking him in the eye.
"Err…ye-yeah!" he stuttered, then he started zigzagging across the sky. He was like completely out of control! I thought he was on the Quidditch team!
"Weasley is our king!" I heard Luna yell from the ground, which was quite far down, I might add. Weasley is our king? What does that mean….
And then, I fell off again. Yeah, again. Due to Ron's reckless flying, I actually managed to fall off again!
I braced myself for impact once again. If I don't die, I swear I'll donate all my money to charity!
And then, I fell on yet another broomstick. Well not really fell. He kinda flew towards me and caught me. Same thing. I guess it's time to empty out my bank account!
"Phew," I let out a sigh of relief, and glanced at my savior.
And, lucky me, it was Harry. Finally. I landed on a decent flier.
I was about to thank him, until I looked down again. Luna looked like an ant! I quickly clamped my arms around Harry like a bear. I don't care if he's suffocating! I cannot deal with another fall like that.
I shut my eyes, and whispered to Harry in a soft, trembling voice, "Harry? Can you bring me down now?"
"Yeah, sure," Harry said soothingly.
And he slowly lowered us to the ground. I carefully got of his Firebolt and stepped onto the ground. Oh, how good it feels to be on solid ground again!
"You okay, Hermione?" Harry asked concerned.
"Ye-Yeah," I said, my voice still a little shaky, "Thanks for catching me, by the way," I added, looking at him.
Turning red in the face, he replied, "No problem." He's probably flushed from flying…
Harry led my by the arm, back towards the Burrow. "Let's go get some water."
I nodded my head, and looked back at the others.
"Good job, George!" I heard Fred say sarcastically, "I told you to drop her on Harry! Not Ron!"
"Well, how was I supposed to know? Ron just so happened to be in the way!" George snapped.
"Good thing he got nervous though!" said Fred, "If he didn't, Hermione wouldn't have fell on Harry, and our plan wouldn't have worked!"
"Yeah! And did you hear Luna singing 'Weasley is our King'? That was bloody brilliant!" George laughed.
The two maniacs ended their conversation when Ron came up to them, and they burst out laughing.
So it was all there fault, huh? Why would they do that? Are they like Ginny? Do they seriously think I like Harry? Well, they're sadly mistaken. Harry and I have a strictly platonic relationship!
The Next Day Christmas Morning
"There! Perfect," I said happily. I woke up extra early this morning to put my presents under the tree, since I went to sleep really early last night. After my 'flying' incident. Which reminds me, I've got to talk to Fred and George about that…
I looked down at my watch. 7:30. It's still early…I'll just take a little nap for now….
Thirty Minutes Later
I awoke to Ginny shaking me by the shoulders, "Hermione! Wake up!"
"I'm awake! Calm down!" I yelled, agitated.
"Well, so-rry!" Ginny said, stressing on the word sorry, "I just thought you might wanna be awake when we opened presents!" she said, pouting.
"Yeah, yeah," I said lazily, still groggy from my nap.
Ginny left and hurried over to the tree with everyone else, arguing over the presents.
I just sat there, waiting for everyone to eventually get to their present and go somewhere else. I sat there for quite awhile, and it was quite tempting to just run over there and begin wrestling the others, as everyone was doing now. But being the dignified woman and I am, I waited through the happy 'This was just what I wanted!' exclamations and the forced 'Errr…thanks. I really like it?'
Finally, when it was only Harry and Ron left, I got up from my seat and hurried over. Most of the remaining presents were for me, but some were presents abandoned by their owners, for they weren't…errr…the best presents you could get. One of the discarded presents I found was a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. Except, the only kind of bean in this pack seemed to be booger….I picked it up and examined it. To Percy was scribbled on the back.
"PERCY! Did you get your present?" I heard the anxious twins yell.
Three guesses on who gave Percy that present!
I threw Percy's present to the side and gathered all of my presents.
I hastily unwrapped them, revealing the hidden goods.
After about twenty-five minutes of intense present-opening, I laid down all my gifts in admiration. This year, I actually received decent presents. Unlike last year, when I stayed at school, Beauxbatons at the time, and all I got was some presents from family, and Ginny, of course. Unless you count the jinxed presents I received from Gabrielle and her posse.
I've received a variety of gifts, actually. Mrs. Weasley knitted me a sweater, as she did with everyone else and Aunt Minerva sent me a book on transfiguration. My parents, of course, sent me a whole package of dental care. Ranging from minty floss to whitening toothpaste. They even gave me extra to hand out to everyone else. I'd better save some and give them to Fred and George later…
Percy didn't get anyone anything, except for his mother of course. And Fleur didn't get me anything as well. Figures. I didn't get them anything either. Both Charlie and Bill got me all sorts of candy…Every Flavored Beans, chocolate frogs, as well as other sweets.
I expected the twins to get me something useless and extremely idiotic…And they did. Fred and George got me a box of their famous Patented Daydream Charms. It even came with a note:
Don't use it for anything that inappropriate now, dear Hermione! Love, Fred and George
Ginny got me a rather cute pair of shoes. And believe me, I usually don't approve of Ginny's clothes, but these shoes really were my taste. Ron got me a rather rancid-smelling perfume. But it's the thought that counts, right?
Harry got me the most spectacular gift of all.
He got me a dazzling pair of diamond earrings.
And, okay, I'm not a girl who loves to dress up and wear accessories and stuff. But this was unbelievable. No one, not even my parents, have ever gotten me anything like this.
I quickly got up from the floor searching for Harry. I wanted to thank him for his wonderful gift. But he was nowhere in sight, nor was Ron. They probably went to their room to unwrap their presents. I began making my way towards the stairs when Mrs. Weasley called my name.
"Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, and motioned me over to her.
"Did you like your present?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's great," I said sincerely, I mean, she took the time to hand-knit this for me, and that makes it that much more special.
"Glad you like it," she replied, "That's not why I asked you to come over here though. I was actually wondering if you would go to the store with Arthur and Ginny to get some groceries. Albus and your aunt are coming for Christmas dinner tonight, and I wanted to prepare more food." (AN- They all know that McGonagall's Hermione aunt. And also, I don't know if, like, wizards need to buy groceries..but I kinda needed Hermione to get out of the house, so getting groceries was the only thing that came to mind. lol)
I didn't really want to go, but she was so kind to have me over that I couldn't refuse, "Yeah, I'd be glad to. But can I go find Harry first? I've got to tell him something," I said urgently. For some reason, I was really excited to see Harry…maybe because I wanted to ask him why he got me such an extravagant gift…maybe he likes me…. Nah…Harry would never like me…we're just best friends. He even said that yesterday! Well, whatever, I still want to thank him for the gift.
"Sure, hon," Mrs. Weasley said, "Take your tim-"
"Molly!" Mr. Weasley yelled, "You wanted me to get groceries with Ginny and Hermione, right? If so, we've got to leave now! There's going to be lots of traffic and I can't risk flying the car!"
Mrs. Weasley looked over at me, as though asking me if that was okay.
"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley. I'll go now…I'll talk to Harry later," I said smiling, hiding my disappointment.
"Thanks a lot, dear!" Mrs. Weasley called after me and Mr. Weasley led me and Ginny to the car.
As soon as we got situated and Mr. Weasley began driving, Ginny began rambling and rambling about her presents.
"So, what'd you get?" she asked curiously.
I listed all the presents, and thanked her for the shoes. I told her about Fred and George's aswell. She laughed, but I didn't think it was that funny.
Then Harry's present came to mind, and I asked Ginny if she got them too. If she did, that means the present means nothing. He probably got every girl the same thing.
"So, Ginny. What'd you get from Harry?" I asked casually.
"I got a package of candy…" she said cautiously, "Why? What'd you get?"
I told her, and she burst into squeals.
"Oh my gosh! Really?" Ginny said excitedly, "I wish a guy would give me jewelry! All Dean got me was perfume. And it smells horrible!"
Maybe Dean and Ron went shopping for presents together and got the same perfume…wait never mind. Dean and Ron would never go shopping with each other! That's just plain weird! But you know what? It's Dean and Ron we're talking about. It's possible. Well, enough about Dean and Ron's little escapades.
"Oh, well….he probably just strode by a store and saw that it was cheap and just decided to get it!" I said, satisfied with my answer.
"If it's as beautiful as you say it is, it must cost a lot," Ginny remarked, "And, Harry's loaded…so if he really wanted to get something, he could probably afford it."
I blushed. Why would Harry spend that much money for me?
Ginny seemed to read me thoughts, and replied, "Cause he likes you! It's so obvious. Even Fred and George can tell! And I'm getting the feeling that you like him back!"
I blushed even more, "I do not! We're just friends!" I said nervously.
"Yeah, yeah," Ginny said teasingly.
And the rest of the ride was silent, until we got to the store, got all of Mrs. Weasley's groceries. We got back into the car, and Ginny and I resumed talking, but not about Harry, even though I could tell Ginny wanted to.
Since we got back to the Burrow, I was so busy I didn't have time to talk. Once we got back, Mrs. Weasley bustled me and Ginny into the kitchen to help her cook. I desperately wanted to talk to Harry, but I didn't want Mrs. Weasley to think I didn't want to help. And so Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and myself worked tirelessly preparing the extravagant meal. By the time we were done, Dumbledore and Aunt Minerva had already arrived and were sitting down, drinking tea, whispering in soft voices.
Ginny and I set the table, and brought all the dishes out. We took a second to admire out work before calling everyone to dinner.
I went to get Aunt Minerva, while Ginny got all her siblings.
Aunt Minerva greeted me with a hug, "Hermione! I've missed you! How are things at the Burrow?"
"I missed you too! And I'm having a wonderful time!" I answered, then looked around the room for Dumbledore.
"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" I asked my aunt.
"Oh, umm…" she stuttered, "He thought there wasn't enough, errr, festive cheer in the house. So he's putting up, errrr, decorations."
Decorations? That's weird, why would he come and put decorations up in someone else's house? I decided to ignore it, and led the relieved Aunt Minerva into the dining room.
Almost everyone was seated. Everyone except for Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore. I looked for Harry and Ron. I found them at the end of the table, motioning me over. I sat in between the both of them, with Ginny and Luna sitting across from me.
"I haven't seen you guys all day!" I said, exasperated from the long day of cooking.
"Yeah," said Ron, nodding in agreement, "Did you get our presents?"
"Yeah, I did!" I said, excitedly, suddenly remembering what I wanted to talk to Harry about.
"Thanks for the perfume, Ron!" I said, I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying they smelled like owl droppings! I quickly gave him a hug, causing him to blush. "Err…yeah..thanks for the Chudley Cannons stuff too!"
"You're welcome," I said, happy that he liked the Chudley Cannons poster and figurines.
I turned to face Harry, who seemed to be squirming in his seat.
"Harry?" I said tentatively.
He looked up, grinning nervously.
"I wanted to say thanks for the earrings! They're beautiful!"
"Oh, well, no problem. I saw them and I though you'd like them…."
"I do! I love them!" I said happily.
"Good," he said, satisfied.
"But why would you get such a wonderful gift for me? I asked Ginny and she said all you gave her was some candy…"
Harry blushed bright red, and was about to reply until Mrs. Weasley and Dumbledore burst into the room.
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully, looking into everyone's eyes. He paused, and stared at me and Harry with twinkling eyes. Well, his eyes were always twinkling, but I squirmed when he started at me, as though he knew my secret. As though he knew I was Herman.
He looked away, to my relief, and seated himself next to Aunt Minerva.
"Well, time to eat!" Mrs. Weasley said happily, and everyone began tackling each other for food.
I was gonna ask Harry again, but there was so much commotion going on. I'll ask him later.
Harry seemed to forget about it too, and the three of us, Harry, Ron, and myself, joked around and watched Fred and George fling spoonfuls of mash potatoes at Percy. Even though they threw food at Percy everyday, it was particularly funny today because mash potatoes are quite thick and heavy. Meaning they can cause much more damage than peas. One time, Fred fired a spoonful of mash potatoes at Percy, he missed, and it wound of landing into Percy's goblet of water with a loud PLOP, sending water everywhere. It was actually quite funny.
After dinner, everyone was bloated. Fred and George even complained that they needed new pants because these didn't fit anymore.
Harry, Ron, and I got up from our seats and began walking towards the Christmas Tree, carrying the mugs of hot chocolate that Mrs. Weasley has prepared. We were going to sit on the rug and Harry and Ron were going to play Wizards' Chess, while I watched. We were sipping our hot chocolate until we got to the doorway. Harry and I both accidentally tried to go through at the same time, causing us to get stuck at the doorway.
"You go first," Harry laughed, and I walked in front of him, laughing.
I was just past the doorway until a strong invisible force pulled me back beneath the doorway, causing me to fall back, almost spilling my hot chocolate.
"Oww.." I muttered, placing my hot chocolate on the floor.
"Whoa!" I heard Ron say, "That was weird."
"Yeah it was," said Harry who was still under the doorway. He, too, laid down his hot chocolate and helped me up.
"You okay?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, brushing myself off, "What was that all about?"
"I have no idea," Harry said.
"Well, come on!" Ron said, walking away, "You're not gonna find out what happened by standing there! Let's go figure out through a game of wizard's chess!" Ron said, clearly wanting to play wizard's chess.
"Ok, fine," I snapped. He cared more about wizard's chess then me! Well, it's expected. Ron gets sidetracked easily.
Harry and I both followed Ron, with me in the lead, until we got to the same place where I was flung back before.
And it happened yet again.
Except this time, both of us were forcibly thrown back. We both were flung back under the doorway, and I landed on top of Harry, causing us both to blush fiercely.
"Bloody hell," muttered Ron. I guess this finally caught his attention.
"What's happening?" I asked to no one in particular, "Whenever Harry and I walk away from the door, we get thrown back!"
"Bloody hell!" Ron said again, this time louder.
"What now, Ronald?" I asked annoyed.
He then pointed to the top of the door. I looked up. And there, hovering above me and Harry's head was a small green plant.
"Mistletoe," I whispered out loud.
"Indeed, Miss. Granger," said a voice from behind. Harry and I turned around and looked up at the elderly wizard before us.
So this was what Aunt Minerva meant by 'decorations'!
"How'd you know my name?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity, "I don't go to Hogwarts," I added.
"I know more than you think," Dumbledore said mysteriously, "And I also know that you cannot leave the doorway until you two kiss." He said casually.
People tend to ask dumb questions when they're shocked and that was exactly what I did. "Why?" I asked stupidly.
"The mistletoe, of course! It's tradition that you kiss whomever you are caught underneath it with!" Dumbledore said happily.
"I know what it means!" I muttered, annoyed. But then I said, loud enough for him to hear, "Well, you don't have to. Nothing can force you to!"
"Well, that's partially correct," Dumbledore said, "With regular mistletoe, you don't have to. You can just walk away. But with a simple spell, you can enchant the mistletoe. Which is what I did. You cannot leave until you kiss!"
"But why would you do that?" I asked, exasperated.
"To bring holiday cheer!" Dumbledore said, chuckling, "And it's quite funny to watch people squirm. I put many, many enchanted mistletoe at Hogwarts, for the students that stayed for Christmas. It was very entertaining!" He laughed.
How can someone so wise be so…cruel? Even though, I admit, it would be quite funny to watch complete opposites be forced to kiss each other. Say, Malfoy and Luna. That'd be hilarious. But still…it's not funny when it happens to me. And with Harry of all people!
By now, everyone had gathered around the doorway, watching the mistletoe, and trying to stifle their laughter.
"Can you, err, unchant it?" Harry asked stupidly.
"Yes," Dumbledore said firmly.
Both of us stared at him expectantly, and when we realized he wasn't going to answer, I asked again.
"Can you take the spell off then? So we can leave?" I asked, running out of patience.
"Yes, I can." He said again, "I just choose not to."
I almost screamed in frustration. Almost. But didn't. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm.
"Fine!" I snapped, and since Harry was so tall, I went on my tippy toes and pecked Harry on the cheek.
We both blushed, but relieved that it was over.
Dumbledore smirked, but he still stood there, watching us.
I looked at him strangely, then grabbed Harry's arm, leading him away. Everybody began to walk away, thinking the show was over. Until Harry and I were thrown back yet again!
"What gives?" Harry yelled in frustration.
"You need to kiss. On the lips." Dumbledore clarified.
I was really starting to not like this guy, even though he was the greatest wizard of our time.
Everyone appeared around the doorway instantly. With Fred, George, and Ginny right next to Ginny, smirking at us.
Harry and I both knew that there was no way Dumbledore was going to let us go, so we might as well save us some breath and just kiss.
I looked up at Harry, grinning nervously. He looked just as nervous. I looked around and saw everyone smirking at us.
"Can you guys, uhm, leave?" Harry said, voicing my thoughts, "It's kinda awkward with you guys staring…"
"No," Fred, George, and Ginny said firmly.
They'll tease us about this for years!
Well, better now, than standing here with everyone watching! I stood up on my tippy toes once again and leaned my head towards Harry's, as he was doing the same towards me.
I closed my eyes, and our lips finally met into a soft kiss. He tasted like hot chocolate. I probably did too. I managed to forget that everyone was watching, for who knows how long, and then realization hit me about what everyone must be thinking. I quickly pulled away, though I regretted it. I opened my eyes and found everyone staring at us in awe.
Dumbledore looked at us, pleased. And don't even get me started on Fred, George, and Ginny. Ron was just as flabbergasted as everyone else.
"How long did we kiss?" I whispered to the red-faced Harry.
"I have no idea," he replied nervously.
I've got to ask Ginny. But she was too busy laughing to say anything right now. I still didn't have the courage to look him in the eye yet, so instead, I examined everyone else. And yeah, that was extremely embarrassing, watching everyone smirk at us.
"Err…I'm gonna go write a letter to Herman saying Merry Christmas…" Harry said, desperate to get away. Then he scrambled up the stairs to the room.
"I'm getting tired…I'm gonna go to bed…" I said, and rushed up the stairs aswell.
I slammed the door, and lay on my bed.
I touched my lips, remembering the kiss. Oh, how I wish I could kiss Harry again! It seemed so…right. I lay there for awhile, trying to remember more of the kiss, until I remembered what Harry had said. 'I'm gonna go write a letter to Herman…'
Oh no. I doubt he's lying. He think he really is going to send a letter! But then…what if Hedwig knows about me? Would the letter come straight to me? What if Harry released her and all she did was fly up to me room? Arggggg….What should I do?
Then I was hit with a brilliant idea. I could write a letter first, from Herman that is, then give it to Harry later, saying the owl delivered it to me instead. And in the letter I would tell Harry not to write back! Brilliant.
I quickly scrambled onto the desk and began writing the letter.
Dear Harry,
How are things at the Burrow? Good I hope. Dumbledore's been unleashing these enchanted mistletoe around the school! It's mass hysteria here!
I heard the door creak open. It was probably Ginny.
"I'm busy Ginny! You can tease me about the kiss later!" I said, irritated. I didn't even bother turning around, I just continued with my letter.
With everyone running around, trying to avoid the dreaded mistletoe. Well, Merry Christmas! Tell Ron and everyone else Merry Christmas too!
I felt someone look over my shoulder, reading my letter. "Go away, Ginny! I'm busy!"
There's no need to write back. The weather's pretty bad and Hedwig might get hurt on the way here. See you back at Hogwarts!
Sincerely,
Herman
I grinned happily, satisfied with my letter.
Then I heard a gasp.
"You're Herman?!?" said a flabbergasted voice, that certainly wasn't Ginny.
I turned around in horror.
"I can explain, Luna!" I stuttered.
I'm screwed.
Longest chapter yet!! More than 6,000 words! Well, long in my standards. Haha! Okay..so now Luna knows! But how will she respond? And yeah, the mistletoe part. I couldn't resist! When I thought of Christmas I thought of mistletoe and I decided to slip it into the story. lol!
So hopefully, the next chapter will be out soon!
Thanks for the reviews! A lot of you guys have great ideas! Please, leave more! I'm still have some ideas, but if anyone has anymore, please tell me!
Till chapter 6! Bye!
Thanks to People Who Reviewed: Aquarius. Lily and James Love 4 Ever. A Great and Terrible Beauty. MusicMaven09. The Gryffindor Drummer. Lunargurl101. Sra. Darcy. Gurlonthemove. Obnoxiouslyfunny. Hotkat144. Princess.Duh.