Harry's Special Xmas

Heya.. One more day til the new year peepz.. Weee!!! One more day til the end of 2007.. But there's still more than one more chapter til the end of this story..Hehehe.. Wanna shoutout to the reviewers who has kindly reviewed,frogflute2,gizzer18,harryloveshermioneduh,-Vandos-Girl-,Loyd1989,ginevra-james and last but not least, my dear dear Sleepypanda.. \-winkwink-/ This chapter and the rest that follows is dedicated to u all.. This chapter was fun to write coz it's TIME TO PARTY here in Hogwarts...Will stop rambling and let you read dearies... XD

Disclaimer: I wanna be JK rowling but i cant.sigh.. One can dream of creating such a world as fantastic as Harry Potter so.. That's what fanfiction is all about eh.. :) All belongs to her.her. her. Period.

Chapter 6:

Harry was about to sleep when he heard Ron walking into their room with Dean. They were both obviously laughing and drunk. Trust Dean to have a dozen butterbeers at a time. But that guy was talented with the guitar.. so no complains there...

"Hey Harry,"Ron mumbled, as he sat on the edge of Harry's bed. There was still an awkwardness between them,so much so, Dean was smart enough to excuse himself from the room,swaying so much that Harry was surprised that he managed to find the right door.

"Hey.."Harry said cautiously.. He knew this was the moment for him to apologise...

"Look..." Both of them said in unison.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, blinking a few times, each didn't know what to say next.

"Ron, I'm sorry for shouting at you like that earlier on... "

Ron kept quiet. Harry took a deep breath and continued on.

"Look, we've been mates for so long... Let's not be bitter about this and...

"Fight for the girl fair and square", Ron interrupted,eyes meeting Harry at last.

Harry was speechless. Both of them looked at each other, both aware of the words and what could be imprinted upon their friendship in the future.

"Don't Ron... We..We shouldn't let it be this way..."

"But it's the only way..."

"But..."

"Ron,

"Look Harry, you and I know what I felt about her. You and I know I've been trying and trying but somehow the jerk side of me always turns up whenever she's around, and yes, my book about "making the chicks jealous" didn't really give me the results that I wanted with Hermione..But, the thing is you knew and you ..."

"Didn't do anything til she kissed me. I wasn't gonna steal her right under your nose the way you implied it Ron. You mean a whole lot to me all these years.The same goes for Hermione..."

Ron took another gulp of butterbeer, his eyes now filling up with angst and rage. He stood up from his seat, and stood in front of Harry, his fists clenching in anger.

"Clearly she meant more to you..." Ron said angrily, his voice getting louder.

Harry couldn't stand it any longer. So taking a deep breath, and being the person that he was and what he had learned and gone through all these years, the best thing to do in this situation as sticky and complicated as this was to leave it to ...

Fate and sacrifice.

" Ok Ron. I ..." Harry said cautiously...

"What... You are going to propose to her now and drag her away from me????!!!" Ron said, his body swaying as he pointed a shaky finger at Harry. Clearly the booze was sinking in and this wasn't a good addition to the situation at the moment.

"Ron..Listen.. Ron! She's yours. I won't do.. I won't do anything.." Harry said cautiously.

Ron shook his head as he pointed his finger towards Harry.

"You're just saying..."

"No.. Promise..Cross my heart..."

When Harry said that, a part of him felt empty but he knew it was for the best. He wasn't about to sacrifice his friendship with Ron.. He needed him. Him and Hermione. To be with him all the way til he...Til everything he has been dealing with finally fades away/

Silence followed and after a few minutes...Ron gave a weak smile towards his friend and plopped himself down onto Harry's bed.

"Thanks Harry. I knew you were...You are my best buddy.." He put his arms around Harry and without further ado, collapsed upon Harry's bed and was immediately snoring away.

That was unexpected...Giving a sigh, he looked at his best friend. He knew it was a painful sacrifice but... It was for the best...

Just as he was about to stand up and sleep in Ron's bed instead, Dean walked haphazardly back in,singing nonsensical things.

"Sugar... Oh..Honey honey..You are my candy girlllll... and you got me wanting you...Hey Harold...No fair... I want to sleep next to Ronald." Dean mumbled and pushing Harry aside,he collapsed beside Ron and much to Harry's amusement, wrapped his arms around Ron and was now fast asleep.

Harry went to Ron's bed, thoughts still running through his mind. A phrase kept repeating itself: It was just a kiss. It was just a kiss. It was just a kiss.

Christmas Morning:

As usual, Christmas at Hogwarts wasn't the usual affair a Muggle might expect. Floating presents along the corridors, each making their own way to the correct recipients as the sender levitates each and every single one of the presents carefully,the wonderful Christmas lunch and dinner to expect and loads of surprises here and there for the occupants and students who were staying over for the holidays.

As for Harry, it was always a wonderful Christmas at Hogwarts. The presents, the food... The combination was already enough for him. Both of which were pretty nonexistent for him until the day he stepped into Hogwarts.

However, this Christmas, it started off with an unusual noise. A rather rude scream from Ron that awakened Harry from his dreams that have yet to subside despite his promise to his best friend the night before.

"What.. What happened?!"

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and the sight that greeted him immediately made his eyes widened in shock and he immediately laughed.

Ron was standing beside Harry's bed that he had slept in. Looking rather frazzled and confused, he turned towards Harry and pointed towards Dean who was still asleep on the bed. The bed in which Ron and Dean had shared the night before. Ron looked like he was having a bad hangover from last night and simply the sight of a snuggled up Dean by his side probably caught him by shock and surprise.

"Gosh..Harry,did we... I mean.. How? All I remembered was us talking and then.. Why is he on my bed.."

"U mean, why are you BOTH on MY bed," Harry grinned, glad to hear his friend talking to him normally again.

Ron looked at Harry,looked at the sleeping Dean on Harry's bed, who Harry noticed now was only wearing his boxers. That boy must have felt uncomfortable in his robes...Giving a shrug, he merely got off Ron's bed to get his present below his bed for Ron.

Ron was still in confusion as Harry handed him the parcel.

"Merry Xmas mate."

Ron looked at Harry, and then towards Dean, muttering a thank you..

"Harry..."

"Yeah.."

"Dean and I...didn't actually do anything inappropiate last night right..I mean we were drunk..but..."

Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Errr...Not that I know of.. But you two were pretty chummy with each other before you guys came in here so God knows what you guys have been up to all these while... " Harry said in mock seriousness.

The look on Ron's face at that moment was priceless..

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The details of the Christmas lunch and dinner were pretty much the same as every Christmas at Hogwarts. Delicious food, Hagrid being drunk, Dumbledore being the usual chirpy and cheerful self and encouraging Professor Trelawney to lighten up,the occasional sneering look of Snape that greeted Harry and so on. What made it a little different for both Harry and Ron was that Ginny and Hermione were dressed in their prettiest dress robes and even Dean couldn't keep his hands to himself much to the anger of Ron. As for Harry, he could only mutter a polite compliment towards the both of them and was angry with himself when he felt himself getting all jittery and nervous while handing out his present towards Hermione. Not surprisingly, it was after all the 1st time since the incident he was facing Hermione face to face once again. Hermione blushed as their hands touched for one brief moment.

The highlight of the day was of course the after party and everyone couldn't wait for the dinner to end so that they could go to their shushed secret party in the Room of Requirements. As soon as Dumbledore and the other Professors bade them goodnight and a merry Christmas ( Snape was already gone before the end of the dinner. Harry and the others thought that Christmas must be the most excruciating holiday for Snape, probably because he would have to handle all the cheeriness and festive moods which clearly didn't suit well with him), all of those invited made their way to the seventh storey corridor where the Rooms of Requirement was located.

When Harry himself entered the room, he was blown away by the sheer size of the room and the extent of decorations that were provided. Streamers here and there, the occasional sightings of mistletoes on the ceilings, panelled walls, and also the sheer amount of finger foods, Butterbeer, Firewhisky...He was also quick to note that Hermione was not in sight and he faced an internal struggle whether to ask Ron where Hermione was. Deciding it was best not too, he preoccupied himself with taking a look around the room some more.

There were unsurprisingly many, many other accessories and other party requirements in the room. A karoke set for those who want to try their hand in singing live. There was even a small stage prepared for the night's performances and at the thought of that was enough to bring forward another wave of jitters for Harry.

"Hey chill mate. You will own the performances tonight. By the way,errr..Ron... I have yet to apologize for last night's..err.. misunderstanding..."

Ginny, who was hands in hands with Dean,looked confused. Harry simply grinned and mouthed "You wouldn't want to know" before walking off to another spot in the fabulous room to explore.

The party of about twenty or so were already enjoying the facilities in the room. The current favourite was a huge chocolate fondue fountain which was actually in the shape of a beautiful Veela in the middle of it, streams of chocolate flowing down the structure of her hair which was quite a sight. The seats in the room was based on a crystal like theme. Transparent, crystal and sparkling, it gave an illusion and feel as if you were sitting on a various large diamonds or sparkly large ice cubes.

As Harry scanned his eyes around the room, he bumped into the very person whom he was supposed to be currently avoiding: Hermione Granger. She had just entered the Rooms of Requirement and he turned to face the girl in front of him. Harry stood there speechless at the vision before him. Hermione was dressed in the purple dress that he saw her in, back when she was in Hogsmeade...But it was at the length that it should be, modest yet alluring at the same time. Hermione's face was made up elegantly for the night and her hair was not only so shiny and sleek, it was dressed up in a sophisticated bun, a fancy diamonte butterfly clip securing it in place that sparkled in the light. Hermione looked up shyly towards Harry as Harry stood there,simply speechless. However,the sight of Ron who was walking towards Hermione at that very moment immediately made him realised that he was in fact staring at Hermione and immediately shifted his attention to Ron.

"Hi 'Mione... Wow.. You look .. WOW!" Ron said,his eyes widening in appreciation at the sight of the girl before him.

" Hmm. The tone of surprise I see..Well, you look really good yourself... I really prefer your attire you are wearing now compared to the atrocious thing you were wearing at the Yule Ball," Hermione said as she eyed Ron from top to bottom,smiling.

"Don't remind me..Ok Harry, pardon me, but I think Hermione here deserves the 1st dance of the night."

Harry gave a reluctant smile as Ron ushered Hermione to the dance floor as the DJ( A 5th year student from Hufflepuff whom Harry couldn't recall his name) spun the first song of the night. A romantic Christmas song.. Great...Just what I need. Romance and more romance for the night. He stood and watched Ron put his hands on Hermione's waist and the smile upon Hermione's face was in fact making him insanely jealous...It was a bit too much for him. He turned away, going towards the only good and pleasurable thing that he was entitled to for the night; the whole tray of his favourite treacle tarts...

Poor Harry... Dun worry. he'll shine in his performance later.. I fell in love with the song he's gonna be singing.. and i think you will too.. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

Til next time: dun worry it'll be pretty soon...