A Happy Christmas Indeed

Bingblot

Rating: PG
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 5
Published: 06/03/2004
Last Updated: 06/03/2004
Status: in_progress

In which Harry has a realization, Hermione is kissed- twice!- and mistletoe has an important supporting role. One-shot.

Chapters

1. A Happy Christmas Indeed

1. A Happy Christmas Indeed

Disclaimer: Just playing in JKR’s world.

A/N: For happy_daze. :-)

A Happy Christmas Indeed

Harry Potter didn’t think of himself as being stupid. Or at least, he usually didn’t. At the moment he was seriously revising his opinion of himself to include that.

He knew that he was nowhere near as smart as Hermione was, but then no one was as smart as Hermione. He knew he wasn’t nearly as wise as Headmaster Dumbledore had been but again, Dumbledore had been, well, Dumbledore and unique. But he still didn’t think he was dense or particularly slow.

Which just goes to show you… Proof he really must be dense that he hadn’t even suspected it until now!

Harry grimaced at the thought of his own stupidity. He couldn’t believe it.

What did it take to get him to realize how he felt? You’d think that the way he felt when he saw Hermione get hurt in the Department of Mysteries in 5th year might have been some clue. You’d think that the way he always looked to Hermione for help and knew that she would know what he was thinking would have told him. You’d think that the mindless, gut-instinct feeling of rage he got at the idea of anyone trying to hurt Hermione would have told him. But no. Of course not, he’d just blithely dismissed all that as “Hermione’s my best friend.” Of course he never bothered to think that somehow he didn’t get quite that upset at the idea of Ron being hurt nor had he felt such mindless panic at the sight of Ron attacked by that brain. Oh, he’d felt panic and fear and anger, yes, but not the same kind of gut-wrenching, heart-stopping, mind-numbing kind that he felt over Hermione. That ought to have told him something but he’d never stopped to think about it.

He let out a sound that was part groan and part self-condemning laugh. He was Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. He was also apparently as blind as a bat who couldn’t see through a stone with a hole in it and needed the visual equivalent of ten Bludgers to his head to realize what he should have known for years now.

He was in love with Hermione Granger. He was in love with his best friend. And he knew now he had loved her for years.

And it had taken the sight of Ron kissing Hermione to make him realize that.

They were all at the Burrow for Christmas, the first Christmas after Voldemort and it had been a lovely time, laughter and fun had without the fear of danger. A wonderful feeling, really. And he’d been enjoying it. It was just him in this familiar home surrounded by the people he cared about most, especially since Mrs. Weasley had also invited Remus, knowing Harry would want to see him and also because she knew that otherwise, Remus would have been celebrating his Christmas alone. It had been wonderful until he’d left the family room where the twins were talking animatedly about some of their new pranks to Ginny, Bill and Charlie and where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been laughing and talking with Remus about something on the other side of the room. He had been half-listening to Fred and George when he’d begun to wonder where Hermione had gone and had gotten up to find her and also to get some air.

Well, he had found her alright. She was standing in the kitchen doorway and Ron was kissing her.

He had taken one look and then turned his back and left the house through the back door. And in that one moment, he knew that he loved Hermione and that she was the most important person in his life and he had felt worse than he had ever felt even at the darkest points in the War, even when he had realized that Sirius was gone and wasn’t coming back, even when Headmaster Dumbledore had died and he had felt completely alone. Now he really was alone.

Hermione could not believe it.

She had come out to get a glass of water and was just leaving the kitchen when Ron stopped her and kissed her.

For a moment she froze, too surprised to react, even to push him away, and then the moment passed and she did push him away.

“Ron, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”

Ron only grinned and then pointed above her head. She followed his gaze to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging there.

She shook her head but couldn’t help but smile at Ron’s mischievous expression.

“Merry Christmas, Hermione.” He hugged her and then turned to join the others leaving Hermione to watch him go, when he stopped and turned back to her. “Oh, Hermione,” he said, a lopsided grin appearing on his mouth, “that won’t be happening again. Kissing you felt like kissing my sister!” He made a comic face and she laughed. “Go away, you prat.”

Hermione shook her head to herself as she wandered outside. She wanted some time to herself when she saw a familiar figure standing outside, staring out at the darkness, his position all too familiar to her from years of watching Harry brood.

Quietly she went out to join him wondering what was troubling him now when he had seemed so cheerful all day.

“Harry, what are you doing out here?”

He stiffened at the first sound of her voice behind him. For once in his life, Hermione was not the person he wanted to see.

He didn’t turn to face her, nor did he even look at her as she moved to stand next to him.

Not that he really needed to look at her. He knew exactly what she would look like, knew every detail of her profile by heart.

“This was such a happy Christmas,” Hermione finally said.

He grimaced slightly. “Yes,” was all he could say. It had been happy, until just a few minutes ago. Now he wondered if he was ever going to be really happy.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The question escaped his lips even before he knew he was going to ask it.

Hermione stared at him, confused. “Tell you what? Harry, you’re my best friend. I tell you just about everything.”

He kept his voice controlled. “Tell me about you and Ron.”

“What about me and Ron?”

“I saw you two kissing just now. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Hermione sucked in a breath in surprise and dismay. Oh dear Merlin, no. Of all the moments and all the times Ron had to decide to be a mischievous prat, Harry had to see it.

“Harry, it wasn’t like that. Ron just kissed me because of the mistletoe above us. It didn’t mean anything, really. I pushed him away and he said that kissing me felt like kissing a sister anyway. It’s not… Ron and I aren’t… we’d never…” Hermione was aware that she was beginning to babble in her need to tell Harry he’d misunderstood completely what he had seen.

For a moment, Harry wondered if his knees were going to buckle from the sheer relief of it. He couldn’t speak for a moment, just blinked out at the darkness.

Hermione’s voice broke the rather uncomfortable silence that fell. “Harry, why would you have been so upset if Ron and I were together like that?”

“You’re my best friends and I would have thought that you would tell me.”

“Oh.” Hermione stifled a sigh. For a moment she had hoped… But Harry was telling the truth, she knew he was, and it did make sense. He had felt betrayed because of their long friendship. That was all. Just friendship…

She put her hand on his arm. “Come on, Harry, come inside. It’s cold out here and you’re not even wearing your cloak.”

They were silent as they walked back to the house.

Hermione glanced at Harry who was staring at the ground moodily, before asking, “Did you really think I wouldn’t have told you if Ron and I were together in that way?”

Harry didn’t answer immediately but then he said simply, “I don’t know.”

“Harry, you’ve been my best friend for 7 years now. Believe me, if anything happened like that, you would be the first person to know.”

He smiled slightly. “Thanks, Hermione.”

Everyone looked up when they entered the sitting room together, Ron grinning, “There you are, Harry”, when Fred suddenly whistled and George exclaimed gleefully, “Oh oh, now we’ve got some fun ahead. Look above you, Harry!”

Harry did. Above his and Hermione’s heads was a small sprig of mistletoe.

He hoped his face didn’t show any of the emotion he felt as he turned to face Hermione with a little uncertain smile.

Hermione’s breath caught in her throat. She had been half-hoping for several years now to get caught under the mistletoe with Harry and now it had happened.

She expected a quick simple kiss on the cheek or the forehead but instead Harry bent and kissed her on the lips.

It started as an uncertain, questioning touch of his lips to hers but at the first touch of his lips, Hermione forgot that the Weasleys and Remus were watching, forgot everything except that Harry was kissing her and, dear Merlin, it felt so good, so right. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Some seconds? Minutes? Hours? She didn’t know which- later, Harry lifted his head and stared down at her, breathing hard, his green eyes dark with lust and yes, love. “Hermione, I-“ he closed and opened his mouth not knowing what he could say.

And then Ron’s voice broke the stunned silence that had fallen as they all watched Harry and Hermione kiss with a passion that none of them had ever seen displayed in public by anyone before. “About bloody time you two woke up to your feelings and snogged!”

Mrs. Weasley and Ginny both snapped, “Ron!” turning to glare at him, but Harry and Hermione laughed as Hermione blushed scarlet and, for a moment, tried to hide her face in Harry’s chest, in a fit of uncharacteristic shyness.

Harry addressed Ron. “You knew? How?”

At Harry’s surprised look, Ron, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie all roared with laughter, while even Remus permitted himself a smile.

Ron finally answered, still grinning. “You forget, mate, how well I know you. ‘Sides, those bonny green eyes of yours give it all away.” He winked at Harry, who colored slightly but laughed, clasping Hermione’s hand tighter.

Some time later, Remus joined Harry who was standing in the corner of the sitting room watching as Hermione talked animatedly with Ginny about something that had them both laughing. Hermione looked up and caught Harry’s eyes and sent him a smile of such love Harry wondered briefly if his knees were going to give way from the force of his happiness.

Remus smiled. “I’m glad to see you finally realized your feelings for Hermione.”

Harry glanced at Remus. “How did you know, anyway, when I didn’t even know that I loved her?”

Remus laughed, as he glanced at Hermione before turning back to Harry. “Harry, I may not have been around you as long or as much as Ron and the Weasleys have, but it didn’t take much to know how you felt about her. It was obvious, because, well…” He sobered slightly, meeting Harry’s curious gaze. “You look at Hermione in the exact same way that James used to look at Lily.” He paused. “And Hermione has the same look in her eyes when she looks at you that Lily had when she looked at James after they started dating.”

Harry didn’t react at first and then he started to smile and then to laugh. “I really must have been dense not to realize it sooner.”

Remus smiled, taking a sip of his butterbeer. “Better late than never, you know.”

“Yes,” was all Harry said, as he clapped Remus on the shoulder, before going to join Hermione.

And Remus watched with a smile in his eyes as he watched the closest thing he had to a son greet Hermione with a kiss. Harry looked happier than Remus had ever seen as he smiled into Hermione’s eyes. And it was about time too, Remus reflected. Harry had already had more loss and grief in his 18 years of life than most people experienced in 50 years. But finally, Harry was happy. And Remus thought of James and Sirius who were undoubtedly smiling down at Harry and Hermione. This had been a happy Christmas indeed.