All I Want for Christmas

A/N: This is my first attempt to write fan fiction of any sort. Plus, I don't have the knowledge that most of you do about Harry Potter, as I've only read fan fiction and seen the movies. I've tried to be as true to the series as I can considering my knowledge, but the story may be slightly AU. Please be constructively critical of my work. Thanks in advance for your kindness. Maybe I'll write more of these in the future if this one goes well.

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed my story so far. Your feedback is what keeps me going. I'm sorry this chapter took a little longer to get posted than most chapters have, but I figured that it would be neat to dedicate this chapter to my closest friend, who played a large role in me being willing to give the Harry Potter series a chance. Happy Birthday Sarah!

At the suggestion of one of my reviewers, I'm going to ask people to include their guesses as to when Harry and Hermione are going to get engaged in their reviews. I look forward to reading your guesses. I will say that I will not comment on them, so as to keep you all guessing.

If any of you want to try to figure out where I'm going, you might want to read my replies to people's reviews, as I will occasionally drop a hint in there. However, be wary, I have been known to toss out some red herrings too. Speculate at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story. All characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

All I Want for Christmas

Chapter 12: “Maybe It's Time to Give Love a Chance”

That's the selfless Harry I know, Hermione thought to herself with a fond smile as she watched Harry and her mum head into the kitchen to wash the dishes, always willing to help somebody in need.

Hermione then turned and headed to her bedroom to think. Ahh…a nice chance to think about how I feel towards Harry and to try to figure out what I meant when I offered the image of Harry and Ron as father and son. Thanks Mum.

Hermione closed the door behind her as she entered her bedroom and went and sat down on her bed with her back against the headboard. Why does everything have to be so confusing? Why did I have to become so confused about how I feel towards Harry now, just before he has to face Voldemort for the final time?

Okay. Let's think this through logically…

Do I fancy Harry?

No way. We'll never be anything more than platonic best friends.

Why's that? a voice in her head asked.

We've known each other for too long to ever think of each other that way.

Is that so? How long were your mum and dad friends before they realized that their feelings weren't purely platonic anymore? the voice pressed.

Crud…what was it Dad told me?

Six and a half years, wasn't it? the voice reminded her smugly.

What are you getting at?

Nothing. Just pointing out that people who have been friends for as long as you and Harry have can have their feelings for each other become non-platonic, the voice in her head responded lightly.

Argh! I hate when you're right.

Hermione's argument with the voice in her head was interrupted by a knock on her door. “Who is it?” she called out.

“It's me,” her dad's voice responded. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, Dad.”

Her dad entered the room, shutting the door behind him. Then, he made his way over to the bed and sat down next to his daughter. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“I'm really confused about some stuff,” she told him.

Her dad looked at her knowingly, “About something related to Harry?”

She looked at him in shock, her mouth hanging open. “How do you know? Did Mum tell you about our conversation?”

“She didn't have to. I'm your dad; I can read when you're troubled and I seem to have a good intuition as to what it's about most of the time.”

He has proved to be right most of the time over the years…

“You're wondering about how you feel about Harry, aren't you?

Hermione's face turned bright red. She nodded her response.

Her dad smiled reassuringly at her. “Sweetheart, that's perfectly normal at your age…”

“Is it perfectly normal to wonder about how platonic your feelings towards your best friend are?” she interrupted.

“It's not as uncommon as you think in situations when best friends are of the opposite sex. As a matter of fact, my childhood friend, Tim felt sure he was going to marry his best friend when we were around your age.”

“What happened?”

“They never even went out. He could never work up the courage to tell her how much he loved her,” Mr. Granger recounted looking directly at her. “She ended up marrying somebody else. He never thought about seeing anybody else, and ended up dying a week after her wedding. Nobody was able to pinpoint a cause of death. I'd swear it was a broken heart.”

Why did Dad look straight at me when telling me that story?

“But Dad,” she started, “I'm not even sure that I fancy Harry, never mind love him. How would I know if I fancy him? What signs should I be looking for? How should I tell him if I do fancy him? How…”

Her dad put his hand up, cutting her off. “Slow down, Hermione. I won't be able to keep up with all the questions you're asking if you ask too many at once. There's no set of signs to be able to determine if you fancy him or not. If you do fancy him, you'll just know. I can't even begin to describe how it feels…words fail to adequately describe it. You've known Harry for long enough that if you fancy him, you'll know better than I would how the best way would be to tell him. I will say that whatever you do, don't force the conversation if it does come to that point. You're a brilliant young woman, sweetheart. You'll be able to find the words to tell him when the time comes…if you need words to tell him.”

“If I need words to tell him? What do you mean by that?”

“If he fancies you back, especially if he's known it for a while, then he may be able to tell how you feel about him without you having to tell him. He might even realize how you feel towards him before you do.”

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her dad's last statement. Harry realize that I fancy him before I do. That's rich, Dad. I'm supposed to be the smart one. Well…smarter in terms of book knowledge anyways, he may have more heart knowledge than I do…

Her dad broke into her train of thoughts. “Sweetheart, look at this picture and tell me what comes to your mind,” he instructed her handing her a picture that she could tell normally belonged on a desk.

She looked at the younger versions of her folks before glancing up at him with a puzzled expression on her face. “This picture's normally on your desk. It's from just after you proposed to Mum.”

“So, it would be safe to assume that we loved each other at that point, right sweetheart?”

“Of course, Dad. You wouldn't have proposed otherwise.”

Her dad brought picked up another picture that he had set on her bed when he sat down. “Now look at this picture and tell me what you see in common between the two pictures,” he said, handing her the picture that she could tell normally hung on the wall.

Her eyes immediately widened as her eyes instinctively went to where the picture normally hung. How did I fail to notice that it was missing?

She took another look at the picture that Colin took of her and Harry together at the end of their fourth year with a fond smile on her face before she brought her folks picture next to it to compare them. As the pictures became side-by-side, her mouth dropped open in shock. The poses…they're…they're…IDENTICAL!!! Harry has his arms wrapped around me the same way Dad's are around Mum. We have the same expressions on our faces too. This is freaky.

Hermione set the pictures down next to her on the bed, still in a state of shock at the coincidence. She didn't see her dad's knowing smile as he watched her. Then, straightening his face, he took her hands in his, causing her to look into his eyes and see a softness in them that she had only seen him have when he was looking at her mum. “Hermione,” he said softly, “maybe it's time for you to stop fighting the idea of having non-platonic feelings towards Harry and let your heart speak to you. Let it tell you how it feels. Maybe it's time to give love a chance.”

She pulled her dad into a tight hug. “But I'm scared to, Dad,” she confessed. “What if I do fancy him, but he doesn't fancy me back? We have so much that we need to do in the next few months, and we don't need our feelings to become a distraction. How could I go on if we fancy each other, but then he has to give up his life to defeat the evil wizard we're trying to defeat? I can't imagine my life without him in it!” she broke down and wept in his arms.

“Love can be scary, sweetheart, especially early on. Don't worry about him not fancying you. I've watched how he interacts with you, and I can tell that he fancies you. He's acting a lot like my folks told me I was acting just before your mum and me got together. He fancies you. There's no doubt in my mind about it. I need to finish getting ready to go, and so do you. You should go wash your face so Harry and your mum can't tell you've been crying,” he said, drying her tears as tenderly as Harry had done the day before.

She smiled weakly at her dad and said, “thanks, Dad.”

She walked to the bathroom to wash her face. When she returned, her dad was gone, and the picture of her and Harry was back on the wall where it should be. She closed her door and returned to her previous position on her bed to think about what her dad had said.

Maybe Dad's right. Maybe I should stop fighting the idea of fancying Harry and honestly think things through. He was certainly more considerate than Mum in how he brought the topic up. I can be downright unreasonable about believing things that I'm sure can't be right, like Lockhart being a fraud and Draco being a Death Eater. I owe it to Harry to be honest with myself in regards to how I feel about him…

Hermione was startled out of her train of thought by a knock at her door. “Who is it?” she inquired.

“It's me,” Harry's voice came from the other side of the door. “Hedwig's back, and she brought you a letter from Ginny.”

Hermione got up and walked over to the door and opened it to get Ginny's letter from Harry. “Thanks, Harry,” she said as Harry handed her Ginny's letter.

“You're welcome,” he said smiling at her in a way Hermione didn't recall having seen before. Then Harry turned and walked back to the guest room.

She heard the guest room door close, then she closed her door. That's strange. I figured Harry would have wanted to know what Ginny had to say, especially if she mentioned how Luna's handling her first big Weasley family gathering.

She returned to her position on her bed, and opened Ginny's letter. I wonder what Ginny thinks about what I said in my letter…

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