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.

Wow! I'm amazed at the response I got after the last chapter. It's really reassuring to me that so many people are interested in my story. You are my inspiration to keep writing. Thanks for all your support thus far. I hope you'll be able to be as supportive of my work in the future, especially as I continue to educate myself about the series while I'm writing. Please point out any inconsistencies with the series that you see, because I want to be as true to the series as I can.

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 7: Maybe We Do

Harry wasn't dreaming.

He was staring at the ceiling, thinking about what had transpired that day.

Is it possible that I really fancy Hermione? I've never thought about it before. Why wouldn't I have noticed that my feelings towards her have changed if they really did? When could have my feelings towards Hermione changed?

Okay, let's think through these questions logically, like Hermione would do.

First, could I possibly really fancy Hermione as more than just platonic best friends? Mr. Granger certainly seems to think so. What did he say about it? He said that it's clear to him and Mrs. Granger that Hermione and me are quite fond of each other. They haven't seen the two of us together much, so if it's that obvious to them, what do kids at school think? Many of them wouldn't even consider the possibility of dating either of us. Those that would, like Ginny, are more fond of the idea of dating one of us than the idea of an actual relationship.

Mr. Granger also showed me those pictures of him and Mrs. Granger and of Hermione and me that had identical poses. That was some freaky coincidence. I don't think I can put any meaning to it. Or can I? Didn't I think to myself when I first looked at the picture of Mr. and Mrs. Granger when they were our age that they looked like the pictures I've seen of my parents? Didn't I think that they looked young and clearly in love with each other? So, if what Mr. Granger said is true and that Hermione and I love each other, then that could explain the coincidence of the poses in the pictures that Mr. Granger showed me being identical.

Maybe Mr. Granger was on to something after all…

But how could I possibly fancy Hermione? Or maybe the better way to phrase it is: Why would I fancy Hermione? She understands me better than anybody I know, even better than I understand myself at times. She's been there for me through thick and thin. We compliment each other as people really well. People do consider us to be the most powerful wizard and brightest witch of our age, but Hermione wouldn't care about that, and I don't really either. We have no problem with showing affection towards each other in public. You know something, she's really beautiful too. I just never allowed myself to think about her like that before because we've been platonic best friends for so long.

Maybe the best question to ask is: Why wouldn't I fancy Hermione?

Harry searched his memory for several minutes trying to come up with a reason. That's a good question. I can't come up with a reason why I wouldn't fancy Hermione. We don't argue a lot, like Hermione and Ron do. Or have a purely physical relationship, like Ginny and I did. There is no reason that I can think of to say that it's impossible for me to fancy Hermione.

We've been purely platonic best friends for so long, though…what would dating do to our relationship? Does she even fancy me? Mr. Granger seems to think so. I don't. Hermione and I know each other so well that I'd know if she started fancying me. Or would I? I'm starting to believe the possibility that I fancy her, and she doesn't appear to have picked up on it yet if I do. So maybe she does fancy me, and I'm so close to the situation that I'm missing the obvious signs that she does. Maybe that's why kids at school seem to think that we'd be good together.

You know, I remember hearing somewhere that sometimes the last two people to realize that they are meant to be together are the two people meant to be together. Maybe that's the case with us. Maybe Hermione and me are meant to be together and we're the last two people to figure that out. Come on, even Mr. Granger seems to think so, and Mrs. Granger probably does as well.

Wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm not even sure that I fancy Hermione yet. It certainly seems to be a possibility, but I haven't proved it yet. Is love something that you can prove? How could love be provable? How would we act if we're in love? Would we act differently than we do now if we do fancy each other?

Maybe not. If Mr. Granger seems to think that we love each other already, then we probably wouldn't do anything to change how we act towards each other. Well…other than showing affection in public by hand holding and quick kissing and stuff like that maybe, but we wouldn't change how we act towards each other beyond that.

We are rather affectionate towards each other in public compared to most opposite sex friends at school already. We do help each other out a lot. We have been through a lot together already. We've been each other's rock that the other has been able to count on at all times. I can't imagine what life would be like without her being there for me to depend on.

Hold on…I seem to remember somebody saying something like “Don't marry the person you think you can live with. Marry the person you can't live without.”

People only get married if they love each other, though. If, according to whomever I heard say that, I should marry Hermione because I can't imagine living without her, then I must love her.

Me. In love with Hermione? Since when? That's an interesting question. There are way too many coincidences lining up for everything to possibly be purely coincidence. I must love her after all.

I can hear that she's thrashing around on her bed. She must be having problems sleeping. I wonder why that is…

Maybe she's trying to figure out how she feels about me. Nah. That's ridiculous. She'll never see me as anything more than her platonic best friend. Still, the idea does give me hope that maybe she'll someday feel the same way towards me that I feel towards her.

I wonder when I fell in love with her…

A/N: *ducks the flying objects from those who are upset at the very misleading red herring and the way Ginny is presented in this chapter* The red herring was something I tossed in to help make Hermione more real by illustrating that she isn't always right. Like I said after Chapter 4 regarding Ron—have no fear, Ginny fans, Ginny will be presented in a much more favorable manner later on. This probably goes without saying, but Chapter 8 will be back in Hermione's room where we'll see why she's “thrashing around on her bed.”