A Very Harmonian Christmas

AN: I’m still working on the update for Lose You. There’s only about a notebook page at the moment so it probably won’t be before the New Year.

I wrote this for a ficathon on a livejournal site, so I hope you enjoy it! Harry’s thoughts in red and Hermione’s blue like usual. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

‘I hate shopping.’ Harry thought, quite frustrated. Christmas was the very next day and he had yet to find a gift for Cecila, his girlfriend.

“Harry, why not get her this?” his best friend, Hermione asked, pointing to a necklace with a locket on it.

“Yeah. She likes jewelry, doesn’t she?” he replied, buying the piece of jewelry.

“Most girls do. I would if I were her. It’s simple, but just so it’s not gaudy.” she agreed.

“I hope so!” The Boy-Who-Lived exclaimed, worried that it wouldn’t be good enough.

The next day
Cecila came over, baring a gift for Harry. “Hey hon. Happy Christmas!” she said as she hugged and kissed him.

Setting his gift on the table, he asked “Do you want something to drink first or should we just open gifts?”

“Nope! I’m like too hyped up to do anything else!” she exclaimed.

She handed him a box roughly the size of a snitch, or so Harry guessed. Opening it proved him no wrong. A snitch, with ‘Christmas 2005’ engraved on the bottom and nothing more. “Thanks!” he said in the most enthusiastic voice he could muster. Silently he added, ‘Great. Another snitch for my useless and meaningless collection. The only person who hasn’t gotten me one yet is Hermione.’ as he handed Cecila her gift. “I hope you like it.” while she daintily (so as to not break a nail, or so he believed) opened the box.

“Oh! It’s…beautiful.” she said, lamely. Harry could tell she didn’t like it, but didn’t say anything so he could find out why. “It’s…a necklace.”

“Hermione said—“ Harry started, but was interrupted by Cecila.

“Oh Perfect Hermione!” this made Harry seethe but he didn’t say anything to betray his anger.

“What were you expecting? A wedding ring?” and at her sheepish look, he exclaimed “Merlin’s beard, you were! Whatever gave you the idea that I’d propose?”

“Well we have been, like, going out for, like three years and Mummy told me that her and Daddy, like got married after, like going out half as long as us…” she responded, going on the defensive.

“Really now? Well la-de-dah for them! But do you do everything Mummy and Daddy, like tells you too?” he replied, getting angry that she’d think and assume such ludicrous things.

“If that was, like, an insult to my Mummy and Daddy, you won’t like, my, like reaction Harry whatever-your-middle-name-is Potter! At least I can listen to my Mummy!” and she yanked the door open, revealing a stunned Hermione standing there, with her hand to her mouth in shock. The casual observer could easily see the anger and hatred in her eyes at the blonde bombshell for such a comment. Cecila stormed by and outside; never to return again.

“Harry?” Hermione asked wearily, as she shut the door softly and crept closer.

“I think I screwed up ‘Mi. She hated the locket, had the nerve to call you ‘Perfect Hermione’, that I should of ‘popped the question’ ages ago, and you heard the comment about my parents.” and his shoulders slumped over as she sat next to him and pulled him into a hug; which finally broke the dam he’d erected after the end of the Second War. “Why? Why did I get chosen ‘Mi?” he kept asking in between sobs and all she could do was hold him and whisper words of comfort as her own tears fell for him; everything he had to suffer through; all the times she was afraid he’d never wake; that she’d never get to see his beautiful green eyes ever again.

Sometime later, after they both calmed down, Hermione asked, “I take it she didn't like it” as she turned around to make tea for the two of them.

“No she thought it was too simple.” he replied, looking at his hands. Then he looked up at her and, not for the first time, noticed her. 'She's bloody gorgeous!'

Hermione could feel him watching her every move and wondered why he was doing such a thing, since she knew (or so she thought...) that she wasn't something worth looking at. Richard, her last boyfriend, had told her as much before storming out, not unlike Cecila.

Despite her views that she wasn't beautiful enough, she still found herself daydreaming recently, about Christmas with Harry, and not in the platonic, comforting way they were spending this year.

“She acted like all the others when I said your name.”

“I've told you before if you'll remember back to Fifth Year when Cho said the same thing. They'll be jealous of me because I know things they don't when it comes to you. But it would help if you told them you thought I was ugly.”

“But what if I don't think that?” Harry said, standing next to her all of a sudden. She hadn't heard him walk over.

“Well it's not like you think I'm the most gorgeous creature on Earth. Let's be honest here, Harry.” she managed to stutter out.

“And what if I am being honest and do think so?” he replied, cupping her cheek softly.

“Then you need to get your glasses checked. I know I'm nowhere near Cecila's looks.” she said, disbelieving how he was acting, but wrote it off to the argument.

“No, you're right. You're nowhere near.” Hermione felt her heart drop. “You've surpassed her so much that she can't even hope to catch up.” she looked at him, her mouth open in shock. He made a split second decision as his gaze flicked to her lips.

Holding her face still with the hand cupping her cheek, he gently brushed his lips against both corners of her mouth. When he pulled away, he saw shock and.... could it be? Could Hermione possibly feel the same way he did?

If he wasn't sure before, what she did next absolved him of all doubt.

She buried her hands deep in his raven color hair and pulled him to her, eyes closed once more, sealing their mouths together for all her worth. Harry took this as a good thing and began tracing the seam of her lips, begging for entrance, which she readily granted. It lead to a kiss so passionate, yet sensual; a heated duel of tongues, yet a sweet dance.

This went on for sometime until oxygen was a greatly needed necessity. Hermione pulled away first, much to his and her dismay. She looked into his slightly glazed eyes. “What happened? Why? When?” she asked, knowing he understood the question.

“I was never really in love with any of the girls I dated. Ginny included. I was just ignoring how I felt until that night you came over. You showed up here, not the Burrow or anywhere else, all battered and bruised, I knew I wanted to protect you from every little thing and that I'd kill that prat the next time I saw him. Same with anyone who decided to hurt a hair on your beautiful head.” he said, his throat clogging with emotion as he gently touched her head of chestnut curls.

Her eyes filled with tears at the mention of that horrific night. There had been a fight between her and Richard, their last actually, over something so menial that she didn't even remember anymore. All she knew was that he had hit her for the first time and obviously liked it, so he kept hitting her until she had the chance to stun him and run. When she Apparated to Harry's flat, and knocked on his door, she half-expected Cecila to answer. Instead it was her best friend and his reaction wasn't 'pound first, ask later', but to take care of her. That surprised her because he'd always threatened any guy that should he hurt her, he'd have The Boy-Who-Lived at his door in less time than it takes to cast a locking charm. But Harry just held her the entire night, letting her fall asleep in his arms, and then coax her back asleep the numerous times she woke from nightmares. Looking back, she realized it wasn't a change of reaction on his part; but a change of view, of priorities from best friend to something more.
That realization brought her back to the present and she threw her arms around his neck and tearfully whispered “Oh Harry!”

Later on, she asked “What now? You just broke up with Cecila, on Christmas Day no less.”

“Now we simply take it day by day. That’s all we can do. Why’d you come over to begin with?” he asked in return.

“I didn’t know when you’d be giving her the locket and I wanted to give you my gift so I just picked a time. Here.” she said, pulling a small box out of her coat pocket and canceling the shrinking charm it had, turning it into the medium sized box it was.

“Okay, let me go get yours.” and he walked into his room, rummaging through what sounded like his closet. A few minutes later, he came back with a rather large package.

Hermione’s eyes grew to the size of small oranges at the sight of the present. ’What in all of Merlin’s name did he get me?’ she thought, shocked.

They switched gifts and began to open them. She’d gotten Harry “All You Never Knew About Defense Against The Dark Arts” and he’d gotten her ”The WHOLE Hogwarts, A History: Unedited and in it’s entirety” They hugged each other and he asked “How did you know?”

“You’d said something about broadening your classes’ scope, so I thought that might help. What about you?” she replied.

“You’d been buying them for as long as I can remember, so I figured I’d save you the time and space and get the ever-currant one. It updates itself whenever a new edition comes out.” he said, laughing as he watched her jaw drop.

“You know I love you right? And not just for this,” she said, pointing at the book, “but everything.

Harry was speechless, to say the least. No one, not even Ginny, had ever told him that. But looking back, he realized everything he’d done, all the way back to the Troll, was out of love, maybe unconscious, but love nonetheless. “I love you too.”

-fin-