Disclaimer: Not mine. You know how it would have ended if it was, right?
A/N: My response to the "Kissing Santa" Challenge by leochick, which can be found here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26200. Hope you'll enjoy it, and please leave me a comment if you read, so that I know what you think of it.
Kissing The Wrong Santa
Chapter Eleven: Pain
It was the day after the date, and Sarah arrived at the Ministry still giddy about the previous night. She knew it was going to be hard to keep a business-like demeanour when they were there, but she didn't regret having accepted to go out with Harry.
As she sat at the table, her own mind drifted to the moments before they parted, with his lips covering her own, and she didn't even notice Hermione entering the room.
The brown haired girl could immediately tell Sarah was in a good mood.
"Of course she is" Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she put a smile on her face and greeted the younger woman.
"You seem cheerful today" she said, and Sarah looked at her with a radiant smile. "You can say that again" she whispered almost dreamily.
Hermione just had to smile. It was really hard to not like this girl, she was so innocent…and it was just normal Harry would feel attracted to her, given her beauty.
"So, how was your own date?" Sarah suddenly asked. Hermione told her about her and Ron's night, but there wasn't so much to tell. She had been moody all night after seeing Sarah and Harry together, but she didn't reveal that particular piece of information to the other girl.
Then, Hermione left the room and just as she was entering her office Harry arrived.
"Good morning" he called out to her with a grin. She greeted him back, albeit a bit sadly. Harry let it slip, and went into his office where he found Sarah.
"Hi" he said, looking at her with affectionate eyes. She blushed and whispered her reply. Then, he invited her to have a coffee together, and Hermione too. It was their routine now, and everyone in the Auror Department could see they were one of the best suited teams.
Working with those two was becoming a torture for Hermione, though. They kept looking at each other with adoring eyes and she was growing tired of it. However, she couldn't complain. She had attired this upon her herself rejecting Harry, and she knew it.
"If only that blasted kiss had never happened" she thought to herself. "It wouldn't have reopened some old wounds I thought had completely healed"
Sighing, she forced herself to concentrate on what they were currently planning.
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A week later, Hermione was preparing dinner for her and Ron as they had decided to eat together at her place.
She was still less than thrilled at Harry and Sarah dating, and from her office she could now and then hear them act like a lovesick couple, for which she wanted to bang her head on the wall.
As she was pondering about those things, she didn't notice the smoke coming out of her oven till it was too late. The dinner was ruined, and almost like it was planned, that was the moment Ron chose to arrive.
"Hey, honey, you all right there?" he called from the living room, smelling the foul odour.
"Just peachy, Ron" she sarcastically replied. "I've just burned our dinner" she then sighed, while he walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, that's a shame" Ron pondered. "But, we can go out, yes?"
"I guess if we don't want to starve, that's the only option" she slumped her shoulders in defeat. Once they were on their way to a nearby restaurant, Ron spoke.
"So, just before coming here I passed at the Ministry to say hello to Harry. Feels nice to see your best mate now and then, you know?" he said, at which Hermione nodded.
"You're so lucky to work with him" Ron continued, and Hermione wanted to tell him just how lucky she was, but controlled herself, listening to him. "I miss the old Hogwarts days when we were always together, the three of us" Ron wistfully said. "Anyway," he continued, regaining his cheerful attitude, "we chatted a bit, before he had to go see Lupin, and blimey, he's quite in love with that Sarah girl!" he exclaimed, grinning.
"He's not in love with her, that's stupid. How could he be, he knows her by less than a month" Hermione said, wanting with all herself that what she had said was true. Harry couldn't be already so enamoured of the girl, could he?
"Well, he seemed pretty serious about her to me" Ron said, wondering why Hermione was acting that way.
"Ron, please, can we not talk about Harry's love life all the night?" Hermione finally snapped.
"Ok, ok" Ron said, then remained silent till they reached the restaurant.
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Harry was happy. Finally, something good had happened in his life, and here she was, in front of him, scribbling furiously at her desk. He couldn't help to admire the determination she put in her work.
"Sarah" he called.
"Yes, Harry?" she looked up.
"Could you come here a moment?" he said. She dutifully moved to his desk, and he showed her some reports she had to include into the profile she was writing about their next target, a dangerous Death Eater still on the run.
As she was moving to go back to her table again, he grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her at him, kissing her fiercely.
She moaned into his mouth, and let go of the papers, which scattered to the ground, responding to his kiss.
"We shouldn't" was her feeble protest, but he didn't let her continue as he effectively silenced her with an hungry kiss. She didn't try stop him, though, instead she gave as much as she got into the kiss, searching his mouth with her tongue, meeting his own and battling with it. He loosened her hair while moving around the table, pulling her to him, one hand roaming on her back, the other caressing her cheek, while her arms moved to circle his neck and one of her hands buried into his hair, gently stroking it.
They would have continued snogging each other for who knows how long, if someone hadn't cleared his throat.
Both looked up and were met with Hermione looking at them from the doorway.
"I was going to give you some new information on that suspect, Harry, but I guess you're too occupied now" she icily said, before turning on her heels and leaving.
"I'll be back in a moment" Harry said to Sarah disentangling himself from her, and followed Hermione to her office.
She didn't expect him to, nor did she expect him to lock the door and cast a silencing charm on the room.
"Hermione, this is ridiculous" he said, glaring at her.
"What, Harry? The fact that you're snogging the Auror assigned to us in your office?" she glared back.
"No, your attitude toward me and Sarah being together. You scowled when you saw who was with me at the restaurant the other night, you are clearly annoyed at me and her flirting with each other, and now you are so upset because we kissed! Merlin, Hermione what the hell do you want from me? You told me to get over you because you were going to choose the safe route, well, guess what? I'm doing it, and I'm finally happy. I've never said a thing about you and Ron being together, Hermione, nor I've showed my disappointment in seeing you with him, so I expect you to do the same with me and Sarah because you have no fucking right to tell me who I can and can't date!"
And with that he was gone, slamming her door behind him and leaving a shocked Hermione repeating the words he had said in her head over and over.
Then, she started to cry.
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