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 Six: Starting To Heal
It was some days after New Year's that Harry had to go back to work. In those days alone at home, he had done a lot of thinking.
Having cooled off, he knew he couldn't blame Hermione for her choice. It was the rational thing, after all, to keep going the way they were, following the safe route. If he had wisened up some years before, maybe, they could have had their chance at being happy together. She had admitted it, she had fancied him in school, and had he stopped a moment to reason on what had been wrong in his relationships with Cho and Ginny, why he never felt as at ease with them as he felt with Hermione, he might have understood.
Now, it was too late, and he should push those feelings away, like she had done in school, and build his own happiness following another route.
So, he sighed, and Apparated to the Ministry, knowing it was the first day of a long testing of his resolve. He and Hermione, after all, worked together, and he couldn't avoid her forever.
As predicted, she was already there.
"Figures" Harry smiled just a bit sadly, walking in front of her door, and hearing noise from inside.
He walked to his room, adjusted some papers on his desk, then walked back to Hermione's door. Knocking softly, he waited for her reply.
"Come in" she said, then looked up, and remained speechless when she saw who had just entered her room.
"Hi. I thought you might like to have a coffee together" he sheepishly said, grinning.
She grinned back, and nodded. As they headed to the cafeteria, Harry put his hands in his pockets. "I guess I owe you some apologies for what I shouted at you on New Year's" he started. She was going to protest, but he stopped her.
"Hermione, I won't take back what I said you on Christmas, as it is the truth. But, I did some thinking these days, and I've come to the conclusion that I can't really blame your choice. I just wish we can still be friends, like we were before, without awkwardness or something like that"
Hermione hugged him, a tear rolling down her face, then immediately released him to not embarrass him or make the moment awkward. "Oh, Harry, of course we can still be friends!" she said, and he grinned.
"You might want to freshen your make up once we go back to the office" he teased her and she laughed. Yes, they could make it work. They could still be friends, no matter what, and that was what really mattered.
However, Hermione felt bad about him taking all the blame.
"Harry, really, I don't think it's all your fault. I mean…it was me who kissed you the first time, even if I didn't know it, and I certainly didn't pull back in those other two kisses. So…I think if you really want to take some of the blame, which however I don't think you should, then, I say it's half/half"
"Half/Half it is then" he chuckled, passing her the cup of coffee he had just taken from the bartender. She smiled back, and they sat at a table, sipping their drinks in good company.
It was good that they were somewhat on good terms, now. Yes, Harry would, now and then, find himself daydreaming about her, but he would shake himself quickly, scolding himself about that, and then he would continue his work as nothing had happened between them during the holidays.
That afternoon, he and Hermione had a meeting to discuss some things about the last Death Eaters arrested, and on the information they ahd on those still free.
She could tell, now and then, that he wasn't completely natural in his behaviour, but it was understandable, and honestly, she thought he was taking it far better than she guessed he would. The most important thing was that he had understood where she was coming from. She knew he would need some more time to completely heal from the rejection, but judging by his actions that day, he was on the good way to that.
Harry, on his part, tried to fight every inch of awkwardness at being in the same room as Hermione, and the fact they were discussing important arrests like that helped him focus on the matter at hand. However, at times he would notice little things about her that he never stopped noticing before, and mentally chastised himself for that. It was like a mantra he kept repeating to himself, that she was his friend and nothing more.
If she had managed to forget her feelings for him, he could do the same. He would do the same.
"So, Ron told me you're starting again that "blokes night out" routine" Hermione told him as they were leaving the Ministry together.
"Yes, tomorrow we are going to a pub, Ron, me, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. It's Dean's choice this time, so we will probably end in some Muggle pub, I guess" he said, grinning. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, I think it's a bit unfair that you guys can go out alone, and we girls aren't allowed that because you lot would get jealous" she retorted, sticking her tongue at him to let him now she was joking.
"Complain about that with Ron, my dear, as I'm single and I can do whatever I feel like" he retorted back, and she could see just a passing flicker of sadness in his eyes when he said that, but it was gone as soon as she spotted it.
"By the way, tomorrow Lupin is going to give us some more information about those rookies coming directly from Auror Training. They should be at the ministry in a couple days, you're going to help me with them, right?" he said.
"Of course I will" she said, smiling, as they parted to go their own way to their flats.
Next night, as scheduled, Harry joined the other blokes at the pub, and he couldn't help chuckling to himself when he saw the place Dean had chosen. It was, indeed, a Muggle pub, and in few minutes they all realized it was quite packed of beautiful girls too. Which wasn't bad, Harry thought.
As the night progressed, the five of them were growing more and more pissed. Ron wasn't able to stand on his own anymore, still he wanted to go dancing. Seamus and Dean were quite drunk too, although not that much, and Neville, well, he was more or less fine. Harry hadn't drunk too much too, although he felt just a bit tipsy.
He decided to go get another drink, so he joined the queue at the bar.
It was almost his turn, when it happened.
Someone fell on him, pushing him forward. As he turned, he saw a girl on the floor, and he immediately kneeled to help her stand up, as every gentleman would do.
As he did so, he stopped to look at her.
She had ash-blonde hair, blue eyes, a pretty face, and full, rosy lips.
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