Kissing the Wrong Santa

Harry85

Rating: PG13
Genres: Angst, Romance
Relationships: Harry & Hermione
Book: Harry & Hermione, Books 1 - 7
Published: 11/12/2007
Last Updated: 28/12/2007
Status: completed

It's 5 years after the war, it's Christmas and at the Burrow there's the usual nightly reunion. Ron has to pose as Santa for the kids, but gets called away. Harry fills for him, but nobody told Hermione about the exchange...

Chapters

1. Change of Plans

2. Pleasurable Mistake

3. What Will Happen Now, Harry?

4. Uncharted Territory

5. Faithful To The Promise

6. Starting To Heal

7. Casual Encounter

8. The Rookie

9. Confusion

10. A Date

11. Pain

12. Hard Choice

13. Field Mission

14. An Epiphany And Consequent Actions

15. Finally Together

16. Snowy Christmas

17. Epilogue

1. Change of Plans

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 One: Change of Plan

It was Christmas, again. Harry kind of hated that period of the year, everyone was in a hurry to make last minute shopping, and it was hell to go around Diagon Alley. But, after all, he wasn't better than the others, as he was searching for a present for his best female friend, Hermione, and he was in a hurry himself.

See, it was just three hours before the traditional Weasley Christmas dinner at the Burrow, and he was of course supposed to be there, only he still needed to find a gift for Hermione, go back home, have a shower, dress, go pick up Teddy from Andromeda and then head to the Weasleys'.

Huffing, he ran toward Flourish and Blotts. It was his last hope. The thought of gifting Hermione a perfume had never crossed his mind, he knew her too well to make that mistake, and the same could be said for jewellery. Clothes, he wasn't too sure about what she might need, but books, that was always a welcomed gift with her, especially the one he wanted to purchase.

His only problem was that he couldn't find it anywhere. He should have expected it, and now if this library couldn't help him, he would have to choose something much less interesting.

As he scanned through the shelves, he was getting more and more frustrated. Finally, a clerk came to his rescue.

“Sorry sir, are you specifically searching for something?”

Harry told him which book he needed, and the clerk nodded. “You won't find it here in the common section. I'll go fetch it for you”

Harry nodded, releasing his breath, and wiping his brow from sweat. He prepared his wallet, and few minutes later he was out of the shop, finally able to head home.

Rushing into the shower, he let the hot water relax him. It was going to be a nice night, with his friends, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, his ex-girlfriend with whom he was surprisingly on good terms, considering the usual Weasley temper, and of course Molly, Arthur and all the Weasley clan, which was now growing and growing, as Fleur and Bill had already three children, Charlie and George had one each too.

He wondered when Ron would propose to Hermione. They had been dating on and off since after the war, which was six years ago now, but it was now more than a whole year that they had been back together and from what he could tell they were pretty happy, so it was just normal for them to get married.

The thought of them tying the knot was a bit unsettling, though, but he shrugged it off as a longing for his own marriage. He was single, not being able to find a girlfriend since his split up with Ginny six months ago.

There was no time to ponder over these things though, as he was already late. He quickly buttoned his white shirt, put on his black trousers and a dark blue sweater, tied his shoes, rushed to grab the presents, and then Disapparated away with a last fleeting thought at how Ron would look as Santa that night.

It was a tradition that, for the children' sake, one of the adult would pose as Santa at Christmas. Till now, Ron and Harry were the only ones who had not had the “honour”, but this year it was Ron's turn.

“Andromeda?” he called, knocking on the door.

“Harry. Dear. It's so good to see you” the older witch said, letting him in. “Teddy's been impatiently waiting for you” she whispered to him while leading the way to the living room, were little Teddy Lupin was playing, waiting for his godfather.

Few minutes later, after the usual recommendations from Andromeda, they left, Harry sidelong Apparating the young boy to the Burrow.

As they landed in front of the building, he could hear voices inside and guessed everyone was already there. Knocking on the door, a smile spread on his face. He loved those Weasley gatherings, it always made him feel part of such a big family.

Soon the door was open by Hermione.

“Harry! Teddy! Come inside, the others are already here!” she said giving him one of her smiles, which always managed to warm Harry's heart, and kneeling to kiss the young boy on the cheek, at which Teddy smiled. The boy had always had a predilection for Hermione.

Harry followed his friend to the living room where everyone but Molly was. Everyone greeted him and he shook hands here and there, before settling on the couch near Bill, who gave him a mug of Butterbeer.

Harry easily joined the chat, with Arthur who was telling them about the last Muggle objects he had been in contact with, being fascinated with those as his usual, the children all playing together in the next room, Teddy promptly joining them.

Some minutes later, Harry went into the kitchen to get some water, and greet Molly too, and on the way he met Hermione and Ron, who were having some “quality time” alone.

“Hey, you two, get a room!” he called out to them, he loved to embarrass and tease his two best friends like that. “There are children who could be scarred for life here!”

The two of them just stuck out their tongues at him, and he shook his head chuckling, although the usual uneasiness at seeing them kiss assaulted him. Well, for seven years they had always been the trio, no kissing involved, and it was hard to get used to things changing. But he was happy for them. He honestly was.

Soon Molly called them as dinner was ready. Harry sat in front of Hermione, Ron on her left side while Ginny was on Harry's right side. They all ate merrily, Molly's cooking skills were great as usual and she loved to give her best for occasions like these, so it was no wonder that even Ron, know for his voracious appetite, left the table completely filled.

The time of impersonating Santa was coming, and Ron excused himself, everyone but the children knowing where he was going. From his place on the couch, Harry could see that both Ginny and Hermione had indulged a bit much into eggnog that night. Both were a bit red in the face and their eyes showed the classical signs of being tipsy, if not thoroughly drunk.

Not that they were the only ones. Charlie, George and Bill were too, and Harry himself, maybe just a bit less than them but still, he should probably have avoided those two rounds of Firewhiskey he had just gulped down, thanks to George.

Deciding he had had enough alcohol for the moment, he stood up to go and see how Ron was doing with the Santa costume.

Entering the kitchen, he found Ron still dressed as before, reading a piece of parchment.

“What's up, Ron? You should be already dressing!” Harry said.

Ron turned, gulping. “Harry, I've got to go to the hospital. There's something I need to check and it can't wait till tomorrow. I'll be back as soon as I can, but please, can you take my place as Santa?”

Harry was surprised, but this was not the first time Ron had got called suddenly at St. Mungo's. Shocking everyone, the redhead had decided after some months as an Auror that he preferred to be an Healer, and that was his current job.

“Sure, you go ahead, I'll fill for you here” Harry hastily said, and with a nod Ron was gone. Harry grabbed the red Santa costume, and slipped it on, tying the heavy black boots, then putting on the jacket, and finally placing the fake white, fluffy, long beard on his face. A sticking charm would prevent it to fall, even if the kids tried to pull it away, which had occurred some times. He then changed his eyes colour, green would have been an easy give away.

Finally, he changed his hair to white, lengthening them and placed the hat on his head. He was ready, and just in time, he noted as he checked his watch. It signalled five minutes to midnight.

Taking a glass of water, that costume was making him really hot, he stood there waiting for the cue of his entrance, looking outside the window at the snowy landscape, when Hermione entered the kitchen, swaying a bit as she walked toward him, then she suddenly turned him around.

“She must have had some more alcohol, she wasn't this drunk when I left” he barely had the time to think before she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face toward her.

“Good luck” she whispered in his ear, then she placed her lips on his own.

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2. Pleasurable Mistake

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 Two: Pleasurable Mistake

“Good luck” she whispered in his ear, then she placed her lips on his own.

Harry was bewildered. Hermione, who was dating Ron, was kissing him!

“But of course! She doesn't know of the exchange!” he realised. “She thinks I'm Ron!”

After all, she was quite tipsy, he reminded himself. Otherwise, she might have caught up with his absence in the living room, and made the math to understand it was him under the costume.

Now, if under the costume there was Ron, her boyfriend, he would have kissed her back, so Harry did just that, hoping to be able to pull it off. If she never knew of the mistake, that would save both of them from lots of embarrassment.

She pressed herself onto him, making him retreat backwards till he met the kitchen sink, which stopped him at once.

Her left hand was caressing his back, now and then venturing even on his bum, while her right one was lost in the white mane that was now his hair. He let himself go, giving her access to his mouth, and battling fiercely with her tongue, exploring her mouth just like she was doing with his own.

Their tongues danced around each other, now caressing, now attacking more aggressively, changing the rhythm of a kiss that was growing more and more heated. Harry's arms sneaked around her waist, pulling her closer, caressing her back and her hair, making Harry marvel in how soft and sweet smelling her honey curls were, and how well she fit against him.

He fleetingly thought that Ron was a lucky bloke, being able to snog her senseless like that whenever he wanted, but his train of thought was distracted when she suddenly nibbled softly on his lower lip, a mischievous sparkle in her brown eyes as she did that.

They were completely lost in each other and luckily they heard the bells from the nearby village signalling midnight, otherwise someone would have come to check for Ron/Santa and would have caught them in a compromising situation.

They reluctantly broke the kiss, and Hermione stood on her tiptoes.

“You better go, I'm sure the kids are growing restless” she whispered in his hear, her hot breath sending shivers through his spine. Then, with a last wink, she was gone.

Harry stood there, rooted to the spot, for a minute or so, thinking back to what had just happened, recalling the sensations she had given him, the proof of which was luckily hid by the oversized costume he was wearing, before he finally shook himself, and started his show.

Leaving the kitchen, he used his wand to create a cloud of dust in front of the fireplace, part of the traditional entrance of Santa, then he Apparated himself in the middle of it, the bag with the presents draped over his shoulder, in a typical Santa Claus position.

His appearance, once the dust had settled, was met with loud cheers from the children, and he grinned.

“Seems to me that these little ones are quite impatient to get their presents, shall we start, then?” he asked, and again loud cheers erupted. Victoire and Teddy, who were the eldest, were not less enthusiastic than the younger ones, since they were still just six.

Harry dutifully gave everyone their presents, starting from Teddy, who received a toy broom, so that he could start learning to fly, and that was Harry's present for him, then there was a traditional Molly Weasley sweater with a red T on the front, lots of sweets from Honeydukes, a set of Wizard Chess from Ron and a book on werewolves from Hermione. The boy might not like that right now, but there was a chance it could be really handy to him in the future, and Harry was once again amazed at Hermione's thoughtfulness.

Then it was Victoire's turn, and she got new robes from her mother, a set of Wizarding Make Up from Ginny, she got sweets too, especially Chocolate Frogs which were her favourite, and a set of enchanted dolls.

As he went from one person to the other, Harry got more and more at ease with his role, and had really great fun in distributing the packages. However, a strange anxiety got hold of him when he passed to Hermione the one he had bought for her, more or less an hour later.

He had always been able to read her emotions in her eyes, it was something both could do with the other and no one could equal that, not even Ron or Ginny. Now, he searched for her reactions.

First, he saw curiosity, while she unwrapped it, then it became excitement upon realising it was a book, and he had to inwardly grin, Hermione would never change, finally he spotted surprise, shock and great happiness when she realized exactly what book it was, a first edition of Magical Beings: Their Rights Through The Ages.

She turned to thank him, expecting to find him on her right side on the couch, and was met with Ron, who had just come back from the emergency call at the hospital and had snuck, unseen, into the living room.

Harry followed her gaze and when he spotted Ron he had to restrain himself from groaning. His hope to keep the incident secret was gone now, as he saw realisation come onto Hermione's face.

She was not so drunk anymore to not make the math needed, and understand who exactly she had kissed earlier.

Hermione just wanted to disappear. She had made out quite passionately with her best friend, not her boyfriend! The simple thought of kissing Harry in such a way made her grow hot in the face. Luckily, no one was focusing enough to notice. No one but Harry, who had been watching her since he spotted Ron, trying to understand what she was feeling.

She kind of isolated herself for the rest of the night, which was not so much. The kids went to bed, not without a fight, soon later, and since it was by now almost 2 a.m., the adults decided to call it a night too.

Harry went to get rid of the costume, and as soon as he could was back to the living room to see Hermione and try to talk about the “incident”, but she was already gone. There were only Ron, Ginny, Arthur and Molly there, by now.

His redhead friend took him apart to ask if everything had gone ok, and Harry reassured him that no one had found out about the exchange, as they were too pissed or too wrapped up in gifts to notice. He, however, conveniently “forgot” to mention the incident with Hermione.

Sighing, Harry decided a night sleep would help him clear his thoughts about the whole ordeal, so he bid goodnight to the remaining Weasleys, and pulled himself up the stairs to the room he and Ron shared.

His mind kept going back to what had happened in the kitchen, and the more he tried to think about something else, the more it came back with a vengeance. Lying on the bed, Harry closed his eyes and he swore he could still feel Hermione's hands on his back, her lips on his own and her tongue caressing his own. Not to talk about her hot breath in his ear.

He was sure it would fill his dreams too, and he wasn't completely convinced it was a bad thing, to tell the truth. He almost wished for those dreams to come, in fact. He sighed, vowing to clear things with Hermione the next day.

In her and Ginny's room, Hermione couldn't stop thinking about that kiss too. She had, unwillingly mind you, cheated on Ron with Harry. If the redhead was to discover that…well, let's say it wouldn't be pretty. Ron had always had a self-esteem issue when it came to Harry, and he would throw an huge fit if he was to find out about that kiss.

Luckily no one apart herself and Harry knew it, so it would be easy to keep it secret. But the uneasiness between her and the raven haired wizard…well, she expected it to last for some time. It was quite the kiss they exchanged, she mused while entering her bed.

Although, it hadn't been bad at all. On the contrary, it had been one of the best kisses in her life, if not the best one, and a really pleasurable mistake to make, she giggled while closing her eyes, the sensations from Harry's lips meeting her own, his tongue probing her mouth, his hands roaming on her back and into her hair, their bodies pressed together almost to the point to fuse into one still alive, and an huge grin was plastered all over her face as sleep took hold of her, filling her dreams with a certain raven haired wizard and his kissing abilities.

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3. What Will Happen Now, Harry?

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 Three: What Will Happen Now, Harry?

As pleasurable and filled with dreams of the other Harry and Hermione's sleep was, morning brought them back to the hard reality. Hermione was still Ron's girlfriend, and she and Harry still needed to talk about what had happened the previous night.

Breakfast confirmed that a certain awkwardness had established between them, especially on Hermione's side, since it was her who had started the kiss, and the fact that she had been quite drunk at the moment didn't lessen her embarrassment every time she would meet those green orbs of Harry's.

The raven haired wizard, for his part, couldn't stop remembering how soft her lips had felt on his own when he would look her way, which led him to look at her quite often through that meal, in fact. He barely touched his food, and suddenly excused himself and left, claiming to be in need of some fresh air.

His feet crunched the snow that had fallen that night as he strolled toward the pond behind the house, deep into the forest. He had found that spot a couple summers ago and had loved it since, so it was just natural he would head there to think.

Huffing, he charmed away enough snow to sit at the base of a tree without wetting his clothes, then plopped himself there. He sighed deeply, running his right hand through his hair, a gesture typical of his father that he had unconsciously picked up while growing.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, wondering how the hell was he supposed to look at Hermione from now on and forget what she was capable of doing, and how good it felt.

Deep in thought as he was, he never heard someone approaching.

“I knew you would be here” Hermione said softly, smiling slightly. He looked up, startled, and grinned back sheepishly.

“You know me too well” he teased her. “If I were to commit a crime and you were in charge of the pursuit, you'd locate me in no time” he joked.

“Harry! Don't even say such a thing!” she scolded him. The mere thought of him in Azkaban was giving her shivers. “I think we need to talk” she seriously said, after a while, sitting near him.

“Yeah, that we do” he agreed, although he had hoped to be able to avoid that particular conversation.

“Believe me, I'd like to avoid the topic too, Harry” she sighed. Moving from the breakfast table to go after him had been difficult, as she knew what expected her if she did, but she also knew she had to, and Hermione Granger had never backed away in front of something that had to be done.

“Why didn't you stop me?” she suddenly asked, then, almost angry.

“Well…I didn't want to let you know of your mistake. I hoped you'd never know and that would spare us lots of embarrassment. I'd still think about that kiss all the time, but at least you'd be ok”

Hermione's expression softened. “Always the gentleman, Harry” she teased him, nudging him on his shoulder.

“I shall take that as a compliment, right?” he laughed, and she did too. Harry grinned at her. He had always loved her laugh, it was so crystalline, so heart-warming, so…Hermione.

After some minutes, they calmed down. “Harry, what happened last night…I thought about it a lot, after going to bed” she admitted. “And, I have to say it's been quite pleasurable. I'd always known you were a great kisser” she smiled at him, at which he puffed out his chest in triumph.

“Hey, maybe your ego didn't need another boost, uh?” she teased him.

“Ouch, that hurt, Granger” he spat back, feigning to be wounded.

“Big baby” she shushed him. Then she was once again serious. “But, seriously, Harry…I'm dating Ron, so we should label it as a mistake and forget about it altogether”

Harry suddenly stiffed, and kept looking ahead of them, toward the village. He had expected that of course, he wasn't stupid, but hearing the words actually uttered, well, that was all another thing.

Hermione noticed that, and raised her eyebrows. “What did you expect, Harry? Me coming here and declaring my newly found, undying love for you, after the wonderful kiss we shared?” she sarcastically said, just to widen her eyes seeing he was still silent.

“Harry…it's me and Ron we are talking about! You know him, he would be devastated by such a thing, if it was ever to happen!”

Silence.

“Harry, please…say something…” she was pleading now, holding his hands in her own. Tears were starting to pool in her eyes, as she thought that a mistake had managed to destroy a friendship of years, the strongest she had ever had, the only one without which she might not be able to go on.

Suddenly Harry moved, freeing his hands from her grip and cupping her face. He leaned in, and stopped just inches from her lips.

“Hermione…I'm gonna kiss you, and after this kiss, if you tell me you felt nothing, then I'll step back and leave you and Ron live your happy life” he said, then claimed her lips.

He gently asked for entrance with his tongue, and Hermione, after a moment of hesitation, let him in. In a matter of seconds, her arms were tight around his neck, while their tongues battled harshly in their mouths, fighting for dominance, in frenzied rhythm of assault and retreat, Harry's right hand coming up to her head to loosen her hair, which she had been holding in place with a clip, his other hand roaming on her back, while the little moans from her throat were the only sounds to be heard.

In the heat of the kiss Harry pulled her on his lap, and sneaked one hand under her sweater, making her breath hitch. He kissed her harder, giving her some of her own medicine, as he gently nibbled on her lip, mirth but also desire evident in his eyes.

As they finally broke the kiss, Hermione still on his lap, Harry cupped her face to look at her directly in the eyes.

“So. Can you tell me that you haven't felt anything?” he asked, waiting for her reply.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. When she opened it again, it wasn't for speaking, but for kissing him once more, which was all what Harry needed as an answer.

Some minutes later, they finally parted for lack of air, and Hermione let him pull her even closer. She rested her head on his shoulder, and whispered into his hear.

“What will happen now, Harry?”

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4. Uncharted Territory

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 Four: Uncharted Territory

“What will happen now, Harry?”

Harry sighed. “Honestly? I don't know” he admitted.

She looked up and met his green eyes, just for a moment as he stared once again ahead of them, toward the village.

“You know, if someone had asked me yesterday if I ever thought of you as girlfriend material, I'd have said them they were nuts”

“It's good to know how high you think of me” she said, faking to be offended.

“Oh, come on” he huffed, not understanding she was teasing him. “I have just snogged you senseless twice in few minutes, I'd think it was pretty clear what exactly I meant with that!”

She just giggled. “You should have seen your face” she said, smiling.

He grinned. “Ok, ok, stop with the funny stuff, though, Granger. You came here for a serious talk, I shall give it to you”

“Fair enough” she commented, resting her head once again on his shoulder.

“Well, I've had two girlfriends till now, Cho and Ginny, and with both of them something was wrong. I don't honestly know what was missing in them, but something did, and I never felt as at ease with them as I feel whenever me and you are together. No awkward silences, just pleasurable company. You are the only one who can understand me at any time, the only one who has seen me both at my best and my worse, and I'm actually terrified at the thought of giving a relationship with you a go, because we both know how these things go, there's no assurance that the friendship would remain intact if the relationship went wrong. So…I'm scared, Hermione. I don't want to lose you as a friend, nor I want to lose Ron as a friend, for the matter”

Hermione was attentively listening to him, still on his lap, still resting on his chest, as his arms were wrapped around her waist. To anyone looking at them, they would give the impression of being a couple, and a well matched one at that. But they didn't care at the moment.

“But, you know what? As scared as I am,” he continued, “I'm willing to give this a try. There was a Muggle philosopher, Erasmus of Rotterdam, who once wrote this sentence in his Praise of Folly, “Observe with how much previdence Nature, mother of humankind, thought of spreading into all

things a bit of madness, and gave Man more passion than reason, so that everything would less sad. If every mortal would keep away from any relationship with wisdom, "old age" would not exist. Human life is nothing but a game of Madness. The heart is always right"”

“I've never guessed you'd know Erasmus of Rotterdam, Harry” Hermione joked.

He snuck out his tongue at her, but then sobered up again. “In the end, this is all what I can say. I have no idea if this would work, how hard would Ron be affected by this and how this would change our relationship with him. It's completely uncharted territory for me, but I'm willing to try”

Hermione straightened up, seeing he wasn't speaking anymore. She took that as an hint that it was her turn to do the talking now, so she moved from his lap, sitting near him and joining him in his gaze toward the distant village.

“Harry…I admit I kind of fancied you some years ago. But then, when I realized you fancied Cho, it told me what kind of girls you were after, sporty, popular, stunningly beautiful. So, I guessed I'd never catch your attention, and decided to help Ginny get you. She was Ron's sister, and she was better looking than me. She loves Quidditch, and doesn't nag you about work, plus she's always fancied you. Unconsciously, I decided that for me, Ron would do. I mean, he's a bit immature, but I've grown used to it and in the end it's also endearing, in a way. Through our many attempts at being together we've learned that's useless to try and change the other, so we stopped trying, and now we are doing just fine. I don't have it in me to hurt him this badly, Harry. For what, anyhow? For a possible relationship based on three heated kisses, although I must admit they were quite good? No, thank you. If I was sure there was love between us, then maybe. But with, as you put it, an “uncharted territory” in front of us, especially about the feelings involved, I'm not willing to take the risk. You said it yourself, till yesterday, you didn't think of me as a possible girlfriend, and now suddenly you do? Doesn't it seem a bit rushed, and feebly based to you?”

She finally stopped talking, and sighed. She hoped it would all work out well in the end, although she guessed Harry must be hurting at the moment. She was, after all, rejecting him, and anyone would be hurt by that.

After some time, Harry hoarsely spoke.

“Please, go” he said.

“Harry…” Hermione started, but he just spoke louder.

“Please, just go” he said again, and his cold tone hurt Hermione, so she just left, walking back to the Burrow, much sadder than she had hoped to come back.

Once she left, he let the tears fall. That had been the reason he had sent her away, he just couldn't let her see his tears. He had been stupid to hope. He knew he would just get hurt, and it happened. But he was used to this. He was strong by now, years of having to face a madman did that to you. He would just go back to his role of the happy best friend, and everyone would be ok.

Hermione and Ron would have their happy life together, he would not come into their way. Those three kisses he and Hermione had shared would be locked into his memory, and they would never happen again. He would cherish the memories, but nothing more than that.

He stood up, and with a last look at the peaceful, beautiful snowy village, he sighed, and started walking back to the house himself.

The territory in front of him wasn't uncharted anymore. He had a route now, and he would not strain from it.

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5. Faithful To The Promise

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 Five: Faithful To The Promise

Entering the house, Harry found everyone in the living room. He plastered a fake smile on his face, and joined the happy reunion, although he felt like shit, and wanted nothing more than to go back home.

Only Hermione noticed that smile didn't reach his eyes, and felt guilty for that, but wiped the thought away hastily, as it was burning her from inside.

She snuggled more against Ron, who was sitting on her left on the couch, an arm around her waist, and Harry inwardly cringed at the sight. However, not a muscle moved, and no one, not even Hermione, was aware of his reaction.

He had promised himself he would not come between them and he wouldn't, may it be the last thing he did.

He let the kids involve him into their games, and tried his best to be happy for their sake, and Teddy's more than anyone else's. He found that their enthusiasm was infectious and he actually enjoyed the company. At least, for some time he didn't think about his problems.

From the couch, Hermione watched him, and couldn't help but think how good a father he would be someday, and how loved his kids would feel. She thought the girl who would give birth to his kids would be really lucky. But it could not be her. She had Ron, and she was happy with him. The redhead had improved lots since Hogwarts, after all.

Finally the time of leaving from the Weasleys' came, so Harry and Teddy said their hellos to everyone. Ron clapped Harry's back, recommending him to keep in touch, since they didn't work together anymore it had been only rarely that they wrote or saw each other, with their busy schedules, and Harry promised he would. But after all, they would see each other again for New Year's Eve, he reminded his best friend, who chuckled, nodding.

“Too true, too true. I forgot that” Ron said, grinning, at which Harry grinned back, albeit not with the same enthusiasm.

Then it was Hermione's turn, and she hugged him too. She could feel him stiffen into her embrace, so she let go. She didn't want to hurt him more. Working together was going to be hard from now on, she thought.

Yes, Hermione was an Auror too. She had worked in the Law Enforcement Department as a barrister for a couple years, but ultimately decided she missed the field action of the Hogwarts days when she, Harry and Ron would embark on some kind of adventure, so she decided to be transferred to the Auror Department, after the proper training.

She looked Harry and Teddy vanish in the green flames of the Floo, then joined again the conversation, trying to push the events of the last day out of her head.

Few days passed, and they were once again all reunited at the Burrow for New Year's. Harry had once more brought Teddy with him and the boy was more than happy to be bale to see the other kids again so soon. Harry, on his part, would have spared himself the pain of seeing Hermione again, but he knew he couldn't avoid Molly's wrath if he missed the meeting, and he would gladly endure anything but that, given the mood he was in since Christmas morning.

Plus, this was a test of some kind. If he was to be the happy best friend he wouldn't be able to isolate himself much, otherwise everyone would guess something was wrong. He had to learn to live with seeing Ron and Hermione together, and the sooner he started, the sooner he would get used to it. Maybe.

During the whole night, he was cheerful, maybe a bit too much, in his attempt to cover his real feelings, and chatted quietly with everyone.

Hermione observed him attentively all night and while she knew he wasn't ok, she could see it in his green eyes which had lost the usual sparkle, she admired how he was pretending to be. She knew if the roles were reversed, Ron wouldn't have been able to fake it, otherwise he would have blown up at everyone, or isolated himself for months.

After midnight came and they all cheered for the new year having arrived, Harry excused himself for a walk. He deeply inhaled the cold air of the night, and sighed. His feet automatically led him to his favourite spot, and there he stood, dominating the village from the hill, the wind blowing across his face. He closed his eyes, and simply stood there, in silence.

“Cold night, isn't it?”

He inhaled sharply.

“What do you want?” he said, a bit harsher than he intended to.

“Just let you know I'm proud of how you're taking this” she softly said.

“Oh, thanks. Did I achieve full marks?” he snidely commented. “Is Professor Granger satisfied?”

Hermione was hurt by his tone. “Harry, honestly...I don't like seeing you hurt, but it's not my fault if I'm happy with Ron!”

“Then go back to your precious Ronniekins! Don't you worry, I'm not going to break my promise, I won't say a bloody thing!” he snapped, finally turning to look at her, then he stormed further into the woods.

“Harry!” Hermione called more than once, but to no avail. She knew if he didn't want to be found she would not find him, so she sighed and walked back.

Things were going to be strained between them for a while, but she hoped he would be back to normal soon or later, because she already missed him as a friend.

Inside the forest, Harry vented his frustration on a fallen tree, effectively smashing it into pieces with a few flicks of his wand. But it wasn't satisfying like physical workout could be, so he started punching another one, just to end with a bleeding hand.

“I needed just that” he sarcastically commented as he fixed it with his wand, letting himself slide along the tree trunk, till he sat on the snowy earth.

“Why did this have to happen to me? Haven't I suffered enough already?” he muttered to himself, letting a tear fall and then angrily wiping it away.

Half an hour later, he was back to the Burrow, and after saying goodbye to everyone but Hermione, he picked up Teddy and headed home for what he knew would be restless sleep.

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6. Starting To Heal

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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7. Casual Encounter

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 Seven: Casual Encounter

She had ash-blonde hair, blue eyes, a pretty face, and full, rosy lips.

“I-I'm sorry” she stammered as Harry helped her stand up.

“No harm done” he reassured her with a grin, then turned, albeit reluctantly, to join the queue again. It was, after all, his turn to ask the bartender a drink.

“A Tequila Sunrise” he asked.

“It's on me” a feminine voice interjected. Harry turned and saw the girl smiling at him.

“It's the minimum I can do. You were a real gentleman, helping me stand up. I heard lot on you, Harry Potter, but never that you were so courteous with girls” she explained, blushing. Then she turned to the bartender. “And a Mohito for me”

“Well, now that you've offered me a drink, I guess I should go back to my friends” Harry excused himself, a bit surprised that someone had recognized him in a Muggle pub. “I'd be more company and invite you at our table, but they are all quite sloshed, and it wouldn't be a pretty sight” he joked, at which she giggled softly.

With a last thanks, Harry left her there, finding it hard to turn around and tear his eyes off her. She could be a good one night stand, he considered, but he was against one night stands. If the fate wanted, they'd meet again, under better circumstances.

Back to his table, however, he kept roaming the pub with his eyes, trying to locate her. He finally found the girl, at the other end of the room, with a couple female friends.

“Harry, mate!” he suddenly heard someone shout in his hear.

“Gosh, Ron, why did you do that?” he said to his best friend. “You almost deafened me!”

“Sorry, mate” Ron grinned stupidly, the effects of the alcohol clearly showing. “I called you three times and you wouldn't answer…”

Seamus, which was the less drunk apart for Harry, intervened. “Of course he didn't, he was too occupied staring at that blonde girl there” he teased Harry, who blushed scarlet red.

Everyone started laughing, and Harry muttered something not completely friendly about Seamus.

“Whatever. I think I'm gonna call it a night, guys. Early start tomorrow and all. Ron, it's better if I accompany you to the Burrow, mate”

“Nonsense. I can go myself” Ron said, and stood up, or tried to, effectively crashing on the table.

Harry rolled his eyes, picked his best friend up and dragged him out of the pub, casting a last glance at the girl from the queue, which met his stare and smiled at him. Blushing furiously, Harry hastily left with Ron leaning on his shoulder.

Then, he proceeded to Apparate them both to the Burrow, where Molly gave Ron one of her famous scolding, but it was ineffective as the redhead had fallen asleep on the couch. Sighing, she turned to Harry and thanked him for bringing Ron home.

“It's nothing, Mrs. Weasley” Harry said. “We both know how Ron is with alcohol, right?” he grinned.

“Yeah, he loves drinking but can't hold his liquor” Molly rolled her eyes. “Well, you must be tired, Harry. Have a good night's sleep, my dear”

Harry wished her goodnight too, then Apparated to his flat. As he got ready for bed, he thought he wouldn't like to be in Ron's shoes once Hermione found out how pissed he was that night.

Next day, Harry woke up late, cursed under his breath as he hit his foot twice onto his bed in his haste to get dressed, gulped a cup of coffee while grabbing the Floo powder to reach the Ministry, and finally ran to his room to check on some papers before Lupin came to bring them to meet the new rookies.

Hermione entered his room merely moments after he was there. “Rough night?” she asked, smiling.

“You can say that” Harry huffed. She shook her head in amusement, and approached him, then proceeded to fix his tie, which he had made a mess of.

As her hands were working on his tie, Harry couldn't help gulping at their physical proximity. He was very aware of how her body was almost brushing on his own, and suddenly shut his eyes.

“Harry! Are you ok?” she asked, worried by his reaction, oblivious to the reason which had determined that. He nodded, and opened his eyes again. She was again at safe distance, so he smiled.

“Still not perfectly woken up, sorry” he lied. “Well, shall we go to the briefing room?”

She eyed him a bit suspiciously, but then followed him out of the room. “I heard from Molly that Ron came back completely devastated last night” she made small talk while the walked through the corridors of Auror Quarters.

“If for completely devastated you mean he couldn't stand up if his life depended on it, then yes” Harry grinned, opening the room for her.

“Honestly, he's never going to learn. He'll hear a piece of my mind later” Hermione scowled.

“Come on, Mione. Don't be too hard on him, it was just harmless fun” Harry said, sitting on her right side, while other Aurors were starting to enter the room. She just followed, not commenting on the nickname Harry had just used for her.

She usually hated nicknames, but that one, or maybe the fact that it was Harry who had used it, didn't bother her that much.

“Hi Forgraves, Thornby” Harry greeted the elder Aurors. “We're going to have our hands full with these rookies, uh?”

“You can say that, Potter” the eldest of the two, Thornby, retorted. “It's always been this way and it always will be, though, so you better get used to it” the older man sighed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She couldn't see what was wrong in helping new Aurors learn all the tricks of the job. All of them had been rookies at some point, after all. Well, maybe Harry no. He had his “rookie” years at Hogwarts already, and even then he saw and faced things the most experienced of the Aurors in that room would never face.

Finally, Lupin entered the room, followed by a bunch of young men and women.

“Dear colleagues, these are the new Aurors who will be assigned to you” the werewolf started, but Harry lost the rest of the speech as he scanned the group of newbies and saw the same girl of the previous night.

She must have recognized him too, as her eyes widened, and then she smiled at him.

Hermione didn't miss a thing of the exchange, and wondered what was going on there.

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8. The Rookie

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 Eight: The Rookie

She must have recognized him too, as her eyes widened, and then she smiled at him.

Hermione didn't miss a thing of the exchange, and wondered what was going on there.

One after the other, the rookies were called by Lupin and assigned to a team of Aurors. Finally the turn of the girl came.

“Sarah O'Brien” Lupin called, and stepped forward.

“You're going to be assigned to the Aurors…Potter and Granger. Good luck”

Harry and Hermione stood up and went to meet their new apprentice, while Lupin passed Harry the file about the girl, and his instructions on her accommodations.

“Hi, Sarah. It's going to be a pleasure working with you” Harry said, shaking her hand. “Let me introduce you to my best friend of many years, Hermione Granger”

Hermione smiled politely and shook the girl's hand too.

“Well, I guess we better head back to our offices, there's lots of work to be done” Harry sighed. “This way” he then announced, showing Sarah the way. Once they had arrived, Harry put his hands in his pockets.

“Well, Hermione…I guess we will see each other in few minutes, just the time I help Sarah get settled in my room and then we will be in your office to take a look at those reports” he said.

“Why in your room and not in mine?” Hermione couldn't help but ask. Harry looked at her strangely.

“Because Lupin said so in his instructions” he replied.

“Oh, ok” Hermione said, blushing a tiny bit. “I'll see you in few minutes then” she said, entering her room.

Harry stood there, rooted to the spot, wondering what had all that been about.

“Hem…Harry?” Sarah asked in a gentle voice.

“Yes?” he asked, turning toward her.

“Are we going to enter your room or not?” she smiled.

“Oh, yes, right” Harry grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. “Sorry about that” he said, leading her in.

She followed him inside, and waited for his orders of where she should settle.

“Here, let's enlarge this room and conjure furniture for you” Harry said, and with a couple flicks of his wand, the room grew to twice its size and a beautiful oak table with a comfy chair appeared.

“Oh, this is great!” she squealed like a little girl. Then recomposed herself. “sorry about hat, it's just I'm so excited about this job! My family has been in the Law Enforcement field for generations, you know”

Harry nodded. “O'Brien, right? I've heard about many Aurors with this surname who worked here many years ago…”

“Those would be my grandfather and the ones before him…my father is an Auror too, but in the U.S.A.” she explained. “He left me and my mum when I was five”

“I'm sorry to hear that” Harry said. Then he couldn't stop his curiosity anymore. “Can I ask you what were you doing in a Muggle pub yesterday night if you are a witch?”

“The same goes about you, Mr. Potter” she teased him. “You're a wizard and were with other wizards in a Muggle pub too”

“TouchÃ©” he laughed. “But I have a reason. One of my friends of yesterday night is Muggle-born and he loves Muggle pubs”

“And I have a reason too,” she smiled while unpacking the few items she had taken with her to decorate her part of the room. “as I'm Muggle-born too”

“You went to Hogwarts?” he asked her while opening the door as she could exit. They were heading to Hermione's office. “I don't remember you…”

“Actually, I went to Beauxbatons. My mother's second husband is French, so they live there now. I've always wanted to come back to England though, so here I am”

Harry nodded, and knocked on Hermione's door.

“It's us” he announced, before entering the room.

Hermione greeted them, and they started working on the reports about the last Death Eater sightings. As they worked, Hermione couldn't help checking that new girl, but with time she relaxed. She could see she was capable and loved the job.

Sarah had actually come up with interesting theories on why those sightings seemed to be all in the East Europe, which gained her Harry's praising. Hermione had to admit she was brilliant.

After lunch, Harry had to run an errand for Lupin, so he left the two girls alone, “so that you two can have your bonding time” he joked.

Hermione caught the chance to ask the question she had bit back all day.

“So…I got the impression you already knew Harry…” she said, while sipping her coffee. Sarah did the same, nodding. “Yes, we casually met last night at a pub, he was there with some of his friends. Actually, I bumped into him as I tripped, it was quite a klutzy thing to do, I admit, and he gentlemanly helped me stand up. Then I offered him a drink as a thank you”

Hermione nodded, thoughtfully.

“Nothing else happened, if this is what you think” Sarah hotly continued, but Hermione raised her hand.

“I never implied that, Sarah. I actually think you're quite capable as an Auror, and I'd like to not start on the wrong foot with you, over something this trivial. After all, I have no right to intrude into Harry's love life, even if something else had happened”

Sarah relaxed, and smiled. “I like you lots too, Hermione. I've heard you've been the best witch at Hogwarts in a century or so, I'd love to be as smart as you”

Hermione blushed at the compliment. “Thanks, I guess” then she checked her watch. “We better head back to the office, Harry might be back any minute”

So they paid for their coffees, and left, pleasurably chatting all the way to Hermione's room.

Later that afternoon, Sarah was called into Lupin's office with the other rookies as he wanted to have a chat with them about how they were doing.

“You can take your things, there's no need to come back here once you're done there” Harry told her smiling warmly. “We'll see you tomorrow”

“Ok, then. Good evening to both of you” Sarah wished them then left with a last hello.

Hermione and Harry continued their work, till the clock signalled five o'clock.

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. “What do you say if we call it a day and head home? I'm still a bit tired because of yesterday night…”

“Serves you right” Hermione told him sticking out her tongue. Harry gave her his puppy dog eyes, which usually always worked, and she huffed. “You know I can't tell you no when you make that face, right?”

He grinned. “That's why I do it” he said, picking up his things.

Hermione did the same shaking her head with a smile. As they headed outside the Ministry, Harry couldn't stop himself.

“So, what do you think of Sarah?”

Hermione eyed him a bit suspiciously. “Well, I can tell she's an hard worker and she's smart. Why do you ask?”

Harry shrugged. “Just wanted your opinion on her. And, so that you know, I think the same things you do” he ended with a smile.

Hermione was dying of curiosity. It was not that she didn't trust the girl, but she wanted to be sure. “She told me about yesterday night” she innocently told Harry.

“Ah, yes. You should have seen her when she bumped into me” Harry chuckled. “I just had to help her stand up, she looked so mortified. And then she offered me a drink as a thank you, can you believe it?” he said, not knowing that Hermione was comparing his words to what Sarah ahd said her before.

She relaxed, realising it was true that nothing had happened, and smiled. “What's so strange in that?”

“Well, nothing, if you think of it, but it's the first time it happens to me” he grinned. “Well, I guess we should head our separate ways now”

They had in fact come to the Ministry entrance.

“Right” Hermione said, then without thinking she kissed him on the cheek. “Have a nice evening, Harry” she said.

He stood there, a bit troubled. She looked at him, and realized her mistake.

“Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable!” she said.

“It's nothing” he reassured her putting up a brave face, but he was still revelling in the touch of her lips on his skin. “I'll see you tomorrow” he said, and with that he was gone.

Hermione sighed, and Apparated away herself.

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9. Confusion

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 Nine: Confusion

That morning Hermione felt the unusual need to dress extra nicely.

“Oh, come on. It's just work, why should I dress in a different way?” she reasoned with herself.

Still, the fact that now another girl was working with them made her think she didn't want to look any less than her.

Finally deciding on an outfit, she quickly put it on, applied just a bit of make up like she did everyday, and was on her way to the Ministry.

She guessed Harry had not arrived yet, still she noticed his office was open. Peeking in, she saw Sarah at her desk, scribbling furiously.

“Good Morning” Hermione said. Sarah suddenly looked up and smiled. “Oh, good morning Hermione”

“I didn't think you'd be already here” the brown haired girl said with a smile, entering the room.

“Well, since I went home early yesterday, I didn't want to give Harry, and you of course, the impression I was slacking off”

Hermione nodded. She had noticed how the girl had almost let it slip that she wanted to make a good impression on Harry. Now, this was not strange, after all he was her boss, but Hermione was too, and to want to impress especially Harry, the girl must have had a crush on him.

Hermione, however, couldn't think more about that, as a voice greeted them both.

“Good morning, ladies. How are my girls today?” Harry said entering his office and seeing both of them there.

Both Hermione and Sarah blushed a bit at Harry's greeting, but he didn't notice. He did notice, instead, Hermione's attire. She was wearing a black skirt, much shorter than the ones she usually used for work, and a white top which clung to her body quite well. She was wearing her hair in a ponytail.

“Wow, Mione, having plans with Ron for tonight?” he called out to her making her blush. She shook her head.

“I just felt like dressing nice” she muttered, at which Harry nodded.

“Well, I'm off to have a coffee, anyone wants to come?” he said after having put some papers on his desk.

Both girls followed him, so they chitchatted on their way to the cafeteria and then back to their offices.

Hermione could see Harry and Sarah were getting along quite well, and while she was glad of that as it would make tutoring the girl easier and more pleasurable, she felt a bit left out.

“Oh, come on” she chastised herself. “He's just trying to make her feel at ease working with us”

Still, she felt a pang of what anyone else would call jealousy seeing how her best friend and the new girl were smiling at each other.

Once back to their offices, Hermione left Harry and Sarah alone and went to start some work on her own. Still, she sat at her table for minutes, unable to concentrate. She kept thinking to those two in the corridors, chatting and laughing together. Actually, they had tried to include her in the conversation too, but that detail had gone almost unnoticed by her.

Willing her brain to properly focus, she finally managed to get some work done, filing the papers for some new arrests that had been made in south England. Mostly little robberies and things like that, no big fishes.

Looking at her watch, she saw it was almost lunch time. Standing up, she went to Harry's office to ask him if he wanted to have lunch together.

As she approached the door, she could hear what was being said inside.

“You know, I think that sweater really brings out your eyes” Harry commented, making Sarah blush. He knew it was wrong to compliment a co-worker like that, especially if she was a rookie assigned to him, but she was really pretty. Plus, he had to make his best to forget Hermione, as she wanted to be with Ron, and that girl had been a blessing in that sense. Maybe, if he was lucky, she might help him recover.

“Thanks, Harry” came the embarrassed reply.

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. Was Harry flirting with Sarah?

Clearing her throat, she entered the room.

“Harry, I'm heading to the cafeteria to have lunch, are you coming, or will the two of you go on your own later?” she said with an hint of false sweetness in her voice. Harry knew her too well for him not to notice that, and made a mental note to ask her later.

“Of course we're coming. Right, Sarah?”

The girl nodded, taking her jacket and standing up.

“I'm quite famished, thinking of it” Harry said, walking toward the door. The three of them fell into step together and greeted some colleagues who were going to have lunch too.

As they discussed some things, Sarah took her time to study Harry. He was really handsome and that messy hair…

“Makes you want to run your hand through it, doesn't it?” Hermione said, making her jump. “Harry's hair” she added then, as Sarah was still silent.

“Oh” the younger girl blushed. “Yes, it does”

Hermione didn't know what to think. She liked the girl, but now that Sarah's interest in Harry was starting to show, she wasn't sure of what she thought of her anymore. Sure, she worked hard, and was good at her job, but…

“What are you going to have, Hermione?” Harry asked her, bringing her out of her thoughts again.

“Oh, I'll have chicken salad, thanks” she said. Harry nodded. “What about you, Sarah?”

“I'll have just a couple ham sandwiches” she said, smiling.

“Why don't you girls go fetch us a table, and I'll bring you the food?” he suggested, meeting their approval.

They ate quietly, discussing some matters Harry wanted the three of them to address in the afternoon, but suddenly he interrupted himself, and brushed away a crumb from Sarah's cheek.

“You were a bit dirty there” he explained with a grin. Hermione knew how his grins could be infectious, and the effect they usually had on girls, so she was not surprised to see Sarah embarrassedly stammer her thanks. What surprised her was her own boldness as on their way back she linked her arm with Harry's one, at which he raised his eyebrows.

Hermione just shrugged.

All the afternoon they worked together on a certain project, without time to ponder over the little things happened at lunch. However, once she was alone at home, Hermione prepared herself some hot chocolate, sat on her favourite armchair with a book in her hands, and sighed. As much as she tried to distract herself, she kept remembering the flirting between Harry and Sarah.

She was a bit put out by it, there was no doubt of that.

“But that's what you wanted, right? For him to move on and let you live happily with Ron…” she said to herself.

She tiredly rubbed her eyes.

“I didn't think he would do that so quickly though” she muttered, almost angrily. “He didn't stop twice to think about his so called love for me before flirting with another girl, in front of me nonetheless!”

But a voice that sounded eerily like her mother spoke in her head.

“He's just doing what you wanted him to do. And you know very well that to seek your loved one's happiness before your own means you really love that person, don't you? How many times you've kept your feelings for him hidden, at Hogwarts, because he seemed to like another kind of girl? Isn't this the main reason that lead you to being with Ron, after all?”

Hermione put her face in her hands, sighing, more confused than ever about her own feelings.

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10. A Date

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 Ten: A Date

A week had passed since Sarah's arrival at the Ministry. Hermione was extremely confused over her feelings for her raven haired friend. All day she had to see Harry and the younger girl flirt with each other, as Sarah had started flirting back a couple days ago. Possibly deciding that since Harry was making his interest so blatant she could do the same.

Both of them seemed oblivious about how that was affecting her, but she knew she had no right to say a thing. After all, it was her who had rejected Harry.

“And for a good reason” she kept repeating herself while going home that night. “Ron doesn't deserve his heart to be broken like that”

But she was less and less convinced of that herself. Ok, Ron didn't deserve to be heartbroken, but did she deserve it after all the times she had been by Harry's side?

Sighing, she relaxed on the couch, a cup of tea in her hands, staring into the fireplace, lost in her thoughts.

She was startled by a sudden green flame cracking, and Ron entering her living room.

“Hi” he grinned at her.

Hermione forced a smile on her lips. “Hi Ron” she said, standing up to greet him. She knew all too well that Harry would have noticed her smile was a fake one. Still, she let Ron kiss her and did her best to get involved in the kiss.

She must have succeeded or Ron didn't notice, because he said nothing.

“So, sweetheart, are you ready?” the redhead asked then. They had plans to have dinner out that night.

“Sorry Ron, I still need to prepare. You can wait here or have a snack in the kitchen” she said while walking to her bedroom, knowing very well Ron would be kept occupied long enough if he had something to eat.

More or less an hour later, she emerged from the bedroom wearing a nice black dress, nothing too bold, but still it looked good on her.

“Whoa, Hermione, you're smashing” Ron complimented her and she nodded with a smile. “You're looking good too, Ron”

And with that they left.

----------------------

Harry was growing more and more nervous, since Hermione had left and he was alone with Sarah. That girl really attracted him, and since he already knew of Ron's plans for the night with Hermione, he knew he would have the time to make his move today. Now that he had to do it, though, he was scared.

“Harry, are you listening to me?” Sarah said, nudging him on the shoulder.

“Sorry, must have spaced out a bit” he grinned at her.

“I'd say you did, I've been calling you for a minute or so without a reply” she retorted with a radiant smile. She had become more and more at ease with Harry in the last days and now she felt completely comfortable being in the same room with him, even if they were alone.

She had also started to dress just a tiny bit bolder. Heck, he was flirting with her so often, it couldn't be bad if she played that game too. And it had definitely worked. More than once she had caught him staring at her, making her blush, at which, realizing he had been caught, he blushed too.

At first she had thought he and Hermione were an item, but after he had explained her that she was with his best friend, she relaxed a bit.

“Hey, anyone there?” she heard Harry call with a smile in his voice.

“Sorry” she said, blushing.

“I guess we are even now” he teased her. Then he grew serious again. Sarah wondered why he suddenly seemed so nervous.

“I…I was thinking” he started, gulping, “if you'd like to have dinner together tonight” he finished, hoping he didn't make a fool of himself.

“Are you asking me out, Mr. Potter?” she flirtatiously replied.

“Actually, yes, that's the idea” he retorted, catching her off guard. She didn't expect him to be so direct with his answer. There was still lots she had to discover about the man.

“We-well, in that case…yes, I'd like to have dinner together” she stammered, blushing. She was going on a date with him!

“What do you say we go now then? I'm quite famished, I must admit” he said with a grin, and she melted in his green eyes.

“It's fine for me” she said softly, barely above a whisper. He nodded, and lead the way out of his office.

“So, where are you taking me?” she asked as they left the building.

“You'll see. It's a nice Muggle place, you'll love it, I'm sure” he said, then took her hand and Apparated them away.

As they entered the restaurant, Harry asked for a table for two, and the couple was led by a waiter to their table. Scanning the menu, they made their orders (“Lasagne and a steak with chips for me” Harry said, “and a Caesar's salad for her”)

As the waiter left, he grinned. “You on a diet?” he teased her.

“I've got to keep my beautiful figure” she smugly replied, and he chuckled.

“And who ever said you have a beautiful figure?” Harry teased her again. She mockingly scowled at him.

“So why did you ask me out, Mr. Potter, if I don't look beautiful to you?” she challenged him. He laughed.

“TouchÃ©” he said, admitting defeat.

They ate quietly, chatting about little nothings, now and then Harry would ask her something about her past, how was life in France, if the Ministry was any better there, if she had known Fleur Delacour.

She was still laughing after his last joke when she spotted someone behind him, at the entrance.

“Look, there's Hermione with her boyfriend, what was his name again?”

“Ron” Harry said, turning and seeing that indeed, his two best friends were walking toward the same part of the saloon they were in.

He should have known Ron would bring Hermione there, it was her favourite restaurant after all. He had unconsciously chosen Hermione's favourite place for his first date with Sarah.

“Just great” he thought to himself, inwardly groaning.

The redhead was the first one to spot them.

“Hey, luv, look! There's Harry with a girl there!” he said, showing them to Hermione, who followed his gaze, surprised, but even more so when she realized who was there with Harry.

The four of them exchanged polite greetings, then Ron and Hermione reached their table, but Harry knew with just a single look that something was troubling his female best friend. Her expression had clouded since she had spotted Sarah, and he had noticed it.

Making a mental note to talk with her about it in another occasion, he concentrated on his date, and managed to enjoy the end of their meal.

As they left they wished Ron and Hermione good night, then Harry volunteered to accompany Sarah home.

“Really, I can go myself” she said, with a smile. “I'm a big girl”

“I know you are, but I'll feel better knowing I've been the perfect gentleman” he joked, at which she relented.

“Ok then, grab my hand, Mr. Potter” she said, and Apparated them to the front door of her flat.

Once they landed, Harry knew parting from her would be difficult.

“Good night, then” he said, a bit dejectedly.

“Good night” she replied with a smile. She started fidgeting with her keys, searching for the right one, when Harry called her.

“Sarah” he whispered. She turned, and he kissed her.

Her keys fell to the floor as her arms immediately circled his neck, while their tongues met for the first time and started a rhythmic dance inside their mouths. The only sound to be heard was a little moan coming now and then from Sarah's throat.

After some time, they parted for lack of hair.

“Good night then” he grinned goofily, at which she replied with a whispered goodnight. Then, finally opening her door, she moved backwards inside her flat, never stopping to look at him till her door was completely closed.

He then Apparated to his own house, and sat on the couch replaying the events of the night in his head with a contented smile.

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11. Pain

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.

----------------

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.

-----------------------

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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12. Hard Choice

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 Twelve: Hard Choice

A month had passed since Harry had shouted at her, and Hermione had somewhat adjusted to him and Sarah dating. She was even able to tease them now, although, it was still painful to see them together. But, she had understood that if she wanted to keep Harry at least as her best friend she better learn to deal with it, and she definitely wanted to. Scratch that, she needed to have him in her life, even if only as a friend.

There had been a couple of awkward days between them after the shouting that took place in her office, but then they were good again, which was fine for her.

That night, Ron had told her he had plans for them, so she excused herself early from work.

“I'm sorry, I really need to go or Ron will go mad” she said, playfully rolling her eyes.

“I know, I know” Harry retorted with a smile. Then he turned to Sarah, whispering to her something about Ron's infamous appetite.

“Well, I'm sure the two of you won't miss my presence” Hermione said with a smile, making them blush.

Harry stuck his tongue at her at which she laughed and shook her head, leaving to go to her office and retrieve her belongings before going home.

Once at home, she hurried to her bedroom and looked through her wardrobe for something in tune with the night she and Ron were going to have. He had told her he had booked two seats at a very elegant restaurant for them, but he wouldn't reveal her the name of the place.

So, in the end she chose a velvety red dress which she had used just once before. It showed her cleavage without going too low, and clung to her curves perfectly. She twirled in front of the mirror feeling a bit of feminine pride, and she fleetingly thought that she would have loved to see Harry's face if he could see her at the moment.

Shaking herself from that particular train of thought, Hermione filled her small purse with everything she needed, and waited for her boyfriend to arrive. She expected him to be there at the last minute, pressuring her into not being late, instead he arrived there with half an hour to spare.

“Hey” he said softly, looking at her. “You're smashing tonight” he complimented her.

“Thanks” she blushed the tiniest bit. “You're not bad yourself”

“Shall we go then?” he asked, offering his arm for her to take it. She nodded, accepting the offer, and he Apparated them in front of the restaurant.

Hermione was speechless. It was the Merlin's Garden, the most expensive place in Wizarding Britain.

“Ron, really, you shouldn't have…” she started but he shook his head.

“I want tonight to be special” he said with a grin, then they walked inside where a waiter lead them to their table.

They ate quietly once their orders arrived, (“A Gryffindor steak for me and a Merlin's salad for her” Ron said to the waiter), and sipped their wine chatting, but Hermione could notice Ron was kind of nervous. He wasn't famished as his usual and that was a first for him, and when they finished eating he become a bit paler.

Then, as the waiter he had signalled to brought them some champagne, he took a small box from his pocket and got on one knee.

“He's not going to…” Hermione barely managed to think before he nervously stammered his question.

“He-Hermione, will you marry me?” he asked

Hermione froze. She had a life-changing decision in front of her and she wasn't prepared. Why hadn't she guessed it sooner? There were the signals for her to understand…the most expensive place in the wizarding community, the nervousness, the lost appetite…and yet she didn't take the hint, and now she was facing him, looking at her for an answer, not having the bloody idea what to say.

She knew she had been waiting for this moment to happen, before the blasted Christmas that changed everything. She would have said yes in a moment then, but now…

“Harry's with Sarah after all, and he seems happy enough with her. I don't see why I should hope to get together with him, since it was me who rejected him first, choosing the safe route” she reasoned. And yet, she couldn't see herself being married to the redhead man who was kneeling in front of her.

“Would it be fair for me to make him think I love him when I don't, not so much to marry him anyhow?” she asked herself. Of course, saying yes would be the safe route, and she had chosen it once already. But what had it led her to? Heartbreak over seeing Harry and Sarah together, and nothing else.

No, she couldn't be this unfair to Ron. He needed to spend his life with a woman who loved him truly.

She looked at him with sad eyes, and slowly started shaking her head. “No” she whispered, and she saw Ron close his eyes in defeat. Then, he straightened up, closing the box which contained a beautiful ring with a single diamond on it, and he sat back on his chair. Sighing, he opened his eyes again, and looked at her with a sad, and yet knowing, smile.

“It's Harry, isn't he?”

“What?” Hermione asked, shocked.

“Oh, come on. I've always know I could never equal him in your heart. I hoped, but I suspected in the end I was going to lose. And seeing how you reacted every time I mentioned him and that Sarah girl, or how you looked at the two of them when we would all go out together just strengthened my belief”

Hermione was there, mouth open, unable to say a word. She expected him to blow up, like he usually did, thanks to the infamous Weasley temper, but no. He was perfectly calm, instead.

“Go to him, Hermione. Tell him before it's too late, because he's really serious about this girl” Ron advised her. “Don't worry about me. I've been preparing for this day for a long time now” he said, anticipating her protest.

With a last look at him, and a last nod of encouragement from Ron, she fled from the restaurant and Apparated to Harry's flat.

The raven haired wizard had fallen asleep on the couch, watching the telly, a box of pizza in front of him, when he heard someone desperately banging on his door, calling him.

He groggily went to open and found himself in front of Hermione.

“Hermione? What are you doing here? What about your night out with Ron?” he said, noticing she was still all dressed up.

“He proposed, and I said no” she explained, then, before Harry's brain could completely comprehend the sentence she had uttered, she flung herself at him and kissed him hard on the mouth.

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13. Field Mission

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 Thirteen: Field Mission

“He proposed, and I said no” she explained, then, before Harry's brain could completely comprehend the sentence she had uttered, she flung herself at him and kissed him hard on the mouth.

For a moment Harry responded to the kiss, but then he broke the contact, pushing her away.

“No, Hermione” he whispered.

He had to fight his first instinct, to snog her senseless, but he somehow managed it.

She looked at him, scared. It couldn't be too late. It just couldn't…

Both of them remained silent for a while, then Hermione finally spoke.

“Harry…” she started. “I know I've been a fool…” but he interrupted her.

“Hermione, you made it really clear to me that you didn't want to hurt Ron or take the risk. And you know what? I understand you now. I care about Sarah and I'd hate to see her hurting. So, no thanks, I'm not taking the risk”

“But…you said you were willing to…” Hermione pleaded him, feeling tears starting to burn at her eyes.

Harry had to master all his will power not to hug her and console her. But in the end, he hoarsely spoke.

“You can't have it both ways, Hermione. You told me you didn't want to risk, now it's my turn to not want to do it. You can't expect me to wait for you to wake up and suddenly drop my girlfriend just because you decided you wanted a shot at us being together” he said, gently pushing her out of his flat. She didn't really oppose herself, knowing it was no use anyhow. “Goodnight” he said then, closing the door.

Hermione slid to the floor, leaning on the wall, and let the tears fall. She had pushed him away and in the end she lost him…

After some time, she managed to find the strength to Apparate to her flat, and then she let the sobs have the best of her, crying through the whole night.

In his own flat, Harry was on his bed, wide awake, rehearsing the events of the night in his head. Had he done the right thing?

He didn't get a minute of sleep, tormented by this question.

---------------

It took lots of strength on Hermione's part to go to work the next day. But she managed to, and as usual she found Sarah already there. She had mixed feelings about the girl. There was hate, because she had stolen Harry from her, (“But is this really true?” she asked herself later, alone in her office. “Didn't I lose him myself?”), but there was also liking, as she was really a lovely girl and she could easily see why a man could fall for her. Plus, she was an hard worker just like Hermione herself, and that made them similar.

“Good morning” Hermione called out, more cheerfully than she felt.

“Oh, hi Hermione” Sarah greeted back. “You don't look well” she frowned.

“It would be a miracle if I did” Hermione thought, then smiled sadly. “Me and Ron broke up yesterday night” she said. “He proposed but I wasn't ready to take that step”

Sarah tried to console her and that was how Harry found them. He couldn't stop himself from feeling a rush of affection for the younger girl.

As the days passed, the three of them became busier and busier so there was little time for Harry and Sarah to fool with each other, which made Hermione's adjusting to the situation easier. She was slowly healing, and she knew she would never truly be over Harry, but that she had to let go for his happiness. After all he had been through, he deserved it.

On his part, Harry was as thoughtful as he could be around Hermione, not wanting to hurt her more than he already did, and that helped her recover.

They were currently planning their first field activity as an Auror team. Harry and Hermione had already been on field missions together but that was Sarah's first time. The girl was growing a bit nervous as the day of the operation was nearing itself.

They had managed to track a dangerous French Death Eater wannabe, Jean Jordovski. The surname denoted his Russian heritage. However, his family had never had anything to do with the Dark Arts before. His father had met Jean's mother in Marseille on a business trip for the Russian Ministry of Magic, and had transferred there to get married with her. She was the daughter of a wealthy French Wizarding family, purebloods for generations but never really opposed to the Muggle-borns and Half-bloods.

Jean, however, had been brought on the dark path of the Death Eaters by the casual encounter with Dolohov, and now was trying to organize his own group of dark wizards to try and continue what Voldemort hadn't been able to finish.

He had already been accounted responsible for many Muggle-born killings in Paris and other French cities, and some in Switzerland too. As his power was trying to extend over the central Europe, he was a menace that needed to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Harry, Hermione and Sarah were to cooperate with another team of Aurors. The six of them had been chosen for this stealth operation, that justified the little number of people involved.

When the day finally arrived, Harry reunited the six of them in a room, bringing an old boot with him.

“This is going to be our Portkey to the suburbs of Strasbourg, where we have located Jordovski's whereabouts. We expect some other dark wizards to be there with him, so be careful and never let your guard down. You all know what positions you have to take and look out for anything that moves. First stun, then ask questions”

When everyone nodded, he placed the boot on the table and said, “On the count of three touch the boot. One…two…three!”

Everyone got hold of the object and was transported to France, in a wood. They cautiously moved toward the construction they could spot in the distance.

They were all tense as they approached it, and Harry signalled for them to take their positions on the sides of the door, then he took a long breath and crashed through it, wand ready, followed by his companions.

Spells flew and a fight harsher than the Aurors expected took place. Harry found himself face to face with Jordovski, and their duel was a real sight. Both of them used their full magical ability, neither being able to get the upper hand on the other, while around them curses were thrown at will. Hermione managed to stun her opponent and tie him in resistant ropes, Sarah was doing her best against an older witch who wasn't exactly playing fair, but the girl was tough, and even if she got some scrapes on her left arm, in the end she found an hole in her enemy's defense, effectively freezing her with a full body bind.

“You should give up” Harry smirked, seeing that all of Jordovski's cronies were taken.

“Never, Potter” the other sneered back, only to be knocked unconscious by a chair Hermione sent flying toward him and which collided exactly with his head.

Harry grinned at her, then turned toward the others who were cheering their victory. Hermione relaxed too. No one noticed someone else slip out of a room next to Hermione. She was covered by the wall so the dark wizard couldn't hit her as he didn't even know she was there, but that was an advantage for the man too, as she couldn't see him easily.

When she noticed him it was too late, as he had already fired his curse. The next moment he was on the ground, stunned, but the ominous black light of the curse he had thrown couldn't be stopped before it hit Sarah directly in her chest.

With a faint “Oh” she fell to the ground, feeling darkness envelope her.

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14. An Epiphany And Consequent Actions

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 Fourteen: An Epiphany And Consequent Actions

With a faint “Oh” she fell to the ground, feeling darkness envelope her.

Harry rushed to her side immediately.

“Sarah! Sarah!” he called, trying to shake her, but to no avail. The eyes of the girl remained closed. Still, he could feel a pulse.

“We need to go back, immediately!” he ordered. All the Aurors rushed out of the building, running back to the wood where their Portkey was. Hermione watched the scene unfold dazedly. She mechanically followed the others to Auror Quarters, where Harry left them to accompany Sarah at St. Mungo's.

Once there Harry carried Sarah in his arms to the reception. “I need an Healer, now!” he shouted.

“You will have to wait, mister” a receptionist told him.

Harry glared menacingly at him. “I am Harry Bloody Potter, so you will find me an Healer now!” he growled. Luckily, Ron happened to be passing by the reception at the moment.

“Harry! What's happened?” he said, going to see his friend and the girl he had in his arms.

“She was hit by a curse, the light of the spell was black” he told to his redhead friend.

“Come with me” Ron said, “We will put her in a room where she will be able to rest alone.”

As time passed and the healers worked on Sarah, Harry couldn't stop pacing.

Finally, Ron came out of the room.

“First the good news. She's not going to die”

Harry released a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

“You're lucky you brought her here so soon, a couple hours and she would have lost all her memories, and she wouldn't even know her own name.”

Harry gasped. Ron put an hand on his arm.

“At the moment we are doing our best to make her wake up, however the main effect of the curse is broken so there's no worry for her memories. Still, she is in a lot of pain as we still need to break a secondary effect of the curse, which is to make the person hit relive his, or her in this case, worst memories”

Harry sighed. “Can I see her?”

“Of course” Ron smiled. “Not more than ten minutes, though”

“Thanks, Ron”

“Anything for my best friend” the redhead grinned before going to join his fellow healers.

As Harry entered the room, he could see she was hurting. Her usually peaceful face was distorted in a suffering stance, and she was moving agitatedly in her bed. He sat near her, and placed his hand on her arm.

“Sweetheart, I'm here now. You're going to be fine, I promise” he whispered softly to her. Then, as the ten minutes Ron had conceded him were finished, he thought he should leave to give space to the healers to do their job.

As he exited the room, he was surprised to find Hermione there, sitting in front of the door, her stare fixed on the wall ahead of her.

“Hermione, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“I…I just had to see how she was” she whispered. Harry kneeled down in front of her, and saw tears pooling in her eyes.

Suddenly, she started sobbing. “I'm so sorry, Harry!” she said, wiping away her tears. “It's my fault, if I had seen him sooner…”

“Hermione, it's not your fault” Harry tried reasoning with her but she wouldn't listen.

“I'm so sorry for having failed you, Harry” she sobbed, “you were just starting to be happy, and now…all because of my distraction…”

Harry's heart tore at seeing her this distraught over something she had no control of. If anything, it was him and the other Aurors that were directly in front of the door the dark wizard had come out from who could have noticed him sooner, not her. Still, she blamed herself and now was in so much pain, and if there was something Harry had never been able to stand was to see Hermione hurting.

“Come here” he gently said to her. Then he moved to hug her tightly and held her close to him, letting her stain his shirt with her tears.

After some minutes, once she had calmed a bit, he looked into her eyes, and what he found there broke his heart even more. In those two chocolate orbs he could spot fear, and most of all guilt.

He hugged her tightly again, and whispered, “Oh, Hermione”

And he knew in that moment that as hard he may try to get over her, he would never succeed as he would always be in love with the girl actually in his arms.

--------------

Some days had passed since Sarah had left the hospital, and Harry knew what he needed to do. It was unfair to lead her on when he loved Hermione, and Sarah was an amazing girl who deserved true happiness, something he couldn't give her. He had thought lots about that, but in the end he knew that sooner he did it, the less it would hurt.

They were currently cuddling in front of the television in his flat, as she was still taking some days off to completely regain her strength.

Mustering all his Gryffindor courage, Harry finally spoke.

“Sarah…I think we should talk” he started.

“I know that tone, and this is not going to be good” she commented, turning toward him.

He shook his head, smiling sadly. “No, this won't be good. Not immediately, but I think in the long run it's for the best”

“Are you breaking up with me, Harry?” Sarah bluntly asked. He was caught off guard, and yet her ability to understand things had been one of the features he had most enjoyed of her, as it reminded him of Hermione, in some way.

He nervously nodded. “Sarah…” he started, but she suddenly stood up.

“Sarah, wait!” he said following her but she stopped only on his front door, tears in her eyes. “Good luck to you and Hermione” she said, with a trembling smile.

“How do you know it's Hermione?” Harry asked, bewildered, and at the same time confirming her guess. “Never mind” he said then with a chuckle.

This girl was really amazing and she would make a man really happy some day. Unluckily, that man couldn't be him as his heart already belonged to another amazing witch.

“Can we still be friends?” he asked then, serious.

“Might take some time and a bit of awkwardness” she answered, “but I think eventually we will be”

He nodded, and with that she was gone.

Sighing, Harry retreated into his flat.

“Now, onto part two of solving this mess” he muttered to himself.

--------------------

Hermione was enjoying a nice hot relaxing bath in her flat, as it had been some stressing days for her till Sarah left the hospital, as Hermione still blamed herself for it, when suddenly her doorbell rang.

Cursing against the bad timing of whoever was on the other side of her door, she put on a robe and went to open.

Imagine her surprise when she saw Harry in front of her with a single white rose in his hand.

“Harry!” she exclaimed.

“Would you like to go out with me tonight?” he sheepishly asked.

“What about Sarah?” she asked, frowning.

“I've broken up with her. It wasn't fair for me to lead her on when my heart has always belonged to you and always will” he said, shrugging.

Hermione pulled him inside her flat from the collar of his coat, slammed the door shut with a kick, and kissed him fiercely.

That was all the answer he needed, as he kissed her back, the single rose forgotten on the floor, his hands sneaking to her back, pulling her closer, while her right hand nestled into his hair, caressing it. Their tongues were fighting for dominance, and now and then a playful nibble would come from one of the two parties, while Harry gently pushed Hermione back toward the living room.

She moaned softly into his mouth, making Harry growl with desire. His left hand snuck under the robe, caressing her bare back, and then daring to go lower onto her buttocks, which earned him a playful glare from the brown haired witch.

Breaking the kiss for a moment, Harry spoke. “Considering your attire though, a nice night in wouldn't be bad too” he smirked.

She giggled softly before claiming his lips again in an heated kiss.

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15. Finally Together

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 Fifteen: Finally Together

Breaking the kiss for a moment, Harry spoke. “Considering your attire though, a nice night in wouldn't be bad too” he smirked.

She giggled softly before claiming his lips again in an heated kiss.

As he woke up the next morning, in Hermione's bed, with her body spooned against his own, Harry couldn't help but grin goofily.

“It was about time we got together” he thought, caressing her honey-coloured hair.

Then he got an idea, and inwardly chuckling he slowly and attentively disengaged himself from her, trying to not wake her up, eliciting some noises of protest from the beautiful girl on his side. He smiled while walking toward the kitchen.

As she woke up some minutes later, Hermione recalled the previous night. However, searching for Harry in her bed, she didn't find him, and panicked, thinking it had all been just a dream. Hastily slipping her robe on, she went to the kitchen, guided by a nice smell of breakfast being prepared, and there he was, working on some bacon, his upper half naked. She couldn't resist the sight and went to hug him from behind, sliding her arms around his waist.

“Hey” he said softly. “You're awake”

“Yeah, the bed felt cold without you there” she replied, resting her head on his back.

“Sorry about that” he grinned. “I had this nice idea of surprising you with breakfast in bed, but now that's ruined” he gave her a mock scowl.

“You're quite cute when you do that, you know” she teased him.

“Granger, men are not cute. Handsome, in my case, but not cute” he retorted sticking his tongue at her while pouring her some coffee.

“Ok, I think we should open doors and windows to give space to your oversized ego” she said, deadpanned.

“Is that so?” he smirked, sipping his coffee. “Then you must like my ego very much, Miss Granger, from what I recall of last night”

She blushed scarlet red and he laughed merrily.

Then they ate their breakfast quietly, before Harry had to Apparate back to his flat to get dressed.

“I'll see you at the Ministry in half an hour then” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

Hermione enjoyed her coffee a bit longer, girlishly giggling upon remembering the events of the previous night, before heading to have a shower.

-------------

Some days had passed, and Sarah was finally coming back to the office after having completed her recovery. Harry had not heard from her since the break-up, so he was happy to see her being there before him, as usual. He found her and Hermione quietly chatting. He and Hermione exchanged a look which both understood perfectly and which meaning was “no funny business from now on in the office”. It was out of respect for the other girl who had just recovered from a serious injury and had had to endure also the pain of the break-up.

They resumed their old routine of going to have a coffee together before starting to work, then busied themselves in some paperwork activity regarding the captures that had been done on the raid, and time flew. Soon enough, Sarah asked Harry if he could excuse her because her mother had invited her over for dinner, and she still needed to get ready.

“Don't worry, me and Hermione will be able to go on on our own from here. You go and enjoy a nice night with your relatives. You shouldn't put a strain on you so soon after the injury anyhow, so it's ok if you leave early for some days” he reassured her with a smile.

She might take some more time to be completely ok after the break-up but things were going to be ok between the three of them, of that Harry was sure.

--------

It was Sunday, and as it had by now become usual, Harry woke up snuggled to Hermione. Even if they still lived in their different flats, it was Hermione's idea to keep them, just in case anything got wrong in their relationship, while Harry would have loved to have her move in with him, they had made it a routine to sleep together, as both seemed to not be able to sleep alone anymore. At times it would be at Hermione's flat, other times they would spend the night at Harry's but always together. Most of the time it just involved innocent sleeping, but at times things got naughty and the previous night had been one of those.

Looking out of the window, he saw it was sunny, and smiled. He loved sunny weather. He then looked down at the girl in his arms and wondered how could such an amazing witch be in love with him. He knew he probably didn't deserve her but he was glad she felt like him because he knew he couldn't live without her. Not anymore.

Inhaling deeply, he grinned. The vanilla scent of her hair filled his nostrils, and it always made him feel at home.

Kissing her forehead, he tried moving out of the bed but she wouldn't let go of him. Inwardly laughing, he decided some emergency measures were needed, and started tickling her.

As she woke up, not pleased by how he had managed that, he smirked.

“A bit possessive, Granger?” he teased her.

Hermione stuck out her tongue at him and left he bed, walking toward the bathroom, giving him a good view of her back side, which had him groaning.

“Not fair!” he called while moving out of bed himself and going to prepare breakfast. Minutes later, as they sipped their coffees, Harry suggested they go to have a nice picnic in a Muggle London park.

Hermione liked the idea lots, so they prepared some sandwiches, not without some flirting on both parts while they worked together in the kitchen, put them in a picnic basket Harry had conjured, then shrunk it to fit their pockets.

Since they were at Hermione's, they chose to head to Hyde Park, which was nearer.

As they were leaving, Harry had the great idea to go and check with Andromeda if they could bring Teddy with them, and the older witch eagerly agreed, thinking it was a nice suggestion. His godson was also ecstatic at the idea of passing the day with the two of them.

The couple walked hand in hand, enjoying the view of Muggle London, Teddy being now and then shifted between the two of them as it would be too tiring for him to walk all the time. They rarely spent time in the Muggle world anymore, although being both raised in Muggle environments, and they liked to go there now and then.

As they strolled through the paths in the park, Harry pulled her close, putting an arm around her shoulders, and they kept walking that way. Hermione contentedly snuggled near him, feeling she was the happiest woman on Earth at the moment.

Finally, they stopped to have lunch, settling under a nearby tree which provided them some shadow. It was quite an hot day, in fact. Checking that no Muggles were around, Hermione restored the picnic basket to its original size, and they tucked in eagerly. Walking made them famished, in fact.

Harry couldn't help beaming at her. It was the perfect day, with the perfect company, and he felt his wish of having a family of his own was somewhat starting to get real.

---------------------

Hermione woke up alone in bed that morning. Wondering where Harry had gone, as he was there the previous night when she had fallen asleep, she checked every room of his flat, but to no avail. Finally she found a note in the kitchen saying he had gone to the office early.

She was a bit put out. He never left without having breakfast together, and to do that on that particular day, which was her birthday, made her a bit sad.

Shrugging, she drank her by now cold coffee, had a shower and went to the Ministry herself. She checked his office, and found him and Sarah already at work.

“Good Morning” Hermione said, and both looked up.

“Oh, hi, Hermione” Harry said almost business-like, then almost dashed out of the room mumbling something about having to go see Lupin. Sarah then properly greeted Hermione, giving her the best wishes for her birthday.

“At least someone remembered about it” Hermione bitterly thought as she retreated to her own office.

All day Harry avoided her and never he stopped to give her his wishes for her birthday. Nor he had a present for her. It was like he had completely forgotten about it.

Finally Hermione confronted him at lunch.

“Harry, do you know which day is today?”

“Of course I know, Hermione. It's September 19th!” he said, looking at her like she had grown a second head. “Sorry but I've got to go now” he said and ran away.

All afternoon Hermione was pestered by Sarah asking her questions and thus delaying her in finishing what she was currently doing, which resulted in her leaving the Ministry later than usual.

“What a great birthday” she sarcastically thought while leaving. “My own boyfriend doesn't even remember it and I got full of work to do”

As she reached her flat, she switched the light on, only to find it didn't work. Suspicious, she took her wand and cautiously walked toward the living room. As she stepped inside it, the lights suddenly switched on, and soft music started to play. There were rose petals on the floor directing her to the table, where she found a note by Harry directing her to the bathroom.

As she walked, rose petals kept appearing on the floor in front of her. Finally entering the bathroom, she found the bath already running, the water at the perfect temperature, and relaxing music filling the room.

She relaxed into the hot water, and wondered what else was expecting her as it was clearly something Harry had planned really well. Going to her room to get dressed she found a brand new black dress, with spaghetti straps and a quite deep V-neck. It was satin, and when she slipped it on, she felt perfectly comfortable in it. It made her also look very sexy, she noted while checking herself in the mirror.

Fixing her hair in a ponytail with just few tendrils adorning her face, she applied just an hint of make up, then went to grab her purse, imagining Harry would be there any minute. Instead, she felt the familiar tug on her navel as she was transported away by Portkey.

As she graciously landed, she looked around and gasped. She was on a Caribbean island, particularly on the beach, and she could see a table for two there.

Harry watched her, and had to force himself not to drool. She was breathtaking with that dress! When he finally managed to recompose himself, he moved from his hiding spot.

“Welcome, my beautiful lady” a voice startled her and she turned to see him dressed very elegantly, walking toward her with a dazzling smile.

“Oh, Harry!” she said, lacing her arms around his neck and kissing him thoroughly.

“I was so angry at you when you didn't mention my birthday at all today, and now I feel like a fool, seeing what you planned!” she said then.

Harry chuckled. “Well, believe me it wasn't easy to plan all of that, especially avoiding you all day and asking Sarah to keep you busy till late at the Ministry. Now, if you want to follow me…” he said with a slight bow.

“My, of course” Hermione playfully replied with a slight bow of her own.

“You look quite smashing in that dress, by the way” he casually commented, making her blush. “You look really handsome too” she replied.

He grinned, pulling back her chair like a perfect gentleman.

As the ate quietly chatting, beautiful soft music accompanying them through the meal, Hermione couldn't stop herself noticing that he had prepared all her favourite dishes. He knew her very well, she must admit. When the dessert arrive, she just had to clap an hand over her mouth in surprise.

It was a modified version of the Sacher-torte, with white chocolate icing instead of the normal dark chocolate one and the writing “Happy Birthday Hermione” on top. It also had strawberry jam on the inside instead of apricot one.

She looked up at him, and whispered, “How?”. No one knew about that, if not her mother and father who always had it for her on her birthday before she started Hogwarts.

“I asked your mother” Harry said with a sheepish grin, just moments before Hermione flung herself at him, placing her lips on his own, tears of joy leaving her eyes.

As they finished eating, Harry produced a wrapped box and gave it to her. “Your present” he said, and she looked at him.

“Really, Harry, you already got me this dress, and this wonderful night…”

“Open it” he gently said, cutting her protests.

She did, and the real waterworks started. It was an album of photos of the two of them through the years, since first year to now.

“I know it's not much” he said, but she stopped him.

“It's the most thoughtful gift I ever got” she said softly, hugging him tightly, wetting his shirt with her tears of happiness.

“This is really the best birthday ever” she whispered into his ear.

“I'm glad you feel this way” he said kissing her sweetly, no raw passion but just love poured into it.

When they finally parted, Hermione took his hand.

“So…where tonight? Mine or yours?” she naughtily asked.

“Actually, I have arranged it for us to pass the night here” he said, leading her to a secluded space just behind the beach, where a comfy bed was placed, heating charms to keep them warm through the night, and the spectacular view of the Caribbean sea lapping the white sand with lots of stars shining over it to wish them goodnight.

Then, he circled her waist from behind, kissing her neck as she gazed at the scenery.

”You know, as good as that dress looks on you, I think I'd much see you without it” he huskily whispered into her ear then, sending shivers through her spine.

“Take it off yourself then, Mr. Potter” she seductively winked at him, giving start to the last part of a night they would always remember.

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16. Snowy Christmas

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 Sixteen: Snowy Christmas

Harry was in a hurry. He had to finish his Christmas shopping, and he had left everything for the last moment. Again.

“Will I ever learn to do this in time?” he wondered, sighing, as he ran through Diagon Alley. He checked his list and noticed he still needed a gift for Teddy, Ron and Ginny.

“I'm never going to be on time” he growled, sprinting toward the next shop he needed to visit. The huge crowd of people window shopping didn't help him quicken his various stops, making instead him lose even more time.

“I wish I had listened to Hermione, who made the shopping ages ago” he sighed while Apparating away to his flat, a couple hours later, exhausted. He quickly hid all the gifts into the pockets of his coat, and stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water could help him relax a bit.

Just as he stepped out of it, Hermione arrived.

“Harry, are you ready?” she called from the living room.

“Actually, not yet” he called back from the bedroom, hastily choosing the clothes he would put on.

“Honestly, Harry…” she started nagging him, but as she stepped into the room, she was met with the sight of his naked torso while he slipped on a white shirt, and blushed. Even after some months dating him, she was still amazed at how handsome he was, and how muscular he had become through Quidditch and Auror training.

“Like what you see?” he cheekily teased her while rapidly buttoning the shirt.

She gave him a mock glare, then proceeded to try and fix his hair. Then they rushed out, Harry grabbing his coat, before Apparating to Andromeda's to get Teddy.

The boy was excited to see Harry and Hermione and ran towards them, hugging first his godfather then Hermione.

After wishing the older witch a merry Christmas, the three of them Flooed to the Burrow, where the Weasley clan was waiting for them.

This year was officially Harry's turn to pose as Santa as no one apart from him, Ron and Hermione knew of the exchange that had taken place the previous time. The redhead had asked him if he wanted to switch since last year Harry had done it already, but the raven haired wizard wisely declined.

First of all he didn't care much for a repeat of last year's mistake, when a slightly drunk Hermione had kissed Santa thinking it was her boyfriend, and second, he had to admit he had enjoyed the role. It had been fun to distribute the presents, and the look of sheer joy on the kids' faces when they tore them open could really warm the heart. So, Harry had told Ron he would gladly do it again.

Once there the three of them were welcomed by a traditional Molly Weasley hug, as well as hugs from everyone else. Harry noticed Luna was there too, and was standing close to Ron.

“I'm glad to see you, Harry, Hermione” she greeted them with her usual serene look. Harry had an idea about what was going on there and couldn't help but smile. A look he exchanged with Hermione told him she had had the same intuition, and he grinned.

Luna was good for Ron, he was sure of that. They completed each other perfectly, and he was sure they would be happy. In the meantime, Teddy quickly scurried away to meet with the other kids and play before dinner, and in a rare moment when he was alone with Ron Harry couldn't stop his curiosity.

“So, you and Luna, uh?” he teased his best mate, and Ron blushed scarlet red.

“Well, she came to the hospital a month ago with a nasty case of Wizarding Flu, although she blamed it on some kind of strange creature like her usual, so I took care of her, and things blossomed from there” he admitted, sheepishly.

“I think she's good for you, if that has any kind of importance” Harry said with a smile and a clap on Ron's shoulder.

“It does, Harry. Of course it does” Ron grinned back before Hermione came toward them and snuggled in Harry's embrace. It was strange for Ron to see his ex girlfriend with his best friend, but he was happy for them. They were clearly suited for each other.

They noticed it was snowing quite heavily outside, and Hermione whispered something into Harry's ear about how she loved when it snowed on Christmas night. One had just to agree with her, as the show was really fascinating.

Finally, dinner was ready and as always everyone left the table completely filled. Molly Weasley was a real talent in the kitchen, and Harry had to admit at times her feasts rivalled with the Hogwarts ones.

Then, everyone settled into the living room, the kids playing, oblivious to the chats of the adults, who instead sat on couches and chairs and kept indulging into eggnog and Firewhiskey. Hermione had her fair share too, although she wasn't as tipsy as the previous year, and she winked at Harry from across the room when she caught his stare. He shook his head smiling, and walked toward her, pulling her into his arms.

“You want to mistake Ron for me, this year?” he teased her, and she lightly swatted his arm. “Prat” she scowled.

He laughed. “Well, I better go to get ready” he said, as it was already forty past eleven. He had twenty minutes.

Once he put on the Santa costume, beard and changed his hair and eyes to fit the traditional image, he spotted Hermione coming into the kitchen.

“Harry, it's you?” she asked.

“Yeah, it's me” he replied.

“Just checking” she giggled, a clear sign she had drunk enough, as she walked toward him. “Because since it's you, I can do this” she seductively purred lacing her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.

He didn't mind at all, instead he was more than happy to kiss her back, lifting her so he could put her on the kitchen sink, and caress her back as their tongues mated with a rhythmic dance inside their mouths.

The bells of the nearby village sounded to signal midnight but they were so wrapped up in each other that they missed it. It was just some minutes later, when Ron had come into the kitchen with an excuse that they returned to the real world, as he called out to them.

“Oi! Sorry to interrupt” he smirked, “but it's already past midnight, Harry” he said.

“Shit!” Harry cursed under his breath as Ron and Hermione returned to the living room. Almost immediately later, Harry conjured the puff of dust in front of the fireplace and Apparated himself in the middle of it.

Handing the presents to everyone, he kept an eye on Hermione to see her reaction. Her gift had been the first he had bought that year, the only one he had done with time to spare, and still, it hadn't been easy to find it.

As she unwrapped it, the box clearly gave it away that it was jewellery, but nothing could prepare Hermione for the shock she had when she opened it. Inside there was a sparkling necklace, made of white gold and little sparkling stones, and two entwined emerald H were in the middle. She gasped as tears came to her eyes when she read the “Forever Yours” engraved on the back side.

Harry felt his heart swell at her reaction. They exchanged a look and he found there all what he needed to know. She loved it, and that made him overjoyed.

Teddy shrieked in surprise when he saw what Harry had got for him, a miniature of the Quidditch World Cup stadium with flying players. He immediately got hooked by it.

The other kids loved their presents too, and started playing with them for a while, till their yawns convinced the adults it was better to put them in bed. Once they were gone, the adults resumed their drinking and loud chatting, as the booze had its effect on everyone, especially Percy and George who seemed to be the ones who had indulged in ti the most. Harry, who had in the meantime changed back to his clothes, joined Hermione on the couch and she greeted him with a sweet kiss that earned them claps from Luna, Ginny, Molly and Percy's fiancÃ© Vanessa, plus of course Fleur, who looked at them with tears in her eyes, probably the hormones for her third pregnancy kicking in as she whispered, “Ah, l'amour”.

Slowly, everyone started to get to bed, and the last two in the living room were Harry and Hermione.

“Care for a walk in the snow?” he asked, and she nodded. They quickly slipped their coats on, and exited from the main door, Heating and Covering charms placed upon themselves to keep them warm and dry.

Harry took her hand, and they peacefully strolled under the snow, crunching it under their shoes as they walked, Hermione's head rested on his shoulder and his right arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“It's so romantic, isn't it?” she said softly as they came to a spot from where they could enjoy a view of the village under the snow.

“It is” he agreed. “And it's really beautiful, too. Although, not as much as you”

“That was sooo cheesy, Potter” she teased him. “But I liked it all the same” she said then with a warm smile.

He chuckled. “Only the best for you, milady” he said with a slight bow.

Then they stared at the scenery in silence, Harry now and then putting his left hand into his pocket, as he was checking something was still there.

Then, he softly called her name.

“Hermione”

“Mmh”

She heard him inhale deeply, and had a flash of what was coming. The next moment, he was in front of her, kneeling, a box in his hand.

She looked at it and could see a white gold band with their birthstones, a sapphire and a ruby, in the middle.

“He's going to!” she gasped, but Harry didn't notice, as wrapped up in what he was going to say as he was. Finally he spoke.

“Hermione, I had a well prepared speech, but I admit I don't remember a word of it, now. So I'll speak with my heart. In this year I've come to realize I've loved you for so long I can't even find the moment it actually started, only I never understood it. I have always know, though, that I couldn't live without you, and now even more so. This is why I'm asking you to marry me and live on my side forever, if you will want to”

She kneeled in front of him, with a bright smile, and kissed him soundly, then as they broke the contact she looked up into his green pools, and her eyes told him all he wanted to know. Still, she whispered her answer.

“Yes, Harry, I'll marry you” she said, and he grinned.

“Then let me slip this ring on your finger” he whispered back, his green eyes almost bursting for the love he felt for her and Hermione recognized it, and felt her heart melt in joy.

“Be my guest” she breathed as he slid the ring in place, contemporarily claiming her lips in the sweetest of kisses.

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17. Epilogue

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 Seventeen: Fifteen Years Later

It was the morning of September 1st, and in Godric's Hollow a particular house was alive with excitement and a bit of worry too. It was the Potter household, where Harry and Hermione Potter had transferred just after their wedding. They were currently occupied in getting their children ready for the trip to Platform 9 Â¾, to board the Hogwarts Express.

“Daniel, are you ready, munchkin?” Hermione called from the living room.

“Mum, James keeps hiding my things!” the boy lamented.

“James Albus Potter, stop pestering your brother now!” Hermione menacingly called, going into the room to check the situation.

James, a fifteen years old boy with raven hair and brown eyes that made him almost a spitting image of his grandfather at his age, if not for the slightly different tone of his eyes, smiled at her innocently, but Hermione wasn't fooled. Glaring at him, she waited for him to give back to Daniel what he had hid.

“Ok, ok” the teenager huffed, , giving back to his brother the shirt he had taken.

Hermione shot him a reproachful look, while Harry watched from behind her, amused.

“He must have channelled my father's spirit” he commented while they were going to check on their little girls, making Hermione chuckle.

Lily Ann Potter was a fourteen years old witch who had inherited her father's skills on a broom and her mother's brain. She was top of her class and part of the Quidditch team for Gryffindor, playing as Seeker. Harry couldn't be more proud of her, as he was of all his babies, and he knew he would have to worry soon about her dating. Her gorgeous looks, with her green eyes and honey-coloured hair were sure to start to attract boys anytime now, if they hadn't already…but after all, seeing how beautiful her mother was, one should not be surprised, Harry thought with a smile.

“She is not going to date till she's out of school” he had said once, and earned himself a piercing glare from Hermione, so he had sighed and relented. Still, he would be worried sick about his baby girl once she started dating.

James, well, he was a real prankster, but was also Prefect and Quidditch Captain, playing as Chaser, and he had always had high marks, although study wasn't first on his list of preferred activities. You could say he was a perfect balance of Harry and Hermione in that.

Daniel Sirius Potter, instead, was starting just that year, and in the previous days Harry had often reassured him about the Sorting.

“It's nothing terrible, don't listen to your brother's teasing” he had said. “Just an old hat placed on your head which decides where you belong. And even if you are not a Gryffindor, we will love you, so you have nothing to fear”

Daniel had seemed a bit reassured by these words.

Then there was little Katherine Alexia Potter, who was just five years old but was already showing signs of being a bright witch herself. She was constantly going through books she still couldn't read, and Harry had no doubt she would be as smart as her mother. However, she had black curly hair and piercing green eyes, both taken from her father.

Once the three Hogwarts students were ready, with their trunks in front of them, Harry shrunk them and put them in his pocket, then one after the other they Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron . From there they would use the Muggle transportation to reach King's Cross. When everyone else was gone, Harry stepped into the fireplace, thinking that he had suffered much in his life, but the family he now had was worth it anytime.

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