Pumpkin Pie for Christmas
Summary: Deathly Hallows may have been final, and the ships may be Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione, but…there'll always be pumpkin pie at Christmas. (Wink, Wink!)
A/n: I originally wrote this as a section in my fic, The Tip of the Knife, but now that the seventh book as come out, it's REALLY hard to find inspiration for original ideas as to how Harry, Hermione and Ron destroy the Horcruxes and Voldemort, at least it is for me. And I found this little piece, and just liked it so much I decided to make it into a little one-shot. It'll be a nice little extra fluffy fic for you to enjoy at Christmas! Have fun!!
P.S. This fic totally rips the epilogue from Deathly Hallows, tears it into tiny shreds, burns it, and buries the ashes. Just so you know. :D
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It was another huge Weasley gathering at the Burrow on Christmas Eve. It was the first Weasley Christmas that Harry had attended in three years, for it was the first Christmas after he and Ginny had resolved their differences and "buried the hatchet", so to speak. For those three years the only Weasley that would talk to him was Hermione, and that was only because she was an ex-Weasley and had also shattered the family's dream of one big happy Weasley family. Almost a year after getting married, Ron and Hermione found that they were fighting more than the usual bickering, and decided that life was too short to spend it fighting all the time, and got a divorce. It was a divorce heard `round the world as the next day after signing the divorce papers, the news was in every paper and magazine across the wizarding world.
"And you were jealous of the fame thing," Harry had said to Ron as he looked at the front page of the Daily Prophet with disgust. The publicity from the divorce of two of the "Golden Trio" died when six months later, it leaked out that the hero of the wizarding world and his girlfriend of five years broke off their relationship. Harry even decided to get away and went to Italy for a month, until the freshness of that news had worn off a little. But all of that was in the past as everyone gathered together to celebrate Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was fun again for now there were little ones gathered around the tree, anxiously waiting to open presents from the family and then to open presents from Santa the next morning. Harry laughed along with everyone else at the look on Bill and Fleur's little one as she opened up a doll with about twenty different dresses made by her Grandma. Little Claire leapt up and flung her arms around Molly in a great big hug.
"Thank you Gramma!" After the last person unwrapped the last present, Molly announced she was going to bring out the dessert and hot chocolate.
"Harry, Hermione, would you come help me, please?" Both Harry and Hermione got up and made their way to the kitchen to help. Molly was already placing cookies on a plate to take into the living room when they came in.
"You know, I haven't really had a chance to talk to the two of you this evening, or in three years actually. How've things been going?" Harry looked over at Hermione to let her answer first.
"Well, I've been keeping busy, of course, but teaching is amazing. I look forward to it every day. When I plan lessons, I learn even more about Transfiguration, and it's fascinating."
"And how're things outside of work?"
"Fine," Hermione said with a little finality in her voice, as though she didn't want Mrs. Weasley to delve into her personal life, or lack thereof. Molly sensed it and moved on to Harry.
"And how about you, Harry? How're things going with you?"
"It's pretty good; I think I've found teaching to be my calling in the professional world. I enjoy it so much too."
"Well, since you're both teaching at Hogwarts, you must see a lot of each other."
"Sometimes," Harry said, smiling at Hermione. "Hermione practically has to be blasted out of her office at night if you want to see her." Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Thanks, Harry," she said sarcastically. Mrs. Weasley nodded, a little disappointed to have not gotten anything out of the two people she wished would've become her son and daughter in laws.
"Well, here, I'll take the hot chocolate out, you two bring the dessert." Harry and Hermione nodded, going over to the counter to pick up the trays of sweets that Mrs. Weasley had put out. Hermione looked at the other desserts that hadn't been placed on the trays and shook her head and `tsk'ed. Everything had parts that had been dished up except for one little one in the corner.
"You know, it's a shame." Harry looked over at Hermione to see what she was talking about.
"What is?"
"This pie," Hermione said, picking it up.
"What's wrong with it?"
"It looks so lonely and small, and it got stuck back in the corner. I feel sorry for it."
"It's a pumpkin pie, Hermione; I really don't think it feels lonely."
"I didn't mean literally, Harry. But no, look at it, no one wants it or appreciates it. Apparently, none of the Weasleys like pumpkin pie."
"Then why did Molly make it if no one wants it?"
"She didn't make it."
"Who did?"
"I did."
"You made a pie that you know no one'll eat?"
"I didn't know that no one would eat it. Molly told me to bring some kind of dessert or snack for tonight. So I made a pie. Also for sentimental reasons."
"Like what?"
"For that feeling of home. Mum used to make it all the time for Christmas. And when I was little, I would always help her. She would always make it from scratch, crust and all."
"I never have liked it too well." Hermione looked at him, shocked.
"You don't like pumpkin pie?"
"Not really," Harry said with a shake of his head.
"Why not?"
"I don't know, it just never really appealed to me."
"Oh my gosh, who doesn't like pumpkin pie?"
"I don't. The Weasleys don't."
"Have you even tried it?"
"No, but it doesn't sound like it anything that'd be good."
"Well, give it a chance. You have to try it. With whipped cream and everything."
"I don't want to, Hermione, I don't like it."
"Oh come on, Harry, try it." Hermione cut a slice and put it on a plate, then grabbed a can of whipped cream and shook it, then sprayed some on the slice. She took a fork and cut a bite off and offered the fork to Harry.
"Come on, try it."
"I don't want to, Hermione," Harry said, shaking his head and putting his hand up to push her hand away.
"Come on, please? For me?" Harry sighed. He took the fork from Hermione and put the bite of pie in his mouth. Hermione smiled, and waited for analysis. Harry couldn't lie to her, it was pretty good. Everything was perfect about it. The sweet spices mixed together perfectly, making Harry wonder why he was missing out on this all his life.
"Well?" Harry sighed again, admitting defeat. He nodded his head and smiled.
"See, I told you you'd like it!"
"It is really good, Hermione."
"See? See what you've been missing out on all these years because you were too afraid to try it? Here, give me the fork." Harry handed it to her, and she cut another bite off the slice and tasted it. She smiled.
"Mmm, it's perfect." Harry smiled, and noticed that Hermione had a little whipped cream on the corner of her mouth.
"You have whipped cream…" He pointed at her mouth where the whipped cream was, but Hermione wiped the wrong side off.
"Did I get it?"
"No, here..." Harry took a step closer to her, and wiped the cream off with his thumb, his hand lingering a little on her face. Hermione looked up at him, and he looked back into her chocolate brown eyes. It seemed as though time was at a standstill. It felt like hours before anything happened, but in reality only a few seconds. The part of Harry's brain that screamed, `Don't do it! She's your best friend!!!' shut off, and the only side still functioning was telling him, `She's so beautiful, go on, kiss her! You'll be kicking yourself later if you don't!' They leaned closer, and Hermione's eyelids fluttered shut, followed soon by Harry shutting his eyes, and they kissed a sweet, little innocent kiss. Sparks flew the moment their lips touched, the sweet spicy taste of the pumpkin pie on their lips. The rational side of Hermione's brain kicked back into gear and she gasped and pulled away. As soon as the kiss was broken, they both realized what had happened.
Blushing, Hermione said, trying to get rid of the awkward silence, "Um…we'd better get back to the living room…everyone'll be wondering where we've got to." She quickly cut another slice of pie, put some whipped cream on top, and set a fork on the plate. She levitated the two trays she was to carry out, and so did Harry. With his pie in one hand, and wand in the other keeping it pointed at the trays, he followed Hermione out of the kitchen trying to figure out what the hell had just happened, and trying to figure out how to make what had happened in the kitchen not be evident on his face. When Hermione sat down on the couch next to Ron, he looked at her plate with disgust.
"What…is that?"
"Pumpkin pie."
"Oh, gross," Ron said in a teasing tone. After three years, he finally felt comfortable being friendly around Hermione and even teasing her again.
"What? Pumpkin pie is wonderful. You don't know what you're talking about, Ronald." Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust too, and smiled, joining the teasing with her brother.
"Pumpkin pie is not wonderful, Hermione, you don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, you two don't know what you're missing, right Harry?"
"Right. This is really good pie."
"You like it?"
"Yeah, it's pretty good." Ron shook his head.
"You two are crazy."
"What's wrong with pumpkin pie? What do you have against it?"
"I guess I don't have anything against it, it's just not my preference." Ginny nodded in agreement. "But if you two enjoy it, then you enjoy it."
"We will, right, Harry?" Hermione said, smiling at Harry.
"Right."
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That evening when all the kids were in bed, and the grownups had put the presents under the tree and had gone to bed, Harry was still up, putting Teddy's presents from Santa under the tree. He had been thinking about that kiss with Hermione all night long. She was the last woman in the world he had expected to ever kiss, and the truth of it was, deep down he always wondered what a kiss with her would be like. Ever since that day Ron destroyed Slytherin's locket, he wondered about it, though he would never admit to himself. And now that he had kissed her, he found himself wanting to kiss her again, like the taste of her lips was something addicting, that one taste would leave him hooked. A creak of the stairs made Harry jump and look up to see who it was. He saw Ron's new girlfriend, Luna, coming down the stairs in a long white nightgown, her bare feet padding on the wood. She smiled when she saw Harry and stopped on the last stair.
"Hi Harry."
"Hey Luna. What are you still doing up?"
"I wanted to give you something."
"What's that?" She held out a cluster of mistletoe. Harry looked at it and looked up at Luna warily. She sensed what was going through his mind and laughed.
"Don't worry, it's not for me. I just thought that you'd want to use it with someone else," she leaned closer to Harry and whispered, "Beware of nargles, though." Harry grinned.
"I'll be careful," he whispered back. "Thanks, Luna."
"Happy Christmas, Harry."
"Happy Christmas to you too, Luna."
"Good night," she said with one last grin at Harry before turning around and heading back upstairs. Harry looked down at the mistletoe in his hand and smiled. Leave it to Luna to be there with a solution to a problem or to plant an idea in one's head. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door that he knew Hermione was sleeping in. She came to the door still in her dress from that evening, not having changed into her pajamas yet. She had a worried look on her face when she saw Harry.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Harry smiled and shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong. Here, come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"Just come with me." She followed him down the stairs and into the kitchen where he headed for the back door. He waited for her to get her coat and shoes on, and then took her hand and led her outside. Snow had started falling a few hours ago, and from the looks of it, it was looking like it was going to be a white Christmas. Hermione gave Harry a questioning look.
"What's this all about, Harry?" Harry smiled.
"It's just about-this," he said, holding the mistletoe over their heads. Hermione looked up at it and then back at Harry as though he was crazy.
"Where'd you get that?"
"Luna. She said to beware of the nargles, though." Hermione laughed quietly. Harry said, "But you know, it's mistletoe rules, two people meet underneath mistletoe, they have to kiss. So…" With his free hand, Harry tucked Hermione's hair behind her ear and left his hand up by her face. He leaned in and kissed her, dropping the mistletoe in his other hand and putting his hand on the other side of Hermione's face. This time, it wasn't some quick little kiss, it was more passionate. Harry could feel Hermione's lips turn up in a smile and she put her right hand behind his head and her other hand snaked under his arm and up onto his shoulder from behind. He moved his tongue along her lips, asking for entrance and she granted it, and their tongues mingled with each other, the faint taste of pumpkin pie still lingering on their tongues. Harry's hands moved from Hermione's face and wrapped around her, pulling her close. Again, Hermione broke the kiss, but this time it wasn't with a gasp and a dash out the door, but to smile up at the man whose arms she was wrapped in.
"Since when did you become the hopeless romantic?" Harry smiled and shrugged.
"It grew on me, I guess."
"But what was all this for?"
"Well, let's just say that that little thing in the kitchen started it, and it brought a thought to my mind that I hadn't wondered about since we were seventeen."
"What was that?"
"Remember when Ron came back and he and I had found a way to open Slytherin's locket and he destroyed it with Gryffindor's sword?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, when it opened, shadows of you and me came out of the locket and were telling Ron things, like putting him down, and you said something about that you wouldn't ever choose him over me," Hermione smiled sheepishly. Harry went on, "I think that was always one of his biggest fears. But then our shadows kissed, and it looked like a pretty hot kiss. I hadn't thought about that again until today, and I wanted to try it out, see if it was as hot as it looked." Hermione laughed.
"And?"
"I think we put those evil shadows to shame." They both laughed and kissed again, this one just as deep and passionate as the last one.
"So you got that mistletoe from Luna, you said?" Hermione said when they pulled apart. "She just gave it to you, just randomly like that?" Harry nodded.
"Yeah, I think Luna has always been rooting for us to get together from the start."
"Well, of course, she wouldn't be dating Ron if he and I were still together."
"We'll have to thank her in the morning." They kissed a third time, with the snow falling around them, coating the earth with a white blanket. It surely would be a white Christmas.
When their kiss ended, Hermione grinned and said, "Want some more pumpkin pie?"
"Gladly. You've got me hooked." And walking hand in hand, they went back into the kitchen for another slice of pumpkin pie.
------------- Three Years Later-------------
It was another Weasley Christmas at the Burrow. Children had grown taller, and new members had been added to the group. One little one was being passed around among the adults, each person taking a turn to hold the newest addition to the Weasley family. Even though the little six month old girl wasn't a blood relative, little Aurora Potter was considered just as much a part of the family as her parents were. While their daughter was being held by her godfather, Harry and Hermione went into the kitchen to bring out the desserts. They levitated the trays out, while in their other hands each held a slice of pumpkin pie.
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A/n: Well, hope you enjoyed!! The part that I had written already was the part when Harry and Hermione start talking about the pie up until after their conversation with Ron and Ginny. I wasn't sure if I should've put the three years later on here or not, but I think it gives the story a little more closure, so I don't have to come up with a sequel or more chapters. I've still got At the Beginning with You to worry about!! Don't worry those of you reading that chapter, chapter nine is done and is being edited, and chapter 10 is in the making!! It won't be long before an update!! Well, thanks for reading, and again, hope you enjoyed it!! Don't forget to drop a review!!
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