Christmas Poison

Christmas Poison

There are hundreds of types of poisonous plants. They range from sour to sweet, colorful to bland. Poisonous plants are everywhere, and there is especially one that pops up every year around Christmastime.

Mistletoe.

Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Weasley, daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, did not refer to Mistletoe as its given name, however. She called it Christmas Poison. Why should anyone have to kiss another person they did not want to because some daft plant wafted menacingly above their heads? And why in Merlin's name would that plant be poisonous? In Rebecca's opinion, it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. And she intended to let everyone know about it.

"Alex, did you know that Mistletoe is poisonous?" Rebecca asked her seventeen-year-old brother.

"No, I did not," he replied, reaching across the table for a biscuit. "But thanks for telling me."

Rebecca stared at him closely. "You're patronizing me," she accused pointedly.

Alex rolled his eyes. "No, I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "I don't even know what patronize means, Beccy."

"Don't call me that," she snapped. "Only my friends can call me that."

"Oh...I'm not your friend?" mocked Alex, sticking out his lower lip. "What a tragedy."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Don't you have someone else to annoy?"

"You're the one who came over here!" cried Alex. "Rebecca, this is the Great Hall for Merlin's sake. I came here to eat, not to have a conversation with my baby sister. I think the correct question is, 'Don't you have someone else to annoy?'"

"I'm not a baby!" Rebecca countered hotly.

"Fine, fine," said Alex, waving his hand. "I didn't come here to have a conversation with my little sister, then." Alex took a bite out of his biscuit. "Speaking of people to annoy," he said, grinning wickedly, "where's Matt?"

Rebecca flushed. "I-I-I don't know," she stuttered. "He's your friend."

"I knew it!" Alex punched the air with his fist. "You fancy him!"

"I do not," she said unconvincingly.

"Yes you do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too!"

"Gah!" she growled. "You are incurable!"

Alex grinned. "You know, Beccy, if you're interested in him, I can help you."

"Really? ... I mean," she spluttered, catching herself. Alex chuckled. "That's ridiculous. I'm not interested in him, Alex."

The seventeen-year-old raised his eyebrows. "Sure..."

"I'm not!"

"I know..."

Rebecca glared at him. "Don't give me that look?"

"What look?" Alex asked innocently.

"That look," said Rebecca.

"Maybe you could explain how I'm looking at you?" he suggested, grinning at her.

She was about to do just this, but her best friend Jack seated himself across from the bickering siblings, and greeted them with a cheerful, "Hey" and a warm smile.

"Hi, Jack." Rebecca grinned at him, ignoring her brother.

"Hi, Jack." Alex echoed his sister, making his voice emulate hers. Rebecca frowned at him.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Jack interestedly. "I could hear you all the way across the Hall."

Rebecca flushed in embarrassment. Alex grinned. "Really?" he said. "I didn't know my voice carried..."

"We weren't talking about anything of interest," said Rebecca.

Alex snorted. "Yeah, right."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "No, no...I think I'm interested, Beccy..."

"I think you are, too, Jack," said Alex smirking.

"No, you're not, Jack." Rebecca shook her head. "Trust me."

"Yes, you are."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too!"

"Don't listen to him, Jack," Rebecca advised her friend. "He's mental."

"Hah!" Alex laughed. "That's rich! And just for that, my dear baby sister--"

"I'm not a baby!"

"--anyway," Alex continued, "as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted..." He took this opportunity to glare at Rebecca. "We were just talking about Matt Doberman."

Jack's smile turned into an abrupt scowl. "Oh," he said flatly. "Him. That dog."

"What's wrong with him?" said Alex accusingly, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing," said Jack suddenly. "I mean, I know he's your friend, but I don't..." he trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind."

"No, go ahead, Jack," Rebecca piped up. "What's wrong with Matt?"

Jack looked scared. "Nothing...I just...he...er..."

"Exactly," said Rebecca, "you've got no reason to hate him."

"I don't hate him, Beccy," said Jack.

"Well then, you've got no reason to have a negative opinion of him."

Jack sighed before responding. "Actually, I do," he said, giving Rebecca an odd look.

Rebecca stared at him. That look made her feel self-conscious, like he could see right through her, like he knew her every thought and feeling. Her heart started racing at a pace it never had before, and she could feel a blush creeping upon her cheek. It was then Rebecca realized just how...virile...Jack really was. He had shocking pale blue eyes that usually held a mischievous twinkle or a happy spark, but now the twinkle and the spark were gone, and in their place was a blank slate of nothing. His eyes were so impassive it almost made Rebecca want to cry. And his facial features, they were so nicely chiseled. His face was absolutely beautiful. There was a cute dusting of freckles around his nose and occasionally his reddish blondish hair would swipe in front of those blue eyes and, Rebecca never noticed this before, he just let it hang. He didn't wipe it away impatiently, but let it obscure his vision. For some reason, Rebecca found this the sexiest thing in the world.

Sexy? Dear Merlin... Did I just think I found something sexy? About Jack? ... Alex's been right all these years...I really am mental!

"Uh," she said, clearing her throat and looking down at the table, "I think I'm going to go now..." Rebecca trailed off and got up from the bench on her wobbly knees. Her new realization had slapped her in the face and made her body untangle itself from her brain. She couldn't think properly. "I'll see you later." Unsteadily, she walked out of the Great Hall and headed straight for Gryffindor Tower. She needed a nap. Something was definitely wrong with her.

She abruptly stopped walking. Well, she hoped something was wrong with her. If nothing was wrong with her, than well...she just might...could it be possible?

Merlin, she cried inside her head. I fancy Jack!

~*~

Later that evening, Rebecca found it hard to do her prefect duties. Perhaps it was because she was standing on a twenty foot ladder that could collapse at any time and send her falling onto the ground, resulting in a broken limb or two, perhaps it was because she was in duty of controlling gingerbread men that bit her finger every time she attempted to put them in a bed of holly, or perhaps it was just because the Christmas season was finally starting to get on her nerves.

But, unfortunately for Rebecca, none of the aforementioned made her prefect duties any harder. She was very light, and very careful, so the odds of her actually falling were slim to nil. She was also very good with controlling writhing gingerbread men, seeing as her mum made her make gingerbread cookies every year. And the Christmas season did not get on Rebecca Weasley's nerves. It was one of her favorite seasons.

No, it was something else that made Rebecca's prefect duties even harder. It was the fact that Jack was right next to her, balancing himself on his own twenty-foot-tall ladder, and he was not talking to her. Or perhaps she wasn't talking to him. Either way, it was supremely unnerving for her. Rebecca also noticed how delicious he looked while using his arms and hands and...

Dear Merlin...did I just think Jack was...delicious?

Rebecca bit her lip nervously and was harshly snapped out of her reverie when a red-faced gingerbread man slithered out of her grasp and went flailing down, crashing horribly to the ground in tiny gingerbread pieces.

Rebecca quickly looked around, to see if anyone else had seen the incident, but thankfully no one had. The other gingerbread pieces, however, were presently throwing crude hand gestures her way and shouting about the "cruelty of this world."

"Oh bugger off!" she spat out in a disturbing hiss. The gingerbread pieces scowled up at her, but said nothing more as they retreated back to their holly beds.

"Did you just swear?"

She was so startled by his sudden voice she nearly fell off of her ladder, but she quickly recovered and flushed beet red. "I s'pose so. I didn't really think about it."

Jack nodded. "Oh," he said impassively before he returned to hanging up the holly. They worked in silence for several minutes (it felt like hours to Rebecca), until Jack finally spoke up. "I'm sorry," he said, staring at the holly hanging above his head.

Rebecca looked at him, bemused. "What for? You didn't do anything."

"I said Matt Doberman was a dog," said Jack guiltily. "And I knew how much you like him." He carefully picked up a nail. "I just thought I should apologize. It was very childish of me, and I..." he trailed off and shook his head. "It really doesn't matter. I just--I'm sorry."

Rebecca swallowed nervously. She could feel her cheeks heating up. "You don't need to apologize, Jack. I think I'm the one who needs to. I snapped at you when you didn't deserve it. You were just giving your opinion." She started to fuss with the holly, avoiding his gaze. "And I s'pose Matt Doberman isn't that wonderful."

"Really?" Jack questioned, sounding hopeful. She turned to look at him quizzically. "I mean," he said, clearing his throat, "what makes you think that?"

She shrugged offhandedly. "I just...there's someone else who is wonderful that I've only just noticed."

"Oh." Jack turned back to the holly. "Anyone I know?"

Rebecca managed a secret smile. Nodding, she turned towards him. "Yes. In fact, you know him very well."

"Really?" Jack seemed interested now. He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Rebecca nodded and looked up. Swinging menacingly above their heads was nothing but that Christmas poison itself.

Mistletoe.

Rebecca sucked in a quick breath. "Oh," she said flatly. "It's mistletoe." Jack turned bright red and stared at his shoes.

"Y-you don't have to," spluttered Jack, sounding nervous. "I mean..."

But he did not get to finish his statement. Rebecca carefully leaned towards him on her ladder and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. It only lasted a few seconds at most, but it was enough to make her whole body tingle and heat up. She moved away from him and returned to her holly beds, bright red and dizzy.

Jack looked paralyzed with shock. He just stood there with a puzzled expression on his face, staring at Rebecca, as if in a trance. He touched his lips with his fingertips and traced them ever so lightly, trying to grasp the softness that was there mere seconds before.

"Beccy..." he said, his voice low. Rebecca slowly turned to look at him, embarrassed. "That was bloody brilliant."

Rebecca grinned and let out a relived chuckle. She swatted his arm playfully. "Don't swear, Jack."

-Finis

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta Lisa for all of her suggestions, and I wish everyone Happy Holidays! :)