Mistletoe

Mistletoe

"Where the hell are they?" an irritated Harry asked Ginny.

Ginny shrugged, "Dunno, Ron said they were playing Quidditch..."

"Quidditch?!! You mean Hermione is playing Quidditch?" Harry stared at her incredulously as though she had gone mad.

"That's what Ron told me half an hour ago," Ginny said defensively.

They had been waiting for Ron and Hermione to show up for the past hour, in an unused classroom. Harry looked around the room; it looked extremely clean to be unused. In fact, it was even furnished.

'Odd', thought Harry. Where were Ron and Hermione?

He opened one of the windows and gazed out at the Hogwarts grounds, looking for a sign of two figures on broomsticks. He wondered whether his two best friends were bickering somewhere, as they usually were. Most of the school had gone home for Christmas, and he, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and a few other people were the only persons staying at Hogwarts. Even then, the castle looked as beautiful as it always looked on Christmas. He looked at Ginny, who had sat down in one of the chairs; she looked as puzzled as he was.

'She looks so beautiful...'

'What did I just think?' Harry thought panicked; Ginny was like his sister... wasn't she?

He pushed his thoughts aside and yet again searched for his lost friends in the grounds.

*

Ginny sighed. When would she learn? She had started dating people, people like Michael Corner, Dean Thomas and more recently Colin Creevey, to forget about it. Yes, she wanted to forget about her stupid, alarmingly obvious crush on Harry Potter. The Harry Potter who had escaped death from the Dark Lord's hands many times. Although Ginny could hardly help it, he was amazingly handsome, with his startlingly green almond-shaped eyes.

"Stop it," she said aloud.

"Huh?" Harry asked her, looking at her, startled.

She blushed.

"Just talking to myself," she told Harry, red-faced. She tried not to look at him. It was hard not to. 'Why can't I just forget about it' she thought miserably.

Deep down, she wanted Harry to feel jealous that she was going out with other guys, but he hadn't shown anything so far. She didn't know what to do and she hadn't told anyone about it. Hermione, she suspected, had guessed about it, but seeing as Harry was Hermione's best friend, she could hardly do anything about it, Ginny reasoned.

*

"Are you sure this'll work?" Ron Weasley asked Hermione Granger, for the tenth time.

"Of course it will! They're perfect for each other!" Hermione replied irritated. She and Ron had decided to play Cupid and had set Harry and Ginny up. They had kept them waiting purposely for about an hour now, hoping to get them near enough to each other.

"Do you think Harry likes her though?" Ron asked her. For the first time a doubtful look came on Hermione's face.

"I don't know, but Ginny does, anyone can see that," she said," I just want Harry to give her a chance, a little help won't hurt." She smiled mischievously. Ron stared at her; she looked so cute when she smiled that way. He felt an odd feeling in his stomach.

"What?" she asked him as she caught him staring at her.

"Nothing, nothing," he said quickly getting up from his seat in the Gryffindor common room to hide his red face; "Hermione Granger being a match-maker, it should be in the Quibbler tomorrow morning..." he trailed off, as Hermione glared at him.

"I'm doing it for Harry and Ginny you idiot!" she snapped.

"Okay, okay, don't bite my head off, I was only joking." They headed towards the unused classroom, where they had asked Harry and Ginny to wait for them. In the morning, they had modified it a bit, to make it look cosy. Hermione clearly had a plan in mind and Ron didn't dare ask her what it was. He glanced around him; all the corridors had been decorated for Christmas, complete with holly and mistletoe. The mistletoe, Ron hadn't really liked it before, it led to uncomfortable situations if you got under it. Recently, he had grown a liking for it, the thoughts of him under the mistletoe with someone, were inviting, especially as he hoped that someone to be Hermione...

*

It has to work; it has to, Hermione thought as she sat in the Gryffindor common room with her friend, Ron. She was a sixth-year Gryffindor student, best in her year in the studies department and if that was not enough, she was also a Prefect. Her appearance, she thought, was very ordinary. She had bushy brown hair, which she had hoped to straighten out in her fourth-year, a heart-shaped face. She once had very large front teeth, which had been shrunk by Madam Pomfrey after an accident in her fourth-year. She was not tall though she wished she were. She sighed and glanced at her friend, Ron, who she noticed, was looking at her.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Ron asked.

Annoyed, she replied," Of course it will, they're perfect for each other!" He had been asking her that question ever since they had entered the common room. Ron was getting on her nerves.

"Do you think Harry likes her though?" Ron asked her. Now Hermione began to doubt whether she was doing justice to her friendship with Harry by setting him up with someone. But, Ginny was her friend too and had liked him for ages.

"I don't know, but Ginny does, anyone can see that," she said," I just want Harry to give her a chance, a little help won't hurt." She smiled at him. He had a weird expression on his slightly open face.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said getting up from his seat in the common a little too quickly; "Hermione Granger being a match-maker, it should be in the Quibbler tomorrow morning..." He could be very immature sometimes.

"I'm doing it for Harry and Ginny you idiot!" she snapped, hoping no one had heard it, even though the room was empty. Hogwarts had many ears. She rolled her eyes at his comment.

Finally, she decided, after consulting her watch that it was time to set their plan into action. They got out of the common room, and headed towards their destination. She thought about her plan for the last time and checked if there were any loopholes in it. They quickly went two stairs down to an old, deserted corridor and after checking the Marauders' Map, which they had sneaked out of Harry's trunk, opened the door a little and peered in the room in which their fellow Gryffindors were. Harry and Ginny were both seated by the window gazing out. Harry was checking his watch every five seconds. He looked annoyed.

"I think its best we leave, don't think those two are ever going to come," Harry said, wild images forming in his head about Ron and Hermione snogging in a closet making him grin.

"I think we should wait for a few minutes, they might just show up," Ginny replied. The two people outside panicked.

Harry isn't going to do anything and Ginny's too shy, Hermione thought.

"Hermione, do something fast," Ron muttered.

"Like what?"

"I dunno, just make them kiss!" Ron replied.

"Okay, I'll just give Ginny a push, so that she falls on Harry," she said, finally and was about to say the incantation, when Ron interrupted her.

"Wait, I got an idea?" Ron whispered his idea to Hermione.

"That way we can be sure that they'll kiss!" Hermione nodded enthusiastically and used a conjuring charm on the piece of wall next to the window.

Harry, always alert, looked around suspiciously as something flew past him, something that felt suspiciously like a spell...

***

It was almost an hour since Ginny had entered the old musty room. Actually, she didn't mind it, being with Harry for an hour, alone.

"I think its best we leave, don't think those two are ever going to come," Harry said, standing up and facing her. He had been lost in his own world and now he smiled to himself, making Ginny's heart to flutter.

"I think we should wait for a few minutes, they might just show up," Ginny replied. She wanted to savour the few minutes alone she had with Harry even though they had done nothing. Normally he was with Ron and Hermione all the time. Sometimes the three of them disappeared for many hours together. Suddenly she felt as though something had whizzed past her head. The next second, she felt something hit her from behind and she lost her balance, falling into Harry's arms.

"Whoa, sorry Harry, I dunno what happened..." she trailed off as she caught sight of something that made her heart stop. Hanging innocently on the wall was mistletoe.

***

'It has to be a jinx or something' Harry thought. He told himself to relax, things like that were not uncommon at Hogwarts, they happened all the time. He looked around once again just to be sure. Suddenly Ginny cried out in surprise and the next moment, she was falling on top of him, pinning him to the wall.

"Whoa, sorry Harry, I dunno what happened..." she trailed off and Harry following her gaze saw the mistletoe. Ginny went red and Harry felt himself going redder than a beetroot.

"No one's there, if you don't want to do it, it's okay," Ginny muttered looking anywhere but at Harry.

"But I want to," Harry replied. Ginny's eyes widened as Harry leaned in for the kiss...

*

"Yes, yes," Ron whispered grinning like a maniac. He glanced at Hermione who too was grinning quite uncharacteristically. They shook hands in a business like way. It was then that Ron noticed the distance between their faces. Ron felt an all too familiar flutter across his stomach as he stared at her lips. He glanced back at Hermione to see her blushing. Next moment, whether it was destiny or whether an invisible force was forcing them to, they both looked over their heads and there, hanging innocently was another piece of mistletoe. They had not put it there; it was part of the Christmas decorations.

"Uh, oh"

Blushing, he looked back at Hermione and realised that the distance between their faces was dangerously becoming lesser. All thoughts of Harry and Ginny left him as Hermione kissed him full on the lips. After what felt like an eternity, they pulled back. Hermione had gone an extreme shade of red.

"Hermione..."

"No, I'm sorry, it's just that..." Hermione said, looking disappointed.

"Hermione, will you... er... Hogsmeade... erm... this weekend," Ron looked hopefully.

Hermione replied by kissing him yet again, which lasted longer than the first one. The door opened and Harry and Ginny walked out hand in hand. Harry jaw dropped open. Next, he grinned and glanced at Ginny, who was determinedly trying not to burst out laughing.

"Hi, Ron, Hermione," Ginny finally said.

Ron and Hermione broke away as fast as the golden Snitch, both going deep shades of red, red for Hermione but almost purple for Ron.

"So... playing Quidditch, are we?" Harry said in a mocking voice.

He was met with two loud shouts of "SHUT UP".