Work Text:
He sat her down and held her close before telling her the terrible news. “Hermione, you know I…”
“Oh, just tell me already, Harry, it’s not going to get any easier.”
“But it is quite terrible. I don’t want to upset you.”
“Just get it over with.”
Harry bit his bottom lip. How did he tell his best friend this absolutely terrible news?
“Well, you know how Professor Slughorn gave me that potion at the beginning of the year?”
“Yes?”
“And I had earned it by using that book that you hate so much?”
“Yes?” she was getting more confused and frustrated by the second.
“And how I lost that book. Well, not lost, per say, but rather…hid…carefully…and forgot where I put it…”
“Harry!”
“Yes, Hermione?”
“Just tell me already!”
“Well, you know how I am only in that class because Snape switched to teaching Defense?”
“Professor Snape, Harry, and yes, I know all of this! What are you getting at?”
“Well, because Snape’s teaching defense, which is arguably terrible news in it’s own right-“
“HARRY!” She snapped.
They were garnering the attention from the rest of Gryffindor house at this point. Even Ron and Lavender had surfaced from their make-out session on the chair closest to the fire to watch the proceedings.
“Right, right, I swear, this is important.” He cleared his throat at her pointed look. “Well, due to the curse, he probably won’t be here next year. Though there is speculation that the curse can be broken and, wouldn’t that be just so, to be the one who broke the curse? Can you imagine? 50 years in the making and we’re the ones to break it?”
“Harry, please!”
“Oh, right, sorry, Hermione, I’m just now sure how to tell you this.”
“Just spit it out already, Harry. It’s not my parents is it?”
“No! No, of course not. They are just fine, last I checked.”
“Is it Crookshanks?”
“No, he’s with Luna hunting snarglepuffs or nargles or something.”
“Harry, you know those don’t exist.”
“Well, tell that to Crookshanks. You’re getting off topic, Hermione,” he lightly scolded her.
She huffed but gestured for him to continue, as best she could with him still holding her close.
“Right, so, first, we must trust the Crookshanks, he was the one who let us know about Scabbers, in his kneazle-cat way, I suppose. Anyway, what I’m trying to say, is…” He trailed off again.
“Harry!”
He swooped in and kissed her sweetly on the mouth. “You’re under the mistletoe, Hermione Granger, and it’s terrible that it took me this long to get up the Gryffindor courage to kiss you.”
“HARRY!!”