-1A/N: Alright, I know, a little late for the holidays, but this story idea popped into my head halfway through my mid-terms and hasn't quit poking me in the brain since. I wrote the summary after my history mid-term but finally decided to type the annoying little bugger! Here you go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would have Ron and Hermione married with bushy, red-headed kids by now. But, hey, that's just me.

Chapter one

"And that's how I saved the game!" Cormic grinned smugly, "Lucky for the Cannons I was walking by their practice arena that day or that scrimmage match between the Tornadoes and the Cannons would have been a slaughter," he finished with a lazy head toss, shaking his bangs from his eyes. His arm was slung around Hermione's shoulder, who merely rolled her eyes and turned her attention to a Christmas display in a nearby shop.

Hermione felt horrible. For the first time in about three months this sick feeling had nothing to do with the fact that she was dating Cormic McLaggen. She felt this was for Ginny, Harry, and Ron, who were currently standing opposite Cormic and herself in the middle of a snowy sidewalk in the streets of Hogsmeade. She had spent the better part of the past few days begging Ginny to bring both herself and her boyfriend, Harry, along for Hermione's date with Cormic, knowing that asking Harry herself would be useless. Harry hated Cormic, and for good reason. It had taken even longer to convince Ron to join them, for it seemed that Ron's hatred towards Cormic was Harry's tenfold. Cormic had no problem with the new additions to the village trip. For Cormic, it was simply more people to brag to.

'Which brings us to our current predicament,' Hermione thought mournfully. All five stood outside the shops of Hogsmeade as a winter flurry fluttered around them. Hermione turned her head to glance at the happy couple that was Ginny and Harry, both of which were looking less than thrilled as Cormic finished his rather far-fetched tale before taking another breath and launched into another involving a fist-fight between three or four world famous Quidditch captains over his placement on which team. One look on Harry's face told the world that he was seriously contemplating simply stepping out in front of the various horseless carriages that rattled hastily up and down the main street in order to end his misery. Hermione suspected that the only aspect keeping Harry from committing said suicide was in the form of the redhead to whom he was clinging to. Ginny seemed perfectly content with Harry's arms around her waist, while she herself had her arms slung around his shoulders, her face hidden in the crook of his neck. Hermione strongly doubted that Ginny was still awake.

For a brief moment, Hermione glanced back and forth between Harry's interlocked fingers supporting his semi-conscience girlfriend to Cormic's own large hand that gripped her shoulder. She couldn't help but feel envious towards Ginny. For Ginny, Harry was perfect. There were times when the two could be seen sitting side by side on the common room couch, perfectly content in each other's presence. Other times Harry was often caught chasing a laughing Ginny down the school halls before sweeping her up in a tumble of laughter in which he playfully demanded back whatever she had recently taken from his possession.

Hermione and Cormic were not like that. In fact, they were anything but. Hermione could not recall a single instant in which she had been but an object of lust in Cormic's eyes. Never had he smiled at her presence unless he could make some sort of physical contact with her, more often than not inappropriately. Never had he been content with a simple kiss from her. Instead, he always pried more out of her. Not a day went by in which he didn't whisper some sort of sexually loaded comment into her ear, intent on turning her on, only resulting in her feeling the need to loose her lunch in the bathroom before scrubbing herself for long hours in a scalding hot shower.

And yet, she put up with it. Hermione Granger, so often proud and strong, showing distain for even the slightest cursing or inappropriate comment, put up with her boyfriend from hell. 'And why?' Hermione asked herself in her mind. She slowly craned her neck to see past her current boyfriend's broad figure and spotted what she had subconsciously looked for. Standing off to the side of the group, gaze focused in the carolers across the street, tall and lanky as ever, stood Ron Weasley. 'That's why.'

For a fleeting instant, Hermione recalled memories of herself racing down the twisted staircase of the Burrow, Ron's Chuddley Cannons shirt clutched to her chest while a shirtless Ron rushed after her, his demands for his favorite shirt lost in his laughter. Shaking her head, Hermione turned her face away from the man who had an unclaimed hold on her.

A sinking feeling settled in Hermione's stomach. She longed for the closeness she once had with Ron. But a silly argument ending in a hasty agreement for a date from Cormic resulted in the worst relationship of her life so far, not that she's had many to compare to. 'You screwed it up yourself, Hermione, suffer the consequences,' a nasty voice sounded in the back of her head.

"Oh, shut up" she snapped back at her own conscience.

"Excuse me?" Cormic turned his gaze to her for the first time in the past fifteen minutes.

Hermione's head shot away from it's gaze at Ron at turned an innocent smile at Cormic. "What?" she asked. She hadn't realized she had spoken out loud.

"You told me to shut up," Cormic looked confused and offended at the same time. Hermione noticed that Ginny gave a small little jump from her standing position in Harry's arms and turned her bleary eyes towards the bookworm, confirming Hermione's suspicions that Ginny was in fact asleep, while Harry suddenly looked interested in the conversation. Hermione didn't dare think to look at Ron, for fear of slipping off into another daydream.

"Er… no I didn't," Hermione spoke in a voice that she hoped sounded convincing.

"Yes, you did. I just heard you," Cormic responded, taking a step away from Hermione in order to face her properly. With the removal of his arm around her shoulder, a rush of icy air took it's place, not all that unwelcome for Hermione.

"No… no I was…er…was talking to…" Hermione looked frantically around the crowd that flooded the streets of the magical village. Her gaze landed on the carolers singing some remake of "Carol of the Bells'. "I was talking about the carolers," Hermione looked firmly up into Cormic's face, a caring smile plastered on her face.

"The carolers?" Harry spoke up, entering the conversation, an amused twinkle in his bright green eyes. Ginny held up a gloved hand to suppress a very unladylike snort of mirth that was thankfully muffled by the think wool.

"Well," Hermione spoke to Cormic, resisting the urge to through a glare in Harry's direction that would have landed him six feet under, "They're awfully loud and I was having trouble hearing your story…love," Hermione concluded logically adding the pet name in after a moment's thought for a touch of realism. Another, slightly louder snort admitted from Ginny, telling Hermione quite plainly that her story was rather fake. Thankfully, Cormic was being delightfully dim and thought nothing of it.

"Well, then, I can understand that," Cormic's face relaxed as he once more slung his burly arm over Hermione's bundled form. Once more, Hermione found herself preferring the bite of the cold air rather than Cormic's body heat that accompanied his overly used cheap cologne. Hermione resisted the urge to gag as the strong sent of Cormic's cologne took over her senses. "By the way," Cormic continued, ignoring his girlfriend as she struggled to stand as far away from him as the length of his arm would allow, "did I mention the coach that showed up at my house with an offer of…"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Cormic rattled on with yet another tale that would almost certainly result in a self inflated ego. Glancing around the street once more in an attempt to distract herself, Hermione felt a jolt in her stomach as she looked up to find Ron staring back at her, a gleeful look in his eyes that matched that knee-weakening smile that suddenly made her feel, well, weak at the knees. Giving Ron a quick smile in return, Hermione diverted her attention to the Holiday display in the glistening red and white window behind her. Just as her heart rate began to descend to normal, something caught her eye.

There, sitting on a small pile of fake snow, was a tiny teddy bear. The little animal was dark brown in color, staring up at her with equally dark brown eyes. Perched atop it's fluffy head was a red Santa hat. 'Red like Ron's hair,' Hermione shook her head. 'No,' she told herself firmly, 'I am not going to think about him. I have a boyfriend. I do not do that!' She continued to look at the bear, its big brown eyes looking back up at her. It was pretty cute.

She found herself smiling at the stuffed toy. Perhaps she could hint to Cormic that it would make a cute Christmas present. Hermione looked back up at the young man by her side only to find him lost in his own world oblivious to the fact that it now seemed Harry and joined Ginny in the art of sleeping while standing up. 'Or not.'

"You know," Ron's voice broke off Cormic's one-handed reenactment of yet another not all that amazing save he had learned over the summer, "It's getting late. If we're going to grab a butterbeer, let's head to the Three Broomsticks now, or we'll be late getting back to the castle."

Cormic shot Ron an angry look, apparently offended that Ron had interrupted, before shrugging his shoulder's trying to look casual before mumbling, "Whatever, Ryan."

"Ron," Hermione corrected automatically, as she let herself be maneuvered by her bulk of a boyfriend down the slippery sidewalk that lead to the bar. Hermione looked over her shoulder in time to find Ron poking his sister and best friend, both of which jerked awake and looking startled to find themselves not only outside but surrounded by shoppers looking quizzically at the couple as they passed by. Snickering to herself, Hermione faced forward and continued down the walkway.

"You know," came Cormic's harshly deep voice from right beside her ear, "I know you wanted to spend Christmas with all of your friends, but I wouldn't mind celebrating early… just the two of us… alone." Hermione felt the usual feeling of nausea sweep over her at the obvious implied thoughts Cormic had just suggested.

'This has got to end. Soon' Hermione thought desperately Harry, Ginny, and Ron caught up with herself and Cormic, the five of them entering the local pub. Thankfully, the smell of warm butterbeer helped to sooth Hermione's sick stomach. As the group headed towards a booth located by one of the windows, Hermione felt Cormic's hand slowly slip off her shoulder and down her back. Quickly taking residence next to Ginny before Cormic's hand could travel any lower, Hermione thought, 'Very soon!'

A/N: I know, this fist chapter sucks… A LOT. But please don't give up on me yet! I promise the next two will be so much better. This story will only have three chapters. I plan on updating tomorrow and the day after. I have the chapter summaries and rough drafts typed, so all there is left is to revise them. Leave reviews saying if I should continue. Reviews make me happy. Really happy!!!