Harry Potter One-Shots

Mistletoe (Dean Thomas)

WORD COUNT: 1002

As a Muggle-born at Hogwarts, I often dealt with a very bad case of imposter syndrome. Some days it was easy to forget, but other days were harder. The moment we had entered exam season was definitely one of those more difficult times.

I was in the library for one final night of studying before my first exam tomorrow. Potions was not my strong point, so I had to put in a lot of extra work to earn good marks. This meant finding a sixth-year Ravenclaw girl to tutor me every Saturday afternoon, countless late nights in the library, and staying late after almost every Potions class to go over my mistakes on the previous assignment with Professor Snape. I don't think it made him like me any more, but it certainly helped me improve in the class, and he didn't seem too bothered that someone was actually genuinely trying to learn in his class.

I didn't have very many other friends who were Muggle-borns, but the few I did have all shared the same problem. Hermione Granger in my year was a perfect example of the way I felt; she always tried so hard to get the top marks to prove that she was worthy of being at Hogwarts. Because of this commonality, on this rainy December evening the library was filled with Muggle-borns and a few pure-blood Ravenclaws. Only the really academically serious students study in the library; most just stick to the common rooms.

I waved at my friend Dean Thomas as he entered the library and found an empty table. He smiled back and gave me a little wave. I guess "friend" is pretty generous; Dean had been in one or two of my classes before and we had talked a few times, plus we always saw each other in the library, but we weren't really that close.

I studied relentlessly, feeling lost in all the material I had to commit to memory before tomorrow, and only became aware of how long I had been in the library when I heard the clock chime midnight. I needed to leave so I could get a good night's rest before exam day! I snapped my book shut, accidentally making a loud noise. Quickly I looked around to see if I had distracted anyone from their studies, but the only person left in the library was Dean Thomas. While I was engrossed in my book, even Madam Pince had left and gone to bed.

"Done for the night?" Dean called. I nodded.

"No matter how much I study this information isn't any good to me unless I'm well rested for tomorrow," I explained.

"What class have you got your exam for?" he asked, standing and beginning to pack his bag as well.

"Potions," I groaned. "And I'm rubbish at it! I've been trying to memorize these stupid antidotes for ages now and they just won't stick in my brain!"

"Have you seen the little trick in the back of the textbook?" he asked, coming over to join me as I walked out of the library.

"No I haven't! What is it?" I exclaimed. Dean reached into his bag and pulled out our textbook, flipping to the last section and leaning down to show me, as he was quite a bit taller than I was. As he was explaining the little trick for remembering the various antidotes, I noted how good he smelled. Sort of like evergreen trees mixed with a very manly cologne...

"Does that help?" he asked, and I realized woefully that I had forgotten to pay attention as I was too distracted by thinking about Dean. I nodded anyway, mentally berating myself but committing to read the section before the test tomorrow morning.

"Have you got any exams tomorrow?" I asked. Dean nodded. "Transfiguration."

As we walked, we chatted about the different spells we thought would be on the Transfiguration exam, and made a promise to each other that I would tell him about the Potions exam if he told me about the Transfiguration one.

When we reached the hallway where we would split off to go to our separate common rooms, we paused to finish our conversation. As we were talking, I heard a whooshing, along with a muffled giggle, and I looked over my head for Peeves, who was inevitably the source of the sound.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, spinning in circles looking for the pesky poltergeist. Dean didn't answer. I stopped spinning, suddenly realizing how dizzy I was, and stumbled a few steps to try and regain my balance. Of course, with my luck, I tripped over and fell, but a pair of strong arms caught me before I could hit the ground.

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much, I don't know wha-" Before I could finish my rambling, Dean's lips crashed into mine. I froze for a second, completely taken aback by what was happening. Dean Thomas was kissing me? This was definitely not how I expected my night to go... then I realized I wasn't kissing him back, which I definitely wanted to do, and my brain kicked into autopilot mode.

When he pulled away, I was breathless and at a loss for words.

"Mistletoe," he explained simply, and pointed above his head. Sure enough, floating above our heads was a sprig of green leaves.

"Ah," I nodded. That would explain what Peeves was doing. "Well... I guess I'll see you tomorrow after your exam?" I couldn't believe how awkward I felt, and sounded. Dean was blushing, even in the dark, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Er, yeah, I guess so." I turned to walk back to the Y/H/N common room, but stopped when I heard Dean call, "Y/N wait!"

"Yes?"

"I... I'm sorry if that was sudden, I just got caught up in the moment and there was mistletoe and I think you're really pretty and smart and -"

"It's okay Dean, I didn't mind."