Christmas Silver and Gold
By Halo and Wings
"Her-Hermione? What's wrong?"
Hermione whirled around, her hands flying up to wipe the tears from her face. "Harry! What are you doing up here?"
"I was going to send a letter to my aunt and uncle. Wishing them a happy Christmas and all that." He advanced into the Owlery, holding up his folded parchment. "But what's the matter?"
She looked down at the letter in her hand, written on ordinary cheap paper. "Nothing, really, I just got a letter from my parents." She replaced the note into its envelope, fearing tears would leak out again if she discussed it any further.
But Harry would not take the hint in his effort to show concern. "Why would a letter from your parents make you sad? You'll see them again in a few days, don't be homesick."
She turned to gaze out the window, hoping to keep her voice steady and unconcerned. "Oh, I'm not homesick, and they didn't write anything bad. It's just, well, I had hoped to get Christmas cards from some of my friends. I wrote to all my friends from my old school at the beginning of December--" Her voice broke. She took a deep breath and continued, "And mum said that nobody has sent me one back." Hermione turned back around, offering a weak smile as tears trickled down her face again. "I mean, it's silly, right? They haven't seen me for months, so why should they? I guess they've forgotten me."
Harry had a strange look on his face, somewhere between embarrassment and concern. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I-- well, I don't really know what to say."
"It's okay, Harry. I'm just feeling sorry for myself now. I really shouldn't be upset, I mean, only adults send out cards! I'm sure they didn't write any others, so why should they just for me? But, if I meant something to them, shouldn't they keep in touch? We were friends for years, how could they forget me so soon?" She swiped at her eyes, which were now rebelling in a flood of tears.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Harry awkwardly trying to comfort her. "I never had any friends before you and Ron, so I don't have anyone to write to for them to forget me. I don't know why your friends didn't write to you, or if they've forgotten you. But I know I couldn't forget you so quickly."
She smiled up at him. Then Harry's face brightened and he said, "I'll send you a Christmas card! Will that make you feel better?" He looked so hopeful that this idea would cheer her up that Hermione laughed.
"Yes, I think a card from my best friend would make me much happier."
Harry smiled at her, obviously glad that he had cheered her up. As Hermione wiped her eyes with her sleeve, he walked over to where Hedwig was perched and proceeded to tie his letter to her leg. "If you like, we could try to get Hedwig to attack them all."
"Harry! Of course we won't do that!" Hermione exclaimed, but she couldn't suppress a giggle.
"Okay, then we could ask Fred and George what they know about voodoo hexes."
"Harry, don't be silly! We have much more important things to research."
"Oh, yeah, Nicolas Flamel. But we could have so much more fun using magic on your Muggle friends!"
Hermione sighed and shook her head, walking toward the door. "I'd much rather have fun with my magical friends. I'm going forget about them all, starting now."
Harry joined her as she walked out the door. "It's not hard to forget about the Muggles, if you just let yourself."
"I hope you're right." She stuck the letter in her pocket, resolved to stick it in the bottom of her trunk and forget about it. "I guess the old saying is wrong. My old friends are silver, and my new friends gold."