I am currently working on another story with which I wanted to give my début on ffnet, but now its New Year's Eve and I am lying here in my bed with the worst cold. So I am using the time to write down a plot bunny that haunts me since I saw all the Secret Santa-oneshots on Christmas and post it as my first story. Enjoy!
"Presents!" Ginny shouted and darted into the living room, dragging a sighing Neville with her. A whole year was over. Again. Every year the time seemed to speed up a little, until it ended with the annual New Year's Eve Party in the Burrow.
They were all there: his parents Arthur and Molly, his sister and her husband Neville, George, Bill and his wife Fleur with their three kids, Charlie, his best friends Harry and Hermione, Hermione's parents, and — last but not least — his fiancée Lavender.
Now, exactly one hour before the new year would begin, it was time for yet another new year's tradition — Harry's this time. When they had celebrated New Year's Eve for the first time, all those years back, right after they had defeated Lord Voldemort, they had decided that everyone should contribute a tradition to the festivities. So, now every year they started in the afternoon and celebrated one tradition every hour.
Ron himself thought that it was utter rubbish to have that many traditions but everyone else seemed to be totally giggly about it and he wouldn't complain as it always started in the afternoon, when there was still sunlight left, with his very own contribution: a Quidditch match! The cold was not a problem, thanks to warming charms, but when he came up with the idea for the very first time, he hadn't anticipated that for the second New Year's Eve Hermione would have found her parents and would bring them along. It quickly came out, that muggles were indeed not able to fly brooms, but both doctors insisted, with a look at their daughter, on being taken on a ride. She had looked absolutely horrified at the prospect of taking another person with her on a broom, especially her parents. And everyone else present wholeheartedly agreed with her. So it had been Harry and Ginny's duty to play chauffeur. "What have we actually paid your education for?" was till this day the best way to stupor Hermione and Ron was still not sure if, back then, she had noticed the smirking undertone in her dad's voice. In the end, they had conjured two platforms in front of each set of goals and the Grangers had played keepers ever since. That her parents were more successful in their annual Quidditch game than Hermione herself, was yet another easy way to twit her.
After Ginny and Neville had disappeared into the living room and the rest of his family began to rise to follow them, Ron looked at his best friend Harry, who was currently trying to get Hermione to follow him into the living room as well.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming… just let me finish this!" she said, shrugging off his hand of her shoulder. For the last hour they had been doing her idea of a tradition: making a list of all the bad and unhappy events of the year and then, just before the new year, throwing it into the fire. They had all laughed when she had first presented that as her tradition. It was just so Hermione-like. But in the end, it was also one of the more relaxing hours before the new year. They all wrote down one or two items and then started drinking while watching Hermione creating another one of her beloved lists. They had actually started a drinking game a few years ago where every time she would make a new bullet point they would all drink a shot. It had been Harry's idea and he claimed that it was the cutest thing in the world that she was completely oblivious to it.
"Come on Hermione. Let's go." Harry tried again.
"One more minute," she begged.
"How can you write down so many negative things every year, anyway? Don't tell me that they all are about me!?"
"Of course not! But I think it is very important to review your year in order to improve in the next."
She looked up at Harry, saw what he held in his hands and sighed, "Ohh, Harry. Put that away. It doesn't mean anything! You know divination is a complete waste of time."
She turned around and threw an apologetic look in Lavender's direction. Luckily, Lavender was currently engrossed in a conversation with Fleur — probably about the newest fashion — and hadn't heard the little rant. Ron secretly agreed with Hermione. Not that he would ever tell his fiancé that.
Since her days in Hogwarts Lavender had been a huge advocate for divination and so her annual New Year's tradition was molybdomancy. Apparently that was a northern and middle european tradition where one would hold a spoon filled with lead over a candle until the metal was molten. Then the liquid was poured into cold water which solidified the lead. The resulting shape was then used to divine the future. Harry, of course, had produced the Grim — the universal symbol of death. Lavender had shrieked and Hermione had snorted until Gorge had pointed out that it also could be a big dog and that the last time Harry had one of those it brought him luck. "Either you will die or you will have great luck. Nothing to worry about," he pointed out.
Harry smiled at Hermione and put the little metal figure down. He took her hand and they all moved into the living room, where they settled down on the many couches. It was time for the last tradition. Harry's tradition. He had said that he loved giving presents and so his tradition was a postponed Secret Santa.
Ron didn't understand that as they had given each other plenty of presents the week before, but he wouldn't object when it was only one more present.
Over the years the tradition had shifted from giving useful presents to funny gifts or outright pranking and everyone had to endure some laughter in this last hour of the year.
One after another they drew batches from a bag in order to determine who would open his present next. Everyone snickered as Neville opened Ron's present for him: another Remembrall. That was a running joke as Neville would get one of these every year and it was just to funny seeing him getting livid.
This year, however, he just smiled, drew two more Remembralls out of his robe and started juggling. After a few seconds he drew another one and added it to the flying ones. "I have trained all year," he claimed as he added the ninth and last one, "and they finally don't change their color anymore." Ron smiled to himself. Whoever would draw Neville next year, it wouldn't be that easy anymore. A Remembrall just wouldn't do it.
He himself opened a present from Charlie: a spider in a glass jar.
"Ha ha. Very funny. I put that past meeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh", he screamed in a high-pitched voice as the glass suddenly disappeared.
"Get it off of me!", he demanded, while moving wildly. But as answer came only laughter. After half a minute of shaking his body, he was finally sure that the spider was gone. He glared at them but was only met with smiles. Ron sighed. He had to do something about that fear. Like Neville. Don't get angry. Own it! Hermione had mentioned some muggle treatments. Maybe he should ask her. At least he doubted that any magical healer would take his phobia seriously.
After half an hour, only two batches were left. Like always!
"Same procedure as last, Miss Granger?"
"Same procedure as every year, James!"
Harry and Hermione giggled and ignored the bag with the batches. Everyone else just rolled their eyes. Ever since the two had become a couple they had somehow managed to get each other as Secret Santa every year and also to be the last two names in the bag. Even Ron knew that such a thing could not happen by chance and that the two must have somehow manipulated the drawing. They, of course, claimed — while grinning madly — to not have done anything. And they did live up to their reputation as the most powerful wizard and the smartest witch: even Bill was not able to detect any cheating and so, another tradition was born.
Harry took his present for Hermione and gave it to her. It was a small, flat parcel wrapped in red paper. She took it and weighted it in her hand. Then her finger glided over the paper until she found an overlap and neatly unwrapped the gift from there.
Ron could only see a pink, flat, rectangular thing. What was that supposed to be? Not a book. That was clear.
Whatever it was, however, it seemed to cause some huge internal conflict in Hermione. She was like frozen and even if her face was turned away from Ron, he knew that her brain was working at full speed.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger surprised everyone by jumping from their couch and hiding behind it as Hermione produced her wand, only to put it away and then drawing it again.
"Great, Harry! Present her the one thing that makes her favourite thing obsolete!" her father shouted from behind the couch.
Ron could literally see Harry's grin vanish from his face.
"Do you like it, Hermione?" he asked timidly.
She did not answer but started to tremble and Ron knew that reaction of hers: Mount Granger was about to erupt, for better or for worse. He really hoped for Harry that the shape he had poured earlier really was a big dog and not the Grim.
And just as Hermione launched at Harry, Arthur asked, "Is that an E-Book Reader?"
So, what do you think? Does she like the present or not? :) Please review and don't forget to write what you think her reaction would be. I genuinely can't imagine it, but I think she either loves it or hates it.
The tradition to make a list with bad events and throw them into a fire just before the new year is from Mexico (thanks Wikipedia).
Molybdomancy is a tradition here in Germany. It is actually quite fun. Definitely better than reading from tea leaves.
The "Same procedure…"-lines are from a British sketch called Dinner for one. I don't find it that funny itself but I find it utterly hilarious that the sketch is extremely famous in Germany but apparently nearly unknown in Britain. It is played every New Year's Eve (in English, not in German) multiple times on german television since it was recorded in 1963. Just search for it on YouTube and have a laugh.
Happy New Year!