J.K. Rowling owns the characters and world of Harry Potter.


Prologue

Memories in a Box of Ornaments

She knelt beside the box of Christmas ornaments and began to carefully unwrap them one by one. The tissue paper crinkled around each to protect it from being scratched or breaking while in storage from last year. It was a family tradition to put up the Christmas tree on the first of December.

The tradition arose from Grandmother White who had been Jean Granger's mother. She had come to London during the First World War as a single nurse. At that time Alice Adams had been a fetching auburn haired beauty with cinnamon eyes. She had met and married George White in 1918 and remained in England. She still kept many of her American holiday traditions in order to remain close to home. Putting the Christmas tree up the Friday after Thanksgiving. This was an American harvest holiday set on the last Thursday in November until 1941 when it became the fourth Thursday of November. George had just gone along with the tradition because it made his wife happy. From mother to daughter to granddaughter the tradition was handed down. Hermione had passed the tradition to her daughter also. This was the first Christmas that she would be celebrating alone.

Rose was married and decorating her tree with her new husband. Hugo was still at Hogwarts, but he would not be coming home for Christmas anyway. He was going to his father's home. Ron had remarried after being divorced five years. He and Lavender were expecting their first child the week after Christmas, therefore they had asked Hugo to come for the entire winter break.

The first ornament now extracted from its wrappings was a German blown glass ornament. It was a bright blue disk with a silver quarter moon on one edge and three silver stars on the opposite side. This was a poignant reminder of Hermione's mother sitting in the rocking chair and reading the book "Good Night Moon" over and over to Hermione. She had no memory of this, but her mother had repeated the story every year until Hermione had married. It was her favorite book and she would study the pictures to find the mouse. The page could not be turned until the mouse was found. Hermione had received the book and ornament for her first Christmas. She not only had the ornament, but the book with worn corners and fading paper. It had a place of prominence in Hermione's book shelves.

She rose from where she was sitting on the floor and walked over to the end table and carefully placed the ornament under the lamp. The light played off the silver sparkling stars and the moon winked at her. Then she went to the book shelves and picked up the book. After placing it on the end table next to the ornament, she slowly moved into the kitchen. There she set the kettle on to boil and spooned the English Breakfast Tea into the pot.

She took down the biscuit bin and took out a shortbread. This was another family tradition handed down from her Grandmother White. The recipe had gone from Scotland when the family emigrated in the 1700s to North America and had been made every Christmas and a few holidays in between. It was not made often because the cost of ingredients was often dear. Yes, it was only sugar, butter, and flour, but those were not always available. The women of the family had scrimped and saved in order to make true Scottish shortbread every Christmas.

The kettle boiled and she poured it over the tea leaves, lidded the pot and covered it with a cosy to keep it warm. Placing the tea pot on a tray with a small dessert plate holding the biscuit and a single china cup and saucer, she remembered the first time she had been allowed to use the dessert service. Because they were antiques, she had been eleven and sharing tea with her mother and grandmother the Christmas before she went to Hogwarts. She felt so grown up to be allowed to "have tea with the women". Her grandmother told her how the dishes didn't start out as antiques, but as a wedding present for her grandmother, Hermione's great-great-grandmother. They had been imported into America from England. When Grandmother White had married, her mother had given her the dishes for her first Christmas as a married woman. They had been carefully wrapped and put into crates with wood shavings to protect them before they were put onto the ship and sent back to England. Only the large platter had gotten broken and one cup had a small chip. Alice White had cried when she had seen the damage. George took her back to the original factory where they found replacements, but it had taken them several years to save up to purchase replacements. They really weren't replaced for the originals had been put on display after George carefully glued them back together. When Jean had married Robert Granger, they were given to her that first Christmas as a wife. Then Hermione married Ron she had been given the dishes for the first Christmas of their marriage. After this cup of tea and biscuit they would be carefully washed and packed and given to Rose for the first Christmas with Scorpius.

Carefully Hermione carried the tray into the living room and placed it on the coffee table. She sat down sideways with her stocking feet on the end of the sofa. The tea had steeped, so she poured herself a cup of the dark, hot liquid. With the silver sugar tongs she picked up a single cube of the sweetener and dropped it into the cup. She stirred the tea and then took a sip from the spoon in order to test the temperature of the drink. She turned on the music system with a flick of her wand and smiled to herself as the sounds of Straight, No Chaser Christmas filled the room. She enjoyed the sounds of the all-male choir, but Ron had always complained that he just didn't feel like Christmas with muggle music. Hermione contentedly sat back and took a bite from the biscuit, then opened the book. There was the old woman in the chair, a friend to greet her on this bittersweet night. After finding the little mouse on every page, she put the book down and picked up the ornament. Closing her eyes and listening to the melodic sounds she felt the embossed surface of the ornament. The eyes, nose and mouth of the man in the moon and one, two, three stars on each side of the ornament. Tears fell onto the book in her lap. She was missing her mother, grandmother and daughter. She had resolved not to feel lonely this year even if she were alone. With new resolve she stood and walked to the tree. Earlier she had strung the lights and now she hung the first ornament.


A/N: The inspiration for this came from the Hallmark Christmas ornament commercials, but these ornaments are ones owned by me. The story going with them is from my imagination. This is my preliminary round entry into the Advent Calendar Challenge.