Wishes for a Happy Christmas
by Little Tee
Summary: The Winter solstice is an old pagan holiday long associated with rebirth, reversal, and new beginnings. The Hogwarts' library has seen many of these over the centuries. So many that one shouldn't be surprise that some ... overlap occurs. After all what is twenty years when compared to centuries.
Author's Note: This is a plotbunny that refused to be docile. It came to be while I was decorating for Christmas and I observed that the Winter solstice was the next day. Amazing what little observations can lead too, isn't it? Anyway, I have spent way too much time in researching items and dates for this short story, but the plotbunny was insistent and because of this you have this little short story in-front of you now. This is my first published Harry Potter fanfiction. This begins during the twelfth chapter of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone." From there one could argue that it goes slightly AU. I hope that you will enjoy this little holiday tale of time merging, or overlapping, and the beginnings of a small friendship between two time-crossed people.
Disclaimer: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter does not belong to LittleTee, (who shall henceforth be referred to as "The Author.") While the plot of this fanfiction, (henceforth to be referred to as the "Story,") is of The Author's creation, neither the characters nor the locations therein belong to The Author, as they belong to JK Rowling, with the exception of any characters or locations within this Story which have no representation in cannon-these original characters and locations are the property of The Author. This is a work of fiction produced for the single purpose of entertaining fans of Harry Potter, and no Copyright infringement is intended.
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Hogswarts' Library: 11:00 am, December 20, 1991
Hermione glanced back to her list as she came to a stop in front of the Reference Section. It was the day before Christmas holidays began and she, as well as Harry and Ron, were trying to determine who exactly Nicolas Flamel was. The trio hoped that once that question was answered the reasons why Professor Snape wanted to steal whatever object that belonged to Flamel would be known and maybe, just maybe a clue on how to stop him from obtaining it.
Hermione pulled the book she hoped held the key to the puzzle and turned into a stack of books. They, and whoever carried them, collided into her hard. She stumbled and fell ungracefully to the stone floor with an audible squeak as the offending books fell all around her. She opened her eyes and saw a disheveled boy opposite her.
Hermione had never seen him before. He was rather thin with long, lank black hair that hang limply around his face accenting his dark eyes. His nose was a shade too long in proportion to his features. His pale, thin lips were set in a heavy scowl aimed at her. She winced.
Hermione had thought the library would be empty, seeing as this was the last day of classes for the term. She had obviously been wrong. "Are you okay? I am so-"
"I'm fine." the boy snapped interrupting her apology as he got to his feet. He growled as he surveyed the pile of tomes littered along the row. He muttered something under his breath that Hermione didn't catch as he began picking up the books. "Although if you could in the future watch where you are going instead of blindly walking around -"
"Watch where I am going?" Hermione asked shocked that this boy was blaming her when it had clearly been his fault. "I was just turning around after retrieving a tome from the shelf when you ran into me."
He snorted. "You came out of nowhere. You were obviously running through the aisles and were paying no attention when you ran straight into me."
"I was not running. I had been standing by that shelf of books," she paused pointing at the area where she had been moments before, "I selected the book I wanted then I was pushed down by this huge pile of books. Clearly you are the one that needs to watch where you are going. Not me."
The boy snorted again but did not comment further as he continued collecting his books. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the boy. It was evident that he wasn't going to offer her a hand up. Although she wouldn't have accepted it even if he had, it still would have been common decorum on his part to ask. Or, even inquire about her wellbeing like she had about his. He was acting like a privileged prat.
Hermione sighed, dusted herself off and was preparing herself to stand when Ron dashed into the row and stopped beside her.
"Hermione!" Ron whispered as he stooped down and helped Hermione to her feet. "Harry has just left in a hurry. I think he might have found something about Nicolas Flamel." Ron hastily informed her in hush tones unobvious to her vain attempts at shushing him.
Hermione frowned watching Ron leave. Her furry had been fueled even more with how carelessly Ron had ignored her warnings to be quiet.
"Honestly, boys are clueless. Utterly clueless." She muttered aloud shaking her head. A slight chuckle from behind her caused her to spin around, facing the boy she had the misfortune of running into. He was still collecting his wayward books, his long black hair obscuring his face. Hermione momentarily wondered if she had imagined the small laugh. The boy appeared to be fully engrossed into his task of collecting his books and not giving the smallest hint of interest about her.
She also wondered if she should say anything further to the boy, but she decided not to. If what Ron had blurted out was correct then their long search for Flamel would be at an end, and she didn't have the time to cover Ron's slip up. She doubted the boy would care anyway. He was rude and arrogant enough to be only concerned with his own interests and not something someone said in passing. She hoped that was the case anyway.
"Oi Hermione! Aren't you coming?" Ron hissed. He had stopped two rows off when he finally noticed she hadn't followed him.
"Yes Ronald I'm coming," Hermione hissed back. She studied the boy once more then turned and joined Ron.
"***"
Hermione sighed as she forced herself to look at her plate instead of searching the many faces that filled the Great Hall. She didn't know if it was the nerves of the upcoming holidays or something else but her usual healthy appetite was absent. She picked at her half-eaten shepherd's pie as she recalled the events of the past hour.
Ron had been mistaken. Harry had not discovered information on Nicolas Flamel; however, the mood for spending the trio's academic break perusing the library had gone. Instead they went to their common room.
Seamus and Ron played a short game of Wizard's Chess while Harry watched on amazed at the animated figures engaging in simulated warfare. Hermione, on the other hand, had spent the time revising her notes from that morning's double Potions class. She couldn't help but notice the wistful looks, towards the fireplace, that radiated off both Harry and Ron. It did not take a genius to surmise how they would probably spend their holidays. With only a small handful of students staying over the Christmas holidays the good armchairs would be free for the taking.
Hermione knew then and there that her words about continuing the search for Flamel would fall to the wayside, forgotten. With that revelation she decided that she would go back to the library, by herself, after Herbology. She would have several hours of reading and searching before dinner. More than enough time to try to find something on Flamel.
Lunchtime came and she had found - to her horror - that she wanted to find the boy that had collided into her that morning. Hermione quickly waved the desire to see him again off as just simple curiosity. Curiosity in that she wanted to see what House the boy belonged to. Was he a Ravenclaw, Slytherin or Hufflepuff? She knew he was not in Gryffindor. She seriously doubted he was in Hufflepuff. His disagreeable nature and sharp tongue wasn't the usual attributes for a Hufflepuff, but Hermione didn't remove it entirely from her mental list of possible House candidates either. She knew that the boy had to be in a year above hers - second or third year - since she had never seen him in any of her classes before.
Hermione had scanned the various House tables in vain for any sign of the boy. She frowned and spooned another bite of her shepherd's pie into her mouth. Since he had to be a second or third year he could play Quidditch. If that was the case then his absence from lunch could be due to him attending practice. The Ravenclaw Quidditch team were currently wrapping up their last practice before the holidays. Which would explain his absence from the Great Hall.
Another possibility, of course, was that he had skipped lunch. Several students did so to spend more time lounging around or studying. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Hermione had done it a few times herself during her first month at Hogwarts.
"Hermione," Neville called timidly.
She looked up from her plate to discover that Harry and Ron, as well as her other year-mates, had apparently finished their lunches and left. She frowned displeased with herself for missing the exodus. She quickly dropped it however and adopted a smile as she stood and thanked Neville for waiting for her. She missed the slight flush that swept across Neville's face as they departed the Great Hall together making their way to Greenhouse One, and their last class of the term.
"***"
After Herbology Hermione went straight to the library. She was sure now more than ever that the boys would do nothing over the holidays. Both Harry and Ron had skipped Herbology. Granted that only she and Neville had been the only Gryffindor's present in Herbology. Thankfully Professor Sprout had been in the Christmas Spirit and overlooked the absences. No points had been deducted from Gryffindor nor detentions assigned.
Hermione sighed as the library's doors close behind her. Now was not the time to dwell on small miracles or the blatant disregard of academia that her House- and year-mates displayed. Rather now she needed to check those possible books for any mention of Flamel. She reached for her list and froze. Her pocket was empty. The list was gone. The list she had spent hours compiling. Gone.
She must have dropped it when she had collided with that boy. Maybe with any luck it was still lying on the floor in the Reference Section. Hermione made her way past Madam Pince and to the back of the library where the extensive Reference Section was.
"Gone. Of course." Hermione muttered darkly after her failed search for her list where she had fallen earlier that day. She squared her shoulders. Thankfully she had a keen memory and she remembered the majority of the call letters of the selected titles she had compiled. She went back to the shelf she found the first book that morning to find it missing. The next two stops were the same: the desired tomes were not shelved. She didn't give it much thought however, not till she climbed up to the balcony alcoves that lined the library to find the remaining four titles missing as well.
How very odd.
She pondered the possible significance behind this abnormality as she made her way back to the library's ground floor. Her head swam with all the possible scenarios to why the tomes were missing. One being that the rude boy had found her list and brought it to Professor Snape's attention. Who in turn had realized its importance and had wasted no time in retrieving all the texts pertaining to Flamel from the library. . .
"Looking for this?"
Hermione muffled a scream, startled, jumped and dropped her school bag. Her school supplies slipped out onto the stone floor. She successfully suppressed her primal urge to scream, this time from sheer frustration. She snatched the offered list and pocketed it.
Hermione had been right about one of her assumptions. The boy had picked up the list. She took pride in that as she bent and began replacing the spilled supplies back into her bag.
"Well, aren't you going to lend a hand?" She huffed as a tiny set of potion vials broke free of her grasp and rolled away from her in all directions.
"Why? You didn't lend one earlier when you ran into me."
Hermione refrained from the temptation of grinding her teeth and instead chewed her bottom lip angrily.
"You ran into me," She replied automatically scooping up the remaining vials and straightening up, closing her bag. "But I guess I should say thanks for returning the list. I needed it for a class project, but it appears someone has taken all the listed titles. You wouldn't happen to know who, would you?"
The boy smirked, turned and left.
Hermione followed close behind. He wasn't leaving without giving her some answers. "You don't talk much do you?"
"Some value quality over quantity."
Hermione's rebuff died on her lips when they stopped at two tables laden down with ancient tomes. One glance told her that the table on the left held all the texts she had been looking for.
"You're welcome," the boy smirked taking a seat at the adjacent table. That table, Hermione observed, held titles ranging from magical defense, defense against the dark arts, and the art of dueling.
Hermione blinked as recognition dawned. This boy had taken the assumption that she would return before the holidays and had collected the various titles she had wanted to look through for any mention of Flamel. That had been … sweet? No. Hermione couldn't associate that word with the sour faced, ravened haired boy.
"Are you just going to stand there and impersonate a guppy or read?"
To Hermione's horror she realized she had been staring, opening and closing her mouth, clearly surprised. She quickly snapped her mouth closed. "I-I was not impersonating a guppy. I was just … thinking." Hermione replied stiffly taking her seat and opening the tome nearest her and began reading. She chose to ignore his snort.
They both sat in comfortable silence fully engrossed in their reading as the hours ticked by.
Hermione sighed as she crossed off another dead end on her list. She had finished three of the seven huge tomes and still no mention of Flamel. Not even a passing line in a footnote. She sighed again. She checked her watch and she blinked. Both she and the boy had missed dinner.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but may I take your loud sighs to mean that you have had no luck with your search?"
"Yes."
"Why is this so great for you to find? You are spending more time than just a passing curiosity."
"It isn't just a curiosity. I told you, it's for a school project. And, even if it was just a curiosity I couldn't, wouldn't stop till I knew it forwards and backwards."
The brunette studied Hermione for what seem like hours. She praised herself for not flinching or yielding to the almost overwhelming urge to break their eye contact. Then he nodded turning his attention to the book before him.
"I have read about Flamel before," he spoke finally his tone quiet.
Hermione blinked.
"You have?!" Hermione winced realizing too late that she had said that rather loud. Loud enough to have Madam Pince send a warning for them to be quiet. Thankfully none came their way. Hermione slid off the chair and came near the boy. "Why didn't you say so sooner?" she hissed. "Who is he? What does he do? What is his main reason for fame? Does he own-"
"I am not an encyclopedia. I read something about him in passing a couple of years ago. All I can remember is he was an alchemist. Besides that I remember nothing about his biography, achievements or his claim to glory."
"Do you happen to remember what you were reading at the time?" She asked hope evident in her voice.
Hermione frowned at the sudden change that over took the boy. His shoulders and back hunched forward. His long hair falling over his face, successfully shielding it. For one strange instance she was reminded of how Professor Snape had looked the day before Halloween: sullen, depressed and the unmistakable air of one being utterly lost and alone. She shuttered at the correlation between the two.
She almost missed the boy's timid reply. Almost.
"I read it in a Muggle book." The obvious distaste of the word Muggle evident in his tone.
"What was the name of the book?" Hermione asked fighting the urge to defend her Muggle heritage to the boy.
Silence was her only answer for several minutes. Hermione feared the boy had forgotten the title, since he obviously thought poorly on Muggles, but her fears were unfounded.
"Encyclopedia Britannica," He muttered finally.
What Hermione did next surprised not only the raven haired boy but herself as well. She hugged him as she muttered her thanks.
Hermione came to her senses when she felt him stiffen against her. She released her hold on the boy and stepped back.
"S-sorry about that," she blushed embarrassed for her forwardness. Hermione glanced back up to the boy's face when he didn't immediately respond. His dark eyes bore into hers. His mouth was one thin line. She winced. "It just … I have been looking for anything about the mysterious Nicolas Flamel that when you gave me. . ." she trailed off unsure how to finish that thought.
What had compelled her to hug the boy? She pondered. She didn't know for sure, but she believed it partially was due to his apparent unease and discomfort at admitting he had read or had worked with anything Muggle-related. He had appeared to be so broken and alone.
Then it hit her. She had hugged someone freely, and thanked him while she was at it, but she hadn't bothered to get his name. She inwardly chided herself. She had purposefully not inquired about his name because she had been annoyed at his brash behavior, his liberty at assuming she would come back to the library later that day, and for him not lending a hand to help her. He hadn't introduced himself and she had thought it best to keep quiet. If he didn't have manners enough to give her his name, then she wasn't about to offer hers. But now...
"I am sorry for invading your personal space," she paused. She had never apologized for hugging anyone before and she wasn't going to now. He had plainly needed one, but she also knew she shouldn't have crossed personal boundaries without permission from someone she had just ran into - literally - that day. "Look can we be friends?" She asked finally.
The boy blinked and frowned. "Friends?" He asked warily, like the concept was foreign to him.
"Yes, friends."
"Why?"
"Because," and she stopped. Why did she want to be friends with the boy? It wasn't due to his winning personality that was for sure. He was an upper classmen from another house. But... There was something else about the pale boy that seem to speak to Hermione's heart. His assumption that she would ridicule him for reading a Muggle book. How he kept hiding his face with his hair, as if she would find fault in his features or mock him for them... That was it!
The boy was displaying signs of someone who had faced the hateful taunts of bullies. Even the sign of wariness at the genuine offer of friendship. Probably waiting for the punchline to fall instead of true companionship. She should know. She had been a victim herself. She understood all too well how it felt to be called by outlandish nick-names and taunts, both at her old Muggle school and here at Hogwarts. She took a long steadying breath. She knew from personal experience that she would have to bend the truth a little to make it sound like she was the one in dire need of a friend. Which wasn't too far removed from the truth.
"Because," she began again, "I don't have many friends and I would like you to be one."
The boy studied her with his unnerving black eyes for what felt like hours. "Okay. Friends," he finally conceded, nodding his head.
Hermione smiled timidly back. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you know my name, but I'm afraid I don't know yours."
The boy stood and offered his hand. "Severus," he paused when Hermione accepted his hand. "Severus Sn-" but Hermione didn't catch his last name for at that instant three sharp gongs, that notified that the library would be closing soon, rang out, muffling all sound.
"Oh," Hermione exclaimed letting go of Severus' hand. "We have to hurry if we are going to reshelve all these tomes before the library closes."
"Reshelve?"
"Certainly. We cannot leave all of this for Madam Pince to do herself. That wouldn't be right."
Severus snorted and gathered his books. "I take it you have not used the reshelving stations, then?"
"Of course I -" she stopped herself. She hadn't. She had always reshelved what she had pulled out. She knew how the books were arranged and sorted according to the rather simple Wizarding Codex Summoning System. She had always enjoyed reshelving books, and since she was an avid reader she felt it only right for her to reshelve what she had collected. So, she hadn't utilize the little stands that were present in each reading and studying alcove. Although, she had read the affixed placard that was on every station.
Which read: "Reshelving Station. Please deposit tomes and scrolls for proper return to shelves. Note: Materials form the Restricted Section must be brought to the Circulation Desk's Reshelving Station. Thank You." But that had been it.
Severus smirked.
Hermione frowned, turned and collected her books and bag. "No I guess I haven't but that doesn't change anything. We still need to put the books back ourselves. It wouldn't be in the Christmas Spirit to leave all this for Madam Pince to do herself."
"Quite commendable behavior, but unnecessary in this situation. Remember in the Wizarding world not all is as it may appear at first. Unlike the Muggle world we have magic at our disposal."
"I concur, but I don't see how that applies to this situation."
Severus' lips twisted upward for a fraction of a second before he smirked. "Come."
Hermione followed him to the nearby Reshelving Station and waited. He picked up a book and spoke, "Observe," before placing the book on the barren shelve and taking one step back. A second later the book floated up ten feet into the air before flying off towards the Reference Section from whence it originated.
Hermione turned, mouth agape, to her new friend. His smirk reminded her to close her mouth. She wet her lips and looked back at the little stand again. "That was incredible. Can I have a go?"
He snorted. "It's not an amusement ride, Hermione, but a magical convenience designed for all to use."
She rolled her eyes. She gently stepped forward and deposited her books. Then she waited expectedly. She frowned when nothing happened.
As if reading her mind Severus informed her where she had gone wrong. She needed to step away from the station or it wouldn't work. Hermione did and smiled as the books hovered up and raced back to their respectful homes among the hundreds of shelves.
"Welcome to Hogwarts' Library, Hermione." Severus drawled as he too sent his remaining books on their journey back to their proper locations.
"Thank you Severus."
She smiled. She had learned something about Flamel, albeit only that he was an alchemist, and the trick to the Reshelving Stations. But best of all she had made a new friend. Even if he wasn't dripping with manners and charm; he had needed a friend, and she was willing to be that friend.
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Author's Note: Well? What did you think about it? Hate it, love it or totally indifferent about the whole thing? Please let me know. R&R.
Edit Note: Fixed some mistakes (both grammatical and canonical). Chapter 2 is coming. I've just been delayed due to real life getting in the way.