A/N Okay everyone, this is a sequel to 'For the Love of the Land'. If you INSIST upon reading this before it's prequel feel free to be confused. For those of you loyal readers who have finished 'Love', this begins on Christmas Eve over winter holidays. This is just to set the stage, and everyone will be returning to Hogwarts in ch2. Enjoy reading, and don't forget to review!
A Glimpse of the Hidden
~I pledge my loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part One
"Just one more helping," Mrs. Weasley insisted.
"I am so full, Mrs. Weasley, I don't think I can even breathe!" Harry laughed, trying to deny her offer of even MORE Christmas pudding.
"No, dear, you need to eat more!" she said, sounding worried. "You're so thin! I don't think they're feeding you enough at school!"
"Trust me, Mum," Ginny interrupted, "Harry eats almost as much as Ron at school."
"I object!" Ron declared. "No one eats more than me!"
"That's for bloody sure," George muttered under his breath.
"Hey, I heard that!"
It was Christmas Eve at the Burrow. Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were trying to finish the feast Molly had prepared which they were starting to find impossible. (Bill would be coming over tomorrow with his wife Sandrine and their son Tom.) At the moment, only Ron was eating, and the others were playing with their pudding.
"Well, Molly, I think I've been had by this feast," Mr. Weasley said, pushing away his plate. Charlie, Percy, and Ginny followed suit. In a few moments even Ron set down his spoon.
"I suppose I ought to begin cleaning up," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Ginny, would you like to help me in the kitchen?"
"Sure, Mum," Ginny replied, already working on clearing away Ron's, Harry's, and Fred's plates as well as her own. Once all the dishes were carefully brought into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley began cleaning them, then handing them to Ginny to be dried.
"You've had a hard term, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said uneasily. She wasn't sure how to bring up the subject she wanted to talk about.
"What do you mean?" Ginny was genuinely curious because her mother had no idea how hard of a term it had been. Her mother knew nothing of being a Defender.
"The attack and all...it must have been horrible," she replied, avoiding Ginny's eyes. Nope, that's not what she wanted to talk about. Ginny knew when her mum was beating around the bush, and this was one of those times.
"Yeah, mum," Ginny replied, taking a plate and wiping her towel on it to dry it. There was an awkward silence, which she chose to ignore. Ginny got the eerie feeling that whatever her mother wanted to talk about, it was not what Ginny had in mind as a pleasant after-dinner conversation.
"Ginny...what's this I hear about you and Draco Malfoy?" Mrs. Weasley asked delicately. Ginny froze and stared at her mum.
"What?" she asked, not exactly registering what she had said.
"I've been hearing things, dear. Now Ginny, I want you to remember that he IS a Malfoy. I understand that you have your own choice about these things, but honey..." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I'm worried about you! I knew his father in school. Quite the charmer, but bad news. From what I've heard, the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree. I think he's bad news Ginny, and I don't think it's wise to-"
"How dare you?" Ginny interrupted, quivering in fury. "How DARE you talk about Draco like that!" Ginny lost control of the plate, which fell to the kitchen floor and shattered. She began to shake. "Don't you EVER say ANYTHING about Draco again!" she screamed at her mother. Then she turned and ran, throwing the towel behind her. Mrs. Weasley stood, stunned, staring at the towel and shards of the plate.
"Draco died, Mum," Mrs. Weasley spun around to see her youngest son leaning against the frame of the door.
"W...what?" she asked, confused. Ron walked in and began to sweep up the mess.
"He was killed in the battle," Ron explained. "He died to save another student." He straightened up, the dustpan full of shards in his hand.
"A Malfoy died saving another student?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyes wide. Ron nodded.
"I wouldn't have believed it either, if I hadn't seen him save Ginny."
"Save Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley repeated in disbelief.
"She would've been killed." Ron replied, his voice getting shaky. "The wand was pointed right at her, and Draco kicked him. The curse-the killing curse-flew just over her head." Mrs. Weasley's hand flew to her chest. Her baby, her baby girl! She had almost died? And Draco Malfoy had saved her?
"I...I...I don't know what to say." She finally managed to breathe, staring at the towel Ginny had thrown, her mind swimming.
"I do," Ron replied, picking up the towel and handing it to his shocked mother. "Do what I did-go apologize. Christmas won't be fun without her."
"I suppose you're right," Mrs. Weasley sighed. She absently kissed him on the cheek before turning to ascend to Ginny's room. Ron shuddered, not wanting to know what was going on up there. He turned and headed back into the living room where Harry, his brothers, and his father were talking and laughing in very loud voices.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Goodnight, Mum and Dad, I need to sleep," Hermione yawned. Mrs. Granger laughed softly, then kissed her daughter's forehead. Hermione gave her dad a hug before dragging her up the stairs and into her bedroom. On her bed, she saw two owls waiting for her. Curiosity waking her up, she untied the packages and opened them curiously.
The first was a little green package with a card from Neville. She opened it and began laughing. A tiny, Muggle water gun was looking back at her innocently. Grinning, she leapt up and grabbed a carefully wrapped package from inside her closet. Inside the box was a bonsai tree for her forgetful friend. She had put 12 spells on the box before she was satisfied that the tree wouldn't be damaged. She tied it to the owl, thankful that among those spells she had remembered to make it lighter, then sent the owl on its way.
She then turned to the other bird. She tore off the red and green wrapping paper to find a colorful book entitled 'Lola: The Life and Times of England's Only Female Pirate' and a letter from Cho. Squealing with delight, Hermione fingered through the book, seeing the moving pictures of the she-pirate in many settings. From what she could tell, Lola was a witch. She put the book down and eagerly reached for Cho's present, a colorful, battery powered fan. Cho was a purebred, and had never seen a fan before. As it brought wind, Hermione knew Cho would get a kick out of it. She sent the package on its way, and settled into bed.
Now the question remained of getting her gifts to Harry, Ron, and Ginny... Hermione rolled over and yawned. 'I really need an owl' she thought sleepily as she the atmosphere around her give way to slumber and dreams of owls, pirates, and water guns.
The next morning was bright, even more so because of the sparkling white of the new fallen snow. Hermione leapt out of bed like a six-year-old, eager to get to her presents below. She found her parents waiting for her, sipping coffee and discussing dentistry. Hermione dug into the first present. A book, naturally.
As Hermione worked her way around the tree, she found it hard to hide her disappointment. It was selfish, she knew, but it seemed like there was a lot less this year. The thought struck her that her parents were having trouble at the office or something. She immediately felt guilty and flashed her best 'thank-you' smile at her parents. When she was finished she eagerly grabbed the first book and dived into it.
"Hermione, dear." Mrs. Granger said, trying not to laugh.
"Yes, Mum?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the first chapter.
"I think you should see this snow. It's really fabulous." Hermione looked up at her mum curiously. Snow? Why would she want to see the snow?
"Yes, Hermione, I think you should see it, it's really...white." Her father said thoughtfully, gently pulling the book from her grasp and helping her up. Looking at her parents as if they were nuts, She walked to the front door, and they nodded, looking as if they were holding in mounting excitement. Rolling her eyes, Hermione opened the door, and surveyed the front lawn. Next door neighbor's house, trees, snow, driveway, three nice cars, neighbor's house...
Wait a second...three nice cars?
"OH MY GOD!" Hermione screamed, running out in her bare feet to a red car with a huge green bow on top. She ran her hand along the hood in awe, and eagerly opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. It was like the car was made for her. She looked up through the windshield and saw her parents emerging from the house, laughing. It was obvious that they had expected their daughter's reaction. Hermione opened the door and slid out running to her parents and pulling them into a hug.
"I can't believe it, you guys are the greatest!" She squealed. Her father let out a heartfelt laugh, and his wife smiled. Only their daughter could make him smile since Charlotte had died. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Go get dressed and put your shoes on." Mr. Granger instructed, handing Hermione the keys. Hermione looked down at them in bewilderment.
"But...but...I'm not going anywhere right now!" she said.
"You're not?" Her father replied, raising an eyebrow. "Well that's odd, because I heard some young lady didn't know how to give her friends their gifts..." Hermione felt her heart leap into her chest. Ron! Her mother smiled when she saw Hermione's face light up.
"Go on, dear," she said, nodding knowingly at her daughter.
"Your father and I were invited to a dreadfully dull party, and I'm sure you would rather be with Harry and Ron."
"I love you guys!" Hermione exclaimed, hugging her parents and running upstairs. She was dressed and ready to go in record time, barely remembering to bring Harry, Ron, and Ginny's gifts.
Be careful," Her mother said automatically, kissing her daughter's cheek.
"I will," Hermione promised, turning from her mother to hug her father.
"Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome," Mr. Granger said gruffly, returning his daughter's embrace. Smiling happily she slid into her car. Her parents watched her drive away with misty eyes.
"Charles, our little girl is all grown up." Mrs. Granger said to her husband, smiling sadly and trying not to cry.
"I know Elizabeth," he sighed. "I know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mum, you didn't!"
"Merlin's beard, Charlie, I love it!"
"This isn't dangerous, is it Fred?"
"I can't believe you went to all the trouble!"
"It's a Muggle device, see?"
"Try it on, Percy dear."
"Isn't this cool, Harry?"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" The exclamation from Bill's toddling son Tom interrupted all the chatter with laughter and several "hear, hear!"s.
It was louder than most of Fred and George's explosions in the Weasley living room. Everyone had just eaten lunch, and were now comparing gifts. From the traditional Weasley sweater to Ron's package of sugar quills, everyone was pleased. Harry was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Weasleys, and felt like he could never repay them.
The Christmas tree stood straight and tall in the center of the room. Around it sat ten redheaded Weasleys (it seemed that Tom, the newest member of the Weasley family, had the trademark flaming locks), Bill's blonde wife and Harry. Everyone was happily conversing, with Mrs. Weasley constantly getting up to fuss over everyone's snacks. Everyone was happy and boredom was nonexistent.
Well, Harry realized, that wasn't entirely true. Ginny, though she tried her best to hide it, looked miserable. Though forcefully smiling, she was avoiding conversation at all costs. Harry wanted to reach out to her, to show her that he knew she was in pain. However, he couldn't. He couldn't help her grieve for Malfoy.
"Harry, what do you think?" Ron asked, pulling on his maroon sweater and giving Harry his best 'I'm a super model' smile. Harry cracked up, and pulled on his own green sweater. He had kept every sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him. He treasured them, because they were a motherly gesture from the mother he never had. As a consequence of all the noise, no one heard the doorbell ring the first time...or the second...or the third. Finally, on the ringer's fourth try, Mr. Weasley sighed and stood up.
"Someone's at the door, Molly, I'll be right back," he said to his wife.
"The door?" Mrs. Weasley responded, frowning. "Who would be at the door?" Mr. Weasley shrugged and went out into the foyer and answered the door. He found a very cold Hermione Granger waiting for him.
"Hermione!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. "Come on in!"
"Thanks," she replied, smiling and politely wiping off her snow covered shoes. Mr. Weasley smiled; he was really quite fond of Hermione.
"Everyone's in the living room." He said, gesturing for Hermione to follow. She did so, and entered the room grinning at the pandemonium set before her. Eleven very joyful people were laughing and shouting loudly for the entire world to hear. It was moments like this when she wished she wasn't an only child.
Suddenly, as if he could sense her mere presence (which he certainly could) Ron looked up. Even though he was sitting across the room and had been in deep conversation with Harry and Charlie, Hermione saw his features light up, and she felt her heart beating faster and butterflies swarming into her stomach.
"HERMIONE!" he shouted, leaping up and running across the room. Without hesitation, he pulled her close and kissed her.
It only lasted a moment, as they broke apart, Hermione began to blush. Charlie was whistling, Bill was catcalling, Percy was frowning, Fred and George were singing "Ron and Hermione, sitting in a tree," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking at their son curiously, and Harry was pushing through the crowd toward them, grinning.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed, giving her bespectacled friend a hug. "Goodness, it seems like a year, not a week." She smiled at them, and let her eyes travel around the room.
"GINNY!" She suddenly squealed. The younger girl jumped as if coming out of a trance, then, upon seeing Hermione, ran to her. They hugged, and Ginny whispered in something in her ear so quietly that she thought no one would hear her...but Harry did.
"We need to talk."
Breaking apart, Hermione merely nodded. Then the rest of the Weasleys, who were very anxious to talk to her, attacked her. She felt like she was in a sea of red as she hugged Weasley after Weasley, and had been introduced to Sandrine, Bill's wife, about six times. It wasn't for another hour that Hermione sat down with Harry and Ron alone.
"I missed you guys!" she said, sighing happily.
"I missed you too," Ron smiled.
"I did NOT miss all this mush!" Harry joked, earning a playful punch from Ron and an eye roll from Hermione.
"How did you get here?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione grinned devilishly.
"My parents got me a car."
"NO WAY!" Harry shouted, his green eyes expanding. Giggling, Hermione nodded.
"It's all red and, well, I don't know much about cars..."
"That much is obvious," Ron teased. Hermione slapped his arm playfully. Ron shoved her back.
"Ahem," Harry fake coughed, interrupting their banter. The other two immediately went red as Harry snickered.
"Shut up, Potter," Ron said. "Anyway..." He suddenly looked very shy as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, square package wrapped in lavender, "This is for you." Hermione took it and unwrapped the paper. She opened the little brown box carefully and eagerly pulled out its contents. She gasped.
She was holding a snow globe. Inside, and dainty little ice skater in a pretty lavender outfit smiled up at her. She danced as snow gently fell continually from the top. It was beautiful. Hermione found herself speechless, gazing at the beautiful object in her hand.
"Here," Ron said, taking one of Hermione's hands and placing it over the globe. "Now, close your eyes and think of a song." He instructed. Hermione immediately thought of 'Hark, Hear the Bells', which she had heard on the radio on the drive over.
"Now," Ron said, lifting her hand. Hermione gasped again, as she heard the exact same version of 'Hark, Hear the Bells' coming from the little globe. She looked up at Ron in disbelief.
"Do you like it?" he asked uncertainly.
"It's...it's beautiful," She breathed, once again investigating the ice dancer, who winked at her before flying off into a figure 8 in time with the music.
"I love it." Ron grinned with relief. "Here," Hermione said, tearing herself away from the beautiful globe and pulling out Ron's gift. He took it blushing, then eagerly tore off the wrapping paper. It had taken Hermione forever to choose Ron's gift, but the look on his face was all worth it.
She had given him a new wizard's chess set. Not the kind you would usually see, because the bishops and pawns did look as you'd expect them to. The Queen was a seeker, the knights were beaters, the bishops were chasers, the castles were keepers, the pawns were spectators, and the King was the referee. Yes, she had managed to combine Quidditch and chess: Ron's two favorite pastimes.
"Wow, Hermione," he gaped, staring at the chess set.
"Great gift, 'Mione," Harry complimented. "Made my new set of Potion's ingredients look bad."
"Potion's ingredients?" Hermione echoed, mortified.
"Just kidding, Hermione," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"Well, maybe I won't give you your gift then." she teased. Actually, there was no way she wasn't giving Harry his gift. She had gone to a lot of trouble and asked a lot of favors for his present.
"Aw c'mon 'Mione!" he whined. Laughing, Hermione pulled out his package, biting her lip. She wasn't sure how he was going to react.
"What did you get him?" Ron whispered as Harry tore off the paper.
"You're about to see," Hermione answered, holding her breath.
"It's...a snitch." Harry observed, raising an eyebrow. Indeed it was. Encased in a small glass box on a handsome black base was a golden snitch.
"Read the inscription," Hermione said, forcing the words to come out casually. Harry looked down and read out loud.
"The Golden Snitch caught by..." Harry's voice faltered. "Caught by Captain James Potter of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, winning the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup in the year 1978." He looked up at Hermione in disbelief, then back down at the snitch, blinking hard. Ron looked over at Hermione, impressed.
"Hermione...this is..." Harry was finding that his voice wasn't working properly. The snitch his father caught. He didn't know that the look on his face betrayed all the feelings he couldn't sort out.
"Thank you," he finally managed to whisper.
"Anytime," Hermione replied, trying to smile. Harry's reaction had been much more emotional than she had predicted.
"Well, I'd better go get yours." Harry said after a few minutes of staring at the golden ball on wings, hovering inside the glass case. "I feel silly now."
"Don't," Ron and Hermione said at the same time. Harry grinned and ran upstairs.
"Ron, keep her eyes closed!" he hollered behind him. Ron obliged by wrapping his hands around her eyes. Hermione struggled, but knew Ron was too strong for her to get away.
"What is it?" she whined.
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?" he asked, and Hermione could perfectly envision his smirk. She rolled her eyes behind his hands.
"Okay," Harry said, sounding out of breath. "Let her go." Hermione blinked, momentarily blinded by the light when Ron released her. Then she looked down, and saw what Harry was holding.
A baby owl, no more than a month old, with handsome chestnut feathers and large brown eyes looked up at her curiously. She gave a tiny hoot, and Hermione squealed.
"Oh my gosh, she's perfect Harry!" she exclaimed, carefully taking the baby owl from Harry's hands into her own. "I was just wishing for an owl last night."
"Let's just hope she passes the Crookshanks inspection," Ron joked, grinning as he and Harry watched Hermione play with the young bird.
"What's her name?" she asked.
"That's up to you." Harry said. "We figured you would want to name it."
"It's a girl right?" Hermione said, frowning as she tried to think of a name.
"Right as usual, Hermione," Harry replied with a grin.
"Lola." Hermione said, remembering the she-pirate from the book Cho sent her. "Her name is Lola."
"Lola?" Ron asked, amused. "Who ever heard of naming their owl Lola?" Ron was interrupted when Lola the owl hooted indignantly. The three friends laughed.
"So Harry," Ron continued. "Up for a game of chess? I got this wonderful new chess set for Christmas and I've been meaning to try it out..."
"You mean beat someone miserably?" Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"More or less, yeah," Ron smirked.
"Hey, where's Ginny?" Hermione asked suddenly, remembering her promised talk. Ron shrugged, and gestured to the stairs. As he and Harry pulled out chess sets, Hermione fled up the stairs into Ginny's room.
There she was, sitting on her bed and playing heartlessly with a doll she must've had for ten years. Hermione's heart went out to Ginny, who seemed to be a fragile child in this sky blue room with her pink dressed doll.
"Hey," she said, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"Hi," Ginny squeaked, looking up at her. Hermione noticed the small, forced smile holding back tears.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" she asked in concern, sitting down next to Ginny on her perfectly made bed.
"My mother told me Draco was bad news yesterday." Ginny replied distantly, as if it were an observation rather than an answer.
"She what?" Hermione asked, her eyes bulging. Why would Mrs. Weasley say such a thing?
"She apologized, of course," Ginny continued. "Ron told her what happened. But I don't think she cares. No one cares."
"Oh Ginny..." Hermione said with understanding, pulling the younger girl into a hug. Ginny began to shake, and Hermione felt a wet spot forming on her shoulder. She began to wonder if Ginny could ever heal from Draco's death.
"I got you something," Hermione said as Ginny pulled away, wiping her eyes. Hermione leaned over and picked up the package she had gently set there before. Ginny took it and unwrapped it carefully. She opened the black box and gasped.
It was a necklace. A beautiful silver chain with a glass pendant. Within the glass pendant was a blue flame, one of the blue ball flames Hermione was famous for. She smiled up at her friend.
"It's beautiful, Hermione," She said. Hermione smiled and helped Ginny put it on. Suddenly, the tranquility of the room was interrupted by an annoying knock at Ginny's window. Hermione opened it, and two owls soared inside, both carrying two packages. Hermione and Ginny untied the parcels, then sent the owls on their way.
"Here," Ginny said. "These are from Luna. This is yours and this is mine."
"Who's the other one from?" Hermione asked curiously. Again, there was one package for herself and one for Ginny. Ginny shrugged and started unwrapping Luna's gift. The first thing they saw was a letter, but that was quickly forgotten. Inside the package, they both had a framed picture. The picture was one Sirius had taken during the last Defender meeting before the attack. It showed Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Cho, Luna, and, most importantly, Draco. All six were laughing and talking. Hermione felt a lump form in her throat as she watched Draco and Ginny's playful banter. Hermione looked up to see Ginny staring at the picture with tears in her eyes.
"We were having so much fun," Ginny said, her voice cracking as she struggled not to cry. Hermione felt her own eyes watering.
"Let's open the other parcels," Hermione said suddenly, trying to prevent tears anew. Ginny consented by picking up hers and opening it curiously. Inside was a rock. It was a black rock with several holes. She was surprised by it's lightweight.
"There's no card, no note," Ginny frowned. "I don't know what it is or who it's from." Indeed, the only writing at all was the names on the gold wrapping paper. Neither of them recognized it.
Hermione opened her own package to find a vial of water. It didn't look any different than water out of a tap. Hermione frowned as she inspected it. She tried to use her power to make it warmer or colder, but it seemed unaffected. She and Ginny shrugged, not knowing what to do with them.
"Hey, I hear your family sings carols on Christmas," Hermione said brightly.
"And...?" Ginny replied, confused.
"Well, you don't want to sit up here and be antisocial all night, do you?" Hermione asked. She plunged on before Ginny could answer.
"C'mon!" She took Ginny's hand and led her down the stairs, humming 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Things'. Ginny started laughing at Hermione's very...un-Hermionelike behavior.
"There you are!" Ron exclaimed. "I've already beat Harry twice."
"I give up," Harry said, sighing. Hermione laughed, and even Ginny smiled. Harry felt his heart beat faster. He had made Ginny smile! Really smile too, it wasn't even forced!
"C'mon, everyone!" Mr. Weasley hollered. "Who's up for 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas?'"
It seemed that everyone was. Mr. Weasley transfigured an arm chair into a piano, sitting down and beginning to play. Outside, the snow was gently falling as the sun's final rays died. It seemed that the entire world was happy on that Christmas night.
The entire world except one tall, red-haired man hiding beneath a bush with a cloak pulled around him. He scowled when he saw the happy family singing through the window. Quickly, he Disapparated, the words to the joyful tune still ringing in his years.
"Good tidings to you, wherever you are. Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!"
A Glimpse of the Hidden
~I pledge my loyalty to Honor, Justice, and Hogwarts~
Part One
"Just one more helping," Mrs. Weasley insisted.
"I am so full, Mrs. Weasley, I don't think I can even breathe!" Harry laughed, trying to deny her offer of even MORE Christmas pudding.
"No, dear, you need to eat more!" she said, sounding worried. "You're so thin! I don't think they're feeding you enough at school!"
"Trust me, Mum," Ginny interrupted, "Harry eats almost as much as Ron at school."
"I object!" Ron declared. "No one eats more than me!"
"That's for bloody sure," George muttered under his breath.
"Hey, I heard that!"
It was Christmas Eve at the Burrow. Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, and Harry were trying to finish the feast Molly had prepared which they were starting to find impossible. (Bill would be coming over tomorrow with his wife Sandrine and their son Tom.) At the moment, only Ron was eating, and the others were playing with their pudding.
"Well, Molly, I think I've been had by this feast," Mr. Weasley said, pushing away his plate. Charlie, Percy, and Ginny followed suit. In a few moments even Ron set down his spoon.
"I suppose I ought to begin cleaning up," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Ginny, would you like to help me in the kitchen?"
"Sure, Mum," Ginny replied, already working on clearing away Ron's, Harry's, and Fred's plates as well as her own. Once all the dishes were carefully brought into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley began cleaning them, then handing them to Ginny to be dried.
"You've had a hard term, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said uneasily. She wasn't sure how to bring up the subject she wanted to talk about.
"What do you mean?" Ginny was genuinely curious because her mother had no idea how hard of a term it had been. Her mother knew nothing of being a Defender.
"The attack and all...it must have been horrible," she replied, avoiding Ginny's eyes. Nope, that's not what she wanted to talk about. Ginny knew when her mum was beating around the bush, and this was one of those times.
"Yeah, mum," Ginny replied, taking a plate and wiping her towel on it to dry it. There was an awkward silence, which she chose to ignore. Ginny got the eerie feeling that whatever her mother wanted to talk about, it was not what Ginny had in mind as a pleasant after-dinner conversation.
"Ginny...what's this I hear about you and Draco Malfoy?" Mrs. Weasley asked delicately. Ginny froze and stared at her mum.
"What?" she asked, not exactly registering what she had said.
"I've been hearing things, dear. Now Ginny, I want you to remember that he IS a Malfoy. I understand that you have your own choice about these things, but honey..." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I'm worried about you! I knew his father in school. Quite the charmer, but bad news. From what I've heard, the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree. I think he's bad news Ginny, and I don't think it's wise to-"
"How dare you?" Ginny interrupted, quivering in fury. "How DARE you talk about Draco like that!" Ginny lost control of the plate, which fell to the kitchen floor and shattered. She began to shake. "Don't you EVER say ANYTHING about Draco again!" she screamed at her mother. Then she turned and ran, throwing the towel behind her. Mrs. Weasley stood, stunned, staring at the towel and shards of the plate.
"Draco died, Mum," Mrs. Weasley spun around to see her youngest son leaning against the frame of the door.
"W...what?" she asked, confused. Ron walked in and began to sweep up the mess.
"He was killed in the battle," Ron explained. "He died to save another student." He straightened up, the dustpan full of shards in his hand.
"A Malfoy died saving another student?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her eyes wide. Ron nodded.
"I wouldn't have believed it either, if I hadn't seen him save Ginny."
"Save Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley repeated in disbelief.
"She would've been killed." Ron replied, his voice getting shaky. "The wand was pointed right at her, and Draco kicked him. The curse-the killing curse-flew just over her head." Mrs. Weasley's hand flew to her chest. Her baby, her baby girl! She had almost died? And Draco Malfoy had saved her?
"I...I...I don't know what to say." She finally managed to breathe, staring at the towel Ginny had thrown, her mind swimming.
"I do," Ron replied, picking up the towel and handing it to his shocked mother. "Do what I did-go apologize. Christmas won't be fun without her."
"I suppose you're right," Mrs. Weasley sighed. She absently kissed him on the cheek before turning to ascend to Ginny's room. Ron shuddered, not wanting to know what was going on up there. He turned and headed back into the living room where Harry, his brothers, and his father were talking and laughing in very loud voices.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Goodnight, Mum and Dad, I need to sleep," Hermione yawned. Mrs. Granger laughed softly, then kissed her daughter's forehead. Hermione gave her dad a hug before dragging her up the stairs and into her bedroom. On her bed, she saw two owls waiting for her. Curiosity waking her up, she untied the packages and opened them curiously.
The first was a little green package with a card from Neville. She opened it and began laughing. A tiny, Muggle water gun was looking back at her innocently. Grinning, she leapt up and grabbed a carefully wrapped package from inside her closet. Inside the box was a bonsai tree for her forgetful friend. She had put 12 spells on the box before she was satisfied that the tree wouldn't be damaged. She tied it to the owl, thankful that among those spells she had remembered to make it lighter, then sent the owl on its way.
She then turned to the other bird. She tore off the red and green wrapping paper to find a colorful book entitled 'Lola: The Life and Times of England's Only Female Pirate' and a letter from Cho. Squealing with delight, Hermione fingered through the book, seeing the moving pictures of the she-pirate in many settings. From what she could tell, Lola was a witch. She put the book down and eagerly reached for Cho's present, a colorful, battery powered fan. Cho was a purebred, and had never seen a fan before. As it brought wind, Hermione knew Cho would get a kick out of it. She sent the package on its way, and settled into bed.
Now the question remained of getting her gifts to Harry, Ron, and Ginny... Hermione rolled over and yawned. 'I really need an owl' she thought sleepily as she the atmosphere around her give way to slumber and dreams of owls, pirates, and water guns.
The next morning was bright, even more so because of the sparkling white of the new fallen snow. Hermione leapt out of bed like a six-year-old, eager to get to her presents below. She found her parents waiting for her, sipping coffee and discussing dentistry. Hermione dug into the first present. A book, naturally.
As Hermione worked her way around the tree, she found it hard to hide her disappointment. It was selfish, she knew, but it seemed like there was a lot less this year. The thought struck her that her parents were having trouble at the office or something. She immediately felt guilty and flashed her best 'thank-you' smile at her parents. When she was finished she eagerly grabbed the first book and dived into it.
"Hermione, dear." Mrs. Granger said, trying not to laugh.
"Yes, Mum?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the first chapter.
"I think you should see this snow. It's really fabulous." Hermione looked up at her mum curiously. Snow? Why would she want to see the snow?
"Yes, Hermione, I think you should see it, it's really...white." Her father said thoughtfully, gently pulling the book from her grasp and helping her up. Looking at her parents as if they were nuts, She walked to the front door, and they nodded, looking as if they were holding in mounting excitement. Rolling her eyes, Hermione opened the door, and surveyed the front lawn. Next door neighbor's house, trees, snow, driveway, three nice cars, neighbor's house...
Wait a second...three nice cars?
"OH MY GOD!" Hermione screamed, running out in her bare feet to a red car with a huge green bow on top. She ran her hand along the hood in awe, and eagerly opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. It was like the car was made for her. She looked up through the windshield and saw her parents emerging from the house, laughing. It was obvious that they had expected their daughter's reaction. Hermione opened the door and slid out running to her parents and pulling them into a hug.
"I can't believe it, you guys are the greatest!" She squealed. Her father let out a heartfelt laugh, and his wife smiled. Only their daughter could make him smile since Charlotte had died. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Go get dressed and put your shoes on." Mr. Granger instructed, handing Hermione the keys. Hermione looked down at them in bewilderment.
"But...but...I'm not going anywhere right now!" she said.
"You're not?" Her father replied, raising an eyebrow. "Well that's odd, because I heard some young lady didn't know how to give her friends their gifts..." Hermione felt her heart leap into her chest. Ron! Her mother smiled when she saw Hermione's face light up.
"Go on, dear," she said, nodding knowingly at her daughter.
"Your father and I were invited to a dreadfully dull party, and I'm sure you would rather be with Harry and Ron."
"I love you guys!" Hermione exclaimed, hugging her parents and running upstairs. She was dressed and ready to go in record time, barely remembering to bring Harry, Ron, and Ginny's gifts.
Be careful," Her mother said automatically, kissing her daughter's cheek.
"I will," Hermione promised, turning from her mother to hug her father.
"Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome," Mr. Granger said gruffly, returning his daughter's embrace. Smiling happily she slid into her car. Her parents watched her drive away with misty eyes.
"Charles, our little girl is all grown up." Mrs. Granger said to her husband, smiling sadly and trying not to cry.
"I know Elizabeth," he sighed. "I know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Mum, you didn't!"
"Merlin's beard, Charlie, I love it!"
"This isn't dangerous, is it Fred?"
"I can't believe you went to all the trouble!"
"It's a Muggle device, see?"
"Try it on, Percy dear."
"Isn't this cool, Harry?"
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" The exclamation from Bill's toddling son Tom interrupted all the chatter with laughter and several "hear, hear!"s.
It was louder than most of Fred and George's explosions in the Weasley living room. Everyone had just eaten lunch, and were now comparing gifts. From the traditional Weasley sweater to Ron's package of sugar quills, everyone was pleased. Harry was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Weasleys, and felt like he could never repay them.
The Christmas tree stood straight and tall in the center of the room. Around it sat ten redheaded Weasleys (it seemed that Tom, the newest member of the Weasley family, had the trademark flaming locks), Bill's blonde wife and Harry. Everyone was happily conversing, with Mrs. Weasley constantly getting up to fuss over everyone's snacks. Everyone was happy and boredom was nonexistent.
Well, Harry realized, that wasn't entirely true. Ginny, though she tried her best to hide it, looked miserable. Though forcefully smiling, she was avoiding conversation at all costs. Harry wanted to reach out to her, to show her that he knew she was in pain. However, he couldn't. He couldn't help her grieve for Malfoy.
"Harry, what do you think?" Ron asked, pulling on his maroon sweater and giving Harry his best 'I'm a super model' smile. Harry cracked up, and pulled on his own green sweater. He had kept every sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him. He treasured them, because they were a motherly gesture from the mother he never had. As a consequence of all the noise, no one heard the doorbell ring the first time...or the second...or the third. Finally, on the ringer's fourth try, Mr. Weasley sighed and stood up.
"Someone's at the door, Molly, I'll be right back," he said to his wife.
"The door?" Mrs. Weasley responded, frowning. "Who would be at the door?" Mr. Weasley shrugged and went out into the foyer and answered the door. He found a very cold Hermione Granger waiting for him.
"Hermione!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed. "Come on in!"
"Thanks," she replied, smiling and politely wiping off her snow covered shoes. Mr. Weasley smiled; he was really quite fond of Hermione.
"Everyone's in the living room." He said, gesturing for Hermione to follow. She did so, and entered the room grinning at the pandemonium set before her. Eleven very joyful people were laughing and shouting loudly for the entire world to hear. It was moments like this when she wished she wasn't an only child.
Suddenly, as if he could sense her mere presence (which he certainly could) Ron looked up. Even though he was sitting across the room and had been in deep conversation with Harry and Charlie, Hermione saw his features light up, and she felt her heart beating faster and butterflies swarming into her stomach.
"HERMIONE!" he shouted, leaping up and running across the room. Without hesitation, he pulled her close and kissed her.
It only lasted a moment, as they broke apart, Hermione began to blush. Charlie was whistling, Bill was catcalling, Percy was frowning, Fred and George were singing "Ron and Hermione, sitting in a tree," Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were looking at their son curiously, and Harry was pushing through the crowd toward them, grinning.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed, giving her bespectacled friend a hug. "Goodness, it seems like a year, not a week." She smiled at them, and let her eyes travel around the room.
"GINNY!" She suddenly squealed. The younger girl jumped as if coming out of a trance, then, upon seeing Hermione, ran to her. They hugged, and Ginny whispered in something in her ear so quietly that she thought no one would hear her...but Harry did.
"We need to talk."
Breaking apart, Hermione merely nodded. Then the rest of the Weasleys, who were very anxious to talk to her, attacked her. She felt like she was in a sea of red as she hugged Weasley after Weasley, and had been introduced to Sandrine, Bill's wife, about six times. It wasn't for another hour that Hermione sat down with Harry and Ron alone.
"I missed you guys!" she said, sighing happily.
"I missed you too," Ron smiled.
"I did NOT miss all this mush!" Harry joked, earning a playful punch from Ron and an eye roll from Hermione.
"How did you get here?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione grinned devilishly.
"My parents got me a car."
"NO WAY!" Harry shouted, his green eyes expanding. Giggling, Hermione nodded.
"It's all red and, well, I don't know much about cars..."
"That much is obvious," Ron teased. Hermione slapped his arm playfully. Ron shoved her back.
"Ahem," Harry fake coughed, interrupting their banter. The other two immediately went red as Harry snickered.
"Shut up, Potter," Ron said. "Anyway..." He suddenly looked very shy as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, square package wrapped in lavender, "This is for you." Hermione took it and unwrapped the paper. She opened the little brown box carefully and eagerly pulled out its contents. She gasped.
She was holding a snow globe. Inside, and dainty little ice skater in a pretty lavender outfit smiled up at her. She danced as snow gently fell continually from the top. It was beautiful. Hermione found herself speechless, gazing at the beautiful object in her hand.
"Here," Ron said, taking one of Hermione's hands and placing it over the globe. "Now, close your eyes and think of a song." He instructed. Hermione immediately thought of 'Hark, Hear the Bells', which she had heard on the radio on the drive over.
"Now," Ron said, lifting her hand. Hermione gasped again, as she heard the exact same version of 'Hark, Hear the Bells' coming from the little globe. She looked up at Ron in disbelief.
"Do you like it?" he asked uncertainly.
"It's...it's beautiful," She breathed, once again investigating the ice dancer, who winked at her before flying off into a figure 8 in time with the music.
"I love it." Ron grinned with relief. "Here," Hermione said, tearing herself away from the beautiful globe and pulling out Ron's gift. He took it blushing, then eagerly tore off the wrapping paper. It had taken Hermione forever to choose Ron's gift, but the look on his face was all worth it.
She had given him a new wizard's chess set. Not the kind you would usually see, because the bishops and pawns did look as you'd expect them to. The Queen was a seeker, the knights were beaters, the bishops were chasers, the castles were keepers, the pawns were spectators, and the King was the referee. Yes, she had managed to combine Quidditch and chess: Ron's two favorite pastimes.
"Wow, Hermione," he gaped, staring at the chess set.
"Great gift, 'Mione," Harry complimented. "Made my new set of Potion's ingredients look bad."
"Potion's ingredients?" Hermione echoed, mortified.
"Just kidding, Hermione," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"Well, maybe I won't give you your gift then." she teased. Actually, there was no way she wasn't giving Harry his gift. She had gone to a lot of trouble and asked a lot of favors for his present.
"Aw c'mon 'Mione!" he whined. Laughing, Hermione pulled out his package, biting her lip. She wasn't sure how he was going to react.
"What did you get him?" Ron whispered as Harry tore off the paper.
"You're about to see," Hermione answered, holding her breath.
"It's...a snitch." Harry observed, raising an eyebrow. Indeed it was. Encased in a small glass box on a handsome black base was a golden snitch.
"Read the inscription," Hermione said, forcing the words to come out casually. Harry looked down and read out loud.
"The Golden Snitch caught by..." Harry's voice faltered. "Caught by Captain James Potter of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, winning the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup in the year 1978." He looked up at Hermione in disbelief, then back down at the snitch, blinking hard. Ron looked over at Hermione, impressed.
"Hermione...this is..." Harry was finding that his voice wasn't working properly. The snitch his father caught. He didn't know that the look on his face betrayed all the feelings he couldn't sort out.
"Thank you," he finally managed to whisper.
"Anytime," Hermione replied, trying to smile. Harry's reaction had been much more emotional than she had predicted.
"Well, I'd better go get yours." Harry said after a few minutes of staring at the golden ball on wings, hovering inside the glass case. "I feel silly now."
"Don't," Ron and Hermione said at the same time. Harry grinned and ran upstairs.
"Ron, keep her eyes closed!" he hollered behind him. Ron obliged by wrapping his hands around her eyes. Hermione struggled, but knew Ron was too strong for her to get away.
"What is it?" she whined.
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?" he asked, and Hermione could perfectly envision his smirk. She rolled her eyes behind his hands.
"Okay," Harry said, sounding out of breath. "Let her go." Hermione blinked, momentarily blinded by the light when Ron released her. Then she looked down, and saw what Harry was holding.
A baby owl, no more than a month old, with handsome chestnut feathers and large brown eyes looked up at her curiously. She gave a tiny hoot, and Hermione squealed.
"Oh my gosh, she's perfect Harry!" she exclaimed, carefully taking the baby owl from Harry's hands into her own. "I was just wishing for an owl last night."
"Let's just hope she passes the Crookshanks inspection," Ron joked, grinning as he and Harry watched Hermione play with the young bird.
"What's her name?" she asked.
"That's up to you." Harry said. "We figured you would want to name it."
"It's a girl right?" Hermione said, frowning as she tried to think of a name.
"Right as usual, Hermione," Harry replied with a grin.
"Lola." Hermione said, remembering the she-pirate from the book Cho sent her. "Her name is Lola."
"Lola?" Ron asked, amused. "Who ever heard of naming their owl Lola?" Ron was interrupted when Lola the owl hooted indignantly. The three friends laughed.
"So Harry," Ron continued. "Up for a game of chess? I got this wonderful new chess set for Christmas and I've been meaning to try it out..."
"You mean beat someone miserably?" Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"More or less, yeah," Ron smirked.
"Hey, where's Ginny?" Hermione asked suddenly, remembering her promised talk. Ron shrugged, and gestured to the stairs. As he and Harry pulled out chess sets, Hermione fled up the stairs into Ginny's room.
There she was, sitting on her bed and playing heartlessly with a doll she must've had for ten years. Hermione's heart went out to Ginny, who seemed to be a fragile child in this sky blue room with her pink dressed doll.
"Hey," she said, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"Hi," Ginny squeaked, looking up at her. Hermione noticed the small, forced smile holding back tears.
"Ginny, what's wrong?" she asked in concern, sitting down next to Ginny on her perfectly made bed.
"My mother told me Draco was bad news yesterday." Ginny replied distantly, as if it were an observation rather than an answer.
"She what?" Hermione asked, her eyes bulging. Why would Mrs. Weasley say such a thing?
"She apologized, of course," Ginny continued. "Ron told her what happened. But I don't think she cares. No one cares."
"Oh Ginny..." Hermione said with understanding, pulling the younger girl into a hug. Ginny began to shake, and Hermione felt a wet spot forming on her shoulder. She began to wonder if Ginny could ever heal from Draco's death.
"I got you something," Hermione said as Ginny pulled away, wiping her eyes. Hermione leaned over and picked up the package she had gently set there before. Ginny took it and unwrapped it carefully. She opened the black box and gasped.
It was a necklace. A beautiful silver chain with a glass pendant. Within the glass pendant was a blue flame, one of the blue ball flames Hermione was famous for. She smiled up at her friend.
"It's beautiful, Hermione," She said. Hermione smiled and helped Ginny put it on. Suddenly, the tranquility of the room was interrupted by an annoying knock at Ginny's window. Hermione opened it, and two owls soared inside, both carrying two packages. Hermione and Ginny untied the parcels, then sent the owls on their way.
"Here," Ginny said. "These are from Luna. This is yours and this is mine."
"Who's the other one from?" Hermione asked curiously. Again, there was one package for herself and one for Ginny. Ginny shrugged and started unwrapping Luna's gift. The first thing they saw was a letter, but that was quickly forgotten. Inside the package, they both had a framed picture. The picture was one Sirius had taken during the last Defender meeting before the attack. It showed Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Cho, Luna, and, most importantly, Draco. All six were laughing and talking. Hermione felt a lump form in her throat as she watched Draco and Ginny's playful banter. Hermione looked up to see Ginny staring at the picture with tears in her eyes.
"We were having so much fun," Ginny said, her voice cracking as she struggled not to cry. Hermione felt her own eyes watering.
"Let's open the other parcels," Hermione said suddenly, trying to prevent tears anew. Ginny consented by picking up hers and opening it curiously. Inside was a rock. It was a black rock with several holes. She was surprised by it's lightweight.
"There's no card, no note," Ginny frowned. "I don't know what it is or who it's from." Indeed, the only writing at all was the names on the gold wrapping paper. Neither of them recognized it.
Hermione opened her own package to find a vial of water. It didn't look any different than water out of a tap. Hermione frowned as she inspected it. She tried to use her power to make it warmer or colder, but it seemed unaffected. She and Ginny shrugged, not knowing what to do with them.
"Hey, I hear your family sings carols on Christmas," Hermione said brightly.
"And...?" Ginny replied, confused.
"Well, you don't want to sit up here and be antisocial all night, do you?" Hermione asked. She plunged on before Ginny could answer.
"C'mon!" She took Ginny's hand and led her down the stairs, humming 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Things'. Ginny started laughing at Hermione's very...un-Hermionelike behavior.
"There you are!" Ron exclaimed. "I've already beat Harry twice."
"I give up," Harry said, sighing. Hermione laughed, and even Ginny smiled. Harry felt his heart beat faster. He had made Ginny smile! Really smile too, it wasn't even forced!
"C'mon, everyone!" Mr. Weasley hollered. "Who's up for 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas?'"
It seemed that everyone was. Mr. Weasley transfigured an arm chair into a piano, sitting down and beginning to play. Outside, the snow was gently falling as the sun's final rays died. It seemed that the entire world was happy on that Christmas night.
The entire world except one tall, red-haired man hiding beneath a bush with a cloak pulled around him. He scowled when he saw the happy family singing through the window. Quickly, he Disapparated, the words to the joyful tune still ringing in his years.
"Good tidings to you, wherever you are. Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year!"