On the second day of Christmas, Hermione woke with a start.

The room, darkened and otherwise quiet, seemed to ring with a siren so loud that Hermione could hear even Ginny stir in her bed. A little woozy, Hermione tried to sit up, groaning, a hand to her forehead. The rooster was crowing at the top of its lungs; Ginny was cursing and swinging her legs out over the side of the bed while Hermione placed her hand on the wooden boards, groping for her wand.

At one point, the sound ceased, and Hermione, finally with wand in hand, had to laugh when she saw the reason why.

"Lumos," she whispered irritably, casting light over a highly unusual scene. On the floor by the window now stood a potted plant where, yesterday, there had been none, a chicken lying on top of it, Luna sitting next to it, stroking a mollified and - was that purring - rooster.

"Bloody -" she could hear Ginny croak from her side, "Who let the rooster in here?"

Hermione looked back at Ginny and shrugged, then wiped her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Six-o-three," came the answer, not from Ginny, but from Luna. Hermione didn't think she had ever seen Luna wear a watch. She would have to ask her about that.

"Well, it can't stay here," said Ginny grumpily.

"You can't take them apart," said Luna, "Look. They're in love."

Holding the rooster up to the chicken, still nesting on what now looked like a small tree, the two of them ran their beaks against the other's. It looked to Hermione more like sharpening a weapon, but she had to admit, staying with the Weasleys was slowly teaching her how little she actually knew about the rather mundane animals.

"Then get the both of them out of here," Ginny said dismissively, and before Luna could respond, Hermione started rising.

"I'll take them."

Luna nodded slowly and Hermione hastily threw on some clothes and came over to receive the rooster from her. It didn't seem altogether happy with the arrangement, but Hermione tugged it under one arm and, the chicken completely unwilling to move from its perch, grabbed the whole pot and plant with her remaining hand.

Then she trotted outside.

It was lightening, the sky a deep marine blue. Silhouettes and contours became slowly saturated and Hermione, carrying two living creatures close to her body, didn't feel half as cold as she had suspected. The morning had a quietude that Hermione found almost magical and she stayed outside for a little, watching the sky changing under her watchful gaze.

Returning inside, instead of crawling back into bed and waking up Ginny and Luna a second time, Hermione retrieved a book she had been reading on magical statures on imposed on beasts and sat down in one of the sofas in front of the fireplace with a blanket on.

When she woke up, the blanket had been pulled up over her shoulder and tugged in underneath her. Apparently, she had fallen asleep during her reading (- 6 o'clock hadn't been a problem in her school days -).

Harry and Ron were sitting in the chairs next to the sofa and she could smell the tantalizing smell of freshly baked bread, bacon and eggs.

"Hey, 'Mione," Ron greeted her evenly. The two of them were playing wizard chess on the coffee table and Ron didn't look at her but rather at the rook he'd just lost to Harry's queen.

"Hey," she said groggily. She sat up slowly.

"Thank you, for this."

Fingers pinching one corner of the blanket, she peeled it off and glanced backwards toward the kitchen.

"Wasn't us," Harry replied distractedly as Ron sent a pawn forward.

"Then who?"

"Dunno." Ron shrugged and smiled at Harry's play. Then he looked up once, moved a knight and said, "Check. Mate."

Harry groaned.

Then he turned towards Hermione and said, "Why did you bring the rooster into your room yesterday?"

"It wasn't me," said Hermione, wondering, "And I don't think it was Ginny either. Although Luna-"

"Can't have been Luna." Harry shook his head. "She was telling us about the Blibbering Humdinger yesterday - when she finally went to bed, the rooster was already in your room."

"Talking our ear off, more like it. But yeah, she caught it in her arms when it tried to run out, Harry's right."

Hermione simply nodded thoughtfully.

Throughout the rest of the day, Hermione could be found sleeping in various nooks and crannies: Under the stairs, snoring up against the doorframe, even while visiting the ghoul in the attic did she take a nap ("I just need to close my eyes for a second. No, go on, I'm not sleeping -").

Sometime in the afternoon, Hermione had sat down with a cup of tea and a book, which, throughout the day, had been read in couples of pages a time.

She woke up to find Fred balancing things on her head.

"Shh, lie still," he said quietly when she stirred, as if the things he'd placed would fall down from the strength of his voice.

"Your hair really is difficult to balance anything off."

Hermione, still just waking up, waved a hand, annoyed, and straightened. Immediately, a tower of things fell down around her: a pear, multiple golden rings, drums from the Christmas tree, an empty mug, a quill, even one of Molly's cakes - all crashed, Hermione's shoulders at height with her ears.

"Fred!" she said, admonishing him.

"He's not Fred, I'm Fred," called a voice from the other side of the table.

"Nice try, George," Hermione said, smirking, "but playing this by ear will get you nowhere."

Both twins looked shocked.

"Fred, did she just -"

"I think she did, George."

They both began chanting something nonsensical about earie circumstances.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Hermione Granger, I didn't know you had it in you," Fred finally said.

"No, we've always thought Harry was the comedic genius of your group."

"Yes, what a joke," Hermione answered, having the twins roaring with laughter before she could stop herself. A small smile tugged on her lips nevertheless, a sense of satisfaction warming her cheeks.

"Ah, Hermione, there you are."

Hermione looked up to see Percy standing at the top of the stairs. He began his descent carefully, in complete contrast to the twins' rampant flocking or Harry and Ron's hurried steps. They both worked at the Ministry these days, Percy often exploiting Hermione's expertise and Hermione finding she didn't mind it.

Though she had never taken to chess the way Ron and Harry had, Hermione had also discovered that she possessed a few strategic skills and that Percy, always eager to please authority, actually listened to her advice when he asked her.

She couldn't help but smile. She knew what this was about.

"We need to discuss The Werewolf Registration Act Amendments."

"No can't do, Persecutor Percy," said George, "We're in the middle of witnessing the birth of sass in Hermione."

"Nah, that's not fair, George," Fred said, giving him an exaggerated elbow nudge, "Remember when Draco Malfoy joined the Slytherin Quidditch Team."

Percy, trying to interject, eventually gave up as the twins continued to reminisce about Hermione's snarky accomplishments - imagined as not.