29th November 2008
Hermione gave herself a once-over in the mirror and made sure her gifts were all gathered in her purse before wrapping up tight in her thick grey traveling cloak and scarf. She slipped on a pair of worn but well-kept black leather gloves and refreshed the water-proof charm on her knee-high boots. Winter in the Scottish Highlands came early and the temperatures plummeted fast. The grounds were already covered with a beautiful blanket of crisp white snow, and the temperatures were well below zero. She could no longer run but instead took a brisk walk through the snow-covered grounds three or four times a week in the early morning hours. Sometimes she was joined by Astrid, Sarah, or Draco, but mostly she used the early morning hours to just think and find some quiet time for herself when she didn't spend it with Draco, stretching their muscles in combat.
Today was a remarkable day. The youngest member of the Shell Cottage was being blessed into their world, and Hermione was to become a very proud godmother, joining the ranks of godparents that included Charlie as Victoire's godfather, and Gabrielle, Fleur's sister, who was the godmother to little Dominique. Now Hermione would promise to look after little Louis if anything was to happen to his parents. Louis was a little fighter. Born a bit prematurely, he had to stay in the hospital for a while. Fleur's magic was going haywire and her body sustained more strain than with the other two pregnancies as well, so Hermione suspected this will be their last.
Louis was a little touch and go for a while but he finally managed to pull through and recovered just as well as his mother. Hermione had contemplated her gift for a while, wondering what to gift little Louis as his godmother, until she realised that his loving parents would give him all that he would need now. So she decided to gift him something for his future instead, and a little something to bring him joy now. She checked the weather outside once more before pulling the heavy cloak tighter around her body and heading down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall.
There was barely any movement in the halls. It was a lazy Sunday morning, the weather meaning most students opted to stay in their warm dormitories and common rooms, oftentimes not seen until dinner. She left the library in Hannah's very capable hands, who was enjoying a day away from their quarters, letting Neville spend some time with their son. The brisk walk down to the gate and the apparition point was delightful, the smell of fresh snow familiar and soothing in the quiet morning.
The Shell cottage was full of warmth and laughter that day. A fire was burning in the hearth and the kitchen table was heaving with Sunday roast and several different cakes to celebrate Louis' welcome into the magical community. Hermione remembered photos from her own Christening, her mum always said it was such a boring thing to attend but necessary to do for her grandparents because that is what they wanted. Magical blessings for children were a completely different ceremony. Instead of feeling forced or too structured, the family would get together to welcome the child into their world, and witness the godparent or godparents make a vow to be a guiding presence in the life of the child. Oftentimes a small piece of jewellery or a priced object was infused with the magic of the two families the parents came from, and would be kept as a memento.
Hermione beamed with pride as she made her vow, the last to infuse her protective magic in the small gold anklet blessed by the Delacourts and Weasleys, and picked Little Louis up to put it on him. He made barely any fuss and snuggled into her warmth as she held him close as the family cheered to their health and the blessings were over. It was great to see Charlie again after a while and she had to promise to come to Romania for a long weekend in the New Year to visit the local magical archives in Bucharest and to hang out with the newly engaged dragon tamer and his partner.
Fleur still looked a bit tired but radiant with joy at the sight of her family, and nearly cried when Hermione handed her a small present from all the godparents of her children - a beautiful photo album of all the little photos she never saw before from the time Victoire spent visiting her uncle in Romania and Dominique spending time in Saint Tropez with her auntie Gabrielle. There was a section left blank for all the photos Hermione planned to add, for now sharing a few from the family's visit to Hogwarts over the summer months. It was a precious gift, well-received by the delighted couple.
After some more hot cider and far too much cake, Hermione left the cottage with the promise to respond to Fleur's and Charlie's letters soon, a smile still on her face as she apparated by the beautiful wintery beach. That smile did not last in all its delight long though. When her feet hit the frozen ground outside Hogwarts, a momentary sadness took over her as she contemplated the happiness of her friends. They all had partners or were married, some were having children, others travelling the world and adopting pets. She was happy by herself and contented with her way of life, but she did sometimes miss the companionship and the passion that came with a relationship and the love and support of a partner. A group of students heading up the path from Hogsmeade interrupted her thoughts and she answered their greeting waves before slipping through the gate door back onto the grounds.
She was nearly by the castle when she instinctively dodged a flying snowball, hearing it thump wetly into the tree behind her instead. She frowned and looked around for the culprit, her lips pulling into an amused smile when she spotted a fervent Malfoy snowball fight.
"Sorry, Miss!" Scorpius called through the field as he tried to mould another ball to hit his father with while dodging a flying snowball himself with a giggle. His eyes were bright, hair sticking out messily from under his knitted hat, and he launched his own snowball at his father.
Draco for his part seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as his son, judging by the effort he made to pretend it was difficult to dodge the snowballs, and the rosy glow to his cheeks, a testament of how long they've been at it out in the cold morning weather. "Care to join us, Hermione?" he asked with a grin, a challenging one.
The Gryffindor within her bristled at the challenge and she pulled her wand out of her sleeve, twisting her hair up into a bun and securing it safely before leaning down to pick up some snow. "You want me to join you, do you?" she asked and threw the first ball, aiming at the elder Malfoy and missing badly as he dodged it easily.
"Scorpius, help! I'm under attack!" Draco dodged another snowball from her until his giggling son stood in front of him.
"Don't worry daddy, I'll help!" he said and went to throw a ball at Hermione before pausing. "Daddy, Mandy Parkinson said I shouldn't hit girls. Miss Hermione is a girl, so I shouldn't hit her, is that right?" he asked, looking at Hermione nervously for a moment.
The adults paused, wondering how to put into words that he would understand the complex social phenomena of gender norms and equality. "Yes, Miss Hermione is a girl. Well, she is a lady, not a girl, but you get the gist," he grinned, trying to make the nervous boy smile. He was still so insecure sometimes, especially in front of others, he hoped he would soon grow out of it and gain more confidence. "But just because she is a lady, it doesn't mean she can't fight as well as a gentleman can," he tried.
"So I can hit girls? But…I don't want to. I don't want to hit anyone. Well, Mandy Parkinson sometimes, she says mean things about Miss Hermione," he frowned before realising Hermione had heard him. "Sorry Miss," he looked said at having to tell her.
Hermione chuckled and bent down to squat beside him. "That's alright, not everyone likes me and that's okay. Not everyone will like you, you should stop worrying about trying to make them like you. Mandy Parkinson will one day realise what really matters. But to explain better, hitting anyone is usually wrong, because you should be able to resolve any fight with words. Hitting someone weaker or smaller than you just because you can is always wrong, you should never do that. But if someone threatens you or tries to hurt you, you fight and hit them back, whether it's a boy or a girl," she tried to make sure he understood what she meant.
Scorpius nodded, still looking a bit uncertain, so she looked at Draco to see if he had an example to explain better. "You know the duelling we do on Saturday with Miss Hermione?" he asked and waited for the boy to nod. "Well, I hit Miss Hermione and throw hexes at her, despite the fact that she is a lady."
"You do?" Scorpius looked surprised. "And do you do the same?" he asked Hermione.
She nodded encouragingly. "Yes, I give as good as I get. Do you understand why?" she asked.
"Because you are friends?" he asked, the most logical answer.
Draco chuckled. "We are, but that is not the reason. Hermione is my equal, and we share an agreement that combat and sports are tactile. Someone can always get hurt, whether they are a boy or a girl," he explained.
"So….if Mandy Parkinson is being a cow and saying mean things, I should say first that she shouldn't say those things and not be friends with her if she insists. But if she tried to hurt me or threaten to hurt you of Miss Hermione, I can hit her," he summarised, looking sheepish when he caught his father's frown.
"In a nutshell, I guess. But you shouldn't refer to Mandy Parkinson in animal names in the future," he warned before getting up and dusting his knee of the snow. "Now then, snowball fight?" he asked.
Scorpius however shook his head. "I want hot chocolate. Will you read with me again, Miss Hermione?" he asked hopefully.
"Sure," Hermione smiled and tightened the cloak around herself to keep warm against the wind that was picking up.
"Thank you! I'll go tell the elves!" he ran ahead towards the castle before Draco could even object.
"He will make me go grey prematurely…" Draco sighed and offered Hermione his elbow gallantly.
"Hey, I've been greying for years," she snorted and held onto his forearm as she lifted the hem of the cloak with one hand to keep it away from the foot of snow on the path.
"Thanks for your help explaining. He has a habit lately of coming out with a question that I just don't know how to answer," Draco admitted, feeling a bit strange about not having an answer that would satisfy the boy's 8-year-old mind.
"No problem. I've only met Mandy Parkinson a few times but she bears a remarkable resemblance to her mother," she observed. Hermione would never refer to a student in derogatory terms, but she had no qualms saying that Pansy Parkinson was and still remained a nasty piece of work, and one of London's worst gossips. Some people clearly didn't grow up like they did. Mandy was the spitting image of her mother, down to the pug nose…
"Tell me about it. The gossip she spread around about my divorce made me want to wring her neck," he huffed. "We genuinely used to be friends once. She used to be a comfort to me. Then her father was promoted in the ranks and my family feel from grace. We were never the same after that," Draco mused as they made their way through the fluffy snow.
Hermione had always wondered whether true friendship really was possible for most Slytherins in their year with all the politics and family obligations. "I can't imagine what it must have been like," she admitted. "Did you remain friends with anyone from our year?" she ventured, hoping she wasn't prying.
"Blaise," Draco offered a half smile. "He's done well for himself. Contrary to his mother's teachings, he went into law and settled down with a French business woman. She is considered 'nouveaux riche' by many of our previous acquaintances, because she came from a humble background and worked hard to ear the money she now owns. But Blaise is happy, they make a lovely couple, and they just adopted to expand their family," he chuckled.
"Did they have to adopt or wanted to?" Hermione asked curiously. There was a rise in adoptions of war orphans after the final battle but most magical lines preferred to try all methods possible to have children before adopting.
"Oh no, not children. They adopted a few rescue dogs to join the three horses on their estate. I'll have to show you a picture before you read with Scorp," he mused.
"I would like that," Hermione smiled and let go of his elbow as they reached the Entrance hall, so she could spell the snow away and set a few well aimed drying spells at her boots and cloak before they headed up the stairs. "What are your plans for yule, by the way?" she asked, remembering she forgot to do so earlier.
"Do you mean after surviving the blasted ball?" he groaned. "Some of my students have been utterly unbearable, requesting weekend trips to the London and Merlin-knows-what to get their costumes and dresses fitted. It has been utter madness."
Hermione chuckled. "That too. Minerva was clear we will have to dress up as well, so I will have to look into something," she mused.
"Let me guess, you will consult a few books," he teased though there was no malice, only something akin to fondness in his smile.
"Well I am the librarian," she shrugged. "I will most definitely not be an Elizabeth Bennett," she shuddered. "With all due respect to Jane Austin, just not for me," she frowned.
"We might have a few of those. I think I'll have to go to Muggle London myself. Scorp wants a superhero suit. Where does one get those?" he asked, not really sure how to go about it.
"If you'd like, I will be doing some shopping in London next week, I can pick something up for him if you give me his measurements. Or if you want to do some Christmas shopping, you can tag along," she offered as they arrived on their floor, chuckling at the open doors to Draco's room and the sound of the younger Malfoy arguing with a house elf about the hot chocolate.
"That would be great. Someone mentioned this place..Primarco or something? I don't know, Sarah wasn't particularly helpful, she was really rather distracted," he frowned.
Hermione laughed at the suggestion. "Don't worry, we can pop in there as well if you'd like. Bear with me, I'll just go change and I'll be through to see Scorp in a minute," she promised before disappearing into her room to set down her cloak and change from her boots.
Draco just shook his head when he heard his son telling the house elf he wasn't asking for the three hot chocolates just for himself, and went to get him ready for his storytelling time.
