Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the whole wonderful Harry Potter world and its enchanting populous.


Chapter 11.

My Joy, My Boy

Two years after Rose had been born, Hermione and Ron had a son, Hugo Gideon Weasley. Hugo was named for two uncles, one on each side of the family. He like Rose had the brilliant red Weasley hair. His eyes were blue like Ron's. In fact, if Hermione had not carried him for nine months and given birth, she would be hard pressed to say he was her son. He was 100% Ronald Weasley in miniature. Hugo was a Beater for Gryffindor's Quidditch team at Hogwarts and an excellent chess player. Ron and Hermione often joked that the only things that Hugo inherited from his mother was a love of reading and her obsession with being on time. He did not like doing homework or studying, but other than Ravenclaws what teenage boys did?

Hermione was sitting cross-legged on the floor peering into the box of ornaments looking for the perfect one. "Aha!" she said with glee. She had found the partner to the picture of Rose that she had placed on the tree. Where Rose's was in a heart shaped frame Hugo's was a rectangle. Rose's frame had roses around the boarder. Hugo's frame had a Quidditch theme of broomsticks, quaffles, snitches and bludgers. On the bottom of the frame it said "First Christmas". Etched on the back was "Hugo Gideon Weasley, born November 11, 2008". The picture of a one month old Hugo lying on a white blanket with a symbol of Gryffindor House in one corner and red and gold fringe around the edges. He was wearing a red and gold knit sweater and black pants. Gold booties were on his feet. His grandmother Molly Weasley had knit the sweater and booties.

When the kettle whistled Hermione stood up and placed the frame on the end table. She went into the kitchen and turned the kettle off, poured the warming water out of the teapot, added the Earl Grey tea and poured the water over the tea leaves. She sniffed the aroma of the dark tea with orange hints. Her supper of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich were already on the tray when she added the teapot. As she carried the tray to the living room she thought, "I really do need to start eating supper at the table." She put the tray down and added to the thought, "But I don't want to."

She flipped on the DVD player to start "It's a Wonderful Life." She watched as Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed danced on the pool cover and fell into the swimming pool, and then when he escorted her home they sang "Buffalo Gals". There was the car crash, the snowball fight, the snowman and the old house. Suza's petal that were there and gone. Last were the friends that came through with donations. All of the people he had helped stepped up and helped him. The message of the story was that if you had never existed, so many things in the world would be changed because of a ripple effect. It was a powerful message and one Hermione had remembered when she was discouraged.

Tomato soup and grilled cheese was one of Hermione's favorite meals. It was comfort food from her childhood. Whenever she was sick or upset or her mother just wanted to coddle her, Jean would make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Hermione called love in a bowl with a hug on the side. Tonight was the perfect day for some comfort food. Work had been one boring meeting after another. She liked to called it meetings for meetings' sake. Sometimes she thought some people liked to call meetings just to mess with her. In Hermione's opinion, unless you had a purpose and an agenda meetings were just to keep her from doing the work that needed to be finished.

She remembered the discussion she had earlier in the week with Draco and Harry and wondered what would be discussed at Friday's lunch at Hogwarts. The memo from Headmistress McGonagall had been carefully vague, but promising—an oxymoron if there ever was one. She had presented to the spring meeting of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts and Headmistress McGonagall and Deputy Headmaster Flitwick an outline for vocational training for witches and wizards that did not want to apprentice to teach of other specific professions like potions masters or go to work for the Ministry of Magic. The plan would create a "community college" style of education beyond the seventh year at Hogwarts. Hogwarts did not address clerical workers either so that when they went straight to work for the Ministry some had to learn to do the job from knowing nothing about working in an office. Many were stuck in the lower level positions because they were given inadequate training. Other areas of education included muggle classes such as accounting, mechanical training—carriages didn't fix themselves once they had reached a certain point, and chemistry. This last one had met with sneers from some potions masters, but when Hermione explained what was involved and the fact that chemistry explained why things worked in potions retired Professor Snape endorsed the idea. He later revealed to Hermione that he had attended university during his gap year and taken mathematics, chemistry and Latin, a fact that few knew.

She looked at the picture of baby Hugo again and touched his bright red hair. He had been such a good baby. He was the reason that she had presented the idea to the Board and School. Hugo was totally at loose ends and really hadn't a clue what he would be doing at the end of his seventh year. Ron had wanted to be an Auror with Harry, but found the class work more than he wanted. When he had been asked to try out for the position of keeper for the Chudley Cannons, he jumped at the chance and had done well. They had actually had winning seasons for the past 10 years. Now Ron was going to retire and coach. Hugo didn't want to be a Teacher, an Auror, a Quidditch player, a Ministry worker or shopkeeper with Fred and George. That left a whole lot of jobs, didn't it? Hence there was a need for vocational training.

Hermione arose and scrubbed a spot of tarnish from the edge of the frame and one off the back, then put it on the Christmas tree. She sat back down on the sofa and curled her legs under her. She pulled an afghan over her lap. She lay her head on the back of the sofa and fell asleep as the credits played on the movie. As it switched off a figure slipped in through the floo. It crept silently to the sofa and placed a small box in the sleeping witch's lap. A light kiss was pressed on her brow and then the figure slipped away through the floo.

When Hermione awoke a short while later, there was a small box on her lap. She shook her head to reawaken any memories that might be buried there. She felt her brow and wondered if the kiss had been real. After removing the silver bow from the turquoise colored box. Hermione lifted the lid to reveal a bracelet of matched the pearls with three carved leaves of green jade. The parchment in the box, again written in the beautiful green calligraphy read, "For you to wear to the Malfoy's New Years Eve Ball."


Advent Calendar Day 11 prompt: Snowman