Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.
Hermione's POV
Today is New Year's Eve and George agreed to donate some fireworks to the school to create a display for tonight. Based on the ones he and his brother created in 5th year, it should be really good. I feel bad for George; he still continues with his business but I know he's lonely and running the shop reminds him so much of his brother. I find it hard being reminded of my parents at all, I doubt I'd be able to do what he does.
I'm helping to set up the fireworks with him, Draco, and our group of friends. He seems pretty bubbly, but not as much as he used to be. The light of his smile doesn't quite meet his eyes and his laugh sounds a little hollow now. We help him unpack the boxes and crates, and then line them up in small piles based on type.
"These fireworks have been created to explode in certain shapes. For example, I have couple fireworks per house that will explode in the shape of their crests or house animals. I also have one special one for the end that will explode in a full colour version of the Hogwarts crest. There's a huge selection of really cool ones, but those will be the centerpieces." says George to the rest of us as we work. In a quieter voice he adds, "I wish Fred could see this now" under his breath, but I think I'm the only one who heard him say it.
We make quick work of it all and soon all of it is prepped and just needs to be lit tonight. We head down to the Great Hall for lunch and George joins us. He joins our group and tells us all about his new creations that he's been working on.
"Wait, so you're making a new potion that will hide unwanted scars?" asks Draco.
"Yeah, I'm creating a more practical line of items that's more catered to the people who survived the war. I know a lot of the people who were in it ended up with lots of scars that can trigger unwanted memories or panic attacks." replies George. I know this piques Draco's interest since he's wanted to get rid of the scar of the Dark Mark, but it also interests me. I hate looking in the mirror because I don't want to risk seeing the scar that Bellatrix gave me. It makes me feel dirty and worthless and brings back some of the memories I have of that incident. I think it'll be a huge hit and will help quite a few people.
"That sounds pretty cool. What other things have you made so far?" says Neville.
"I've also started work on a new pet similar to the Pygmy puff that will follow you everywhere and eats the little scraps you have in your bag. It's fur has a certain texture that will calm most people down and is completely dirt resistant. They can sense stress and anxiety and will come immediately to help calm you down. They can also send a message to your close friends if you experience any type of panic attack, a disability is triggered, or you get injured. This is really helpful for a lot of the older participants of the war. They also can release a special scent that will help you fall asleep that's similar to a dreamless draught."
"Wow, that sounds really interesting." I say. "How big are they and what do they look like?"
"They are about the size of a ferret actually and look similar to cats. They have brown fur with grey streaks in it as that's the most neutral colour I could think of that would appeal to most age groups. They respond very well to being rubbed, but don't need to be. However I would recommend that you do since studies have shown that rubbing pets have great effects on your health and stress levels."
"It seems like you've really put a lot of research into this." comments Blaise.
"Yeah, well I figure a lot of people would be pretty interested in this and I wanted to expand our audiences a little more. Also I think the wizarding needs this, people aren't functioning as well as they used to and a lot of people are taking days off for mental health days as they call them in the muggle world."
We spend a little more time asking about more of George's projects and learn a lot more about what he's been getting up to these days. He seems to have really thrown everything into his work and it sounds excellent. I catch Draco's eyes and see that he's in pretty deep thought, most likely about the first two things George was talking about. I must say both of those products piqued my interest but I'm certain they interested him more.
We spend the afternoon in the Room of Requirement as it's the only space that's really big enough for all of us to congregate. George shows us a couple prototypes of his latest work and asks if we could all write a small survey for him. It's fairly general and doesn't take too long.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes
*All responses are confidential and use a number system instead of names to collect the data*
Question 1 ~ How often have you visited Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in the past 2 years?
o Very often (more than 15 times)
o Often (around 10 times)
o Sometimes (around 5 times)
o Rarely (between 1-3 times)
o Never or haven't heard of it
Question 2 ~ What is your gender?
o Female
o Male
Question 3 ~ What is your age?
o Young child (5-10)
o School age (11-18)
o 19-29
o 30-39
o 40-49
o 50-59
o 60-69
o 70-79
o 80+
Question 4 ~ Which product would you consider to be your favourite? List up to 3 items.
1.
2.
3.
Question 5 ~ How would you rate your service?
o Excellent
o Good
o Satisfactory
o Bad
Question 6 ~ How would you rate our products?
o Excellent
o Good
o Satisfactory
o Bad
Question 7 ~ Were you involved or directly affected by the Second Wizarding War?
o Fought in it
o Arrested by Voldemort's government
o Present during an attack
o Other
o N/A
Once we're done filling them out he collects them and places them in a small briefcase. We then play a couple rounds of Exploding Snap before leaving for dinner.
Dinner is a pretty simple affair and by that point our questions for George have run dry. Instead he asks us about what's changed so far this year. Neville talks about the introduction of Muggle Studies as a mandatory course and a big shift towards technology. Luna then adds in something about Draco and I teaching Muggle Studies in place of a regular teacher due to no one being able to fill in.
"Yeah they're excellent teachers, even Draco here. In fact he's been doing a lot of the technical teaching contrary to what most people expect." says Blaise.
"Really? Kudos to you then mate. The muggle world has a lot to offer us in the wizarding world if we just have guts to reach out and take it. I've noticed a few shops opening up in Diagon Alley for phones and other technological devices. They're making a lot of money, especially with the younger demographics." says George to Draco.
"Thank you." replies Draco.
We then disperse afterwards to our common rooms and dorms before heading out later for the fireworks. We're supposed to gather later in the astronomy tower since they'll be going off from the courtyard. Draco and I head back to our room and just hang out a bit in our common room since neither of us really have anything to be doing right now.
"What did you think of the scar removing potion?" Draco asks me.
"I thought it was pretty cool, it can even be used for the general population as well since a lot of people, especially women, want to get rid of unwanted scars. I'd probably use it myself."
"Yeah." At his one word answer I look up and study his expression.
"You probably would like it for your…" I trail off and gesture roughly in the direction of his arm.
"I've been able to get really good at hiding it by wearing long sleeves all the time. However it still unnerves me to see when ever I get changed, or shower, or see it in the mirror. And on the off chance that someone sees it in the future, I'll be written off immediately."
"That's very true. I'm similarly affected mentally when I see the 'mudblood' written on my arm. It makes you feel dirty right? Like you're worthless and nothing more than what's there?" I say the last part really quiet because I don't want my voice to break. It's funny how much power a simple word or symbol can have on you or your mind.
He nods but doesn't say anything in return. We sit in silence before chatting a little more.
We leave the room around 10:30 because that's when they'll start serving refreshments. McGonagall wanted to provide a small kind of party for the kids staying here since there are more of us who are above the legal drinking age and wanted to reduce the amount of people going in to Hogsmeade and possibly getting drunk.
By the time we get there, most of the people who stayed for the holidays are already there. There are two tables along one of the walls with drinks and finger food, and on the opposite side there is a karaoke station. Most people are just talking eating, but I think Luna and Neville are about to go up for a duet. I can't really tell if they're dating or not, but it seems like they are sometimes. I think they'd be a good match, but it's really up to them to decide that on their own time.
Draco and I mostly stay to the side and just look out by the rails at the moon and the grounds below us. We can see George and what appears to be Bill and Charlie setting up the fireworks for tonight's display and I almost wish I could help. At around 11:50, McGonagall comes up and uses the microphone at the karaoke station to make an announcement.
"Hello students. I'd like to thank you all for coming out here tonight. I hope you've all had fun tonight. In about 10 minutes we'll start the surprise you've all been waiting for, right in time for midnight. I hope you all had a wonderful year at Hogwarts, and I hope the next one will be even more fruitful." With that, she puts the mic back and exits to her office presumably.
When there's just under 1 minute before midnight, we hear George's voice amplified by a sonorus charm. "Hello students of Hogwarts. This is George Weasley of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I just wanted to say that it's an honour to be back here after having left the school during the year of that awful dirtbag Umbridge. I will be in charge of tonight's display, so if you'll join me, let's count down to the last 20 seconds of this year!"
The two of us and the rest of the school then join him chanting. "20! 19! 18! 17! 16! 15! 14! 13! 12! 11! 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" As we say '1', a firework goes up in the shape of streamers. This is followed by a collection of large colourful fireworks in the normal patterns. One firework illuminates the entire sky in an imitation of the Aurora Borealis.
After about 8 minutes of non-stop fireworks, and many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd, the house crests go up. Each crest is in full colour renditions surrounded by plenty of sparks in the house colours. It amazes me how George managed to do all of this seeing as how getting the gunpowder and dye right is very difficult. Then after the house crests have gone up, the last one explodes. The Hogwarts crest in all of its glory fills the sky. It stays for about 5 seconds before fading into the darkness. Right as it fades, a silent firework goes up and explodes causing glittering silver sparks to fall down like snow. As it disappears, the whole group of us explode in thunderous applause. Down in the courtyard below, surrounded by smoke, George, Charlie, and Bill all bow before cleaning up.
I look out and see that actual snowflakes have started to fall and are gently floating down. I look up at Draco and smile at their beauty.
Draco and I decide to stay awhile as everyone heads back to their dorms. We sit down on the edge of the tower and lean against each other, full of hope for the year ahead of us.
Author's Note: I've decided that I can no longer put a fixed number of days on my updates. They may be up to 6 days apart, but never longer than a week. I also won't be able to update on Sundays as it's the only day that I'm not guaranteed access to my laptop. Also I won't abandon a fic without warning and I will make sure that you are aware when my last update would be, though I doubt I'll ever get to that point as it is one of my pet peeves when a story isn't finished. Thanks for the continued support of this fic. Please keep the reviews and feedback coming, it's nice hearing support in the form of words and not just numbers. Have a great week you guys, till next time.