Weeks flew past, soon Christmas holidays were around the corner. Ginny had made some process in the singing competition: she managed to recite the first stanza. Hermione decided to spend her holidays at the Weasleys since her mother and father were going skiing in the Alps.

In the Comon Room, Hermione sat in an armchair, thinking about the singing competition. The practice had gone well, considering that Ginny had managed to sing the song without going off-key. She sighed. It felt like ages since she had been to The Burrow. Remembering the time she prepared for the wedding of Fleur and Bill, she smiled and closed her eyes.

It was Christmas Eve. Hermione sat in the room of the Burrow. Ron came over and handed her a mug of hot chocolate. 'Why don't you go shopping with Ginny?' he suggested, 'Then you won't get bored silly staying here.' Hermione gratefully accepted the mug and took a sip. 'Thank you for being so thoughtful, Ron,' she smiled. Ron's face turned red.

So she was at Diagon Alley, waiting for Ginny to come out of 'The Closet', a new clothes shop. Hermione went to Flourish and Blotts, wanting to buy a gift for her friends. She went into the bookstore and froze when she heard voices. 'Who's at Diagon Alley today?' 'I saw Weaslette and Brown in a shop, Astoria in Leaky Cauldron and Pansy on the streets.' 'You seem to pay a lot of attention to girls.' Both of them chuckled. 'Hello?' Hermione squeaked. The two of them turned around so Hermione could see that they were Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. 'Hello, Granger,' Zabini smiled at her. Nott nodded and they left the bookshop. 'What's gotten into them?' she thought and walked towards the bookshelves. However, things are going to get more bizarre.

'Granger?' Hermione looked up and saw Malfoy sitting on a pile of books with a book in his hand. She immediately turned around and ran towards the door. 'Wait! Granger, wait!' Malfoy called. Hermione spun around and stopped. Malfoy jumped off the pile and handed her a book. 'Mother was just clearing out old books so I thought I'd give you this,' he said. Hermione glared at him suspiciously and looked at the title. 'Oh, Merlin! It's Hogwarts: A History!' squealed Hermione. She lost her copy during the war and was saving money to buy the book.

Hermione beamed at Malfoy before skipping out of the shop. She can use the money she saved to buy gifts for her friends! She went to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop to buy some chocolate, completely oblivious to a person staring at her through the window of Flourish and Blotts.

Hermione woke up in the morning and it hit her: Today is Christmas morning! Hermione leapt off her bed and opened the nearest present. Inside was a snow crystal ball with a snowman inside, and her MP3 player and phone were next to it. A letter was composed to her:

Dear Hermione,

Merry Christmas! Your MP3 player and phone are fully charged. I saw this crystal ball in a shop and thought that you would like one. Dad sends his love.

Love,

Mum

Hermione smiled and opened the next box. A photo album with a tag was inside. She flipped it open and gasped. Photos of Harry, Ron and her were plastered on the pages. The tag said Harry so Hermione knew that Harry had spent a lot of time on it. Ginny sent her a packet of lipsticks; Mrs Weasley knitted a carmine red sweater with the white words 'Know-It-All' on the front and a crate of Ice Mice; Fred and George sent her a box of Wonder Witch products. Hermione unwrapped a thin package and read the title of the book: Hogwarts: A History. It was from Ron.

Hermione panicked slightly. She already got a copy of it from Malfoy, so what should she do with this copy? Should she throw it away? Or should she throw Malfoy's copy away? Hermione flipped open the two copies and saw that Malfoy's copy was older and got yellow pages. Hermione liked older books so she wrapped Ron's copy up and decided to send it to the Hogwarts library. She was about to go downstairs and ask Harry if she could borrow Hedwig when she heard a hoot coming from outside.

Hermione opened the window and spotted a handsome tawny owl standing on a tree branch. It flew towards her and stuck out his front leg. Hermione detached a letter from its leg. The letter was written as such:

Granger,

My eagle owl and Mother's owl had babies a few weeks ago. Mother told me to get rid of some so I thought that you would like one. His name is Statue.

Draco Malfoy

Hermione smiled. Her own owl! It was what she wanted all along! She stroked Statue's feathers and whispered, 'You are very pretty, do you know that?' Statue blinked and his stomach grumbled. (Author's Note: I don't know if owl's growl but if the shoe fits, wear it!) Hermione quickly flung open the door and ran downstairs. 'Hermione, what-' Harry didn't even finish his question when Hermione asked, 'Harry, can you give me the packet of Owl Nuts?' Harry looked amused, 'But you don't have an owl!'

That's when Statue flew in and stopped on Hermione's shoulder. Harry's jaw dropped. 'RON!' he yelled, 'DID YOU GIVE 'MIONE AN OWL?' Ron stumbled out of the bedroom. 'No,' he answered, confused, 'I gave 'Mione Hogwarts: A History!' 'Then who gave you this owl?' demanded Harry. 'Malfoy,' replied Hermione causally.

'MALFOY?!' Harry and Ron both shouted. 'Yes, he gave me this tawny owl. Its name is Statue,' said Hermione. Then she grabbed a bag of Owl Nuts and raced back upstairs, leaving Harry and Ron looking dumbfounded.

Draco was sitting at his desk at Malfoy Manor. A tawny owl flew in the open window and nipped his ear. Draco unrolled the scroll of paper.

Malfoy, Thanks for the owl. I got a present for you as well. Merry Christmas, Hermione Granger

Draco opened the box and took out a silver and ink green cape. He smiled and watched Statue took off, thinking that this might be the best Christmas he ever had.

Weird why Draco is suddenly so nice to 'Mione, huh? Well, the answer is going to be in the next chapter.