I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
The Family that Chooses You
Chapter 18 – Christmas Cheering
"Hermione, I think…that's for you."
Hermione looked up at her mother. They were sharing a very early Christmas morning breakfast while her father slept in a little longer. Her mother had made them bacon and toast and tea and they were chatting easily before her mother had stopped, looking over her shoulder. "What's for me?"
Jean Granger pointed.
Hermione turned in her chair to look out the kitchen window. She squeaked with surprise at the snowy owl sitting on the window sill, glaring at her with large amber eyes. "Hedwig!" She got up and ran over, opening the window.
The owl fluttered in, carrying a package in her talons. She flew to the table and dropped it gently where Hermione was sitting. After a hoot of hello she turned and gave Jean an affronted look.
"Was Hedwig sitting out there for a while?" Hermione asked with a giggle sitting down at the table and gently scratching Hedwig's head.
"I kept expecting her to fly off!" Jean said. She was giving the owl a lot of space. "I thought she was tired and just needed to rest. Then I realized she kept looking at you rather pointedly. It was only when she fluttered up that I saw the package."
"Normally they rap at the window or something for attention but I bet Hedwig knows we're not used to Owl Post here. She's dreadfully smart, aren't you?" Hermione cooed.
The owl ruffled her feathers and looked smug, butting her head against Hermione's hand.
"How do I apologize to her?" Jean asked with a bemused smile.
"She understands us for the most part. Plus she likes bacon." Hermione looked at the package Hedwig brought. She knew it was from Harry of course, since it was brought by his owl. But seeing her name written on the package in his untidy handwriting made her so happy. She had not expected any gifts from anyone at school.
"That can't be healthy for owls," Jean protested but she held up a piece of bacon in her hand.
Hedwig walked over and started to munch on the offered food. Jean grinned in delight and offered more which Hedwig happily accepted.
When she opened the box Hermione squealed with delight. She unraveled a leather roll to reveal a collection of nice quills. One of the things Hermione liked and disliked in equal measure was the Wizarding World's use of ink and quill. On the one hand it was terribly inconvenient given how pencils and pens were so much easier. On the other hand it fit the world perfectly and she had to admit that there was a wonderful elegance to using quills.
She had looked longingly at the kind of quills the other students used, her having gotten the basic ones recommended for first year students. Harry had remembered and sent her a collection of ones fashioned from all sorts of feathers. The leather roll served as a case for them, keeping them straight and organized.
"What a lovely gift," Jean said.
Hedwig looked at the feathers dismissively, throwing her head and hooting.
Hermione giggled. "Yes, your feathers are prettier Hedwig but I don't think I could use them for writing."
The giggles became laughter when Hedwig waggled her tail feathers at Hermione.
"Does being magical mean you understand owls?" Jean asked.
"Not really. Magical owls really are smart though and as you can see, can be cheeky." Hermione knew that if she could, the owl would have stuck her tongue out at her. "Oh wait Hedwig, let me write him a thank you note really fast."
She excitedly used one of her quills to pen a quick thank you to Harry. Hedwig waited patiently, eating every bit of bacon Jean offered. When Hermione tied the note to Hedwig's leg the owl nipped her finger affectionately before flying away.
"Well that was quite a treat on Christmas," Jean remarked. "It sure is nice peeking into this new world of yours love." She noticed her daughter's sudden downcast look. "What's wrong? Did we feed her too much bacon?"
"Oh no. I've seen her gorge on a whole plate before. I just feel bad. Harry sent me something lovely and I only sent him candy. I didn't even know what he really likes besides sweets and Quidditch."
Jean hugged her. "I wouldn't worry too much dear. He obviously thinks well of you to send you a thoughtful gift and from what you've mentioned, he is going to enjoy the candy you sent. You'll just have to get to know him better and send him something just as thoughtful next time."
Hermione nodded happily, her fear released. She had plenty of time to get to know Harry more. She would rather be ecstatic over receiving a wonderful gift from her first friend at Hogwarts and be glad she did send him something too.
-0-
Percy woke up slowly, savoring the quiet. He was the only one in his dormitory that stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays. Oliver had gone home to see family and Vega Valentine had done the same. He felt a little bad admitting it but Percy loved it when he was alone in the dorm. He had nothing against his roommates but it was very nice waking up to peace and quiet.
Despite having his own room back at the Burrow, it was never ever completely quiet. His brothers all had very different but equally annoying ways to disturb the peace. Ginny was the quietest of the children save for when she was upset, then she was the loudest and the most dangerous. Mother spent more time talking to, or yelling, at one of them than not. Father was quiet but his shed full of illicit objects, Muggle things, had the tendency to react strangely to magic and would create their own noises.
He supposed he would have been fairly happy by himself at the Burrow with his parents and Ginny visiting Charlie in Romania, Bill still in Egypt, and the twins and Ron at Hogwarts, but that would have been a little too quiet. Despite his usual outward annoyance towards his family, he inwardly loved them dearly.
He finally found himself past the point where he could fall back asleep easily and decided to wake up fully instead. He put his glasses on and smiled at the pile of gifts at the foot of his bed. He found the usual jumper knitted by his mother, red with a yellow letter P this time, a bit of money from his father. Several other nice things from other relations. Fred and George had given him a certificate for one free favor, one that he usually used to spare himself from their antics. Charlie had given him a very nice dragon skin quill case. Bill sent a very nice self-cleaning ink bottle. Ron and Ginny sent him a new quill care kit.
He was glad he ended up sending Penelope Clearwater a gift. He knew she loved boating so he made an enchanted bowl filled with water and a small boat that floated within it. When activated the boat would float around and the waters would ripple. She had sent him a handmade length of ribbon that would securely hold parchment or books, blue and bronze banded with crimson and gold.
One more package waited at the bottom of the pile and he had no idea who sent it. It was a long and thin box wrapped in brown paper. He opened it with some mild trepidation, having been on the receiving end of one too many tricks from the twins. His eyes opened as he saw the contents. A fine grey goose quill lay on fabric within the box. The tip was a bright metal material and promised smooth writing and good ink absorption.
He smiled. It was from Harry and he remembered that the boy was there when his last main quill broke. Percy had bemoaned the annoyance and had ranted about buying exotic bird quills and their inherent fragility. "Just goes to show that one can always count on a solid English Gray Goose feather for most things," he had groused to anyone who would listen.
Obviously Harry had and this was an incredibly thoughtful gift.
Percy was glad he sent something along to the boy as well. Ron had let it slip that Harry was probably not expecting anything for Christmas. The more Percy heard about Harry's background, the more it bothered him. The boy was careful about saying too much himself, but Percy had been gathering bits and pieces of information from Ron, the twins, and Oliver.
It rankled him to be honest. The Weasleys were poor, there was no other way to say it. However, they were always clothed and fed, and never wanted for love or attention. From what he learned about Harry's aunt and uncle; they did not want for Muggle money it seemed. Yet for all that, they showed Harry no sort of affection, much less basic necessities.
That was not proper and anyone that knew Percy knew that he cared very much for propriety.
Percy heard laughter down the stairs, where the first years slept. He knew it would have to be the twins and Ron and Harry making the noise, they were the only ones in the tower this Christmas. Percy gathered his new jumper, the quill supplies and the new quill. He would pop in and see the family, including Harry, and get started writing thank you notes for the gifts.
Harry would be one of the first, written with this very nice new quill.
-0-
Fred woke first.
His eyes snapped open and he looked at the time piece on the wall, grinning at the time. He and George were, by and large, rule breakers. However, the rules the pair came up together were always strictly followed and observed. Some things were sacred after all.
Sleep was one of them and they never bothered the other during sleep cycles or naps. A cranky Weasley was a dangerous Weasley and the twins that lacked sleep were terrors to themselves and everyone around them.
However, it was past the established early hour so mischief could be had.
He rolled from his bed, landing on all fours quietly. He then stuffed all the free pillows into one magically enlarged pillowcase. Hefting the heavy bag over one shoulder he crept up to his sleeping twin brother. He swung it experimentally, finding the balance of it.
Satisfied he swung it about his head in a circle, building momentum. Then he swung it down. "Happy Christmas Ge-"
The pillowcase should have struck the unsuspecting sleeping George in his unsuspecting sleeping face. Instead it bounced off something just above his face. The bounce sent the many pillows in one pillowcase back up and hit Fred squarely in his unsuspecting awake face.
The blow knocked him off his feet and he fell onto his bottom, head ringing.
George's eyes snapped open and he punched the air with both hands. "Yes! It worked! Happy Christmas Freddie!"
Fred guffawed, shaking his head slowly. The twins, usually, were never too cross at each other when they played tricks on each other. It was always an exercise of creativity that they would always refine together and use on someone else. "That's a good one," he said laughing. "Rebounding Charm? On what?"
George gently unwound the silk that he had tied to the two posts on either side of his head. "I asked the House Elves for the strongest thread they had. I think they said it was some kind of silk. I reinforced it naturally. I was afraid it would still snap."
"Good one. We'll have to figure out how to use it."
"Tie it to Grimshaw's ankle and something rather hard and immovable and watch him bounce like a Muggle yo-yo?"
"Ooh now that's an idea. But let's discuss later after presents."
The twins did what they did every year: sitting down next to each other and opened their presents together. They liked to see what the other got though most of the time it was the same thing with a difference in color. More often than they thought, gifts accidentally got switched and were sent to the wrong twin. When they were younger it used to bother them but after a while, they leaned into it. It bothered them less when they laughed at it.
Which is not to say that it did not bother them at all. Just less.
This year nothing was sent wrong. They liked the new jumpers, blue with yellow letter G and F for Gred and Forge naturally, money from their dad. Bill had sent them books about the joke magic the Ancient Egyptian Wizards used to do. Charlie got them a very nice medical treatment kit, he was the only sibling that shared their delight in pranks and knew how much they tested things on each other hence this gift. They shared a laugh that Percy had taken a page from their book and given them a voucher each to escape one lecture from him. Ron and Ginny got them Zonko's Joke items.
"Well, well, well," Fred said grinning, looking at the last boxes in his and George's piles. "Something from Harry?"
"That's quite kind of him. Let's see what he got us," George said enthusiastically.
Fred ripped the paper and opened the box. For a brief moment, words failed him as he looked at the well-made leather bag. It was soft and supple, and hung from a long leather cord. When he opened the mouth, he exclaimed in delight. It was enchanted to hold more than it looked. The bag was small enough to tuck into a pocket easily but it could hold as much as a large sack would.
"Now this'll be handy!" Fred said happily. He had complained before that he sometimes did not have the pocket space to hold the many things he carried about, both prank-related and not prank-related. "Well chosen Harry." He looked at George. "How do you like your bag?"
"Bag? What bag?" George looked confused. "You got a bag?"
"Yeah." Fred showed him the leather bag. "Wait, you're saying you didn't get a bag?"
George held up a small leather notebook. When it opened it revealed a long thin tablet that looked like wax and a small stylus hung from the tablet on a cord. "It's an enchanted wax tablet. Apparently, it's something the Romans used to write on. Only in this case the only thing that can write on the tablet is this stylus. Then I can use the charm to clear it and it's good as new for more writing."
"Whoa! That's a cool idea!"
"Right?! Now I can take notes anywhere without need for quill and ink. Then I can copy the notes onto parchment later and clear this for more use."
"Wicked." Fred's smile turned thoughtful. "Hey, how'd Harry know you'd want that?"
"Well I didn't even know this existed. But once we were sitting outside and I had an idea and might have whinged about not having some way to write it down easily since we were without our school things at the time. That's a nice looking bag by the way."
Fred explained the bag to a very appreciative George as well as what brought it about. "So, Harry got us separate gifts."
"He didn't get them monogrammed either. Cause he knew we each would only have one but not the other. No need to try and tell them apart."
They looked at each other.
"You know, I'm starting to really like that kid."
"Me too."
They looked at the clock on the wall.
"Let's go visit the ickle firsties then and start spending this day proper like shall we?"
"Proper like?"
"You know, with family." Fred looked at George, seeing if his twin knew what he meant.
George knew exactly what his twin meant. "With family, exactly."