A bit of a time jump here, and the last chapter before the much anticipated winter break. After break, the year will go much faster.
In addition, you might notice the lovely new cover of this story.
Enjoy 3
December 21, 1991
November passed by and the days turned colder, frost settling over the castle. Hermione often found herself bundling herself up in sweaters and scarves, and it was with great regret that she placed them into her trunk. With an hour and a half until the train left, nearly all of her clothes had been packed, with only a few winter items remaining.
Her packing wasn't the only thing that had gone well for Hermione recently. Her study group had started, and Hermione, Susan Bones and Padma Patil met weekly, with Blaise joining occasionally. Originally, Draco and Harry had both come to a session, but when the news broke about Harry being the new Gryffindor seeker, Draco had been furious. The two boys had gotten into in argument that had resulted in the group being kicked out from the library, and neither Harry nor Draco had returned to the study group next week. It was the one time she agreed with Draco, although he had taken it a bit far. In her opinion, Quidditch was stupid and unimportant, but since the rest of the Wizarding World loved it, she had reluctantly gone to last week's game.
Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin, with Harry catching the snitch in his mouth. It was a perfectly legal move, but it caused Draco to whine for so long that Hermione had been tempted to shove the snitch down his throat.
"Hermione," Tracey said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," Hermione gave her friend a smile. "Let's go."
She would go home to her parents for a few days, before the Greengrasses picked her up on the 23rd. The Malfoy yule ball would be on the 24th, and then she would go back to her parents for a few days before returning to the Greengrasses for their annual New Years party. Her own party would be January 3rd, and they would return to Hogwarts on January 5th. All in all, it was a pretty busy break, and she had to make sure that everything was ready.
Her dresses had been sent to the Greengrasses, so she didn't have to worry about those. Presents had been purchased for Jade, Daphne, Tracey and Blaise, with smaller presents sent to Pansy, Millie, and the girls in her study group, and candy for the rest of the boys in her year. In addition, Jade had organized a Yule Mystery for each year, which turned to be exactly the same as Secret Santa. She had gotten Draco Malfoy, and planned to send his gift in a few days. Through her parents, she had ordered a gorgeous glass dragon from a shop near her home. The dragon gave the impression as if it were moving, with sparkling emerald swirls and pale yellow-green dust encased in layers of clear glass. She had actually ordered most of her gifts from that shop, which was owned by a family friend. Amaya Starr was a close friend of Emma Granger in college, and when Amaya had opened up a glass shop, she had given Hermione an after-school job. Hermione had been paid in small animal figurines, and any birthday or Christmas money had been spent building up her collection. She had been pleased to discover that her 'employee discount' was still valid, and had promptly spent 99 percent of her allotted present money.
Daphne and Tracey had gotten matching butterfly clips, with Tracey's in light pink and Daphne's in magenta. Butterflies were apparently a big symbol for witches when they matured, and so Hermione had immediately picked out the clips. For Jade, she had chosen a delicate flower necklace, one that Amaya had assured her was well worth the four weeks she'd be working in the shop during the summer. Amaya also dabbled in beading, so she had made Hermione a couple of beaded bracelets for her friends. Pansy was obviously getting the pink one, Millie really liked green, and since the two colors left were blue and gold, she decided to give Padma and Susan their house colors.
For her parents, she had gotten them some enchanted floss candy that Jade had bought for her from Hogsmeade. She had also taken a few pictures of her and her friends at Hogwarts, so they could see the castle.
"Hermione, we're going!" Tracey said impatiently, tapping her foot.
"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly. She followed the other girl to the Great Hall, where Daphne, Pansy, and Millie were talking.
"Cousin Azalea will be visiting us this year," Daphne was saying. She turned and smirked at Hermione. "We're all looking forwards to her visit. She'll be with us for most of the holiday season."
"She's going to the Malfoy ball?" Pansy asked skeptically.
"Oh yes, Narcissa Malfoy is very excited to meet her," Daphne said with a sly smile.
Pansy opened her mouth, but was cut off by Blaise sliding into the seat next to Hermione. "Good morning, ladies."
"Good morning Blaise," Hermione said, the others all nodding or waving. "Are you looking forwards to the break?"
"Yes, very much," Blaise said. "Mother and I will be in Italy for Yule, but I believe we'll be coming back in time for New Year," he inclined his head towards Daphne. "You'd have to check with Mother though, she's got our schedule planned out to the second."
"What's the magical history in Italy like?" Hermione asked, her eyes gleaming.
"Never mind that, will you bring us back chocolates?" Tracey cut in, leaning across the table.
Blaise let out a small laugh. "Very fascinating, and it depends on when we get back," he answered. "We might not have time to go to the chocolate shop, and you all know Mother doesn't do anything but the best."
The other girls nodded, and Hermione was sure that she had a curious expression on her face. She would have to ask Blaise about his mother sometime.
"We're going to get presents over break," Blaise promised, answering something Hermione hadn't caught. "So don't worry about owls, we'll send them once we're back in England. Or we might just have the shop do it, it all depends."
Tracey nodded and the group lapsed into silence, enjoying their last few moments together. Hermione was excited for break. It was her first opportunity to show everyone that she was worthy of being in the Wizarding world, and everything had to be perfect.
