So, you're back for more, eh? Well, I applaud your bravery. I give my eternal gratitude to all that reviewed chapter one. (yeah, all six of you...) Just know that I am forever in your debt. The winners of the "Where the Heck Does That Line Come From" contest are... BUM BUM!! Day_Dreamer (you need to leave your name, so I can use it), and Julia Coyle (which is a *great* name... say hi to the mutants for me!)!! Congrats to them. And Emerald... your wish is my command! Aragog... The Road to Eldorado, LOL. And "On Thin Ice"? That would be a *fantaburific* title, but I don't want to change this all around now. But let's say that it is subtitled "On Thin Ice", ok? On to the fic!



Wait, BTW, let's say... Parvati woke up on time, but Lavender was late. Satisfied, people?



Disclaimer: Once again, I own nada, except for the plot. The one and only J.K. ROWLING owns all of the characters, and God bless her. We love you, J.K., and if you finish the next book before November, I'll let you own the plot too! Yeah! (Oh yeah, she's gonna push the pages now!)

By the way, I know this has a pretty mope title, but if you just stick with it, you'll see why the title is what it is. And hey, Westlife sings a song called Flying Without Wings. Do yourself a flavor and take a listen to that baby!



Dedicated in loving memory to the Flock. I'll never forget you guys. Always remember- just smile and nod.





~**~**~**~**~



"You two are coming with me."



Hermione had noticeably paled. Harry and Ron, being the boys that they were, didn't notice. Harry looked excited by the idea, and Ron snatched up the letter and read out loud-



Dear Squirt, ('Squirt? Oh yeah,' he thought, 'new material!')



How are you? We hope that school is going well for you this year.



You're probably wondering why we're owling you. Well, we'll cut to the chase. You are coming home for Christmas this year. We haven't seen you on Christmas holidays for three years now, and the season is a time for family. But it is also a time for friends. Which is why we have extended the invitation to your two friends, Harry Potter and Ron Wezley, as well. We have already sent an owl to Mister Wezley's parents, and they agreed to let him stay with us. We also sent a letter to Mister Potter's aunt and uncle, and they said that as long as he didn't come back to their house for vacation, whatever he did was fine with them.



So, surprise! We'll pick the three of you up from King's Cross Station on the 22nd. See you then, and merry Christmas!

Love,

Mom and Dad



After a moment or two of silence, Ron said, "Why do people always spell my last name wrong?"



Hermione ignored him; right now, that was the absolute least of her worries. She shut her eyes and pinched her arm, apparently hoping that maybe this was some kind of nightmare that she would wake up from. But of course, when she opened her eyes she was still sitting in the Great Hall, and Ron and Harry were looking at her worriedly. Ron thought that maybe this would not be the best time to call her Squirt.



"Hermione?" asked Harry tentatively, "why are you banging your head against the table?"



Hermione looked up, mid-bang. "You two are coming home with me for Christmas." She sounded thoroughly miserable.



"And why is this a problem?" asked Ron, raising his voice so that he would be heard over the banging. Hermione let her head drop with one last thunk to the table, letting her forehead rest on it.



"My parents," she said, her voice extremely muffled, "love Christmas."



"Who doesn't?" asked Harry. "Food, presents, no school... What's not to like?"



"You don't understand. My parents love Christmas. As in *love*. It's an all out Christmas extravaganza. It's Christmaspalooza. You can't even recognize my house under all the decorations. And there's singing and feasting and dancing... And now you guys are going to be forced into it, and you'll hate me!" Her voice grew both weaker and more hopeless as she spoke, and she punctuated the more important words with head thunks.



Ron and Harry exchanged looks of such perfect and identical bewilderment that it would have been funny under any other circumstance. "We're not going to hate you!" said Ron. "We could never hate you."



"Is that right? I'll remember that when my parents are forcing you to sing carols in front of my *whole entire family*!" She put her face in her hands, wishing that the world would explode right there and then.



"I guarantee you that we will not hate you. And I think it sounds like fun; I've never had a real Christmas, you know." said Harry. If he thought this would reassure her, he was dead wrong.



"And now," she exploded, "you are going to get a completely messed up idea of what Christmas is supposed to be like. My parents will scar you for life!"



Harry gave Ron a look that clearly said, "Help me out here, will you?" After thinking for a moment, Ron piped up.



"Hermione, you've met my mum, right? You know how she is about things like that. I'm sure that she's a hundred times worse than your parents!" He looked extremely apprehensive, as if he was afraid Hermione might cause him serious bodily harm for saying that. But he, like Harry, was dead wrong.

"Really?" she said in a small voice, looking up at them for the first time since she had read the letter. "Is she that bad?"



"Worse. It's something like a whirlwind of decorations at out house. And the food... She cooks too much even for me to eat!" Ron said all of this very reassuringly, his tone soothing. "So don't worry, I'm one-hundred percent used to it. And who cares if Harry's traumatized? It's already too late to save him as it is!"



"Hey!" cried Harry indignantly, but no one paid him any attention. Hermione threw her arms around Ron's neck, and squeezed tight enough that his face took on a purple tinge.



"Ok... Her-... Air?" he croaked, and Harry laughed silently at him behind Hermione's back. Hermione didn't notice. She released Ron and stood up, blushing red.



"Thanks, you guys. And I'm sorry about all of this, my parents can be that way. I've got to go to Arithmancy, I'll see you later!" And she bolted from the room without looking back.



Harry turned to Ron, who's face was still a little red. "Aw..." he said, in a sickenengly sweet voice.



"Oh shut up," said Ron, who was massaging his neck. "I didn't want her to get all hysterical. You've seen her cry, she was already bad enough without actual tears."



Harry laughed. "Seriously though," he said, as he buttered some toast, "that was really nice of you to tell Hermione that."



"Was it convincing?"



Harry gave him a look. "What do you mean, convincing? That was the truth, wasn't it?"



Ron stopped rubbing his neck and grinned, looking extremely proud. "Not a word of it."



~**~**~**~**~

One week later...



"All aboard!"



The train station in Hogsmeade was very noisy, and almost bursting with people. Almost all of them were Hogwarts students, except for a few scattered teachers, who all looked very harassed. The job of keeping the waiting students in line had been most tiring, and they all breathed a sigh of relief at the conductors words. The students hurried onto the train and then they were off.



Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only occupants of the last compartment, and they were using their last few hours with magic well. They played Exploding Snap, Gobstones, and practiced various charms on different things in the compartment, making clothes and cushions zoom around. But once the train neared its destination, Hermione sat down next to the window, staring blankly at the passing landscape, obviously worried no matter what Ron had told her. As they got closer and closer to King's Cross, she got jumpier and jumpier, and when the train began to slow down, her stomach began to flutter and jump nervously.



The train screeched to a halt, and both Ron and Harry jumped up quickly. Harry was excited to have a real Christmas, and Ron was looking forward to seeing how Muggles lived. Hermione couldn't say that she shared any bit of their enthusiasm.



After struggling with the trunks and getting carts, they crossed the barrier. After scanning the crowd, Hermione turned to the other two, and with a look of resignation on her face, said, "Here they come."



~**~**~**~**~



I know, I know, not the most action-packed chapter, huh? Well, that's too bad. It's too late to change it now, and I wouldn't even if I could. So there.



By the way, would anyone like to beta-read for me? I have one, (love ya, Lisa!) but I'd like at least two altogether. And three? Three would be awesome. I'll take the first two people who offer and leave their e-mail, and anyone else who I happen to just particularly like. (Yes yes, bribe them into leaving a review, that'll work... Bru-ha!)



On the next episode of Flying Without Wings, we find out exactly what Harry and Ron are in for! See ya at the movies!