Ron and Hermione acted like newly-weds for the weeks leading up to
Christmas. Always lovey-dovey, hardly any insulting words to each other. It
was almost making people (Harry and Ginny) sick. But that's not to say
Harry and Ginny weren't very happy. On the contrary, they were recognised
as the happy, lively couple they were. As the Santa-season drew near, the
number of couples roaming the Hogwarts Hall's increased dramatically. The
Silly Season was making people act just that. Mistletoe was repeatedly
conjured by students to hang in corridors and classrooms. When the lists
came around for remaining students to put their names on, Harry added his
name happily.
Classes were becoming a fair bit easier, as the teachers loosened up their strict schedules. The only professor who didn't appear to share the joy of Christmas was Snape, and this came as no surprise to anyone. However this year he seemed to be especially bitter about the encroaching joy. Perhaps it had something to do with Christmassy themed jokes Sirius was playing on him. Although he had been lightly warned by McGonagall, Sirius still deemed it fit to bewitch Snape's long hair so it shone red or green with glitter. Anya was pretty sure that Snape was itching to get back at Sirius, but wouldn't suffer the indignity of playing practical jokes. So Severus Snape was left with nothing to do, but sit and wait until Sirius stuffed up, which Sirius, Anya and Remus were determined to never see occur.
On Christmas morning, Harry woke to see a pile of glittering presents at his feet. He had never seen such a large collection of gifts with his name on them. Ron's face peeked through the curtains.
"You decent?" he asked Harry. Harry nodded and Ron peeled away the curtains from the bed. Ron jumped on foot of the bed, dumping his pile on presents around him. Hermione came into view, smiled at Harry, and sat more sedately on the side of Harry's bed. She was also carrying her presents.
"I thought we could all open them together!" she announced, gesturing to the presents. Ron nodded like an eager puppy, and Harry laughed.
"Wait, we're missing someone!" he said as Ron started to rip into the first present. Harry quickly donned a dressing gown, and made his way in the direction of the 5th year girl's dorm. He knocked gently on the door. "Hangon!" he heard a sleepy voice say. Ginny opened to door a few moments later. Her flannel tartan PJ's were crumpled, and her hair was sticking out of it's loose bun. She rubbed her eyes a few times, before throwing her arms around him.
Harry stifled a laugh at Ginny's reaction. After her Christmas hug, she scurried over to her bed to collect her presents. Deciding the pile was too awkward to carry, she loaded them into the centre of her sheet, tying the diagonals together. She lugged the makeshift sack onto the floor and dragged it along behind her. She reached out for Harry's hand, and together they walked up to the 6th year Boy's dorms. Hermione and Ron were still on Harry's bed, laughing about something. Ginny raced over to her brother and knuckled his head.
"Morning Ginny," he said dryly. Ginny laughed, patting Ron's head where she had hurt him. She sat down on the bed and pulled up her giant sheet sack. Patting a spot next to her for Harry to sit down, Ginny untied her Santa sack. She pulled out the presents and lay them on the bed.
"Right, on the count of three. One....two....three!" and with that, the 4 students tore into their presents, barely ripping the paper off one before starting on another. When there were no more presents to open, they finally went back and read the cards, acknowledging the gifts. There was the usual jumper and toffee for everyone from Mrs Weasley. Hermione had received books from just about everyone, and she was thrilled. Ron and Harry were both given gift certificates to Zonko's from their girlfriends. Ron had given Harry a large tub of Slick-ease for his hair and Hermione had promised to do his Potions homework for 2 weeks, which to him, was the best gift ever.
Harry noticed there were no gifts from Anya, Remus or Sirius, but there was a card, signed by all of them, promising him presents after Christmas dinner. When everyone thought they had finished opening presents, Hermione startled pulling together a pile of paper to throw out. Ron reached out for her hand, and pulled out a ring box.
"Hermione," he started. This silenced the loud pillow fight Harry and Ginny had been engaged in. They turned their wide eyes toward the scene, taking place. Surely Ron wasn't going to ask Hermione to marry him?! Ron slid a silver band with purple gems onto Hermione's finger. She gasped, not sure what was happening.
"Hermione, it's just a ring. Don't look so upset!" Ron chuckled lightly, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief before reaching over and hugging him tightly. She withdrew to again look at her ring, wiggling her fingers so the amethyst caught the light and sparkled.
"Thankyou," she breathed, almost transfixed by the gem.
"Don't forget to breathe now Herm!" Harry teased her, and in reply he received a glowering glare. He ducked a pillow thrown in his direction by his darling girlfriend. A full-fledged fight ensued, with Hermione periodically stopping to stare at her ring.
"Don't tell me you're turning into a material girl Hermione!" Harry teases again after a particularly lengthy stare. He was rewarded with a whack in the head.
The fight continued well into the morning, and even spread from the dorms to the common rooms, with all of the remaining Gryffindors choosing to take part as well. When McGonagall peered into the room to remind the students to be ready for dinner at 12, she was met with the sight of her common room littered with feathers, students strewn across the furniture, panting from lack of breath, and several deflated pillows lying dejectedly on the floor. Opening and closing her mouth, she seemed to be unable to find the right words. Finally she shut her eyes, reminded the students of dinner, and muttered something about cleaning spells before closing the portrait behind her. The entire Gryffindor population sighed with relief, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, the kind where you can't stop even if you want too. Everyone left to get changed, still bursting into occasional giggles. Ron was thrilled Hermione had accepted the ring, but Harry was just plain starving after the strenuous morning exercise. Everyone raced down to the Great Hall, halting to a stop upon the realisation that everyone was already seated at the table, waiting patiently for the others to arrive. Well, everyone was patiently except for Snape and Sirius, who were giving each other wary, evil eyes. They only broke their stares when Harry sat down next to Sirius, who gave him a hearty slap on the back, wishing him a Merry Christmas. Snape gave Harry a cool look before turning away, sniffing and tilting his nose toward the air. Sirius rolled his eyes, and everyone had a hard time suppressing the giggles that had previously overtaken them.
Anya was sitting next to Sirius, and she reached over to hand Harry his present.
"Open it after we've eaten. OK?" she said softly, smiling. Harry nodded.
Dumbledore stood up to make a Christmas speech about togetherness before clapping his hands to make food appear on the tables. When it did, Ron and Harry tucked in with such fever, anyone would think they hadn't eaten in years.
Hermione, Ginny and Anya watched on in intrigued horror as Ron, Harry and Sirius continued to fill up their plates and then empty them almost as quickly.
"You know that not chewing your food is the major cause of bowel cancer don't you?" Anya asked disbelievingly.
"Oh, I chew my food fine. See?" Sirius opened his mouth wide at Anya and stuck his tongue out. She shrunk back, repulsed.
"That's disgusting!" she informed him. He nodded happily.
"I know!" The rest of the meal passed in relative peace, up until the pulling of the bon-bons. Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a laugh when their bon-bon showered everyone with glitter, while Harry and Ginny pulled one that sent fireworks buzzing around the hall. Remus and Portia popped a bon-bon that shouted insults. The only way to stop it was to drown it in pumpkin juice, as everyone soon found out. Sirius turned to Anya with a wicked twinkle in his eye. She pulled away. "Oh come on. You know you wanna pull it!" he said cheekily. Anya raised her eyebrows, and scoffed at his comment, but reluctantly she reached out to hold on to her end of the cracker. The both pulled on either end simultaneously, and the bon-bon exploded in a shower of confetti and glitter. Anya looked up, but quickly looked down again when she saw what was hovering in the air. Sirius followed her gaze, and he too looked away at the sight. However, Professor Trelawney, who had so far behaved herself, also caught sight of the dreaded plant
"Ah mistletoe!" she cried happily. The other diners looked up to see this as well. Anya and Sirius turned away from each other, embarrassed. Dumbledore laughed in a jolly manner, much like Santa.
"Looks like two of our teachers are going to become a lot closer!" he laughed. Sirius shook his head, while Anya put her hands to her forehead, only to feel her skin burning with shame.
"Oh but you have to kiss, it's bad luck not to!" Trelawney said ominously. Calls erupted from around the table, egging on the two professors. But still they hesitated.
"What, are you scared she'll hex you to oblivion?" Snape said lazily from his chair. He had been silent during the whole situation, but decided to grace the dinner patrons with his dry humour. Sirius's eyes blacked and he turned to Anya. Without missing a beat, he leaned over and kissed her, hard, on the lips. Snape's eyes narrowed, he wasn't expecting this. Anya, who had initially been taken by surprise, found herself surrendering to the kiss before she pulled away. No way was she going to suffer the pain of where this would lead again. Sirius looked surprised at her sudden withdrawal, and Anya swore she saw a flash of hurt cross his expression, before his face finally settled on a look of arrogance. He looked over toward Snape. "Happy now?" he asked sarcastically, taking a particularly violent stab at a piece of potato. Severus Snape narrowed his eyes until they were barely noticeable. Anya swallowed nervously, hoping nothing more was said by either party. Nervous chatter sprung up around the table, as everyone had previously been silent. Eventually, the normal level of conversation was regained, and the mistletoe incident appeared to be forgotten by all but three people. Anya, Sirius and Severus.
Classes were becoming a fair bit easier, as the teachers loosened up their strict schedules. The only professor who didn't appear to share the joy of Christmas was Snape, and this came as no surprise to anyone. However this year he seemed to be especially bitter about the encroaching joy. Perhaps it had something to do with Christmassy themed jokes Sirius was playing on him. Although he had been lightly warned by McGonagall, Sirius still deemed it fit to bewitch Snape's long hair so it shone red or green with glitter. Anya was pretty sure that Snape was itching to get back at Sirius, but wouldn't suffer the indignity of playing practical jokes. So Severus Snape was left with nothing to do, but sit and wait until Sirius stuffed up, which Sirius, Anya and Remus were determined to never see occur.
On Christmas morning, Harry woke to see a pile of glittering presents at his feet. He had never seen such a large collection of gifts with his name on them. Ron's face peeked through the curtains.
"You decent?" he asked Harry. Harry nodded and Ron peeled away the curtains from the bed. Ron jumped on foot of the bed, dumping his pile on presents around him. Hermione came into view, smiled at Harry, and sat more sedately on the side of Harry's bed. She was also carrying her presents.
"I thought we could all open them together!" she announced, gesturing to the presents. Ron nodded like an eager puppy, and Harry laughed.
"Wait, we're missing someone!" he said as Ron started to rip into the first present. Harry quickly donned a dressing gown, and made his way in the direction of the 5th year girl's dorm. He knocked gently on the door. "Hangon!" he heard a sleepy voice say. Ginny opened to door a few moments later. Her flannel tartan PJ's were crumpled, and her hair was sticking out of it's loose bun. She rubbed her eyes a few times, before throwing her arms around him.
Harry stifled a laugh at Ginny's reaction. After her Christmas hug, she scurried over to her bed to collect her presents. Deciding the pile was too awkward to carry, she loaded them into the centre of her sheet, tying the diagonals together. She lugged the makeshift sack onto the floor and dragged it along behind her. She reached out for Harry's hand, and together they walked up to the 6th year Boy's dorms. Hermione and Ron were still on Harry's bed, laughing about something. Ginny raced over to her brother and knuckled his head.
"Morning Ginny," he said dryly. Ginny laughed, patting Ron's head where she had hurt him. She sat down on the bed and pulled up her giant sheet sack. Patting a spot next to her for Harry to sit down, Ginny untied her Santa sack. She pulled out the presents and lay them on the bed.
"Right, on the count of three. One....two....three!" and with that, the 4 students tore into their presents, barely ripping the paper off one before starting on another. When there were no more presents to open, they finally went back and read the cards, acknowledging the gifts. There was the usual jumper and toffee for everyone from Mrs Weasley. Hermione had received books from just about everyone, and she was thrilled. Ron and Harry were both given gift certificates to Zonko's from their girlfriends. Ron had given Harry a large tub of Slick-ease for his hair and Hermione had promised to do his Potions homework for 2 weeks, which to him, was the best gift ever.
Harry noticed there were no gifts from Anya, Remus or Sirius, but there was a card, signed by all of them, promising him presents after Christmas dinner. When everyone thought they had finished opening presents, Hermione startled pulling together a pile of paper to throw out. Ron reached out for her hand, and pulled out a ring box.
"Hermione," he started. This silenced the loud pillow fight Harry and Ginny had been engaged in. They turned their wide eyes toward the scene, taking place. Surely Ron wasn't going to ask Hermione to marry him?! Ron slid a silver band with purple gems onto Hermione's finger. She gasped, not sure what was happening.
"Hermione, it's just a ring. Don't look so upset!" Ron chuckled lightly, and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief before reaching over and hugging him tightly. She withdrew to again look at her ring, wiggling her fingers so the amethyst caught the light and sparkled.
"Thankyou," she breathed, almost transfixed by the gem.
"Don't forget to breathe now Herm!" Harry teased her, and in reply he received a glowering glare. He ducked a pillow thrown in his direction by his darling girlfriend. A full-fledged fight ensued, with Hermione periodically stopping to stare at her ring.
"Don't tell me you're turning into a material girl Hermione!" Harry teases again after a particularly lengthy stare. He was rewarded with a whack in the head.
The fight continued well into the morning, and even spread from the dorms to the common rooms, with all of the remaining Gryffindors choosing to take part as well. When McGonagall peered into the room to remind the students to be ready for dinner at 12, she was met with the sight of her common room littered with feathers, students strewn across the furniture, panting from lack of breath, and several deflated pillows lying dejectedly on the floor. Opening and closing her mouth, she seemed to be unable to find the right words. Finally she shut her eyes, reminded the students of dinner, and muttered something about cleaning spells before closing the portrait behind her. The entire Gryffindor population sighed with relief, before bursting into uncontrollable laughter, the kind where you can't stop even if you want too. Everyone left to get changed, still bursting into occasional giggles. Ron was thrilled Hermione had accepted the ring, but Harry was just plain starving after the strenuous morning exercise. Everyone raced down to the Great Hall, halting to a stop upon the realisation that everyone was already seated at the table, waiting patiently for the others to arrive. Well, everyone was patiently except for Snape and Sirius, who were giving each other wary, evil eyes. They only broke their stares when Harry sat down next to Sirius, who gave him a hearty slap on the back, wishing him a Merry Christmas. Snape gave Harry a cool look before turning away, sniffing and tilting his nose toward the air. Sirius rolled his eyes, and everyone had a hard time suppressing the giggles that had previously overtaken them.
Anya was sitting next to Sirius, and she reached over to hand Harry his present.
"Open it after we've eaten. OK?" she said softly, smiling. Harry nodded.
Dumbledore stood up to make a Christmas speech about togetherness before clapping his hands to make food appear on the tables. When it did, Ron and Harry tucked in with such fever, anyone would think they hadn't eaten in years.
Hermione, Ginny and Anya watched on in intrigued horror as Ron, Harry and Sirius continued to fill up their plates and then empty them almost as quickly.
"You know that not chewing your food is the major cause of bowel cancer don't you?" Anya asked disbelievingly.
"Oh, I chew my food fine. See?" Sirius opened his mouth wide at Anya and stuck his tongue out. She shrunk back, repulsed.
"That's disgusting!" she informed him. He nodded happily.
"I know!" The rest of the meal passed in relative peace, up until the pulling of the bon-bons. Dumbledore and McGonagall shared a laugh when their bon-bon showered everyone with glitter, while Harry and Ginny pulled one that sent fireworks buzzing around the hall. Remus and Portia popped a bon-bon that shouted insults. The only way to stop it was to drown it in pumpkin juice, as everyone soon found out. Sirius turned to Anya with a wicked twinkle in his eye. She pulled away. "Oh come on. You know you wanna pull it!" he said cheekily. Anya raised her eyebrows, and scoffed at his comment, but reluctantly she reached out to hold on to her end of the cracker. The both pulled on either end simultaneously, and the bon-bon exploded in a shower of confetti and glitter. Anya looked up, but quickly looked down again when she saw what was hovering in the air. Sirius followed her gaze, and he too looked away at the sight. However, Professor Trelawney, who had so far behaved herself, also caught sight of the dreaded plant
"Ah mistletoe!" she cried happily. The other diners looked up to see this as well. Anya and Sirius turned away from each other, embarrassed. Dumbledore laughed in a jolly manner, much like Santa.
"Looks like two of our teachers are going to become a lot closer!" he laughed. Sirius shook his head, while Anya put her hands to her forehead, only to feel her skin burning with shame.
"Oh but you have to kiss, it's bad luck not to!" Trelawney said ominously. Calls erupted from around the table, egging on the two professors. But still they hesitated.
"What, are you scared she'll hex you to oblivion?" Snape said lazily from his chair. He had been silent during the whole situation, but decided to grace the dinner patrons with his dry humour. Sirius's eyes blacked and he turned to Anya. Without missing a beat, he leaned over and kissed her, hard, on the lips. Snape's eyes narrowed, he wasn't expecting this. Anya, who had initially been taken by surprise, found herself surrendering to the kiss before she pulled away. No way was she going to suffer the pain of where this would lead again. Sirius looked surprised at her sudden withdrawal, and Anya swore she saw a flash of hurt cross his expression, before his face finally settled on a look of arrogance. He looked over toward Snape. "Happy now?" he asked sarcastically, taking a particularly violent stab at a piece of potato. Severus Snape narrowed his eyes until they were barely noticeable. Anya swallowed nervously, hoping nothing more was said by either party. Nervous chatter sprung up around the table, as everyone had previously been silent. Eventually, the normal level of conversation was regained, and the mistletoe incident appeared to be forgotten by all but three people. Anya, Sirius and Severus.