Hermione was already awake, and had just returned from brushing her teeth in the bathroom, looking excited, and, weirdly enough for this time of morning, wide awake. Ginny thought it seemed like she had probably woken up of her own accord this morning, rather than to the noise of a muggle- curious Ron. "Hi Ginny," she said brightly. "Want to go downstairs? You don't have to get dressed yet, everyone else is still in their pajama's. You can borrow a dressing gown of mine if you want." " Thanks. I've got one though. Are Ron and Harry up yet?" " Yes, they've been up since seven. They're watching the extended version of Lord of the Rings of DVD. I had to go shut them up a few minute ago, they were making so much noise down there, when they realized their were new scenes in it. You'd think seeing it five times would be enough for them, but noooooo. I think they're becoming obsessed, I really do." "Well, let's go and pry them away from the television, then. Does your Mum need any help with breakfast?" " Ginny, you're a guest. Besides, if you helped, first I'd have to teach you how to work the coffee machine!" " What's a cof-," Ginny began, looking puzzled. "Nevermind, let's just go downstairs!" Hermione interrupted, brushing past her and walking out the door. Ginny shrugged and followed. Harry and Ron were still watching Lord of the Rings, and despite what Hermione had said about quieting them down earlier, they were making quite a bit of noise. Ron's occasional outbursts of "Bloody Brilliant!" only added to the din. Mrs. Granger was bustling around in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, while Mr. Granger was rummaging through the hall closet in search of extra tree lights for the ones that had already broken. "He always swears we'll get a better brand the next year, since these are constantly flickering and going out, but we always keep these same old ones. It's practically a tradition." Hermione told Ginny quietly."

Breakfest was relatively quick, but delicious. Mrs. Granger had made homemade blueberry muffins and hot chocolate, which according to Hermione was a pretty big event as normally breakfast consisted of wholegrain granola and fruit. Mrs. Granger let them leave the table as soon as they were finished, but not without saying, "You might want to brush your teeth again to get all that sugar off!" on their way out the door. Everyone changed into casual jeans and shirts, since there was still a lot to do, and no one wanted to ruin their best clothing.

The rest of the morning was spent mostly just helping Mrs. Granger with dusting the cabinets, setting the table, and vaccuming the living room floor. At last she dismissed them, as the guests (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) were due to arrive any minute. Hurridly throwing on her Christmas outfit and running a comb through her hair, Ginny returned quickly, waiting to greet Hermione's relatives. Even Ron and Harry seemed to have actually tried to make themselves look decent. Harry's messy hair was still sticking up in the back, but he seemed to have tamed it a bit more than usual. A couple minutes later, the doorbell rang. After that it ran continually for the next fifteen minutes, with relative after relative arriving with armloads full of presents. Not just adults, either. Ginny was surprised to learn that the amount of cousins and second-cousins Hermione had was a much larger number than she had expected. By the time everyone had arrived her hand was tired from being constantly shaken. The living room was now full of chattering grown-ups, rambunctious children, and one sullen-looking twelve-year old. Hermione was trying to explain to Ginny who everyone was, but with some difficulty. " That's Aunt Allison, and my cousins Katie and Liza. Then, over there is my Mum's cousin and her kids, Ryan, Rosa, Rachel, and Rick." At the look on Ginny's face as she pronounced their names, she added, "She's a bit.control crazy. Wanted all her children's names to begin with R. Oh, and over there is my Mum's Aunt. Sort of eccentric, but really funny. And that's Grandma and Grandpa.on my Dad's side. And his brother's kids, more cousins, Annie and Jonathan, the two twins, and that's Loretta, she's twelve. Apparently she's upset because Aunt Martha wouldn't let her spend Christmas in France with her best friend. She always seems to find something to sulk about at Christmas, complaining that she shouldn't have to come 'just to babysit little kids who I barely ever see'. Anyway." While Hermione was pointing out family members to Ginny, Harry and Ron were trying unsuccessfully to wrestle 2 year old Ryan away from the orderves (sp?). His mother had asked them to watch him for a few moments, and they looked as though they would rather be dueling with trolls than be stuck with the job of watching Ryan. Ginny would have thought it a funny scene, had they not looked so thoroughly miserable and helpless. Excusing herself from Hermione, she went over to help them. " It's called phsycology." She explained, exasperated, " Phsy-col-o-gy. Get it?" Then turning to Ryan, she said. " I bet I can touch the TV before you, Ryan!" Turning his attention away from the plate of cheese and crackers, Ryan began to run straight for the television. " I beat you, Din-ee!" He giggled, and sat down and began to play with his shoelaces. "See? All you need to do is have patience." " Er- if you say so." Said Harry, still looking confused. Ron just shook his head. Ron just shook his head. Ginny sat down on the edge of the coffee table and looked around. It reminded her strongly about her house during the holidays- tons of relatives, laughing, talking, eating, and generally producing chaos- the only difference was that the food was all teeth friendly, something that definitely did NOT apply to Christmas at the Burrow- Fred and George could be trusted to slip a trick sweet into all the other candy and food. She smiled, and for a fleeting moment wished she were back at her house celebrating Christmas with her family, when she suddenly became aware of another difference. There was no magic- you definitely wouldn't find any trick sugar-free chocolates here. Ginny sat up abruptly and ran over to Hermione again, who was talking to one of her second cousins- Ginny had lost track of which one it was. She waited politely until the cousin walked over to the candy dish, picked up a sweet and ate it, and like just about everyone else had already done, grimaced and discreetly spat it into a napkin.

"No sugar," Hermione smiled. "You get used to it though. Quite nice tasting, actually." Ginny made a face.

"Yuck. But I have to ask you something. Your relatives- do they know you're- you know- a witch?" "Oh!" Hermione gasped, slapping her hand to her forehead. It looked so funny that Ginny almost burst out laughing, and had to bite her lip and look as though she had eaten a "denti-candi". "I can't believe I forgot to tell you! That's almost the most important thing! I completely forgot! How could I be so stupid!"

"Really Hermione, if there is one thing you are not, it is stupid. We were just really busy getting ready and you forgot is all- don't have to kill yourself about it."

"Oh, all right- you see, the uncles, aunts, grandparents, and umm- a few of the older cousins know- the young kids don't know because they would talk about it, they wouldn't know any better- and the really distant relatives don't know about it either. Families with only a few witches or wizards are encouraged to tell the smallest amount people possible, but my mum and dad couldn't bear to hide something so big from everyone- of course, not everyone thought it was so great." Hermione shrugged.

"What? You mean like- they don't think it's good to be a witch?"

"Most of them thought it was wonderful- Great Auntie Lindsey said she'd been 'waiting for something like this to happen for ever', and Ronda fainted- really passed out! Well, I almost did also, you know- but all four of my grandparents- they are a bit old fashioned. My mum's mom and dad were okay with it, they think it's odd, but they are polite and everything- my dad's mum got all icy for a while, but she's not that bad either- It's my father's dad, he thinks it's evil, and he doesn't speak to me anymore. I know why, he's very religious, and he believes all that rot about making a pact with the devil. But really, it's fine- he always was a git. It's a sort of improvement, actually- oh my, I sound like Harry and Ron in first year, don't I." Hermione gave a little laugh. Seeing the look on Ginny's face, she quickly said " Really Ginny- it's all right, he didn't come- and nobody else is like that."

" I know- but that- it's so STUPID! Really! I cannot believe that someone would actually think like that- It's even stranger having grown up with magic. But I'll go tell Harry and Ron to make sure not to say anything- er, revealing."

"Okay, and thank you so much, It would have been awful if we had a big family confrontation on Christmas- ugh, get away quick- it's Rick, he is so stupid-"

Ginny hurried away. Ron and Harry we very understanding, and promised not to mention anything, although they reacted the same way she had, and were shocked that Hermione's grandfather could be so horrible. "What's his bloody problem? That old git's probably just jealous, it's his GRANDDAUGHTER, for crying out loud!" Ginny didn't bother to tell him that his description was actually pretty similar to Hermione's.
Dinner was a very loud affair, with everyone in good spirits. They devoured Mrs. Granger's cooking in a matter of minutes, but the grownups and older children stayed at the table, while all the adults continued to "catch up" with each other. Eventually, Mrs. Granger brought out dessert, which did not taste quite as good as the rest of dinner since it was sugar- free. Ginny politely declined the cake, and was beginning to get a bit tired of sitting there. Hermione's Aunt Allison and her mother's cousin, whom they called Aunt Lydia (even though she wasn't their aunt) were both bragging about their children to one another. " I really think Katie is one of the smartest in her grade. She's very intelligent and mature for her age, and, did you know, she's just been recommended for accelerated math next year, in second grade." "Yes, well, Rosa is definitely one of the more advanced children in her school as well. She's been working so well on her holiday homework, spending hours revising for her math exams without even having to be told. I can tell she really enjoys it." This comment cause some of the older kids to grin, for anyone who had been in the living room earlier had heard Rosa complain loudly at the amount of work she had, and how her mother made her study every day for her exams, that, according to Rosa, "are more than two months away!". Finally, after what seemed ages, Hermione spoke up, "Mum, can Ginny and I please be excused?" and Ron quickly added, "Us too, please, Mrs. Granger." Mrs. Granger paused long enough in her conversation with Uncle Henry to say "Certainly!". Gratefully, all four of them rose from their chairs and left the dining room. "Hermione, can we use the computer?" Harry inquired after they had entered the living room again. "Ron and I want to look up the Lord of the Rings!" "Well." Hermione paused, "Ginny and I are going to use mine, but you two can use the one in my Dad's study, he won't mind. It's down the hallway, second door to the left." As Ginny and Hermione were walking up the stairs, Ginny distinctly heard Ron say to Harry in a puzzled tone, "Does a web address mean you have to write the zipcode too?" but they were too far away to hear Harry's reply to Ron's question.
Ginny found herself once again amazed by Hermione's computer. She was so enthralled that it seemed like in no time at all Mrs. Granger was calling them all downstairs to open presents.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, having just opened Hermione's gift. "This is so cool!" Hermione's present was an alarm clock that could fit in her pocket that you could set for many different times of day, and it buzzed whenever it was time for you to do something, so only you felt it. She also received a jumper from Mrs. Weasley, earrings from the Grangers, and a humongous box of sweets from both Harry and Ron. All in all, it was a very satisfying afternoon. Soon, many relatives picked up their things and started to leave. After what seemed like ages, no one was left except Hermione, her parents, Ginny, Ron, and Harry. They helped clean up the living room and the rest of the house, and by the time they were done, everyone was yawning. After one final cup of hot chocolate, Mrs. Granger bid them all goodnight, and they all retreated to their beds.