Chapter 4 - Christmas
It was several weeks later that Hermione finally got the chance to study Luna's mother's research. Luna's father had heard of their plan, and he willingly sent them her research so they could try to find the counter for the Cruciatus curse. After the Prefects meeting, Ron and Hermione went down to the seventh floor and entered the Room of Requirement.
"I really appreciate you helping me Ron. I know this isn't your thing." Hermione said as she sat down on a cushion by the fireplace.
"What do you mean, not my thing. I can research you know. I helped you and Hagrid third year with Buckbeak, even though our efforts really didn't help." Ron defensively said, sitting on the cushion across from her and picking up the nearest book.
"Let's not fight, please? We're here to help Neville." Hermione said, going through the papers to her left.
"Neville again," Ron muttered under his breathe.
"What?" Hermione's head snapped up to look at him.
Ron blushed and said, "Er, this is her journal, do you think it holds any clues?"
"Already read it. It just gave some background information." She said, going back to her papers.
"Well, I want to be caught up, so I'll read this, alright?" Ron sighed and opened the book. He was surprised to find that he was interested in the writings. It was hours later, when his stomach growled, that Ron even realized that he was hungry. Hermione had fallen asleep with her head a pile of parchment, her hair falling on his knee.
He picked her up and was about to shake her whe he looked down at the slim girl in his arms as if he were just noticing her. Then, as if seizing the moment, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Hermione?" he shook her gently. "Wake up. We've got to get to dinner." He picked her up and shook her again.
"What? But I have to finish this paper, Ron has to borrow it." She murmured.
"Mione, we have a paper due in three minutes, and you didn't finish it!" he said loudly. With those words, Hermione sprung awake.
"What do you mean I didn't do the paper? Professor McGonagall is going to kill me!" she jumped, unaware of Ron's silent laughter.
"You awake now? It's time for dinner, I didn't want you to miss it." Ron pulled her off the floor and started to lead her to the door.
"But, but the paper?"
"There is no paper." Ron said, smiling slightly. She looked at him as if he were crazy for a moment, before she yelled at him for lying to her. When she finally calmed down, they were already in the cafeteria, filling up their plates.
"What did you do this time?" Harry leaned over to ask Ron.
"I told her she didn't finish a paper." The two boys laughed and finished their dinner. Hermione and Ginny had left early, possibly to talk about the research, so the boys headed straight to the common room to meet them. When they got there, Harry stopped short at the sight of Ginny kissing Dean on the cheek. He turned back into the porthole and ran off to the nearest empty classroom to think. Ron didn't even notice Harry's flight, as he motioned Hermione over and sat beside her on the couch.
"So how far did you guys get?" Ginny asked them. Ron blushed, not realizing what she had meant. Hermione, however, was all business.
"Well, I read several fascinating documents explaining her research. Luna's mum was a brilliant witch. I don't think I got through the half of all the papers."
"Well, I don't know. You were sleeping on a good deal of them." Ron laughed.
"I fell asleep?" Hermione asked. Ron nodded, and she said, "Must have been those blasted fireplaces. Dark rooms and fireplaces always make me tired."
"It's a wonder you were even able to study at all." Ginny joked. Hermione elbowed her quickly and blushed. "What? I thought you were going to tell him!"
"Not right now, Ginny. We'll talk about this later." Hermione curtly said. Ron looked on with amusement.
"Tell me what, Hermione?" he asked.
"Oh nothing." Ginny said in a singsong voice.
"Say Ginny," Hermione interrupted, changing the subject. "Did I tell you Ron was reading a book? And it looked like to me he was enjoying it."
"Really?" Ginny said surprised.
"Looked to you? Were you paying attention to my reading, dear Hermione?" Ron inquired.
"No! Why would I be doing something like that? I was researching, to help Neville. Yes, Neville." Hermione quickly said, as if reassuring herself of the information.
"Jeez, I was just kidding." Ron laughed.
"Hey, has anybody noticed Harry isn't here? I thought he walked in with you, Ron." Ginny noted.
"He must have left, but what could cause him to do so?" Hermione quarried, hiding a smile.
"I donno, I think that mate is going off the deep end." Ron said.
"You know what, Ron, I think your off the deep end." Ginny replied, hitting him on the arm tenderly. "And furthermore, I think Hermione and I should get to bed. Beauty loves its' rest, you know."
"You and beauty? Who are you kidding, Gin?" Ron joked, as the girls headed up to their dorm. Ron sprawled over the couch and closed his eyes in thought. Had he really kissed Hermione?
Nobody saw Harry until the following morning and nobody asked where he had gone. They just accepted the fact that Harry had a lot on his mind and might occasionally disappear. Ever since McGonagall had cancelled Quidditch for the year, Harry had only his studies to keep him preoccupied. It had been several months into the year, but the only places one would see him were his classes, the library, and occasionally the common room or cafeteria. This worried Ginny, so one day, early December, she decided to ask him about his odd behavior.
"Harry!" Ginny called, rushing through the crowds of students crawling their way to the cafeteria. "Harry!"
"What?" he snapped, turning around into her. Her cheeks were flushed from running and her eyes held an innocent look. He instantly hated himself for his tone.
"Do you want some hot chocolate?" she asked, holding out a thermos. He shook his head and continued walking. He should have known Ginny wouldn't give up that easily. "Can't I come with you?" she asked, catching up to him.
"No." he fiercely said, silently kicking himself for pushing her away.
"But your going to miss lunch again." She argued, stepping in front of him so he had to look at her. "Please Harry, I want to be there for you, but you stopped writing, you haven't said a single word to Ron or Hermione since Thanksgiving. I know you want your privacy, but I refuse to let you shield yourself from me."
"Ginny, I'm fine. There, now get back to your Dean in the cafeteria. I'm sure he's wondering why you aren't snogging him there."
"Dean? You stopped talking to me because of Dean? I'm not even going out with him!" she exclaimed, still on Harry's tail.
"What do you mean, not going out with him. I saw you kiss him, a couple Saturdays ago, right there, in the middle of the bloody common room. That's like advertising it to the entire world."
"Harry, it was a thank you kiss. I was pretending to date him to get Ron riled up, honestly. There is nothing between me and Dean, nor will there ever be, not that you should be caring." By then they were at the lake, and Harry didn't know how he was going to get rid of Ginny before he reached the lookout.
"Look Gin, I couldn't care if you snogged the whole damn school right now, as long as you stopped worrying about me. Alright?" he barked. Ginny's eyes filled with tears as she dropped her thermos. She turned around and began walking back to the school, wiping the falling tears with her mittens. Harry felt the guilt as soon as he saw her reaction, hating himself to the point that he called out to her. "Ginny, do you want some hot chocolate?"
Ginny turned around and saw Harry bending down to pick up her fallen thermos. Sniffling, she made her way over to him, drying her tears until she felt her face was water-free. "You mean it?" she asked, her voice choking from crying.
"Yeah. I'm sorry." Harry replied, wiping a stray tear. "Come on, I think I should show you something." Harry took her mitten in his and steered her towards the lake. He took two steps on the iced water, but he felt Ginny pull back. "Don't worry." He pulled her up to him, holding her body to his with his left hand. With his right hand, he waved his wand and said, "Unpritocus." To Ginny's surprise, a tunnel appeared in the ice.
"What the?" she started, but Harry just led her into the dark hole. It was several minutes later that they reached a well-lit room. It was furnished with old Hogwarts couches, all Gryffindor, and there was a fireplace in the far corner. Harry lit the fire and offered her a seat.
"Let me explain?" he asked her. When she nodded, he continued. "I was walking along the beach the day I say you kiss Dean, and I noticed on the map that there was a tunnel under the lake. I figure George and Fred don't know about it, they don't seem like the swimming type. Anyway, I realize this must be where my dad and his friends would hang out. It's obviously something important enough to put on the map, and I know it's stupid, but being here brings me closer too them. I also reckon this is Sirius's secret make-out haven. He told me he use to bring girls to a secret cave, when he was a student. I know this doesn't make up for what I said to you, but I want to share this with you."
"Wow. I mean, Harry you could have told me about this and I would have understood."
"I just didn't want anyone to know where I was."
"Why me then? Why not your best friends?" she asked confused.
"Because I trust you!" he blurted out, blushing slightly. "I mean, you seem to genuinely want to help me, and that means a lot to me, Gin."
"But how do you stay in here so long without food?"
"I know this must have been Sirius's doing, but he somehow found a spell that can get food from the kitchen, over to that box in the wall." Harry explained, pointing at a dumbwaiter next to the fireplace.
"Genius. But are you sure it's alright to let me stay here?"
"If I can't trust you, who can I? Can we keep this our secret though?" Harry asked, looking into her eyes. She smiled, and promised to not speak about it.
"This must be the perfect place to study." She murmured, looking at the bookshelves.
"Help yourself. I found some material that would have been perfect for my O.W.L.'s last year." Harry spoke, chewing on a sugar quill. Ginny sat down beside him on the couch, despite the fact that there were two others. She opened a book on different constellations for a while, until she noticed that she had a class.
"Harry, let's make a deal. I'll keep this quiet, and you make a few more public appearances so that we all know your alive. Deal?" she asked, holding out her hand for him to shake.
"Deal." He laughed. They shook and started up to the castle. "So where are you headed?"
"Potions in the third dungeon." She said unhappily.
"Since I'm already here, may I walk you there?" Harry asked, surprising himself. He felt his face flush again and dropped his gaze to the door handle he was lifting.
"Sure." She replied smiling.
"You know Christmas is in a couple weeks, and I was, er, wondering what you would like?" he stammered, blushing some more.
"Oh, I'm not hard to please." She grinned. "What about you? I figure Hermione's getting you a book of some sort."
"I'm not sure what I want. Hmm... what about Ron?"
"Well I'm getting him a Chudley's poster, one of the new lineup. Why don't you get him something from the Chudley catalog and we can send them together."
"That's a bloody brilliant idea, Gin." Harry declared. He hid a frown when they reached her classroom. She waved him farewell as he watched her disappearing figure. He walked back to his dorm slowly, pondering what he should get her. He finally decided to ask Lavender when he reached the common room. Upon reaching the common room, he quickly spotted Lavender and Parvati near the picture window.
"Hello ladies, could I ask you a question?" he prodded as he strolled up to them. Lavender laughed and replied, "I thought you just did."
"Look, I need to ask a girl something, and you two happen to be the best to ask, alright?" he said, slightly annoyed at their antics.
"Why not ask Hermione?" Parvati asked.
"Hermione? When have you known her to act like a girl? Besides, I'm pretty sure she's having a hard time coming up with her own ideas for Christmas."
"So let me guess, you want to buy a girl a present and you have no idea what we, as girls, like?" Parvati half asked, half stated. Harry nodded and the girls summoned a chair for him to sit in. "Ok, who is it?" Parvati asked.
"What? Why do you need to know that?" Harry asked dumbfounded.
"Every girl is different, and you can bet we know what she'll like." Lavender pointed out.
"That's our deal. You tell us who it is, and we'll tell you what to get her. And I promise, as will Lavender, to keep this a secret." Lavender nodded at Parvati and then at Harry.
Harry gulped and stared into his lap and he muttered, "Ginny Weasley."
"Didn't hear that." Parvati impatiently said.
"Ginny." Lavender's eyes got round and she looked over at her best friend, who's face matched her shock. Once they had recovered from their initial shock, Lavender got an idea.
"Why don't you go shopping with me and Parvati next weekend at Hogsmeade? That way you'll get to see things from our point of view, and I bet you'll know it when you see it."
"Good idea Lav, but what will Seamus think?" Parvati asked.
"I doubt he'll mind, and besides a little jealously keeps the man to your side." She laughed. "So Harry, what do you say?"
"Sure, as long as you don't make me go into any kind of undergarment store." He said blushing.
"You got it." The best friends agreed.
"Talk to you later, Harry." Parvati said, turning her back to Harry. Harry took that as his cue to leave, wondering out of the common room and over to the cafeteria to catch a quick dinner, as he had promised Ginny. He decided not to tell Ron and Hermione about his new plans with Lavender and Parvati, as it would only make the suspicious. Harry stopped short in front of the cafeteria doors and braced himself, and opened the double doors.
The following weekend, Harry met Lavender and Parvati at the entrance to Hogsmeade. He shrugged off Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, leaving them with wondering glances when he joined the two fashionable girls.
"Ok, I'm here. Now what?" he asked.
"It's time to introduce you to the brighter side to Hogsmeade. After this, you aren't going to set foot in the Hogshead again!" Lavender enthusiastically said. Harry found himself being pulled into a jewelry store that was down the street from Zonko's. He looked from case to case, but found nothing of interest. He watched Lavender buy a necklace for Parvati before they headed for the next shop.
"Nothing there, huh?" Parvati asked him. He sighed and shook his head.
"Why don't we try the other jewelry store?" Lavender asked.
"There are more then one?" Harry gasped.
"Yeah, although the other one isn't as classy." Parvati pointed out. "But if you think he'll find something, we can try it." They steered Harry around a corner and into a small dark shop. It reminded Harry slightly of Hagrid's cabin, and he was slightly comforted by that. He looked around until he noticed a thin gold chain under a pile of old necklaces. It was a plain but elegant necklace, with a small heart charm on it. Harry held it up for Parvati and Lavender to see.
"This is it." He declared.
"Well I'll be darned. You must have picked the best piece of jewelry here." Lavender said as they walked up to the counter.
"It'll bring out the gold in her hair you know." Parvati pointed out to Lavender. Harry paid for the gift and headed out of the store.
"Do you know where I can get this wrapped? And shined too?" he asked them. Lavender sighed, pulling out her wand. She muttered an incantation and the necklace sparkled from his hand. "How did you-" he started, but she cut him off.
"You think our jewelry is always this good looking? We know all the cleaning spells, duh."
"Thanks! Do you happen to know a wrapping spell?" he asked.
"No, but there's a wrapping store over there." Parvati said, pulling Harry into Boxes and Bows. After about five minutes, Harry and the girls were standing outside gifts in hand.
"Thank you both. This means a lot." He said, hugging each girl.
"No big, Harry, it's what we do." Lavender laughed. "Let's go grab a Butterbeer with the boys Parv." She said, linking arms with her best friend.
"I am so there." Parvati laughed as they finished out their day at the Three Broomsticks. Harry split from the girls and headed towards Ron and Hermione, who looked as if they were about to start a fight.
"Honestly Ron, I didn't buy that gift for Viktor. I don't even like him, I never did!" Hermione was ferociously whispering. She was doing her best to not inform the entire pub about their disagreement. Harry sat down unnoticed, remembering what Lavender had said about guys. 'I doubt he'll mind, and besides a little jealously keeps the man to your side.' Harry suddenly understood why Ron and Hermione were always fighting about Viktor Krum.
"Hermione," he interrupted, "didn't you say you had news?"
"Oh yes, but I want to tell Ginny too."
"Tell me what?" the red haired girl asked, sliding in next to Hermione.
"Well my parents are going to New York to see the ball drop in Times Square, and they wanted to know if we wanted to come with them. They said they'd already made the reservation for six, and that I should ask if any of you is busy." Hermione explained. Ginny's face lit up at the thought of New York City, but Harry's was clouded over with confusion.
"How will we get back before term starts?" he asked. Their term started on the second of January, and he knew Hermione wouldn't want to miss it.
"I'm guessing we hop on a plane immediately after the ball drops. So do you want to go?" she asked.
"We'd love to!" Ginny exclaimed, speaking for everyone. Ron and Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione smiled and said, "I'll write them as soon as I get back to the castle. This is going to be great, Christmas at Hogwarts, New Years in New York!" she and Ginny began planing what they'd do when they reached the city.
"Look what we've gotten ourselves into." Harry muttered, pointing at the girls, who were planning a shopping trip.
"Uh, Madame, I'll be needing another Butterbeer." Ron said loudly, summoning the waitress.
"Right away honey." She said, walking back into the crowd.
Christmas morning, the flapping wings of Pig woke the boys up as the bird fluttered around waiting for Ron to receive his mail. Grumbling, Ron took the letter off Pig's leg and tossed it at the foot of his bed. It only took him and the others to realize there were presents at the foot of their beds, and then there was just paper flying through the air.
"Harry, what's this box with yours and Ginny's name on it? Are you conspiring against me? Send me a hex or something?" Ron asked, shaking a red box.
"It's just something we put together." Harry replied, watching Ron rip the lid off the box. Harry opened the nearest box, from Hermione, and went on ignoring Ron's gleeful shouts. 'Seekers Best Techniques, written by the inventors of the moves' Harry read from the cover of the book. He smiled and reminded himself to thank her.
"What did you get?" Ron asked, chewing on a sugar quill that his sister had sent him.
"Same old. Candy from Hagrid, pies and a sweater,"
"From my mum no doubt." Ron interjected.
"Yeah, and Hermione got me this book about Seekers moves." Harry said, looking at the remaining gift.
"Oi, who's that one from?" Ron asked, pointing at the remaining presents.
"One is from Professor Lupin, I can see his handwriting." Harry turned his attention to the package from his former teacher. After taking off the periwinkle wrappings, he found the present to be a book. Upon opening it, he found it was a book written about the Marauders years at Hogwarts. The note inside the book read, 'Harry, these are the letters that I salvaged from my years at Hogwarts. Luckily everyone thought me the responsible one and would give them to me to hold. I hope this helps you piece together your past. -Lupin'
"Another book?" Ron asked, pulling a shirt on and buttoning it up halfway. He decided to leave the top three buttons open and just put his tie on loosely.
"Yeah, but I might actually enjoy this one." Harry muttered, noticing an interesting smell had entered the room. "Ron, what's that?"
"Oh, that? Well Hermione sent me this cologne, I thought I'd try it. Too strong?" Ron blushed, starting for the door.
"Just different. What'd you get her?" Harry inquired, following his red-haired friend.
"Oh a book, you know?" Ron lied. They walked down to breakfast and strolled over to the seven other Gryffindors. "Oi, there's Hermione and Ginny."
"So we leave tomorrow night for my house, you remember where it's at, right?" Hermione was saying to Ginny when the guys walked up.
"Yeah. Hi guys. Thanks for the Chocolate Frogs, Ron." Ginny said brightly. She moved over so Ron could sit next to her, but he went around and sat on the other side of Hermione. Harry grinned at Ginny and took the seat she'd made.
"You smell nice, Ron." Hermione shyly said.
"Thanks. This wonderful girl picked it out for me. I like your ring, by the way." He suavely replied. Hermione blushed and commented on how a nice guy she knew chose it for her. Ginny silently laughed at their being complete idiots.
"Here." He said, handing her the thin green package he'd gotten at Hogsmeade. "Merry Christmas."
Ginny's eyes grew large when she saw the necklace. "Harry, I can't, this is beautiful," she gasped.
"Here, let me help you with that." Harry took the necklace in his hands and leaned in to clasp it. Ginny caught her breath as he felt Harry's cheek touch hers in the shuffle. When he leaned back to fix the necklace, there was a distinct blush on his face.
"This is for you." Ginny said softly, recovering her voice. She handed Harry a slim box. He opened it and found it contained a gold watch with a red faceplate. "Gryffindors forever, eh?" she laughed.
"This is great, Gin. How did you know I needed a new one?" he asked, slipping it onto his left wrist.
"I noticed you were missing your old one, and you have a tan line where it used to be." She grinned.
"Clever! Thanks." Harry exclaimed, giving her a quick hug. He took a glance at his best friend, who was mumbling to Hermione, and then gave Ginny a light peck on the cheek. "Happy Christmas Gin." He whispered.
"Happy Christmas Harry." She softly whispered back.
A/M: The first draft of this chapter included some massive snogging, but I'm not going to say on who's part. Maybe that scene will creep back up in here sometime.