Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing! I really appreciate your constructive criticism. Something that keeps popping up is how it's a bit problematic when Hermione is writing in her diary at inappropriate or strange times - ie. at the Quidditch match. But it's hard for me to create a sense of suspense and whatnot if I don't do this. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could improve this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'm thinking of posting the TSD series on the Sugar Quill, so I need all the feedback I can get!

I'll put my little responses to reviews at the end of the chapter again, as they're probably getting distracting in the author's notes.

By the way, the HP movie references in the last chapter were the names Daniel Grint (Daniel Radcliffe + Rupert Grint) and Emi Watson (Emma Watson).

10 days until I get to go to sunny Aruba! Let us rejoice and be glad.


Friday, 22 December

3 days until Christmas!

8:20 a.m.

My Christmas present crisis has been averted! Yesterday Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and I were decorating the entrance hall, and Tonks mentioned that she was planning to go to Diagon Alley on her day off (today) to do her Christmas shopping.

"On the Friday before Christmas?" Mrs. Weasley whispered in a shocked voice. We had been talking in hushed voices ever since we had awoken Mrs. Black a few moments earlier. She screamed and howled something awful when she saw the magical snow we were strewing about, and it took us twice as long as usual to close the curtains over her portrait.

"I know, bit early for me," Tonks said cheerfully. "Usually I leave it to Christmas Eve, at least."

"Oh, Tonks!" I said, a stroke of brilliance suddenly hitting me. "Could you take us as well? I haven't done any of my Christmas shopping and I was really beginning to panic!"

Tonks thought it was a great idea, but Mrs. Weasley was against it at first. She kept listing all sorts of problems we would have in getting there, and the difficult questions we'd have to face if we saw anyone we know in Diagon Alley, and how it's dangerous for Harry to go "traipsing about London". But Tonks and I appealed to Mrs. Weasley's soft spot for Harry ("He really deserves to go out and get some fresh air, after all he's been through") and we convinced her in the end.

So we're going this afternoon, hoorah! Tonks is going to borrow her father's car (her father is Muggle-born, and apparently still owns a car for "sentimentality's sake") to take Ginny, Harry, Ron, and I down to Diagon Alley. The twins aren't coming; they said that they already have Christmas presents for everyone. This is not encouraging, because I know for a fact that they would not have had a legitimate opportunity to go Christmas shopping any more than the rest of us, and so that probably means that their presents are homemade and are most likely of a destructive nature.

I've never been to Diagon Alley around Christmas, and I can't wait to see the street all covered with snow and decorated with Christmas things. Sirius's attitude is infectious; everyone's in a cheerful, Christmassy mood, and we've all been happily cleaning and decorating Grimmauld Place the last few days. Mundungus even managed to get us an enormous Christmas tree (although the details surrounding the procurement of said tree are very sketchy), and Sirius decorated it with real, live fairies. The only thing is that the fairies have a rather annoying habit of zooming out of the tree when I get too close to it and then try to nest in my hair, so I can't go within a five foot radius of the tree anymore.

Everyone's been in a relaxed, sleeping-in sort of mood since I came here. Everyone's probably still asleep right now, except perhaps Mrs. Weasley. I can smell her cooking something delicious for breakfast from here. I don't feel much like getting out of bed though; I'm sitting up with my pillow behind my back and my blankets wrapped around me all snug and it's all very comfortable. In fact, I feel very Christmassy right now, what with the with the smell of the evergreen tree and Mrs. Weasley's cooking wafting up here and the thought of Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley later today, hoorah!

Hm, I should probably make a list of what I want to get for everyone before we go, just so I know what I'm looking for…

Christmas Gift Ideas

Mum: Something not too magical, if I can manage it. I know she's still a bit uncomfortable with explicitly magical things. The Worldly Witch has some very pretty jewelry that isn't charmed or anything, as far as I know, so perhaps I'll look there.

Dad: Hat (not multi-coloured). Ooh, maybe I'll knit him one, now that I've gotten so good at it! Dad would get a kick out of me magically knitting his present.

Crookshanks: Catnip!

Harry: Umm...

Ron: Erm...

Viktor: No idea whatsoever.

Ginny: I think I'll buy her something Quidditch-related, now that she's made the team…

Tonks: I haven't known Tonks that long, but she was here a lot in the summer (I think she likes to keep Sirius company when she can) and she spent a lot of time with Ginny and I. Plus, she's taking us all to Diagon Alley on her day off, so I should really get her something. But what do you buy for a Metamorphmagus? Maybe I'll knit her something, too…Tonks would appreciate a creative, handmade present.

Kreacher: The others might think this is silly, but Kreacher deserves a Christmas present as well. Not clothes, of course…Sirius would kill me. But I've heard Sirius mention that Kreacher has a sort of…den in the kitchen…I could, of course, knit him something. A blanket, or a quilt, or something of the sort…

Sirius: I really should get something for Sirius too, seeing as he invited me to stay for Christmas and all, and he let me stay here almost all summer, too. But what do you buy for an ex-convict who spends a great deal of his time as a dog? I can't even think of anything to knit for Sirius.

Well, this isn't very good. All I've determined from this list is that I'm going to have to buy a lot of yarn, and that I have no idea what to get for fifteen-year-old boys, international Quidditch stars, Metamorphmagi, and ex-murderers.

Actually, Sirius wouldn't be an ex-murderer, would he? He never murdered anyone in the first place.

9:30 p.m.

Ohhhhhh…my feet are so sore and my arms ache from carrying around all those bags and from getting continuously jostled by people and why oh why did I want to go shopping in Diagon Alley three days before Christmas?

Diagon Alley was not at all peaceful and cheery and Christmassy like I pictured it. No; instead it was a mad zoo of frenzied, last-minute shoppers who resorted to pushing, shoving, hexing, jinxing, and whatever else they needed to do in order to get the perfect gift. Most wonderful time of the year, indeed. Bah humbug.

We had agreed to meet Tonks a few blocks from Grimmauld Place this afternoon. Obviously it would not be very surreptitious if Tonks pulled up right in front of Headquarters and started honking the car horn. So after lunch, Mrs. Weasley walked with Ginny, Ron, Harry, and I to a mailbox on the corner of Baggend Court, which was the agreed meeting place.

"And mind your purses," Mrs. Weasley fretted. "Even the most reasonable witches and wizards go mad during the holiday season…"

I thought this was a bit of an overstatement, in my blind naiveté. "We'll be fine, Mrs. Weasley," I assured her.

Mrs. Weasley bit her lip and glanced at Harry, who was busy talking to Ginny. She lowered her voice and bent closer to Ron and I. "You two keep an eye on Harry, won't you? Don't let him out of your sights."

Just then, we heard a terrible screeching noise, like the sound made by a dying cat. A dying cat which is experiencing a very slow and painful death. With great trepidation, we watched a squarish-shaped, rust-coloured old car come tearing down the street. I don't pretend to know much about automobiles, but it was clear that this one was slightly past its prime. And it was missing a fender.

The car, peeling paint and all, screeched to a halt in front of us. Inside, Tonks, wearing her hair bright green (perhaps to be festive?) waved cheerily and reached over to manually unlock the passenger door.

I looked over at Mrs. Weasley. She looked as if she had swallowed something very unpleasant-tasting.

"Bye, Mum!" said Ginny brightly, hopping into the passenger seat. Before Mrs. Weasley could say anything, Ron had ushered Harry and I towards the car, and before I knew it we were tearing down the street at some ungodly speed with Mrs. Weasley hollering, "NYMPHADORA TONKS, YOU KEEP AN EYE ON THOSE CHILDREN!" at the fender-less rear of the car.

I have never, ever in my life had a worse driving experience, including the times I have ridden the Knight Bus and that one time when I was eight when Dad went through a do-it-yourself phase and hammered a nail into his thumb, and then an extremely frenzied Mum had to drive him to the hospital and I somehow got dragged along. Tonks is by far the worst driver I have ever had the misfortune to be in an automobile with. She drove at twice the speed limit the entire way, ran every single stop sign and a great deal of red traffic lights, and dodged in and out of traffic. I think she used a bit of magic to ensure that we did not meet our untimely dooms, because I could have sworn that the car magically shrunk to fit between two lorries at one point.

I sat very rigidly between Harry and Ron in the back seat, occasionally clutching their arms (to several "Ow, Hermione!"'s) when we made a particularly dangerous swerve or turn.

"How old's this car, Tonks?" Ginny yelled over some very loud rock music that Tonks had blaring from the radio.

"What's that?" Tonks hollered back, narrowly missing a pedestrian who was crossing the road.

"HOW - OLD - IS - "

"Oh! This old piece of rubbish?" Tonks responded, turning down the music ever so slightly. "She's been in the family since the 60's, but she's still in great working condition. Aren't you, Mabel?" she said fondly, patting the dashboard.

"Mabel?" I choked out. But then I shut my mouth and my eyes, because Tonks was about to take a sharp corner at an alarming speed.

When we finally arrived I was dizzy, faint, all cramped up from being squished between two boys, and slightly nauseous.

"All right," Tonks said, screwing up her face. In the rearview mirror, I watched her nose lengthen and freckles appear across the bridge of it. Her eyes became larger and green, and her face became longer and thinner. Her hair lengthened past her shoulders and turned bright red. "Now remember, if anyone asks, I'm Ron and Ginny's older cousin Nora. We all stick together, and if anyone gets into trouble, send up red sparks, okay?"

"Just in case Voldemort's down here doing a bit of Christmas shopping," said Harry wryly. Ginny laughed, Ron shuddered at the name, and I probably just looked sick from the car ride.

Tonks parked in a side alley a few blocks away from the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, so we had to walk quite a distance. Due to my cramped legs and dizziness, I had to wobble along gripping Ron's arm for support most of the way. His arm was probably already all bruised from me clutching and squeezing it on the car ride over, so I thought it was rather nice of him to just clench his teeth and not say anything while I continued clutching his arm for support while the nausea passed.

To make matters worse, London was not at all snowy and peaceful and lovely like it is supposed to be at Christmas. First of all, it started snowing - hard - once we got out of the car - those little, icy pellets of snow that sting your face and get caught in your hair and then melt, thoroughly soaking your head. Secondly, the sidewalks and the roads were not covered in pure, unspoiled, white snow but with dirty, slushy stuff that we would occasionally get sprayed with if a car went by us at high speed. And finally, it was cold. Not pleasantly cool and brisk, but freezing, freezing cold.

So it is obvious why I was thoroughly cross by the time we got to the Leaky Cauldron. My hair was soaked and plastered to my forehead, my eyes were stinging, my cheeks and nose were alarmingly red, my lips were all chapped, and I was still feeling slightly carsick.

"All right, everyone?" asked Tonks/"Nora" cheerfully once we were inside the Leaky Cauldron, which was busier than I've ever seen it. "Shall we go into the Alley?"

"Can we get a round of Butterbeers to warm up first?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Tonks answered, settling down at one of the few remaining empty tables. Harry and Ron left to get the drinks.

"I…am…very…wet…and…cold," I said through chattering teeth. I was longingly eyeing the lovely, crackling fire.

"Oh, well then…Calore!" Tonks said, pointing her wand at me. I shut my eyes as a blast of heat came out of Tonks' wand and hit me in the face. I'll admit that I felt much warmer, but my hair went ultra-frizzy immediately. I hesitantly raised a hand to my hair to find it had poofed out to twice its normal size. I groaned.

"Sorry, got a bit carried away," said Tonks, clearly fighting the urge to grin. "You should try Sleakeazy's, Hermione, I hear it's really good stuff."

"I've used it before," I admitted. "It took nearly half the bottle to get my hair to behave, and it's quite expensive, so I never bothered again."

"Butterbeers!" Ron announced as he and Harry returned, plopping down mugs in front of the three of us. Ron glanced at me briefly. "Hey, what happened to your hair?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I said sarcastically.

"Well," Ron said, looking at it critically. "It doesn't look bad, you know. It's very…er…voluminous."

Ginny snorted into her Butterbeer.

When we finished our Butterbeers and finally went out to the courtyard leading to Diagon Alley, we found a crowd of people there, fighting over which one was the correct brick to tap. A hysterical older witch started screaming that she had to get her son a Nimbus 2001 and if there were none left in the shop by the time she got there because she was delayed at the entrance, she would curse us all to high heaven. Finally someone figured it out, and we were all pushed and shoved into Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was also not the fun, delightful, Christmas shopping wonderland that I had expected. Throngs of people were shoving their ways through the narrow street, their arms laden with shopping bags. Most of the snow on the street had been turned to slush by the coming and going of so many people. "Christmas Sale" banners hung lopsidedly in some shop windows, and other signs and posters had fallen into the snow and had been trampled by countless feet. Screaming toddlers were being tugged along by their mothers, and unhappy husbands with much lighter wallets were being tugged along by their wives. There was a frenzied, frantic feel in the air, and as we stepped out into the madness we saw a green flash of light go off in front of Madam Malkin's as someone tried to jinx another shopper.

"Ah, Christmastime in Diagon Alley," said Tonks fondly.

Thankfully, Oddman's Odds and Ends wasn't extremely busy, so I managed to get my yarn without incident. But The Worldly Witch was absolutely insane. There were witches everywhere, shoving and jostling and grabbing things out from under other people's noses. I had finally found a nice pair of earrings for Mum when I heard someone yell, "Accio earrings!" and they zoomed out from under me, into the hands of a triumphant-looking young blonde witch, who took off with them. I finally ended up getting a fairly decent brooch for Mum - it was rather nice, so I grabbed two (I thought I should get something nice for Mrs. Weasley, too, since she was so kind to me over the summer and always knits me a nice jumper for Christmas) and paid for them before claustrophobia set in.

Harry and Ron insisted on going into Quality Quidditch Supplies (they had waited outside while Tonks, Ginny, and I went into The Worldly Witch), where I was going to buy something for Ginny, but the place was so packed with boys and men pushing and shoving and cursing at one another that I chose to go wait outside the shop while the rest of them perused through Quidditch supplies. Unfortunately, though, outside I ran into Parvati and Padma Patil.

"Hermione!" Parvati exclaimed, running over. She had about four shopping bags on each arm. "What are you doing here? I thought you were skiing!"

I searched my mind for an explanation of why I would be in Diagon Alley with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and "Nora", when I was supposed to be skiing with my parents.

"Erm…my dad broke his leg, actually," I blurted out. "So we couldn't go."

"Oh, that's too bad," said Padma.

"Who are you here with, then?" Parvati asked. "Just your mum?"

Think, think, think, I thought to myself furiously. Mrs. Weasley was right, this was a bad idea…

"Harry, Ron, and Ginny," I said truthfully.

"Oh, did you go to Ron's for Christmas as well, then?" Parvati asked, giggling. Padma rolled her eyes at the mention of Ron's name.

It was odd; I knew that we weren't staying at The Burrow, but when I tried to think of where we were staying or when I attempted to picture Grimmauld Place, I couldn't. I had no idea where we were staying or what it was called. It was as if the last few days in Grimmauld Place had gone completely blank in my mind.

"Yes, at The Burrow," I heard myself answer.

"Parvati! Padma!" called a tall witch with dark skin from within the crowd.

"Well, we really should be going," Padma said.

"Have fun at The Burrow," Parvati added, winking. "Bye, have a good Christmas!"

The twins hurried back to their mother. All memories of Grimmauld Place suddenly returned just as quickly as they had disappeared.

When the other four came out (they were delayed because an impatient and frustrated customer had hexed the cashier), I told them what happened.

"That would be Fidelius for you," Tonks said. "Solid spell. Very powerful magic."

"I wasn't going to say anything, though," I insisted. "I wouldn't have told them."

"It's just a safety precaution," Tonks explained. "I know you wouldn't say anything, Hermione. But with Fidelius, even if you wanted to, you couldn't."

We then headed to Flourish & Blotts at my request, which was quite busy, but not as bad as The Worldly Witch. Honestly, what is this world coming to when people would rather buy trinkets and jewelry than books? Harry and Ron puttered around for a bit (I think Harry bought New Theory of Numerology, which I hope is for me, because I've been wanting it for ages), and then Ron muttered something about going back to Quality Quidditch Supplies and disappeared, even though Tonks had told us not to split up. But since Harry was busy and Ron was gone, it gave me a chance to pick up some useful presents for them - homework planners! They're just what those two procrastinators need! And they're amusing, too; when I opened one it said, "Get it done now, you lazy cow!" They'll think they're funny, at the very least.

I ended up getting Witches and Quidditch: Four Hundred Fantastic Females in Quidditch History for Ginny, and then spent the rest of the time in there searching for a book to get Viktor. As I was poring through the Quidditch section, Tonks bounded over, looking pleased.

"Look what I got for Barty Hallaway," she said, holding up a book entitled 101 Legal Love Potions (and 204 Not-So-Legal Love Potions). "He's going to kill me!" she said delightedly.

"Who's Barty Hallaway?" I asked absently.

"Oh, he's a member of the You-Know-What of the You-Know-Which-Mythical-Creature…decent chap, but can't hold onto a girl. Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, well, you know…" I said vaguely. "Erm…Ton - I mean, Nora, what would you suggest to get for a…um…male acquaintance?"

"Ah," said Tonks, waggling her eyebrows. "Is this just any old male acquaintance?"

"No…not really," I answered, blushing. "He's sort of…a special male acquaintance, actually."

Well, it's true; Viktor and I may not be more than friends, but he's certainly not any old acquaintance. And I thought I should get him something really good, since he bought me that wonderful (and probably expensive) watch for my birthday.

"Hmm," said Tonks thoughtfully. "Well, he likes Quidditch, doesn't he?"

"Yes, but I don't want to just get him a book about Quidditch…something more thoughtful, you know? Something he'd really like," I answered, not really notcing that Tonks knew Viktor likes Quidditch, even though I hadn't mentioned his name.

"Ahhh," Tonks said, grinning. "Well then, you should have come into Quality Quidditch Supplies after all; I happened to overhear this particular young man say that what he really wants for Christmas is the speed upgrade for his Cleansweep."

"Hmm," I said vaguely, poring through a book entitled The Best and Worst of the Quidditch World Cup. Then something clicked.

"I'm not talking about Ron!" I exclaimed hotly.

"Oh?" said Tonks in surprise. "You aren't?"

"No!"

"Well then who are you talking about?" she asked, puzzled. "Not Harry?"

"No, no, it's…it's someone else…you don't know him," I said, feeling flustered.

"Oh," Tonks said, looking rather disappointed. "Well then, what did you buy for Ron?"

I help up the homework planners.

"A homework planner?" Tonks said in disgust.

"It'll be really practical and useful!" I protested. "And they need it, believe me."

"'They'? You mean you bought one for poor Harry, too?" Tonks said, shaking her head. "Come on, Hermione, where's your Christmas spirit?"

"Stupefy!" someone shrieked at the other end of the store. A man holding a leather-bound book fell to the ground, glassy-eyed. Another man quickly scooped the book out of his hands and hurried to the cash.

Tonks sighed. "The M.L.E.S. is going to have quite the mess on their hands this year…"

In the end, I ended up buying the brooches for Mum and Mrs. Weasley, the book for Ginny, the homework planners for Harry and Ron, catnip for Crookshanks (and a toy mouse that really squeaks and will run around for him to chase), and a whole lot of yarn. I finally found something really neat and useful for Viktor: it's a Weather Orb, this little glass orb that's supposed to show you what the next day's weather will be like when you look at it. I figure he can use it to be able to see what conditions will be like for Quidditch ahead of time. I just hope it works and it's not a scam (it better not be, it was really expensive), and that it doesn't just show the weather in Britain.

We managed to fight our way back to the Leaky Cauldron, which was even busier than before, and then trudged back to Mabel the car. After another car ride spent with my eyes squeezed shut, we mercifully arrived back at Grimmauld Place in one piece.
I wonder why Tonks thought I meant Ron? I mean, did he say something to her? Or am I that transparent?

But oh well, it doesn't matter what Tonks thinks because I have accepted the fact that I like Ron and I have also accepted the fact that I will do absolutely nothing about it and will buy him homework planners and similarly neutral and practical gifts for Christmas from this point onwards.

In this way I intend to achieve emotional satisfaction.


Ro: Thanks for all your feedback, I really appreciate it! It's so nice to get a review with both praise and criticism. With regards to Hermione's work habits, her obsession with school and staying ahead seems like such a big part of her character that it's tough to not include it. But if it's getting tedious, I'll try to tone it down a bit.

Definemydreams: Thanks for finally reviewing, and welcome to the FU!

Terra: Yeah, "Woo-hoo! Mr. Weasley's been horribly murdered!" was definitely NOT the reaction I was trying to convey. Thanks for pointing it out! Hannah: Welcome to the FU, too! (Ha. I rhyme.)

Lord Marshal Riddick: Really? I was under the impression that she didn't go on the ski trip at all, and that she came directly from Hogwarts after Dumbledore told her what happened. Here's where I got that from:

'What are you doing here?' Harry asked her, pulling open the door as Buckbeak resumed his scratching at the straw-strewn floor for any fragments of rat he may have dropped. 'I thought you were skiing with your mum and dad?'

'Well, to tell the truth, skiing's not really my thing,' said Hermione. 'So, I've come here for Christmas.' There was snow in her hair and her face was pink with cold. 'But don't tell Ron. I told him skiing's really good because he kept laughing so much. Mum and Dad are a bit disappointed, but I've told them that everyone who is serious about the exams is staying at Hogwarts to study. (Chapter 9)

I can't find any reference to ski regalia…just the bit about there being snow in her hair and her face being pink with cold, but I just assumed that was because she had taken the Knight bus and obviously had to go outside before coming into Grimmauld Place.

Aria327: Also welcome to the FU!

Jaymee Gudgeon: It's nice to be loved.

FanFiction Fantom: The fourth one is finished…it's up on my site, which you can find a link to in my profile.