Just Too Tempting
By Avadne
Chapter 21: A Gift
Hermione woke up with a pounding head-ache; the one she always got when something important was going to happen, but she couldn't quite place her finger on what. What was so special about today? 24th of December… Christmas-y feeling was still there. She had promised Lily that they would spend tomorrow evening together, and of course she should go see Draco, or at least send him his present.
Today, something felt off. Something was going to happen today, what was it? Hermione knew, but it had slipped her mind. But she shook her head, convinced it would come back to her.
It was the 24th today; Christmas Eve was nearing. Hermione had no lessons or anything today; she was just going to spend the day with friends. Quickly getting ready, she went downstairs to the Common Room. There she met the Marauders, who were grinning mischievously at each other. James took her hand and they ran off before Hermione could even speak.
She tried to ask what was happening, but to no avail. Stopping around the centre of the castle, Sirius, Remus, Pete and James looked at each other. Then they tapped their throats and began the yelling.
"Happy Christmas!" boomed around the castle, a thousand times louder than their usual already loud voices. The words echoed throughout Hogwarts, and slithered into every corner, every hallway. Immediately, everyone who heard it yelled back the same thing (only just not as loud) and smiled merrily. The Marauders high fived each other happily, smirking at their work.
Hermione was sure this would continue throughout the day, along with other ways the Marauders had thought up o reminding everyone of the festive season.
"Guys, I'm kind of tried. I think I'm just going to go to the dorms, ok?" Hermione said quietly, knowing that tonight, the Marauders would venture out into the Whomping Willow, and out of it, as animals. Remus knew that she knew about his werewolf thing, but Hermione was still trying to make it out to be as casual as possible. Today had been a fun filled day, with loads of random fun going on, but now things were getting serious.
"Sure? Are you sick or something?" James asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine. But wait, first I want to give you your presents today. I promised Lily I'd spend the evening with her," Hermione was especially glad that at her Hogsmeade trip with Lily, she had also taken the time to buy presents for each Marauder, as well as Lily herself and Draco. Hermione quickly raced upstairs and collected the bunch of presents she had. Running back down stairs, she was ready to hand them out.
"We'll get ours too, then," James said quickly. Moments later, everyone was ready and seated comfortably in the Common Room.
"Happy Christmas… Remus," Hermione began, pulling out a small present. Remus looked surprised, but took the package. Opening it, he found a leather neck cord.
"Thanks, Mi," he said uncertainly, looking at the present. Or more precisely at the items hanging off it.
"Those are special. The card has more accurate descriptions of what those items are," Hermione explained quietly. Remus took out the card and read.
Vampire tooth: collected while in vampire form. Leaves feeling of awakening
Phoenix gem: the solidified version of a phoenix's tears. Astounding healing powers at work
Dragon tooth: willingly traded. Encourages impurities to leave body
Unicorn gem: the solidified version of a unicorn's tears. Promotes pain relief
Werewolf tooth: collected while in wolf form. Strengthens wearer
All items must be willingly given for full effects, as they have been in this case
Remus looked up at Hermione in worry; werewolf tooth?
"It's supposed to help the process of healing," Hermione added. Remus nodded and Hermione wondered if the present was a good idea. But Remus smiled, a genuine smile and Hermione stopped worrying.
"Here, from me," Remus handed her a package. Hermione took it and gave him a quick hug.
"I'll open mine later. Sirius, this one's yours," Hermione handed Sirius his present, which he took happily. Opening it, he took out a finely woven dream catcher. The card attached said, I'll stop your bad dreams and keep the good ones.
"Thanks, Mi," he replied softly. He handed Hermione a package and hugged her.
"Pete," Hermione handed him a small present, although not as small as Remus's. Pete nodded in thanks and opened it. Inside was a Revealerall. It was a ball that resembled a Rememberall, but instead of just showing red smoke when you forgot something, it showed you a place, or action and other, more detailed hints as to what you forgot.
"Thanks. Here's mine for you," Pete handed her a roughly wrapped gift. Hermione took it silently.
"Guys, we gotta go. Mi, I'll give you mine later, ok?" James said hurriedly, making a big show of looking at his magical watch. But really, he just wanted to give her his present alone. And Hermione did too. She nodded and let the boys go, let Remus face his monsters.
With a sigh, Hermione gathered the gifts she had received and took them up stairs to open. She laid them carefully on her bed and began the process of unpacking. Picking up Sirius's first, she grinned and tried not to imagine what was inside.
Opening the package carefully, Hermione was shocked to find a very normal gift; a magical camera, like the one he had used at the Christmas party. It was accompanied by a note and a photo album. With slightly trembling hands, Hermione picked up the note and read, in Sirius's untidy scribble;
Hermione,
I have to say Hermione is a much prettier name than Mi. But it's just a name, and it doesn't change who you are here and now, or before. So before I get all emotional…
Here's a magical camera; dead easy to use, just wave your wand. It's to record all the good times here, so if you go back, you'll remember that there are other people in a different time and place that also love you. The photo album is for the same thing.
Sirius
Hermione felt her eyes well up with tears. She didn't bother wiping them away and decided to look over the photo album later, when she was feeling a bit more stable. She reached for the next gift, Peter's. It was messily wrapped and had a plain label that said For Mi, From Peter.
It was a thoughtful enough gift; a box. It was made of light wood, about the size of 2 palms. The inside had royal blue silk and a note that said it would accommodate for anything you wanted; even an elephant or something of equivalent size.
Finally, Hermione grabbed Remus's. It was a fairly large box wrapped in plain paper with a ribbon. Exactly Remus's style, Hermione decided. Sorting through the tissue paper, Hermione extracted a mirror. It was beautiful; gold handle and edge, with gems studded around the glass. It had a faded, antique look to it and Hermione thought it was amazing.
Mi,
Careful with this; it looks like a gorgeous antique mirror, I know. BUT it will show you things, from past, present and future relevant to you. Have fun exploring.
Remus
Hermione stared in wonder at the mirror. She looked straight into the glass and saw… Harry? Yes, it was Harry, only younger. At about 5 or 6. He had his head bent down low, hiding his eyes, but there was no mistake. Hermione shrugged in confusion and set the mirror down carefully. She would examine it later a bit more closely.
Before meeting up with Lily, she had another present to give.
Hermione had enlisted the help of an owl to send off her present to Draco; a pair of glasses that allowed the wearer to see a person's aura, to understand it. Hermione thought they'd be great for Draco.
Coming back up to the dorm, Lily was already seated on her bed. She stood up as Hermione entered and hugged her lightly.
"The other girls cleared off. And you got a package, too," Lily said, indicating to Hermione's bed. It was a wrapped gift with a note attatched.
Shrugging, Hermione ripped open the gift to find a curvy bottle of colourless liquid. It was neatly labeled Adapt and had a simple swirl underneath the writing. Hermione looked at it confused, before having the sense to open the letter attached.
Hermione,
This is the latest and greatest in perfume. Severus helped me make it. It will turn into whatever scent suits your current mood. Just put it on you and it will adapt, hence the name, to you and invent a unique scent. Apparently
Merry Christmas
Draco
Hermione examined the bottle closely; what a smart idea. She tested it out immediately, smudging a drop on the inside of her left wrist. The clear substance shimmered for a second and Hermione caught a wave of citrus, strawberry and white musk. It was a delicious combination and instantly, Hermione had fallen in love. The bottle was medium sized, but Hermione supposed she could enlarge it if it was about to run out.
"What is it?" Lily asked interestedly. Hermione explained to Lily what the perfume did and let her friend test it out for herself. Lily's chosen scent for the moment was a cinnamon-y smell, with a hint of hazelnut and sandalwood.
"Happy Christmas, Lily," Hermione said cheerfully after Lily was done with the perfume. She handed Lily her own present. Lily took the package and gave Hermione one from her.
Both girls sat silently, opening their gifts. Hermione had gotten Lily a special type of charm bracelet; it was silver with 7 tiny squares hanging off. Each square was meant to be transfigured into the item of the wearer's choice. But the magical aspect of the bracelet was that on contact, each transfigured square would blast out a different type of charm spell. It was really quite amazing.
Hermione unwrapped her own package from Lily, she found a gorgeous red and gold diary; it had a lock on it and the note attached said there were a lot of secrets and spells on the book. She thanked Lily and carefully put the diary away.
"Oh, what's that?" Lily asked breathlessly. Hermione had just looked up to see Lily fingering the antique mirror that showed Hermione Harry.
"Remus gave it to me," Hermione answered. Lily took it in her hands, with every intention of observing herself in it, maybe fixing her hair. But a surprise met her eyes; Petunia, Lily's older sister, braiding Lily's long hair. Lily must have been 7 or so, and that's when they still considered each other best friends. So much had changed…
Speaking of changing, the image had also changed. A girl, approximately 11, stood with her hands shoved in her pockets, smiling brightly. She had long, wavy hair that was a mahogany colour, lightly tanned skin & freckles. The girl lifted her head and her gaze met Lily's. Both pairs of eyes were identical.
Then the image disappeared; it was now swirling into blackness, where another image was being born.
"What did you see?" Hermione asked curiously. Lily seemed a bit taken aback by the question, and stared at Hermione uncomprehendingly for a second before shaking herself out and answering.
"My sister and I… and then a girl… around 11, gorgeous red-brown hair. She had my eyes," Lily answered hoarsely. There was raw emotion in her voice as Lily thought about the girl. There was something about her, something important. But Lily shook herself out and turned back to Hermione.
"Thanks, Mi. You're a great friend to have… and speaking of which, I promised I'd see some of my friends in Ravenclaw. Thanks again. I'll be back around 9. You'll be ok?" Lily rushed out, quickly shoving together all the mess. Hermione grinned.
"Sure, go ahead. I'll be fine," Hermione answered. Lily gave her a quick hug before rushing off.
So while today had been a relaxing day and Hermione headed off to sleep, she had no idea what would happen tomorrow.
End 21
See, told you I'd update! Thanks for being so good about the wait, though…. By the way, my page breaks aren't working AGAIN, so sorry that it's not seperated.
So who's the girl Lily saw? The boy Hermione saw was Harry that was right… yes, that was Harry James Potter. Just not necessarily the same Harry James Potter ya'll know. But who is Lily's mystery 11 year old girl? Well, if I have a sequel, you'll find out, as she's part of my plan. But I'm not sure if it will happen, so if not, the Conclusion will explain everything.
Avadne
Megafreak, that's ok, better late than never I suppose. Studying, eh? Sounds tough. My school is such a bludge school. If you don't want to work, they just don't make you… I mean, it's your own future they say. Grr. Thanks for the review, it was really nice!
Meggle, I'm proud that you think it was beautiful. Very flattering, when someone tells you something like that. Lol please don't hunt me down!
SiriusSnogger, almost crying, eh? Oooh I'm amazed. I always think to myself when I read a fab emotional story, gee I wish I could write like that…
Belinda, lol yes there is a twist! Go twists! Nah, glad you like it, thanks for the review! Actually, thanks for BOTH reviews…
Lady Emmi, I'm glad you reviewed either way. I hope you continue liking it!
Surrounded By Idiots, I'm glad you were so happy because of my update. I'm also glad you liked my cute & fluffy chapter! I passed the message on to my friend, Annie… she says she's glad to help. Lol HPB coming early is as good as my update? I'm VERY flattered!