Chapter 16

Time passed for Hermione, and before she knew it, it was Christmas break. It had been decided by the Gryffindor Gang that they would split up for the break; Hermione would return home, and Ron and Harry would go back to the house on Knockturn Alley.


They stood together at King's Cross Station, waiting for the Weasleys to arrive, as well as Hermione's parents. Finally, her mother and father appeared, standing in the shadows watching her, with a mixture of pride and anxiety.

"Well, I'll see you guys after break, okay?" Hermione said, grabbing the handle of her suitcase.

"See you Herm," Harry said glumly, and they all waved goodbye.


The car ride back to their home in the suburbs was quiet, and as they passed the identical houses that led up to their quaint little home, she realized that she hadn't seen her parents since late June.

"How are you?" she asked, breaking the silence nervously. Her mother smiled tremulously, glad that Hermione was speaking to her again.

Her father coughed gently. "I preformed a root canal this morning," he said gruffly, his hands fixed to the wheel.

Ms. Granger rolled her eyes, and patted her husband on the arm. "We're doing wonderful. Your brother is going to be spending the winter break with us, he got a week off from his job."

"Where is he working now?" Hermione asked, surprised that she had forgotten.

"He's still in school," Ms. Granger said. "But he's been interning at his father's law firm, and he likes it a lot. He's hoping to apply for a position there as soon as he graduates in June."

Hermione had forgotten that Gaelen's dad was a lawyer; her father and Gaelen were so much alike, sometimes it was hard to remember that they weren't related.

"How has school been?" Mr. Granger asked, abandoning the old topic. "Have you been doing well?"

"Yes, actually," she replied, not meaning to sound conceited. "I've been doing quite well. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, I think I might be an Auror."

"What's that?" her mother asked politely.

"They fight dark wizards," Hermione replied frankly, having forgotten that her parents didn't understand, or want to understand, these sorts of things. It wasn't their world.

"Isn't that dangerous?" her dad asked, swerving around a branch in the street.

"Yes," she said. "But, not that dangerous. I mean, being a dentist is rather dangerous in it's own way. Don't you occasionally get psychos who hate getting their teeth cleaned?"

"Well, yes," Ms. Granger said. "But that's not the same thing."

"Sure it is," Hermione replied flippantly. "It's just a minor occupational hazard. Most Aurors simply do paperwork."


Hermione dragged her suitcase up the stairs and into her old room. The room was neat as usual, but a fine layer of dust covered her old belongings, and she knew that her mother hadn't bothered to clean for some months. As if she knew that Hermione wouldn't be coming back soon.

She tiredly dumped her clothing on the bed, and put it away. Afterwards she plopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. There was a yellow watermark that had always been there, and refused to go away, despite all the efforts of her father and brother. It was strange to be back in her old bedroom, without Draco, and she felt out of place. As she lay there, she remembered Draco, and wondered where he was staying for winter break.

"Dinner!" Mr. Granger yelled up the stairs. Hermione thundered down the stairs, and found Gaelen putting up a giant green tree. His face was buried in it, and she could vaguely hear him yelling something about spiders, and occasionally cussing.

"Hey!" Hermione said, hugging him from behind. He plopped the tree down, turned around, and hugged her back.

"How are you?" he asked cheerfully, pulling off his fuzzy hat. It had started to snow again, and Hermione was reminded strongly of her few and wonderful winters at Hogwarts.

The tree barely fit in their small living room, and as it was, the top of the tree was squashed into the ceiling, and had left a questionable brown stain on the pristine white wash.

"Not bad," she replied with a shrug, helping him steady it. "You?"

"Great!" he replied glibly. "I got a pay raise at my dad's law firm, and school has been going well. Cho got a job in London, at a small antiques store, and we've been seeing a lot of each other."

"That's great," Hermione replied, hoping that she sounded enthusiastic enough. She had a hard time appreciating her half-brother's extremely pretty girlfriend, she and Cho had never hit it off.

"How's Draco?" Gaelen continued unknowingly.

Hermione kept a straight face, although she was tempted to start cursing him, knowing that Gaelen would understand completely. "I don't know." Gaelen gave her a cursory glance, but seeing her stoic face, wisely refrained from comment.

Gaelen had had his share of failed romances. He had always been popular and a jock, something that Hermione could never understand. He had been a star football player in high school, and even now, he was all muscle. So, to accompany his stellar reputation, he'd had a series of blonde beautiful girlfriends, none of whom Hermione had particularly liked. But each one of them had left him in the dust after discovering that he was actually quite normal. So, Hermione was relieved that he had finally found the girl of his dreams, but she definitely wasn't Hermione's idea of a perfect match.

"Dinner!" her mother called from the kitchen, and Hermione helped Gaelen prop the tree up, and they hurried into the kitchen, where a giant bowl of steaming onion soup sat on the oven, waiting to be ladled out into earthenware bowls.

Hermione took a deep breath, and sat down beside her brother at the small four person table. Ms. Granger had already set the table, something Hermione had always done while at home, and for a second, she felt a twinge of regret, as if she'd lost something.

And then, the doorbell rang. Hermione jumped up, something stirring in the back of her mind.

"I'll get it," she said automatically, and hurried out into the hallway.


A/N: Guess who's coming for dinner? Leave a review, please:)