A/N: Me again! Aren't you all so happy? Well, it's not the holidays anymore, but I'm bored out of my skull because I'm using really slow dial-up, soooooo… I'm updating the holiday-ficcie-ness. XDD

Chapter 3: Judaism

After lunch, Harry and Ron had their customary, ferocious snowball fight out on the grounds. When it was just beginning to get dark, they returned to the Great Hall for dinner, cold and wet, and Ron with snow in his hair. Ron stripped off his gloves, and Harry followed suit, wincing when he moved and muttering something about "that was ice!" They took their seats next to Hermione as the food appeared and everyone began to eat.

"Turkey, Hermione?" asked Harry, offering her a piece of meat. "Or… ooh, they have lobster." He helped himself to some and offered the dish to Hermione.

"No thanks, Harry," she said, pulling the chicken towards herself."

"You've gotta be kiddin', 'ermione!" said Ron through a mouthful of that very same turkey. "It's Christmas dinner! You've gotta have the turkey!"

"Oh no, thanks," said Hermione absentmindedly. "I talked to Professor McGonagall before the meal, and she said that they cooked the turkey with butter…"

"Hey!" said Ron, in a highly offended tone of voice. "I like butter! What have you got against butter?"

"I can't have meat and dairy at the same time," Hermione said. "I'm kosher now. That means no lobster, either…"

"Blimy, Hermione," Ron said in an awed voice, his mouth now empty of food. "What're you doing to yourself? At lunch, you weren't eating carbs, now you're not eating the turkey or the lobster…" He exchanged a look with Harry. Both of them had learned that Hermione could not be talked out of things easily, and they both had the sense not to try.

The three friends were almost at the end of dessert. Hermione produced a small wooden object from her pocket that looked rather like a top, and began spinning it on the table.

"Oh no, Hermione… what's that?" asked Ron, indicating the top, as the dessert vanished from their plates

"A dreidel," answered Hermione. "It's a toy that you play with on Chanukah."

"What's—" began Harry, but Hermione looked up at the enchanted ceiling and jumped.

"Wow, it's almost dark. I've got to go light the menorah," she said hurriedly. "See you in the common room." And with that, she jumped up and rushed out of the Great Hall.

"I wonder what all that was about," said Harry to Ron.

They followed Hermione to the common room at a slightly more sedate pace. The portrait of the Fat Lady swung forward as they gave the password to reveal Hermione, sitting in an armchair in front of a low table. On the table was an object that Harry remembered vaguely from the advertisements that went up around Christmas time in the Muggle world, a strange golden thing made up of upside-down arches, and in the holders on each end of an arch was an unlit candle. "Happy Chanukah," said Hermione from behind the seven-candled thing.

Harry and Ron's eyebrows rose in unison. "Huh?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You two don't read at all, do you? Chanukah is the Jewish holiday celebrating the miracle of the oil, that gave the Israelites light for seven—"

"Hermione," Ron cut in, "what's wrong with Christmas? Can't you celebrate that instead?"

"Oh Ron, don't be so closed-minded. I'm trying to find the right culture for me. Here, the sun is setting. You're just in time to help me light the menorah."

"The what?' asked Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes again and prodded the middle candle with her wand. The wick caught on fire at once, and Hermione took the candle out of its holder and proceeded to light the other candles with it. "Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam—"

Harry watched her curiously. "What's she saying, mate?" he asked Ron. "Is it a spell?"

"No idea. I don't think so… and why's she using that candle? Couldn't she just light them all with her wand?"

Hermione glared at them, but continued murmuring nonsense: "Asher Kidshanu—silencio silencio—B'mitzvotav V'tzivanu L'hadlik Ner Shel Chanukah. Amen." She had barely spared a breath when she had silenced Ron and Harry. By this time all the candles were lit. Harry and Ron were glaring mutely at Hermione, until Harry pulled out his own wand and lifted his and Ron's silencing charms with a nonverbal countercurse.

"Uh… Hermione…" he said tentatively.

"What?" Hermione snapped. "You were talking during the blessing!"

"Sorry. Look, please don't hex us, or anything," he said hurriedly, "but what were you doing?"

"Saying the Chanukah blessing," said Hermione. "I'm done now, though, the menorah's all lit. Doesn't it look nice?" She gave a huge yawn. "But, I'm really tired. I think I'll go to bed. Happy Chanukah, happy Christmas. G'night, you two." And with that, leaving the menorah burning, Hermione walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron stared after her. Neither knew what to say.

A/N: D00000000d… You think the Jewish Hermy's scary, wait until the next chapter! Oh… how do you spell 'dreidel?'