"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh. Hey!" could be heard throughout the whole of Gryffindor Common Room, as a curly-haired brunette made her way around, putting up decorations and wrapping gifts. Christmas was Hermione's favorite time of the year. Everyone was so happy, and it was easy to forget about all the dreadful things happening outside the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And she wasn't just talking about the snowballs that Fred and George had bewitched to throw themselves at passing first years, which tended to frighten them to death when they realized there was no one throwing them. She looked out the window and observed the grounds below. Everything was so beautiful. The ground was covered in feathery snow and the trees had icecicles hanging off them. The sky was a clear blue and there were students running around, chasing each other, making snow angels, and having snowball fights. Just the sight of it gave her a tingly feeling in her stomach. She would have loved to join them, but she was waiting for her best friends, Harry and Ron, to finish their detention with Professor Snape. She couldn't go out on the first day of Christmas break without them. It was tradition. But of course Professor Snape had chosen to give them detention on the first day of their holiday. So she had decided to use the time to put up some decorations in her dorm and wrap gifts.
Her favorite part of Christmas was the gifts. Not being on the recieving end, but on the giving end. She loved to watch people open gifts and see their expressions. It was always so much fun. She had just put the finishing touches on Ginny's gift when in trudged the two people she'd been waiting for. They plopped down in the armchairs by the fire, looking exhausted.
"Hey. You guys look tired. What did he make you do this time?" she asked.
"We had to scrub the dungeon from floor to ceiling," Ron, the red-head, responded. She gave them looks of sympathy.
"Sounds rough," she replied. Ron nodded his head and made what, she thought, was supposed to be a pitiful face.
"It was torture," he said back. She gave him a stern look.
"Maybe that will teach you not to let Snape get to you. You two have got to learn to control your tempers," she said, reproving them both. The boys looked ashamed. At the sight of their downtrodden faces, she smiled. "But that's over now, and we're not going to think about it anymore. You two hurry up and get changed so we can go play in the snow. I don't know how much longer I can wait. It's awful having to be cooped up inside while every other student is out in the grounds playing." The boys got up from their seats and rushed to their dorm to change clothes.
When they arrived back down in the Common Room, she had already gotten her heavy cloak, gloves, and Gryffindor scarf. All bundled up, the trio headed out the doors that led to the grounds. They stepped out and were hit by a rush of cold air. They filled their lungs with the fresh, cold air, making them tingle. It was a perfect day to be outside, being carefree, as all teenagers should be.
"Okay, the first thing i was to do is-" but she never got to finish saying what she wanted to do because she was hit square in the face by a snowball. She had a look of shock on her, now wet face. She turned in the direction the snowball had come from and caught a glimpse of something bright red taking a tree for cover. "Ron Weasely, you think you're going to get away that easy? Well, you've got another thing coming mister," but before she could gather enough snow to make a ball, she was hit again, from the other direction. "Oh, Harry, not you, too. I hope you guys know this isn't fair. It's two against one, and I'm the girl!" she exclaimed. The only response she got was another blow, and a chorus of laughter from the boys.
She turned in a circle, taking in her surroundings. There was the tree Ron was hiding behind, the huge boulder Harry was using as shelter, and the broom shack. She decided to use this as her base, and bolted for it before the boys realized what she was doing. Once she was safely hidden behind the shack, she started packing the snow into balls as fast as she could. Once she'd make a reasonlable sized pile, she picked one up and peeked around the corner of the building. Evidently this was what they'd been waiting for. As soon as she showed her face, she was ambushed by snowballs. She didn't have time to think. She just started throwing the balls of snow in any direction. But soon she realized that she was out of ammo, and the snowballs were still streaming in from the other side. She decided it was time to admit defeat. She covered her head with her arms and stepped out into the clearing between the three "camps", with her white bandana held up, signaling her defeat. The attack ceased and the boys came out if hiding.
"What was that you were saying earlier Hermione? I've got another thing coming?" Ron said, a grin spreading across his face.
"Oh, shut up Ron. You know that wasn't fair. You guys always gang up on me," she said with a pout.
"You still couldn't win, even if it was two on two," he teased. She shot him a look as if to say that's what you think, and lunged at him, tackling him in the snow. He was laying on the ground, looking utterly shocked. She rolled over on her back, shaking with laughter.
"I bet you didn't see that one coming," she said to him. He shook his head, which only caused her to laugh harder. Harry was just looking down on the two of them, amusement written all over his face. Before he knew what was happening, Ron had kicked his legs out from underneath him, and he was laying flat on his back, next to the other two. They were all laughing.
"Now, as I was saying earlier. What I want to do first is make snow angels," Hermione said, as she spread her arms and legs out in the snow. The boys did the same. They moved them up and down, making the shape of an angel in the snow. Harry got up first and helped Ron up who did the same for Hermione. They looked back at the trio of angels on the ground.
"They're perfect," Harry said, in awe. And they were, just like the friendship of the three that made them.