A/N: This is a short and sweet holiday piece. No magic involved with this one (other than maybe a couple of references), just a very family-friendly story where kids simply get to be kids for a few days. I hope you enjoy.
Harry Potter was one happy camper. December had finally arrived, and nearly everyone radiated holiday cheer. He took in the sweet scents of fresh-baked gingerbread, courtesy of the house elves, peppermint candies, and pine-scented candles. The holiday season was in the air, and he was actually invited to spend the holiday break with one of his best mates.
Most would assume that Ron was the one most likely to invite Harry an invitation, but as it turned out, his family was going to Egypt to visit his elder brother Bill, and Ron decided to tag along this time around.
It wasn't Hermione either. She was content to experience a Christmas at the castle, as Ron and Harry did the last time.
No, it was the foreign exchange student from Ilvermorny, the somewhat awkward but affable Kellen Grimseth. He and Harry had developed a rather surprising friendship over the past several months, and once Harry opened up enough to Kellen about his past, Kellen didn't just ask – no, he flat out told Harry that he was going with him to Minnesota this Christmas and have a traditional Scandinavian American feast with a family that would care for him like he was one of their own.
Kellen felt bad that Hermione would be by herself at the castle, so he did everything he could to pull at her heartstrings. Winters in Scotland were cold, but Minnesota was a whole different level of cold. It would be difficult to convince her.
"We Norwegians embrace the winter," Kellen told Hermione. "It's in our DNA."
"That's like jumping from the frying pan and into the fire," she replied. "How cold does it get there, exactly?"
"Forty below – that's both Fahrenheit and Centigrade," Kellen said. "The wind makes it seem a lot worse than it really is, though."
"Why on Earth would I want to go somewhere even colder for the holidays? That's… ludicrous," Hermione retorted.
"Because you haven't had a Scandinavian-style Christmas, that's why," Kellen said. He knew he'd have to try much harder to convince Hermione than Harry, who really had no other place to go other than the castle. "You won't get to go ice skating, you won't have my grandmother's famous spruce tea, or have munker fresh from the oven… need I go on?"
Hermione arched an eyebrow. "You know, Kellen… you've piqued my interest when you mentioned ice skating. I haven't skated in several years… that does sound like a lot of fun, actually."
Kellen's face brightened. "I thought you might like that. I live on a farm, so we could enjoy a ride on a horse-drawn sleigh, too… sit by a wood-burning fire and have hot chocolate… my grandmother can spin some really awesome tales, and I haven't even mentioned the best part!"
Hermione smirked. "What's that?"
Kellen chuckled. "The Julebord. That's a traditional Norwegian Christmas feast. In Norwegian, it literally means 'Yule Table', or 'Christmas Table'".
Hermione giggled. "You're such a geek, Kellen." She gave him a warm smile. "So, how am I going to get over there?"
Kellen shrugged. "My family will take care of it, just like they'll take care of Harry. I'll owl them as soon as I can to make arrangements."
"It didn't take much to convince Harry now, did it?" Hermione asked.
"No, because I didn't ask him, I flat out told him he's coming with me," Kellen replied with a sly grin. "Besides, he needs to experience a Christmas with a family that would be happy to have him over."
Hermione gave Kellen a funny look. "And you weren't going to stop pestering me until I finally relented, is that right?"
"I guess I would have accepted 'no', after about four hundred tries," Kellen replied with a chuckle.
Hermione gave Kellen a bit of a serious look. "Your grandmother… she sounds like a really lovely person. I'd be delighted to meet her."
"She'll adore you," Kellen said. "I've never brought a girl to the farm before, so she'll probably be really excited. I promise she won't embarrass you."
"Do the two of you converse in Norwegian?" asked Hermione.
"All the time," Kellen said. "It's our secret code, basically."
Hermione looked into Kellen's blue-green eyes. "Do you think you could teach me sometime?"
Kellen looked rather unsure of himself. "Hmm… I'll do what I can… I don't know how good I am at teaching languages…"
Still looking into Kellen's eyes, Hermione took Kellen's hand. "Kellen, you're a brilliant boy… you were the one who taught Neville how to study for himself. You helped him with Charms and Transfiguration… nobody else – not even the faculty - could help him out. He's a little more confident in himself because of you." She gently squeezed his hand.. "You have some incredible gifts and I envy you… surely, teaching a language is much easier than teaching magic."
Kellen smiled. "If that's what you want."
Hermione returned the smile. "I don't expect to be fluent, but knowing a bit of your language would be nice."
"My grandmother would be the one you'd really want to ask," Kellen added with a laugh.
Ten days later, classes were finally let out for the holidays, and Harry, Hermione, and Kellen were fully packed and bundled up to experience a Norwegian-style Christmas.
"They don't issue parkas at Hogwarts like they do at Ilvermorny, do they?" Kellen asked facetiously.
"I'm afraid not," Harry replied.
"Well, you might need one by the time we get to Minneapolis," Kellen said. "It's going to be pretty nippy there, I guarantee it." He smiled at his friends. "My folks will take care of you. They'll bring parkas for each of you, you'll be perfectly bundled up before you leave the airport."
The three friends boarded the Hogwarts Express and headed toward London. They passed the time playing Egyptian Rat Screw, a game Kellen taught Harry and Hermione. They also talked about school, about how they were going to miss Ron and Hagrid, and Kellen told his Hogwarts friends all about Ilvermorny. He told them stories about how he was sorted, about his Horned Serpent housemates,
They finally arrived at Kings Cross Station, and the three friends soon hailed a bus to get to London Heathrow Airport. Kellen paid the fare to get them to the airport, and they were able to make their flight with plenty of time to spare.
"Everyone got their tickets?" Kellen asked. "Passports?"
"Yes," replied Hermione.
"I have mine as well," replied Harry.
"Good. Let's roll," said Kellen.
The three friends checked in and waited in the terminal until boarding time. Thankfully, Kellen's parents were able to get tickets for all three friends to sit together so nobody would get separated.
The flight from London to Minneapolis-Saint Paul was long – over eight hours in length. Thankfully, it was a quiet, uneventful flight and the friends made it to the Twin Cities without any trouble.
The friends followed the signs to baggage claims. Harry and Hermione waited for their luggage, while Kellen kept an eye out for his parents. He spotted them not far away, and embraced them warmly.
"It's good to see you, it's been too long," Kellen said.
"How was Hogwarts, Kellen?" Mrs. Grimseth asked.
"Terrific," Kellen replied. "You'll love my friends."
"I can't wait to meet them," Mr. Grimseth said. "I'm sure they're nice kids."
"Hey, Kellen, our bags are here," Hermione called out.
"Great, I'll be right there," Kellen replied.
Hermione got her bag and made her way over to Kellen's parents.
"Hello Mister and Mrs. Grimseth," she said. "I'm Hermione Granger. I really like Kellen. He's a very sweet boy."
"Please, call me Kay," Mrs. Grimseth said as she embraced Hermione. "I'm so glad to have you with us, Hermione. Kellen's told us about you, he says you're a very bright and kind-hearted young lady."
Hermione's jaw dropped slightly. "I know he told me you're British, but I guess I didn't believe it until now," she said.
Mrs. Grimseth smiled. "London, born-and-raised," she said softly.
Mister Grimseth embraced Hermione gently. "Welcome to Minnesota, young lady. I'm sure it's a lot different than the United Kingdom."
Hermione giggled. "That's Kellen's accent right there."
Mister Grimseth smiled knowingly. "I'll take your luggage, miss. I'm sure you're tired."
"Thank you, sir," Hermione replied. "I am rather tired."
Harry had got his luggage and made his way to Kellen's parents.
"Hello, I'm Harry Potter," he said.
"Hello Harry," Mrs. Grimseth said. "It's a pleasure having you spend your Christmas with us. Kellen thinks the world of you."
"He's was very kind to invite me," Harry replied. "It would be nice to have a Christmas away from school this year."
"You stayed over there last year, didn't you?" Mister Grimseth asked. "How was that?"
"It wasn't bad, but a little lonely," Harry replied. "I think having celebrating with an actual family will be nice this time."
"I can imagine you'd feel that way, Harry," replied Mister Grimseth with a grin. "We'll treat you right."
Kellen had grabbed his bags and made his way to his parents and his Hogwarts friends. "I think that's everything," he said.
"It's a good two hour drive to the farm, so hopefully the heater doesn't conk out on us on the road," joked Mister Grimseth.
They all made their way to the parking garage, and Mister Grimseth loaded the bags in the back of their GMC Suburban sport utility vehicle.
It was past nine in the evening when they pulled into the farm. Hermione was already asleep, and Harry wasn't far himself. Kellen was still enthusiastically reading Foundation and Empire.
"All right everyone, this is it," Mrs. Grimseth said. Kellen gently shook Hermione awake. "We're at the farm," he said gently. She blinked her eyes open. Kellen quickly undid his seatbelt so he could more easily help her out of the vehicle.
Kellen helped his father get the bags out of the back of the vehicle and carried them inside the house.
"Merlin's beard!" Hermione exclaimed, teeth chattering. "I've never felt so cold in my life!"
Harry nodded. "Kellen wasn't kidding when he said how cold Minnesota gets… well, he fairly warned us…"
They all made their way inside the house. "Okay, Hermione, there's a guest room right next to Kellen's bedroom that you can use. Kellen, do you mind sharing your bed with Harry? It's a queen size so it should fit both of you with room to spare."
"That's fine, Mum," Kellen replied.
"Harry and Hermione, the bathroom is right across from Kellen's bedroom," Mrs. Grimseth added.
"I'm guessing you want to change into your night clothes, so I'll let you go first," Kellen told Hermione.
"Thank you, Kellen," she said gratefully. "Be just a minute."
It didn't take Hermione long to change into a nightgown. "Where can I put these old clothes?" she asked.
"I think there's a laundry basket in there," Kellen said. "I don't know if you want my mum to wash them for you or not, but it would be a good place to hold them for the time being."
"Harry, if you want to go next, I'll wait," Kellen offered.
Harry went into the bathroom and changed into some comfortable pajamas.
"Now, we're sharing a room and I doubt there are two baskets, so where should I put these?" Harry asked.
"Just use the basket in there," Kellen responded. "I can put my clothes in a box or something."
Finally, Kellen went into the bathroom and changed into some pajamas.
"Alright, that's everybody. I guess I'll see you guys in the morning," he said with a bit of a yawn.
"What are the plans for tomorrow?" Harry asked.
"Erm… that's a good question," Kellen said. "Create a snow fort and have snowball fights? Build a snowman? Make snow angels? Come back for some hot chocolate and some gingerbread? How does that sound?"
"That sounds delightful," said Hermione. "I don't know if I have the appropriate attire to romp around in the snow like that, though."
Kellen chuckled. "My parents have taken care of everything. I gave them your sizes for everything from ski suits to watch caps to ice skates."
"I don't remember giving you my sizes," Hermione said with a rather surprised look on her face. "How on Earth did you know?"
Kellen blushed. "Erm, before I owled my parents, I cast a nonverbal charm on you two…"
Hermione gave Kellen a bit of a stunned look, but then she smiled sweetly. "Unorthodox, but still very kind of you, Kellen. Thank you." She hugged him warmly. "Good night, Kellen." she said softly. "Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Hermione," Harry and Kellen said.
