Chapter 6 - The Cat's out of the (Shopping) Bag

By lunchtime the following day, Hermione was exhausted. She'd finished her own shopping and was being dragged around the shops by her overly enthusiastic friends. Even Angie, in her late pregnancy, was outpacing her. After convincing them that she was famished and would go home if they didn't stop for lunch, they'd acquiesced and found a small cafe where they discussed what was still left on their lists as they shared soups and salads.

After lunch, they stopped at a men's clothing shop. Hermione hadn't intended to buy anything else, but a jumper caught her eye. It was the precise pattern and colours as the one that Clark Griswold wore in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Fred's gift was already wrapped and waiting under her tree, but she had to get this for him too; there was no way she would be leaving this shop without it.

Angie waddled over to her with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "I thought you said that you were finished shopping. Who's that for then?"

Hermione felt her cheeks growing warm as she took in the other woman's expression. It was clear that she knew very well who the recipient of the jumper would be. As she watched, Angie's lips twitched. This was precisely why she hadn't wanted to shop for Fred today. But it couldn't be helped, she was caught now.

"Fine, it's for Fred, as you've clearly surmised. You can stop with the smug attitude now."

Grinning, Angie ran a hand down the arm of the jumper. "Ooh, it's soft. But what's the story behind it? There are dozens of jumpers in here, but you went straight for this one."

Damn the observant witch! "Um, well, it's just that it's identical to the jumper that one of the characters wore in a Christmas film that we watched. Fred really enjoyed it and I thought he may get a kick out of the jumper."

"When did the two of you watch that one?" Eyebrows raised, she watched Hermione expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Trying to come up with a way to give a non-answer, but failing, Hermione admitted, "It was the night that I had everyone over and we watched Scream. I hate horror films, so I'd planned to watch something happy after everyone went home, and Fred ended up sticking around."

"Oh, he just happened to stick around, did he?"

Hermione was desperate now, she did not want to continue this conversation. Spotting her way out, she pointed, "Look, Gin and Lavender are getting into the queue. I should go and pay for this."

Angie laughed out loud and called after her, "Alright, you're off the hook for now, but we'll be continuing this later... I need details!"

She managed to avoid being alone with Angie for the rest of the afternoon, but when Ginny announced that she needed to head over to Diagon Alley to make a final stop at WWW, the pregnant witch shot her a knowing look when she didn't beg off and head home like Lavender had. As much as Hermione wanted to avoid Angie's speculation, she'd promised Fred that she would stop by, and she wasn't going to break a promise just to avoid the discomfort she was feeling.

Ginny suggested that they find somewhere that they could apparate, but Angie stopped her. "Wait, I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving. It's getting late, and it's only an hour until Fred and George will be closing up for the night. They'll have made sure that their employees had a proper dinner break, but neither of them will have eaten yet."

At their nods of agreement, she continued, "Ever since we had that Italian meal at your place, Hermione, I've been craving it. Please say that we can go there to pick up takeaway. Is it close enough that we can just head back to your place and floo over to WWW once we have the food?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, it's not far from my house at all, and it's an easy walk. But it's quite far from where we are now. We should apparate to my place anyway."

A short while later, the three witches entered Trattoria Bella Rosa. Looking around, Hermione was relieved not to see Nonna or Luca; she really didn't want them to say anything that she would need to explain.

Once they placed their order, they sat at the bar while they waited. Hermione and Ginny each had a bellini while Angie opted for a ginger ale. As they sipped and chatted, Hermione relaxed even more. They finished their drinks, accepted the bags of food, and were nearly to the door when a masculine voice called out, "Hermione?"

Forcing a smile, she turned and replied, "Hello, Luca. We just stopped in to pick up takeaway. We've been out shopping today." Unable to forgo manners, even if she didn't want to encourage conversation, she gestured toward her companions. "Luca, these are my friends, Angie and Ginny. Girls, this is Luca, he's the owner's grandson."

Luca smiled toward Angie and Ginny. "Ladies, it's a pleasure to meet you." Then, turning back to her, he asked, "So, have you learned the identity of your secret admirer? What else has he sent to you?"

In her periphery, she saw that Ginny's mouth had fallen open, and Angie was grinning widely. Thank Merlin, they kept their mouths shut for the first time in their lives. She wondered if they'd actually been shocked into silence.

"Unfortunately, Luca, you and Nonna, and one of my other friends are the only people who definitely know the identity of the man who's been sending me those gifts. And, to answer your question, I've received a box of delicious fancies, a bottle of champagne, and a bouquet of flowers since the lunch that you delivered."

"What kind of champagne?" Luca queried, his dark brows raised in interest.

Hermione sighed, answering this would make her friends even more suspicious; they knew the story after all. "Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec."

"Good man, he has good taste. Well, he obviously has good taste," he winked at Hermione. "But not all men my age have a proper appreciation for good wine."

After they bid Luca goodnight and left the restaurant, Hermione demanded, "Not a word. I'll tell you everything when we get to my house."

The walk back was utterly silent after her statement, and Hermione's mind raced without anything to distract her. Did either of them know? She wished she'd been able to really see their expressions when Luca had blabbed. Now, they had time to modulate their reaction, and plan what to say.

As soon as she closed and locked the front door of her home, Ginny rounded on her, firing off questions in rapid succession. "What's this about a secret admirer? Why haven't you said anything? How long has this been going on?"

Gesturing for them to wait, Hermione placed the food on the console table in her entryway and waved her wand over the bag, placing a stasis charm on the food. She knew that this was very likely going to take a while and she didn't want it to get cold.

Hermione took a deep breath to steady herself; she still hadn't worked out the best way to tell her friends about the secret admirer. Contemplating her options for a moment, she decided to simply show them instead of trying to explain. "Give me a second." Turning, she walked into her bedroom and retrieved all of the cards.

When she returned, she beckoned, "Let's take these into the kitchen. Everything else is in there."

Entering the kitchen, Hermione groaned. She stopped, frozen in place just inside the doorway. Could this evening possibly get any worse? Sitting on her counter was a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift. The creamy white paper was covered in iridescent snowflakes and tied with a length of the same blue ribbon that had adorned the bakery box that the fancies had come in.

Pasting a smile on her face, she turned to her friends, and spoke through gritted teeth. "Well, I suppose you'll get to see firsthand."

Ginny and Angie began to speak at once and then stopped. Angie motioned for Ginny to go ahead. "You mean this wasn't here before?" Hermione shook her head, and the red-haired witch's eyes grew round. "How are they getting in? Are you certain that you're safe? Maybe…"

Hermione cut her off, "Relax Gin, Harry knows. In fact, I suspect that he's acting as the delivery boy."

With narrowed eyes, Ginny asked slowly, "What do you mean 'he knows?'"

Laughing to herself about the hell that Harry was sure to catch over not telling his wife, Hermione explained, "When I got the second package, I called him over to check to make sure that this wasn't a crazy stalker or something. He told me that he might have an idea of who it could be. He apparated out, straight through my wards actually, and then came back a little later saying that everything was completely fine, and that I had nothing to worry about."

The smirk on Angie's face made Hermione slightly uncomfortable. So when she spoke, Hermione feared what was about to come out of her mouth. "How long was he gone? Enough time to have gotten it right on the first try, or did he have time to go multiple places?"

Relieved, Hermione shrugged, "Well, he was gone for just over half an hour. I suppose he could have visited more than one location in that length of time, but he wouldn't tell me anything, so I can't be sure."

Ginny tossed her hair confidently. "I'll be getting some answers from Harry Potter. He's going to be sorry that he didn't tell me in the first place."

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry, Gin, but I don't think you will. He took a wizard's oath."

With narrowed eyes, Ginny remarked, "Well, he hasn't taken a bloody unbreakable vow, has he?"

"That's exactly what I said, but it didn't make a difference. He said that what he agreed to would make the curse on Marietta Edgecombe look like a minor rash. I don't think you're going to have any more luck than I did."

Realising that Angie had been suspiciously silent, Hermione turned to look at her and found the pregnant witch standing there grinning. Irrationally annoyed, Hermione huffed, "What's that bloody smile for? What do you know?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I just have eyes in my head, don't I?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione demanded to know, her anger and frustration growing as a slow smile spread across Ginny's face. Dawning comprehension evident in her expression.

Angie smiled softly at her now. "You're too smart to be this daft, Hermione. I know that if you think about it, you'll understand what we're thinking. That is, unless you've already had the thought and you're just afraid to admit that it might be true."

Feeling her face heat, Hermione cursed her perception. For once, she had no clue what to say. She was so far out of her element that she felt herself starting to panic. Again, Angie must have read something in her expression because she moved closer and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "He fancies you too, you know. Now, that's all I'm going to say on the matter; you need some time to process all of this. Why don't you open your new gift and then show us all of your other fabulous pressies? I want to hear about everything you've been sent."

Thankful for the change of subject, Hermione nodded, slowly making her way to the latest gift. Though she knew there was no way her friends would leave without seeing the contents of this present, she felt exposed and vulnerable opening it in front of them. It just felt very personal.

As she untied the bow, she noticed that there was a note on the envelope. It instructed:

Open the present first.

Carefully, not wanting to tear the beautiful paper, she unwrapped the package and found a blue velvet box in the same shade as the ribbon. It wasn't the right size for jewellery, but her heart pounded, not knowing what could be inside. She opened the lid and gasped aloud. Nestled in a cushioned satin interior was a stunning snowflake ornament. Lifting it out carefully, she examined it closely. It appeared to be incredibly fragile, but it wasn't made of glass or any other material that she could identify. Hopeful that there would be an explanation in the card, she ripped open the envelope and read:

Hermione,

This is a real snowflake that's been enlarged and charmed to last forever. Although it appears to be fragile, it's unbreakable. It's special, not only because all snowflakes are unique, but because this one has been touched by only two human hands — yours and mine. If you look closely, you can see a few places where the pattern is disrupted; that's where our hands, and only our hands, have touched it.

I want you to know that no matter what you decide when you learn my identity, that you have touched my life and I'll be forever changed because of you.

Your Christmas Admirer

With tears running down her cheeks, Hermione took a moment to try and compose herself before she spoke. More than ever, she wanted to be alone. The sentiment of the gift and message tugged at her heart and made her long for things to work out with this man. But, and it was difficult to even consider, what if it wasn't Fred? She wanted a relationship, this relationship, but she wanted it with him. If all of this wasn't coming from him, how would she handle that disappointment?

"Hermione?" Angie touched her shoulder gently. She turned, and Angie gasped. "Oh no, is it something bad this time?

Shaking her head, Hermione struggled to get the words out. "No, it's just so wonderfully thoughtful and sweet that it…" she trailed off, knowing that they would understand what she'd meant.

Needing a few minutes alone, she thrust all of the cards into Angie's hand. "Here, read these. They're in order. I just need to go wash my face. I'll answer any questions that you have when I get back."

When she walked out of her bedroom a few minutes later, feeling a bit better, Angie and Ginny were both waiting for her on the sofa. They motioned for her to take the spot between them. After hugging her and reassuring her that everything would work out, they abruptly changed the subject, for which Hermione was grateful. She needed time to process everything for herself.

Finally, Ginny looked at her watch. "Woah, it's getting really late. I suspect that Fred and George will be trying to close up by now. I do need a few things from the shop but I don't want to keep them tonight. I'll just stop by tomorrow and grab what I need. Would the two of you mind very much if I dish out a bit of the food to bring home?"