Chapter Eleven: Christmas Time, Part One
November passed by quickly as the weather grew colder. Harry and Ron weren't running around the Quidditch pitch anymore. They were using the Room of Requirement to do their morning run. They were joined by Hermione as the room was a lot warmer than the weather outside.
As Christmas approached the castle was warm with excitement. Lessons continued to be a challenge to anyone who weren't Harry, Ron or Hermione. Potions class was terrible at this time of year because Uncle Sev needed to keep the classroom at a certain temperature so that ingredients weren't spoiled. This meant having to stand closer to their cauldrons to keep warm. When they weren't eating or in class Hermione made sure that their homework got done on the day it was set leaving their weekends free. But soon talk began of plans for Christmas as they finished their homework in the common room.
'So, what are your plans for Christmas, Ron?' asked Hermione.
'Well the plan was to go home but my parents and Ginny are going to Romania to see Charlie instead,' replied Ron.
'Are you staying here then?' asked Harry.
'Looks like it,' replied Ron, 'what about you two?'
'Home to Potter Manor for me,' said Harry.
'I'm going home too. My parents are really missing me and want to know all about what we've been doing,' said Hermione.
'Cool,' said Ron.
'Have you ever been in a muggle house, Ron?' asked Hermione.
'Er, not really, but Potter Manor has everything muggle you can think of, and my dad loves it,' said Ron.
'Would you like to come to my house for Christmas, Ron?' asked Hermione.
'Are you sure? I mean is it okay with your parents?' said Ron.
'They said that if I wanted to invite anyone for Christmas it would be okay. You'd be welcome to come too, Harry,' replied Hermione.
'I'd love to, but it's already decided for me to go home, maybe another time?' said Harry.
'That's fine, Harry, what about you, Ron?' said Hermione.
'I'd love to come and spend Christmas with you and your parents, Hermione,' said Ron.
'So that's a yes, is it?' she asked.
'It's a big yes please, Hermione,' said Ron smiling at her.
So with that settled, Harry then said, 'My parents have a big party at the Manor on New Year's Eve, I'll ask them about inviting you and your parents, Hermione.'
'That sounds wonderful, Harry, I'll let my parents know, usually we just sit and watch television and wait for midnight,' Hermione told them.
'I'm going to invite Percy, Fred and George for Christmas while I'm at it,' said Harry.
Harry went off to find Ron's brothers leaving Ron and Hermione alone.
'Hermione?' said Ron.
'Yes?' she replied.
'Thank you for inviting me for Christmas, it means a lot to me,' he said smiling at her.
'You've been so nice to me, Ron, you're my best friend and it was the least I can do,' she replied.
'C'mere,' he said and pulled her into a hug.
As they hugged they were interrupted by Fred's voice. 'Aw, look at that! Aren't they sweet? They're hugging each other!'
Ron turned around and said, 'Bugger off, Fred!'
'Language, Ronnie,' said George, 'I hear that the two of you are spending Christmas together?'
'We are and don't call me Ronnie!' Ron retorted.
Ron hated being called Ronnie. It was a name his mother called him and it irritated him to no end.
'Or what?' asked Fred and George, simultaneously.
'Or I'll bash your heads in!' said Ron.
Fred and George knew full well of what Ron was capable when he got angry and fought with them using his Karate skills so they raised their hands up in surrender and said, 'Chill, Ron, we're just having a laugh.'
'I know, just don't call me that stupid fucking name, okay?' said Ron.
'Yeah, okay,' they replied before they started talking about their favourite Christmas pastimes.
They told the story of the time they had set off a Dungbomb under their Auntie Muriel's chair at dinner one year and since then she stopped coming for Christmas dinner. They shared many of their Christmas jokes with each other before going to bed leaving Ron and Hermione alone again.
'Ron, can I ask you something?' said Hermione tentatively.
'Yeah, course you can,' he said.
'Why do you hate being called Ronnie?' she asked.
Ron paused for a moment answering.
'Well, as you know, I have five older brothers and one younger sister. Any way my mum always wanted a daughter, but there hadn't been a Weasley girl born for generations, so they kept trying, but when Ginny came along after me, they stopped having kids. Now, I don't like being called Ronnie because to me it sounds girly, and it reminds me that I was not the daughter my mum so desperately craved. Believe me, Hermione, having five older brothers is not all it's cracked up to be. My mum expects me to do as well as the others, but it's no big deal because whatever I do won't matter because they've already done it or won't be good enough. When she calls me Ronnie it makes feel like the son she never wanted the most.'
Hermione could not think of anything to say so she hugged him tightly. Ron hugged her back just as tight before saying goodnight and going to bed.
Despite the fact that Harry and Ron were going to be separated for Christmas, they weren't too down about it; this was because they had a pair of enchanted mirrors. So despite being apart they could still talk to each other.
Arrangements were made by Owl post and everything was quickly taken care of without any problems.
The term came to an end and trunks were packed to go home for the Christmas holidays. The train journey to King's Cross was fun as they sat and talked while eating another enormous pile of sweets. Fred and George were the life and soul of their compartment as they made jokes and told them of the pranks they had played on their year mates so far as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Percy laughed with them.
The train arrived at King's Cross on time and they all disembarked with their things. After waiting their turn to go through the barrier separating platform nine and three quarters and the muggle world, they were met by the Potters, Grangers and Longbottoms. Neville introduced Hermione to his parents and sister while Hermione's parents chatted with Harry's family.
'Mum, Dad, this is Hermione Granger, Hermione, my parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, and my sister, Kate,' said Neville making the introductions.
'It's nice to meet you all, Neville has told me so much about you,' said Hermione as they each took turns to shake her hand.
'It's nice to meet you too, Hermione, thank you for helping Neville in Transfiguration,' said Alice.
'It was nothing, Mrs Longbottom,' said Hermione.
'Please call me Alice,' said Alice kindly.
'Thank you, Alice,' she replied, 'may I borrow Neville so I can introduce him to my parents?'
'Of course you may, Hermione,' replied Alice, smiling at her.
'Thank you, come on, Neville, my parents are dying to meet you!' said Hermione.
As Hermione ushered the three boys over to her parents Alice said, 'What a lovely girl.'
'She seems very nice and Neville isn't scared of her!' said Frank chuckling.
'Of course he isn't, she doesn't have red hair!' Alice joked.
Hermione had taken Ron, Harry and Neville over to meet her parents and did the introductions.
'Mum, Dad, this is Ron, Harry and Neville, Ron, Harry, Neville, my parents, Doctor Richard and Doctor Helen Granger,' she said.
'It's wonderful to meet you all at last, to finally put faces to the names!' said Helen as she shook hands with them all in turn.
They exchanged the brief pleasantries before being joined by the Potters and Longbottoms as Fred and George were tickling Kate, as Percy tried in vain to control the twins. The grown-ups shared a conversation while the kids larked around. Once the talk was over, Harry, Fred, George and Percy left with James, Lily, Sirius, Charlus and Dorea, Neville left with his family as Ron and Hermione left with Hermione's parents.
0o0
When Harry got back to Potter Manor, he saw that it been decorated to the full as usual. Percy and the twins were given rooms in which to sleep as the rest of them started to have fun. James and Sirius would regale the twins with pranks and stories from their own days at Hogwarts as Lily ordered Chinese food over the phone before leaving to collect it herself. Harry looked around their lounge to see the big Christmas tree surrounded by presents for him and his family. He loved Christmas time. It was happy and joyous, but the best part was that he got to spend good quality time with his father and godfather.
Later in the evening they were joined by Uncle Remus and Uncle Sev with Aunt Cissy and their twin girls, Andromeda and Eileen. Once everybody had eaten, the real fun began with dancing and plenty of laughter. But Harry, despite having loads of people around him, still missed Ron.
However, he was not the only one. Dorea had looked on with sad eyes as Ron had left with his new friend. She had had a crush on Ron for as long as she could remember. He had always been nice to her, and he always stopped Fred and George from pranking her. Whenever she was tired she had always gone to sleep on Ron. She liked that he was warm and he looked after her. Dorea could not help the sad sigh that escaped from her as she thought about Ron. She wondered if Ron had been thinking of her at all while he had been at school. Somehow, she doubted it. Dorea thought about how he had always been there. Another sigh left her but this one was heard by her mother.
'Are you all right, sweetheart?' she said kindly.
'I'm fine, Mum, just thinking,' she replied.
'About what?' her mum asked.
'Ron,' replied Dorea.
'You're missing him,' her mum stated.
'I've been missing him since him and Harry left for school,' said Dorea.
'Did he write to you?' Lily enquired.
'A couple of times, just asking me how Charlus and I are, stuff like that,' she replied.
'I know how you feel about him, Dorea,' said Lily gently.
'Am I that obvious, Mum?'
'Yes, but didn't you tell Ron that you and him were going to marry each other one day?'
'I did, but he didn't say anything.'
'Well you were nine and he was ten, plus he's a boy, so they don't say much.'
'Do you know if he likes me too?'
'What did he tell you?'
'He told me that I'm his second sister in his last letter.'
'At least he still cares about you,' said Lily.
'I suppose so. Is he going out with that girl Hermione?' asked Dorea.
'No, but having seen them together it's only a matter of time, I think,' Lily told her.
'Great so when Mrs Weasley sees them together she'll probably start planning their wedding,' said Dorea with a sad laugh.
'Trust me, little D, you'll find the right one for you, I promise,' said Lily giving her a hug.
'Thanks, Mum,' said Dorea hugging her mother back.
Lily and Dorea let go of each other and joined in the festivities once more.
0o0
The trip to Hermione's parent's house had taken some time. They had been stuck in traffic and the drive to Kent was not whole lot better. Thankfully, Richard had turned on the car stereo so they could all listen to music. Unfortunately, for Hermione, her parents squabbled over what they were going to listen to, but Richard won the day claiming that as he was driving, he should choose the music. So, in went one of his U2 CDs and he was singing along with it, but then, much to the surprise of Hermione, Ron started singing along too. Hermione could not believe her ears. Ron had a really good voice!
'Do you like U2?' asked Richard.
'Yeah, they're cool, but Lily is the one who's a real fan. She's got everything of theirs, she even gets the fanzine Propaganda, she's the one who got me into them,' replied Ron.
'What other music do you like, Ron?' asked Helen.
'Er, it's just U2, really, what about you?' he asked.
'I'm into classical music, myself. Beethoven, Wagner, Puccini, Verdi, and Tchaikovsky,' Helen told him.
'Oh, I see. There is one piece that I like, but I can never remember what it's called,' said Ron.
'Why don't you hum it for me?' said Helen.
Ron complied as Helen listened before saying, 'That's one of my favourites, it's called "The Ride of the Valkyries" by Wagner, it comes from one of his Operas, Die Walküre, or in English, The Valkyrie.'
'The Ride of the Valkyries, I'll try to remember that, thanks, Doctor Granger,' said Ron.
'Please call me Helen, Ron,' she said kindly.
'And call me Richard, my father was Doctor Granger,' said Richard with chuckle.
'All right, will do, so, Richard, Hermione tells me you like Football, what team do you support?' said Ron.
'I support the greatest club in the world, Ron, want to have a guess?'
'Er, well, unless it's Spurs, you are dead wrong about it being the greatest club in the world,' said Ron smirking.
Hermione sat there beaming. She did not really care that much for football, but her father was football crazy, and even crazier about Tottenham Hotspur. Her father came from a long line of Spurs fans as far back as 1882 when the club was founded, she felt sure that Ron had won her father over.
'Why, Ron, I am talking about Spurs! Who else? How long have you been a fan?' said Richard, grinning.
'A few years now, my best mate's godfather got me into football and Spurs, which when you consider the fact he's a pure-blood wizard is quite odd. Most pure-bloods like us know absolutely nothing about muggle culture and sports,' Ron told him.
'Interesting, but how did he get into it?' asked Richard.
'He rebelled. See, his family hated all things muggle and he got sick of all their anti-muggle rubbish, he had enough, so at the end of his second year at Hogwarts, he took an elective called Muggle Studies. It was mainly to annoy his mother, but he found himself enjoying learning about Muggles, particularly about cars and motorbikes, and then he got into football when he moved to muggle London. He's got a nice flat in North London that's a stone throw away from White Hart Lane, he took Harry and I to the Cup Final last May too,' said Ron.
Richard could not help but smile at that as he had taken Helen and Hermione to Wembley last May to see Spurs win 2-1 against Nottingham Forest.
The talk of football ended when Richard voiced his concerns over the bigotry towards Hermione and people like her in the wizarding world. But Ron told him the truth by saying that only a small minority subscribed to the bigotry and that he would do his best to protect Hermione from it all as best he could. Eventually they arrived at the house. Ron helped Richard with the trunks as well as grabbing his case of clothes for the two week stay. Ron was shown a room opposite Hermione's and was left to get settled while Helen fished for menus for the local Chinese restaurant. Once Ron and Hermione had freshened up, the four of them decided what to have to eat before Helen made the telephone call.
After their meal, as Richard and Helen were in the kitchen, Ron and Hermione were getting ready for bed. Once they were ready they went back downstairs to watch a video. If there was thing Hermione missed when she was at Hogwarts, it was watching videos with her parents. As she was the first one in the living room she went over to the shelf to look through the videos her parents owned to see what new ones they had acquired in her absence. Ron came into the room and sat down on a large chair and watched as Hermione looked through the videos on the shelf. She turned around and said, 'What do you want to watch, Ron?'
'What have you got?' he asked.
Just then Richard and Helen came in carrying some bowls of popcorn as Richard said, 'A wide selection of great films, of course! We have everything from James Bond to Julie Andrews, from Ghandi to Ghostbusters. Take your pick, Ron.'
'Oh, well, in that case, it has to be Ghostbusters!' said Ron enthusiastically.
Hermione groaned.
'How can you groan? It's a classic!' said Ron
'Fine, you are the guest, after all …' said Hermione as she took the video off the shelf before taking the tape out of the case and putting it in the VCR as her parents sat on the sofa. Richard and Helen sat on the three-seat sofa with Helen sitting to Richard's left, leaving his right hand side free for Hermione to sit as per usual. Helen snuggled up to her husband by lifting his arm and draping it over her shoulders. He gave her a kiss before picking up the remote control to start the video, but then watched as Hermione snuggled up to Ron the same way his wife had to him. They shared a look before turning back to the television to watch the film.
It was late by the time the film finished and so Ron and Hermione went to bed. Richard and Helen were in the kitchen washing up the popcorn bowls.
'Did you see that, when she snuggled up to him like that?' asked Richard.
'I did, and it confirmed my theory,' Helen replied.
'What theory?' Richard asked.
'That Hermione does not have a crush on Ron,' she told him.
'Thank God for that! She's only twelve!' said Richard.
'Richard, she loves him,' said Helen.
'No, you're winding me up! She can't! She doesn't, does she?' said Richard, going from a shocked tone to a desperate one.
'Yes, it's the way she looks at him, and he loves her too, whether either of them know it or not remains to be seen,' said Helen seriously.
'Should've built a fucking dungeon,' murmured Richard as he washed the last bowl before Helen cuffed him around the head with a giggle before they both went to bed.