A/N: This is probably the fastest chapter I've ever gotten up. Thanks to all my reviewers. Enjoy!
For the next few days, Fred and George pestered Hermione to tell them about her 'mysterious someone'. Ron and Harry were finding it difficult to continue their silent treatment with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley around. Ginny found it all hilarious
On Christmas day, Hermione was woken by a loud crack as Fred and George apparated into the room she was sharing with Ginny.
"Happy Christmas, Hermione. Get out of bed, Gin," Fred began the wake-up call.
"Oh, that's nice," Ginny huffed.
"Happy Christmas, everyone," Hermione replied, yawning.
"We won't pester you about a certain someone today, Hermione," George began.
"But only because it's Christmas," continued Fred. "We'll be right back at it tomorrow."
"You'll be sure to relent sometime."
Hermione sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you? There isn't anyone." Ginny coughed.
"Right." Fred rolled his eyes. "Well, get dressed and come down."
"Or we'll open your presents for you!" George warned.
"We'll be right there," said Ginny sweetly, pushing them out the door. Hermione shook her head and pulled on her witch's robes. She would much rather have worn jeans and a tee shirt, but this was a special occasion. When she and Ginny were dressed, they headed downstairs to the delicious smells of cinnamon rolls and bacon.
Breakfast was incredible, and everyone was in a good mood. Even Ron and Harry managed to be decent to Hermione. The twins were boisterous and everyone was talking and laughing loudly. After a while, they all headed to the living room, which was way overcrowded with all of them and the large, glittering tree and heaping pile of presents. Sometime during breakfast, Bill and Fleur had appeared, followed by Ron's other brother, Charlie. Even Percy dropped in. Then, there was a frenzy of present opening. There were cries of, "Cool! Thanks, Bill!" and, "Another sweater, Mum?" and, "Dad, nobody in this family needs a muggle clock." The whole thing was a bit of a shock to Hermione, who was used to a very orderly ceremony, with only one present opened at a time. She decided it didn't really matter, though, and dove in whole-heartedly.
She was quite pleased with her gifts in general, but there was one that took her breath away. It was in a small, white box, a card on top. She flipped the card over and read, "Merry Christmas, Hermione. Thanks for everything.
Love,
Guess Who"
Perplexed, she opened the box, and gasped. Nestled inside, strung on a golden chain, lay the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a sun, spun gold and embedded with tiny rubies. The center was a small, perfect emerald. The whole thing was barely more than a centimeter and a half in diameter, delicate and stunning. On the back of the pendent were the engraved letters, "DM" Hermione knew what that meant at once. Happy Christmas to you, too, Draco, she thought.
Just then George caught sight of the box in her hands. "What's that?" he asked. Then, "Blimey! Fred, come look at this!" Fred hurried over and stared openmouthed at the necklace. He grabbed the card out of Hermione's hands and read it.
"Guess Who? You can't tell us that there isn't anyone, now Hermione! Blimey, that's incredible!" Hermione blushed, snatching her card back and blessing the fact that neither Ron nor Harry had noticed the exchange.
"You promised you wouldn't pester me today," she reminded the twins. They looked at each other and said, "Twice the effort tomorrow," in unison.
"Guess you can only postpone the inevitable for so long," she muttered, and tucked the box carefully away from prying eyes.
That night, after a delicious dinner, Hermione showed the necklace to Ginny.
"Oh, wow Hermione," Ginny said. "That is just… wow. Who would give you something like that?" Hermione pulled out the card. "Guess Who?" Then, Ginny turned the pendent over. "Oh, I see. DM. Draco Malfoy. Well, that is pretty amazing."
"I just have to make sure Harry and Ron, or, for that matter, anybody else, don't find out who it came from." Hermione replied.
Ginny bit her lip. "I'll think of something."
The next morning, Hermione wore the necklace down to breakfast. She didn't even think about it; she just put it on. By the time she had realized her mistake, it was too late.
"Hermione, where did you get that lovely necklace?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Fred and George smirked. They knew she couldn't wriggle out of this one.
"Ummm… " She tried to come up with something, but it was Ginny who saved her.
"Actually, me and some of the other sixth years got it for her," she lied smoothly. "Because there was no way we would have passed History of Magic or Transfiguration without her." Hermione was surprised, but tried to look like this story was nothing new to her.
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley cried, shocked. "That was certainly very kind of you, but did it really need to be such and expensive gift?"
"Oh, there were a bunch of us," Ginny invented. "We split the cost, so it really wasn't that much. And besides, it's her last year at Hogwarts. We wanted to make it special."
"Well, that was sweet of you, Ginny."
"Why'd you sign the card 'Guess Who'?" asked Fred.
Ginny shrugged. "Inside joke. You wouldn't get it."
Fred opened his mouth to say more, but Hermione quickly said, "When are we leaving to go back to Hogwarts? The renovations changed all the schedules, so I wasn't sure," distracting everyone.
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I've had so many reviews my inbox is practically overflowing, but it makes me happy, so I'm not complaining! Keep them coming! I'll update again as soon as I can (or as soon as I feel like it.) Next chapter: Hermione gets in trouble with the Weasleys (or most of them, anyways.)