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Chapter 36: House Party
The rest of Christmas was a wonderful celebration of friends and family. There were gag gifts, there were helpful gifts and then there were gifts that were given for the joy of giving. Hermione received some of her favourites books but she also received gifts that remembered that she was a girl.
From Harry Hermione received a beautiful amber necklace. The pendant seemed to have tiny flowers captured in the ancient pitch. There were things like bubble bath and relaxing salts. There was a lovely set of finely hand worked handkerchiefs from Tinky. It was not just the humans in the house who received gifts but also the house elves. Kreacher was most impressed with the knitted patch blanket for his bed to keep him warm on cold nights. Harry presented all three elves with their very own goblin vault keys.
For the school professors they received minor personal gifts but then were given a gift that reflected their desires for the school. McGonagall got a full set of Clean Sweeps for every house so the terrible decrepit brooms currently in service could be retired. Hopefully, at the next bonfire night if possible. For the former duelling champion the school was given 10 top of the line practice dummies.
Filius was excited to have them and by the end of the day had drummed up considerable support amongst the staff and former students to restart the Hogwarts Duelling Club. With the former duelling grand master in charge they were certain with luck and hard work that in the next couple of years there would be Hogwarts alumni standing on tournament podiums.
The news from the Burrow in relation to Molly and the two youngest Weasleys it appeared there was some good and some not so good. Molly was going to have treatment as an outpatient for Anger Management. Hopefully the intensive six week course would address her behaviours.
Ginny it turned out had never been assessed or treated after the possession of Tom Riddle in her first year. The childhood fantasies encouraged by a deluded mother had further been twisted by the possession. With a regime of potions and some long term counselling with a mind healer there was hope for the youngest. Ginny Weasley had developed a possessive obsession about the boy who lived and not the real young man called Harry James Potter.
On the other hand Ronald Weasley was incurable he was just a natural prat. Ron had dipped out on the genetic pool and got mush for brains. It was possible that the canned brains from the Battle in the Department of Mysteries had done further damage to him but the mediwitches at St Mungo's were doubtful if this was the case.
By the time the Orphans Christmas House Party had finished there had been a reunion between two Black sisters and some peace made amongst former enemies. Andromeda (Andy) joined the house party late, as she had not been well after the death of her husband Ted Tonks. The eldest Black witch felt that she could not face the house on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as she was just so glum and she did not want to spoil anyone else's Christmas. Andy Tonks had travelled in the last week to visit Ted's extended family at a reunion that was held in Canada. There were many there she had not seen since their wedding but old links had been made. Hopefully in the summer some of Nymphadora's Muggle cousins would be coming to England to visit so Ted's family would still have contact with his child and grandchild.
The trip to Canada had been closure for Andy. The elegant witch could now focus on the next generation of Tonks her grandson and name sake of her husband little Teddy Lupin. Dora had not told her mother yet about the next baby and this was one Christmas present that helped to make the sad Grandmother smile again.
There was some betting going on behind the scenes with the Weasley Twins holding the book over the romances of the 8th years, other staff members and other former students of Hogwarts.
The two youngest orphans had a lovely time in the mixed household and Harry had the greatest joy from helping his fellow orphans out from the same situation he was in 8 years ago. Talking to the two boys they were thankful that this Christmas they were with friends and with relief the pair of them accepted an invitation to stay with Harry during the Summer. On their return to Hogwarts the two boys could not believe how much their lives had changed in the last six months and particular over the three weeks of Christmas. Before Hogwarts both of boys had been in different orphanages thanks to deaths of their family and now they were being included in a blended family environment.
Pansy and Draco had been watching the slowly budding friendship between Severus and Hermione. Severus was always there to help her such as during a buffet serving of breakfast. Narcissa agreed with her son and his lover that the match of Severus and Hermione would be a good one but warned that path to romance would be a difficult one as both of them had issues. Severus Snape had been hung up on Lily Evans and his role, as a spy for so many years wearing the glamours of the greasy git of the dungeon had not helped in his self confidence.
The reality was Severus had been alone for years and he had built strong defensive walls. For Hermione she had to come to terms with her new reality. The witch had to take her disability on as a fundamental component of her personality. Hermione's previous outlook, dreams and desires all now had to be tempered with the new reality of her disability.
Until Hermione's disability became just a descriptive feature of the young woman's psyche like her famous mane of hair the young woman would be slightly damaged goods. Like Severus Hermione also had strong barriers that often managed to hide her low self confidence thanks to the many years of bullying she had endured. Hermione forceful personality that could come across as bossiness was really a shield that she used to hide behind. The witch was very loyal and had a kind heart but individuals like Ron had belittled her all too often.
Talking about the two Narcissa was horrified to hear the hate filled actions that her own child had done to the young woman. The Lady Malfoy discovered the truth about how Draco received his broken nose that he came home with at the end of the third year.
"Quidditch my arse!" snorted the pure blooded matron. If Draco had been such a horrible boy to her at school she would have done more than just punch his lights out she would have hexed him to Timbuktu and back again. The Black family had some very creative hexes in their family grimoire.
Time spent with the older Black women had enabled Harry to learn more about his extended family and for him to realise that he did have some family still alive through his Black grandmother.
There were visitors to 12 Grimmauld Place and there was much laughter. It seemed that the former Defence Association were often in residence. On one cold but surprisingly bright sunny day during the holiday there was a pick up match or two of Quidditch. Ryan saw a different perspective of the Deputy Headmistress when she was on a broom. It turned out that Minerva McGonagall was a former Seeker and Gryffindor Team Captain. The stern teacher was completely different when she was on a broom and on the same team as you that was currently trying to put down a mostly Slytherin Team that included the current Headmaster playing beater and Harry Potter as an honorary Slytherin chaser.
While there was noisy fun filled activities there were also periods of comfortable quiet. In the evening Bonny Thompson could be seen leading a woman's handicraft circle based on one of the couches in the family room near the fire. This lovely lady had been the one to knit all the guests their Christmas stockings that had been hung on the mantle of the ballroom fireplace. The filling of the stockings had been a joint project of Hermione, Winky, Pansy, Tinky, Tonks and Bonny. Narcissa had joined the stocking filling committee late but from her participation in this female committee she had come to know her boss, Miss Mia, a little better. Working for the young lady with her new editorial control had already made a considerable improvement to the former red top rag. Narcissa also felt valued and that she had a future.
It had been a learning exercise for all the pure bloods when it came to Hermione's obligatory Terry's Chocolate Orange addition to each stocking. Draco cringed when Hermione demonstrated the correct way of breaking open this delectable Muggle traditional treat it reminded him too much of the crack to his face which resulted in painful reconstruction of his nose and cheekbones. Harry asked Narcissa to select a set of rooms on the third floor and they would always be hers. As a Black there would always be a place for her in the ancestral Black home.
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For New Years Minerva McGonagall was insistent that the house was first footed. She bossed her dark haired colleague outside into the cold before midnight and ensured that Severus had the traditional gifts ready in his pockets so he could properly ensure that the households had financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth and good cheer. Ryan was deputised and he got to first foot Harry's apartment. There was much entertainment that evening after the ritual had been completed for the house and the three family apartments. Duncan was called upon to first foot the elf dorm area as he was the smallest and Kreacher gleamed at the sight of the bottle of aged whisky provided by the Deputy Headmistress.
Minerva explained the history of the ritual and the symbolic mean of the coins, loaves of bread, salt, pieces of coal and bottle of whiskey. After the last couple of years Harry was quiet happy to have someone wish him good fortune cause if it had been anything like the last 8 years he certainly needed it.
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On the return to the castle and her suit of rooms there Hermione felt a little lost as she had gotten used to being one of the organisers of the household and now it was taken out of her control. The Hogwart house elves had a lovely holiday visiting different places round the world and enjoying their Christmas presents. The Headmaster had supported the purchases of most of their wish list that Minerva had helped collate.
With the students and all the human population of the school out of the building for the three weeks had enabled the Headmaster to have the goblin nation in to undertake an upgrade to the warding along with some remodelling which could not have been done earlier. Poppy Pomfrey on her return to her infirmary found that there had been a considerable remodelling of her premises updating the facility to the 21st Century. If the scream of happiness and the flat out sprint by the mature lady was a sight to see then many were not sure how to describe the hug and kiss that the Headmaster acquired in the Great Hall from the Matron. Who knew that the Headmaster could blush? He was giving a good impression of Rudolph the red nose reindeer.