This Chapter takes place entirely from Hermione's POV and will let you know how her holiday break unfolds.
Still don't own them...oh well... Que sera, sera.
Chapter 12
Hermione had always loved Christmas. She loved the decorations and the lights; she loved the music; she loved the joyful emotions that accompanied the holiday. Ever since she had been a little girl, she had loved helping her parents put up the tree and decorate the house. But her absolute favorite part of the holiday had always been the process of picking out presents for each person on her list, making them presents that would mean something specific to that person.
She could feel the difference this year, however. This was the first time since she had been 13 years old that she wouldn't be spending any of her Christmas holiday with Harry and Ron, and she felt their absence like a gaping hole in ger heart. She was overjoyed to be with her parents for the holidays, particularly with all the uncertainty that the wizarding world now held, but she was missing the boys terribly. So, the day before Christmas Eve, she decided to make her way into Diagon Alley to finish up her Christmas shopping, and hopefully to lift her spirits a bit, as well.
She headed to the nearest Underground station and rode the tube into the heart of London, her wand stored securely in the pocket of her winter coat. When she arrived at her stop, she left the station and made her way leisurely through the bustling streets, heading toward the Leaky Cauldron and admiring all of the storefronts on the way, all beautifully decorated for Christmas with bright twinkling lights and strands of garland.
Walking through the Leaky Cauldron, with a wave at Tom the innkeeper on her way, she headed for the entrance to Diagon Alley. Three up, two across, she thought, counting the bricks on the seemingly impenetrable wall. Professor McGonagall had shown her how to get into the Wizarding hub when she had been 11 years old, and she would never forget the secret, nor would she forget the sense of awe that she had felt when she had watched the wall rearrange itself to reveal the busy world sheltered behind. As much as she loved being home with her parents and spending time with them, she missed the magical world every minute that she wasn't in it. She sighed in happiness as the tell-tale threads of magic all around her brushed up against her body.
Walking down the cobbled street, she headed into her first stop of the trip: Quality Quidditch Supplies. She saw a Quidditch strategy guide that, after leafing through it for a minute or two, she decided would be great for Harry. He had taken his new role as Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain to heart, and she knew he would appreciate the guide when coming up with new plays and maneuvers for the team.
Next, she picked out a pair of Chaser's gloves for Ginny; her friend had mentioned rather sadly after her last match that her old pair had become so worn through that they were hardly worth wearing anymore. Heading to the counter to check out, something caught her eye. She stopped and stared at the Chudley Cannons jersey that was folded on the top of the table to her right. Even though she and Ron hadn't spoken to one another in nearly two months, they had never not gotten one another a Christmas present; he was still one of her best friends, even if he was being a complete and utter prat at the moment. She begrudgingly grabbed the jersey and took it, along with the strategy guide and Chaser's gloves, up to the counter to pay the shopkeeper.
That finished, she headed for Sugarplum's Sweets Shop, stopping to look in the various windows along the way. She was enjoying just soaking in the festive atmosphere around her, the hustle and bustle and festiveness that permeated the air even through the underlying uncertainty that shadowed every mind over the return of Voldemort.
When she entered Sugarplum's, she could nearly taste the sugar in the air. She strolled slowly up and down the aisles, grabbing some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a few packages of Chocolate Frogs for Harry and even a few Cauldron Cakes for Ron while she perused the shelfs. She also grabbed a handful of Sugar Quills for her parents who, in spite of being dentists and therefore against sugary treats as a rule, simply loved the wizarding treats.
Her next stop was Flourish and Blotts, where she found a new book that she knew Neville would appreciate: Rare Plants of the Pacific Islands. Next, she spotted a book on rare and newly discovered beasts that she felt certain Luna would enjoy, although the Ravenclaw was notoriously hard to predict at times. Her last selection was a book on homemaking spells, titled New Magic for the Experience Homemaker, that she knew would make Mrs Weasley happy; the woman's collection of Home Magic books was seriously impressive and the small bookcase in the Weasley matriarch's parlor groaned under the weight of such books, often purchased second-hand and quite worn as a result. She purchased all three tomes, adding them to her growing bundle of gifts, then exited the toasty bookshop that always smelled of old parchment and new books.
Making her way to her last stop, the Post Office, to mail off all the gifts to their respective recipients, she paused for a moment as she passed Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She peered through the windows sadly to see that the shop was still a wreck inside. She remembered Bill Weasley telling her, Harry, and Ron before school had started that the older man appeared to have been dragged off. Bill had mused that Death Eaters had more than likely been behind it.
Seeing the state of the place, Hermione had to agree with Bill's assessment. She felt a strong wave of sorrow at the thought that the kindly man, who had given her best friend numerous free ice creams while helping him with his History of Magic assignments three years ago, might possibly be dead.
Shaking off her morose thoughts, she decided that, as much as could be possible over this holiday, she would think of neither Voldemort nor of the looming war that hung over their heads like the pendulum in one of her favorites of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories. It swung closer and closer with each passing day, a nearly tangible entity creeping closer every time one dared to look away from it.
She continued on her way, heading into the Post Office. In spite of the smell, it had always been one of her favorite places in Diagon Alley; she loved seeing all of the numerous owls that sat on their perches throughout the building, some sleeping with their heads tucked up under their wings, others simply staring with wide, fathomless eyes at everyone who entered the shop. The owls were color coded with different speed designations, indicated by a small band that encircled their legs.
She chose a large owl that would be capable of carrying all of Harry's, Ginny's, and Ron's gifts to the Burrow, along with the book for Mrs Weasley and a muggle plushie duck for Mr Weasley (it had become somewhat of an inside joke amongst herself and Harry, and they always got the Muggle-obsessed patriarch of the Weasley family some type of duck for Christmas; he loved his collection and it took place of pride in his outdoor shed). Reaching out, she waited for the owl to hop onto her outstretched arm before heading to the counter to allow the employee behind it to help her load the gifts into a parcel that was charmed to be featherlight, paying the required postage to borrow the creature, and then watching as it flew away.
She repeated the process twice more, picking smaller owls that would take Luna's and Neville's gifts to them. After watching the last owl fly out of the open window and toward Neville's home, she thanked the shopkeeper for her assistance and wished the woman a happy Christmas on her way out the door. She then made her way back up Diagon Alley, through the brick wall that guarded it, and through the Leaky Cauldron once more.
Back on the muggle side of London, Hermione strolled unhurriedly back toward the Underground station that would take her home, perusing the different shopfronts as she walked. Suddenly, something in one of the shop windows caught her eye and she stopped in her tracks so abruptly that the man behind her ran smack into her with an OOF! and a grumbled, "Watch where you're going, young lady!" as he passed her by.
Hermione paid him no attention; she was fully focused on the storefront window of the small jewelry shop in front of her. After a moment of indecision, she ducked into the shop and, following a brief conversation with the pretty muggle girl that was standing behind the till, purchased the item that had so thoroughly captured her interest. Slipping the small package into her pocket, she left the store and continued on towards the tube. Once she had found an empty seat and was on her way back home, she pulled the package from her pocket to examine it closer.
It was a necklace: a small silver chain featuring a silver Celtic Knot on an emerald-green background. The moment she had spotted it, she had inexplicably thought of Draco. She couldn't put her finger on why exactly she had thought of him, nor could she explain why she had felt so drawn to this necklace, but her witch's intuition had whispered to her that she needed to get it for him. Even though it had cost much more than she should be spending on someone she had only really known for a couple of months, and although she hadn't intended to get him anything more than a few candies or something for Christmas, she hadn't been able to resist the pull to buy it. As she sat there, racing along beneath the bustling streets of London, a plan began to form in her head.
The rest of her holiday break, outside of daytime exploration trips with her dad or cooking and baking with her mum, was spent on researching and planning. Finally, during the last week of break, she was ready to put her plan in place. She placed a charm on the necklace, tying the piece with a necklace her mother had given her for her thirteenth birthday that she hardly every wore anymore, a plain silver heart engraved with an H.G. in an intricate script.
The two necklaces would work in a way similar to the fake Galleons that she had charmed with a Protean Charm the previous year for the members of the D.A. She modified the charm so that this time, it would just be their two necklaces that were tied together. When one of the necklaces grew warm, it would mean that a message was waiting for them.
To send a message, she or Draco would merely touch the pendant with their wand and speak the incantation 'Libera Nuntium' and speak their message out loud. When the recipient was ready to hear the waiting message, they followed the same steps, this time with the incantation 'Expecto Nuntio', which would allow them to hear the message from the other person. She had gotten the idea from the Messenger Patronus, which Harry had told them about the year prior when he had been teaching them how to cast a Patronus.
She thought, as she sat in her room that night with one charmed necklace clasped tightly in each fist, that if things didn't go according to their plan, and Draco somehow got dragged even deeper into Voldemort's clutches, this could serve as a way for him to contact her, and for her to help him in return. It could be his way out from under Voldemort's thumb if needed, or it could just be a way to keep him from drowning in the darkness, should he end up there alone.
She smiled a small smile, satisfied for the moment that at least he would have a tool at his disposal in case something went horribly wrong. As she looked out her bedroom window and down onto the snow-covered streets below, lit only by streetlights and looking very much like a Christmas greeting card, she felt a sense of peace come over her: one that had been all too rare over the last year and a half since Cedric Diggory had been murdered and Harry had returned from the maze with the older boy's dead body, proclaiming that Voldemort was back. She savored the sense of peace while she could, knowing that the only thing that could make it better would be to be with her friends…with all of her friends; Draco included.
Thinking of Draco, she sighed. She fervently hoped that he was safe at this moment.
Song Inspiration: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Sam Smith
The short story referenced in the chapter is The Pit and the Pendulum (1843) by Edgar Allen Poe.
For the charms that Hermione uses, Libera Nuntium & Expecto Nuntio are a rough translation of Latin for "I deliver a message" and "I await a message," respectively.
Next up, we're going to find out how Draco's holiday was at Malfoy Manor...
sbz