Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Trigger Warnings at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 18
Red and gold paper fluttered to the floor of the Gryffindor common room as Hermione tore her way through the poorly wrapped box.
"What is it?" Julia asked.
"Chocolates," Hermione replied, somehow managing to keep the disappointment from her voice as she looked over the card from Ron, a picture of Father Christmas popping up out of a large gift box over and over.
It joined the small pile on the coffee table in front of them. From Harry she'd received a coupon for '24 hours of any activity of your choice (subject to approval from Ginny Weasley)', and Ginny had given her a voucher for Madam Malkin's, 'for stylish professional robes once you get into the working world.' Julia had received a broom servicing kit from Ginny.
A house elf popped into the common room.
"Present for Miss Hermione," it squeaked, handing over a small box and popping out again.
Hermione furrowed her brow as she looked at the small card on the front of the gift.
"It's from Eric Wildy," she said, reading the note, "hope you enjoy these while you're working late."
"Did he bribe the elf somehow?" she thought, "they usually don't interact directly with students."
She placed the card on the table and quickly unwrapped the box.
"Coffee beans, from Jamaica," she said, recalling how little of the goods were exported, "wow."
"You didn't give him anything," Julia said, more of a statement than a question.
Hermione shook her head, bushy hair waving with the motion.
"I barely know him," she replied, "probably should get him something though."
She made a mental note. While Hermione stared at the beans in the clear plastic casing, Julia unwrapped Hermione's gift to her.
"What are these?" the pureblood asked, pulling out a few slips of paper.
"Cinema tickets," Hermione replied with a small smile.
Julia furrowed her brow.
"Is that a muggle thing? What am I supposed to do with them?" Julia asked.
"Well, since we'll be here almost entirely alone today, and I doubt you've ever been to a cinema before?" Hermione asked, to which Julia nodded, "It's a screen in a dark room that shows moving pictures. I figure we could take part in Professor Winthrop's cross-cultural program, and go see one together."
Julia arched a single eyebrow.
"Let me get this straight," Julia said, placing the broom servicing kit on the table, "you want me to go with you to muggle London and see moving pictures on a screen? And then we have to write an essay about it?"
Hermione nodded.
"Honestly Hermione, do you get off on schoolwork or something? It's alright, you can tell me, I won't judge," Julia replied.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Look, if you don't want to go that's fine, I just thought it might be a good… thing to do," she said.
"Please say yes," Hermione thought. The thought of spending Christmas Day at Hogwarts depressed her much more than she'd expected it would.
Julia eyed Hermione, then the tickets, and gave a long, drawn out sigh.
"Alright, if you insist," she said, "but you're staying with me the entire time."
Hermione smiled and nodded.
"Of course," she said.
Julia hesitated, then reached into her robes to withdraw her silk pouch with an undetectable extension charm on it. She reached inside and pulled out several pages of parchment bound up together like a long essay.
"Here," she said, handing over the pages, "Happy Christmas."
"Finally," Hermione thought.
She accepted the gift and turned to the first page, but it was blank.
"Put your thumbs on it and say your name," Julia said.
"Hermione Granger," Hermione said. Ink flooded the parchment, diagrams, formulae, wand motions and equations.
"It's a spell," Hermione said, studying the parchment, "it's a blending, glamour and transfiguration."
She scanned through to the second and third pages, while Julia waited and watched. Hermione could have asked what the spell was, but there was a certain satisfaction in figuring it out yourself, and she was stubborn. Julia seemed to get it as well, as she stayed silent while Hermione read through. As she turned to the last page, realization struck her; this was no ordinary spell.
"It's incredibly complicated because of this part at the end, it allows you to 'tie off' the spell?" Hermione asked. Julia nodded, a hesitant smile of satisfaction on her face. Hermione smiled back; it was the first time Julia had really smiled since she returned to the lab.
"If I'm reading this correctly, if performed properly, it will maintain itself indefinitely, even when I'm sleeping, and I don't even have to think about it at all," Hermione said, "it even takes a little bit of effort to 'untie' it."
Julia nodded.
"It's for your arm, so you could wear sleeveless dresses or shirts again," Julia said.
Hermione's hand went to her arm, as her thoughts went to the scars beneath them. She'd never considered herself a vain person, but the cursed wounds were ugly, made her ugly. She'd spent some time in the library searching for a spell to cover them up, but any normal glamour would wear off or prevent other spells being cast very well while it was maintained. Eventually she would slip up or have to drop the spell in public, and everyone would know what her skin looked like beneath the sleeve. With the spell Julia just gave to her, she could conceal them indefinitely and only tie off a miniscule portion of her magic as a cost. It was an incredibly valuable and personal gift, and a sense of genuine gratitude swept through her.
"Julia, this is amazing, where did you…?" Hermione asked.
"Found it in a vault one day," Julia replied, "my guess is it's been passed down in my family."
Cinema tickets and the promise of writing an essay seemed incredibly paltry by comparison.
"I have to get you something else," Hermione said.
Julia started to protest, but Hermione cut her off.
"No, I insist," Hermione replied, "I'll think of something."
She returned to reading through the spell.
"It's complicated… and it the larger the area affected the more complicated it is," Hermione muttered, looking over the spell in more detail, "this would take some time to prepare and cast to make sure I don't accidentally give myself an extra appendage."
"I'm sure you'll work it out," Julia replied.
Hermione nodded.
"Not right now though, Professor Winthrop asked me to meet him before he heads home," Hermione said.
"Lunch afterwards?" Julia asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Then we can head into London," she said.
Hermione knocked on the door of Winthrop's office.
"Come," he said.
After six years unchanged, Hermione still wasn't used to seeing it remodelled after McGonagall moved out.
"Ah, Miss Granger," Winthrop said, folding a piece of parchment and placing it in his satchel, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas Professor, you wanted to speak with me?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, yes," Winthrop said, "a few things."
"Your mind healer sessions will begin at the start of the new year, if you're still interested," he said, snapping his satchel shut with a click.
Hermione nodded again.
"Yes sir, of course," she said.
"Even if it's only because the promise of a potions lab post-Hogwarts is too good to pass up," Hermione thought, "and who knows, the sessions might be helpful."
"Excellent," Winthrop said, "and I noticed you and Miss White are once again taking meals together, I assume you've patched up whatever it was that came between you?"
"Was it that obvious?" Hermione asked.
"I don't notice everything, but I do notice when my most promising students aren't themselves," Winthrop said, "I hope it was nothing serious?"
Hermione debated how much to tell him. Julia was so distraught when she returned to the lab Hermione resolved to not let her be alone for a few days for fear she might hurt herself. She'd never seen anyone so heartbroken, but over the past day or two Julia seemed more like her normal self, if a bit more forlorn and introspective than usual.
"Nothing too concerning," she replied, deciding to keep Julia's personal life private, despite the fact she knew Winthrop wouldn't betray her confidence. The professor smiled.
"Good, and last, professors aren't normally allowed to give gifts to students, to avoid the appearance of favouritism, of course," Winthrop said, affixing a cloth cap and lifting his satchel, "but I thought you would be interested to know I spoke with my father about drafting an amendment to the current proposal for expanding werewolf rights, and he agreed to raise the matter at the next Wizengamot session. Merry Christmas."
Hermione felt a grin break out across her face.
"How? I thought he wasn't interested?" Hermione asked.
"Perhaps these times are interesting enough to draw the uninterested into making their mark. We can only hope," Winthrop replied, "I thought I might try my luck, and here we are. There's still a long way to go, and he'll need to see who else supports expansion of rights for werewolves and other beings, and who can be persuaded, but it's a good first step, and it's all thanks to you."
Hermione was flabbergasted.
"Me? I just asked a question. Oh Merlin, that's amazing, is there anything I can do to help?" Hermione asked.
Winthrop chuckled.
"We shall see, Miss Granger," Winthrop said, "for now, have a happy new year, and I truly hope your project is successful in the coming months."
"Thank you sir," Hermione replied, practically beaming, "happy new year."
With a new spring in her step, Hermione quickly made her way to the Great Hall, where the four house tables had been consolidated into one. Only a smattering of students sat at that single table, eating quietly. Collins and McGonagall occupied one end of the head table, the remainder of which remained vacant. Sombre faces greeted Hermione as she spotted Julia and walked to her; the only students still at Hogwarts on Christmas were those who had nowhere else to go.
"I wouldn't get too excited," Julia said as Hermione explained Winthrop's news, "there's always been a great deal of opposition to improving werewolf rights."
"I know, but at least it's a step in the right direction," Hermione replied.
They finished lunch quickly and returned to the lab to check on four of their cauldrons simmering over a low flame.
"How much longer?" Julia asked.
"Twelve hours," Hermione replied, double checking the strength of the fire, "another four salamander eggs each should do it; we can catch a matinee."
"You're sure you want to go today?" Julia asked.
"Why not, there'll be less people," Hermione replied.
"And I desperately need to forget it's Christmas and I'm not with my parents," she thought.
After adding the fuel to the dragon's mouths and triple checking the settings, Hermione pulled out her mokeskin pouch and rummaged around for a pair of jeans. Julia had slightly wider hips than she did but a small bit of transfiguration took care of that.
"Try those on," Hermione said as she passed them to the other girl.
Julia wrinkled her nose as she held the trousers in one hand.
"Don't muggles wear skirts or dresses?" she asked.
"Yes, but it's not the season for that," Hermione replied, feeling around the pouch again and pulling out a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers, "try those on as well."
"Can I at least wear my boots?" Julia asked.
Hermione smirked and nodded. A few minutes later, Julia emerged from the tent, sans robes and now dressed in muggle attire.
"Not bad at all for my first try at altering clothing, if I do say so myself," Hermione thought as she observed the fit. The legs looked a tad short but with Julia's boots that wouldn't be a problem.
"These are so bloody uncomfortable," Julia said, running her hands over the jeans.
"They take some getting used to, but they're the best thing in the world, trust me," Hermione said.
Julia snorted.
"This had better be worth it," she said.
The two threw on overcoats, scarves, and wool hats, and headed out past the wards to apparate to Diagon. From there, Hermione led them through the Leaky Cauldron and into muggle London. The chilly December air cut at their exposed skin as they exited, and Julia grew quiet as they departed the wizarding world; Hermione surmised the pureblood probably didn't have much experience in muggle London. Hermione smirked to herself as she caught her attempting to stare at the buildings around them without looking like she was staring.
"This cross-cultural initiative of Winthrop's is an excellent idea; there's so much to learn even just walking about," Hermione thought, and she found her respect for the Defence professor increasing a bit more.
Being Christmas, the streets were mostly deserted except for one or two last minute shoppers, but the busses still ran, and Hermione led them to a nearby stop where they waited a few minutes before boarding a bright red double decker. Coins clinked as Hermione dropped them into the machine, which then spit out a pair of tickets. The bus had started rumbling away by the time they took their seats.
"It's a smoother ride than the Knight Bus, I'll give you that," Julia said quietly as Hermione sat next to her. Hermione merely nodded; she'd never ridden the Knight Bus but had heard Harry's horror stories. She led them to a cinema she knew well from her summers and pre-Hogwarts days, located on the South Bank of the Thames river. Most of the shops were shuttered, but a few remained open, a supermarket for last minute purchases, and one or two restaurants. The cinema sat on the top floor, and they rode the escalators all the way up.
Hermione checked over the showings listed on the glowing red text above the ticket booths. It came down to a world war two movie or one about Shakespeare.
"No contest, really," Hermione thought, "the Shakespeare film starts in about twenty minutes, perfect."
"Get the two pm showing for Shakespeare," Hermione said.
"Me?" Julia asked, a look of indignation across her face.
Hermione smiled.
"You have the vouchers," she replied.
Julia eyed the ticket booth and the bored Asian teenager manning the desk, steeled herself, and stepped up. With the vouchers scanned, Julia returned to Hermione and passed her one of the stubs.
"I hate you," she said.
Hermione laughed.
"Come on, it wasn't that bad, and it wouldn't be much of a cultural exchange if you just followed me around all day," she said.
Julia shook her head as they made their way to the concession stand. Hermione paid far too much for salted popcorn and a coke, and they found their way to 'Hall 3' and settled into the empty theatre.
"Do I want to know why the floor is sticky?" Julia asked as they discarded their outerwear onto the seats around them.
"Spilled soda probably," Hermione replied, sitting down with a squeak of the seat.
"Okay, two more hours I'm not thinking about my parents are in Sydney and don't even know they're missing Christmas with me," Hermione thought as the lights dimmed.
Julia crossed her ankles up on the seat in front of her and tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
"Alright muggle invention, amaze me," she said.
Hermione and Julia exited the cinema a little over two hours later, and although it was still well before dinner, the sun set early this time of year and the windows of the mall were already dark.
"Well, what did you think?" Hermione asked as they descended the escalators. She downed the rest of the soda and tossed it into one of the bins bookending the escalator.
"I still say it would be better if the characters could talk back to us," Julia replied.
Hermione rolled her eyes. Julia had spent more than half of the movie trying to convince the characters to take one action or another. Hermione had explained it to her twice and then concluded Julia was being deliberately obtuse. Some of her suggestions were humorous, if a bit dark, like when she floated the idea of the female lead murdering the wealthy aristocrat so she'd inherit his money and also be free to marry the male lead. Luckily the place was empty except for the two of them or they might have been asked to leave.
"Alright maybe, but what did you think of the story?" Hermione asked.
Julia fell quiet for a moment.
"I think the whole restriction on female actors is silly, is that really how it used to be?" Julia asked.
"That part was true," she said, "most of the rest is just embellished to make a good plot fit into two hours."
"Hmm," Julia said with a thoughtful nod.
"It seemed like those two were destined to be together, but really it was the other way around," Julia replied, "that's what it's like sometimes, when there's a betrothal involved, but at least the playwright found his muse."
"Star-crossed lovers," Hermione said quietly as they exited onto the street and donned their hats.
Julia stayed silent a moment then chuckled.
"As in they would have lived happily ever after, but the stars had other ideas?" she said.
Hermione nodded.
"Not bad for someone who's never heard of Shakespeare before," Hermione thought. She somehow doubted Ron, or even Harry, would have put the effort into thinking about or understanding what the phrase meant.
"You know there's a quote that's often attributed to Shakespeare, but he didn't actually say it," Hermione said, breath steaming in street lights, "'tis better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.'"
Julia snorted and glowered at the pavement.
Hermione grimaced.
"Sorry," Hermione said, realizing she'd just reminded Julia of her breakup. It seemed the both of them were trying to forget something.
"So, too early for dinner," Julia replied, changing the subject, "what do we do now?"
Hermione thought for a moment, then hit upon an idea.
"I know where we can go, this way," she said, grabbing Julia by the wrist and pulling her down the sidewalk.
Julia responded by quickly catching up to match stride and sliding her arm through Hermione's, pulling her close, whether for warmth or for assurance in muggle London, Hermione wasn't sure. She felt a flutter go through her stomach at the contact, Julia's elbow pressed tight against her side through their heavy clothes.
"That was odd," she thought, but passed it off as a side-effect of the concentrated sugar and caffeine concoction she'd just polished off.
Their shadows elongated and shrank as they walked beneath streetlights and past shrubberies and trees lining the road, Julia's heeled boots thunking on concrete paths. Several shuttered clothing shops and eateries arrived in front and departed behind, all closed for the holidays, and the sound of carollers drifted through the air, singing somewhere not too far away, wishing them a Merry Christmas.
"So where are we headed?" Julia asked.
"Cecil's Bakery and Restaurant," Hermione replied, "they're one of the few still open on Christmas. Every year my parents and I used to take a walk to see the carollers and stop by for a hot drink on the way back. Except for last year, that is. I'd get hot chocolate, they'd get eggnog. It's sort of a Granger family tradition."
Hermione fell quiet at that while Julia nodded.
"At least it was a family tradition. Who knows if I'll ever get to drink hot chocolate with them again," she thought.
Hermione shook her head. In hindsight, Cecil's ranked among the worst places to go if she wanted to take her mind off missing her parents, but now that she'd suggested it, she'd appear manic if she changed her mind.
They approached the squat restaurant, its lines and corners all decorated with white Christmas lights, from across the road. The blinking green man at the pelican crossing imprinted itself on Hermione's vision in the darkness, but as soon as they approached the walkway leading to the main entrance, the lights of the restaurant fell over them, driving away the darkness. A motley combination of East Asian, Indian, and Jewish families made for brisk business, as it seemed nearly everyone not busy celebrating had descended on one of the few open restaurants on the public holiday. Inside the double doors, at least a half-dozen customers waited for tables. Hermione steered them to the side of the building, where a serving window had been cut through the wall, long ago. A queue formed leading back to the parking lot behind the restaurant, mostly young people in their twenties, but also a few families with older children. Hermione glanced at them enviously as the two witches took their place at the tail of the queue.
"This had better be worth it," Julia said again, shivering slightly.
"The queue moves fast, and the hot chocolate will warm you up," Hermione replied.
"Eggnog," Julia said, "hot chocolate is for first-years."
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but then her brain stuttered a bit. In a way, Julia was right; hot chocolate was a drink for children. But she'd always had hot chocolate when she came to Cecil's on Christmas.
"This is ridiculous, there's nothing wrong with hot chocolate," Hermione thought, "then again, it's Christmas, and I wouldn't mind a little bit to de-stress somewhat."
She stepped forward again, the sounds from the kitchen clearly audible; they were third in line.
"But drinking as a crutch or when you're emotional is bad and you shouldn't do it," she thought.
"Evening ladies, what'll it be?" the pudgy middle-aged man wearing a white apron said, ladle at the ready.
"Two eggnogs please," Hermione said as she placed a ten-pound note on the counter. The beverages steamed a bit before the plastic caps covered them. She collected her change then showed Julia how to peel open a section of the lid so she could drink. Hermione held the cup in both hands to warm her fingers as they walked past the queue again.
"Okay, let's see what all the fuss is about," Julia muttered as she followed Hermione past the parking lot and took a small sip of the holiday beverage.
Hermione followed suit, the mixture of cream, cinnamon, and some kind of alcohol she couldn't identify hugging her throat as it went down and warmed her insides. Julia looked down into her cup and took another, longer sip.
"Okay yes, that's definitely worth it," Julia said, "we might have to make this a weekly thing."
Hermione smiled.
"Glad you like it," she said, taking another warm sip.
As they walked and drank, Hermione quickly started feeling the effects of the alcohol; it had been several hours since lunch and her stomach was empty, and the eggnog filled her up quickly. The streetlights grew farther apart, and they wandered aimlessly down residential sidewalks as her thoughts grew fuzzy. The moon, nearly half-full, lit their way where the street lights didn't. Blinking Christmas lights outlined more houses than not, but they did nothing to brighten Hermione's spirit. They passed a few carollers or families visiting neighbours as they walked, and Hermione distinctly felt the lack of contact on her arm and side, missing the feel of Julia's arm through hers from earlier that evening. She glanced over to see Julia staring up in between street lights, and followed her gaze to see Orion the Hunter, high in the sky.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Hermione asked.
Julia sighed, a melancholy, almost hopeless, expression on her face, still staring up at the stars.
"Just… wondering about my place in all this," she replied, gesturing to the heavens.
Hermione nodded. What does one say to that, anyway? She reached over and patted Julia on the shoulder.
"It'll get better," Hermione said, but the words sounded hollow even to herself.
"Don't we make a fine pair?" Hermione thought, "well, misery does love company."
They walked a little bit more, when suddenly Hermione stopped and looked around. She recognized the neighbourhood; her aimless wandering had brought her to a place she knew quite well.
"Idiot," Hermione thought to herself.
Julia turned around a few steps ahead of her.
"Tired?" she asked.
"No, my house is just up there," Hermione replied.
"Your-" Julia said, then turned around to where Hermione pointed. The dark building and overly long grass contrasted with the Christmas decorations and well-kept lawns on all the lots around it.
"What do you want to do?" Julia asked as she turned back to Hermione.
"I've come this far, might as well go all the way," Hermione thought.
She answered by walking up the familiar path, then thought better of going in the front door.
"There's no way I'm ready for that," she thought.
Instead, she veered left and walked through the long grass to pause at the fence, rummaging around her pouch for the key to unlock the padlock. It clicked open without resistance, granting them access. The patio furniture sat out in the back yard exactly as she'd left them, a bit dirty perhaps from being outdoors for over a year, but still in good shape.
She checked for water before realizing it would be frozen anyway, cast warming and drying charms on the chair, then sat at the glass table. Julia dragged a chair around next to her and similarly warmed and dried it before sitting herself. The two sipped their rapidly cooling drinks and stared up at the stars and the half-moon together; Julia rested her boots on the bottom of the table and tipped her chair back while Hermione slouched low and lay her head against the back of hers.
"Sometimes I wonder if this isn't the first Christmas of ten, or twenty, that I'll spend alone," Hermione said, "I mean, not alone, thank you for spending Christmas with me, but… you know what I mean."
Julia nodded.
"I don't have anyone to spend Christmas with, not really," Julia said, draining her cup, "doubt I ever will."
Hermione was about to reply immediately with something like 'don't say that,' but caught herself before she said anything.
"I'm sure she's still raw over the breakup," Hermione thought.
"Julia, if we're actually able to bring my parents back, I promise you can celebrate with us every year," she said, "actually, even if we can't, we can still spend Christmas together."
The sound of laughter drifted over the fence from a Christmas party somewhere else in the neighbourhood.
"Harbinger of envy," Hermione thought, giving name to the sound as the feeling rushed through her chest.
"Are you saying that because you feel sorry for me, because you don't want to be alone, or because you actually enjoy spending time together?" Julia asked.
"A little bit of all three?" Hermione replied, "Actually I feel sorry for both of us. Nobody should have to spend Christmas alone. And I suppose that goes doubly so when you've been through… a bad breakup. And obviously you're enjoyable to be around; I wouldn't have asked you for the cross-cultural initiative otherwise."
Julia nodded and they went back to staring at the sky again.
"Will I be coming back here to sit at this table for another decade, two?" Hermione thought as her vision started blurring, obscuring the stars.
"You promise you'll spend Christmas with me? No matter what?" Julia asked quietly, breaking her train of thought, "I'll hold you to that."
"Of course," Hermione replied without hesitation.
"You won't be celebrating with Weasley?" Julia asked.
"Oh right, Ron. That's embarrassing," Hermione thought, fingering her cup, "must be the alcohol. Maybe we could all celebrate together? Oh who knows..."
"Come to think of it, why aren't you with him now?" Julia asked.
Hermione grumbled incoherently as fresh annoyance swept through her.
"There was an incident at the Burrow a few days ago," Hermione replied, "they're keeping it family only this year, which I can understand. And Harry's been called into some Ministry thing, why they had to do it on Christmas I have no idea but I'm sure we'll find out; the three of us plus Ginny are having dinner tomorrow night at his place."
"Speaking of which, I asked Ginny to ask Harry if you could come as well, and he said yes," Hermione added.
"What?" Julia asked, letting the chair land on all four legs again, "you want me to have dinner with the four of you? Won't that be a bit awkward? I would assume you'd want to.. you know."
Hermione was about to inform Julia that she did not, in fact, know, when she realized what Julia was implying.
"Be intimate?" Hermione asked.
"I was going to say shag," Julia replied.
Hermione smirked.
"That'll happen later," Hermione replied.
"Maybe," she thought.
"I don't know…" Julia said.
"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to, but tell me honestly, would you rather sit around Hogwarts on your own or have dinner with us?" Hermione asked.
"Alright, alright, I was going to say yes, at least let me pretend to be demure," Julia replied as she glanced at Hermione and suppressed a giggle, "Just try to keep your hands off each other at dinner."
"Ron will behave, Harry and Ginny are another story," Hermione said.
"I'm sure we will think of something," Julia said.
They returned to stargazing. Hermione didn't really feel the need to give voice to her feelings or thoughts, and apparently Julia felt perfectly fine sitting in silence, so there they stayed, staring up together into the cold December sky.
"This was a bad idea," Julia said as they walked down the street in Muggle London, naked bottle of white wine clutched in both hands like a life preserver.
"I shouldn't be here, you're the Golden Trio, I'm going to be completely out of place," she continued.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ginny's going to be there too and you're friends with both of us," Hermione said, "Harry's just like anyone else. Maybe not just like anyone else, but he's not some mythical creature, he's just… just Harry."
Julia puffed out a breath. Apparently she didn't believe her.
"You're getting all worked up for nothing, trust me," Hermione added, "besides, isn't there some pure blood rule about not attending a Christmas party you've accepted an invite to?"
"It's really more of a guideline," Julia muttered.
She nearly tripped as Hermione turned into Grimmauld Place, but luckily managed to keep hold of the bottle.
"If you really don't want to go, I'm not going to force you, but Harry did say he was looking forward to seeing you," Hermione said.
"He said that?" Julia asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Why does he want to see me?" Julia asked as she glanced around at the buildings lining the street.
Hermione rolled her eyes. If she didn't know better, she'd think Julia was apprehensive about meeting Harry again.
"I suppose it would be somewhat surreal for a relative outsider like Julia to have dinner with the three of us plus Ginny," Hermione thought.
When she'd asked Ginny if Julia could come, she'd been concerned about Julia being by herself, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought Julia might genuinely get along with them.
"It could be good to have a friend who wasn't in the war," she thought, "it might help us put it behind us, after all."
She glanced around the street to make sure nobody was watching them.
"Maybe because you're helping with the project, or you're on the quidditch team, or maybe it's just because you didn't fall all over yourself when you met him for the first time," Hermione replied, "give me your hand."
The pureblood took a hand off the bottle and Hermione laced her fingers through Julia's, nearly wincing at how cold they were from being exposed to the night air. The house appeared from in between #10 and #14, unfolding out of empty space as they passed through the wards. Hermione held Julia's hand for a moment longer to try and warm it up a bit before releasing it to rap the brass knocker.
Harry, wearing a maroon sweater, dark hair dishevelled as always, opened the door and smiled, stepping aside to let them into the well-lit foyer. Hermione embraced him in a tight hug as she passed by.
"What's this?" she asked, holding up his hand where he wore a silver ring with a deep blue stone set on it. As she watched, the stone shifted colour from dark blue to turquoise.
"It's a mood ring, part of a matching set," Harry replied, "my Christmas gift to Ginny."
"And it shows your mood?" Hermione asked.
"Hers, actually," Harry replied.
She heard a shuffle in the hall behind and looked over to see Ron approaching, and she dropped Harry's hand to take two large steps and wrap her arms around her boyfriend, standing on tiptoe to hold him tightly. She tilted her head back for a kiss, and his lips pressed tight against hers as she closed her eyes.
"Merry Christmas Ron," she whispered, holding him a bit longer, one ear on the conversation behind her.
"Thank you for inviting me," Julia said, "please accept this gift."
"Thank you Julia, you don't need to be so formal," Harry said, "we're all friends here."
A soft pop heralded the arrival of Kreacher.
"Kreacher, this is Julia White, she's a guest tonight, and you're to treat her accordingly," Harry said.
Hermione opened her eyes and pulled back slightly from Ron to see Julia staring wide-eyed at Kreacher, who merely paused and looked back at Julia, almost studying her.
"Kreacher lives to serve the Noble House of Black," the aged elf said, bowing so low to Julia his nose almost touched the ground. He proceeded to collect their coats, hats, and the bottle of wine, then vanished again.
"That was odd," Ron said, "I don't think I've ever seen Kreacher so polite, to anyone."
"Maybe all my suggestions are finally getting through," Harry said.
"Maybe," Hermione said, "but Julia's pureblood, so that might have something to do with it."
"He never bowed to me like that," Ron muttered.
"Perhaps I'm just more his type, I am prettier than you after all, Weasley," Julia chimed in with a playful grin.
Hermione smirked.
She stared around at the nearly completely remodelled and furnished interior and marvelled at how better lighting, a fresh coat of paint, and some colour completely changed the mood of the house and made it more like a welcoming home.
Harry led the way into the remodelled kitchen where Ginny sat in quiet conversation with Andromeda Tonks, while little Teddy sat in a high chair feeding himself what looked like bits of pasta mixed with veggies. Rather, he was trying to feed himself, and getting about as much food in his mouth as all over his face and bib. Andromeda didn't seem to be fussed at all by the mess as she nodded from her seat, and Hermione found the scene rather endearing.
"Wonder how long it will be before Harry and Ginny have little Potters of their own running about," she thought.
"Hello Mrs. Tonks, I didn't know you and Teddy were going to be here," Hermione said.
"The cottage is more or less rebuilt, but Harry invited us to stay over the holidays so there's less travel and disruption involved for Teddy," Andromeda replied, "it's good to see you again, Hermione."
"It's good to see you too," Hermione replied, leaning in close for a partial embrace, "this is my friend, Julia White. Julia, this is Andromeda Tonks and Harry's godson Teddy. Andromeda helped us during the war."
Julia took a small step forward, eyes locked on Andromeda.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Hermione could practically feel the tension rolling off Julia and gave her arm a squeeze to reassure her.
"Likewise," Andromeda replied, sitting down again.
Ginny changed seats to let Harry sit across from Andromeda and next to Teddy, while Ron took the seat next to Andromeda, steering Hermione into the chair next to him. That left Julia to sit across from Hermione and next to Ginny. Julia rummaged around in her pouch before pulling out the gift-wrapped present for the redhead.
"Merry belated Christmas, Ginny," Julia said, passing it over.
"Thanks Julia," Ginny said, "a book?"
Julia nodded.
Kreacher chose that moment to appear with platters of steaming vegetables, potatoes, and roast ham.
"Dinner is served," he said, levitating the platters into the centre of the table, then snapping his fingers for already filled wine glasses to appear in front of each of them.
Everyone tucked in and Hermione cringed inside at the thought of eating something prepared by a house elf. She swallowed her stubbornness and forced herself to think of how happy Kreacher would be if she enjoyed what she ate. She couldn't be certain, but she thought at least one of the dishes, roast pheasant, had been prepared by Mrs. Weasley, and she filled her plate with more of the fragrant meat. They ate in silence for a while and despite her reservations, she found the potatoes and vegetables perfectly cooked and the meat succulent and tender.
"So," Harry said, "Ron and I start in the first week of January."
"Aurors, the both of them," Hermione thought, "it's scarcely believable."
"Congratulations, I'm so proud of both of you," she said, smiling at Harry.
"Thanks," Harry said, "Ginny and I were talking, and we want to have a new year's celebration before we start."
Hermione nodded. It made sense, but she dreaded the crowd that would be sure to form around the three of them.
"What did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Well, I was thinking we could make another trip to Cathedral, the club Ron and I went to last month," Harry said.
Hermione looked to Ron, who made eye contact briefly then examined his potatoes with more attention than he'd ever given to his schoolwork.
"It was Ginny's idea, actually," Harry said, and Hermione turned back to him, then to Ginny.
"I'm curious," Ginny replied with a half-shrug.
Hermione sighed and closed her eyes. Clubbing was definitely not her thing. In her mind's eye it was all preened up people trying to be something they weren't, with gyrating bodies and loud music and liquor and drugs and very much the opposite of responsible behaviour. Teddy interrupted her train of thought as he burbled happily while Andromeda quietly fed him a spoonful of mashed carrots, perhaps to ensure at least something got in his mouth.
"I think Ron would be a lot more comfortable if you were there; it's in muggle London after all," Harry said.
"Hey, I can handle myself," Ron interrupted.
"But honestly if you don't want to go it's okay, we'll find something else to do," Harry continued without missing a beat, "what's important is we're all together. We just think it would be good to relieve some stress and not have to worry about the press for a change."
"He's not wrong there," Hermione thought.
She chewed her lip in thought. If she declined, Ginny might convince Harry and Ron to go another time, and perhaps not even invite her. It would be safer if she went with Ron… who knew who he might meet out at a muggle nightclub. But… going meant she would have to get dressed up and dance.
"Julia, would you like to go?" Ginny asked, and Hermione turned to her new friend.
Julia, who'd kept quiet to this point, looked up, almost startled.
"Me?" Julia asked.
Ginny nodded.
"Hermione mentioned you'd just been through a bad breakup, and this seems like exactly the sort of thing you'd need," Ginny said, seemingly helpful, but Hermione caught an undercurrent of scheming behind her words.
"What's she playing at?" Hermione thought as she eyed Ginny carefully.
"You want me to go with you to muggle London?" Julia asked.
"Sure, why not?" Ginny asked, almost challenging.
"Ginny's trying to see if Julia's so prejudiced, she won't visit muggle London?" Hermione thought, as she recalled their excursion the day before, "well, she's got another thing coming."
Julia held Ginny's gaze for a second, then nodded.
"Alright," she said, then went back to her dinner while Hermione smiled inwardly with pride.
Ginny made the slightest, almost imperceptible, victory smirk then looked back to Hermione.
"Bugger," Hermione thought, her internal smugness evaporating as she suddenly realized she didn't want to be the party pooper.
"Seems Ginny had more than one thing on her mind with that little invitation for Julia," Hermione thought. Hermione felt her lips narrow into a thin line at being outmanoeuvred by the redhead.
"Fine, I'll go," Hermione said.
Broad grins broke across Ron, Harry and Ginny's faces, while Julia only gave her a side glance before returning to her food.
"You won't regret it Hermione, we'll have a great time," Ron said.
"We'll certainly try," Hermione said.
"Fantastic," Harry said, "Some of Ron and my teammates will be joining us too; one of them's muggleborn and can help Julia get set up with an outfit."
"Can't I wear this?" Julia asked.
Harry shook his head apologetically.
The idea of Julia trying on outfits with some unknown muggleborn Auror didn't sit well with Hermione.
"Don't worry Julia, I'll go with you," Hermione said, "I'm fairly certain I don't own anything clubworthy either."
"Brilliant, that's settled," Harry said, "there's one more thing I wanted to talk about, before dessert. Julia, Andromeda, you'll have to excuse us for a moment."
Harry led the way out of the kitchen and Hermione followed along, sparing an over the shoulder glance to see Julia draining her entire glass before shifting seats to sit across from Andromeda.
"So, how do you know Hermione?" she heard Andromeda ask as the door closed behind her.
Harry led them to the sitting room where they gathered around a modern looking coffee table. She took the couch where Ron sat beside her and put an arm about her shoulder, while Harry and Ginny sat in chairs adjacent and opposite.
"Alright, there's something we need to do before we start working as Aurors," Harry said.
"We?" Hermione asked.
"As in, the three of us," Harry said, "you know the goblins have been after us because of the break-in at Gringotts. We need to apologise to them before Ron and I officially join."
"Apologise? For saving them from Voldemort?" Ron asked, and Hermione felt his arm tighten about her, "of all the ungrateful… always trying to swing a deal, aren't they?"
Harry held up his hands.
"Believe me, I've been through this with Kingsley already," Harry said, "there's a lot of politics happening behind the scenes, and technically we did violate the law. Bottom line, we have to apologise for breaking in, or we can't join the Aurors. And it has to be public, which means the press are going to be there."
"That's bollocks," Ron said, and Hermione found herself agreeing with him.
"What if we refuse?" she asked.
Harry sighed.
"The case gets sent to the ICW for arbitration, and if we lose that, and Kinglsey assures me we will, we get sent to Azkaban for a few years," Harry said.
Ron blinked and shifted in his seat.
"Right, when's the apology happening?" he asked, immediately switching gears.
Harry chuckled.
Hermione didn't like the idea of apologising, not in the least because it would be admitting wrongdoing. Who knew what that could lead to? It was the primary reason why she hadn't apologised thus far.
"Is there any other way?" Hermione asked.
Harry shook his head.
"Percy's been on the case essentially since the battle; this is the best we're going to get," Harry replied.
"Percy? Bloody hell, he never mentioned anything to me about it," Ron said, turning to Ginny, "did he say anything to you?"
"Not a word," Ginny replied, shaking her head.
"Kingsley was all over him," Harry said, "the negotiations were very sensitive. He probably threatened Perce with all sorts of repercussions if word got out."
"Is this what you were doing yesterday?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded and huffed in exasperation.
"Yes, the goblins decided they wanted to have the final negotiations on Christmas of all days," Harry said, "probably to spite us."
"Hang on, why just you and not the three of us?" Ron asked.
Harry raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
"Chosen One," he replied.
"All we have to do is get up on a stage in front of a few reporters and say we're sorry for breaking into Gringotts," Hermione said, "and that'll be the end of it? We'll be able to use the bank again?"
"And for breaking a bunch of stuff, and stealing a dragon, but yes, that's all," Harry said.
"Well… I guess it won't be so bad, and we did break in, even if it was for a good reason," Hermione said.
"I don't like it mate but if it's that or Azkaban, it's not really much of a choice," Ron said.
"Yeah," Harry said, "I think that's sort of the point."
They were all silent for a moment until Hermione spoke up again.
"When's it scheduled?" Hermione asked.
"Next week, New Year's Eve," Harry replied, confirming he'd assumed they'd agree.
"And then it's clubbing afterwards, no press, I get it now," Hermione said, "you could have just said so in the first place."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, maybe," he said, pausing for a moment.
"Should we get back to the others?" Harry asked, "I'm pretty sure Julia thought Andromeda was going to eat her."
Hermione smirked and nodded. Andromeda Tonks could be quite intimidating if you didn't know her well.
They filed back into the kitchen and Hermione caught a flash of relief on Julia's face as they re-entered.
"Kreacher," Harry said, and the elf popped in, "let's have dessert."
Kreacher snapped his fingers, and plates of chilled tiramisu appeared. Hermione took a testing bite, and then immediately took another one as the rum filled cake all but melted on her tongue.
"Kreacher this is delicious," Hermione said to a chorus of agreeing murmurs.
"Master Harry's friend Granger is too kind," Kreacher said.
"He didn't even try to insult me," Hermione thought, "maybe he really is getting better."
They finished dessert and another bottle of wine, with Andromeda refusing a second glass. It was an hour past Teddy's bedtime and he was starting to fuss and become cranky. Andromeda muttered about him being overtired and announced their retirement.
"Think we're going to head to bed as well," Harry said, "you're more than welcome to stay the night."
Hermione noted one of Ginny's hands was already in Harry's lap; they probably wanted to get upstairs as quickly as possible.
"You'll be alright finding your way back by yourself?" Hermione asked as she turned to Julia.
"I'm pretty sure I can find my way back to Hogwarts Hermione; don't worry about me," Julia replied, her eyes flicking to Ron for an instant, "Harry, thank you for having me, dinner was lovely. Mind if I use the floo?"
Chairs scraped as they stood.
"Of course not," Harry said, leading the way to the living room, "thanks for coming Julia, see you in a few days."
Julia gave them all a wave before vanishing in a burst of green flame; Hermione thought she might have caught her glancing over her shoulder as she left but she couldn't be sure. The four of them headed upstairs, pausing at the second guest room.
"Right, I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Harry said.
"Night," Ron said. He ducked into the bedroom and all but pulled Hermione in after him before closing the door. Hermione heard a muffled giggle from down the hall.
"Silencio," Ron said, cutting off all sound from outside the room.
"Merlin's beard, I need to not think about that," he said. He looked to Hermione and she took her cue, stepping forward and up on tiptoe to wrap her arms about his shoulders and kiss him full on the lips, the taste of the wine on his breath. His wand clattered to the floor as she felt him pull her tight to him, returning the kiss hard before breaking for air.
"I missed you so much," he said.
"Me too," she replied.
"Liar," she thought to herself, "you've barely given him a thought in the last three months."
A flurry of action saw both their shoes and sweaters on the floor as they shuffled towards the bed until Hermione felt it at the back of her knees and sat down. Ron pushed her back, pinning her, and untucked her shirt to slip his hand across her abdomen, her stomach tightening up in reflex. She slid her hands up his back as she let him explore her mouth with his tongue, and they kissed like that for a few minutes until Ron pulled back, drawing her up to follow him, and reached around beneath her shirt.
Hermione grinned internally as she felt his frustration grow as the clasp of her bra stubbornly remained shut while he twisted and pulled.
"Alohomora," he growled, and the clasp sprang open, along with Hermione's mouth.
"That's cheating!" she said.
"Impressive wandless magic though," she thought.
"It worked, didn't it," he replied, now sliding his hands all the way up and down her naked back before coming around the front and lifting the loosened undergarment higher. He kissed her again as he ran his hands over her now exposed breasts, and Hermione felt herself unconsciously categorizing the odd sensation of his fingers teasing her nipples.
"I probably shouldn't be thinking about this so much," she thought as she ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head.
At that thought though, of course, her mind started flying through the things that were happening, even though she told it to stop, it persisted as if she'd only spurred it on.
"Heart rate increase, blood rushing to skin, I'm probably blushing," she thought as her socks came off, "nipples hardening, that's a reaction to tactile stimulation. Is it odd I'm wondering if my tongue tastes any good?"
Ron started pulling at her shirt and Hermione's eyes widened.
"Leave my shirt on," she said, and Ron's eyes flicked to her arm for an instant before he nodded. She slowly pulled her shirt off one arm and over her head, leaving the other sleeve fully on while she worked her bra free.
His shirt was next, landing in a pile on the floor and they came together until he shucked off his trousers. She glanced down to briefly see his boxers tented with his erection before he pressed down on her and started grinding against her private area. Even through her jeans she could feel it pressing into her groin. He pulled at her trouser button and she helped him pull them off before they crashed together again.
"Bit of arousal, expected there would have been more," she thought as she ran her fingers up and down his back and he kissed her neck.
She'd read some racy novels of course, late at night, and the descriptions there would sometimes make her wet almost to the point of dripping, but there was nothing like that now.
"Am I nervous? I suppose I'm a bit nervous," she thought as he moved to her ear, "worrying about it definitely isn't going to help, Hermione, stop worrying!"
Predictably, her thoughts immediately went into a spiral of worrying she didn't know what she was doing and trying to figure out why she wasn't getting aroused, and wondering if Ron realized.
"This isn't working, why isn't it working?" she thought, trying to will her body to be ready for sex.
Ron rolled off her again and pulled off his boxers, and she couldn't help but glance down at his cock, throbbing and fully erect with a bit of liquid at the tip. Could she really take all of that into her?
"Nope, that's not going inside me," she thought with dawning realization.
He was on top of her again, hands starting to tug at the waistband of her knickers.
"Ron," she said, mid-kiss, "Ron stop."
Ron froze at the tone of her voice.
"What?" he said into her mouth.
"I'm not ready," she said, "I'm not ready for this."
He pushed himself up and for a split-second, she saw frustration cross his face, but he hid it quickly.
"Alright, what do you want to do then?" he asked, only a thin strip of fabric between his manhood and her soft folds.
She swallowed and took a steadying breath.
"I don't know," she replied, "umm, start by getting off me."
He sighed and rolled over, and she felt the mood draining as surely as the cool temperature of the room sucked the warmth from her now uncovered body. He pursed his lips, choosing his words, she knew.
"I've been thinking about you every day, for months," Ron said, "do you?"
"Of course," Hermione replied.
Liar.
"Okay, you're not ready to go all the way," he said, "alright then, what do you want to do?"
Hermione hesitated. What did she want to do?
"I'm not sure, I just know I don't want to… have intercourse," she said.
"Yes, that sexiest of all words in the Oxford English dictionary, well done Hermione," she thought.
He sighed heavily and rolled onto his back, folding his hands behind his head.
"What are we even doing?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"I don't know," Hermione replied, sounding lame even to herself.
He shook his head and continued to stare up at the ceiling.
"He's probably trying to avoid thinking about Harry and Ginny," she thought, "I almost feel sorry for him, of course he'd thought we were going to have sex, why wouldn't he?"
She glanced down at his cock, still almost entirely hard despite the mood having nearly completely soured.
"I need to do something, or this is going to be a complete disaster," she thought.
"I have an idea," she said, rolling out of bed and wincing as her bare feet hit the cold floor.
Hermione, resolving to salvage what she could after already nearly ruining what should have been an amazing night, walked over to one of the piles of clothing to pull out her wand. It wasn't any easy task with her shirt hanging off one arm, but she managed.
"Deturpant lubrico," she said, pointing her wand at her opposite hand. A clear, slick, and greasy substance sprayed out of the tip of her wand, and she placed her wand back on the pile of clothing. Hermione rubbed her hands together awkwardly, trying to keep her shirt sleeve from sliding down as she walked back to the bed to straddle one of Ron's thighs. He watched her carefully the whole way.
She leaned forward and ran a slick palm across the underside of his warm shaft and was rewarded with a shudder going through Ron's entire body, and a soft moan from his lips. She smirked.
"Okay, that worked," she thought as she repeated the gesture, "what do I even do? Simulate a vagina, and sex, that should do the trick."
She pulled her sleeve back as far as she dared and took hold of the base of his cock with one hand and started running the other up and down the length.
"It really is an odd mix of soft and hard, very warm to the touch," she noted, "Hermione Granger, she can recite Shakespeare all day but somehow manages to sound cold and clinical even to herself, while giving a handjob, no less."
Ron's eyes rolled back in his head and he spread his legs a bit more as she kept going, wet squelching noises filling the room in a steady rhythm.
"I should probably be enjoying this, am I supposed to enjoy this?" she thought as she continued sliding her hand up and down his shaft, "I suppose I enjoy that he's enjoying it, but honestly it's not really doing anything for me."
"Faster," Ron mumbled, "please."
"Wonder how long this is supposed to take," she thought, increasing the pace, but just as she did, a spurt of white liquid shot up into the air, narrowly missing her nose.
"Don't stop!" Ron said, and she quickly recovered and kept pumping as white goo spurted onto Ron's stomach and dripped down between her fingers.
"It just keeps coming!" she thought as more continued leaking out, "oh, I guess that's why it's called what it's called."
"Okay, okay, stop," Ron said, breathless, "wow."
She looked down at her hands, covered in spunk, then glanced around for a towel.
"Oh, hang on," Ron said, rolling out of bed and retrieving his wand. He waved it over her hands and vanished up the mess rather efficiently, then did the same for himself.
"Merlin's balls Hermione, that was amazing," he said, collapsing back into bed, "Wow… okay, what do you want me to do?"
"I-, I'm okay," Hermione said, "actually a bit tired. The wine, maybe. Can we just sleep?"
He looked at her for a moment.
"You're sure?" he asked, "you haven't had a turn."
Hermione nodded, and Ron smiled.
"That was pretty amazing," she said.
"Well, perhaps amazing is too strong a word," she thought, "interesting, perhaps."
"Long as you're alright," he said.
Hermione nodded again.
"Just tired," she said, "you really liked it?"
He looked at her like she was mad for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"Seriously fantastic, are you sure you've never done that before?" he asked.
Hermione snickered and failed to suppress a smile as she felt a small blush come to her cheeks.
She pulled her shirt back over her head while Ron retrieved his boxers, and they came together under the covers. She nestled close to him, his warmth reassuring, and he was out within two minutes. Hermione stayed awake for nearly an hour afterwards, listening to Ron's light snores and replaying their tryst over and over in her mind, trying to figure out where she'd gone wrong. Her thoughts whirled as she recalled the taste of lips and tongue, the sensation of her fingers around his warm shaft and sticky juices dripping over her hands, and his hidden disappointment at the lack of sex, until she too eventually fell asleep.
A/N: Bellatrix is one of the stars in the constellation Orion. The two movies are Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love.
Chapter 18 Warnings: Sex, nudity