Gentle Rain

Chapter 13 - The Holy Night

While at her parents' home Hermione had done some thorough research and testing on the aromatic potion she had received as her little Christmas gift. She could sense that there was some magic hidden in it, but she couldn't figure out what it was. At least she now knew it wasn't fatal to her health. It would not kill her, damage her, even when consumed, it would not affect her in any way. Besides, she had started to love its scent. It was so very unique and yet it appeared that it had been specially designed for her. It was fresh and personal, like it was the deepest core of her soul, bottled. She had accepted many compliments because of her beautiful perfume. For example, after Hermione had embraced her dear mother, she had exclaimed admiringly how wonderfully that scent of Wild Roses becomes her. Wild Roses? Where did that come from? I thought this was a kind of a green citrus scent. Hermione wondered, but let the subject be, since she had many more important things to consider at the moment.

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It was Christmas Eve and Hermione was about to apparate to the Burrow. She had shrunk all the Christmas gifts she was going to give her friends so that they fit conveniently in her pockets. She had made a special effort to make herself pretty and she was quite pleased with her appearance. Apparating such a long distance made her a little concerned though, since she wasn't very experienced with it. Nevertheless, she constantly turned down her fathers persuading offers that he would take her there in his car. No way, it would have been far too embarrassing; she wasn't a teenage girl anymore who needed her father as her escort. She was an adult witch, independent and quite capable of taking care of herself.

There was one thing that made her wonder. Every time she wasn't thinking about something specific, she found herself contemplating Professor Severus Snape. It wasn't something totally new to her; she had spent countless of nights pondering his words before, while she was still at school as a student. But these thoughts were something else. She snatched herself every now and then in the middle of cogitation of him. Of course she turned over and over again in her mind that kiss, but there was something else too. She was slightly embarrassed to find herself reminiscing over their short times together, alone. Obviously she had put those intimate feelings raised by him into her inner storage. Those sensations of the closeness of his manly body, how soft his warm skin had felt under her hands, how he had shivered slightly and she was sure she had almost heard him moan few times. Strange but strong feelings had dwelled inside Hermione's stomach, but since she had to stay cool, concentrated and professional, she just placed every unwanted emotion somewhere deep in her heart and focused on spreading the ointment and surviving his bad temper.

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"Happy Christmas, it's so good to see you, here take some eggnog, you must be freezing, and come on in, I'll take your coat, and oh how lovely you look, you are such a sweet looking girl, wait till my Ronnie gets to see you..." Molly Weasley had taken Hermione in her vast embrace before she had even managed to utter a proper 'hello'. In no time she was sitting in the cosy living room and sipping the most delicious eggnog.

"Delicious, Hermione, what do you think?" Harry lifted his eyebrows meaningfully towards Hermione.

"Harry, nice to see you too. You are the one who should tell about that. So, did you ever get the chance for a more profound taste of it?"

Harry laughed heartily as he embraced Hermione tightly. Ron had been watching his friends' rendezvous and couldn't help but feel a slight sting of jealous in his heart. What are they talking about? I don't remember them being SO close when I've last seen them together. I wonder if there's something going on between them, I mean, they do get to spend a hell of a lot time together in Hogwarts, together, alone. Ron rushed past Harry and gave Hermione a loving hug.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, you look stunning. I would fall in love with you right this minute, if I hadn't already." If Harry's going to sweet talk to her, I'm going to show him that he's messing with the wrong lady.

Hermione laughed and gave a small and friendly kiss to Ron's cheek. "It's good to see you too Ron. Thanks for the compliment, though you shouldn't have bothered. But I insist you to tell me everything about the past half year of your life. You should write me more letters, you know. And more words in them wouldn't hurt either..."

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"I'm so full that if I see any more food, I'll just pop and there's nothing anyone can do about it," Ron bemoaned, keeping both of his hands on his stomach like it would otherwise slip into two halves.

Their Christmas supper had been nice and heartfelt, but not a tiniest bit devotional. The redheaded twins had taken care of that. They were unruly like two teenager brats and they didn't look a day older than eighteen. Harry got what he had hoped for, since Fred and George ran on jokes, puns and carols with suggestively twisted words like two stand-up comics of the best kind. Luckily enough, Harry and Hermione laughed so much that they couldn't eat themselves to the same condition as Ron, who was so used his brothers' humour that he had learnt to swallow while laughing.

After the supper Mr. and Mrs. Weasley withdrew to sit and hug on a couch positioned in the corner of the living room while everybody else sat on the floor in front of the fire to open their Christmas gifts.

"Ginny, since you are the youngest, you are of course the most impatient, so you may open your presents first," Fred teased his little sister, his ulterior motive being a wish to see his new inventions working in a real life situation as soon as possible.

"No-no, dear brother, I am not at all impatient, I'll manage to wait ten years for the gifts from you. I'm in no hurry to die, nor experience humiliations that those innocently looking little packets will evidently give me," Ginny grinned back with an empirical knowledge from many years of experiences.

"Anyway, ladies first. We have to remember that politeness once in a year does not ruin anyone's reputation," proclaimed the other twin.

"Okay then, I'll sacrifice myself for the good cause," Hermione said smiling playfully. "So, ladies first it'll be. I'll open Ginny's gift first." Hermione started to unwrap the packet most carefully and tortuously slowly in order to get every beautiful ribbon and gift paper saved without ripping them.

"A book, I assume? Or maybe you have just transfigured this to fool me?" Hermione chuckled as Ginny watched her.

"Oh no, I've never been very good at transfiguration," Ginny laughed staring at her friend's face to know what she was thinking about the title of the book.

"'Samantha Heatherhill and a man with a past', seriously Ginny, did you accidentally happen to exchange the presents meant for Lavender and I?" asked Hermione softly eyeing the covered love novel with unbelieving eyes.

"No, I just thought that because you love to read, it's the only way to get your thoughts on men and your love life and to relax by giving you brand new and authentic 'Heatherhill' pocket book. Promise me that you'll read it! There's some exquisite hand made chocolate from Ron and mum has made you a pair of warm woolen socks, so..."

"Ginny! It's no fair to reveal other's surprises!" Ron moaned, his freckled face showing his disappointment.

"I know, but I just can't bear to watch her torture us anymore by opening her presents more slowly then a handless Hinkypunk," Ginny said mischievously. "And you had better remember to read the book cover to cover, sit in front of the fireplace, your woolsocks on and eat chocolate till you are so relaxed that you'll forget the year the Great Giant rebellion started," she emphasized to Hermione, who could only nod her head obediently.

"Thank you Ginny, you are so kind, always thinking the best for me and my (non-existent) love life. And as I already know what these parcels contain..." Hermione knocked two packets with her wand, and soon there was a cute, but helplessly conventional heartshaped red chocolate box and hand (or wand) made socks with green and orange stripes. Then she took a small and soft packet in her hands and started to rip the paper of more briskly than before.

"Hey, it took a long while for me to wrap it, why don't you open that too slowly and fold the paper neatly?" Harry shouted and gestured amusingly.

"Yeah, right, Harry-dear, but this packet is tightened with label stickers from video tapes, and it doesn't even have any ribbon, but don't worry, I don't mind. The thought is what I value most." Hermione smiled knowingly as Harry blushed boyishly.

Amongst the wrinkled papers Hermione drew a set of incredibly expensive, very chic and just the right size lingerie. She flushed red as an over boilt crab and tried to hide them under the gift wrapping and stuttered embarrassed thanks to Harry at the same time. She wondered if Mrs. Weasley happened to see what kind of garments, if that unexisting amount of fabric gave them the right to be called garments, were spread on the floor of her living room. Fred and George were whistling and crowding around Hermione in order to see more clearly every tiny and sexy detail of the lingerie. She didn't know what to do, since the twins were gazing at her and the lingerie like they were measuring in their minds how she would look with those sinful garments on.

As soon as the rowdiness had started, it stopped, when everybody happened to glance at Ron, who appeared to be petrified in his place from the look of a Basilisk. He looked like a scarlet red balloon, which was ready to explode at any moment.

"BLOODY 'ELL HARRY! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE? I THOUGHT THAT AS MY BEST FRIEND, YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER. THAT YOU WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD TO KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY GIRLFRIEND!" His voice, trembling with fury, got Arthur and Molly Weasley to jump off the couch, meanwhile expecting and excited looks spread on the faces of Fred and George. They seemed like they had been watching an interesting turn in the World Champion Quidditch match. Ron bounced up from the floor like he had been shot by a cannon and grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt.

"Hold your horses, mate, you know nothing about the situation," Harry said, clearly annoyed at Ron's quick and almost false conclusions. But Ron's temper was like an old steam locomotive. Once moving, it made such a horrible noise that it couldn't hear anything else. He just put more wood on the fire accelerating himself finally to a speed that even a group suicide of forest trolls hadn't been able to stop him. Ron threw accusations and insults to Harry, spit flying everywhere from his mouth. At the same time he punched Harry's chest to emphasize the effect of his words. While Ron was shouting Fred and George had transfigured flags and banners with text 'Harry' on the other side and 'Ron' on the other. This way they could always support the one who appeared to be winning.

Hermione stood astonished against the wall. She felt humiliated, disappointed and angry all at the same time. She saw the screaming riot on the Weasley living room floor, but it was distant, like she was viewing it through a hazy veil; Ginny, who was tearing her mother away from Ron's throat, as the twins ate popcorn and wore 'Ron/Harry' caps shouting their encouraging slogans to both of the quarrelmonger at the same time, and Arthur who ran, confused, to and fro, trying to fulfil his wife's many and ever changing orders.

Damn you, half-grown idiots, Hermione swore in her mind, sucking her lower lip like when she was a child and needed comfort. I want to go home, I don't think anyone will miss me here tonight. I am not anybody's girlfriend, but from the bottom of my heart I hope that I can be friends with both of them. That we could all be friends, like before. Idiots, I wish they'd direct their over-stimulated libidos to other women. I feel like they care more about their own hurt, manly pride, fragile as a spider web, then they care about me. I'm sure neither one of them was thinking about how this stupid scene would make me feel. Bloody hotheads, at least Severus would never do anything as ridiculous as this. Severus...?

There was a tiny 'pop' and Hermione apparated onto the snowy path near the forest. Oh my god, I have managed to get myself in trouble. That doesn't look like home to me... Fine. Great. That's just what I needed. Just what I was hoping for. A fancy dress, high heels and a tiny mohair jacket, and the loveliest weather for a nice little Christmas night walk... in the forest... with these pink satin shoes. Shit! On the other hand, this is much better than watching those two wannabe-gladiators fight under the Christmas three.

Hermione thrust her chin up in determination and continued to shamble forward along the dark path. After a few seconds she saw faint light gleaming from the west and the oh so familiar and dear, iron gate was drawn against the misty and grey sky. Hogwarts! I am at Hogwarts, unbelievable; I have never managed to apparate so far. Thank god I'm still in one piece and I'm safe!

Not daring to take the risk anymore and try to apparate to her parents' house, she opened the gate with freezing fingers and ran towards the castle. As she put her hands under her robe, she noticed that one packet was still in her pocket. Well, while I happen to be here, I might as well go and spread the good message of merry Christmas to that spooky man living in the dungeons. Hermione smiled as her sudden insight, a contented blush on her cheeks. Maybe I'll manage to get some answers too. There has been one thing bothering me...