Christmas of Surprises

Christmas of Surprises - chapter 8/10

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New Year's Eve

Hermione awoke to find snow blowing against the window, and Crookshanks curled up asleep on top of the blankets, having managed to find a gap between her and Ron. She quietly got out of bed and went over to the window, where she saw that it was snowing hard again.

'"Beauty at the Window", a painting by R. Weasley,' came Ron's voice from behind her.

She went back over to the bed. 'I didn't realise you were awake.'

'I think I woke up when you got out of bed and the cold air got in. You'll freeze walking about like that in this weather.'

'I wasn't planning to go outside like this! Actually, the way it's snowing, I'm not planning to go outside at all. And it's New Year's Eve.' She put on her dressing gown, and sat on the edge of the bed. 'Shall we get up early and surprise Harry?'

'Do we have to?'

'Just this once? Last chance this year.'

Ron agreed reluctantly, and when they got down to the common room, they found that Harry wasn't there yet. Soon they heard his footsteps on the stairs, and he entered the common room and stopped, looking very surprised. He checked his watch and shook his head.

'Getting bored or something?'

'We just decided to confuse you and make you think your watch had stopped,' said Hermione.

'It worked -- and last night, I thought it was fast, until I realised you weren't going to come back down here again.'

'Ron was in detention,' said Hermione, grinning.

Harry rolled his eyes again.

After breakfast, they returned to the common room and watched the steadily-falling snow for a while.

'Do you paint, Ron?' asked Hermione.

'No, it was just a joke. Though if anyone's got a camera ...'

'I haven't,' she said.

Harry shook his head.

'Such a good photo, and no camera to take it with,' sighed Ron.

'Colin Creevey might have left his camera,' said Harry.

'I don't think I'd want that photo in the middle of someone else's film,' said Ron.

'I'm sure I wouldn't either!' said Hermione.

'I'm not going to ask,' said Harry. 'I'm going to sit here and innocently do my homework, whatever you two get up to.'

'Oh, I forgot to return the library book,' said Hermione. 'I won't be long -- do you want to read more of my book? You know where it is, don't you?'

She picked up the Potions book from the table and went out of the portrait hole, while Ron went up the girls' staircase and returned with Hermione's book.

When he returned, Harry had put down his quill and was waiting for him. 'How serious are you two, really?'

'Well, I sort of proposed to her.'

'You didn't! So you're actually engaged now?'

'No. She said, "maybe".' He explained to Harry about their parents' different experiences.

'Oh. Were you disappointed then?'

'At first, yes. But I think I can see her point now.'

Harry nodded, and resumed his homework. Ron opened the book to the page he was on, and had read quite a bit further before Hermione returned, now carrying two books.

'Sorry. I got sidetracked by finding these two.'

'I didn't think you'd manage to escape from the library quickly,' said Ron. 'You don't usually.'

'Please tell me those are not sex books!' said Harry.

'All right -- these are not sex books,' she told him. Then she whispered something in Ron's ear, and he laughed.

'I thought I knew you two after all these years,' sighed Harry. 'You've changed since I went to Sirius'.'

'Do you think people will notice?' she asked, concerned.

'In your case, maybe the teachers will. Probably your parents too, but they already know, don't they?'

'Well, they've guessed,' she said.

'I bet you'll write to them and confirm it all,' said Harry, teasing.

'She won't!' said Ron. 'Will you?'

Hermione blushed and didn't answer him. Not all the parchments she'd been writing out earlier had been homework.

'I don't believe this,' he muttered.

Harry grinned at him. 'The twins and Ginny are bound to notice you've changed, too.'

'Oh, no,' he said in alarm. 'I've got to start acting normally again.'

'Oh, three cheers,' said Harry.

'It's not funny! Fred and George wouldn't tell Mum and Dad if they guess, but Ginny won't understand why I've changed, and she might ask them if I'm all right -- and then they'll guess!'

'Remember, I shared a room with Ginny when I stayed at your house. We did talk, you know, and she isn't as ignorant as you think!' said Hermione.

'What did you tell her?'

'I didn't need to tell her much! She's going to be fifteen soon -- she's not a baby.'

'Not all that soon,' said Harry. 'Ron's still fifteen, after all.'

'Harry, she'll be fifteen in less than three weeks' time, about six weeks before Ron's sixteenth birthday. Is that "soon"? I thought you knew when her birthday was?'

'Er, no, I didn't,' said Harry, a bit embarrassed. He decided not to ask how the two could be that close in age.

'The only thing I did tell her -- well, I didn't exactly tell her -- I asked her if she knew if Ron had any feelings for me. She didn't,' said Hermione. 'But, of course, she guessed why I'd asked her that. Though she thinks I'm weird for liking Ron.'

'If she sees the way you two are behaving now, she'll think you're both weird,' said Harry.

'What's wrong with liking me?' demanded Ron indignantly.

'I don't know. I like you, if you hadn't noticed. I suppose it's one of those sibling things. I wouldn't know,' said Hermione.

'Don't look at me either,' said Harry. 'Dudley wasn't like any brother I'd want to admit to.'

Hermione put the books down on the table. Harry couldn't help noticing the titles. 'Those aren't sex books!'

'I told you they weren't,' she said.

'And then you whispered in Ron's ear, and he laughed. So what was that about?'

'She told me "pretend they're sex books to wind Harry up",' said Ron. 'It worked, too, didn't it?'

Harry sighed and shook his head at them again. He continued with his homework, Ron read more of Hermione's book, and Hermione started reading through the first library book, until lunchtime.

After lunch, which had no turkey leftovers, to Ron's delight, they returned to the common room, where Crookshanks was now lying in front of the fire again, and continued with what they'd been doing. Ron soon finished the book, and looked over at Hermione.

She looked up from her library book and saw him looking at her. 'Finished it? Do you want to try out any of the techniques in it then?'

Harry put his quill down. 'Are you going to stay up until midnight and see in the New Year?'

'On our second-to-last night together?' asked Ron.

Hermione bit her lip. 'We could. Nobody will be surprised tomorrow morning if we don't get up very early.'

'I certainly won't be surprised,' said Harry, grinning. 'Have either of you come up with any New Year's Resolutions yet?'

'No,' said Ron. 'I haven't even thought about it.'

'I have -- I resolve to make love to Ron as much as possible. If that's all right with you,' she said to Ron.

'No problem -- I'll borrow that one myself, though the other way around. If that's all right with you,' he replied with a grin.

'I'm also going to work hard to get as many O.W.Ls as I can,' she said.

'I suppose I ought to borrow that one,' said Harry.

'Yes, me too,' said Ron.

'Have I got to come up with all of the resolutions for all three of us?' she asked.

'I promise not to borrow the one about making love to Ron!' said Harry.

'Oh, good,' said the other two together.

'Do you want to play a normal chess game then, if we're staying down here until midnight?' asked Hermione.

Ron agreed to that, and she fetched the set they'd used the previous day and they played one long, careful game until they had to stop for teatime.

After tea, they returned to the common room. Hermione had remembered to get a jug of pumpkin juice for New Year's toasts, although Ron insisted on carrying it for her. Harry finally finished his homework, and watched them continuing their chess game for a while. Crookshanks tried to jump up onto the table to watch the chess pieces move, but Ron pressed him down into the chair he was jumping from, and he settled down to wash himself instead.

'Do you want to read any of that book, Harry?' asked Hermione.

'Why? I told you, I don't want anyone to be my girlfriend right now.'

'You were reading it the other morning. You must have thought it was a bit interesting. I really don't mind if you want to read it.'

Harry hesitated, then admitted, 'It's something to think about for later. Voldemort won't be around for ever -- I hope.'

'OK, then you can read it.'

Harry blushed as he picked the book up from where Ron had left it, and sat down to continue reading it.

Ron finally won the slow and careful chess game, but not until almost a quarter past eleven. 'Bedtime!' he announced. 'Oh -- we're waiting until midnight, aren't we? Huh.'

Hermione giggled again. Harry looked up from her book and rolled his eyes. The other two started a new chess game, while trying to think of more resolutions.

'How about "I resolve to defeat Voldemort completely"?' asked Harry, who was having trouble concentrating on the book.

'It's a good one. A bit difficult though,' said Ron.

Harry noticed Hermione looked pensive. 'Thinking about your next chess move, or have you got a new resolution too?'

'It's not really a New Year's one. I was thinking "I will combine the Muggle and wizarding worlds in my life", but that's for a whole lifetime.'

'I'm not going to borrow that one,' Harry said firmly. 'Once I leave Hogwarts, I'm staying in the wizarding world and giving up on Muggle life completely.'

'Well, you've only got the Dursleys, and I don't blame you for wanting to avoid them. I like my parents, and I'm not going to stop seeing them just because they can't really be a part of my new life.'

'I'm not going to borrow that one either -- it doesn't make any sense for me. Unless, of course, I wind up with Muggle in-laws,' Ron said.

Hermione grinned at him. 'You have to meet my parents again. They haven't seen you since you were twelve, and your dad and Malfoy's got into that fight. They got a really bad impression of wizards that day. They need to meet a nice normal one.'

'That's a good idea,' said Harry. 'But why are you saying they should meet Ron?'

Ron glared at him, while Hermione just laughed. Then Ron looked at Hermione again. 'I don't know if I can meet your parents. It'd be so embarrassing. "Mum, Dad, this is Ron, who took my virginity and has been sleeping with me every chance we get" -- even if you don't actually say it, they know.'

'I don't think I'd introduce you quite like that, but yes, they do know.'

'Well, from what you said, they're assuming you will sleep together, but they don't know for certain that you already have,' said Harry.

Hermione blushed and said nothing.

'You've already written to them!' said Ron, shocked. She nodded.

Harry laughed, and shook his head. 'What an amazing family.'

'You actually wrote to them and told them ... what we'd been doing?' said Ron, still not quite believing it.

'I wanted to put your mind at rest,' she said quietly.

'At rest in a coffin, perhaps!'

'No! You were worried that they might write to your parents, since they know your address, and mention we'd been sleeping together. I wrote to tell them that we had slept together, but that your parents didn't know yet, and you didn't want anyone else to tell them.'

'I don't want to tell them, either!'

'I thought that was the best way to phrase it, though.'

'Well, yeah. Thanks, Hermione. At least I don't have to worry about that now.'

'I don't get it,' said Harry. 'Hermione's parents didn't stay with their first loves, but she's telling them about the two of you, and Ron's parents are each other's first love, and Ron's too worried to tell them.'

'It does sound odd when you put it like that,' said Hermione. She pouted at Ron. 'You're ashamed of me!'

'I am not! You know they like you, anyway. It's all very well to just say it like a theory, but these are my parents. The two people who've brought me up for all my life. It's not that easy. I've got to change from being their youngest son and a cute child to being a sexual teenager,' said Ron glumly. 'One who's already slept with that nice girl he's at school with.'

'That's a resolution for Ron then -- that you'll work up the courage to tell them this year,' said Harry.

'I think I'd rather tell You-Know-Who that you're staying a virgin because of him!'

'Both your parents were students here. Your mother told me last year that the Fat Lady told her off when she got back from a night-time stroll at four in the morning,' Harry pointed out.

'Ron told me about that, the other day,' said Hermione.

'Nobody looks at scenery at that time of the night, though. So what do you think they were doing?'

'That's a thought,' she mused. 'How much practice do you need to get seven children?'

This time, it was Ron's turn to groan while Harry laughed. 'Oh don't. I don't even want to think about them doing anything like that!' said Ron.

'Just think of it as following in their footsteps,' said Hermione cheerfully. 'Or maybe their bedsheets.'

'No!' said Ron.

Hermione sighed. 'All right, try this: your parents do know what pupils get up to, and they probably won't be surprised that you're doing the same. Is that vague enough?'

'It's better,' said Ron grudgingly. 'I still can't imagine actually telling them though.'

'Do you want me to tell them?' she asked innocently.

Ron just screamed and fell out of his chair. 'Ouch! I didn't mean to fall that hard.'

'Are you all right?' she asked, helping him back into the chair.

'Yes. Here's another one: "I will not make grand dramatic gestures that hurt". So much for pretending to die of embarrassment.'

'Well, you sound all right,' she said with a giggle.

'I'd rather you didn't tell them, though.'

'OK. It's five to midnight, by the way.'

The three of them watched as the clock ticked round to midnight, and then chorused, 'Happy New Year!' and downed their glasses of pumpkin juice. Then they sat around for a bit longer to keep Harry company. Hermione went back to the thought of telling the Weasleys about her and Ron.

'Ok. We could reuse the ideas we had for telling Harry -- if I stay at your house this summer, and your mum finds us both in your bed, they'd guess.'

'What?' said Ron, gaping at her.

'And where would I be during this revelation?' asked Harry.

'I still think you should be in Ginny's room, but I don't really want to see you lynched,' she said.

'Oddly enough, I don't, either.'

'Or we've got the Chocolate Frog card -- we could leave that lying around.'

'That won't work,' said Ron.

'Oh. Why not?' she said, disappointed. 'I thought it was a good card.'

'It is. That's the problem -- it looks so real, my parents wouldn't bother to read it, they'd just assume I left one of my cards around.'

'Oh. Maybe I should make a worse one then.' She thought for a moment. 'Though that one does have a picture of the two of us on -- wouldn't they notice that?'

'I know what we should do -- we should go to bed like good children, instead of staying up past midnight. It's half-past now.'

Harry groaned again. He was getting quite good at groaning.

'You can keep reading,' Hermione said. 'You don't have to go to bed yet.' She stroked Crookshanks, still lying in the chair. 'Are you coming upstairs with us?' He purred but didn't open his eyes. She shrugged, and went upstairs with Ron.

Harry wondered -- if the door to her dormitory was open to let Crookshanks in, would he be able to hear them? He dismissed the thought, and tried to concentrate on the book.