Christmas of Surprises

Christmas of Surprises - chapter 9/10

---

New Year's Day

Hermione slid quietly out of bed, letting Ron sleep, and went to the window to see if the snow had stopped. It hadn't, though it wasn't snowing as hard now. She heard Ron moving in the bed, and turned to see that he was awake and watching her watching the snow.

'I wish I did have a camera,' said Ron, looking at her.

'White rabbits,' said Hermione, gettting back into bed. 'Oh, really? To take photos of snow, perhaps?' she teased.

He stroked her back. 'You know who I want photos of. Why are you talking about rabbits?'

'Don't you do that? Say "white rabbits" as the first thing you say on the first of the month?'

Ron looked blankly at her.

'Maybe it's just a Muggle superstition then,' she said. 'It's supposed to bring you luck in the month, if you remember to say it before anything else.'

'I'm in your bed, with you -- isn't that lucky enough for me?' he asked her with a grin.

She smiled, and hugged him. It was not until some time later that they remembered about breakfast, and got out of bed.

'I'm going to copy you, and go up to my dorm and get some clean clothes,' said Ron, after they'd showered and dried themselves. 'Are you going to copy me and watch?'

'Not today -- maybe tomorrow. I need to get dressed, or we'll be suspiciously late again.'

'Oh. Ok,' he said, and started down the stairs. Hermione finished getting dressed, and collected Ron's forgotten clothes into a bundle to take down later.

Meanwhile, Ron had reached the bottom of the stairs, only to discover that the common room wasn't as empty as he'd have expected. Professor McGonagall was there, standing by the table they'd been sitting at. She was looking straight at him, a shocked look in her eyes. The jug that had held the previous night's pumpkin juice was lying on the floor at her feet, where she'd just dropped it. He grabbed a cushion from a nearby chair, and used that as a minimal cover, but couldn't think of any excuse for coming down the girls' stairs.

'Mr Weasley! I ... I will see you at breakfast,' she said, and left by the portrait hole, still obviously shocked by him. Ron just stood there, shaken. What was going to happen to them? He dropped the cushion back onto the chair.

Hermione came down the stairs, dressed and carrying the bundle of Ron's clothes. 'I thought I heard McGonagall. Ron? Are you all right?'

'No,' he said. 'We're in trouble. She was in here, and she saw me coming down the girls' stairs with nothing on.' He looked over at her in dismay. 'It's just like your worry when you did this.'

Hermione swallowed nervously. 'What did she say?'

'She ... just said she'd see me at breakfast.'

'We'd better go and face the music then. Here are the clothes you left in my room, anyway.'

'Thanks,' he said, taking them. He then went up the boys' stairs. Hermione was too anxious about what might happen to really enjoy the view of him climbing the stairs. She went over to their usual table to wait for the boys, and started numbly to collect their books and parchments together. She put her mother's present into her bookbag, and wondered if McGonagall had seen it before Ron came downstairs. She picked up the juice jug and placed it back on the table, but had no way to clear up the spilt juice, and reluctantly left it for the house-elves.

Soon she heard footsteps on the stairs, and Harry and Ron came into the common room. Ron had obviously told Harry what had happened, as they both looked worried. They sat down next to Hermione.

'What do you think will happen?' she asked. 'Surely she won't go as far as expelling us?'

'I don't think she would. Especially not you, as you're the best student in our whole year,' said Harry reassuringly.

'Wonderful. What about me? I'm not top of every class, and I'm not the famous Boy Who Lived either,' said Ron.

'Well,' said Harry with a grin, 'we know she won't take away your Prefect badge.' He was wearing his badge now.

'Oh ... no ...' said Hermione. 'I never even thought of that.' She looked down at where the badge usually was, then remembered she still wasn't wearing it.

'Sorry. I thought you would have done,' said Harry. 'So what does she know? She knows Ron was probably in your dorm, but she can't be sure he was there all night.'

'That's true!' said Ron, slightly more cheerful now.

'For all she knows, you might just have gone up there to give Hermione a shock, and then been running away when she saw you. You shouldn't have been up there, and you shouldn't have been shocking Hermione, but I'm sure that wouldn't be as bad as the truth.'

'That just blames Ron for everything and lets me off completely!' said Hermione indignantly. 'I seduced him, remember? And besides, we don't know how long she was here before Ron came down.'

'But Harry's right -- she can't take away my Prefect badge, because I don't have one. I remember your pride when you got that badge. You can't ... you just can't let her take it away,' said Ron.

'I remember her surprise when she got the badge,' grinned Harry. 'As though McGonagall was ever going to choose anyone else! She only had three choices, and who would put Lavender or Parvati at the top of their list?'

'Professor Trelawney?' suggested Ron, also grinning.

'Stop changing the subject,' said Hermione. 'Ron is not going to be in more trouble than I am, OK?'

Ron pulled her towards him and kissed her.

Harry shook his head. 'Is that somehow supposed to make things better?'

The two lovers separated. 'I feel better now, anyway,' said Hermione with a smile. 'Look, we don't know what she knows and what she only suspects. Let's just tell the truth.'

'Is that really a good idea?' asked Harry.

'We won't get our stories mixed up if we tell the truth, will we?'

The two boys reluctantly agreed, and went down to the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall was sitting at the Gryffindor table, although the other teachers and pupils were sitting at the same table as usual. She beckoned them over, and they nervously went over to her.

'I had only intended to speak to Mr Weasley, but I suppose you two also know what happened?' They nodded. 'I don't know why you chose to come down to the common room undressed, and I don't suppose it matters. Obviously you were not expecting me to be there.'

'No, I wasn't expecting anyone to be there. Especially you -- you don't often come into the common room,' said Ron.

'No, I don't. I was checking that you hadn't brought any alcohol into the castle to celebrate New Year's Eve.'

'Professor!' said Hermione, shocked.

'I apologise, Miss Granger. Professor Flitwick had found alcohol in the Ravenclaw common room, and I feared that Mr Potter might have obtained some during his absence from the castle, and added it to your drinks last night. Clearly, my fears were without cause. I apologise to all three of you.'

Harry discovered his mouth was hanging open. He closed it.

'As for Mr Weasley, my main concern is that by coming down to the common room in a state of undress, you could have given Miss Granger quite a shock.'

'But I was sure she wouldn't be down there!' said Ron. 'We were up past midnight, drinking pumpkin juice and talking about resolutions. Hermione came up with most of the ideas for resolutions.'

'You make me sound exhausted after suggesting those ideas!' said Hermione. She was feeling extremely relieved, as McGonagall obviously hadn't realised the truth.

'Well, you weren't down there, were you? I knew it was early enough that you wouldn't be when I went downstairs.'

'Well, I suppose no harm was done, and you had no reason then to expect anyone to be down there. Go and have your breakfasts.'

The three of them, followed by McGonagall, went over to the single table and ate breakfast without saying much. All three of them were dying to talk to the other two without anyone else nearby, and they went back up to the common room right after breakfast, and sank into their usual chairs.

'I don't get it!' said Ron. 'No punishment? What did she think I was doing in your dorm?'

Hermione giggled. 'You never shocked me that badly, and I've seen more of you than she has!'

Ron laughed. 'But that doesn't explain it.'

'Don't you see? She was so shocked to see you, that she didn't realise which stairs you'd come down!'

'So, she just thinks Ron went down to the common room from our dorm?' said Harry. 'That would explain it.'

Hermione pouted at Ron. 'You ought to be more worried about my virginal innocence, you know, just like she was. I might have been down there, and seen everything -- except you knew I was upstairs, and had already seen everything.'

Ron grinned back at her. 'I took your virginal innocence away last week, but I don't know where I put it.'

Harry groaned again as the two of them collapsed giggling.

'We're still in trouble though,' said Hermione after a few minutes.

'What? Why? She's finished telling Ron off, and there's nothing else to say,' said Harry.

'But we're going to have to see her at lunchtime, and keep straight faces!'

'You're right. We have a very big problem!' said Ron.

'Maybe we could make love from now until then, and hope to be too tired to move our face muscles?' she suggested.

'Mmmm, I like that one. Or -- Harry used a Tickling Charm against Malfoy once; is there an opposite to that?' said Ron.

'Or perhaps we could all think about what might happen if she suddenly remembers which staircase is which?' said Harry. 'That should stop us laughing.'

Hermione and Ron looked at each other, then back at Harry. 'It would,' agreed Ron.

They were a quiet group for the rest of the morning. Harry read even more of Hermione's book, while she and Ron played a subdued game of chess.

They were still quiet when they headed down to lunch. McGonagall looked slightly disapprovingly at Ron, and he wondered what she and Professor Flitwick had been talking about when the three of them reached the Great Hall; whatever it was, they had stopped when they saw the three Gryffindors. The meal included some haggis, as a token Hogmanay food item. Ron refused to try it, but both Harry and Hermione tried it and liked it. Snape had none, but stared at Harry in disbelief as he ate it. Ron was tempted to have some after that, just to avoid agreeing with Snape, but stayed with his original refusal.

They returned to their common room, as it was still snowing. Ron started setting up the chess set, but Hermione started walking round the common room. He asked her why.

'I'm just thinking.'

'I know you can think while sitting down!'

She laughed at that. 'No, I'm just looking around for some sort of inspiration. Everyone's coming back tomorrow.'

'Ok, forget chess, we'll go upstairs and make the most of this time!'

Hermione shook her head, and came back over to the others. 'When are we going to have another time like this? Never during term time. Lavender and Parvati don't go home during the Easter holidays, and I don't think the other boys in your dorm do either. We already decided that we won't be able to do anything in the summer holidays, even if I stay at the Burrow.'

'So -- tonight's our last chance until next Christmas? Oh no,' said Ron.

'Maybe not even then. Last year there was the Yule Ball ...'

'You said you'd stop mentioning that!'

'This is different, Ron. Just about everyone stayed over Christmas last year, and we couldn't have done anything. Suppose there's another one next year? Or if there isn't, suppose Ginny and lots of others stay -- we could get caught.'

'Well, it would be embarrassing if Ginny caught us, for me at least. But we could persuade her not to tell.'

'I suppose we could, but that doesn't apply to others who might catch us,' she said.

'I don't have any suggestions,' said Harry. 'I still think you're talking about sex too much, but I don't want to deprive you.'

'Thanks, Harry,' she said. She thought for a moment. 'We've spent eight nights together now. The others won't get back until tomorrow evening, so we've got tonight still.'

'Then nothing until we've left school completely,' said Ron gloomily.

'It can't be that bad! We'll think of something. You did say that you think the twins have slept with girls at school -- how did they do it? I know they're here most Christmases, but you suggested they found somewhere to go during term.'

'You want me to ask them?' said Ron, horrified at the thought. 'What, like "Hey, Fred, Hermione and I want to make love -- where do you and Angelina go to get some privacy?" -- do you really want me to ask that?'

She laughed again. 'Not quite! But if they worked out somewhere, why can't we?'

'Oh. Just thinking and not asking my brothers -- I like the sound of that.'

'Thinking? It'll never work,' prophesied Harry.

'You don't know that! Your marks in Divination aren't much better than mine!' said Ron. 'We've got to think of something though. Nine nights, and then nothing until next Christmas -- if we're lucky? No chance.'

Harry sighed and went back to reading, while Ron and Hermione discussed possible places they could find enough privacy.

'Oh! There's Hagrid's hut, while he's away,' said Ron.

'Oh yes, but we couldn't have a light in there, so it would have to be during the day. That means weekends -- and then there're lots of other pupils around in the grounds. Maybe we could borrow Harry's cloak to get past them?'

They looked at Harry. Without looking up, he said, 'If it keeps you quiet, OK.'

'A combined invisibility and silence cloak!' said Ron.

'I wonder if any of the disused classrooms would be usable? We could go there any evening, not just at weekends.'

'Or the Prefects' Bathrooms,' suggested Harry, still not looking up from the book. 'People could interrupt you in the classrooms.'

'That's a good idea -- if we locked it, so nobody else could get in,' said Hermione. 'We'd need to take something to lie on, too, since white marble looks nice, but wouldn't be nice to lie on! There's the towels, of course. We could use those.'

'I wonder if Fred and George have used that bathroom?' said Ron.

'They might have found a way in, but they're not Prefects, so they wouldn't have had the password.'

'While Percy was here, they might have tricked it out of him. No, probably not.'

Hermione got a parchment out of her bookbag, and started writing down the possibilities they were coming up with. 'Hagrid's hut, disused classrooms -- if we can find any good ones -- and the girl Prefects' Bathroom.'

'What?'

'I don't know the password to the boys' one,' she explained. 'Does it matter that much?'

'I suppose it doesn't.'

'I'm not going to tell Hermione the boys' password,' said Harry. 'Can't trust her not to sneak in for a peek, after borrowing my cloak.'

'I wouldn't do that!' she said indignantly.

'I know you wouldn't have done before last week,' said Harry.

Hermione looked at him in dismay. 'Do you really think I've changed that much?'

He hesitated, then admitted, 'No. No, not really. I couldn't resist teasing you, though.'

She pretended to point her wand threateningly at him. 'I'm sure McGonagall noticed something different about our behaviour, on Christmas Day. I don't know how different it is.'

'Mostly, it's just that you both seem to have one-track minds now. Christmas Day was the first day after your first time, wasn't it? Maybe you calmed down again by the time I got back.'

'Then nobody else will notice tomorrow,' said Ron.

'Oh. So if we don't talk about it, we'd seem the same as before?' she said.

'Yes, I think so. But I still can't give you the password,' said Harry.

'All right. I don't know where the boy Prefects' Bathroom is anyway.'

'You're the Prefect, so I suppose it's fair to use your bathroom,' said Ron.

'There's a lock on the door, so that makes it better than the classrooms idea,' said Hermione.

'What if it only lets girls in? That wouldn't be any good,' said Ron.

'We'll have to find out.'

'I know Myrtle can get into the boys' bathroom, but that doesn't mean much,' said Harry.

'Myrtle! She'd be perfect,' said Hermione.

'Perfect for what, exactly?' asked Ron.

'She could be Harry's girlfriend! They wouldn't be able to do anything physical, but You-Know-Who already killed her, over fifty years ago. He can't kill her again.'

'Stop playing matchmaker,' said Harry irritably. 'I already told you why I can't have a girlfriend. Just stop going on about it.'

'That reason just doesn't apply to Myrtle, though,' she said.

'That's true, but she's not exactly the most appealing girl in the school.'

'At least you wouldn't have to worry about meeting her parents,' said Ron. Clearly that was something very much on his mind. 'By now, they must both be dead.'

'Stop going on about it!' shouted Harry. The other two looked at him in surprise. 'You two just won't stop, and it's beginning to get on my nerves. I don't mind when you're talking about places you could go, but leave me out of this, OK?'

Ron and Hermione nodded.

Hermione looked at the list and said, 'Well, we can go and check the Prefects' Bathroom now. Lisa's the only other girl Prefect who stayed over Christmas, and she's probably not using it at the moment. If I can get you in there, it'll be a good place to go.'

They went out, leaving Harry staring blankly at the book and wondering why it was they just didn't understand about his not wanting a girlfriend yet. He put the book down, and went to look out of the window at the still-falling snow. It was quiet and peaceful, and he calmed down as he just stood there.

Ron and Hermione returned about half an hour later, and asked what he was looking at. 'Just falling snow. It's very peaceful and calming.' He turned round to look at them. 'I'm sorry I shouted before, but I already told you I can't have a girlfriend yet. So, how did you get on with trying the bathroom?'

'Ron can get in with me, as long as we just open the door once to get in. It won't let him in by himself, even if he gives the password,' said Hermione. 'And then I stood right outside while he shouted a lot, and I couldn't hear him, so nobody will hear us in there.'

'OK, that's useful to know. I hope Voldemort drops dead soon so that I can use your idea too before I leave school,' said Harry. 'Where is yours, anyway?'

'Two floors down, near the statue of Boris the Bewildered.'

Harry laughed. 'It must simplify the plumbing, or something, to have them near each other. Ours is four doors to the left of that statue.'

She smiled. 'Oh -- ours is the second door. I wonder where the third door goes? Maybe it's where the different soaps and scents are kept.'

Harry thought of something. 'So, does Ron know the password now?'

'Yes, he does,' said Hermione with a smile.

'Then he just needs to borrow my cloak, and he's all ready to spy on the girl Prefects.'

'Don't give Hermione the wrong impression!' said Ron, frowning.

'He can't anyway. He'd have to follow someone in, or it wouldn't let him in. So the password doesn't help him spy on anyone but me,' she said. 'And he doesn't need a password for that.'

Ron and Hermione started their chess game, while Harry watched them. It was quiet in the common room, partly because of Ron having been caught that morning, and partly because the two lovers didn't want to upset Harry again. Eventually Harry broke the silence.

'I must get something for Hedwig from this evening's meal. I haven't been to the owlery for two days now.'

'I never noticed you go,' said Ron, giving a reluctant pawn a push to move it to the right square.

'I've been going before breakfast. There's plenty of time then before you notice anyone else,' said Harry with a grin.

Hermione laughed. 'Please come and tell us if the castle's falling down. We might not notice.'

'I am not even going near you if you're too busy to notice! I like Quidditch as a spectator sport, but not sex!'

The other two laughed again, and Hermione moved her castle up to take Ron's pawn sacrifice. 'I just realised something,' she said. 'I haven't seen Crookshanks today. He wasn't down here when McGonagall was. I was too worried about Ron to notice.'

'He slept on my bed last night. I was quite surprised. I think he's fed up with whatever you're doing,' said Harry.

Hermione called out her cat's name, hoping to get him to come downstairs. He must have been sleeping somewhere warm still, as he didn't appear.

They went downstairs for the last meal of the day, still wondering if McGonagall would have realised which stairs Ron was on. She didn't seem to have, and they were able to relax and have their tea. Harry put some bread and ham in a napkin to take to Hedwig in the morning, while Snape watched him suspiciously.

The three Gryffindors returned to their common room. The two lovers continued with their wizard chess game. Harry watched the chess game for a while, then started to read the rest of Hermione's book, blushing as he turned the pages to where he had stopped reading. He looked up once he'd found the page, and saw Hermione grinning at him.

'It's just theory!' he protested. 'I don't intend to fight goblins in a war, but I still learn History of Magic.'

'Of course you do,' she said, turning back to concentrate on the game.

'I bet you're paying more attention to that book than to old Binns though,' said Ron.

'Binns never made me blush in a lesson,' said Harry.

'That's odd when you think about it,' said Hermione. 'After all, where did all those centuries of wizards come from, if there wasn't any sex in history?'

Harry looked at her in disbelief. 'If there's a second volume of that Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts book about the final fall of Voldemort, and you're in it, do you really want it to have anything about you two sleeping together and finding places to go?'

'I'd like to be in a book,' she mused. 'Why shouldn't a book tell the truth instead of leaving out details like that? It would show people were at least trying to live their lives as normal.' She giggled. 'If it did, we could leave the book open at the right page on the Weasleys' kitchen table, to tell them at last!'

'That might not be too bad,' admitted Ron. 'A book just seems more official than talking to them would be, or your idea about being found in bed together.'

'I still like that idea.'

'It just sounds to me like that old idea of condemned prisoners having their favourite breakfasts before the execution.'

Hermione laughed. 'At least I'm the favourite breakfast and not the execution! "What big teeth you have, grandma!"'

Ron laughed with her. 'Hey, you know that story too.'

'It's a Muggle fairy story,' said Harry.

'I bet they get it wrong then,' said Ron. 'Is the werewolf still in it? And the trial, and the execution?'

'No,' said Hermione. 'Just an ordinary wolf, although it talks, and a woodcutter who cuts its head off.'

Ron shook his head at the bizarre ways Muggles changed stories.

Hermione looked at her watch. 'I think we ought to get an early night, after today's shock.'

'Ok -- we need some nice memories to keep us going for a while after tonight. Not for too long, though, I hope.'

Hermione called out Crookshanks' name again. He still didn't appear. 'Oh well, he'll probably come back when it gets more crowded. Ron?'

Ron got up to follow her, and sighed. 'Our last night together until who-knows-when ... the Bathroom idea will help, but I don't think it'll be the same as just being together all night.'

'Well, you two have fun, and I'll see you in the morning,' said Harry.