RP: Christmas Morning
Date: December 25, 2004
Characters: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter
Location: 33 Alpha Lane
Status: Private
Summary: It's Christmas morning
Completion: Incomplete
The house was silent save for the crackling of wood in the fireplace. The drapes were pulled back from the window in the sitting room, giving a view of thick, heavy fog that blanketed the area. It was cold out, though warmer than it had been a few days ago, and there wasn't a hint of snow in sight. It didn't particularly feel like Christmas morning, yet there was a sense of excitement that Hermione'd not felt in years because it was Christmas morning. The war was over, they had survived, they were living in a house that they'd made their home, and there was actually something worth celebrating this year.
The boys were still asleep when she crept downstairs to start work. She wanted them to wake up and remember the holidays like they'd had years ago. They deserved that, after all, and she had earned the chance to see them happy in that way. In all honesty, she'd not have given the holiday much thought at all if it was just her; it was doing something for others that made it rewarding to her. She liked having friends to buy what she hoped were perfect gifts for, liked having family (as she considered the Weasleys family) to buy useful gifts for, and liked that she could make the holiday better for the boys.
After she made herself a mug of cocoa, she went to the sitting room and put out the gifts that Saint Nick had brought Ron and Harry. She filled their empty stockings with sweets, nuts, and various little items she'd bought at a Muggle store and salvaged during a trip to wizarding Cambridge. Their main gifts from her were already under the tree. For Ron, it was a wizarding chess set that she'd managed to locate after an extensive search of abandoned shops in Cambridge, many of which had already been emptied long ago. It was a fancy set, she knew, not that Ron would really care about that. He missed playing and probably wouldn't mind if it was made up of mismatched pieces so long as he had the game again.
For Harry, it was a Firebolt and a broom servicing kit that she'd found during one of her trips. It might not mean anything to him, of course, but it represented a lot to her, even all these years ago. She could still remember that lonely Christmas so vividly; the loss of her friends had hurt even as she'd felt she'd done the right thing by trying to protect Harry. She would again even knowing what she knew of those lonely weeks with no friends. The Firebolt symbolized a great many things, some good and some bad, but this gift, she hoped, would remind Harry of good memories, of surviving and being alive. Perhaps it would inspire him to get out of the house more, even if to ride an old broom that was probably far from the best model anymore.
Along with their main gift, she was giving them each a scrapbook she'd made with memories of their years together. She had found photos from Hogwarts in the things she'd picked up from her parents' former home and had carefully copied them to put into a book. Mixed amidst the photos were recollections she had written about them and private things that happened between her and Harry or her and Ron, as well as many memories of the three of them together. She carried it through until they arrived at Stoatshead, though Ron's book even had several things from more recent weeks. There were a lot of good memories, but she'd not ignored the bad.
'Saint Nick' was giving them useful things, like socks and pants and a new shirt each. Harry had a new pair of trainers, as his were falling apart, and Ron had a new pair of blue jeans, as he really needed a pair. There was also a box for each of them containing business cards that she'd had printed in London. On Ron's, it had his name, the address of their shop, and Vanateigh Press, along with a P coming out of the right side of a V within a circle, which she thought looked rather nice. It declared him 'Owner and Publisher'. On Harry's, it was the same save for the name, which was Lily's Garden in a pretty flowing font that she thought seemed appropriate for the name he'd chosen and a small lily that was woven into and sticking out of the L. It declared him 'Owner and Chef'.
Christmas gifts and food for the holiday had used up every pound of the money she'd made from selling her grandmother's bracelet, but she felt it was worth it. She certainly wasn't one for needless spending or illogical spending habits, of course, and had found many sales for the items she'd had to actually buy. This Christmas was different, anyway, because it was somewhat like seven in one. Next year, she'd not go so overboard with gifts and such. Today, though, was special because they were celebrating it together, after Voldemort's death, and they could actually think about Christmas next year without being quite so uncertain that they'd even live to see it.
It had already been a different holiday, of course. There had been dinner at their house on Friday and she'd attended the Christmas Eve party with Cedric yesterday. The dinner had been lovely, and the party had been pleasant, if only because she had had the opportunity to spend time with Cedric and Roger, two new but already close friends. She even had plans for New Year's Eve now with Roger, and was very happy that said plans consisted of sitting about somewhere quiet watching the telly and talking with a good friend instead of dressing up and attending some silly party. Perhaps she'd be able to avoid parties until they had one to celebrate the grand opening of the businesses sometime next month or in early February, depending on how things progressed, or until Ron's birthday, which would definitely require a nice party.
Hermione finished her cocoa and put the final touches on the sitting room. Once she was satisfied with its appearance, she went into the kitchen and refilled her mug. They were going to Molly's tent for dinner (well, she and Ron were, though she thought Harry was, too), so she decided to focus on making a really big breakfast before the boys woke up. She turned on the wireless and smiled as she looked around the warm kitchen. This was nice, being able to celebrate with her boys and actually acknowledge the holiday. The Muggle radio station was playing Christmas songs, and she began to softly sing along while she started to work on breakfast.
Characters: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter
Location: 33 Alpha Lane
Status: Private
Summary: It's Christmas morning
Completion: Incomplete
The house was silent save for the crackling of wood in the fireplace. The drapes were pulled back from the window in the sitting room, giving a view of thick, heavy fog that blanketed the area. It was cold out, though warmer than it had been a few days ago, and there wasn't a hint of snow in sight. It didn't particularly feel like Christmas morning, yet there was a sense of excitement that Hermione'd not felt in years because it was Christmas morning. The war was over, they had survived, they were living in a house that they'd made their home, and there was actually something worth celebrating this year.
The boys were still asleep when she crept downstairs to start work. She wanted them to wake up and remember the holidays like they'd had years ago. They deserved that, after all, and she had earned the chance to see them happy in that way. In all honesty, she'd not have given the holiday much thought at all if it was just her; it was doing something for others that made it rewarding to her. She liked having friends to buy what she hoped were perfect gifts for, liked having family (as she considered the Weasleys family) to buy useful gifts for, and liked that she could make the holiday better for the boys.
After she made herself a mug of cocoa, she went to the sitting room and put out the gifts that Saint Nick had brought Ron and Harry. She filled their empty stockings with sweets, nuts, and various little items she'd bought at a Muggle store and salvaged during a trip to wizarding Cambridge. Their main gifts from her were already under the tree. For Ron, it was a wizarding chess set that she'd managed to locate after an extensive search of abandoned shops in Cambridge, many of which had already been emptied long ago. It was a fancy set, she knew, not that Ron would really care about that. He missed playing and probably wouldn't mind if it was made up of mismatched pieces so long as he had the game again.
For Harry, it was a Firebolt and a broom servicing kit that she'd found during one of her trips. It might not mean anything to him, of course, but it represented a lot to her, even all these years ago. She could still remember that lonely Christmas so vividly; the loss of her friends had hurt even as she'd felt she'd done the right thing by trying to protect Harry. She would again even knowing what she knew of those lonely weeks with no friends. The Firebolt symbolized a great many things, some good and some bad, but this gift, she hoped, would remind Harry of good memories, of surviving and being alive. Perhaps it would inspire him to get out of the house more, even if to ride an old broom that was probably far from the best model anymore.
Along with their main gift, she was giving them each a scrapbook she'd made with memories of their years together. She had found photos from Hogwarts in the things she'd picked up from her parents' former home and had carefully copied them to put into a book. Mixed amidst the photos were recollections she had written about them and private things that happened between her and Harry or her and Ron, as well as many memories of the three of them together. She carried it through until they arrived at Stoatshead, though Ron's book even had several things from more recent weeks. There were a lot of good memories, but she'd not ignored the bad.
'Saint Nick' was giving them useful things, like socks and pants and a new shirt each. Harry had a new pair of trainers, as his were falling apart, and Ron had a new pair of blue jeans, as he really needed a pair. There was also a box for each of them containing business cards that she'd had printed in London. On Ron's, it had his name, the address of their shop, and Vanateigh Press, along with a P coming out of the right side of a V within a circle, which she thought looked rather nice. It declared him 'Owner and Publisher'. On Harry's, it was the same save for the name, which was Lily's Garden in a pretty flowing font that she thought seemed appropriate for the name he'd chosen and a small lily that was woven into and sticking out of the L. It declared him 'Owner and Chef'.
Christmas gifts and food for the holiday had used up every pound of the money she'd made from selling her grandmother's bracelet, but she felt it was worth it. She certainly wasn't one for needless spending or illogical spending habits, of course, and had found many sales for the items she'd had to actually buy. This Christmas was different, anyway, because it was somewhat like seven in one. Next year, she'd not go so overboard with gifts and such. Today, though, was special because they were celebrating it together, after Voldemort's death, and they could actually think about Christmas next year without being quite so uncertain that they'd even live to see it.
It had already been a different holiday, of course. There had been dinner at their house on Friday and she'd attended the Christmas Eve party with Cedric yesterday. The dinner had been lovely, and the party had been pleasant, if only because she had had the opportunity to spend time with Cedric and Roger, two new but already close friends. She even had plans for New Year's Eve now with Roger, and was very happy that said plans consisted of sitting about somewhere quiet watching the telly and talking with a good friend instead of dressing up and attending some silly party. Perhaps she'd be able to avoid parties until they had one to celebrate the grand opening of the businesses sometime next month or in early February, depending on how things progressed, or until Ron's birthday, which would definitely require a nice party.
Hermione finished her cocoa and put the final touches on the sitting room. Once she was satisfied with its appearance, she went into the kitchen and refilled her mug. They were going to Molly's tent for dinner (well, she and Ron were, though she thought Harry was, too), so she decided to focus on making a really big breakfast before the boys woke up. She turned on the wireless and smiled as she looked around the warm kitchen. This was nice, being able to celebrate with her boys and actually acknowledge the holiday. The Muggle radio station was playing Christmas songs, and she began to softly sing along while she started to work on breakfast.