When Harry reached the dining hall, he started to look for an empty table, but before he had a chance to do so, Fred and George ran over to him.
Fred grabbed his arm, and said, "there you are. We've been looking for you everywhere."
"Yeah, honestly. It was as if you fell off the face of the earth. We won, you know," George said pulling his other arm.
They dragged him over to the table where the team was sitting, and thrust him into an empty seat. By the time he had adjusted his glasses, he saw that he was sitting next to Hermione. He saw that she looked as uncomfortable as he felt.
Hermione broke the awkward silence, without looking at him, she said, "congratulations on the victory."
Harry looked at her, and said, "uh, thanks. We couldn't have done it without your help though, so thanks a lot."
"No problem. It was my pleasure."
Angelina said, "you never told us, where did you get that information anyway?"
Hermione paused, and hesitantly said, "it was one of the members from one of the world cup teams."
They all stared at her, but it was Fred who asked, "which member, of which team?"
Hermione said something that nobody was able to hear.
George the put his hand to his ear, and said, "sorry, what was that again?"
She them said, in a barely audible tone, "it was Viktor."
Ron spit out what he was drinking, and choked out, "Krum? It was Krum? When did you have a chance to ask him anyway?"
After another moment, she said, "well, we have been writing to each other ever since the end of last year."
The table went deathly quiet as their eyes kept shifting from Hermione to Harry, and back again. Harry wasn't sure how to react, but figured that this wasn't exactly the right time to show that he is outraged over something like this.
Alicia said, "I wonder if Durmstrang has already played their first match yet."
Hermione nodded, saying, "uh, yeah. They won."
Fred asked, "what was the score?"
Hermione answered him, "170 to nothing. It was over in less than ten minutes."
Ron dropped his cup, and Fred and George just stared at each other. Nobody said anything for several minutes as they all took this in. Harry knew Krum was good, but ten minutes, against the best a school had to offer.
Finally, Fred let out a low whistle, "170-zip. Who did they play?"
George said, "Helen Keller's school of the deaf and blind?"
Angelina the cut off Hermione before she had a chance to answer his question, saying, "that doesn't matter. We have to worry about our game, not theirs."
Harry looked at the fire in her eyes, and spoke up, "she's right, or course. We have to work harder if we want a chance to beat them."
They spent most of the rest of dinner talking about what they did wrong in the match, and things that they will need to work on before their next match. When they were discussing it, Fred said, "I wonder when the next match is."
Hermione, still staring at her plate, and looking thoroughly disinterested in their conversation, said, "it'll be during the Easter break."
The all returned their attention to Hermione, who did not say anything else. George asked, "how do you know that?"
Hermione looked rather uncomfortable, but didn't answer. After a minute Ron said, "I wonder who we are playing."
Hermione started to say something, but stopped herself. They all seemed to have noticed this, and Angelina asked, "what is it Hermione? Do you know?"
Hermione shook her head, and said, "no, but we will find out on valentine day, after they have sorted out the second round pairings."
They finished dinner quietly, and after a little while, the students started to take their leave, heading to the dormitories. After a few minutes, Harry and Hermione were alone at their table. Hermione looked up from her plate for the first time in a while, and after a moment were it looked as though she were going to say something, she stood up, and made her way out of the dining hall.
Harry sat alone for a moment with his thoughts, before he got up slowly, and made his way slowly to his dormitory. He changed and went to bed, but he could not get to sleep. He stared out of the window into the dark night's sky, lost in thought.
As he listened to the rhythmic sounds of Ron's breathing, Harry decided to finish working on his Christmas gift for Hermione. After he took the box, and placed it on his bed, he worked hard deep into the night, until he saw the first signs of dawn appearing in the horizon.
He looked at what he had completed, and with a feeling of satisfaction, he placed it back in the box, and into his trunk. After finishing for the night, he decided to try again to get some sleep. Harry drifted quickly off, thinking that he would find out soon enough if his plan was going to work or not.
Just after Harry had finally managed to fall off to sleep, he felt something warm in front of his face. As he opened his eyes, the sight of two large green eyes greeted him. He jolted up, and after catching his breath, gasping, "Dobby, is that you?"
Dobby smiled, and after a moment he said, "yes, sir. I am most sorry for disturbing you."
After recovering from the shock of being woken up by Dobby again, Harry regained his composure, and after taking a deep breath, he said, "that's ok Dobby, but is there something you wanted?"
"Yes, there is. I know what you are planning on doing tomorrow."
Harry looked at Ron, who was still fast asleep, and he tuned back to Dobby before he asked, "what do you mean?"
"I know what you are planning on giving Miss Hermione for Christmas, and I want to help."
Harry was stunned by this, and after he considered it, he said, "I appreciate it, but I think I have it under control."
The house elf smiled, and said, "yes. I am sure that the great and good Harry Potter has done something wonderful, but I want to help in some way."
He was a little confused by this, and he asked, "why?"
"Well, the thing is, she showed concern for us house elves, when no one else has, and I want to pay her back for that."
Harry looked at Dobby for a moment while considering what his request. After deciding that he had a valid point, he nodded and said, "ok Dobby. What is it you want to do then."
"I beg your pardon sir, but I am going to need to see what you have done so far."
Harry looked over at Ron once more, to make sure that he was still asleep, and once he appeared to be satisfied that he was, he grabbed his box. After he pulled it out, he took out his project and handed it to Dobby. Dobby quietly looked through what Harry had done. After a few minutes, he snapped his fingers, and handed it back to Harry.
As Harry looked at his gift, he was confused. With a bewildered look on his face, he asked, "what did you do Dobby?"
Dobby gave a weak smile, and said, "you will find out soon enough, but I must go for now."
"Goodbye Dobby, and thanks."
"No, it is I that should thank you."
"I'll see you later then."
Dobby smiled, and said, "if you say so, then I know you will," and he snapped his fingers, and disappeared.
Harry was curious as to what he had done, but he was also getting pretty tired, so he put it back into his trunk, and he dropped off to sleep as soon as his head touched his pillow.
The next several days passed by rather quickly, and Christmas Eve was upon them. Harry was walking alone on the grounds of Beauxbatons, turning over the events that have lead to this point over in his head. After a while, he saw his owl Hedwig glide over to him, and he stretched out his arm for her to land.
"Hello Hedwig."
She cooed, and nibbled affectionately upon his fingers. As he looked upon her, he saw that she had a delivery for him. He untied the letter from her leg, and quickly opened it. When he began to read the letter, his spirits picked up a bit when he realized whom it was from.
Dear Harry,
I am sorry that I was unable to make it to your first match. I hope you can understand that I did try my best to make it, but I was unavoidably detained.
I heard that you had won, and while I was hardly surprised by this, I was still pleased by this news. While that was an excellent start, you still have two matches remaining, so I need not remind you that you still have a long way to go.
I heard about you and Hermione, and I would like to wish the two of you luck. Relationships are tricky, and you are going to have your share of problems along the way, but I haven't seen two people that were better suited for each other since, well, since a long time ago.
I also want to tell you not to worry about Ron. You are closer then you may think, and I believe that everything will work out in the end.
I want to once again congratulate you, and tell you that I look forward to seeing you again in the near future.
Best of luck,
Remus
Harry put away the letter, and walked back toward the portal to the castle, when he ran into someone that he would rather avoid now.
"Pardon moi, Harre," Fleur said.
Harry looked at her and after a moment he simply nodded, and said, "yes?"
"Ure upset wit me, and I cannot blaime you. I just wanted to apologize for my behavior. It was most inexcusable."
Harry looked at her for a moment, before he nodded, and said, "forget about it."
"I hope your little girlfriend forgives you. If there iz nething I can do, pleaze let me know."
Harry took a deep breath, the he calmly said, "thank you, but this is isn't your problem. This is something that I am going to have to deal with myself, thanks."
Without waiting for a reply, he walked away from her, thinking of how he got himself in this position to begin with. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the portal. After he passed through, he saw that that the castle had been magnificently decorated for Christmas.
As he walked up to toward the dormitories, he saw an enormous tree set up in their common room. When he saw this, he wondered whether he should present Ron with the gift that he had bought him. He purchased it while they were in Diagon Alley, and now he wasn't sure if it would be appropriate, or if it would even be appreciated.
He wrestled with the decision as he walked to the Dining Hall for dinner. As he walked into the hall, he thought to himself that he has not dreaded Christmas this much since before he started attending Hogwarts.
He sat down at an empty table, for what he hoped would be a quiet dinner. After a few moments, he realized that he was not going to get his wish, as Fred and George pounced onto the seats on either side of him.
Fred looked around, apparently attempting to make sure nobody would be able to overhear them. When he appeared sufficiently satisfied that they had an appropriate degree of privacy, he quietly said, "we have some good news."
Harry, figuring that he knew what they must have been talking about, interrupted them, "if you're talking about your catalog, I already saw it."
George shook his head, "no, not that. That's small potatoes compared to what we have in store now."
After Harry looked onto their eager faces, he paused for a moment before saying, "what are you talking about?"
"Look, we aren't going to be in school much longer, so we have to prepare for our future," Fred said.
"We have spent a good deal of time preparing for life after Hogwarts, but, as much as we enjoy this tournament, it has set back our plans considerably," George explained.
Fred added, "you see, we were expecting be off for the holidays. But this diversion has opened up some unforeseen opportunities."
Harry was getting a really bad feeling in his stomach now, "what kind of opportunities?"
"We really can't get into that here, but since none of this would have been possible without your help, we wanted you to have something," Fred said.
"You really don't need to give me anything," Harry protested.
George said, "we spent a lot of time discussing it, trying to figure out what we should give you, without much success."
"That was, until we found this," Fred said, as he Handed Harry a small box wrapped in gold wrapping paper. "Happy Christmas."
As Harry took the package, he started to open it when George quietly said, "not here. Open it later when you are alone."
Harry quickly put the package into the pocket of his robes, and thanked them for his present. After they left him, Harry was considering whether to open it or not, when someone else joined him at his table.
"Hello, Harry," he heard a familiar voice say. As he looked, he saw Cho standing in front of him. He was surprised that she was speaking to him. He looked at her for a moment, wondering what it was that she wanted.
"Hello, Cho."
She motioned to a chair at his table, and asked, "may I?"
"Please do."
"I need to talk to you."
"Won't your boyfriend mind?"
"Well, that's actually what I want to talk to you about."
"Go on."
"When I started going out with him, it was more to get back at you than anything else."
Harry had suspected that, but he just nodded waiting for her to continue.
"But in the last couple of months I have gotten to know him, and," she trailed off.
"And?"
"This is tearing him up. I mean you are his best friend, and while he won't admit it, he misses you."
Harry was grateful to hear that Ron seemed to be taking their separation as badly as he was. He looked at her and said, "Ron has made it very clear how he feels. If he has had a change of heart he should come to me."
Harry saw Ron walk into the dining hall, and when he saw Harry and Cho together, he shot them a scathing look, as he headed to a table across the hall.
Cho shook her head, and said, "I got to go, but if you miss him as much as he misses you, maybe you should be the one to swallow your pride and make the first move, because neither of you is benefiting from this."
With that, Cho got up, and walked over to Ron's table, where she sat next to him. They were having a pretty heated conversation, but even if he would have been able to hear any of it, he was to preoccupied to pay it any mind.
As he was lost with his thoughts, he was suddenly brought back to realty by a concerned sounding voice, "are you ok Harry?"
Harry looked up at his godfather's face. "Yes, I am," he lied.
Sirius looked into his eyes, and leaning forward he said, "you know you're a terrible liar, don't you?"
After Harry didn't say anything Sirius said, "it'll be nice to get back home."
"When are we leaving?"
"The day after tomorrow. We're staying for Christmas, and then we will be off."
At least that was something he could look forward to. As much as he enjoyed his time here, he thought that it would be nice to return to the familiar Hogwarts grounds.
After dinner, Harry went up to his dormitory, and when he found that it was empty, he assumed that Ron and Cho had been able to work out their little squabble. After putting the last few finishing touches on his presents, he changed and fell off to sleep.
After a pretty restless night, Harry woke up to find that it was still dark out. He looked at his watch and saw that it was only six in the morning. He would have tried to go back to sleep, but he was too restless, so he got up and gathered his presents and headed down to the Christmas tree in the common room.
Harry was the first to arrive at the common room, and he deposited his presents with the pile at the base of the tree. He saw that a few of the packages under the tree had his name on it, so he grabbed the biggest one and sat down on a chair in an isolated corner of the room.
When he looked at it, he realized that it was from Mrs. Weasley. He opened it up to find a green sweater, along with several pies. Harry felt a little guilty accepting the gift, considering the problems he was having with Ron.
As Harry was about to open another present, he heard someone coming downstairs. As they approached, Harry slid back in his chair, hoping that they wouldn't notice him. He saw someone sit down in front of the tree and start grabbing packages.
From the light of the fireplace, he saw Ron's flaming red hair. He sat as quietly as he could, hoping that Ron wouldn't notice that he was there. Harry had heard him unwrapping several presents, but when the noise seemed to stop, he leaned forward slightly to see why. There was silence, and Harry could just see Ron's head as he looked at something in his hands.
After a moment, Harry thought he knew why he had stopped. He felt sick as he realized that he must have gotten to his present for him. He wasn't sure how Ron was going to react, but he would rather have not been here for this.
Harry was about to get up from the chair, without gaining Ron's attention, when he heard someone else coming down. He quickly sat back in the chair, hoping that he would remain undetected. He saw someone coming from the girls' dormitory, but he wasn't able to make out whom it was.
When the girl had gotten close to the light from the fireplace, he was able to make out that it was Cho. She walked over, and sat down on the floor next to Ron. When she sat down, she gave him a kiss. Harry thought that this would be a perfect time to make his exit, since he assumed they would be preoccupied.
He must have been too busy concentrating on them to notice that several other people had come down. Harry got up, and walked around the perimeter of the room, but before he got to the staircase to the boys' dormitory, he walked into someone who had just come down from the girls'.
As he was about to apologize, he realized that it was Hermione that he almost knocked onto the floor. As they looked into each other's eyes, Harry wanted to say something, but he was having a hard time of it. Before he could think of anything, Hermione walked past him.
Harry put the only present that he had collected into his trunk. He went up to the roof, hoping that he would have some privacy. When he got there, he was relieved to see that it was vacant. When he sat down, he felt happy that he had decided to bring his sweater, since it was quite chilly up top.
In the cold morning air, all he could do was think of his friends, who were sitting downstairs in the warm common room, and how he wished he could be with them now, instead of up here alone. He wiped a tear from his cheek, and rocked back and forth on the bench.
After a few moments his hands were getting cold, so he put them in his robes to keep warm. When he did this, he realized that he still had the present that Fred and George had given him earlier. Harry took out the package, and slowly started to unwrap it.
He looked at what the twins had gotten him and he hadn't the slightest idea of what it was. He rotated it in his hands, put it up to the light, shook it, did everything he could think of, but he still was no closer to figuring out what it is supposed to be.
Harry was starting to get very cold, and he had given up on figuring out what it was that Fred and George had given him. He looked at his watch, and realized that it was nearly lunchtime. Harry got up and went back down to the common room.
When he found that it was empty, he retrieved the rest of his gifts, and took a seat near the fireplace. When he chose the first gift, he had a sick feeling in his stomach. The gift was from the Dursleys. It was a cotton ball. He just shook his head as he placed it in the pocket of his robes.
Affixed to it was a short note from his uncle.
Harry
Here is your gift. We hope you decide to stay at school for your next holiday, and maybe you can talk to them about the summer while you are at it.
Vernon Dursley
After he crumpled it up and tossed it into the fire, he reached for the next package. Harry was surprised to see that it was from Ron. Harry wasn't entirely certain whether he wanted to open it or not, but his curiosity got the best of him.
He quickly tore off the wrapping paper, looking at what Ron had gotten him. It was a miniature model of his Spitfire. After Harry let it go, it hovered eyelevel in front if him. Harry admired the replica of the broom for a while before grabbing it, and placing it in the pocket of his robes.
There was one package left unopened. Harry looked at the meticulously wrapped package and knew whom it must be from even before he saw the card. He looked at Hermione's gift for a few minutes before he started to unwrap it.
When he had finished unwrapping the box, he saw that Hermione had given him a quill. It was a phoenix-feather quill to be exact. Harry wondered what special abilities it might have, if any. He picked it up and twirled it around his fingers. It had a really nice feel to it. Great balance, he thought.
It was getting late and Harry was pretty hungry, so he went down to the dining hall, that he found was still full. As he looked for a place to sit, Fred and George corralled him, and brought him over to the table where the team was sitting, and thrust him into the seat next to Hermione.
Harry wanted to say something to her, maybe thank her for his gift, but decided against it. When he looked over, he saw Hermione appeared to be looking at him, but quickly looked away when he turned to her.
After a moment, Angelina got up and brought a large box over to Hermione, who was obviously surprised by this, "this is from the team. Merry Christmas."
Hermione looked speechless as she took the box. She carefully unwrapped the box, and eventually pulled out a set of the teams Quidditch Robes with Granger and a number 1 on the back.
Hermione gasped, "what is this?"
Fred then smirked and said, "I know you may not like Quidditch, but those are Quidditch Robes."
"And she is supposed to be the top student of her class," George added.
Hermione snapped back to the moment, and said, "I know what it is. I meant why are you giving it to me?"
Alicia said, "because we all feel that you are a valuable member of the team."
"You've helped us so much already, we need something to show you that we really appreciate it," Kate added.
Hermione beamed at them all and, then looked at her gift as they finished dinner. When Harry got up, he was feeling pretty tired, and headed up to the dormitory, where he fell straight of to sleep.
Then next morning Harry woke up to find that they had arrived back at Hogwarts. He changed and headed back to the grounds as quickly as he was able to. The first place he decided to go to was the Quidditch pitch.
Harry always felt comfortable there. He took a seat high in the stands, and thought to himself that this was weird. He never had an opportunity to sit up here before. He tightened his robes as a gust of wind blew, ruffling his already untidy hair.
After a few of minutes, he saw a couple of people enter the stadium. They apparently spotted him, and made their way up to where he was. As they came closer, Harry saw that it was Fred and George, and they were wearing their traditional Weasley sweaters, although he noticed that they apparently switched, with Fred wearing the one with the G and George wearing the one with the F.
George sat to one side of him, and said, "you couldn't wait to get back here either, eh?"
Harry shook his head, and said, "Beauxbatons was nice and all, but it's not the same."
"Yeah," Fred said. "We couldn't wait to get back here either. When is our next practice Harry?"
Harry thought about it for a moment, before he said, "in a couple of days."
"Speaking of which, I can't wait to find out who we are playing," George said.
Harry was just as curious, "neither can I, although the only two schools I know of are Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."
"That'll be fun, playing against Krum, eh Harry," Fred prodded him.
Harry didn't answer, but all he could think of was the way Krum had thoroughly outplayed the Irish seeker in World cup, and how he didn't want to be embarrassed like that.
Harry was busy the next week preparing a game plan for a team he doesn't even know yet, while starting team practices as well as matches against the reserve team. Although he didn't know whom he would be facing, he decided to find everything he could on Krum, just in case.
Before he knew it, it was New Years Eve. He was grateful that the year was coming to a close, thinking that next year had to be better than this one. He was sitting alone in a chair by the fire as the common room slowly started to empty.
He looked down at his watch, which was giving a sleepy growl, and saw that it showed that there was one minute left. Harry wished that Hermione were with him now. Thirty seconds to go. He would be happy with Ron. Fifteen seconds now. He would even settle for Dudley now rather than being alone. Ten seconds remaining. He was wondering if he should just go to sleep. Five seconds. Harry took a deep breath. Three seconds. He closed his eyes. One second.
He felt someone place her arms around his shoulders and he felt whomever it was give him a small kiss on the cheek. He took a deep breath, before saying, "you better be careful. Hermione might show up."
The person who kissed him was walking around to his front, and as he looked up, he was surprised to see whom it was.