Disclaimer: Everything concerning Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. Rights to characters referenced from C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien belong to their estates. I own nothing, nor is this done for any purpose except my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of anyone reading this. There is no attempt to make any profit.
The Most Ancient Magic
Chapter Fifteen: Christmas at the Grangers
December rolled on, the students became more excited as the holidays grew closer. One day at lunch Professor McGonagall came round taking the names of the students who would be staying over the holidays. Ron looked expectantly at Harry. Harry shook his head, "I'm not staying this year. Professor Dumbledore arranged for me to go somewhere during the holidays, he won't tell me where." Hermione overheard their conversation and looked at Harry in surprise.
"Professor Dumbledore thinks that with me injured, the castle, with most of the people gone might prove to be too tempting a target for Voldemort to resist."
"I'm glad you've got somewhere to go, Harry," said Hermione that evening. "I was going to stay if you did, I didn't want you to be here alone. I know Ron isn't staying this year."
The term ended on a Friday. With school being over there was no Occlumency lesson that evening. Hanna Abbot was supposed to be the prefect on duty this Friday, but she had a bad cold, so Hermione filled in for her. Twice on her rounds she stopped by Harry's room. The door was closed which meant that Harry was asleep or somewhere else. She knocked softly the first time but got no answer. Later she decided to let him sleep.
The next morning she went to say goodbye and to find out what to do with Harry's Christmas present. Harry's door was open, but he wasn't there. Hermione looked around, some of Harry's clothes were missing as were his books and wand, he had gone. Tears filled her eyes when she realized that Harry had not even left her a note. Sadly she returned to Gryffindor tower to get her things. As she brought her luggage to the common room she met Ron and Ginny. They headed down to the entrance together
"Hermione, would you like to come visit on Boxing Day? I'll ask Mum when we get to the station," asked Ron.
"Thanks, Ron, I think I'd like that. If it's ok with your parents."
"Where's Harry?" asked Ginny.
Hermione whispered, "He's gone." She tried to fight her emotions, but a small sob escaped as she added, "and he didn't even say goodbye."
Ron launched into a small tirade about how rude people were. He was angered by the way Harry had hurt Hermione's feelings.
Luna joined Ginny at the doors of the castle. They chatted for a minute and followed Ron and Hermione outside. The carriages were waiting. Ginny ran into Ron, almost knocking him over, he and Hermione were staring, open-mouthed in wonder.
"Ron, Hermione, what is it? Are you ok?" she asked urgently.
"Thestrals, we can see the Thestrals," they chorused.
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The trip to Kings Cross station was uneventful. They all shared a compartment and tried to cheer Hermione up by playing Exploding Snap. She eventually got into the spirit of the game and joined the conversation.
They said their farewells at the station and went their separate ways. There was, of course, no objection to a visit and Molly promised to have the Granger's fireplace connected to the floo network for the day.
"Why the long face, One?" asked Janet as they drove home.
"I'm mad at Harry, he left for the holidays and he didn't say where he was going. Ok, I understand why, but he didn't say goodbye, or even have the decency to leave a note."
"Surely he will have a good explanation." Hugh commiserated.
"What surprises me is how much it hurts, and I don't know why."
"Yes you do, One, you're in love with him, and you want him to include you in his plans. It hurts because you feel left out," said Janet.
"Would having Chinese food for dinner cheer you up, One?" asked her father.
"I guess so."
Hugh stopped at their favorite restaurant and they bought all of Hermione's favorites. It seemed rather a lot for the three of them, but Hermione felt they were just trying to cheer her up, and it had been rather a long time since she had had Pepper Steak or Sweet and Sour Pork.
It felt good to turn into the driveway of their house at last. Grabbing her luggage they entered her home. Hugh and Hermione took her things up the stairs to her room while Janet took the food to the kitchen. Coming down the stairs afterwards Hugh told Hermione, "One, there is an early Christmas present in the library for you, why don't you go get it and we'll have dinner." He walked, smiling, into the kitchen.
Hermione turned right at the foot of the stairs and walked down the hall to the room at the back of the house. They called it the library but it also served as an office and computer room. There was a desk, sleeper sofa, a chair, lamp, and coffee table furnishing the room. There were no windows and the room was darkened when she opened the door.
She crossed to the lamp and turned it on, looking around for a box. Hermione gasped, doing a quick double take, there was a figure sleeping on the sofa! Recovering from the shock she noted the black Hogwarts work robe. She knew it was Harry, his staff was on the floor beside the sofa. She went over to him. Harry was sleeping peacefully using his cloak as a pillow. Resisting the urge to hit him with his staff she shook him gently, "Wake up, Harry, it's dinner time."
Harry opened his eyes and smiled sleepily at her. "How was your trip?"
Hermione stood up, took a deep breath, and blew up, "HARRY! YOU BEAST! DON'T YOU EVER DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!" Tears sparkled in her eyes, "HOW COULD YOU?" She took a moment to calm down, "You didn't say goodbye or even leave me a note!" she hissed through clenched teeth. Harry recognized the look in her eyes, the one time he had seen it before Hermione had slapped Draco Malfoy.
Harry was startled into complete consciousness by the explosion. "But-but I did, I left you a note on my desk, I left the door open so you could find it."
Hermione calmed down a little. "I looked, Harry, I didn't find one," she said angrily. "Did it vanish or did you really forget? If you did what could have happened to it?"
Not wanting Hermione to be angry with him he desperately tried to remember what he had done with the note. "I wrote it, sealed it, I put it on the desk…I…got my books…and then…I added a PS, resealed it and…" Harry went to the desk where he had stacked his books. "Oh no," he gasped, "I'm so sorry, Hermione," he held out his transfiguration textbook. A note, addressed to her was stuck to the back. The wax he had used to reseal it had caused it to stick to the book.
Hermione smiled slightly, pleased that he had thought of her, "Come on, Harry, dinner is going to get cold. Do you like Chinese?"
"I don't know, I've never eaten any. It's not fish eyes and guts or anything like that is it?" he asked as he picked up his staff.
"No, that's Japanese," she giggled as they made their way to the kitchen.
"I heard the explosion, did you two work out your problem, One?" asked her mother.
Hermione held up the note that Harry had written, "Yes, ma'am."
"Welcome, Harry, I like your robe, it makes you look very mysterious."
"Thank you, Dr. Granger, and thanks for letting me spend the holiday with you."
Now Hermione knew why they had bought so much. Harry found it all delicious.
He explained to Hermione that he had arrived at her house with Professor McGonagall early that afternoon. The Grangers were not there when he arrived. They had left instructions on where he was to sleep and had left a snack for him to eat. Since he had had such an early start to his day he had fallen asleep.
After dinner Hermione read the note Harry had written.
Dear Hermione,
Sorry I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, I'm going by portkey to St. Mungo's for a check up. Then to whereever I am going for the holiday. I had been to Hagrid's, when I came back I saw Susan Bones, she said you were on duty for Hanna Abbot. I hoped you would come by, but I guess I was asleep.
Have a happy Christmas! See you after the holiday.
Love Harry.
PS Hedwig will bring your Christmas present on Thursday, please look for her. I guess I'll get mine when I get back to Hogwarts. Happy Christmas
"What did the healers say Harry?" asked Hugh.
"They are pleased with my progress, but they still can't find an underlying cause for the difficulty I have when I start to move or why I'm so jerky."
"Well, hopefully we can help your progress during the next couple of weeks. I will be able to teach you some real Tai Chi."
They spent a pleasant evening talking about the things that happened after the Grangers had left Hogwarts. Then they spent an hour learning the rudiments of Tai Chi, after which Harry was ready to go to bed.
"We just have a couple of rules for the holiday. After nine thirty you can't be in each other's bedrooms, although you can be together in any of the other rooms as late as you want to be. During the day you can be anywhere together, just leave the door open. Ok?"
They nodded.
"Come on, Harry. I'll show you how to open the bed in the library. You will need to make it up during the daytime or there will be no room."
Hugh and Harry opened and made up the bed and Harry found places for his things in the room. He then went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. When he came down, Hermione and her parents called "Good night" from the kitchen.
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The next morning Harry woke, took his potion, dressed, and made up the sofa. He went into the kitchen where he found Janet Granger preparing breakfast. "Is there anything special you would like to eat? We don't usually make a big fuss about breakfast."
"No thanks, what ever everyone else is having."
The others joined them and after a light breakfast they practiced their Tai Chi lessons.
"Would you like to see my room, Harry?" Hermione asked when they had finished.
"Sure," Harry smiled as he followed her up the stairs.
Hermione's room was to the left at the top of the stairs. It was very much Hermione. She had her own small library, her school books and the books on the wizarding world all neatly catalogued. Her desk was stocked with ink, quills, and parchment, her class notes were neatly filed and there was a picture of them together at the fort in Nassau. Harry smiled when he saw it, his copy was still in his trunk. He had never found a frame he liked. Hermione had a shadow box on her wall with all of her school awards. The thing that surprised Harry most was Hermione had, on her bed, a small collection of teddy bears with pride of place given to a love-worn unicorn. "His name is Jewel, after a character in a C. S. Lewis story that I read. He went everywhere with me," she explained.
That afternoon Harry helped the Grangers select a Christmas tree and decorate the sitting room. He pretended not to notice the sprig of Mistletoe that Hermione had hung in the doorway, and he spent the next few hours skillfully avoiding being caught under it.
Dinner was a simple affair, after which he and Hermione worked on their homework and practiced Tai Chi. Harry gave Hermione a hug and said good night.
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With the arrival of Monday morning Hugh was preparing to go to the office, Janet was staying home with Harry and Hermione. After lunch Janet would be at the office and Hugh would be home.
After their exercises Hermione invited Harry to go on a walk through her neighborhood. They spent the morning looking at the places where Hermione had spent her childhood. She showed him the park where she had played, her primary school, and the library that had become a refuge. She showed him the homes of her acquaintances as they wended their way towards her house. As noon approached the clouds lowered with the promise of snow later in the afternoon.
With the weather closing in they did some homework, hoping to finish so they wouldn't be working at the end of the holiday.
After Tai Chi that afternoon Harry and Hermione helped with supper so that it was ready when Janet came home from work.
After dinner Hugh asked "One, may I have Harry for the evening?"
"What for?" she asked sounding somewhat disappointed.
"I'd like a chance to get to know him a little better, I thought we'd play chess."
Frowning slightly, Hermione agreed.
Hugh and Harry went to the library where Hugh set up the chessboard. "Hermione tells me you play Wizard's Chess, tell me about it."
"You tell your pieces what to do and the pieces carry out your instructions. The pieces fight and drag each other off the board, they also try to give you advice. Hermione thinks it's barbaric, it's also the only thing she ever loses at, which Ron and I think is good for her."
Hugh smiled. "Sorry, but you'll have to move your own pieces here." They played a game, which Harry lost but he did rather well, moving his own pieces helped him concentrate.
"In Wizard's Chess is the fight real or does the moving piece always win?"
"The moving piece always wins, at least as far as I have seen," replied Harry.
"Ahh, then the normal rules apply," Hugh observed. "Have you ever heard of 'Battle Chess', Harry?" Hugh asked as he placed a couple of dice on the table beside the board.
Harry shook his head.
"In Battle Chess, when you attack a square, the piece 'defends' itself. We each roll a die and the player with the higher number wins the 'battle'. The player with the lower number loses his piece. In the case of a tie neither player loses a piece, but the attacking player loses his turn. The game is weighted toward the attacker. When attacking the king always wins, the queen adds four to the roll, the castle adds three, the bishop and knight add two, and the pawn adds one," Hugh explained. "Care to try?"
"Sure."
They played a couple of games in which Harry won one, mostly due to a couple of lucky dice throws, and Hugh the other. "Why do you play chess this way?" he asked.
"Mostly as a change of pace. You can't depend on an attack succeeding. So you must adjust your strategy, you plan not only for winning but also losing a battle. It just forces you to stretch your game. It is also a reminder of how war really is."
Harry thought about what Dr. Granger had said. "Are you saying you can't plan a battle?"
"You can plan a battle. In fact, you have to try. However a German, Field Marshall von Moltke, once said 'Plans rarely survive contact with the enemy.' What you can't plan are your enemy's reactions or the casualties. You need to have contingency plans for the parts that don't go well, or if one of your key people is taken out."
"Like Cedric being killed?" asked Harry, tears starting in his eyes.
"Well, I hadn't thought of that, but the lesson on casualties applies. Actually, I was trying to show you what is ahead. If this Voldemort is as aggressive as they say, you are in for a hard fight. I wanted to prepare you to face the fact that not everybody survives a war. Think about Voldemort's attack on you, it failed when Ron and Luna intervened. It seems obvious he meant to distract you with the first group, and hit you," Hugh swallowed hard, "and Hermione, from behind with the second two. He came off rather badly he lost two and you survived"
Harry nodded, he hadn't cried over Sirius' death for a while, and for some reason he didn't seem to be able to stop himself. To his surprise Hugh had tears in his eyes too. "It always hurts to remember lost comrades," he pointed to a picture of several sailors, "five of those men were killed by a bomb during our war in the Falkland Islands. I still cry when I think of them, they were good shipmates. I read somewhere that it is all right to weep because 'not all tears are evil'.
They sat silently together grieving their losses. After a few minutes Hugh chuckled, "You know, Harry, the character who said that about not all tears being evil was a wizard."
Harry looked at him in surprise, "Muggles have stories about wizards?"
"Certainly, I mean everyone knows the name 'Merlin', but wizards are the stuff of legend. Right?"
"Yeah, I guess so. I never had a library card, so all I read was from school. I don't remember seeing any stories about wizards."
Hugh got up and went over to the bookshelf. He searched for a minute and pulled a large book, he thought for a minute, then put it back. "You may not be ready for that one yet," Hugh smiled. He pulled a smaller book and handed it to Harry. "You might enjoy this one more." He handed Harry the book, it was titled The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. "This author has been a favorite of mine for a long time. You may have time to read this over the holidays."
"Thanks, Dr. Granger."
Hugh helped Harry set up his bed and he bade him good night.
Harry gathered his things and went upstairs to shower. When he came out he found Hermione waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. She was smiling at him, his stomach gave a small lurch as he started down the stairs. Hermione was wearing her nightdress, a light robe, and slippers. For some reason Harry noticed her ankles above her fuzzy slippers. He hadn't really noticed until now, but Hermione was different. She wasn't as straight as she used to be, of course, as he had noted before, she wasn't carrying around a load of books, but she had curves. Of course, he thought, I could just now be noticing them.
"Did you have fun playing chess?" she asked.
"It was different tonight, but I did have fun, and your dad lent me a book. Have you ever read The Hobbit?"
"Dad read it to me when I was little. I liked it very much. I hope you enjoy it. Sleep well, Harry." Hermione met him coming up the stairs and hugged him.
As she pressed against him Harry sensed it again, "I love you, Harry." He was sure she had said nothing, but somehow he had "heard" it. "Good night," he answered as they broke apart. Harry turned down the hall and went to his room.
He was desperately trying to figure out what he had heard, and how he had heard it. He began practicing his Occlumency lessons trying to calm his emotions. He even came up with the idea of combining it with Tai Chi. He calmed himself as he began the form. Harry allowed his mind to relax and it came to him. He was experiencing a memory of the night he was hurt. His discovery brought him no peace. In fact, he spent a restless night feeling like he was standing on the edge of a cliff. He did not know how long he lay there, his thoughts racing, but at last he fell asleep.