ORDER ONLY: Happy Christmas

[alt_hermione]

I haven't written because I kept starting and then stopping again, because I didn't know how to say it. And then I realised that I had to put this under Order Only, or else everyone would be in the most awful trouble imaginable for me having written it. So here it is.

On Christmas Eve there was almost nobody in the castle and so Terry and I were happy because we knew we'd get a lot to eat at the feast, because the elves always cook too much! There were so many good things and it wasn't even Christmas Day yet! I had ham and duck and I'm sure there were other things too. And something with figs, and cookies with pepper in them, which one of the elves told me were German and they had gotten from an elf that they knew in the Black Forest!

And most of the professors left so there were just a few people, and Mr Lupin looked down at me and Terry and invited us to come up and sit, and Terry was too afraid of being punished to do it, but I did, and the big fire was dying, and we sat and there were still crackers left, and Mr Lupin put a paper crown on my head. And there were wonderful little toys in the crackers too! So I played with them, even though I'm really too big for toys, but Mr Lupin was playing too so it was all right. And we talked almost all night, because the next thing I knew there was the Headmistress, and I thought for sure I was in trouble, because I know that I'm not supposed to sit at the table, even if she is awfully nice to me (sorry Professor McGonagall, but sometimes you can be very frightening!) and I know I'm not supposed to trust Mr Lupin either.

But she told us that she had come back from church, and she taught us a song that I had never heard before, at least not exactly like, and the end of it went like this, because I was singing it all the next day, and I found a book in my niche on Christmas that had the song and lots of others too, only I can't sing them properly because I don't know the tunes:

For lo! the days are hastening on
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the age foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace their King,
And the whole earth send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

And I thought that sounded quite lovely, the whole world singing the same song. Only I don't know any of the other songs in the book except one that a lady in my camp used to sing and she'd call it the Old Hundered, but she was always talking to herself and she was a Muggle anyway.

Anyway then on Christmas Day I had presents, and I gave them, and it was wonderful - but more important Terry and I finally got to be together and we didn't sit at the table but the elves were ever so clever; they wrapped up a big box as if it were a present and two littler boxes so we were able to eat on them instead of on the floor! And that was so lovely especially since at Christmas Eve I had gotten to sit at the table like a student.

And there's more to say too but I can't think of it - oh I am so excited. Madam Pince told me that to-day I could work on whatever I wanted to work on, so I'm going to re-read Hogwarts, A History and maybe the new Ars Alchemica and get a dictionary and look up my list of words which is very long by now because I haven't looked any up in ages!

Comments

[alt_sirius]

Regarding Remus Mr Lupin, it's not that he is a bad sort or would mean you any harm, Hermione. I...don't believe that's the case at all. The danger with him is that he does seem so harmless, but he's not. Believe me. It's all right to treat him cordially, especially if Professor McGonagall doesn't mind, provided that you be careful not to be seen as too familiar with him in public. It's hard to explain properly, what to look out for.

I guess curiosity is one way to put it. If he seems overly inquisitive, wanting to know whether you (or Terry) know anything about what we're doing, like the resistance - that's something I should tell Professor McGonagall right away, if I were you.

You see, a long time ago, we thought we could trust him. And then it seemed we were terribly wrong. Now I'm not at all sure, but better safe than sorry.

Sorry. I'm probably not making sense. Too much of that fine birthday present from Shacklebolt, I expect.

[alt_mcgonagall]

I am glad you enjoyed the book, Miss Granger.