Lovebirds [Hedric]

Unexpected Fortunes from Unexpected Cookies

It was a snowy morning in December and many students were gathering at the Great Hall to eat. Harry, on the other hand, is still on his bed dreaming about things. Mainly Christmas. For once, he didn't have a nightmare. But his slumber will soon be interrupted by his best friend, Ron. Though he is asleep, Harry knows it very well. He was silently expecting a certain redhead to yank the covers off in three...two...one.

"Wake up, Harry!" Ron shouted as he tugged the covers off in one pull. The black-haired boy groaned.

"Ah, I'm awake, I'm awake," he slurs as he gets up and reaches for his glasses. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Ron chuckled. "And merry Christmas. C'mon, let's go eat breakfast!"

"Yeah, I'll follow," Harry smiled. He was still pretty much asleep. Well, half-asleep. He groggily got up and changed from his pajamas to the usual uniform. After that, Harry thought he'd brush his hair a bit. He snatched a comb from the drawer and started grooming his hair. Unfortunately, he still looked a bit like before. His jet-black hair was still indeed, untidy.

Well, I tried, Harry shrugged as he fixed his red and gold tie, and trotted to the Great Hall. Noise, chatter and gossip filled the area in every inch and corner. Hundreds of pupils gathered in small groups, jabbering about the latest things that happened around the campus. Harry quickly sprinted to the Gryffindor table and sat down right next to his best friends.

"Ah, you finally made it," Ron sneered playfully. Harry rolled his eyes. He turned to Hermione.

"Good morning," he smiled.

"Good morning," she replied cheerfully. "And merry Christmas! Have you opened your presents yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm excited," Harry uttered with glee. After eating breakfast, the three dashed to the common room. They sat on the large, velvet couch near a fireplace and began checking and looking at their gifts.

"Wow," Ron exclaimed. "You have a lot of gifts."

"Yeah," Harry chuckled.

Hermione came over to see. "I wonder who they're from."

"Probably from my muggle friends," Harry answered. "The Dursleys might be mean and cruel, but at least they let me go out and play with the neighborhood kids when I was younger."

"That's great," Hermione cheered.

"What are they like?" Ron asked with his full attention. Harry chuckled. Since Ron was a pureblood wizard, he doesn't normally get to interact or even know about muggles. Even though his dad is very fond of them. "Are they mean like those gits you're forced to live with?"

"No, they're very different from the Dursleys," Harry explained. "They're nice, that's one trait."

"What else?" Ron eagerly inquired.

Harry cleared his throat. "Well, they're funny, cheerful, goofy, fun to be with and more stuff..."

"Hey," Hermione interrupted. "Are we still gonna open our gifts?"

"Oh, yeah, right," Harry said, suddenly remembering the presents. Ron looked at his gifts first. He opened a lumpy parcel to reveal a maroon jumper. Ron groaned while Harry giggled.

"Looks like you got another Weasley jumper," Harry teased. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Shut up," Ron snapped, his face tinted pink from embarrassment. Harry chortled and looked through his presents. When he still didn't attend Hogwarts (or knew he was a wizard), the neighbors' kids were the only family Harry had. They snuck him out, joked around with him, and after discovering magic, they even accepted the fact that he was...abnormal. During Christmas, they'd bombard Harry with gifts, but of course the Dursleys were not pleased and Dudley would usually snatch some of Harry's gifts away. That's why they kept them at their house or houses. By they, it meant Harry's muggle friends. They made him forget about how bad his life was at the Dursleys. Well, most of the time.