𝙻𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 II SS/HG ✔️

Christmas Morning

Hermione found all the presents at the foot of her bed aside from one that was on her bedside table. She immediately recalled Severus leaving the tiny potion on her bedside table at Hogwarts—and blushed to think he had gotten her a gift as well. It was very unlike him, she had thought, anyway.

But when she pulled the package, wrapped in gold paper, to her lap, it read From A.D. She was more curious about why the headmaster would gift her something than disappointed it wasn't from Severus.

Ginny was not yet awake. She didn't see anything similarly wrapped on Ginny's pile, so she opened Dumbledore's gift first in case it was meant to be kept private.

It was a well-used book titled Tales of Beedle the Bard.

She recognized these stories—they were fairytales she'd heard of. But why did Dumbledore want her to have them?

.

Severus showered and put all thoughts of Carrow and Granger out of his head. The only thing he pondered was what he might have on hand he could give as a plausible gift. Any book he had she could read (if she hadn't already) so that was a lazy option he would not stoop to.

Now that he was alone for the first time in several months, he walked from the shower to his wardrobe sans clothes—and jumped when Crookshanks darted out in front of him.

The cat circled back to twine around Severus's bare ankle.

"I don't like you."

The cat purred against his leg.

His mother, too, had stuck him with an odd name, so Severus could not fault the cat for that. But he was very large and very orange and was constantly in his business when Hermione was not around.

Crookshanks watched him dress. Severus tried to ignore the cat's stare. It was a little Dumbledore-like, as if the cat knew things.

Crookshanks darted out of the room the moment before Severus did. It walked with him to the private lab. Severus tried to mind the tail. But if he stepped on Crookshanks, well, that was Crookshanks' fault.

.

Hermione took advantage of the washroom since everyone else had a lie-in. The only other person awake was Molly in the kitchen. Hermione readied for a day of cleaning before the guests arrived in the evening. She put off opening the rest of her presents until Ginny or the boys woke up.

After she brushed her teeth and hair, she charmed some garland around the vanity mirror. She put garland over everyone's doors on the way back to her room with her pajamas folded in her arms.

She found Ginny was reluctantly awake. "Happy Christmas," she yawned.

"Happy Christmas. Presents?"

Ginny blindly felt around for them. Her hand landed on a squishy package. "There's the jumper."

Hermione opened hers at the same time. Without warning, her eyes filled with tears. Her dad always liked Molly's sweaters, how she knitted them with "Muggle needles but used magic at the same time."

Mum would always wish she could have "the knitting do itself!"

"How did I know you'd get me a book?" Ginny asked with vigor. "Oh, the new version of Quidditch Through the Ages. I bet that last World Cup is in here."

Hermione wiped her eyes. They both pretended Hermione had not been sniffling.

.

Severus dug through his locked cabinet. He had to lock the cabinet in his private lab lest another Gryffindor witch steal from him.