Yuletide Blessing in Disguise

A Midwinter Night's Dream

Hermione thought it best to leave it to Harry to explain things to Ron, hopefully avoiding triggering an outburst. She sat nearby in one of the cushioned armchairs, a book propped up in front of her face, half-listening as Harry quietly gave Ron the gist of things.

Ron gawked at Harry, not quite sure that he had heard correctly.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you're ditching Divination?"

"I didn't really have a choice, Ron," Harry retorted. "It was McGonagall's idea apparently."

"And you've got a bodyguard now?" The look in Ron's eye suggested a bit more than incredulity.

"Yeah! More or less... but not just for me - for Hermione as well."

"Bloody Hell!" Ron swore, scowling, tabling the issue of of Harry and Hermione's secret personal escort for the moment, as he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. But there was one feeling he was certain of.

"What am I going to do in Divination then?" Ron moaned. "We were supposed to be taking it together."

"Well, it's not going to be a piece of cake for me either, Ron," said Harry, his frustration growing. "I'm certainly not going to miss Trelawney predicting my death all the time, but I'm stuck in fourth year Ancient Runes and Arithmancy now - I'll be a year and half behind everyone else. ... While they're doing whatever, I'll be starting from scratch - the only one in the classes who's completely rubbish at them."

"Oh!" Ron deflated like a punctured balloon; he hadn't considered that angle. "That's bollocksed mate," he sighed, looking more sympathetic. "You're right Harry. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."

"Anyway, you'll still have Neville in Divination," Harry pointed out. "And I'll still see you in all our other classes..."

"Yeah, true enough," Ron agreed. "But all that extra homework - you probably won't have as much time to hang out after classes."

Harry nodded, then shrugged resignedly.

"Honestly, I'm not as fussed about the homework as I thought I would be," Harry confessed. "I just wish I'd picked Runes and Arithmancy to begin with, instead of Divination. What with Vol..." Harry caught himself, not wanting to upset Ron even more, "...withYou-Know-Who after me nearly every year, I should've been more focused on learning as much magic as possible if I ever want to stand a chance against him and finish him permanently one day. ... He's a bloody Evil Genius!"

"Suppose so," said Ron, "I'm just glad I'm not taking Runes and Arithmancy. Better you than me!"

Harry couldn't help grinning at that. Hermione snorted, her rolling eyes hidden by the novel.

~o0o~

"Writing a book, are you Draco?" asked Zabini, raising his eyebrows. "Thought you might want to sort things out with Pansy, instead of wasting your time."

"Mind your own business, Blaise!" snapped Draco.

"Suit yourself," Zabini shrugged. "It's no skin off my nose if you don't apologise to Pansy."

Draco scowled, seething as he continued penning a letter to his father. The Yule Ball had been an utter disaster, and it was all Potter's fault.

Potter had sowed the seeds of doubt in Pansy, who had told Daphne about Draco's demands to get her nose fixed if she wanted to go to the Yule Ball with him; Daphne had then refused his generous offer to take her to the Ball "on a matter of principle," standing by her friend, Pansy. And to top things off, Potter had humiliated Draco in front of that snooty French bitch.