Chapter 3
Draco’s first day back at home had been great.
He had told his parents all about his classes, although most of it had already been in his letters, and about how the Boy Wonder was Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and how the prat had even won the first game by sheer luck, although that had been the main topic of several letters already, too.
It was still different to tell them in person and as much as he enjoyed Hogwarts, he had missed them and his home.
Which made him think about Hermione Granger’s situation again. While both his parents were happy to have him home and listened indulgently to everything they had already read about, her parents didn’t even want to see her. That made him even more sorry that they had ignored her all that time. Yes, he had stood up for her against that idiot Flint on their first day, but that didn’t change that she had been an outsider for months for no good reason and that he had made her cry by making fun of her, just because she had tried to help.
In the last week, however, he had gotten to know her a little and she wasn’t bad company at all. She was brilliant and it was fun studying with her and she liked to read, like Draco did. He had recommended her a few of his favourite books and she had gone to look them up in the school library. As much as he loved his friends, none of them shared that particular hobby, and he couldn’t wait hearing what she thought.
When he was done complaining about Potter, he looked at his parents. “Can we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?”
“I thought you already ordered all Christmas gifts?” His mother looked at him with an amused smile on her lips. “Did you forget something?”
“Not really. Do you remember Hermione Granger? I mentioned her a few times in my letters.”
“The ‘swot’ who dares to be better than you in most subjects?” Lucius asked with a raised eyebrow and Draco blushed. Yes, that was basically all he had written about her. His father had not had it, though. He had written back that if he wanted to be on the same level, he had to work harder and he had only himself to blame, if he wasn’t willing to do that. He knew Lucius was proud of his achievements so far; that hadn’t been him telling him it wasn’t enough, it had been him warning his son not to let his own shortcomings out on one of his housemates. Draco wished he had listened.
“Yes … She’s not really a swot,” he admitted quietly. “We spent some time together lately and she’s actually really nice.” He looked at both his parents. “She’s spending Christmas at Hogwarts because her parents don’t want her home.” Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy exchanged a surprised look as Draco went on. “They’re Muggles and since she showed first signs of magic, they have been afraid of her and don’t really want her around. We talked about it on the train and thought it would be nice to at least send her some gifts. It doesn’t sound like her parents will.”
His mother smiled at him. “That’s a very good idea. We can go tomorrow after breakfast.”
“Great!”
When Hermione woke up on Christmas morning to an empty dorm room, she didn’t notice the pile of gifts on the foot of her bed at first.
When she did, she almost fell out of her bed in surprise. She couldn’t remember ever getting any gifts, except maybe for necessities, like clothes or school equipment, but they certainly hadn’t been wrapped nicely.
It had to be a mistake.
But it wasn’t. All gifts were marked with her name and they all were wrapped in beautiful paper, some colourful, some in Slytherin colours.
She opened the first one and found a gorgeous, expensive-looking jumper in green and silver, together with matching scarf and gloves made of the finest leather, the gloves were dark green. The card read “You’ll go to the next Quidditch game with us, Granger, and you’ll need something appropriate to wear. If Slytherin loses again, you’ll be the one who’ll listen to the boys whinging. See you after the holidays! Happy Christmas! Pansy.” Added in another handwriting: “And Daphne! We were shopping together, something Pansy seems to have forgotten about already. Happy Christmas!”
The next package contained seven books. Vince and Greg had seemingly also gone shopping together and the card was from both of them. “Hermione, we hope you have a great Christmas! We didn’t really know what to get you, but Draco is always trying to get us to read and we usually don’t, but we really liked this series, so we hope you do, too. It has a lot of magical creatures and adventures and it’s pretty funny. Happy Christmas! Vince and Greg.”
Hermione had tears in her eyes as she reached for the next gift.
It was small and contained a longish box. When she opened it, she gasped. It was a silver knife for potions making. The handle was engraved with scales and ended in a snake head. It was beautiful and Hermione couldn’t even imagine what it had cost! “Hi Granger, with this knife you may stand half a chance to catch up with me in Potions. Happy Christmas! Draco.” Despite her shock, Hermione laughed. That prat!
The next gift was a book, too, but not just a normal book. It was a first edition of “Hogwarts: A History.” A first edition! Dazed, she looked at the card. “Granger, the Nott library may not be as big as the Malfoy library, as our dear Draco likes to point out, but we do have some treasures. Like two first editions of “Hogwarts: A History”. Nobody in the world needs two, so I spent an entire day to convince my father of that simple fact and since nobody can resist my charms, here we are. I noticed your obsession with it and I’m sure you’ll love locating all changes made between the first edition and the current one. Enjoy! Happy Christmas! Theo.”
That was crazy!
The next gift contained a small model of the star constellations. It was beautiful, with a silver socle over which stars were hovering in the night sky. It looked like a projection and Hermione wondered about the spells that had been used. “Granger, I’m sure everyone and their mother are gifting you books. I’ll have you know, I’m more creative. This is a model of the current night sky over Britain and it constantly changes with the rotation of the earth. Also, if you point your wand at it and say Lumos Promines, it serves as a reading lamp, a simple Knox will turn it off. I hope you like it! Blaise.”
She tried it out and it looked even more beautiful as the stars became very bright, bright enough to read in their light. It was incredible! She carefully placed it on her nightstand.
There was one more gift left and she couldn’t imagine who else would send her something. It was small and long, longer than the one with Draco’s knife had been, but thinner.
When she opened it, she found a wand holster made of the finest dragon leather, according to the packing. The card was written in a flawless, elegant handwriting. “Dear Miss Granger, thank you for humbling our son a little. He’s far too convinced of his own abilities, which my husband and I are not completely innocent of. Some competition will be good for him and we have heard much of your talent. We hope this gift will be useful. Happy Christmas. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.”
It had been surprising enough that her new friends – were they friends? – had sent such thoughtful and frankly costly gifts. But Lord and Lady Malfoy?
It was strange. She had read about the war against Lord Voldemort and according to the sources available to her – mainly books from the library – the Malfoys had been on Voldemort’s side, which, she had assumed, meant that they hated Muggles and Muggle-borns like her. After reading that, it had actually surprised her even more that Draco had taken her side with Flint. And why had they sent her a gift, although they didn’t even know her and she had only been friendly with Draco for about a week? Not only that, but they had pointed out her talent. Maybe, if the friendship with Draco and the others really lasted, she could ask him some day.
Right now, she had letters to write. Letters in which she thanked everyone for their gifts and apologized for not having been able to send them something in return. She didn’t get an allowance from her parents, which wasn’t a problem usually. They spent all their time at Hogwarts anyway and there was little to no opportunity to buy anything, except on the Hogwarts Express, where she would have loved to try the sweets. But now she wished she had at least some money. She could never afford such expensive gifts, but she would have loved to send something. The letters would have to do, though. Two hours and a missed breakfast later, she sent them with the school owls.
It was Draco of all people who replied the same day.
Granger,
This isn’t a business transaction, it’s gift giving. We sent them because we wanted to, not because we were expecting anything. Also, we are spoiled prats who get more than enough gifts anyway. I’m glad you liked the knife!
See you soon!
Draco
P.S.: What in the world did you write my parents? They were rather taken with your manners. Something I will have to live up to for the rest of my life. Thanks for that!
Hermione had to laugh. She had noticed that Draco tended to be somewhat dramatic, but she was glad that she had found the right tone for her thank you letter to the Malfoys. She had re-written the few lines three times; she had found it quite a challenge to write to aristocrats she hadn’t even met yet but who had sent her an expensive gift anyway.
So far, it was definitely the most useful. It was a pain to carry around the wand all the time, especially when she didn’t have a school bag with her and the holster could easily be attached to any kind of clothing. It was discreet, made the wand easily accessible and it certainly provided more safety than putting it in your trouser pockets, like many people tended to do.
She had noticed several Slytherins using such holsters, but she hadn’t been able to buy one for herself.
When she left the common room to go to the Great Hall for dinner – wearing her new jumper and wand holster – she met Professor Snape. “Hello Professor. Happy Christmas.”
“Happy Christmas, Miss Granger.” He didn’t even sound too grumpy. “Finally something in Slytherin colours I see.”
She smiled. “Yes, it was a gift from Pansy and Daphne.”
He nodded. “Ah yes, I was at Malfoy Manor for dinner yesterday. Draco was going on about a silver knife?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful.”
He nodded again. “I’m sure you will find that it will also be rather useful. The knives the school provides are of inferior quality with very little actual silver in them. While I’m sure he was also looking for something … flashy … he actually knows how to spot quality potions equipment. I’ve been working on that all his life.”
She grinned. “I can’t wait to try it then.”
They entered the Great Hall where all remaining students shared a table with the teachers over the holidays. Hermione thought it was a nice gesture. Except for the four other Slytherins, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and another older Gryffindor student Hermione didn’t know the name of, there were also two Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff.
Weasley smirked at her when he saw her in the Slytherin jumper. Hermione ignored him, he wouldn’t dare say anything with all the teachers around and even if, nothing he could do or say would spoil her mood today.
After dinner, Albus Dumbledore looked at Hermione with a kind smile. “Miss Granger, would you mind coming to my office?”
“Of course not, Headmaster. Is something wrong?”
Weasley looked positively gleeful at the prospect that she was potentially in trouble.
“Absolutely not. I just think we should have a talk.”
He got up and as Hermione did the same, her slightly nervous gaze fell on Snape. His expression hadn’t changed notably, but she was sure he didn’t look too happy. Alright, he rarely did, but he looked like he didn’t like it that Dumbledore had asked her to his office.
Still, it was not like she had a choice and she was curious about what Dumbledore wanted from her.
He went up several staircases and stopped in front of a stone griffin Hermione had never paid much attention to. “Lemon drops.” The griffin moved aside. So this was where the headmaster office was.
Dumbledore turned to her with a smile. “I’m sure you are familiar with lemon drops. They’re my favourite Muggle treat. There’s nothing comparable in the Wizarding World. Don’t you think?
Hermione, who had never been particularly fond of lemon drops, smiled politely. “They’re certainly good, Sir, but I haven’t tried many Wizarding treats yet.”
He led her up some stairs and into an unbelievably chaotic office with more trinkets than she could count. “Oh well, just wait until third year, dear girl. In Hogsmeade you can buy everything your heart desires.”
If she had the money, she certainly could. She still smiled politely.
“Please, have a seat.” She did, while the headmaster sat down on the large chair at his desk. Which was also full of trinkets and papers. The chaos made Hermione itch.
The only thing that truly caught her attention was the little bird sitting on a bird stand behind Professor Dumbledore. He was truly tiny, probably very young, with reddish feathers. Dumbledore followed her gaze and his smile became wider. “This is Fawkes, he’s a Phoenix. It’s a pity you don’t see him in all his glory, but he burst into flames only yesterday. You are welcome to come back and see him again when he’s grown.”
A Phoenix! She had read about them. They were fascinating creatures, with their endless life circle of growing up, growing old and bursting into flames only to become young again. She hadn’t known they could be held as pets. “I’d love to! Thank you, Sir!”
He nodded beneficially. “Well, Miss Granger, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your excellent performance in your classes so far.”
“Thank you!” Her smile became more genuine for a moment. It was nice to hear praise from the man everyone held in such high regard.
“Also, I have an offer that I hope will make you happy. It is unheard of for students to switch houses. But I would like to offer you, as a grand exception, to switch to Gryffindor.” He looked at her like he had just told her she had won the lottery.
Why in the world did he think she wanted to go to Gryffindor? While it had taken her a while to connect to some of her housemates, she hadn’t been mistreated or in any way voiced her displeasure. She had also yet to meet a Gryffindor she truly liked. While Potter didn’t seem horrible, his constant attachment certainly was. And this offer came now, of all times, when she was finally making some friends for the first time in her life? Certainly not!
“Sir, this is very kind, but I’d prefer to stay in Slytherin.”
“Are you sure? With your blood status I can’t imagine it is easy. Gryffindor would be a better fit.”
Why did his smile seem false? There was nothing wrong, his voice was kind, his smile seemed warm, but Hermione felt the sudden urge to leave.
“No, Professor Snape is very strict when it comes to bullying in his house and I’m rather happy in Slytherin. Thank you for your offer, but no.”
“You could think about it.”
“There’s nothing to think about.”
His voice did not sound so kind anymore, although the change was subtle. “Alright then, go on. Enjoy the rest of your holidays.”
“Thank you, I will.” She got up and hurriedly left the office.
When she reached her common room, Snape was waiting in the corridor by the entrance. He nodded towards his own office and she followed him inside. She knew all too well how unpopular he was with the other houses, but she was far more comfortable being alone with him than she had been with Dumbledore. And it annoyed her that she couldn’t even say why she had been uncomfortable. He hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just a feeling she couldn’t shake.
Snape didn’t ask her to sit and remained standing himself. “Would he mind telling me what he wanted?”
“Not at all, Sir. He offered me to switch to Gryffindor because he thought it would be better for me due to my blood status. At least that’s what he claimed.”
That seemed to take her house teacher by surprise. “He did?”
“Yes. I said no, of course. He didn’t seem happy about that.”
Snape eyed her intently and still she was not nearly as uncomfortable as she had been under Dumbledore’s seemingly more friendly gaze. “You said ‘that’s what he claimed’.”
Hermione nodded. “Yes, Sir. He didn’t seem entirely genuine. I can’t say why, it’s just a feeling and maybe I’m wrong. No disrespect to the headmaster,” she quickly added.
Snape snorted. “Disrespect him all you want in my presence.” He didn’t react to her surprised look. “You are probably correct. Dumbledore is rather fond of Gryffindor, it’s his former house and while I admit I’m not always completely unbiased, Dumbledore is ten times worse. He probably wants the house points you make for Slytherin.”
Hermione nodded, although she had the feeling that the professor didn’t truly believe what he said there or at least didn’t believe that was all.
“Should I be worried?”
“No, if you want to remain in Slytherin, there’s nothing he can do about it. When it comes to the houses, the Sorting Hat can’t be overruled, unless the student is truly unhappy in their house and wants to leave it.”
“Good.”
~tbc~