HERMIONE GRANGER And The Mirror Of Erised

Invisible Cloak

Once the holidays had started. Blaise and Theodore were having too good a time to think much about the Mirror while Hermione wasted away in the mountains of books in her dorm. They had their dormitories to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire.

They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork - bread, English muffins, marshmallows - and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.

Blaise also started teaching them wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Blaise set was very nee and shinny.

Hermione who took a brief break from reading played with chessmen Lorenzo who had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing.

"Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him."

On Christmas Eve, Hermione went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. When she woke early in the morning, however, the first thing she saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of her bed.

At this time Blaise and Theodore had awoken in their dorm.

"Merry Christmas," said Blaise sleepily as Theodore scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.

"You, too," said Theodore. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"

"What did you expect,?" said Blaise in a laugh, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Theodore's. "Come on, let's bring them down to the common room so we can open them with Hermione."

Blaise and Theodore piled the presents up in their arms and brought them all down to the common room where Hermione was waiting for them in her blue bathrobe. She had her presents already in a Pile the pile was much bigger than both of the boys combined there was no doubt she was favourited by Ms Zabini.

"Merry Christmas, Theo! Merry Christmas, Blaise!" Hermione shouted with joy.

They dropped their presents beside hers and started to open them together.

"I hope that one is a broom," Blaise pointed out a long looking gift.

"You already have five Blaise," Hermione remarked in a small laugh.

Hermione picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick black paper with a green Bow attached to the ribbon was a note reading to Hermione from Ms Zabini. Inside was a black dress she held it up, it was rather sparkly and puffy.

Theodore let out a laugh.

"Now you can actually look like a girl," He commented in a laugh even Blaise let out a hum of laughter, she glared at her friends folding the dress back in its box.

"Says the boy that looks like a girl," She sassily spat back.

A second, very small parcel contained a note.

Hermione received a message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Corbin and Aunt Lilith. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.

"That's friendly," said Hermione smiling softly at the note. "Last year the gave me twenty pence,"

"Pence?" Blaise piped up fascinated by the fifty pence looking at the face of the coin.

"Weird!" he said, "What a shape! This is muggle money?"