Chapter 13 - 13: You'll Always Have a Home

Hermione was curled up in her bed reading. She normally didn't read in bed, but she didn't want to experience the hollowness of the common room without Kathleen, nor did she want to risk the chance of bumping into Tom at the library. So, Hermione found herself hiding in the one place that she could think of, her room.

The sound of something soft hitting her door drew her attention away from her Runes book, The Analogy of Ancient Runes. Hermione watched as a piece of parchment floated up from underneath her door. It fluttered to her in the shape of a butterfly. She plucked it out of the air and opened it. A sigh escaped her lips. It seemed as if Dippet wanted to meet with her. She was starting to like the headmaster's timing. The Analogy of Ancient Runes was nothing like any of the books from her time. It was lacking and quite inaccurate. It sucked that she couldn't use any of the books she brought with her for information, it might cause her grade to slip if she used future knowledge that wasn't yet known.

Hermione sat her book face down on the bed and climbed out. She was looking forward to meeting with Dippet. He was a kind man whose mannerism was a lot like the modern Slughorn but more enjoyable.

Maybe she would go and visit the Thestrals after her meeting. She used to find the sight of the creatures sickly but now found them familiar and comforting. They were also quite friendly and loved attention.

The Gryffindor common room was unusually empty. Most of the Gryffindors were still in mourning and preferred to stay in their rooms, or anywhere that did not remind them of the cheery, bubbly prefect that they had lost. Hermione's heart clenched at the thought of never seeing her friend again. Just another loss she had to suffer at the hands of Voldemort. She hoped this mission of hers wouldn't last too long and that she somehow wouldn't ruin it. It was a hopeless thought to believe that she would return to her own time soon. The hourglass on the Time-Turner was only passing one grain of sand through each day. That meant that if her calculations were correct then she would be stuck in this timeline for approximately four-and-a-half years.

She reached the Gargoyle statue in no time. She looked around and found that the halls were empty. "Dancing house elves." She hated that. Dancing House Elves was a degrading title from a pompous wizard who viewed house elves as lesser beings than flies. She had brought this topic up with Dippet the other day, and he told her that the book was quite enthralling and that he did not view house elves as being lesser beings but marveled at their abilities and way of life. Hermione understood that he was a kind man but that he could be a little clueless and ditty. She tried to overlook his shortcomings since he really was such a nice man plus she still felt bad about lying to him.

"Hermione, my dear, have a seat," greeted Dippet when she opened the door. She sat down with her legs crossed and waited for him to start the conversation.

"I was wondering what your plans for Christmas break were."

Hermione's shoulders slumped. She had somehow forgotten that Christmas break began in two weeks. "I was hoping I could stay here since I don't have a home to return to, sir."

Dippet's eyes teared up and his mouth dipped down into a frown. "I meant, what would you think about spending Christmas day with me and the other staff? We usually buy and exchange presents. And Hermione, dear, you always have a home with me, I hope you know that." He smiled and his eyes twinkled. "If you can stand to put up with me during the summers."

Hermione felt her heart leap with joy. She didn't have to be alone!

Before she knew it, Hermione had jumped out of her seat and hugged Dippet. "I'm sorry and thank you."

Dippet returned her hug. "Of course, my dear." He leaned away from her. "You best be on your way now. And please think about what I've said."

Hermione laughed and gave a shake of her head. "I don't have to. I would love to spend Christmas with you."

. . . .

Tom rubbed his hands together to try and warm them.

Why was he even out there? Why was he hiding in the forest when it was bloody cold out? All because of a girl? Was he possibly losing his mind? Maybe he shouldn't have made that last Horcrux. No. Scratch that thought. He was afraid of death and Horcruxes were the closest thing he could find to achieving immortality. Be damn if he lost his mind, immortality was worth it.

The crunching of snow alerted him that someone was approaching. He quickly grabbed the Invisibility Cloak off of the ground and threw it over himself. The thick material helped to warm him somewhat.

Miss Norris stepped out and into the clearing. As soon as they saw her, the Thestrals came running to greet her.

"Hello there," said Norris. "Did you miss me?" A Thestral whined as if it was responding to her question. Norris stood up on her toes to rub a hand along the Thestral's snout. "I have a treat for you." Norris whipped out her wand that was hidden within her jacket and flicked her wrist. Raw meat landed in a neat pile where the tip of her wand was pointing. Where did she summon all of the meat from? Was she allowed full access to the school's kitchen because she was the headmaster's granddaughter? Tom hated questions that he did not know the answers to, and Norris seemed to come up with a lot of unanswerable questions.

Snow began to fall. Just a few fat white flakes.

Norris looked up to the sky. Snowflakes landed in her curly brown hair. Her lips parted into a smile. Her hands lifted from her sides to spread out like wings. Her cheeks tinted pink and her body shook with inner laughter. How was it that she enjoyed the cold so much? Tom grimaced at the thought. No, he much preferred Spring. He gave Norris one last glance before he turned to leave. He would rather be in the library reading instead of freezing himself to an early death.