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Yuletide Blessing in Disguise	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 123887 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related properties--all rights belong to Rowling. Nor do I make any money from the production of this work.

Chapter List
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Dangerous Creatures

Hermione was sitting on a sofa in the common room reading another one of the books her mum and dad had sent her for Christmas while Harry took Ron and Neville up to their dormitory to fill them in on the bits he could tell them about his conversation with Dumbledore. She felt the cushions on the sofa giving way and peered over the top of the page to see Parvati and Lavender both looking at her.
“How’s Harry?” asked Lavender, peering at Hermione worriedly. “Is he alright then?”
“We were worried about him when Dora came up to get you last night,” said Parvati, her voice full of concern. “Is he having nightmares again? What did Professor Dumbledore say?”
Hermione glanced around the common room anxiously, then took a deep breath.
“Not here,” she said. “Let’s go up to the dorm, and I’ll tell you what I can. But you have to promise not to tell Fay or Sally-Anne, or anyone else really.”
“We promise,” said Parvati quickly.
Parvati and Lavender filed up the stairs behind Hermione to their dorm. Crookshanks gave a little meow when he saw them arrive, and jumped off Hermione’s bed to give them all space. Hermione yanked the curtains around her bed after they were all sitting cross-legged atop her covers, and began to quietly tell Lavender and Parvati a few of the bits which Dumbledore had said Harry could tell Ron and Neville.
“It’s not really just nightmares,” Hermione began mysteriously. “Harry is actually having sort of visions of what Vol... I mean You-Know-Who - is up to...”
“It’s alright,” Parvati interjected bravely. “We don’t care if you say Voldemort’s name, do we Lavender?”
Lavnder looked slightly dubious, then nodded.
“Oh, alright then,” said Hermione, a bit surprised. “Anyway, there’s some sort of connection between Harry and Voldemort which has to do with Harry’s scar - and Harry can sometimes see what he’s up to, or sense what he’s feeling. And Harry had a vision last night of Voldemort scheming to come after him, again.
“He’s already tried to have another one of his supporters infiltrate the tournament... But we found him out.”
Lavender gasped, shocked. “Is that who entered Harry’s name in the tournament? ...to try and get Harry killed?”
“More or less,” Hermione agreed, thinking it best to not go into too much detail. “Harry already told Ron and Neville about that bit, so it’s probably alright to tell you too,even though Dumbledore doesn’t want too many people to know about it at the moment.”
“Of course! It wouldn’t do to panic everyone,” said Parvati wisely, “like in second year, unless there is a big threat to the whole school again.”
“Right!” said Hermione. “Anyway, the upshot is that Voldemort is back, and the reason he keeps trying to go after Harry is because he’s afraid that Harry would be able to finish him off for good, eventually. So it’s likely Harry might have more scary visions...”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Lavender proffered. “Especially if it means that Harry will get a bit of warning in advance.”
“Dumbledore seems to think so,” said Hermione, feeling a pang of worry. “Unfortunately it also makes Harry’s scar hurt horribly whenever he senses Voldemort.”
“Oh! Poor Harry,” Parvati commiserated...

~o0o~
“Blimey Harry!” Ron exclaimed when Harry finished telling him and Neville as much as he felt he could. “So Dumbledore reckons this connection has something t’do with your scar, and that’s why you keep having these vision thingys of You-Know-Who then...”
“More or less,” Harry sighed. “Anyway, it’s probably best to keep this just between us for now.”
“Sure Harry,” said Neville. “No problem.”

~o0o~
It was the morning of New Year’s Eve and Draco was digging into his breakfast when his Eagle Owl, Abaddon, beat its great wings as it dropped a piece of mail into Draco’s porridge. Draco scowled.
“Oi... Watch it you bloody chicken,” he snapped at his owl, “or I’ll have you turned into dinner.”
Unable to restrain himself, Theodore Nott sniggered as Draco retrieved his dripping letter from his bowl of porridge and wiped it with a napkin. Draco shot him a glare.
“Sorry Draco! No need to get your knickers in a twist,” said Theo. “So who’s that from anyway?”
“If you must know, it’s from Father,” Draco answered with a sneer.
“No doubt an answer to your latest complaint.” Blaise Zabini rolled his eyes. “What - you think he’s going to set a date up for you for the Yule Ball and give you a Time-Turner?”
Theo chortled then quickly shut up when Draco glowered at him again. Draco rose from his seat at the Slytherin table and angrily marched across the Great Hall, leaving the rest of his breakfast behind and cursing under his breath. Blaise and Theo fell into a fit of laughter as soon as Draco was out of earshot.
Draco stormed through the castle and the dungeons until he reached the Slytherin common room. Flopping on one of the sofas by the fire, Draco finally opened his letter and began to read.
Draco,
I understand your frustration, but you must have patience. There is only so much I can do about Potter and his pet Mudblood while Dumbledore remains as headmaster. Severus has informed me that Dumbledore is now looking over his shoulder, which limits his ability to rectify any slights against you in regards to Potter.
That may be remedied by next year, but for now you will have to deal with Potter yourself - at least until the Second Task. I cannot tell you precisely what has been planned, but rest assured, I have spoken to the Senior Undersecretary and Bagman about upping the risk factor of the Second Task. It is doubtful that Potter will survive this time.
Draco snorted. The Second Task was nearly two months away, not to mention that Potter always seemed to get lucky somehow. He heard someone enter the common room and quickly chucked the letter into the fire...

~o0o~
New Year’s Day finally arrived, and the festivities almost (but not quite) put Christmas Day to shame. Of course nearly everyone slept in, having been up late at Fred and George’s New Year’s Eve bash, which had included a load of indoor non-lethal fireworks in the common room. Ron and Seamus weren’t the only ones visiting Madam Pomfrey that morning, though Neville had been much more cautious this time around.
Harry had eaten his last piece of bacon and Hermione her last piece of toast with marmalade, when Cedric approached them from the Hufflepuff table.
“Hey, Harry, er... can we chat for a moment?”
“Sure, no problem Cedric.” Harry glanced at Hermione. “I’ll be back in a minute, or we can meet up in the common room if you’d like.”
“I think the common room,” Hermione replied, smiling at Harry. “Then we can get our coats and go for a walk.”
“Right, see you in a few then.” Harry followed Hermione with his eyes as she left the Great Hall, then turned back to Cedric when Dora slipped out after her. “So, what’s up then?”
“Er... I’ve been meaning to catch up with you ever since the Yule Ball, but you’ve been a bit busy, and I can see why.” A little smirk crossed Cedric’s features. Harry turned slightly pink.
“Well, there’s been a lot of other stuff going on,” said Harry a bit defensively. “It’s not just, er...”
“...snogging?” Cedric finished for Harry, his eyebrows rising as his smirk broadened. “Anyway, that’s not really what I wanted to talk about. I was just wondering if you’d got that Golden Egg clue yet.”
Harry peered suspiciously at Cedric for a moment. He wondered if Cedric was angling for another tip. But then he reckoned that even if he was, then so what?
“Yeah, actually I did,” said Harry, “a few weeks ago, before the Christmas Holidays.”
Oddly, Cedric looked disappointed. “Oh! I...er, was hoping I could pay you back for telling me about the Dragons. I figured it out a few days before Christmas, and I kind of owe you one.”
“No worries Cedric,” said Harry, grinning. “You don’t owe me a thing. I would’ve told you anyway - I wasn’t expecting anything in return.”
“Yeah, well, I still feel kind of bad...” Cedric flushed. “I mean, I was a bit of a prat before you gave me that tip. And most of my friends were wearing those stupid badges.”
“Well, you weren’t quite as bad as others I could mention,” said Harry ruefully, rubbing at his scar, unable to help the memory of Ron’s attitude at the time which briefly crossed his mind. “We’re cool, Cedric.”
“Er... righto! See you round then...”
The rest of the Christmas Holidays flew by far too quickly. Of course Fred and George were going to throw another party on the twelfth day of Christmas, but Harry and Hermione begged off after finding out that it was Dora’s birthday, and had a small celebration in her quarters instead. They were thus far more rested for the first day of the new term than many of the other students.
Potions wasn’t brilliant as Draco and Snape both seemed to be shooting malevolent glares at Harry and Hermione, but otherwise Snape seemed to be avoiding them as much as possible, which Harry thought was a great improvement. Without the constant harassment, Harry managed to follow the instructions perfectly well. When he turned in a flawless potion at the end of class, Snape’s expression looked a bit constipated.
Everything seemed to be going alright until Care of Magical Creatures. Having completed their in-class Herbology assignment in good time, Harry and Hermione trudged through the thick snowdrifts and showed up a bit early for class. Seeing nobody else outside Hagrid’s cabin where Hagrid usually awaited the students, they went off looking for him.
“Maybe he’s by the paddocks,” Hermione suggested, shivering, as it had begun snowing again.
“Yeah, he’s probably got a Yeti,” said Harry wryly. “It’s certainly cold enough for one.”
“At least that would be an improvement over the Skrewts,” said Hermione.
“Dunno about that,” Harry chuckled. “Their flames might warm us up a bit.”
As they passed by the paddock which housed the gigantic winged horses which pulled the Beauxbatons carriage, there was still no sign of Hagrid. But something else caught their eye; tethered to a tree was a gleaming white Unicorn, its radiance making the snow look dingy in comparison.
“Oooh!” Hermione’s eyes widened. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah!” Harry croaked, choking up. The last time he had seen a Unicorn it had been lying dead on the forest floor, its silvery blood dripping from a wraith-like shadow’s maw; Harry had been soon to learn that the dark, cloaked figure hunched over the Unicorn’s corpse was actually a Voldemort possessed Quirrel.
Harry was so overtaken by its beauty that he stepped towards the Unicorn, blinking back the unbidden tears; Hermione grabbed his hand.
“Harry, I’m not sure about this!” she squeaked anxiously, eyeing the Unicorn pawing nervously at the snow-covered ground with its golden hooves. “They don’t usually like boys...”
But Harry didn’t seem to hear as the compulsion drew him closer. The world had gone silent and for a moment it only seemed to contain him, Hermione, and the Unicorn. Falling snowflakes stilled and sparkled in midair, frozen in time as Harry bowed and reached out his hand. The Unicorn calmed and bowed its head in return.
Hermione gasped and beamed at Harry as he gently petted the Unicorn’s nose and stroked its silky white mane. Still holding Harry’s other hand, Hermione stroked the Unicorn too, feeling a strong urge to kiss Harry and ride off with him into the forest on its back. But just as she leaned closer to kiss him, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps and voices.
“...Now stay back boys,” an unfamiliar and brusque voice was saying. “Unicorns prefer a woman’s touch...”
“Why’s Potter touching it then?” sneered the very familiar voice of Malfoy.
The unfamiliar professor turned around and gasped, just as Harry and Hermione turned their heads see a sturdy looking witch with steely grey hair and a jutting chin. The professor stood perfectly still and held her breath, eyes wide with shock, afraid that she might break the spell and spook the Unicorn. As she watched the bushy haired girl and the tousle-headed boy both stroking the Unicorn, it suddenly registered with the professor that the irksome boy was Harry Potter.
“Who’re you?” asked Harry, frowning as he dropped the hand which had been stroking the Unicorn’s mane.
“Er... Professor Grubbly-Plank,” the stunned witch said, finding her voice. “And you must be Harry Potter!”
“Yeah! That’s me! Where’s Hagrid?” Harry demanded.
“He is indisposed,” was all Professor Grubbly-Plank seemed inclined to say. “Er... if you would, Mr Potter and...”
“Hermione Granger,” said Hermione.
“...Miss Granger, perhaps you and Mr Potter could step back and join us so that we can begin the class.”
Harry joined the rest of the students with a glowing Hermione at his side.
As she looked him over to see what could possibly account for the Unicorn’s unusual behaviour, Professor Grubbly-Plank noticed that there was something quite different about Harry Potter’s shining green eyes, something that seemed almost feminine. She snapped out of it with a shake of her head and returned to form
“Right then class!” Grubbly-Plank said sharply, “Now, what you just saw was highly unusual. If you value your lives boys, I highly recommend that you keep back! Unicorns can be quite dangerous towards males. Girls, please form a line...”
The girls all ooohed and aaahed over the Unicorn. Lavender and Parvati quivered with excitement. Even Pansy Parkinson was taken with its beauty, looking quite unlike her usual self with a smile on her face.
Malfoy snorted and glowered at Harry and Hermione. Draco felt a nearly overwhelming urge to ignore the Professor’s warning and have a go at touching the Unicorn. If Halfblood Potter and a Mudblood could do it, then he knew he could do it too. He was a Pureblood - a Noble - of course a Unicorn would accept him. But then he remembered his experience with the Hippogriff and thought better of it.
“Big Deal!” sneered Malfoy. “So you touched a Unicorn, Potter! ... Just proves how girly you are.”
Harry raised his eyebrows at Malfoy and smirked. “Yeah, maybe I am. So what?”
Draco felt a surge of bewilderment and anger, unable to conjure a response as Harry and Hermione turned and walked away.
Ron and Neville waved them over, both goggling at Harry.
“Blimey Harry! That was amazing. ... How’d you do that?” asked Ron.
“I’ve heard that Unicorns usually skewer guys with their horns,” said Neville. Seamus and Dean, who were standing behind Ron and Neville, peered at Harry questioningly.
“Dunno how I did it, really,” Harry replied with a shrug. “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to.”
Hermione almost spoke up, but held her tongue, thinking better of embarrassing Harry by mentioning that it might have been his purity of heart.
“Anyway,” said Harry, “do any of you know what happened to Hagrid?”
“It mighta had somethin’ t’do with this,” Seamus chimed in, passing Harry a Daily Prophet.
Hermione leaned in to read it with Harry and gasped with shock at the lurid headline.
“Bloody hell!” groaned Harry. Hermione scanned through the article quickly while Harry tried to keep up.

DUMBLEDORE’S GIANT MISTAKE:
HALFBREEDS AT HOGWARTS
by Rita Skeeter
It has recently come to light that Headmaster Dumbledore, long known for his controversial appointments, has engaged as the Care of Magical Creatures professor, an enormous brute of a man given to terrorising his students. Upon being apprised of this alarming news, this reporter and her crack team of researchers launched an investigation.
To our horror, we discovered that the professor, who goes by the name of Rubeus Hagrid, is actually a half-giant, which would explain his violent behaviour and penchant for breeding dangerous creatures. One must wonder if Dumbledore’s encroaching senility would account for his turning a blind eye to the menacing monster, given to maiming and mutilating his students.
“I nearly lost my arm after a hippogriff attacked me,” says the tearful, doe eyed young pupil, Draco Malfoy. “The school nurse had to reattach it - I couldn’t use it for weeks after. And my best friend, Vincent Crabbe, nearly lost a finger after a flobberworm bit him.”
And apparently, Rubeus Hagrid is also responsible for breeding the deadly Blast-Ended Skrewts, horrific demons, the mutant progeny of Manticores and Fire-crabs. Numerous students, far too many to count, have complained about third degree burns which have scarred them for life. Mr Hagrid’s insistence that these terrifying monsters were actually commissioned by the Triwizard Committee for the tournament is dubious at best.
The discovery that Mr Hagrid is a half-giant, follows on the heels of Dumbledore’s appointment of the vicious werewolf, Remus J Lupin, to the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor last year. This dangerous halfbreed is said to have mutilated and mangled several students, and parents have to wonder if the headmaster’s mental faculties are all there after his hiring of a Dark Creature to oversee the classes.
Fortunately, after many parents complained, the Senior Undersecretary pushed legislation through the Wizengamot at the beginning of the summer banning the hiring of Werewolves. Bleeding Heart Advocates of those afflicted with Lycanthropy have promulgated the dubious claim that if Werewolves are not allowed to work, that they will be forced to seek out other, more deadly means of sustaining themselves, as if Werewolves were not already nightmarish monsters with a taste for for human flesh.
What’s next? Perhaps the hiring of Centaurs - well known for their carnal appetites, sated only by the ravaging of young girls - as Divination professors? Given Dumbledore’s maniacal appointments, such may indeed be in the cards for the future of Hogwarts, soon to become a haven of depraved debauchery!
“It’s all a pack of lies!” fumed Harry.
“So what if Hagrid is Half-Giant!?” Hermione snapped angrily, “It’s just bigotry... they can’t all be horrible - it’s just like the prejudice against Werewolves... Look how Skeeter goes on and on about Lupin as well - and he’s as sweet and mild-mannered as a lamb!”
Ron and Seamus looked at each other and shook their heads in disbelief, unwilling to argue with Harry and Hermione, torn between their affection for Hagrid and their preconceptions about brutally savage Giants.
“How did that Skeeter cow find out anyway?” growled Harry, his blood boiling. “I thought she’d been banned from Hogwarts.”
Seamus, Ron, and Neville all shared a shifty look, as if not sure to reveal a secret.
“Dunno,” Ron muttered awkwardly. “Seamus and Neville and me - we overheard Hagrid and Madame Maxime chatting a bit about their childhoods while we were... erm... getting smashed during the Yule Ball. I suppose Rita Skeeter could’ve heard too, but we didn’t see her anywhere.”
“Mebbe she’s got an Invisibility Cloak,” Seamus proffered with a shrug.
Seeing the Gryffindors gathered around the newspaper, Malfoy swaggered onto the scene followed by his minions, gleeful to have something to throw in Harry’s face.
“Whatever! Skeeter’s just doing a public service! That should put an end to the Halfbreed Oaf’s teaching career...” sneered Malfoy, “I can’t see anyone wanting their kids to be taught by a savage giant - they’ll be worried that he’ll eat them. Haha...!”
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered sycophantically.
“Shove off Malfoy!” snarled Ron.
Smirking smugly, Malfoy and his thuggish companions departed the scene laughing.
Bristling with outrage, Hermione waded through the snow to Hagrid’s cabin, an infuriated Harry by her side, Ron and Neville trailing behind. Harry knocked loudly on the door, to be met only by Fang barking and howling on the other side.
“Open up, Hagrid!” yelled Harry, “It’s us!”
“And we don’t care if you’re half-giant!” shouted Hermione.
But after five minutes of banging and shouting, there was still no sign of Hagrid...
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Yuletide Blessing in Disguise