Yuletide Blessing

Massage

The Grangers were unable to take the teens to London the next morning. "We can use the knight bus," Hermione suggested, remembering Harry had already ridden it.

Harry had a better idea. "Diggy!" he called.

The house-elf appeared immediately. "What can Diggy do for young master?"

"Diggy, can you take us to Diagon Alley?" he asked.

"Sure! Just give me your hands. Where do you want to go?"

"We need to visit Gringotts again, but I'd like to see my apartment as well."

Diggy looked them over. "Master and Mistress need to dress warmer, though. It's very cold outside."

Harry smiled at her. "Sure, Diggy. I first needed to know if it can be done. Wait a minute and we shall both be dressed properly."

By the time they returned, wearing heavy winter clothing, Diggy had already washed and dried all the dirty dishes from breakfast.

"Thank you, Diggy, but you didn't have to do this. We could have handled the dishes ourselves."

"No proper house-elf would let its masters do such work," Diggy said in a tone of authority. "Maybe Diggy should come after every meal to take care of this?"

"No, Diggy! This is a muggle house. As much as I appreciate your dedication, you really shouldn't be here more than strictly necessary. Let's go now!"

Diggy grabbed their hands. A moment later they were standing in an apartment with a window showing Gringotts just across the street. They looked around a bit. It was a large apartment with many windows, giving it an open, airy feeling. It had three bedrooms, each with a walk-in wardrobe. The master bedroom had a private bathroom included. There was also a nice study with many books, a family room which looked very cozy and the usual kitchen, dining room and general toilet.

"Where do you live?" Hermione asked Diggy.

"Oh, all Potter house-elves have apartments just like this, where each of us has his or her own room." Diggy sounded proud and Hermione was glad.

They soon went out, finding that the apartment was above the Quality Quidditch store, adjacent to the book store.

Sharptooth was surprised to see Harry so soon. "What may I do for you now?" he asked.

"I need the Granger house warded like my own properties. Being muggles they have no chance against a magical attack without proper wards. I also want Privet Drive 4 to be checked and wards added as needed. Nobody should be at risk due to me being there."

"When should this be ready?"

"I want the Granger house to be warded as soon as possible; even today, if you can. Check the existing wards and let me know of anything suspicious. As for the other – a week or two would do. Check there as well. I have a feeling there may be some 'interesting' wards there."

"I believe we can finish the work on the Granger house today, although being in muggle area may prove a bit of a problem. Once we finish that house, we shall go to the other."

"Thank you, Sharptooth. I appreciate your help."

They visited their vaults as well. It was Hermione's first time to go into the Hufflepuff vault. It looked really ancient. According to the records book they found there, it had not been visited for more than four hundred years and the last time anything other than money had been deposited was two centuries earlier than that. There was still a lot of money in the vault. Not as much as in the Potter vault, but more than enough for a family to live on for a few generations. What was more interesting, though, was the vast library which held several rare tomes of forgotten magic. Hermione scanned them quickly, finding some dealing with mind protection, shielding and warding. She also found that the book closest to the entrance was marked "Read This First!".

As an obedient student, she opened that book. It contained an index for all the books in the vault along with instructions on how to make durable or temporary copies of them. "What do you think would be best for us? Durable copies, which can keep forever, making them accessible to whoever may be around, or temporary copies, which disappear after a set time?"

Harry thought for a moment. "I'd rather not let Dumbledore learn about these books, nor about the ones in Potter Vault. We can study all we want before returning to Hogwarts. I think the copies should not keep much longer."

Hermione read the procedure a few times and then waved her wand over the book, chanting the required spell. An exact copy appeared, distinguishable from the original only by the whiter, cleaner pages. "We need this for repeating the process with your books," she noted.

She then took several books she had noticed earlier and duplicated them just the same, before shrinking the whole pile to fit in her jeans pocket.

Just before leaving the vault, Harry reminded her of the ring. Not knowing where it was hidden, Hermione just summoned it. The Hufflepuff ring appeared with a flash, setting itself on Hermione's finger, along with the promise ring. Just like before, a circle of light scanned her from head to toes and then disappeared.

"It seems to have found nothing amiss," Hermione commented, "Yet I feel more in control of my magic." She tried making the ring invisible. Once done, Harry couldn't feel the ring on her finger although he knew exactly where it was.

They took some more books from the Potter vault, where they also found a similar book with duplicating instructions, yet these produced permanent copies only.

"I think we can stay in my apartment until early afternoon," Harry suggested. "Your parents are expected home late and Diggy would be honored to serve us some lunch, so it seems."

"And we can use the library in there as well," Hermione added.

They spent most of the day in the apartment, studying the books from their vaults, stopping only for lunch and for an occasional hug or a kiss. By the time Diggy took them back, both felt heavy with new knowledge.

Using the information from the books, Harry could check the wards. He noticed that none of Dumbledore's wards was still active. These were replaced by new goblin wards that could withstand any magical attack for hours and could probably deflect unforgivables as well. Yet no muggle would notice anything special about the house and even magicals would need to cast some detection spells in order to find it was warded. Harry also identified anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards. He wondered how effective these were if Diggy had no problem bringing them in and then leaving. He would have to ask Sharptooth about it.

For a change, Jean decided to cook dinner and was not willing to accept any help. This also meant quite a late dinner, yet nobody seemed very hungry. The teens read some more before dinner. Hermione was furious finding out that Dumbeldore's wards were almost useless. He cast many detection and alarm wards to inform him of any attack, yet the only real protection was an anti-apparition and anti-portkey ward which wasn't a very strong one. Whatever respect she still had for the headmaster was wiped away by these revelations.

"Do you have any plans for new-year's eve?" Jean asked the youngsters after a very pleasant dinner.

"I've always stayed at school for the holidays, so I don't even know what plans we can have," Harry said.

"I've heard about some new year celebrations, but none seems very attractive," Hermione said.

"In that case, why won't you join us? There's a dentist new-year Ball we're invited to, and many bring their teen children, as a way to help them have fun and not get into any dangerous situations. You may enjoy it. Besides, I want to check how good a dance-teacher you are." The teasing tone was very evident.

Hermione looked at Harry. He shrugged slightly. "I think that can be fun," she said.

"So, it's agreed: you come with us to the Ball," Jean said.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. "Now we need some more shopping, though."

"What for?" Harry wondered. "Haven't we bought enough?"

Hermione smiled sweetly at him. "I need a dress for the Ball, not as conservative as the one I wore at the Yule Ball. You also need some appropriate attire. You can't wear robes at a muggle Ball, you know. We'll have to find an elegant suit for you, not too conservative, though."

It was her smile that had more influence than her words. "Of course, dear."

Jean looked at Dave and smiled knowingly. Harry was quicky turning into a well trained husband, suitable for her daughter.

They only spent two hours the next morning on shopping. Hermione spotted a nice dress in a nearby shop and found Harry some suitable clothing at the adjacent shop.

The rest of their vacation was used mainly for studying the books from their vaults. Both wanted to make the most of the occasion to study such precious tomes with no interference. They also exercised casting the different spells. Being emancipated was quite beneficial for training. They still left some time for cuddling and kissing. By now, they were not even bothered by the Grangers' presence. Harry was becoming more certain of his feelings. He was sure he wanted Hermione as much more than a friend. He was even thinking occasionally of how their children would look, if they ever married.

Even Dave stopped frowning when he saw them kissing. As he was getting to know Harry, it became clear to him that Harry would never push his daughter to do more than she was readily willing to do. He wasn't so sure about Hermione's limits, though. She had certainly surprised him by the way she was acting with Harry.

It was finally new-year's eve. Hermione and Jean spent two hours getting ready, allowing twenty minutes for Harry and Dave to get ready as well. Harry thought it was worth it. Unlike her very formal, lady-like appearance at the Yule Ball, Hermione tried a different approach. She managed to tame her hair, letting it fall beyond her shoulders in delicate waves. Her dress was more revealing as well, and much shorter. She didn't look like a serious lady this time. She only looked like a stunningly beautiful fun-loving teenager, ready to celebrate the new year. Although he barely took his eyes off Hermione, he still noticed that Jean was not looking any more serious and her dress was even more revealing. He could say that he enjoyed the view.

Harry didn't know anybody at the Ball and Hermione only recognized one or two of the young people present. They spent the whole evening dancing together, separating only for Dave to dance with his daughter while Jean danced with Harry.

He was reluctant to hold her very close, at first, but Jean seemed to be as determined as her daughter. She clung as close to Harry as she could and he had no choice, really, but to press her to his body, noticing her breasts almost overflowing her dress. She seemed to like teasing him, as she directed the conversation to all the young women who were dressed more daringly than her, making him attentive of any piece of skin inappropriately displayed. "You really dance very well," she finally said, as she exchanged places with Hermione once again.

Harry enjoyed counting down to midnight with Hermione held firmly in his arms and then kissing her a very long "Happy New Year" kiss, which was more of a snog than a simple kiss, yet everybody seemed to act the same.

They were all exhausted when they came back home. "I need you to massage my feet," Hermione told Harry as soon as they were left alone. Harry agreed, not really knowing what to expect. Hermione called him to her room, where she removed her dress, staying in her knickers only. Harry almost swallowed his tongue. "You're fabulous!" he exclaimed, unable to move his eyes from her two round breasts, standing firmly with the darker n*****s erect.

"Most girls look about the same," Hermione shrugged. "Now, take that chair and sit near the bed. I'll let you know what to do."

It took all his will power not to stare at the beautiful vision. Following her instructions, he released the muscles from her feet, her calves and her thighs. She let him massage up to the topmost part of her thighs, making Harry sweat quite a bit.

"It's time to return the favor," she said, once he was done. "Remove your clothes, staying in your shorts only and then lie down in my place."

Harry fumbled a bit with his clothing, unable to tear his eyes from Hermione. Eventually she helped him unbutton his shirt and unzip his trousers before pushing him on her bed.

It was a delightful torture for Harry. As she moved to release each muscle, her breasts moved in unexpected ways, making hot and cold waves wash over him. His body was also reacting to her almost naked presence and he had no way to hide it. Yet Hermione just smiled and ignored his reaction.

Once it was over, he didn't know if he was glad, or sad about it. He was too confused to even understand what he was feeling, except for feeling much closer to Hermione.

"Go brush your teeth and come back here. I want us to sleep in the same bed tonight," Hermione said.

He did as requested, unable to think for himself at the moment. Hermione scooted in bed, making some room for him to hug her as she pressed her naked back to his front, directing his hand to hug her and hold her breast.

Harry was just overwhelmed. He failed to notice Hermione casting a locking charm on his door and hers before cuddling even closer. They fell asleep almost immediately.