Chapter 53
Chapter 53
On the other side of the garden wall, Hermione had already regained her senses.
She had shut herself in her room for an entire day. Every time she remembered how she had behaved in Diagon Alley…
“Eek…” The girl’s face turned scarlet, and she buried herself beneath the covers.
A little while later, she emerged again and pricked up her ears, listening for sounds from downstairs.
In the sitting room below, Suer stood holding two gift boxes beneath Mr. Granger’s furious glare and Mrs. Granger’s knowing smile. He had no idea where to put his feet.
No matter how old a man was, meeting his future in-laws was bound to make him nervous.
“Er… Auntie Granger, where is Hermione?”
“Little Hermione?” Mrs. Granger deliberately raised her voice. “She’s upstairs. What do you need her for, Suer?”
“Er…” Suer scratched his head. “Well… it is Christmas, so I prepared a present.”
“I brought one for you as well.”
“Oh? What sort of present? I have one too?” Mrs. Granger continued loudly.
“I… made it myself.” Suer was so embarrassed he felt he could have dug an entire three-bedroom house with his toes. He hastily offered her both boxes. “Would you mind giving Hermione hers?”
Mrs. Granger accepted only the top box, the one meant for her.
“Oh, thank you, Suer.” She hugged it happily to her chest. “I think a Christmas present means more when you deliver it yourself, don’t you?”
“You know where her room is. I don’t suppose you need me to show you the way?”
“Er…” Suer’s breath caught. He chuckled awkwardly. “You’re right.”
Yet every step felt impossibly heavy. He could feel the Grangers’ gazes boring into his back…
Knock, knock, knock.
Holding the gift box, Suer gently knocked the sleeping–no, that was wrong. He knocked on the door.
He waited. Only after some time did a muffled voice come from within.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Suer smiled. Mrs. Granger had spoken so loudly that Hermione must have heard. If she still refused to come out, she was probably embarrassed about yesterday.
“I’ve brought you a present. Would you like to come out and take it?”
Another long silence followed. At last came the patter of feet, and the door opened a crack.
A bushy-haired Hermione appeared in the gap. She had, in fact, tidied her hair before coming to the door.
“Meow.” A ginger cat squeezed through the opening and patted Suer’s leg with one paw.
“Good afternoon, Crookshanks.” Suer bent down and stroked the great ginger cat, then looked at Hermione through the gap.
“Didn’t you already give me a Christmas present?” Hermione’s gaze drifted away the moment it met his.
“You mean Crookshanks? Crookshanks was meant as an apology.”
It had been intended as her Christmas present at the time, of course. Suer simply had not expected her to discover it so early…
“This is your actual Christmas present. Weren’t you curious why I kept disappearing for a while? This is why.” He lifted the box.
“Fine…” Hermione said. “Put it outside the door. I’ll come out and collect it myself.”
“No.” Suer shook his head with a smile. “Auntie Granger said I had to place it in your hands myself.”
Through the crack, he saw Hermione purse her lips.
“Y-you wait there!”
Bang. The door slammed shut.
The patter of hurried footsteps and a rustle of movement followed from inside.
When the door opened again, Hermione no longer hid behind the narrowest possible gap, though she still would not meet Suer’s eyes.
“Here. This is for you.” Hermione held out a beautifully wrapped box. “Happy Christmas.”
Then she lowered her head and hurried to retreat.
“Wait.” Suer reacted quickly and caught her pale wrist. “Don’t you want your present?”
The touch brought back Hermione’s memory of Mrs. Granger teasing her about refusing to leave Suer’s arms yesterday. The tips of her ears burned bright red.
Like a lion cub whose fur had exploded in every direction, she instinctively shook off Suer’s hand and snatched the box meant for her.
Bang.
Suer stared at the closed door and laughed helplessly.
“Happy Christmas, Hermione.”
…
Mr. Granger, who still had not received a present by the time Suer left, looked enviously at his wife. She had already opened hers and wrapped the scarf around her neck. His eyes narrowed dangerously.
Boy, you have chosen a very narrow road. Do you know that?
Back home, Suer suddenly sneezed.
Who’s talking about me?
Never mind. Opening his present was more important…
Entirely unaware that he might have offended his future father-in-law, Suer eagerly opened Hermione’s gift.
“A scarf. Nothing else.”
It was not especially pretty: yellow wool formed the main body, with black edging. Yet that very imperfection revealed how much care had gone into it. It was plainly hand-knitted, and Suer could only wonder how long Hermione had spent making it.
The quality did not matter. What mattered was that Hermione had knitted it herself. Herself!
“Bwother, dinner’s ready!” Angel came pounding upstairs, took a running leap and locked both arms around Suer’s neck.
Her weight pulled him backwards.
Ow… my back…
Fortunately, Suer was young, and Angel was not particularly heavy. After collecting the three-piece set he had made for her, he simply carried her downstairs on his back.
The Knitting Charm was a marvellous spell, and Hagrid had certainly given him plenty of material. Even after making several scarves, Suer still had enough unicorn hair for gloves and a hat. There was only one hat, however, because the remaining material had not stretched any farther.
Dinner was exceptionally lavish. Mrs. Ellison had spent the entire afternoon demonstrating the full extent of her skill.
A great roast turkey stood at the centre of the table, surrounded by small roasted potatoes and sprigs of rosemary–the principal dish of any proper Christmas dinner.
There was salmon with cheese and cucumber as well, arranged on the bottom tier of a serving stand. The second tier held pigs in blankets, sausages wrapped in bacon and fried. The third displayed green Brussels sprouts, one of Angel’s least favourite vegetables. The top tier, naturally, held the indispensable Christmas strawberries.
Beyond those were gravy, iced Christmas biscuits, a gingerbread house and meatless mince pies–the filling had once contained meat, but had long since become a mixture of nuts, dried fruit and other ingredients.
Mr. and Mrs. Ellison each had a glass of alcohol before them, including the famous eggnog. Even Suer received a very small glass, because Mr. Ellison declared that he was a man now.
Angel, of course, had only freshly squeezed juice.
“First, to Suli, who prepared this magnificent feast.” Mr. Ellison raised his wineglass.
“I hope we can celebrate Christmas with the Grangers next year,” Mrs. Ellison said as she lifted hers.
“Angel likes Big Sister Granger too!” Angel enthusiastically joined in.
“Actually…” Suer said with a smile, “so do I.”
Laughter filled the room.