Everything you recognize is not mine. I have updated this chapter with the help of my new beta CuppaTea13. I am going to be updating all of them. Hope you like it!

Hermione sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. Letting out a huge yawn, she caught herself in the mirror. "I look like a lion." Slowly, she pushed back the hair from her face and smirked to herself. Her eyes were drawn outside to the Hogwarts grounds, and she let out a gasp. The sunshine sparkled on the fresh snow on the ground and the icicles hanging on the windowsill, making the world look like a winter wonderland.

Lavender broke the silence as she turned over in her bed and muttered, "M'cold."

On her right side, Parvati sat up in her own bed rubbing her eyes. Knowing no one else would be getting up anytime soon and that Lavender always did kick off her blankets in the night, Hermione tiptoed over to Lavender and pulled the blanket over the half-asleep girl in a brisk fashion. She flashed a smile at Parvati and walked into the bathroom she shared with the other girls in the dormitory.

Since it was a Saturday and they did not have to be in uniform, she pulled on a pair of worn blue jeans along with a red jumper. Tugging on a pair of thick socks, Hermione shoved her feet into her black boots. Grabbing her white coat, scarf and gloves, she treaded softly through Gryffindor tower.

Hermione then proceeded to jump over scrolls and ink pots left carelessly on the stairwells and in the common room. After that healthy workout for her legs, she finally got to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Pushing it open and saying a quick good morning to the Fat Lady, she ran through the cold hallways of Hogwarts. She slipped into the Great Hall and grabbed a plate.

A few students were already there and a gentle murmuring had settled over the Hall. It looked like the professors were getting ready to put up the Christmas decorations soon. Hermione could see the pink and orange streaks of color in the sky on the enchanted ceiling, threading through a few fluffy cotton candy clouds, all against a background of a heavenly baby blue. Hermione got some eggs, bacon, and sausage on her plate and started eating. It was nowhere as good as her mother's cooking but it would do. Taking a bite of her eggs, she looked over to the other tables. Half of the Hufflepuff students looked like they were still asleep, the Slytherins were huddled in small groups around their table whispering and laughing quietly, and some dutiful Ravenclaws had their textbooks out and looked like they were studying seriously. As she scooped up the last of her food, she nodded to the Gryffindor quidditch team that had just taken a seat near her. Flashing a smile at Seamus as he sat down at the table, she stood up and walked to the big front doors of the school. More and more of the students were slowly walking down the stairs, some looking like brainless zombies pulled out of their sleep by their friends and some like marathon runners ready to take on the day, and their sleepy friends. They were all chatting quite loudly and the gentle murmuring that had been over the Great Hall was replaced by a loud and robust atmosphere. Hermione got a wave and a smile from Parvati and Lavender as they walked with the rest of the kids. Putting on her white coat, the red scarf her parents had sent her as an early Christmas present, and thick black gloves, she pushed open the heavy doors.

"Wow," she breathed out as she took in the winter paradise. Her breath fogged up almost immediately and she waved her hand through it, giggling as she remembered how she and her father would joke around that the other's mouth was on fire and the fog was a result of that. It had snowed quite heavily, she noted as she took a few steps away from the castle. There were also some dewdrops on the poor, leafless trees around the castle, and they looked like diamonds that had been spilled on the ebony branches, slowly dripping to the ground. She let out a gasp and watched as her breath fogged again. Something that many people did not know about Hermione was that she loved to take long walks whenever she felt stressed. And with Harry, the Triwizard Championship, and Yule Ball, she really was stressed.

Catching sight of a wild rabbit nestled between some trees, she followed a trail past Hagrid's Hut and to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Hermione saw a pile of snow and ice on the ground and she took out her wand from her pocket. "Forma," she said quietly and swept her wand over the snow, shaping it into a staircase like figure. Climbing up the stairs, she scared off the rabbit and it slipped through into the forest. Hermione resolved to sit on a nearby tree stump and relax. She loved moments like these when she could just sit and do nothing. Before she realized it, the sun was over her head and her stomach was growling again. She stood up and patted the snow off her coat and turned to go back to the castle. She stepped down on the top step of her makeshift staircase and before she could react it gave away from beneath her. Understandably, she had sat on that tree stump for over an hour. The warm sunlight had probably caused the ice and snow to lose their firmness and thus collapse.

"Granger, watch out! Wingardium Leviosa!" A shout came from behind her, and suddenly she was suspended in the air. So this is what a bird feels like, Hermione thought for a moment as she hung in the air. She wondered if she flapped her hands, could she move?

"Oh!" Gathering her wits, Hermione extracted her wand from her pocket and floated herself to safe ground.

"Thank you," she said to the boy who had helped her. He was perhaps a few years older than her, with a handsome, likable face. He was currently standing next to Hermione and smiling nicely at her.

"No problem," The tall Hufflepuff, as she could see by the long yellow and black scarf around his neck, said to her, "I'm Cedric Diggory, and you are?" He extended his hand to her.

"Hermione Granger," she shook the offered hand.

"Ah," He said with a nod, "Potter's and Weasley's friend from the Quidditch World Cup right?"

Hermione stiffened slightly but nodded assent. She hated being referred to as just Harry's or Ronald's friend, but that was often the case. The only thing she could do was be polite to this boy and then walk back quickly to the castle. She couldn't snap at the person who had possibly saved her some bodily damage.

"So were you planning on falling on your face?" he asked her with a mischievous smile.

"Of course I was, Diggory" she said in a snooty voice, starting to walk back to the castle, "Everyone knows putting snow on your face is wonderful for the complexion."

She walked a bit faster and then she heard Diggory laugh from behind her. He walked faster too and fell in step with her.

"I'm heading back to the castle too," he said as an explanation and Hermione saw that the cold had made Diggory's face red and flushed.

"Are you coming down with something?" Hermione wasn't exactly sure why she cared but it was winter, and Diggory looked a bit sick. He was also one of the Triwizard competitors, so it would probably crush his fan base if he had to stay away from them and rest for a few days. She turned to face Diggory, "Your face is all red."

"Oh no, I'm fine," he shrugged it off and stared at something in the distance.

Something was bothering Hermione but she couldn't figure out what. Something Diggory had said. She got a tingly feeling on the back of her neck and she turned to see Diggory looking at her. When he noticed her staring back at him he turned away. The tingling sensation had started when Diggory had introduced himself.

"All right then," they had reached the big doors by now and Hermione pulled them open, "Well it was nice talking to you, and thank you once again."

"No problem," he walked away in the opposite direction and Hermione climbed up the stairs to go back the Gryffindor Tower. That's when she realized what it was that had been bothering her: before, when he had cast the levitation charm, he had said her name- so why had he acted like he didn't know who she was?

And so Hermione Granger slowly walked up the stairs with one more thing to dwell on over the winter holidays.

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