Christmas is undoubtedly a grand holiday.
Many families prepare holiday food, gifts, and Christmas trees several days in advance.
The Granger family was no exception.
Since returning from Hogwarts, Hermione has been heavily involved in the Granger family's Christmas preparations.
She accompanied her parents shopping, cleaning the room, and decorating the Christmas tree, approaching everything with great enthusiasm, as if she were eagerly anticipating someone's arrival.
Even when making desserts, this applies.
She used almost every trick in the book, repeatedly adjusting the flavor, striving for perfection at every step.
Looking at her daughter's high spirits these past few days, Granger, who should have been happy, felt somewhat helpless.
Although her daughter hid it very well, and it's possible that even she herself didn't notice, Granger, as a mother and someone who had been through similar experiences, saw through it at a glance.
Hermione is getting a little anxious.
The little girl's heart was like a burning ember; you could feel her intense emotions just by spending a short time by her side.
She was clearly expecting something.
This wasn't hard for Granger to guess.
She grabbed Hermione's wrist with a hint of exasperation. "Darling, why don't you go and rest for a while?"
"I'm not tired yet, Mom."
Hermione wasn't just not tired; she was bursting with energy.
But Granger shook her head with a wry smile:
"You've made far too many desserts according to Silan's taste. Even if he ate them every day, it would take him a long time. I'd say this is more than enough."
Hermione blushed slightly, but insisted, "Then I'll go do something else."
"Alright, darling." Granger pulled Hermione aside, wiped her hands, and then pressed her down on the sofa. "You've already cleaned the house, bought everything you needed, spent the whole afternoon decorating the Christmas tree, and made so many desserts."
"Honestly, you've done enough."
"Listen to me, let's rest for a while."
Although she agreed with her mother's words, Hermione still couldn't stay idle and wanted to find something to do.
So Granger had no choice but to pull out her secret weapon and shout at Granger, who was waxing the floor:
"It's getting late, you should go and bring Silan back first. Otherwise, our little wildcat will be restless and won't be able to calm down."
"Mother!"
The clever Hermione, of course, understood Granger's teasing, and blushed with embarrassment.
Granger readily stopped what he was doing.
"I'm almost done here, I'll go now."
Hermione only started to get really worried when she saw Granger put away his tools and start tidying his clothes.
The little girl started running around, wandering up and down the stairs, constantly calling out, "Daddy, don't rush, I need to get ready!"
"I haven't combed my hair yet!"
"Mom, where did you put my new clothes?"
The Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at their little girl, who was running around the room in a panic, and then they both laughed.
This little guy is both adorable and hilarious.
After Hermione hurriedly finished packing, Granger took her to the orphanage, gave some sweets to the other children, and then took Silan away.
It started snowing again.
Hermione and Silan left a trail of shallow footprints in the thin snow.
Although Silan was very familiar with the Granger family, he was still slightly shocked when he stepped inside.
The room was spotless; the windows were bright, the table was clean, and even the floor was waxed and gleaming.
Colorful ribbons hung from the ceiling, cascading down from the four corners of the house, while a small and exquisite Christmas tree stood in the center.
Silan glanced at the decorations on the Christmas tree and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a beautiful Christmas tree! You must have taken care of it!"
"How did you know?" Hermione, somewhat surprised.
She never mentioned this to Silan.
Did his parents tell him?
Hermione glanced back at her parents, the Mr. and Mrs. Granger both shook their heads at her.
"Of all the people I know, only you know how to tie this kind of bow." Silan touched a small bell tied with a bow on the Christmas tree. "So I guessed it was you."
"I see..." Hermione gave a shy smile.
The recognition of her hard work brought her immense joy.
Granger chimed in, "It's not just the Christmas tree. You wouldn't believe it, Hermione's been cleaning the house nonstop ever since she came back from vacation."
"Oh, and she even made lots of desserts just to suit your taste," Granger chuckled, covering her mouth. "Hermione went to great lengths to spend Christmas Eve with you."
"Mother!"
Hermione stamped her foot shyly, nervously twisting the hem of her skirt in her small hands, her eyes darting around, not daring to look at Silan. Finally, she followed Granger into the kitchen.
"I'll help you, Dad."
Because there weren't many people attending the dinner, the Granger family didn't prepare too much food, but it was still quite plentiful.
A roasted turkey, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sits in the center of the table, flanked by roasted ribs, vegetable salad, and various small desserts.
Silan and Hermione were childhood sweethearts, and the Mr. and Mrs. Granger were very familiar with him, almost like family.
So everyone was quite relaxed at the dinner, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
"Your principal is so old, does he still like to eat sweets? Are his teeth okay?"
When Hermione and Silan talked about Hogwarts, the Mr. and Mrs. Granger listened with great interest, but their biggest concern was still about the teeth.
These two dedicated dentists always manage to find topics related to teeth.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time," Hermione said, taking a sip of juice. "I don't think he'd ever get cavities."
The Mr. and Mrs. Granger discussed this issue with great interest.
Clearly, this was more interesting to them than magic.
The banquet ended amidst laughter and cheerful conversation.
The two adults cleaned up the mess, while the two children climbed the stairs all the way to the attic.
This is their secret base.
From the moment they met, on countless quiet days and nights, they would sit by the small window of the attic, watching the passersby on the street and whispering secrets.
"Silan ..."
"Hermione..."
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
After gesturing for her to speak, Silan said, "You go first."
"I've prepared a gift for you." Hermione quietly took out a small gift box with a pretty bow tied with a ribbon. "I hope you like it."
"What a coincidence, I also prepared a gift for you."