Hermione looked up as the crunch of snow warned her of feet coming closer. She opened her eyes and spotted Ron, managing a small smile as she stopped by her. “It’s a little hot inside the house- with all the food, and the fire. And the people,” Hermione said, wondering for a moment at what Christmas would have been like with her parents. She always got a new toothbrush, whichever was the new top of the line for the next year. As well as floss and toothpaste, a few books. Gifts in the morning, some tea passed around. And then they would disperse, only going to Mass if Grandma Granger was there. If not, Hermione would not see them until supper.
It was so very unlike what they were doing that year. The Weasleys all seemed to fall one on top of the other, and the added spouses and friends didn’t help. It was almost constricting to Hermione, who often needed a few moments air out of doors. But Ron didn’t always notice, or else she would grab someone to go with her.
“I wanted to cool off,” she said, continuing on. She’d given Ron and Harry their gifts already, the bigger ones that could be wrapped. But she still had the tickets for him, tucked away in her back pocket. She reached for it then, sliding out the envelope in the Cannon colors. “I wasn’t sure what the proper etiquette for this gift was,” she admitted, feeling actually a little proud. Ron was bound to like two good (she’d been assured) tickets to his favorite team. Yes, she had no idea if they were playing a good team that day, or even what the other team’s name was, but it was still tickets to a sporting event. That was platonic, right?