Chapter 135: A Promised Christmas at the Grangers'

While the entire British wizarding world was abuzz with the Lockhart scandal, the Christmas holidays arrived as scheduled.

The two-week break served as a strong antidote, allowing Hogwarts to cool down briefly. It also provided an opportunity for the young wizards to go home and discuss the sensational event with their families.

This year, as always, Ino signed his name on the departure list.

…

London, Manchester City, Stone District, Lily Street.

An upper-middle-class area in England.

On Christmas Eve, as dusk fell, warm lights began to illuminate both sides of the street. Through the windows, one could see busy figures and hear laughter inside the houses.

"Lily Street No. 444!"

Ino stood at the entrance of the neighborhood, carrying a suitcase and checking house numbers one by one.

Thankfully, his decent attire saved him from being questioned by the patrol, allowing him easy entry into this affluent area.

Two years ago, he could only sneak in during the quiet of night, scouring for discarded yet usable household items.

Today, his presence in this once unattainable Muggle neighborhood was due to a message sent three weeks ago in the library.

Hermione had written a Christmas invitation in her notebook, and Ino had agreed at that time.

It was a bit incredible to think about now.

But since he agreed, he had to fulfill his promise.

After buying some butter toffees from Honeydukes as a gift, he took the Knight Bus to the address Hermione had given.

…

Midway down Lily Street.

A typical Victorian-style building, with red brick walls covered in ivy, and delicate snowflake decals on the window lattices and front door.

Confirming the house number, Ino knocked on the door.

"Knock! Knock knock!"

The door was opened by a middle-aged woman with long brown hair, slightly unkempt and held in place by a plain black hairpin.

"Hello, who are you here to see?"

Ino got straight to the point: "Is this the Granger residence? I'm Hermione's classmate. She invited me to join tonight's Christmas family dinner."

"Are you Mr. Swinburne? Come in, Hermione wrote to us about you!"

The woman warmly opened the door and introduced herself, "I'm Hermione's mother, Mia Granger! You can call me Aunt Mia if you don't mind."

"Thank you, Aunt Mia. You can call me Ino," he replied politely. After changing into slippers in the foyer, he was led to the living room.

Sitting on the leather sofa and taking in the modern decor, Ino felt a sense of otherworldliness.

The lavish chandelier, a TV screen at least 23 inches wide, a bulky VCR, and neatly arranged videotapes…

"Ino!" A surprised voice called out from the stairs.

Hermione hurried down the stairs, chattering excitedly as she walked: "I've been waiting for you since this afternoon, worried you might forget! I almost thought you wouldn't come, and I was afraid you wouldn't find the address since it's already evening! Thank goodness…"

"Merry Christmas, Hermione!" Ino interrupted her babble, pulling out a prepared gift from his suitcase. "This is your Christmas present!"

"What is it?" Hermione eagerly unwrapped the gift, both out of anticipation and as a courtesy, showing respect by opening it in front of the giver.

"What a beautiful gift! It's stunning!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed from the living room doorway, admiring the gift in Hermione's hands.

"Mom, it's mine!" Hermione hugged the crystal ball tightly, as if fearing it would be taken away.

It was a custom-made crystal ball with a miniature Hogwarts castle inside. It seemed to have a weather charm, changing the internal weather according to the outside conditions.

As night had fallen, the miniature Hogwarts was also in darkness.

"Tsk! I'm just looking. I wouldn't take your gift," Mrs. Granger teased, laughing at her daughter's protectiveness.

Sitting on the sofa, Ino watched the scene quietly, feeling the warmth and harmony of the family. Hermione clearly had a very close relationship with her mother.

…

Two hours later.

In the dining room, Ino eyed the sumptuous spread but noted the absence of the infamous dentist, Mr. Granger.

But it wasn't his place to ask about another family's affairs, so he simply followed Hermione to a seat at the dining table.

"I'm sorry! It'll just be the three of us tonight," Mrs. Granger entered from the living room. Her expression was calm, though her eyes betrayed her disappointment.

"Is Dad working late again? Was that his call just now?" Hermione quickly deduced.

"Yes. Your Uncle George has an acute pulpitis. He called to say he can't come home tonight. Such unfortunate timing..."

She stopped mid-sentence, realizing it wasn't appropriate to complain in front of her daughter's friend. She swiftly changed the subject:

"Ino, Hermione mentioned you live in a wizarding community? Can you tell us about it?"

"Of course, Aunt Mia!" Ino agreed readily.

"Hogsmeade is the last remaining all-wizard village in Britain. The train to Hogwarts stops nearby..."

As Ino explained, Mrs. Granger listened with interest.

"Aunt Mia, I'll be staying there for the holidays. If possible, I'd like to invite you, Mr. Granger, and Hermione to visit."

Reciprocating the invitation, Ino extended a warm invite.

Mrs. Granger looked tempted but, after a moment's thought, declined with regret: "We'd love to, but our clinic is booked solid until the new year!"

Unperturbed by the refusal, Ino understood that adults couldn't just drop everything and go.

…

For the rest of the evening, the trio enjoyed a delightful dinner and conversation.

Time flew by, and an hour before midnight, Ino excused himself.

Politely declining Mrs. Granger's offer to stay and bidding Hermione farewell, he picked up his suitcase and headed out.

Staying the night wasn't an option; after all, he had plans with Draco, Pansy, Daphne, Neville, and others for Christmas Day.

…

Under the deep blue night sky.

A black swan soared over England.

As one of only eight registered Animagi in the century, Ino's transformation was documented by the Ministry of Magic, though not widely publicized at Professor McGonagall's request.

Thus, he could use this magic without any trouble.

The best part was, as a special transformation spell, Animagi could not be tracked by the Trace.

Clearly, those who established the Trace never expected an underage wizard to master such an advanced transformation spell.