Hermione's Mistake

Chapter 13
Yuletide Preparations

Groggily, Ginny awoke from her short nap, Hermione still snoozing away in her crib. Ginny looked at her diaper, ashamed at her actions of earlier.

“It’s not normal to voluntarily wear a diaper,” Ginny stated to herself. “Hermione needs to wear them, I don’t.”

She took the one she was wearing off, and threw it into the trash. She then changed herself back into her regular underwear, and yawned loudly. The sunlight streaming through the windows told her that it was morning. Christmas was the day after tomorrow, and she still hadn’t gotten anything yet. She didn’t know when she would ever have the chance of getting gifts since she had to take care of Hermione. Even if she would be in her “right mind” after she awoke, she couldn’t run the risk of taking her with her, just in case her mind had one of it’s “hiccups,” so to speak. But she couldn’t leave her here for the same reason.

A yawn interrupted her thoughts. Ginny turned and saw Hermione stretch her arms out and continue with her yawn. As she finished, Ginny walked over to the crib. She looked inside and smiled at Hermione, wondering what type of response she would receive in return. Hermione smiled back at her in a way that told Ginny that she was currently lucid. Ginny dropped the side of the crib, and helped her friend out. Instead of merely asking her if she was wet, Ginny checked with two of her fingers, as had become custom, and confirmed the need to change Hermione.

“Come on, let’s get you changed,” Ginny said, helping her friend on the changing table.

Ginny went through the task of changing Hermione’s diaper, which had become nothing out of the ordinary by now. As she finished, Hermione thanked her and hopped off the table.

“So, Hermione. I was thinking,” Ginny began. “It’s getting closer to Christmas, and I need to buy gifts.”

“Well, okay. Let’s go today.” Hermione replied.

“Well, you see, the thing is, with your condition, I’m not sure I could trust you to stay ?you’.” Ginny said.

“Oh,” Hermione said, losing her happy mood.

“Also, I can’t just leave you here alone just in case you go back to being baby Hermione.” Ginny said, hoping she wasn’t hurting the feelings of her friend.

“Please Ginny,” Hermione pleaded “I need to get gifts, too. I promise I’ll be fine.”

Ginny wasn’t too sure, especially since she was already somewhat whiney.

“Ok, fine” Ginny said, relenting. “I hope I won’t regret this.”

Hermione instantly smiled and rushed to her dresser. She grabbed some clothes and began to change out of yesterday’s clothes. Ginny was happy to notice that she not only clothed herself, she did a good job of it. Ginny then left for her room to get changed herself. When she came back Hermione seemed to be waiting for her like an eager child.

“Are we ready, yet?” Hermione blurted out.

“Not yet,” Ginny laughed.

Ginny then walked over to Hermione’s changing table and grabbed a few diapers from the drawers. She also grabbed the box of wipes and the bottle of baby powder. Ginny put them all in her purse, despite the fact that the purse was about the size of her head. Of course, being a witch meant that the laws of physics were broken without much consequence. In actuality that purse could hold the volume of Hermione’s room. Ginny made sure she had some money with her before she left, and reminded Hermione not to forget her’s. They left the common room a few minutes later.

The only place for them to shop was Hogsmeade, so they headed there. The castle was empty for the most part, except for Peeves. When the two saw him in the distance, they made a beeline for an alternate hallway. It would take them longer, but as long they avoided Peeves, they didn’t mind. As they reached the entrance to the castle, they could feel the cold through the small crack between the doors. Ginny opened the left door and they both felt the blast of cold wind assault them. They knew that the walk to Hogsmeade would be uncomfortable, but the weather wouldn’t postpone itself until the holidays were over, so they knew they had to do it. It seemed that the initial blast of cold air was the worst, because they soon got used to it. Both decided that the first thing they would do when they entered town was stop at “The Three Broomsticks” for a glass of warm butterbeer.

The early morning sun did nothing to the cold chill hanging in the air. As they walked, the two were pretty silent. It took a good while, but the two girls eventually reached the entrance to Hogsmeade. Both smiled at the familiar sign hanging over the entrance, covered in chimerical beasts that were wondrous to behold. The two girls looked at each other and entered the small town. They headed for “The Three Broomsticks”, noting all of the places they wanted to shop at after they were finished. They walked until they saw the familiar sight of the building. They entered the pub and looked at how empty it was. Besides them, there were only four other customers. Ginny and Hermione each ordered a butterbeer. Ginny was nervous about giving Hermione one, due to the fact that it was slightly alcoholic. She was unsure how Hermione’s fragile mind would be affected by alcohol.

As they drank, Hermione seemed fine, so Ginny stopped worrying. They drank and talked about what gifts they were going to get for their friends and family. Each had a very good idea what they wanted to get the other, but of course, neither mentioned it. The two finished their butterbeer and paid their bill. As they walked out the door and into the cold, they decided on their first stop. After taking only a few steps, Hermione stopped for a few seconds and blushed.

“Already?” Ginny asked.

“Yeah,” Hermione answered, still blushing.

“Ok, follow me,” Ginny said, thinking about a place she could privately change her friend.

She wouldn’t admit that the warm wetness in her diaper felt good in the cold air, so she followed Ginny, still blushing.

At first, Hermione’s wet diaper had felt good in the bitter cold, but the warmth soon turned into cold, and caused her diaper to be horribly itchy. Ginny was currently looking for a place to change Hermione that would offer the two some much needed privacy. She settled on a small place that looked empty. The writing on the sign had aged severely, leaving not enough to even determine a name for the shop. Although the sign was decaying, the rest of the shop still looked quite nice, despite its lack of customers. Ginny pulled Hermione over to the shop and opened the door. The door creaked horribly as it opened, making both girls wince.

Inside, the shop was quite nice. It seemed to be some type of trinket or antique shop, judging by the elegant items on display. The witch behind the counter of the shop was very short, and had a wart-filled face that made her look like a toad.

“Can I ?elp you girls,” The woman said, in a raspy voice that befitted her toad-like appearance.

“May we use your restroom?” Ginny said, putting on the most polite smile she could muster.

“Sorry, girls. Payin’ customers only,” She said, becoming visibly bored.

“Oh, uh, Ok, I guess we’ll look around,” Ginny said, noticing a few nice things.

“Whatever, jist remember, ya break it, ya buy it” The shop-owner replied, sitting in her small chair.

The policy of the toad-woman was almost tested soon after Ginny picked up a pretty glass object and looked down at it’s price. Ginny dropped the object in her shocked state, but prevented it from hitting te ground with a quick smell. Hermione was on the other end of the store, looking for something for Ginny. Unsatisfied with the trinkets on the table she was looking at, she moved to the next one. A vial with a strange orange liquid caught her eye and she looked for any indication of what it was. She saw a small, elegant carving on the cap of the lid that was slightly troublesome due to its size. She eventually managed to decipher the letters on the vial, realizing it was not English or any language that used the Roman Alphabet.

“Συγκεντρωμένα δάκρυα ενός ροπάλου” Read the strange vial.

Hermione had no idea what it said, or even what language it was, so she put it back carefully, just in case. Immediately after, her eyes met with something else she found to be quite beautiful. It was a small golden necklace with orange jewels arranged in a circle. According to the label under it, the gems would change color and formation at random intervals. As she finished reading the label, the circular formation of orange gems shifted to form a blue snowflake-like formation. Hermione knew that this was the thing to get Ginny, no doubt about it. Hermione thought the price was a bit steep, but it was well within her Christmas budget, so she quickly scooped it up, noticing Ginny distracted at the other end of the store. She sneaked over to the toad-woman, who seemed to have fallen asleep in her stool. As she reached the counter, her diaper began to itch even worse. She hoped she didn’t have a diaper rash, but she knew she had to hurry and get changed.

“Excuse me, Ma’am,” Hermione whispered, trying not to get Ginny’s attention.

The toad-woman let out a loud snore in response, and Hermione had to stifle a laugh at the snore, which almost sounded like a croak. Ginny seemed to distracted to care, and continued browsing. Hermione gently nudged the woman, rousing her from her nap.

“Can I ?elp ya, dear,” The shopkeep asked.

“I like to purchase this,” Hermione replied.

The owner looked down at the necklace. “That’ll be ten galleons, dear” She said.

Hermione handed over the large, gold coins and grabbed the newly bagged necklace.

“May I use the bathroom now, Ma’am?” Hermione asked.

“In the back,” The woman replied, giving a lazy gesture to the back of the shop.

“Hey, Ginny we can use the restroom, now” Hermione stated, holding up her packaged gift.

“What did you buy?” Ginny asked.

“I can’t tell you, duh,” Hermione replied.

“Well, now I’m interested.” Ginny said.

Hermione pointed Ginny in the direction of the bathroom and the two girls trotted over.

“Not so fast,” The toad-woman said, pointing to Hermione, “Only dat one gets to use da restroom,”

“Please, Ma’am,” Ginny pleaded.

“Sorry, Red, if you want to use it, ya gotta buy someting,” Toad-woman responded.

“But-” Ginny began, before being cut-off by Hermione.

“It’s Okay, Ginny, I’ll be fine by myself,” Hermione said, becoming embarrassed.

“Well, okay,” Ginny replied, not entirely sure.

Ginny discreetly pulled a new diaper and the supplies out of her purse and handed them over to Hermione.

As Hermione entered the lavatory to change herself, Ginny decided to look at stuff she missed before. It wasn’t long before she found the vial that captivated Hermione. It didn’t take her long before she found the inscription on the cap. She recognized the language as Greek from her studies. She wasn’t that good at translating it into English, but she could make out the words “Concentrated” and “tears”. She couldn’t make out the last word, but became bored with the vial and put it down.

As she did, she heard the restroom door open, and reveal Hermione, looking embarrassed.

“Did it go okay?,” Ginny asked.

“I think so,” Hermione replied.

Ginny darted her eyes over to toad-woman, and saw her once again napping. Ginny tugged Hermione, and they both hid behind a bookshelf, out of sight. Hermione gave Ginny the wipes and powder, as Ginny opened her purse. After that was taken care of, Ginny once again darted her eyes around, and then swiftly pulled Hermione’s pants down to her knees. After a short glance, Ginny determined that the diaper was on satisfactorily, but wouldn’t be able to take more than an averaged sized wetting. Knowing that the garment could not be fixed now, she quickly pulled up the trousers of the blushing witch. The two quickly scuffled out from behind the bookshelf and headed for the door, thanking the toad-woman as they went. All they got for a response was another snore/croak. The two girls couldn’t stifle their laughter as they headed into the cold.

Once the girls left the antique shop, they headed for a few other shops, able to help each other pick out gifts for their friends. Ginny waited for a moment when Hermione was busy, and bought her her gift. It was a pacifier that would give its “user” happy dreams if they sucked on it while they were sleeping. Ginny made sure that it wasn’t spell-proof before she purchased it, because she knew she would have to slightly enlarge it to fit Hermione better.

Soon after, they checked over their list, and determined that they had finished shopping. It was getting late, so they decided to go back to the castle. The wind had died down, but the proximity to sunset had caused the temperature to drop a bit. About halfway back, Hermione began complaining about a dull headache. Ginny sighed, and hastened her pace. The duo eventually reached the castle and headed towards the obscure hallways. Halfway back to the common room, Hermione fell on to her hands and knees, but still tried to keep pace with Ginny. Ginny stopped and sighed, before using another arm enhancement spell, and lifting up Hermione. The gifts safely in Ginny’s purse, Ginny carried Hermione back to the common room, looking cautiously around every corner and corridor along the way. Once they reached Hermione’s bedroom, Ginny placed Hermione on the floor, not sure of her current status.

“You okay, Hermione?”, Ginny asked.

“Me fine”, Hermione said, before clasping her hands over her mouth.

Before Ginny could comment, Hermione began babbling.

“Err, Hermione, you there?”, Ginny asked.

One look at Hermione’s eyes told Ginny that she had reverted to her infantile state. As if to confirm this, Hermione stuck her thumb in her mouth, and fell onto her back. Seconds later, she dozed off.

“Well, at least she lasted till we got back...”, Ginny mumbled to no one in particular.

Ginny lifted the girl with her still enhanced arms, and laid her in her crib. After doing so, she raised the side and locked it in place. Returning her arms to their normal state, she sat at the table, and took the gifts she purchased out of her purse. Using a few quick spells, she wrapped each of them, and placed them back into her purse. She pondered about wrapping Hermione’s gifts, but she didn’t want to accidentally see what her own gift was. With a realization, she reached into her bag, and pulled out her gift to Hermione. She quietly unwrapped it, and pulled it out. Using a spell, she slightly enlarged it, in order for it to fit Hermione better.

“Almost forgot about that...”, she said to herself, laughing.

After satisfied with it’s size, she re-wrapped it, and placed it back into her bag. After a bit of thinking, she conjured up a box of Christmas decorations, for the two to hang up later. She looked at the time, and decided that she had time to rest before supper. She walked over to the couch, and laid down, closing her eyes. Before she even had the chance to think, she was interrupted by a cry. She sighed inwardly, and walked over to the crib. Hermione was indeed crying, no lucidity apparent in her eyes. Ginny lowered the bars of the crib, and re-enhanced her arms. She quickly checked Hermione’s diaper, and then lifted her into the air. Laying her on the changing table, she made quick work of changing Hermione’s wet diaper, causing her to calm down.

After Hermione had calmed down, she quickly dozed off again. Ginny took no time in placing her back into her crib, and locking the side back into place. That being done, Ginny yawned, and plopped down onto the couch. She too, dozed off quickly.

A beam of light had taken it upon itself to wake Ginny up the next morning. Ginny mumbled incoherently, and saw Hermione was still sound asleep. Yawning, she stood up from the couch, and prodded the sleeping Hermione. Hermione rubbed her eye, and babbled incoherently behind her thumb.

“Good morning,” she repeated, this time making sure to remove her thumb.

“Morning,” Ginny replied.

Ginny didn’t even bother asking Hermione, or checking, she just assumed her diaper was wet, since it had been every morning so far. Ginny quickly changed her into a new one, and helped her into some fresh clothes for the day.

“Christmas is tomorrow, so we need to decorate, and you still need to wrap your presents,” Ginny reminded Hermione.

“Oh, right,” Hermione responded, still half-asleep.

“You can wrap your gifts, while I go get some breakfast,” Ginny stated, “You want anything?”

“No thanks,” Hermione replied.

Ginny left the room, heading for the Great Hall, while Hermione sat at the small table, and pulled out her presents. She only used her wand to help somewhat, preferring not to rely on magic to wrap her gifts. She wrapped Ginny’s gift in the special purple wrapping paper she bought, which was fraught in designs which spiraled around the plane of the paper. It was the only magic wrapping paper she possessed, and wanted only to use it for Ginny’s gift. After wrapping all of her presents, she relaxed onto the couch, and sucked on her pacifier.

About a quarter of an hour later, Ginny returned from breakfast. She saw Hermione on the couch, and saw that all the gifts were already wrapped. She looked at the box of decorations, and noticed that they were untouched.

“Perhaps we should start with the decorations?” Ginny said.

“Um, sure,” Hermione answered.

Hermione sat up, and walked over to the box of decorations, and opened it. Somehow, she wasn’t too surprised to notice that the box held much more than one would think just by looking at. The box was filled with strings of garland, lights, ribbons, and many more Christmas items. Hermione had no idea where to begin, but Ginny solved that problem by pulling out a gold strand of garland, and using magic to invisibly string it over the doorway.

For the rest of the day, the two strung up decoration after decoration, Hermione preferring to do so without the use of magic, with a few breaks here and there for food or diaper changes. As the day closed, the box emptied, and the two yawned. Eager for the events of tomorrow, the two decided to hit the hay earlier than normal. Ginny helped Hermione into her crib, and then reclined onto the couch. They both drifted off to sleep thinking of the day to come.