A/N – Welcome to this year's festive offering – Santa Kisses. This is a short story with six chapters and updates will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since it's the festive season, this story is cute family fluff inspired by one of the Christmas films I actually like. I hope you all enjoy Santa Kisses.
Hermione Malfoy laid the final plate of food onto the large dining room table and nodded appreciatively at the sight. The entire table was filled with festive food and drink for the Christmas party she was hosting for her six year old son, Scorpius, and all his friends. Technically it was still early for a Christmas party as December had only just begun, but her friends all had busy lives and it was the only weekend before Christmas that everyone could make the party.
Leaving the dining room, Hermione wandered back into the front room, which was already decorated for Christmas. Normally Hermione didn't have her decorations up as early, but with the party she'd made an exception and her large house was appropriately decorated for the festive season.
"Scorpius," Hermione called when her son wasn't in the front room.
"I'm here Mum," Scorpius cried as he entered the room with the Malfoys black cat, Midnight, trailing behind him like a lap dog.
"What have you been up to?" Hermione asked suspiciously. As a mini Slytherin in the making her son could be very devious, a trait she liked to put down to his father, even though she herself could be just as sly and sneaky as her husband.
"I was checking to see if it was snowing," Scorpius replied with a sigh. "But it wasn't."
"Why do you want it to snow?" Hermione asked.
"It always snows at Christmas," Scorpius replied seriously. What he didn't know was that his father and grandfather always used magic to make it snow at Christmas, and in actual fact Scorpius had never seen a real white Christmas.
"But it's not Christmas," Hermione pointed out.
"But it's my Christmas party, that's the same thing," Scorpius argued.
Knowing it was pointless to argue with her stubborn son, Hermione changed the subject and checked Scorpius was ready to receive his guests. Just as Scorpius was informing Hermione he was ready for the party, the sound of the floo activating came from the floo room and he ran across the hallway to see who had arrived.
By the time Hermione followed her son to the floo room her good friend, Daphne Zabini, was emerging from the flames with her six year old, Alex. Alex also happened to be Scorpius's best friend and the pair were inseparable. They'd actually been born on the same day, and their fathers often joked that they were like twins who had just happened to have different parents.
"How are things going?" Daphne asked as the boys ran back to the front room.
"Everything's in hand," Hermione replied with a smile. "The food's all done and the presents are all wrapped and upstairs in a sack."
"And Mr Weasley is still happy to play Santa?" Daphne checked.
Hermione had arranged for Arthur Weasley to surprise the children by appearing at Santa Clause and handing out presents. Despite the fact Santa was a muggle thing, all the children believed in him and knew about him courtesy of Hermione and her best friend, Harry Potter, who'd also grown up in the muggle world.
"Arthur will be here later with Molly," Hermione confirmed as the two witches headed towards the front room.
"What are you doing?" Daphne demanded as they entered the front room and found the boys wrapping tinsel around the cat.
"Giving Midnight a festive make-over," Scorpius replied as he pulled a piece of tinsel from Hermione's neatly decorated tree and began to wind it around the feline.
"Stop that," Hermione scolded as she began to unwrap the cat.
"But he likes it," Scorpius pouted.
"He's too soft for his own good," Hermione muttered, shaking her head at Midnight who had been content to just let the boys do what they wanted with him.
"There's the floo again, go and see who it is," Daphne said to the boys as the distinctive sound of the floo network sounded while Hermione was busy sorting the tree.
"Those boys will be the death of me," Hermione sighed, turning back to her friend. "Remind me again why we decided to have children with Slytherins?"
"They charmed us I guess," Daphne laughed.
"They did that," Hermione agreed, laughing along with Daphne as she turned her attention to the new arrivals.
The newest guests were Harry's wife, Ginny and their two children, James and Lily. From there on there was a solid procession of guests. Luna Longbottom arrived with her and Neville's four year old twin girls, Ron Weasley's wife, Lavender, arrived with their daughter, Rose. Angelina and Alicia Weasley, wives of the Weasley twins, arrived with their children, along with Bill's wife Fleur and their two girls. Pansy Nott arrived with her three children in tow, and she was followed by the wives of Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe and their children.
"I can't believe we're playing host to all these children while the men are off drinking," Pansy remarked as Scorpius put on some muggle Christmas songs and the children began to sing and dance along.
"Would you rather they were here and we had to look after them as well?" Hermione asked with a laugh. "Come on Pans, you know our husbands are more of a handful than our children could ever be."
"I'd drink to that," Angelina chuckled. "If anyone asks me I say I have two children, one five year old girl and one thirty five year old man."
Laughing at Angelina, Hermione heard the floo network sounding again so she excused herself. When she entered the floo room she found it was her mother-in-law, Narcissa. Greeting Narcissa, she was about to send her into the front room when the fire lit up again and Molly Weasley emerged. The only problem was, Molly was alone and she was supposed to be bringing Arthur with her.
"I'm so sorry Hermione, but Arthur is unwell," Molly apologised. "I've been trying all morning to perk him up with potions, but he's as sick as a dog. There's no way he can play Santa this afternoon."
"It's okay Molly, we'll find an alternative," Hermione assured the older witch as she could see how bad she felt. "I just hope Arthur gets well soon. Why don't you go through and join in the fun. And if they're decorating the cat again, will you tell them to leave the poor thing along. I swear, one day Midnight will rebel and scratch Scorpius's eyes out."
"I don't think so Hermione, that cat of yours is so laid back it wouldn't know how to stand up for itself," Molly chuckled as she headed off to take charge of the unruly children. After all, she was an expert in dealing with high spirited children.
"Is Lucius at home?" Hermione asked her mother-in-law. Her mind was now back on finding someone to replace Arthur and play the role of Santa for the children.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, he's in France for the day visiting an old friend," Narcissa replied. "Maybe Draco or one of his friends could help. They're all together, aren't they?"
"Yes, they were all spending the afternoon at Dean and Seamus's pub," Hermione said with a nod of her head. "Okay, you hold the fort here and I'll go and find us a willing volunteer to play Santa."
"Good luck," Narcissa said, not sure how easy Hermione would find it to persuade Draco or one of his friends to help.
Grabbing her jacket, Hermione quickly made sure the party was still going strong before she flooed to the pub her old friend's, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan owned. Dean was the first person she'd seen, and he directed Hermione towards a back booth where her husband and friends were gathered enjoying a relaxing afternoon while their children were enjoying a party at Hermione's house.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco asked, jumping up in concern as he spotted his wife.
"We've got a problem," Hermione said. "Arthur is ill."
"And that's a problem?" Blaise questioned with a frown.
"It is when he was supposed to be playing Santa for the children," Hermione replied. "I've got a suit and a bag full of presents at the house."
"No," Draco said as he sat back down in his seat and shook his head at his wife.
"No what, she hasn't asked anything," Theo pointed out.
"She's going to want me to play Santa," Draco replied. "And the answer is no."
"Not even for your son?" Hermione asked. "Scorpius will be thrilled to see Santa."
"But it won't be Santa, it will be his father in an ugly red suit posing as a very dubious muggle," Draco argued.
"Did you just call Santa, dubious?" Harry laughed.
"I did," Draco confirmed. "Think about it. He's some fat old man making lists of children and deciding if they're worthy of presents. He then spends an entire night sneaking into people's homes and scoffing their milk and cookies. It's not right."
"It's a story, Draco," Hermione retorted with a roll of her eyes.
"Not a very credible one," Blaise offered. "How gullible must you be to believe he's real? As if he could get around the entire world in one night, on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. It's preposterous."
"It's called magic, Blaise," Harry chuckled. "Santa can do all of that because he's magic."
"Are you calling Santa a wizard?" Fred asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, I'm fairly sure he never went to Hogwarts," George added.
"For crying out loud, this is the stupidest conversation I've ever had," Hermione tutted, jumping in before the boys got into a full on debate about Santa. "All I want is one of you to come back with me and play Santa for the kids. It'll take a couple of hours at the most."
"Go on then Draco, hop to it," Theo said, nudging his friend in the ribs.
"Why me?" Draco demanded. "Your kids are there too. In fact, every wizard at this table has kids at that party."
"Yes, but you're the one whose wife has come calling," Bill pointed out. "And we all know Hermione likes to get her own way."
"But if one of you go with her, she'll still get what she wants," Draco argued.
"Yeah, but she can threaten you," Blaise said to his best friend.
"I can," Hermione confirmed with a sly smirk.
"Come on then Granger, do your worst," Draco retorted challengingly.
Still smirking, Hermione leaned across the table until she was face to face with her husband before issuing her threat. "No sex for the rest of the year."
"Ouch," Blaise hissed as all the wizards around the table chuckled slightly. "Now that's harsh."
"You'll never do it," Draco replied confidently, his grey eyes never leaving his wife's brown ones.
"Do you want to try me?" Hermione retorted. "Because I have a house full of children back at home. Children who will be devastated if Santa doesn't pay them a visit."
"If you seriously expect me to do this, I want something in return," Draco said.
"Isn't the pleasure of seeing your son happy payment enough?" Hermione asked as she stood back up to her full height.
"Not really," Draco replied with a shake of his head. "If you expect me to wear that hideous red suit Santa wears, I'll need incentive."
"How about I send Scorpius to the manor with Narcissa this evening, and I'll give Santa a very personal thank you," Hermione suggested in a husky voice.
"Hell, if you don't go Draco, I will," Blaise muttered.
"You keep your hands to yourself, Zabini," Draco hissed, his possessive nature shining through at the thought of another wizard, even his best friend who was happily married, lusting over his wife.
"So you'll do it?" Hermione checked with a wide grin.
"I'll do it," Draco confirmed as he rose to his feet. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said to his friends. "And line up the drinks. I'll need something to help me recover from the ordeal."
"There's no need to be so dramatic, Draco," Hermione said as she led Draco back towards the floo so they could go home.
Once at home, Hermione snuck Draco up to their room and showed him where she'd hidden the Santa suit and sack of presents. She and Daphne had sorted the presents, so every child would get something personally tailored to them.
"When you're ready, sneak back downstairs and then make a big entrance into the front room," Hermione ordered her husband. "Remember to disguise your voice. It'll ruin the whole thing if Scorpius finds out who's in the suit."
"Believe me, I don't want anyone knowing I'm doing this," Draco muttered, eyeing up the red suit and it's stuffing in distaste.
"Just think of the thank you I'll give you later," Hermione said, shooting her husband a sexy smile before hurrying back to the party.
It was nearly half an hour before Draco put in an appearance in his Santa suit, and the second he made a show of entering the house, the children went wild. Despite his initial distaste for the idea, Draco ended up getting into his role and as he saw how happy Scorpius and his friends were, he began to enjoy himself. In fact he spent nearly an hour handing our presents and making up answers to all the questions the youngsters were throwing his way.
"Santa has to go now," Draco said as he finally prised himself away from Scorpius.
"Can't you stay?" Scorpius asked with a pout. "We're going to have cake."
"Sorry young man, I have to get back to my reindeers," Draco said, ruffling his son's platinum blond hair.
"Say hello to Rudolph from me," Alex called. "Rudolph is my favourite. Is he your favourite Santa?"
"I am fond of him," Draco answered, even though he didn't for one minute recall what was special about Rudolph.
"Prancer is the best," Lily Potter argued.
"No Dasher," her brother James insisted.
"Dancer," another voice called.
"No, Vixen," yet another cried.
Sensing it was the perfect time to escape, Draco slipped out of the room while the children started to debate which reindeer was the best. With the children distracted, Hermione had followed her husband out of the front room and instead of letting him go straight upstairs to get changed, she pulled him into the nearby library. However, what neither of them had noticed was that Scorpius and Alex had followed them hoping to say a final goodbye to Santa and they peered through the partly open door at the pair.
"Thank you," Hermione said to her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck. "The children were thrilled you came."
"I didn't just do it to keep them happy, I did it for my reward," Draco replied.
"Don't worry Santa, I'll give you your reward tonight," Hermione purred.
"I can't wait," Draco said with a grin, giving Hermione's bum a quick squeeze.
"Santa, I'm a married woman," Hermione gasped.
"Not tonight you're not," Draco replied. "Tonight you belong to Santa."
"Is he going to unwrap me?" Hermione teased.
"Damn right he is," Draco growled, crashing his lips against Hermione's and wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, pulling her tight against him.
Outside the room, Scorpius watched the entire interaction with an open mouth and when he saw Santa kissing his mother, he turned on his heel and ran into the floo room next door. Alex went running after his best friend and for a couple of minutes the two boys just looked at each other in shock. They'd always thought Santa was a nice man, but now it seemed as though he was trying to steal Scorpius's mother away from his father.
"Do you think your Mum will leave your Dad?" Alex asked in a whisper.
"Do you think Santa will take her away?" Scorpius asked in horror.
"I hope not, I don't want you to go and live in the North Pole," Alex replied in all seriousness.
"I don't want to live in the North Pole," Scorpius cried. "I hate Santa."
"Me too," Alex agreed with a nod. "He's a bad man. We need to keep him away from your Mum."
"Yeah," Scorpius agreed with a thoughtful nod.
"But how?" Alex mused.
"I can be bad," Scorpius suggested. "Santa only comes when we're good, so if I'm bad he won't come back and he won't try and steal my Mum."
"But bad means no Christmas presents," Alex pointed out, nibbling worriedly at his lower lip. "I want presents Scorp."
"This is more important than presents," Scorpius said solemnly. "I need to keep Mum and Dad together and get rid of Santa. Will you help me, Alex?"
"I will," Alex replied after a slight moment's hesitation. "Let's get rid of Santa."
Sharing a wicked smirk the two six year olds snuck out of the floo room and re-joined the party without anyone noticing they'd been missing. However, Scorpius was unable to hide his anger at Hermione and she was left wondering why her son was suddenly giving her the cold shoulder. He wouldn't even go with Narcissa to the manor after the party had ended and when Draco returned home, Hermione had to inform him that Santa's thank you would have to wait. Right now they had a moody six year old to contend with, and Scorpius had made it clear he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't going to give Santa a chance to swoop in and steal his mother from his father. He was going to stop the old man in his tracks and make sure he never visited the Malfoys again.