"Scorpius? What kind of a bloody name is that?" Ron criticised, as he chomped down the roast dinner on his plate.
"Ronald, keep your mouth closed while you eat, you're setting a bad example." Hermione scolded as she picked the napkin from her lap and dabbed it around her mouth.
They sat at the long, oak dining table of what could only be called the Weasley Manor. That's right, Hermione Weasley sat with her husband and two children, Rose and Hugo, having a Christmas Lunch. Harry and Ginny Potter had joined them with their kids James, Albus and Lily. The chatter around the table had taken an unexpected turn when James mentioned the new friend he'd made during his first term at Hogwarts, but of course leave it up to Ron to insult a Malfoy at any chance, even an 11 year old one.
"Actually, dad," She said with a strange look on her face. "Scorpius is an ancient Greek name tha-"
"More potatoes, darling?" Hermione cut in, shovelling several potatoes onto Ron's plate.
"Look at Rose, always defending Scorpius, James I think you've lost your girlfriend." Albus mocked in a sing-song voice.
"Shut up Albus!" Rose huffed and looked away with tears forming in her eyes.
"I don't understand why you two are friends with him. He's half Slytherin!"
"Half Slytherin you say? How can that be possible?" Ginny asked curiously as she moved Lily onto her lap to clean her mouth.
Hermione shoved a lock of straight brown hair out of her eyes and continued to eat as though she hadn't in weeks. She had straight hair now, how happy she had been when a muggle cosmetic brand had brought out an invention called straightening irons, even chemicals that kept her hair straight for months. Except for the hair, nothing else about her had really changed aged 36. Harry's scar had faded over time, and he had eventually gotten contact lenses, Ginny no longer wore frumpy sweaters and had obviously grown up to be a beautiful Weasley, now Potter, woman. In Hermione's mind, Ron had changed and suffered the most. His hair was no longer the flaming red it used to be but now a light orange that most would describe as ginger and after all those years of non-stop eating, it had finally caught up with him and he sported a round belly that couldn't be hidden by his t-shirts.
"The sorting hat couldn't decide whether to put him in Slytherin or Gryffindor." Supplied James.
"Nonsense, the sorting hat always decides. What's so special about Malfoy's son? I mean both him and Pansy were Slytherins so it can't be that hard."
"Between having Malfoy for a dad and Parkinson for a mother I'm not surprised the kid's got issues." Hermione's eyes shot up from her plate at Ron's comment and Harry couldn't help but cringe.
"Don't be so rude!" Hermione picked her finished plate up and walked off to the kitchen, Rose following suit.
"Mum, can we go yet?" Rose whined one they reached the kitchen and were alone.
"Soon, sweetie. Let's just get through desert." Rose nodded, obviously unhappily. Hermione led her back to the dining table and once everyone had finished she magically cleaned the table and conjured dessert.
"God, I don't think I can eat desert." Ron pushed the bowl away from him.
"Me neither Hermione, that dinner you made was fantastic." Hermione smiled in Ginny's direction, before shooting a panicked look at the quiet Harry.
"What's wrong with you two? It's Christmas, and you kids, eat up Auntie Hermione put so much effort into making the food." Harry took a spoonful of the tiramisu into his mouth and made a sound, indicating it's deliciousness. Albus, James, Lily and Hugo tucked into their desserts eargerly.
"I think my new year's resolution is to lose this tub of lard, it's hardly attractive right, honey?" Ron poked at his belly and Hermione had to stop herself from cringing.
"I love you just the way you are." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips lightly, as he tried to deepen the kiss Rose cleared her throat and convinced Ginny to try hers.
"Oh alright! But if I get fat missy, you're allowance is buying me the dieting potions!" Ginny laughed and kissed her favourite niece on the forehead and took a large chunk of tiramisu into her mouth.
Time seemed to slow down as they ate their desert, the grandfather clock stroke three and that's when Hermione, Rose and Harry all held their breaths and waited. Ginny's spoon stopped slowly at her lips, Ron was halfway through a laugh with food in his mouth and the kids were just talking amongst themselves and then they stopped.
"R-Ron?" Hermione called to him as the room went silent, when she received no reply or even acknowledgement she let out a sigh of relief. Harry stood up, kissed his frozen wife on the forehead and put his napkin on the table.
"You've got 24 hours Hermione, take advantage of it and please don't make me drag you back home." Hermione nodded.
"I love you, Harry. You don't know how much this means to me." She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost automatically he hugged her to him and smiled sympathetically.
"You're an amazing person Hermione, trying to keep everyone happy." He looked at his best friend with sad eyes.
"Oh Harry," She smiled up at him "Don't look so down, I have twenty-four hours don't I?"
"It can't be enough..." She kissed his cheek again.
"I have one whole day a year to keep me happy for another year to come." Harry laughed.
"You better go, don't waste anytime. I'll floo over there to get you."
"What will you do while they're frozen?" Harry shrugged and looked around him.
"I'll probably go read James' diary and then practice some Quidditch, I've got a match tomorrow."
"Well then, come on Rose. We better get going, it's already 3.10, they're probably wondering where we are."
Rose followed her mum to the fireplace and grabbed her hand and waved with the other at her Uncle Harry as her mum shouted their destination. They arrived seconds later at their destination, in the den of a Manor which was nearly a carbon copy of the one they had just left. Hermione looked around noticing only a few small changes to the decor in the room and felt a pang of disappointment when nobody was here to greet them.
"T-they didn't forget did they?" Rose sounded as though she couldn't breathe.
"Of course not Rose, they'd never forget, let's go find them." She took Rose's hand and led her out of the room, and down the hall towards the family lounge of the house. She reached the door of the room and pushed it open.
"It's about time. He thought you weren't going to show up." The voice rang threw the large room and caused Rose to let go of Hermione's hand and to race up to the figure sitting in the arm chair facing the other way.
"Grandpa!" Rose jumped onto his lap and hugged him tightly.
"Be careful Rose, sweetie, your grandpa's an old man now." Hermione smirked slightly and walked up to the old man and kissed his cheek. "Happy Christmas Lucius."
"Merry Christmas to you too Mudblood." Hermione smiled at him and he smiled back, taking her hand and kissing it softly. "They're upstairs in his room."
"And Narcissa?"
"She's taken frozen Pansy to the dungeon." Hermione laughed.
"I better get upstairs, Rose stay with Gramps for a while ok?" Rose nodded.
"Oh and Hermione, the spell please." Hermione rolled her eyes and waved her wand at Rosie, turning her auburn hair back to its natural white blond colour. "Thank you."
She turned away from the sight of Little Rose sitting on Lucius Malfoy's lap telling him about her whole year, cramming it into about three sentences, and watching him sitting there listening fascinated brought a smile to her face. She made her way out of the room and up the winding stairs slowly savouring the sight of the mansion and what was to come. She kept the last thirteen of these christmas' in a pensieve, which was locked up in her desk at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She remembered his room like the back of her hand, it was the first door on the right, it had been his father's room before he had gotten too old for it. Just as she raised her hand to knock, the door opened revealing a tall, 11 year old, Scorpius.
He was a copy of his father at that age, his pointed nose and strikingly aristocratic features and his soulful grey eyes. The only difference was his hair was spiked up, much like James' and his eyes shone in the emotion he felt, not cold and angry like his father's had. Hermione grinned down at the boy and pulled him towards her, enveloping him into a tight hug.
"Mum?" A few stray tears fell from her eyes and she gazed at him kissing both his cheeks and his nose. Any other 11 year old boy would have run a mile, but Scorpius knew how important this moment was to the both of them. Unlike other kids his age, he only got to experience his mother threw letters and this. This one day a year where both households would stop, forgetting their facade just for 24 hours. These were the moments he lived for.
"Baby, I've missed you so much. You've grown so much since last christmas." She continued to kiss his face all over.
"I know." He pulled her over to sit down on his bed and chatted his way through his life, much like Rose had, but in more detail. About an hour had pasted before he asked: "Where's my favourite twin?"
"Downstairs with you granddad." Scorpius scooted off the bed. "I need to give her the present."
He grabbed a huge package from underneath his bed and made his way to the door. "Dad's in his room."
Hermione nodded and braced herself mentally for the argument that always took place. She walked down the hall and entered his room without knocking. He sat at his desk facing away from her engrossed in whatever work he was doing. She grinned finally and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning in towards his ear.
"Hey there." He tried to ignore her, but he couldn't resist staring up into her gold flecked eyes adoringly.
"Hi..." He whispered at her, as he took in her face and all the changes to her body. "New haircut, dropped a dress size and..." gazed at her intensely. "you're pregnant."
She nodded.
"I'm sorry Draco..." He looked at her, hurt evident in his eyes and sighed, pulling her onto his lap.
"Forget it, lets just forget about the Weasel and his damn offspring for a moment." She sighed, and knew it was coming. "Although if you just left him then we wouldn't have to have one day a bloody year."
She rolled her eyes and pulled him closer by his tie until his lips were firmly against hers. He moaned slightly against her, pulling her even closer than before, so that they were chest to chest. She felt something deep down stir as she let his tongue finally enter her mouth. This is exactly what had been missing for the last year of her life: him. Their family together, their life everything, hell she even missed Lucius. He picked her up and forced her legs around his waist, so that he could carry her to the bed. Much later they were entwined in the sheets together, her head resting on his chest.
"I missed you." She stated, running her hand up and down his stomach.
"I missed you two, what I wouldn't give to just have you Hermione." He stared down at her with such longing, she felt her own tears surface as she kissed him again urgently.
"You have me Draco, for one day of the year, I know it may not be enough, but nothing, not even 15 years with Ron can compare to the 15 days over the last thirteen years I've spent with you."
"I see you sometimes at the Ministry, walking up to your office."
"And I see you sometimes in the Daily Prophet." He grinned at her.
"Well I would hope so; you think I became Minister for Magic for the workload?"
"Publicity whore." She teased.
There was a knock at his bedroom door, so he magically put their clothes on them, knowing what to expect. They laughed as the twins bounced into their room in their pyjamas and curled up next to them.
"Tell us a story, da." Rose asked with big eyes.
"No let mum tell us!" Scorpius begged.
"We'll take it in turns kids." Hermione stroked Scorpius's hair. "We've still got 20 hours together."
Rose curled up against Draco's side as he stroked her hair lightly.
"Maybe someday we can be together all year round." Hermione looked at Draco with sad eyes and hugged him closer.
They had a few short hours left before Harry would arrive and force Hermione out of Draco's arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. They would treasure those hours for the next year until they would be together again.
Maybe with different haircuts or new clothes, but the love they shared would always be there and never forgotten like every other day, except Christmas Day.