AN: Written for Quills & Parchment Holiday Fest for December of 2017. Inspired by the All Time Low Song Afterglow and hot chocolate on cold winter nights.

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from Harry Potter or its related properties.

Promises

Oliver watched in amusement as Hermione twirled in the softly falling rain. It wasn't going to be a white Christmas in London this year, she was trying to make due with what was falling from the sky. They were leaving the pub much later than they'd planned, losing track of time with all the catching up with old friends they'd been doing. They'd spent the day with his family having Christmas Eve so they'd be able to make it to Ottery St. Catchpole in time to celebrate at The Burrow with the Weasleys. With Hermione's parents in Australia, and neither wanting to make a long trip after only having just returned home from exhibition games all over Europe, it seemed only fitting they spend the holiday with her adopted family instead.

She laughed and pulled him out of his thoughts, taking him by the hand and pulling him into the midnight rain. She kissed him and he felt like a knight receiving a favour from his queen. She was the best thing that had happened to him since the war. How he'd managed to overlook her so easily back in school he didn't know. Now his veins pumped with young love and admiration for the spitfire who'd captured his heart. He wasn't sure if it was the warm feelings or the cold rain making him numb all over as they walked through the streets.

"Where to?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close as they strolled through the soft droplets that thinned just as suddenly as they'd started.
"I suppose we should head back to Diagon Alley, it's getting a bit late to be wandering around Muggle London." she sighed, her voice tinged with a bit of sadness.
"Alright, then. Do you actually want to go home though? Or are you hoping for a bit of late night wandering? I can go a while longer if you've got the fight left in you. Tomorrow is still a long ways off…" he gave her a little squeeze as they rounded the corner in the general direction of Diagon Alley.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean, Mr. Wood?" she huffed at him, half-heartedly trying to shrug out from under his arm.
"We don't need to be in a rush is all I'm saying. And I know how much you love walking late at night. We can have an easy stroll before we head back to the flat without worrying about getting there in time tomorrow. You know Molly won't mind if we don't come until morning. It's so late now anyway I doubt she and Arthur are still up. Harry and Ginny have the baby and will likely already be sleeping and Ron will be with Luna until tomorrow morning anyway. I know Charlie will be flooing from Romania around lunchtime, he couldn't arrange it any earlier. The twins are likely still out and about if they aren't with their girlfriend's families. So why hurry to get to someone else's house to not see anyone until the morning?" he shrugged and tapped the bricks before letting Hermione through first.
"I suppose you're right, no reason we can't enjoy a quiet night wandering. At least for a little while. It's not like we have anywhere else to go, the shops back home will all be closed now…" she bit her lip and tried to suppress a smile, he had a feeling she'd like the idea.

He let her guide them down the mostly empty streets, passing the occasional drunken reveler on their way back to their own homes before Christmas morning. He couldn't help but keep stealing glances at the way she glowed under the scattered fairy lights that decorated the fronts of the more festive shops. She seemed to be intent on finding an open cafe somewhere nearby, seeming to remember one that was open late year round- even on Christmas Eve.

He wasn't surprised when she found it and settled them into a cozy booth with two hot chocolates, extra whipped cream on hers.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you hadn't taken time off from the Ministry?" he asked suddenly, the thought had been weighing heavily on him for days.
"You mean if I hadn't wanted to travel with you and the team? Sometimes. But even if I'd stayed and accomplished everything I had wanted to, I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now." she reached across the table and closed her hand around his.
"Oh?" he knit his eyebrows in confusion, not following her meaning.
"I wouldn't have you in my life." she smiled at him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"You were doing fine on your own, Hermione…"
"Sure I was. But I was lonely. I couldn't stay where I was and nothing felt like home to me. Even the smallest flat was too large with just me in it. Now I've got you to come home to, and my job will be there when my sabbatical is over." She shrugged and took a sip of her cocoa, licking the cream from her lips daintily.
"You could hold such power there if you wanted it. I can't help but feel that I'm holding you back." he sighed, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
"No! You are not, in any way, holding me back. Don't talk like that. I think I've more than earned some freedom from responsibility. And if I want to use that freedom to follow you and the team around the world and cheering my fool head off for you, I'll bloody well do it." She admonished him, shaking a finger angrily in his direction. He couldn't help but smile at her, leaning over to catch her snarled lips in a kiss.

They moved on when they'd finished their beverages, walking in companionable silence for a while. He wasn't sure how long they'd been walking hand in hand when she suddenly stopped and looked up at him.

"You know… I could give you your Christmas gift now if you wanted." She worried her bottom lip and swung their joined hands between them.
"I didn't see you bring anything with you…" he shook his head in confusion.
"It's not a thing so much as it's a promise," she whispered, moving closer to him and looking up into his eyes. He got lost in their whiskey coloured depths far too long before he realised he hadn't responded.
"What kind of promise?" he managed to choke out, still trying to read the depths of her eyes.
"There won't ever be somebody after you." she breathed, echoing a sentiment he'd drunkenly shared with her mere weeks before. She hadn't responded at the time and he hoped she'd forgotten about it as it had seemed to scare her.
"You don't have to promise me that, Hermione. No matter what I said before. I know it scared you…" she put a finger to his lips and stilled his words.
"It didn't scare me. I just didn't know how to say it back. But, the more time we spend together, the more I know it's true. There is no after you for me, Oliver. I have never loved anyone as much as I love you; have never felt as loved by anyone as I do by you." She whispered, her eyes mirroring the sincerity of the words she spoke.

He took her face in both hands and kissed her deeply, unsure of how else to respond to the best gift she could have given him. She responded enthusiastically, throwing caution to the wind as she twisted them home in an instant.

They woke later than they'd meant to. Both having been too distracted the night before to set an alarm. Hermione scrambled out of bed, stark naked, and panicked at how late they would be. He chuckled to himself as he carefully rose and dressed, watching her flit from bathroom to closet to bedroom in a frenzy.

"Calm down, love. It will be okay. She's not banging down the floo trying to find out why we're late." he caught her around the waist and held her still.
"You know she'll ask why we're late. And I'm pants at lying to Molly, you know that…" she groaned.
"Then we'll give you another reason to tell her…" he pulled something from his trouser pocket with a little laugh. He felt the exact moment she figured out what he was about to do.
"Don't you dare kneel!" she grabbed him by his belt loops to keep him standing.
"I don't think it comes as any surprise to you that I'm madly in love with you, Hermione Jean Granger, and after the promise you gave me… well, it doesn't make much sense to keep carrying this around." his voice quavered slightly as he opened the small box to reveal the ring. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out.
"Before you try and say it's too much, it didn't cost anything. It belonged to my grandmother and she left it to me when she passed. I know how much family means to you. Will you build a new one with me?" he swallowed and stared into her eyes nervously.
"Of course I will. She breathed, holding out a shaking hand for him to slip on the ring.

She pressed up onto her toes and kissed him soundly, tangling her hands in his hair. Being late didn't seem to matter to her anymore.