Small, soft, ghostly shadows fell over the bedspread and, still half asleep, Hermione fancied perhaps that it were fairies that were silently dancing upon it. As she slowly regained consciousness, she noticed the strange, cold, filtered light that filled the room but strangely gave it – not the feeling of harshness or alienity that might be expected, but rather one of overwhelming peace and softness. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Hermione pushed herself up on one elbow and surveyed the room, noticing as she did her husband, one arm flung out in front of him in sleep and snoring softly. She giggled and lay down once beside him, curving her arm over his sleeping body and pulling it close like a cuddle blanket, drinking in the smell of him and kissing his shoulder. Outside a car drove past with a whoosh, bringing sound back to the world and making her once again aware of the strange silence this morning.
The obvious truth came upon her as the strange , drifting sea of early wakefulness started to disperse entirely , it was snow , and it was Christmas and at last they were all alone… well nearly all alone. She lay a hand inquisitively over her small bump and felt the familiar tremor – hardly there , really but still one of the most important things in her life; and she smiled slightly letting the small waves of sensation flow over her. "Morning, baby "she whispered inside the darkness of her head and felt an – if not an acknowledgement then a ...something.
"How is she this morning?" Ron had woken up and was smiling up at her from the nest of duvet.
"Fine, great actually" she smiled back, eyes soft in the half-light "merry Christmas!"
"wha- oh , oh yeah! Merry Christmas!" He grinned suddenly – looking slightly shifty "what time is it?"
She raised her eyebrows "around 7 o'clock, why?"
He looked crestfallen "too early for presents then?"
"Well we did agree no earlier than eight didn't we?"
She could see him slipping into teasing mode "we don't have to stick to the schedule entirely you know darling – just relaaax …and make me a cup of tea"
Hermione managed to glare at him with enough force to get him to run out the room yelping apologies but then she herself subsided into helpless giggles and he came back – rolling into bed beside her and holding her close.
"We don't need to do today like our parents would – we've got our own family now haven't we."
She nodded into his chest, feeling all warm and safe but within a couple of minutes he was wriggling out from under the covers again.
"What are you doing?"
"Well… I do actually want a cup of tea y'know" he said, his arms half raised .
"You…Oh" she didn't know whether to laugh or call him an idiot so she did both only they came out muffled through the strength of his kiss.
A while later they padded together down the stairs to the small, brightly decorated living room – Crookshanks had batted all the low hanging baubles into various hideyholes of his but the paper chains and enchanted lanterns still hung and the Christmas tree with its small pile of goodies remained miraculously unharmed.
"I saw him eyeing it up last night" said Ron, seeing her puzzled expression "So I put an impervious charm over it."
She laughed and leaned back onto his shoulder .
"Glad to see you're finally starting to learn to get practical."
He pushed her away playfully "I'll have you know that I've always been very practical, organised and hugely intelligent thanks!….oh wait maybe that's you." He smirked and gave her a quick kiss before turning into the kitchen saying something about breakfast.
Hermione gave a quick furtive look around before kneeling before the small Christmas tree – breathing in the warm, ancient smell that for her had always been Christmas. Feeling like a small girl again, she picked up a small package in shiny green paper and tracked the features of the unknown gift through its wrapping, trying to guess what it could be…..
"Trying to get a sneak preview?" She heard Ron say from the kitchen doorway and she replied, with as much dignity as she could muster:
"Of course not Dear, I'm just making them tidy"
"Oh, of course" she could hear the amused sarcasm in his voice and bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Anyway, breakfast's ready!"
As she entered the tiny kitchen filled with good smells (Ron's mum had been training him up since they'd got engaged) She noticed the phone she'd convinced Him to get had been unplugged again , reaching out to reconnect it , she felt Ron's hand close upon her wrist.
"Nope, today is our day. We can speak to the others anytime but today is just for our family" He held her against him, one large hand over her stomach, and looked like he was about to go on when all of a sudden, their baby started kicking.
Neither of them said anything, just looked into each other's eyes in awe and excitement. It really had all just got real.
Hermione blinked back tears of joy and held both members of her little family in her arms: Who knew what the future might hold but right now, as her husband gazed into her eyes and her child moved inside her for the first time, she was home.