Hermione Granger woke up to Ms. Weasley scrambling around in her room. Hermione cracked open her eyes and stood up in her bed.
"Oh, sorry dear. Didn't mean to wake you." Ms. Weasley offered her a smile, "But anyways, now that your up. Do you think you could give me a hand with collecting your clothing for the wash, dear?"
Hermione nodded, "Um, yeah sure. Sorry for letting it get so messy, so much on my mind. Barely been inside the house, doing Christmas shopping and all." Hermione climbed out of her bed and began to pick up her messy clothes and placing them into the laundry basket.
"I also wanted to speak to you about something." Ms. Weasley added while they continued to rummage through Hermione's items.
"Oh did you?" Hermione asked, grabbing a handful of clothes and placing them in the basket, "What about?"
Ms. Weasley paused for a moment, biting her lip - lost in thought, "As you may know, your parents are still under that memory charm."
Hermione paused. Remembering when she had cast a memory charm on her parents for their own safety, but after the war, she had neglected to take it off. Due to the fact she had no idea where they were, but only a few days ago - the ministry had notified her of their location. Yet Hermione still put it off.
Was she supposed to barge into their newly made life and say hi? Sorry for putting a charm on you - just so that a Dark Lord wouldn't come after you. Sorry for erasing a part of your life.
"Yes, they still are." Hermione said roughly, "I was planning on doing it soon.."
"No better time then the present. You have the location and everything, I'm sure Arthur could set up a port key." Ms. Weasley paused, "Since the war, you've seemed to be a tad depressed. We love you and all, we're almost your parents." She added with a wink, "But you need your own parents."
Hermione sighed and ran a hair through her slightly curly hair, "Yeah..I guess I might have been a tad bit..upset."
Hermione had been neglecting taking the memory charm off her parents for too long now.
Ms. Weasley nodded, "I figured you still were. But we wouldn't want you to go off alone, especially when Christmas Eve is today. So we guessed that you could take it off them today, and bring them back for Christmas dinner tomorrow. What do you say?"
Hermione nodded, "Yes, I suppose that would be a good idea. I could ask Ginny to accompany me.."
"Ginny?" Ms. Weasley huffed, "Quite the procrastinator she is, she still has to catch up on her Christmas shopping. She's had her hands full lately with all of the Ministry work. Why not bring Ron?"
Ron, yet another problem Hermione had failed to acknowledge after the war. After the war, they had kissed, but when they arrived back at the Burrow. Hermione neglected him, holing up in her room and only briefly passing him in the hallways.
Was she ashamed? Of course not. Was she horribly embarrassed? A tad bit.
"Um. That would be fine." Hermione felt a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.
Hermione put on her button up black coat and boots and wrapped her scarf around her neck. Passing the Christmas tree on her way to the portkey which rested beside the fire place.
"Wait up Hermione!" Ron called, running into the room - a bit out of breath, "Sorry for taking so long, Mum was making sure I was warm enough." Ron rolled his eyes, "As if three sweaters isn't going to keep me away from the snow."
Hermione laughed, "She's just worried. Knowing you, you probably tried to put on a short sleeved shirt."
"How'd you know?" Ron asked with a laugh, "Anyways, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
Hermione gave him a rough smile, "So Australia we go, to meet Ms. Monica and Wendell Wilkins." Hermione couldn't help but let her smile turn sad.
They both reached for the port key and held on. They were spinning through air, flashing through the snow as Hermione struggled to keep her hand on the port key. And suddenly, they were plummeting to the earth at a alarming speed.
The two fell face-first into the snow.
"That was not a pleasant fall." Hermione groaned, picking herself up and wiping the snow off her face.
Ron chuckled, bringing himself up to his knees and shaking the snow out of his ginger hair, "Not at all." He said, a slight moan in his voice.
Hermione dusted herself off and reached into her coat pocket for the map she had brought along to navigate through Australia. She opened it and shook the snow off of it, the map was a tad bit wet and seemed ready to tear at the edges.
Ron walked over to her to peer over her shoulder, "So where on bloody earth do we start? We're in Muggle territory now." He said, with a glance around the snowy street, "We're quite fortunate to land on the grass. Could have landed on one of these buildings."
"Thank bloody goodness." Hermione said under her breath.
"Hermione, do you know what a Mcdonalds is? Is that some kind of company for wankers?" Ron asked Hermione, fascinated as he looked up at the restaurant, "What these Muggles come up with.. bet they haven't tasted a decent butterbeer in their life."
She rolled her eyes, "They're not supposed to know about Butterbeers and all of that rubbish. Anyways, apparently we need to begin by going.. this way." Hermione nodded her head left and began to walk with Ron on her heels.
Ron trailed after her, his eyes sweeping over every building, as if he's never lived in the muggle world before Hogwarts, "Why can't we just fly?" Ron pouted after a few minutes of walking.
Hermione let out a raspy laugh, "Well I don't know Ronald! Maybe because there are Muggles everywhere!"
Ron muttered a few curses under his breath.
Hermione stood outside a baby blue house with a wreath on the door, she could spot a Christmas tree in the living room.
"You reckon you're going to knock?" Ron prompted her.
She could hear her parents laughter from the door as it began to snow, "They seem so happy."
"'Mione, come on, don't do this now.." Ron said, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye, "They'll be ecstatic to know they have you."
Hermione flushed a bright red, "I don't know.." She murmured.
"I promise, you'll be brilliant." He placed a kiss on the space next to her lips, then rung the doorbell before she could protest.
Then, her Mum was standing right in front of her.
"Hello there!" Hermione's Mum smiled, "What are you two doing out in the cold? Come on now, it's Christmas Eve - come on in!" She stepped aside and Hermione and Ron stepped in. Ron put his hand in the middle of Hermione's back.
"Do it now." Ron urged Hermione.
Hermione bit her lip, "I can't. How weird would it be if only one of my parents were here? What if they got divorced or something - what if that guy we heard laughing wasn't even my Dad?" Hermione's voice caught when she saw her Mum join her Dad on the couch, snuggling into him.
"Hon, we've got this lovely couple here. You two do make quite a cute bunch, what are you two doing out in the cold by yourselves?" Hermione's Mum asked.
"Just, lost our way home." Hermione pathetically attempted, not bothering to correct that Ron wasn't her boyfriend.
"That's terrible! Your parents must be worried sick about you - I'm sure you have a number of some sort, so we could call them and let them know you're okay." Her Mum was frantic, trying to find a phone, "Where on earth did I put that phone? Oh! Hon, do you know where I placed the phone?"
"No idea, you talk on it so much I just stopped using it after some time." Hermione's Dad chirped.
Hermione's Mum playfully smacked her Dad, "Thank you for no help at all. I wasn't asking for sarcasm."
"You got some anyways, hon." Her Dad quickly supplied.
Hermione then raised her arm at her Mother's turned back and quickly let her Mum have her memory back.
"What in my-" Hermione's Dad began, "What are you doing to my wife?" He stood up quickly.
Hermione turned her wand on him, "Calm down, she'll be fine."
Hermione's Mum dropped to the ground, her memory slowly helping her develop a life she had before Monica Wilkins.
"Mr. Wilkins, you have no need for worry." Hermione Granger said, erasing the memory charm on him also, "Welcome back, Dad." She whispered when his eyes slid closed.
"It ought to take a few minutes for them to regain their memory. I'm sure they'll be wanting a explanation." Ron leaned against the wall.
"I haven't gotten to that part yet in my master plan." Hermione shot a worried glance towards her parents, "But they'll forgive me, I hope they do at least."
Ron offered her a smile, "Trust me Hermione, anyone would forgive you for saving their life."
Hermione flushed a bright red, "Thank you, for being here with me. If I had been alone, I reckon I would have just turned on my heel and never came back."
Ron was about to say something, but then Hermione's parents began to get up.
"Hermione?" Her Mum whispered.
"Mum?" Hermione rasped out, and the two leaped for each other, hugging each other as her Mum sobbed loudly into her hair.
Her Mum ran her fingers through Hermione's tousled brown hair, "Where have you been - oh for so long.."
Hermione pulled away for her Mum, "You aren't angry with me?"
"Angry with you? Hermione, I could never be mad at you." Her Mum had tears leaking down her face.
"Argh, I have quite the hugest migraine, dear, I feel as if something just ripped through my head!" Hermione's Dad got up off the floor, holding his head.
"Hermione's home!" Her Mum ecstatically said.
Hermione's Dad looked at her, "Hermione! My girl!" He hugged her.
Hermione hugged her father, burying her face into his neck, "Dad." She muttered, hugging him tightly.
"Where have you been? Bloody hell! It's been.. what, almost 2 years? Hermione Granger, you have quite bucket loads of explaining to do! I reckon it's about time - how about we start with that boy in my house?" Hermione's Father pointed a finger at Ron, "When were you going to tell me during your 2 year disappearance that you picked up a bloke along the way?"
Hermione flashed a bright red, "Dad - it's not like that!"
"Are you pregnant?" Her Father began to shout, "Blimey, Hermione! I'll kill him! - You're only 19! That's disgusting-!"
"Dad!" Hermione quickly shouted, "No, I am not pregnant!" She turned a bright red.
"Oh, then what are you then?" He asked.
She smiled, "I'm home."
After finally biding goodbye to her parents, Ron and Hermione walked around town for a bit as Hermione taught Ron about Muggle customs.
"Really? They don't fly on their brooms to work? Why bloody not? Why not apparate or something-" Ron asked her.
"They don't have magic, remember? So they drive, you'd know all too much about driving." Hermione winked at him.
"It's not my fault that the Whomping Willow hits back." Ron said in his defense.
Hermione sat down on a park bench as it began to snow, she tugged her beanie on past her ears and looked over at Ron.
"Did you notice something?" Hermione asked him.
"What?" Ron asked.
"They kept calling you my boyfriend." Hermione turned a bright red despite the cold.
Ron grinned, "I noticed. I didn't bother to correct them - you didn't either, in my defense."
Hermione smiled to herself, "I didn't really think I had the time or the effort."
"We do need to talk you know. About what happened during the war.." Ron almost turned as red as his hair, "We couldn't talk about it for some time though, because you kept avoiding me."
"I was scared."
"Why?"
"I thought things would change."
"They were going to change regardless."
Hermione looked up at him when he said that, "What do you mean by that?"
He brushed aside a piece of hair that had flown into his eye, "I mean, that the moment we kissed, things had already changed."
Hermione had a intake of breath, but she didn't break her eyes from his.
"You know that I like you, don't you?" Ron asked her.
"Course I do." She mumbled, looking down at her feet then.
"What about you, though?" Ron asked her again.
Hermione looked up at him, her eyes portraying everything, "Of course I like you, you prat, why else do you think I hid from you at the Burrow? I thought feelings would eventually disappear, but they never did."
Ron then leaned in to kiss her, she met him halfway and they kissed.
Christmas Miracles do exist.