Christmas 1999

The snow fell heavily that winter in the wizarding village of Ottery St. Catchpole. Inside the cozy Burrow, the Weasley family and close friends were busy decorating the tree and preparing a delicious Christmas dinner.

Hermione Granger, one of these close friends and the girlfriend of Ron Weasley, was curled up in an armchair by the fire, reading a book. She was paying attention to the words on the page, but also privately deciding how best to bring her life back to somewhat normality.

The Second Wizarding War had concluded over a year and half ago, when Harry Potter, another close family friend and the boyfriend of Ginny Weasley, had defeated the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. To prepare for a dangerous, high-stakes mission to ensure the Dark Lord's defeat, Hermione had wiped her parent's memories and sent them to Australia to be safe. Ever since the war had ended, she had wanted to go to Australia and get her parents back, but she couldn't figure out how. Her parents had been there for over two years, why couldn't she figure out how to bring them home? Why hadn't she done it sooner?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard some groans. Looking back, she saw Harry and most of the Weasley men trying to lug a grand piano down the steps from the attic. It was a tradition that Christmas carols be played on it.

"Alright, my boys, hold it steady," coached Arthur. He must have spoken too soon, for suddenly, George slipped. The entire piano lurched to the side, pinning Harry between it and the stair railing with a loud DONG! Harry roared and cursed in pain:

"Ow, bloody hell! You got my finger!"

"Well, why don't you get your finger out of the way?" George asked pointedly. They continued their descent and shuffled into the sitting room past Hermione, before setting it down. "There you are," groaned Bill.

"Right on my finger." Harry growled.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Hermione. Her best friend nodded assuringly.

"Ok, you lot! Who's hungry? It's suppertime!" trilled Mrs. Weasley.

"Supper! Food! Hooray!" roared the men and they stampeded into the kitchen. Hermione followed slowly after them, rolling her eyes. Honestly, men could be such pigs. And indeed, they all were chowing down by the time she took her place at the table between Ginny and Fleur, Bill's wife. On Fleur's other side, Ron was gorging himself on suckling pig. Of course, food was his top priority in life (after his girlfriend), but he failed to notice the mustard on his lip.

"Uh, Ron?" Hermione prodded. Ron looked up and swallowed. "You've got a little…uh…smush…" When Ron didn't catch on right away, Hermione got up, walked around, and kissed it away. Ron smiled and then laughed before taking his thumb and wiping the mustard that was now on her lip.

"While I enjoyed that, best to use a napkin next time, love." he encouraged. Suddenly, Charlie pointed to something out the window.

"Who's that?"

A dark figure was approaching through the snowy flurries toward the Burrow. As it came closer, the family recognized him as Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"What's the Minister of Magic doing here?" George asked aloud. No one answered and a moment later, Kingsley knocked at the door. Molly immediately ran to open it.

"Hello, all," Kingsley greeted. "Happy Christmas. I hate to disturb you all on the holiday, but I have some important business to attend to concerning Ms. Granger." All eyes turned to Hermione, who had not yet had a chance to move back to her seat. Hermione nodded and followed Kingsley as he beckoned her into the sitting room. The Minister discreetly shut the door behind him and took out his wand. Guessing his intent, Hermione balked. "Oh, I don't mind if they hear, Minister. George won't try his Extendable Ears with his mother around." Kingsley shrugged and pocketed his wand before turning to face her.

"Ms. Granger, as I recall, you performed a Memory Charm on your parents to hide them during the war effort. I know how busy you have been since those times have ended and have not had a chance to get them back. Young Mr. Weasley took note of this and personally asked a team of our top Aurors and myself to conduct an investigation to find them as a favor. We were hoping to surprise you today with their arrival, but…not everything went as planned."

Hermione's face went white and she sank into the nearest armchair. Somehow, she knew exactly what was going to come next. She let out a scream of anguish and burst into uncontrolled sobs. All of the Weasleys came running, Ron in the lead. He quickly took Hermione into his arms and began to stroke her hair before shooting a glare at Kingsley. "What did you do to her?!" the youngest Weasley boy roared.

Kingsley assured Ron that he had not done anything to her. "You have no idea how hard it is to bring this news, especially at Christmas." Hermione sniffled and turned her face out of Ron's shirtfront to look at Kingsley.

"What- what happened to them?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Hermione, I'm afraid your parents passed away, about this time two years ago. We believe they were killed by Death Eaters hunting for clues about you and Harry's whereabouts…specifically killed, we think, by Bellatrix Lestrange."

Hermione seemed strangely subdued at this new revelation. She stepped out of Ron's embrace and turned away, murmuring almost to herself. "You mean…I'm an orphan, now."

Ron reached out, and squeezed her hand. "I love you, Hermione Granger."

She turned and smiled softly at him. "And I love you," she sighed as she slipped back into his arms, lying her head on his chest. Ron rested his chin on her head, thoughts swirling through his mind. Bellatrix….the name sent a angry fire burning through his heart. His eyes shifted to look through the window opposite him; he could almost see the sadistic witch reflected in the dark panes. Ron began to cry furious tears and his body shook with a thousand different emotions.

"So, that's your legacy, eh? That's something to be proud of? You kill my brother, threaten my sister, murder my best mate's godfather, torture the love of my life and kill her innocent parents in cold blood?! I wish my mum hadn't offed you; she should have left you to me. I wish I could find the sorry little hole you're buried in, dig you up, bring you back to life and destroy you all over again. I hate you! I hate you!"

Hermione trembled in Ron's arms. Ron was willing to kill over his love and concern for her. The thought was both warming and disturbing. She slid out of his arms once again and looked at Kingsley. "What will happen to me now?" she asked. She was surprised by how Ron spun her around to face him.

"Don't worry, Hermione," he rambled, as if he did not have the time to get the words out. "I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you're never sad or in danger ever again!"

"Of course, we all will," Mrs. Weasley agreed. Then, all at once, she and the rest of the family present enveloped Hermione into a big group hug. For the first time that night, Hermione felt like things would turn out all right.