A/N Hello lovely readers! I have to say that I am so excited to bring you this story. I fell in love with the characters and this story. I fell in love with my original character whom I am thrilled to introduce to you all. I hope you love her as much as I do.

This was written for Fairest Of The Rare Advent Calendar and will be featured in December. If any of you have not yet joined that amazing group on FB, please take a moment and do so. The admins are wonderful and it's a fun group to be a part of.

This is a complete story and I plan to post a chapter a week for the next six weeks until it's fully posted. This is a fluffy feel good Christmas love story. I hope you all love it as much as I loved writing it. It's rated M for one scene of steamy goodness.

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the lovely and amazing betas who took their time and showed this story as much love as it deserves.

Sandra-Sempra & GeekMom13 you're both too marvelous for words ;)

**Disclaimer: All characters from the Harry Potter series belong to JK Rowling and I appreciate her allowing us to express our creativity in her world. All original ideas and characters that are being introduced in this story are mine. I am not making any profit off this. It's just for the love of writing.

Just for the fun of it, Heres the Fancast

*Sasha Roiz - Rodolphus Lestrange

*Tom Hiddleston - Rabastan Lestrange

*Mila Kunis - Rosalie Anberlin

*Emma Watson - Hermione Granger

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Hermione situated herself in a comfortable window seat as she waited for the train to depart. As it slowly took off, her mind began to wander. She couldn't believe where life had taken her. She relaxed and watched the beautiful scenery go by as she sat in deep thought on the train. She was drained emotionally, mentally and physically. Taking a break was unheard of these past three years as they had been exceptionally long and trying. She had run herself completely ragged.

Harry and Hermione were left to face the media and the aftermath of the war by themselves after Ron decided he was going on a self-discovery trip across North America. Apparently, that meant shagging his way across Canada, the United States and apparently now Mexico. They hadn't seen or heard from him in almost the entire three years he was gone. Good riddance as far as Hermione was concerned. He had abandoned them for the last time. First, he turned his back on Harry when he needed support the most during the Triwizard Tournament, then he abandoned them both on the horcrux hunt, now this. Not to mention his continuous disregard for her throughout the course of their less than stable friendship.

Ron was not their friend and never would truly be the friend to Harry he deserved and desperately desired. There were no feelings of remorse from her or the fact Ron had led her on for a short few weeks after the war. For being the brightest witch of her age, she stupidly fell for his antics. Luckily nothing went past a couple snogging sessions.

However, her heart broke for Harry, who had viewed Ron like the brother he never had. She loved Harry and he knew she would always be there for him, but even he encouraged her to take this trip and admitted she just hadn't been the same since it was determined her parents' memories would never be restored. Deep down in the far recesses of her heart, she had held out hope; hope that they would get a happily ever after together as a family.

She had aspired to one day bring home a brilliant wizard and he would be scrutinized by her father while her mother offered tea and her delicious biscuits to help ease him through the game of interrogation. She held out hope that one day her mum would go dress shopping with her to find the perfect wedding gown for their only daughter. Imagining her groom-to-be would be waiting at the end of the aisle as she held tightly to her father's arm as he placed a kiss on her cheek before transferring her hand, with their blessing, into the hand of her wizard.

All of that thinking was completely nonsensical because she wasn't even dating anyone. There weren't even any interested prospects, although, she couldn't deny she did have feelings for a certain wizard. But that was something she needed to explore further. The odds of him reciprocating said feelings were slim so she held those thoughts for another day. She had never even been the kind of girl to give a second thought to her wedding. However, when faced with the realization of what had truly been lost, she began to dwell on all the major life events they would miss out on sharing together, and it broke her heart every time. Harry and Ginny were right, she hadn't been herself. Her brokenness was evident.

So in the midst of everything, she had given herself completely over to the Death Eater Rehabilitation Program. Apparently, there had been evidence that came to light during some of the trials. It proved some of the evil deeds that had been done were done under a dark and sinister magical curse they found created by the Dark Lord to get around using the Imperius curse. Knowing his followers would be tested, he found a way around that by creating a powerful curse of his own called Speculum Voluntatem Meam. Which literally translates to Mirror My Will. This iniquitous curse worked by bending the will of the person and altering their entire ideology and thought process to that of the castors. So they truly believed in everything they were doing. Unlike the Imperius, where they would have been essentially a robot and forgot almost all of what they had done, these men remembered everything and did it all willingly. The Death Eaters under the curse had noticed the difference when the Dark Lord fell and his curse was broken over them.

The Ministry infuriated Hermione with their lack of consideration for the ones they found to be under a curse while performing these monstrous acts. While they did take the Dark Mark willingly, it was while under the influence of this odious curse that literally altered their entire moral compass. While many of the Death Eaters did commit all these acts voluntarily and knowingly without the influence of a curse, the ones who were, Hermione had argued, should be tried differently.

With the support of Harry, who had been given the Black family seat on the Wizengamot by Sirius, she took it upon herself to make sure those Death Eaters who were proven to be under the curse got a fair trial and a chance to take part in her rehabilitation program. She and Harry had personally interviewed every Death Eater taken into custody to determine who would be eligible and interested. Much to the surprise of the Wizengamot, this program could actually spare Sacred 28 families such as the Malfoys, Rowles, Lestranges and Averys. Disgusted with the Wizengamot's interest in salvaging some of the Sacred 28 families over actually helping and rehabilitating these men who had undergone a traumatic and dreadful experience, Harry and Hermione found themselves feeling let down. Many of these men suffered from severe PTSD due to their actions during the war. Even Kingsley was a disappointment to them, playing the role of nothing but a self-righteous Ministry puppet which caused her to lose any and all respect for the man she had once come to revere as a respectable member of the Order.

She and Harry both had used favors and pulled as many strings as they could to help the rehabilitating Death Eaters. It had been three year since the program had been implemented. She wasn't even a Ministry official, but still worked relentlessly on her program because it was the right thing to do. Then another holiday started rolling around. Harry recognized how hard Christmas was on her, mainly due to her parents. Her childhood Christmas memories were among her favorite. She and her father would go sledding and build snowmen then it would be time to help mum with baking Christmas cookies.

They had family who owned a cozy inn nestled in the snow covered landscape of Vermont. Her aunt, her father's only sister, had married a nice man, an American who served in the Marine Corps. Shortly after they married and moved to America, they had decided to invest in a run down little inn nestled in the snow capped mountains of Vermont. He decided to retire from the Marines and they made it their life's work to refurbish the inn and fill it with love and families.

Every holiday they invited family for two weeks and closed it down to the public to be an exclusive getaway just for relatives. There was a large tree in the lobby they would decorate together every year. Her father's favorite part was always the star at the top, and remained Hermione's favorite as well.

She was so lost in thought she didn't even noticed the train had stopped. The attendant came around to see if she needed any assistance- which she graciously declined- as she grabbed her luggage and descended the steps of the train. Standing on the platform for the first time since the Christmas of her fourth year, she had since found her aunt and uncle kept the inn opened to the public. They struggled to maintain keeping the inn open and needed all the money they could get, or so her mother informed her during her fifth year. So she took advantage of that knowledge and booked her stay for a solid two months. Almost crying when she heard her aunt's voice on the phone, it took everything in her to maintain her composure when booking the room, telling them she was a writer and was in need of some much desired inspiration. It had been a viable enough excuse.

Harry and Ginny had been weary of her staying at the exact inn where her parents could potentially be staying at that holiday. If they were, which was doubtful, she wanted to have one last opportunity to see and know her parents were happy and doing well. Hermione hoped for one last Christmas with them, even if they didn't know who she was.

Taking in the mountainous landscape and breathing in the fresh winter air, she walked the station boardwalk in search of a taxi to her location. This was a muggle village and inn, after all, so acting accordingly was a must. She had to admit as much as she loved magic, it would be a pleasant break from everything her life had been for the past ten years. Waving down a taxi, she got in as the driver placed her luggage in the trunk of the car.

"Where to Miss?" The driver asked in a bit of a scruffy voice.

"The Snowy Mountain Inn please," She spoke quickly and precisely. Thankfully, her driver

wasn't a talkative man- the rest of the drive was spent in silence much to her relief.

As they approached the inn she paid the driver and stepped out as he retrieved her bag. Standing to take in the scenery, it was exactly how she remembered it, perhaps a little more run down than before, but nothing too drastic. She stood for a moment not paying attention as the driver took off.

Slowly walking up the snow covered walkway as memories flooded her,she remembered building numerous snowmen with her father when she was a young girl: to her right was a small hill perfect for sledding where she and her parents would spend hours on a winter's morning before going back inside to warm themselves with hot chocolate by the large stone fireplace in the lobby. She recalled all the snowball fights she would have with the other children from her uncle's family,most of whom were honorary family members from his time in the military.

Her uncle was an only child so his family was small, but his military family was quite extensive if memory served her right. In fact she had almost forgotten her closest childhood friend. When she was five years old she met Rosalie. Hermione never made friends easy and was considered somewhat odd, so when young Rosalie introduced herself, a girl who seemed to have the same struggles, they got along swimmingly. Christmas with Rosalie was something Hermione came to look forward to. They corresponded through letters and phone calls, even though they were in different parts of the world. After she started Hogwarts her muggle friend was all but forgotten.

Hermione continued up the path to the entrance as she fought back the tears. Perhaps Harry and Ginny were right. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all. Looking back, noticing the taxi had long since gone, gave her no choice at this point and made her way to the cozy little lodge entrance and stepped inside.

She met the eyes of a beautiful middle aged women. Hermione had always thought her aunt Julia to be one of those women who only got more beautiful with age. She hadn't changed much since she last saw her back in fourth year, aside from a few smile lines accenting the sides of her lips. Her soft blond hair fell in waves just past her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled with something warm and familiar to Hermione she once thought to be lost. She had never noticed how similar in features her aunt was to her father until now. Aunt Julia had the same bone structure, exact same nose and perfect smile. She fought to maintain composure as she approached the counter to check in.

"Hello, how can I help you today?".

"My name is Hermione Grayson, I have a reservation."

"Oh yes of course, Miss Grayson; our long term guest! How lovely to meet you. Let me get you all booked and then I'll go over the menu for the room service and activities we have to offer."

"Please, if you don't mind I'd really like to get started on some writing. I'll come back later for the activity schedule." She said as nicely as she could. She didn't know how long she would last before she broke down and didn't want anyone to see her.

"Of course, I completely understand. Here's the key to your room. It's one of the most private rooms we have and the view is spectacular. You'll find it on the third floor at the very end of the hall on the right. I do believe there is only one other reservation that has booked a room on the third floor for the entirety of your stay. So you will have that floor to yourself once the holidays are over. I do hope you find it to your liking."

"Yes I do believe I will. Thank you," Hermione replied as she took the key to the room she had spent so many holidays with her parents. Making her way up to the third floor slowly, she found herself once again reminiscing along the way. Mourning over the loss of her parents had already happened, reminding herself this trip was for closure and nothing more.

When she got to her rooms though, she took in the site of the exact same room she remembered staying in with her mum and dad. Nothing had changed. A wave of emotions flooded her as she dropped her suitcase and slid down the door to the floor,letting go of all the loss and anguish she had suppressed for years. She mourned until she had nothing left and felt herself drift off to sleep.

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Hermione blinked her eyes open, still in a daze, thinking this was the most uncomfortable bed she'd ever slept in. She lifted her head as she took in her surroundings, taking a moment to realize just where she actually was. Yawning, she peered up at the clock on the wall, squinting to read 1:17am. With a groan, she remembered crying herself to sleep on the floor. Sluggishly, she got up and took off her coat. As she rose she heard voices in the hallway and her heart froze. If her parents were here they would be staying on the third floor. She held her ear to the door and listened, the voices, from the sounds of it, were coming from the room down the hall.

There were only four large suites on the third floor, most of which were reserved for honeymooners or in her case families on holiday together. She had been informed there was only one reservation booked for the third floor for the entire duration of her stay. The voices were muffled, but she could make out two deep baritone voices. She was overcome with a mix of relief and heartache. On one hand she wanted to see her parents for closure, if nothing else, but on the other hand, just being here could be enough.

She ignored the arriving guests and walked from the living area into the bedroom to unpack her suitcase. This may be a muggle hotel, but nothing was stopping her from using an extendible charm and filling her suitcase with everything she would need for a two month long holiday. She had brought her laptop to keep in touch with Harry via email. The two had a laughable experience showing Ginny the basics. If anything, Hermione had given them both the phone number to the inn. She was determined to keep in touch with them both while she was away. She would miss them.

She showered and changed into some night clothes. It was refreshing to get the travel of the day washed off and just feel relaxed again. Suddenly her stomach growled and she realized she had missed dinner. She rummaged through her purse to fish out the almonds and the apple she had purchased earlier that day. Thankful she had something to satisfy her, she grabbed a book and waved her wand to light the fire. Some magic was okay to use in the privacy of her own room. She curled up next to the fire in her favorite chair from her childhood, and read until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore as she again drifted off to sleep in the oversized chair she used to sit in with her father.