I know its weird to read a Christmas story in August, but I just thought of it and was afraid it'd be gone by Christmas time. I hope you are all enjoying it, as it is a bit slow moving at first. I thank you all for the follows/favs and the reviews! It makes my heart smile to hear that you like my story!
Happy Reading, this one is a bit longer than normal!
~Duchess

It was going to take all the energy the two of them could muster to keep Rose and Teddy in line, Hermione could already tell. From the moment they pulled their car into Remus' driveway and the boy came bounding out the door without his coat, she knew it was going to be a long day. They had to argue with Teddy for half the trip to choose a natural hair color for the day, as muggle children wouldn't understand a blue haired boy the way kids in the wizarding world do. Teddy huffed and snorted, but let his hair fall in its original and natural sandy blonde, matching his fathers. He'd lost the fight, but he know if he wanted to get to go today he'd have to behave. Not only were was Father Christmas watching, but they'd be seeing him today. Rose scolded Teddy in a way very reminiscent of her mother that he'd better not mess the whole deal up for her or she'd be very cross.

Remus snorted into his elbow to keep the children from hearing him laugh at Rose's mock-authority, because she was well within her rights. It had been Hermione's idea, a day out for the four of them in muggle London. They were taking the children to a shopping mall for a picture with Father Christmas and then lunch, back to Hermione's to bake cookies, dinner there and then home to wait for the Jolly old Elf to appear. As the car pulled into the mall parking lot, both children started bouncing and giggling and singing with anticipation. They retrieved them both from their seats and laid down the ground rules. They were to hold hands the entire time they were in line, be polite and not mention magic. Simple enough. They hurried inside and showed the children their place in line for a large fake snow covered mountain which housed a throne made of false peppermint, and there in all his glory sat Father Christmas himself. They left the kids to go and wait where the other parents were gathered. Teddy kept a tight grip on Rose's hand, who was prone to wonder and seemed to be distracted by all the lights and decorations.

Remus propped himself against a wall, allowing Hermione to take the only empty chair available, even through her protests. They watched the children in the line as they bounced about, or at least Hermione was watching. It seemed that Remus was having trouble tearing his eyes away from the witch next to him. She was watching over their children like a hawk on a rabbit, but still able to make polite small talk about with the two ladies seated next to her. They'd ask her which child or children were hers, and she pointed Rose and Teddy out as another lady pointed two twin girls with blonde braids. She complimented the girls and in kind the woman told Hermione she had beautiful children, talking about the uniquely beautiful color of her hair, and how the boy was every bit as handsome as 'her husband'. She thanked the woman on all counts, not bothering to correct a stranger of her mistake. It was no insult to her to be mistaken for his wife, she'd always had a bit of a school girl crush on her old Professor.

After a few more minutes the children came bounding over, small goodie bags of sweets in tote. Rose was huffing about her feet being sore, so Remus scooped her up and threw her on one shoulder in a sitting position. Teddy took Hermione's hand, as he always did when the four of them were out and his dad held Rose, and they said their goodbyes and 'Happy Christmas's to the the ladies she'd been talking to. They walked like this through the stores, window shopping as they went. Hermione felt as at peace as she'd ever felt since the fall of Voldemort, and for once near Christmas, Remus felt actually happy. Not just happy to have Teddy.

Once the children were done with their meals, they were allowed to go over to the small indoor playground that was available while their parents finished eating. It was when they were alone that Remus took the opportunity to ask Hermione why she'd not bothered to correct the other women.

"Because I wanted a proper family, and why not in the way those women think, you three are my family. I'm sorry if it bothered you, I mean i still hand my gloves on, you have a wedding band, we walked in with kids who stood in line holding hands the way other siblings were doing. I'm sorry." Her face burned red. She didn't want him thinking wrongly of her. Tonks meant a lot to her as well. Hermione was afraid he was angry with her, but instead he just smiled. "I'm not upset love. I simple know you to be one who rather enjoys... correcting people, that is all." Hermione let out a small sigh. "I was afraid..." but he cut her off. "Hermione, I know all of you walk on eggshells around me, but I've been alone for five and a half years. I don't miss her any less, but I'm not made of glass and I promise I can function normally now." She didn't say anything, looking down at her plate, she pushed some of the remaining food around. He reached across the table and took her hand. "Thank you for being my friend, Hermione. For helping Teddy with his needs. Without you, Harry and Molly, I don't know where we'd be." She looked up, smiling shyly. "Of course." she said. "We should get those two home for cookies before it gets too late." she said, gesturing over his shoulder where she could see Teddy holding Rose up to drink from a fountain.

The car ride from the mall back was a much quieter one, with Christmas Carols playing low on the radio. It was starting to snow again, but not sticking to the road. Once back to Hermione's however, it was really falling in fat, wet, sticky flakes that made driving anymore dangerous in her little car. They'd have to use the floo home. Teddy and Rose sat in front of the telly, watching an old Doctor Who Christmas special the BBC had running that evening. Hermione had always loved watching the Doctor as a child, so she was glad Rose seemed to like it too. She and Remus sat the cookies to baking, knowing the children only wanted to help decorate, which was the fun part anyway.

They sat at the kitchen table, sipping tea and watching the snow fall, making light conversation about Harry's upcoming wedding. "Harry asked my to be his best man, you know?" he told her. "Said he couldn't even look at Ron these days. He said quite a few things mind you, he was slightly tipsy. He thanked me for putting up with him. Mentioned something about him 'pushing me away' for Sirius, which is something I'd never been bothered about."Hermione snorted. "It bothered me! The two of you were so close our third year, then he meets Sirius for about five minutes and you're history." Remus shook his head. "No, I never really bothered to be bothered. He was just happy to have family again. Hermione seemed even more troubled by this. "And how, pray tell, is 'Uncle Moony' not family?" she asked, making quotations in the air with her fingers. He shrugged her off. "Either way, he went on to ramble about me never leaving his side, so now I'm who will have the honor of walking you, chief bridesmaid, down the isle. In case you were worried he'd try to make up with Ron."
This made Hermione laugh louder than she meant, but she regained herself quickly. "Ron can't go see his own mother until Lavender is out of his life, you really think Harry will seek him out?" Remus considered this, then shook his head. "No, I suppose not."

Just then the buzzer sounded for the timer, and the kids abandoned their adventure with Gailfrey's last Time Lord to come paint eyes and mouths on the little ginger faces.

Later that night, with cookies in places and children snug in bed, the adults traded homes, via fireplace, to place gifts under the tree. Hermione had the harder deal, because while for the most part Teddy was normal, he had his father's keen hearing and sense of smell. She made it a point to be quiet as a church mouse's shadow, stacking presents around in a whimsical fashion. When she was done, she sat in the parlor to wait for Remus to return and give the okay to take her own place at home. He stepped back and grinned, giving the all clear. She walked over to the fire place and he held out the powder for her. She bid him goodnight and stepped through for home.

Once back in her own living room, she gave the pile of gifts a good looking over, ate a couple of the cookies and drank 2/3 the glass of milk. She'd always told Rose that Father Christmas couldn't hold too much because he want to sample some of everyone in the worlds cookies. Satisfied with the way her daughter would be finding the tree in the morning, she headed up to her room, possibly thinking of trying to finish her vampire novel before going to sleep. She peaked in on Rose, who was still fast asleep clutching Sylvia, then headed for her own bed.

Her bed, however, was not as she had left it. Sitting dead center on the comforter was a small box with golden wrapping and a bright green bow, and a small tag hanging off the side. The tag simply said "Saw you admiring this, thought it'd be more lovely on you than the display. -Remus"
She unwrapped the box as carefully as she could, heart racing a tiny bit. When were they apart long enough for him to do something like this? She gently pulled the lid away and gasped at the beautiful tennis bracelet laying inside. It was ruby and yellow sapphires, and she shuttered to think of the cost, even if Remus had a well paying job in the Ministry now. She took the bracelet out and held it for a moment, turning it over to watch the stones shine. It was Gryffindor colors, the main reason it had caught her attention in the first place. She felt tears push at the backs of her eyes, and decided not to fight them, allowed them to slide down her cheeks. Why would he get something like this for me? And why leave it like this? They'd be exchanging presents tomorrow at the Burrow, so why do this? Why so extravagant? She had half a mind to call him and demand answers to her questions, and try not to accept the gift as it was far too much, but she knew he'd win that argument before she ever got a thought out. She laid the bracelet back in its box and picked up her book. She decided she didn't want to think any more about it just then, for fear she'd never get to sleep. She read until her eyes drooped and she nodded off against her pillows, book falling open next to her on the bed.