Black acrid smoke filled the kitchen of the small cabin. As his fiancé pulled the tray of burnt cookies out of the oven, Harry looked at him with a mixture of frustration and reluctant fondness.

"Alright, that's it. You're banned from my kitchen," Harry said.

Charlie pouted as he used his wand to dispel the smoke. "I'm sorry I burnt the cookies, but I can still help."

The raven-haired man laughed. "No, you can't. That is the second batch of cookies you have burnt. The party is tonight; I really need to get these cookies done."

Charlie sighed as he knew Harry was right. He just wasn't a baker. He was a decent cook, but he couldn't bake anything without burning it.

"Fine. What should I do then?"

Harry looked up as he was rolling out more sugar cookie dough. "The presents still need wrapped, and you are the best wrapper."

The redhead nodded. "I can do that."

As he walked out of the kitchen, he snagged a decorated gingerbread man cookie off the counter. He laughed as his fiancé shouted after him.

"Hands off, Weasley, those are for the party."

Harry shook his head in exasperation as Charlie went into the living room, munching on his stolen cookie. He ran a critical eye over his finished cookies. He had volunteered to make the cookies for tonight's Christmas Eve party. He had a several dozen chocolate chip, peanut butter, gingerbread men, and shortbread cookies. He also had an impressive array of sugar cookies cut like snowman, snowflakes, stars, reindeer, and Santa Claus. After putting this last batch of cookies into the oven to replace the burnt ones, he should have enough for tonight.

A few hours later, Harry and Charlie walked into the party. They handed their two presents to Andrew, who was in charge of the gift exchange. The presents were assigned numbers as they arrived to the party. Later, people would draw numbers out of a hat to choose a present. The gifts were a mix of gag or practical items.

Harry and Charlie had chosen to get their gifts from the twin's joke shop. Fred and George had invented a holiday line of joke gifts; they had been inspired by Muggle Christmas stories. Harry had picked the Rudolph gumdrops, which turned a person into a version of the red-nosed reindeer. They would have a bright, red shining nose and antlers growing on top of their head. Charlie had chosen the Holly Jolly Elf edible delights, which turned a person into the Muggle version of a Santa's little helpers. The person would shrink in height and their clothes transformed into an elf's costume, complete with pointy shoes with jingle bells. The effects of both candies only lasted five minutes. They were looking forward to seeing who would receive their presents.

After he deposited his cookies onto the food tables, Harry looked around the room at his friends and coworkers. The theme of this year's party was ugly Christmas sweaters. He laughed as he saw some of the sweaters; they were truly an awful assault on the eyes. There were lots of tinsel, bows, and twinkling lights.

Charlie handed him a glass of eggnog and said, "I think our sweaters are tame compared to the others."

Harry nodded as he glanced at the redhead's sweater. It had a dragon wearing a Santa hat, flying over the North Pole. His own sweater had Frosty the Snowman dancing with penguins and polar bears. Neither one had lights nor tinsel, so they were less garish than the other sweaters.

After a loud and boisterous holiday feast, everyone gathered around Andrew, who was holding a large red Santa hat. Everybody reached in and grabbed a small piece of paper with a number written on it. Then, the present with the corresponding number was levitated to the right person. Gifts were flying through the air as everyone laughed and snatched their present out of the air.

With his Seeker eyes, Harry watched as his present wrapped with bright gold paper was grabbed by his boss, Rick. He knew Rick would be a good sport about the gag gift and get a good laugh out of it.

The green-eyed wizard opened his present and received a coffee mug with a roaring dragon and the words, 'I'm a dragon keeper, I like it hot!" Charlie laughed as his fiancé showed him the mug with a wink. The redhead's gift had been a hand-knit woolen hat and scarf. He guessed that Linda, the head nurse, had knitted the items. She always had her knitting needles and yarn in hand in the hospital wing during the less busy times.

Rick walked over to the happy couple, holding his box of Rudolph gumdrops. "Do either of you know what this is?"

"Why would you think we would know what that is?" Harry asked.

"Because it says it's a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes product, and Charlie, you are a Weasley."

"My twin brothers own a joke shop. That does look like one of their products," Charlie said, trying not to laugh.

"What's a Rudolph and what will this candy do if I eat it?" Rick asked. He didn't know any Muggle Christmas stories.

"It looks like the twins went Muggle this year for their holiday treats," Harry explained. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Muggle Christmas story for children."

"So if I eat this I'll turn into a reindeer?" Rick asked, genuinely curious.

Charlie pretended to read the box, not wanting to give away that he and Harry knew exactly what the candy would do. "I think you'll just get a red nose and antlers."

"Hmm, that should be interesting," Rick replied. He opened the box and put a gumdrop in his mouth and chewed carefully. It had a strong cinnamon taste.

The couple watched eagerly as Rick's nose turned red and started glowing brightly. Antlers began growing on top of his head, ending in an impressive twelve-point rack.

"Looking good, boss," Harry said with a smirk.

By this time a small crowd had gathered around, they wanted to know why their boss now looked like he was part reindeer. Rick explained his present and the most adventurous of the group eagerly tried the gumdrops themselves.

Charlie looked around to see who had received his present. He soon heard a shriek as Teri, the head security witch, suddenly shrunk to three feet tall and dressed like one of Santa's elves. It was quite amusing to see the no-nonsense, formidable witch transformed into a jolly elf.

The party waged on and multiple Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeers and Holly Jolly Elves were seen dancing around. As many cups of eggnog, ale, and wine were consumed, some people began singing carols. A rousing rendition of "God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs" rang around the room.

Harry thought of his only Christmas with Sirius, who had sung the same song. The memory filled him with happiness. He would always miss his godfather, but his memories were no longer sad.

Charlie wrapped his arm around his fiancé and steered him over to a specific spot. "Look up, love."

He smirked as he saw a sprig of mistletoe hanging above their heads. "Trying to trick me into kissing you, Weasley?"

"Like I need to trick you; you love kissing me," he said right before pulling Harry into a deep, passionate kiss.

The happy couple kissed for several long minutes, completely unaware of their surroundings. They lost themselves in the familiar yet encompassing feelings of lust, passion, and love. They didn't notice as their friends walked over, shaking their heads at the couple's antics. Everybody at the reserve was used to Harry and Charlie's public displays of affection.

"Hey lovebirds, why don't you two get a room?" asked Tim, a dragon keeper who worked with Harry with the Norwegian Ridgebacks.

The raven-haired man reluctantly ended their kiss. "You know that is a great idea, Tim. I think Charlie and I are going to call it a night."

The blue-eyed wizard nodded eagerly. "Yeah, we should get going. We have to work in the morning, so we should make it an early night."

Their friends laughed as the couple shouted 'Merry Christmas' over their shoulders as they raced out the door. They may be leaving the party early, but their friends doubted they would have an early night.

Harry and Charlie ran back to their cabin, laughing as they almost slipped on the ice. Once inside the cabin, Charlie pressed Harry back against the door and claimed his mouth in a fervent kiss. They struggled to remove their coats without stopping their kiss. The green-eyed wizard pushed against his fiancé and walked him backwards, heading for the bedroom. As they reached their bed, Charlie spun them around, so Harry landed first on the bed. He followed him down and resumed kissing him.

He gasped as Charlie trailed a path of kisses down his neck. "Do you think Santa will care if I open one of my presents early?"

Charlie blinked in confusion at Harry's unexpected question. "Huh?"

Harry smiled deviously as he held his wand and whispered a spell to vanish their clothing. He ran his hands around the redhead's freckled and scarred shoulders and back. "I'm going to like playing with this present. I must have been a good boy this year."

Charlie chuckled deeply. "I don't know. You appear to be very naughty."

"You complaining?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Absolutely not," he replied as he let Harry pull him into another deep kiss. The witty banter was soon replaced by moans, whimpers, sighs, and soft exclamations of love.

As the clock chimed midnight signaling the start of Christmas day, Harry and Charlie were sleeping soundly in each other's arms. Blankets piled high to keep the chill of the winter's night off their naked bodies. Instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, they dreamt of their future together, happily married and surrounded by their friends and family.