November 28th, 2011

A/N: Chapter fifteen! My God, isn't this exciting guys? How long do you think this story should be? I think it might end up being well over thirty chapters, and then there's the sequel centered around Scorpius and Rose. Oh, and Scorpius is NOT going to be an only child, I have big plans for him and his siblings. Rose and Hugo get a sister too! I'm so excited :D Oh, and slight warning, this chapter might be slightly fluffy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Fifteen

In her dream, Hermione saw everyone she cared about dying. She had to watch as the wall fell on Fred, without her around to help save him, and she had to experience Harry being carried into the courtyard by Hagrid once again. Hermione had had this nightmare plenty of times before and she was used to it. But now, Draco had gotten pulled in as well.

Hermione's eyes widened in horror as Voldemort shot the Killing Curse at Draco. She tried to scream, but she couldn't, and when she woke up she discovered that she was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Hey, it's okay," Harry's voice said as his face came into focus. "Hermione, are you alright?"

Nodding slowly, Hermione sat up and stifled a yawn. Awful dreams always drained her energy. "Yeah, Harry, I'm alright." She blinked. "What are you doing in Ginny's room?"

"She sent me in here to find something. Do you know where her Quidditch jersey is?" Harry asked, rubbing Hermione's back comfortingly since he knew she was lying when she reassured him.

"I'll get it," Hermione offered, standing up. She rummaged through Ginny's things and found the jersey in question, tossing it to Harry once she had it in hand.

Harry didn't leave, though. He continued to look at Hermione, and she sighed, knowing she had better distract him before he got over-protective again. It wasn't like he could just stop her from reliving the worst parts of the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Do you think Molly would mind if I invited Draco here for Christmas?"

"I think she would be fine with it, 'Mione, but I dunno about the others. Fred and George, maybe, once they got a good prank in. Ginny is dying to see him again because you two are dating now. Bill and Charlie never really knew him, and they're happy as long as you are. But Ron…"

Hermione snorted. "Harry, I honestly don't care what Ronald thinks right now."

"Er, I wasn't going to say Ron will be upset. I was actually trying to tell you that he's bringing Lavender."

"You have got to be joking."

"If only I was, 'Mione. If only I was."

It took some explaining to Molly and Ginny, but Hermione eventually got to floo to Draco's flat through their network. She stepped out of Draco's fireplace after dusting herself off and looked around, hoping he was there. Hermione wasn't about to holler her boyfriend's name at the top of her lungs, only to seem like an idiot when it turned out he wasn't in, so she kept quiet and instead poked her head into Draco's bedroom.

Hermione smiled slightly when she saw Draco sleeping peacefully. Unlike her, nightmares didn't seem to plague him. She hated to wake him, so she sat down on the edge of his bed, her eyes on the door, and occupied herself with her own thoughts.

If Ron was bringing Lavender to the Burrow for Christmas, no one could complain about Hermione bringing Draco. She still had to check with Molly, but Harry was probably right in thinking that she would welcome Draco with open arms – or half open arms.

As much as she tried to mask it, Hermione was extremely agitated at the fact that Ron dared to bring the girl he had cheated on her with to a holiday meant for family. Granted, neither she nor Harry was truly a part of the Weasley family by blood, but they were members in every way that counted.

"What brings you here?" Draco asked, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist and pulling her down next to him.

"I didn't know you'd woken up," Hermione said, a bit uncomfortable with their position at first. Draco noticed and made to release her, but Hermione stopped him and rested her cheek against his chest.

"I was surprised you were in my room at first, but I'm perfectly okay with it. Stop by any time you like," Draco replied, grinning down at Hermione even though she couldn't see his face.

Hermione had a feeling Draco was teasing her, though, and his comment made her laugh. "If we're done being ridiculous…I wanted to know if you'd mind spending our first Christmas together at the Burrow."

Draco grew quiet, and Hermione feared that he wouldn't want to accompany her. She bit her lip as she considered telling him about Lavender, and was relieved when Draco spoke because that meant she didn't have to.

"I'd be delighted to go, 'Mione," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Good," Hermione mumbled, snuggling closer to him. "Oh, how did your meeting with your mother go?"

Brushing Hermione's hair out with his fingers, Draco scrunched up his nose and took a deep breath. "I suppose it went well enough," he answered. "She wasn't very pleased with me – she hates it when she has to find things out through a newspaper rather than in person - but she's siding with me, I think. She's going to talk to everyone she knows to try and sort out what's real and what's fake in Astoria's story."

"Daphne knows what's going on. I saw her the other day. Mostly we spent the time getting to know each other, but I heard enough to be certain that she knows what her sister is up to."

"She didn't tell you anything?" Draco asked, frowning. He would have expected Daphne to help him out, especially since the whole problem was the fault of her younger sibling.

Hermione pulled back so she could look at Draco and stay close to him at the same time. "Of course she didn't tell me anything. Daphne's still loyal to her sister, even if her sister is nutters. She said she'd try and talk Astoria around, but that's the most she can do, and I understand that completely. You can't exactly blame her."

"I suppose not," Draco said, although his tone suggested he thought otherwise. Hermione couldn't hold it against him, even if she had wanted to – he had grown up an only child and he'd never been particularly close to anyone else. At least she had had Harry, Ron, and later, Ginny to look out for.

While Hermione mulled over that thought, Draco buried his nose in her soft, frizzy curls and closed his eyes. He was perfectly content to just stay there like that for any number of hours, but Hermione didn't like to be idle for long unless she was reading, so he knew they would have to get up eventually.

"Any more surprise visits from Death Eaters?"

"No, and I'm quite happy about that. Not that I ever expected my life to turn out normal," Draco remarked.

"I didn't expect mine to turn out normal, either, after I found out magic was real and met Harry. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yeah, me either, 'Mione."

Hermione groaned and pulled her blanket over her head as Ginny screamed "HAPPY CHRISTMAS" in her ear. She loved the holiday too, but Ginny just took it all over the top.

"Come on, we have to get ready and escape before Mum catches us and makes us clean the whole damn house!"

"That's actually a fairly good incentive," Hermione sighed. She rolled off of her cot on the floor of Ginny's room, reluctantly getting to her feet. "Happy Christmas, Gin. And do all of your siblings act like little children, the way you do, on this particular day of the year?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they do," Ginny replied happily. Hermione shot her a small smile before she got dressed.

She didn't have to ponder what to wear for very long. Hermione had gotten into the habit of wearing one of Molly Weasley's hand-made sweaters every year for Christmas, along with a pair of well-worn jeans she personally loved. She knew Ginny disapproved of her not dressing up, but why put on a show if you were just spending time with people who accepted you for you anyway?

"Are you going to pick Draco up or is he going to floo here?" Ginny asked, brushing out her mane of red hair.

"I thought I'd go pick him up," Hermione said, tying her own curls into a ponytail. "He's still a bit, um, hesitant about coming today."

"You're joking! We've got to be the most inviting family in all of England," Ginny exclaimed indignantly. Hermione rolled her eyes and waved at her friend before slipping out the door.

Hermione couldn't begrudge Draco his slight fear of the Weasley bunch. Ginny was the youngest and she had dueled more Death Eaters than most Aurors could hope to claim. The talent only got stronger from there.

Well, Hermione had to admit that wasn't true. Maybe it was post-break-up feelings that caused her to think so, but she briefly reflected on the fact that Ginny had twice the power Ron did. Ron was away from home for a few months and he disappeared. Ginny got her heart broken by the boy she had loved since she was nine and she led a rebellion – which was, needless to say, very illegal. To be fair, Ron had been doing illegal things too, but at least Ginny saw her activities through to the end.

Merlin, Hermione, stop being so mean. Ron doesn't deserve this kind of…internal…treatment. He's a good person, Hermione chastised herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself and flooed to Draco's apartment, barely pausing a second as she gave the password that would allow her to step out of his fireplace.

"Hi love, you ready to go?" Hermione called. She nearly tripped over a pile of presents as she stepped towards the kitchen. "What in the-" She couldn't see why Draco would have so many gifts left unopened. She hadn't even known he could wrap a box, much less tie a bow on top.

"Oh bugger, I was hoping you wouldn't see those," Draco said, pulling his Muggle shirt on over his head as he walked up to Hermione. She looked at the t-shirt closely and grinned.

"Draco, I had no idea you liked the Beatles, or even knew who they were. They're my mum's favorite band."

"What beetles?" Draco asked, dumbfounded.

Hermione blinked before she laughed out loud. "I suppose it doesn't matter if you don't know who they are, but I will be teaching you later. At the Weasley's, I doubt even Harry will recognize the men on your shirt, although Arthur might ask you some questions."

"Should I be scared?"

"No, of course not," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I keep telling you that you have nothing to be afraid of."

"I suppose you have a point, because Merlin knows everyone that's sane is afraid to get on your bad side."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, love," Draco replied, smiling and winking at Hermione, who sighed in exasperation. The look in her eyes clearly said what am I going to do with this one?

As soon as Hermione opened the door to the Burrow, a pair of arms engulfed her. She was already sure to whom they belonged and started laughing immediately, though the sound was muffled as her face was pressed against the person's chest.

"Happy Christmas to you too, Harry," Hermione said dryly, leaning back to grin at the world's savior, who could still be very childish whenever he wished.

"Happy Christmas 'Mione!" Hermione was reminded of how she had been woken up that morning, and that only caused her to grin wider.

Harry released Hermione, and for the first time seemed to notice Draco. It took him a moment, but Harry managed to smile and nodded to the other wizard.

"Happy Christmas, Malfoy."

"Same to you, Potter," Draco replied. Things are off to a good start so far…

Hermione beamed at the two of them and led the way inside, chatting happily and without a care now that the most important men in her life had greeted each other cordially. She hadn't confronted exactly how panicked she had been about Harry and Draco meeting again until then, and it was nice to get rid of that stress she didn't know she had.

Tossing a glance over her shoulder, Hermione saw Harry and Draco animatedly discussing the latest game between the Bulgarians and some other team she had never heard of in all the time she had been in a magical community. She caught the name Viktor and eventually tuned in.

"Yeah, and he went straight to the ground. He's a great flyer but who does something as crazy as that? He must be mental," Draco said. "Reminds me of you in our first year, actually, Potter, especially because you both caught the Snitch."

"Are you talking about Viktor?" Hermione asked. "Was he alright after he hit the ground?"

"Footage showed he was absolutely fine, 'Mione," Harry assured her. As observant as always, he noticed the confusion plainly showing in Draco's expression and chuckled. "Krum and Hermione are friends, Malfoy. Remember how he took her to the Yule Ball? I doubt anyone could forget that. Parvati was completely baffled by Hermione's appearance and date."

Hermione sighed reminiscently. She hardly talked to her roommates from Hogwarts anymore, but that wasn't too big of a loss since they weren't best friends or anything back then. Still, thinking about their years as students made her feel a touch too sentimental for her liking.

"That was funny, wasn't it? It was like no one recognized me. I felt like Cinderella after her fairy godmother got to her."

"What?" Draco wondered aloud. Hermione exchanged a smile with Harry and patted Draco's arm.

"It's nothing to worry about, just Harry and me being silly."

"I beg your pardon, you're the only one being silly here," Harry corrected her, assuming an affronted manner before he dropped the act and laughed. "Malfoy, if you want to survive a day here, you'd best learn to mask any cluelessness. The twins prey on it, and they thrive off of those careless people who let their guards down around them. Be prepared, and don't say I didn't warn you."

Draco's eyes grew comically large, as if he sincerely thought Fred and George would do him serious harm, which only made Harry laugh more. Hermione coughed to mask her own amusement and brought Draco into the sitting room against his protests.

"We don't bite, dear. Sit down, make yourself comfortable, and happy Christmas," Molly said, smiling kindly at Draco before she went back to the kitchen to finish prepping the meals for the day.

Out of nowhere, Draco slowly revealed a mound of presents. It took Hermione a moment, but she understood that he was trying to get the others to see he had changed, and that those were the gifts she had seen in his flat when she went to get him. She gave Draco a hug before she let him sit down – she had really gotten lucky this time.

"Those are for the others, aren't they?" Hermione asked, her arm brushing against Draco's as she sat next to him.

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, yes."

"Don't try and pass this off as something you couldn't care less about," Hermione said with a grin. "You're practically dying to see how they'll all react. What'd you get everyone, anyway?"

"If I tell you, the others might hear!"

Hermione laughed, covering her mouth with her hand to quiet the sound. "Who are you and what have you done to Draco Malfoy?"

"I ate him," Draco answered dryly, smirking.

"Shush, you."

To both twenty something year olds, their relationship had progressed wonderfully. They agreed on nearly every single topic there was to discuss, and when they argued they did so reasonably. To Hermione, her conversations with Draco were certainly stimulating for the mind, and she enjoyed them because in her past relationship with Ron, she had had to do far too much explaining, until her sentences could be passed off as actual explanations.

Think of the devil and he shall appear, Hermione thought silently. Draco was learning about her Muggle ways quickly, but she had yet to tell him about that one.

"Happy Christmas, Hermione."

"Happy Christmas Ron," Hermione replied, sounding much less stiff than the tall man in front of her. Her eyes flicked to the person standing next to Ron. "Happy Christmas, Lavender."

Lavender's cheeks turned pink and she continued to stare at the ground. "Happy Christmas to you as well."

Draco locked gazes with Hermione and gave her hand a squeeze. She shook her head slightly, the action taking so little time that if Draco hadn't been watching her closely, he would have missed it.

In all honesty, Hermione was just glad that Ron was doing the respectable thing by dating Lavender, who deserved to be welcomed into the Weasley family properly. Hermione could only hope that Ginny wouldn't do anything drastic.

"You aren't going to visit your parents for at least a little while?" Ron asked.

"They're in France right now," said Hermione. "Mum thought it would be nice to go back to the place where she was born."

"And you didn't go with them? You love France!"

"Glad to know you listened sometimes, Ronald," was all that made up Hermione's reply.

Lavender didn't seem to know what to do with herself. She was clutching Ron's arm, her eyes darting around the room as if Death Eaters were filling it instead of former members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. Ron looked annoyed at her behavior, but he didn't say anything, and Hermione commended him for it.

"Oh, Ronnie, you're back from getting Lavender! You can go help the twins de-gnome the garden before Bill and Fleur get here with Victoire and Teddy. We don't want one of those little devils biting the poor children again," Molly said, sticking her head into the room for a minute second.

If she had been frightened before, Lavender was panicked now. Hermione took pity on her once Ron grudgingly left and brought her over to Ginny.

"Gin, Lavender's been writing that advice column in the Daily Prophet you like," Hermione informed Ginny. "You know, the one part that isn't a complete waste of time in that awful newspaper."

"Oh! You write that?" Lavender nodded timidly, and Ginny plowed on. "I thought that charm to keep hair from frizzing was brilliant. It worked great for Hermione that one time I managed to get her to sit still long enough."

Satisfied that Lavender and Ginny were conversing companionably, Hermione went back to Draco, who promptly shoved a box at her.

"What in the world?" Hermione asked, laughing. "Draco, what is this?"

"Your present, of course, so open it like a normal person."

"Oh, not yet, love. We wait until after dinner, when everyone can open their presents because Molly is always in a tizzy getting everything ready," Hermione said, smiling as she kissed Draco's cheek. "But thank you very much. Your gift is already under the tree with the others. I'll go put this one there too."

Hermione wandered over to the Christmas tree and set the box underneath it, on top of dozens of others. Ever since the war ended and the survivors got rewarded for their undercover and known work, more money was spent on presents. Christmas seemed like an even more momentous occasion because it was a time when everyone was at the Burrow, and they also used it to show their appreciation and love for each other by giving gifts, so Hermione loved that day like no other.

"Auntie 'Mione!" Teddy shouted, wriggling out of his godfather's arms and running over to Hermione. He flung himself at her legs, causing the witch to laugh. He changed his hair so it was curly and brown like hers, which made Draco smile from his place on the couch.

"Hello cutie! Have you been enjoying your day so far? Have Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur been spoiling you rotten?" Hermione asked, grinning at the two year old as she picked him up, balancing him on her hip.

Teddy's eyebrows furrowed together. "What does that mean?" He had a pretty good vocabulary for his age, seeing as he spent so much time around Harry, Hermione and his grandmother Andromeda, but some things still confused him.

"Never mind, Teddy, forget I said that last bit. Have you opened any presents yet?"

His expression clearing, Teddy began to describe, in great detail, the toys he had gotten from the people he had already seen that morning. Hermione listened to him talk, unable to stop smiling. He was the sweetest thing in the world, and he constantly switched his eye color to match it with whatever mood he was in. When he told Hermione that he was sad his parents weren't there, his eyes briefly changed to the color black, but then they reverted back to their natural color, a gray blue, as he talked about a dinosaur Harry had given him.

Meanwhile, Draco watched, not able to help but think that someday, Hermione would be a great mother, the way she thought he would be a great father.

"Teddy, love, I'm going to go see if Grandma wants some help, okay?" Hermione said, kissing Teddy's forehead and setting him on the ground before she walked to the kitchen.

"Hi Hermione," Molly greeted her, stopping to give Hermione a warm hug. "Why aren't you out there mingling?"

"I came to ask if you wanted any help."

"Oh no, darling, it's fine, I've got everything under control. You get back out there and make sure Draco feels comfortable here."

Hermione figured she should let Molly get back to work, else she start fretting about whether all of the food was prepped, and hovered in the doorway joining the kitchen and the sitting room. Teddy was attempting to teach Victoire how to say his name, and watching them interact made Hermione chuckle quietly. Harry came up behind her, saw what she was looking at, and smiled as well.

"Oi! You two! Look up!" Fred called from across the room.

Harry tilted his head up first and rolled his eyes when he spotted mistletoe. "Fred, you do realize we can just step out, right?"

"Oh, no you can't. That mistletoe is from our joke shop. You can't get out until you two kiss," said Fred with a devilish grin. (A/N: Guys, if you could please look down below, it's really important.)

A/N: First off, the second half of the Christmas special will be in chapter sixteen. SECONDLY, AND THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, I am going to be working on my parents' Christmas gift which is a sort of small story about their life together, and that will be taking up a lot of my time. I'll try to get the next chapter going so I can update before Christmas, but I dunno if that's possible. Just wanted to let you all know so that I don't find an angry mob on the other side of my door someday.

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