Merry Christmas, Hermione

It was Christmas Eve, but Hermione didn't feel in the holiday spirit without Ron. She was spending the holidays with the Weasleys as usual; at least that made it seem like Christmas. It would have been a dismal holiday if she had decided to spend it with Ron in the hospital. Luckily, he had convinced her to go and have fun without him. Haley could play with her cousins and Hermione got to talk to Ginny, Angelina, and Penelope. It was nice to have people to talk to - Hermione didn't know many people in her building. She stopped herself - no, she didn't live there anymore. She lived at Hogwarts, and there she could talk to Sirius and the other teachers. It was weird moving without Ron, but Sirius had helped - and the twins. She tried to calm herself. Everything will be okay. Just wait 'till Ron comes back. But the truth was, she didn't know when Ron was coming back.

She and Haley were taking a knight bus to the Weasleys'. They usually drove - Muggles cares were all the rage now in the wizarding world, and she had learned to drive one at age sixteen - but she didn't really feel comfortable driving without Ron when she was eight months pregnant. The bus wasn't so bad. They'd caught a bus late last night to arrive in the morning. Haley had slept on the way, but Hermione really hadn't. But now they were almost at their destination and Hermione started to pull her bags out from under the bed. There wasn't much: just a duffel for Haley's clothes, a suitcase for hers, and a bag of presents. For years, the Weasleys had been doing a gift exchange where everyone got only one present. It had started when Ron was born and they all decided that it was too much money to waste to get a gift for everyone. So the tradition continued and the bag only contained three presents; one from Hermione to Angelina, one from Haley to Percy and Penelope's daughter Emily, and one from Ron to Fred.

The bus stopped abruptly, causing a bunch of magazines to fall from a shelf, but the driver and his assistant didn't seem to care. The assistant walked briskly over to her.

"I believe this is your stop, miss?" he asked.

"Yes," Hermione said, bending to pick up her bags.

"Let me get those for you," he said, picking up the bags with ease.

"Thank you," Hermione said. She took Haley's hand and they went off the bus, where he had placed the bags on the front steps.

He glanced at the cars parked all along the street. "I dare say someone in there can help you with your luggage," he said. "Looks like some party."

Hermione smiled. "It's a big family," she explained. She thanked him again and started to knock on the door as he boarded the bus.

There was a loud bustle inside as everyone fought for the chance to open the door. But Mrs. Weasley got there first.

"Hello, Hermione! Hello, Haley! Good to see you! Come in, come in. It's cold outside." Haley ran inside, shed her jacket on the living room sofa and sped off to where her cousins were playing.

"I think that's the last you'll see of her for a while," Mrs. Weasley commented. Hermione bent to pick up her bags. "Oh, no, someone will get those for you. Like a down right hotel this place is! Fred! George! Help Hermione with her bags, will you?"

Fred and George picked up the bags and disappeared up the stairs towards Ron's old room. Mrs. Weasley ushered Hermione inside to the kitchen. "Are you hungry or anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Well then, you can just have a seat while we start cooking and baking.

"I can help-"

"I won't hear of it. You just relax. We can handle it."

When they entered, Penelope and Angelina greeted her. "Where's Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"She's coming," Mrs. Weasley explained. "Draco couldn't miss work this morning - some important meeting.

The day passed quite uneventfully. The women chatted and gossiped in the kitchen with the children running in periodically, chasing after each other in a game of tag. The guys were all upstairs looking at Fred and George's new products. They had dinner, and Ginny and Draco arrived in the late evening. The kids were sent to bed, but the older ones could be heard giggling long into the night.

"Something's missing here," Mr. Weasley commented as they started to put the presents under the tree.

"Someone," Ginny said.

Hermione looked down at her feet.

"It's not Christmas without Ron," George said.

Eleven voices echoed a response.

"I know!" Bill said suddenly. "We should all go and visit him tomorrow!"

"All of us?" Penelope said.

"Well, I guess someone will have to stay and watch the kids, but why not? Of course, it's Hermione's decision."

Hermione looked up at him and smiled broadly. "I can't wait," she said.

Finally, the adults went to bed. It was past midnight when Hermione crept up the long flights of stairs to Ron's old room. Haley was sleeping peacefully on the floor, curled up in her sleeping bag. Hermione stepped cautiously around her and got into bed. She settled down comfortably and pulled the covers up around her. And even though it was a smaller bed than at home, it still felt empty without Ron.

* * *

The next morning was Christmas and the children were up at an insanely early hour, screaming and yelling to open their presents. The adults couldn't ignore it, so they got up and humored the children, hoping they would be able to sleep in the next day.

When Hermione came down in her bathrobe, the children, including Haley, were jumping and dancing around the Christmas tree.

"Where's my present, Mommy?" Haley called.

"Wait until everyone else comes down," Hermione answered.

Everyone else soon gathered sleepily around the tree, and it was decided that the youngest child could open first, since she was very impatient.

Haley identified her present (she could almost read already, and could certainly recognize her name) and opened up a video of her favorite movie.

"It took me ages to track that down," Mrs. Weasley said. "I had to go to a mall."

"Haley, what do you say?" Hermione prompted.

"Thank you, grandma!" Haley exclaimed. "Mommy, can I watch it now?"

"Not now, Haley. You know grandma and grandpa don't have a TV."

Mrs. Weasley looked at Hermione. "I know you can't have one either anymore."

"That's alright," Hermione said quickly, not wanting her mother-in-law to feel guilty. "We won't be at Hogwarts for long. She can watch it at my parents' house."

"Oh, good," Mrs. Weasley said. "But I got her something else in case." She handed Haley another wrapped box. Haley tore off the paper and found a doll of one of the characters from her movie.

"Oooh! Thanks, grandma!" Haley shouted, taking the doll out of its box and hugging it tightly.

Soon, all the children had been given their presents, and they were dismissed to go play because their parents knew they couldn't sit for very long.

"Okay," Bill said. "Ginny first because she's the youngest."

"We don't have to go in order," Ginny argued.

"Yes we do," Charlie said. "Come on, it's a tradition!"

"Okay," Ginny said as Bill handed her present to her. It was a lovely pair of earrings, which she immediately put on.

"Who's next?" Percy asked. "Hermione?"

"No, Draco's younger," Ginny said. Draco received his present, a book called 101 Ways to Catch a Dark Wizard.

"I thought it was funny," Mr. Weasley said curtly. He still wasn't thrilled about a Malfoy joining the family.

"Thank you," Draco said politely, starting to leaf through it.

"Now Hermione," said Ginny, handing her a box. She started to open it when the doorbell rang.

"Now who could that be?" Mrs. Weasley said, angrily. "No one we know! Solicitors? On Christmas day? The nerve of them!"

"I'll get it," Charlie said.

"If it's another one of those people selling the magic beans, tell them I don't want any! They made all the other flowers in my garden shrivel up and they still didn't grow!"

Charlie left the room. Hermione heard the door open and voices, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Charlie came back into sight. "It's another present for you, Hermione."

"Another?" Hermione gasped. "Ginny, you shouldn't have."

"I didn't," Ginny said, puzzled. "Where is it from, Charlie?"

"London," Charlie answered.

"London? I didn't order anything from London…."

"Well, Hermione, do you want it or not?"

Hermione shrugged. "Okay."

She was expecting a box, but what she saw was a tall, red-headed man with lots of freckles.

"Ron!" she gasped, getting up and rushing to him, embracing him tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too. And besides," he said to everyone, "what's Christmas if I can't spend it with all of you?" At this point, everyone else jumped up and gathered around Ron, except for Charlie, who went upstairs to find Haley.

"Oh, Ron, we were so worried about you!" his mother said.

"Yes, tell us about your battle with…" Percy paused in mid sentence and continued slowly, "…Lord Fytaero."

"Okay, alright!" Ron said. "Let a guy catch his breath. I just came back from the hospital, remember?" They cleared the wrapping paper and bows off the couch so he could sit down and he began to tell his story. However, he was interrupted in the middle when Haley ran down the stair screaming, "Daddy, Daddy!" and jumped onto his lap.

Ron finished the story and Hermione finished opening her present from Ginny, and they continued Christmas. After all the presents were opened, Haley joined the other children in the snow outside and Ron went to his room to take a nap. Even though he was home from the hospital, he was no where close to being healed.

* * *

Hermione and Ron stayed at the Weasley's for about a week. Ron spent most of the time sleeping because he was still so weak from his injuries. But Hermione spent the week trying to not worry about the new job that was going to be starting in only a few short days.

Hermione was only a bit less stressed now because Ron had come home, but she was still very worried about him. She was eight month pregnant and not very capable of taking care of Ron. She needed to be taken care of herself sometimes. She didn't really know what she and Ron were going to do when they went home. She thought of bringing in a nurse for a few weeks, but money was short now that Ron wasn't working. She wasn't going to be making much money at Hogwarts, and she wasn't sure they could afford one.

Finally, she decided to ask Ron, and he promptly came up with an answer.

"Ask Ginny," he said.

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"And I always thought you were the clever one," Ron stated.

So Hermione asked Ginny to stay with them. It wouldn't be long - just until Hermione had her baby or Ron was back on his feet again, which ever came first.

Ginny quickly said she'd be glad to help. She'd move in with them for a few weeks and take care of a few things around the house: laundry, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Haley.

On December 30th, Hermione, Ron, and Haley got on a Knight Bus and went home. Ginny Apparated ahead of them to pack some more clothes and arrived at their house before they did. When they got home, Ron went straight to bed and Hermione and Ginny started to further unpack the house.

* * *

By New Year's Eve, Ron was feeling a little bit better. He didn't sleep as often and he was eating better, so they decided to have a little celebration for Ron's recovery, and of course, the new year. Ginny made a bunch of appetizers and served them instead of dinner while they sat around the fireplace, chatting. They had only one guest, Draco, and the result of his visit was disastrous.

Ron and Draco had never gotten along, and it didn't help that Ron had accused Draco of kidnapping Harry. A minute could not go by where they didn't argue about politics or school or anything else that came up in a conversation. Plus, they gave each other the evil eye every time they looked at each other. Hermione didn't care either way about Draco, but was polite only because he was Ginny's fiancée. But Ginny had to keep on trying to break up their fights and stop them from killing each other.

* * *

Finally, the new term approached. Draco was gone and there was much less tension in the house. Hermione spent most of the time in her office preparing lesson plans and class activities for her third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh year students.

The office happened to be the only place where the secret entrance to their apartment could be located. Behind a tapestry, there was an entrance that opened only when the password ("Captain Hook") was spoken.

Hermione was sitting in her office when there was a knock on the door. She saw a student poke his head in front of the door window. She motioned for him to come inside. The boy entered. He was small, probably a third year, with dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes covered by thick, long lashes.

"Where's Professor Vector?" he asked.

"Away at a sick mother's," she answered.

"Do you know when she'll be coming back?"

"Not for the rest of the school year. I'm going to be your new Arithmancy teacher until she returns. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, I really don't understand this class. I've just started taking it this year and it's my hardest class. Professor Vector always said we could come in for extra help if we needed it, and I need it."

"I'll be glad to help you," Hermione said, clearing her desk so she and the boy would have a place to work. "What's your name?" she asked, as she cleared of a chair so he could sit down.

"Troy," the boy said.

"Well, Troy," she began, "Arithmancy is all about one single concept with many applications. But the main thing to focus on is the numbers."

Hermione coached Troy for the rest of the afternoon and the next day. By that time, he had caught up and was able to understand all the things Professor Vector had taught her third year students so far. Class would start the next day, and Troy would hopefully be able to understand the lesson.

* * *

Ron's condition undulated. Sometimes he appeared to be getting better, but sometimes he was obviously getting worse. When he was feeling relatively better, he would get up and eat, or read, but when he was feeling the worst, he just stayed in bed all day.

Today was one of those bad days, and of course it was the day Hermione wasn't there. But Ginny brought him some potions and things to make him feel better, neglecting Haley, who had to play by herself.

Hermione's day was going better than Ron's, but she was nervous. Her first class was Slytherin sixth years: what a great way to start her teaching career. However, the Slytherins now weren't half as bad as the Slytherins in her day. Since they had chosen to take Arithmancy, they were much more willing to pay attention to the lesson. So as Hermione showed them how to find the volume of a cauldron, Ginny shoved a horrible fizzing potion down Ron's throat.

That night, Hermione was grading papers in her office when she happened to look at the clock. "Time to put Haley to bed," she said to herself. She went into Haley's room, where her daughter was sitting on her bed with her pajamas on, playing with her new doll. Haley started to crawl under the covers as she saw her mother walk in, and Hermione helped her get settled.

"Did you say good night to Aunt Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

"Good girl. Good night, Haley. Don't let the bedbugs bite."

"Good night," Haley answered. Hermione blew out all the enchanted candles except one, which served as a nightlight. She was about to close the door when Haley called, "Wait."

"What is it?" Hermione asked, walking back towards Haley's bed.

"Mommy, how come Daddy doesn't love me anymore?"

Hermione was shocked by her daughter's question. "What makes you think he doesn't love you?" she asked.

"He never plays with me anymore."

Hermione didn't know how to respond to this. She thought Haley could understand Ron's condition, but apparently, she could not.

"He still loves you, sweetie," Hermione answered. "He just needs to rest more than usual right now."

"Okay," Haley said, although she didn't sound convinced. "Good night." Haley rolled over and closed her eyes, and Hermione went straight to Ron.

"Ron! Wake up!" she whispered loudly.

"What?" he said groggily.

"You have to hear what Haley just said." Hermione told him of their conversation.

"This is terrible!" Ron exclaimed. "We need to make her understand, Hermione."

"I tried talking to her, but I don't think she believed me."

"I'll talk to her."

"She just went to bed. Wait until tomorrow."

"No!" Ron snapped. "This can't wait." With effort, he got up from the bed and tiptoed into Haley's room.

"Haley, are you still awake?"

Haley sat up, smiling. "Daddy! Can we play now?"

"Not right now, Haley, because I need to talk to you about something very important."

Haley looked up at her father, eyes shining. "What?" she whispered. No grown-ups ever told her anything important.

"Haley, I still love you, you know that? I always have and I always will. I can't play with you right now, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."

"Then why?"

Ron sighed. "Do you remember when I had the big fight with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Lord Fytaero?"

"Yes, but we can only use his real name at home, okay?"

"Why?"

"Because other people are still scared of him, and they don't like to hear his name. He did some very bad things to people. Understand?"

She nodded.

"When I was fighting him, he hurt me really badly. Not just a little boo-boo, but a really big one. And sometimes when you get a boo-boo, it hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, because I have a boo-boo right here and it hurts a lot!" She showed him a bruise on her knee.

"Right, but mine is on my tummy, so sometimes it hurts when I get up, so I have to stay in bed. Remember at the beginning when I had to stay in the hospital and sleep all day?"

"Yes. We went to visit you but you couldn't talk to us."

"But it wasn't because I didn't love you or I didn't want to talk to you, it was because I was hurt. Do you understand now?"

"Yes," she answered, but it was the same kind of answer she had given Hermione. He didn't know how to explain it to her. He looked around the room for some kind of hint and saw, out the window, that it was snowing.

"Haley, look!" he said. "Snow!" He lifted her out of bed so she could see out the window, despite the pain it caused him.

"Oooh! Can we play?"

Ron took a deep breath. "Yep, we can, but tomorrow. It's too dark now."

"Yay!" Haley cheered as Ron put her back into her bed.

"Now get some sleep so you're ready to play." He turned the lights off and closed the door as she sleepily called good night.

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Ginny exclaimed, as Ron pulled on his boots and gloves. "You'll kill yourself!"

"This isn't about me; it's about Haley. She needs to see that I'm still here for her."

Ginny shook her head. "What will Hermione say?"

"She won't ever know," he answered slyly.

"Oh, Ron," Ginny said exasperatedly. "Fine, but I'm coming, too."

"Haley, are you ready?" Ron called into the bedroom. Haley emerged from her room bundled up in snow pants, boots, and a hat. "Let's go then!" Ron said.

"How are we going to get past Hermione? She's in her office, getting ready for her first lesson."

Ron ginned. "That's where you come in. Now Haley, you have to be absolutely quiet until we get outside, okay?" Haley nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Ginny asked.

"The spell is Bliebiosa," Ron said.

"That's the spell of -"

"Shhh, just do it, Ginny!"

"Oh, fine!"

All three became invisible and sneaked out through Hermione's office and down to the grounds. They were soon soaked to the bone, but they had a blast. Three hours later, Ginny was performing the spell again and they crept back through Hermione's office.

Once inside, Ginny helped Haley take off her wet clothes while Ron changed into sweats and went back to bed. He was exhausted, but it had been worth it to see the huge smile on Haley's face. And hitting Ginny with a snowball hadn't been so bad either. Ginny made herself and Haley some hot chocolate, and a few minutes later, Hermione found them still at the table eating freshly-made cookies.

"Want a cookie?" Ginny asked as Hermione entered.

"Sure," she said.

"We went out in the snow today!" Haley exclaimed.

"Yes we did," Ginny said. "Me and Haley."

"Did you have fun?"

"Yeah!" Haley shouted.

"Well that's good," Hermione said, as Haley ran to her room to play.

"Good idea," Hermione said to Ginny.

But it wasn't such a good idea, after all.

* * *

Ginny had spent so much time helping Haley take her snow clothes off and making hot chocolate and cookies that she didn't have much time to change. By the time she was done with these chores, she felt dry anyway and didn't bother. This was her mistake, because even if the clothes didn't feel very wet, they were still damp, and the castle was drafty.

Ron was up and about much more lately. He played with Haley, although nothing so extreme, just board games. He had much more energy, and they believed he was truly starting to recover.

Only a week later, Ginny's cold was too much for her, and it was starting to get worse. She tried to keep it from Hermione - there was no way to keep it from Ron the Auror - but even that was failing. Finally, it was time for Ginny to give in.

"I'll only be gone for a week or so," Ginny said as the four of them stood in the entrance way. "As soon as I'm better I'm coming right back. I just don't want to get any of you sick." At this point, Ron sneezed. "See? I have to go home. But I think you three will be fine for a few days."

Draco came in the huge Hogwarts doors, along with a frigid breeze. Ginny went to the door, pulling her coat even tighter around her. "Bye, everyone," she said sniffling. Draco picked up her bags and led her outside into the cold.

* * *

Ginny went to her doctor after her cold didn't disappear in a week. She had a bad case of the flu, and had to stay in bed for another week. Draco was taking care of her, but there was no one to take care of Ron, Hermione, and Haley.

Ron was well enough to make breakfast and lunch for Haley and keep her occupied all day while Hermione taught her classes and graded her students' work. When she was finished, she made dinner and they ate. They were all so exhausted they turned in early, but they could make due without Ginny's help for another week.

Couldn't they?