"Come on, mum. We don't want to leave you alone. Especially not tonight. Roger won't mind coming to pick you up. Really, it is no trouble at all."
Hermione Weasley was on the telephone with her only daughter. It was Christmas Eve
"I know it wouldn't be any trouble for you, but it would be for me. I still have this wretched cold. You know I shouldn't be going out in this weather."
She heard her daughter sigh on the other end of the phone. There was never any use in arguing with her mother; Hermione always won. "All right, mum. If you're sure."
"I am sure. Give Holly and Casey my love. Roger, too."
"I will, mum." And after a moment, she continued "Merry Christmas, mum. Stay warm."
"Merry Christmas to you too, dear. I love you. Even if I'm not always with you, I am always thinking of you. You know that, don't you?"
"I know, mum. Goodbye, mum. We'll come out to see you soon."
"Okay, dear. Goodbye." And with that, the two women both hung up.
Hermione shivered involuntarily as she moved to the fire and threw on another log. She just could not stay warm like she used to, which was part of the reason she caught the dreadful cold that had been plaguing her for three weeks now. But she could not complain much, as old age had been kinder to her than it had been to most. She had turned seventy-three the past September, but she did not look a day over sixty. And, up until recently, she had not felt a day over fifty. But the cold she had was wearing on her.
Sitting down in the chair across from the fireplace and looking at the tiny, plastic tree on her mantle, she sighed. It was the first year her house had not had a real Christmas tree. She had wanted one, but she knew that it would be too much work for her, and superfluous when she had no one with which to share it. No one to share it with...she sighed as thoughts of Ron entered her mind. If she was honest with herself, it was not just the cold that was getting to her. There was something else as well-- this was her first Christmas in sixty-one years without Ron. Every year since she was eleven, she had shared this special holiday with the most important person in her world.
Oh, how her Ron loved Christmas. And Hermione loved it too. Inadvertently, it became their holiday. It seemed that all good things happened at Christmas.
The day she knew he loved her was Christmas day of their seventh year. He gave her a ring-- a promise ring. He promised that they would both come back from the war. He promised, that when he did, he would ask her something very important. And they did come back, and he did ask her something very important. He asked her to be his girlfriend.
Four years later, just like always, they spent Christmas together at the Burrow. The Weasley's, always having been Hermione's second family, were now her only family. Her parents had died in the war, and for the longest time, she felt empty. But Ron and his family fixed the hole she had in her heart. They made her feel complete. That Christmas Eve, Ron asked her to official become part of his family. He gave her a silver ring with three diamonds-- past, present, and future, he had said. They were married exactly one year later, on their most special holiday, Christmas Eve.
While Hermione was overwhelmed by how much Ron loved Christmas while it was just the two of them, she could not even believe how much he loved it when he got to spend it with their children.
They had had kids later in life than most couples. First, they wanted to concentrate on their careers. Ron was an Auror. Hermione hated the idea-- hated that he was putting himself in danger everyday. Her only consolation was that Voldemort was dead, and at least, his threat did not loom over the wizard world. Hermione was an editor for a publishing firm. Ron laughed at her when she got the job. He said it was "robbery that you get paid to read all day!" Both wanted kids at some point. But first, they wanted to do the things the loved and concentrate their time on each other.
The day Hermione had told him she was pregnant was Christmas Eve. They were both thirty-one. He was in disbelief at first and did not say anything. She was worried that he was angry, that he did not want a baby. But within seconds, he looked her in the eye and the biggest grin she had ever seen on his face appeared. He jumped up and spun her around, and they both laughed together before he sat her down on the sofa, telling her that she was not allowed to do anything for herself until after the baby was born. She did not tell him about women's lib or her independence, but she laughed and smiled, and they hugged for a long time. That Christmas Eve was Ron's last Christmas Eve as an Auror. He gave up the job he loved because he loved his family more. He took a desk position at the Ministry's Office of Sports and Games. He loved that job just as much, not because he was in charge of the Quidditch World Cup, but because it meant that he got to spend every night and weekend with his family.
Their only daughter, Natalie, who loved reading and Quidditch, was also brought up to love Christmas. The night before Christmas Eve, the three of them would head to the tree farm an hour north of their home and bring home whatever tree Natalie chose. They would bring it back home and decorate with all of their ornaments as they reminisced about Christmases past. Once the tree was done being decorated, they would sit in front of the fire in their pajamas, drinking cocoa, and enjoying their handiwork. Christmas Eve, the entire Weasley clan would arrive at their house for the celebration. Twenty-seven Christmas Eves after Natalie's first Christmas, Natalie gave birth to her first baby girl, appropriately named Holly.
Now, the annual Christmas Eve celebration was passed on to Natalie. Christmas just was not the same without Ron, and since the fates had ordered a new chapter of her life to start without him, it would also be without Christmas.
She got up to put another log on the dying fire, when a flash of red caught her eye.
"Hullo, 'Mione."
She sputtered in disbelief. It could not be..."Ron?" The redhead nodded in response. "But...but...you're dead," she whispered. She was not afraid of the apparition so much as she was afraid that he was not real, that she was in some crazy and wonderful dream that she would awake from at any moment and forget.
"You aren't dreaming, Herms. You're wide awake."
"How though? You didn't make the choice to be a ghost. I know you didn't. We had discussed it, and both of us decided we didn't want it."
"I know, I'm not the traditional ghost. I'm a Happarition."
"A helping ghost? But...but there is no such thing. And, besides, I don't need help, Ron."
"That's what you always say," he smiled at her. "But obviously, you do. I would not be here if you didn't."
"What do I need help with then?" she asked defiantly. He threw her that grin of his, and she knew exactly what he was thinking, Even when he was a ghost she had to try to prove him wrong.
"You have lost your love of Christmas, Mione. You have lost your love of life."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "I don't think so, Ron. I most-- well, Christmas, maybe. But not life, Ron. That's preposterous."
"Big words aren't going to make me back down, love. And you can't physically hurt me, not that you ever could the few times you tried, because I'm not alive," he shot her his trademark grin again. "But I don't have long, and we need to fix this problem."
She was going to cry. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. The fact that the love of her life was standing in front of her, yet she couldn't touch him or hold him because he was not alive, was setting in. "How am I supposed to love either of those things, Ron? You aren't here. I can't do these things without you!"
"'Mione, darling, you are the strongest woman I know. If anyone can do it, it is you. You have always been able to make it on your own."
"Well of course I am able to do it, but I don't want to." Suddenly, an idea dawned on her. "Take me with you, Ron. Bring me back with you!"
"Hemione, you know I can't do that. You edited a book on Happaritions, remember? You thought it was a load of hooey, but you still know it doesn't work that way."
"There must be some exception, Ron. I thought I died inside when my parents died, but I had no idea what real unhappiness was until I lost you. When they told me you had had a heart attack, I remembered thinking to myself, "Good. That's an easy fix. He will be fine." But you weren't. And I wasn't prepared for you to not be fine. I hadn't readied myself to handle it. And this is our day, Ron. I can't handle not being with you on our day."
"But I am with you."
"But you're going to leave soon," the tears began to flow, "and I can't even touch you."
"Not just today, Herms. I'm always with you. I may not always be near you, but I'm always thinking of you," he shot her a knowing glance.
She sniffled before the meaning of the words dawned on her. "That's what I told Natalie. You heard that?"
Ron nodded. "I'm always here, Hermione. I'm always watching out for you-- Natalie and the kids, too, but mainly for you. And I'm not leaving you on this holiday, which is why I hoped I'd see you at Nat's house. That way I could be with everyone at the same time. All laughing and being happy. Maybe mentioning me here and there," he added nonchalantly.
A ping sound was heard somewhere in the distance. It made Ron start. "That my sign, love. I have to be going."
"No...Ron..." She was crying harder now, silently, but harder.
"Be strong for me, okay? And be happy for you. I love you. I've always loved you, and I will always love you. And remember, you don't have to be physically touching me to feel me. My presence is always right here." He blew her a kiss, the only sign of affection he could give her.
"I love you, too." And then, he was gone. There was not a single piece of evidence that he had ever been to visit her, and she never told anyone about the visit. Most people did not believe in Happaritions. She had not believed in them either until that night.
After taking in what happened and drying her eyes, she called Natalie who sent Roger to pick her up. They had a wonderful Christmas Eve together, the whole family.
They spent seven wonderful Christmas Eves together before Hermione finally got to once again spend that special day with her one true love.
It was the merriest Christmas she had ever had.
AN: Review!