Chapter 35: Happy Christmas
Harry was up early and sitting in the drawing room waiting for everyone to join him. Winky had laid out a spread of breakfast finger foods for them to munch on while opening presents. Ginny was the first to join him and she smiled when she saw she would have a chance to wish him happy Christmas without everyone else around. "Good morning my love and happy Christmas," she told him wrapping her arms around him and kissing him deeply.
"Just having you here with me Gin is enough to make this a very merry Christmas," he told her as she curled up on his lap in the oversized chair next to the fire. They were still in their pajamas as was their tradition for opening gifts. The rest of her siblings and friends joined them soon afterwards also decked out in their pajamas.
"Those are great pajamas Hermione are they new?" Ginny asked not remembering them.
"Yes, my mum gave them to me last night. We have a tradition to open once present each on the stroke of midnight." She told them showing off her gold pajamas with cream colored embroidery on the cuffs and collar. She also had fuzzy/shaggy cream slippers and cream satin robe. "These are the most comfortable pajamas I've ever had."
"They look amazing on you," Charlie told her from the doorway as she spun around to show them off. The outfit accentuated her curves giving her a very feminine look without exposing any skin. Leave it to her to look even beautiful in long pajamas. He was having a very difficult time letting go of his attraction to her. He knew he needed to move on but every time he looked at her he forgot why he was trying.
"Thank you Charlie and Merry Christmas," she said giving him a hug before heading over to a couch against the wall to wait for the rest of her family. Soon her parents and grandparents arrived and sat on the couch with her at their feet.
"Thank you for letting us join you for this Mr. Potter," her grandfather said to Harry.
"My pleasure sir and please call me Harry. Hermione is like a sister to me and it feels strange to have her family address me so formally." He told them with a smile.
"Then please call me Edison or Ed if you prefer," he told him. "And this is my wife Emily and our son Phillip."
"Please call me Pip," Mr. Granger said with a smile. "And this is Tori. No point in formality when we're all living under one roof." He ruffled Hermione's hair affectionately. "Did I mention how much I like your hair sweet pea?" He asked her as they waited for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the Longbottoms to arrive.
They were going to wait until then to introduce the Grangers to everyone. Molly and Arthur arrived and shooed Ron and Susan out of their spot on the couch making the kids take the floor. Alice, Frank and Neville were next and Hermione heard her nana inhale sharply. When old Mrs. Longbottm walked into the room her grandmother gasped and covered her mouth. The whole room looked to her to see her crying she stood shakily and made her way over to Mrs. Longbottom who was staring at her in shock. "Lexie?" Nana asked her and the other lady rushed towards her with a shout of "Millie!" and embraced her in a tight hug.
Everyone in the room (other than Edison) was staring at the two women in confusion. How did the muggle grandmother of Hermione Granger ever meet the stoic old Mrs. Longbottom? The most surprising element was the large smile on old Mrs. Longbottom's usually passive face.
"Gran?" and "Nana?" Hermione and Neville asked at the same time curious of their relationship.
"Oh, silly me," Emily said with a smile. "Alexandria and I met up years ago."
"I was doing some work in muggle London and met her at a little bookshop that I stopped into to get out of the afternoon rush. We became quick friends after that," Alexandria said. "I haven't seen you in what, 20 years?"
"It seems like a lifetime ago," Emily said and they embraced again.
"Eddie it's great to see you again," Lexie said and gave him a hug and then moving on to Pip and Tori. "You two have changed a lot since your wedding," she told them with a soft smile. She then clutched Hermione to her as well. "You've taken great care of your family dear girl. I am so glad you were there to protect them."
"I am as well Mrs. Longbottom," Hermione said still trying to process that the dowager witch was friends with her muggle grandmother.
"Call me Lexie dear one," she said with a smile.
"Did you know that Hermione was Emily's granddaughter?" Neville asked his gran. He found it very hard to believe that his uber-pureblood grandmother would associate with a muggle. In fact he was not the only one in the room thinking those thoughts, Severus, Albus, Draco and Ginny were all contemplating the strangeness.
"No I didn't realize," she told him with a smile and they settled down to open presents.
They did the family gifts first and of course everyone got a Weasley sweater, even Hermione's family. Fred and George also made sure all their friends were well stocked up on their tricks for when they got back to school. "Time for Secret Santa presents now!" Harry called out happily. He was wearing a red Weasley sweater and had a Santa hat on. "I have a basket with everyone's name in it and when I draw that person's name their secret Santa will hand them their present. This way we can see what they got as well as who their other gifts were from!"
Arthur was drawn first and Albus handed him an extravagantly wrapped gift. Inside was a muggle cellular telephone with pre-paid calling minutes so he didn't have to try and get a contract that would confuse him in the long run. He was overly excited and rushed over to Hermione's parents so they could explain it to him while the others opened their gifts.
Charlie was the next name drawn and Remus pulled/dragged over what looked like a large empty dog bed. It was a wicker basket bed with a red and gold tufted pillow. Charlie looked at him curiously until Remus smiled and removed the disillusionment charm and they could all see the puppy that was pacing the basket. Remus then grinned and removed the silencing charm and they could hear the poor thing whimpering because everyone was ignoring him. "He's a Tibetan Mastiff." Remus told Charlie. "I thought he might keep you company when you have to go into the forest." The large puppy was mostly black with honey brown undertones.
"He's great!" Charlie said excitedly and reached down to pick up his new puppy.
"Every good Care of Magical Creatures teacher needs a faithful guard dog," Albus said as he went over and patted the puppy's head. "Now he just needs a good name."
"I think I'll call him Isha, it's an Indian name meaning protector." Charlie told them and everyone agreed it was a good name for the pup. "So Isha, think you and I can get along?" The pup barked and licked his face and they all laughed. He then curled up on Charlie's lap and fell fast asleep.
Dennis received a beautifully carved dark oak easel from Neville. Neville got a painting of his parents and he with a photo album started with photos of them together for him to continue to fill. The painting was framed in a carved wood fame, all from Ginny. She got two new charms for her bracelet from Professor Flitwick. One was the letter G that had a tracking charm embedded in it and the other was a dog charm, shaped like Sirius' anamagi form, which was a port key that would bring her to Headquarters, the activation word was to hold the dog and say Padfoot.
Justin got a leather jacket from Fleur while Luna got the new cloak she wanted from George. It was royal blue silk with gold clasps, very classy but still odd enough to suit Luna perfectly. Gabrielle received a white silk and satin king size bedding set with sheets, hangings and down comforter from Katie. She laughed at the older girl's antics to have her all decked out and ready for her wedding night. Colin was very happy with the new camera Angelina gave him and surprised everyone, including him, when he hugged her.
Hermione beamed at Harry when he showed her the carved cherry wood bookcases he had got her to compliment the furniture in her bedroom. Hermione smiled and walked over to Severus with his gift. He carefully opened the wrapping to see the very book he had been trying to find. It was in mint condition, better even than his last one. "It's perfect," he said smiling and kissing the back of her hand.
Susan was next and Ron was visibly nervous. He knew the ring was perfect, just like Harry had said it would be. He turned toward her and she grinned realizing all the beautiful pearls were from him. He shifted in front of her onto one knee and her eyes became huge and all talking in the room ended so they could witness a proposal for the second Christmas in a row.
"Susan I love you more than I thought was possible. You make me the happiest man in the world and I can't imagine ever being apart from you. Will you marry me?" Ron asked as he took the ring out of his pocket and held it before her.
She was stunned into silence with happy tears trailing down her cheeks. The ring was exactly what she would have chosen. "I love you so much Ronald Weasley, of course I'll marry you." She said and he slipped the ring on her finger to applause and cheers from the room. Neither of them even realized they were not the only ones in the room as they kissed.
After everyone had calmed down Draco presented Ron with the final present. It was a plain parchment envelope and inside was a voucher to one of the premier vacation spots in Paris for a two week long, all inclusive, honeymoon vacation package. Ron was stunned into silence at the thoughtfulness of the gift and he did something very out of character and hugged Malfoy. "Thank you, this will be perfect. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to afford a proper honeymoon." Draco nodded and winked at Susan before sitting back down next to Gabrielle.
"This is a cause for celebration," Arthur said standing. "I wish my best to my youngest son and soon to be daughter-in-law, congratulations and welcome to the family." Molly was still crying with joy but she managed to hug the life out of both of them. The rest of the family offered their congratulations followed by the rest of the room.
Severus waited until everyone was engaged in conversations before handing Hermione a gift wrapped in simple silver wrapping. She smiled up at him in surprise and carefully peeled back the paper. Inside was the book she had wanted since the end of her first year, a first edition Hogwarts: A History. The book was over 850 years old and it still looked new. She knew how hard it was to find since it wasn't a highly published volume. She set it reverently beside her with tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. How could she possibly tell him what a perfect present it was for her. This was the very first book she read in the magical world and it gave her comfort and calmed her whenever she needed it. "Thank you, this means more than you know." She said and kissed his cheek, lingering slightly longer than necessary.
Hermione's parents watched carefully as Severus handed her the gift and could see by the look on her face that it was something very special. When she hugged and kissed him in thanks they shared a look and headed over towards their daughter.
Hermione saw her parents approaching at the same time as Harry and Ginny, who had also witnessed the exchange. She smiled at them all, still with tears in her eyes, and held the book lovingly to her chest. "Look," she said showing them the cover so they could see the title.
They all grinned and Harry laughed, "That's our Hermione, barely bats an eyelash when being attacked by death eaters or dementors but is brought to the brink of tears by a book."
"Not just any book Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "This is a first edition Hogwarts: A History!" She delicately fingered the spine as she carefully opened it.
"You've been after that book for years, what's so special about having the first edition?" Ginny asked her friend curiously.
"Ah, the first edition is the only book charmed to automatically update itself with new information," Severus told them. "This book was published almost 900 years ago and not only contains information that has been lost in recent publications but interesting tidbits about all the years since then."
"How often does it update?" Harry asked now actually interested in the book Hermione had been trying to get him to read for years.
"Whenever it feels something significant enough has occurred to document," Hermione told them with a wide smile as she opened the book to the end. She scanned the pages for a moment before smiling. "Here is where it mentions that Harry is the youngest player for a house team in 127 years and the youngest seeker in 209 years. It also seems to mention some of our more illustrious adventures."
"What adventures would those be darling?" Her mother asked as Hermione had so graciously skimmed over them so as to not arouse their fears.
Severus was reading over her shoulder and smiled at them. "It mentions their trek to save the Philosopher's stone. Here it mentions the names of the students petrified by the Basilisk and how Harry killed it. I see it is respectful enough not to mention your part in that saga Ginny."
"It gives lots of details about the tri-wizard tournament including a description of what you and I and the other champions and their dates wore." Hermione told Harry, "There is mention of the insane educational decrees from 5th year and the forming of the DA. They also mention the attack on Hogsmead and list all of us who protected the students." She flipped earlier back into the book and laughed. "There is an entire chapter on pranks at Hogwarts from early students to the Marauders to Fred and George and finally on to us."
"What does it say about us?" Fred and George asked and she noticed her book had captured the attention of the entire room.
"I says you are the only two students who ever got Peeves to help them," she told them laughing. She then looked at Minerva with a mischievous grin. "Did you really use a permanent sticking charm on the Slytherins to attach them to their house table when you were in school?" They all laughed at the guilty yet satisfied look on her face.
"Does it say what the best prank ever done to Slytherin was?" Ron asked.
She spent a few moments looking through the pages and gasped as she found the answer and looked at Albus. "In 1857 the Slytherin common room and dormitories were warded water tight and then the lake was rerouted to flood the entire space. The door was charmed invisible and the common room looked like a fish bowl for over a week before the teaching staff could right the situation."
"That is awesome, can you imagine the looks on their faces when they saw their common room was basically under the lake!" Ron said with a grin. They were all, other than Hermione, surprised to hear Albus give out a loud belly laugh and dab at his eyes in mirth.
"The book states that the staff never caught the perpetrator, a very intelligent 7th year Gryffindor student, Albus Dumbledore." She said and the twins bowed in reverence of their former headmaster and the rest of the room chuckled and realized why he had laughed at the memory.
Everyone went back to talking and having a good time together as Hermione settled in to read even more obscure facts about her school. Severus was still sitting next to her and reading a few of the passages. He had been shocked when he noticed the book in the back of a shop in Knockturn Alley two months ago. He had spent over 20 hours making sure the book was curse free before felling confidant enough to give it to Hermione.
"Come on Hermione, we're going to play a pick up game of Quidditch in the back yard." Charlie said hoping to entice her out of her seat on the couch next to Snape. They looked entirely too comfortable together. He wanted her to be that at ease with him. They were reading the book and she would read interesting things out loud to him, it was way too domestic for him to feel comfortable. He wanted Hermione to watch him play, he may not be as good as Harry but he could still move.
"Have a good time," she absently said to him, still focused on her book.
"There is no use trying to get her off that couch until she is ready to part from her new treasure." Tori Granger told him with a smile, "She wouldn't even notice if Death Eaters invaded at the moment. Reading is her passion and that is her favorite book. You'd sooner be able to get your headmaster on a sugar free diet than her off that couch before she has read everything she wants to today."
Charlie nodded and headed out with the rest of them. Molly Weasley came up to Tori. "I do wish he would realize that there's no hope between them. I hate to see him keep pursuing her when he needs to find the right woman for him. As much as I would love to have Hermione as a daughter-in-law I knew from the start that she wasn't destined for any of my boys."
"Her problem is that she doesn't want to hurt him," Tori told her. "She told me that she has tried subtle and not so subtle hints and he still holds a torch for her."
"I have no way of introducing him to any nice girls either while he's at Hogwarts all year or before that he was in Romania." Molly said and the two women sat together on the couch watching their husbands talk.
"It's nice to be here with everyone, we always felt so left out of Hermione's life before." Tori told her with a sad smile. "It has a very comfortable and relaxed atmosphere here."
Emily Granger was sitting in Alexandria Longbottom's sitting room. "I was so confused when Hermione and Severus showed up in my living room. I thought for sure the charm had failed. What were the odds that she would have brought a Snape with her to save us?"
"I hear they have gotten to be close friends. She has even helped him develop a potion that blocks the Imperious curse and they are developing a cure for Crucio," Lexie told her friend. "I heard she kissed him on several occasions."
"Really?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. "When did this happen and what was his response?"
"Well from the conversations I've overheard he followed the kids out to a club using a glamour and she had a few drinks and ended up dancing with him and kissing him goodnight. She then invited him to her birthday party where she kissed him again. Supposedly the boy with the camera has a photo of that one. They have also kissed during this game they all play, it's a wizard variant of muggle truth or dare." Lexie said.
"Things may work out then," Emily said with a far off look. "Either way she will learn the truth when she finishes school. My son wishes to keep it from her until she has completed her university schooling as well but I don't think we can wait that long."
They were quiet for a while until Lexie said with a sigh, "I miss her. It helps now that you're near, but for so long I was alone. Frank and Alice were incapacitated for so many years and the only company I had was Neville and Alice's family. I debated finding you when Anastasia died but knew it would have been too risky"
"I hate to say that we were out of contact completely for almost 13 years until Hermione started school. We had to keep the pretext of not knowing she was a witch so could still only get information from Pip and Tori. I had her pick up a Who's Who to find out where all out where everyone went. I cried for a week when I found out about Stasi's death and about what happened to Frank. The only thing that brings me comfort is that you never ended the charm when everyone suspected that lunatic was dead."
"Frank and Alice decided to check into the death in more detail and told me that Albus suspected that he wasn't really dead. I decided it wasn't worth your lives until I was sure." The two friends spent the rest of the morning catching up.