A pounding on the door to the study broke Hermione's train of thought. While it hadn't been going anywhere in particular, she still grumbled about distractions and interpretations as she made her way to the door. The door was barely cracked when Harry broke open a Christmas cracker that sent a stream of confetti into the air.

"Happy Christmas!" he shouted gleefully.

As much as she tried, Hermione couldn't help the soft chuckle while she shook her head at him. At Hogwarts, Christmas had always been a double-edged sword for him, a reminder of the things he lost, but also a time to celebrate the family he had found. The past four Christmases during and after the war had been more difficult. Each missing piece was glaringly obvious and a sore spot every holiday. But Harry was determined to celebrate to the fullest this year. With Hermione back in his life, it felt like an occasion worth celebrating.

Hermione smiled softly at him and wished him a happy Christmas as well. The holiday wasn't quite as enthralling for her, but his joy was infectious. She allowed him to place a paper crown on her head and laughed when she heard the Christmas music echoing down the halls. He attempted to pull her with him back to the living room, but she grabbed the door frame, halting them.

"What are you doing?"

He spun back towards her, mirth still sparking in his eyes. "What's it look like? We're celebrating Christmas!"

"Harry, I have things I need to-"

"Not today you don't." Harry stepped closer to her and brushed a piece of confetti out of her hair. "Christmas is for joy and family, not all of this. So we're gonna eat pancakes and drink cocoa, decorate the tree I just conjured, and probably watch bad telly Christmas movies. A proper Christmas. I'm guessing you haven't had one in a while."

It was certainly true. The last three Christmases she had spent in the New Order, where holidays were just another day of training, of work, of captivity. The year prior involved being wanted fugitives and the harsh reality of war with the two of them on their own, much like this Christmas. But Hermione was painfully aware that the New Order didn't take days off, which meant she couldn't either.

"Harry, maybe you should be at the Weasleys'. Not here."

"No, I think I'm precisely where I ought to be." His eyes bore heavily into hers, determined to get his way. He would not lose this battle. When he pulled her away from the study again, she didn't resist, and it was all the encouragement he needed. "Come on!"

Harry practically ran down the halls, dragging Hermione behind him and laughing as they stumbled into the living room and fell into a heap on the couch. The entire room twinkled with soft fairy lights. In the bay window, a large pine tree sat with several boxes around it labeled "decorations". Garland hung from the mantle, and a roaring fire filled the space with a bright, warm glow. The rich scents of ginger and nutmeg diffused through the house as cookies baked in the oven. On the coffee table, a spread of pancakes, fruit, and a carafe of coffee sat out ready to be devoured. He had even turned the television to a random channel playing Christmas movies.

"How early were you up? You weren't kidding about a proper Christmas," she chuckled and popped a slice of strawberry in her mouth, toeing the box of decorations. "No way you conjured all of this."

"Might have nicked some abandoned decorations from the attic," he explained, helping himself to the stack of pancakes. "This place seems like someone just up and walked out one day. It's kinda eerie as well kept as it is."

"Well, that's because they did." Harry paled, thinking of what that implied, nearly dropping the plate of pancakes. "Not because of me!" she quickly amended. "The owner died, and the family can't be here for another month to clean the place out."

"They didn't die in the house, did they?" The feast in front of him no longer seemed as appealing as it had moments before.

"Would it matter?"

"I swear to Merlin, Hermione Granger, if I'm sleeping in the bed someone died in-"

"You're not," she said casually, hiding behind her coffee mug. If she were completely honest, she didn't actually know, only that the house had been listed in the classified section of the papers.

Deciding ignorance may be actual bliss in this situation, Harry dropped the conversation, content to attack another pancake as she plated her own. They ate in silence, watching the Christmas film. Occasionally, she stole glances at her friend, mesmerized by the lights twinkling off his glasses. He hummed happily along to the carol that played from the television set, and a comfortable peace settled over her as she watched him. There was something soothing about his familiar presence, something she was beginning to realize she had sorely missed for four years.

As the channel shifted to a commercial break, Harry stiffened, his eyes focusing on a place that wasn't present in the moment. Something else clearly occupied his mind. She nudged his leg with her foot until his gaze pulled to her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

His gaze drifted back to the television as the commercial switched again. "Just Allie."

"Girlfriend, I presume?"

"What? No, no," he laughed. "My niece. Well, sort of. I suppose she's technically my cousin once removed or something?" She shot him a perplexed look, wanting for more of an answer than niece, but not really . "Dudley's daughter."

It took all her self-control not to burst into fits of laughter. "Dudikins has a child?"

"Yeah." Harry grinned to himself a moment before turning on the couch to face her. His eyes sparked with a happiness Hermione hadn't seen in ages. "Sweet little girl. Sweeter than you'd have ever guessed being half Dursley. She calls me Unce 'Arry. He and the mum aren't together anymore but they get along for her sake. Split custody and all that. The girl in the ad just reminded me of her. I usually send at least a card and a present to her for the holidays and her birthday. Call if I can."

Guilt pooled deep in her chest, making it ache. Another piece of his life she was taking him away from. Her imagination played another Christmas, one that would have been without her. One where Harry called his niece on Christmas morning, chatting excitedly with her about the toys Santa brought her. A traditional family dinner at the Weasleys', perhaps Teddy and Andromeda if he was still in touch with them. A proper family Christmas. Like the ones he lost for all those years. Like the one he deserved to have every year. Like the one she was stealing from him sitting in the house of a dead man on the run from-

"Hermione," he called, laying a hand on her knee.

"So you and Dudley keep in touch now?" she blurted in an attempt to redirect the conversation from her guilt. Conversing with Dudley seemed like a safe option. And the idea was truly ludicrous: Harry and Dudley carrying on well enough for Harry to be considered Uncle. It was something she never imagined would be reality. But she had been away for four years. A lot could change in four years, and a lot apparently had if Harry was willing to even have a conversation with Dudley Dursley, let alone keep regular contact with him.

"Yeah. Once he got to university, which I still can't believe he got in," Harry chuckled as the memory resurfaced, "he actually went and bought an owl to try and send a letter. Didn't work out well apparently."

They shared a smile at the idea of Dudley trying to get a Muggle owl to take a letter. Hermione remembered a similar incident with her own parents the first time they attempted to send her a letter at Hogwarts.

"Ended up running into each other," Harry explained, settling into a more comfortable position on the couch. "And we actually had a really good talk. I mean, it's not like we'll ever have holidays together or anything, but we don't completely hate each other anymore. He sends me photos of Allie, and I got to meet her a few times."

"Sounds like he grew up."

"Yeah. You told me six years ago Dudley and I would be friendly and he'd have a child, I'd have thought there was a better chance of the Pride of Portree winning the World Cup in '01."

"People can change. Some for the better." What she did not say lay thick between them. Some for the worse . Just as she opened her mouth to say something, likely an apology or another plea to not ruin his Christmas, the timer in the kitchen rang out and distracted Harry. He shot her a smile and pressed a hand to her knee.

"Cookies are done!"

Before she could respond, Harry bounded to the kitchen with all the energy of a toddler on a sugar high, leaving Hermione no choice but to follow. She rolled her eyes at seeing him eating several gingerbread men despite it being only nine in the morning and laughed as he huffed to keep his mouth from burning on the hot cookies.

"I wanted to decorate them," he told her through a mouth full of gingerbread, "but there's no powdered sugar, so no icing. I can say with certainty, though, that they are delicious."

She snapped the leg off one and popped it thoughtfully into her mouth. The rich flavors flooded her senses. They were quite delicious. "And you learned how to make cookies and icing when?"

"Few years ago," he explained, waving another cookie as he spoke. "Teddy and I started decorating gingerbread houses. He loves making everything himself. Usually, because it results in a huge mess that I have to clean up."

Her eyes fell to the floor. The guilt roared back to life, tightening in her chest as the sweets churned uncomfortably in her stomach, making her nauseous.

"Harry, you-"

"Don't." He grabbed her by the shoulders, making her look back up at him, into his sincere eyes. "Stop apologizing and trying to make me leave or I'll hex you into next year. I chose this. Choose you, okay? You don't get to feel guilty for that. 'Specially not on Christmas."

Regardless, the knot in her chest tightened, but she bit back the apology and tired tirade attempting to push him away. But something else stirred in her, a feeling she hadn't allowed in several years, a hope that came with him choosing her. It had been a long time since anyone chose her. With a tight smile, she snatched another cookie and wandered back into the living room, away from the emotions that Harry always seemed capable of pulling back to the surface.

Exasperated, Harry decided it was time to play his last holiday spirit card: actual spirits. Despite the early hour, he poured a heavy hand of cinnamon whiskey into each of their mugs of eggnog. It was Christmas after all, and he had every intention of making Hermione actually relax. When he returned to the living room, he was surprised to find her with the tree lights already unpacked. For a moment, he simply watched as she pulled on a tangled light, happy to see a smile softening her features. The hard crease in her brow had eased, and her eyes seemed warmer when they met his. He stood for a moment longer, admiring the way the lights brightened her face and played through the ringlets of her hair.

"You plan to help or just stand there?" she shot off, raising the bundle of lights in her arms.

With a chuckle, he set their mugs on the table, casting a quick ever-warming charm on them, and joined her in wrapping the tree in colorful lights. By unspoken agreement, the box of ornaments laid untouched in a corner, feeling far too personal to be hung by strangers. Opening music Harry would know anywhere played from the television, distracting him from the tinsel they were hanging on the tree.

"Oh, we have to sit and watch this one! You're gonna love it! It's my favorite Christmas movie. Didn't you say Toy Story was one of your favorite movies?"

The rush of words barely registered with her as he threw himself onto the couch. Hermione blinked in surprise and stepped around the tree to peek at the opening credits of a film she didn't recognize.

"You remember that?" she asked a bit incredulously.

"Yeah! And the guy that does the Buzz voice is the Santa in this one!"

"When did you become such a movie buff?" She chuckled at his enthusiasm, remembering the young boy that had barely seen a cartoon.

"Couple months after I started uni. Decided I could try that list you made me back at Hogwarts. And you were absolutely right; Star Wars was definitely my favorite."

With the tree practically finished, she joined him and curled up in a corner of the couch. Habitually, she pulled her feet up, tucking her toes under his leg and shaking the blanket out for the both of them. It almost felt like home. He gave her a mug of still-steaming eggnog, the cinnamon whiskey burning her nose as she inhaled the spice.

"Where did you find eggnog?"

"The fridge, if you'd believe it. Just before its expiration date, lucky for us."

She hummed in acknowledgment and leaned her head against the cushion, eyes settling easily on the television again. For a brief moment, a flash of the Burrow crossed his mind, decorated in warm floating lights and bright baubles. The faint smell of roasted turkey filled his nose despite the frozen pizza Hermione had put in the oven earlier. He could hear the worry in Molly Weasley's voice as she paced the kitchen when he was inevitably late for dinner. Arthur would do his best to calm and refocus her with the grandchildren. The disappointment he was sure would be on Teddy's face and how sad Allie would be to not hear from him. He hated to worry all of them like that, but as Hermione's subdued laughter sounded over the film, Harry knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be. His hand closed around her ankle where her feet stretched out against his leg. He'd ask for forgiveness later. That Christmas, he needed to be with Hermione.

For just a day, she let herself forget and fall back five years to the last normal Christmas they'd had. She wasn't sure if it was the warm fire, the whiskey burning in her belly, or the familiar hand wrapped around her ankle, but for the first time in four years, Hermione allowed herself to relax, sinking her full weight into the couch. It wasn't long before they both fell asleep to the sounds of Christmas carols and distant church bells.

A/N: As always, a huge thank you to everyone for the love and support, and a big shout out to possumwrites, a_bookish_ever_after, and svalewayland for beta reading! I am also so sorry for not updating on time! I completely forgot to post on FFN after posting on AO3.