A/N - This is my final story of the year as sadly I haven't managed to finish any of my xmas stories yet, but hopefully they'll be ready for next year. I want to thank people for reading, reviewing and supporting my stories, not just this year but for the last 10 years I've been writing. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope to see you all again next year.


Harry Potter tried his hardest not to tug on the collar of his tuxedo and show how uncomfortable he was. After all, he was in a public place, at a very well attended charity dinner. The dinner was a twice-yearly event organised by a charity that helped those who had been badly affected by the war, almost a decade ago. One of the dinners was always held at Christmas time, and the place always looked like a winter wonderland, while the other dinner was held in the summer and was always bright and airy. Harry was currently attending the summer dinner, which was a tropical style theme, even though formal dress was still required.

The charity was the largest, and most successful one on wizarding Britain, partly because they went all out on their charity dinners, and partly because it cost a small fortune to attend one. Each ticket, which included dinner, was a couple of hundred galleons, and as always Harry had sprung for four tickets. As well as bringing alone his wife Ginny, who loved the dinners and revelled in spending time with the rich and famous, Harry also paid for his best friend, Ron Weasley to attend. That way he had someone to spend time with, someone who understood how taxing these evenings could be. The fourth ticket had originally been for his other best friend, Hermione Granger, who had attended the dinner with them for years, but when Ron reignited his romance with his former flame, Lavender Brown, Hermione insisted she bought her own ticket so that Ron could take Lavender. And of course Lavender loved the dinners as much as Ginny, and Harry knew the two witches always had the time of their lives at these events.

As for Hermione, she still attended the dinners, and often still sat with Harry, Ron and their partners. However, the last couple of dinners had been different as before last summers dinner she'd started dating their once enemy, Draco Malfoy. So for the last two dinners, she'd attended with Malfoy and sat with him, his parents and his friends. Although she did make sure to still spend some time with Harry and Ron, Harry couldn't help but feel as though things were different now.

"How I loathe these evenings," Ron muttered quietly, coming up beside Harry and handing him a drink.

"Me too," Harry confessed.

If he'd had his way he would have simply made a donation to the charity, and not attended the dinner. However, when the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had pulled some strings to let Harry and Ron into Auror training, he did so on the proviso that they used their status as war heroes to do some good in the wizarding community, and that included supporting charities, and being seen to do so. Given their fame, pictures of them always appeared in the press after one of these charity dinners, and it looked good for the Ministry to have two of their Aurors actively supporting such a worthwhile cause. Plus, Ginny loved things like these, and Harry always wanted to see the witch he loved happy.

"Have you seen Hermione yet?" Ron asked, looking around the room at the lavishly dressed witches and wizards.

"Not yet," Harry answered.

Both of them were eager to see Hermione as she'd been off work from the Ministry, where she worked as a lawyer, for almost two weeks now. It was unusual for Hermione to take time off work, even if she was sick, and both Harry and Ron were slightly worried about her. A few years ago they could recall her coming to work when she was loaded with a really bad cold, so they couldn't really think of anything that would be so bad she would need to take time off work.

"Look, there's Malfoy," Ron said, spotting the familiar figure of Draco Malfoy across the room. Truth be told it was hard to miss Malfoy with his distinctive platinum blond hair, the fact he was well over six foot tall, and usually had witches swooning over his good looks.

Even though neither of them could see Hermione, they still figured she would be with her boyfriend, so they made their way across the crowded room. However, as they neared Malfoy the could see the witch by his side was not Hermione. The witch standing beside him had poker straight raven black hair and was wearing a daring emerald green dress, which showed off plenty of her bare back and highlighted her ample bosom. Although the witch wasn't a stranger to Harry and Ron. They both knew exactly who she was.

"Potter. Weasley," the witch greeted, spotting them before Draco.

"Parkinson," Harry replied, trying not to stare at Pansy Parkinson's chest. Although it was hard to do as her dress drew your eyes to her bosom.

"Potter. Weasley," Draco greeted, spotting the two former Gryffindors.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron blurted, keeping his eyes averted from Pansy as Lavender would kill him if she spotted him admiring some other witches' assets.

"She's still sick," Draco answered.

"So you thought you would come out and leave her," Harry spat, not at all impressed by Draco's actions.

"Not that it is any of your business, but Hermione insisted I attend tonight," Draco replied. "She knows just how much business I can do on an evening such as this."

"And how do you explain Parkinson hanging on your arm?" Ron demanded.

"Hermione suggested it," Pansy said. "Draco had already paid for the tickets, and she thought it would be a shame for hers to go to waste."

"Yeah right, Hermione suggested you go out with her boyfriend," Ron scoffed.

"She thought it might help take my mind off things," Pansy spat. "She thought an evening out might provide me with a bit of respite."

Excusing herself, Pansy then turned on her heel and stalked away from the conversation.

"Nice one, Weasley," Draco drawled.

"I never thought," Ron muttered, feeling as though he'd put his foot in it.

Of course he could see why Hermione had suggested that Pansy take her place if she couldn't attend. Not only was Pansy one of Draco's oldest friends, but her life had been pretty traumatic of late. A year ago she'd lost her fiancée to an unprecedented potions accident, swiftly followed by a miscarriage of the child she'd been carrying at the time. And now her mother was seriously ill, and rumour had it, she only had months left to live.

"Tell Parkinson we're sorry," Harry said. "And give Hermione our love. Or will we see her soon? Will she be back at work next week?"

"I have no idea," Draco remarked with a shrug, his attention wandering from the duo in front of him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and find Pansy and check she's okay."

Without another word, Draco disappeared into he crowds, in the direction Pansy had gone, and Harry and Ron were left alone. Slightly unsettled by their conversation with Draco, the pair turned around to find Ginny and Lavender approaching them.

"Was that Malfoy I've just seen?" Ginny asked. "Was Hermione with him? Is she any better?"

"No, she wasn't with him, he was with Parkinson," Harry answered.

"Pansy Parkinson?" Lavender queried. "What was he doing with her?"

"Apparently Hermione wasn't well enough to attend, so she suggested he bring Parkinson as she's going through a lot right now," Ron answered.

"No way," Lavender said with a shake of her head. "I don't care what she's going through, no witch in their right mind would advocate their boyfriend going out with their ex. Even Hermione, who can be ridiculously soft."

"I have to agree with Lavender," Ginny said. "Hermione would not suggest Malfoy attends this evening's dinner with his ex-girlfriend."

"It does seem odd," Ron agreed. "What do you think, Harry?"

"I have no idea," Harry admitted. "Again, I was left thinking that Malfoy had lied to us. I suppose it could have been about Parkinson."

"What do you mean he's lied to you again?" Lavender asked with a frown.

"I went to see him earlier in the week when we realised Hermione was still off work," Harry explained. "He was pretty cagey at first, and it was only when I pushed him about what was wrong about Hermione that he said she had a sickness bug. But I didn't believe him. As an Auror I like to think I can tell when people were lying, and Malfoy was lying. Whatever is wrong with Hermione, it is not a sickness bug."

"Maybe they've split up," Ginny suggested. "Hermione wouldn't want to admit you were right all along. Neither you nor Ron believed it would work between her and Malfoy."

"We weren't the only ones," Ron pointed out. "Half the country is just waiting for the inevitable split."

"Maybe that's why she's in hiding," Lavender suggested. "Maybe she's not ready to admit she was wrong."

"I suppose it could be a possibility," Harry conceded. "But why delay the inevitable? If they have split up, what does keeping quiet about it achieve?"

"Especially when he's gallivanting with Parkinson," Ron added. "The papers are going to be full of rumours tomorrow."

"Maybe they are still together, and something else is going on," Ginny suggested. "Maybe she's hiding something she doesn't want anyone to see."

"Maybe she's got an embarrassing spot," Lavender suggested, just a hint of glee in her voice at the idea.

"Or she's hurt herself in some way," Ginny added.

"She's a witch, she can get rid of a spot in an instant," Harry reminded the two witches, pretty sure that at some point they would have encountered a spot problem and dealt with it swiftly.

"It's the same if she's injured in some way, magic could heal it," Ron pointed out.

"Maybe it's more to do with how she was injured," Lavender suggested slyly. "Maybe that's what she's hiding."

"Are you suggesting Malfoy has hurt her in some way?" Harry asked with a frown. It was true he didn't approve of Hermione's relationship with the former Slytherin, but he was fairly sure that he wasn't violent towards her.

"Maybe not intentionally, but we all know how volatile their relationship can be," Lavender said with a shrug.

"I suppose anything can happen in the heat of the moment," Ginny added. "And Lav is right, when they argue it can get fierce."

"I think we need to go and see Hermione for ourselves," Harry suggested to Ron, not sure what to believe.

"Yeah, we need to find out what is going on. As one thing is certain, she hasn't got a sickness bug," Ron said.

With the decision to visit Hermione made, the two couples drifted off to get more drinks, forgetting that these dinners were a hot bed of gossip and reporters often mingled with the guests, eager not to miss a scandal. And unluckily for them, a certain Rita Skeeter had been standing nearby as they'd been talking, and she was now abuzz with speculation as to why Hermione Granger had missed the charity dinner. Speculation she would delight in sharing with the readers of The Daily Prophet.


Sunday's edition of The Daily Prophet was often later in arriving to the homes of the witches and wizards who subscribed to the paper. Especially editions following a big event like the charity dinner the evening before, as the paper liked to give their reporters a chance to submit their reports directly after the event in the hopes that they would beat other publications to the best gossip.

Eager to see what she had missed, Hermione was the first to reach the paper as it arrived at the penthouse flat belonging to her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. Draco was actually still in bed, recovering after drinking a bit too much, but Hermione was up and about, feeling better than she had in days. However, she hadn't bothered to dress and was still in her pyjamas.

Making herself a cup of mint tea, which was helping with her nausea, Hermione curled up on the sofa to dive into the gossip. As always the event looked spectacular, both with the colourful décor and the elegant guests. Drinking in the pictures, Hermione smiled at the sight of her two best friends with their partners. It was also heartening to see a picture of Pansy looking to be having a good time, and she was pleased that she'd suggested that Draco take Pansy in her place. Although looking at the pictures, she couldn't help but wish she'd been there as she always enjoyed the charity dinners.

"Maybe next time," she mused, before a thought crossed her mind and she shook her head. "Or possibly not."

Refusing to dwell on the fact she might not make the next charity dinner either, Hermione settled down to read about the event. She wasn't really interested in the actual gossip as half of it was of no interest to her, but she always liked to say what the press had to say about the people she cared about. She was always especially keen to see what they had to say about Draco as at times some of the comments about him could be ridiculously harsh.

Reading through the various articles that accompanied the pictures, she was stunned when her name cropped up as she hadn't even been there. But it transpired that it was merely speculation surrounding her absence. At first Hermione thought it was just going to mention that she was unwell, but instead it wandered into pure fantasy territory and Hermione was shocked to read about supposed speculation that had been going on at the party. According to the article those closest to her were doubting the excuse that she was ill, and instead wondered if something more sinister was afoot. Hermione snorted at the idea of her and Draco breaking up in secret and not wanting to tell anyone, but she was horrified at the implications that she was injured, and that Draco was to blame. The article might not have said it outright, but it certainly implied that Draco had hurt her. And more so, it implied the rumours had started with her own friends.

Knowing that Draco had to know what was going on, Hermione jumped to her feet and took the paper into the bedroom. Once Draco was awake enough to read the reports, he was furious and hopped out of bed to yank on his clothes.

"This is not on," he stormed. "I am going to sue that damn paper. How dare they suggest I've hurt you."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, trailing after her boyfriend as he stomped from the bedroom.

"To see father, he will know how best to go about making The Prophet pay for spreading their lies," Draco replied.

However before Draco had a chance to even reach the fireplace, it lit up in green flames and Lucius Malfoy stepped into the room. Seconds later the fire lit up a second time, and this time Narcissa emerged from the flames.

"I take it you're here because of this," Draco said, waving The Daily Prophet in the air.

"Yes, we need to do something," Lucius said. "I will not allow them to malign my family in such a way."

"We need to sue," Draco said.

"Indeed we do," Lucius agreed. "I can speak to our family lawyer this afternoon. We won't be able to do anything until tomorrow, but we'll be ready to move first thing."

"Never mind that," Narcissa tutted, making her way over to Hermione. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty shocked," Hermione admitted. "I can't believe anyone would start a rumour like that. Let alone my friends."

"We will need to have serious words with them," Draco said. "What were they thinking? I'd spoken to Potter earlier in the week and told him you were sick, and I said the same last night."

"They clearly didn't believe you," Lucius said. "And now they've cast doubt on the matter, simply releasing a statement saying Hermione has been suffering from a sickness bug won't necessarily stop the rumours."

"I do know what will stop the rumours," Hermione said, catching Draco's eye. "We tell the truth."

"What truth?" Narcissa asked with a frown. "Were you not ill?"

"It's too soon, Hermione," Draco argued, ignoring his mother's question.

"I know it's not what we had planned, but I will not sit back and allow people to think you are hurting me. We tell the truth, and we do it now."

"And just what is the truth?" Lucius asked.

"I have been off work sick," Hermione said as Draco came to stand beside her. "But it wasn't a sickness bug. I've been suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, which is severe morning sickness."

"Morning sickness," Narcissa repeated breathlessly. "You're having a baby. Oh, that's wonderful news."

"Congratulations," Lucius said, shaking Draco's hand and giving Hermione a peck on the cheek as Narcissa hugged them both.

"It is still early days, earlier than we would like to be announcing it," Draco said. "But it seems we've been left with no choice. Hermione is right, this is the only way to clear my name."

"It's shocking that your name even needs clearing," Narcissa tutted.

"It is, but it's done now," Draco remarked with a shrug. "An explanation for Hermione's absence from the dinner and work, combined with the fact we're suing the Prophet should calm things down."

"I wouldn't count on it," Lucius snorted. "Taking legal action against The Prophet will be big news, but not as big as the fact you two are expecting a baby together. If anything, things are only going to get crazier around here."

"I could swing for Potter, Weasley and whoever else was gossiping about us," Draco muttered.

"You and me both," Hermione hissed. "I am going to give them both a piece of my mind. And I will get them to apologise to you, Draco. They had no right saying those things, even if they were just talking to each other."

"When are you going to see them? Do you want me to come with you?" Draco asked.

"I think I'm going to get dressed and go and see them now," Hermione said. "And you don't need to come, you go and get things sorted with Lucius. I'll be fine on my own."

"Are you sure?" Draco checked with a concerned frown.

"I am, today is a pretty good day," Hermione reassured him. "Besides, I won't be able to settle until I've spoken to them and put them straight on a few matters."


Harry was mortified when he saw Sunday's edition of The Daily Prophet. He couldn't believe they'd forgotten about the press and how they liked to lurk in the shadows to grab a good story. But more importantly, he couldn't believe that something he was now sure was wrong had become public. The more he'd thought about it the more he was convinced that Malfoy would never hurt Hermione. He may not have approved of their relationship, and he worried that Hermione would end up with a broken heart, but he just didn't believe Malfoy was the sort to hit a woman.

Ginny was just as horrified at the article as Harry was, as were Ron and Lavender. Even though they all agreed Malfoy had been hiding something, they felt terrible that their idle speculation had made the papers. Especially speculation that could hurt someone's reputation, and as much as none of them liked Malfoy, they didn't want him to be falsely accused.

"Do you think we should go and see Hermione and Malfoy?" Ginny suggested.

"We're due at The Burrow for lunch," Harry reminded his wife.

"That will be fun," Ron grouched.

The rest of the family were also wary of Hermione's relationship with Malfoy, but since Hermione had made it clear she wouldn't stand for anyone badmouthing her boyfriend, the family had all learnt to hold their tongues. In fact in recent months George seemed to have struck up a friendship with Malfoy and he and his wife, Angelina, often spent time with Hermione and her boyfriend.

As expected the family were not impressed by the rumours Harry, Ron, Ginny and Lavender had inadvertently started. George was especially adamant that Malfoy would never hurt Hermione, and he was not impressed that their recklessness could have created a scandal. The family all decided that Hermione deserved an apology, and just as the foursome had agreed to go and see her after lunch, Hermione herself appeared at the kitchen door.

"Come in dear," Molly Weasley called, ushering Hermione inside. "Are you alright, you look very pale?"

"It takes it out of you being sick," Hermione replied with a small smile.

"Sick?" Ron squeaked. "You have really had a sickness bug, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't," Hermione admitted, surprising everyone in the room.

"So I was right, Malfoy was lying," Harry crowed.

"And that warrants spreading vile lies about him?" Hermione demanded.

"We never meant for it to turn out like this, Hermione," Harry admitted with a wince. "We were just trying to work out what was going on. Why was Malfoy lying to us?"

"We can deal with that in a minute, first of all, I want to know just what you were thinking," Hermione hissed. "That wasn't your first dinner. You know how the press like to lurk to find juicy gossip."

"We weren't thinking," Ron muttered defensively. "We were just worried about you."

"And you really thought Draco had hurt me?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious as to what her friends had been thinking. She knew they had their issues with her choice of boyfriend, but she also thought they cared for her enough to respect her choices.

"No," Harry answered with a shake of his head. "It all just got out of hand. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't think Malfoy would hurt you."

"Nor do I," Ron admitted.

"I guess I don't either," Ginny added as all attention turned to Lavender, who had been the first to raise the idea.

"I don't really think he would hurt you," Lavender finally admitted. "I just pointed out how fiery your relationship can be."

"We argue, but so does every couple," Hermione argued. "When has Draco ever given you reason to think he would hurt me? Even back in school when we didn't like each other, the worst it would get was insults."

"He did tend to be all mouth and no action," Harry mused.

"Unless you would rather we ended our friendship here and now, you owe Draco an apology," Hermione said, growing tired of going around in circles. It was clear her friends had spoken without thinking, and aside from Lavender, they all seemed pretty convincing in their protests that they'd made a mistake and didn't believe Draco was violent.

"You're right, we'll apologise," Harry said.

"But can we also get an explanation?" Ron asked. "You've admitted Malfoy lied about you being sick. So why have you really been off work?"

"I have been sick, but it wasn't a sickness bug," Hermione replied. "I've been suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum."

"What now?" Ron questioned with a frown. "Is it a muggle disease?"

"No, it's the medical term for severe morning sickness," Hermione answered.

"Hermione, that is wonderful news," Molly squealed, pulling Hermione into a hug.

"Morning sickness?" Ron repeated. "Does that mean you're pregnant?"

"Yes," Hermione confirmed.

"And you didn't tell us?" Ron pouted.

"Of course I was going to tell you," Hermione retorted. "But it's still early days, and we wanted to wait before telling people."

"Quite right," Molly agreed with a wise nod. "The early days of pregnancy can be quite treacherous. It's common for people to wait until the first trimester is over before telling people."

"A choice we no longer have," Hermione said with a tut. "Thanks to today's newspaper report, we will have to announce my pregnancy to explain my absence from the party."

"Can't you just stick to saying you were sick?" Harry asked. "After all, it's not a lie. You have been sick."

"I have," Hermione confirmed with a nod of her head. "But because you lot questioned that in public, no-one is going to believe it. Now everyone thinks something else is going on."

"Sorry Hermione," Harry sighed.

"Can we do anything to help?" Ron asked.

"No, you've already done enough," Hermione replied. "Draco and I will announce my pregnancy next week. Now all you need to do is decide if we're still going to be friends."

"Of course we're still friends, unless you don't want to be friends with us," Harry said. "And I suppose given what's happened, we would have to understand if you wanted to walk away."

"I don't want to do that, we've been friends too long to throw it away," Hermione said. "But I do have some provisos. As I mentioned earlier, you have to apologise to Draco. You also have to stop all this animosity towards Draco. I know you've always been unsure of our relationship, and I appreciate your concern, but it has to stop. I love Draco, and he loves me. We're having a baby together. You need to accept it, and accept Draco in my life, or I can't see how we can continue to be friends."

"We can accept it," Harry assured her, not even going to think about letting Hermione leave his life. "And we will make an effort with Malfoy, won't we, Ron?"

"We will," Ron agreed. "And congratulations on the baby, Hermione. You'll be a brilliant mother."

"You really will be," Harry added with a grin.

"And we will be the perfect friends from this point onwards," Ron vowed.

"I'd like that," Hermione said as she gave both Harry and Ron a hug. She was still annoyed at their thoughtlessness, but at least now she knew they hadn't been malicious. They'd just been a bit careless, and she trusted them to put their mistake right.


Within a week of The Daily Prophet publishing their report on the charity dinner, including the scandalous rumours about Hermione's absence from the event, the true story had emerged. Not only had Draco and Hermione announced the reason for her recent time away work, and why she'd missed the charity event, but Lucius and Draco had launched legal proceedings against The Daily Prophet. Harry and Ron had even spoken to the press, apologising for their part in the rumours and making it clear that they fully supported Draco and Hermione and would be there for them in the coming months. They also made a personal apology to Draco.

"I have to admit, this is taking some getting used to," Draco whispered to Hermione as they enjoyed a garden party at Harry and Ginny's house.

The garden party was actually in honour of Hermione's pregnancy, and it was a chance for Hermione's friends to prove that they were accepting of Draco as part of Hermione's life.

"Yeah, Harry and Ron have been on their best behaviour," Hermione chuckled. "I think they are genuinely sorry about what happened."

"I think so too," Draco agreed. "Although as crazy as it sounds, and as much as I was not impressed with what happened, it could have been just what was needed to sort things out between us. I often wondered if they ever would have accepted me without all this drama."

"I'm sure the baby would have helped," Hermione said with a smile. "They're both so excited at the thought."

"Yeah, even if it is my baby," Draco laughed. "I think they're going to be doting uncles."

"You would allow our child to call them uncle?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"As if I could stop them," Draco snorted. "They're your best friends, so they're bound to be honorary uncles. Besides, neither of us have any actual siblings, so it makes sense our closest friends are like a surrogate family for the baby."

"I'm sure the baby will have an Uncle Blaise and an Aunt Pansy as well," Hermione remarked, referring to Draco's two closest friends, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.

"As long as they're loved," Draco said.

"They will be," Hermione replied with a smile as she snuggled into Draco to enjoy the rest of their afternoon.

Despite the rumours that had forced them to admit their pregnancy early, the end result had been worth it. Peace had broken out between Draco and her friends, and she had every hope that a new dawn had arrived. Her friends finally seemed to have accepted Draco as part of her life, and with a baby whom everyone was so excited about on the way, things couldn't be any more perfect.

The End.