Eggnogs and Fruitcake
By: tweety-src-clt9
CHAPTER ONE – When Harry Met Hermione
24th December 1985
Lily Marie Potter, head of marketing for the Potter Group of companies, had a contented look on her face as she glanced around the ballroom. She just couldn't believe that after all the trials their family had faced, they were all still alive. They survived, surrounded by the few people they actually trusted.
Looking back to what happened four years ago, she considered it a miracle that she was still here, with the two most important people in her life, her husband, James, and their little boy, Harry.
When a waiter passed by carrying a tray filled with eggnogs and wine, she opted for the latter as she nodded her thanks. She was observing her husband, talking to his dearest friends and business partners, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. These silly men branded themselves as the Marauders during their boarding school days at Hogwarts. After all these years, it was very heartwarming to see the three men remain the dearest of friends despite Peter Pettigrew betraying them.
Just thinking of the traitor, she clenched her fists in anger. She almost lost her son because of that rat ! A year before Harry was born, Charlus and Dorea Potter, her husband's parents died in a freak accident while riding their private jet bound for Asia on some business trip. While nobody was able to confirm anything, the details were shady. And then, just before Harry turned a year old when James took over as CEO and President, they received threats from the leader of the crime mafia headed by someone aliased as Voldemort. James also discovered that some funds were being embezzled.
Long story short, they discovered that Tom Riddle, one of the late Charlus' trusted employees, was the leader of the Voldemort crime operations. He plotted the death of the senior Potters, with plans to end the rest of their family so he could take over the company. Luckily, with the help of the special elite task force, the Order of the Phoenix, Riddle and the rest of his mafia were apprehended. Just as they were ambushed by Riddle and his gang on the Halloween of 1981, the order and the police came just in time to save their lives.
Now here they were. Four years later. The Potter Group of Companies has been steadily recovering after the scandal brought about by Riddle. All their real estate, hotels, and retail businesses have been flourishing.
Yes, she and James were sometimes too busy with work, but they never forgot their number one priority, little Harry James.
Speaking of Harry, where's my little boy? She mused as her eyes glanced around. She was very protective of Harry because Riddle specifically targeted her little boy. Harry even had a scar on his cheek from Riddle's blade during that very close encounter years ago.
Deciding to look for her son, she walked towards her husband and their friends.
"Darling, I'll go look for Harry, okay? I'll be back soon," she smiled at her husband.
"Should I come with – "
"No, James. I'll be fine. You carry on talking about business, " she winked, and the men chuckled nervously. It was clear they were betting on who would win the Football Cup all over again.
"Go find Harry, Lils, we'll just, er, talk about the stock prices," Sirius attempted a formal tone which made her chuckle as she walked away.
"Beaver face! Beaver face!" A trio of little boys accompanied by two little girls spat at the curly-haired girl quietly reading in the corner of the library.
"Hey! Give it back!" the curly-haired girl cried. She was reading in peace to avoid other children who often made fun of her but here they were, attacking her in the largest private library she had ever seen.
"Who are you, beaver face? We've never seen you here before," the leader of the group of bullies, a little boy with blonde hair, asked while throwing the book away.
"Leave me alone!" the little girl tried to hold back her tears.
"You don't belong here! You're not one of us!" a pretty little girl with blonde hair said snobbishly.
Little Hermione Granger cried. She hated it when her parents brought her to these kinds of parties as they mingled to talk about their dental clinic business. Kids her age just didn't like her and were usually all mean.
"Go away, beaver face!" one of the fat boys blew her a raspberry that she couldn't stop her tears. The mean children just laughed.
Hermione hid her face as she cried and then she heard another voice.
"What are you doing here?" she heard another boy's voice. She guessed they were of the same age. Another bully for sure, she sniffed.
"Ha – I mean, Young Master Harry!" one of the bullies exclaimed.
"What are you doing here? And what have you done to her?" the boy, this Young Master Harry, demanded.
Hermione lowered her hands so she could get a glimpse of this kid who was clearly respected or even feared, by the bullies. She expected a tall and big kid but to her surprise, Harry was just as tall as her. He had messy black hair and he was wearing round eyeglasses.
"We didn't do anything, Young Master Harry!" the blonde girl replied.
Harry walked closer to them and he knelt in front of her. Hermione was prepared to be called a beaver face all over again. Clearly, this Harry was the leader of the bullies.
"Hello, my name is Harry Potter... I'm afraid I've never seen you before. Are you alright?" he gave her a friendly grin. Hermione was confused. Why is he being nice to me?
"Um…" she warily looked around and saw the threatening glares from the other kids.
"Why are you crying?" Harry asked.
"I – I was just reading here. My parents are dentists and – "
"What's your name?"
"Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"Hello, Hermi – Hermione, is that right?"
"Yes… I'm sorry I didn't mean to hide out here – "
"Were they being mean to you?" Harry gestured to the other kids.
"No… They just, they threw my – I mean, the book I was reading, and they called me – "
"Young Master! She's lying!" this time it was the girl with black hair who scoffed.
"Wait here, Hermione. I'll just talk to them," Harry stood and turned his attention to the others.
"Pansy, Daphne, Draco, Vince, and Greg, why did you make her cry?" Harry's voice was friendly, but the other kids gulped. Hermione observed the dynamic. Odd that Harry was smaller compared to the other boys, but they seemed to be scared of him.
"Young Master, we were just – " the blonde boy, Draco, tried to explain but then someone intervened.
"What have you kids been up to?" Hermione and the rest of the kids turned to the newcomer's voice.
"Lady Potter!" The kids except for Harry exclaimed, their faces paled.
"Hi, mum," Harry waved sheepishly.
"Sweetheart, what's going on?" Lady Potter asked her son.
"I was playing with Neville in my room when we decided to look at maps for our game... Anyway, I went here to the library, looking for something. And then I heard voices. I found er, Hermione crying and Draco, Pansy – "
"Thank you, sweetie… Now, children, I know that you five have been very close to one another, but do you really have to be mean to other kids?" Lady Potter asked in a voice that reminded Hermione of her mum when she was being scolded about something.
"We're sorry, Lady Potter," the bullies chorused.
"I believe it's – what's your name again, dear?" Lady Potter turned to Hermione with a kind smile.
Hermione blushed. She knew the Lady Potter, or at least she had read about her. She consistently saw the beautiful woman being featured in her mum's society magazines. No wonder these bullies call Harry Young Master, she thought.
"Um, my name is Hermione, Hermione Granger, Lady Potter," she replied.
"Hi, Hermione… Now, children, you all apologize to Hermione over here, or, I shall be forced to tell your mums and dads about this," Lady Potter stared at the bullies.
"Sorry," the children chorused.
"It's okay," Hermione squeaked.
"Now that it's settled, why don't you kids run along and get some cake? How's that sound?" Lady Potter grinned.
"Of course, Lady Potter!" Draco nodded.
"Bye, Young Master!" the girls waved before they all scurried away from the library.
Hermione remembered that she wasn't supposed to be here as well. She was in so much trouble already, not to mention the book that she was reading without permission. It was probably destroyed since the bullies haphazardly threw it away.
"I'm so sorry, Lady Potter. I shouldn't be here. And I am so sorry about the book and – " Hermione could feel her tears falling again.
"Oh, sweetie! It's alright," Lady Potter said kindly.
"I really didn't mean to – "
"Come on, Hermione. You can come play with me and Neville since you're a girl and he has a baby sister... You can be like, his big sister... That way, he'll be a better brother when Stephanie's older," Harry held out his hand to her.
Hermione glanced at Harry, checking if he was just teasing her. She noticed that his mother was looking at them with amusement. She shyly took his offered hand as he helped her up.
Lady Potter giggled. The two kids looked at her with confusion; Harry still holding Hermione's hand.
"Mum?"
"Aww! You two are so adorable," Lady Potter grinned.
"Of course, we're adorable, mum. We're children," Harry replied, confusion on his little face. Hermione had to admit that he was smart.
"Why don't you and your princess run along and play with Neville, sweetie? I'll ask the cook to send over some snacks for you three. How's that sound?"
"Sounds great, mum! Thanks!"
"Thank you, Lady – "
"Oh, please call me, Aunt Lily, dear," Lady Potter winked.
"Oh, er, thank you, Aunt Lily," Hermione replied.
"Come on, Hermione. You should meet Neville. You can be our princess when we play pirates… You see we were looking at maps and thinking about…" Hermione could only wave at Lady Potter, er, Aunt Lily, as Harry pulled her away from the library.
When her son and his princess left, Lily could only grin. She couldn't wait to tell James that their son just might have found his future Lady Potter. Those two are so cute! I should talk to the Dr. Grangers so I can schedule play dates, with that thought in mind, she too left the library in search of Elizabeth and Richard Granger.
"Harry! What took you so – Oh! Er, hello!" A chubby boy with sandy brown hair shyly greeted them.
"Nev, meet our new friend, Hermione – Er, sorry, what was your family name again?" Harry grinned.
"Er, hello, my name is Hermione Granger… Wait a minute, you really want to be friends?"
"Of course! Right, Nev?"
"Yep! Hi, Hermi – sorry, your name is kinda hard," Nev said sheepishly.
"It's okay, Young Master Nev… Er, what's your name?"
Harry chuckled and she turned to him with a slight frown. "Sorry, Hermione, but Nev and I don't call each other Young Master so, you shouldn't as well."
"Oh… but why do the other kids – "
"Ah, you ran into Draco and his friends then?" Nev asked and Harry nodded.
"You should stick with us, Hermione. We'll never make fun of you like Draco… Anyway, hello, my name is Neville Franklin Longbottom III. Harry is my second cousin. Our dads are also in business together. Right, Harry?"
"That's right, cousin… Oh, he's also my godbrother, Hermione. And like I told you, he has a baby sister, Stephanie."
"Yeah, Stephie is so young though so she's in the manor with my mother," Neville added.
"So…er, what do girls like to do for fun?" Harry asked and Neville grinned to encourage her.
"Well, I'm not like other girls… I, er, like to read and draw," she said shyly.
"Wicked! We love to read and draw!" Neville clapped.
"What do you draw, Hermione?" Harry inquired, his green eyes shining with excitement.
"Er, houses and gardens, sometimes people and pets and flowers and – "
"Why don't we all draw our own castles and then pretend to attack each other's afterward?" Harry suggested.
Neville ran to the large oak table and handed Hermione a drawing pad. "Here's yours, Hermione… May the best castle win," and with that, all three children started the bond of friendship.
"Darling! Where were you?" Elizabeth Granger asked her daughter who was holding a large drawing pad with two boys talking to her.
"I'm so sorry, mum, but we lost track of – "
"Dr. Lizzie!" Harry grinned.
"Hello, Harry!"
"You know my mother?" Hermione turned to her new friends.
"Your mum's my new dentist… Oh! No wonder you look familiar! You look just like your mum but younger," Harry said as he glanced at mother and daughter.
"I see what you mean now, darling… It seems our little Harry did meet his little princess," James Potter teased, and the adults chuckled.
"Well, Hermione is Neville's princess too. Not just mine," Harry shuffled his feet. As always Neville nodded and supported his cousin.
"Of course, son. That's what I meant," James winked.
"Hermione, say goodbye to your new friends. We're going home," Richard Granger told his little girl who seemed to have gained the friendship of two of the richest heirs in England.
"Oh," Hermione sighed. She didn't want to leave Harry and Neville yet. It was the first time kids her age wanted to be friends with her.
"Richard, Lizzie, do you have plans for tomorrow? If not, why don't you join us for Christmas dinner? That way, the kids can bond even more," Lily suggested.
"Please, Dr. Lizzie! Please, Dr. Richard!"
"Please mum! Please, dad!"
"Please! Please!"
Seeing the hopeful pouts and pleading looks on the three children, the adults' hearts melted.
"Well, Hermione, I guess you'll be seeing your new friends again tomorrow," Richard smiled at his daughter. The three friends jumped up and down.
"Dad! Dad! You have to see Hermione's drawings. She's really good. She can be like those people who make drawings about hotels and houses and then you sell them and then – "
"Slow down, kiddo. You'll see Hermione, tomorrow," James chuckled at his son's enthusiasm.
"What have you three been up to?" Lily was amused. Her little boy was clearly smitten with the shy curly-haired little girl.
"We're playing castles and pirates, Aunt Lily," Neville answered, and Harry nodded.
"But why is it that you three are talking about some real estate empire?" Sirius smirked.
"You know how dad brings me to his office and shows me these drawings of buildings?" Harry asked and his godfather nodded.
"Neville and I play that sometimes, we make drawings I mean… Hermione joined us and she's so much better than us," Harry grinned with pride. His new friend blushed.
"Well, Lizzie, I think you and I should also talk about future playdate schedules for Harry and Hermione… Neville and his dad will return to their manor tomorrow morning, so it'll be just these two," Lily smiled as she watched her son interact with the little girl.
It will be interesting to watch these two grow up indeed!
25th December 1985
"Hermione! You're here!" Harry excitedly ran towards his new friend as soon as he saw her wild curly hair bouncing with her footsteps.
"Slow down, Sweetheart," Lily chuckled as she followed her little boy, James was by her side.
"You know, darling, can you ever remember any other time that our son was utterly besotted by a girl?" James whispered conspiratorially.
"I believe this is the first time, darling. Harry never did like the children of our associates. He's mostly just kept to himself and his cousin, Neville," she whispered back. Her eyes were glistening with amusement as she saw the interaction between the two happy children. Harry was already holding Hermione's hand and tugging her along towards the manor.
"Harry, dear, do let Hermione take a breath," Lily chided gently.
"Lord and Lady Potter, we thank you for having us over once again," Richard Granger greeted the Duke and Duchess of Richmond. Despite their vast wealth and status as members of the nobility, the Potters were all very kind and welcoming.
"Welcome! We're glad to have you here, although, I'm pretty sure it's this little one who's even more gladdened by your presence here," James said conspiratorially, and the adults chuckled. The children were getting rather impatient, clearly eager to start whatever games and activities they wanted to do together.
"Do call us Lily and James, not this Lord and Lady nonsense. I reckon we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming years," Lily said with a teasing glint in her emerald green eyes as she watched the two children whispering to each other.
"Oh! But, er, we're not, er, we're not nobility – " Lizzie started to explain.
"Oh, I'm just teasing! If these two grow up to be more than best friends, we'll have you know that James and I just want our Harry to be happy. His wife need not be a member of the nobility," Lily smiled reassuringly.
"Mum, can we go? I want to show Hermione my robots. She says she likes Legos too," Harry interrupted, and Hermione smiled shyly beside him.
"Oh, alright!" Lily rolled her eyes and Harry pumped his fist in the air.
"It's a shame Nev's already left with Uncle Frank this morning, it would have been cool for all three of us to build the castle you drew yesterday using Legos … Oh, sorry! Bye Dr. Grangers! Bye mum, bye dad!" And with that parting statement, Harry pulled Hermione to his playroom.
"Here we are, Lizzie. Harry's playroom," Lily opened the door to the annex of her son's bedroom. They were looking for their children since Christmas dinner was ready. When Lily opened the door, she was worried. The kids were sprawled on the carpeted floor, surrounded by Legos and looking rather unwell.
Lizzie sat beside her sleeping daughter and Lily was by Harry's side. Very gently, the mothers woke their children.
"Mum?" Harry muttered.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?"
"Hermione and I don't feel so good… We feel dizzy," Harry tried to sit up, but his head was spinning.
"What happened, Harry?" Lily asked with worry.
"We got hungry so we snuck into the kitchens. Hermione ate some weird looking cake with lots of yucky fruits. And then I had some of this sweet drink. When we got back here, we got dizzy," Harry tried his best to explain.
"Lily, should we bring them to the hospital or something?" Lizzie was clearly worried for both children as well.
"Let me call the kitchen staff and we'll know what to do next. Excuse me for a second," Lily gracefully stood and went towards the intercom on the corner.
Pressing a button, she called the kitchen, "Hello, Dobby! Yes, it's me… Ahuh! Did you by any chance notice that some of the fruitcake and eggnog went missing?"
"Oh… yes. It's Harry and his new friend, Hermione… Yes, a curly-haired bright girl. Right! It's alright, Dobby. No need to fret. It's not your fault… Next Christmas, when you make eggnogs and fruitcake, just don't add alcohol to the recipe, okay? That way, the kids can have them. Yes. It seems Harry and his friend quite enjoy them, best be safe from now on… Okay! Thank you, Dobby," Lily hung up and returned to Lizzie.
"Liz, it seems the kids are, er, hungover," Lily said awkwardly while trying her best to not chuckle at the silliness of the situation.
"Hungover? But – why?" Lizzie frowned.
"Hermione ate fruitcake and Harry had eggnogs."
Lizzie chuckled. When her eyes met Lily's, the two mothers laughed.
"Mum! Shhh! We want to sleep," Harry muttered as he yawned.
"I'll call the family doctor and ask him what to give the kids so they'll feel better... Can you stay with them for a while?"
"Of course, Lily," Lizzie nodded, still lightly chuckling at the children's antics.
"They are like two peas in a pod, eh?" Lily grinned at the dentist before exiting the room.
A/N: Review, fave, and follow if you like this story. There are 3 chapters more. Merry Christmas!