True to word, Hermione slept in her bed that night, descending the stairs in the morning to find that several presents had appeared beneath her tree, mostly from people she hadn't planned to see that day. Luna, Theo, Neville… even a card signed by all of her students at the orphanage.
She sifted through them one by one, Felix not missing the opportunity to play with the discarded wrapping. The ridiculous creature even had the audacity to turn his nose up at the three-galleon toy she had purchased for him, a stuffed mouse charmed to run around the house, in favor of a bit of ribbon.
When all was said and done, she stacked several books, a lovely cashmere scarf, and two boxes of personalized stationary to her left. Luna, not surprisingly, had gone the less traditional route, gifting her a pair of earrings made from what appeared to be cylinders of clear resin with tiny flowers ensconced within. They were actually very pretty.
After cleaning up anything Felix might choke on, Hermione got to her feet and retrieved the small stack of gifts for everyone that would be at the party and placed them beside the fireplace. Her fingers played uncertainly over the wrapping on Fred's before she ultimately decided to bring it. It would be a waste not to.
She distracted herself with one of the new tomes and a pot of tea before she eventually went upstairs to change, cursing the fact that holiday meals were served in the afternoon. Unsure exactly what she was walking into, she took a quick shower and partially dried her hair before pulling it into a plait that rested on her shoulder. Knowing it would be a casual affair, she pulled on a pair of jeans and the Weasley jumper from the year prior.
Opting out of eye makeup, she blotted on a bit of foundation and lip balm and called it a day.
With a sigh, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table and saw it was nearly half-two. Everyone was likely already at the Burrow eating appetisers and socialising. Feeling as if she were marching to the gallows, Hermione walked down the stairs and over to the fireplace, pulling on her boots and picking up the stack of gifts.
"Be good," she said to Felix, who had passed out in a pile of shredded wrapping paper.
Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, she stepped into the fireplace and called out, "The Burrow!"
She shook her head to clear the little bit of ash that kicked up as she emerged in the living room of the Weasley home to see, as predicted, nearly everyone that was coming already congregated. Clearly Harry had played the information he'd learned yesterday close to the chest, because they all greeted her with smiles, open arms and holiday wishes.
"I missed you the other night," Angelina said when Hermione was passed in her direction, "you disappeared before the game."
"Sorry," Hermione said, pulled into a hug by Charlie before she could offer any sort of explanation. That was probably for the best.
When the initial greetings were done, she deposited her gifts under the tree and drifted into the kitchen to find Molly and Fleur working on dinner.
"Hello sweetheart," Molly said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "I'm so glad you could come."
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it," Hermione said weakly, trying to pretend that she hadn't just slept with the woman's son and then fled like a gutless flobberworm. Speaking of which, looking around the kitchen she noted that besides Percy, who was spending the actual holiday in Milan with Blaise and his mother, the only person absent from the party was Fred.
A tidal wave of guilt washed over her at the thought that she had chased him away from his own family. But, before she had the chance to panic and run off again, Harry and Ginny pulled her into the living room to watch Teddy, Victoire, Rose and little Hugo open their gifts. It was a sweet, if somewhat chaotic and drawn-out affair.
Molly had just poked her head out of the kitchen to announce ten minutes until supper when Ginny dragged Hermione off the sofa and toward the hallway where it was quieter.
"Did you get my owl last night?" she asked, receiving a puzzled look from Hermione.
"Owl? I – no, I'm sorry. What did it say?"
"I was hoping I could borrow that pair of sapphire earrings for photos after dinner."
"Shite, no, I didn't see it. Do you want me to go get them?"
Assuming she would say no, because it really wasn't that big a deal, Hermione was a little surprised when she nodded.
"Umm, okay, I'll be right back…" she said in confusion as she made her way to the fireplace and disappeared in a burst of green flames.
All of the adults quieted then and looked around at one another, except Arthur who was on the ground playing with the children; Harry came to rest beside Ginny, and Molly and Fleur leaned their heads out of the kitchen again.
"Do you think he had time to get everything set up?" Angie asked no one in particular from her position beside George on the sofa, tracing a hand nervously over her belly.
"I expect we'll find out," Harry replied, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist and looking at the spot Hermione had been moments before.
oOoOoOo
Hermione arrived back in her living room to find that, for the second time in the past 48 hours, things were not as she had left them. Only this time, rather than a dejected, drunk millionaire camped on her sofa, it was a much less depressing change.
The blinds were drawn on the windows and, in addition to her Christmas tree lights twinkling, there were perhaps fifty tea light candles in little jars lining the path from the fireplace to the stairs.
"What on earth…?" she began to question aloud before quieting and realizing there was music playing somewhere in the house.
A wartime Hermione might have drawn her wand, but instead she just verified it was in her pocket before proceeding cautiously across the room to the foot of the stairs. She heard in the distance:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas
Let your heart be light
Her heart in her throat, she took the first step and slowly ascended, the music increasing in volume as she went, though still remaining quite soft. When she reached the landing, she was surprised to find that the candles led not to her own bedroom on the left, but the spare room she had cleared out for Charlotte the week prior.
Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
She debated calling out, but proceeded forward instead, rounding the corner into the door frame of the vacant room. Or, rather, the previously vacant room.
"Fred?" Hermione blurted in surprise, finding the man standing in the middle of the chamber.
The formerly cream walls had been coloured a light, sky blue, and to his left stood a gorgeous four poster bed of amber stained wood, with a gossamer white canopy overhead. There was a matching night table and wardrobe beside it, and then to his right were two floor-to-ceiling bookcases that were filled edge to edge and flanking an overstuffed chair in a darker shade of blue than the walls. The source of the music turned out to be her radio from downstairs, which was set on the bedside table, although it looked as if there was a cassette tape playing.
Once Hermione had recovered from the initial shock of the room, her eyes settled on Fred himself. He looked a bit knackered, and he was dressed similarly to her in a pair of jeans and a jumper with trainers, but the expression on his face was what made her falter. It was one of such hopeful vulnerability, she couldn't stop the surprised huff of breath that slipped from between her lips.
"I, umm," he started before inhaling and steadying himself, "I know you mentioned you were stressed about decorating the room and I thought it might be something that I could do for you, erm, help with I mean, though as I'm standing here and you aren't saying anything I'm beginning to question if it was too presumptuous, and if that's the case I'm really sorry, but I-"
"Fred?" Hermione repeated, looking around the room and then back at him again. He paused his speech and met her eyes.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry about the other night."
She needed to say it before she said anything else. He had to know that she didn't mean to hurt him; that her intentions in leaving were, in the long term, meant to prevent that very thing.
"I'm sorry about Verity," he replied, wincing a bit. "Harry explained everything; it wasn't what you thought – I was just trying to help her out. Her rotten sister was visiting from The States and she always tortures her about not having settled down, so I offered to stand in for the evening. I didn't think… you never go to the holiday parties, it wasn't supposed to be anything more than a favor for a friend."
"You're not dating Verity," Hermione asked slowly, processing everything he'd just said.
"No," he said firmly, shaking his head and running a hand through his already-mussed hair. "I am not remotely interested in Verity."
"Then why did you… why didn't you tell me?" she asked, a bit askance.
"I was going to, but after you told me about Charlotte, you made it sound like you weren't interested in seeing anybody."
"Fred, you aren't just anybody to me," Hermione said, her eyes pleading for him to understand the utter truth of those words. "You're my best friend."
"Right, come to that, I don't want to just be your friend," he said, taking a step toward her. "I love you Hermione. I have been in love with you for a while now, and whatever you want, whatever you need me to be while you figure everything out with Charlotte, I can be that. I will be that. Because I think you are absolutely remarkable; you're the person I want to be with when everything is going well, and the person I want to lean on when it's all a mess, and I am completely incapable of picturing my life without you in it. Frankly, I don't even want to try."
Hermione closed her eyes and felt a smile stretch her lips as something in her chest clicked into place, mending the broken pieces from two nights prior.
"Say it again," she requested softly, opening her eyes and meeting his as she took a step toward him.
"I can't picture my life without you in it?" he asked, brow furrowing a little.
"Before that."
A small laugh escaped, and the corner of his mouth tugged up in a smirk. "I don't want to be your friend."
"Forward a bit." She stopped in front of him, so close that they were almost touching, but not quite.
"I love you."
She reached a hand up and cupped the side of his face before rolling onto her tiptoes and tugging him down to meet her lips. It was a simple kiss; warm and welcoming, just as Fred had always been, with traces of a smile from both of them. It was the kiss that should have been their first. She broke away but rested her forehead against his for a moment while she caught her breath before pulling back to look him in the eye again.
"It's not going to be easy," she said, a hint of trepidation in her tone.
"I know that."
"We might even disagree on things."
"I'm counting on it."
"Charlotte is going to get attached to you."
There it was – the crux of the issue, the reason Hermione had spent the past week so convinced they wouldn't work. That's why his next words struck her so deeply.
"As long as the two of you will have me, I'm not going anywhere."
Hermione blinked back tears and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
"I love you so much," she said as she stepped forward into his arms and let herself be drawn in tight against his chest.
"Well it certainly took you long enough to mention it," he teased, resting his chin on top of her head.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, listening to her favorite song play on a loop before Hermione drew back to look up at him.
"How long do you think we have before we're expected back at The Burrow?"
"I'm not sure… what did you have in mind?" he responded, arching a lascivious eyebrow.
She grinned.
oOoOoOo
"Thank you for doing this Draco," Hermione said, vanishing the slush from their boots as she crossed the entry of Malfoy House.
"Just call me father Christmas," he quipped, the sound of children's laughter carrying through the background. "I normally like to be present for this process, but Charlotte already knows you and I don't expect it will be poorly received. We just finished eating, let me go get her."
"Are you nervous?" Fred asked once Draco disappeared, helping her out of her coat and slinging it over his arm with his own.
"A bit," she admitted, taking his proffered hand and feeling him give it a calming squeeze.
"Hi Hermione – oh, hello Fred," Luna said kindly, drifting from down a side passage toward the dining room with a sleeping toddler resting against her shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you two worked things out before the New Year; I wasn't sure. And don't fret, she's going to be excited. Happy Christmas!"
Hermione couldn't tell if it was a friendly reassurance or a prophecy, much as with anything Luna said, but the blonde vanished through the doorway without further comment. A moment later, Draco appeared and pointed, saying something unintelligible and directing Charlotte to them. He closed the massive oak doors behind her, offering them privacy
"Miss Granger, Mr. Fred, what are you doing here on Christmas?" the little girl asked with wide eyes, her hair pulled back in twin bunches on either side of her head.
"We came by to talk to you," Hermione said, "is that okay?"
"Yes…" Charlotte said, a hint of unease in her tone. "Did I forget to turn in homework?"
"No, nothing like that at all. Why don't we go sit down?" Hermione led her to a small parlor off the foyer, a pair of sofas framing a crackling fireplace with an enormous wreath hanging over it. When they had settled side by side on one with Fred across from them on the other, Hermione turned to the girl and took a breath.
"Do you remember the other day when we were talking about Rachel getting adopted?"
"Yes," she confirmed with a nod, "and you told me that I would get adopted someday too."
"Yes, I did. Charlotte, how would you feel if I told you that I wanted to adopt you?"
Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open a little bit.
"You want to adopt me?"
"If that's something you would like as well, yes, I would."
"Just like Miss Honey adopted Matilda?"
Hermione couldn't suppress a grin at that. "Actually, exactly like that. Although I think Mr. Malfoy and Miss Luna are nicer than her parents were."
The girl quieted for a moment, her brow furrowing as she contemplated that scenario.
"So… if you're going to be my new mum, does that mean that you'll be my new dad, Mr. Fred?" Charlotte asked innocently, turning her attention to the wizard across from them.
Hermione felt all the blood rush to her cheeks as she opened her mouth to say something, but she bit her tongue when Fred set the coats on the sofa beside him and got up. He rounded the coffee table and dropped to a knee in front of Charlotte, who was still seated.
"I care about Hermione very much," he said, and the little girl smiled and looked at the witch in question for a second before turning back to him. "And someday we might all decide together that I could have the privilege of being your dad. But, for right now, I would like very much to be friends with you Charlotte, and spend lots of time with the both of you. Would that be all right?"
She nodded eagerly, bouncing a little in her seat.
"So, I'll get to come and live with you?" she asked Hermione.
"You will indeed," Hermione replied. "Mr. Fred was actually just helping me get your room ready earlier today."
"Do you have lots of books? Mr. Malfoy has lots of books."
"Charlotte," Fred said in a serious tone, "Hermione has so many books, you won't believe your eyes when you see them. There's barely room to walk around in her house without running into stacks of the things."
Charlotte giggled and Hermione rolled her eyes. The adults answered some of her questions, explaining that there were still some things to be done before she could move in, but Hermione promised to come and visit that week while everything got sorted.
When they got up about a half-hour later, Charlotte was chattering about how she was going to play with Felix and go through Hermione's books to make a big list of the ones she wanted to read. When they walked back into the foyer, Fred ducked out to retrieve Draco.
"Miss Hermione," Charlotte started slowly, lips twisted a bit, "thank you for wanting to be my mum."
Hermione blinked rapidly in a futile attempt not to cry and alarm the little girl.
"I'm thrilled that you'll have me, sweetheart."
Charlotte suddenly lunged forward and threw her arms around Hermione's neck, who took a step backward to steady them before squeezing tightly.
"I take it things went well," Draco said, walking beside Fred out of the dining room.
Charlotte released Hermione and spun around with a wide grin.
"Miss Hermione is going to adopt me!" she half-shouted.
Fred suppressed a laugh from off to the side.
"Well she's not going to do it right this minute," Draco said, smiling in spite of himself. "Rachel was looking for you, why don't you go tell her your news?"
"Okay – bye Miss Hermione, bye Mr. Fred. Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas," the pair replied in unison.
Charlotte ran back into the dining room with a skip in her step and Hermione finally let out the breath she had been holding and blotted at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
"I'll send you an owl tomorrow with preliminary paperwork," Draco said. "Fortunately, this process is still relatively new, so there isn't much to it. For now, go and enjoy the rest of your holiday."
"Thank you again for everything," Hermione said sincerely, letting Fred help her into her coat.
The two of them departed into the lightly falling snow and headed down the path toward the apparition point beyond the wards, Hermione's gloved hand twined with Fred's.
"So, has it turned out to be a good Christmas?" he asked.
"This may be the best Christmas I've ever had," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Ready for everything that comes next?"
She glanced down at their hands and smiled.
"I'm ready for anything."