"Did you pick up the gift for Theo and Neville when you were in London yesterday?" Hermione asked, pouring two cups of tea and passing one across the counter to Fred. He was still in his checkered pyjamas at Hermione's insistence.
"Yes; although I still think it's a bit of a racket, you giving them a gift when you're in the wedding party."
"Draco's in the wedding party too, and he got them a gift."
"Draco is the third wealthiest wizard in Britain."
Those very words, or near enough, had been splashed across the cover of Witch Weekly the past spring when he had finally proposed to Luna. He'd also announced it would be a long engagement; for PR purposes, this was to allow time for him to sort the Malfoy estate's assets, but in reality, Luna had started talking about a 'traditional ceremony,' performed naked under the full moon, and Draco needed as much time as he could get to attempt to talk her out of it.
"Still, it's the principle of the thing," Hermione said, settling on the sofa beside him and looking at the presents under the tree.
"What time are we meant to be at Harry and Ginny's later?"
"Two, but I might walk over early to help Ginny finish setting up."
Within a few months of Charlotte moving in with Hermione, shortly before Fred did the same, Harry and Ginny had purchased a cottage a few houses down from theirs and announced they would be adopting a pair of siblings from Malfoy House when the school year ended; a boy age five named Nicholas and a girl age nine named Daisy.
There was a lot of teasing directed at Hermione for starting a trend, but the fact of the matter was that Harry adopting was beyond fitting given his own upbringing, and it would allow Ginny to continue playing quidditch for a few more years before retiring. Harry continued teaching Defence at Hogwarts and simply flooed or walked up to the school each day, and he retrieved the kids from Hermione's after.
Once Fred officially moved in, he left his flat to Jeremy, who took over day to day operations at the shop and finally hired on another employee, freeing up Fred's time immensely. He put this to good use, building a shed behind their home and using it to test and develop new products – when he wasn't playing with Charlotte or his many nieces and nephews.
Similarly, George and Angelina had Verity step up as manager of the London location and bought their own home in the suburbs with plenty of room for the twins, Felicity and Grace, as well as the hypothetical third child they frequently discussed. Hannah, on the other hand, had put her foot down after giving birth to baby Liam, and Ron ultimately seemed relieved about it.
"The only child in the world that sleeps in on Christmas morning," Fred scoffed, looking at the clock on the mantle that showed half-nine.
"I wasn't sleeping, I woke up early so I could finish my book," Charlotte said, appearing behind them in her pyjamas and scrambling up to sit on the arm of the sofa.
"She really is your daughter," he said morosely, shaking his head at Hermione, who was chuckling into her tea.
"Can I start opening them, mum?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Hermione replied, cuddling into Fred's side as the girl hopped down and began tearing into the stack of wrapped presents with her name on them. When all was said and done, she had received no less than 14 new books, a basket of sweets from her Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur, a training broom from her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, a bottlecap necklace from her Aunt Luna, a set of nail varnishes from her friend Rachel, an enchanted bookmark from her cousin Daisy that had little shooting stars floating across the parchment, and a weekend visit to the Louvre and the Musée des Archives Nationales in Paris with Hermione and Fred in the spring.
The couple had each opened several parcels as well, though they would see the vast majority of their friends and family later that day.
Charlotte was eagerly skimming one of her new books while the two of them sat on the sofa, listening to the soft Christmas music and watching the snow fall lightly outside the window.
"Char, what's that on the branch there?" Fred asked abruptly, leaning forward and pointing at a small silver package that was nestled in the lower branches of the tree, barely visible.
"What else did you get her?" Hermione whispered, not recognizing the wrapping. Fred didn't respond.
"It's a present," Charlotte said with a wide grin, reaching in to grab it. Rather than opening it herself though, she climbed onto the cushion between them and handed the small gift to Hermione.
"Is my name on it?" Hermione asked in confusion.
"Just open it," Fred directed, shooting Charlotte a look in an attempt to cease her giggling.
With a bemused, if slightly perplexed, smile, Hermione untied the ribbon and pulled the top off the box only to have a smaller, black velvet box tumble into her lap.
"Fred…" she said slowly, reaching to grab it with trembling fingers. She opened the jewelry case to see that it was empty. Baffled, she looked up and found him knelt in front of her on one knee, holding a gorgeous silver engagement ring between his fingers. Charlotte was practically vibrating with excitement beside her on the sofa.
"Charlotte and I have been talking and she thinks it's about time we become a proper family, and I must say I'm inclined to agree. Hermione, the past year has been the craziest and best in my entire life, and you've known me for sixteen years; that's no small feat. I love you, both of you, and if you'll have me, I want to spend the rest of my life showing you that every single day. Will you marry me?"
Hermione, who had practically dissolved into a puddle of tears at that point, choked out a yes before launching herself at Fred and tackling him into a pile of discarded wrapping paper amid raucous laughter, making Felix meow in protest and dart from the room.
A second later, a warm weight landed heavy on her back and made both her and Fred beneath her grunt between their mirth.
"Does this mean I can have a sister or a brother now?" Charlotte asked impatiently, resting her chin on her mum's shoulder.
Hermione and Fred shared a pointed look; Fred arched an eyebrow and Hermione gave him a quick nod, accompanied by a wry smirk.
"Well Char, about that…"