OH MY GOD! I'm so, so, so SO sorry that I took so long! Between school, lack of inspiration in writing what essentially a Christmas chapter, and work, I just finished this a few minutes ago!

Reviews!

Megalavania: Ah, but the skeleton brothers aren't human skeletons. They're monster skeletons. Several of what would be separate bones on human skeletons are fused together or not even present on monster skeletons.

OmegaJudge: Basically they were. The story's plot was pulled out of my hands for one chapter, and I basically wrote myself into a hole. Hopefully, that doesn't happen again, but it also saves me the trouble of explaining the basics later on.

C.W: Sorry for the headaches. Any more multiverse stuff that might happen won't come into play until second year rolls around, but it's probably only going to get slightly less confusing from there.

OmegaJudge (the second coming?): Real life conflicts sometimes, and I have a hard time being one of those proactive writers that's able to just pump out chapters in advance. Sorry, but I'd rather have at least somewhat well written chapters over meaningless, rushed things *cough*lasttwochapters*cough*.

Also, thank you to Curious Kit, Boots, Ender the multiverse Detective, and imnotraven16 for reviewing!

"wait, so what you're telling me is that humans have a tradition where they put presents under trees?"

"Yes, we call it 'Christmas'. I thought that was what we were celebrating, but it is a few days early..."

"we're not celebrating 'christmas', hermione. we're celebrating gyftday."

"...Gyftday?"

"yeah. back in snowdin, some of the teens decided to prank gyftrot by decorating his antlers. since gyftrot's always kinda irritated, some of the adults started putting presents under trees near his house as a peace offering. then king asgore saw the humans' 'santa claus' and decided to dress up like him."

"So it's like Christmas, but with less religious aspects tied to it?"

"christmas is a religious thing?"

Mistral smiled as he, Frisk, and Hermione walked into the Dreemurr household. They had gone back to the park once Papyrus had healed Mistral's skull and played a few rounds of Snow War with the monster children. Now the game was over, and the humans were ready to eat.

"Hermione! There you are!" Mrs. Granger said nervously from the purple, flower-print couch that sat in the living room. She got to her feet before rushing to the door to greet her daughter. Mr. Granger, seeing the commotion, seemed to come out of the woodwork to see Hermione as well.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione said, giggling, "I only left with Mistral a few hours ago!"

Mr. Granger chuckled. "We've just been missing our favorite daughter while she was away. Can you really blame us for that?"

Before Hermione could reply, a large, pure white figure rushed out of the kitchen, holding her arms out. Giggling silently, Frisk rushed forwards, wrapping their small arms around Toriel in a hug. The boss monster laughed, hugging them back. "Did you have fun, my child?"

Frisk nodded, a text box flitting into existence before them. *You tell Toriel that you made a few new friends.

Toriel blinked in surprise. "Truly? But you already know everyone who was in the Underground..."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger smiled at the exchange, Mr. Granger leaning over to quietly tell Hermione, "It's never too soon to be excited about seeing your children."

Mistral lowered his skull slightly as he watched the parents and their children. Clearing his non-existent throat, he asked, "did sans and paps get here yet?"

Toriel shook her head. "No, they did not. Papyrus called roughly an hour ago, saying that he and Sans will be here as soon as he finishes making his spaghetti."

"thanks, toriel!" Mistral said before retreating to the living room. He plopped down on the couch and pulled his flip phone out from under his cloak. Opening it, he texted Sans.

me: so paps is busy cooking?

big bro: yep.

me: cool. should i warn the grangers?

Sans took a few moments to reply.

big bro: let frisk warn em. if they dont they can try the magic of papyrus's cooking

Mistral snickered before sending back an 'ok'.

"YO PUNKS! WE'RE HERE!"

"U-Undyne, you d-don't have to k-kick the door in whenever we g-go to a friend's h-house!"

"Undyne! You will leave my house and enter properly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Queen Toriel. Sorry."

"T-Toriel, I'm sorry, but did...Undyne just say you were a queen?"

"Please, I have long renounced the title of queen. I am merely Professor Toriel, and Frisk's mother, at that."

Several hours later, all of Frisk's friends (and Hermione's parents) had gathered in the living room to watch a deer of some kind with a glowing nose save a human holiday. The monsters really didn't understand it very well, but it made Frisk and Hermione happy, so they went with it. The Grangers had gotten (somewhat) used to the monsters, but both of them remained fairly silent as Mistral, Undyne, and Alphys occasionally commented on the movie.

Just as a large, white-furred creature started roaring and fighting the main deer, there was a loud, repetitive knocking at the front door. Hermione's parents watched, shocked, as Mistral's face contorted into a large grin. The skeleton shot up and bolted for the door, making everyone jump. He threw open the door before standing aside to let those waiting in.

"HELLO, FRIENDS!" Papyrus said as he walked through the door, several large, covered bowls of spaghetti in his arms. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME BEARING SPAGHETTI!"

Sans came in behind his brother, merely raising his left hand in a half-wave. "sup."

"Oh, I thought I heard you two!" Toriel exclaimed as she poked her head out from within the kitchen. "Papyrus, would you be willing to help me set the table?"

Papyrus, despite the fact that his arms were laden with heavy bowls of spaghetti, somehow managed to pose heroically. "OF COURSE, CLONE ASGORE!"

Jean Granger frowned before leaning over to Hermione. "'Clone Asgore'?" she asked her daughter.

Hermione shrugged. "They've mentioned an Asgore once or twice, but I've never met him."

Tom Granger tried. He really, truly tried not to stare. There was only so long that he could go, however, before he finally blurted, "How are you able to do that?" All three skeleton brothers stared at the human in silence, making him feel like he had said something wrong. "Uh, I mean–"

"maaagic," Sans cut him off, waving a hand in a semicircle above his skull before dumping more ketchup on his spaghetti. "s'literally all that's happening. magic."

"But...but you're only bones...?"

"yup."

"i'm at least 95% sure i'm all bones," Mistral chimed in.

Papyrus nodded vigorously, "YES, I CAN CONFIRM THAT I AM A SKELETON."

"...but..."

"Dad?" Hermione said quietly. "Please, just let it drop."

As reluctant as he was, he let the topic drop. With a sigh, he took a bite of his spaghetti, which was tasteless to the point of being cardboard. "What on Earth is in this?!"

"WHY, I AM VERY GLAD YOU ASKED, TALL HUMAN..."

"You honestly don't mind? We wouldn't want to be imposing."

"Nonsense! The skeleton brothers' house is quite a distance away; it would be foolish to send you off when you are planning on coming back tomorrow!"

"Are you sure?"

"pal, tori's got her soul set on this. nothing's gonna change her mind. 'sides, our house is kinda the bare bones when it comes to human needs."

"SANS! ARE YOU PLAGUING THE OTHERS WITH YOUR PUNS AGAIN?!"

"he's fine, papyrus! he's just trying to tickle my ribcage!"

"MISTRAL, NOT YOU AS WELL!"

"Uh...are they always like this?"

"Truly? I cannot say for certain, but from what I have seen of the three of them together, this is fairly normal."

After a long night that involved plenty of holiday movies, pie ("What kind of pie is this?" *You tell Hermione that it is Buttspie.), and tea, Hermione had easily passed out on one of the two air mattresses set up in Frisk's room. Her parents had taken a guest room for themselves, Undyne and Alphys claimed the other, and Sans and Papyrus had set up in the living room. Mistral had taken the other air mattress, but he seemed fairly nervous about the situation. He had seemed to have fallen asleep before the two humans in the room, but Frisk had told Hermione that they had doubted it.

Sure enough, the next morning, Mistral wasn't on his bed, or anywhere in the room. It wasn't until Hermione had dragged herself out of bed and trudged into the living room that she saw him. Mistral, however, was the last thing on Hermione's mind when she saw the room.

The small fireplace on one of the walls still had a fire crackling merrily within, but it was lined with large evergreen branches. A pine tree stood in the corner of the room, a multitude of simple ornaments and Christmas lights adorning it. At its tip, a blue stone that seemed to twinkle in the fire's light was perched.

"it is beautiful, isn't it?"

Hermione jumped, whipping around to see, surprisingly, Papyrus. After a few moments, she nodded. "That stone is very pretty."

Papyrus grinned widely. "UNDYNE-er, undyne brought it with her from waterfall, and it was only fitting that it be placed atop the tree."

"Why," Hermione asked curiously, "do you sound like Sans?"

The tall skeleton pointed his thumb in the direction of the couch, where a bluish-purple lump was positioned on top of Sans. "when mistral is unable to sleep, he tends to sleep with either me or sans. mistral tends to awaken around the same time as the person he is with, and both he and sans need their slee-"

A door loudly slammed down the hallway, causing the lump to jolt off of Sans and onto the floor, revealing Mistral as he hit his skull on the coffee table on the way down. "ow."

A pair of eyes seemed to pop out of Papyrus's eye sockets as he ran forward to help his brother up. His voice back to normal volume, he asked, "MISTRAL! ARE YOU INJURED? YOU APPEARED TO HAVE HIT YOUR HEAD RATHER HARD ON THE TABLE, AND YOUR SKULL IS STILL HEALING..."

Mistral immediately sat up, cringing lightly as his hand flew to the back of his hooded skull. "i'm fine, papyrus, really-"

Papyrus gave Mistral a deadpan stare. "I JUST WATCHED YOU REACT AS THOUGH YOU WERE IN PAIN. I'M NOT AN IMBECILE."

Before Mistral could object, Sans stretched out from his spot on the couch. "misty, let paps look."

Sighing, Mistral hesitantly pulled down his hood, bowing his head so as to let his brothers see it. Hermione caught a glimpse as well, and it didn't look very pretty. Half-healed crack lines spiderwebbed out from the center of the back of his skull, a second, obviously new set rebreaking some chips off. Papyrus tutted loudly, leaning over with his gloved hands glowing a bright green.

This is what Undyne walked in to see.

Mist, how did you even manage to hurt your skull again?

"ugh...frisk, do we really have to talk about my skull right now?"

"Y-yeah, Frisk, the past is the past, so let's not focus on it!"

"Undyne, what ever are you nervous for?"

"i think something seems a little fishy here."

"SANS!"

"U-Undyne, what d-did you do?"

"What're you talking about, Alphys? I didn't do anything!"

"heyihaveanidealet'sfinisheatingandgounwrappresents!"

"Uh..."

"MY BROTHER SAID THAT HE WISHES TO FINISH EATING SO THAT WE MAY OPEN PRESENTS, AND I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE! WE MUST HURRY SO THAT WE MAY SEE WHAT SANTA HAS BROUGHT US!"

Everyone was scattered around the living room, and a pile of colorfully-wrapped boxes sat under the tree. No one moved to grab the the presents, confusing the humans. Finally, Mr. Granger decided to break the awkward silence. "What are we waiting for?"

Toriel smiled kindly. "Why, Santa of cou-"

"SANTA!" Papyrus yelled excitedly, bouncing up and down on the couch, shaking his brothers as well. "HE'LL ONLY BE A FEW MORE MINUTES, I'M SURE OF IT!"

Mistral grinned. "yeah, it's going to be great!"

"yep," Sans agreed, a look on his face that practically broadcasted that he knew something his brothers didn't.

A knock on the door had both Papyrus and Mistral flying to their feet. Papyrus sprinted for the door, throwing it open to reveal...Asgore in a Santa costume. "SANTA! YOU CAME!" Papyrus exclaimed before giving the boss monster a hug.

Mistral, however, looked like he was shocked. Frisk could practically see the pieces coming together within his mind. The skeleton didn't say anything, though, most likely for the sake of his brother.

'Santa' laughed. "Yes, Papyrus, I am here, and I come bearing gifts for you all!" His eyes slid towards Toriel, who merely glared back. His full blown laugh turned into a nervous chuckle in a matter of seconds. He slowly eased Papyrus off of him before heaving the large sack he was carrying over his shoulder. "Feel free to come forward and take your present!"

Papyrus practically vibrated with excitement as he jumped to position himself before Asgore once more. Mistral halfheartedly followed to second, with Frisk taking third and Hermione fourth. Asgore handed the tall skeleton a colorfully-wrapped box. "THANK YOU SANTA!" Papyrus yelled before running back to the couch, waiting patiently to open it.

"thanks, santa," Mistral said dully as he took his present.

Frisk grinned widely as the received theirs. *You thank Santa for the present.

"Thank you...Santa?" Hermione asked more than said as she was given a present.

Asgore laughed with a bit more confidence. "Why, you are welcome, human!" He gazed over to the living area, where the adults (and three of the four children) were sitting and gestured for them to come over. "I have presents for you as well!"

Several presents handed out later, 'Santa' was slinging his sack over his shoulder once more. "Well, I'd best be off! After all, there are many more monsters that are receiving presents from Santa this year! Happy Gyftday!"

The monsters echoed the red-suited king, leaving the humans confused. "But...aren't you celebrating Christmas?" Mrs. Granger asked.

Every monster stared blankly at her. Finally, Undyne spoke up. "What the hell is Christmas?"

One overly long explanation of the Christian religion later, the gathered group began passing Gyftday presents to their recipients. Mistral, as he did every year, hesitated before accepting each gift given to him. Once everyone had received their presents, Mistral spoke up. "so...who's youngest?" At the confused look of the humans in the room, he elaborated. "youngest gets to open the first present."

Toriel nodded. "Mistral is correct."

"Yeah, punks! It's TRADITION!"

"U-Undyne," Alphys stuttered, catching the fish monster's attention. "you've a-always said t-tradition was stupid. W-what's with the sudden ch-change of h-heart?"

Undyne grinned widely. "I might not be one for traditions, but Gyftday is definitely one I can get behind!"

Hermione sighed. "Well if it's a tradition, then I am probably won't be the first one. My birthday was in September."

"BUT HUMAN!" Papyrus said. "IF YOUR BIRTHDAY WAS IN SEPTEMBER, THEN YOU WOULD BE THE YOUNGEST ONE HERE!"

"Yes, that would be the case, if it weren't for the fact that it was my twelfth birthday."

"ok, girlie," Sans said, stretched out as much as possible on the couch without overlapping his brothers. "guess that means it's either mistral or frisk."

As usual, a text box popped into existence before Frisk, startling both Mr. and Mrs. Granger. *You tell everyone that you will be turning twelve in March.

Everyone's (save Hermione's parents) eyes turned toward Mistral, who was doing his best to become one with the couch. "i-uh-well i-uh..."

"YOU ARE UNABLE TO SELECT A PRESENT?" Papyrus grinned widely before shoving one of Mistral's presents into the youngest skeleton's hands. "HERE YOU ARE, BROTHER! NO NEED TO THANK ME!"

"th-thanks, p-p-papyrus," Mistral said before slowly beginning to unwrap the present.

"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT!" Undyne shrieked, moving to jump to her feet. A pupilless glare from Sans, however, froze her in her tracks. "Uh...What I meant to say was for you to take your time."

Mistral pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a plain, cardboard box. When he opened it, his pupil lights grew. "is...is this...?"

"Y-yeah, it is!" Alphys said as proudly as she could. "Th-the first ever v-video game system d-developed f-for monsters! The M-Monster Gaming Console is c-cross-compatible w-with every human s-system, and isn't b-becoming available u-until early J-January!"

"whoa...thank you, alphys," Mistral said, genuinely shocked that someone would be willing to go to such lengths for him.

"Okay, now that THAT'S finally out of the way," a certain fish monster said, "LET'S OPEN PRESENTS!"

Next chapter: back at Hogwarts!