Disclaimer - I own a few new things post-holiday, but Harry Potter isn't one of them.

A/N - Sorry it's been a while! Thanks to everyone who favorites and follows. I never expected to see the numbers top 100. :)

To the ever-cool reviewers: SerpentofDarkness (imagine just how weird McDonalds would be to one who's never seen it. Thanks for the indepth review, too); viola1701e (I'm still struggling with the timeline, so I wasn't sure if any LOTR movies had been out yet. Cool idea, though); Liz (Ireland? Really? Did they serve beer at the McD's?); Fool's Tutor (very intriguing idea! I've always held the opinion that the more ruthless Pureblood families killed their Squibs (saw it in a fic somewhere and that sounded about right to me). Will keep in mind. Promise); Trelawney (The PM's were awesome. So glad to hear from you!); persevera (thanks much! As you know, I really enjoy your work. Guys? Check persevera out if you haven't already!); jessy3123 (sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. My spawn had her wisdom teeth out and I've been focused on that); stronghermione (thanks for the great review! I hate stories where reconciliation is immediate. Just not realistic to me); bluestriker666 (thanks - good to hear from you!); SlytherinGurrl (thank you - I had a very nice Christmas. How was yours?); triSARAHtops1412 (Cute handle. Thank you for the kind words!); DramioneForever123 (Thanks much!)

Thanks to everyone who liked the Hermione/Scorp interaction. Tried hard not to make it syrupy.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Yule, nice Tuesday...whatever floats your boat. And may you all have a kickass New Year!

The day before Christmas Eve, the following letter was owled to Healer Randolf:

Dear Sir:

I trust this finds you well. My wife is currently doing passably physically, though low morale is an issue. I wondered if it might be permissible to Levitate her downstairs, set her somewhere safe and comfortable, and have a small Christmas gathering? If you don't believe it feasible, I will understand.

Happy Christmas to you and yours.

Respectfully,

Draco Malfoy

A response was returned shortly thereafter:

Dear Mr. Malfoy:

I am indeed well, thank you for your concern. It is understandable how Mrs. Malfoy may be feeling a bit depressed. As long as you and one other wizard (I would suggest your father or Mr. Potter) work together to levitate and deposit her downstairs, I see no reason to refrain. Just be careful, if you please. Use the same procedure to return her to her room. While she is downstairs, make sure to remind everyone firmly of her delicate condition.

Happy Christmas to you as well. Things will improve, Mr. Malfoy. It just takes time.

Regards,

D. N. Randolf

The Malfoy heir grinned to himself as he began to make plans for the following day. He was certain he could get at least some friends and family members to attend if he told them how badly Hermione needed this. Lucius had been ducking her since the Hamleys trip, so she couldn't even have the fun of grilling him.

He waited until he was out of sight of his lovely wife then took out the DA coin he'd nicked from her jewel box. He worded his message specifically so that no one but Potter would answer:

Potter - need to speak soonest. Request for tomorrow. Others can be notified after discussion.

The coin warmed in his hand.

Malfoy - where and when? If you've got the time, I can Apparate to your place.

Draco told Harry to Apparate landing outside then enter through the unlocked back door. And BE QUIET, for Merlin's sake. When the former Saviour arrived the two remained in the kitchen and spoke in whispers. Malfoy laid out his request and was happy to find it met with enthusiasm. Potter told him to let him take care of the rest, just have Mione and Scorpius ready tomorrow. He also mentioned using the Protean charm on a set of objects for private communication. Potter left quickly, stating the need to get the cooperation of such a large group.

When the bespectacled wanker (Okay, semi-wanker; Potter was growing on him, if he was honest with himself) was gone, Draco owled his father regarding his idea for Christmas Eve. Both of his parents responded with enthusiasm.

Highly pleased with himself, the young blond gathered his wife and son to him in the Master Bedroom, and had their elf bring up a picnic dinner. Scorpius snoozed with his parents that night, and all three awoke refreshed the next morning.

"Hermione, love, did you take a shower last night?"

"No, I meant to this morning. Why?" Good, no suspicion yet.

"I had words with Healer Randolf yesterday, and he said that as long as you were levitated carefully downstairs, you could sit on the couch. So why don't you freshen up, and I'll assist you with a change of scenery?"

Granger-Malfoy raised a skeptical brow at her spouse, but headed into the bathroom for a quick shower, drying spells, and a little bit of makeup. By the time she finished, Lucius and Narcissa had arrived.

"What are you two doing here?"

Lucy smiled noncommittally. "Draco mentioned that he needed an extra hand moving you downstairs. We figured we'd come over to help, and visit for a spell." Narcissa disappeared into the kitchen without another word. Hermione's relocation went off without a hitch; she found herself on the sofa in short order, cuddled under a quilt.

"Draco?" She sniffed the air.

"Yes, love?"

"I swear I smell a large number of different dishes being prepared, and one of them smells just like Molly's scones."

"Ah, that. Well..." Her husband tapped on the kitchen door, and lifted the Silencio on the room. Within seconds, the entire Weasley clan invaded the Family Room. Molly indeed carried a tray of scones.

Hermione looked about herself in confusion. "What IS all of this?"

Ginny popped out from behind George, everything petite and delicate about the pretty redhead except for her swollen abdomen. "Malfoy mentioned you've been down lately, so we decided since you can't come to the Burrow, we would bring Christmas to you!" She leaned down and gently hugged her old friend. "We're using an Extendable Charm on your place today, too."

"My goodness, Gin, just how many people are coming?" Hermione felt vaguely overwhelmed by the thought of such a crowd in her home, and here she sat, unable to carry out any hostess duties.

Harry knelt at her side. "Don't fret, 'Mione. Not only did Molly bring enough to feed an army, your mother-in-law brought a team of house elves from Malfoy Manor. Just relax and have some fun, yeah?"

"House elves?"

"Fun, Hermione. F-U-N. Focus." With that, Harry kissed her lightly on the cheek and moved away.

The younger Mrs. Malfoy's eyes just kept widening as people continued to arrive. When all was said and done, it was the Weasleys, the Malfoys, the Potters, everyone selected to participate in the donation, and many of those that weren't.

The eggnog was spiked and children made a racket everywhere they went. Ron and Draco got into an extremely heated discussion on Quidditch and refused to stop until Harry refereed. Lucius and Richard Granger slunk about with a dangerous look in their eyes, and Hermione was mothered to the point of suffocation by Molly Weasley, Jean Granger and Narcissa. Blaise and Pansy showed up fashionably late, and their little darling (read: holy terror) immediately hooked up with the other youngsters, promptly tying one of them to a pillar. When matches were requested, Blaise helped them find a new game that didn't involve cannibalistic barbeque. Luna brought guaranteed Nargle-free mistletoe as a gift.

Hermione didn't know what to pay attention to next as anarchy reigned throughout her home. She felt like she was like watching a three-ring circus on drugs.

It was absolutely perfect.

Each family had brought "Santa's" presents to the party, explaining that Santa understood the gifts were needed a little early this year. It was a wild time watching the children opening their packages. Parents were run ragged trying to keep the correct presents with each child.

Lucius and Richard stood back a bit, waiting for the fun to start. When one of his choices for Scorpius came up, Lucius elbowed Richard gently. "Watch this."

Within minutes, young Master Malfoy found himself the proud owner of a Gyromax Remote Control Helicopter. His playmates made various jealous rumblings.

"Thank you, Grandfather Malfoy! Now what do I do with it?" Grandfather Malfoy attempted to steer the little boy back to his unopened gifts, but Scorp was fixated.

Hermione snickered in amusement. "Bring that here, Scorpius, and I'll get it up and running. That way you can go back to your gifts."

Scorpius looked pleased, Lucius confused, and Richard shared a smirk with his son-in-law, who turned away to start another debate with Ron.

Soon enough Granger-Malfoy had the helicopter assembled, and she called her son over to explain the remote controls. Being an intelligent boy, Scorpius caught on quickly, drawing laughter from the adults and envy from the kids until something went horribly wrong.

No matter what he did with the control, the helicopter insisted on chasing Lucius first around the room, then the entire house. It kept up with him as the terrified man ran outside, covering his head with his hands. The copter flew just above and around him, threatening to tangle his hair in its blades at any moment.

"FIEND!"

He could hear the sneaky little chit's laughter from inside the house. Finally the copter flew back without him and made a three-point landing on the coffee table, right into the vegetable dip.

"Oops." Mione grinned and shrugged as Pansy removed the copter from the dip, hitting it with a quick Scourgify.

Pans handed it back with a lopsided grin. "See, if you'd been doing this sort of thing instead of spending all of your time in the bloody library at Hogwarts, you could have been cool."

The hostess pressed a mock-offended hand to her bosom. "I was plenty cool! Just ahead of my time, is all. Besides, if I hadn't been studying in the library, I'd never have learned to do all of this."

Lucius cautiously reentered the house. Seeing the helicopter was de-animated, he relaxed a bit.

The rest of the gifts from the senior Malfoys went over wonderfully with Scorpius. Narcissa noted the calculating look on Hermione's face, leaned over and said, "I chose none of these. Just so you're aware."

"I know. The Playmobil Hospital set is charming. I love how he got the figurines to move on their own, and that he created patients for them to work on. The wigwam is inoffensive, and I think the camera is a great idea. And Scorp has Nerf items here already. Even the Ride-on toy is better than that blasted training broom."

"But he's not off the hook, is he?"

"You look absolutely malicious right now, Narcissa."

"Don't fret, darling. It's done out of love," the Malfoy Matriarch answered airily.

"Well...now that you mention it, I do owe Lucy for the drums, the karaoke kit and the potions set."

Narcissa sighed in remembrance. "Draco got a kit like that when he was Scorpius' age."

"And how did that go?" Wary brown eyes waited for the rest of the story.

"He blew up the East Wing three days after Christmas. It was such a mess."

"That's horrible!"

"Au contraire, cherie - I helped him to do it. I'd been dying to redecorate that area from the day I moved in!"

Both women collapsed in fits of giggles until Hermione sobered somewhat. "I can't have him blowing up the house."

"I know. I'll make him use it in the Malfoy lab only."

"So that just leaves the drums and karaoke set."

Narcissa gave a casual nod of her head. "Any ideas?"

"Not yet, but I have the rest of the day to think about it."

The afternoon passed quickly. Most families couldn't stay very late, because they had to do the Holiday Shuffle and visit other family members. As the festivities were coming to a close, Hermione cleared her throat, fingering the exquisite lapis lazuli and pearl necklace she received from Draco.

"Excuse me- everyone?"

The room quieted.

"Thank you so much for taking time from whatever your plans were today to spend part of Christmas with us. Special thanks to my husband and Harry for organizing this gathering. This is the best holiday I can remember. Before you leave, please give me a hug goodbye!" She smiled brilliantly at the room when she heard the collective "Awwww." One by one, her visitors (including the house elves) acceded to her request, and she gave Lucius a lingering hug when it was his turn.

"Happy Christmas, Lucy."

"Happy Christmas, Fiend. Are you sure you aren't angry about the gifts?" Lucius looked uncertain.

"Oh, no. I'm sure I'll manage." She relaxed back onto the couch cushions, her eyes drooping as sleep claimed her. Draco and his father levitated her back to her room, and her husband tucked her in.

"Do you really think she's okay with the gifts?" Lucius whispered as they tiptoed away.

Draco shrugged. "Either way, I bet you'll find out soon enough."

The Malfoys shared a brief embrace and Draco's parents left after gathering up their elves. As soon as they arrived home, the elves went off to take care of anything they missed while at Missy Hermione's all day.

Lucius followed his beloved spouse upstairs to their room. She turned to give him a seductive smile as he reached for her.

And got an electric jolt through his system that knocked him backwards. Cissa peered down at him and went to offer a hand up.

"No darling, that's okay. I'll just grab this chair here-" ZAP! He withdrew from it quickly and went to straighten his robes, only to be zapped again. In fact, everything he touched, animate or otherwise, dealt Lucius a nasty burst of electricity. In the end, he remained seated on the floor, pouting.

"I don't think I've been forgiven for the drum set."

"No, dear. I don't believe you have," came the sanguine reply as Cissa sat at her vanity, brushing her hair.

The whoosh of the Floo caught both Malfoys' attention. Standing in the middle of the room was the drum set with karaoke machine and the marching drum, and a note.

Lucy-

The Ohm-My-Goodness charm will wear off as soon as you find somewhere to house this in Malfoy Manor with the sincere intent to allow Scorpius to play it in YOUR home any time he pleases. No time limits and no loopholes.

I've explained to him that since Malfoy Manor has so much more room, it was a better place for him to play.

Wishing you an electrifying night,

H.