Disclaimer: Not mine, never been mine. I'm not making a single knut.
"Harry!"
"Mrs. Weasley!"
The doorway of Grimmauld Place was suddenly filled with red haired people waiting for the red haired woman to let go her choke hold on the Boy Who Lived.
"Hey Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said somewhat meekly, and Molly let go of Harry finally to turn towards Hermione. Her face darkened slightly and then it was gone, and she was pulling Hermione into a crushing embrace as well.
"Oh, Hermione!"
"Charlie!"
"Ginny!"
"Bill!"
"Fred!"
"George!"
"Ok, you two, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said, shooting a glare at her twin sons, who were going around to the family and hugging them.
"Come in, you guys. Kreacher just made some awesome hot cocoa, and it's waiting for us in the dining room. Plus, you have to see the tree." Harry winked at Hermione. The tree had come out looking like it was decorated by four drunk people, which was completely accurate. The next morning, no one had the heart to fix it. Even Snape said he preferred it to the Hogwarts trees.
"Hey Fred, George, Bill, Ginny,…Charlie," Hermione greeted them all as they filed past her. They all hugged her or smiled except for Ginny and Charlie who just nodded.
"If we would have known you two would be here alone for Christmas, we would have come sooner," Mrs. Weasley was saying as Hermione followed in to the dining room. "Oh good heavens, what happened to that tree?"
Hermione and Harry started laughing and tried explaining about the decoration process, but at that moment Snape and Draco came through the door that lead to the kitchen, mugs in hand and chuckling with one another. Both parties stopped at the sight of the other.
Snape recovered first. "Mrs. Weasley," he said, and nodded to her, and then the rest of the family.
"So glad you could all make it. Harry wouldn't have had a good Christmas without the rest of his family," Draco said, charismatic smile in place.
Harry swooped in to save his boyfriend. "It's true; I would've been a nightmare. I even ran into the Dursley's the other day. Made me remember why I love you guys," he laughed, and put his arm around Draco's waist to give him a half hug.
Mrs. Weasley seemed to shake herself out of a trance, and put on a tight smile. "We're always happy to be with Harry. He's been a part of our family for years. And hello Severus, good to see you. This is a surprise."
"Yes, it was for me as well. But Hermione begged me to join and she's hard to say no to…after you've said it twenty times," he said, and smirked at her.
The twins started laughing, unaffected as usual by any tense situation.
"Yeah, that's our Hermione. Hello, Professor Snape," George said, and Fred repeated the greeting, then both strode forward to shake his hand.
"And Draco…happy Christmas," Fred told the blonde, and stuck out his hand, George following. Draco's eyes widened with surprise slightly, but he recovered quickly and grasped the men's hands.
Bill strode forward and shook hands with Snape as well, and then followed his brother's lead by shaking Draco's.
Setting down his mug, Draco strode over to Mrs. Weasley and bowed, perfectly and slightly, thanks to his pureblood training, before rising again. "I hope you have a good Christmas here, Mrs. Weasley. I never got the chance to speak to many people after the war, choosing rather to shut myself up away from society, but I would like to formally offer my late condolences on your husband and sons. Mr. Weasley was never excessively rude to me, even though my father was horrible to him. He was one of the first to see me as my own person rather than a replica of Lucius. Percy was always fair to me, and never used his power as Prefect or Head Boy to punish me terribly unless he needed to, which is more than what I know I would've done. And I won't insult you by saying that Ron and I were friends, but we did become acquaintances in the months leading up to the battle, during training. Often, we would stay behind and discuss strategic tactics and have a go at chess, in which we were both happy to find an opponent evenly matched. The loss has hit Harry hard, especially in the months since we started school, and I can only imagine how it is for you. I'm often envious of such a loving family, and it's good knowing Harry has a family who loves him." He softly grasped her hand and kissed it.
Mrs. Weasley looked at him for a moment, with tears shining in her eyes. It was perfectly executed, Hermione thought. He said everything with the proper voice inflections and sincerity, knowing the majority of the stay here would rest on how Mrs. Weasley was handling it. That was a powerful weapon Draco had. Snape's eyes glittered with suppressed mirth at catching on what Draco was doing, and Harry's eyes darted back and forth. Finally, Mrs. Weasley gave a watery smile and patted Draco's hand.
"Thank you, dear boy. And I feel I must apologize, for I did not give you the chance as Arthur, and now Harry, gave you. I know you are your own person, but it's good to finally KNOW," she said.
Draco grinned and turned to Charlie, his smile never losing warmth. Then again, he was a pro. "Professor Weasley," he said and nodded.
Charlie just tilted his head at him, and then cut his eyes back to Snape who hadn't taken his eyes off of him for the last few minutes.
"Ginny," Draco continued, and grinned wider when he saw her eyes narrow.
"Ginny, don't be rude," Mrs. Weasley admonished. Draco grinned even wider, his eyes shining with amusement.
"No. No, I'm sorry. I can't do this," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Ginny!" her mom snapped, but her daughter just shook her head.
"No. This is wrong. I just…can't," she said, still glaring at Draco.
"Miss Weasley, you are a guest here and as such-," Snape started, but Draco waved him off.
"It's ok Severus. Now, Ginny; what exactly can't you do? And I'm not sure what's wrong. You must elaborate," Draco told her, smile still hitched in place, but with steel for eyes.
"You. Harry. THIS!" Ginny exploded as her hand swept over the room to encompass the tree and smattering of gifts.
"I understand you may still take issue with me, but I see nothing wrong that Harry has done," he answered, voice taking a slightly harder tone.
"I see very much wrong with what he's done, mainly with you. You turned him into a little faggot," Ginny hissed.
"GINEVRA WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley thundered.
"Insult me all you want, Ginny, but don't you dare bring Harry into this," Draco said, losing the façade, voice going cold.
"It's alright, Draco; I think I'll bring myself into it. Ginny, you're a guest in my house. I expect you to act properly," Harry said, stepping forward.
"Oh, fuck off Harry!" There was a collective gasp from the Weasley family. "How dare you talk to me like that, after everything that's happened?"
"Like what, Ginny? LIKE WHAT?"
"Like my brother DYING because of YOU, for one," Ginny shot back at him. "YOU KILLED RON!"
Harry was a statue, and his lips barely moved when he answered. "I didn't kill Ron."
"You may as well have! You know he would never have gone into the middle of that battle if it wasn't for you!"
"Anything else?" Harry asked, pulling off a voice that almost sounded bored.
"Yes, there's damn well more! You…you and…HIM, for another!"
"HE has a name, Ginny. But we can also refer to him as my boyfriend."
"How DARE you! After everything! Everything you and I went through-"
"Oh, HERE it goes. I knew it was going to be brought up…," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
The rest of the guests were watching from their sides of the room in surprise. Mrs. Weasley had covered her mouth at the mention of Ron's death and hadn't lowered her hands since. Fred and George, per usual, were finding the whole affair amusing. They had taken up standing in the middle of the room near the fighting couple and had produced small double sided pendant flags that said "Go Harry!" and "Go Ginny!" on either side.
"Yeah, here it goes! You led me on! You knew how I felt about you, and you knew that my mom wanted us to be together, and so did Ron! We were SUPPOSED to be together!"
"Ginny! I don't LIKE GIRLS! There is something between your legs that just DOESN'T appeal to me! Stop bringing in others just to make me feel guilty. I never led you on. I comforted you when I realized that you probably needed to talk. At least I'm not like your BROTHER who used the memory of Ron to try and hook up with Hermione!"
Hermione groaned softly and covered her face. Snape's arm came around her and she felt him chuckle softly as she buried her face in his robes.
"CHARLES WEASLEY!"
Charlie looked properly ashamed and averted his eyes from his mom and the rest of the family.
"Whatever. It still doesn't account for what you're doing! It's WRONG, Harry. It's DISGUSTING."
"You know what Ginny? I don't have to hear this. This is MY house, and YOU are a guest here. If you don't like it, go back to the Burrow. But you're my FAMILY. Even when I thought I liked girls, I NEVER thought of you in any way other than a sister, which I know for a FACT both Ron and Hermione have told you! So go, if you don't want to spend your Christmas in a perverse house with two disgusting men, because I'll be fine here."
The room was very quiet; even Fred and George had stopped waving their flags. They were currently glaring at their older brother, who was still studiously looking everywhere else but at anyone.
"Ginevra Weasley, you should be ashamed," Mrs. Weasley said, coming forward.
"But mama-,"
"No buts. I'm giving you three choices: one, you can march yourself upstairs and stay there until dinner everyday we're here. Two, you can floo back home with me following so I can set wards, and you will be confined to your room there, with regular meals dropping in. Or three, you can behave like an adult, apologize to your host for being so rude, then apologize to Draco, and then finally apologize to everyone else for your horrid behavior. Then, and only then, will you ask Harry to allow you to stay with him and this family for Christmas. And you, Charles Weasley," she began, looking away from her furious daughter to her ashamed son, "you will apologize to Hermione, then to Professor Snape, Harry, and finally the rest of us. You don't get the choice."
Charlie nodded at his mom, and then walked over to Hermione. He bowed low to her, and then looked in her eyes. "Hermione, I feel ashamed for what I did, even if I could blame it all on the liquor. I'm sorry."
"I forgive you, Charlie."
He nodded, and then turned reluctantly to Snape, whose eyes still glittered with suppressed amusement.
"Professor Snape, I apologize." He stuck out his hand. After a quick jab with her elbow, Snape shook it.
"Harry, even though I wasn't in the argument today, I was still brought into it and therefore feel I must apologize. I have not been a friend to my younger brother's friend." He shook his hand as well.
Turning to face the room, Charlie struggled to keep his eyes from looking down. "To everyone else I apologize as well, but especially to you, mom. I feel ashamed for what I did." He walked over and kissed his mother's hand, still keeping his eyes averted from his glaring twin brother's.
"You should feel ashamed," Molly said softly, a tear rolling down her face. "This is not how your father and I raised you; either of you."
Charlie paled slightly and nodded. He then turned and walked up the stairs to a room.
"Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley glared at her only daughter.
Ginny stiffened and seemed to weigh her options, but finally walked over to Harry and Draco.
"I apologize. This year hasn't been easy for me, and I'm not just trying to make excuses. I should not have said what I did; this is neither the time nor the place. Harry, I should respect you more. Draco, I shouldn't have called you names and insinuated that you warped Harry." She turned to the rest of the room. "I apologize to you all as well. This is not how a Christmas holiday should start."
She faced Harry again. "Harry, I would be grateful if you allowed me to stay with my family here in your home for the holidays."
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of COURSE you can stay, Ginny. This is going to take time for us all to get used to. Now come on; Kreacher really does make the best cocoa."
"Thank you, but no. I think I'll go check on Charlie." With that, Ginny turned and nearly ran up the stairs.
A tense silence followed until it was broken, unsurprisingly, by the twins.
"So where is this cocoa we were promised?" Fred asked.
"And who made the moving ornament of Harry crying?" George asked.
Harry laughed as Kreacher and Dobby appeared with trays of cocoa. "That was Severus, of course. Who else would draw themselves pushing me down?"
Several pairs of eyes widened fractionally at the natural use of the professor's name, but no one commented.
"It looks like you had a fun time," Mrs. Weasley said, walking around the tree, smiling fondly. "Ron would've had a blast with this."
Her children looked at her in surprise; it was the first time since his death that Molly had been able to mention Ron without tearing up.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I had hoped that you all might help us with the last of the ornaments," Harry said, and accioed a box. "We made these the other night."
Draco pulled out his wand and shot a patronus up the stairs. Everyone tried not to laugh at his animal.
"Yeah, yeah; get it out now. Go ahead," Draco grumbled.
"Draco…your patronus…it's…," Hermione couldn't finish; she thought she would die from containing her laughter.
"A lion, yes, I know. Thank you," he said, rolling his eyes.
"It's very…," Fred started.
"…Slytherin," George finished.
Finally, Draco started to laugh.
"What's going on? A lion just told us to come down here," Ginny said, appearing on the stairs with Charlie behind her.
"A lion that sounded a lot like Draco," Charlie added, which set off more laughter.
"I thought Harry would want you two down here to help, that's all," Draco said.
Harry opened the box and started pulling out flat ornaments shaped like snowflakes. They were roughly 6 inches in height and covered in silver or white glitter on the front. In the middle of the front of each, was a picture. On the back, there were facts or quotes or memories about the person pictured.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, voice hushed, "is that…"
"Arthur, yes."
"Oh…oh Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, tears already forming as she stared at the picture of her husband waving out at his family. She took the ornament from Harry and turned it over, where she gave a watery laugh at their descriptions of his love of all things muggle. She kissed the photo, walked over, and hung it on the tree.
"There's one in here for all those we knew and loved, cared for, and/or respected; people who were lost because of this war, even during the first part. Will you all help us hang them?" Draco asked the group.
As a whole, the family moved forward and took a random snowflake.
"Look at Percy! Was there ever a picture where he DIDN'T look smug or pompous about something?" Bill laughed, holding up the waving, smirking picture of their brother for all to see.
"Ah, Pansy; she was a feisty one. When she wanted to play quidditch, she was a hell of a beater," Charlie said, hanging up an ornament of the girl.
"Ha! Kingsley looks so goofy in this one!" Draco said, passing the ornament over to Snape to hang on the tree.
"Of course you would get a picture of the older Creevey taking a picture of you taking a picture, Harry," Snape sneered, but without his normal acid.
"I miss Hagrid so much," Hermione sighed, and leaned into Harry as they both stared at the photo of their half giant friend.
A few muffled sniffs invaded the din in the room, and everyone stared around looking for the source. It was found from the most unlikely of people; it had been a long time since any atmosphere had affected the twins, and even longer since people had seen them cry. Yet there they were, sitting on the couch. George was continuously wiping his own face while rubbing Fred's back, while Fred covered the top half of his face with his left hand, elbow supported on his knee, shoulders shaking slightly with soft sobs. In his right hand he held a picture of their smiling, late, youngest brother.
"Oh my boys, my boys," Molly said, rushing over and dropping to her knees in front of them. "We all miss him." She gathered them into a tight embrace, and after a few seconds, one arm from each twin came around their mother's back and held on tightly.
Hermione looked around the room. Snape and Draco looked uncomfortable, but were tactful enough not to overly show it. Draco simply walked over to Snape and started levitating some of the ornaments up higher.
Bill, Charlie, and Ginny all stood around with tears in their eyes. Ginny had her arms wrapped around herself and finally Bill and Charlie moved to each put an arm around her shoulder, all of them shaken with the twin's emotion.
This family has suffered so much loss, she thought.
Finally, her eyes touched on Harry. He half smiled back at her through the pain she saw in his face. But under the layer of pain, she thought she saw a flicker of triumph. He knew from personal experience that dealing with it was the best way to go. This was his way of dealing with it, and he was glad to bring it to light with others if it helped them in their grieving as well.
He bent over and picked up two more snowflakes, looking at them intensely before walking over and hanging them up himself. When he moved back towards the box, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Potter, as well as Sirius, smiling back down on all of them. Snape's eyes strayed on the one of Lily Potter for a fraction longer before flitting away.
She was shaken from her musings when Fred and George both stood up. Walking over to the tree, they both cast a levitation on the ornament together and hung it up high, almost to the top. The picture of Ron looked down at his family and friends a little sadly, wiped a tear from his eye, and then smiled and continued to wave while the group continued adding more ornaments.
XXX
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"
"Get. Out. Of. Here," came the muffled reply. Hermione laughed and sat up looking at the two boys who had just entered. Ginny buried her head lower under her blanket.
"Come on, Gin; Kreacher slaved away making breakfast for us all," Draco said.
"No he didn't; he enjoyed every second of it."
"Well, he still did the work. So that means you have to get up and eat it."
"Happy Christmas, Hermione," Harry said, walking over to sit on her bed.
"You too, Harry. I'll be down in a second." She gave her best friend a hug.
Fifteen minutes later, the whole household was downstairs. Mrs. Weasley and Kreacher were bustling around the long table making sure everything was perfect, Snape was sitting at the end of the table sipping coffee and reading the paper, and everyone was walking into the kitchen to sit down.
Hermione immediately sat down next to Snape.
"Happy Christmas, Severus," she said softly as she reached for her glass. She wanted nothing more than to grab his face and give him a huge kiss like the one he had given her the night before when he walked her up to her room, but she knew he hated overly done public displays of affection.
"To you as well, Hermione," he murmured, and his eyes glittered with mirth as if he knew what she was thinking. He reached under the table and squeezed her thigh lightly, and kept his hand there even when she reached under to entwine their fingers.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with loud voices all trying to be heard over the other and laughter as they ate through their Christmas breakfast.
"Presents time!" the twins finally chorused together, and everyone murmured happily and stood up to go to the dining room. It was a bit chaotic, trying to find a place for everyone. Soon, Hermione was transfiguring candle holders and books into couches for the lot.
After everyone had accioed their gifts, there were only the sounds of ripping paper and delighted voices for awhile.
"Wow, Hermione! Thank you!" came Draco's voice. He was ripping the plastic covering off of the DVD special addition pack of all the Die Hard movies. Harry looked just as excited for them and kept reaching over to grab one, only to have Draco absentmindedly smack his hand back as he picked up another present.
"Oh Harry, they're lovely!" said Mrs. Weasley, who had just unwrapped her new dress robes. They were a beautiful midnight blue with silver trimming.
"Severus," Hermione breathed, and looked up at him.
"I must confess that I didn't get it for you at first with our…relationship…in mind. It was originally supposed to be a matter of safety." He took the delicate silver ring out of the box and slipped it onto her finger, tapping it with his wand. As he did so, she felt a tingle of magic course through her body. "Its design is that it can either be shown or cloaked, but the runes etched into the ring are the same as on mine." He tapped his hand with his wand and a broader band of silver appeared. "If you need me, at all for any reason, especially if you're hurt, you just need to concentrate on the ring. You'll be able to feel the magic from it, and when you concentrate on it then mine will alert me. I'll be able to find you. I know Draco gave you the necklace, but this is just a back-up plan. I would much rather be alerted than have to wait to find out if something happened to you. It can only be removed by you."
"Thank you," Hermione said, and wrapped her arms around him, audience be damned. After a moment, his arms hesitantly came around her as well, although they didn't hold her tightly, and he let go in record time.
"This gift, however, I got for more personal reasons," he said, and pointed to the next box in her pile.
Opening it, she saw a beautiful tennis bracelet inlaid with blue and white diamonds.
"Oh my god, Severus," she breathed.
"Don't worry, it was in my family's vault; I have many things like this lying around waiting to be pawned or given away. I have no use for most items belonging to my mother's side," he told her, and after a moment's hesitation, leaned down and kissed her on her forehead.
"Sweet man; I love it," she said quietly, looking up at him. It was then that she noticed how quiet the room had gone. Looking around, she saw eyes on them both quickly dart away when she looked, except for her two best friends.
"That's beautiful, Hermione," Harry said, smiling, and then went back to his presents.
"Wow, way to make everyone else's gifts look like shit, Severus," was Draco's comment, which had Snape barking out a single HA! to him, startling the audience.
"Just because I know the subtlety of a gift-,"
"What subtlety? It's a bloody diamond bracelet! How is that subtle? It makes the watch I gave Harry look rather shabby, thank you very much," Draco said, as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a black box with a dark green ribbon.
Harry opened the box and his eyes got wide. "Draco, this is awesome; really magnificent! Thank you, love!"
Draco stopped teasing Snape when he heard Harry's endearment, and almost visibly melted. The watch was made of titanium, and had little diamonds around the face. The whole watch shone brightly, and it looked right at home on Harry's wrist next to his bracelet.
"The diamonds aren't very big, but they were what I could afford-," Draco started sheepishly, but was silenced by a giant kiss from Harry.
"Hermione, these are wonderful," Snape said quietly, having just opened his box from her. Nestled inside were a collection of six potions viles, all black and shiny. He could feel magic emanating from them.
"They're hand blown and fixed with the highest level of charms they can be. The charms cover anti-dropping, breaking, or spilling of any sort but are safe enough to not contaminate any potion," she said happily, watching his face.
"Beautiful," he just, running his fingers lightly over them.
"I figured you'd get a snake imprinted in them," Fred joked, and winked at her.
"Or just get him a snake period," George joined in, laughing.
"Contrary to popular belief, not all Slytherins like snakes, you know," Draco said in an offhand voice as he started to unwrap a present Harry pushed into his hands.
"Speaking from personal experience, Draco?" Fred asked, laughing at his scowl and blush.
"Draco's right, though, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley," Snape said amusedly. "Being Head of Slytherin for some reason automatically makes everyone assume I love snakes. I can't tell you how many snake designed items I have gotten from members of the staff over the years. But no one else tries to give their Head of House animal symbols. Could you imagine if I tried buying a pet badger for Professor Sprout?" Everyone started laughing.
"Show up with a life-size griffin for McGonagall!" George said, laughing harder.
Laughing, Hermione looked over at Draco who was staring at something in his hand while Harry looked anxious.
"If you don't like it, I can send away for something different," she heard Harry telling him quietly. "I thought it'd be nice, but-,"
It was Harry's turn to get silenced by a kiss and then a huge hug followed. Untangling himself from his boyfriend finally, he turned to Snape.
"Severus, catch!" he said, and tossed it to Snape, who in turn, caught it.
Hermione and Snape both gazed down at a handsome pocket watch of solid silver with an intricate letter 'D' on the front in black obsidian. When you opened the cover, the face of the watch had large, clear numbers, while the other side had a picture of Draco and Harry. Hermione recognized it as one Harry had asked her to take of them a couple weeks prior. Closing it, she looked back happily at the couple.
"It's beautiful, Draco. It's so heartfelt."
"Great, now I'm getting outdone by Potter," Snape grumbled.
Draco laughed. "That seems to be a pattern in your life, Severus."
Snape's eyes sparkled dangerously as he sent the watch soaring back towards Draco's head.
XXX
"Bye Mrs. Weasley!" Harry called out, watching the mother of the Weasley's wave once more before apparating after her children. Closing the door behind him, Harry leaned against it, closed his eyes, and sighed. "That was an ordeal."
Draco laughed as he walked into the hallway. "They're certainly a lot to handle. But I'm glad your family was here with you." He kissed Harry soundly before pulling him back to the sitting room with Hermione and Snape.
It was a lazy day, and all four occupants of the house were enjoying the time before they would have to leave for school. Term resumed the 5th, so they had to be back on the 4th. It was New Years Eve.
Hermione was lounging on the couch, head in Snape's lap, reading. Snape had a book in one hand and the other was absentmindedly stroking her hair. She looked up when Harry walked through the door.
"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" She laughed as Harry immediately blushed, and Draco grinned lasciviously. Snape glanced up at the pair and rolled his eyes before going back to his book.
"She was asking about any…festivities…you have planned for the holiday…as a group, Harry," Snape sneered.
"Hey, maybe he was too…," Draco started, making Snape snort.
"Well, I figure we can all just sit around and drink and eat, maybe barbeque, watch the fireworks from the roof…normal muggle New Years, I guess."
"Muggles watch fireworks from the roof?" Draco asked, eyebrows creeping up towards his hairline.
"Some do," Hermione answered, setting her book aside. "Some watch them on the telly, some go out to big picnics with groups of muggles and watch them together. I think the roof is a great idea."
"Yeah, the protective charms will shield us, and there are also other charms in case of rain or anything. We can barbeque up there," Harry said.
"And barbequing is when muggles put chunks of meat over an open fire, right?" Draco said, trying to keep up.
"Something like that, yeah," Harry said, laughing.
A few hours later, the group was settled on the roof of the house. Harry had adjusted the charms so that a slight breeze from the snow outside would play through, but not enough for discomfort. They had moved a table and two couches up there as well. Hermione and Snape had taken up their spot reading once more, tiny conjured balls of light floating around them as the light faded. Harry was trying to explain the grill to Draco.
"See, the wood chips go down here, and the fire they make cooks the food up here."
"Why not just use incendio?"
"Well, I do sometimes to light the wood, but honestly I just like the smell of matches."
"Ok, so what does this do?"
"Not so much!" Harry laughed, as Draco squirted liberal amounts of lighter fluid on the wood chips. "That helps the fire start automatically and stay lit for longer."
"What properties does it possess that make it so?" asked Snape, who had walked up behind the pair, curious at the demonstration as well.
"Er…I'm not entirely sure. I'm just going off what the package says," Harry replied sheepishly.
"Hmm, foolish and unorthodox. Continue," Snape told him. Harry quirked an eyebrow at Hermione who was now standing there and she tried not to laugh at him.
"Ok, well, we already have the meat marinated-"
"That's what we did before, right? When you had me paint the chicken with the good smelling sauce?" Draco asked.
"Yes. The chicken has been marinating in the sauce for a couple hours and the steaks are nice and tender. So, now we strike the match and light the fire. Draco?" Harry handed the box of matches to his boyfriend. Draco took them eagerly.
A second later, Draco was holding a long match with a little flame at the top, which he promptly dropped in his surprise.
"Well…at least I had it for a second. Did you see that? Muggles have come up with so many ways to get around using magic!"
"Here, try again Draco," Hermione said, taking the box from Snape who had grabbed them from Draco when he dropped the box, and was looking closely at the stick of wood.
A few more seconds and Draco had another lit match, which he carefully held on to.
"Ok, now touch it to right here," Harry said, pointing. The fire instantly sprang up, and Draco jumped back. Even Snape's eyes widened; he was much too disciplined to jump. "Alright, now we add the meat."
Soon, the roof was full of light talking and laughter and the smell of grilled food.
"You can eat a steak with pink in it, but the chicken HAS to be cooked all the way," Harry was explaining.
"I take mine medium-rare, Harry," Snape said as he walked to the edge of the roof and looked out over the town.
"Well done, for me," Hermione added.
"Are those code?" Draco asked.
"Kind of. Rare means pretty much raw," Harry laughed. "So the way Severus wants his is to have the middle pretty red, and some brown around. Hermione is getting hers cooked all the way through."
"How do you eat yours?"
"I've tried them all. When you live alone with only two house elves and get depressed a lot, you tend to eat. I learned to experiment with food. I found that I like medium-well. Just a hint of pink so it's tender, but I'm too English to like it too raw," Harry told him.
"Ok, I think I'll try mine medium. That's the middle, right? I think that will be good."
"Kreacher!" Harry called suddenly.
"Yes, Master Harry?" said the elf, appearing next to him.
"I've forgotten side dishes. You wouldn't be able to whip up some of your potato salad, would you? It's amazing."
"Of course, Master Harry. It's already done, actually."
"Excellent, you're the best. Alright everyone; let's eat!"
In no time, everyone was settled in and eating. Wine was poured, and eventually the firewhiskey joined.
"…and so, Hermione was turned into a cat!" Harry nearly yelled, red in the face from laughter and drink, almost rolling with mirth. Draco howled with laughter and even Snape laughed. Hermione just flipped him off, making them laugh harder. "After all that planning," he said, trying to catch his breath, "all those preparations, she went and turned herself into a cat."
"I remember helping to brew the potion to help restore her, but I was never told the full story. It's pretty astounding you were able to brew polyjuice potion in your second year," Snape said, knocking back the rest of his drink.
"Yeah, that's our Hermione," Harry said, raising his own glass in mock salute.
"It was you, then," Snape said, looking dangerously at her. "I never knew who broke into my storeroom that year. I would've gone to my grave swearing it was Potter. Because of you, I have triple wards set to this day." That made them all laugh again, until Draco decided that Harry's mouth was better used for kissing.
As the male couple seemed to move horizontally on the couch with alarming speed, Hermione got up and walked to the edge of the building, where she watched the fireworks from where they were being set off a distance away.
"Are you cold?" Snape asked, coming up behind her.
"A little chilly, but I'll be fine. I think Harry's spell is wearing off." Snape put his cloak around Hermione's shoulders and wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, standing with his chin on her head. "Thank you for coming, Severus."
"Thank you for inviting me, Hermione. I admit, I wasn't overly thrilled when Albus decided for me where I would spend the holidays, but I must admit this is better than what I had planned."
Turning around in his arms, she laid her head on his chest. "Thank you for being so open, as well. When you showed up, I thought you would act how you do at school sometimes. It's nice to see you being able to have fun for once in your life, since I've known you at least."
"I'm surprised I have been acting this way as well. I admit, it probably has something to do with the generous amounts of alcohol your friend Harry keeps providing as well as my godson's presence, but nice all the same."
"So, Severus…"
"Yes?"
"Where do you plan on sleeping tonight?" She smiled into his chest when she felt him stiffen.
"Hermione, I-," he scrambled for words. "As flattered as I am that you would be willing to give up your purity to me, I think I would rather a time when you weren't egged on by alcohol, and…why are you laughing?"
Hermione lifted her head from where she had buried it in his chest, laughing. "Severus, as flattered as I am that you want to defend my virtue, I feel the need to point out that you don't have to: its non-existent."
"You mean, you're not a…"
"No," she said, chuckling again.
"Oh. Oh ok. Well. That's…that's good," Snape said, still struggling with words. "But be that as it may, I still don't think we should engage in anything while under the influence. At least, not the first time. NOT counting the one in my study after the masque or at the Yule Ball, our first kiss was influenced by liquor, before you took the sobering potion. I would rather not set a precedent."
Hermione sighed and looked up in his face. Finally, she said, "You're right. My hormones are getting the better of me."
"Trust me, Hermione, I want to. I just don't think it would be right, for this first time."
"Look at you, so sweet and charming and thoughtful," Hermione said, smirking.
Snape snorted. "Hardly. I just don't think I would perform as well under the influence, and would rather the first time last for a while, thank you. This is purely for selfish reasons." He smiled down at her laughing face before leaning in to kiss her.