Wow, I'm awful. Sorry, about the delay. I really wanted to have this chapter up before Christmas, but alas, things were incredibly chaotic. Thanks again to everyone who's offered their feedback. You guys are phenomenal! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays! Next chapter will be up tomorrow, I promise.

Enjoy! :)

~Chapter 24~

Previously: "Well, well, well, this is an interesting development," Kurt mused out loud with a wicked grin.

"What the bloody hell are you going on about?" Hermione inquired while running a hand through her hair.

"You and Satan of course!" The blue-eyed boy stated with wide eyes.

"What? We're just...friends?" She answered, trying to convince herself of the validity of that statement as well as the others. "And don't call her that!"

"Just friends, eh?"

"Kurt, leave her alone," Blaine chuckled, taking in the flustered appearance of his female companion.

"I just call 'em like I see 'em," the tall boy responded with a shrug of his shoulders, before looking fondly at the shorter Warbler.

"I could do the same thing, love," Hermione teased, looking between the pair knowingly before rejoining her teammates.

A few weeks after the New Directions' victory at Sectionals, Will found himself in the teachers' lounge looking over some papers, drinking his coffee, and trying to figure out what he could do to help his niece make it through this Christmas without too much heartache.

"Hey, Will," a familiar voice called out causing the hazel-eyed man to look up from his work.

"Hey," the choir director replied tersely, briefly glancing at Emma.

"Are we ok? You know, we haven't really talked since I told you about me and Carl. I mean, we haven't talked at all. Are you avoiding me?" The red-head asked him cautiously.

"Not at all," he answered shortly with a forced smile.

"So what are you doing for Christmas this year?" The guidance counselor questioned with a small grin.

"Just a little quiet time with Mia this year, I suppose."

"Will, you guys can't spend Christmas alone. I know it's your first Christmas without Terri, but this is Hermione's first Christmas without her parents and without the other people she considers to be her family. Look, um, Carl and I are having a big Christmas Eve party and we would love to have you two there."

"Well, thanks, Emma, that's very sweet of you guys, but I think it's best if we just keep things separate for a while," Will informed her bluntly.

"Yeah, ok," Emma responded with a frown.

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, the members of the glee club were trying to cheer up a gloomy British teen.

"C'mon, Hermione, Christmas is just around the corner!"

"Sorry, Mercedes, I'm just not really in the Christmas spirit this year," she replied sadly before walking out of the cafeteria. Someone with deep brown eyes saw this and hurried after the despondent girl.

"Hermione, wait up!"

"Yeah, Santana?" The wavy-haired brunette replied, her eyes lighting up slightly.

"We both have a free period. Let's go to the auditorium," the Cheerio ordered, linking arms with the older girl. The two sat at the piano, fooling around, and laughing lightly until the bell rang. "Shit, we gots to get to glee before Mr. Schue thinks I kidnapped you."

"Well, now that wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Hermione teased, her mood having improved over the past hour.

As the two entered the choir room, they were met with the rest of the New Directions singing and decorating a Christmas tree.

"Blimey, I just can't seem to escape," the British girl grumbled before sitting down, causing Santana to frown as her progress with the brown-eyed beauty vanished instantaneously.

"Hey, guys, what's this?" Will asked his students happily as he walked into the room with a small decorated tree.

"Uh, we're trying to get into the Christmas spirit., Mr. Schue. Christmas is totally my favorite holiday," Finn informed him with a large grin. When Hermione noticed the tall boy's childlike giddiness, she couldn't help but scoff, earning a glare from Rachel.

"Guys, I appreciate the effort, but this isn't what Christmas is supposed to be like."

"For us it is. I mean, this tree is like a mascot for glee club. We've won Sectionals two years in a row and according to everyone else at this school, we still suck," grumbled Mercedes, her arms crossed.

"Will, I can't listen to this anymore. I'll see you at home," Hermione said abruptly, shaking off the Latina's grasp on her shoulder, and storming out of the choir room. Will gazed sadly upon his niece before turning back to face his students.

Hermione quickly drove to the Hummel household and pulled into the driveway before making her way to the front door. She hesitantly knocked and soon came face-to-face with a smiling Carole.

"Oh, Hermione, dear, please come in. Burt and I were just attempting to bake some Christmas cookies. I'm warning you now though," the older brunette laughed as she led the British girl into the kitchen. Burt turned around upon hearing voices and Hermione let out a soft giggle at the sight of the man covered in flour.

"Well, hello, Hermione, to what do we owe the pleasure? Kurt's not home if that's who you're looking for," the man informed her with a smile.

"Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, I was hoping to speak to you. Um, you remember what we talked about at the wedding?" Hermione murmured quietly.

"Of course, dear. You know you can talk to us about anything," the woman told her as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"How did you manage to get through your first Christmas without your loved ones?" The brown-eyed girl managed to choke out before her eyes welled up with tears. The couple glanced at each other sadly before helping the wavy-haired brunette into the living room.

"I won't lie and say it was easy because it wasn't, but it gets easier in time. Of course, I still miss Kurt's mother, but I know she wouldn't want me beating myself up about it and I know she'd want me to move on with my life which I have. I guess all I'm trying to say is that I know she is happy for me," Burt finished looking at his wife with a fond smile.

"Hermione, there is nothing wrong with missing your parents, especially around this time of year. My first Christmas without Finn's father was hard and I had to force myself to get out of bed, but before I did that, I wished him a 'Merry Christmas' and had a silent conversation with him about past Christmases," Carole paused to wrap one of her arms around the trembling girl next to her. "Honey, no one is going to expect you to pretend that your parents didn't exist. The people who care about you are going to do everything they can to make this holiday as easy for you as possible."

"That's the thing though. I truly care about everyone I've met here and you've all been so kind to me, but being so far away from home and the people I loved in London, especially Harry, is not helping. I miss him," the British girl whimpered. Carole locked eyes with her husband who nodded and quietly left the room.

"You know you and your uncle are more than welcome to spend Christmas with us."

"That's very sweet of you, but I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas," the wavy-haired brunette replied with a forced smile before checking the time. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Hummel. I should get going before Will gets too worried."

"Any time, dear. And please reconsider our offer. We'd love to have you both here," the brown-eyed woman told her warmly before hugging the still sniffling girl tightly. The British teen smiled at her before thanking the man in the kitchen and walking back out to her car.

"I can't believe he's making us do this," Hermione groaned as she tugged at the green scarf she was forced to wear.

"Yeah, only your uncle would think it was a good idea to go caroling around the school," Santana chuckled as she readjusted the British girl's scarf.

"I feel like this is going to end up being a nightmare," the taller girl sighed as she rested her forehead on the Latina's shoulder, causing the younger girl to grin goofily.

"Well, what's the worst thing that could happen?" The raven-haired girl asked as they walked into the first classroom. The group began to sang only to receive harsh remarks from their audience. The glee club ignored them and continued to sing until someone threw a shoe that hit Hermione in the face.

"Ok, that's it," the wavy-haired brunette growled, her hands clenching into fists.

"Sorry, London, I was trying to hit the dwarf!" Someone called out, causing Hermione to lunge at him, only to be held back by Sam and Santana.

"Ok, let's get out of here," Quinn murmured as she ushered everybody out of the room as the other students began throwing more things at them.

"Hermione, calm down. It's not that big of a deal. People are just being stupid," Rachel muttered to the fuming girl, who was struggling against her friends' holds on her.

"I know, I just—" the British girl paused. "I'm going to go for a run. I need to clear my head," she informed the group before heading down the hallway.

"Hey, Granger, wait up!" A voice yelled out to the girl's retreating form.

"What do you want, Lopez?" Hermione questioned wearily.

"Want some company?" The Latina asked quietly.

"It's rather cold out there," the British teen informed her bluntly.

"Well, if you can stand it, I can stand it, now come on," Santana ordered playfully while dragging the girl down to the football field. As the two began jogging around the track, the raven-haired Cheerio broke the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "I may not understand everything you've been through, but I understand why you're so against the holidays this year." The wavy-haired brunette looked at her with a raised eyebrow as the younger girl chose her next words carefully. "You miss your parents of course, as well as the people you left behind in London, but you feel guilty because you're still here." Hermione's pace faltered at her words.

"No one except for Harry has been able to read me as well as you can," the taller girl muttered.

"Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises," smirked the Latina before turning serious once more. "I know you get sad after each time you perform because you wish they could see you, but the thing is, that wherever they are they are looking down on you and smiling because you're doing one of the things you love. It's ok to enjoy life, you know. Your parents would want you to. I know I might be overstepping some lines, but—"

"No, you're saying all the right things, San. You're really something special, you know?" Hermione informed her fondly before quickly kissing her cheek and increasing her speed, leaving behind a blushing Santana.

A few days had passed and it was now Christmas Eve. When Will and Hermione returned home that evening, a surprise in the form of Sue Sylvester awaited them.

"Hey, Will, Hermione," the tall blonde woman greeted them with a crooked grin.

"How—how did you get in here?" Will questioned, flabbergasted at her presence.

"Oh, I had a key made ages ago. How do you like your tree?" The cheerleading coach inquired, stepping to the side of the tree.

"Uh, it's beautiful. Wh—what's going on? What's with all the presents?" The choir director spluttered out with wide eyes.

"Well, you remember that old meanie who stole all that stuff out of the choir room? Well, she's sorry."

"Really? And what made her change her mind?" The curly-haired man asked with a wary expression evident on his face.

"I don't know, call it a Christmas miracle and we'll leave it at that. Now, I know a lot of these gifts are for orphans or something, William, but I got you something special. It's ok, it's not gonna explode. I thought you might want to put all of us out of our misery and shave off that Chia Pet," Sue informed him as he unwrapped the hair clippers earning a chuckle from the British girl.

"Thanks, Sue. The tree really does look great," Will responded genuinely.

"Well, Santa had some helpers." As soon as she finished her sentence, the Cheerios' coach blew her whistle and in walked the New Directions with large smiles.

"What are you guys doing here?" Hermione beamed as she embraced her friends.

"We know how hard this Christmas is going to be for you, so we all decided to come make it a bit easier on you," Quinn informed her with a shy smile.

"I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say anything, just grab some ornaments and let's gets our decorating on," Santana told her playfully. She did as she was told and couldn't help but gaze affectionately at the other girl. Once the tree was decorated and the gifts were passed out, everyone sat by the fire debating over which Christmas special they were going to watch. While Rachel was arguing strongly for White Christmas, Hermione discreetly moved to sit next to Santana, who glanced around the room to make sure no one was paying attention before putting her arm around the wavy-haired brunette. The older girl smiled and rested her head on the raven-haired girl's shoulder. They sat there quietly as the rest of the glee club continued to bicker and couldn't help but chuckle when Brittany decided she'd had enough and skillfully snatched the remote out of the tiny brunette's hand. The blonde dancer grinned triumphantly as she turned on her movie of choice. As the opening music began, the entire group fell silent as It's Christmastime, Charlie Brown started to play. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Hey, Mia, wanna get that?" Will suggested with a knowing smile. The British girl groaned and removed herself from the Latina's protective embrace. She dragged her feet to the door and swung it open. As soon as she saw what was on the other side of the door, her jaw dropped.