AN: I know I went a bit overboard with Christmas, but that's the last 'Christmas chapter', I promise.

I don't own Harry Potter and don't make any profit.

When Hermione and Severus came back from their walk it started to get dark.

"That was lovely. I feel alive and really refreshed," she smiled.

"Can I offer you anything until Neville gets back and we will have dinner?"

"No thanks, I'm fine. Just sit down and relax," she patted the empty place on the sofa next to her.

"Some music would be nice though."

"I agree." Severus sat down and flicked his wand so some music was playing in the background.

"I didn't know you knew Frank and Alice."

"I met them twice or maybe three times, that was after they went into hiding. They were always very nice to me. I was amazed Frank recognised me after all these years. I imagine we could have become friends. He was quiet, but very smart, always pondering over things and when asked had an intelligent opinion about things. I liked him."

"Maybe you already bonded, without even noticing and that's why he remembered," Hermione suggested.

"That's sounds about right," Severus replied, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Severus exclaimed.

It was Neville, as they expected it, who stepped into the room, his face shining with happiness.

"Did you have a nice afternoon with your parents?" Hermione asked. "I did, I read them from the book, we had a little unhealthy Christmas feast with all the things you brought for them. And my dad was really happy because my grandmother sent a long letter along with some Christmas presents for them," Neville smiled.

"I think you are doing a great job with your parents, Neville," Hermione got up and hugged him.

"I'm trying, but it's hard. And I hope I will get better," he said. "Thanks for coming along today, it made it way easier for me."

"So when do you guys want to eat? An hour maybe," Severus suggested. Both of them nodded and Severus let Trinky know.

After Trinky left Severus said, "Can I please, please have a look what you filled into my stocking?"

His puppy-eyed look made Hermione burst into laughter.

"Go ahead!"

Severus handed Elena to Hermione and carefully took his stocking off the hook, his eyes shining with happiness.

He slowly took item after item out of his stocking. There were a lot of sweets and even a pack of mini marshmallows.

"I bought them for you and forgot to give them to you," Hermione smiled.

"What's that?" Severus asked holding up some sticky notes.

"Sticky notes. You write something down, like 'Lunch with Neville: Thursday 12 o'clock' pull it off the stack and stick it to a prominent spot so you won't forget," Hermione explained.

"I love it," Severus said, snatching a quill and writing on the sticky note: Don't forget! New Year's ball with Severus! He handed it to her and reading the note Hermione blushed. Looking in to his eyes she whispered, "How could I forget?"

Neville smiled looking at them. Severus produced some more items along the stationery line, like a stapler, some neon markers and paper clips.

"I'm sorry it's all very practical, but I just went shopping a couple of days ago for myself. I do enjoy the muggle approach to stationery, it's so much more practical. I didn't think of stockings at all. So when we talked about how to fill your stocking I thought you might like it. And to be honest that's all I had, except for some of the sweets."

"I really like it. It's interesting and new. I'm just not sure about the stapler. It looks more like an instrument of torture than stationery. You have to take me shopping to a stationery shop some time. And thanks Neville for the bookmark and the notepad. Do they actually sell them shaped like a bat?"

Neville laughed, "No I transfigured them."

"And I love these mini-bottles of firewhisky."

"They are great, they just started selling them," Neville replied.

"Can we open our stockings now, too?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Sure," Severus said.

Along with a bulk of sweets, she found a nice eagle feather quill, with a couple of tiny bottles of different coloured ink, a poster, that enlarged itself, when she pulled it out, with the most important magical plants and herbs for Herbology and Potion brewing and a pack of Daydream Charms, from George's shop.

"Thanks Severus," she quickly pecked his cheek, making Severus grin a bit stupidly.

Neville found the same items in his stocking, only instead of the pack of daydreams he got a remembrall. Seeing it Hermione started laughing.

"Just so you know, I'm a lot better nowadays remembering stuff," he said defensively turning red.

"It was a joke, just like Hermione's daydreams," Severus chuckled and winked at her.

"Well I wonder what's in your stocking sweetie," Severus cooed in Elena's ear, who started giggling. Neville got up and got the stocking for Severus.

"Do you want to open it with her, Hermione?"

"Really?" she beamed at him.

"Come here sweetheart. That's really exciting. Your very first Christmas stocking," Hermione sat down on the floor, lifted Elena into her lap and started opening the stocking.

"Let's see what we can find," Hermione whispered in the girl's ear.

"Aha that looks like a bath toy, it's a frog. I can see you like that. It apparently also makes a good chewing toy," she chuckled.

"Okay what else is there. I think that's a rattle." Elena dropped the frog and grabbed the rattle.

"And what's that?" she pulled some sort of dark blue fabric with white dots from the stocking.

"It's … it's a dress. Your very first dress. That's exciting isn't it! It's so cute," Hermione squealed with excitement, while Elena didn't look too impressed.

"I think you should've given the dress to Hermione," Neville commented dryly.

"It looks like it, doesn't it."

"Oh ha ha! You funny, funny boys. Okay on with the stocking. So there are two more bath toys a ducky and a shark. Look there are some stacking cups. Maybe Uncle Neville will be able to stack them so you can see what you can do with them."

Neville snorted, but started stacking them. Severus looked at Hermione holding his daughter and joking around with her and he felt a very warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

"And finally I can feel something plush," she said producing two small soft toys. Neville raised an eyebrow as he saw a plush badger and a plush eagle in Hermione's hands.

"Well she already has a plush snake and a plush lion, so I thought that would help her make an informed decision in which house she wanted to be sorted in later," Severus explained giving a mischievous grin.

Hermione and Neville laughed. They played and joked around with Elena. Severus was lying on his back and gazing out the window into the night sky.

"That's the perfect Christmas," he mumbled to himself. A couple of minutes later they heard a faint 'pop' and Severus' eating table was bursting with food and drinks and Christmas decorations.

"Christmas dinner is served," he grinned. When they got up Hermione very quietly said to Severus , so only he could hear it, "I think you're doing a wonderful job with Elena."

He didn't say anything in response but just squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

They enjoyed their Christmas dinner and about an hour later Hermione mumbled, "I've eaten way too much."

After Elena had a couple of good yawns Severus said, "I think it's time for bed sweetie."

"Can I please get her ready for bed?" Hermione asked puppy eyed.

"Be my guest!"

After Hermione had left with Elena, Neville bent forward and said in a hushed voice, "So did you tell her how you feel?"

"No, not yet. But I want to take my time. There is nobody else around now, that could be a threat. Well except for you!"

"What!? Are you crazy, I'm not interested in her. Don't get me wrong. I adore her, but I can't imagine being with her. So no threat there."

"Well then let me take my time. I invited her to the New Year's ball, and we'll see how things turn out."

"That's a plan, but don't wait too long. Oh and before I forget, Mum drew something for you."

"For me?"

"Yes she told me specifically to give it to you," Neville grinned and handed Severus a piece of parchment. Severus eyes grew wide and he smiled, when he looked at the picture, that quite obvious showed him holding hands with Hermione, who was carrying Elena on her arm. A couple of moments later Hermione appeared in the door with Elena on her arm, so Severus quickly put the drawing away.

"Your daughter is ready for bed and she is really tired. She nearly fell asleep when I changed her. Didn't you sweetheart?"

After Severus tucked Elena into bed, he lighted the candles on the Christmas tree again.

"I've got some presents for you," Hermione got some presents from under the tree and handed them to Severus and Neville.

"Thanks," Severus said and carefully opened the smaller one of his presents.

"Wow! It's gorgeous!"

"I know how much you hate quills, so I thought I get you a nice Muggle fountain pen."

"And it has my name engraved on it. Thank you so much Hermione!" Severus hugged her tightly.

"The other one is not as spectacular, it's just a book."

"Yeah but it's the book I miss the most, since I lost them all in the fire," he said when he had unwrapped it.

"I noticed, since you are always mumbling about it, when we brew together and something isn't going according to plan."

"Thanks again!"

When Neville opened his gifts he found some personalised letter parchment and an encyclopaedia on Britains plants.

"Thanks Hermione!"

"I noticed how you always have to go to the library to look things up in this book. So I thought I'll save you some trips. And the parchment, well a birdie told me, you will be needing this regularly."

"How did you… Who told you?" Neville stammered bright red in the face.

"Ginny!"

"What are you two on about?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well … I … I started dating Hannah Abbott," Neville stammered.

"Ah hence the non-threat," Severus mumbled to himself.

"What?" Hermione asked nosy like a little girl.

"Nothing," Severus jumped up, "I've got presents for you too."

"These are for you Hermione and Neville these two are for you. This one is so we can get pissed here and don't have to run into the Headmistress dead drunk again," Severus pointed to the bottle shaped gift.

When Neville opened it revealing a bottle of Odgen's finest he laughed, got up handed a bottle shaped gift to Severus and said. "My thoughts exactly."

Severus laughed, when he unwrapped a bottle of Odgen's finest as well.

"What? You got caught by Minerva being pissed?"

Both man started laughing at her appalling look.

"Severus actually called her Minninerva," Neville chuckled.

"And he tried to hide behind my back," Severus pointed to Neville.

Hermione started giggling imagining the picture.

"Anyway that's my real present," Severus pointed to the other gift.

Neville opened it and gasped, "I've never seen this one. Where did you get it from?"

"Albus left a box of old Order stuff in my possession before he … I … That's where I found it."

Silent tears were running down Neville's face, clouding his vision.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

Neville handed her the picture frame he was holding in his hands, without looking at her. While Hermione looked at the picture Severus hugged Neville one-armed to comfort him.

"It's a very sweet picture," she said looking at the photo, that showed Neville as a toddler with his parents, his mum kissing his cheek and his dad ruffling his hair.

"While it's picture time, you might want to open this present first," Severus pointed to the present in her right hand. She unwrapped a picture-frame with two photos in it. One must've been taken in her first year, the other one right after the final battle. Both showed Hermione in the middle, Ron to her right side and Harry to her left. The first was a picture full of life and joy, in the second one they looked worn and tired with some minor wounds showing on their dirty faces.

"Wow thanks! That's very special. It shows so much…, " her voice trailed off and she was lost in her own thoughts.

Neville who had recovered handed Severus another gift, "Pomona told me you used to have a little garden before the war, planting your own plants and herbs for Potions brewing. So I thought if you want to do that again, I help you out." Neville smiled.

Severus opened it and revealed a bunch of little bags with plant seeds in them.

"So it's not only Potion ingredients, but also vegetables seeds and seeds for berry bushes for Elena," Neville beamed explaining.

"Thank you Neville, I love it."

The two men hugged again, while Hermione opened her other present from Severus. It turned out to be an encyclopaedia on potion ingredients. On the first page there was an inscription that said: 'To Hermione, a very talented apprentice and a dear friend. From Severus.'

"Thanks Severus!" She got up and kissed his cheek and then she started reading, sitting down on the sofa.

When she looked up again after fifteen minutes both men were absorbed in their books as well.

"We might want to blow out the candles on the tree before you are losing another home," Hermione said, making the others jump.

"I really need something sweet now."

"I thought you've eaten way too much," Neville said.

Hermione smiled, "I know, but that's what Christmas is about as well. Eating way too much."

"Can I offer anybody something from my Christmas present," Severus asked waving around with his bottle of Odgen's.

"Yes please," Hermione and Neville answered.

Sensing that it would be a long evening Severus set an alarm to alert him, when Elena would wake up. The evening went by with talking, joking, reading, eating and a lot of drinking, so finally all three of them passed out, Neville on the arm chair and the other two on the sofa, Hermione with her head in Severus' lap.

AN: Next up: The New Year's Ball. It will be a hell of a night for Hermione. Just to let you know!