On Christmas Eve morning, Anya was up bright and early, meaning everyone else was also up as the four year old didn't believe in being quiet. Hermione knew part of her daughter's excitement was due to the fact it would be Christmas the following day, but another possibly bigger part, was due to the fact Charlie was around. Anya was always so excited when her father visited, especially at Christmas time.
"Is it just me or is she more excited this year?" Charlie asked Hermione over breakfast. Anya was busy eating her porridge, while telling Draco what she hoped Santa would bring her for Christmas.
"She's more excited than normal," Hermione confirmed as she drank her coffee. "Not that I know why."
"I think the reason's sitting at the other end of the table," Charlie remarked with a grin as he watched Anya and Draco burst into laughter over something.
"You think Draco has something to do with how excited she is?" Hermione questioned. "Do you not think it has anything to do with you?"
"I think it's probably a combination of both," Charlie replied. "I'm sure Anya's pleased I'm here, but there's no denying she loves having Draco around all the time. I know she loves me, and I know I see her as often as I can, but I think she likes having a father figure around full time."
"She has been pretty thrilled since Draco moved in," Hermione conceded.
"See, Anya's just happy with her family," Charlie said.
"If only her grandmother could accept that," Hermione muttered as she began to clear the dishes.
While Hermione was clearing up after breakfast, Charlie and Anya headed into the front room to sort the presents that were going to be going to The Burrow that day. Draco stayed in the kitchen, and the pair discussed how the day was going to work. While Hermione, Anya and Charlie would be going to The Burrow, they also had a trip to the manor to fit in so that Lucius and Narcissa could hand over their presents.
"Wow, that's a hell of a lot of presents," Draco remarked when he and Hermione entered the front room and found several gift bags stacked beside the fire.
"It's what happens when you have such a big family," Charlie said with a rueful chuckle. "And these days the family is even bigger than ever."
"Did you sort the bags, like I labelled them?" Hermione checked. She had a gift bag for each portion of the family, making it easier for her to hand stuff out.
"Yes, we followed your instructions," Charlie answered, rolling his eyes at Hermione. "Didn't we Anya?"
"We were good," Anya confirmed.
"And did you remember to pack the presents you got yesterday?" Hermione asked her daughter.
"Yes, Mummy," Anya replied.
"Good girl," Hermione said with a smile as she settled down on the sofa.
For the rest of the morning, Anya watched a few Christmas cartoons while Hermione, Draco and Charlie chatted about what was going to happen for the rest of the holidays. Until Charlie spoke to the sanctuary after Christmas he wasn't sure how long he would be able to stay, but he had holidays owing to him so he was hoping to spend a decent portion of January with them.
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Charlie asked Draco as they got ready to go to the Burrow at lunchtime.
"I don't want to cause trouble," Draco replied. "And we all know, my presence won't be welcomed by everyone."
"Just ignore Mum," Charlie said. "I'm sure the rest of the family would love to see you."
"Maybe another time," Draco said. "It's easier if I just stay away. I'll just head on over to the manor."
"What time do you want us there?" Hermione asked.
"Anytime," Draco replied. "And Charlie, feel free to come. I know my parents wouldn't mind."
"Thanks," Charlie said, giving Draco a smile. "I guess that depends on how things go at home. I may just stay at The Burrow for a while and catch up with the others."
"Just as long as you know that you're welcome at the manor," Draco said.
Saying goodbye to Draco, Hermione and Charlie shared the gift bags between them as they headed off to The Burrow. Luckily they were using the floo network, and it was easy enough for Charlie to take Anya through with him and his bags. Hermione followed on after the pair, and as she arrived at The Burrow she realised they were the last to arrive. Although chances were some of the family would have been at The Burrow since the crack of dawn.
Hermione found herself quickly surrounded by Weasleys as everyone bustled to say hello. Dropping the gift bags beside the tree, Hermione greeted the family. Finally all the greetings were over with, and she managed to track down Anya and Charlie. Charlie had settled himself down on a chair, and Anya was snuggled up on his knee. Hermione knew from experience that Anya always needed a bit of time to settle before she joined in playing with her cousins, but hopefully within half an hour or so she would be ready to leave her father's side.
Forty minutes later, Anya still refused to move from her father's knee, and Charlie was starting to get worried about his daughter. Anya had always been shy when they visited The Burrow, but this year she seemed so much more insecure. Shortly after they'd arrived she'd visibly flinched away from Molly when his mother had tried to give her a kiss. Charlie was worried that the tension between Molly and Hermione had grown so much in recent months that Anya was starting to pick up on it.
Blaming himself for not realising just how bad his mother had gotten, Charlie decided to go and have a quiet word with Molly. She'd spent the best part of the afternoon fussing around, and it wasn't long ago she'd headed upstairs to make the beds. Persuading Anya to join her cousins playing on the floor, Charlie headed off upstairs to find his mother.
"Mum," Charlie called as he headed up the stairs.
"I'm in the twins' old room," Molly called back.
Charlie entered the room to find his mother straightening the bedcovers on the beds. The room held several beds, most of which he figured had been transfigured from something else. He was guessing that Molly had persuaded a few people to stay overnight. Every year she tried to get as many people as possible to stay at The Burrow on Christmas Eve, and most years she managed to persuade almost everyone to stay.
"It's not too late if you and Anya want to stay over," Molly said. "I can whip up a few more beds."
"No thank you, we'll be going home tonight, the same as every Christmas," Charlie replied.
"It's not your home, Charlie," Molly said with a snort. "It's Hermione's. Although not for much longer I'm guessing."
"What do you mean by that?" Charlie asked. He'd instantly picked up on the distaste in his mother's voice when she spoke about Hermione, and he had to wonder if she spoke like that when Anya was around. It would certainly explain why his daughter was uncertain around her grandmother.
"She is supposed to be getting married," Molly said with a sneer. "I'm sure her and the Malfoy boy will want a place that's theirs. After all, the house is nice, but it's not exactly good enough for a Malfoy is it."
"Draco has no problems with the house," Charlie told his mother. "And from what I understand, they're going to continue living in the house for the time being. I don't think moving house is on Hermione's agenda."
"Well maybe she should," Molly replied.
"Make your mind up mother, not two minutes ago it sounded like you disapproved of her moving somewhere new with Draco."
"I do disapprove of that," Molly said firmly. "In fact I disapprove of the whole relationship. It's not good for Anya."
"Anya loves Draco," Charlie argued.
"She should love you, you're her father, not him," Molly hissed.
"Anya knows who her father is," Charlie insisted. "You need to stop this, Mum. Hermione and Draco are going to get married, and both Anya and I are happy with it. You need to accept things the way they are before you drive Hermione away."
"You won't be too happy when I tell you what's being going on," Molly said. "Sit down Charlie, we need to talk."
Deciding it would be a good idea to hear what Molly had to say, not least because it would give him an idea of how she'd been treating Hermione, Charlie settled down on one of the beds. Molly sat down opposite him and gave him a small smile.
"I know you don't want to think that you've made a mistake in not being around for Anya, but I'm afraid you have," Molly said softly. "You're only here now and again, and Hermione only lets you see what she wants you to. I'm sure she likes to paint a picture that everything's rosy in their life, but it isn't."
"What are you talking about?" Charlie asked. He was fairly sure his mother was referring to the prowler, but he wanted to hear her take on what was happening.
"I'm sure Hermione hasn't told you any of this, but there's been someone prowling around the house," Molly answered. "It's happened at least twice that I know of, and both times Anya was at the house. I've tried telling her that getting involved with a former Death Eater is dangerous for Anya, but she won't listen. She's more interested in her love life than her daughter. You need to do something Charlie, Anya isn't safe where Draco is."
"You're right, I do need to do something," Charlie said, causing his mother to smirk smugly. Obviously Molly thought she'd won, and that Charlie was going to take her side over Hermione's.
"Just so you know, Anya is more than welcome to stay here," Molly gushed. "She'd be perfectly safe here, and it can either be a permanent arrangement, or just temporary if you're going to come home and look after your daughter."
"I'm not leaving Romania," Charlie said. "And Anya is not moving in here."
Molly looked crestfallen at the news, and she looked at her son in confusion. "I thought you said you needed to do something."
"What I need to do has nothing to do with the prowler, which Hermione told me all about by the way," Charlie said. "I know Harry and Ron are trying to find out what's going on, and I know they are not blaming Draco."
"I'll bet you anything that when they get to the bottom of this, he's the reason this has all happened," Molly argued.
"I suppose we'll see when Harry and Ron catch the culprit," Charlie said with a shrug. "But that's not what I need to deal with right now. What I need to deal with is you."
"Me?" Molly repeated in bewilderment.
Charlie nodded in response. "Yes, you and your attitude towards Hermione. I know you've struggled with things since she fell pregnant, but it's time you accepted that Hermione and I did the right things both for ourselves and for Anya. We have everything the way we want it, and Anya is being brought up by two parents who love her, three if you include Draco, which I do. You have to stop treating Hermione as though you hate her guts."
"I don't hate her," Molly protested, not sounding at all convincing.
"Fine then, you resent her. Don't deny it, because I know you do."
"I resent her," Molly spat as she got to her feet and began to pace. "She rejects every offer I make to help her, and she's starting to turn my own granddaughter against me. If anyone hates anyone, it's Hermione who hates me."
"Hermione doesn't hate you," Charlie said to his mother. "I'm sure you're not her favourite person, but that's because you've always been on her back. You pick at every little thing she does, and you're always trying to tell her how to bring Anya up."
"I'm only trying to help," Molly insisted. "I've brought up seven kids, I know what I'm talking about."
"Giving advice is fine, but criticising everything Hermione does, just isn't on," Charlie said. "Anya is our daughter, and we'll make the decisions regarding what's best for her. And as for Anya being uncomfortable around you, it's nothing Hermione has done. She picks up on the tension, and obviously she's going to be on her mother's side. If you want a relationship with Anya, you need to fix the one you have with Hermione."
"I'm not sure that's possible as long as she's involving the Malfoys in my granddaughter's life," Molly snorted. "They're bad news, Charlie, and if we're not careful Anya will get hurt."
"Not on my watch," Charlie said with a snarl. "I'm going to be sticking around for a while, and not because I don't trust Hermione. I just think she needs some more support, especially as she's not getting it from all the people she should be."
Giving Molly a firm stare, Charlie rose to his feet and exited the bedroom. Settling back downstairs he was pleased to see Anya happily playing with her cousins. When Molly arrived back downstairs ten minutes later, she didn't mention their conversation, although Charlie noticed she was a lot quieter than normal. Not that anyone really noticed it as there was more than enough people in the house to make enough noise that if they'd had nearby neighbours they would have been complaining about the noise.
Hermione, Charlie and Anya stayed at The Burrow for a few hours, and in that time Molly was nothing but polite to Hermione. The only potential problem raised its head when Hermione announced it was time for her and Anya to leave.
"Already?" Molly protested. "But it's still early. There's still a ton of food on the kitchen."
"Sorry Molly, but we've got to be going to the manor," Hermione explained. "Lucius and Narcissa are expecting us. But we'll see you all on Boxing Day."
"Boxing Day?" Molly screeched. "What about tomorrow? Aren't you coming for Christmas dinner?"
"We're spending tomorrow at home," Hermione answered. "I'm going to be cooking."
"You as well?" Molly asked, turning to Charlie with a murderous look on her face.
"Yes, I'm spending Christmas Day with my daughter," Charlie answered as he also got to his feet. He hadn't been planning on leaving with Hermione, but he didn't really fancy sticking around to hear more of Molly's complaints. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?" he asked, giving his mother a pointed look.
"No," Molly spat out through clenched teeth. "I'll see you all on Boxing Day."
Not even bothering to say goodbye, Molly stormed into the kitchen. Charlie merely shook his head as he, Hermione and Anya said their goodbyes, collected their presents and headed home. Once at home, Hermione briefly stopped to drop off their presents from The Burrow, and pick up the ones she was taking to the manor.
"Do you want to come?" Hermione asked Charlie.
"You know what, I will," Charlie decided. Not only would it be his first real chance to get to know Draco's parents, but it would give him a chance to see how they interacted with Hermione and Anya, and to see if any of his mother's protests had any real basis.