Christmas Lunch at the hotel was a roaring success, and everyone seemed to enjoy the delicious three course meal. The small gifts also seemed to go down well with the guests, as did the seating arrangements. People seemed to enjoy the smaller personalised tables and everyone looked to have enjoyed themselves.
Harry and Pansy had shared their table with Pansy's parents, Sirius and Remus while Draco and Hermione had dined with Hermione's parents, Draco's parents and Severus. Their tables had been right next to each other, meaning there had been some interaction between the tables, and also close by had been the Weasley twins. Thankfully, given events of the previous evening, not to mention the incident with Ginny just prior to lunch, the other Weasleys were seated at the opposite end of the room, meaning there was no unseemly scenes to round off the event.
Once lunch was finished, there was no rush for anyone to leave, which was something Harry and Draco had stressed when people arrived to eat. Instead, most people mingled for a while and had another drink before either saying their goodbyes or heading up to their rooms to pack before checking out.
As dutiful hosts, Harry and Draco made sure they were both in the reception area as people left, so they could wish everyone a Merry Christmas and to thank them for coming and supporting the hotel launch. With the sheer number of guests, Hermione and Pansy knew the wizards couldn't possibly speak with everyone, so they were also present doing their part and making sure no guest left without knowing how grateful Draco and Harry were for their support.
No-one had mentioned who would be the best person to deal with Ron, Ginny and Lavender, but Pansy had been keeping an eye out for the trio and she was pleased to see both Ron and Ginny joining the short queue to check out while Lavender wandered over to the large Christmas tree to get a closer look. Since it was Lavender she wanted a word with, Pansy made her way over to the other witch and politely thanked her for coming.
"Although I'm sure you wouldn't have, had you known who owned the hotel," she added.
"I think that applies more to my husband," Lavender admitted. "He's the one with issues with the owners. I have no such problems."
"I do hope you remember that when you come to write your article for Witch Weekly," Pansy remarked mildly.
"What do you mean?" Lavender demanded, whipping her head around to glare at Pansy.
"I'm just giving you a polite reminder that you are a professional, or at least I hope you are," Pansy answered. "I would like to think that anything you write for your magazine would not be clouded by your husband's dislike of the management, or your sister-in-law's disappointment of not being able to reignite old flames."
"Are you threatening me?" Lavender asked, looking around to see if anyone was close enough to hear what was being said, but they were the only ones anywhere near the tree. "You can't tell me what to write."
"I'm not trying to tell you what to write," Pansy replied cooly. "As long as anything you write is genuine, and not based on personal grievances, we won't have any problems."
"And if you deem I have been influenced by personal feelings, what are you going to do about it?" Lavender sneered. To be honest she hadn't even begun to think about putting together her article for Witch Weekly, but she was becoming tempted to get the knives out when she did sit down to write.
"I don't think you'd want to find out," Pansy said, flashing Lavender a wicked grin and reminding the other witch that she was a former Slytherin and didn't mind playing dirty. "After all, I'm sure you like your job."
"You couldn't get me sacked," Lavender snorted, convinced that Pansy was just bluffing.
"Couldn't I?" Pansy countered with an arched eyebrow. "I'm sure you're aware of who I work for, but you may not be aware that we're looking to expand in this country next year and I am in charge of the project."
"And what does that have to do with you having the ability to lose me my job?" Lavender interrupted.
"Do you not think the British press will be falling all over themselves to strike deals with the famous French designer, about to take Britain by storm?" Pansy questioned. "I'm sure Witch Weekly would not be happy to be blacklisted if we refused to deal with them, and I'm sure they would be most unimpressed if they learn that you were the reason for that boycott."
"You wouldn't do that," Lavender muttered, paling at the vivid picture Pansy was painting for her. While it was true the designer she worked for wasn't yet overly famous in this country, a launch in Britain would be big news and Witch Weekly would want to be in on it.
"I won't have to if you maintain your journalistic integrity," Pansy remarked with a shrug. "It's up to you, Mrs Weasley. Write an honest article and you will have no problems from me, or anyone else connected to the hotel. After all, don't forget that if you trash the hotel, you're trashing Draco, and Lucius Malfoy would not be pleased."
Even though Pansy was sure her words had already struck a chord with Lavender, she couldn't resist throwing in the added threat of Lucius. Even a fool would know not to mess with Lucius Malfoy, and Lavender Brown-Weasley didn't strike her as a fool.
"I look forward to reading your article when it comes out," Pansy said, giving Lavender a wide smile as Ron and Ginny approached. "Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for coming," she added, including Ron and Ginny in her smile, even though Ron looked at her as though she was dirt on his shoe and the hatred and jealousy flared from Ginny's eyes.
"What did she want?" Pansy heard Ron ask as she moved away from the trio to return to her duties of saying goodbye to other guests.
"Nothing," she heard Lavender reply, before she moved too far away to hear if the witch said anything more. Although if she did have more to say, she said it outside of the hotel as Pansy watched the three of them exit through the front door. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," she muttered under her breath.
"Is that any way to talk about guests?" a teasing voice called from behind her.
"It is about those three," Pansy replied, turning to face Hermione. "Thankfully, they didn't ruin things as I feared they might."
"Things did run more smoothly than I imagined they would," Hermione admitted. "I think I was fortunate to catch Ron and be able to talk to him in private last night, otherwise he might have caused a scene."
"And I suppose I should be grateful the Weasley tart waited until today to try and woo Harry back," Pansy mused. "She could have made a big play for him last night, and that could have gotten messy."
"Ginny wanted Harry back?" Hermione questioned in surprise. She had always assumed that Ginny would have moved on with her life like Harry had done and even if she hadn't found someone else, would have gotten over her short lived relationship with Harry.
"She did, but I let her know that he wasn't up for grabs," Pansy answered with a smirk.
"Did Harry not tell her that himself?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.
"Oh yes, he made his feelings very clear to her," Pansy said. "But I just reinforced the fact he was off the table. No little Gryffindor cow is going to get her claws into my wizard."
"No-one could come between you and Harry," Hermione replied confidently.
"Of course not, we're as solid as a rock," Pansy agreed with a grin. "Come on, let's get rid of these last few guests so we can leave. Harry's promised me a few days alone, just the two of us and no clothes."
"It sounds like he's been talking to Draco," Hermione laughed. "He's promised me the same thing."
Eager to get to their promised alone time with their partners, Hermione and Pansy helped wave the remining few guests off. Staff were then relieved from their duties and the hotel locked up for a couple of days, before the doors would reopen for good in the New Year.
The few days Hermione and Draco spent together at the end of Christmas felt like the perfect present for Hermione. After all this would be the last Christmas it would be just the two of them. Come next year they would have a little one, and spending a few days alone over the holidays wouldn't be possible. Nor would she want to do it as Christmas was for family and she couldn't wait to extend theirs. But for this year it was the perfect end to a perfect festive season.
When they arrived home, Draco was straight off to the hotel, where he was meeting up with Harry and the pair would be making sure everything was in place for the official opening. Hermione knew she wouldn't be seeing much of him for the next few days, but she was perfectly fine with that as she knew that once the hotel had opened things would settle down and they would get themselves into a routine.
On the afternoon of their return, Hermione had settled herself down to read one of her new books, when she received a message from Pansy, asking her if she minded some company. Inviting her friend over, she sorted them some snacks and was just placing them on the coffee table in the living room when Pansy arrived, carrying a copy of Witch Weekly.
"I didn't know you read that," Hermione commented as Pansy sat down beside her. Usually Pansy favoured French fashion magazines, but when she did read British magazines, it was never usually Witch Weekly.
"I don't, it's far too old fashioned for my taste," Pansy replied with a roll of her eyes. "But I do have a few contacts, and I managed to get hold of next week's edition early."
"Why do you want next week's edition when you don't read it?" Hermione asked, wondering what she was missing and why she was being so slow on the uptake.
"Do you not want to know what Lavender Brown-Weasley wrote about the hotel launch?" Pansy questioned.
"I totally forget about the press coverage," Hermione gasped. She'd been so caught up with Draco, she'd totally forgotten that a few press representatives had been present over the launch of the hotel. "How is it going?"
"Everything that has come out so far has been really positive," Pansy answered. "But then again, I always thought it would. There was nothing for anyone to complain about."
"Apart from Lavender," Hermione remarked. "Between Ron and Ginny, she must have been pressured into being less enthusiastic than other journalists."
"Why don't you read it for yourself," Pansy suggested, passing the magazine over to Hermione while she helped herself to sandwiches and cake.
While Pansy was eating, Hermione flicked to the article Lavender had submitted. Accompanying the article were pictures taken from the party on Christmas Eve, and Hermione had to admit that the hotel looked amazing and everyone looked to be having fun. Wondering what Lavender had to say about her experience, Hermione dove into the article and found herself surprised by how positive it was. Lavender had been extremely fair in her praise, and there wasn't one hint of disgruntlement based on who owned the hotel.
"I'm surprised," she admitted when she finished the article, which was split into two parts and a second part was advertised to feature the following week, which would detail Christmas Day.
"You thought she would do a hatchet job on us?" Pansy asked.
"The thought had crossed my mind," Hermione admitted. Granted it had then gone back out of her mind once she and Draco had gone away, but back over Christmas she had wondered if Lavender would manage to stick the knife in when she reported back to Witch Weekly.
"Clearly she has some integrity," Pansy said. "Although given how positive all the other press feedback has been, it might have seemed odd if she had disagreed. No doubt her husband's issues with the hotels owners would have been remarked upon, and questions would have been asked about her professionalism. But she's shown that she knows how to separate business from personal matters."
Hermione nodded, pleased that Lavender had ultimately been a professional and hadn't let her family's issues with Harry and Draco cloud her reporting. And since their paths would likely rarely, if ever, cross again, it shouldn't be an issue she had to contend with again. Deep in her heart, Hermione knew that she had seen Ron for the last time. There was no need for their lives to converge again, and while at one time that thought would have made her sad, now it was something she had made her peace with. She had people she loved in her life, people she didn't want to live without, and sadly that no longer included Ron Weasley. He was in the past, and they had spent their last Christmas in each other's vicinity.
The End.
A/N – Thank you all for reading this story, and I hoped you all enjoyed it. Hopefully I've have more reunion stories next year as it is one of my favourite style of stories to write. I'll be posting a Christmas one-shot on Friday, and then that's it for this year story wise. I also want to take the opportunity to wish my loyal readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I hope everyone has an enjoyable festive period.