A Very Weasley Christmas

A Very Weasley Christmas

Hermione Granger curled up on the large sofa in the Weasley's den, smiling happily as she watched the commotion around her. Christmas was always such a joyous occasion for her in-laws. Even before she and Ron were married, they had treated her like a member of their family, and it always left her with such a peaceful feeling. And now, watching them all together on this very special day... It felt to her like the closest she could get to Heaven while still on this planet.

"You look comfy, love," Ron remarked quietly as he joined his wife on the couch, slowly slipping his hand into hers. She squeezed it gently, shifting so she was leaning her weight against him.

"I am," she sighed in reply, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched Harry and Ginny bicker over the proper way to wrap a cylinder-shaped package while Draco looked on in amusement. The Weasley's had practically adopted the boy after he'd joined the 'good' side and was disowned. He'd befriended Ginny first, and after she brought him home for the first half of summer after her fifth year, Mrs. Weasley had declared him part of the family. It was mind boggling to think that he was the same little ferret that called her a "mudblood" and insulted Ron's family on a daily basis.

Ron pressed a tender kiss to Hermione's temple, releasing her hand to drape his arm around her shoulders. She snuggled close, unable to stop the schoolgirl grin that fought to appear. He was always so sweet to her, it was incredible.

"Who else is coming, do you know?" she asked after a moment, peering around the already crowded room to figure out who was missing. Percy, who'd come crawling back to his family after that nasty incident at the ministry proved Voldemort's existence, was watching his father try to decorate the front hall without magic and offering critical advice on how to make the tinsel stick to the wall. Bill was having another spat with Fleur, so he was here alone this year, nursing a bottle of butterbeer and moaning to Charlie about how 'he'd really done it this time' and 'she'd never forgive him', just like he did every time they fought. Usually they made up within the week.

"Tonks is coming; she had to finish up some paper work that she's been leaving off. Fred and George should be here soon. They were just putting the finishing touches on some invention. And I believe Mum invited Luna and her boyfriend," Ron ticked off the guests on his fingers, waggling the five in Hermione's face when he was finished. "So we'll have a good old full house soon."

"Brilliant. I love your house when it's packed full." And she did. There was just something about everyone being crowded all together that made her feel safe. There was this great cocooning aura that surrounded the Burrow at Christmas time. A blanket of warmth and joy and...love. There was love everywhere. From the man sitting next to her, to Charlie consoling Bill, to Draco watching Ginny's every move, to Mrs. Weasley running around and trying to make sure everyone was comfortable... This house was full of love.

Speaking of love...

There was a brief knock on the front door before it swung open and Tonks bounced in, waving happily and almost tripping over her own feet.

"Happy Christmas!" she crowed, immediately launching herself into Charlie's lap and beaming at him. "Happy Christmas, dear one. I have a surprise for you," she said in rapid fire speech, switching subjects and turning to Bill to address him in a large bout of ADD. Bill blinked, stopping his whimpers for a moment.

"A surprise?" he asked meekly. Everyone knew what a sucker Bill was for surprises. Tonks nodded happily, giving a short whistle. A petite blonde timidly stepped into the room, and Bill was on his feet in an instant, nearly toppling over his butterbeer. "Fleur," he choked out. The quarter-veela nodded, sniffing quietly.

"Joyeux Noël¹, Bill," she murmured, shifting from foot to foot nervously. All motion in the living room had paused to see the outcome of their latest argument. All the girls held their breath, waiting for a romantic gesture, and all the men got ready settle their bets. Bill paused for a moment, and then moved to Fleur's side, leaning in to whisper in her ear. Though everyone could hear him, of course.

"Je suis désolé.²" There was a collective sigh from the girls. He was speaking her native tongue. Just for her. How romantic. Ron reluctantly gave Charlie a Sickle.

"Il est bien. Oubliez lui. J'étais stupide,³" she replied. The girls sighed again. Ron gleefully took his Sickle back.

"Je t'aime,⁴" Bill purred, leaning in and kissing her softly. The girls almost squealed. Ron and Harry both cursed and handed Charlie a Galleon. Damn Bill and his soft heart.

The two lovers finally noticed they had an audience and politely excused themselves to Bill's childhood bedroom to..."talk it over." Conversation returned to its former status. Ginny hit Harry over the head with a roll of wrapping paper until he admitted her way of wrapping was more efficient, and Draco looked extremely put out when the two started grinning stupidly at each other. Tonks and Charlie started whispering sweet nothings to each other in the corner. Percy winced as all of the tinsel his father was working on came un-stuck and fell to the floor. Hermione let out another sigh of happiness and cuddled up against Ron. What a splendid Christmas Eve.

******

Christmas morning proved to be eventful. It started out lazy enough. Fred and George hadn't arrived until late and the family stayed up with them, testing out their new product. Luna had Floo-called, explaining that she and her mystery boyfriend were stuck in the Alps and wouldn't be able to apparate over until morning, so there would be no present opening until she arrived. That didn't mean there wouldn't be any fun, though.

The youngest family members all spent the night in Ron and Harry's old bedroom. They transfigured the two beds into one big one and piled all in. They stayed up long after everyone else had gone to sleep, catching up and talking about whatever was happening in their lives. The morning found them sprawled over each other, completely comfortable. Ron and Hermione were curled up in one corner, with the former muttering "No, not the turkey, Harry" in his sleep, and Draco and Harry stretched out on either side of Ginny. She seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement, but apparently it was very unacceptable in Mrs. Weasley's eyes. She woke them up with the demand that they all get dressed - in their respective rooms - and come downstairs to wait for Luna.

It seemed that they were the last to get up. Everyone else was already in the kitchen, pointing out the window and laughing. It seemed that the lawn gnomes had somehow gotten a hold of some eggnog and were now dancing around the backyard, singing their own version of 'Jingle Bells' at the top of their lungs. Mrs. Weasley appeared moments later to see what all the fuss was about and went into a rage, ripping open the window and throwing slices of yam at them. Which wasn't really a waste, since none of her children really liked yams anyways.

It was during this commotion that Luna and her boyfriend snuck into the house through the front door. She peeked timidly around the corner, arching an eyebrow as she spotted Mrs. Weasley shaking her fist at the gnomes as they gathered up the yams and ran off.

"Happy Christmas?" she greeted uncertainly, finally drawing some attention away from the activity outside. Ginny squealed loudly and pounced on the girl, hugging her tightly. The blonde hugged her back, though not quite as enthusiastically, and smiled brightly at the rest of the family. They didn't quite smile back, though, because at that moment, Luna's boyfriend decided to make an appearance, eyeing the group from behind his shaggy black fringe. Luna glanced over her shoulder, smile growing. "I trust you remember Blaise Zabini from school," she said in lieu of an introduction. Draco was the first to make a move, stepping forward and stretching out a hand.

"Good to see you alive, Zabini," he said, shaking his hand firmly. Blaise smirked, clapping Draco on the shoulder.

"It's good to be alive, Dragon boy," he replied, shooting Luna a fond look. Draco waggled his eyebrows, motioning to the living room as everyone else attacked Luna with questions.

When the excitement of the extremely unexpected couple settled down, everyone joined the two Slytherins in the den, circling up to open their gifts. There was friendly chatter all around as the brightly wrapped presents were passed out to their recipient. Luna gently shook the gift Blaise had handed her, while he wrinkled his nose, sniffing at the large box from her. Draco's face held a triumphant look, as Harry's present from Ginny was smaller than his own. Tonks giggled as her present from the twins changed colors, while Charlie eyed it warily. Before the big free-for-all, though, everyone got the chance to open one gift in front of the group. Per usual, they went around the circle, starting with Mr. Weasley.

He eagerly opened the gift from Harry, almost squealing in delight. From the box, he drew a small black object, gazing at it in admiration. Hermione chuckled from behind her hand as Harry explained what Muggles did with a lump of coal.

"Fascinating," he breathed, gingerly setting it next to him. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes, opening her gift. From the box, she withdrew a pair of hand-knit mittens. Tonks blushed across the room as she was praised on her handy work. Charlie squeezed knee gently, murmuring something in her ear that made her blush even more.

And so it went around the room until they were down to Luna. She peered solemnly at her presents, delicately selecting the box she received from Blaise. He turned pink as she opened it, revealing a small, velvet covered jewelry box. Her mouth formed an 'o' as she opened the lid, gently plucking a simple diamond ring from the folds. Blaise cleared his throat nervously, taking the ring and slipping it onto her left ring finger.

"Marry me," he whispered. Tonks put a hand over her heart, and Hermione sniffled quietly. Luna smiled dreamily, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Okay," she replied, closing her eyes blissfully as he kissed her. There was a collective 'aww' from the girls as they separated, eyes locked on each other. Trying to let the couple have their moment, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands once.

"Alright, everyone. Have at it." Everyone happily dug into their piles, yelling their thanks to family members or friends across the room. Harry held up a pair of red and green shorts from Hermione, making the bells on the drawstrings jingle as he made a face at her. She only laughed, waving the pictures of Ron that Ginny had given her. Ron whimpered over-dramatically as he watched his younger self run naked through the frames. Tonks opened her gift from the twins, giggling as it exploded all over Charlie. He wiped the shaving cream from his face and glared at his brothers, letting Tonks fuss over him. Fred and George just laughed, handing over Tonks' real present.

Ginny squealed loudly, drawing much attention to herself as she opened Harry's gift. She lifted a delicate gold chain from the box, gazing in awe at the locket it contained. Harry gave Draco a smug look.

"It's beautiful, Harry. Thank you." She kissed him swiftly on the cheek, turning to enlist his help in putting it on. Draco almost growled, nudging his gift towards her.

"Now mine," he offered, sneering at Harry. Ginny smiled, carefully peeling off the paper and opening the box. When she saw the contents, she burst out laughing, throwing herself at Draco in a crushing hug.

"It's perfect! I can't believe you remembered." Harry deflated as she pulled out a large, floppy, stuffed frog and made it wave to Draco. "I'll call him Trevor," she proclaimed, grinning to herself over the present. Across the room, George rolled his eyes, flicking his wand at a sprig of mistletoe. He carefully guided it over above his sister, attaching it to the ceiling over her head. She looked up as he whistled at her, narrowing her eyes as she caught his mischievous look. Draco and Harry both caught the look at the same time, and looked up, immediately glaring at each other. Ginny glanced up...and started laughing. She looked from Draco to Harry, grinning wildly.

"Well? Aren't you going to kiss me?" she asked, calmly. Harry lurched into action, bussing her on the cheek before Draco could blink. The blonde arched an eyebrow as Harry pulled back, leaning in for a kiss of his own. Only he was brave enough to brush over her lips. This immediately started a World War 3 Glaring Contest between the two men while Ginny sat in between and finished opening her gifts.

Hermione chuckled at the three, handing Ron the last present from his pile. He smiled softly at her, kissing her temple as he picked at the wrapping. "From you, love?" he asked, waving the perfectly wrapped gift under her nose. "Not very heavy. At least I know it's not a book." Hermione rolled her eyes, elbowing him gently.

"Just open it," she commanded, resting a hand on his knee and squeezing. He threw her a crooked grin, tearing off the paper and opening the box. The grin disappeared, and his eyes went wide as he looked at Hermione. His mouth opened and closed wordlessly for a minute, unable to find the words to express his feelings. Hermione nodded shyly, glancing down at her currently flat stomach.

"Are you really?" Ron choked out, clutching the box tightly in one hand and groping for Hermione's hand with the other. She smiled, pressing his palm against her stomach.

"About a month," she replied. He stared at her in wonder, glanced at her stomach, glanced at his gift, and leaped up, letting out a loud whoop. Hermione laughed at Ron cheered and jumped around the room, making his mother gasp. He pulled Hermione to her feet and kissed her soundly, letting out another yell as they separated.

"We're pregnant! She's pregnant! I'm gonna be a father." The room erupted in cheers, and Ron gathered Hermione close again, swinging her around. She laughed as he blew a raspberry on her neck and hugged her close. They were having a baby.

She hugged him back, lips brushing against his ear as she whispered, "And everyone had a very Weasley Christmas."

1. Merry Christmas.
2. I'm sorry.
3. It's alright. Forget about it. I was stupid.
4. I love you.