Christmas Eve Surprise
by leochick

Rating: PG13
Ship: Harry & Hermione
Canon: Books 1 - 7
Genre: Drama, Romance
Status: In progress
Length: 0 words in 1 chapter
Published: 29 Dec 2007
Last updated: 29 Dec 2007

No Epilogue. This is a response to one of my own challenges that I issued here on portkey. Harry dresses as Santa for
Ron, and Hermione kisses Harry by mistake. Let the dramedy ensue.

From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/7847/

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1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and whoever else wants to stake claim. No money is being made. No
copyright infringement is intended. It's all for good fun. This is my response to the kissing Santa challenge that I
issued here on Portkey. This is my first Harry Potter fic, so hopefully it will be okay.

Chapter 1

“So Teddy, since we're all done with shopping, what else would you like to do today?” asked Harry.

It was three days before Christmas and twenty-four year old Harry Potter was spending the day with his godson, Teddy.
They just got done with their Christmas shopping and were now resting up at a small muggle café in London.

Teddy looked up from his cup of hot chocolate with a huge grin on his face. “How `bout we go see Hermione….and Ron?” he
suggested.

Laughing, Harry grabbed a few napkins nearby and reached across the table, wiping the whip cream off of Teddy's nose.
“Now Teddy, I can't help but think you have some secret agenda when it comes to Hermione….and Ron of course. Now, we
can't forget Ron can we?” Harry smiled.

Harry's smile turned into a smirk as his six year old godson had the decency to blush. He couldn't help but tease Teddy
about the small crush he had on Hermione, which he continuously denied ever having.

Looking down, Teddy spun the small straw around his cup. “I…I wasn't forgetting Ron, I just thought it would be nice to
see them. Plus, I wanted to show them this new book I got.”

“May I ask what the book is about?”

“It's about this Christmas elf who saves Christmas,” Teddy said with excitement.

Grinning, Harry said, “Well, so you have a soft spot for elves do you?” Shaking his head he continued, “I have to say,
the things some poor blokes do to impress the women they love.”

Getting annoyed, Teddy folded his arms across his chest and grumbled out, “How many times do I have to say it, I'm not
in love with Hermione.”

“Hey now, who said anything about Hermione?” stated Harry.

“You did.”

“No I didn't.”

“Yes, you did,” said Teddy as his lower lip began to tremble.

Seeing this, Harry ceased his teasing and leaned forward and whispered, “Listen Teddy, I'm sorry. I was just taking the
mickey out of you. There's nothing to be embarrassed about.” Reaching out, Harry turned Teddy's face to look at him. “In
all honesty, I'm actually quite impressed.”

Teddy gave Harry an apprehensive look. “Why's that?” he asked.

“Well, it just shows that you have very nice taste when it comes to women. I should probably take some pointers from
you,” Harry smiled as he ruffled the boy's brown hair.

Grinning back, Teddy jumped out of his chair and grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him out of his chair. “Come on, Harry
let's go. Maybe we can all go ice skating or something.”

Laughing, Harry let Teddy lead him to the back alley behind the café. Making sure that no muggles were around, Harry
held tightly to Teddy's hand as he apparated them both to Hermione's home.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Harry and Teddy reappeared just on the outskirts of the forest that lined the backyard of Hermione's small cottage home.
Harry could've apparated them inside the house, but after the one incident where he accidentally caught Hermione and Ron
in a heavy snog session on the couch, he decided it was better to be safe than sorry. There were just some images he
would rather not see, and one of those were his two best friends having a full blown make out session. Pulling his
jacket more closely around him, Harry grabbed Teddy's hand and walked up to Hermione's back door.

The two waited on the doorstep as the snow around them came down in a steadier pace. Just when Harry was about to give
up, the door opened, revealing a somewhat frazzled looking Hermione.

“Oh Harry, I'm so sorry I didn't answer the door more quickly, but I was upstairs wrapping Christmas presents,” she
said, ushering them in.

“It's okay Hermione, we weren't waiting out there that long.” Shrugging off his coat, he took Teddy's and hung them on
the coat rack by the door. Looking around the kitchen, he noticed a very pleasant aroma. Surprised, he asked, “Are you
baking?”

Looking mildly offended, Hermione playfully slapped Harry on the arm before walking over to the stove. “Yes I am, so
don't look so shocked. I just thought I would bake some cookies for the get together on Christmas Eve.”

Smiling, Harry picked up Teddy and placed him on the counter as he stood beside him. “Hermione, you do remember the last
time you cooked?” Harry teased.

“Harry, you make it sound like I intentionally poisoned you and Ron that night.” Grinning, she winked at Teddy before
turning her attention back to Harry. “Honestly, men can be such babies.”

Eyes wide, Harry replied back, “Babies! Hermione, we stayed at St. Mungo's overnight for that little incident. I still
have nightmares about undercooked roast beef mooing at me.”

“Such a drama queen,” she laughed as she pulled on her oven mitts to take out the cookies. Laying the sheet on top of
the stove she let them cool off, then turned around and looked between Harry and his godson. “So, if I may ask, why are
you two here anyway?”

“Well, actually it was Teddy's idea,” Harry replied back.

Interest piqued, Hermione smiled at the small boy as a slight blush tinted his cheeks. “Oh, and what is the reason
behind your visit, Mr. Lupin?” questioned Hermione as she walked over to Teddy and tweaked his nose.

Looking up, a shy smile spread across his face as he said, “Well, I got this new book that's about this Christmas elf
who saves Christmas, and I wanted to see if you wanted to go with me and Uncle Harry to go ice skating, or…or maybe we
could build a snowman.”

Harry grinned at the enthusiasm that radiated from his godson. The kid absolutely loved Christmas, but there were times,
like today, where Harry would catch Teddy watching other children with longing glances as they spent time with their
parents. Harry hated seeing the sorrowful look that radiated through Teddy's blue eyes. No child should have to grow up
without their parents.

Harry could still remember a couple years back when he decided to spend a day with Teddy at a local muggle park. It was
a beautiful summer day, and Hermione tagged along with them. Thank Merlin she did because he would've been clueless that
day without her.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Hermione and himself were both off to the side talking when all of a sudden a
small ruckus broke out near the swings. Running over, they found a red and black haired Teddy sitting on top of some
boy, repeatedly hitting him as he shouted, “I'M NOT A FREAK, MY PARENTS AREN'T FREAKS, MY PARENTS AREN'T FREAKS…”.

As Hermione tried to calm the other boy's mother down, Harry pried Teddy away and took him back to his place. As Teddy
continued to get angrier, his magic got more out of control. Harry was at a loss at what to do, luckily Hermione came
back just in time.

It amazed Harry how Hermione just swooped in and took control of the situation. She went over to the crying Teddy and
just wrapped him up in her arms. Harry stood off to the side watching in wonderment as his friend consoled the upset
child. He watched as she rubbed Teddy's back in a soothing motion while saying things like, “Sshh, it's
okay…Everything's okay…Your parents weren't freaks, they were two very brave people who loved you with all their heart…”
There was a split second where Harry couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the scene before him. He wished he
had someone like Hermione to soothe his pain and sadness away when he was Teddy's age.

Now, standing in the kitchen and watching Hermione and Teddy interact, he suddenly blurted out, “You'll make a great
mother someday.” Hermione and Teddy both stopped talking, giving Harry bewildered looks. Looking sheepish, Harry added,
“I…I…what I meant is that you're really good with children, especially with Teddy.” Looking over at his godson, Harry
added, “I'm sure the little guy would agree with me, right?”

Hermione looked between the two, before her eyes settled back upon Teddy, who was now nodding his head enthusiastically.
Harry could see her eyes becoming shiny as she bent down slightly, placing a small kiss on Teddy's forehead. “I have to
say, Harry has you trained very well,” she chuckled lightly before adding, “But thank you for that, both of you” Going
back to the stove she said, “Now, I need you guys to try these cookies and tell me how they are.”

Harry eyed the cookies warily. Hermione rolled her eyes at him. “Just try them,” she told him as she handed a couple of
cookies to Teddy. As Hermione turned back to the stove, Harry decided to be brave and took a small bite. His first
instinct was to spit it out, but he wanted to spare Hermione's feelings, so he chewed and chewed before finally
swallowing the disgusting cookie for her. The things you do for this woman he thought to himself.

Harry looked over at Teddy who seemed to be watching his reaction intently. Smiling inwardly, Harry gave a thumbs up
signaling that they were good and for him to try one. Harry knew it was wrong to mislead the small boy, but he couldn't
help himself. He wanted to see how Teddy would react. Besides, it was just some harmless fun.

With Hermione's back still facing them, Teddy took a bite. The kid's face was priceless as he had this bitter, sour look
upon it. Grinning, Harry grabbed some napkins and held them below Teddy's mouth as he spit the cookie back out.
“Disgusting,” Teddy mouthed out as Harry discarded the cookie in the nearby rubbish bin.

“Harry James Potter, I saw that,” said Hermione before turning around and stared knowingly at Harry.

“Saw what?”

“I can see both your reflections in the microwave window.” Folding her arms across her chest she smirked at them. “So,
you thought you could pull a fast one on me?”

Flashing an innocent smile, Harry replied dramatically, “Now Hermione, oh greatest and smartest witch that I know, how
could you ever think that of me. I would be stupid to try and pull a fast one on you.”

Playing along, Hermione replied back, “Be that as it may, you must be punished for your dishonesty.”

Harry continued the charade as Teddy watched from his perch, giggling with delight. Falling dramatically to his knees,
Harry shuffled over to Hermione. “Oh, please fairest and brightest witch of her age, please show mercy for this mere
mortal kneeling before you for he knows no better,” he said before taking one of her hands and kissing it repeatedly.

Even though Hermione wasn't smiling, Harry could clearly see the laughter and mischief that showed within her eyes as
she pretended to contemplate his words. “Hmm…well I thought about it, and you still must be punished, so here's your
punishment…” Turning around, she grabbed the plate of cookies and shoved them in Harry's face. “Your punishment is to
eat the rest of these cookies.”

“Oh please, not the cookies! Anything but the cookies!” Harry cried out in mock horror. Wrapping his arms around her
waist he continued, “Please, I'd do anything else for you, but please don't make me eat the cookies.”

Teddy and Hermione's laughter seemed to get louder at Harry's dramatics while he held Hermione more closely. He was so
lost in the moment that he startled a bit when he felt a small, feminine hand run through his hair. It felt so good that
Harry lost himself in the moment and closed his eyes, sighing in contentment. He couldn't help but feel at peace as
Hermione's fingers continued to strum through his hair. Harry snuggled more closely into Hermione's waist letting out a
pleasurable moan.

His eyes opened up wide as he felt Hermione stiffen in his arms. He felt foolish for putting Hermione in the predicament
they were in, for if anybody else happened to see them at that moment they would look like two lovers instead of best
friends. Harry abruptly let go of Hermione and quickly stood up, putting some distance between them as he tried to look
at anything but her. “Listen Hermione I'm…”

“Harry its okay. We just got a bit carried away, that's all. There's nothing to be embarrassed about,” she interrupted
anxiously.

“Is something wrong?” asked a confused Teddy as he stared back and forth between the two adults.

“No Teddy, nothing is wrong,” answered Harry as he finally peeled his eyes away from the windows and back to Hermione
who seemed a bit flustered as he was.

“Hermione, are you home? You wouldn't believe the day I had at the shop,” came Ron's loud voice as he made his way into
the kitchen. “Oh, Harry I wasn't expecting to see you here,” commented a surprised Ron. Walking over to Hermione, the
red head placed a kiss on her cheek before turning his attention back to Harry. “So, what brings you and the ankle biter
by?”

“Hey…” protested an offended Teddy.

“Ron, don't call him that,” chided Hermione.

“Oh come on Hermione, he knows I'm kidding,” said Ron as he ruffled the boy's brown hair. Teddy for his part folded his
arms across his chest, glaring at Ron. Unfazed by Teddy's antics, Ron looked back at Harry and repeated his question.

Looking out the window, Harry could see that it was dark outside and still snowing. Letting out a tired sigh, he glanced
behind his shoulder an answered back, “You know, it doesn't matter anyways, because I have to get Teddy back home.”

“But what about…” questioned a disappointed Teddy.

Putting on his coat, Harry grabbed Teddy's. “Don't argue with me, Teddy. I promised your grandmother to have you home at
a reasonable hour,” interrupted an agitated Harry. He didn't mean to be cross with the child, but he needed to get out
of the house as quickly as possible.

As Teddy reluctantly jumped off the counter, Hermione stepped forward. “Harry, you two don't have to leave. Why don't
you stay and have dinner with us? I promise that I won't cook anything,” she chuckled softly at her little joke. Looking
between the hopeful face of Teddy and the anxious face of Harry she added, “I'm sure Andromeda won't mind if Teddy stays
out a little bit longer.”

“Yeah mate, I'm sure Andromeda won't mind a bit. We could floo her and ask,” suggested Ron as he stood beside Hermione,
wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

Harry couldn't explain it, but he had the unexplainable urge to walk up to the couple and push Ron away from Hermione.
Shaking his head from his stupid thoughts, Harry said, “I would love to, but I have a mountain of paperwork that needs
to get done before the weekly auror meeting tomorrow,” as an afterthought he added, “But maybe a rain check?”

Grinning broadly, Ron walked up to Harry and slapped him on the shoulder. “Sure, no problem,” Ron replied back. “Listen,
whenever you get the chance, I have some ideas to run by you for the shop.”

The shop that Ron was talking about was a broomstick business owned by the both of them. Harry let Ron basically run the
business for all he wanted to be was a silent partner. What the business dealt with was buying, fixing, and selling
brooms to the wizarding public. What surprised some people was that Ron was actually a very good businessman, but what
got everyone's attention were the well crafted brooms he made. The name of their brooms, just like the name of their
store was called Red Lightening. Hermione was the one who came up with the name. She explained that it represented both
of them. The `red' was for Ron and `lightening' was for Harry.

“Okay then. Maybe we can discuss your ideas on Christmas Eve at the burrow.” When Ron nodded in agreement, Harry walked
over to the door with Teddy trailing behind. “Well, I guess the next time we see you two will be on Christmas Eve,” said
Harry before walking out the door with Teddy.

As Harry and Teddy walked off to the nearby forest, Harry couldn't understand what had happened in the kitchen with
Hermione. One minute they were goofing around, and the next, something drastically changed, but he just didn't know
what. All he knew was that he felt this melancholy feeling wash over him as he watched Ron kiss and hug Hermione before
his eyes.

Stopping for a moment, Harry glanced back at Hermione's cottage. In front of the kitchen window, Harry could see his two
best friends holding each other, before they pulled apart and started talking to one another. He assumed they were
talking about their day and whatever else was going on in their lives. With a heavy heart, Harry couldn't help but feel
that no matter how times people welcomed him into their lives with open arms, he would always feel like an outsider
looking in.

The only person who truly ever made him feel like he belonged anywhere was Hermione, and now, with her dating Ron it
felt like he was watching them from the sidelines while his life remained in neutral as they drove along their merry
way, leaving him behind. And that thought scared him more than anything else for it added more fuel to his ever growing
fear of being alone for the rest of his life.

Harry was shaking from his reverie as Teddy slipped his hand into Harry's. “We need to get going,” reminded Teddy as he
led them off to the forest.

Before apparating away, Harry came to the conclusion that whatever happened in Hermione's kitchen was going to change
their relationship forever. He didn't know if it would have a positive or negative outcome, he was hoping for the
former, but he had an ominous feeling that things would get worse before they got better. With that final thought, Harry
grabbed Teddy's hand and with a soft pop they were gone.

To Be Continued…

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