Same Old Lang Syne
Author's Note: Well, the response I've gotten is overwhelming. I'm really glad all of you appreciated my cliffhanger. To be honest, I was proud of myself for coming up with it. Everybody has been pleading me to update, and I find myself incapable of resisting your cute little smiles! So anyway, here ya go, the moment you've all been waiting for! Okay, I'm gonna stop talking and let you get on to the story. You've probably skipped this anyway.
December 25th
Harry woke up, in his bed, laying on his side, but didn't open his eyes. He didn't dare open his eyes, unsure whether or not everything that had happened the night before had actually happened, or if it had all been a dream. He winced, unsure about whether or not he wanted to know.
"Merry Christmas, Harry," said a voice behind him. His eyes flew open. A hand touched his arm, and stroked it gently. "How did you sleep?" Harry froze, disbelieving. He fumbled for his glasses on his nightstand, and put them on. Turning, Hermione's face came into focus, a broad smile on her face. Harry smiled.
"Better than I have in years," he said, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist under the covers. His joy was indescribable, and inexpressible, but Harry had a feeling Hermione could read it in his eyes.
"What are you thinking?" Hermione smiled at Harry, her head resting by his on the pillow.
"Just how beautiful you are, and how lucky I am." Harry smiled back at her, and gave her a small kiss. He was amazed at how good it felt to smile. He couldn't remember being as happy as he was for years. Hermione blushed, but smiled nonetheless.
"You're sweet," she said, running her hand through his hair and giving him a quick kiss. "I could stay here with you all day."
"I could too," said Harry. "But I think Ron would like to see us."
"I think you're right." She sighed. "I guess I should take a shower then."
"Yeah, I guess so." Harry pulled Hermione closer to him, and kissed her again, letting the kiss linger.
"Oooh, that's not fair," groaned Hermione. "Now I really don't want to get up."
"Sorry," said Harry playfully.
"Yeah, I'll bet," said Hermione sarcastically, smiling nevertheless. She got out of bed and headed towards Harry's bathroom.
"How about that, Potter," Harry said to himself. "You didn't mess things up after all." He sat up, letting his mind wander back to the night before. He hadn't even let Hermione finish her sentence before sweeping her up into a heated kiss, which she had returned just as passionately. Just thinking about it made Harry smile wildly.
Harry got up, put on his pajamas, and went into the kitchen. He began to fix breakfast. A few minutes later, the entire flat was filled with the scent of pancakes.
"Harry Potter, I didn't know you could cook." Hermione leaned on the doorframe in Harry's bathrobe, smiling. "That smells heavenly."
"Well, I had to learn how to cook myself. I can eat my own cooking, but I'm not really sure how good it is." He smiled wryly, and Hermione saw that he actually meant it.
"Oh, Harry, I'm sure it's excellent. If it tastes half as good as it smells, it'll be the best breakfast I've ever had."
"Thanks," said Harry, grinning widely. "Have a seat, they'll be ready in a minute." He gestured towards the table, which he had already set.
"I'm very impressed, Harry," said Hermione. "I'm surprised you didn't find another girl in all these years."
"There could never have been anybody but you, Hermione," said Harry, looking at Hermione sincerely. "I always knew that, on some level, ever since we met."
"Harry," said Hermione, smiling. "When we first met, you couldn't stand me."
"Only consciously," said Harry, tapping his temple. "I think I knew, deep down, I just didn't know it is all."
"Was it just me, or did that actually make sense," asked Hermione.
"Well, only partially." Harry grinned as he took the pan off the stove, turning off the flame. "I guess rehearsing something in your head before you say it is no guarantee of it making sense." He placed two pancakes on Hermione's plate, and two on his own. He gestured with his wand, and the pan glided into the sink, where the water turned on, and the pan was left to soak.
"No, it certainly isn't," said Hermione. "I speak from experience."
"What do you mean?" Harry gave Hermione a sideways look. "You never seemed to be lost for the right words."
"Oh no? How about on the first train ride to Hogwarts?" Hermione blushed. "I seemed to alienate everybody then. And how about all those times I suggested that there was more to life than Quidditch? I think if you hadn't already been my friend then, you never would have spoken to me again." She smiled warmly.
"Yeah, well, Ron and I weren't exactly the most tactful people then either." Harry blushed.
"Well, Ron was worse," said Hermione with a nostalgic smile. "You patched things up between us more often than not." She cut her pancakes and took a bite. "Oh, my, Harry," she said after she swallowed. "These are fantastic."
"Thanks." Harry blushed.
After breakfast, Harry and Hermione talked on the couch, kissing every now and then, whenever the mood struck, until Harry looked up at the clock.
"Oh, darn it," he said, frowning. "It's almost noon. I told Ron I'd come by at 12:30." He stood up. "I have to get dressed."
"I really should be getting back home if I'm going to get there in time too." She stood up and took Harry's hands. "I'll see you there," she said, giving Harry a quick kiss. She gathered up her clothes, and walked to the fireplace. Taking a small pouch from within her cloak, she stepped into the fireplace, and dropped a handful of green powder onto the floor. She shouted her destination, but it was obscured by the sound of the green flames enveloping her, and she disappeared. Harry sighed and went into his bedroom to get dressed.
As he finished dressing, he realized that he needed a present for Hermione. Thinking quickly, he gathered all of the pictures he could find of him, Hermione, and Ron, put them in rough order, and stuck them to the pages of an empty photo album he had. He wrapped it carefully and put it in a bag with all of his presents for the Weasleys. Slinging it over his shoulder, he got on his broomstick, picked up his invisibility cloak, opened the window, and, wrapping his invisibility cloak around him and his broom as best he could, jumped out the window, pulling it shut behind him. He took off towards the Burrow, reflecting on how much he preferred flying over floo powder.
Soon, he landed at the front door of the Burrow, pulled off his invisibility cloak, and knocked on the door. Ginny opened the door.
"Hi, Harry," she said cheerfully, giving him a hug. "Merry Christmas."
"You too, Gin," said Harry cheerfully.
"Wow, you're happier than I've seen you in a long time," Ginny said, looking very surprised. "Harry, did you tell Hermione?" She grabbed his arm in anticipation. As he nodded, smiling, she hugged him again. "Oh, Harry, I'm so happy for you!" She held him at arm's length. "I take it she said yes?" Harry nodded again, and laughed as Ginny embraced him for the third time.
"Listen, Ginny, could you try not to tell anybody? We want to tell everybody at once."
"Sure, but you being happy is pretty much a dead giveaway."
"Well, if they figure it out, they figure it out, but don't you tell them." He touched a finger to his lips.
"You got it, Harry."
"Who is it, Gin," said Ron, coming into the hallway. "Hey, Harry, how's it going?"
"Not too bad," said Harry, trying to look neutral so as not to give away the secret that he and Hermione were together. It worked well on Ron.
"Oh, well then." Brightening suddenly, Ron clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Guess what," he said happily. "I proposed to Sara last night, and she said yes!" Ron had met Sara during their last year at Hogwarts. She was the same height as Ron, and had deep red hair, a much darker shade than the Weasleys.
"That's terrific, Ron!" Harry smiled. It was a relief to be able to smile. "So where is Sara anyway?"
"She's in the kitchen, helping Mum." He nudged Harry with his elbow. "It's a good thing she can cook, because I certainly didn't get any of Mum's skills." Harry heard Ginny laugh behind him, and saw Ron give her a dark look.
"Ron tried cooking dinner a few weeks ago, and nearly burned down the house," Ginny whispered into Harry's ear. Harry tried desperately not to laugh, with little success. Ron frowned.
"It's okay, Ron," chuckled Harry. "We all have our weaknesses."
"Yeah, I suppose so," said Ron reluctantly, still embarrassed. "Anyway, come in and have a drink."
Harry followed Ron and Ginny into the living room, and put his bag down with his invisibility cloak on top. He saw Lupin talking to Arthur Weasley, and as he entered, they both stood up. Remus approached him.
"Well, now, Harry," he said, shaking Harry's hand. "Did you tell her?" Remus whispered. Harry nodded. "And…" he said, waiting for Harry to fill in the blank.
"I'll tell you about it later," said Harry softly, and Remus's face fell.
"Listen, Harry, I'm sorry about the letter," Remus said quietly.
"It's okay," said Harry, waving it off. "Really, it's fine."
"Okay." Unconvinced, Remus sat down again with Arthur, and they resumed their discussion, Remus occasionally looking back at Harry, a concerned look on his face.
"Wait," said Ginny, stopping Harry from sitting down. She waved her wand at the chair he was going to sit on, and the top exploded. Ginny shook her head, annoyed. "Fred and George have been booby-trapping the seats. I sat down this morning and nearly got thrown across the room."
"Where are Fred and George, anyway?" Harry looked around.
"Oh, I don't know," said Ginny, unconcerned. "They're around somewhere. I think they're upstairs."
"Hi, Harry," said Sara, walking into the room.
"Ron told me, Sara, congratulations." Harry kissed Sara on the cheek, and she gave him a hug.
"Thanks, Harry," she said, sitting down.
"Sara, wait!" Ginny tried to stop Sara from sitting down, but was too late. No sooner had Sara touched the chair than she was across the room with a loud crack. The chair had made her Apparate across the room. She sat down hard on the floor.
"Oof," she said, after she hit the ground. There were two more loud cracks, and Fred and George appeared on either side of Sara. They helped her up.
"It's about time," said George.
"We were beginning to think nobody else would sit down," said Fred. He looked around, and, seeing a lack of pranked people, shot a dark look at Ginny. "That's cheating, Gin," he said, frowning.
"Yeah, well, I landed hard," shot back Ginny.
"Aw, you're fine," said George dismissively. "Sara, wasn't that funny?"
"Yeah, it was actually," said Sara, blushing. "I like practical jokes, though."
"You have no idea what you've just unleashed upon yourself, Sara," said Ginny, frowning.
"Oh, I'm not worried," replied Sara cheerfully. "I don't think Fred or George would want to get me mad, would they?" She gave Fred and George meaningful looks, and both of them smiled nervously. Sara walked across the room and sat back down on the defused seat across from Harry.
Just then, green flames emerged in the fireplace, and Hermione stepped out of them.
"Hi, everybody," she said cheerfully. Everybody in the room tried very hard not to look at Harry.
"Hi, Hermione," said Harry, standing up. He gave Hermione a quick kiss and smiled. Looking around the room, he saw a room full of very confused people, all except Ginny, who smiled to herself. Remus was the first one to realize, and he smiled broadly. Everybody else in the room soon put two and two together. They were congratulated in turn by everybody in the room, and Charlie, Bill, and Molly were called in from other rooms to be told.
"Excuse me for a second," said Sara, standing up once all the congratulations had been issued. She walked out into the kitchen, and tripped over Harry's bag, which was covered by his invisibility cloak. Harry was up and helping Sara up in a flash.
"I'm so sorry," he said, pulling Sara up off the ground.
"That's okay, Harry," she said, laughing. "It's just a shame you hadn't done it on purpose. That would have made a great practical joke."
"Harry, you're almost worthy of us," said Fred, making his way over to Harry and shaking his hand, after showing there was no trick.
"Fred, I'm sorry, but I think Harry's was funnier," said Sara.
"What? Why?"
"His was by accident. Accidents are always funnier."
"Shoot. Oy, George, we got trumped by an accident!"
"I think I'd better get out of here now," said Harry, smiling.
"Accident, indeed," grumbled Fred, stalking over to the other side of the room to rejoin his twin.
"I think it's time we exchanged presents," said Harry cheerfully. "I already have my bag, so I'll start." He smiled and sat back down in his chair. He pulled a very long package out of his bag that, under normal circumstances, could not have possibly fit in a bag that size, but Harry had enlarged the inside of the bag by several times. He tossed the package to Sara, who caught it, but just barely.
"For me?" Sara looked very surprised. Harry nodded. She opened it, and she pulled a Nimbus Two-Thousand and One out of the wrappings.
"Now you should be able to keep up with Ron in Quidditch. Even up the odds a bit." Harry smiled.
"Wow, thanks, Harry," said Sara. She kissed Harry on the cheek.
"Ron, catch!" Harry threw a box at Ron, who caught it deftly. "Well, that's good to know, at least you can catch, King Weasley." Harry laughed.
"Hey, this is great, Harry, thanks!" Ron said as he opened up a pair of insulated Keeper's gloves.
"Keep you nice and warm out there." Harry turned to Ginny, and handed her a large box. She opened it and took out a Quaffle, engraved with her name.
"Thanks, Harry, this'll be great to practice with." She hugged Harry.
"Fred, George, you two have to open these together." He threw two identical packages, one to each of them. They looked at each other, shrugged, and opened the packages, which promptly exploded. Harry laughed, and so did everybody else in the room. "I've owed you that a couple of times over," said Harry, still laughing. Fred and George started laughing as well.
Harry gave Arthur Weasley a magnifying glass, and he spent the rest of the day looking at things through it, astounded. Molly Weasley got a book on healing spells. Bill got an enchanted lock from Harry which will only open for whoever locks it. Harry gave Charlie a book on treating burns. Harry gave Lupin a new invisibility cloak.
"And now for you," said Harry, turning to Hermione. He handed her the book he had wrapped, and when she saw what it was, she almost broke Harry's ribs, she hugged him so hard.
"Thank you so much, Harry," she said.
"You're welcome," he said, smiling and nursing his ribs. Hermione handed him a package, and, opening it, he pulled out a long cloak.
"It has plenty of pockets on the inside, and it'll keep you warm or cool, depending on the weather." Harry kissed her on the cheek, and she beamed at him.
They continued to exchange gifts until everybody was finished, and they sat and talked for hours afterwards. Harry got a regulation Snitch from the entire Weasley family, and he got very choked up. A regulation Snitch cost much more than the kind used at Hogwarts.
Late that night, they all departed, Harry using floo powder to get back to his flat, because he was feeling too tired to fly. A couple of minutes after he got back, Hermione emerged from his fireplace.
"I just wanted to drop off my things before I came back here," she said, hugging Harry.
"I'm glad you liked the picture album," said Harry.
"I loved it," said Hermione. "And there's still plenty of room for more pictures."
"There always will be," said Harry. "It'll never run out of space, no matter how many pictures you put in."
"You're very sweet," said Hermione, and kissed Harry.
"So are you," returned Harry, smiling broadly.