Hallelujah - A Christmas Story

A/N: So maybe I'm addicted to my little story? I find it very refreshing to write, and I hope you find it refreshing to read!

*


It had been a very busy day for Hermione. After her awful wake-up call, which she refused to let ruin her Christmas spirit, she had sprinted off to work. She was dressed in a very festive red dress with a wide green ribbon tied around her middle, accentuating her slim waist and tied in a nice bow in the back. She had added white tights and ankle boots to her outfit, unknowingly marking herself as one of Santa’s sexy elves to any of the men that walked into her bookstore. The kids she read to every Christmas Eve not only got a kick out of her Santa hat, but the hot chocolate and decorated gingerbread cookies Luna had made well. Hermione was truly in her element as she read to the children, regretting that she was closing up early to go to the Burrow. While she loved her extended family, and loved them even more on Christmas Eve, she loved her job. There was nothing better, nothing more fulfilling then filling little children up with knowledge. Even if she was just reading them silly Christmas stories, at least they were being read to and were experiencing the joy of falling in love with books.

By the time Luna and her were closing up the shop, it had started to snow again. Luna waited patiently as Hermione locked the doors to her shop, then grabbed her hand and Apparated them both to the Burrow.

“I know you’re excited about what Ron is giving you, but give me a warning next time!” Hermione exclaimed once they touched ground outside the Weasley yard. Both of the women giggled as they walked through the yard, the two witches still laughing as Mrs. Weasely opened the door.

“Happy Christmas Luna, Hermione! Come in, come in, it’s cold out there!” Molly fussed over them as she led them inside, the younger women trying to curtail their laughter as they removed their cloaks and hung them on the coat rack.

Three children came bounding towards the group of women, the children nearly knocking over the adults as they went to hug the younger women.

“Mum! Mum, come quick! You won’t believe what Uncle George is doing!” Lysander exclaimed, Luna and Ron’s oldest and only boy. Artemis and Selena moved to hug Hermione, who happened to be their favorite Aunt.

“Lysander, say hello to Aunt Hermione,” Luna sternly told her boy, smiling inside as the infamous Weasley blush spread across his cheeks.

“’Ello, Aunt Hermione,” the boy mumbled, all the exuberance gone from his eyes as he looked away from his not so secret crush.

“Hello Lysander, have you had a good Christmas Eve so far?” The red-headed boy nodded, before looking back up at her and reddening even more. He turned sharply and ran back the way he and his sisters had come, disappearing into the living room.

“He has it bad,” Luna commented, playing with Selena’s downy soft strawberry blond tresses.

“Has what, mummy?” Selena asked, the only Weasely to be born in two hundred years who did not have pure, fire red hair.

“Nothing, dear. Let’s go into the living room and see what Santa brought you!” Hermione smiled at Luna. She had turned into a fine mother. Hermione had been worried when they first discovered she was pregnant, wondering if Luna would be grounded enough to be a mother.

It turned out that not only was she grounded enough, but that she was also the disciplinarian of the two. While Ron had his moments, he was soft towards his children, especially where his daughters were concerned, allowing them to do almost anything they wanted. And even though Luna was definitely sterner with them, she was still just as fanciful as ever. It was not uncommon to find Artemis reading a Quibbler upside down, or Lysander talking about nargles.

Selena seemed to take after Ron and had yet to inherit any of her mother’s wistfulness.

With Selena scooped up into her arms, Luna led the way into a very chaotic living room. Bill and Fleur were there with their three children, Victoire, Dominique and Louis. The children were running around with George and Angelina’s children, Fred and Roxanne, as Fleur and Angelina discussed the latest fashions from Paris. It had surprised nearly everyone to find out that Angelina had a very soft, feminine side to her, being every bit the woman she was. They were not surprised, however, to find that she also wore the pants in the family, ordering George around every chance she got.

Percy and Audrey hadn’t shown up yet, which saddened Hermione. Percy had trouble being with his family at Christmas time, as it brought back painful memories of betrayal and hurt. She wished that he could see how much his family loved and forgave him, instead of living in the past.

It seemed his behavior was the only indication that the Weasleys and Malfoys were related, as she knew a certain blond, dark wizard who dwelled only in the past.

Hermione was thrown from her reverie as Harry and Ginny’s children came bounding down the stairs, full of energy. Granted, Lily was not old enough yet to be able to walk on her own and had to be carried everywhere, but the boys had enough energy to spare.

Molly gathered the family in the kitchen, knowing not to wait for Percy and his family. With a heavy heart at missing one of her children, she had everyone sit at their assigned spots. The kitchen and table had undergone magical reworkings every time a Weasley had a new child, which happened to be often. The Weasley clan was a fertile clan indeed. As Hermione looked around the table at the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, she wondered what life would have been like for her if she had accepted Ron’s marriage proposal when they were nineteen. No doubt that she would not have her shop and she would be a mother herself by now, probably three times over.

She looked at Lysander, Artemis, and Selena and realized she would not trade them for the world. She would not trade any of the children for the world. She truly loved kids and had thought at one point Lucius and she would be able to start a family. Maybe if he hadn’t had tried to down his sorrows, they would be celebrating a newborn baby this Christmas.

She shook her head at the thought. No. That was a very dangerous road to go down, indeed. Thoughts of what could have been did not belong here, in this warm and loving house. Dark thoughts of the past did not need to dwell here, as all around her were hopeful thoughts of the future. She looked at her nieces and nephews and smiled. This was her family, not some made up specters of what could have been.

After dinner, the clan got up and migrated to the living room again, which had been expanded just as the kitchen had been. Hermione received a beautiful ledger from Ron and Luna, burgundy with gold lettering. It was meant to keep track of all her profits and expenditures, which was a very thoughtful gift indeed. Harry and Ginny had purchased her a very beautiful bookshelf and a gilded mirror that looked very antique. She smiled at the two couples, expressing her joy in the simple, yet elegant gifts.

It wasn’t until Lysander was pushing a small velvet box into her hands that she began to well up. Lucius had given her a box like this, a beautiful box that had contained a beautiful ring. It had been the most fabulous Christmas when he had proposed to her.

The box sat, unopened and untouched, inside her lingerie drawer where she normally kept her robe and nightie.

She smiled kindly at Lysander and then opened the box, gasping at what lay on the silk pillow. A gold locket with the initials HJG carved into it was laying there, the gold chain glinting in the light. She felt a tear slip down her face as she pulled the locket from its box, turning her face towards Lysander.

“It’s beautiful, Sander. How did you manage this?” Hermione knew that Luna and Ron gave their children small allowances, but surely this cost a small fortune.

“I’ve been saving since last Christmas, ever since I noticed you stopped wearing your ring,” another tear slipped from her eye and she quickly held the back of her hand against her cheek, trying to stop the tears. “Put it on.”

Hermione smiled and undid the clasp, slipping the locket around her neck and clicking the clasp back in place. The locket felt weighty against her skin and she smiled kindly at the boy, reaching out and pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thank you. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been given,” she said, squeezing him a bit tighter before letting go. Lysander had a dazed look on his face and then smiled, happy for her reaction.

The night passed in a blur and Hermione soon found herself shuffling on her cloak. She had politely refused Molly’s invitation to spend the night, the Weasley matriarch insisting that no one should be alone Christmas Eve. Hermione just smiled, knowing that she only wanted what she thought was best. She drew Molly into a crushing hug before stepping out the front door, having already said her goodbyes. She walked to the edge of the Burrow’s front yard and Apparated to the front of her store, making sure the door was locked before she started walking down the street.

She drew in a deep breath as she neared the diner, having spent the past three blocks wondering what she was doing. She really did not need to see Lucius Malfoy tonight, even if her plan was too stand across the street and see if he was truly there. She drew in a deep breath and walked onto the opposite block the diner was on, turning to the diner and examining the windows.

At first she could not make out anything through the windows. They were frosted over with condensation, as the temperature inside surely was a lot warmer then the temperature outside. After standing there long enough, she was able to make out the people inside, smiling when she saw a family sitting down to a late Christmas Eve, early Christmas breakfast. She saw an elderly couple sitting side by side in a booth and smiled at that.

Then she saw him.

He was sitting at a booth by himself, a cup of coffee sitting in front of him. It looked like he had an empty plate in front of him, little streams of left over maple syrup decorating the plate. She watched the familiar waitress come by and set down a fresh plate of pancakes, before picking the dirty dish up and walking away. Lucius went to cut the pancakes and stopped. Hermione saw his shoulders move with the weight of his sigh before he picked up the black liquid and took a drink. His brow furrowed as he sipped at the hot liquid and he turned his head, making eye contact with Hermione.

Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat and time freeze as Lucius’ gray eyes bore into hers. He startled in his seat and then made a move as if too stand. Hermione watched as he checked his movement before leaning into the window, making sure that it was her he was seeing, before standing up and rushing from the diner. The door opened with the tinkling of bells, the sound being the only sound on the silent street. The pail of the bells reminded her of the Halloween day years ago when he had walked into her store and she shuddered.

Who was she kidding? She could not do this.

As he began to cross the street, she turned and Apparated far away from him.

“Hermione!” Lucius called into the dark night as he ran to where she had been.
She had come. She had been here!

Surely that was a sign that she still cared. Surely that was a sign that he wasn’t delusional in thinking that there was still some love between them. Surely she felt it too, that strong desire to be in each other’s arms, to feel each other as they moved together as one in the dark.

Surely she was dreaming of him just as he had been dreaming of her.

“You came,” he said into the darkness, a smile gracing his face before he turned and walked back into the diner, making sure he paid well and tipped the waitress heftily.

He strode back into the cold night air, breathing in deeply. It felt like the first time he had breathed in years. In fact, it may have been. He had just been going through the motions for years, allowing Hermione to slip away. But she had come tonight, she had been here! He felt like shouting to the rooftops his joy. Instead, he Apparated back to his Manor bedroom and fell into bed as giddy as a school boy.

She had been there. She felt the pull just like he did.

Miles away, in her own bedroom, Hermione curled up on her bed. She played with the locket her nephew had given her as the tears fell. Why had she done this to herself? She had a good life, a happy life, and having him back in it would only hurt her again.

Still fingering her locket, she drifted off into sleep, wondering if people really did deserve second chances.

*
A/N Dear, poor Hermione. She says Lucius is stubborn? I think she needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Or pancakes. Or something.

Besides Artemis and Selena, all the Weasley kids' names come from JK Rowling's plot of the Weasley grandkids. Okay, so maybe Luna had Lysander with some kid named Rolf, but I don't know who that is and he doesn't fit into my story. ( http://hp-lexicon.org/wizards/weasley.html scroll down for plot)

PS. Does anyone know the connection between Artemis, Selena, and Luna? It's very easy to figure out. Whoever does will get a Christmas cookie!