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Hermione stared out the window of their flat as she sipped her tea between pages of her novel. It was raining, but then again, that was typical weather for London this time of year. She was looking forward to the trip she and Logan had planned for the upcoming holiday where instead of rain, she'd be able to see snow. Once he got home from the office, the pair would be on their way to Heathrow Airport to fly to Vancouver, where they would be boarding a ten-day Alaskan cruise before heading to Hartford to celebrate Christmas with Logan's family.
She had met Mitchum at a work function a few months ago, but Hermoine had never had the pleasure of meeting Shira in person. The two had spoken on the phone a time or two, and pictures had been exchanged, but that was the extent of their communication. It wasn't for lack of trying on Logan and Hermione's part either. For some reason, Shira was uninterested in flying to London to see the life that Logan had built for himself after Yale.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she sent her teacup off to the kitchen with a simple spell, flipping to the next page in her book. The nook in their window was her favorite spot to curl up and read when she had the time, plus it had the best view of the city when rain wasn't pouring down instead.
"You know you might want to be careful with the floating teacups when we get to Hartford, love," Logan laughed, closing the door behind him and hung his coat up on the coat stand near the door.
Hermione stuck her tongue out as she tucked her bookmark in the book, placing it on the window sill and walking over to kiss him. She smacked him in the chest, playfully as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't worry; I wasn't planning on using magic around your parents. At least not any spells they would be able to see."
Logan raised an eyebrow in curiosity as she pressed up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to his for a brief moment. As she pulled away, the question he was afraid to ask practically fell from his lips. "Do you use spells around me that I can't see?"
A smirk pulled at the corners of her lips as Hermione shrugged and left Logan in the foyer to think about the possibilities. She walked into the kitchen to rinse out her teacup before putting it into the dishwasher.
Spinning around on her heel, she leaned up against the counter. "How much more do you need to pack? Our flight leaves at ten, and we need to be at Heathrow at eight, which means we need to leave here in an hour."
"We won't miss our flight," Logan replied, chuckling to himself as he made his way toward their bedroom. "I just need to pack the last of my clothes, and then I'll be ready to go."
"Your carry on's all packed?" Hermione asked, raising her brow in suspicion. When she was packing up the last of the items she needed into hers, she noticed that his phone charger was still plugged into the wall, and the new adaptor he had purchased was still in the bag on the coffee table.
"I promise, Mom," Logan said, popping his head out of the bedroom door to stick his tongue out at her, "I'll be ready to leave on time."
"I'll hold you to that," Hermione laughed, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back to the small pile of dishes that had gathered in the sink. Rinsing them off quickly, she placed them in the dishwasher and added some soap. She made some adjustments to the settings on the machine and then powered it on. "At least this way, we'll have clean dishes to come home to."
She looked down the hall at the bedroom and contemplated making her way down there to help Logan finish off the rest of his packing, but she knew that she would just be yet another distraction for him in getting out the door. She opted to return to her window sill. Maybe if she pretended that they didn't have somewhere to be, then he'd surprise her, and they'd be out the door with plenty of time to spare.
Hermione picked up her novel off the bench and sighed as curled up on it. It was time to return to the life of Kimberly Rossi in The Mistletoe Inn to see what awaited her on the retreat she had signed up for. Thinking quietly to herself, Hermione sighed as she thought about how nice it would be to retreat to the woods for a few days just to hideaway from the real world. She could just enjoy the peace of nature surrounding her.
Just as Hermione opened up her book, Logan emerged from the bedroom with a broad smile on his face and his luggage in hand with a smaller bag draped over his shoulder. "Told you I'd be ready to leave on time."
. . . . . . . . .
Hermione hung her head as she and Logan exited the plane into the Nipawin Airport. Halfway into their journey across Canada to Vancouver, the aircraft started to have engine trouble and needed to make an emergency landing for the safety of their passengers. Apparently, the plane wasn't equipped to deal with the cold front that had blown in just as they started to fly over Canada. It was as though Jack Frost himself arrived in town at the same time. She was grateful that they were considering safety, but at the same time, she was looking forward to getting on the boat and making the journey to Ketchikan.
"Don't worry, Hermione. Even if we can't start our vacation on the cruise, I'll find a way to make it still a memorable experience," Logan said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. He placed a gentle kiss on her temples, guiding them towards Airport Services. He wanted to get some recommendations.
Even though the airlines had offered them a free night in the hotel across the street, Logan was ready for an adventure to start. He had noticed a map on their way to the service desk and saw the name of a town that sounded interesting, or at least as a great photo opportunity with a town sign.
"Hello, welcome to Nipawin. How can I help you this evening?" the woman handling the desk asked with a broad smile on her face. It looked like she was well into her shift and was just ready to go home, but kept that smile on her face just to get through the day.
"Hello," Logan paused to read her name tag, "Holly. That's a pretty name."
Hermione rolled her eyes as Logan tried to make the woman at the counter blush. Typical Huntzberger behavior, but she couldn't complain because his harmless flirting had gotten them some of the best offers on hotel rooms when they went on trips.
"Can you tell me how far it is to Love, Saskatchewan?"
With a few clicks on the computer, soon Holly was handing Logan a set of directions as well as the keys to a rental car. "It'll take you about twenty minutes to get there, but I'm not sure what you're hoping to find. I can call ahead to the main office and let them know you'll be arriving shortly. Hopefully, they'll have a cabin available. I know a lot of people spend the holidays as a chance to get away when Jack Frost nips at your nose."
"As long as there's a cabin with a fireplace to curl up in front of, we'll be fine for the short amount of time we'll be in town," Logan replied, flashing her his signature smile with a wink. "Thank you so much for all your help."
"You're welcome. Enjoy your stay!" she called after them as they walked away from the counter.
Once they were settled into the rental car, Hermione exhaled sharply and rolled her eyes. "You know, if you would just get over your fear of apparating, we could have been in Vancouver by now."
"It's not that I'm afraid of apparating," Logan replied, reaching over and squeezing the top of her thigh. "I'm just not fond of the ill-feeling that I get after traveling that way. Besides, the flight wasn't that bad."
"But we could have been on the boat by now and started with our vacation," Hermione huffed, collapsing against the car seat. She didn't mean to sound like a child, but she had been looking forward to this cruise, and now she was missing it.
"I think that our vacation is off to a wonderful start," he replied, winking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Check out that sign."
Hermione looked out the window and spotted the sign he was referring to. As she read it aloud, she fought the urge to roll her eyes at the corniness of it. "You're now in Love. Welcome to Love, Saskatchewan."
A few moments later, the pair had stopped by the town center and were on their way to a small cabin on the outskirts of town. The idea of peace and quiet brought a smile to Hermione's face as she took in the sights of the tiny little village. Maybe their overnight stay wouldn't be so bad. They pulled into the parking lot designated for their cabin and made their way inside.
Hermione took a moment to look around the small cabin. The decorations inside were simple, but it added to the coziness that she felt as they crossed the threshold. There was a fire burning in the fireplace and a small decorated Christmas tree in the corner. She walked over to stand in front of the fire in an attempt to warm up her hands from being outside for a brief moment.
"What do you think, love?" Logan asked, placing their suitcases on the bed. He walked over to wrap his arms around Hermione's waist and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"If I can't be on a boat along the coast of Alaska enjoying the sunset, then I think I'd rather be here with you," she smiled, spinning around in his arms and pressing her lips to his softly. "We should make ourselves comfortable for the night. Our next flight is bright and early tomorrow morning."
"And if we miss that flight, would it really be all that bad?" Logan asked, kissing her cheek once more before taking a few giant steps back to avoid her playful smack. He removed his coat and tossed it on the couch. "Why don't you go get a shower, and I'll find a movie for us to watch for the night?"
"If we miss that flight, then we are apparating from here to Hartford for an early visit with your parents," Hermione replied, sticking her tongue out at him as she made her way towards the bathroom. A hot shower would definitely feel good after a long day of traveling. Hopefully, he'd be able to find something good for them to watch.
Fifteen minutes later, Hermione emerged from the bathroom to find Logan sprawled out across the bed, starting to drift off. Rolling her eyes, she walked over and picked up one of the pillows he wasn't leaning on and tossed it at him. "I wasn't gone for that long."
"It felt like forever," Logan laughed, reaching out to grab her hand and pulled her onto the bed with him. "So, I found a movie."
"Is it a good one?" she asked, readjusting herself on the bed to rest her head against the pillows, while still being able to curl up with Logan.
"Well, it was the only VHS tape that I could find in the cabin because they don't have a DVD player, and it happens to be one of my favorites from my childhood. Every Christmas season, they used to air all of these great cartoons in the days leading up to Christmas," he replied.
"Well, I love a good Christmas movie," she said, snuggling down into the bed. "And besides, I'd love to know what Logan Huntzberger's favorite Christmas movie is. Let's watch it."
"Just remember, this was my favorite movie when I was like six, so don't judge me harshly," Logan replied, pushing himself up off the bed and pressing play on the VHS in the old TV near the bed. Quickly, he returned to the bed and wrapped his arm around Hermione as they snuggled in, the soothing voice of Pardon-Me Pete coming from the television.
"Jack Frost?" Hermione asked, glancing up at Logan out of the corner of her eye as she laid against his chest.
Logan shrugged. "I fell in love with Elisa. I always used to pretend that I was Jack Frost, and it was my job to save her from Kubla Klaus. I even had my whistle perfected."
"I think I love you, even more, Magician," Hermione said, propping herself up on her elbow and pressing her lips to his. She smirked at the smile that pulled at his lips at the simple reference to Jack Frost.
"I love you too, Elisa," Logan replied as she pulled away from the kiss. He wrapped his arm snuggly around her shoulders and pulled her up against him. Getting the chance to share a part of his childhood with the love of his life made this layover trip even more special than it had begun.
. . . . . . . . .
As the Huntzberger family gathered around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning, Hermione was reminded of her favorite scene from the movie she and Logan had enjoyed in their cabin in Love.
The gift that she opened from Logan was a gorgeous diamond necklace, something more decadent than she would typically wear out in public. The only way that she could think to thank him for the gift was to burst out in song.
"It's I just want I always wanted, it's perfectly right. It's just what I always wanted, a Christmas delight," Hermione sang as she wrapped her arms around Logan's neck and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.
Logan fought the urge to roll his eyes as he laughed at her bursting into song. However, as he opened the gift that she had given him, he found himself echoing her song. It was the new laptop he had been eyeing to make working from their apartment much more manageable.
"Thank you for making this a Christmas to remember, even if we didn't get to see the Alaskan coastline," Logan said, pulling Hermione into his lap after he helped her clasp the necklace around her neck.
"You have your friend Jack Frost to thank for that," Hermione replied. "It's just what I always wanted, a Christmas delight with the man I love most."