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The first thing Harry heard when he woke up was the sound of a snowplow driving down the road of Grimmauld Place and cleaning it of snow. But, thoughts of the outside world quickly faded away when he opened his eyes and found brown eyes looking at him fondly.
“Good morning, beauty.” Hermione said, moving a lock of his black hair away from his eye. Harry smiled.
“’Morning, love.” he returned. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. She moaned when their lips met.
Eventually, after a few minutes of kissing, Hermione softly leaned away. Smiling at his cute pout, she gave him a quick kiss on the nose.
“Merry Christmas, Harry.”
Harry blinked in mock surprise. “Is it Christmas already?” he asked. She rolled her eyes fondly.
“As if you didn’t know.” she said. “We spent all of yesterday putting up the ornaments on the Christmas tree.”
“I seem remembering doing a lot more than that.” he said huskily. He slipped a hand inside of her shirt. “In fact, we got distracted quite often.” He had quite a vivid image in his mind: that of a completely naked Hermione, her body still glistening in sweat from what they had just done, on her tiptoes and stretching fully in an attempt to reach the top of the Christmas tree and place the star ornament.
Hermione blushed. “Well, what can I say? You are very distracting.” she whispered back.
Harry smiled. He brought a hand higher under her shirt until he held one of her breasts in his hand. He leaned forward to kiss her, only to be softly pushed away. He pouted again, making Hermione chuckle.
“Not that I don’t like the idea, but there is a lot of people we’re meeting today. We can’t afford to spend all morning in bed.” he told her. Harry sighed.
“You’re right.” he admitted. He moved to step out of bed. “So, breakfast?”
He saw Hermione smile seductively. She slowly ran a finger on the side of her hip - wearing only panties under her waist. “Well, what about a shower first?” she asked. She grinned at Harry’s excited expression.
It was a well cleaned and satisfied couple who exited the shower an hour later. Together and fully dressed, they went downstairs to the kitchen where Harry began making them breakfast. Hermione sat down at the counter and watched him. She had been barred from cooking a long time ago by not only Harry, but her own parents when they learned about her last cooking misadventure.
Since it was Christmas, Harry decided to spoil them. To Hermione’s delight, he presented to her a croque-madame: a croque-monsieur (a cheese and ham sandwich) with an additional egg added on top.
“It look delicious!” she exclaimed, licking her lips. Croque-Madames were some of her favourite breakfast food. She did not eat them much though, as it was a quite heavy meal.
“Well thank you!” he grinned, sitting down next to her with his own plate. “Only the best for you.” Hermione smiled.
She loved the fact Harry could cook – and cook very well at that! It was also relieving, as she was quite abysmal in the kitchen.
They discussed the upcoming day as they ate. “So, your parents are expecting us when already? Five-o-clock, right?” Harry asked, not remembering precisely.
“Five-thirty.” Hermione corrected. “It’s about when Mum will start putting the meat pies in the oven, so it will give us a good hour of talks before eating. And, of course, we will open our presents afterwards.”
“And we’re going to the Weasleys for lunch at eleven.” he added. Hermione nodded.
The Weasleys originally asked Harry and Hermione to come for Christmas dinner. But, having already planned to spend the evening with Hermione’s parents, it was instead decided to move the meeting ahead for lunch.
“I hope we won’t eat too much at the Weasleys, or we won’t have any place left for your parents’ dinner!” Harry said with a grin. Hermione chuckled.
“In the afternoon, we’re also going to visit Neville and Luna.” Hermione said. “That’s about it. It leave us free to spend most of the morning together.”
Harry suddenly looked nervous. “Yeah – about that.” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“Harry? What is it?” she asked, concerned.
“Well... I made some plans for this morning.” Hermione blinked, surprised at the revelation. Harry took a deep breath before revealing “I want to visit my parents’ grave, like last year. I was wondering if you wanted to come.”
Hermione looked at her nervous boyfriend, who appeared genuinely afraid she would refuse to accompany him. “Oh, Harry...” she sighed. “Of course I will come with you.”
Harry let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” he said, smiling a bit. “I... I really want to bring you to meet my parents. As my girlfriend this time.”
A tear leaked out of her eye. Even as an adult, Harry still suffered from the death of his parents. It was a pain that would never get away. But, she could make him feel better, and create more happy memories for him. She grabbed his hand and laid her head on his shoulder. “Of course, Harry. Any time you want.”
Harry gave her a kiss on her head.
They left the house soon after finishing their breakfast. Before leaving, she saw Harry put on the same clothes he wore last Christmas day when they visited James and Lily’s graves for the first time. She doubted it was a conscious decision from him, but decided to emulate him. She put on the same grey coat and pink knit cap she herself had wore. And, together, they apparated to Godric’s Hollow, holding on to each other.
Unlike the previous year where they came during the night, the sun welcomed them upon their arrival at Godric’s Hollow, the sunlight reflecting on the freshly-fallen snow, illuminating the entire village. They found couples walking outside together, children playing in the snow, neighbours and friends wishing each other Merry Christmas. It gave them a new sight on the community of Godric’s Hollow. Harry wondered if he himself once found himself laying in his mother’s arms as she and his father wished Merry Christmas to other villagers.
The walk to the graveyard was made in relative silence. Despite all the distractions offered by the sight of a Godric’s Hollow full of life, most of their attention was focused on each other. Hermione was holding Harry by the arm while he silently led them toward his parents’ final resting place. He did not have to search for them this time, remembering exactly where they laid.
Harry stopped in front of his parents’ graves. Hermione silently gave him some much needed support, nuzzling her head in the crook between his head and shoulder while hugging his arm.
“Hi Mum, Dad.” he started. His voice was only a whisper. He did not need to speak loudly. They would hear him. “I feel like it’s only been a few days since I saw you in the Forbidden Forest.” He felt Hermione grip his arm harder. She did not like being reminded of Harry's sacrifice. “Everything has been going so fast since then. Voldemort is dead. His Death Eaters are in Azkaban. You would have loved this new world.”
He paused. “I wonder how different my life would have been like if you survived that night. If we all survived that night. My childhood would certainly have been better. But...” he trailed off. His eyes turned to Hermione, who met his’. “If you survived that night, then I might not have befriended Hermione. I might not have fallen in love with her.”
It was obvious in his tone of voice that Harry thought she was worth growing without parents. It brought a tear to her eye. She was going to spend the rest of her life ensuring Harry would never regret that line of thought.
Harry turned back to the tombstones. “Mum, Dad, I want you to meet Hermione. I know you already met her last year, but not as my girlfriend. We started dating during the summer. The last few months have been the happiest I have ever lived.” he said truthfully.
A blushing Hermione decided it was her turn to speak. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.” she said. “I wish I had met you. That all three of us could be there for Harry. But, unfortunately, fate did not grant us that wish.”
She wondered if the Potters could hear her. She liked to think they could. “I love your son, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.” she said. “Harry is seen as a hero by many people, and while I believe he deserve the moniker,” She saw Harry glare playfully at her, making her grin sheepishly. “I know him first and foremost as my Harry, my best friend. We’ve stood side by side since we were eleven. Harry is my closest friend, my confident, and I want him to be happy. I intend to spend the rest of my life ensuring he has a well deserved happy ever-after.”
She felt Harry squeeze his shoulder. She turned and gave him a kiss, a kiss he reciprocated. Aware they were standing in front of his parents’ grave, she ended the kiss and turned back to the tombstones. She spoke one last time. Her voice was shy and quiet. “I wonder what you would think of me. Would you like me? Or would you think I do not deserve your son?”
“Don’t say that.” Harry told her. “If there’s anyone who doesn’t deserve the other, it’s me.”
She turned to him. “I’m going to disagree with that, Mr. Potter.” she said.
“Then we will have to agree to disagree.” he said back. Hermione smiled.
She glanced at the graves again. “Do you want to say something else?” she asked him. Harry shook his head. So, Hermione took out her wand. Like she had done a year prior, she conjured a bouquet of red roses, this time adding some white lilies in the mix. To her surprise, she saw Harry pull his wand as well. Finding a stick laying down on the ground, he transfigured it into a small silver stag. He placed the stag next to the bouquet.
“There. A stag, lilies and red roses. It is perfect.” he whispered.
“It is perfect.” she repeated, agreeing with him.
The two stayed there, watching the graves in silence as they held each other. Then, without a word, they left the graveyard, leaving behind the Potters’ graves.
Harry’s ache for his parents would never really leave him. But Hermione would be there every step of the way to ensure his happiness.
