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Hermione and Andrea crashed into each other at the International Portkey Transport in Kings Cross, Australia. They giggled as they got up from the floor.
“I’ll never get used to portkeys.” Andrea shook her head.
“Me, either. I took one home the last time I was here and nearly hit someone in the face because I had spun out of control.” Hermione sighed. “But here we are, Australia. Now we are an apparition away from my parent's place.”
“I can’t believe this place is called Kings Cross, like in London.” Andrea looked around and did a double-take. “MOM! DAD!”
A couple turned around and were surprised to see them. “Andrea? Hermione?”
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Sachs.” Hermione gave them hugs. “What brings you to Australia?” Hermione smiled at them. “I thought Andy said that you were going to watch her brothers play Quodpot.”
“Please call us Richard and Marie, Hermione.” He smiled. “We are here to see your brothers play, Andrea, but you must have forgotten that the Quodpot World Cup is being held here.”
“I thought it was an American sport?” Hermione arched her brow.
“It is mostly, but it’s slowly growing in other parts of the world,” Marie explained before sighing. “We had to come back to Sydney because,” Marie looked at Andrea, “your brothers can’t behave themselves.”
“Oh no,” Andrea groaned. “What did they do now?” Andrea looked at them, puzzled at their reaction. “What?”
Richard rubbed the back of his neck. “Is there a place to talk about this privately?”
“Follow me, please.” Hermione waved them on as she walked up to the counter. “Is Aubrey Vance here?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The receptionist dipped her head as she picked up the phone. “Aubrey, there is a young lady here to speak with you, and she has some people with her.” The receptionist listened for a moment. “Right, will do.” She hung up and smiled. “She will be with you in five minutes.”
“Thank you.” Hermione dipped her head as she moved out of the way. She looked at the Sachs family and replied. “Aubrey is coming, and we can find a room for us to talk, alright?”
“Thank you,” Marie wanly smiled.
A tall, willowy woman with light brown hair walked into the room, and her face lit up at seeing Hermione. “Well, hello, Undersecretary Granger, what brings you here?”
“Shh…” Hermione looked around. “I was trying to have a nice family vacation without my enemies knowing that I was out of the country.”
“Oh, sorry, Hermione,” Aubrey looked remorseful, which Hermione waved off. “What can I help you with, though?”
“The Sachs family requested a room to talk for a few minutes, and I was hoping that you had one here without going to the Rocks.” Hermione appeared hopeful.
Aubrey looked over and realised who half of them were, but not the young lady. “Right, follow me.” She took them to a medium-sized room that looked like a meeting room. “We have these meeting rooms for people who only have a short amount of time before they have to leave.”
“This is great. Thank you, Miss Vance.” Richard and Marie took one side, and Hermione and Andrea took the other. “Miss Vance, please don’t go too far.”
“I won’t. I am just going to be right outside this door. Just yell my name.” Aubrey closed the door behind her to give them privacy.
“You know Aubrey?” Andrea looked at her parents.
“Um, yes. We had to come back to Australia because of your brothers’ misbehaviour after the Quodpot Finals.” Richard sagged in his seat.
“What did they do?” Andrea leaned forward. Her parents glanced at each other. “Just tell me.” Hermione grabbed her hand and squeezed it for comfort. “Thanks, love.”
Hermione saw the apprehension in their face. “Do I need to leave?”
“No, Hermione, you need to stay as well,” Marie mumbled under her breath. “Your last name is Granger, isn’t it?”
“Yes, why?” Hermione looked at her, puzzled.
“No, they didn’t.” Andrea shook her head. “Please tell me they didn’t.”
“Andrea?” Hermione was startled by Andrea’s abrupt pop-up from her chair. “What is it?”
Andrea ignored her for a moment as she stared at her parents. “What did they do to her parents?” Andrea screeched as Hermione gasped.
“Nothing bad.” Marie rubbed her neck.
“Out with it,” Andrea growled. “I am going to have words with those two.”
Hermione rose from her seat and wrapped her arm around Andrea. “My darling, whatever it is, we will get through it together, and I will have to appease my parents again.” She pulled her back down into their seats.
“Why did you say that?” Andrea looked at her, puzzled.
“One thing at a time.” Hermione gestured to Andrea’s parents to go on. “Please do tell us so I know how to calm my parents down later.”
“Well, the Aurors told us that Stephen and Jason were goofing around after the Quodpot game, throwing the ball back and forth between them, when one of them missed it, and it exploded in someone’s yard.” Richard recited matter-of-factly to them.
Hermione groaned and laid her head down on the table, “Bloody hell, are they dunderheads?”
“Yes,” Andrea replied.
“Andrea!” Marie scolded her.
“Don’t you scold me! You should be yelling at them for playing around with balls that can explode in a no-maj area.” Andrea scowled at her, “They broke the international law of secrecy as it is.”
“How do you know that?” Richard inquired.
“Did you forget that Hermione is the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic of Britain?” Andrea was getting exasperated with her parents.
“Andy.” Hermione patted her hand. “Yes, we talk about International law a bit over there, and she has even reported on it too. Did you miss that article?”
“Oh, yes, we read that article along with her others as well.” Marie dipped her head. “What are we going to do with Stephen and Jason?”
“I would like to talk to them, please.” Hermione levelled them a stare. “I would like for them to genuinely apologise to my parents and help me fix their property.”
“Let me at them.” Andrea got up.
“No, my darling. Let me talk to them alone, and you will see that they will behave themselves.” Hermione beckoned her to sit. “I know you are frustrated, but it will come off better if it comes from me.”
Hermione and Andrea silently communicated with each other for a few seconds before Andy dipped her head in agreement. “Alright, my love, I’ll try not to interfere.”
“Thank you.” Hermione raised her voice. “Aubrey?”
Aubrey came into the room, “Yes, Hermione?”
“Looks like we are going to the Rocks anyway. I want a word with her brothers, please.” Hermione rose from her seat. “I would like to appeal to them as a daughter of the claimant. Did my parents press charges?”
“They were pissed, rightly so, but they said that they were going to wait for their daughter to decide if they wanted to pursue legal action,” Aubrey replied, surprising Hermione with the answer.
“Meaning, they want me to decide as an Undersecretary officiant.” Hermione groaned. “Bloody brilliant.” She glanced at the Sachs. “Let’s go so we can get on with our vacation.”
The five leave the Kings Cross Station, walk over to the Rocks, and into the beautiful atrium of the Australia Ministry of Magic.
“It still amazes me how beautiful this part of your Ministry is compared to mine.”
“Thank you!” Aubrey beamed as she led them down to where they kept the prisoners and showed them into a larger room. “I will bring you Stephen and Jason momentarily.”
“Thank you, Aubrey.” Hermione looked around the room. “Andy, can you and your parents sit over there while I talk to your brothers?”
“Sure, Hermione.” The three Sachs sat on the couch that Andrea created wandlessly. “Good luck.”
Hermione schooled her face as she waited for them. She sat there thinking about what she wanted to say and how to appeal to them.
Aubrey came back into the room with two young men who resembled Andrea's parents. One looked like their father, big and burly, and the other looked more like Andrea and Marie, thin and wiry. “Ah, which one is Stephen and which is Jason?”
“Jason looks more like me, Hermione,” Andrea replied.
“Thank you, Andrea.” Hermione dipped her head at her girlfriend. “have a seat, boys. We need to talk.”
The young brothers saw that Hermione meant business, and their family was watching from the side. They looked at each other and gulped before taking a seat across from Hermione.
“Let me introduce myself since we keep missing each other when we see your parents,” Hermione levelled them with a stare. “I am Hermione Granger, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Britain, and I am also your sister’s girlfriend.”
“Undersecretary?” Their brows shot up.
“Yes, meaning in a few years, I plan to run for Minister, but if I have to keep putting out fires internationally, it’s going to hurt my chances,” Hermione answered. “Plus, I hate to think what Harry Potter would think of Andrea if he found out that her brothers destroyed his best friend’s parents’ property.”
“Harry Potter…” They glanced at each other nervously. “You are friends with Harry Potter?”
“Yes, since our days at Hogwarts. Do you know what they call me?” They shook their head. “The brightest witch of our age.” She smiled sweetly. “I’m the reason he stayed alive during school with all the reading I did, including one Hogwarts, the History.”
“You two are perfect for each other,” Jason replied. “I know Andrea read that book, too.”
“So, I have been told, but.” Hermione sat back, tapping her chin. “What are we going to do with you two?” She leaned forward, “You see, my parents used their right to allow me to decide.” She smiled ferally, “Should I have you thrown into the Gaol for breaking the International Law for Secrecy?” Hermione paused purposefully to make them sweat. “Or can I convince these two to apologise with meaning and help with the repairs to the property?”
“We are so sorry, Hermione”, They both cried out, overlapping each other.
Hermione narrowed her eyes to decide if their words were genuine. The young men appeared to be sweating in their seats. “Andrea?”
“Yes, my love?” Andrea softly replied.
“Do these two seem sincere to you?” Hermione glanced at her girlfriend.
Andy unfolded herself from the sofa, “Well, I would like to think that our parents taught them better manners than what they just showed.” Andrea joined Hermione at the table before looking at her brothers’ scared faces. “You do realise that you did put Hermione in a pickle. Not only with her parents but maybe even in her future plans for the magical world.”
“Are you saying that she’s brilliant like you?” Stephen questioned his sister.
“Yes, I am, and I am not the only one who says it either, but your actions will reflect on her as well through me.” Andrea implored her brothers.
They looked at each other wide-eyed before looking at the couple, “We are sorry.”
“They are sincere and would like to apologise to your parents, Hermione, my love,” Andrea smirked at her. “And they will help with the repairs if they haven’t been done yet.”
“If they haven’t been done yet, it means that my parents will want it done manually with our hands and no wands at all.” Hermione sighed. “This means that we will have to be careful not to do much magic this trip, Andrea.”
“That’s fine. I am still trying to remember that I can do magic.” Andrea laughed, causing Hermione to snort. “Shall we call Aubrey in?”
“Yes,” Hermione raised her voice. “AUBREY!”
“Yes, Undersecretary Granger?” Aubrey wasn’t sure which name to call her.
“Hermione, please.” She smiled at her friend. “I am not going to file charges on my parents’ behalf and bring these two dunderheads to my parents’ to apologise, among other things.”
“Oh, good, I really didn’t want to do a press conference for this.” Aubrey exhaled. “Let me sign them off to you, Hermione, and you will be off to try to enjoy your vacation. Happy Christmas.”
“Stephen and Jason, I hope you learned something from this whole incident.” Richard walked over to the table with Marie.
“Yes, Father.” They replied in unison, which caused Hermione to shiver.
“Something wrong, Hermione?” Marie asked.
“They just reminded me of the Weasley twins.” Hermione sagged in her seat, causing Andrea to wrap her arm around her shoulder. “We need to go to the next dinner, Andrea, when we get back.”
“We will, my love, but aren’t we going to their New Year’s party?” Andrea shared a look with her.
“Oh, right. We go back the day before.” Hermione shook her head.
“You know the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes!” Stephen sat up.
“I basically watched them create it.” Hermione narrowed her eyes. “I see Aubrey coming. Behave.”
Aubrey walked into the room with some paperwork, “Here, Hermione, please sign where indicated, and they are free to go.”
Hermione signed or initialled the pages that Aubrey gave her and handed them back to her. “Do they have their wands, or do we have to pick them up?”
“I have their wands right here. I do hope that I don’t see them again because next time, I will be charging.” Aubrey arched her brow at the two brothers.
“No, ma’am.” Stephen and Jason shook their head. “We don’t plan on stupid again, nor do we want to go to Gaol.”
“Good, I’m glad that Hermione and Andrea put the fear into you.” Aubrey smiled. “You may leave with Hermione and follow her instructions because something tells me that she isn’t done with you.”
“That’s right.” Hermione rose from her seat. “We need to go to my parents’ house and apologise to them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Stephen and Jason got out of their chairs and slipped their wands into their wand case.
“Aubrey, do I have permission to create a portkey to their backyard?” Hermione looked over to her friend.
“Yes, you do, since you have a lot of people going.” Aubrey dipped in agreement. “Happy Christmas, everyone.”
“Thank you, Aubrey, for your help.” Hermione shook her hand. “Andrea, do you have a copy of a Quibbler in that bag?”
“Yes, I do.” Andrea fished into the bag and finally found what she was looking for. “What?”
“How?” Marie looked amazed at the bag.
“Oh, Hermione made it for me.” Andrea handed Hermione the magazine so she could make a portkey. “She had one for years and made one for me and one of our friends.”
“Alright, you have thirty seconds to put a finger somewhere on this magazine. All of you.” Hermione commanded as she stared at the brothers. They each grabbed a corner as Andrea’s parents touched the centre. Andrea and Hermione took the free corners as Hermione counted down. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Lift off!”
They all felt the tug, and the next thing they knew, they were soaking wet. “Bloody Hell, I forgot the pool.”
“Hermione? Is that you?” A female voice yelled out.
“Bloody Hell!” Hermione grumbled. She wanted to dry everyone off with a wand.
“HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER!” Mrs. Granger yelled. “Language.”
“Sorry, Mum. Give us a few minutes, and we will be right in.” Hermione apologised.
“That’s better. Talk to you soon.” The door slammed.
“OY! Everyone out of the pool.” Hermione pointed to the far end. They shuffled to the ladder and climbed out. Hermione flicked her hand and dried everyone instantly with a blast of heat. “I purposely had us get out here so I can do that. She would have made us dry ourselves the muggle way.” Hermione sighed.
“Are we going to cause an issue with your parents?” Richard asked as they started to walk towards an Edwardian home.
“No, you should be fine because I understand you know how to behave like no-majs?” Hermione glanced at them.
“We do,” Marie replied. “I made sure of that. Plus, Andrea went to university and lived in the city for a while.”
“She met me in my Uni sweatshirt, Mom.” Andrea shook her head.
“Right, so best behaviour, boys.” Marie glared as Hermione opened the door to the kitchen.
“Hello, Mum and Dad; I brought some more people with me. Please allow me to introduce you all.” Hermione greeted her parents with a kiss and a hug. “I do realise that you recognise the two boys. They are Andrea’s brothers, but let me really introduce you to Andrea Sachs.”
Hermione pulled Andrea towards her and beamed at her. “You have talked to her on the phone over the past year.”
“Hello, Andrea.” Mrs Granger hugged her.
Andrea could see where Hermione got her looks. She’s a spitting image of her mother. “Beautiful.”
“Excuse me?” Mrs Granger looked into Andrea’s brown eyes.
“Sorry, Mrs. Granger,” Andrea shook her head. “I was realising where Hermione got her beauty from.”
“Oh, Hermione picked up a flatterer.” The mother replied. “Please call me Mariana. This is William, her father.” Mariana gestured to the slightly tall man next to her.
“Hello, William.” Andrea shook his hand, “Let me introduce you to my family. I’ll apologise for springing all of them on you now. It wasn’t planned, right, boys?” Andrea arched her brow. They looked down.
“Anyways, this is my parents, Richard and Marie Sachs.” The parents shook hands. “And these two delinquents are my brothers, Stephen and Jason. Jason is the youngest and looks more like me and Mom.”
The two brothers looked up with sad puppy eyes, “We would like to apologise for ruining your Christmas décor in your front yard.”
Hermione gasped. “Not the antique nativity set that has been in our family for years.” Hermione darted to the front door and yanked it open. “NO!” There it lay smashed to pieces, the antique handblown set. She spun around with fire in her eyes, which made the boys back up.
Andrea stayed calm as she walked towards Hermione. “Listen, love, they weren’t thinking properly.” Andrea made sure she stood between Hermione and her brothers. “I know you want to hurt them.”
“Bloody gits, let me at them.” Hermione pulled out her wand.
“Accio Hermione’s wand.” Andrea calmly replied, catching it in her hand and surprising everyone. “Hermione, you need to calm down.”
“Why? They broke something that was in our family for two generations.” Hermione pointed to Andrea’s brothers.
Andrea put her hand on top of Hermione’s and pushed it down. “Yes, I know, love, but you need to think about your plans for the future. I really don’t want to call Aubrey here because you went after my brothers. I do understand your anger, my love, but think of us.”
Hermione angrily stared into Andrea’s molten eyes. “But they broke-“ Hermione sputtered to a stop. “What about us?” Hermione’s face turned to near fear. “You would leave me?”
“No, but” Andrea sighed. “I would let you punish me in their place.”
“What?” Hermione looked aghast. “No, I wouldn’t hurt you, my darling, Andrea.” She searched Andrea’s face. “I wasn’t going to murder them. Just sting them a couple of times.”
“Right.”
“Or use Ginny’s Bat-Bogey hex,” Hermione smirked. “She did teach me it one day.”
“Oh, I know that one.” Andrea grinned ferally before moving next to Hermione, raising her wand. “Shall we hex them?”
“ANDREA!” Marie chastised her.
Andrea and Hermione looked at the group and saw that Stephen and Jason were hiding behind their parents. They looked at each other and started giggling. “Mom, we were only joking.”
“You were?” Mariana asked. Andrea and Hermione nodded. “Because you will do just fine with Hermione if you can defuse her that well.”
“She is definitely getting better at it.” Hermione snickered. “I still remember the first time.”
“Which one was that?” Andy looked over because she couldn’t place it.
“The Andie clearing her throat like Umbridge incident,” Hermione smirked at her as Andy’s head fell back.
“Oh, Merlin. I didn’t understand what made you go ballistic.” Andrea shook her head.
“When was that, Andrea?” Marie asked.
“Late March?” Andrea looked at Hermione for confirmation.
“Yes, around there because Teddy was able to wear a light jacket to the park.” Hermione dipped her head.
“Nine months trained in.” William seemed impressed.
“Actually, we met in February at a cat café.” Andrea sighed happily before glancing at Hermione. “We should have brought Emily.”
“You know she HATES travelling.” Hermione rubbed her arm.
“Too true.” Andrea nodded. “You all need to meet my kitty.” She was speaking to the room at large.
“Wasn’t Emily your co-worker’s name from the magazine?” Jason spoke up as he moved from behind his father.
The two of them snorted. “Yes, it is, but it was already named Emily when we met her.”
“Plus, I did get to meet the former Emily on my birthday, to be exact.” Hermione started chuckling as Andrea groaned at the memory.
“Must you remind me,” Andrea laid her head on Hermione’s shoulder.
“It’s fine, my darling.” Hermione kissed her head. “Plus, the day ended well with us curled up in front of the fire, reading.”
“You two are DEFINITELY made for each other,” Stephen grumbled. “We couldn’t get a book out of her hand unless it was Quidditch time.”
“Hermione?”
“Yes, Papa?”
“Are you dating another player?”
Hermione groaned. “Father!”
“Well?”
“First off, Viktor Krum was a date for a Yule Ball at my school. That’s it.” Hermione glared at him.
“You know Viktor Krum!” Jason perks up.
Andrea snickered but shut up at Hermione’s glare. “Sorry, love.”
“Oh, Jason, I play with Johnson’s cousin a few times in a backyard game.”
“Really?” Jason looked impressed. “How was he?”
“I don’t know how he was, but Angelina was fiery on the broom.” Andrea was trying not to look at Hermione but failed, and they started cracking up.
“Shall we take a seat and decide what these boys are going to do to fix these lawn ornaments.” Mariana sobered up the group.
“Honestly.” Hermione sighed as she took a seat at the dining room table with Andrea next to her. Mariana sat at the head and William at the other end. Marie and Richard made the two boys sit across from the girls. “Mum, I have a suggestion, but I don’t know how well it’s going to work.”
“Hermione, I know you want to try to repair it magically, but I think the glass is too thin.” Mariana chimed in.
“Thin?” Stephen tilted his head. “As in handblown?”
“Stephen, were you even listening earlier?” Andrea shook her head.
“I was more worried about a possible hex than listening to what was being said.” Stephen ducked but still got a whack in the head from his mother. “Ow!” He rubbed the spot.
Jason tried to rise from his seat but was pushed back into it. “Dad, I am trying to get a fragment of the broken set so Stephen can look at it.”
“Oh, I have a piece right here.” William got up, grabbed the angel’s head, and gave it to Stephen.
“Are they completely shattered?” Stephen asked.
“They are mostly in big pieces like that, but I am sure that there are shards in the ground,” William explained.
“Father?”
“Yes, Stephen?”
“It’s still possible to fix this. Jason and I can do this if we do a soft Repairo to gather all the pieces and bring them back with us to the States and reblow these back.”
“Can you do that?” Hermione chimed in. She didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“Well, I will need a picture of the Nativity set, but I feel like it can be done.” Stephen pleaded with the Grangers.
“Hermione, Stephen and Jason are really good at repairs of all sorts of things.” Andrea beamed at her brother. “We have a shed out back for glass blowing. They have fun but in a safe way. I stay out of there.”
“Well, Mum?” Hermione looked at her. “What do you think? Shall we give these two a chance to repair this?”
“Do you really think you can fix this?” Mariana asked Stephen and Jason.
“Yes, ma’am.” The boys nodded. “We used to break things to repair them like new purposely.”
“Don’t remind me,” Andrea glowered at them. “I never had a nice doll. EVER!”
“Now, Andrea, you are being a bit dramatic.” Marie chimed in. “But you did have a point, but I do believe in my sons. If they think they can fix it, then they can.”
William and Mariana looked at each other and silently had a conversation before dipping their head. “Hermione, dear?”
“Yes, Mum?”
“What is your opinion?”
“Well, if they want to get on my good side, they best repair it well.” Hermione crossed her arms. “Otherwise, I will tell George who his next victim is for testing his products.”
Andrea started to crack up at her brothers’ faces. “Oh, and I have heard some stories too. Poor Ron.”
“Wait, isn’t he your ex?” Mariana looked at Hermione.
“Mum, get the facts straight: I am a lesbian. So, I mistakenly kissed him one time, and he thinks we are going together.” Hermione shook her head. “It took him nearly getting fired for harassment to get his head out of his arse.”
“Why were you friends with him?”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but most likely because we were both friends with Harry.” Hermione sighed.
“Stephen!”
“Andrea!”
“What’s the best way to do the glass pick-up for repairs?” Andrea looked seriously at her older brother.
“Well, baby sis, we need it near dark so we can do the Accio without garnering any more neighbourly attention or ministry attention either.” Stephen tapped his chin.
“You let Hermione and I take care of distracting the other people.” Andrea patted Hermione’s hand.
“Andrea, I don’t want to.” A pair of soft lips cut off Hermione. “What was that for?”
“I simply meant a ‘nothing to see here.’ spell.” Andrea purred into her ear.
“Honestly. I need a nap.” Hermione exhaled as she laid her head on the table.
“We both do, love.” Andrea rubbed her back. “We have been on the go all week.”
“Alright, we are going to let them rest for two hours before we eat and try to gather all the pieces for these two to get back on everyone’s side.” William waved his hand. “Hermione, you know where your room is.”
“Brilliant!” Hermione hopped up, grabbed Andrea’s arm, and dragged her upstairs to the spare bedroom decorated in hues of blue. “Just throw your bag on the chair for now and kick off your shoes.”
Andrea was already pulling off her sneakers and tucking them under the chair. She pulled off her light sweatshirt and draped it over the chair. “I am so tired, Hermione.” Andrea flicked her hand to change her clothes into sleepwear before climbing into the bed.
“Honestly, we need to slow down at work, somehow.” Hermione groaned as her body hit the soft mattress. “I wish them luck waking us later.” Hermione curled into Andrea and rested her head on her shoulder. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, love.” Andrea kissed her cheek before drifting to sleep.
There was banging on the door. “ANDREA! HERMIONE!” Jason yelled. “COME QUICK!”
Hermione and Andrea bolted up in bed, looked at each other like now what, and scrambled out of bed to slip their feet into flip-flops. They grabbed their wands before running downstairs. Andrea changed her clothes back before she hit the bottom stairs.
“What’s going on?” Andrea cried out as Hermione gasped before her.
“Oh, my Merlin.” Hermione halted at the entryway to the living room, making Andrea run into her back. “Sorry, my darling.” Hermione was amazed to see the pieces together. “How?”
“Now, don’t get mad at us.” Jason sheepishly replied. “We asked our parents to help us.”
“Oh, that’s fine, and then what happened?”
“Well, Hermione, when I went to do the soft version of Repario, it literally repaired it completely, which surprised me,” Stephen replied. “I was expecting to see cracks along the glass, but there aren’t any.”
Hermione walked over to the set and looked closely at Mary and couldn’t believe how well it looked. “It looks brand new!”
“It does, doesn’t it?” Mariana said from her chair. “It’s remarkable. We should have done it before, but anyway, do you two want Thai food?”
“Yes, please!” Hermione and Andrea answered together, which startled them. They giggled.
“Did you two have a nice nap?” Richard asked his daughter.
“Yes, until this doofus woke us up rudely.” Andrea thumbed at Jason. “Does this mean the crisis is averted?”
“Yes, it does, and it's a good thing too.” Marie smiled at her daughter. “We have been invited to have Christmas dinner with you all tomorrow, and we accepted.”
“Awesome!” Andrea cheered. “But your presents aren’t here.”
“That’s okay. We will get them later.” Richard waved her off. “We were thinking about visiting you after the New Year.”
Andrea looked over to Hermione, “Remind me to change the sheets.”
Hermione started laughing. “Will do that.”
“Why does she need to change them?” Marie gave them a furtive look.
“Well, for some reason, one of my colleagues got into a bit of trouble at her house and crashed at my place for a couple of days. She was so miserable the whole time. She even cleaned my bungalow from top to bottom, the no-maj way.” Andrea looked exasperated.
“Andrea, it wasn’t that bad.” Hermione chuckled.
“Hermione, she used a stepladder instead of magic!” Andrea threw her hands up.
“Oh, right, I forgot that tidbit.” Hermione shook her head. “Anyways, she is back home with hubby, and we have an empty spare room for your parents to sleep in.”
“Good,” Marie smiled. “We figured that we would come on the eighth of January. We wanted to give you a chance to get back into work mode and get the place ready for company.”
“Thanks, Mom!” Andrea grinned. “These two can stay home.” Andrea pointed to her brothers. “I am in no mood for their shenanigans.”
“No worries, Andrea. They will be training for their new season with their team.” Richard replied. “I am going to hire someone to babysit them since they can’t behave properly.”
“DAAD!!” Stephen and Jackson objected.
“Sorry, boys, your latest transgressions say otherwise.” Richard stared at them.
Andrea watched her brothers slump into their chairs and glanced over to Hermione, arching her brow.
“You know, Richard, Harry has some room in his house if these two can behave.” Hermione threw out a suggestion, perking the boys up. “But there will be rules, and there is an old crotchety house elf to deal with as well.”
“Harry has a house elf?” Jason looked surprised.
“Well, it came with the house when he inherited it from his godfather,” Hermione explained.
“Who is his godfather?” Richard asked.
“Sirius Black.” Hermione snickered at their faces. “He was actually innocent of his crimes, but for whatever reason, he never had a trial.” Hermione hmphed.
“Why not?” Stephen inquired.
“The only thing we came up with is that everyone assumed that Sirius was the one who killed all those no-majs at the end of the first war with Riddle.” Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
“Yes, Christmas dinner is going to be so much fun!” Andrea punched the air.
“Yes, we will have a lovely buffet dinner, and we were able to get the last of the crackers to pull during our meal,” William told Hermione and Andrea the plan. “Then we will swim and relax by the pool.”
“That sounds perfect!” Andrea beamed at him. “I have to remember to put the lotion on before we go out there.” Andrea pointed towards the pool.
“So does Hermione, my dear.” Mariana patted Andrea’s hand. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a potion for such a thing.”
“I do, and I will share it with the others.” Hermione grinned. “Shall we put these back outside or wait a couple of days?” Hermione was referring to the Nativity scene the boys fixed.
“We will leave them inside because I don’t want to confuse the neighbours by putting them back out,” Mariana explained her reasoning.
“That makes sense, and do you want the boys to put them in storage until next year?” Marie asked.
“Yes, please. There is a storage shed out back.” William got up to show which shed to use. “There is a blanket to throw over them to protect them from the weather and dust.”
Andrea got up from the table and stretched. “Well, I am going to take another nap.”
“No can do, Andy.” Hermione got up. “We need to change for the Midnight candlelight service.”
“What?” Andrea looked at the wall clock. “Bloody hell.”
“Andrea!” Marie admonished her. “Language.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realise how late it was, Mom.” Andrea apologised. “Alright, Hermione, help me get changed. Are you four coming, or will I see you in the late morning because I am SLEEPING IN!” Andrea stared at her brothers as she said this.
“Right, no waking them up early.” Richard agreed. “We will see you when you wake up, my daughter.”
“Where are you sleeping?” Andrea inquired.
“In the boys’ room at the hotel,” Marie answered. “It will be fine because we will make sure these two won’t misbehave after they put the set away for the Grangers.”
“Okay.” Andrea kissed her parents good night and patted her brothers on their backs. “Behave, please.”
“Yes, Andrea.” Stephen and Jason replied. “We will see you around noon then.”
“Thank you.” Andrea smiled at them. “Hermione, let’s go up and change.”
“Yes, let’s go change because this isn’t comfortable anymore.” Hermione looked down at her wool trousers and turtleneck. “It was quite cold when we left.” Hermione looked over to her parents. “We will see you shortly to go to the church.”
“Alright, Hermione.” Mariana smiled at her.
The two girls went upstairs and closed the door. “This day isn’t going to end, is it?” Andrea glanced at Hermione as she leaned against the door.
Hermione snorted. “I know. I am knackered, but they will expect us to go with them.”
“It’s fine. So, a maxi dress?” Andrea pondered before she dug into her bag.
“Yes, I threw in a couple of nice dresses for us both to wear for tonight and another for out on the town.” Hermione nodded.
Andrea pulled out two maxi cotton dresses and a pair of heels for them both. Hermione took hers and put them down on the bed. Then she took Andrea’s and did the same. “What are you doing?”
“This.” Hermione wrapped Andrea into her arms and kissed her soundly.
Andrea moaned into her mouth as she pulled her in more tightly to deepen their kiss. When they broke apart to catch their breath, Andrea panted, “Merlin, I needed that.”
“We both did, my darling.” Hermione rested her head on hers. “We really haven’t had any alone time other than that nap earlier.”
“Right?” Andrea sighed. “Tomorrow will be just as busy. Hopefully, the next day will slow down.”
“It should because it’s Boxing Day,” Hermione replied.
“Boxing Day?”
“It used to be a holiday where the royal family would box up their don’t wants and give to the poor. Now it’s more like a shopping day like your Black Fridays.”
“Oh, I got you now, but I am not looking forward to shopping at the moment.” Andrea tightened her arms. “Right now, I just want to kiss you to oblivion.”
“Then kiss me.”
When they broke apart, Hermione glanced at the clock. “We need to change. It’s already eleven.”
“Okay, Hermione.” Andrea pecked her lips once more before moving out of her arms. She stripped off her clothes and flicked her hand to refresh her body from the day’s wear.
“That’s smart thinking, Andrea.” Hermione waved her hand to clean herself before putting on her green dress with silver weaved into it. “Great, now I look like a Slytherin.”
“But you are a beautiful Slytherin.” Andrea kissed her before twirling, “Do you like it?”
“Yes, you look fantastic in your red/gold dress,” Hermione smirked. “My lion.”
Andrea rolled her eyes. “Shall we go? I can’t wait to go to bed.”
“Me, too.” Hermione yawned. “Oh dear me. I hope I don’t fall asleep.” Hermione opened the door and stopped at the loo to check themselves out before going downstairs. “Mum, Dad, we’re ready!” Hermione looked around. “I see your brothers moved the nativity set to the shed.”
“But I don’t see your parents.” Andrea looked around but spied a folded piece of paper on the table. “Hermione, it looks like they left you a note.”
Hermione looked puzzled as she picked it up to read.
“Hermione and Andrea,
We were going to wait for you to join us for mass but realised that you two have had a really long day from travelling, dealing with errant family members and not having a moment of peace. We were hoping you could stay home and get some real sleep.
Love, Mum and Dad.”
Hermione was astonished that they didn’t wait for them. “Well, now.”
“That was surprising,” Andrea remarked. “Maybe my family got them into a good mood?”
“I would say so.” Hermione laughed.
“Hermione, what’s so funny?” Andrea tilted her head.
“I was just thinking that we really can’t go anywhere, can we?” Hermione chuckled as she put the note down and started going back up the stairs.
Andrea started to giggle. “No, we can’t, can we?” Andrea sighed. “I can’t wait to get into my sleep clothes and pass out.”
They change into their sleepwear and lay their dresses on the chair. They climbed into bed and snuggled into each other’s arms as the clock struck twelve.
“Merry Christmas, Hermione. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Andy. Happy Christmas, my darling.”
They sweetly kiss one another before passing out.
The next morning, Hermione slowly woke up to the sun on her face. She glanced at the clock to see it was 10 am. “Brilliant.”
“Morning, love,” Andrea murmured as she rolled on top of her to kiss her. “Merry Christmas.”
“Happy Christmas, my darling.” Hermione wrapped her arms around Andrea and kissed her sweetly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, my love.” Andrea buried her head into Hermione’s neck. “I am not ready to get up.”
Hermione chuckled under her. “Nor am I, but we have a bit of time yet.” Hermione turned slightly so they could cuddle into each other’s arms. “It’s going to be a great trip now that the crisis was averted.”
“Yes, it will be, and I can’t wait to swim.” Andrea perked up a bit. “We can’t forget our potion lotion.”
“We won’t.” Hermione caressed her face. “I love you and am so happy to have you here with me.”
“I love you too, and I am super happy to have joined you.” Andrea kissed her. “Let’s forget yesterday and enjoy the rest of this trip, alright?”
“I think I can do that, my darling, Andrea.” Hermione kissed her once more before rolling out of bed. “Let’s get ready before your brothers have any new ideas.”
Andrea laughed out loud. “Yes, let’s go!”
The pair of them enjoyed their Christmas holiday with both families and got much-needed relaxation before going back to bitter-cold England.