Chestnuts Roasting Over The Open Firewhiskey: A Hogwarts Christmas Tale

Epilogue

The morning light peeked through the opening in the curtain, causing Hermione to crack a bleary eye open. She shifted, snuggling deeper beneath the heavy comforter keeping the cold out. Even though the war had ended five years ago, she still relished the comfort of a real bed and a good night's rest. And only living with one wizard in a flat, rather than four in a tent. She could hardly handle the over the top behavior, even after Harry and Ron had befriended Draco and Theo. Hermione still laughed whenever she remembered the chaos in the tent that night when Ron and Harry saw Draco, who was meant to be dead, walk up, with Theo Nott trailing behind him, two black eyes. She, of course, knew he was finally coming after Theo had found him in the castle and he sent her a message via her necklace asking for their location.

"Happy Christmas," a deep voice whispered in her ear, breaking her from her thoughts and stirring goosebumps all down her arms. She snuggled closer to the warmth next to her, breathing in his spiced cologne.

"Happy Christmas, Draco," she whispered back, opening her eyes fully to take him in. He was always handsome, but she especially loved looking at him in the morning. Riddled with sleep, his platinum hair was messy and his features were soften than they ever were outside the flat.

"I have a surprise for you," the pale wizard said as he pressed kisses along her jawline.

"Is this the surprise? Because I like this surprise," Hermione smiled at him.

"Not exactly," he chuckled as he grabbed his wand from the bedside table and summoned a small green box wrapped in a large red ribbon. "Open it," he insisted, pushing the gift into her hand.

Hermione slowly pulled the ribbon and opened the box to find it filled to the brim with the muggle Christmas coal candy. Hermione let out a giggle, thinking of when she gave him the candy for the first time. They considered Christmas their anniversary, even though their first real kiss wasn't until the 27th. "Are you saying I've been naughty this year, Mister Malfoy?" Hermione asked flirtily, picking up one of the packages and smiling at him.

"Oh yes, Miss Granger. But I think if you keep digging you'll find another type of coal," Draco gently pushed the box towards her again. She looked at him quizzically, but kept digging. Her hands hit something soft at the back corner. She grabbed it, pulling out a velvet black box. Hermione looked at the small box for a moment, considering what could be inside. Draco had given her jewelry in the past, but this box looked suspiciously like a ring box.

"Hermione, unless you've created a new spell to see through objects, you'll have to actually open the box," Draco teased, pressing a kiss into her shoulder.

Slowly, she cracked the box open and peered inside. Staring back at her was a simple golden ring, with a small solitaire diamond at the center. It was clearly a muggle ring, one shockingly close to the one Hermione had seen for years on her own mother's hand. Draco grabbed the box and took her hand as she sat frozen in her spot, speechless and staring at him.

"Hermione Jean Granger, our relationship started out a bit like coal. But with a lot of pressure, it transformed into something stunning. Without you, my life would have been miserable. I would've been on the wrong side of the war at best, or dead after losing my family at worst. I owe you not only my life, but each bright spot of every day. I couldn't imagine a day without your laugh or you giving me a know-it-all answer over dinner or nights reading in bed together or hearing you hum in the shower. Would you make the luckiest wizard in the world and marry me?"

"Yes!" Hermione pulled him into a hug, which dissolved rapidly into slow, passionate kisses. He slipped the ring onto her left hand and held her in his arms. Hermione breathed him in as they both hummed contently. "The ring is beautiful," she said softly, looking down at it.

"Thank you, Mother made some suggestions. I'll make sure she knows how much you love it. But I think you know where the inspiration came from," Draco said, nodding towards the photo sitting on her bedside table of her with her parents during their last vacation to Paris. Hermione felt a pang of sadness, thinking of how her parents wouldn't see her marry a man who loved her like Draco did. They'd never meet the man who saved her life during battle or cooked her favorite meal after a hard day. Draco squeezed her tighter, as if knowing the route her mind was taking.

"Hot chocolate to celebrate?" Hermione asked after taking a deep breath and choosing to focus on the present, prompting Draco to break out into an even bigger grin.

"No, don't get up. Let your fiance get it for you," Draco threw back the covers and jumped out bed, his pale form in only black boxers disappearing towards the kitchen. Hermione giggled at his exuberance before flopping back onto the bed. She didn't have much time to think through everything they'd need to do now before Draco returned with two mugs.

"Theo is going to be even more insufferable about this, isn't he?" Hermione groaned as she took the mug he offered her, overflowing with whipped cream and accompanied by a candy cane.

"Oh, absolutely," Draco laughed. "But I think rightfully so. Best Christmas gift he'll ever give me." They smiled at each other before they both took a sip.

Fin.