The Marriage Decree

Chapter 89: Do you want to carry this marshmallow?

A scream echoing around the house early in the morning wakes Hermione from her sleep. She jumps out of bed, wand in hand and the bedroom door halfway open when there's child's voice.

"Santa's been!" Lauren squeals.

Hermione sighs, closing the door and sitting down on the edge of the bed, her heart racing. Draco's sat up, still in bed, his hand gripping his own wand. He wraps his hand around her wrist, pulling her into a hug.

"It's alright, everyone is safe." He tries to assure her.

"It's not okay." She sighs. "This shouldn't be our life. Sleeping with our wands, always prepared to fight, constant vigilance." She mutters against his chest.

"It will get better." He promises. "There will be a time, probably in a few years, when someone will squeal, and we won't jump to attention." He tells her.

"I'm not sure I want that time to come." She admits. "I know what type of people are out there and what they can do. I don't want to not be prepared to fight for the ones I love." She explains.

"We are working to change that though. There are significantly fewer Death Eaters out there than there were, Minister Shacklebolt is working on stronger wand violence decrees. The world is becoming safer." He says.

"There will always be some danger." Hermione sighs.

"It's good to have a healthy amount of danger in one's life; otherwise we wouldn't take any risks and who knows where we would be without risk-taking." He smiles at her.

Hermione chuckles, shaking her head. "We should get up before the kids end up opening all their presents. David won't be pleased." She says, pulling her dressing gown on over her pyjamas.

"Did you send the gifts downstairs?" He asks, pulling on a pair of jeans and a dark shirt.

"Yes, they're allowed to open one present, and the rest will be taken with us to my Grandparents' house." She explains as they leave the guest room and make their way down the stairs.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" Draco asks, heading down the hallway, but Hermione stops him by grabbing his arm.

"You have to come and see the front room first." She pulls him through the door to find David and the kids sat on the carpet in front of the Christmas tree, eagerly searching for a present with their name on the gift tag. "Merry Christmas." She greets them.

"Santa came!" Craig says excitedly.

"Merry Christmas." David nods at them.

"If you want me to function this early in the morning, I'm going to need a cup of tea, Hermione," Draco tells her.

"It's eight o'clock, we get up at six o'clock most days for work." She reminds him.

"Yes, but not on Christmas Day." He points out. "You have your traditions, which are nice, but I usually stay in bed until eleven." He admits.

"He doesn't like Christmas." Hermione states, sitting beside her cousins on the carpet.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just never been an important day in my family. We eat dinner, exchange our gift, and that's it. My Mother probably took the decorations down as soon as we left yesterday." He explains.

"Go get your cup of tea." Hermione shakes her head amusedly at him.

"Does anyone else want one?" He looks at David who points at a cup already on the side of the coffee table. "Hermione?" He asks.

"Of course, thanks." She smiles at him as he leaves.

When he returns, he sits beside Hermione, passing her a cup of tea.